Special sacrament meeting today.

Christmas was yesterday. The day was pretty chill, until about 4:15, when the family started showing up! So grateful to have them all here and together often, but it is anything but quiet and peaceful! I remember thinking after they all left last night, "This is why we had six!" I thought back to when we were trying to decide, after Tom was born, whether we were going to have another baby or not. We both, for selfish reasons, wanted to be surrounded by our children and, hopefully, grandchildren in our old age1 I realized that that time in our lives has arrived, and we feel so blessed!!!

This morning I went over to sacrament meeting early to practice with Annie and Ruby Riggs, who I was accompanying on the piano. They sang, "Born in the Light of This World." It is a beautiful song, with really pretty accompaniment. I have played it over and over this past week, and I felt prepared. However, when I was practicing with them before the meeting started, I totally messed up at the end of the song and it totally threw them off.  They are 15 and used to their voice teacher playing for them and following her. During the sacrament I, I felt confident in my preparation, and prayed that I would, through the power of the Holy Ghost, play to the best of my ability so that they could sing their best and feel the Spirit as they were sharing their talents. My prayer was answered, and their song was beautiful! I had already listened to three great talks so far during the meeting, the topic of which was gifts, giving and receiving gifts.

Highlight from Nora Steffenson's talk for me: She talked about how their family goes downtown to the "Light of the World" vending machines every year. She pointed out that most vending machines are filled with things we want and that are for us. But these "Light of the World" machines are filled with things we give away to people in need. She talked about how her dad had given someone food for a week, and she had given a large five-gallon jug of water. As she described how she felt, I thought about how it really is in the giving that we receive peace and joy! 

Highlight from Justin Allen for me: When he was asked to speak in church, he was angry! "Why me," and "I have talked in church way more than my friends and it's not fair!" Then he defined compare, as found in the dictionary, as to "estimate, measure, or note the similarity or dissimilarity between." He said as we compare ourselves to others, it brings about feelings of anger, resentment and feelings of self-doubt. Then he said that he had brought those feelings on himself by the way he reacted to the invitation to speak. He "compared" that to if he had reacted with gratitude and thankfulness. He could have been grateful for the confidence the bishopric had in him, the opportunity to rely and feel close to the spirit, and the growth that he would experience from giving a talk in sacrament meeting. He they said that reacting that way would have given him feelings of love, peace and confidence. As he made that "comparison," I realized that what he was saying was true and that we often choose how we feel by how we respond to situations in our lives. 

Highlight from Barbara Jensen's talk for me: She was asked to speak about Sister Michelle Craig's talk, recently given at the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. The focus of Sister Craig's talk was taken from a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith on December 27, 1832. The saints were suffering civil and political unrest during this Christmas season and the Prophet Joseph had just prophesied a civil war. Then on Dec 27th, the Lord revealed to Joseph a reminder that in these hard times; the Lord had given the gift of the Lord, Jesus Christ, to the saints, and the hope of eternal life. The way to rejoice that Christmas season was to find ways to see and receive God's gift. That is our challenge today! Barbara pointed out that Sister Craig had reminded us that when we fail to receive and use our gifts that the Lord has given us, we fail to lift His children. She talked about something as simple as sharing a smile or saying something kind. Barbara is the only person I know that actually has a "shoe room!" Even Sam doesn't have a "shoe room." She said that when she is at the grocery store and someone, even a perfect stranger, will tell her they love the color of her hair, or love her shoes, how those kind words make her "feel good and walk a little taller." She emphasized the fact that even if we think we only have one gift, it's important that we share it and use if because that could be the one gift someone needs! One other thing I want to remember from her talk is what she said about goals. New year coming up and the top three new year's resolutions are: 1. Lose weight and exercise. 95 % of people by Valentine's Day have forgotten about that and given up. Forgot #2, but #3. Find a little more "me" time. She pointed out that "me" time is interesting. The more "me" time we have the more "me" time we want. It never brings us happiness. She challenged us to make more "me" time in our lives and devote it to the Savior. Sharing His gift of the atonement with others and using the gifts we have been given to help bring others to Him.

Highlights from Aaron Johnson: He talked about giving gifts to those that we love. When we give someone a gift, we usually try to give them something they will like and will use. He also talked about how we can show gratitude for a gift; by saying thank you, and by using it. He reminded us how we can show gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the gift of His Son and the gift of the atonement of Jesus Christ to us by keeping the commandments, keeping our covenants and using the gifts They have given us! 

I felt the spirit so strongly in this meeting more than I have in a sacrament meeting for a long time and was grateful to be there today! Then we got to go over to the Sunrise Assisted Living and I got to play the piano. It was a great morning to reflect on how truly blessed we are!!!

Crewman in Frozen!

