Scrappie Mom

2 YEARS!

2010-06-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the 2 year anniversary of my mother's death. It was a solemn day for me. Tanya came by and took me to the cemetery. I wish that I had had some flowers with me. I miss her so much. Some days are harder than others. The pain is gone, but not the missing. I love her so much and am so thankful that she was my mother.

I had the weirdest thing happen to me a short time after 7 a.m. I had just laid down (I had been up since 2 a.m.) and dozed off. Suddenly I heard a female voice say "Robie!". It sounded like she was just outside my bedroom door. I jerked awake and answered, "What?". There was no response. I went back to sleep and had no more voices or dreams wake me up. After I got up I started thinking about it and I now wonder if it was maybe my Mom calling me. She died around 7:20 a.m. and this was around 7:15-7:20. Hmmmmm?

We went up to the cabin last Thursday evening. Tanya took us in her car. It was a really different experience. I went to bring home some of my mother's "things" that are there. The cabin was a total mess! We hadn't been there in 3 years and it appears no one else had either. Linda just uses it as a storage shed, so there were boxes everywhere. We had to do some cleaning and shuffling of boxes just to go to bed.

We didn't get to visit really with Linda and Fred. They were too out of it most of the time. They take a ton of prescription medications and I think that they are addicted to them. It's really sad. Linda kept passing out on Friday and Fred was in a fender bender on Friday. By the time he got home, he was very confused and out of it. Robert and his family are leaving Seattle tomorrow to move to the cabin and take care of Linda and Fred. I hope that he can help and not get too discouraged with them. His wife might go crazy with the way they are. I know I would.

Sunday was Father's Day and we surprised my Dad and showed up at his church. It was a very good surprise. I don't know how many more Father's Days we will have with him. He is so ready to join Mom!

Roger's job is changing again. He goes back into the warehouse next Monday and will be operating a forklift again. I hope he does better this time. It will probably be a VERY long 8 years until he retires!!! Maybe he should rethink it and retire when he should instead of waiting until I retire?

We have been growing some plants. So far, we have been very successful with the tomatoes. We have harvested a ton of them. We now have a couple of zucchini growing. My radishes have been a bust. We have some onions growing but I don't know if they will produce. We have grape vines to plant. I hope they survive until we get them into the ground. the strawberries are surely a bust! At least we are trying?

Michael is now attending a young singles ward. He seems to be much happier going there. Some of his friends have come home from their missions and are attending there. In just a few short months more of his friends will be home and going there. I still wish he would decide to go on a mission himself, but for now, it's not going to happen. So sad!

I am enjoying my time off from school. I have done some scrapbooking with my girls. We have fun when we are all together. I love them a lot.

Well, I guess that I have blabbed enough for now. Until later...

School's Out!!!

2010-05-31T14:15:00.000-07:00

Where has this year gone? Today is my first Monday off. Last Thursday was my last day. It was also the day that I was able to sign my letter of "intent" form. You know, the one that says I HAVE a JOB next year!!! I was so afraid that I wasn't going to know until sometime during the summer. Like maybe not til August, just before school starts! WHEW!!! What a relief and burden lifted!

I really enjoy the job that I do. It is very satisfying to work with these children that are struggling so much with their reading skills and to feel like I have had something to do with their successes. Of course, not every child has a success story. That breaks my heart. We do our best, but sometimes that just isn't enough. This year our scores for our testing were soooo much higher than last year, except for our 1st graders. It almost feels like a personal failure. I know that I did the best that I could for them, but it still doesn't make it any better.

Our "theme" for next year is "wild". I am going to start looking now for jungle type things to decorate my area at work. It is fun to have something like that to work on. This year, our theme was the "sea". There were a lot of fish at school this year.

We have planted a bit of a garden here at home. Not much. And mostly in containers. I have a ton of tomato plants and have already harvested 3 Roma tomatoes and two very tiny round ones (not sure of their names). Yummy! We have basil, green onions, red onions, cilantro, strawberries, cucumber, zucchini squash, and grapes. I am so looking forward to the harvest of more. We also planted 5 rose bushes. So far, so good.

I have lots of plans for this summer. I wish they were all fun plans. We probably won't be going on a vacation. We have plenty to do here. I have a few projects (cleaning certain areas) that I really want to get done. I started last summer, but when you figure that I have 30+ years of "stuff" to go through, it might take me another 30 years to get it done!!!

I have been doing a lot of the indexing for the church. I really enjoy doing it. It is relaxing to me. Last year, I was in the top 6 in our stake for indexing. Maybe this year I'll be #1? I try to do 2 or 3 a day. It is so interesting to index these people that lived so long ago. I prefer to do census' and am currently on 1910. I think that Ohio had the best penmanship so far. I am working on Vermont now.

Well, my projects beckon to me. Til later...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

2010-05-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

Today was Mother's Day. It has been a very special day with lots of feelings and emotions. I got up about 7 this morning. Of course, I was the only one up. That's OK because I like peace and quiet. About an hour later, Roger got up and said I needed to go back to bed. So, being the obedient (ha! ha!) wife that I am, I went in and read a little. I knew this was his way of getting me out of the way so that he could set up my Mother's Day gift. Anyway, a few minutes later he said I could come back down the hall. So, again, being the obedient (ahem) wife, I went back down the hall. There in the living room, he and Michael had set up my Mother's Day gifts. Roger gave me a really nice hibiscus plant in a big pot. Michael gave me a big Thompson grape plant. I am very excited about both of them. We have gotten a few green thumbs around here in the last few months, and this will add to our little garden.

We went to Church. This being the 2nd Sunday of the month, it was supposed to be my lesson in Relief Society. But, the Bishop took charge of RS so that all the women of the ward could attend. The men taught Primary and SS. The YW took care of the YW. After the Bishops lesson, the High Priests served us a buffet brunch. It was very nummy!

After Church, Roger and I went to the cemetery to "see" my mom. I got somewhat emotional. I really miss her. There are so many times that I think I should tell her something, and then think, oh she isn't here. But I know that she really is. She was the best mother a girl could have. She was so much fun. All my friends loved her too. She taught me so much, but I wish she was here to teach me more. I love her.

We went over to Sarah's and Josiah's for dinner. We had a "Mexican" pot luck dinner. It was sooo good. There was way too much food! All of my children and grandchildren were there and it was wonderful to be together. We have such a good posterity. Beautiful and faithful. They all love the Lord. They are all active in the church. They all love each other. What more could a mother ask for? Nothing, I say.

Well, enough rambling for now. I hope that any and all who might read this had as great a Mother's Day as I did.

Until later...

Baby Eli and Other Misc. Things

2010-03-25T16:51:00.000-07:00

Elijah Richard Smith

Well, our 15th grandchild made his appearance on Friday, March 19, 2010. This is Jeremy and Leslie's 6th child (5th boy). He made his entrance at 10:10 p.m., weighing 7lbs 9oz and was 20 3/4 inches long. He is such a cute addition to their (and our) family. I am very anxious to get to know his personality.

