THE END OF 2009!!!!

I really can't believe that 2009 is almost gone!!! Where did this year go? I thought that I would post some highlights from this year. It really has been a great year and we feel so very blessed.

Brynna: Had a babysitting job over the Summer that required her to take care of four children between the ages of 8 to 18 months. It was a challenge but a great learning experience for her. She got to participate in her first year of girls camp at Heber Valley Camp--she loved it. She participated in two choir concerts and decided she didn't like the dresses after all--they were a bit too revealing. She got all A's her first semester of school.

Kae Lee: Participated in her first Laurel's Camp (at Heber Valley Camp) that her mom was in charge of--what a great experience it was for both of us. Because of camp, she has found a great group of friends to hang around with. She got her braces off this year and flashes that beautiful smile every chance she gets. She works at the day care center at the high school and loves those babies like they were her own. She got her driver's license and received her Patriarchal blessing. Attended both the Homecoming Dance and the Sadie's Dance with the same young man---Jordan Cameron.

James: This was and has been a very big year for James as far as changes for him. He graduated from high school with honors. Was given a car by his grandparents. Received his Eagle Scout award. Took a seven day trip to Alabama to see his friends there. He drove to Florida and back to spend time on the beach, got his first speeding ticket. Received a four year academic scholarship from BYU. Moved into Heritage Halls on campus and experienced his first semester of college life. Working on mission papers to be turned in next month. Has a girlfriend from high school of which he comes home on weekends to spend time with---Courtney Scott.

Michael: Been working in the bishopric for over a year now. Had Moh's surgery done to remove a cancerous spot on his forehead---had to have 20 stitches put in his head. Given a job offer to work down in Provo at LDS Philanthropies. Decided to buy a more economical car to commute back and forth to Provo in----a Toyota Camry---Hybrid. Spent four days with the young men in the stake at Zion's Camp being on the cook staff.

Kae Lynn: Did much gardening and canning. Fell off parents steps and fractured knee cap. Had surgery in October and has been through hours of physical therapy. Was put in as Stake Young Women's President right before her surgery. Enjoyed having all of her siblings together for Christmas, that hasn't happened for over 30 years. Needs surgery on her shoulder in the new year.

Our highlights as a family are: We drove to St. George last April and enjoyed three days visiting Zion's and Bryce Canyon. We also got to do some baptisms for the dead in the St. George Temple--what a great experience to have all of us in the Temple. Had such a great time being together. Michael and I took off for our anniversary in July this year and stayed at a bed and breakfast and attended the Manti Temple. Then we drove to Loa, Utah and spent the night at little Hotel there and just enjoyed the beauty of Capitol Reef and being together. It was our 21st wedding anniversary--what a great time we had. We have had some sickness but nothing too serious. It has seemed strange without James at home but we see him often enough to not miss him too much. It has been a good year for us. The Lord has truly blessed our family and given us many opportunities to spend time together and make wonderful memories.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS!!!!

I am ashamed of myself for not posting anything for over a month. So much has happened and it is hard to recount everything that has happened. But I will try and give a run down of what has been going on with the Blairs.
My rehab is going slowly but making steady progress. My doctor wanted to do a manipulation on my knee because I wasn't at full range of motion at my 8 week appointment. That is where they put you to sleep and just force the movement in your knee and break through all the scar tissue. Not a pleasant thought--I know. But I told him that I wasn't ready for that and asked if I could have four more weeks to get full range of motion by myself. He agreed to that and so my work has been cut out for me. My physical therapist has been going the extra extra mile for me and coming in on her days off just to work with my knee and my motion. I have to say that it has been very painful and discouraging at times. At therapy yesterday I didn't progress any from Tuesday and that got me a bit down. Susie can always get me further at each visit and yesterday was just stagnate----I am still at 123 degrees. Our goal is 130-135 by New Year's Eve. I hope we can do it. This is a long and hard process---don't ever want to do this again!!!

James has been struggling with finals. He hasn't done as well on his tests as he would have liked to have done. This was his first semester and he has learned many things about himself and about developing good study habits. He always had it so easy in high school and college has been a bit of a struggle for him because he never really learned how to study while in high school. He is a great young man and he will continue to work hard. He is getting paperwork ready to send in mission papers either next month or in February. We are excited and know that he will be a wonderful missionary. He applied for a job at the Creamery at BYU and got the job---he was pretty excited about that. He realized that his money that he had saved prior to college---didn't last forever and he couldn't find a money tree in Provo. He is excited and ambitious to have a job that starts at 5:00 am. Go James----just be sure that you clock in everyday!!! :)

Kae Lee is busy with friends and loving every minute of it. Seems that her friend Jordan likes to be with Kae Lee because she makes him feel good about himself and she doesn't talk the garbage that most of the guys in high school talk. He refers to Kae Lee as water---she is clean and pure and guys in high school are mud--they make you feel yucky and dirty. He is a very nice young man and Brynna has adopted him as her new brother---since James moved out she needed someone to take his place. She took the ACT test last Saturday and said that it was very hard and stressful. She has been struggling with Math and getting very discouraged with school. We know what it is like being in high school---homework is no fun and it seems that the teachers really pile it up on you before the break. She is a beautiful young lady with so many gifts and talents---she has a smile for everyone. We are so thankful that she has great friends to be with and to have something to look forward to. A shout out to all of her great friends!!! Thank you!!

Brynna loves school and loves to be with her friends also. She just performed in her Christmas choir concert and it was very good. She has a beautiful voice and will sing anytime anywhere--she is a chip off the old block. I was the same way when I was younger---much younger!!
She loves going babysitting and earning some money. Once that money is in her hand--she is ready to go and spend it as fast as she earned it. She loves to buy things for other people--it isn't always for herself. She just loves to spend money and so it is great when she can earn it herself!!
She is just about as tall as me and I look at her and see her growing into such a beautiful young lady. She loves to do her hair and look like she just stepped out of the salon.

Michael----ahhh the love of my life!!! He has had some changes with work and that brings us to the title of this blog today. Decisions, decisions, decisions!! He was offered a job down in Provo with the Church--it was something that he has wanted for almost a year now. The job offer finally came through and now we have some major decisions to make. Michael will be commuting to Provo about three days a week and then work in Salt Lake two days a week. That means that he will have an awful lot of driving time back and forth to Provo. So.....do we move closer to Provo, do we move this summer, do we wait until Kae Lee has graduated, do we buy a new car that gets better gas mileage, or do we stay where we are and let Michael deal with the awful commute? We are just not sure what to do right now. So many possibilities and such an impact on our girls. We talked to the girls about moving and they were not very happy about it. Brynna cried and cried---it really does impact her the most if we stay here until Kae Lee graduates from high school. Brynna will just be starting high school in a new place and we are just not sure if that is a good thing. So, we have to give this a great deal of prayer and fasting to see what the Lord wants us to do. We are really excited about his new job opportunity but it just has some things about it that aren't that appealing to us----like the commute!!! But we just have to rely on the Lord to help us with this one and trust in Him. So much to think about.....
On to another subject---Michael's head is healing up quite nicely. You can just barely see where the incision was but it looks really good. He has been a trooper through the whole thing.

We are so excited for Christmas and being together as a family. James will be with us during the Christmas break and Michael gets to take all of next week off. It will be James' last Christmas with us until after his mission. We hope to make it a special time for our family---making some wonderful memories together. Merry Christmas to everyone!!!!

