Dear Kids,
It's dang cold here in Michigan! This afternoon I made a trip to Sams Club, Target, and JoAnns, and the wind cut through me like a knife. Later I found out that with the wind chill it was -1.
But here inside Sharon and Seth's house it's cozy and warm. Matthew is bowling with two balls and some spray cans and light sabers for bowling pins. Charlie just came home from a Batman birthday party. Sharon was gone too, for a couple of hours, and Lucy Jane let me know she wasn't pleased. It didn't matter that Sharon had just fed her, minutes before leaving. She sucked furiously on the pacifier that you put your finger into, and the tip of my finger went numb. No matter. At night, I'm on the Lucy shift from midnight until 2:00. We walk back and forth and practice Primary songs in Spanish. Lucy doesn't like the Spanish, or the songs, either. She only wants Sharon, so about 2:00 am, we wake up Sharon, and I go back to bed. It all works. This morning I slept in until 7:30 am, and was surprised to open my eyes and see that it was light outside. I thought it was just a porch light.
Monday morning, before I came to Michigan, I went snowboarding with Donna and Bevan. Nora had planned to come, too, but Addie was sick, so she couldn't get away. We had a great time. Here's a first: once when I crashed and went down, another snowboarder used me for a jump. I didn't even know until I saw him flying over me. Down at the lift, I confronted him about it. He said he could have gotten around me, but it was more fun to jump over me, instead. Is that why snowboarders have such wild reputations? Tuesday, on the plane from Salt Lake to Chicago, I sat by a cute young couple from Alabama. They were on their way home after a long weekend of snowboarding. I said, "Hey, I'm a snowboarder too! I was up at Brighton yesterday!" They were absolutely dumbfounded. The young man kept saying, "I just can't picture you snowboarding at Brighton. I just can't picture it." I don't know if he thought I was too old or too well-mannered or what. I'm not sure I ever really convinced them.
I'll be home again Tuesday afternoon, Groundhog Day. On the 7th, I'll be cooking Sunday dinner, and we'll be eating at 5:00. Hope to see most of you then!
Love, Mom
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Dear Kids,
I was thinking Sharon’s baby would be the next great-grandchild in my family, but who knew there would be three others born in the last four days? Charles and Julie had Lillian Rachel Allen, born on the 17th. Yesterday, Michelle was induced, and gave birth to Elijah David Findlay. A few hours later, Russell and Kristyn Allen had Steven Andrew Allen, born in Sacramento. I won’t give all the details of times and birth weights and sizes. You can see there’s an avalanche. Andy said his grandson is probably #198 in the family. There is supposed to be a big prize for #200. Too bad if Sharon and Seth were upstaged by all these other births, and still come out as #199, and don’t win the prize. Of course, when you’re ready to have a baby, you just want to get it done. Heck on the prize.
Dad and I had a great weekend trip to Idaho. We received a phone call from the Harpers late Thursday night saying that Connie would be married Saturday afternoon in the Rexburg temple. She and her fiancee, Paolo, have been trying to arrange it for a long time. He’s an Italian, in the Italian army, in special forces, most recently deployed to Afghanistan. He got a couple of weeks’ leave, but he had trouble getting into the country because he wore an Afghan headdress and fatigues, had a beard, looked like a terrorist, and joked around with the airport security people in Boston. I think he was detained for a whole day. He finally arrived in Rexburg on Thursday, and that’s when the Harpers made their phone calls. Of course we wouldn’t have missed it for anything. We left Friday afternoon and stayed overnight with Vanessa and Trent, which was really fun. Saturday we drove on up to Rexburg, and met all the Harpers at the temple. Afterwards, we had dinner with Chris and Bruce and some of Bruce’s brothers. And we found out more about Paolo. He’s been shot several times, but they keep patching him up and sending him back out. (No purple hearts and early discharges, like here.) His father was in special forces, and was killed five years ago. Connie’s going to live in Italy, so they can be together when he’s on leave. The whole thing is so un-Connie, un-Rexburg, it’s absolutely fascinating.
I’m leaving for Michigan Tuesday afternoon, and I’m looking forward to a wonderful week there. It will be fun to play with Charlie and Matthew, and well as seeing our new little granddaughter. Of course she’ll look exactly like Sharon!
I’ll be fixing Sunday dinner on February 7th. Be there or be square!