We had spring break last week. We planted some rose bushes and some vegetables. Then it rained this week and our poor seeds went swimming! My radishes had already sprouted so they are ok. It felt good to plant something.

Earlier in the week we had a big dumpster put in front of our house. There were 4 on our street. We were able to get rid of a lot of junk that had been around here since the dinosaurs were here, I think! Again, it felt good to get something done!

There are only 2 more months of school left. We are really gearing the kids up for their "DIBLES" testing. This year has really flown by.

I don't do very good at blogging as I don't have much to say. I live a very boring life and since most of my children are gone from home, I don't have much involvement in their lives anymore.

So, until I can think of something else to write...

COLD!!!!!

2010-02-23T17:26:00.000-08:00

Cold. That's what I am. COLD! I am soooo tired of being cold. It gets into my joints and just makes me crazy! I can't get warm. I go around with my jacket on and my shoes on and here I sit, COLD. Oh, by the way, did I mention that I am cold? Maybe I should just go stand under a HOT shower?

My fingers are too cold to type anymore. Until I thaw...

FEBRUARY 2010

2010-02-13T15:44:00.000-08:00

Here it is, half way through February already! Oh, my, does time fly!

I have been working hard with my reading groups. We are gearing up for the next round of testing that will take place the week of the 23rd. I am hoping to have a good success rate.

I have started doing a treasure box in my groups at work. The kids are loving it! I bought a record book and a star stamp at Teaching Tools. I use small stickers. It's kind of hard to find them small enough. They have to get 20 stickers and stamps (they get one of each every day) if they have good behavior and stay on task in our group. After 20, they get to pick 1 item out of my treasure box. I have an assortment of items for girls and boys. Although girl items are easier to come by, I have managed to find some things that the boys like. I have bought some of the things at the store (never more than $1) and some I have found at yard sales. In fact, that's where I got my treasure box. It is a pretty good size and I only paid $1 for it. Love yard sales! Anyway, most of my kids have already picked out something. I have a small handful who may never get to. Between behavior and absences, they haven't gotten many stickers.

Thursday was my Dad's 85th birthday. We went over to Bob and Shelby's house and had cake and ice cream. Doug and Marsha brought the cake and we brought the ice cream. Dad has had 3 teeth pulled recently and his mouth is still very sore, so the ice cream was a treat for him! He sure misses Mom! Everyday he prays to go. It is really hard to see him this way. I never would have guessed in a million years that he would be like this. His body and mind are both too healthy!

Yesterday was Jeremy's 35th birthday. It is very hard to believe that it's been that long since I had my first born! Where has time gone? I remember it vividly!!! That was back in the "olden days" when the only pain medication we got was a shot of Demerol (which didn't do anything for me). He has always been such a blessing to us. We love him so much! What a great man and wonderful father he has become!

Last night our ward had a Valentines dinner and dance. The dinner was okay (my piece of pork was tough and dry). The salads were super! We danced for about 30 minutes. Boy, we sure aren't as young as we used to be! Nor are we in good shape! Whew! It's hard to believe we used to dance for 2 or more hours!!! I still enjoyed dancing with my Sweetheart. Even after all these years.

Tomorrow is my Relief Society lesson. It is on Jesus Christ, Our Chosen Leader and Savior. I love the lessons this year. They are so simple! Tomorrow is also our Ward Conference, and the Stake RS Presidency wants to take about 10-15 minutes. That's fine with me. Makes my time shorter! I'm sure I can cut it back and not go over. I enjoy teaching the sisters. Sometimes I have a more difficult time preparing my lessons than others. Sometimes my lessons that I have prepared change as I present them. It's amazing what the Spirit does!

Well, I better get movin'. I still have to do my Saturday night grocery shopping. Until next time...

January 2010

2010-02-02T16:54:00.000-08:00

Been a while...No excuses! Just a few thoughts. Love the rain we've been having. Just not the lack of power in my kitchen because of too much water. Hey, this is Arizona. How can that be? Anyway, something got wet and flipped a breaker and it took a week to dry out enough to stay flipped back! AARGHH! Love doing everything in the flashlight! Now more rain is forecast. I still love it!

I decided that I needed to do more with my husband. So, since I enjoy reading so much, I thought it would be fun to read a book together. So, I bough 2 copies of "The Tristan Betrayal" by Robert Ludlum for us to read. We are already on chapter 6. This is a little bit different kind of book than I usually read, but I know he enjoyed the Bourne Identity, so I thought we could try it. It is good so far. Maybe a fun adventure.

Until later...

GRANDBABY #14

2009-09-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

Well, this morning it happened! Our 14th grandchild was born. SHE arrived at 7:43 a.m. via C-section. SHE was 7lbs 5oz and 21" long. HER name is LILY GNEHM SMITH! GNEHM? GNEHM? What is that all about, you say? I guess it was one of Jill's great grandmother's maiden name. What ever. I haven't seen her yet, but I did get to see a picture of her. She looks like a keeper. I probably won't be able to go see her until tomorrow sometime. No car. Story of my life!

Speaking of cars, Roger's has been down for basically 5 weeks. It's been real fun! LOL!!! I am so tired of cars that don't work when they should. It always seems to be when you need them the most, too. Oh, well.

Work has finally improved. We started doing our small groups yesterday. So far, so good. Right now we are only doing 2nd and 3rd grade. Next week we add 1st grade. We won't do kindergarten until they get another teacher. So, it's been kind of nice working our way into it.

Well, that's all for now. Until later...

New School Year

2009-08-17T19:49:00.000-07:00

Thought I should post about the first 4 days of school. Last week was busy. We helped in different classes. I was in a 2nd grade class. The teacher really didn't need me (she is super organized and has great control). So, I helped in our Basic Skills office and in the front office. We helped the kindergarteners and 1st graders in the cafeteria. Then at the end of the day, we helped the kids get on the buses.

Today, we started our testing. We did two classes and we were through by 10:00 a.m. So then, we went back to helping in the same classes. Well, my good friend that I work with, Ranae lost her 34 year old son last Thursday. She came to work Friday and this morning but she left at noon. She isn't doing very well right now. DUH! Anyway, she works in a kindergarten class so I went in her class to help the teacher. Needless to say, I was totally exhausted when I got home. I don't know how Ranae does it.

I got a new look for this year. I got my hair cut and highlighted (no pics yet). I really like it. I also bought some blouses that are very different from what I usually wear (colors). I've gotten lots of compliments. I guess it was a goo change?

Michael is registered at MCC. He is taking 2 computer type classes and 2 welding type classed. He still hasn't gotten his books yet. He starts next Monday and better get with it!

Well, that's about it for now. Until later...

My Boring LIFE!

2009-07-24T16:23:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a while since I updated my blog, so, I decided that it was time. I have had several peopl mention that they were tired of seeing the same thing every time they looked at it. A lot has happened in the last 4 months.