Crew was in the Frozen Jr. play at the Backstage Performing Arts theatre in Centerville in December. Opening night was his birthday, December 10th, which he was excited about, and we were able to see the play that night. He did such a great job. He played Weselton and was perfect for the part! They had two casts, the Snowflake cast and the Reindeer cast. Crew was part of both casts, so he was able to perform each night. He was happy about that as well! He loved being on stage and is excited to audition for more plays. It was fun to see him so happy as he performed!

This is the picture that was in the online program.

 I went up closing night, which was fun! So proud of this boy; Love you Crewman!!!

 

Got a letter in the mail today from Tyler! That was fun! He was bored and hungry! Cute letter! I LOVE how he spelled scalloped!!!  I answered him on the same page and sent it back!

A first!

First time ever for a Gentri Concert. Brian Pendleton gave us tickets for Gentri, performing downtown at the Eccles Theater. I have to say I wasn't too excited, but it was a great concert. They are so talented. Most of the songs were their arrangements of traditional Christmas carols, which were amazing! Their piano player's name is Steve Nelson, which is funny because one of the Piano Guys is Steven Sharp Nelson! This guy was unbelievable. They had someone in the audience pick a song from a well known movie, and someone pick a favorite Christmas song. The two songs picked were "I'll Be in Your Heart," from Tarzan, and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause." He then, on the spot, put them together into one song! It was incredible!!!  Fun night!

Thanksgiving

We had a very quiet, but nice, Thanksgiving yesterday. It was the kids' year to be with their in-laws. Tom was scheduled to get his COVID booster shot at work Wednesday night, so he wanted to stay home and just chill with Junior. He text about four o'clock and said he had made the right decision cause he didn't feel good; it had been a rough day. We missed being together, but had a good day. Mom was going to Marilyn's house with Scott's family, but Heather Hulet came down with COVID. She has been vaccinated, and really her only symptom is just really tired. However, her and all the kids who have not been vaccinated are in quarantine. Scott, McKenzie and Austin, because they have been vaccinated, could have still come to Marilyn's house, but he didn't want to leave her and the younger four. Marilyn, being the saint that she is, still cooked dinner and took it and left it on their porch. With all of that, Mom got to come to my house!!! I do feel really bad that Heather was hit with COVID just before the holidays, but it was so fun to have Mom here! I am a little mad at myself that I didn't take a picture of us all at the table, but Sister Papple was texting me, asking me what to sub for pumpkin pie spice in my recipe for pumpkin pie. They were going to some friend's house for a "Thanksgiving" dinner and she was so excited to take a real, authentic American pumpkin pie!!! I, luckily, have the pictures that I was sending to her, bragging about my Thanksgiving feast!  So, between those and the pictures of the table that I re-enacted this morning, here are our memories of yesterday! I do have to say, dinner was delicious!!! Everything turned out, except my sweet potatoes were yellow instead of orange; they were still delicious!!! After a great dinner and visiting for a while, we took Mom over to visit with Marilyn and Mark. What a blessing to be with her; thankful to still have her with me!!!

        

A cute surprise in the mailbox today!

This cute thing was in the mailbox today! I guess they were talking about grandparents one day at pre-school. It's actually a miracle that Knox was even there because he has been having such a hard time going. He screams and, if he can manage it, even runs out the door while Tiff is trying to leave! He has been known to kick the teacher while she is holding him as Tiff leaves, and one day he threw up all over himself on the way because he was so upset about going. So to see this cute face when I opened up the envelope meant that one; Tiff, being the super woman that she is, was able to escape that day, and two; he has no signs at all of having been crying or upset in this picture, so it must have been a great day when this picture was taken! 

I sent back a card with two pictures of Buzz in it (He's obsessed with Buzz!) telling him that Buzz was running to tell him that Gigi and Grandpa are so happy he's at pre-school  and that we love him to infinity and beyond!!! Hopefully these pics will bring a smile to that cute face of his that we love so much!!!

Always a party!

Tonight we went to dinner with Dan and Eden for Dan's birthday (Nov 5th). Dan had been to a place in Washington D.C. when he was recently there on business called Hook and Reel. He loved it and was so happy to find out that they had one in West Valley, by the old Hale Center Theater. So we went! It was quite the experience and we had so much fun!  They do something called a boil, which consists of a minimum of one pound of meat, (fish; shrimp, lobster tail, whole lobster, king crab legs, scallops, crawfish, etc) little potatos and a small corn on the cob. You can add other things, such as broccoli, sausage, boiled eggs, etc. They cook it in a large cooking bag and bring it to you all puffed up on a plate. It has spices and sauces of your choice in it as well. Then comes the fun part! You put on clear gloves, open the bag and go for it! You have to shell all your own fish and it's in all the messy sauce, so it's quite the process! Dan went for it, of course and the rest of us poured it out on our plates. It was still messy though. It was really, really good food and a lot of fun! 