BUSY WEEKEND!!!

Life is just full of good things and fun things with our children. Both James and Kae Lee went to the Sadie's dance at the High School. They had activities planned for outside but it decided to snow all day. James brought his roommate Nathan with him and he went with a girl that is Courtney's friend--Courtney is James' girlfriend. Kae Lee went with Jordan Cameron. They all had a great time just being with friends. James and Nathan didn't come home until the wee hours of the morning---they wouldn't even tell me how late it was.

Sunday was definitely not a day of rest: choir practice at 8:30, Michael spoke in our ward, we attended a missionary farewell, I spoke in another ward, ate dinner, had home teachers, went to the Stake Center to practice and then perform the Stake Cantata on the Prophet Joseph Smith.
It was a full and busy weekend but it was a really good weekend. Love to sing, don't love to speak, love to hear my hubby speak, I love to see and be with my husband/kids, not so much like to see them leave. Glad that we have so much to do to keep us out of trouble.

BROKEN THINGS

I have decided that the Lord loves broken things because He loves me. And I have felt very broken lately. My knee is still pretty painful for me--especially at night. I keep wondering how long it will take before I feel "normal" again. It hasn't even been two weeks yet and I expect so much of myself.

I know that the Lord loves broken things because He called me to be the Stake Young Women's President in our stake. I am excited and so humbled by this calling. I know that I have a purpose in being called at this time---maybe it is just to strengthen me spiritually, emotionally, and physically. I am working hard on putting myself back together again with His help. Physical therapy takes hard work in building back my muscles. Repentance takes hard work in building up my spiritual muscles. Both must be done and I will work hard so that I don't fail at either one.
I just get so frustrated with myself and wish that I could change things over night. I just need to have faith, patience and trust in the Lord. For in the strength of the Lord, I can accomplish all things. And I truly need His strength.

RECOVERY IS HARD!!!

Having surgery is no fun and recovery is even less fun. I had forgotten all the things I really didn't like about recovering from surgery. I feel so helpless and useless. I can't sleep very good at night because I can sleep in only one position---that gets old really fast. There is just the whole process of healing that is painful and uncomfortable. But I know that I have to experience these things so that I can look forward to the days when I can bend and move the way I used to. And then there are the good things about recovery, too. It has been such a blessing to have Michael home with me. He has taken such good care of me and the girls. It was so hard to have him leave me to go back to work today. He has been such a bright spot through this whole ordeal---I couldn't have done it without him. Kae Lee and Brynna have been so good, also. They have had to do more than their usual share of things but they have done it without complaint. People have been so kind to bring us food and offer rides to therapy. So I guess you have to take the good with the bad during these difficult times. I will get through all of this and I will hopefully be better and stronger than before---in many ways.

BEING A GOOD PATIENT

I have wonderful neighbors and friends who have brought over food for our family while I am down with this surgery. I have such a hard time accepting things from others. I would much rather be on the giving side than on the receiving side. I don't know why that is but I just don't like people having to do things for me. But, since I am not able of doing much for myself right now, I have to have the help of others.

I had the surgery at the Mount Ogden Surgical Center. I had to be there at 10:45 yesterday morning and we didn't get home until 4;30 last night. Everything went just fine. I just don't like getting the IV put in me---that just stings like crazy. Doctor Byck found things to be much worse than he thought once he got inside my knee. I had a torn meniscus which he repaired, my knee cap was resting on bone, I have so much arthritis in there that there isn't much cushion for my knee cap to rest on even when it is aligned in the right place. He told Michael that I will have to have knee replacement probably much sooner than we had thought. But I am going to stay optimistic, do what the doctor ordered and let Michael and the girls help me. I have got to learn to be a good patient so that I can get back on my feet and be serving those who might need my help.

PREPARING FOR SURGERY

Having surgery is certainly not any fun and I for one would rather pass on having this one done. But I know that I will regret it if I don't have the doctor work on improving the mobility of my knee. I have had such angst over having this surgery and on Saturday it just consumed my thinking. I just wanted to go and run somewhere with my legs flying and feeling my body breathing hard from a good run. I have really missed my days of a good hard workout and moving my body in a way that I can't right now because of my broken body. I look forward to being free to do whatever I want to without worrying about hurting my knee or my shoulder. I just feel so trapped with the lack of movement I have. And I know those feelings are going to get worse as I have this surgery on Thursday and I am REALLY limited on what I can do.

Michael noted my emotional state and my angst about all this on Saturday so he made the day very special for me. He took me to lunch at Maddoxx's, we went to the movie with the kids, we planned a party for the girls, we had a fun fire outside with marshmallows and hot dogs, it was just a fun day together. He tried really hard to get me to laugh about all this and get my mind off of it. He is a great strength to me. He gave me a wonderful blessing last night that really brought a feeling of peace and comfort to my heart. I know that everything will be fine---I just don't like going through all of this. I wish that I could just get a shot and my knee would be fixed!!! What a great idea!!! I will have to work on that while I am layed up from having surgery--this time.

OUR FUN AND CRAZY FAMILY!!

 

CHANGES IN THE LIVES OF OUR CHILDREN

I look at these pictures of my children from last year and see so many changes in them. Not only physical changes but so much more. I had a dream last night that James was a little boy, about 2 years-old again. Maybe I am missing my "little boy".
He is growing into such a fine young man. He loves school and seems to love the college life at BYU. It still seems strange sometimes to think that he is only a visitor when he comes to visit us.

Kae Lee moved all of her things into her freshly painted room and slept in their for the first time last night. Brynna liked having the queen sized bed all to herself in her room. My children are growing up and making changes that let me know that they like their independence. They love to be together and they like to be alone sometimes--which is normal. Kae Lee and Brynna have shared the same room for over 12 years and it was just strange to see them in different beds last night. Kae Lee was the first one into her bed and I peaked in on her to see if she was comfortable in her new bed. The sweetest scene lay before me as I watched Kae Lee all snuggled in bed, Brynna sitting on the edge of the bed next to Kae Lee with her arm around her telling her a bedtime story. I hope they will always remember those quiet times together when they had all the time in the world to just talk about "girlie" things and they knew that those things would never be shared with anyone else. They are my crowning jewels!!!

Fall is my favorite time of the year!!!

The girls planned our FHE the other night and we decorated pumpkins that our neighbor gave to us. We had a great time coming up with creative ideas on how to decorate. Michael is very artistic---that's where our children get their artistic ability from---he did Frankenstein. Kae Lee did a BYU pumpkin, Brynna did a scary cat pumpkin, and I did a faceless bride pumpkin. I can't do faces and so I just left her to the imagination of whoever looks at her. It was a great night and a really fun activity. You are never too old to decorate pumpkins!!!

BRACE YOURSELF!!

I have a new constant companion in my life. It is called a knee brace. It has to stay with me 24/7 for the next several months or longer. After all of my MRI's and X-rays, the doctor has determined that I have fractured my knee cap. Not only is it cracked but it is also out of alignment. So, I get to wear this cumbersome brace until I have surgery on October 15 and then who knows how much longer I will be wearing it after surgery. I am trying really hard to stay positive about wearing this brace, it has to be on so tight that it really hurts my leg and makes my ankle swell. It just feels good to take it off and give my leg a break from the constant squeezing from the straps that hold it on my leg. Not only do I have surgery on my knee to look forward to, but I also need to have surgery on my shoulder. Gosh--when it rains it pours!!!!! I have what is called a SLAP tear in my shoulder. It is painful and makes it difficult to have full use of my arm and shoulder muscles. So once my knee is healed from surgery, I get to have my shoulder done. Isn't that great for me? I have decided that since I am turning half way to old next month, my body is just falling apart early. But hey, the girls have fun painting my toenails interesting colors just so that I have something beautiful about my legs. This is living the dream Baby!!!!

