Nanowrimo

November is over. Fifty Thousand Three Hundred and Thirty One words in Thirty Days. Still needs lots more work, but We'll see what it looks like tomorrow.

Little Children

"Yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children. . . . And I am filled with charity, which is everlasting love; wherefore, all children are alike unto me; wherefore, I love little children with a perfect love; . . ." ----Moroni 8:8, 17I miss having little children in the house. I love my children, who are my friends, and I love the wonderful people that they are becoming. But I do miss the days when they were small and I had them home with me all of the time. I know that I don’t remember all of the sameness of long days of cleaning and dishes and diapers and fighting and whining, and crying and missing adult conversation and reading the same stories again and again when I was almost asleep. I do miss their cute huggableness, the teaching moments, the singing (they all did love to sing at one time!), the piano lessons, the swimming lessons, the picnics with pinkabutter samiches and toe toe pits and yummy aide. I miss them loving to clean and wash dishes and fold clothes and plant gardens. I miss plinko and Patasha, the adventures of Mother Goose and Dream Dollhouse, and Go Dog Go and the “B” Book and the adventures of Ping. I miss joy school and primary and nursery, and bedtime and stories. I miss tiny newborn freshness sleeping in tired arms. I even miss the legos and the barbies and the green blob. There is absolutely nothing in this world like little children. Where did they go?

Top Ten Reasons Why I Love Randall

10. I love Randall for his enthusiasm about things he cares about---making cookies with the girl he just met at the ward dance, new babies and children (especially his own), a new KitchenAid or juicer for his wife, art and creating things, playing soccer, refereeing soccer, REAL SL Soccer,----etc.

9. Because he’s cute and good looking and makes me tingle!

8. Because he doesn’t worry too much about what others think . . . he knows his strengths (and he’s hip and cool!)

7. He’s smart, he loves to read and learn, remembers almost everything important, can figure out solutions to puzzles and problems that stymie other people.

6. He works hard and values a job well done.

5. He’s loyal and honest with family, friends, country, customers, and all he comes in contact with.

4. He is faithful to me and to his family. He provides for our needs and often goes without himself. He shares!

3. He is faithful to the Lord and he honors his Priesthood.

2. He serves his God and his fellow men.

1. Number one reason I love Randall—he is a true example of charity; he is always kind and longsuffering . . . he accepts people for who they are and finds the good in everyone.

California Anniversary

To my wonderful children:

A week ago we were "slightly" sunburned and hanging out with Russell. And now we're back at home with two of our lovely daughters who are getting ready for school to start next week, saddened that Lydia has left us once again for Logan, but excited to see Bill and Ashley again this weekend.

So thank you all so much for your contributions to our wonderful California Anniversary Trip!! It was very nice, very much fun, wonderful to see Russell and his nice house and the Beautiful UCLA campus (even though we were having so much fun we kind of stood him up quite a bit); and it was wonderful of Jonathan to let us use his lovely car. The whale watching trip was very very nice, a bit cool with the ocean breeze, but very beautiful and relaxing. We saw a multitude of frolicking dolphins, and 5 (?) whales, including a baby blue with its Momma. The sadness was that we didn't have a decent camera to take lots of wonderful pictures to share. And Disneyland was wonderful too . . . seeing and riding all of the rides and attractions I have heard about my whole life. Even though I did have to hang onto Dad for dear life with my eyes closed for a couple of them . . The other sadness was that we didn't have all of our childrens there to share it with us . . and to ride the real roller coasters with Dad since I am such a wimp. . .. though it was nice to just be together as a couple. Friday night we met up with Randall’s sister Danette and her family since they were also in the area and Russell took us to a fashionable cupcake shop in Beverely Hills, then on Saturday he fixed us a pancake breakfast and showed us around a bit before we had to fly back home. So thank you thank you thank you!!!!

Sometimes my soul is sad

Sometimes my soul is sad. I feel so strongly a struggle right now in my life, and in the world, a struggle, not just a struggle but an outright war between good and evil and right and wrong. It makes my soul sad. There are good days, but I feel the struggle almost every single day. I try not to be discouraged and to keep cheefully pressing forward, but sometimes it seems very hard to not be discouraged. So, I don't mean to put a damper on anyone's day, but just felt like I wanted to share my feelings, and if you happen to read this, to ask our support and faith and prayers for me and for our country and especially for the the young people and for those who strive to follow our Savior Jesus Christ.

My Honey and Me

This is a new endeavor for me. So please be patient. I do prefer Arial over all other fonts that I have found. Bold is nice. But not always. Sometimes we can use italics for emphasis.

This photo is one of my favorites of my honey and me. We kindof fell into like several years ago in the spring of 1981 after meeting at a ward dance. That was one of the best and one of the hardest summers of my entire life. It was just really comfortable doing things together from the very start . . . and we did a lot of fun things together from the very start. Not only that, but I thought that he was exceptionally cute and good looking, and his touch made me all tingly. However, I had been making some important decisions right about this time, and one of them was that I should try my hand at being a missionary. So, stubborn ole me went ahead with the plan, and on my 21st birthday, after a summer of fun and heartache, I entered the MTC and left him behind for a year and a half. But I did come back, and he did wait, and now we're together forever!