We didn't take a picture before we dove in, so I got this off the website; this is what it looks like when they bring it to you.

You can see Dan's is still in the bag!

Such a fun night!  Happy 28th Buddy!!! Thanks for making life so much fun!!! 

Family History moment today!

Charlie found this recipe in his Sperry  "stuff" and he and his sisters were talking about it a few weeks ago. Apparently it was a cake that his Grandpa Sperry, Arthur Joy, used to make, and the grandkids remember eating it. So I decided to make it today, because we had a lesson in Sunday School about different ways of doing family history. Making an old family recipe was one idea! So I made it today. It was actually really good! Reminded me of my Aunt Marcella's raisin cookies. 

Kinda like carrot cake, except raisins instead of carrots!

 

Went to watch Trek play basketball tonight. So much fun watching him play! He is constantly moving, finding his man and learning to play some pretty tight defense! He stopped their leading shooter a couple of times because he was right on him with his hands straight up!!! Should we call him Royce O'Neal?!!! Love you Bud!!!

The little Garbage Man

This little boy is obsessed with the garbage truck!!! His very patient mom walks him around the neighborhood every Wednesday, rain or shine, so he can follow the garbage truck. He never runs from her and never goes in the street. I get the biggest kick out of watching him. This morning I had to be a creepo and go out and ask his mom if I could take a picture of his Halloween costume! She was so nice and be smiled at me and let me take his picture! He honestly has been doing this for a couple of years. At first he was in a stroller!!! And they NEVER miss!! What a good mom!!!

Tonight was a magical night with my Bud! In February, 2020, Tom asked my what I was doing on April 18, 2020. Of course, I was free and he told me to save the date for a birthday surprise. I didn't know what the surprise was until the first part of April, when he told me that he had gotten tickets for the Broadway tour of Frozen, which was scheduled to be at the Eccles Theater in April. Unfortunately, due to COVID, the tour was canceled and they weren't sure if they were going  to reschedule. Later that summer, they did reschedule it for October 30, 2021, tonight! That was a bit sad, because in May, we had received our call to serve in the MTC in New Zealand from Jan 2021 to Jan 2023. Again, due to COVID, that has been on hold and here I am!!! So we were able to go! I really can't believe that he bought me a ticket! So much money! But, we had such a great time! We got some Indian food before the show and then, as you can see, went shopping in the lobby. It was so fun just spending time with Tom and soaking in the atmosphere of the show and the theater. The show was amazing and, of course Sven and Olaf were our favorites!!! Thanks so much for a great night Tom! Love you!!!

My piano teacher passed away last week. She was the sweetest, most kind lady. She lived in Bountiful and Mom would drive us out to our lessons each week from Salt Lake. Nancy and Marilyn took from her first. She lived just around the corner from us in the duplex that Mom and Dad later owned, then moved up to Bountiful. Marilyn and Nancy continued taking lessons from her. When Nancy finished high school she quit lessons and I took over her spot with Rhea. Monday night was goulash night because Mom could make that before we went to Bountiful and let it sit while we were gone. Rhea was so nice, even when I didn't practice like I should have. She was especially kind when I got the giggles during a recital while playing a duet with her daughter Kerrie. I kept playing, but could not stop laughing and I ruined the entire duet for Kerrie. Hopefully she will forgive me someday!!! I listened to the funeral service on line and it was really fun to see her kids all grown up. They all did a wonderful job speaking and said some really nice things about their mom. What a blessing she was to me and I'm grateful for the blessing of her influence in my life.  I realized that with her passing, all three of my piano teachers are now gone. Nancy was my first one; she passed away about six weeks ago. then I had Rhea, and then Edith Reid, who passed away 13 months ago. 

Crew's recital

Crew had a "duet" recital last night and played with his mom! So fun to hear him play. He's doing great!

Nancy's Funeral

Today was Nancy's funeral. It was a really nice meeting. Her kids and Heidi's kids all did a good job; Nancy would have been proud! She was a very talented person and loved her family so much! She did anything she could for them and just wanted them to be happy. She had a very hard life, with a lot of challenges, but was able to keep her sense of humor through most things she faced. She was a great sister to me! She was my first piano teacher, took me with her to run errands and get french fries, and even let me hang out with her and her friends. I will miss her, but am so happy and grateful to know that she no longer has the pain, challenges and restrictions of her physical body. What a blessing for her!

Steve made this casket, which was beautiful. I can't believe he was able to do it in less than one week's time! I talked to him about it at the luncheon and he said that he knows that he had help, because he never could have done that alone.