December Ramblings

Wow, this background is sure easier to read, isn't it?

I can't believe there are only seventeen days till Christmas and I am NOT ready! Usually I start preparations in August and spread the cheer over a few months! This year I am lumping the cheer ALL together...in one big marathon!

I have been making a few gifts this year. Do you ever have one or two presents you are just REALLY excited about and can't wait to give??? This year it is my project for Julie. I'll have to post a picture AFTER December 25. BUT! I think she is really going to LOVE IT...I think Ally will love hers too...

In the meantime, sometimes I just have to do something creative...This is the stitchery I did for our gift exchange at the scrapbook retreat in Fairview in November. I'm so glad Kimberly got it. She loved it and will appreciate it, being a stitcher herself!


This is the cute garland my friend Michele made and gave to each of us in Fairview.


This is the garland Allyson made to go with it so I had one for each door to the patio!

I'm making a little something for each of our kids' families too. More pictures will have to wait till after Santa comes...

Long Time, No Post

I have a list a mile long today, but David finally got my photo program back working, so I'm going to begin my catch-up. I just transferred 395 pictures to my computer-since October Conference weekend! I'll try to post every day for a while and get "caught up."

(Just for your info, I wrote that first paragraph five days ago and it has been in my drafts folder since then. I guess I'm just going with the flow now. Whatever happens blogwise...happens...)


Jeff, Maddie, and little Ally decorated this gingerbread house last week for Family Home Evening. Sydney found the candy ornaments "DEE-LISH-us!"


Does she look guilty or what???

Family Trivia

Sunday night the girls came up with a new fun game.

For each round, one person thinks of seven (or any number you choose) trivia questions about themselves. The person asks the questions one at a time and everyone writes down their answers. The player with the most correct answers wins that round.

What makes it really fun and hilarious is that for each round the trivia person picks a way for the other players to earn bonus points. For instance, on Allyson's round, players earned two extra points if they spoke with a British accent the entire time. Julie chose to have us speak with a southern accent, then in vampire-speak (change all w's to v's!) for her second round. Players could earn FOUR extra points on my round if they ended each sentence with a "pig snort." You can see how this game could get very silly and entertaining.

It was interesting to see what we knew about each other. Jeff got six out of seven of my questions right, which surprised me! My granddaughters, on the other hand, apparently don't know me at all!!!

Just for fun, see how many of my trivia questions YOU know the answer to...

1. What is my all time favorite book series?
2. What is my favorite color? (Bonus point: What was it before I moved to the desert?)
3. If I had another daughter, what would I name her? (First and middle names.) (For some reason, they laughed uproariously at this question! Hey, I'm "only" 52!)
4. What is my number 1 favorite movie of all time?
5. What is my favorite entree for a spur-of-the-moment "eating out?"
6. If I could do only one of the following three for the rest of my life and could never do the other two again, which would I choose to keep?
a. reading b. scrapbooking c. sewing/quilting
7. What was my childhood pet's name?

Answers below.











1. "Father Tim" Mitford series by Jan Karon, currently on book four for my third time through.
2. Green, blue
3. Anna Claire
4. It's a Wonderful Life (of course) (as a reader of my blog, you should know this...)
5. Pei Wei, Mongolian Beef (Yes, Allyson, Cafe Rio Pork Tostada IS a VERY close second...)
6. Reading (Maddie: "Of course, because otherwise she couldn't read the SCRIPTURES!" Like- "Duh. What were you people who picked 'scrapbooking' thinking?" What a sweetheart!)
7. Snoopy, dachshund/beagle mix we had from the time I was 7? till after I left for college!

Favorite Time of Year

I generally LOVE fall. Halloween, the family birthdays, our anniversary, Thanksgiving, the cooling weather, scrapbook retreat, church parties, and Christmas preparations usually combine to make me almost giddily happy.

This year, though, I'm having a little trouble drumming up my usual cheer. Work and money troubles, the election, family tension...I've let it all get me a little down. Thus no posts for two weeks! I've decided to just bite the bullet and be cheerful no matter what. I think I'll count my blessings...


First and foremost I am grateful for my Savior and for my testimony of his restored church. I am so thankful to know about the great plan of happiness and to have its direction in my life. I can't imagine how I would live without this knowledge and testimony. (If you are interested in more information visit mormon.org.)


Second only to my love for God is my love for these people. Boy, we have our faults and squabbles, but I can't even look at this motley crew without being almost overcome with how much I love and care about each one of them. Life wouldn't be the same without every single face. I look forward to more and more family and family time as the years pass by...


And as much as I hate to do office work, go to meetings, and talk to people on the phone I am extremely grateful to have work to do-especially this year! My job with our construction company has allowed me to work at home my whole married life. To plan my days the way that works best for my family, to take time off when I need it, to volunteer in my kids' schools, to do my church responsibilities whenever I need to, and to have an income that has allowed me a lot of freedom and advantages...Even in this VERY lean year we have managed to stay afloat and keep busy with enough work that we haven't had to shut down yet. I consider Jetco Construction Inc. one of my great blessings!

I could keep going, but I need to get Maddie off to school. Hope you have a great day!

Little Miss Cross-y Legs

It never ceases to entertain me when I see this.


Sydney's such a little lady.


She even crosses her legs when she floats.

Spooky Photos

Tonight for Family Home Evening we took photos at the old abandoned Water and Power Building here in town. We had a lot of fun with our photo shoot. If you want to see what Allyson did with the photos, check out her "Do You Believe in Ghosts?" post. Cool, huh?


Julie helps Maddie decide on a pose.

Who is this pypsy (pirate gypsy) waif?


Is she really this sad? (What a model!)

Ally, looking spooky...


We couldn't bear to make the babies into ghosts...Maybe I'll post some of the photos of them all with the statues in the Reflections Park...tomorrow...

House For Sale

Yesterday a "For Sale" sign went up in our front yard.

Jeff and I have debated about this for several years now, but most especially this past year as we have struggled in this depressed Las Vegas economy. Jeff would love to move somewhere else and start over. I feel like at this point in our lives it would be counter-productive to start over and that we should continue to build what we have worked on here for the last (almost) twenty years until we can retire at some point.

Nevertheless, with only three of us left in this house full-time, 3000 square feet is too big. We have three bedrooms that we almost NEVER use (unless we fill them with company or Amy is home for the summer.) Our living room is only used for family parties. Our yard is large and in need of a major overhaul. It's just too much house and yard for too few people.

There are several options. We could sell this house and move to our Mt. Pleasant home. We could sell this house and move to our apartment above the shop in Boulder City. (Too small! Only one bedroom! Jeff says he could sleep in the office downstairs. Ha ha. Not funny.) We could sell this house and buy a smaller house in Boulder City. Or, considering the housing market here and the fact that Jeff says he won't take less than a full-price offer, we could keep this house listed for six months, then take it off the market, and stay right here waiting for the market to improve.

Then there is the debt question. We are seriously trying to eliminate our debt and selling this house would free up some cash to pay down other debts. Always a good plan.

So, yesterday a "For Sale" sign went up in our yard.

And NOBODY likes it. Not even Jeff. We'll see what happens...