Grateful for .... SNAP

I wasn't planning on going to SNAP tonight since it is my anniversary but decided to because I finally got a first counselor (my friend..Barbie Sessions) and it would be her first night and she was nervous enough.  I'm glad I was able to go though because Virginia was over the activity and she is simply wonderful at everything.  She talked about being grateful a little how how important it is.  She gave each of the gals three leaves and they wrote things they are grateful for and then Virginia put them on the tree.  She had cute leave sugar cookies that she let the girls decorate.  Some of the girls are all about the treats....only a few.

It's funny how having the calling of President and having the blessing that I got when I was set apart has changed the love I have for these ladies.  It's so much easier for me to express it to each of them.  I surprise myself sometimes as I bend down and kiss one of these sweeties on the head.  I think I loved them before but it's deeper this year.  I'm sure it's the calling which does make being President worth it.  I enjoy being around these ladies on Thursdays.  They are so fun.

So This Happened 35 Years Ago

Time Flies When You're Having Fun....sometimes even when you're not!  These last 35 years have been an adventure!  I love this guy of mine so much more than when these pictures were taken.  I knew he was a great guy but over the years he has proven to be so much more!  I pretty much adore him....okay....I seriously adore him!

In the past 35 years a lot has happened and I wrote down a few of the things that I could think of. (Larry helped me) We have visited 18 countries! (wow...that surprised me)  We have been in 30 of the states.  We have lived in eight homes...(I counted apartments)  We were blessed with seven children and only had one miscarriage.  Right now we have nine grandchildren. We owned four horses.  We've had at least two snowmobiles and two wave runners.  We have owned 8 boats. (we like boating)  We've gone on 7-8 cruises.  Between us we've had seven surgeries...two for me and five for Larry.  Larry has had three broken bones.  We've collected souvenir spoons, rubber stamps and stuffed animals.  We've only had two major fights and divorce was mentioned in one of those. (I had to point out that whatever we were fighting about wasn't terms for divorce)  We've each held a current Temple recommend for the 35 years.  We made two bad investments and at least two really good investments that certainly outweighed the bad.  (we did learn from the bad investments)  We have had about twenty-one vehicles between the two of us.  We have buried a few loved ones: Great Grandma Muir, Grandma Bessie, Grandma and Grandpa Lowe, Nonna, Grandma Bernice Lowe, Ken Friesen and quite a few friends. (I might miss one so I won't mention any friends but there have been several).

Our favorite place to be is with each other....it's true....we love being together.  We make each other laugh and smile.  Once in awhile we tick each other off but we don't let those times last very long.  We have learned to be more forgiving and take things less personal.  We seldom go to bed mad and have always said our evening prayers together.  We usually read scriptures in the morning with our kids and have family prayer with them before the day starts. (not so much in the summer...Larry lets them sleep in)  I'd say we've done pretty darn good.  We're both still smiling and happy and look forward to the evenings when we are together.  I'd say we each made a pretty good choice...we've been blessed!

This year we didn't plan anything special for our Anniversary and so we counted our weekly Temple Night as our celebration.  Heck...everyday is pretty much a celebration right?  It felt a bit strange not having a bigger celebration because we usually do go away for at least a night.  It was okay though.  We had to take two pictures at dinner because Larry blinked in the first one which gave the guy behind us plenty of time to be ready to photo bomb us. ☺  We went to Long Horn Steak House for dinner and it was yummy.

Larry brought home flowers and a huge card for me last night.  He is such a sweetie.  I wanted a picture of him with the flowers too.  I ended up taking a few pictures of him.  The first one his smile was forced and so I made a few "arrangements" and captured the smile I love!  I think Eternity is going to be Great!

Carla's Sweat Shop

The last few months I have spent a lot of time at Carla's sewing the ends of table runners and pillows.  Carla has a cute room that is referred to as the "sweat shop" because those sewing machines in there are always going.  It reminds me of Santa's Workshop.  There are so many fun colors and a lot of work and love in all the table runners and pillows.  I have fallen in love with them.  I kind of like that Carla has one messy room in her house while the creating is being done.  I don't feel at all bad throwing thread on the floor when I am busy there.  The rest of Carla's house is spotless but very comfortable.

I love spending time at Carla's.  Carla is really good at making others feel at home in her home.  She kind of likes to pamper her guests...and I kind of love it!  Carla is a sweetie!  I love how happy Carla is while creating....she absolutely loves sewing....it just makes her happy.  She usually doesn't like doing things alone but she is content with sewing all by herself.  I know she likes company though.
Fun memories are being made in Carla's Sweat Shop!

Happy Birthday Zaden

Zaden is 7 years old!  I can't believe how the time has flown.  Zaden is such a cute, fun kid.  He is very smart and is learning Spanish so well.  I love hearing him pronounce the different words and phrases he has learned.  I think it's cool that the so many schools have immersion programs that teach the children another language.  They catch on so fast.

Zaden likes computer games and electronics just like his dad. He loves "mind craft".  He is a happy boy and loves his family.  We all love Zaden and we're so glad that he is part of our family.

Since I was the lucky one that woke up with this cute birthday boy I was invited to his birthday breakfast.  Trichelle has always taken her kids out for breakfast on their birthdays.  I loved Zaden's choice....pancakes and french fries. He ate the french fries first and took the pancakes home.  

