Revision Surgery, finally, and a new BABY!

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My poor FACE!  July 8, 2018 I was walking in our parking lot, taking care of the dog stuff.  We have a pooper scooper that we use to keep the driveway cleared up.  I picked up a poop and threw it into the bushes and was walking back to the building and BAMM!  I tripped on something in the lot and couldn't catch myself at all, landed directly on my FACE on the as-fault.  Kelly came running to help me up.  Scared me more than anything, but felt ok.  It was a Sunday morning and I was asked to lead the Relief Society discussion that day!  I put ice on it, and then some bandaids and hiked up my big girl panties and went to church!  I led the discussion just fine.  It was ok and I was ok.  I don't know why I tripped in the first place.  Maybe I was tired from only having liquids and soft foods... I didn't have much energy for sure.  I needed surgery and finally I found Dr. Tersigni to do it for me.  

 Well, Doctor Tersigni at the Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay Oregon did magic for me July 18, 2018!  I was a bit scared, as usual, to go under and have surgery.... but I needed fixed so bad.  I was ready to NOT have a herviated and kinked small intestine that cased blockages and was so painful!  I went in on a Thursday and all went as scheduled.  The HARDEST part about surgery for me is the IV!!!  They have so much trouble lately putting in an IV!  After 5 tries, I finally had one in my forearm and would be comfortable.  When I was coming out from being sedated, I was crying.  I don't know why.  I was pretty emotional.  But it was over and I had a much smaller stoma - I was worried it wouldn't work, Lol.  It works fine though.  I had some nausea and throwing up from the pain meds though.  That concerned me a lot.  I thought I was having blockages again.  But it all turned out ok after they switched pain meds.  I went home on Saturday!!  I felt pretty darn great too.  I had pain at the stoma sight, it had to heal all over again, but I felt great.  I went to church the next day.  

My son and his wife welcomed a new baby girl into their family July 21st.  Her name is Rosalie Ann Muntifering and she's such a doll.  Dawson, loves her.  My son and his kids... so precious!  They live so far away right now, can't wait to make a visit up there.  Mel says that Dawson is so sweet to Rose and wants to know where she is as soon as he wakes up in the morning.  She took the two of them on a walk today, Aug 15, to go visit their Daddy at work.  He works within walking distance at the hospital.  Such a sweet family and the good news was AWESOME right after my fix me up surgery.  

 My daughter and her family came up to Oregon and camped and visited us a couple days.  I was only about 5 days our of surgery so they hung out around here and took trips during the day.  They took their kids to Sunset Bay, a place I often took Jennifer and her brothers when they were kids.  Her kids had fun wading, hiking and looking for crabs and sea life.  So fun to see them and play games and have meals with them.  Jen and Kevin are doing a great job with their cute kids!

August 3rd I went to the river with Daniel and Stephanie and we brought our blow up rafts.  It was so fun and relaxing after working SO MUCH for days!  It was a beautiful, perfect day.  Warm and made us all want to get in the water.  I puttered around a bit and then Daniel and Stephanie got in their raft and they tied me to theirs so I wouldn't float away  Lol.  I felt good, but getting out of that raft was HARD, Lol.  Daniel helped me and Stephanie get down the up the trail.  Stephanie is 6 months pregnant and I was only 2 weeks post op.  But it was a great little trip.  We were only there about an hour and a half.  We'd like to see about inviting Brad's family to come next time.  It's about half way between us.  

So I'm doing good.  Thank goodness I can eat again and I'm not having problems.  I met with Dr. Tersigni for a follow up and he said unless I have problems, I'm doing good.. no need to see him anymore.  So grateful!  I want to write a letter to the hospital about Dr. Lawson who wouldn't do the surgery for me to get fixed.  I went in to the Reedsport hospital twice and he wouldn't do it.  Oh well... but I want them to know he was negligent in my opinion.  

All is well and I'm doing good.  Kelly takes great care of me and I'm back to delivering and picking up trailers with him and Daniel.  Summer is almost over already!  Kelly and I take our first trip to take a trailer back to Nevada this SUNDAY!  Wow!  Life is good.  I try to do things that make me happy.  I led the RS discussion again last Sunday.  I enjoy doing that and in Reedsport they ask me a lot.  Kelly and I are giving a talk in sacrament meeting Aug 26th.  My first talk in a long time.  

Gratitude and Close Calls

I wanted to write down some experiences that have happened in my family that have caused me to stop, pause and think "Wow!  That could've been so much more dangerous or so much worse!"  We are truly watched over and protected.  It is my belief that as we live, or do our best to live a good life, serve others, keep God's commandments and keep the covenants we have made to stand as a witness of Christ at all times, in all things and in all places, we are divinely protected.  In no way am I saying that "bad things only happen to bad people" but I do believe that God watches over us and protects us and He has a plan for us.   Bad things do happen to good people sometime.  We are living here on earth to gain experience and learn to grow and gain from all the experiences we have.  There is no joy without opposition.  When we are sick, we are sad and uncomfortable so that when we get well we know we feel so much better!  We like NOT being sick!  That is opposition.  When bad things happen, we survive and work through it, drawing on our faith and relying on God.  We count our blessings when things improve.  Here is my personal list of examples of how God's loving hand has helped me and my family in our lives.

