It's all good

What ALS Cannot Do

2012-01-25T10:17:00.002-07:00

This thought was shared from a friend of Rich's that he went to high school with. Her mother recently died of cancer. I switched the word cancer for ALS:

ALS is so limited….

It cannot cripple love

It cannot shatter hope

It cannot corrode faith

It cannot destroy peace

It cannot kill friendship

It cannot suppressmemories

It cannot silence courage

It cannot invade the soul

It cannot steal eternallife

It cannot conquer the spirit

Thanks, Kathy!

Elder Choi and Sister Koo

2012-01-21T20:59:00.000-07:00

Elder Choi and Sister Koo came to visit us today. Elder Choi is the Korean Seventy. We first met them when we were on our mission in Korea. Elder Choi was in charge of the Presiding Bishopbric Office in Korea. One time they came down to Daejeon and took us out for dinner. We were immediately good friends.

Elder Choi was the presiding authority for Laura's stake in New York. She texted us as asked if we knew him and we said "yes, I you must go meet him afterward." She introduced herself after the meeting and had a great visit with Elder Choi.

They came to visit us today and Elder Choi gave me a blessing with Rich. It was a sweet experience. Then we went out for lunch together. It was great to be with them again. We have such a connection because of our dedication to the Church. We love Elder Choi and Sister Koo.

Trying on Sunglasses at Gap

2012-01-19T08:30:00.000-07:00

Janet, Andrew and Abby

Spectrum in the Crayon Tower

2012-01-17T18:01:00.002-07:00

I gave Abby this crayon tower for her birthday and Laura put the colors in rainbow order. How that makes my heart sing!

Playing Nana

2012-01-15T17:57:00.000-07:00

he kids were "playing Nana" on Sunday. Apparently, this is where you can't talk and so you have to write notes to each other. How cute!

More Old Korean Friends

2012-01-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight we were able to go to dinner with President Sol and Sister Kim. He was a Stake President in our mission (still is) and she calls me "Oni" or older sister. They are delightful people and so glad they were in town and called us and we were able to have dinner together!

Lunch with Buchanans

2012-01-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

Old Korean Friends!

2012-01-12T16:38:00.000-07:00

Rich, President Till, Norm Nemrow, Craig Sonksen and Mark Peterson

Janet, Randy Peterson, Lorraine DeWaal, Melissa Sonksen, Cindy Nemrow, Diane Till

We lived in Seoul for five years, 1984-1989, and we have such great friends there. When you don't have family around, your friends become your family. Last night we had an opportunity to visit with some of those friends at a wedding reception for Stephanie Sonksen. It was great to visit with our old Korean friends!

View from the Cabin

2012-01-07T16:41:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day

2012-01-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

This is from New Year's Eve, (aka my birthday)

Andrew Goes to Hair Day in Layton

2012-01-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

Andrew came with us this month to Hair Day in Layton. He played with Sophie before she went to school and Myla after her nap. He was just a delightful boy on the whole trip! We're so glad he came!

Birthday Lunch with Friends

2012-01-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

I had a birthday lunch with friends on Wednesday. It was so great to be with Heather, Kathy, Judy, Carla and Marci! I loved that we sat around for hours after lunch and visited. I can't talk much any more, but I really enjoyed listening to the conversation and every once in awhile, I would contribute via a note on my iphone. I love my friends!

Sorry no, picture. But I'm thinking I'm on a roll here with posts everyday in this month, maybe I'll start a post a day and picture a day!

Ayden Dances at the Jazz Game

2012-01-03T10:33:00.000-07:00

Ayden danced at the Jazz Game on Monday night, following in his mother's footsteps ~ she was a Jazz dancer! Fortunately, Ayden doesn't get nervous when he dances and does amazing tumbling tricks, but his mother does for him! It was great to watch Ayden perform.

The Sibling Gift that Keeps on Giving

2012-01-02T16:44:00.000-07:00

This year my children didn't give each other gifts, instead they spent the money they would have spent on sibling gifts, giving $200 dollars in my honor to an ALS research. I'm overwhelmed by their generosity and gift! And they gave me other gifts as well! My children are awesome!

And my husband always spoils me for Christmas and my birthday. He gave me lots of clothes from Nordstrom, earring of the month, (the gift that keeps on giving every month) jeans from Gap, the book "Walk with Me." I'm blessed to have married such a generous and giving man!

Scripture for 2012

2012-01-01T17:05:00.000-07:00

Instead of a word for this year, I'm choosing a scripture, Mosiah 24:15:

"And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."

I feel like the love of my family and friends strengthens me and makes my burdens light! My only goal is to "submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."

Jenny's Gifts

2011-12-31T16:40:00.000-07:00

Jenny gave me two gifts that were extra special to me. We saw this picture of Mount Timpanogos Temple when we were out one day and she bought it for me.

Here's what she wrote on the back:

Dear Mom,

Happy 54^thbirthday! This picture meant a lot to me when you showed it to me on our annualBeehive Bazaar day at The Porch on Main. When I was nineteen years old, Ireceived my endowments in the Timpanogos temple. You were there every step ofthe way and made me feel at ease and were so willing to answer my questions.That was a bonding experience as I learned from you and felt comforted by yourknowledge, patience, kindness, and experience. I remember feeling so gratefulfor you that day. The Timpanogos temple is also where you served as anordinance worker and initiatory coordinator. Throughout your service there Iattended the temple many times. I cannot express how much I enjoyed seeing yourbeautiful, smiling face when I entered the Lord’s house. You set such anexample to me of faith, diligence, and love. You never complained about wakingup early, giving up your day, or any of the inconveniences that serving mayhave given. Even when going through a personal trial you didn’t give up onserving in the temple. You taught me so much through your example. Seeing youin the temple each Wednesday morning would brighten my day and fill my soulwith immense feelings of love for the incredible mother that I have, you. Ihope that every time you look at this picture you think about how much I truly lookup to and love you and that you’ll remember that I will do anything for you.

Love,

Jenny

Her other gift to me was this willow statue, which is entitled "Close to me." It says "together or apart, always close to me." I'm so thankful for Jenny and her gifts to me, what a sweet daughter. And those are the flowers that Hillary gave me for my birthday behind.

My 54th Birthday

2011-12-31T16:28:00.000-07:00

My 54th birthday was awesome! I got my hair done in the morning by my good friend, Judy. Then I went to lunch with Rich and Jenny at my new favorite restaurant ~ Mimi's; the corn chowder goes down so easily! In the afternoon, many neighbors and friends came bringing me a beautiful picture of Christ with their names signed on the matte. I was overwhelmed by their generosity and it was such a joy to have so many friends in my home; I hugged them all!

In the evening we had our usual New Year's Eve party with the Parsons. It was watching the kids enjoying the chocolate fountain (what a mess!) and playing games together. Thanks for providing all the food, Parsons!

And all the people who posted on my facebook wall! I have never felt so loved! Thank you so much to all my family and friends.

A Clean House

2011-12-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

Since my birthday is December 31st, I always like to take Christmas down and have the house clean for the New Year. Jenny and Brian helped me get Christmas put away and Jenny cleaned the house for me. While Jenny was cleaning I organized. Today I stayed in my pajamas all day and just organized. I love living in a clean and organized home! This is what I did today:

1. Finished reading the December Ensign and read the first SS lesson.
2. Organized the linen closet - throwing away old medicine.
3. Organized under my bed
4. Went through the Christmas cards, sorting the missionary ones and put them in their binder pages.
5. Worked on the finances.
6. Put some quotes in evernote.
7. Cleaned out my purses, giving some to the DI pile.
8. Ironed Rich's new handkerchiefs and pants.
9. I cleaned my bipap machine.
10. I blogged!

Layton Trip

2011-12-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Jenny and I went to Layton. Mary generously offered to watch Connor, Abby and Andrew while Laura and Alan went to Buenos Aires. Jenny and I went to help Mary take care of the kids. We weren't much help but we were company. Mary is a good mother and Jenny is a good aunt. It's a joy to watch my daughters become mothers. I can't help much any more since I can't talk and my hands don't work much. But I taught Sophie on my ipad that I can write and she can read messages from me. It's nice to be able to communicate with my grandchildren that way. I got lots of nice love notes from the kids!