Lots of love, Mom
P.S. I just received the following by e-mail from Andy:
1) From the time Mom & Dad got married (Dec 1943) to the time of their last child, or #13 in the family, (Mark born June 1966) was 22.5 years.
2) From #13 to #25 (Renae married Andy in Feb 1976) the family size doubled in 9 years and 8 months.
3) From #25 to #50 (Jeannie married Richard in Aug 1983) the family size doubled in 7 years and 6 months.
4) From #50 to #100 (Amanda married Dan in May 2001) the family size doubled in 7 years and 9 months.
5) From #100 to #200 (Bekah's baby in Feb 2010) the family size doubled in 8 years and 9 months.
I have fit a least-squares regression exponential curve fit to the numbers. See enclosed EXCEL file. The model predicts about 350 family members by the year 2020.
I was thinking Sharon’s baby would be the next great-grandchild in my family, but who knew there would be three others born in the last four days? Charles and Julie had Lillian Rachel Allen, born on the 17th. Yesterday, Michelle was induced, and gave birth to Elijah David Findlay. A few hours later, Russell and Kristyn Allen had Steven Andrew Allen, born in Sacramento. I won’t give all the details of times and birth weights and sizes. You can see there’s an avalanche. Andy said his grandson is probably #198 in the family. There is supposed to be a big prize for #200. Too bad if Sharon and Seth were upstaged by all these other births, and still come out as #199, and don’t win the prize. Of course, when you’re ready to have a baby, you just want to get it done. Heck on the prize.
Dad and I had a great weekend trip to Idaho. We received a phone call from the Harpers late Thursday night saying that Connie would be married Saturday afternoon in the Rexburg temple. She and her fiancee, Paolo, have been trying to arrange it for a long time. He’s an Italian, in the Italian army, in special forces, most recently deployed to Afghanistan. He got a couple of weeks’ leave, but he had trouble getting into the country because he wore an Afghan headdress and fatigues, had a beard, looked like a terrorist, and joked around with the airport security people in Boston. I think he was detained for a whole day. He finally arrived in Rexburg on Thursday, and that’s when the Harpers made their phone calls. Of course we wouldn’t have missed it for anything. We left Friday afternoon and stayed overnight with Vanessa and Trent, which was really fun. Saturday we drove on up to Rexburg, and met all the Harpers at the temple. Afterwards, we had dinner with Chris and Bruce and some of Bruce’s brothers. And we found out more about Paolo. He’s been shot several times, but they keep patching him up and sending him back out. (No purple hearts and early discharges, like here.) His father was in special forces, and was killed five years ago. Connie’s going to live in Italy, so they can be together when he’s on leave. The whole thing is so un-Connie, un-Rexburg, it’s absolutely fascinating.
I’m leaving for Michigan Tuesday afternoon, and I’m looking forward to a wonderful week there. It will be fun to play with Charlie and Matthew, and well as seeing our new little granddaughter. Of course she’ll look exactly like Sharon!
I’ll be fixing Sunday dinner on February 7th. Be there or be square!
Lots of love, Mom
P.S. I just received the following by e-mail from Andy:
1) From the time Mom & Dad got married (Dec 1943) to the time of their last child, or #13 in the family, (Mark born June 1966) was 22.5 years.
2) From #13 to #25 (Renae married Andy in Feb 1976) the family size doubled in 9 years and 8 months.
3) From #25 to #50 (Jeannie married Richard in Aug 1983) the family size doubled in 7 years and 6 months.
4) From #50 to #100 (Amanda married Dan in May 2001) the family size doubled in 7 years and 9 months.
5) From #100 to #200 (Bekah's baby in Feb 2010) the family size doubled in 8 years and 9 months.
I have fit a least-squares regression exponential curve fit to the numbers. See enclosed EXCEL file. The model predicts about 350 family members by the year 2020.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Dear Kids,
What a blast we had on Sunday! Thanks to everybody who came to Sunday dinner. I’ve missed it all these months, and I’m glad to be back to my regular life again. All the work and all the fun.
Last Saturday Dad and I started working on the inside of the bunkh . . . whoops, the agricultural shed at the cabin. We’re nailing up tongue and grove siding on the inside, so the walls will look finished. Next step after that: building the bun . . . . whoops, the storage shelves inside. This is my first real building project since I broke my collarbone, so it’s really exciting.