DOWN FOR THE COUNT!!!

Why do we have to have these little set backs in life that just throw us for such a loop? I spent the whole day at my parents home making salsa. I also got to see my James and that was fun. He is doing great. We did 135 bottles of salsa and I had just finished cleaning up the kitchen and was ready to head home. I walked out their back door and tried to go down the steps and rolled my foot and lost my balance. Off the porch I went and I hit with my right knee on the cement. The thing that was really scary was that I just about knocked off the two large pressure cookers that were going on the camp stove. I hit the leg of the stove when I hit and I thought for sure that the cookers were going to be on top of me. I yelled for Ashley--my niece to help me. I was just so worried that I would be severely burned if they fell on me. I was able to steady the stove with my arm and they did not fall. I was in great pain from the way I landed right on my knee. I was able to drive back home with ice on my knee--which was a very smart thing to do. My knee swelled up to twice it's size and was very painful. I went to see the doctor about my injured shoulder ( that injury happened in June) and had him look at my knee also. They took several x-rays of both shoulder and knee. Doctor told me that I was looking at surgery for both. He drained my swollen knee--which is very painful. He gave me a shot of cortisone in my shoulder---very painful, too. He scheduled me for an MRI on Tuesday and then I go back to see him on Wednesday.
Oh, I was so upset about the prospects of having two surgeries. My knee has never been the same since my cheer leading accident when I was a sophomore in high school. Maybe it is time to get that fixed and this was the only way it was going to happen. I don't know why these things happen but I do know that it isn't any fun.

My sweet husband stayed home with me all week and took care of everything for me. It is so nice for him to take all that time off to make sure that I am taken care of and the girls also.

I don't move very fast and I am not supposed to put much weight on my knee. I am supposed to stay off of it and keep it iced. I just don't like being down. I am so used to being up and going all the time. It really drives me crazy to have to stay down and not fulfil my responsibilities. Michael won't even let me drive yet. I just keep telling myself that maybe by some miracle I won't have to have surgery for both and I can be back to "good as new" in no time. I just have to have lots of faith and keep praying. I could use all the prayers I can get.

FAREWELL TO JAMES

Well, it is time to say good-bye to my son. I just can't believe that the time is now. He is ready. I know that he is excited and energized about college. I am happy for him. He will do great at BYU and I know that he will love being on his own. For me, I have had a hard time with his leaving. Not that I don't want him to go, it is just a strange feeling for a mother to have her children leave her home. I love James, I will miss him terribly, and I know that Michael, Kae Lee and Brynna will miss him so much. We will look forward to his visits home. We love you so much James. Good Luck at BYU!!!

COMING OFF THE SPIRITUAL HIGH

Camp was just so amazing!!! What a great experience that was to go and spend some time in the mountains with incredible young women and leaders. We had such great spiritual experiences there---daily. It was really hard to come back home and be back "in the world". I will cherish our time at camp forever. So thankful that I have the calling that I have so that I can work so closely with the young women in our Stake. They are remarkable young women.

Saturday we spent almost the whole day doing beans. I canned 33 quarts of beans on Saturday and that took us all day and part of the day on Monday to get them all pressured. Then on Monday, I spent all day doing Salsa---I did 43 bottles of fresh salsa. Almost all of the ingredients came from my garden. The garden is doing great and we feel so blessed to have harvested so much already.
I really love my garden, it gives me such pleasure in knowing that I have grown all this food and it just keeps coming. In the winter months, it is so nice to go down to the storage room and see all that produce just waiting for you. What a blessing a garden is!!! It is so much work and so time consuming right now, but I wouldn't miss all that hard work for anything--it is just too rewarding for me!!!

CAMP AND CANNING

I am so thankful for my garden. Once it starts producing, it just keeps coming and I can't stop it. I have bottled over 50 quarts of green beans so far and I am hoping to get about 150 more. We eat a lot of green beans. I have been so busy with camp preparations that it is hard sometimes to take the time to do my canning.
Camp is a week from Monday and I am ready to go and execute all of our plans. I have decided that camp in August is not the best time---planning camp consumes your whole summer and it is right in the middle of getting kids ready to start back to school. But I am excited and ready to go and see how the Spirit works on these great YW at Heber Valley Camp. I just pray that I have the stamina to make it through all the stress just to get there.

A TRUE VACATION!!!

Last week Michael and I had a true vacation. It was just the perfect get-a-way. No kids. Girls were at the Blairs and James was in Alabama visiting friends.
Our time together was just so precious and so fun. Now it is Monday and it is back to work---darn!!! We went down to Manti to the Temple and just had such a fabulous experience there. The workers in the temple just make you feel so special and loved because you are there. It is such a beautiful temple, it holds a very special place in our hearts--that's where we were married 21 years ago. We stayed at a little bed and breakfast called the Manti House Inn. We were the only ones there that night and so we had the place to ourselves. Breakfast was intimate--since it was just the two of us and it was so delicious. Then we journeyed to Fish Lake, Capitol Reef, and we stayed at a little place in Loa, Utah called The Snuggle Inn. It was a pretty nice place but not as quiet as our previous nights stay. We took a hike through Capitol Reef and it was so blazing hot, I thought that we were going to melt and no one would ever find us up on the rocks. We drove back home on Friday and we just talked and laughed, remembering days of years gone by. It was really hard coming home-- back to kids, work, camp, and just regular life stuff that takes all your energy and time. It was a fabulous week and I am so thankful for the wonderful husband that I have. Thanks for 21 wonderful years of marriage. You will forever by my best friend and eternal companion. Love you Michael!!! Let's go again soon!!!

HIS 43rd BIRTHDAY IS TODAY!!!

Just wanted to wish my wonderful husband a Happy Birthday today. He is so good to me and our children. I am so thankful to have him as my eternal companion. We have been married 21 years now and I look so forward to the next 100 years and eternity with him. I love you Michael Blair. I can't wait to have you to myself this week. We are going to have a great time-- just you and me!!!!

ONE ROCK AT A TIME

Owning a home means that you always have projects to do either in your home or in the yard. We decided that to save money, we would clear off the area on the side of our house and put in gravel--cement was just too costly for us right now.
With the help of James, Kae Lee, and our next door neighbor, we moved 12 TONS of gravel. Wow--what a project that was. It took us all day long but it looks really good and James has a place to park his car now. When they delivered the rocks, I didn't think it looked like very much, but when we started moving it, it was too much to handle in one day. But we did it all---one rock at a time.

NO SUMMER VACATION---YET!!

Brynna is taking a summer PE class so that she doesn't have to take it during the school year. It started the Monday after the regular school year ended for the Summer. She attends Monday through Thursday for 4 hours each day. After school, she goes to babysit four little kids for a couple of hours. She is feeling like she really doesn't get a summer because of her busy schedule everyday. But one thing she does like----the money she is making from babysitting. She is looking forward to when she doesn't have to be up at 6:30 and she can sleep in just like James and Kae Lee. Your turn is coming Brynna!!! July isn't that far away!!