Boxing Day 2011

2011-12-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

We have a tradition of going shopping on boxing day (the day after Christmas). Jenny was sick so she didn't go and Laura only came to Target because of her trip to Buenos Aires that morning. So it was Mary, Rich and I. After Target we went to Taipan and Kohls, where I got new barstools. I have been looking for new barstools for awhile now and when I saw these I knew they were "it." Not only do they have gothic arches, but they were only $36 each! After we went to IHop for breakfast.

at IHop, yes my eyes are closed, it was an early morning!

my new barstools, notice the gothic arches! It took Brian several hours to put together. Thanks, Bri!

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-24T20:23:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely dinner and program Christmas Eve. We even added a game. Rich got gifts from the dollar store and I wrapped them, then we sat in a circle with the gifts. Then while he read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and each time he said "the" we passed the gifts to the right and when he said "and" we passed the to the right. It was fun because even the little kids could do it. At the end every one got to open their gift.

Connor and Ayden

Abby, (hiding) Andrew, Sophie, Kylie and McKinley

Buchanan family singing

Sophie reading "I Believe in Santa Claus"

Logan playing "Silent Night" on the trumpet

Connor and Ayden singing Jingle Bells

The girls singing "A Mother''s Lullaby," unfortunately they didn't have quite the accompaniment they are used to. Apparently, playing the piano has gone the way of ALS.

acting out the nativity

the "zip-up team" in their new jammies (minus Hannah who was sleeping)

the best part of the evening was skyping with Michael!

Hillary brought a gift from her and Michael - a video of him that she prepared. It was awesome! We were crying even before his call. It was so great to see him and know that he is healthy and happy.

HCT A Christmas Carol

2011-12-20T23:10:00.000-07:00

As promised we went with the whole family to Orem HCT's "A Christmas Carol." Unfortunately, my Mom had shoulder surgery last Thursday, so she wasn't able to join us. We loved it!

Janet & Rich

The entire family!

Melissa Sonksen

2011-12-17T22:42:00.000-07:00

Twenty-seven years ago we moved to Seoul Korea, Melissa Sonksen was already living there. Her husband worked for a bank and we were moving there for Rich to be a "foreign legal consultant." I remember well the day that Melissa took me the grocery store and showed me the how to buy sugar and salt and which was which! We were great friends, getting together often to have dinner and play games. Craig Sonksen was our branch president and when they moved, Rich took over as branch president.

Anyway, Melissa was coming to town and came a day early to visit me! It is wonderful when you have friends where the years just pass away and you are just as comfortable as years ago. Melissa is a great person with a lovely personality. We had just a great time together!

Todd's 25th Birthday

2011-12-16T02:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Toddy! We love you!

Quilt

2011-12-16T02:11:00.000-07:00

Two of my dear friends, Elise Larsen and AnnaRae McAllister, brought me this beautiful quilt. I was so touched by their thoughtfulness and kindness. It represents many of my favorite things. They included on the quilt the meaning of the blocks:

"Forget-me-not
We love Janet and we love to sew! This quilt created and sewn by AnnaRae McAllister and Elise Larsen, cam about because of our friendship, love of quilting, love for Janet and AnnaRae's trip to Alaska. Janet loves the forget-me-not flower because of the many spiritual and loving meanings associated with it . The forget-me-not fabric came from Alaska and became the focal point for our quilt. (Alaska's state flower is the forget-me-not) All three of us love "all things blue and white." We wanted each block to represent Janet in some way and show what she loves.
Block #1 janet loves the mountains, cross country skiing, hiking and being in nature. She loves MIA Camp Shalom
Block #2 Cathedral windows and the cathedral shape are part of Janet's home decor.
Block #3 Janet's home and yard abound in beauty and flowers and beautiful colors. In addition to all things blue and white, Janet loves the color red.
Block #4 Each year at girl's camp Janet loves to look and the stars. She loves all things heavenly.
Block #5 Janet loves hiking to Lone Pine at Camp Shalom every year.
Block #6 The blue and white traditional log cabin quilting block represents Janet's cabin in Heber and our love for quilting and "all things blue and white."
Block #7 Janet loves the Savior and has a Jim Shore nativity similar to the one pictures in this block.
Block #8 Friends love Janet and Janet loves firends--lots of them! This block is a friendship star.
Block #9 The blue and white heart represents Janet's beautiful spiritual heart. We have both learned so many wonderful things from Janet.
Block #10 The "forget-me-not" block is for the Savior, family, and friends, and Elder Uctdorf's talk in RS 2011
Block #11 AnnaRae, Elise and Janet at Shalom 2011 "I Believe."
Block #12 All three of us love working i Young Women and love the YW values.
Block #13Janet loved visiting the Sacred Grove and tries to have a Sacred Grove experience each day of her life.
"Forget-me-not" quilt created and given December 2011. We love you!
Signed: AnnaRae and Elise

First Day of School in Utah for Buchanans

2011-12-15T01:41:00.000-07:00

The Buchanans Have Arrived!

2011-12-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

PapaRich and Connor, Abby and Andrew watching Mickey's Christmas Carol

The Buchanans have arrived after their five-day trip across the country. We are so glad they are here safe and sound! They'll be moving into their home tomorrow and registering for school.

Christmas Traditions

2011-12-10T21:01:00.002-07:00

#1. We went to The Forgotten Carols on December 1st. Just Rich and I. We went last year and really enjoyed it, so we went again. It's a little cheesy, but that's what I like about it. I love all the forgotten carols! Michael McLean's shameless self-promoting is exceeded by his love of the Savior and the fact that he ends the show without applause and the true Christmas spirit.

Rich and Janet at The Forgotten Carols

#2. We go to the Hale Center Theater in Orem every year for A Christmas Carol the whole family. But ever since we saw My Fair Lady at the Salt Lake HCT, Rich has been dying to see it staged there. We went Tuesday night and it was amazing. Really, the staging and actors are wonderful!

#3. Kurt Bestor is a favorite event for our family. We started going years ago and it only gets better. We love sitting in Abravanel Hall and enjoying the full orchestra that Kurt brings. We especially love seeing our ward member, Michael Dowdle. And we also claim Daron Bradford, who we were ward members with in student housing years ago. This year we had a special treat! Rich was chosen to read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Every year Kurt chooses someone to read as he plays music to accompany the reading. We have always known that Rich would do a great job if he had the chance. He did a great job! In fact, on the way to our car people were commenting on how well he did and rolling down windows to tell him what a good job he did!

It was a fun Christmas memory!

#4. We will be attending HCT Orem's rendition of A Christmas Carol with the entire family again on December 20th.

Our Own Santa!

2011-12-10T01:45:00.000-07:00

with Ryker Miller at the Ward Christmas Party

Rich prepared a comedy routine as Santa and had the whole crowd laughing. He also shared this thought from President Faust:

"No one can measure the effect of an unselfish act of kindness. By small, simple things great things do indeed come to pass. Of course, gifts given and gifts received make Christmas special. For many children Christmas Eve is a very long night as they look forward with eager anticipation to the gifts Santa brings, which is why children love Santa Claus. Let me sare what someone once said about Santa Claus: First of all, he's a joyous individual . . . Next, Santa is interested in making others happy. He increased the happy moments in the life of everyone he meets. He loves his work; he gets fun out of his job. He is childlike, simple, humble , sincere and forgiving. Finally, he is a giver. His philosophy is to give himself away in service. He is a friend to everyone. He smiles, perhaps you and I could attain greater happiness if we emulated Santa Claus a little more, for this is the way of the Infant Jesus."

Picture from the TNI party at Costco

2011-12-09T22:44:00.000-07:00

35th Anniversary in San Diego

2011-11-24T15:09:00.010-07:00

Before I got sick, we decided to spend our 35th anniversary at the Hotel del Coronado. It's our favorite hotel! Right on the best beach in the world. The book "Bid Time Return" was set there, which was made into the movie "Somewhere in Time." Unfortunately, they filmed the movie in Chicago instead of at the Hotel del Coronado, and it was the worse for it, in my opinion.