Just recently, and this is what made me think of ALL the times we have been protected, my husband and I were out on the Oregon Sand Dunes, he was driving his Subaru Sand Car he's had for years.  The day was beautiful, sunny and warm, a light breeze was blowing.  There were other riders around and it was a Summertime weekday.  It was about 3 in the afternoon.  Our son came with us and he was riding a side by side we have, but he felt like it was running rough.  He said he was going back to the truck to fill the gas tank, maybe it was running rough because it was almost out of gas.  So while he went back to the truck, my husband and I took a ride up and over some of the bigger sand dunes and enjoyed what we call the Colosseum in the Wincester Bay Sand Dunes.  It is a big area, open with two large hills with a lower 'bowl' at the bottom.  We rode up and around and over the top, over and over again.  Then we moved to another big dune where my husband drove the sand car along the side at the top of the big sand hill.  We rode around a while and decided that our son should be done getting gas so we'd head back towards the truck.  As we left the big dunes and started on the sand trail back to the parking lot, we veered off to the side and my husband turned off the engine.  He said the steering gave out, completely no steering at all right there at that time.  NOT when we were up on the big dunes, where IF the steering went out up there, we could have been rolling down the big sand dunes in the sand car!  We called our son and asked him to look for anything in the truck that would work for a bolt for the steering column to connect to the front axle.  That is the part that just decided to blow out on the sand trail back.  Felt so awesome to have been so protected at that time!  Wow!
It made me think back at ALL the times we have been protected.

One Winter day while living in Las Vegas, my son and I attended the Las Vegas temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  We had a wonderful time visiting on the way to and from the temple and enjoyed our time inside the temple, enjoying our time for service there.  The trip to the temple from our house was about a 45 minute drive through freeway driving and some going through town.  We drove over and stopped at the Nutrition Club I worked my Herbalife business out of.  We went inside the club and enjoyed a shake and then my son went out to take the car and he was going to come back to pick me up later.  He got into the little red Scion we had just driven all over Las Vegas, and while pulling out of the parking spot, the front axle bolts on the right side drop to the ground!  Bolts everywhere and the car was immobilized right there!  This happened in the parking lot and NOT while turning a corner in town somewhere or worse, while on the freeway!  Felt so protected!

Another instance was my husband and I were out all day in our truck delivering RV's out to the Dumont Sand Dune area.  We were driving back to the RV park in Tacopa where we store them to spend the night there in one of our RV's.. it was late.  As he pulled into the RV park in the truck, it completely stops and will not start up again to park.. we were in the driveway inside the park where it stalled and stopped.  The drive from Dumont to Tacopa is dead cell zone area, no cell service.  No services at all for MILES!   For us to break down right there in the RV park.. what are the 'odds'?!!  We stayed the night in one of our RV's and in the morning, called for a tow truck.  We were blessed to NOT have to walk for miles to get cell service!  So protected!

One of our sons was in an almost head on collision in his Honda driving from Eugene to Florence one day.  He came around one of the corners and saw a car in his lane coming towards his car.  There was a hillside on his right side so he had nowhere to go!  The car was swerving to miss a DEER!  My son was able to get as close to the hillside as possible to avoid a head on collision!  So scary yet so protected - it could have been a fatal accident!

Another son went out riding his motorcycle by himself on the sand dunes one afternoon.  He loved to jump his bike and was getting really good at it.  He could get very high and land a jump with practically no fear.  He was jumping his bike and while in the air, the engine died.  His motorcycle came down like a rock and he came down as well.  There was a guy who witnessed this and he drove his quad to my son and found him.  My son was awake and the guy asked him some questions and asked him if he was ok, had him take his helmet off.  My son said he was ok, just shaken up and a little sore.  He didn't pass out, he didn't break anything, he had someone right there to help him.  So blessed.
Another time, same son went riding on a quad on the sand by himself and was driving very fast without checking out the area around him first.  He came upon a big ditch right in front of him and he had no time to react.  He slammed into a wall of sand.  A guy saw this, came over to my son and asked him if he was ok.  He was ok but was knocked out for a bit.  He hit that wall of sand so hard that he bent up the A arms of the quad pretty bad.  Our son used the guys cell phone to call us to come to the parking lot to pick him up where the guy was going to tow him to.  So blessed, could have been much worse!

Our Van had a flat tire one Summer while we were driving on vacation.  It was very HOT and we were in California on the I5.  Tire blew and we pulled over with 5 kids in the van and it was hot.  I kept them occupied and my husband looked for anything he could use for a jack.. we didn't have a proper jack to get the van up to change the tire.  Low and behold, just down the freeway about 200 yards away, same side as us, a motor home pulled over with a flat tire.  I walked down to them and asked them if we could borrow their jack after they were finished changing their tire!  So blessed!

While driving an old Oldsmobile car home one evening on a very rainy night, we were going around a slight corner and the front left tire completely turned sideways and our car came to a screeching halt right on the highway between Coos Bay and Coquille.  My husband was driving and my daughter and her friend were in the back seat, I was in the passenger sear.  My husband told us all to get out of the car quickly and get to the side of the road. We did!  And who should pull over to help us?   A TOW TRUCK was behind us and stopped to ask us if we needed help!  So protected and so blessed.

