OUT WITH THE OLD...IN WITH THE NEW!

Hard to believe, but here it is. The last day of 2008. What a year it has been! I remember last New Years Day saying I felt like 2008 was going to be a great year. Well, it definately was a year!

The biggest "bad" thing that I can think of happening, was that my sweet mother passed away in June. Not unexpected, but still hard. I still miss her and think of her every day in some way. I find myself whistling more now than I used to. She used to whistle all the time. Maybe she is influencing me from the other side?

We had other realitives who passed away this year. A sister-in-law (ex, but we still claimed her), Cyd in April. Aunt Carol (Roger's aunt, actually and ex also, but again, we still claimed her), a Mortensen cousin of Roger's and my Uncle Glenn.

We didn't have any babies born or announced. We are still at 13 grandchildren.

We did have 2 graduations. Michael from high school and Tanya from nursing school. Tanya passed her AZ boards and is an RN working for Scottsdale Healthcare at Scottsdale Shea. Michael has been taking a welding class at MCC and hopes to continue this next semester.

We've seen 2 nephews leave for the mission field. Curtis going to Disney Land (oops that's Long Beach Spanish speaking) and Parker going to Donesk Ukraine.

Michael has a job working for our bishop. He is cleaning concrete forms and doing some welding. He hates the cleaning part and enjoys the welding.

We had one granddaughter baptized in May. That makes 3 for us.

We had 2 grandchildren turn 1 this year.

Michael got his Eagle Scout award in January.

I have had many long visits with my dad. Especially since Mom died. It feels like he is starting to be doing better. Still misses her, though.

I visit the cemetary often. Never used to do this, but since I live so close, and Mom is almost on the first row, it's easy to go visit her. She has the greenest plot there.

As we wind up this year, we have many things to be grateful for and that have helped to make it a good year. We both still have our jobs. Our cars are generally functional. Our health is reasonable. We have an unleaky roof over our heads. We still have lots of family around us (some we miss like Mary and Linda). We are still hoping that Michael will make the right decision and go on a mission this year.

We have the gospel of Jesus Christ to help us in our journey through life. I have felt the spirit so many times this year. He is truly a comforter. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have of the gospel and for the light it brings into my life. I pray that this next year we will be able to feel the Spirit more and be able to do better in all that we attempt. I know that we were not sent here to fail. I just have to remember who to rely on.

May you all have a wonderful New Year! And so, until next year...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Well, we made it. We made it to and through another Christmas. And what a Christmas it was! Everyone got more than they expected. Michael had given up on getting a flat screen monitor, but the smiles broke out when he opened it! What a rare treat, to see him smile.

This may be the last Christmas that we have any "children" at home. Hopefully, Michael will be on his mission next year and we are hoping that Tanya will be out on her own.

We are anxiously waiting for the rest of our family to come over this afternoon.

I am hoping that you all had a very joyous and Merry Christmas. May the light of our Savior, Jesus Christ be with you and yours. Until another day...

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

It's been a while since I last posted. I can't sleep tonight (too much pain), so I thought that maybe I could do a short post.

We have our outside pretty much finished up on the decorating. The tree is up and decorated inside. We went artificial this year. Too many allergies. The cat is wreaking havic on my tree skirt!

Sunday was our annual Smith family Gingerbread House/Christmas Party. It was fun. We did our white elephant gift exchange. This year, we went a little more serious on the gifts. They were not silly. No electric toilet paper. No Butt Paste. There were several gift cards and some games. The kids did their left right game with their exchange. They all enjoy it and it is fun to watch them get confused!

Tonight we did some Christmas baking. We made fudge, choc chip cookies, Rice Krispies treats, a Chex mix, and dipped pretzels. I think we are going to do some more tomorrow night. This is where my pain tonight is coming from. Too much fun!

I have all my Christmas shopping done and wrapped and under the tree. It feels good to be ahead of the game this year.

Anyway, that's it for now. Until later...