To begin with, here are some pics of my hand with a cast and after the cast was taken off.

This is the only pic I got of my cast. I went green!

These are the scars from where they took the tendon.

This is my thumb scar from where they put the tendon.

This is the scar from where they released the trigger finger nerve.

This pic shows (barely) the carpel tunnel scar. It is almost invisible!

Overall, I am very pleased with my results from the surgery. I still have some stiffness in a couple of fingers and don't have the flexibility of my wrist and thumb back, but the doctor says that will take up to a year to get back to normal. The best part is I have NONE of the pain that I did. I went through 4 weeks of therapy after 6 weeks of a sling and cast. I am considering doing my left hand next year. We'll see.

5 days after I got my cast off, Michael broke his hand. He was playing dodgeball and had a sudden male, anger, testosterone moment with a wall. So, he spent the next 6 weeks in an orange cast. The only picture I have of that is from camping.

So, this is Michael with his cast.

Here are a few camping pictures:

Roger and our friend Jim setting up the tent trailer.

Friends relaxing.

Friends and family playing some game.

Not too many days after Michael got his cast off, he totaled my car. He was driving southbound on the 202 freeway just before Guadalupe, when a back tire lost all the tread and he lost control. He spun around and took out about 7 posts that are in the median of the freeway. I don't have pictures of that because they are on a phone. I haven't taken my camera with me when we visited it. The good news, Michael wasn't hurt.

We have been on vacation the last 2 weeks. Well, Roger has had time of for 2 weeks. We haven't been able to go anywhere. We did go see "My Sister's Keeper". It was a good but sad movie. This week, on Tuesday, we went bowling. Roger has been suggesting it for a long time and I have kept vetoing it. Well, I decided to go ahead and go.

Our electronic score card.

That's me. Perfect form, right?

About to release the ball. I'm sure it was a STRIKE! HA! HA!

Well, that was about my only fun! Not too long after this picture was taken, Robie the clutz fell. Yes. In all my glory. I showed everyone there how talented I am! I knew bowling was a bad idea!

Last night, I went to see WICKED! with Tanya and Sarah. Tanya bought the tickets a year ago. It was sooooo good! I don't have any pics of that, though.

Anyway, that pretty much brings us up to date. I go back to work in just 2 1/2 weeks. Not looking forward to that. I really enjoy staying at home. But, I also really enjoy those paychecks! Too bad they won't pay me to stay home!

Well, til next time...

Pictures After Stitches

2009-03-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures that Tanya took after they took out my stitches. It looks more like I was trying my hand (literally) at redneck fishing! By the way, the blue/purple marks are where the doctor marked on me in ink BEFORE surgery so he could get it right. Now I have a bright green fiberglass cast on for the next 4 weeks. Sound like fun? I only hope that it is worth it when it's all over. Tanya and I both thought my hand looked my mother's after they took off the dressing. Kind of made me sad.

Work was a little difficult this week. My hand swells a lot from all my movement. I have t take it easy at home, elevate it. I get bored easily because there isn't alot I can do without both hands.

Well, I am tired of my lame typing so, til later...

Post Surgery

2009-03-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

So, it's been 6 days since surgery. 6 LONG days! I am sitting here trying to type with my left hand. I'm SO glad I took typing in high school. At least my hunt and peck isn't so much hunt.

Back to my subject. Surgery went well, at least that's what the Dr. says. The first couple of days are in so many ways a blur. I thought I was doing pretty good, but others tell a different story. I was very unsteady and groggy. I did a lot of sleeping.

Sarah and her family came over on Thursday evening and fixed us a fantastic dinner. She fixed chicken fettuccine and the trimmings. We sat down to eat and I took 1 bite and jumped up and ran to throw up. I felt bad at my timing. It was totally the anesthesia. The food was great after that. We had lots of left overs, too! YUMMY!

On Friday evening, my sweet dil Leslie made us homemade chicken noodle soup. Let me just say MMMMmmmm GOOD! It hit the right spot. She makes a mean cns! Watch out Campbells! Fortunately, I didn't lose any of it. We had lots of left overs and it was just as good a second , third and fourth time.

Fortuntely, Roger was able to take Thursday off and he has Fridays off, so he had 4 days to help me. I can only do so much with my left hand. Too bad I didn't spend more time practicing as a kid!

So, let's see what they did. I have at least 5 inscisions on my hand and arm. One at the base of my hand for the carpel tunnel. 1 between (I think) my index and middle finger to fix the "trigger" finger. One at the base of my thumb where they removed the joint and 2 on my arm are from where they took a tendon to rebuild the joint in my thumb. I have a plaster cast that goes around my thumb and almost to my elbow. It only goes halfway around my arm. I can wiggle my fingers but not my thumb. I guess that was the plan. My fingers are very stiff. I have learned that I do much better if I wear the sling they put me in. When I don't wear it, I get a terrible charliehorse in my arm.

The pain is subsiding for the most part. I am down to only taking pills at night. I did way too much on Monday and paid for it that night. I pretty much stayed in bed yesterday. I feel so much better today. I only hope that in the end, it is all worth it.

I am glad I have this week off for spring break, though. I am concerened about next week. I get my stitches out next Wednesday and then I get a synthetic cast for four more weeks. Hopefully, by then, I can get it wet.

Well, my fingers are really tired. So, til later...

SURGERY!

2009-03-11T19:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I decided that I needed to post something again while I can. After tomorrow, I won't be able to type very well or fast. You see, I will be having to do it left handed. I am having surgery tomorrow morning on my right hand. They are going to fix the carpel tunnel, the trigger finger and replace the joint at the base of my thumb. Fun, huh? The best part is that I will have a cast on for six (yes, that's 6) weeks! I am SOOOOOOO excited! Can you just feel the SARCASM dripping from my words? I will be glad to get this taken care of though. The pain is very bad. Most of the time on a scale of 0-10, it is an 8 or 9. I am taking tomorrow and Friday off from work and the next week is spring break. I'm sure I'll be having loads of fun!

Not much exciting has been going on here. I have been trying to do some scrapbooking. I've been working on pages from the Boy Scout Jamboree that Michael went to in 2005. There are so many pictures to choose from!

I have been working on my Relief Society lesson also. It will be from a talk by President Uchdorf at the October 2008 conference. Basically, it is about hope. I am trying to do the paper mache letters "HOPE" to have on display. I just need to figure out the embellishments for the letters. I was "hoping" to have it done before tomorrow, but if you know me, you know that my middle name is "procrastination".

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'll check back in a few days and give you all an update. Til then....

CREEPIN' CRUD!

2009-02-23T16:44:00.000-08:00

It's official. I have the creepin' crud. It started with a slight cough last Thursday. It has escalated since. I left work early on Friday. Didn't go to church yesterday. And didn't go to work today. I feel like my head is going to explode! I feel weak, absolutely no energy. My nose is so stuffy and runny at the same time. How can that be? I probably should have gone to the doctor today, but I feel too sick! Does that make any sense? Who know what tomorrow will bring?