We went birthday shopping after breakfast.  Trichelle and Behr came too.  Zaden likes looking and when he came across the Mega Blok Halo sets he knew that's what he wanted.  Trichelle reminded him about the little pieces that the guys are made out of but Zaden didn't care and held on to his choice anyway.  He was able to get two sets and was eager to put them together when he got home.  He was getting a little frustrated trying to put the first guy together and looked at me and asked me why I let him get those. hahaha ☺ I'm glad that Trichelle stayed home today and was able to spend the day with her cute birthday boy.  She is also good at putting those little pieces together. 

I always enjoy celebrating the grands birthdays with them.  I feel so blessed to have such cute littles call me gramma.  They make my heart happy! ♥

Zaden's Birthday Sleep Over

This little Monkey is having a birthday tomorrow and he told everyone that he would not be going to school on his birthday and so I thought it might be a great time to have his birthday sleepover. Carla and I picked him up on our way home from visiting Robin. (about 9:00 pm)  He had been sick but seemed to be feeling better and I could tell he wanted to spend the night when he crawled under his bed when we were talking about having the sleepover later.  I decided that if he was sick I could deal with it.  He wasn't sick anymore at all and was a bunch of fun.

Zaden got a new tablet/computer from his dad and brought it to show Jared.  I think Jared liked it!  Zaden is at a silly age.  He makes faces for every picture which cracks this gramma right up. He's a fun kid.

He sleeps by my side of the bed when he stays at our house alone.  He surrounds himself with stuffed animals and loves to sleep with "joey" who likes to hide at the bottom of the basket.  Zaden falls to sleep so fast.  We were talking to him and immediately it got quiet and when Larry asked him if he was still awake he didn't answer.  I think it's great that he can fall asleep so fast....I wish I could.  It was fun having him over even if we didn't get him long.

Trick or Treat

I enjoy Halloween and the fun things about it.  I'm not one that likes the scary, creepy things about it. This year Kimleighel decided that she wanted our family to be Minions.  I was happy to let her be but wasn't sure the boys would go along with the idea.  Larry mentioned that he would do whatever and so I kept my eyes open for yellow or white hats.  I never came across any (I don't shop much) and so last week I decided that I would just make some.  I got a deal on the fleece material and made up a few hats for each of us.  I looked around for Minion Glasses but couldn't find those either and so I ordered a few.  I only ordered two because I didn't think Jared or Jaydan would participate.  A day or two ago Jared said he would if I wanted him to.  I found some old protective goggles and glued some jar lids on them and was happy with the result.  Jaydan agreed today to dress up and so I hurried and made another pair.  The boys wanted to wear the ones I bought and they mostly wore then on their hats or hanging from the overalls.  (the homemade ones were more comfortable)  We were One in a Minion Family!  I liked how things turned out!

I always enjoy seeing how my kids and grands dress up.  They are always so cute.  Trichelle loves Halloween and usually dresses up pretty cute and clever.  I loved the costumes her and TJ wore this year.  They seriously could have fit in at Disneyland.  Little Behr was a cute bat and Sadie was a darling fish.  (the only kind Kelsi will touch)  Ivy and her dad's family were super hero's...Ivy was Thor.  Justin was a hunter and Natalie was a cute deer.  Mya, Parker and Macie were cute little Indians.  (not  Native Americans....little joke about a sister missionary not liking being referred to as an Indian since she wasn't from India)  Kevin and Julie's girls were cute pirates and Zaden was Rocky Racoon. (I think that is the Racoon's name)  They were all so cute and seemed happy dressing up.

We had the Trunk or Treat and some of the costumes were so cute.  There were more even that I didn't get.  I like taking pictures of other people's cleverness.  I did a lot of smiling watching everyone have so much fun collecting candy and treats.  I might have ate a few of the treats we were giving out...really the ones Trichelle was giving out.  I also ate some of the yummy chili that Dale and Jan Widdison like to make for everyone.

After the Trunk or Treat we went and visited our moms.  I know they look forward to our visit and enjoy having us come over.  We treated them with some fresh onions. haha

I love this time of year and all the celebrating that goes on.  October is full of parties and dressing up and treats and fun.  Then November gets us thinking about our blessing and all we are Thankful for which leads us into the Christmas season thinking of our Savior Jesus Christ. I like the fun traditions of being with our family and friends since that is what this life is all about.  I like ending and starting a New Year Celebrating Jesus and remembering Him for ALL that He does for each of us!

Hocus Pocus

Carla had everyone over so we could watch Hocus Pocus for Halloween.  We ended up with a different priority today which I believe was an answer to prayer.  We still saw most of the show and ate some yummy treats but followed our instinct and the spirit and helped a friend that needed help.

I didn't realize that Kimleighel had to work since there wasn't school and so I got to watch the kids for a while.

I do feel like today is the start of good things for our sweet friend.  We all get our fair share of trials and challenges in life and sometimes those challenges consume us and take over and we need friends and family to help us get back on track.  Heavenly Father and Jesus are always there for us but it is still up to us to ask them for help.  They are waiting on the other side of the door just waiting.  We need to rely on their help more and pay attention to the help they send.