HUSBANDS MAKE SACRIFICES TOO

I was checking my email yesterday when I noticed an invitation to attend the rehearsal of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's concert tour that night. I was so excited thinking that this was a great opportunity to see them perform all the songs they were doing on their tour back East. And better yet----it was FREE!!!! I have truly grown to love the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and it is mostly because of a wonderful choir director we had in Alabama. Her name is Sarah Draughon and she was an amazing choir director. She helped me to gain a greater appreciation of this wonderful choir. I love watching and listening to MoTab---they are just so talented and they blend so well together.

I knew that Michael had much to do last night in preparation to go to Zion's Camp with James. I called him up and told him about the concert. He knew that it was something that I really wanted to do and plus--he knew that I had missed out on both of their Concerts last year. So, my wonderful husband cancelled everything just so that he could drive back to downtown Salt Lake and watch the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform--just because he loves me!!! I can not even say in words my thoughts and feelings of the concert----it was just amazing!!! I cried through so many of their songs. They sang so many of my favorites---I think it was mostly the Lord's Tender Mercies for me: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Homeward Bound, Climb Every Mountain and so on. They are an amazing choir and the spirit was so strong and I was just so thankful that I could be a part of it. Thanks Michael for making those sacrifices for me----I love you!!!

I LOVE TO SEE THE TEMPLE!!!

Our family planned a trip to the new temple at Daybreak---who can spell the name of it? It was a cloudy rainy day but we didn't let the weather stop us. We have so few days and nights that we are all together especially with James' work schedule, my meetings, Michael's meetings, and other church activities that we decided that this was the day to go. What a beautiful temple it is. We felt such a beautiful and peaceful spirit once we entered the doors. I was surprised at how small it seemed once we were inside, all the endowment rooms were quite small but very beautiful. Then we entered the Celestial Room and wow----you can just feel the spirit so strong. Brynna was crying and felt such a peaceful feeling in there. We went into a Sealing Room where a sweet couple explained what took place in this beautiful room. I couldn't help but feel so thankful that we are sealed together as a family. Everyone left the room but we stood together as a family and looked at the huge mirrors placed there to see how your family just goes on and on--a Celestial moment for us---what a great blessing the Temple is to us. I love my family and I am forever grateful that I have the Gospel in my life. I couldn't bear the thoughts of eternity without them. Heaven to me is having no empty chairs.

GRADUATIONS HAVE BEGUN!!!

It was James' Seminary Graduation last night. Michael's parents came up to have dinner with us and attend the graduation with us. It was a very nice evening with Michael's parents and our own children.

It was a very nice program and there were some great things said to the graduating students. They were admonished to keep going, don't stop now that you have finished Seminary--continue on and take institute--be involved.

So much emotion involved with having your children grow up----move on. It is a very difficult thing for me. I know that James is feeling a little bit of the emotion of all of this, too. I think that he is realizing that in a few months, he is going to be all on his own and there won't be a mom or dad to tell him what to do.

I think that he will do well. He is strong in his testimony and he is obedient. Seminary has been a great tool for him to learn more about the Gospel and learn how to recognize the Spirit. He has had amazing teachers--one of them including his own Dad. It has been a great experience for him to have had both Early Morning Seminary and Release Time at school. Now he appreciates what a great sacrifice it is for the youth who have Early Morning Seminary to make it to Seminary every day!!!! Someday he might be a Seminary teacher---it would be a great calling for him. I hope that he will continue to nourish his testimony through prayer and scripture study everyday.

THE END IS NEAR!!!!!

I am so glad that the end of the school year is just about here!!!
James has been so stressed with class projects. I was ready to send him some
place else while he finished because he was awful!!! Brynna has continued to have
homework every night this week. She was up until 1:30 the other night finishing one of her projects. Kae Lee is trying hard to finish her suit jacket before the end of school. So much to be done and most of kids have no interest to do any of it---I think they are just ready for summer and want to be done with school. I AM TOO!!!!

James will have Seminary Graduation this Sunday, High School Graduation on June 5, and his Eagle Court on Honor on June 14. Wow---so much going on and it is all good!!
It is great to have kids that do well in school and want to get the good grades. It takes a great deal of work and time but it is well worth it in the end.
I am very proud of my kids----they are just simply amazing!!!!

MY SWEET SIXTEEN KAE LEE!!!!!

Today is Kae Lee's 16th birthday!!!! Happy Birthday to my first born daughter!!!!
I remember this date all too well back on May 18, 1993. I was ordered by the doctor to go and have a non-stress test done at the hospital because Kae Lee was already at her due date and I was showing no signs of delivering a baby anytime soon. The doctor told me that he would let me go one more week before scheduling a C-section. I wanted to see if I could deliver this baby without a C-section--it wasn't meant to be. I spent quite a bit of time at the hospital doing the non-stress test and my stomach was just grumbling because I was SO hungry. They did the test twice but didn't say much to us afterwards. They told us that the specialist would take a look at it and we could wait in this room until they had the report back. I was so hungry so Michael went and got me a candy bar---a Butterfinger to be exact. I inhaled it because I was just so hungry. As soon as I ate it and threw the wrapper away, the nurse came around the corner and said "Did you just eat something?". I told her that I just ate a candy bar. She told me that they needed to take me to labor and deliver immediately and that I was having a baby today. So, I became "the one who just ate a candy bar" to all the nurses and anesthesiologist. Don't you know you aren't supposed to have food 24 hours before surgery? OOPS!!! My Bad!!!
So----they scheduled an emergency C-section for Kae Lee. She was certainly not an
emergency compared to James' emergency C-section!!! We were never told what the problem was with Kae Lee, we just knew that the doctor wanted to get her out ASAP!!!
The C-section went smoothly and we had a beautiful baby girl born to us that afternoon about 4:00pm and she was just so perfect. She was a big baby weighing in at 9lbs. 8 Oz's. and 21" long. She was just really swollen in her face when she was born. Maybe she was supposed to come sooner. Who knows? It was a very happy day for us to finally get this bouncing baby girl. She was beautiful and such a good baby.
Now that baby has grown up and she is more beautiful than ever. What a delight Kae Lee is to our family. She is cheerful, creative, very good at art,funny, loves children, kind to everyone, plays the piano, loves music, strong in the Gospel, loves her brother and sister. She is just an amazing young lady. We love her so much and we are so proud of her. Michael and I feel very blessed to have her as our daughter. Happy Birthday Kae Lee. Hope today is a special day for you!!!

A DIFFERENT TYPE OF SERVICE

Last week I went and spent a couple of hours helping at the Humanitarian Center in Salt Lake putting together kits to send to Mexico because of the swine flu epidemic.
I had never been inside of that place and I was really impressed with all the stuff they do there. It was a great experience for me to be a part of that large group of people putting together these kits that would aid them in helping to stop the spreading of the sickness. I was glad that I went to give of my time.

On Saturday, the youth from our Stake had a service project out on Antelope Island. We went out there and picked up trash---there really wasn't that much to pick up.
We were literally eaten up by the bugs. Michael looked like he had a bad case of the chicken pox by the time we got home. I had bites in my hair line, on my ears, nose and the back of my neck--pretty much everywhere. But, we did a good deed and it felt good to be of service to someone.