I’m still having fun in the Lighthouse Branch Primary, and I’m enjoying the whole block there, but after three hours my head feels like it’s splitting open. No matter–it will get better. People are starting to talk to me in Spanish, instead of English. The man who sat behind me in Sacrament meeting said (in Spanish) that he had thought I didn’t know the language, but since they had called me to be Primary chorister, I must know some. I admitted that it was only some, but I said it was enough for Primary. It probably came out funny, because he laughed.
Although Dad and I have been looking at replacing the Windstar, and we even test drove a Sienna last week, I don’t really want to change now. A nice shiny Sienna would be out of place among the cars that my Hispanic friends park at the Lighthouse Church. After the block, we all walk out to the parking lot together, and I feel very comfortable climbing into my well-rusted 257K Windstar.
On Tuesday, January 26th, I’m flying to Michigan to help Sharon with the new baby, although I can probably expect she’ll have a home improvement project lined up for me. I’m happy to do whatever I can. I’ll be coming home on Groundhog Day.
Bonnie sent out the following message in an e-mail, and she asked me to pass it on to all of you. She wrote:
I have a favor to ask all of you. I would like to make a book (using shutterfly) like the memory book I made of Mom and Dad's courtship, but with pictures of as many of the afghans mom has knitted over the years. If you can, I would really appreciate if any of you who still have an afghan would have someone take a picture of you holding it (or wrapped up in it, spread out, on your lap, whatever you want to do... be creative) and then email that picture to me, I will put them all into one book so that Mom will have something fun to look at and also just to have a record of what she has done.
Bonnie’s e-mail is blynnjames@yahoo.com.
I just checked my e-mail, and here’s another message from Bonnie: Jamie and Andrea wanted me to pass along this invitation to Adelyn's baby blessing which will be held this Sunday (Jan. 17) at 11:00 a.m. They will be having it at the Amiron Village clubhouse in Orem. It is approximately 1400 north on the East side of State street. Turn onto the road directly south of the Western Community credit union and follow into the club house. If Visitor parking is full you will have to park out on the road by the fence. Call if you have any questions.
So many fun things going on! Lots of Love, Mom
What a blast we had on Sunday! Thanks to everybody who came to Sunday dinner. I’ve missed it all these months, and I’m glad to be back to my regular life again. All the work and all the fun.
Last Saturday Dad and I started working on the inside of the bunkh . . . whoops, the agricultural shed at the cabin. We’re nailing up tongue and grove siding on the inside, so the walls will look finished. Next step after that: building the bun . . . . whoops, the storage shelves inside. This is my first real building project since I broke my collarbone, so it’s really exciting.
I’m still having fun in the Lighthouse Branch Primary, and I’m enjoying the whole block there, but after three hours my head feels like it’s splitting open. No matter–it will get better. People are starting to talk to me in Spanish, instead of English. The man who sat behind me in Sacrament meeting said (in Spanish) that he had thought I didn’t know the language, but since they had called me to be Primary chorister, I must know some. I admitted that it was only some, but I said it was enough for Primary. It probably came out funny, because he laughed.
Although Dad and I have been looking at replacing the Windstar, and we even test drove a Sienna last week, I don’t really want to change now. A nice shiny Sienna would be out of place among the cars that my Hispanic friends park at the Lighthouse Church. After the block, we all walk out to the parking lot together, and I feel very comfortable climbing into my well-rusted 257K Windstar.
On Tuesday, January 26th, I’m flying to Michigan to help Sharon with the new baby, although I can probably expect she’ll have a home improvement project lined up for me. I’m happy to do whatever I can. I’ll be coming home on Groundhog Day.
Bonnie sent out the following message in an e-mail, and she asked me to pass it on to all of you. She wrote:
I have a favor to ask all of you. I would like to make a book (using shutterfly) like the memory book I made of Mom and Dad's courtship, but with pictures of as many of the afghans mom has knitted over the years. If you can, I would really appreciate if any of you who still have an afghan would have someone take a picture of you holding it (or wrapped up in it, spread out, on your lap, whatever you want to do... be creative) and then email that picture to me, I will put them all into one book so that Mom will have something fun to look at and also just to have a record of what she has done.
Bonnie’s e-mail is blynnjames@yahoo.com.