I feel very protected and thankful that my family is protected.  I know it is because we are striving to live a good life, to be guided by the spirit of the Lord and that we pay our tithing and accept assignments and fulfill our assignments to the best or our abilities.  We do all we can to stay on the path back to live with our Father in Heaven and I feel blessed and loved by Him daily.  These are some of my experiences.. I have more and may post more another day.  Life is a journey and I'm striving to do my best to follow God's plan for me.  I know He knows us and loves all of His children.

  

Dealing with disappointments

So we all have disappointments in life, that's life.  Yes.  I accept that we are supposed to grow and learn and have experiences, but it doesn't make it fun or easy.  I get disappointed and wonder how I could've been better or made things turn out differently.  So, I think I need a list.. a list of what to do when I'm disappointed.  First of all, my family is the best.  I rarely am disappointed in them.  Each of my family members are individuals with goals and dreams of their own and that's good.  I am in no way wanting to manipulate or persuade any of my family members to do anything except follow their own righteous desires and dreams that are good for their lives.  I'm not really 'aiming' this post towards anyone.. I feel like I've been disappointed a few times in my life though and need reminded of what to DO when I feel like this.
1) Be Grateful.  I have been given so much.  Count my blessings, look at the good, focus on the positive and smile.  Even if it takes writing notes to myself to remind me of my blessings then I need to do that.  I keep a journal, a gratitude journal, and I try to write in it frequently.  It's about due for another entry!
2) Serve.  When I focus on others needs, my own needs become less important.  Serving gives me a sense of taking care of someone else and that feels great!  When I put others needs before my own, my own disappointments and problems seem insignificant, or at least lessened.
3) Smile.  Says it all.  I remind myself to smile often.  I look better when I smile!
4) Listen to uplifting music or talks. Putting positive 'things' in my mind fills it with good, happy thoughts and messages instead of the disappointments I may be feeling.  Play a video that is happy and listen to light, happy and inspiring music.

5) Focus on my talents.  Work on a project.  I love to create and make things newer and more lovely.  When I work on a hobby or talent, I feel great and accomplished and my disappointments are pushed away to the background and my talents and hobbies, things I love to do, are pushed to the forefront!  When I play the piano, I always am uplifted and in a better mood.  Singing makes me smile and be happy too.  A song is like a prayer of the heart spoken up to heaven.  Uplifting to my soul.
6) Give.   When I give of my time, talents, energy and love I feel good inside and it shows on the outside as well.  
7) Work.  Work hard and smart.  Get things done.  When I get things organized and manageable, I feel accomplished instead of disappointed.  Work my plan, set goals and plan to work.
8) Talk with a close family member.  When I talk to one of my kids on facetime or on the phone, I always feel better and do not focus on any of the disappointing things that may have happened that day.  I love my family and I have many family members to talk to.  I feel their love when we talk and share our day and lives with each other.
9) Read scriptures or good, uplifting inspirational books.  I can learn from the experiences of others when I read books that have stories of triumph and victory.  In good books I can find victory for good, triumph in overcoming obstacles to live a better life.  Reading books and listening to audio books helps me to learn how to deal with disappointments with dignity.
10) Love others for who they are.  I should never want to take away anyone's choice and force them to see things my way.  Everyone has the right to choose the way they want to live and it is my 'job' in life to not want to or have the desire to force others to see everything my way.  Love others no matter what they decide to do in their life.  This does not mean I should hang out with or spend time with people who are not on the same path as I am on as far as my goals are concerned, but that I can and should love others no matter what choices they make.  We can find common ground and enjoy our differences, or move on and make friends who are like minded and help us to grow and reach our goals.
11) Spend time with my husband.  My husband is the love of my life.  I look up to him, admire him, respect him and cherish our time together.  I always enjoy his company.  We have a good marriage and have raised 5 wonderful kids who we have a good relationship with as they are growing into adults.  I love to take walks, watch movies, go on drives, work side by side, and do lots of things with my husband.  He helps me feel happy and loved.  We are companions and I am so blessed to have him and he is blessed to have me.
12) Remember that Jesus Christ loves me and I am of great worth.  I am a daughter of God, a woman with a divine destiny and I strive to fulfill that calling of daughter, sister, wife, and mother to the best of my ability.  I cannot do anything alone.  I need my Heavenly Father and His love and guidance.  I know that God sent His Son Jesus Christ to this earth to be an example, to live and to give His life for all of mankind, for me.  He paid for all of my sins and took upon himself my heartaches and worries.  I must trust that God has a plan for me and that through His Son I can be made perfect someday and join with them and my family in an Eternal Life, if I strive to live according to His laws and love.


I have a lovely life, but I do experience disappointments now and then.  It is a human experience and I'm learning to deal and grow and move on.  I should never expect to never be disappointed in my life.  I am one, only one, woman, but I am one and I can be a positive influence for good to those who love me and want to be with me.