Yesterday I spent 3 1/2 hours cleaning the Ogden Temple. It was a different type of service to do in the Temple but it was very needed. I was asked to help wash the windows on the second floor. It was cold outside at first and my feet were soaking wet. As the sun started to warm us and I got my body moving from scrubbing the dirty windows, I felt good inside for the service that I was able to render. It was actually very gratifying because we could see immediate progress.

I am so thankful that giving service is so gratifying and makes me appreciate what I have. I know that I could always do more for others. I know that I get more out of it than the ones that I serve. I just hope that I have taught my children that giving service and working hard can be fun. I know that I could be a better example for them in this area. I will try to be better.

ALWAYS SOMETHING GOING ON...

James and Keegan competed in a Dutch Oven cook off at his High School and got best main dish. They had so much fun preparing their dish of Italian and Cheesy Pheasant with potatoes, tons of cheese and special seasonings with vegetables. It looked really good. I didn't get to try it but James said that the flavors were just so different but so good. They were pretty proud of themselves. These boys LOVE to COOK!!! They got so sunburned that day, they were outside for most of the day.






Kae Lee is taking a sewing class at school and she has become a sewing machine---literally. She sews every chance she gets and she is REALLY good at it, too!!!
This is a picture of her and Brynna with denim jean skirts that she made. She is going through every pattern that I have and checking to see what fabric she can use and then goes to work making whatever her little heart desires. Go Kae Lee. I told her that I was so glad that she found so much enjoyment in sewing. She helps all the other girls at school because she knows what she is doing and they appreciate her help. I know this is a skill that she will be so thankful that she has. She is a chip off the "old block"!!! Good Job---Kae Lee!

Brynna earned an award from her Math teacher for trying so hard in class. I was proud of her for sticking to it and never giving up. She is the Little Engine who kept saying " I think I can, I think I can, I think I can". Math is hard and she works so hard to get good grades. Thank goodness her Dad is right there to help her with her homework. She is a great student and she is doing so well in school. We are so proud of you Brynna. Keep up the great work, you are almost done with this school year. Yippee!!!

Michael and I are so proud of our kids---is that okay to be proud of your children?
They work hard in school and they are so good to each other. We are so blessed to have such amazing children. They must get that from their Dad. Love you kids---you are the very best!!!!

WHERE OH WHERE DID MY LITTLE BOY GO???

I can feel the emotions rising as we prepare for the last days of High School for my one and only son. Gosh---how and why does it all happen so quickly? What do we learn from this very short time together? Is he really ready to be on his own at college? Is he really ready to cut the home strings that have been so attached for over 18 years?

James has been and still is a great kid. He has a wonderful sense of humor and he loves to have fun. He has great leadership skills and has been asked to use those skills throughout his life in many different areas: Teaching piano for 5 years, the "lead" at work, serving as president in priesthood quorums, Zion's camp presidency, and many other leadership positions. I hope that he knows that a great leader will always be something that the world needs right now.

James is a great example to his family and friends. He doesn't speak ill of anyone. He is very responsible and he enjoys helping other people. He reads his scriptures every day and he has shared his testimony every Fast Sunday for the last three months. He is doing what he can to prepare himself for his mission in a year.
He loves his two sisters and knows how to speak their language. He is a spiritual giant in our lives and we will miss him when he leaves our home.

I just don't think that I am ready to have my one and only son gone from me. I haven't taught him everything yet!! Where did my little boy go? I know where he went, he has grown into a handsome young man who is ready to move on with life and be what we have taught him to be, and be what his Heavenly Father wants him to be.
I just hope that he never forgets that our home is his home--always!!!
Love you James--thanks for being such a great young man!!!

SPRING=HARD WORK!!!

I love the Spring--don't get me wrong. It is just that there is so much to do out in the yard during this beautiful time of year. I hauled two loads of compost to the garden from the dump ( I get it from the dump because it is pretty inexpensive).
I spread it all over the garden and my flower beds and Michael tilled it all in for me. It looked very rich and ready to be planted--I just love the way it looks after it has been freshly tilled. I actually planted some peas yesterday. My tomato and pepper seedlings are getting bigger but not quite yet big enough to plant in the garden yet---they are like my little babies. I love seeing the lawn turning all pretty and green but I despise all the wasps that swarm outside no matter where I am. The wasps must be a "Utah" thing. I have spent most of my days this week in the yard getting it ready for flowers and vegetables. I lather up with sunscreen, water, put the hat on and go outside to enjoy the beauty that Spring has finally brought me. I do really love Spring!!

SUNDAY WILL ALWAYS COME

Easter morning was just beautiful when the sun rose up over the mountains. My thoughts turned to that day so long ago when the Savior rose from the tomb. How thankful I am that we will all rise and we will be reunited again with our loved ones. I love Easter and the purpose for this beautiful holiday. I am so thankful for my Savior and his unconditional love for me. I think about the great gift of the Atonement and feel that at times I am so undeserving of His great love and mercy for me. I truly stand amazed at that kind of love. I know He lives and that someday I may fall at his feet and express my great love to Him. For it truly is wonderful that he could care for me enough to die for me. I love that Hymn "I Stand All Amazed",I can't sing it without tears. What a wonderful gift to have such blessings given to us because someone loves us so much.

I think about the talk that Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin gave not too long ago about the gift of the resurrection. He talked about the loneliness of being without his sweet wife after her passing. I loved that talk and I think about it quite often when I have some struggles in life. I try to remember that Sunday will always come.

On a lighter note, we had the "BIG" Jasperson Easter, Spring, and Birthday party at our house on Saturday. Dad turned 75 on Friday and so we partied to make him feel special and loved by his family. It takes so much work to plan and prepare for those parties but it turned out great. We had 35 people and we had to put everyone downstairs because it was not really good weather outside. It as a house full but it was so much fun. I love seeing those little kids play together and just have fun at my house. The food was good. We felt bad that our turkey didn't get finished in time for us to serve it at dinner time. It was a really large turkey and it took a really long time to cook in the trash can. We shared some with everyone and we will have lots of turkey dishes this week to use up the rest. We were glad to know that we could fit everyone in our basement and that we could have heat to warm it up when it is cold. It was fun seeing everyone and getting caught up on siblings and their children. It is good to be back in Utah and we can participate more in the family activities and even host the parties every once in awhile. We love you all and thank you for coming. We missed those that couldn't come and look forward to the time we can all be together.

OUR OLDER JAMES

This is James at the Clark Planetarium with a huge expandable ball on his head.

It was James' birthday on Saturday. I can't believe that I have a son that is 18 years old. He is just a great young man. I don't know what I did right to have such a great kid as my own. We spent the day together as a family. We went to the Clark Planetarium to see the IMAX movie "Under the Sea" in 3D. It was just amazing.After the movie we went to Applebees for dinner and the food was very yummy and filling. I was just amazed at how much food James could eat. The girls and I had the General Young Women broadcast to go to that night so James and his Dad just stayed home listening to basketball games.



This is James on Mars---he's still good looking even on Mars!!


We have this tradition that on our children's birthday, we have to talk about their birth and how excited we were as parents to have them finally here. James' birth was very scary--we almost lost our first child. He was an emergency C-section because he had the cord wrapped around his neck twice and a true knot in the cord. We feel so blessed to have his as a part of our family. I hope that he always knows the great love his parents have for him.
James passed his board of review for his Eagle and he passed with flying colors. So, James is legally an Eagle. We will plan the Court of Honor for a future date.
James, you are an amazing young man--we love you so much. Always be a good example.

