Day of Colors

Yesterday was a day of colors.

Early in the day Marina J and I went on a tour of Herlong Federal Prison through a conference we were attending in Reno. Interesting place. If I every get caught committing a crime, I want it to be labled a federal crime because that was one, nice prison. In Nevada you are not allowed to wear blue in the prison because the prisoner's wear blue. In Herlong, everything was brown and beige. Even the buildings and grounds. Ironically, I did not hear a lot of colorful language which I usually do in that environment.

Yesterday afternoon we were driving by the park on our way to a function. I got to enjoy looking at the trees because they were taking on the fall colors. Very beautiful.

We (mom, dad, Bean and me) went to Red's for the Think Pink breast cancer awareness event. Lot's of pink everywhere! That was fun. On our way in my dad carried my mom's purse for a minute. He had a comment to make about that so I told him not to worry, it matched him perfectly. The purse is black and dark brown. My dad was wearing a black shirt so he was black and dark brown too :)

On our way home from Think Pink, we drove down main street. The Capitol had the pink lights strung up in honor of breast cancer awareness. In case you did not know, the Capitol often color coordinates with whatever awarness event is going on.

After we got home, my sweet and wonderful husband was kind enough to help me cage the skunk! One of the reasons I refused so long to color my hair is because I hate the "skunk" look that starts coming out when my hair starts growing. Everyone said it was not that noticeable and I believe them, but to me I feel like a big fat zit in the middle of my face would be less noticeable (although I would rather not test that theory). So, here we are in our bathroom that is barely big enough to squeeze 2 people in, trying our best to color my roots without making me look worst. I loved seeing my husband in his green non-latex gloves (courtesy of Disneyland and Alexander)with a hair dye paintbrush in his hands, working magic in taming and caging the skunk. I will have you know that he did a really good job!

So that was my colorful day.

Shopping Day

So, when my Aunt Debbie was up here in July she was sure I needed a new makeover for my new body. I finally relented by saying "you can do whatever you want as long as I don't have to pay for it". Both of them whipped out their calendars (you could actually feel the breeze from the flipping pages) and decided the weekend of August 28th mom and I would travel to San Diego for the makeover.

Well, as luck would have it (sarcastic tone here), medical issues prevented the traveling. So, mom and my sister Maura and I headed of to Reno on Saturday. Maura LeAnn met up with us so we could take her to lunch for her birthday. WE WENT SHOPPING! I had so much fun! I generally do not like to shop but I wound up loving it that day. We got a bunch of new tops and a few skirts for me. As well as the outfit I will wear to the wedding this weekend. I felt really pretty. At Maura LeAnn's urging, I even tried on a daring little number that was not modest and was most definitely something I would not wear in public. Just as well because the price tag on the "little" number was $178! Wow! It did look good though.

Then we went to Red Lobster for lunch. That was yummy! I had a really good time both in activity and in the company I kept.

Thank you to my parents for funding the expedition. Thank you to the company for the the fun I had. Thank you to my husband and kids for "holding down the fort" so I could spend the day out. The only thing that could have made it better was if Aunt Debbie could have participated. All in all, a good day!

My Interior Decorator

I would like to give a special shout out to my interior decorator...Deborah Andreasen! For you 2 or 3 people who read my blog, if you have enjoyed the visual enhancements that occasionally come my way and surpriseme, it is because Deborah has been taking care of it.

Thanks Deborah.

My Wish for You

I have the most wonderful spouse in the whole world! He cares for me and loves me above all else save the Lord. I know that my name is safe in his mouth. I know my heart is safe in his love. I know my physical well being and needs are safe in his hands. I know that my family's love is safe in his heart.

He is everything to me. How grateful I am that he is my husband and eternal companion.

My wish for you is that you will know that kind of love and security in your life, if you have not already. Everyone deserves to allow themselves to be the recipient of such a blessing.

LOVE AND KISSES! ALL FROM LITTLE MISSES

Maura and Brian had a dilema. Open house/meet the new teacher at the kids' school was coming up. They are 2 parents with 3 kindergarteners so Maura asked if I would come represent one of the girls at school.