So, until I can feel better, bring me the tissues, the headache pills, the nose spray, and anything else you can think of.

Til then...

BIRTHDAYS!

2009-02-12T14:43:00.000-08:00

Well, time has gone and done it again! Another year has gone by and my oldest son, Jeremy, is a year older. He is now 34. It's so hard to believe that so much time has passed since he was just a little tyke! As our firstborn, we got all (or most of) our OJT (on the job training) with him. I'm sure we made some mistakes, but overall, I think he turned out pretty good! If I could go back and do anything over, it would be to spend more quality time with him. He didn't have much time with just us. Only 19 months. He was a terrific big brother, though! And now, he is a good husband and father. I am so very proud of the things he accomplishes. He never gives up. Even when he is wasted from trying and can't see clearly, he keeps going. I guess that's the perfectionist in him. He has a bright mind and fun personality. So, Jeremy, I hope this day is a good one for you. I hope that this next year will bring you more of what you want and need. I love you. Mom.

P.S. I have a little something for you.

New Calling

2009-02-02T14:20:00.000-08:00

A week ago this past Saturday, Bro. Martinsen (of our Bishopric) called me. We were in Cave Creek and when I got his message, I didn't think he would want me to call him back at 11:00 p.m. I thought I would just talk to him at church the next morning. He was sick and not there. So, I thought I would call him during the week or he would call me back. Neither happened. So, I thought I would speak to him yesterday. They were in Show Low for a baby blessing. I had already figured out that he was over YW and RS. YW scares the you know what out of me. RS is not a whole lot better. Anyway, so I am sitting in RS just minding my own business when the OTHER counselor calls me out. He presented me with the calling. I have been called to be a RS teacher (again). I don't know which lesson I will be giving yet. Last time I did the 4th Sunday lessons. While it takes me completely out of my "comfort zone", I really enjoy teaching RS. I learn so much because I have to do so much preparation. Hopefully I won't be teaching the 2nd Sunday lessons because I want more time to prepare. This Sunday is the 2nd Sunday!

Today was pretty stressful at work. We are doing the progress monitoring of the strategic kids. Ours rules changed with every class. If we had been able to do them the way we wanted, we could have had all of it done today. Unfortunately, we don't make the big bucks and therefore we don't get to make the decisions. Oh, well. Hopefully we will be done tomorrow.

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

Oh The Nerve?

2009-01-27T18:35:00.000-08:00

Well, today I went to see the neurologist. He ran a bunch of test on both my hands and arms. He took great delight in torturing me. A friend of mine at work had surgery for carpel tunnel a few months ago. She told me a little of what to expect. She told me about the shocks I would get. She didn't tell me about the accupuncture like needle that was used. Maybe she didn't get it. The zaps from the little electrical thingy weren't too bad. I just felt rather spastic. But then, what's new? The needle was something else. Most of the time when he jabbed it into me, it didn't hurt. It was kind of fun watching the nerve waves on his computer. He bruised my arms and left me bleeding. He also said he was enjoying his job more today than he had in a long time. He said I was a mess. Not only do I have the nerve stuff in my hands causing me pain, I have major nerve problems in my neck, causing pain down my right arm. Electricity jolts are interesting things!

In other news, oh, there really isn't any. Till next time...

Birthday Greetings and Other Stuff

2009-01-20T18:04:00.000-08:00

First of all, I have to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my baby boy. Michael is 19 years old today. It's so hard to believe. Hopefully, he will be choosing to go on a mission and be able to soon. We were going to take him out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse (his favorite place), but he was involved in some thing on his WOW game. So, we will take him tomorrow night and then go get his B-day present.

I went to a hand specialist today. It turns out that I have carpel tunnel in both hands. The arthritis in my thumbs is so bad that there is no cartilage left to separate the joints. And, I have a trigger finger on my right hand. Because of all of this, I am in constant pain and my hands go numb and my middle finger gets locked down. So, I am opting to have surgery on my right hand. He said there is too much nerve, muscle and tissue damage to just do cortizone shots. My left hand isn't as bad, so we will do something with it later. I am thinking that I will have surgery the Thursday before spring break. That way I will have a full week to recover. The down side is this: I will have to wear a splint for 2 weeks after surgery and then a cast for 4 weeks after that. YUK!

I am so glad that I finally bit the bullet and saw a hand doctor. At least now I can get something done. My regular doctor just said it was arthritis and to take Aleve. Didn't work. The rheumatologist didn't do anything for me either.

Work will be a challenge since I am right handed. I will figure something out.

We had a wonderful "special" stake conference on Sunday. Elder David A. Bednar spoke to us. He is such a down to earth person. I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting. I think the topic for the whole meeting was the Atonement and repentance. Wilford Anderson, an Area Seventy accompanied him. Great speakers, both of them!

They had the Presidential Inauguation on at work today. I avoided it as much as possible. I am tired of hearing about the history being made by having an African American become president. Why can't we all just be "AMERICANS"? I hope that he can do what he claims he can. I'm afraid he'll find out that he doesn't make the rules as much as he would like.

Well, I've bent your eyes long enough for one night. Until later...

Number 14

2009-01-11T21:46:00.000-08:00

Well, it has finally been publicly announced that grandbaby number 14 is on it's way. I found out (unofficially) last Saturday (Jan. 3). Now that they have gone public, I can tell everyone. Christopher and Jill are the parents to be. This will make their 5th child. They already have 3 girls, so we are hoping for a boy. Number wise, I would rather it be a girl. Then our count would be even and you know how I am about even numbers. But, for Sam's sake, I hope it's a boy.

We have a special stake conference next Sunday. They announced at Church today that Elder Bednar will be the speaker. They also told us to get there early if we want a good seat! I hope we can get there early enough!

This past week was a long difficult one for me. I went back to work which in and of itself was terrible! But, the father of the person I carpool with passed away and she didn't go to work all week (mostly because she was also very sick!). So, I had to arrange other transportation. With Roger, Tanya and Michael all working, it wasn't easy. Tanya took me most mornings even after she had worked a 12 hour shift. I was only late one morning since Michael had a root canal on Wednesday and his mouth hurt too much for him to go to work on Thursday. Roger has Fridays off now so that wasn't a problem. Michael picked me up most days.

I will be glad to be back to normal this week. Although, normal isn't the correct term since it is parent teacher conferences this week, so I will be getting off early all week. Maybe I can get some things done here at home?

Well, I better go. 3:30 comes early for me. Till later...

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

2008-12-31T16:24:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-12-25T08:22:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-12-17T22:46:00.000-08:00

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...

This 'N That

2008-11-17T19:56:00.000-08:00

Don't faint! I decided to post again in less than one week! What is the world coming to?

We we to 2 missionary farewells yesterday. The first one was for my nephew Curtis Jarman. The second one was a young man in our Ward that Michael has grown up with, Jordan Shill. Curtis is going to Long Beach, CA, Spanish speaking and Jordan in going to Milan, Italy. Both of them leave Wednesday morning, November 19, 2008.