Hope

Here's a quote from a respected women's leader and motivational speaker for today:
"we can hope not just for a better world somewhere out in the great beyond, but for a better world here and now.  We can have hope for our lives and our family's lives.  We can have hope that we definitely can endure and do what we have been called upon to do here... to think o others more than ourselves.  ...Faith, hope and charity are simply and fundamentally crucial to our conversion and to our eventual exaltation"  Sheri Dew

"You can trust the Lord.  You can faithfully endure to the end.  God has given you the power to do so.  He won't give you commandments you can't keep.  You must be positive even though life may be difficult"   Roger McKenzie from the book How Awesome will it be?

Family and church

I met with my brother last night, brought him dinner in his time share hotel that he is letting my husband and I stay in for a few days!  We had a wonderful visit, caught up and chatted a lot about family, business and life.  He's my older brother and I've always looked up to him.  He is generous, smart, hard working, faithful and kind.  I could go on.  We were close as teenagers and remain close and enjoy getting together when we can.  We've been able to see each other more this past Winter.. we live closer to him in the Wintertime.   He always has a smile and cares so much for his family, not only his wife and children, grandchild, but his sisters and parents and extended family as well.

Sunday, the day I missed blogging, (shame on me huh!  I can't let it get me down or stop me, I cannot change what happened yesterday, only move on to doing better!) I went to church with my husband and enjoyed being in my sacrament meeting.  I was sitting there listening to the prelude music and it was time for the meeting to start.  One of the young men came to the row behind us and I thought it was odd because his family was sitting in front of us..  he tapped me on my shoulder and asked if I would come up and lead the opening song.  There was no director yet.  Our music chorister is pregnant and due anytime now.  She's a first time mom and so sweet and leads the music every Sunday.  So I said "sure"  I jumped up and turned to the page in the book to the song we were singing and led the opening song.  As the song began, our chorister came up front and was there just a tad late.. she led the rest of the songs for the meeting.  I was happy to be able to serve and fill in when there is a need.  I am comfortable leading music in either a congregation or a choir.   I love doing it.

Today, Monday, my husband and I have been able to work at a time share that my brother said we could use for a few days until he and his wife and daughter can come and enjoy some time away.  He had to work for a couple days and they had to use the time share, so he was so generous and didn't want the place "to go empty".  I plan on going swimming tomorrow afternoon!  Kelly (my husband) and I have enjoyed working here and chilling and enjoying the beautiful resort room.

Until tomorrow.  Lessons learned:  Serve when needed.  Love your family.  Do things together as a married couple to kindle your relationship.  Relax now and then.  Slow down and enjoy some time together.

You can do anything... if you...

I have to write.  I have to write down what's going on or I'll explode.  I don't know if anyone will read this, and that part really isn't important because writing for me is like therapy.. getting thoughts and feelings out there instead of pent up inside and me not knowing what to do with them.
I am a strong person.  I am 53 years old and I have raised 5 kids, 2 of those children came to me at one time.  I survived and thrived.  I LOVE my children and the memories I have of raising them.  I was probably more of a pushover than I should have been, but all in all, they all turned out great.  My husband helped raise our family - he was very involved with decisions and the direction our parenting went.  He knew a lot and I don't even know where he learned it from.  He is a valiant son of God, striving to keep the commandments.
But this isn't really what I want to write about today.
I think I'm going to take the 365 blog challenge.. blog every day for a YEAR!  Why?  I don't really know.. because I want to see if I can set a huge goal and accomplish it.  I have done many things in my life and I find myself now wanting to improve and learn and stretch myself to do more.  I want to help others, be a positive influence for good, stay close to my family, children and grandchildren and love and help my brother and sisters all I can.  I have held many responsible church callings in my life and have learned a lot about leadership and delegating and getting things done.  In fact, my activity in my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints has helped me become more than I would be if I wasn't active or attending.   My religion and what I believe is a whole nother blog post though,
I was thinkking while I drove home this morning after taking my 24 year old son to his workplace (my car is in the shop and that's a whole nother blog post!) and I thought of that famous saying "You can do anything if you put your mind to it".  I do not know who to credit that quote to, but I was thinking about it and when I heard it as a teen, I thought that if you 'thought' hard enough, you could accomplish your goals, do anything you wanted to do.  Well, that doesn't work.  You can't just think hard about something and accomplish a goal, any goal.  What I've learned over the past few years, is that when you want something bad enough and you change your thinking and believe that anything is possible, with the right kind of work behind it, you CAN do anything.  But it takes work!  It takes a process.  It takes learning what works for you and then doing that process and not just setting a goal and sitting there thinking hard about it and hoping it will come to pass.  Often we cannot change circumstances around us.  We can't change the weather. We can't change the 'economy'.  We can't change other people's choices.  We can't change people to do what we think they should do. We can't control actions of others that affect our lives.  What we CAN do is change the way we look at our circumstances.  We can change the way we think, feel, and act.  We can choose to have a good attitude.  We can choose to work hard on ourselves to improve so we can reach our goals for ourselves.  We can become the best person we can be, with hard work and good ethics.