I just checked my e-mail, and here’s another message from Bonnie: Jamie and Andrea wanted me to pass along this invitation to Adelyn's baby blessing which will be held this Sunday (Jan. 17) at 11:00 a.m. They will be having it at the Amiron Village clubhouse in Orem. It is approximately 1400 north on the East side of State street. Turn onto the road directly south of the Western Community credit union and follow into the club house. If Visitor parking is full you will have to park out on the road by the fence. Call if you have any questions.
So many fun things going on! Lots of Love, Mom
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Dear Kids,
I just got home from chess club at the Harman Home, where we had a great time, as usual. I played a Scotsman named Rodger. Several weeks ago he accused me of not having a killer instinct, so I had to prove him wrong. It can get pretty tense in there, but overall, we always have fun.
Sunday was my first time leading the music in the Spanish branch Primary. What an adventure! I had totally memorized the ten songs we were going to sing, so that wasn’t a problem, but I had no idea what to say in between the songs. I tried different things like “OK, kids, close those song books. You don’t need them.” After which they just stared at me. (Of course, the kids in 5th Ward Primary used to stare at me, too.) So I had to act out everything, like picking up all the song books while we were singing the next song. I figure I can get by with anything right now, and blame it on the language barrier. During the following song I walked around picking up little kids and setting them back in their seats. That felt just like old times in 5th Ward. At the end of singing time, I went off to Relief Society for the first time with Cathy Newton and Pam Aveytua (Joey Anderson’s mom.) The Relief Society president had me introduce myself, and she asked if I was going to be there every week. I was happy to say that I was. Hearing that much Spanish in one morning is like drinking from a fire hydrant, but I assume it will get easier.
Monday morning Donna and Bevan and Nora and I went snowboarding at Brighton. The snow wasn’t the best, and I had a different board than usual, and I’m in terrible shape, so I didn’t do very well. After just a couple of runs (and a couple of hard falls) I was done for the day. Bevan quit a little early, too, but Donna and Nora kept going and going. I’m looking forward to lots of great trips to Brighton, but I’m waiting for better snow.
Monica is coming to Utah February 4th for a week of skiing, and Caroline is coming, too. Monica knows there’s always good snow in February, and she’s right.
I’ll be cooking Sunday dinner this coming Sunday, the 10th. I’m making lasagne, and we’ll be eating at 5:00 pm. Let me know if you’re coming.
Lots of love, Mom
I just got home from chess club at the Harman Home, where we had a great time, as usual. I played a Scotsman named Rodger. Several weeks ago he accused me of not having a killer instinct, so I had to prove him wrong. It can get pretty tense in there, but overall, we always have fun.
Sunday was my first time leading the music in the Spanish branch Primary. What an adventure! I had totally memorized the ten songs we were going to sing, so that wasn’t a problem, but I had no idea what to say in between the songs. I tried different things like “OK, kids, close those song books. You don’t need them.” After which they just stared at me. (Of course, the kids in 5th Ward Primary used to stare at me, too.) So I had to act out everything, like picking up all the song books while we were singing the next song. I figure I can get by with anything right now, and blame it on the language barrier. During the following song I walked around picking up little kids and setting them back in their seats. That felt just like old times in 5th Ward. At the end of singing time, I went off to Relief Society for the first time with Cathy Newton and Pam Aveytua (Joey Anderson’s mom.) The Relief Society president had me introduce myself, and she asked if I was going to be there every week. I was happy to say that I was. Hearing that much Spanish in one morning is like drinking from a fire hydrant, but I assume it will get easier.
Monday morning Donna and Bevan and Nora and I went snowboarding at Brighton. The snow wasn’t the best, and I had a different board than usual, and I’m in terrible shape, so I didn’t do very well. After just a couple of runs (and a couple of hard falls) I was done for the day. Bevan quit a little early, too, but Donna and Nora kept going and going. I’m looking forward to lots of great trips to Brighton, but I’m waiting for better snow.
Monica is coming to Utah February 4th for a week of skiing, and Caroline is coming, too. Monica knows there’s always good snow in February, and she’s right.
I’ll be cooking Sunday dinner this coming Sunday, the 10th. I’m making lasagne, and we’ll be eating at 5:00 pm. Let me know if you’re coming.