WEEKEND WITH MIXED EMOTIONS

We were so excited on Friday for James, he completed his Eagle Project. He completed 163 education packets for the Church Humanitarian Center and we went Friday to deliver all of them. Because of his hard work in earning his Eagle, his grandparents gave him a 1997 Toyota Camry. He was really excited that he will have a car to take to BYU with him in the Fall. Now James has his own wheels.

Sunday morning our great friends from Alabama came to see us and attend Church with us. It was so great seeing them. They are such great friends and we have so much fun with them. Their son, Jim, and our son, James, are best buddies but he couldn't come because he had to get back to Alabama. They were all in California for their their other sons wedding. They ate lunch with us and then we all went and attended the Draper Temple dedication. What a great day it was except for the fact that Michael left at 1:00 to go to the airport to fly to San Diego. He will be back this week but we have sure missed him. I just don't handle it very well with Michael being gone. I don't sleep and I have come down with a terrible cold. I need my spouse back home. The kids miss their dad terribly and I am no fun right now because I just don't feel very good. Hopefully all will be better once we are all reunited as a family. I love you Michael Blair--hurry home!!!

SPRING IS HERE------KIND OF!!!

I just LOVE this weather!!! I am enjoying so much this weather that makes it possible to go outside without a jacket on. I love to see the trees starting to get little buds on them, the tulips are poking their little heads up out of the ground, the grass is greening up, and the birds are chirping away in the trees. I love to see how the earth comes out of it's winter coat and becomes so alive with color. During the day I opened all the windows and just let the fresh air rush into my home and fill it with that wonderful smell of the out doors. I opened our window to sleep last night and I laid there just listening to the sounds of the night, sounds that I haven't heard for a long time because my house has been so closed up. It is just energizing to me to have this warm weather back, but wait, did they say possible snow in the forecast for Sunday maybe even into Monday? I am hoping that they are wrong. I would rather have Spring here to stay and let the metamorphosis of the earth continue!! What a beautiful world we have!!!

ALMOST FINISHED!!!! YIPEE

It is so close to being finished: James' Eagle Project.
He has been working really hard on this project and I think that it has been kind of fun for him. He went and passed out fliers with another friend on Monday and it was snowing so hard, they about froze. Some of the Young Men from our ward went with him on Wednesday night to do some collecting and they got less than a third of the ward done. They collected over $300.00, not bad for one night. He went out again last night to do more collecting and he is getting some great contributions which should allow him to do about 150 school kits for the Humanitarian Center. He is going out again tomorrow morning to finish up his collecting and then we can order the supplies. He plans on having all the youth help at their activity on Wednesday night and put the kits together. We will deliver them to the Center sometime the end of next week. He can have is Board of Review and it will be done---just in the nick of time--before his 18th birthday. Good Job James---we knew you could do it!!!

YOUNG AMBASSADORS

My wonderful mother has such a great love for music. As a young girl, my mother started me singing in front of large groups so that I would not be afraid of performing in front of others. I learned at a very young age that being in the spotlight was a fun and exciting place. Our family had a performing group called "The Sounds of Youth" in which we sang, danced, made people laugh and cry. Those were fun times with my family. I was never scared to go out and perform my songs either by myself or with the group. I discovered that I loved being in the spotlight. Being a performer on the stage was something I loved.

I truly loved those days of performing. I make my own kids sing in Church or other places just so that they can feel what it is like to experience the excitement of
performing in front of a crowd. I don't think they have had the same feelings about it as I did at such a young age.

I have always wanted to see the BYU YOUNG AMBASSADORS perform but have never had the chance until now. They performed at James and Kae Lee's High School. When I found out they were performing so close to home, I bought tickets for the whole family and told them that this was for me. I had hope that they would enjoy it also.
Well, from the moment the production started, we were all hooked into their music, costumes, lights, and energy. They were just incredible as they performed songs from the 60's down to the present time. They even did some songs from the play
"Wicked" and it was just incredible. It made us wish that we could go and see "Wicked". We laughed, sang, cried, and just enjoyed their show so much. We were sad when the time was over and the end was coming all to quickly. To close the show, the whole crew sat on the front of the stage and sang " I Am A Child of God". Wow--what spiritual way to end an incredible performance. It was just amazing. It
literally took my breath away. Maybe if I would have kept up with my own dreams to perform in front of the crowds, I could have been part of the Young Ambassadores when I was younger. You just never know.

Bring on Spring!!

I love to see the weather getting warmer and the snow melting. I am anxious to get out and wake up my yard and bring it back to life with fertilizer and some beautiful flowers. I am ready to get my flower beds in and make my yard complete.

I did plant my little garden in cups a week ago and they are already beginning to sprout. I don't know what it is about planting a garden , but I just love seeing those little seedlings come up and grow. My dad grows an incredible garden. I only wish that someday I can be as good at it as he is. I had a wonderful garden last year. It grew so much food for us, I felt so blessed to have been able to can so much of our own garden. I hope that it will do just as good or better this year. I know that they take so much time and work but I know it is worth it. We have been able to go downstairs and pick whatever we want from the shelf and I feel so good knowing that I grew that food. Let the Spring begin and I can get the rest of my garden in.

A FAMILY DAY

Jared Peterson and his family on Lexi's baptism day. Lexi is the first great-grand child to be baptized.

We drove down to Spanish Fork on Saturday to attend Lexi Peterson's baptism. It takes us about 1 1/2 hours to get down there. We wanted to support Jared and his family. Plus, it gives us a chance to see all of my family in one setting. James had to work and we were missing him not being with us that day.
Since we have moved back to Utah, we have had many occasions to get together and celebrate with our families. We have tried our very best to be there and be a part of the celebration for whomever it is. We have missed out on these events for so many years, that we feel that we are here and we want to be a part of these family events. We love our families and we are so thankful for their continued love and support on our behalf. We truly love all of you and love the times we can spend together. We miss those of you who are miles away from us. We look forward to those times we can all be together again. Families are Forever!!!

THE ACHING IN MY HEART

This is Master Chef James---What's Cookin'?

How did I get to the point where I am right now? I know that it was through my choices, keeping promises, having Faith, and trusting in the Lord. I hope that my children will always know what direction they are going in life. I hope that they can have good lives and be happy with who and what they are.

Michael and I have been blessed with three fabulous children. I just don't know what happened to my sweet little babies that used to keep me up all night. Michael says that we both blinked and they grew up--just like that.

Michael and I got talking about James leaving for college last night and I could feel the emotion and the impact of that settling in on me. The flood gates broke and I had to have a cry because of the aching in my heart for my son who will be leaving in about six months to go to college. I am not ready for him to leave our home. I am not ready for him to be on his own and be his own man. I have not taught him everything he needs to know about keeping house, budgeting, laundry, sewing, and the female gender. I just feel like I have not had enough time with him and now he is going to leave and only come back home as a visitor. That is just a hard thought. He will to school, he will go on a mission next year, come home, go back to school, and then get married. My heart is just not ready for all this. I love my James and he will be greatly missed when he goes to college. I just hope that as he leaves our home, he will always have fond memories of his childhood. I hope that he will miss us as much as we will miss him. I think that we will all have aching hearts when that separation happens. But, until that time, it's party time!!!
P.S. just FYI---Provo High School took first place at the Prostart competition. They have won it the last six years in a row. That is my alma mater!!! Go Bulldogs!