You can do anything if you put your mind to it is true... but it takes action..  Your mind comes up with an action plan and you work that plan over and over and over again until you see the results you want.  If you don't like the results you are getting, make adjustments, look at yourself and work on being your best.  These are all directed towards ME by the way.  Replace the 'we' with 'I' and it's all for me.  I need to change and work and grow for my dreams and vision and goals to come to pass.  
I have a goal to get up earlier in the morning and listen to uplifting personal development talks or read good books for 15 minutes every morning.   I know this will start my day on a positive note and get me off thinking the right way about me, my life, my circumstances, and my relationships.
So, I am declaring that I'm getting out of bed, that's out of bed and not looking at facebook on my phone, which is what usually happens for about 20 minutes before I get out of bed, at exactly 6:30am from now on.  I'm doing it.  I've written it so I'm doing it.    I'll do Personal Development for 15 minutes and after I've mastered this new habit, I'll add another activity to my morning routine, and so on for my day.  I need to develop structure and good habits for my business, social, intellectual and spiritual growth.
Ok.. First blog of 365 started.  I'll try to post photos to go with the posts.

My Dad and Mom

I absolutely love my parents. I am so blessed they raised me and love me. My Dad is recovering from a heart attack that happened last night. So sudden and unexpected.  Life is so fragile. We are so blessed. My Mom rushed my Dad to the hospital and he got there in time.  They worked on him and he's going to be all right and we are all grateful for this time we still have with him. I was with my oldest son, his wife and my husband when my brother told me what happened over the phone. Shock and relief to hear he is pulling through. I didn't cry and I don't think it sunk completely in until tonight, 24 hours later. I need to drive down South and visit Mom and Dad soon.  Soon.  My husband and I live in Las Vegas in  winter time and we're getting ready to return to the Oregon Coast for Summer and our busy season.  I want to see Mom and Dad before we leave the South for Summer.  They are wonderful parents and wonderful people.  I'm thankful Heavenly Father allowed my Dad to be ok. That we have him here with us for a longer time. Live each day with the people you love and the things you love to do to help others have a happy life. 

Things I've made

I love to sew and this is a tote I made from a quilted fabric yard.  I used bias tape to bind the unfinished edges so it is reversible!  Used a vintage button for the clasp.  I love this bag.. It was a gift to my daughter with small children, great for toting kids stuff and her stuff too.  

I grabbed a boot cuff pattern I Love off of Pinterest and here are the results: they are both the same, you can use both sides for a different affect.  Pretty and soft and warm for Winter.  I gave these away to daughter in laws for Christmas.. they make up pretty fast.  

Some of my hats I've crocheted.  I don't use a pattern, I like to create as I go and use different weighted yarns.  I will be selling these if anyone is interested.  alainamun@hotmail.com  :)  Fun

Women, you are all Beautiful!

Believe it and you will be even more beautiful.  What is the definition of beauty?  You get to choose, you choose what is beautiful to you.  Be your own kind of beautiful and own it, live it, breathe it!  If you are dissatisfied, change something.  Smile more!  Be happy inside and out and show that beauty with your radiant smile and attitude of kindness towards everyone.  

I found some cousins, family members who I've lost touch with for over 30 years, found them on facebook.  It makes me happy!  They are beautiful, beautiful women.  I hope we can get together, stay in touch and that in some small way I can build them up and we can encourage and love each other as family and friends.  I have a huge family.  My mother has 7 siblings and my dad has 7 as well and my parents are 78 years old.  All of my aunts and uncles have large families so I have a lot of cousins and I'm even getting to find first cousins once removed, my cousin's children.  Social media is great for reconnecting and feeling like a family get together, like when we were kids.  

Every woman has something wonderful to offer others.  Give to those who love and appreciate you and give to those who need a lift.  Give a smile, a friendly hello or a helping hand.  

Believe that you are beautiful and you will be able to do amazing things.  Beautiful means so many different things, not just surface beauty on the outside.  The most wonderful women are those who love and serve and help others as part of their very being.  They uplift and share, communicate and teach, build others and don't put themselves first.  Me time is great, but as we give and build others, we have so much more beautiful substance to share.

Resistance or Flow?

Today I watched a bird flying in the wind.  It flew against the wind for a bit, but as you know, when the wind is strong, birds don't fly against the wind, they are still, not moving much, with their wings outstretched staying in place as the wind keeps them there.. The bird was at a stand still when it flew against the wind.  Then the bird made a smooth turn and let the wind carry him as he eased across the sky and I imagined his happiness at the ease of flying with the wind.  I don't know what it means, but it made me happy to see the bird.  It almost seemed to like to turn and be at a stand still once in a while and take in the resistance of the wind.
Do we appreciate our surroundings and just stand still and be happy in our moments now and then?
I feel like taking control of when we take it all in and stand still, then turn and run with the flow of our blessings coming to us in our lives is up to us.  Watching the bird was joyful, peaceful.  I put myself in his position and didn't feel like the winds were pushing me, but that I was working WITH the winds of change and circumstance for my life.  Just an observation today.  Felt good to Look Up and notice nature and life around me.  I saw the bird at the Dumont Sand Dunes in Southern California today.  My husband and I were picking up a rental trailer out there together.  We spent the day together and it was great!

Small things bring the biggest joy!