We love San Diego! We had a great time going to Seaport Village, Fresh Produce store in La Jolla, Horton Plaza (where we saw Breaking Dawn, Part one). Rich spoiled me with gifts of new clothing (my favorite) and we had some delicious meals - with Rich waiting patiently for me to finish each meal - I'm so slow at eating now! We enjoyed having a perfect view of the ocean from our hotel room.

the poinsettia tree at Seaport Village

I love the clouds in San Diego

the view from our bed!

Hotel del Coronado

We had visitors on our balcony, there's two birds there!

the tree in the lobby

the beautiful Christmas decorations

Christmas lights on Hotel del Coronado

this is the new dolphin arena at Seaworld

so many beautiful sunsets, from our room!

seagull on our balcony

our bathroom

our perfect hotel room

clouds from our balcony

our picture at Seaworld

balcony view

I love the restroom doors at the San Diego Airport

Breaking Dawn with My Girls

2011-11-17T16:00:00.001-07:00

Even though Laura wasn't actually here, she did see Breaking Dawn the same night we did! And she will definitely be here for Breaking Dawn, part 2!

Lunch with Jenny, Hillary, and Sarah

2011-11-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

Deer at the Cabin

2011-11-13T15:54:00.002-07:00

11-11-11

2011-11-12T20:16:00.004-07:00

Yesterday was the ultimate pepero day! I thought of Laura all day because her favorite number is 11! Pepero is the Korean treat of pretzel sticks dipped in chocolate. On November 11th they give them to each other in Korea, and we have kept up that tradition. I always send them to my kids and grandkids and parents.

Yesterday we also had an old-fashioned "homemaking meeting." I loved creating these cards and Christmas star from paper. It's so good to visit with the sisters and have a supper and create!

Happy Sabbath!

2011-11-06T21:00:00.007-07:00

Elder Bennion and his cousins serenading me

Today was indeed a happy Sabbath for me! Here's why:

#1. I was fasting today for many things:

~a cure for ALS

~a job for Brian

~a move to Utah for Laura and Alan

#2. I got to go to Church; I love Church! I love it when I have to pull out my journal because someone in Testimony Meeting or Sunday School says something profound that I need to write down! It happened twice today.

#3. The Hammers came down to visit for Sunday dinner and Ayden and Sophie shared their parts on the Primary program for next week. Sophie's made me cry: "Jesus Christ created the earth for me. One thing that Jesus created that is important to me is my Nana."

#4. When we got home from Church, Nate Bennion, one of our great missionaries, stopped by bringing his cousins with him to serenade us for 45 minutes. They sang two beautiful songs they brought and then sang my favorite hymns. It was so amazing, they all have such great voices!

#5. Another of our great missionaries, Chad Crosby, came over and brought a gift of essential oils for me. He read the scripture in Alma 46:40-41 about the herbs that were used to heal the people. It was such a generous gift!

#6. My sweet visiting teacher, Melanie Nickle, brought me a supersoft blanket to take to the cabin this week. She's always taking good care of me!

#7. Laura and Alan and the kiddies in New York "facetimed" us to tell us that they are moving to Utah in December! It will be so wonderful to have them here! What a delightful surprise! I call that getting an answer to fasting and prayer.

It has indeed been a Happy Sabbath! There have been lots of tears of joy and happiness. I feel so overwhelmed with the sweet love of family and friends and missionaries to me. I am so blessed!

It's all good!

New Ipad 2

2011-10-31T19:03:00.004-06:00

Because of my weak hands Rich bought me a new ipad 2 because it is lighter and easier to use. I love it! It's great because I have apps that will allow me to write notes or type something and have it spoken, which is helpful for me now that I can't talk so well.

I saw this on Stacy Julian's blog and Jenny helped me to make my new ipad cover look like this:

Disney Cruise

2011-10-30T20:34:00.012-06:00

When I was diagnosed with ALS the nurse at the ALS clinic suggested that if we wanted to do any traveling we should do it sooner rather than later. Rich wondered if I wanted to go to the Holy Land, a dream of his, but not mine. He suggested Rome, which has been a dream of mine. But then he suggested that we take the whole family on a Disney cruise and that felt perfect. I was thinking that we would take everyone on a Disney cruise for our fortieth anniversary, so we just did it 5 years early.

It was a great vacation making memories together. And now comes the picture overload:

Andrew in the port hole

Look at those blues! I love it!

Our Disney cruise ship from the tender

the children playing in the ocean with the cruise ship in the background

We ate at a little restaurant in Cabo San Lucas called "the office," it was covered with umbrellas and we had our feet in the sand at the same time.

Connor's food in a ship box

Sophie's food

The food was so yummy under the blue umbrellas!

I love this picture of Abby and Papa holding hands!

Cabo San Lucas and look at those clouds!

We ate guacamole from the avocados in this tree, in the rainforest of Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta

Dance party on the ship with the Hammers!

Our formal night

The gkiddies with Daffy Duck

Sophie with Snow White

Silly Abby and Andrew, with Jenny taking a shot in the background

Andrew in a Peter Pan napkin hat

The character breakfast with Pluto

Mickey with Laura and Nanajan

Mickey with the Founder of our Cruise

Mickey with G &G

Two More Favorite Things

2011-10-29T23:00:00.004-06:00

I thought of two more favorite things:

The Disney Princesses ~ I get emotional every time I see the Disney Princesses. I know that they are trained to be this way, but I love the way the focus on the little girl in front of them. They hug the little girl and make eye contact and get down on their level. I imagine that this is what Christ would do with children. I'm thankful to see such a great example of Christ-like behavior.

New Clothes ~ I love new clothes. I don't need any more clothes, but I love buying new clothes. I consider this a weakness, but I have to admit that it is one of my favorite things. Which is why my closets look like this:

the closet in our bedroom, shirts and pants

dresses in the staroom

skirts in the exercise room

I have a thing for purses as well

Yes, I color coordinate my closet, preferably in rainbow order and have all the same white plastic hangers. Another OCD of mine.

Rich speaks at USU Institute

2011-10-15T22:42:00.002-06:00

the poster that was hanging at the institute

our reserved parking spot

On Friday, October 14th Rich spoke at the USU Institute. He gave an excellent talk on kindness.

I was supposed to introduce Rich, but since I'm not speaking so well these days, Jenny came along and read what I wrote. As a bonus, we got to have lunch with Tom and Mary Cherrington. They grew up with Rich in Springville. We reconnected with them when we were on our mission in Korea and they were presiding over a mission in Japan. It was great to visit with them over lunch.

I've included Rich's talk for you to read:

USU Talk I Have Never Regretted Being Too Kindv8.doc
66K View Download

My Favorite Things

2011-10-08T11:33:00.012-06:00

Rich suggested that I make a list of my favorite things. So here goes ~ in no particular order

I took this picture from the boat on our Tahiti Cruise

Clouds ~ I just love clouds of all kinds. Of course, it doesn't hurt that clouds are white against the blue sky!

The night sky ~ I love all the stars and constellations. I like to know what phase the moon is in and what planets are showing.

Rainbow spectrum ~ I love the spectrum of the rainbow. I love putting crayons in rainbow order, or my clothes in my closet.

Blue and white china ~ It just makes my heart happy!

Cross-country skiing ~ It's so peaceful and beautiful in the winter, I love the solitude of skiing on a winter day.

from the cabin

The seasons ~ I'm happy that I live in a place where there are four seasons, I love the change and I love each season.

from Lone Pine

Camp MIA Shalom ~ I love our YW camp. It is a sacred place to me and where I have felt the Spirit and had my testimony grow.

My garden ~ I love working in my yard. I love making it beautiful with flowers and trees and shrubs. These are my favorite colors red, yellow and blue and a gothic arch, too!

Music, especially The Messiah ~ I love most music, but I really love The Messiah by George Frideric Handel. I know it's an inspired piece of music. I love to listen to the radio and hear love songs that remind me of my own dear love, Rich! I wake up to instrumental hymn music. I love to play the piano, especially, Clementi sonatas, and the John Thompson 3rd grade book.

Art museums ~ I like to go to art museums. I found my favorite painting in the London National Gallery, it's called "Two Trinities." I like to go to the BYU art museum.

