Will I Ever Settle Down....

Randy came home with the much anticipated "Letter" today. He still has a job, but only if he is willing to move to Fort McCoy Wisconsin. It is complicated and if he turns it down, then he gets in the system with a priority placement for other jobs in the area, but in this market, it doesn't seem very wise to turn down the job. He says this buys him some time to look elsewhere. They will relocate us and buy our house if need be, but I really don't want to move across the country and leave all my family here....anyone want to relocate with us?? Stay tuned!!!! I am just ready to stay in one place! We really don't want to move until Jordan graduates anyway. So I guess we just need to really say our prayers and do some serious soul searching!

Canning.....ugh!

Well, here it is almost midnight and I am canning chicken!!! The pressure cooker always makes me a little nervous. I scrubbed it hard before I started and then I put the pressure release rubber thing in upside down! Well, that made my water come out to fast, so now I am trying to process again. I wish the silly thing would hold more than 8 jars. Anyway, it just gives me time to blog a little. I could go read a book but I am afraid I would fall asleep and then who knows what would happen to my poor chicken! I have been trying hard to build our food supply. Now I think we need to invest in a generator. When we came home from our reunion the power was out for several hours and it just give you cause to reflect about what you might need in emergency situations. My heart goes out to those folks in the south getting hit with the hurricane weather.

Family Fun

What a fun time! We had our reunion in Pocatello over Labor Day. I wasn't sure when I would get all the kids together again, so we took the chance to get a photo shoot in! Everyone was a good sport about it! We had some fun while cheesing it!
We went swimming, eating and playing. I think it was a fun time for all. On Sunday we sang "I am a Child of God" in my parents ward. Everyone was not so excited about it, but I think it was a special time for my parents. We were missing Nate, but all the rest of my little posterity were able to sing. (Except Matthew decided he needed mom about the same time).
I think we made it through the weekend without any major hitches or feelings hurt. Sometimes with all the stong opinions floating, that is the greatest accomplishment. My cousin from Houston came with her kids. It was so awesome to see them!
I think my favorite part was the noodle game! I worked muscles I didn't know I had! I need someone to play it with me about three times a week, and I am sure I would be in great shape!

Life's Tender Mercies

WOW! What a summer. I have had some great opportunities to renew old relationships with family and friends this summer! I am convinced everyone is put in our life to bless us! I have truly been blessed! It seems like this has been the summer to renew relationships. It seems like only yesterday that all these people were in my life! One of these friends I haven't seen for 16 years, but I felt like it had only been a day.
It was really fun to take my children to Alaska and let them feel of the love we felt from the people there! I think we were all interconnected before we came to earth!









This past weekend we participated in the celebration of our little Grandson Matthew's blessing. It was a great day and we felt very supported by our family. One of the special parts of the day was renewing a relationship with my cousin Suzanne and her little family. It was pretty fun to see how well her children fit into our family even though they had never seen each other before. The bonds of family and genes are pretty strong.






All in all it was a wonderful weekend! But I think we totally wore the guys out!

Paradise on Earth?? ALASKA

Okay, I am sitting here highly jet-lagged thinking about the week I just spent with my husband and three kids. Actually, most of my time was spent renewing old acquaintances. Randy's favorite place to be is Alaska, we had special friends, the Kennedy's, in Fairbanks who invited us on a fishing trip. I knew I would never hear the end of it until Randy was able to go. NOW...I will never hear the end of it from Randy, Nathan, Alisa and Jordan, wondering when we can go back! The whole crew had a great time, yes even ME! And...Toni Kennedy felt like she really accomplished great things when I told her the moose was very tasty! My only regret was I couldn't take the married kids and their families. Maybe someday!
I have to agree with Randy about Valdez, it was absolutely the most breathtaking beautiful sight I have ever seen. I can't believe we never went there when we lived in Alaska. The water, the mountains, the trees, the animals, yes even the rain was remarkable. Maybe just a little bit of Paradise on Earth! We were only there a week, we needed to stay longer, but... that's how life goes. It was so nice to see old friends. It felt just like yesterday. I am so convinced the Lord puts people in our life's journey for reasons. He has totally blessed me in my journey. It was so fun to see old piano students and their little families, old friends and their grandkids, we just didn't have enough time to see all the folks I would have loved to see.
I did, however, get to go to the temple with two very special friends, Toni Kennedy and Cori Heath and Cori Heath's daughter, Becky! What a great day! I love the temple!

So.. with our memories and our fish, we journeyed back to Utah to face real life!

Okay, Rachel, this one's for you!

I love blogging. Especially browsing around and seeing other's posts. But I especially love being able to log on and see my daughter's families and what they are up to. It makes it so they don't seem so far away! Last weekend, as is tradition in Randy's family, we all gathered in Preston for the Famous Preston Night Rodeo. Grandma treats us every year. Knowing how much Rachel and Brad like rodeos it made me miss them!! Other than that we had everyone there, including Randy! (Randy has managed to miss the last few years due to work obligations). Nathan has always got into the spirit of things, but as we were making the rounds at the street sales, I realized Jordan wanted to follow suit. The favorite stop was the DI, where they had sold 160 pairs of used cowboy boots the day before and were headed to another successful day of sales. We found a pair for Nate. I wanted to give them to him for his birthday because I never know what to buy him, but Jordan thought he needed them for the rodeo. (Due to his broken foot, he couldn't wear them yet) Anyway, they made pretty cute cowboys! Grandma helped Jordan find a pair of boots and a shirt so he could join in the fun.

Well, Alisa couldn't miss out on the fun, so she donned Nate's new cowboy boots and searched grandma's house for something to dress up in, she reminded me of Annie from Annie get your Gun

Well, at the parade, Aunt Rozy told the kids you have to wave if you want candy, so Conner waved his little hand the whole parade, it was pretty funny! It worked though!

Anyway, another year, another memory!
We missed you Rachel!

"I Love to See the Temple"

Okay, so I love to see the temple! But...it's nice to be able to go in! I was so excited today, because I had my cousin's grandpa's name to do and then I could seal him to his wife and her dad. So we drove the 25 minutes to the temple (I know for some of you that isn't very far at all! BUT after Randy had fought the stand still, closed freeway traffic on the way home from work, it seemed like an eternity!) Anyway, we drove into the temple parking lot and I realized I had left my temple recommend at home tucked safely away in my purse! What a frustration that was! I told Randy to go in without me and I would try to get someone who was coming over from the ward to bring it to me. But, no luck, all the people who were coming had already left. So....it caused me to reflect on a couple of things. #1 - How will I feel if I am not prepared at the judgement bar and I have squandered my time and not done the important things. Will I watch my friends and family enter in to the peace and rest of the Lord and not be prepared to go with them. Am I spending my time doing the things that bring peace and happiness or just spending my time being "busy"
#2 - It helped me understand a little more why I love the temple. It seems like when life gets so out of control and we feel lost in the shuffle, or exhausted, or we just can't do another thing - then just being able to step in the doors brings rest to my Spirit. I was so disappointed tonight to miss out on that peace. #3 - Do we make our homes a Haven where we can feel the Spirit and escape the evils of the world and experience the good.
Anyway, I could ramble on and on but my mind is working overtime right now and I thought a good way to slow it down might be to "blog" So to any of you out there reading this...thanks for being in my life! That's what life is about - the relationships you have. All the things in the world can never replace that! There's never any U-Haul's following the hearse, but there's generally a lot of cars!