Both farewells were good. I had a very had time staying awake in the second one. Not because of the speakers, but because I was just plain tired. We went over to my brother Doug's house (which is really my parents house) for a lunch/dinner. They had really, really good Mexican food. I think I over indulged! When we got home, I went to bed. It was only 7 o'clock.

Michael spent this afternoon and evening with Curtis. They have been pretty close for all of their lives. I think Michael is sad about Curtis leaving. But maybe he will be next?

We got our Christmas money from the CU on Friday. Roger took it back to the CU today and cashed it. WooHoo! We can do some shopping now! I just wish I knew what to get for people. Any suggestions?

Today at work, I was observed by my "supervisor". I was pretty nervous, but she didn't rip me apart like I was afraid she would. She actually had more positive things to say about me than negative. Whew! Maybe I will still have a job?

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

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM

2008-11-14T05:16:00.000-08:00

Today is a first. It is my mother's birthday. The first one since she passed away. She would have been 81 years old. It has been almost 5 months. While most of the time, it feels like the time has flown, there are some days that all I do is think of her and miss her.

I wish that I had a talent for words so that I could make things sound good. But, alas, that is not one of my few talents. Unfortunately, the computer with my pictures of my mom has crashed, so I can't put pictures in this post. I was able to get this one from her obituary.

She was a wonderful person and a great mother. She had many challenges in her life, but managed to work through them. She had polio as a child but was able to overcome most of the effects of that. Although, later in life, she had what they call "post polio syndrome". This brought her a lot of pain. I think, looking back, that she tried to cover up most of the pain she felt. Because of the polio, she had some difficulty walking. But, she didn't let that get in her way.

While she was not "educated" (she dropped out of high school) she was a very smart woman. She ran a couple of businesses with/for my dad. Here she picked up more smarts.

She always told us that she didn't have any talent. She proved herself wrong. Once we were all gone from home, she developed some fine talents. She could paint very well. She loved crafts. She could sing, although that is her talent that she "always" had.

I think the best talent she had was teaching the gospel by her example. She let us know as we were growing up that she loved her Savior and Heavenly Father. She showed us this by the way she put 150% into any calling she ever had in the church. She loved the gospel.

She loved Dad and made him happy (most of the time). She loved having her family around her. She loved to laugh. She loved to sing. She loved life. She loved being a mother and grandmother.

I am so grateful to have had such a loving mother. She taught me the most important things in life. I didn't realize until after I was married and had children, just how much she taught me. There were many times I would call her and thank her for the things she did.

I am very grateful for the knowledge that I have of the "plan of salvation". For the knowledge that I will be able to see her and be with her again. I don't know how I could have made it through these last months without that knowledge.

So, for now, I will say, Happy Birthday, Mom. I hope you have and great day. I love and miss you so much! Til later...

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH DEAR!

2008-11-09T05:48:00.000-08:00

On November 9, 1977, my first lovely daughter, Sarah, was born. She entered this world at 9 lbs 2 oz (my smallest baby). She had lots of strawberry blond hair. She was such a cutie and it was love at first sight.

Sarah has always been such a joy in our family. As a little girl, she would line up her "babies" on the floor and put disposable diapers under them. That's how she diapered her babies. She loved to tease her older brothers. She would taunt them with something of theirs until they noticed, then she would take off running.

Growing up, she was kind of shy out in public (definately not at home!). School was her own special social event. I don't remember ever having trouble getting her to go to school. That's where her friends were.

She and her 2 older brothers and her sister were very good friends growing up. They always played well together. I am glad that she still has that association with them now.

Sarah got married at the ripe old age of 19. One day before her 20th birthday. She had found the love of her life on the internet. They celebrated their 11th wedding anniversary yesterday.

She has grown into a beautiful person, inside and out. She is such a good wife and a wonderful mother of four. She is very crafty and is a perfectionist in all she does. She is a great cook (I envy her that) and is always looking for new recipes for her family. She takes her callings in the Church seriously and does them well.

I am so grateful that I was chosen to be her mother. She teaches me so many things. She is a natural.

So, on this special day, Sarah, I want to say "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" and may this day be special forever. I love you, Mom.

Random Thoughts

2008-11-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

Well, I decided that it was about time to write something again. I'm not real good at this blog thing. There hasn't been much to say for a while.

My Uncle Glenn passed away on Oct. 23. He lived in Midland, Texas. He left the Church when he was a young man and joined the Catholic Church. He lived in New Jersey all my growing up years, so I only met him a couple or three times. His wife was a former nun and she passed away in 1990. He has only one surviving son and he is a Catholic priest. So, the Jarman line ends on that branch with my cousin Glenn Michael. He lives in Texas and so we haven't been able to get to know him. He knows nothing about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I find that extremely sad.

Work has been very busy and sometimes crazy. Today, I was working with one of my kindergarten groups and the little girl had two big green globs hanging out of her nose. I told her to go blow her nose. She got up and did it. Then she brings the tissue and puts it next to me OPENED up! I told her to throw it away. She did and came and sat back down. Then I saw that she had green smeared all over one cheek. I about pucked! I was so grossed out. UGH!!

We have had a lot of car problems this week. One car has windows that won't roll up. The other one had a fuel pump go out. Of course we were at the Pointe at Tapitio in WAAAAAY north Phoenix when it decided to stop working! Crazy weekend.

We missed the "state" conference on Sunday because of no transportation. I had really wanted to go. I hear it was very good.

We voted on Tuesday and we are not excited about our future. We have decided that we will try to give our new president-elect the benefit of the doubt. The only good thing about it is that possibly we will get a new governor out of it.

The marriage proposition passed. That was good. Although some are "blaming" it on the Mormons. What, the Mormons were the only Church to speak out about it? I never saw any signs on a Mormon church yard. I saw plenty on Baptists, Catholic, non-denominational, etc. But we get all the blame. Huh!

Well, it's getting late and I need to get to bed. So, until later...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARY LOU!

2008-10-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

Today is my "little" sister Mary's birthday. I will be kind to her and not reveal her age. I want to dedicate this blog to her on her special day. I don't have any pictures with just her, but I do have a couple that I don't think she has with some of us.

The Jarman cousins LtoR:
Chris, Mary, Doug, Mark, Alan, Linda, Robie
(We were too poor for shirts!)
1955

Mary and Robie
1958'ish

Jarman Kids
1958'ish

When we were young, (I can hardly remember that far back!), we used to use our imaginations for playing games. In the summer time, when the "monsoon" arrived and we would have wonderful dust storms, we would get our little red wagon and pretend that we were pioneers trudging across the plains. We would place our arms across our foreheads to block out the dust. You probably had to be there.

We also used to "wash" our hair in the wagon using rain water. It's a good thing we had such a good mother, because I don't remember her ever getting mad at us for that. I think I would have yelled at my kids for the same thing.