Hiking, bike riding ~ I just really like to be outdoors, and if I'm getting exercise, too, that's a bonus.

Gothic arches ~ I just love the shape of a gothic arch. I love that it points to heaven and God. My favorite gothic arch is the windows of the Kirtland Temple.

Forget-me-nots ~ AnnaRae taught me on a hike at Shalom that they remind us of the Savior, forget-me-not is another way of saying Always Remember Him. Of course, they are my favorite shade of periwinkle!

Red, yellow and blue ~ These are the Primary colors and I love them.

This pattern from Vera Bradley ~ it's called Hope Garden. It just makes me happy and I have file folders, journals, mouse pad, cosmetic bags, eyeglass cases, camera case in it.

This view of the earth ~ it seems familiar, like maybe we saw it this way before we came here.

The ocean and beaches ~ I love bare feet in the sand and the salty water to swim in. And I feel the awesomeness of God's creation.

Mount Timpanogos ~ I have had a love affair with this mountain since I first came to Utah in 1975 to go to BYU. I'm proud to say I've been to the top twice!

Temples ~ I have always loved the temple. My favorites are Provo, since I was married there (and check out those gothic arches!) and Mount Timpanogos, since it's named after my mountain and I get to serve there now.

This guy ~ The love of my life and my eternal companion!

Faith, Hope and Charity ~ These have been my quest and my goal, to be filled with these three princples. The colors correspond to my favorite colors!

Blue Hydrangeas ~ They are just so beautiful! And periwinkle!

These seven little people ~ my grandchildren!

Last, but not least here are 12 of my favorite people ~

my kids

my parents

my BFF, Heather

I'd like to include this post and this post in my list of favorite things.

It's all good!

Two More Inconveniences

2011-10-06T19:16:00.004-06:00

In my last post I forgot to mention to more inconveniences of my disease:

Yawning ~ seriously, once I start yawning there's no stopping. Both neurologists that I saw asked me if I yawned - so it must be a symptom.

Inappropriate laughing/crying/smiling ~ It first started when Michael was leaving on his mission. I would cry and just couldn't stop. I was happy he was going to serve a mission and I couldn't figure out why I couldn't stop crying. Now I recognize that it was part of the disease. I also sometimes laugh or smile at inappropriate times and I can't seem to control it. It is a symptom of the disease. So if you catch me laughing, crying or smiling when it seems out of character, just know that I can't control it.

Diagnosis - Perspective

2011-10-06T14:48:00.003-06:00

For the first two weeks after my diagnosis of ALS, I awoke every morning thinking: "I have ALS, I'm going to die." But I could not go on like that and my native happy temperament had to come back. After I made a bargain with God that I would pray everyday to know who I could serve, I came to feel a peacefulness again in my life. I have since revised that prayer to include making memories with my family or accomplishing something important each day. I now awake every morning thankful for a new day and to be able to accomplish things during this day.

That having been said here are some things I can't do any more:

I can't talk well, and I eat slowly - which is sad, because these were two of my BEST things! Additionally, I have to feel guilty about losing weight - that's hard to wrap my mind around!

I can't sing, which is a real sadness to me, not that I had a great voice, but I did love singing in the choir at church and I loved going to the Messiah Sing-in. I'm not sure whether I'll go this year, it might just make me sad. Maybe next year . . .

I send my husband's clothes to the cleaners. I liked ironing. I like taking things from chaos to order. But Rich helped me realize that I could be crocheting baby blankets for future grandchildren was a better use of the time it takes me to iron all his shirts and pants, and so I chose the more important thing. The blankets I make for grandchildren will be more cherished than my hours spent ironing.

I sleep with a mask - so attractive! But my new bipap machine is a lifesaver. I sleep better and get more rested. And a study in Europe said that the sooner patients with ALS get on a bipap machine, the longer they live. I'm all for that!

I have trouble using scissors. Since my left hand is now stronger than my right hand and that's a little weird. But thankfully I'm still able to do most things I want by using both hands.

Every once in awhile I have a day when I'm really sad about the things that I have lost. I mourn for them. But then I remember that there are still so many things that I can do. I can type and use my computer. I can use my iphone to text and keep in touch with people. I can read. I can walk Annie every day. I can work at the temple. I can take care of my home. I can scrapbook and I'm getting caught up on my goals. I can still write even with weak hands. I can hug my husband and family.

It's all good!

Heather's Poem

2011-10-06T14:08:00.002-06:00

My Blue

My Blue is you.
When I see Blue, I think of you. Any shade of Blue is you, except turquoise.
On a clear, crisp winter day, the best of Blue can be found.
Skiis on, friends nearby, where mountains of snow surround.
Peaceful, magnificent, inspiring and true,
Eyes look up and see the perfection of Blue.

An ocean sky of Blue and gray,
Brings a memory of a treasured day.
A family of friends gather on the shore,
Bare feet sinking in the warm summer sand.
Smiles, laughter, patience and prayers,
Eternal progression guided by His hand.
Lessons of life are learned from family it seems.
don't push, don't pull, let God intervene.

My Blue is you, my forever friend.
You're a blessing to me, an answer to prayer.
Lessons I've learned by you just being there.

A most grateful friend, a new love for Blue,
Sees more beauty in life because of you.
Mountains were climbed and roadtrips were taken.
Prayers were given for children,
And diets forsaken.
Long walks with dogs under beautiful skies,
Husbands understood through a friend's kind eyes.

My constant prayer for a miracle,
Consumes my soul by night, by day.
My voice whispers "thy will not mine"
But "Oh please, oh please, let my dear friend stay."

My Blue is you, that will always be.
My thanks to you for befriending me.

Mission Reunion

2011-09-30T19:31:00.001-06:00

Last Thursday we had our Mission Reunion. It is always so wonderful to have our missionaries come to our home and visit with us! I felt very humble to have so many of them tell me that they are praying for me. In fact, one sister said that she wanted her children to meet me so they would know who they were praying for each day.

Rich has always wanted to be a mission president. He would mention it to me years ago and I would say, "I don't have a desire to do that, it either means leaving my children or grandchildren or both!" But the Lord softened my heart. He placed in my heart the year 2001. I told Rich this about a year before our call, and he said he thought that was too soon. So when we were called to President Packer's office in December of 2000, Rich just said "it's happening." And so we went to Daejeon in 2001.

And now I'm so grateful that we did! The wonderful experiences we had and people we met will be a treasure for eternity. And we have all these wonderful missionaries who fasted and prayed for me. I really believe that the researchers at Northwestern University who made the breakthrough discovery of the cause of ALS were inspired by the many missionaries who fasted and prayed for me. Don't get me wrong; it's not about me, but the faith and prayers of missionaries who gave their all for the Lord for two years and learned a most difficult language so that they could teach the people of Korea.

If we hadn't been called early in our lives, perhaps we wouldn't have been able to serve as mission president now that I have this disease. God has a plan!

So at this mission reunion I am especially thankful that we were able to serve and have all our missionaries as eternal friends.

I couldn't have done it without Jenny! She's my personal assistant. On Tuesday she helped me clean the house. On Thursday she made six boxes of brownie/cookies. She stayed and clean up after it was done. She's awesome to help me so much as I don't have quite the energy I used to.

Joan

2011-09-26T19:09:00.001-06:00

Joan with Bob Bockholt, she doesn't look very happy about having her picture taken!

We met Joan Hixon when Rich was made the Bishop of the 9th ward in September of 2005. Joan was 73 at the time and a widow. The word that comes to mind when you think of Joan is: Character! She is a character with a heart of gold. A few years ago I became Joan's visiting teacher. She's a joy to visit because she just enjoys it so much having people come to her house and visit for an hour or so. She often commented that she wished we came twice a month. Even better than that was taking her out for lunch. She loved to go out to lunch and visit with the sisters. We started inviting her to Sunday dinners at our house. She would love to visit with all the members of our family and she would be funny and sarcastic. She loved all young people.