Little things are the biggest joys!  I love seeing the little faces of my grandkids.  Their smiles are shining and full of wonder and light.  The look of a child who is seeing new things for the first time is priceless.  They are pure, sweet, open and love the things they are experiencing for the first time, full of wonder and amazement.  My daughter-in-law posted of her 2 year old daughter looking into the Sea Lion Caves on the Oregon Coast.  Her little face was full of amazement and wonder as she looked through the fence at the Sea Lions.  Seeing her see something for the first time is so sweet.  She looked amazed, all a wonder.  What if we all looked at things in our lives with new wonder and amazement?  Would we feel the newness of a flower, a sunset, a smile from a friend, a hug from our spouse, a smile from a stranger, a kind word from a loved one?  Would we help others to feel of our amazement at life?  Giving others the simple and small things to bring more joy into their lives will bring us more joy at the small and simple things.  Call a friend, call a family member, hug your kids, smile and laugh with your family, be silly sometimes, run outside into the rain or snow, be positive and loving, give others the benefit of the doubt, don't be so sensitive, smile more.  Little things can bring us the greatest joy.  These things do not cost money.  Decide to be happy and to remember what it's like to enjoy the simple little things everyday that are such blessings to us.  Be positive and less critical, happy and less sad, motivated and less lazy, full of love and less cynical, more creative and less annoyed at life.  There is beauty all around, right in front of us.  Children grow up before our eyes.  Enjoy every stage and every moment.  Enjoy every smile, every hug.  Pay attention to their little voices when they talk to you.  Make them feel safe, loved and important at a very early age.  THEY are the future of your family and will grow up to raise their children the way you've raised them, and improve upon that even.  As I watch my adult children teach and nurture their own children, I see them doing an even better job than I did.  I am so grateful for this.  I see them teaching by example and by helping them to understand with patience.  Small things do bring the biggest joy!  This phrase spoke to me and makes me think of my children and grandchildren.  They are my biggest joys!  

National Anthem and sports

I have a dream of something I've had a secret desire to do and I'm going to share it here.  Ready?  

I have always, ever since my kids started playing sports back in 1994, to sing the National Anthem and open a sporting event.  I have no idea why.... and I contemplated asking to sing at a basketball game my youngest son's senior year, but I chickened out.  I saw my going to 100's of ball games coming to a close.  But I still want to do it someday.  I may never do it, but I think it would be very cool.  I don't think of myself as a soloist or a great singer, but I can stay on pitch and sing that song from memory.  It is one of the hardest songs to sing, vocally.  Anyway, thought I'd share.  I love my country, love music, love America, love home town sports games and love being a fan.  I've watched my 5 children play Soccer, T Ball, Baseball, Football, Track and Field and our family favorite, Basketball through all their middle school and high school years.  Some of them through Elementary School as well, so could be close to 1000 games.  I have not counted, but it's huge.  From 1994 to 2009 as a Mom fan then another year as the Varsity Boys book keeper.  I kept the boys JV and V basketball book for years, and the girls V basketball book for a number of years too.  I loved going to games, rooting for my kids, watching them improve and play with sportsmanship and see them enjoy the sports they were involved in.  I didn't miss many games or meets.  I tried to support them as much as I could.  My husband Kelly was the Boys JV basketball head coach, Boys V assistant Coach and Girls V Basketball head coach through our children playing in high school.  My oldest son even got in the coaching field and coached a season of girls JV middle school basketball games.  I have a son who is a Basketball referee right now.. he's reffed for three seasons now.  Loves it!  Another son reffed for a while until his own kids got involved in sports.  He now is helping and may be coaching soccer soon, his girls love playing soccer.  I've enjoyed going to a few of my grand daughter's soccer games and watching them improve, score, win and sometimes lose.   Just thought I'd share..  Many memories around sports in our family and we played and traveled together.  My 2002 Mitsubishi Montero Sport now has just over 250K miles on it, a lot of those miles were driving all over for most all of their basketball games and play offs and tournaments.  

Anyway, I've always wanted to sing the national anthem at a sporting event.  That's on my dream board, bucket list.  If it never happens, I'll have to sing it for a family talent night then!    

I love Music

Today I sang a duet in church. It was a little scarey, but I was pretty calm.  I had a phone call a couple weeks ago from my friend asking me to sing a song with another woman in my church.  We practiced last week and then again this afternoon before church and that's it!  This afternoon I was kind of struggling with a part or two in the song, trying to get my note on the key change and beginning of the new verses. I was a little worried.  Kind of.  The my friend who asked us and was our accompanist on the piano said we should pray together.  Great idea, I needed it!  So we said a prayer and the next run though the song was perfect.  Felt great.  I had some confidence.  During the meeting I was pretty tired, and when it came time for us to sing, I walked up there like I was having an out of body experience or something.  We sang and it went very well.  The song was an arrangement of For The Beauty Of The Earth.  Three verses and all different. First verse, unison. Second verse, me melody and soprano had a descant.  Third verse, I had a low alto part, ending in unison.  Kelly said it was great. :)  I know prayers are answered and it calmed me to know that my Heavenly Father gave me the peace and calm I needed to sing all the right notes.  I love music. I enjoy sharing my talents.  It isn't always easy, but I enjoy it a lot.  I am playing organ for a Christmas song with the piano and choir in December, and playing my flute to a song.  I'm also singing in the ward and stake Christmas choir for the programs. I'm thankful my mom encouraged me.  I'm thankful I had an excellent teacher who motivated me.  She set a good example. Played soooo amazingly well!  Mrs Jeannie Miller in Simi Valley CA. 1973-1979 is when I had lessons.  

