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!!!