Last month my partner, Shelby, and I had an appointment to take her to lunch on Tuesday, September 13th. I had invited Jenny to come along because Joan and Jenny like each other! When we got there to pick her up there was no answer at the door. She usually is ready and waiting by her garage door. We saw that her car was in the garage and knew she must be home, and then we were worried that something was wrong. We knew we just had to get in there and check on her. We tried breaking the glass on the french doors on her patio, but it didn't work. Then Jenny tried a couple of kick-boxes to the door and it opened. We ran in but her bedroom door was locked as well. Jenny was able to get that lock open with a knife from the kitchen. (Who knew Jenny was so good at "breaking and entering"?) We found Joan on floor of her bedroom; she had had a stroke. We immediately called 911 and got an ambulance there and took her to the hospital.

Subsequently, Joan died a week and a day later. She will be missed by our ward family. She was a bright spot in our ward on testimony meetings; you would never know what she was going to say! She was generous to a fault. She would take in stray people and pets without restraint. After I got sick she would call every day to see if she could do something for me. And then she would call Rich when I wasn't around to see if I was "really okay."

Some of us sisters got to dress her body in her temple clothes. It was my first time doing that and I found it to be a very spiritual experience. I was able to lead the singing at the funeral and Rich gave a great talk; just what she would have wanted.

I'm just grateful that I got to know Joan Hixon and that she was part of my life for the last six years. I'm sure that the moment she passed through the veil she felt the love of God overpouring because she was a good person.

Rich and I with the flowers we gave for her funeral

RS Retreat at the Cabin

2011-09-24T17:29:00.000-06:00

Last Friday night we had our ward's RS retreat at our cabin. Five of us decided that we should have a two-day retreat so we went up on Thursday. We had lunch at a Mexican place in Midway and then did a little boutique/gallery shopping on our way. It was so delightful to just take our time and enjoy ourselves with no plan. We watched "Seventeen Miracles" Thursday night. I had seen it so I was able to not sob audibly - as I did the first time I saw it. Friday night we had dinner and played games and watched movies. I saw "Soul Surfer" for the first time; it was excellent. It was great to just relax with each other and enjoy some "down" time with our sisters. It wasn't long enough! We literally could watch the fall colors changing! When we first got there there were some patches of orange, and when we left the whole hillside was bright with autumn colors!

lunch in Midway

the sisters at the cabin

beautiful fall colors!

Such Love

2011-09-17T20:11:00.003-06:00

This lovely card was sent to me today by Rich's cousins in California
Neena wrote: I loved the quotation on this card and thought instantly of you

I have indeed been blessed because of my ALS. So many people have expressed their love to me. I feel so blessed to have the love and prayers of so many. I thank you with all my heart.

I married an English major. Which meant that I got to type a lot of papers, and this was before computers and backspacing! I jokingly said that since I married an English major I expected a sonnet to be wrote about me. Well, Rich has finally written me a poem. He says it's not a good poem ~ but I love it!

JPR

Always busy, you’re never still
Loving nature, hiking the hills

Gazing at the stars in the sky,
Deep faith in God, not asking why

Your sacred place is Camp Shalom
Your gift is decorating home

You have a daily Sacred Grove
The temple is your treasure trove

Best daughter—to your parents (and mine)
Never a matriarch so fine

Blessed grandmother to seven—
Daughter of God, makes home a heaven

These things remind me who you are
My friend, my love, my JPR

And since my best friend, Heather, is the female version on my husband. She confessed today when we were walking to having written a poem about me, too. She hasn't shared it with me yet, but I hope to publish it here soon.

It's all good!

How to Make a Bed

2011-09-04T22:18:00.004-06:00

Apparently, I have a little OCD about making beds. Often when I get to the cabin, I remake many of the beds. I taught our missionaries how to make a bed using scrapbook paper at one zone conference. I thought I'd just record here the Janet Rife way to make a bed.

1. You should have a good mattress pad and a feather bed on the top of that is ideal.

2. Place the fitted sheet over the mattress, make sure that you get the corners on correctly.

3. Place the flat sheet, right side down, (even if there isn't a print, it's proper to put the right sides together) If you always fold the sheet vertically first you will have a nice line showing you where to put the sheet so it's in the middle of the bed. Pull the flat sheet all the way to the top of the mattress so you have room to turn it down.

4. Fold the bottom of the flat sheet under the bottom of the mattress and make hospital corners.

5. Put the blanket or down comforter on over the flat sheet and then turn the sheet down over the blanket.

6. Place the pillows on the bed with the pillowcase opening to the outside of the bed.

7. Put the bedspread/comforter on the bed and follow with pillow shams.

I will add an alternative method:

You can also pull the comforter/bedspread down so that it is at the same level as the down comforter or blanket and then fold the sheet over both and then fold the whole thing down again. That is how I usually make my bed.

Here's how it looks with the sheet folded down.

And yes, I did match my paint color to my sheets!

And that's the way to make a bed properly!

Cabin Fun

2011-09-04T21:31:00.006-06:00

Laura and her four kiddies came to Utah for 10 days before they start school in New York. We were happy that our week at the cabin happened during their stay. We stayed at the cabin for six days and really had a great time making memories together. Now comes the overload of cabin pictures:

Four-wheeler fun

The kids made a dance floor on the deck out of these exercise squares and had a dance contest and did gymnastics

And made forts

We went to a park in Heber after we ate at Dairy Keen

The kids ran foot races and even Papa and Jenny and Mary got involved

Hot tubbing was a fun activity for the kiddies

The girls were making a yummy oreo dessert

Annie enjoys the cabin

I got up early one morning to watch the sunrise and enjoyed seeing these deer in the yard

We went to the Cheesecake factory Laura's last night here and I got this picture of all seven gkiddies.

One Month

2011-08-23T19:16:00.002-06:00

I was diagnosed with ALS on July 21, 2011. On August 21,2011 it was announced that researchers discovered the cause of ALS. I think that's pretty amazing! And now we hope that those same researchers find a drug that can cure/reverse ALS.

It's all good!

Missionary Visit

2011-08-19T12:16:00.004-06:00

The other evening we had a visit from two of our wonderful missionaries, who married each other! Adam Heder and Diana McArthur Heder. (We have four sets of couples who were both missionaries in our mission, and subsequently got married!) We had a wonderful visit and even went out for Korean food together.

Spokane Trip

2011-08-19T12:05:00.004-06:00

July 17-18 we took a quick trip to Spokane to hear our nephew August Rife speak in church prior to leaving on his mission to Brazil. (It would be his farewell, if we still had those :) We had a great time visiting Roger and Sheri and their family. Monday morning Reggie and Sheri and Augie took us to a famous old hotel that has been refurbished for brunch. We had a lovely time. Since Augie didn't get his visa to go to Brazil, he came to the Provo MTC. Rich was able to pick him up at the airport and we took him to Cafe Rio (his choice) for his last lunch. Then we dropped him off at the MTC. It was amazing that one of his hosts was an elder from his home stake also going to Brazil. It made it easier for Augie to leave with a smile on his face.

Rich, Janet, Augie, Sheri, Reggie

Elder Rife in front of the MTC

It's all good

June Ensign

2011-08-07T09:49:00.004-06:00

I have been working on reading the May Conference Ensign and so I got behind on June, July and August Ensign magazines. I'm trying to catch up. Today I picked up the June Ensign and read the article entitled, "He Carried My Sorrows." It was perfect for what I needed to hear today.

Elder Scott:

"When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding and compassion, which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching and that generally entails discomfort and pain." (Ensign, Nov 1995)

Like the author, Jane Bleak, I have felt these same blessings in my life:

"He has blessed me with hope in the future, helped me to heal my heavy heart, heightened my awareness of the goodness around me, given me opportunities to serve, deepened my compassion for others, and magnified my love for family and friends.

"Through it all I have gained a testimony that our challenge is to surrender our will to our Heavenly Father because only then can we personally be refined and polished in the was He has specifically designed for each of us."

Angels

2011-08-07T09:43:00.003-06:00

"I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." D&C 84:88

Comfort has come to me in the form of family, friends, and members of our ward and stake who have lovingly visited me and brought gifts. I am so blessed to live among such angels who have come to mourn with me and to share their love with me. Thank you for your love and prayers and fasting and visits and gifts.

It's all good!