Choices and happiness

Choices are all ours.  Freedom to choose and be accountable.  It is God's plan. When children make choices, they have consequences.  When we make choices, we have consequences.  We are in charge of our lives, present and future.  If we don't like the way things are, we can choose to change ourselves.  The only person we are truly in charge of is ourselves.  We cannot make others choose the things we think or know are good for them.  Everyone chooses for themselves.  I have found that I have the choice to be happy, to choose happiness.  I don't have to have 'things' to make me happy.  Things come and go and don't last, but true happiness is inner peace, contentment, service to others, making time for ourselves, working, playing, laughing, enjoying nature.  Whatever it is that brings you peace and happiness, do that more often.  Sing, laugh, play a game, talk with your spouse, call a friend or family member, listen to uplifting talks and music, dance!  Develop yourself and the talents God has given you (He has given ALL of us talents!) and you'll feel happiness and joy.  Bake, sew, craft, write, smile, go for a walk and brighten others' day.  Choose to do good and be happy.  Be an example of what good the world has to offer.  Invite others to do activities with you.  Enjoy friendship and relationships.  No one is responsible for your life but you.  No matter the weather, live, love and choose joy.

Family Love

Family photo taken in Feb 2014.  This was a special day.  Our newest Grandbaby was blessed in church.  We gathered and celebrated the newest arrival to our family.   He is so sweet and cute and precious.  The feeling of holding a brand new grandchild is unmatched by anything ever.  It is the BEST feeling and love just flows all through me as I look into my new baby grandchildren's eyes and feel of their warmth all cuddly soft, so new from Heavenly Father.  I feel very blessed and seeing my children grow and be parents is so fulfilling and beautiful.  They are good parents and attentive spouses and all are finding their way in life and seeking after happiness and light.   We love them all.  Families are the thread of life that ties it all together for us through happy and sad times, triumphs and trials.  But the trials are always lessened when we have the love and support of family in our lives.  Heavenly Father meant it to be that way.  Marriage is ordained of God and it is His plan for us to live together as husband and wife and enjoy the blessing of having children.   It isn't always in everybody's plan to be able to have children, but every woman is a mother and every man, a father.  Three of my four boys are pictured here with their spouses and family.   No better time than when we are together, thank goodness we have the freedom to be able to travel and see children and family when times like this are upon us.      

Cruise Vacation!

We went on a 35th Wedding Anniversary Cruise to Catalina Island and Ensenada Mexico!   We went on the Carnival cruise ship Inspiration and it was so relaxing and great.  We talked, laughed, ate, walked, rested in the sunshine, watched the seagulls, walked downtown Mexico, walked around quaint Catalina Island, and simply enjoyed each other's company.  Kelly is a very caring, loving husband and I enjoy being with him, traveling and seeing different places together,  

 This was on one of our 'relaxing' times in the chairs, just listening to the music being played.  Kelly had a book and I had some crocheting to do.  The weather was perfect, thank goodness!  Some cruises can turn out to be nightmares!  Lol!  Not ours!  We had perfect, pleasant weather the whole time.

 This is Mexico from the ship.  We did walk into town and did some window shopping.  As we were walking around, of course all the vendors are trying to get your attention and sell their wares.  I was thinking, what would I really need or want to purchase here?  And it hit me, leather sandals.  I scoped out a place and there was a shop across the street, so we walked to the end of the street and crossed.. came to my shop and the guy was very nice.. started a conversation with us.  Not salesy at first.  Then I mentioned what I was looking for and spotted the perfect sandal.  We talked over prices and I gave him my size and he came out with these!  I love them!  and he gave me a bargain.. $20.  When someone else asked how much they were, he said $30.  :)  I got the deal!

This is our ship's view as we are taking the smaller ship over to Catalina Island.  Pretty cool!  Here's a shot with Kelly on Catalina Island, perfect weather and we walked all over.. so peaceful and nice.  We saw bright orange fish in the bay.  

We played miniature golf on the top of the ship one morning.  So fun and I was ahead at first, then Kelly went ahead of me and on the last hole, he threw his shot so we would be tied, no winner..  that's how he is.. wants me to be happy and he knows I'm competitive!  

Here I am on the deck when we are docked, eating breakfast getting ready to leave the ship.  I'm wearing a sweatshirt my sweet mother in law had made for me.. so cute!  