Lots of love, Mom
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Dear Kids,
Christmas was a blast, wasn’t it? Starting with the kids’ party at Nora’s, the fun continued for a whole week, ending with our sledding party at the cabin on the 26th. On Christmas Eve, Dad and Paul and Donna and Bevan and I hiked Ensign Peak, like we planned. It was freezing cold at the top, but the lights in the city were beautiful. On the way home, we took a swing by Temple Square, so we could say we saw the lights. Then we came home, made hot chocolate, and watched “Scrooge” (except by then Dad and I were worn out and went to bed.) It was fun to talk to all of you and hear about your Christmases, too.
My elk meat chili turned out fine. Dad’s cousins never showed up, however. Maybe they were less enthusiastic about trying it out. Or, since they had tickets to the Nutcracker that night, maybe they just ran out of time. When Dad and I got back home to our house, there was a message on our answering machine saying that they weren’t coming because they weren’t “well.” Whatever. I was so enthusiastic about my chili that I’ve moved on to version 2.0, which is cooking in the crock pot right now. By next Christmas, it will be perfect.
We enjoyed having Paul here for a week. He’s gone back to Logan now. Is it the western dancing every Wednesday night? The cable TV in his apartment? The gym? A girl? We’ll never know. But he entertained us a lot while he was here.
Next Sunday is my debut as Primary Chorister in the Spanish branch. I’ve memorized about 10 songs, plus a few other phrases, like “Sit down” and “Be quiet.” It’ll be a breeze. It will also be my first Sunday to do the whole block there, including Relief Society. I’ve listened to a lot of Spanish, these last several months, but I’ve only spoken a few sentences, because they always speak to me in English. It will be a whole new world. I’m excited.
I’ll be fixing Sunday dinner on January 10th. Let me know if you want to come. It’s been a lot of months since I’ve cooked Sunday dinner, but my shoulder is doing really well now, and I’m ready to jump back into the swing of things.
Lots of love, Mom
Christmas was a blast, wasn’t it? Starting with the kids’ party at Nora’s, the fun continued for a whole week, ending with our sledding party at the cabin on the 26th. On Christmas Eve, Dad and Paul and Donna and Bevan and I hiked Ensign Peak, like we planned. It was freezing cold at the top, but the lights in the city were beautiful. On the way home, we took a swing by Temple Square, so we could say we saw the lights. Then we came home, made hot chocolate, and watched “Scrooge” (except by then Dad and I were worn out and went to bed.) It was fun to talk to all of you and hear about your Christmases, too.
My elk meat chili turned out fine. Dad’s cousins never showed up, however. Maybe they were less enthusiastic about trying it out. Or, since they had tickets to the Nutcracker that night, maybe they just ran out of time. When Dad and I got back home to our house, there was a message on our answering machine saying that they weren’t coming because they weren’t “well.” Whatever. I was so enthusiastic about my chili that I’ve moved on to version 2.0, which is cooking in the crock pot right now. By next Christmas, it will be perfect.
We enjoyed having Paul here for a week. He’s gone back to Logan now. Is it the western dancing every Wednesday night? The cable TV in his apartment? The gym? A girl? We’ll never know. But he entertained us a lot while he was here.
Next Sunday is my debut as Primary Chorister in the Spanish branch. I’ve memorized about 10 songs, plus a few other phrases, like “Sit down” and “Be quiet.” It’ll be a breeze. It will also be my first Sunday to do the whole block there, including Relief Society. I’ve listened to a lot of Spanish, these last several months, but I’ve only spoken a few sentences, because they always speak to me in English. It will be a whole new world. I’m excited.
I’ll be fixing Sunday dinner on January 10th. Let me know if you want to come. It’s been a lot of months since I’ve cooked Sunday dinner, but my shoulder is doing really well now, and I’m ready to jump back into the swing of things.
Lots of love, Mom
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Dear Kids,
I just now put up the cat nativity, so Christmas can come!! I didn’t put up my Christmas village, because my right arm still isn’t great for reaching up, but otherwise I’m in good shape for the holiday fun. Dad and I are going to buy our tree tomorrow night and put it up for home evening. I know we’re late, but we’re always late with the tree. It has been snowing outside off and on, and Oreo is curled up in the basket chair acting very pleasant. Xena is curled up on the floor. Paul is on the floor, too. He came home to go skiing yesterday, and he went to church here today, but he’s going back to Logan tomorrow morning. Yes, finals are over, but he says there’s more going on there. Both Grandma and Nora speculated that it must be a girl, but I’m not thinking nothin!!