Missionaries

2011-07-30T07:54:00.003-06:00

One of our sweet missionaries wrote this in an email to all our other missionaries:

Many of you do not know me, but I had the privilege of serving with some of you. This news is devastating for us all, as we all know and love the Rife family and benefitted so much from their selfless sacrifice to take their young family across seas to Korea to serve the Lord (and us). Most of us can only imagine the flood of emotions they are going through right now, and I'm sure you are like me in being willing to do anything to help, but feeling helpless and not knowing exactly how to help. If there is one thing that I have an unwavering testimony of, it is that of the law of the fast. Imagine the power of several hundred returned missionaries fasting together for their "mission mom" and her family. Therefore, I propose that we join our faith and love in fasting/praying next Sunday July 31 in behalf of sister rife and the entire Rife family. No matter where you are, or what your circumstances are, It is something small we can do for this exemplary family who has touched and impacted each one of our lives. Fast for each of the Rife children and their families as they could all use an extra measure of comfort and peace. Fast for Elder Michael Rife as we all remember very well those first few months in Korea and how trying they can be in and of themselves. Fast for an outpouring of faith, comfort, peace, and tender mercies to be poured out upon this incredible family. Fast for whatever you feel guided to fast for.

Our Relief Society President extended an invitation for my dear RS sisters to join in. And we have found out that the Pusan Mission will also be joining. I feel honored and humbled to have so many fasting and praying for me. But I am, oh so grateful, at the same time because I believe in the power of fasting and prayer and I believe in God-given miracles! I pray that my life can be extended, that Michael will be comforted and be able to complete his mission to the Korean people, and that our family will be able to feel comfort and peace.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank everyone who is joining me in this fast. Thank you!

Its all good!

Diagnosis

2011-07-22T19:46:00.004-06:00

Since March I have been having some symptoms: slurred speech, weakness in my hands, weak eyelids, excessive emotions. I had a busy March with getting Michael off on his mission and having a new granddaughter in New York. In April I finally headed to the doctor and had an ultrasound of my throat. A nodule was discovered on my thyroid and it was subsequently biopsied and found benign. It didn't have anything to do with my symptoms.

Then I was referred to a neurologist. In the month and a half since then I have been put on two different medicines for myasthenia gravis; neither one helped with the symptoms (but I was privileged to have all the side effects). On July 21st I finally got into the U of U Neurology department to see a specialist and I was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease or Motor Neuron Disease. It is a degenerative disease that attacks the motor neurons and they just die off. There is no cure. There is a medicine that seems to arrest the development of the disease for a time and I'm starting that today. About 50% of people die within two to five years, but there are also people leaving with ALS for 5-15 years. I hope to be one of those!

I'm grateful to have as my doctor, the leading specialist on ALS in seven states. They have a great ALS clinic at the U of U where people come from all over the western states.

It was a devastating diagnosis - we're calling it a "major bummer!" The hardest part was telling our children and mourning with each one. We were able to talk to Michael in Korea and tell him the bad news. I promised to keep his dog, Annie, alive while he was gone, now it seems I need to keep his Mom alive while he is gone.

I have many things to be grateful for: 53 great years of life on this beautiful earth, 35 years of a wonderful marriage with the love of my life, being a mother to six beautiful children, being Nanajan to seven grandchildren. As I have heard of people being diagnosed in their twenties, I have been especially grateful that I was able to raise my family before this disease struck me. I've had a truly blessed life! I'm not afraid to die, but I will miss being with my family.

My new favorite scripture is Mosiah 24:15

"And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."

If I had a "bucket list" it would be the last fourteen words of that scripture. In the mean time I'm going to live my life to the fullest every day!

YW Camp 2011

2011-07-09T22:06:00.001-06:00

We had an awesome year at camp this year. The weather said thurnderstorms every day, but we really only got enough rain to keep the dust down. It was perfect. Our little ward with only 7 girls and 5 leaders had a great time together. I made my 12th trek to Lone Pine.

forget-me-nots!

on the way to lone pine, there's still lots of snow!

Lone pine

our ward at lone pine

camp shalom from lone pine

lone pine in the distance

YCL Retreat at the Cabin

2011-06-30T21:49:00.000-06:00

We had such a fun time at our Youth Camp Leader Retreat at the cabin. We had yummy food (Thanks, Shari!) and worked on camp stuff and talked and giggled and did face masks and did the Color Code personality test and generally just had a great time together getting ready for YW camp.

Mud masks #1

Mud masks #2

Yummy dinner

You can see the piano in its new home

Shari's cute table decorations

Can you tell what our camp color was this year?

Moving the Piano to the Cabin

2011-06-30T21:42:00.001-06:00

When we bought into our cabin we decided that we would move Rich's Mom's upright piano from the basement to the cabin. There's a perfect spot for it next to the fireplace and under a picture of the Sacred Grove. Since we bought into the cabin in November and then winter came we had to wait until summer time to move it. I did some research on piano movers and the one I chose came recommended by Summerhayes music store. Well, they weren't that great and made lots of mistakes, but in the end the piano made it into the cabin and I'm very grateful. It was quite the nightmare making it happen though. Here are some pictures of the process:

I need to get a picture of the piano IN the cabin, it really looks great there.

Missionary Michael

2011-06-22T20:12:00.003-06:00

Michael with his trainer, Elder Lee

Did you know we have a missionary in our family? Rich and I couldn't be more thrilled with the way Michael is serving his mission. We often just look at each other and smile and cry because we are so happy to have a missionary from our family. And Michael is doing so well and we are so proud of him. You can check out his blog: Saving Seoul(s) to get his email reports and pictures. Laura is doing an awesome job of keeping his blog updated. We love our missionary!

Grandbaby Girls

2011-06-19T10:01:00.003-06:00

Hannah in the elephant onesie I sent her

Me and Myla after I got my hair done. She likes me now!
(sorry no makeup on Nana)

Grand America Hotel

2011-06-18T15:55:00.008-06:00

We got to stay at the Grand America hotel for Pearl Retreat. This hotel is absolutely gorgeous. I love all the "old world" touches and the amazing decor. Plus our room was decorated in my three favorite colors: Red, Yellow and Blue. Granted, it is not my favorite blue, but blue nonetheless.

the door between the bedroom and sitting room

I love that this pattern is repeated on the doorknob and the mirror

I love the gold fixtures in the bathroom

the bedskirt fabric is the same as the sofa in the sitting room

I love the striped yellow-on-yellow wall paper and it looks great with the patterned carpet. I love patterns than blend together, a stripe and a floral is always good.

the tassel fringe on the curtains is a great touch

the trim on the pillows matches the fringe on the curtains

the milk glass lamps are beautiful on the marble-topped nightstands

Sophie and Ayden

2011-06-18T15:50:00.004-06:00

We took care of these two while their parents were on a cruise. I took this picture of them asleep and holding hands.

When I showed them this picture in the morning they decided to re-enact it with this photo:

Silly kids!

I took this picture of the kids in the hot tub at the cabin

Can you believe snow this low on May 30th?

2011-05-30T20:23:00.003-06:00

Memorial Day 2011

2011-05-28T20:02:00.001-06:00

Rich and I made the rounds to eight cemeteries placing 18 flowers on the graves of ancestors on the Friday before Memorial Day. (For a more in depth look at our annual Memorial Day trip, check out my blog post from 2008)

Springville

Sheep on the road on the way from Levan to Silver City

Silver City

On the west side of Utah Lake heading to Salt Lake

You can barely see Rich by the shortest tree - how we tell where Nanna's parents are

My sister's little guy buried in Orem

Scripture Mastery

2011-05-18T15:25:00.003-06:00

I posted recently about how I got the scripture mastery cards to use when I'm standing at the temple so I can memorize these great scriptures. Well, I got a new assignment: assistant initiatory coordinator and I no longer have time while I'm at the temple to memorize scriptures. (plus I get to arrive at 4 am instead of 5 am) But I've been studying these great doctrinal scriptures and marked them in my personal scriptures. I thought I would now send the cards to Michael on his mission because each one has a missionary application and it would help him in his study and teaching of the gospel.