Happy Marriage tips

I'd like to talk about marriage and your relationship with your husband.  I've been married for 35 years now so I might have some experience on the matter.  I've been reading a few articles that have been going around Facebook and as I've read them I found myself saying "Well, of course"  thinking why would someone need to write an article on that?  It seems like common sense to me.  But is it?  These days are people too caught up in the ME syndrome and what's in it for ME and why are MY needs not met?  probably.  Here's what I know.  Your spouse married you because they love you and were attracted to you and wanted to share their life with you and even eternity with you.  So why do we sometimes get impatient or even start to shut them out of our lives?    Ok, I'll stop with the negative side and turn things to the positive side.  You have two options when your husband asks you to "come look at this!" or "honey could you come here?"  
1. Lean toward your husband and lend an attentive ear, shoulder, heart and smile or
2. Ask "What do you want?" from the other room as if we are too busy.
Why would a husband call for you to come see something or ask for your presence?  You are his companion and friend.  He wants to spend time with you.  Do you accept and go to him when he calls you and needs you?  Should you?  Of course you should and he should do the same for you.
I have an example from just the other night.. It was last Friday night, we were camping out in the desert in our camp trailer and it was dark outside, a starry, starry night but not too cold.  I was inside all cozy and all involved in my accounting with my receipts spread out everywhere and my fingers ready on my laptop inputting amounts and dates into my program for accounts.  My husband called for me from outside and asked me to come here for a second.  I was like "great!  I'm all involved and it's not easy to just get up and leave all these papers that were all over my lap!"  Well, when I went out, we witnessed the most beautiful, peaceful moment in the sky!  It was moon rise just over the rocky mountains in the distance.  We didn't understand the light on the small clouds at first, then as the moon made it's appearance, it was so beautiful and I would have MISSED it if I said "Honey, I'm busy I can't come out."  He wanted to show me this thing in the sky that puzzled him, the light on the clouds looked eerie and spooky and beautiful.  I was happy to have shared those moments with him.  I leaned in towards him when he reached out to me.  My initial reaction of "I have no time for this, I am doing something important" was replaced by "Isn't that beautiful and I'm so glad we're here together!"  When we want to share something with our spouse, we hope to get a cheerful response and a feeling of contentment as we share moments together, even the small things.  Lean towards your spouse and share moments and times together.

Are you always on the defensive ready to defend your opinion every time you have a conversation with your husband?  Is your interaction with each other combative?  Relax and remember your sense of humor and be light with each other, in a nice way.  No teasing that is harmful or vindictive.  No showing disrespect ever, especially in public.  Always build and uplift each other, especially when you are around family members or friends.  Do the people around you KNOW that you love each other, or do they leave your presence asking themselves if they think your marriage will last another year?  Show affection, but don't gush.  Hold hands.  Smile as you look into your husband's eyes.  Be flirty.  Let him show you affection, even if you are not "in the mood".  You'll be in the mood if you just relax and stop worrying about the day, the laundry, the kids, the house, the car, etc.  Be playful.
Never, never, never hold back physical intimacy for punishment.  Never.  That very thing is what can break up a marriage.  Physical intimacy is like the glue that holds the marriage together.  For you, it might be chatting over breakfast, or going for a drive, or talking about your day, or a back rub, but physical intimacy must be part of your routine for your marriage to remain a happy, stable and vital.

The more that my husband and I talk about events from the past and how we handled them, the more we are able to learn and grow for the events in our future that happen.  Learn from your mistakes, but don't bring them up as ammunition when you disagree or argue about a decision or topic.  No one likes to be reminded of their weaknesses or faults, especially from the person they love and are spending their lives and eternity with.  Be courteous and able to forgive and let go.    I remember a time when my husband and I were in an argument while the kids were out playing (don't remember about what, as is always the case), and he said some things that really hurt my feelings, but I didn't yell and scream and cry back to him.  I just left the room, got the kids ready for bed and took a shower and cried in the shower.  I got dressed and came out into the living room again (by this time the kids were all in bed) he looked at me and told me sincerely that he was sorry for the way he spoke to me, that I didn't deserve what he said to me.  He apologized.  I learned at that moment what the song, "Love is never having to say you're sorry" meant.  But hearing his apology to me meant so much.  I love him and I forgave him.  From that moment on, I have always thought to myself when he may say something as a dig or maybe not so nice that he doesn't mean to hurt me.  He isn't perfect and I can forgive him, even if he doesn't say he's sorry all the time.    Give your spouse the benefit of the doubt.  Don't react or overreact to situations.  Things can escalate so easily, don't let them!

Spend time together.  Don't be so busy that you don't make time for each other.  Never put your children first.  That's a whole new post in itself!  Priorities in my book are
1. My God and my faith in His plan for me.
2. My husband. (kids grow up and leave and it's just the two of you so nurture your relationship)
3. My children and grandchildren.
4. My professional job or living.
5. Housekeeping.
I have been sealed for time and all eternity to my husband and my children are also sealed to us forever by the Priesthood authority pronounced upon us in the holy temple of the Lord.  My relationship with my husband comes before my children.  My children know their place and I love all 5 of them dearly and gave them all the attention, affection and time that they needed to become grown ups.  Even when my kids were at home, I tried really hard to put him first.  This sets a good example for the children to know that their parent's relationship is #1 for both of us.  It has helped our children see how to have a stable marriage for themselves.

This photo is from 2012 Christmas.  Our youngest son isn't in the photo because he is serving a mission for our church in the state of Michigan for two years.  We have 4 boys and 1 daughter and we love all of them and their spouses!  Since this photo, we've added two more grandchildren to the bunch.  4 Grandsons and 4 Granddaughters.  We love our family and are pretty proud of the adults our children have become.