I AM OFFICIALLY A QUEEN!!!

I got my new crown yesterday and so I am a true Queen!!! I thought it would be a very simple and quick procedure. I mean all they had to do was snap it in place and glue it in. Right!? I was there for about an hour and fifteen minutes while the dentist tried to get that crown on and make it stay put. I am really tired of having things done in my mouth and feeling so much pain that I can feel the tears stinging my eyes. Yesterday was one of those experiences. The dentist ended up giving me six shots to get me numb so that he could cut away the gums so that the crown could fit into place. The numbing medicine makes my heart just race and makes me so light headed. I felt like I was going to be sick I was so light headed. Needless to say, the crown finally fell into place, it is glued and is holding, my gums are so sore today, but I finally have a tooth where there has been a space for one year. I hope it is worth all this when my mouth is finally healed up and I can eat on that side again. Michael said that I didn't need a crown to be his queen, I have been his queen for 20 years!!!

WHAT IS YOUR MARRIAGE WORTH?

Michael and I have been married for over twenty years now and we certainly love each other more now than we did twenty years ago. But we still want to have a relationship with each other that is growing and is exciting. Since our marriage means so much to us, we decided to attend a Marriage Conference at Weber State on Friday night. It was a great date night activity--Michael's planning, of course.

There were so many good points brought out in the conference that I don't want to forget and Michael and I really want to implement them into our marriage.
Here are a few of the really good points to remember--this is for both of us:

Prove your love for your spouse by spoiling them every day!!! Wow--what a concept.
Michael and I talked about this one on the the way home and sometimes it is hard to know how to do that. You have to talk about those things that your spouse does that makes you happy and makes you feel loved. Open up and be honest about it.

Remember the three "L's" and the "T"----Look, Laugh, Listen and Touch. Do these four things everyday with your spouse. Look at each other and notice your spouse: their eyes, the color of their hair, just anything that you see in them and compliment them. Laugh with your spouse several times a day--be silly. Relax and don't be so serious all the time. Listen to your spouse--really listen. Listen to what their heart is really telling you. Touch each other: either by a kiss, a pat on the shoulder or a big bear hug. Make that connection with each other through touch.

Men want to feel: Accomplished, that they are contributing, and that they can save the lady--be our knight in shining armor.
Women want to feel: Like they are seen or noticed, they are beautiful, and that they can make the world more beautiful.

There is so much to learn about relationships and how to improve upon them. I listened very carefully to all that was said and I really want to improve my relationship with Michael and our children. I really want to create a safe ground for Michael so that he feels like he can talk to me about anything and not feel threatened by me and my feelings. We have opened up our hearts and talked about some feelings that we have and we both agree that we want our marriage to be green and growing--not ripe and rotting. We feel closer and I love that feeling. I just wish that I could keep that feeling forever. I know that I need to change some things and focus more on Michael than on my own selfish needs. I married a wonderful man and I am a much better person today because of his great love and example for me.
I feel so blessed to be married to a man who is sensitive to me and my needs. Thank you Michael, I love you so much. May our days be filled with good things to contribute to our true happiness together. I love my life with you.
I promise to make you feel more loved and do my very best to spoil you every day.

BRYNNA'S BIRTHDAY!!!!

Happy Birthday to our Brynna who will be a big thirteen tomorrow. I can't believe that my baby is a teen-ager. She was born on a very snowy winter day. The power was out all over the area and the roads had not been plowed. The only reason that we were even out on the roads that day was to go and have a baby. We are so thankful that she is a part of our family. She is a sweetheart with a huge heart and is always doing good things for other people. She is happy and is very talented in singing and loving everyone. We love our Brynna and wish her a wonderful day tomorrow.

WHAT A BUNCH OF PROS!!!!

This was their menu: Teriyaki salmon, miso soup, wonton apple dessert.
Doesn't it all just look so yummy?


Zach, James, and Keegan--Prostart Team #10


This was the team on Wednesday. James, Keegan, and Zach. They worked very well together, in fact, they probably worked better with just the three of them than they did with four. That was a blessing for them--they worked as a team.

Michael and I went to see them at the competition. James was so surprised to see his Dad there, too. It was really hard to see anything because they were on the very back row and it was really dark in the room.

They had a great time and their food turned out beautifully. The only glitch they had was that the dessert was supposed to have some whipped cream on the top but it all spilled out of the container en route to the competition. Oh well, it looks great. They all agreed that it was their best effort ever.
We won't know the results until May.

I love to have teachers tell me how great my kids are and it was payday on the day of competition. James' teacher just told us what a very nice young man he is. She made him the "Lead" of the team because he did whatever she asked him to do, no questions asked. She has really helped and inspired these young men with her own cooking skills and her fun way of teaching. She has just been amazing at our school.
It was a fun day and those boys were quite exhausted when they were done.
GREAT JOB TEAM!!!!!

BIG DAY!!!

Today is a big day for James. It is his big Prostart competition. They have already started of on a negative note, one of their team members is too ill to participate in the competition. Now they are one man short and will have to do some double duty at times during the preparation. He was so excited this morning and so ready to go and get started. We wish James and his team the very best of luck. We hope that today is their very best EVER!!!! I will keep you posted. I will be attending the competition and looking forward to watching James' team take first place.

GOOD NEWS!!!

Never a dull moment at this house. With my three children and husband, there is always something good going on in our home. Kae Lee had to take her driving test on Friday and passed with flying colors. She was pretty excited and proud of herself. She still has to drive on the range at school but she passed the hard driving test.
James was notified by BYU that he has been accepted for the Fall semester with a tuition scholarship. We were so excited and proud of our James. I think that he is getting excited about going to college and living on campus. Brynna babysat three little boys all day on Saturday and lived to tell the tale. It was a long day for her.

Michael and I celebrated V-day on Friday night. We ate dinner at a really nice place where they serve you all the yummy meats you can eat. We got in on the lunch special so the price was right. Then we went to the Bountiful Temple to witness the sealing of some good friends of ours--Todd and Dana. What a great place to be--in the Temple--to celebrate V-day. I love my sweetheart and so thankful that our marriage was done in the right place, the right time, by the right authority almost 21 years ago. And I love him so much more now than I did on that wonderful day.

Saturday--Valentine's Day-- was kind of a strange day. James' team lost their game on Saturday but it was really fun watching him play--he is a good little player. Kae Lee was babysitting two children in our home while their parents went out. I offered to take on two more children so their parents could go out. What a crazy house it was with those four little ones running around and screaming at each other. Michael was a good sport and helped me entertain all those little ones. It made us realize why the Lord gives us our children while we are young. It was a long night but we had fun with those little kids, they didn't want to go home when their parents came to get them. It was a differet V-day for us-but it felt good to do service for someone else. I will plan better for next year. I love my Michael!!

WHAT A BLESSING!!!

James prepared well in advance to receive his Patriarchal blessing. He fasted and prayed so that he could be ready to hear those incredible words that would be shared with him from our Stake Patriarch. Wow--what a blessing it was. I already thought he was an incredible young man, now I know that our Heavenly Father feels the same way. James has his work cut out for him as he prepares to go on a mission in a little over a year. I know that he will be a great influence on many people as he strives to serve and be obedient in all things. He is one great one young man. Michael and I feel so blessed to have him as our son.