(sorry, won't rotate)

Updated Grandkiddies Wall

2011-05-14T09:53:00.003-06:00

I finally got Hannah added to the grandkiddies wall! It was more complicated than I had hoped. I really like the 5x5 frames because it shows just their cute faces. But I couldn't find more (I only had six) except at Rod Works, where they only came in black. So I bought those and then spray painted them red. Then I wanted to try doing their names on my cricut machine, which was also more complicated than I anticipated. You have to cut each letter and then arrange them on transfer tape to attach to the wall. But I did it and I love the results!

the cute cause for the new grandkiddie wall!

Pretty Flowers in SLC

2011-05-12T09:50:00.000-06:00

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-10T10:51:00.004-06:00

It was a different Mother's Day for me this year. Laura and Todd in New York, Brian in Florida, Michael in the MTC and it was the year for Jenny and Mary to be with their other families. It enjoyed a pleasant Sunday morning and Church and then (gasp!) we went out to dinner with my parents. Rich has always felt that mothers shouldn't have to cook on Mother's Day and since we had no one coming for dinner we just went out. It was a nice change. Jenny and Trevor stopped by on their way home from Layton in the evening and it was great to see them.

I'm thankful for my mother who has always been a wonderful example of dedicating herself to her family and the gospel. I'm thankful to have received kind texts and facebook messages and blog posts from each of my children, even Michael sent me a special Mother's Day letter.

it's all good!

Weekend with Laura

2011-05-02T20:45:00.006-06:00

Papa with Hannah

It was great to have Laura and Hannah here this weekend as we celebrated Jenny's graduation from UVU.

the graduate with Ayden and Sophie

seesters

the proud parents

cute Jenny

Jenny and Trevor

Laura and Mary put on a spread of treats after the graduation

Sunday night we went to the cabin ~ just the girls: Laura, Mary, Jenny, Hannah and Myla and me. We enjoyed some girl time together, it was just too short since Laura went home today :(

sisters at the cabin

Jenny Graduates from UVU & Laura and Hannah are here!

2011-04-30T23:07:00.003-06:00

Jenny and Trevor at Jenny's graduation
(more and better pictures to come)

Hannah and I having a snuggle

Home Projects

2011-04-28T12:13:00.006-06:00

I've been working on getting a few home projects done around here:

Rich got me this mirror for Mother's Day - I did pick it out. :) I love it! Another Gothic arch mirror and I love that this one looks exactly like a Kirtland Temple window! It was a project hanging it over the stairs - thankfully, just one trip to Home Depot and Brian's skills at finding the studs and balancing on a ladder to hang it.

we moved the video cabinet by the TV, this is definitely our "old school" family room with the big screen and green carpet - but it still works

reorganized and got rid of some videos

found this cool lamp that matches the room at Hobby Lobby

I've struggled for some time what to call this little room. It was an exercise room when we first added it on. Then it was the Americana room, but that never really stuck. I decided to just decorate it in black and white to go with the West Wing and it is officially called West Wing II. Jenny and Trevor used it to store all their stuff for the past year but now it's back to being a guest space. Jenny let me keep the curtains she had hanging there so it's a little more private when used as a guest room.

it's all good

My Nephew Ryan Graduates from BYU

2011-04-28T12:10:00.002-06:00

Jenny and Heather Lilley

2011-04-21T23:47:00.005-06:00

When we served as Mission President in Daejeon, Todd, Jenny and Michael attended TCIS ~ Taejon Christian International School. Jenny became fast friends with Heather Lilley who is from England and attended TCIS. They have kept in touch through email and letters and facebook over the past 7 years and Heather came this week on her first trip to the States to spend a week with Jenny. What a great friendship!

On Tuesday morning I joined them for a short hike at Bridal Veil Falls. It's so delightful to listen to Heather talk in her British accent!

at the bottom of the falls

after the hike to mid-falls

Bridal Veil Falls

Myla Jae and Sophie Lynn

2011-04-16T19:38:00.003-06:00

Thursday Jenny and I went to Mary's to get out hair done. I got these cute pictures of Myla and Sophie. Blonde hair and cute grandkiddies ~ what a great day!

Myla being my buddy (pre-hair done for me)

Sophie had a fever and wasn't feeling great, but she still had a great smile for me

Seesters in NY

2011-04-11T15:14:00.004-06:00

My three daughters are together in New York right now. Mary and Jenny went back to meet Hannah, and visit the Buchanan family for a bit. (Alan always uses that term, "a bit," it sounds so British - which is where he served his mission. I've found myself using it lately) It makes me so happy that my girls are such good friends and enjoy each other so much.

it's all good!

One Last Day of Skiing

2011-04-11T15:03:00.005-06:00

I didn't ski once in March; but it was for good cause: a precious and perfect new granddaughter and my missionary son. Family always trumps skiing, just barely. We've been getting a lot of snow lately and so even though Sundance has closed for the season, Kathy and I decided to go to Solitude for one last ski. It was a beautiful, sunshiney day and the snow wasn't too icy. It's over an hour drive to get there, but even that was beautiful. I'm thankful to get one more ski in and then it's 8 more months before I can go again. :(

the Solitude trails go through the trees, which is lovely

the blue sky is equally gorgeous in big cottonwood canyon

I had hoped to capture the snow that was falling from the trees in this photo, but sadly it doesn't show up, but it was exquisite!

1:38 min/3.48 miles

it's all good!

Words with Friends

2011-04-10T09:24:00.004-06:00

Words with Friends is an online scrabble game that I am now officially addicted to. Rich and I were playing each other last night while we were at dinner and during some TV shows we were watching. I love this game! I like to think of it as being "alzheimer prevention" since I'm using my brain to find words. And I like the feeling of being connected with the person I am playing with. Even though you're not actually speaking to each other,(although you can send messages through the game) it's like you're connected through the game. Sometimes you're shooting words back and forth as fast as you can, and sometimes it's days between words because you get busy, or are in different time zones. But it's always a nice connection. I don't win very often, but I still enjoy the game and knowing that someone I love is getting a thrill from beating me.

My online name is jprife - invite me to a game - you'll probably win!

it's all good!

Ideas from Laura

2011-04-09T14:34:00.005-06:00

Every time I visit Laura I get some ideas of things I want to do at my house. One time I read a book she had and reorganized all my scrapbooking stuff.

This time I got three great ideas:

1. I copied her and got this poster.

Here's this history according to Wikipedia:

Keep Calm and Carry On was a poster produced by the British Government in 1939 during the beginning of the Second World War, intended to raise the morale of the British public under the threat of impending invasion. It was little known and never used. The poster was rediscovered in 2000 and has been re-issued by a number of private sector companies, and used as the decorative theme for a range of other products. There are only two known surviving examples of the poster outside of government archives.

I love this sentiment. "Keep Calm" reminds me of "Be still" and is always good advice. And "Carry On" is as Laura put it, just keep enduring and do it well.

Of course, hanging this post meant that I had to change my walls around a bit. But that's always a good thing.

2. Laura reminded my of how her friend, Gabby Blair, of DesignMom fame arranges her books in rainbow order. So I took all the books off my shelf, which had been arranged sort of by genre, and put them in the spectrum. I love it!

The rainbow starts on the left and goes across the top shelf and down across the next shelf to the left. I love how the heights kind of make a rainbow shape! There's a section of brown and black on the third shelf on the right and then all the white books are on the bottom left. The third shelf on the right is my journals tied in ribbons by year. The bottom right is magazines and miscellaneous.

3. Andrew's clothes are under his bed in wheeled boxes that roll easily. I had some things under my bed that were not as well organized as I would like. So I bought a couple of the wheeled underbed boxes and got organized.

Thanks, Laura!

it's all good!

August James to the Temple

2011-04-09T14:26:00.004-06:00

Our nephew, Augie, went to the temple today as he prepares to go on his mission to Brazil. We were happy to be able to go with him and take him to lunch afterward. My parents also came; my Mom said she felt like she should be there for Nanna, since she knows she was there in spirit.

at Los Hermanos after

Augie and Sam, his roommate who was his escort

The Jung Family

2011-04-09T14:20:00.002-06:00

When we were on our mission in Korea we got close to the Jung family. President Jung was one of our excellent stake presidents, the closest one outside of Daejeon. He came into the mission office often when he taught an institute class nearby. We love their family! They currently have three missionaries from their family. Two are in Seoul (Michael's mission) and one is in Canada, Toronto. They came for General Conference with their two youngest daughters and we were so happy that they were able to squeeze in a visit at our home.