I remember Mary letting me get into her bed at night when I couldn't sleep. I was a woose and she was brave. I had lots of trouble sleeping even as a kid. When I was scared, she would hold my hand. She was always a better sister than me.

Growing up, we fought like cats and dogs. As we left home and started our own lives, we became very close. We used to get together with our young children and bake or do crafts. It was always at her house because mine was too big a mess!

We both used to work for American Greetings putting out cards. We would get together and help each other sometimes and then we would "do" lunch. We always had such fun!

I miss that closeness now. She has moved to Utah and we don't get to see each other often. Our lives have drifted apart physically, but I still feel very close to her. I have always counted her as one of my best friends.

So, Mary, I hope if you read this that today will be extra special for you. I hope that your pain will lessen at least for one day. May you enjoy the day and hear from all those who love you. I love you.

Robie.

Birthdays

2008-10-08T20:18:00.000-07:00

Today was my birthday. It started out kind of rocky for me. I woke up this morning smelling my mother. I don't know if she was near me, or if my subconscious was playing tricks. Anyway, it made my first thing in the morning rather emotional. This is the first time that she has not called and sung "Happy Birthday" to me.
Then my friend called to wish me happy birthday and to see if I was ok. She said she had a feeling I wasn't. She is too perceptive.

Anyway, I have talked to each of my children. My husband remembered (he wrote himself a note). I got an email from one brother and a voicemail from one sister. My dad called and sang to me and yes, I got emotional again. He has always sung it with Mom.

Everyone at work remembered me (of course, they announced it in the morning announcements!). A friend took me to lunch and we met another friend that we used to work with at Kino Jr. High.

All in all, it was a very nice day. I got flowers, candles, chocolate, scrapbook stuff, and gift cards to the scrapbook store. Sarah made a wonderful meal on Sunday for my birthday and Christopher and Jill made a cake.

I truly am blessed by those around me. I just wish I wasn't getting old!

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

Events of 9/1-9/5

2008-09-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

WHEW! What a week! It seems that the weeks that are the shortest are actually the longest. We had Monday off for Labor Day, but the week seemed to be about 2 weeks long.

Didn't really do anything on Labor Day. Roger didn't get the day off. My dryer is broken and I had a HUGE laundry to do! So, I went back to the stone age and hung the clothes to dry. It was a nice sunny day and I figured it wouldn't take long. It took most of the day for 4 loads to dry, OUTSIDE! And, they are STIFF! Oh well, at least they were clean.

This week at work (school) we didn't do much of anything. We are still waiting to start our DIBELS groups, which are small groups of children. We were told that we would start with the Kindergarten classes on Monday. Then yesterday, we were told that that is on hold because the State is getting involved. Who knows what we will end up doing. This next week will be the 5th week of school. We are very anxious to get started doing what we are supposed to be doing!

Thursday, the unthinkable happened at our school. A Kindergarten boy stopped breathing! They were never able to resuscitate him. He had some condition that caused tumors in his lungs. He only had one functioning lung. His life expectancy was only 10 years. Fortunately, the teacher had taken him into the restroom and that is where he collapsed. The whole class didn't see it. There was a real somber mood at school yesterday. My prayers are with his family. Even though they knew it could happen at school, they wanted him to experience as much as possible.

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

College Credits

2008-08-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

I am really excited! I talked to someone in records yesterday at MCC. They told me that my credits are good forever. I told her I went there almost forever ago! So, the 2 semesters that I went and actually got grades for are still good. That means English 101 and 102! I sent for my transcripts today. She said it would take about 2 weeks because they are in the "archives" on microphish (sp?). They haven't figured how to get them into the new computer system. Anyway, I've been toying with the idea of getting some more college done. I don't know what I would go for as for a degree. Back in ancient history, I wanted to be a home economics teacher. No way now! So, a lot of my credits probably won't help me out. But, who knows? Anyway, that's it for now. Until later...

This 'N That

2008-08-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

*UPDATE*
We were invited to our nephew Parker's mission call "opening". He has been called to serve in the Ukraine Donesk mission. He reports on Nov. 5th. There weren't many dry eyes. This makes 2 nephews for us to go to the Ukraine. Cool!

Well, another week has passed. We started our testing at work. The first day we were spending about 30 minutes per child. That was way too long! Somehow we managed to pick it up so we only were spending about 15-20 minutes per child by the end of the week. This coming week, we are testing the Kindergarten, Pre-Kindergarten and 1st grades. The Pre-K and K should prove to be interesting. They will either take a lot longer because they know some things or they will go really fast because they know nothing.

I was reading the new Ensign this morning. It is always so uplifting. There were so many articles that touched my spirit this morning. Some of them were: "My Father, My Hero" pg. 16; "Toothpaste on the Mirror", pg. 23; "I Do My Part, and God Does the Rest", pg. 52; and the Latter-Day Saint Voices, on pg. 68. They are all good, but these are the ones that touched me the most this morning. Maybe tomorrow others with touch me more. If you have the Ensign and haven't read it, do it.

I'm going to have to come up with a way to be in closer contact with my dad. Things aren't really getting much better for him. He just wants to go. He is so lonely. I try to call him regularly, but he needs more distractions. I don't get out to see him as often as I guess I should. With me working and our car situation, it isn't easy to get out there. I wish my children would make an effort to visit him (hint, hint).

We got Michael enrolled in MCC. He is in an advanced welding class. It is a 5 credit hour course. He has lecture on Monday nights and lab on Wednesday nights. Each are 4 hours long. It sure does cost a bundle for college now a days! He doesn't qualify for any "grants". Probably because he is a white male. Don't get me started on that!

I have been trying to catch up on some of my scrapbooking. I put a page together yesterday that was from my July Totally T class. I actually put a picture on it! Amazing! I like it enough that I am going to make another to match it because I have other pictures to go with the first.

Well, I guess I've rambled enough for this time. Until later...

2008-08-18T16:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we went to our son (Jeremy) and daughter-in-law's (Leslie) Sacrament meeting. They invited us because they were talking. They both gave really good talks. I was very impressed with the words they spoke. I love the song that both of them referred to, "If The Savior Stood Beside Me". We should all remember the words. I truly felt the spirit and at times, had tears. Even Michael said the meeting was good.

After that, we went to see our nephew Parker ordained to be an Elder. What an inspiration he is. His mother passed away in April. He just finished his 1st year at ASU with a 4.0. He is waiting for his mission call (should be here in a week or two). His mother did an exceptional job raising him and his sisters and brothers by herself. I'm sure she is smiling down on him from above.

Today, at work, we started our DIBLES testing. It took us over 2 hours to do one class! We had one hour allotted! We have to do a lot of extra testing this time around. Tomorrow, we are supposed to do 3 classes. It won't happen! We still have 6 to do from our 2nd class this afternoon. So, today we only had two classes to do. Our schedule really needs to be adjusted!