The holiday parties are upon us! I’ve heard that Laurie is doing a cousins’ party Friday night, the 18th, but I don’t know any details. Nora is putting on the grandkids’ party Saturday night, the 19th, starting at 6:00, and her house. The food is a-la-Café Rio. I’m sure you all have your assignments.
The following Monday night, the 21st, Dad and I are sponsoring our fourth annual Christmas Music Open House, from 7:00-9:00 pm. If any of you want to drop in and perform, or just eat cookies, that would be great. I was going to cancel it for this year, because my shoulder was still making my life miserable, but Jana McGettigan said we just had to keep it going. With that kind of encouragement, of course we’re plunging ahead.
On Christmas Eve, Donna and Bevan and Paul and Dad and I are going to hike Ensign Peak, probably around 6:00 or 7:00 pm. I know we always plan to do it, and we always bomb out, but not this year, so if any of you are feeling adventurous, please come and join us. We’ll have hot chocolate afterward.
Christmas night Dad and I will be visiting Grandma and Grandpa, and from there we’ll drive to the cabin. Our sledding party will be the next day, Saturday, (the 26th) all day long. I’m going to make Elk meat chili!! We’ll probably be eating around 1:00 or 2:00 pm, so let me know if you’re going to be there. I’ll call Dad’s cousins and see if they want to come, too. There should be a ton of snow. Donna just called from the cabin and she thinks they got a couple of feet. The sledding ought to be great.
So there’s a lot of fun stuff ahead of us. I look forward to seeing all of you as much as possible.
Lots of love Mom
I just now put up the cat nativity, so Christmas can come!! I didn’t put up my Christmas village, because my right arm still isn’t great for reaching up, but otherwise I’m in good shape for the holiday fun. Dad and I are going to buy our tree tomorrow night and put it up for home evening. I know we’re late, but we’re always late with the tree. It has been snowing outside off and on, and Oreo is curled up in the basket chair acting very pleasant. Xena is curled up on the floor. Paul is on the floor, too. He came home to go skiing yesterday, and he went to church here today, but he’s going back to Logan tomorrow morning. Yes, finals are over, but he says there’s more going on there. Both Grandma and Nora speculated that it must be a girl, but I’m not thinking nothin!!
The holiday parties are upon us! I’ve heard that Laurie is doing a cousins’ party Friday night, the 18th, but I don’t know any details. Nora is putting on the grandkids’ party Saturday night, the 19th, starting at 6:00, and her house. The food is a-la-Café Rio. I’m sure you all have your assignments.
The following Monday night, the 21st, Dad and I are sponsoring our fourth annual Christmas Music Open House, from 7:00-9:00 pm. If any of you want to drop in and perform, or just eat cookies, that would be great. I was going to cancel it for this year, because my shoulder was still making my life miserable, but Jana McGettigan said we just had to keep it going. With that kind of encouragement, of course we’re plunging ahead.
On Christmas Eve, Donna and Bevan and Paul and Dad and I are going to hike Ensign Peak, probably around 6:00 or 7:00 pm. I know we always plan to do it, and we always bomb out, but not this year, so if any of you are feeling adventurous, please come and join us. We’ll have hot chocolate afterward.
Christmas night Dad and I will be visiting Grandma and Grandpa, and from there we’ll drive to the cabin. Our sledding party will be the next day, Saturday, (the 26th) all day long. I’m going to make Elk meat chili!! We’ll probably be eating around 1:00 or 2:00 pm, so let me know if you’re going to be there. I’ll call Dad’s cousins and see if they want to come, too. There should be a ton of snow. Donna just called from the cabin and she thinks they got a couple of feet. The sledding ought to be great.
So there’s a lot of fun stuff ahead of us. I look forward to seeing all of you as much as possible.
Lots of love Mom
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Dear Kids,
It's Thursday afternoon, and we’re just winding up Thanksgiving here at the cabin. Allen and Missy and their kids have gone home, and Tom and Kim have also left for home with their family. Sharon called a few minutes ago and reported that they had a great time in Michigan, with two new families of friends. We’re expecting Nora and James’s family any minute (they’re spending the night) and maybe John’s family. We also had Bevan’s brother’s family last night and this morning, and Bevan’s parents for dinner. Grandpa Ray (Bevan’s grandfather, Beverly’s father) was just hovering between heaven and earth these last few days, and Beverly didn’t know what to plan on for Thanksgiving, so Donna invited them to come here. It worked out really well. Grandpa Ray died this morning, and it reminded us all how Grandma Ackerson also died on Thanksgiving day, eight years ago, while we were here at the cabin. Strange.
