We Are Thankful

Thanksgiving was very quiet this year. Jaron and Sharla were the only ones that were able to come home. We had a great dinner but wondered why we had so much food left over after we were done eating. The next day we went to ShowLow not for black Friday, thank you very much, but to see some movies. We went to New Moon and A Christmas Carol in 3 D. Oh my gosh it was awesome but I wouldn't take small kids to it.

This was a great year. We have so much to be thankful for. Dallas and Emilee and Tyler and Jennifer both bought new homes. They are beautiful and homey and we love spending time with them.

In May we were blessed with our little Trevyn. He is such a joyful, happy baby. We love him. We now have 5 grandchildren and love them all.

In July we went to Kentucky for a week. That was an amazing experience. We loved every minute of it.

In August Jaron joined our family marrying Sharla on August 28th. It was a picture perfect wedding. Everything went so smoothly.

The last few months 3 of us have gotten new jobs and one got a promotion. In these challenging economic times that is truely a miracle. We are so blessed and I hope our actions show how much we love and appreicate Heavenly Father for his continued blessings in our lives!

First week on the Job

On November 9, 2009 I began a new career. I am now working for North Country HealthCare. It was a pretty crazy week of learning about how much I have to learn, but it was wonderful. I have a great boss and a great staff to work with. They were all very warm and welcoming. I will be working with the St. Johns and Round Valley clinics, so I traveled to RV to meet the staff there. I am very excited to get through the training and hit the ground running. It will be great!

This is Estella, good friend, considered family member and now a co-worker. She is so cute and fun to work with.

Let the good times begin!

Time Out

A few months ago, Jen called me to see if I would be interested in coming to St. George for the Time Out for Women Conference. I had heard how wonderful it was, so I was excited to go. If we signed up as a group it was cheaper so we decided it would be fun to have the whole family come also. I was sad that Sharla and Kelsey weren't able to come but oh my spiritual experience. We all loved it and came away uplifted and rejuvenated. We were laughing hard one minute and drying tears in the next. The music was amazing. We are told that we are not to covet but when it comes to a voice, I have a hard time not doing that. Hillary Weeks was everyone's favorite. She would tell a funny story and then sing a song to bring the point home. I met and visited with old friends. It was such a wonderful experience. We decided to make it a yearly event. The next one will be in Phoenix next October. I can't wait. I am so glad so many were able to come. To quote the newspaper "And a fun time was had by all"!!

An Exciting Day

Today was such a fun day. Gary and I have been planning for it for a week now. We bought a car for Kelsey. We tried to get her to come home for the week-end but she said she couldn't because she had to work. So Gary flew down to Phoenix this morning and drove her home. The Nissan has become a bit unreliable and we were getting worried about her. Gary told her he would be working on the car until midnight as he had a lot of work to do on it. Then he drove off waited for a little bit and brought the new car back to the house. He came in the door and told Kelsey that he needed to ask her some questions about the car. I went out the door and positioned the camera. When she came out and saw the car the look on her face was priceless. She was shocked. At first I don't think she thought it was for her but when it sunk in, she got so excited. She loved the car and of course we immediately had to take it for a spin. I could hear a Chia Tea Smoothie calling my name so we drove to Round Valley and got one and came home. It was a good chance for her to see how she drives. It is such a cute little car. I think this car will take her far. Now cross your fingers that she gets the good job this week to help pay for it!!

Happy Halloween

This year for Halloween the Parks and Recreation department for the City of St. Johns organized a Trunk or Treat activity for the community. It was held at the Community Center or for us old folks better known as the BUB. Everyone was assigned a place to park. The idea is to decorate your trunk and have the kids come by trick or treating. My TOHC coalition(Teens Opposed To Harmful Choices) decided that they wanted to have a booth so we took the Tahoe and decorated the back, spent $200 on candy and had a ball. One little girl saw the skeleton and stood frozen, screaming. Her mother had to whisk her away. Oops, didn't mean for that to happen. There was a spook alley in the BUB and fresh, hot donuts, hot chocolate and homemade rootbeer to partake of. We had ball. We were the first to arrive and the last to leave. We had SOOOO much candy to give away. It turned out to be a good thing though because some people came in late and we were still able to give the kids candy. The girls spread the message about making good choices. I love this time of year. I was afraid with the cold weather we had been having that we were going to freeze to death but it was a perfect evening. A huge full moon and just the right amount of cold. I can't believe that Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. Wow what a year this has been.