I think I am Olympiced out. I've seen what I really wanted to, and the rest that I would like to see is on at like 3 in the morning. I'll just watch the news!

Well, I need to do something about dinner before someone asks the dreaded question, "What's for dinner?" That always put me in a bad mood. Til later...

One Down, 35 To Go!

2008-08-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I made it through my first week back to work. I work at Kerr Elementary School in Mesa. This is my second year there. I actually started there 14 1/2 years ago. At that time, I worked on the playground and monitered the restrooms. After 4 years there (the last one in a classroom), I went to Kino Jr. High School. I worked in reading and math classes. I was there for 7 years. Then I went to Lehi Elementary and spent 2 years there in a 6th grade classroom. Then, last year, I went back to Kerr. This time I am a "DIBLE" lady. I do testing 3 times a year and based on the results of that testing, I work with small groups. I really enjoy what I am doing. I fee like I am making a difference with a lot of the students that I work with. Generally, I work with K-2 grades. We do the testing with the 3rd graders, but they don't get our help as much.

This past week has been pretty stressful physically for me. I spent most of the week helping out in a kindergarten class with 38 students, 1 teacher, and 1 aide. That was too many kids and not enough adults! So, I and a couple of the ladies I work with, helped take kids back and forth from on place to another all week. Then yesterday, we helped set up a new kindergarten classroom. They have arranged a sub. for a couple of weeks until they can get a fulltime teacher hired. Needless to say, the kindergarten teacher and her aide were very happy yesterday.

Next week, we will start the testing. That will take place for two weeks. After that, we will have our small groups set up and will start working with them. This year, we have our own room to work in so we won't have to keep the kids in their classrooms and try to work there. We are all excited!

We have been watching the Olympics this week, just like almost everyone else! I just wish it wasn't on soooo late every night! I've enjoyed what I've seen for the most part, just wish we were winning more gold!

I'm starting to feel a little "cabin fever". We haven't gone anywhere this summer and I feel like I need to get away. Of course, that won't happen. We still don't have a car that will get us anywhere. Oh, well, that's been the story of our life for like 36 1/2 years!

I got my dad a cell phone a week ago. It is so nice to be able to call and get him now. I programed the phone numbers of his children and assigned speed dial #'s to them and gave him a card with that info on it. So far, so good.

Well, I guess I've bent your ears (or eyes) long enough for now. Until later...

Tag, I'm It. Tag, You're It!

2008-08-08T16:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I was tagged about a week ago by Sarah and I am just now getting around to do it.

Rules:Each player answers the questions themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment letting them know that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answers.

The Five:

Ten years ago…

1. I was recovering from 3 weddings in 7 months.
2. I was about to start working at Kino Jr. High School.
3. I was sweltering in the heat.
4. I was about to be a grandmother for the 1st time.
5. I was getting around much easier than now!

Five things on today’s “to do” list...

1. Get new printer. (done)
2. Get new cell phone for my dad.(done)
3. Get new cable for the PS2.(done)
4. Pick up prescription at Walmart.(done)
5. Figure out what's for dinner.

Five snacks I enjoy...

1. Hard boiled eggs.
2. Cheez-its.
3. Sunflower seeds.
4. Anything chocolate.
5. Fresh fruit or veggies.

Five things I would do if I was a millionaire…

1. Buy a house.
2. Pay off debt.
3. Buy a couple new cars.
4. Put a bunch into savings.
5. Travel and go on a mission.

Five places I have lived…

1 E. Palm Lane in Phoenix, AZ.
2. Euclid St. in Lawton, OK.
3. N. 35th St in Phoenix, AZ.
4. E. Bruce in Gilbert, AZ.
5. N. Summr St in Mesa, AZ.

So I tag:

My son, Jeremy
My son-in-law, Josiah
My neice, Becky
My neice-in-law, Rachel
My granddaughter, Rylie

Results

2008-08-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't win the Scrapbook Olympics. I didn't think I would. I do feel good about the pages that I entered, though. I finished (almost) another page with Mom on it. I just have to put a title on it. Michael is at the computer that I need to use to make it. I have really been having fun making pages with Mom's pictures. I just wish that I had had them sooner so that she could have been here to see them. Here is the one I just finished:

I miss her alot, but the days are getting easier. I don't think that a day goes by that I don't think about her. Even though she was mostly gone for the last 2 years, she was still here.

I went and had a bone density scan this morning. Everyone (doctors) is freaking out because I have passed 50 and I haven't had one! Why should I worry? To my knowledge, there is no history of osteoporosis in the family. It's just another way for them to bleed me of the tiny bit of money we have left.

I go back to work in a week. I am not looking forward to it, but it will be nice to be getting paid again. This has been a short summer as far as time off, but long on lack of money.

Today is Tanya's birthday. I took her to breakfast this morning. I can't believe she is so old! I'm glad I'm not!!

Well, I can't think of anything else to write, so I will just go for now. Til later...

Scrapbook Challenge

2008-07-30T08:36:00.001-07:00

So, I took the Scrapbook Olympic Challenge that was made at Scrapbooks, Etc. I made two pages using 3 of 8 of the supplies they assigned. My pages are fairly simple. I entered them yesterday afternoon. Sometime today they will announce the winner. The winner gets $25 in store credit. I doubt I'll win, but I am happy with the results. The first one is my favorite. I made a matching one of the second page with a picture of Uncle Willard. I didn't enter it because it is basically the same as the one of Mom and Dad. It was fun and quite a challenge for me. I don't have a real creative mind. I can copy anything, but to come up with something on my own, is another story. So, here they are:

This one is my parents "engagement" picture.

This one is my mom at about 5 yrs old.

While we were at the scrapbook store, there was a bad accident in front on University. A guy hit a light pole and the power went out in the store. Tanya took off running to see if any of her newly aquired nursing skills were needed. Unfortunately, there was an off duty fireman and a respiratory therapist there too. When the police got there, they made everybody move back because the pole was split and could come crashing down. The guy hit at least 3 other cars (we're not sure about a forth one, but it's possible). Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. We had to leave the items we were going to buy at the store since they had no electricity. I guess we will have to go back today. Oh, no, not that! Gotta go for now.

A Month Later

2008-07-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I decided it was time to post again. It has been difficult to even think about it for the last month. Things are getting a little easier for me each day. The viewing the night before the funeral was easier than I thought it would be. At least until my cousin and his wife brought in the casket spray. I took one look at it and the dam burst! They were absolutely beautiful! We had told her that Mom's favorite color was all the colors in the rainbow and the brighter and more vivid the better! WOW! She did a wonderful job! It was perfect! I'm sure Mom liked it.

Speaking at Mom's funeral was definately harder than I thought. I guess things went well. I learned some things about my mom that I didn't know before. When she was about six, they went to different churches. Whenever anyone asked her what church she belonged to, she told them she was a Mormon. She didn't join the church until she was about 13 or 14!