Last Day in Tuckahoe

2011-04-06T10:32:00.005-06:00

me and my four silly Buchanan grandkiddies

the less silly version

Laura has FOUR kids!

me and Hannah ~ one for her book so she'll know that I came when she was born

we were shooting for Laura and me, but Abby and Andrew couldn't not be in the picture, photo taken by Connor

Conference Weekend

2011-04-03T16:52:00.004-06:00

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that we could watch Conference at Laura's home. Last time I was here for conference (3 1/2 years ago for Andrew's birth) we could only stream online. We had a great time watching all four sessions of Conference. Laura is such a great Mom and had activities and treats planned for all the sessions. I enjoyed hearing all the talks and taking notes and I'm looking forward to reading them, some I plan to read right away and not wait for the May Ensign. I'm a visual learner so l really like reading the talks.

Andrew colored these pictures of President Monson and his tie and thought he should tape them to his bare chest. He's a silly guy!

Park Between Sessions

2011-04-02T14:25:00.004-06:00

We decided to go to the park between sessions to get a little energy out of the kids. It was Hannah's first park outing.

Sisters

2011-04-01T14:29:00.001-06:00

April Fool's Day

2011-04-01T13:53:00.002-06:00

Laura had a snack all prepared for the children after school. It looked like grilled cheese sandwiches and grapes. But the sandwiches were actually cake with orange frosting. They looked amazing real. What a fun Mom!

Abby and Andrew: Chair and Pillows

2011-03-31T14:23:00.000-06:00

Connor's Art Show

2011-03-30T14:02:00.001-06:00

Connor painted the helicopter in this "urban" mural as part of his communities project

Photo Shoot of Hannah's Hats

2011-03-29T13:20:00.002-06:00

A Trip to New York for Hannah

2011-03-28T12:25:00.005-06:00

Hannah wearing the hat I knitted her

We got Michael in the MTC on Wednesday, I went visiting teaching on Thursday and had a Camp meeting on Friday and headed to New York on the redeye Friday night. It's been a busy couple of weeks with Michael's farewell, Alysha's wedding, Rich being released as Bishop, Jenny and Trevor moving out, a new granddaughter, Michael going to the MTC! Not to mention home cleaning and leaving all the laundry and ironing done for while I'm gone. Now I'm in NY with the lovely Buchanan family!

I arrived Saturday morning, exhausted from the redeye flight, but happy to be welcomed and hugged by Connor, Abby and Andrew. And to hold precious little Hannah. She's tiny and perfect.

Before Church I took pictures of these handsome boys with their Buchanan plaid ties:

after church
notice the welcome sign Connor made me on the door

Michael's Mission Has Begun

2011-03-23T12:06:00.004-06:00

Michael got set apart on Tuesday, March 22 by President McGinn and we dropped him off at the MTC on Wednesday. If you want to follow his mission he has a blog: Saving Seoul(s) Laura has graciously offered to keep his blog going.

at his setting apart

as we were dropping him off at the MTC

I haven't cried this much in years! This past week was an emotional one. I'm not sad to have Michael leave on his mission, although two years does seem like a long time. I'm thankful and proud to have a missionary and I know he will be an amazing one. I'm excited to get his first email on Tuesday!

A New Granddaughter!

2011-03-21T12:18:00.003-06:00

Hannah Elizabeth Buchanan

Hannah Elizabeth Buchanan was born on March 21, 2011. We are so happy that she arrived safely, weighing 7 lbs 5 oz and 18.5 inches long. Mother and baby are doing well.

isn't Laura a beautiful mother?

the happy parents of four!

Michael's Mission Farewell

2011-03-14T13:54:00.007-06:00

Michael did a great job speaking in Sacrament Meeting yesterday and afterward we had many friends and family come to our home for a meal and visiting. It was a delightful day for our family. Brian and Todd took lots of pictures of the event:

Jenny and Trevor

Trevor, Jeanettee, Kaycee and Kelsie

Lanham/Yandow family and Jill

Uncle Keith and Rich

Michael and Todd

Jill, Gram, Gramps, Keith

Michael and Hillary

The Rife Brothers: Rich and Rog

Big Boys on the Little Picnic Table

Reggie pushing Ava and Sophie in the swings

Brian sporting the 'stache for Michael

Michael's friends

President and Sister Till

Uncle Rog with Sonhee and Jeehee

Alysha, Hillary and Lindsey

Michael's Missionary Pictures

2011-03-12T20:54:00.006-07:00

Cabin with Girlfriends

2011-03-09T21:13:00.001-07:00

Wednesday I took some girlfriends to the cabin. We had a great time just relaxing and visiting and eating. I only got these two pictures with everybody in the kitchen making dinner.

Alysha's Shower

2011-03-05T21:08:00.001-07:00

Nanajan and Sophie Lynn with the "shower" girl in the background

my Mom and me

Mary, Sophie, Jenny, Karrissa and Alysha

Caribbean Cruise 2011

2011-02-20T22:21:00.004-07:00

the view of Miami from our hotel room

Michael at the American Airlines Arena where his favorite player, LeBron James plays for the Miami Heat

SUNDAY: We boarded the Liberty of the Seas

the view of Miami as we are leaving the port, from our balcony on the back of the ship

we had a lovely suite, this is Michael's room

and our living room

and our balcony on the very back of the ship

Michael on the top deck with Miami in the background

the jogging track on the top deck

the interior promenade of the ship

Rich and Michael started their cruise with a round of mini-golf:

MONDAY: at sea

the ocean is such a beautiful shade of navy/royal blue! I love it!

Michael and me on the top deck

it was really windy and kind of tricky to maintain balance

sunset on the ocean

TUESDAY: Jamaica, Mon! We hired a taxi in Ocho Rios to take us to see some of the sights. The phrase for this trip became: "Every t'ing's gonna be irie!" (everything is going to be alright - with a Jamaican accent)

a "fire breather" along the road

our ship from the hill in Jamaica

the city of Ocho Rios

our first stop was these falls; there had been a lot of rain so the were rushing with dirty water

our next stop was Dunn's River Falls which is a long waterfall over rocks that ends in the ocean, the adventure is to climb up the falls, which Michael and I did! this beach area is where we began the climb.

we started out dry, but soon were very wet!

looking back down from about half way up

at one point we had to go under this bridge

at one point Michael took a step into what he thought was waist-deep water and disappeared, fortunately he bounced back up quickly having never touched the bottom, it was an exciting adventure and we were glad we did it!
It took over an hour to climb up the waterfall.

getting back on the ship at the end of our day in Jamaica

another beautiful sunset at sea

view from the portal in our room

we had a couple of "formal nights" for dinner this staircase reminded us of the one in Titantic

my handsome men

a windy picture

WEDNESDAY: Labadee, Haiti ~ a beachfront owned by the cruise company

Michael went on a wave runner for an hour and enjoyed the ocean

THURSDAY: at sea

FRIDAY: Bahamas, the Atlantis resort

Michael went down this water slide which is a straight drop and then goes into a tube with sharks swimming around you! Together we did the one that goes through the sharks on a tube and is a little more tame.

the beaches at Atlantis are gorgeous!

especially with this handsome hunk!

there is also a cool aquarium there

SATURDAY: we disembarked back in Miami and made our way home to the snow.

It was a great vacation and we were happy to spend some time with Michael. Another highlight for me was ice skating on the ship and watching the ice show.

Cruise

2011-02-09T19:58:00.004-07:00

For the next 10 days Rich, Michael and I will be here:

Well, actually we will be in Miami for a couple of days first. It's a working cruise for Rich, but not for Michael and me!

We are excited to have some time with Michael before he leaves on his mission.

And we won't have internet access on the ship, so I won't be blogging; that means there will be lots of pictures when I get back!

My Blue Obsession

2011-02-03T15:43:00.003-07:00

I made Jenny take this picture as we were leaving Ikea even though it was FREEZING and windy outside. It was a great example of the obsession I have for the color BLUE. I was wearing blue (and you can't even see my "deep cobalt uggs") and my purse is blue and everything in the cart is blue. I love BLUE!