After we had dinner, Missy got busy and wrote up the Christmas exchange lists. She wanted me to pass on the info. The person (or couple) on the left gives to the person (or couple) on the right. First, the grownups: Tom - John; Allen - Nora; Monica - Vanessa; Donna - Tom; Sharon - Allen; Paul - Monica: John - Donna; Nora - Sharon; Vanessa - Paul.
And now, the kids: Julie - Addie; Jacob - Ellie; Aaron - Sarah; Aubrey - Matthew; Addie - Aubrey; Ben - Julie; Paige - Ali; Stuart - Abigail; Sterling - Stuart; Sarah - Aaron; Meg - Carson; Macie - Charlie; Bentley - Macie; Emma- Meg; Ali - Ben; Abigail- Paige; Carson - Sterling; Ellie - Bentley; Charlie - Emma; Matthew - Jacob.
I’m still really struggling with my collar bone. Or it’s struggling with me. I had decided that it would be totally fine after eight weeks, so I went off my percocet for a couple of days, to convince myself. It didn’t work. Now I’m figuring that maybe by Christmas it will stop hurting. Or sometime down the road. It can’t hurt forever!
Most of you have heard about my new church calling. I’m going to be the Primary chorister in the Lighthouse Branch. It’s very exciting, even though I can’t sing very well, I can’t wave my arm at all right now, and I don’t speak Spanish all that well. My new scripture study is “Canciones para los Ninos,” the Primary songbook in Spanish. I figure if I’m sort of familiar with the songs, if I learn the kids’ names, and if I bring lots of cool stuff for singing time, it’ll be fine.
I wish we could have seen all of you today, and I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Lots of love, Mom
It's Thursday afternoon, and we’re just winding up Thanksgiving here at the cabin. Allen and Missy and their kids have gone home, and Tom and Kim have also left for home with their family. Sharon called a few minutes ago and reported that they had a great time in Michigan, with two new families of friends. We’re expecting Nora and James’s family any minute (they’re spending the night) and maybe John’s family. We also had Bevan’s brother’s family last night and this morning, and Bevan’s parents for dinner. Grandpa Ray (Bevan’s grandfather, Beverly’s father) was just hovering between heaven and earth these last few days, and Beverly didn’t know what to plan on for Thanksgiving, so Donna invited them to come here. It worked out really well. Grandpa Ray died this morning, and it reminded us all how Grandma Ackerson also died on Thanksgiving day, eight years ago, while we were here at the cabin. Strange.
After we had dinner, Missy got busy and wrote up the Christmas exchange lists. She wanted me to pass on the info. The person (or couple) on the left gives to the person (or couple) on the right. First, the grownups: Tom - John; Allen - Nora; Monica - Vanessa; Donna - Tom; Sharon - Allen; Paul - Monica: John - Donna; Nora - Sharon; Vanessa - Paul.
And now, the kids: Julie - Addie; Jacob - Ellie; Aaron - Sarah; Aubrey - Matthew; Addie - Aubrey; Ben - Julie; Paige - Ali; Stuart - Abigail; Sterling - Stuart; Sarah - Aaron; Meg - Carson; Macie - Charlie; Bentley - Macie; Emma- Meg; Ali - Ben; Abigail- Paige; Carson - Sterling; Ellie - Bentley; Charlie - Emma; Matthew - Jacob.
I’m still really struggling with my collar bone. Or it’s struggling with me. I had decided that it would be totally fine after eight weeks, so I went off my percocet for a couple of days, to convince myself. It didn’t work. Now I’m figuring that maybe by Christmas it will stop hurting. Or sometime down the road. It can’t hurt forever!
Most of you have heard about my new church calling. I’m going to be the Primary chorister in the Lighthouse Branch. It’s very exciting, even though I can’t sing very well, I can’t wave my arm at all right now, and I don’t speak Spanish all that well. My new scripture study is “Canciones para los Ninos,” the Primary songbook in Spanish. I figure if I’m sort of familiar with the songs, if I learn the kids’ names, and if I bring lots of cool stuff for singing time, it’ll be fine.
I wish we could have seen all of you today, and I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Lots of love, Mom
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