My dad is very lonely now. I think that is the hardest part for me at this point. I try to at least talk to him every other day if not more often. I don't have a car much, so it's hard to go see him very often. He didn't realize how difficult it would be after she was gone. We all know it was best because she was in so much pain and in such poor health. But, until it happens, you don't realize the hole in your heart!

It was good to see some of my Aunts and Uncles that I haven't seen in years. We had some good visits with lots of memories being talked about. I think everyone in the family was there except for a grandson who lives in Washington and a sister who lives in California who is in poor health herself.

Here are a few pictures:

My sister Mary, Me, Dad, my sister Linda, brother Bob, brother Doug

Aunt Carol and Uncle Karl

Rick and Mary

Well, I think that's it for now. I go back to work in 2 weeks. The party is over!

Almost There

2008-06-25T15:34:00.000-07:00

Today was a very choice experience. We were able to perform the last earthly service for our sweet mother. We dressed her for her funeral tomorrow. How awesome! There were the 3 sisters, the 2 sisters-in-law, 10 granddaughters and 2 great-granddaughters. It was such a sweet exprience. I have never participated in the dressing and preparing of someone for a funeral. I used to think it would be weird. But, after today, my feelings have changed. Mom look so beautiful and peaceful! Her earthly body is finally pain free. She is such a wonderful person and her spirit was in attendance with us. The feelings were so tender in the room. Tonight is the viewing. We will be leaving soon. Tomorrow is her big day. Until then...

Rough Few Days

2008-06-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

Mom as a toddler

Mom with her parents

Grandma and Grandpa crouse

Mom, Dad holding me, Doug and Linda
Mom and me Mother's Day 2008

So, we (my bros, sis', and Dad) have been meeting to go over plans for Mom's funeral. Things are not necessarily the way that I would like them to be. I guess my family has to deal with grief with joking about things. We get WAY off track while we are trying to brainstorm. I guess the problem is, when we are all together, we only have half a brain! I have gotten a lot of ideas for my talk. I haven't really decided if I'm going to actually write it out, or if I will just leave the ideas and go from there. I spent this morning scanning a lot of pictures for scrapbooking. I want to make some pages of Mom to have on display at the funeral. I don't know how many I will get done. Tomorrow we will be dressing her and making her beautiful for the funeral. It still seems surreal to me. Even though I've known this time was coming sooner rather than later. I am so grateful for her life and the many things she taught me by words and example. I am glad that my children were able to know her and that they have good memories of her. The funeral is Thursday, June 26, 2008 in Gilbert, Az.

My Mom

2008-06-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

This has been one of the most difficult days of my life. My dear sweet mother passed away this morning at 7:29 at the age of 80. I had already said my good-bye's to her and I thought that I was prepared, but the heart stills cares. It was very hard to see her lifeless body lying in bed. I don't know how to act right now. The last few years were very bad for her. Her health was terrible. She broke her right hip 2 years ago, she had 11 mini strokes 1 1/2 years ago and pneumonia a little over a year ago. Last July we thought she was leaving us, but she managed to rally back. In fact, in April she seemed to be getting better. I was able to have some nice visits with her. Then the last 3 weeks she started to decline. We were brought together to say our good-bye's this past Tuesday, but she hung on for a few more days. I have missed her for several years, but now it's even worse. I know she won't be there. She requested that I and my sisters Linda and Mary tell her life story. It will be so hard to do that. But as my mother's last request for me, I will do my best. She was a great woman. She suffered a lot and had to endure much. Most of it graciously. She was always there for me with a listening ear when I needed her most. We became good friends. She had a strong testimony of the Gospel and a love for our Savior. She helped pass that on to me and right now, I am very grateful for that knowledge. Dad seems kind of lost right now. He tries to be funny to cover it up. I feel so sad in my heart for him. I am glad that she is finally out of her pain and discomfort. I love Mom and I miss her, but I also know that I will see her again. That's all for now.

Summer School and Sisters

2008-06-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

So, I started back to work yesterday, summer school. I am working in a 2nd grade class. We have a whopping 8 kids! I work 3 hours a day, Mon-Thurs. My husband asked me how my first day went. I told him the 3 hours sure seemed like 5!

Today was better. The kids had library. They did a water cycle experiment. They read. I cut and pasted. The teacher I work with likes to "wing it".

My "little" sister from Utah is in town. Her son, Dan, tried to do his own lobotomy while riding on a quad.

He also managed to break a couple of bones in his neck. fortunately for his wife and 7 children, he will survive. Update: Dan has a bleeder in his head and is now back at the trauma center for surgery.

Anyway, I picked her up on Sunday and took her out to Gilbert to visit our parents. Our Mom isnt doing very well. On Sunday she had started doing a little worse. We had a good visit with Dad. Mom was out of it most of the time.

Then yesterday after I got off work, I picked up Mary and took her to lunch. We went to Pete's fish and chips. She loves it and can't get it in Utah. We were able to have a very nice visit. We hadn't seen each other in about 1 1/2 years, so we had a lot of catching up to do. She will be leaving this weekend.

While we were at Pete's, we saw one of our nephews that we haven't seen in forever, Chris Meeker. He was there with guys from his work for lunch. We had a nice short visit with him.

Well, I think that's about it for today. Until next time....

Yard Sale

2008-05-29T18:46:00.000-07:00

So, I think I figured out how to get this going again. Today has been a busy day. I spent most of it sorting and going through my scrapbook paper. We are going to have a yard sale on Saturday at my dil Leslie's place. I have WAY too much scrapbook stuff and little room for it here, so I am going to part with some of it. I might gather up some other stuff too.

Michael went on his Super Activity yesterday. Things are kind of quiet around here. I finished a book last night called Sarah's Window. I don't remember the author. It was ok, but not great. I started The Good Guy by Dean Koonz this morning. It already is intriguing. I read his book The Husband a while back. It was really good.

Well, that's all for now. I can't think of anything else worth writing.

Busy May

2008-05-27T16:13:00.000-07:00

So, my super sweet daughter, Sarah, finally showed me how to do this thing called blogging. I've wanted to do it for quite a while, but I'm mostly technology challenged. It's a good thing I have intelligent, modern aged children.

Between birthdays, a baptism, Mother's Day and graduations, we have had a very busy April/May. Our 4th grandchild Layna, turned 8 on April 29th and was baptized on May 10th. We are very blessed with the family we have.

We were among the lucky families to have a graduate from High School. We got to attend in the Westwood gymnasium. The down side was the kids didn't get to see all their friends graduate. The up side, we only had to sit through 1/2 the speeches and 1/2 the names. It will definitely be a graduation to remember! This was our 5th (and last) child to graduate and the only one to be rained out.

Two weeks before he graduated, our youngest daughter, Tanya, graduated from Nursing School. I'm excited for her in her new role. She is currently working at Scottsdale Shay Hospital in pediatrics.

I won't take up any more time for now. I'll post again (if I can remember how to) on another day. I will never be as good with words as my children, but I will do the best I can. I will also try not to embarrass them too much. 'Til then...