Kae Lee had to go driving at 6:00am this morning and she has not felt well all week. She has caught an awful cold and she has rubbed her nose until it is bright red. We strongly encouraged her to go this morning in spite of her not feeling well. We knew that if she didn't go, the other girl driving with her would lose out on her opportunity to drive today also. Kae Lee was quite nervous about going driving with someone she didn't even know. She had to drive first, in the dark, and on roads she wasn't too familiar with. She called me from school and said that she was still alive. THANK GOODNESS FOR THAT!!!! I know that this driving business is scary and nerve racking---for both of us. She is gaining confidence and doing quite well. I know that she will just get better and better as she continues to drive every day this week. Good Job Kae Lee

UNEXPECTED FIRE DRILL

Poor Brynna called this morning at about 9:00am and said that the school had been evacuated because the fire alarm had gone off. She told me that they had to stand outside in the snow for about 45 minutes. Yes---it has been snowing all morning today and it just so happened that all those Junior High kids had to stand out in the lovely snow while the fire department checked out the problem inside.
By the time the kids could go back inside the building, they were all soaked from top to bottom. Poor kids. Brynna was so cold and just very wet from her jacket down to her soaking wet shoes. I took her some dry clothes so that she could be warm and dry. What a great way to start her Monday. Most thankful that she was safe and that it wasn't a real fire drill. The school was a mess with all the parents coming to either check their children out of school or just to bring them some dry clothing and shoes. What a crazy Monday.

WHO SAID THEY COULD GROW UP?

This is an old picture of our family---we are always changing.


I know that we raise our children to be independent and be on their own someday, but I am not sure I am ready for that stage in life. These are good days with my children and I get sad whenever I think about James going away to college in the fall. Kae Lee is learning how to drive and if that isn't a sign of growing up, I don't know what is. Brynna is developing into a beautiful young women who is very sensitive to all the "yuck" she hears and sees at school. It bothers her and she wishes that there was something she could do about it. Oh the joys of Junior High life.

I love my children so much. I just wonder if I am teaching them everything they need to know to "go out into the world". I can't possibly have a son turning
eighteen next month or a daughter turning thirteen this month or a daughter turning sixteen in May. What happened to those little babies I used to have? At times I want them to stay the ages they are and keep their sweet innocence. But, I know that is not possible so I must enjoy these precious times now. I feel so blessed to feel such a closeness with my children right now. I just hope that never leaves when they leave this place they call "home".

Getting new tooth!!

I went to the dentist today and got fitted for my new crown. After almost one year, I will finally have a crown where there has been no tooth. I had to have a root canal done twice on a tooth and ended up having it extracted anyway. What a pain it has been---literally. I am tired of having work done on my mouth. Right now, I have a metal post poking up in my mouth and it looks and feels really strange. I have never had a dental implant before and this has been quite the learning experience. I am sure that it will be worth all the bother when it is all finished. But for two weeks, my tongue is just going to keep playing with that metal post in my mouth. Can't wait to get my new tooth--well--- crown anyway. Hope this lasts forever.

MY SON THE COOK!!!

James is so excited about his cooking competition. Their food looks so good and he says that it tastes good too. He is having so much fun learning how to cook. I have my own personal chef in the house. He isn't at home much to cook but when he does cook, he does an excellent job. Rachel Ray eat your heart out!!!!

KAE LEE IS BEAUTIFUL!!

Kae Lee was so excited for this big day, it was like Christmas for her. She got her braces off today. After 19 months of being very deligent in doing what Dr. Peck told her to do, her efforts paid off and she has a beautiful smile. She just kept feeling her teeth with her tongue and telling me how strange they felt. She smiled all the way back to school and she hasn't stopped smiling since. What a wonderful thing it is to have people who can change your total look by using orthodontics.
Kae Lee is beautiful and it was worth all those thousands of dollars to get her where she is today. She finally loves her smile and so do we.

 

Happy Birthday to my Mom!!!

My Mom will be 74 tomorrow. Just wanted to wish her a wonderful day. This picture was taken at her party on Saturday night. She is not one year's old. She just didn't want to blow out 74 candles. Love you Mom!! Happy Birthday!

What a great weekend!!

We did so much this weekend and it was all so good and so fun. I wish that every weekend could be so full of fun memories to look back on.

Friday afternoon we went to the Draper Temple Open House. What a beautiful Temple that is!! I was just so impressed with the beauty and the Spirit that is in that Holy place even though it has not been dedicated yet. We loved the Celestial Room and also the baptistery. We then made a trip to dinner and then on to Michael's parent's home. Michael's mom has been cleaning out stuff from under her stairs and she had clothes, books, pictures, and blankets all over her floor. Michael and the children decided that they needed to go through all the stuff and find what goods they wanted to keep. James found an old tuxedo that belonged to Grandpa Blair. He tried it on and it fit him like a glove, the pants were another story, they were HUGE on him. Michael wanted to wear his new "smokin'" jacket to church but I refused to let him go to "our" church with that on. The girls found so many treasures that Grandma was just delighted to get rid of all that "stuff".

Saturday found us down in Provo visiting with my parents and Kena Lee. It was great seeing my sister--we don't get to see her very often. It is Mom's birthday tomorrow and we got together for her birthday. Before going to dinner, we stopped in to see that new baby, Quinn. Oh, he is sooooo cute. We just wanted to eat him up. He is so sweet and he is just so new and he smelled so good. I wanted to take him home with me but I don't think Sammie would have beeen too happy about that. It was great seeing Emily. She looks great and seems to be doing well. Congrats to Nathan and Emily for a beautiful baby boy.

We ate at Prestwich Farms with the rest of the family. Mom had all of her children there for her birthday dinner. The food was yummy and the company was great. We went to Karla's house and played games and had cake and ice-cream. We are a loud bunch when we get together and play games. We had a great time and we all laughed at each other. We don't get to be together like that very often. It was great bonding time for all of us. Happy Birthday to my mom who will be 74 tomorrow. Love you Mom---hope this is a great year for you!!

KAE LEE HAS HER PERMIT

We took Kae Lee to get her permit yesterday and she passed with flying colors. It's amazing how well you can do on a test when you study. Her Driver's Ed teacher told the class that if they didn't have their permit, they were failing the class. Kae Lee is so concerned about her grades and that concerned her to think that she was failing a class before it even got started. She was pleased with herself. GO KAE LEE!

James is kind of bummed about his last semester of school. School can be fun if you have a good combination of good teachers and good friends in your class. I think that James is feeling like he has neither of those this semester. He got the Seminary teacher that no one likes and that made him sad. He has had such wonderful Seminary teachers and it's hard when you have one that is not so good. I just can't believe that he will done with High School in just a few short months. He is working so hard on getting his Eagle before he turns the ripe age of 18. We know that he can do it. We are very proud of him. GO JAMES!!!

Brynna stayed home from school yesterday because she had caught a bad cold. I felt bad for her because she had such a struggle on what to do because she had missed school last Thursday due to illness. She is feeling better today and went to school. She is still congested and coughing but I am hoping that the worst is over. She even went and played basketball for our ward YW team. She said that they got beat really bad but she had so much fun playing.
GO BRYNNA!

Life is good and we feel so blessed. Michael and I just look at our children and wonder how and why in the world did we get such awesome kids. We know why----
Heavenly Father spoils us!!!!