Yesterday I went to Reno where I had the honor of presenting myself as Bethanie's Grandmother to her teacher. It was an emotional moment for me and it was really sweet. Bethanie was so pleased and grinned ear to ear as I was introduced to her friends and teacher. And she could not stop hugging me and telling me she loves me. A very AWESOME time!

When I got home from the school activity JadaLynn was crawling around so I picked her up and loved on her while talking with her dadddy. She is so cute that I gave her kisses. After I gave her kisses she started making the "kissy" sounds and movements with her lips. So I had to kiss all over her cheeks again. She grabbed my face and turned her mouth and planted her mouth right on my lips. That was AWESOME! I got my first kiss from JadaLynn. A good evening all around.

Perception, a person's reality

I have a subscription to a magazine called “The Good Old Days”. I really enjoy reading it. It makes one want to live in a time when things were simpler and people were kinder. That is the perception. If you think about it, people are reminiscing about times during WWII, the Korean war, the Vietnam war, before polio vaccines (and vaccines for many other childhood diseases), before civil rights, equal rights and many other less than desirable living situations. Yet, to listen to people talk, they were the best of time. This is perception. Accurate or not, it is their reality.

When I was a little girl there were 2 parents and 4 children living in a two bedroom small house. All of a sudden one day our mattresses were on the floor and there was psychedelic, sheer material covering the alcove where our “bed” was. In both rooms! Remember, this was the late 60’s, early 70’s so it was acceptable. We were excited! This was far out and cool!! That was our perception. The reality (which I found out in my adult life) was that we were so poor our parents had to sell our household stuff to make ends meet. Ahh, good times had by all? Probably not our parents.

The point being is that perception, right or wrong, is in the eye of the beholder. I always tell people there are way more than two sides to a story. Everyone has an opinion on an event or subject. My kids also know that the truth of a matter is what they believe to be true. Not what other people try to convince them is true. There was an incident that happened a little while back which included different perceptions from different people as to what really happened. I was asked why I do not “set the record straight and say what really happened”. Here is the deal, even though my opinion differs from others perception of what happened, it is not for me to tell them they are wrong. In their own mind and world I am sure they believe what they have said/written. I am not going to tell them they are lying. They simply have a different perception/take on the events. Just as they will never convince me I am wrong on how I view the events, I know I would never convince them they are wrong on how they view the events. So, I am busy living my life instead of busy trying to live other people’s lives by controlling their perceptions. Life is too short and I am too busy and I have bigger fish to fry to feed my large and wonderful family.

My daughter, Deborah, and her husband have a saying when they cannot agree on something and do not want to escalate into a spat, they “agree to disagree”. This way they show they respect the other person’s right to have a differing opinion even though they do not agree with it. I love that and have adopted it. I don’t have the need to try to convince others of my view. It is what it is. It is my truth and nothing or no one will change that unless I allow them too. This is my reality!

Thanks for the reason to celebrate!

Okay, when Orey and I decided to get married, one of the things we never really discussed was family. You know, how many kids, how do we want to raise them, what religion, holiday and other traditions, etc. Part of that was my inability to realize that not everyone was raised the way I was so I assumed we would raise any child(ren) we would have the way I was raised. I also assumed any knowledge I would need to raise said child(ren) would just magically be there.

Here is is, 29 years and 9 children later. Upon reflection, things did not work out the way I assumed they would. How grateful I am for that! I have wonderful children that are all have many of the same qualities and characteristics, yet are so wonderfully unique. They all love the Lord. They might not all always want to do what they know the Lord expects of them, but they love him and that is good. They are all musically inclined. Whether it is singing, playing (or wanting to play) an instrument, or even the gift of just being able to enjoy the music, they all have it. They have rich traditions and personalities that come from both sides of their family lines. They all have a deep, abiding love and respect for other members of the family. Very importantly, they love and respect their parents. What a blessing they are to us, their parents.

I know Mother's and Father's days just passed. I want to send this tribute to my kids with regards to those special days.

Thank you for letting us have the opportunity to be celebrated as your parents! If you had not chosen to be a part of this family, if you had not chosen to love us and to love your siblings, if you had not chosen to be brought or born into the covenant of an eternal family, this posting would not be possible. I love each and every one of you. Even when you think I am unaware of you, I want you to know that you are never away from my heart, my thoughts and my prayers. You are there constantly and I thank you for that. I love you.