At the encouragement of my family and friends (mostly Angel) I'm going to try to get back to posting regularly. I can't make any promises about how often "regularly" will be, but I'll do my best. Here's what we've been up to since I last wrote...
Rachael turned 14 on November 15th. I can't believe that she is that old (because that makes me old too!). She is such a good girl. She keeps busy with cheer, piano lessons, playing the flute in band, her YW duties, and of course...texting! She was so excited to turn 14 so she could go to the stake dances. She went to her first one Sat. night and had a great time. She is quite the social butterfly (I wonder where she gets that!)
We had a great Thanksgiving with all my family at my sister, Emily's house. It was so fun to have everyone there. The cousins all have such a great time when they're together. And my siblings and I all enjoy each other's company so much. We just don't get to spend enough time all together like that.
Black Friday is quite a big tradition in my family. Sandwiched in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we try hard to make sure it doesn't get overlooked! :) My mom and sisters and I go through the ads on Thanksgiving and make our plan of attack! We're in line at 4am and don't go home until the Christmas shopping is completed. Then we went to Paradise Bakery and I met up with my girlfriends and we shopped a couple more hours. No such thing as too much shopping, right?!
December is always a crazy month for everyone, but especially for me. I am still singing with the group Notations (14 yrs. now!) and we perform a lot in December. We sang at the Mesa Temple on Dec. 1. It's one of my favorite places to sing. We also perform other places around the valley and it always makes me feel so good to bring such happiness to those we perform for. Most of them are Snowbirds and don't have any family here so it makes us feel great to bring them joy. And it is such an opportunity for us to share our testimonies of our Savior Jesus Christ. The spirit can always touch hearts through music and I love to be a part of that.
Dec 5th was a great day for me. All my closest girlfriends were in town for 1 day. Stacey and Becky and I still live here, but Angel came from Show Low, Kristi from Snowflake, Dorea from St. George, and Rhonda from Hawaii. And Amy surprised us from...Suprise:) We had a big slumber party at Stacey's gorgeous house. We stayed up late and giggled like we were in High School again. It was so fun to get to spend that time all together. I love those girls...I don't know what I would do without them.
My kids left for Utah on the 21st to spend 2 weeks with their Dad and his family. His family is wonderful and my kids really enjoy spending time with them. I sent them off with a flood of tears, not knowing what I would do with myself for 2 whole weeks. I made a list of things I was going to do around the house to keep myself busy...clean out closets, reorganize the pantry, etc. But, I didn't actually do any of that stuff! I slept in every day! One day I slept in until 10 (I haven't done that since I became a mother 14 yrs. ago!) I spent the first couple days finishing up Christmas stuff, going to lunch with the girls, and hanging out with Don. Then I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my family. I missed my kids so much I could hardly stand it. I cried, but I was actually proud of myself that I didn't have a total meltdown. I enjoyed being with my nieces and nephews. It was especially fun to have Ryan and Linsey and their 5 kids here from UT. I miss them so much and thoroughly enjoyed the time I got to spend with them.
The day after Christmas Don and I went to a party with my high school friends. We only get together once a year, but we always have such a great time. I was so blessed to have such amazing friends in high school. We laughed about how our peer pressure was exactly the opposite of most. If we had wanted to get into stuff we shouldn't, there would have been a whole group of people to set us straight. Every guy in our group of friends went on a mission, and everyone got married in the temple and are active in the church. I think I had a truly rare group of friends and I will always be grateful for the influence those people had, and continue to have in my life.
I spent the next few days just hanging out with family, girlfriends, and Don...not accomplishing anything on my list, but having a great time. Then my Grandpa Bird went in the hospital. After a couple of days he was transferred to ICU and I spent the last 4 days of my vacation there. It sounds like a nightmare, but it was actually a great experience. My parents and all my siblings were all there too. We spent a lot of time reflecting on the kind of person my Grandpa was. We talked about the great things he had done in his life and the impact that he had on each of us. It was really a bonding experience for all of us. Grandpa continued to get worse and knowing that he wouldn't get better, he made the decision to take off all the tubes and monitors and go home. He was home for nearly a week before passing away on Saturday, his 90th b-day. I will miss him terribly, but I was so excited for his reunion with my Grandma who he missed dearly. They had a great love affair and I know they are so happy to be together again. My Grandpa also had a brother that was mentally challenged, and I'm excited for him to know his brother well and whole. What a beautiful reunion that will be. The viewing for Grandpa is Wed. night and the funeral is Thursday.
I am so happy to have my kiddos back home, they are my everything! They had a great time playing with cousins, and playing in the snow, lots and lots of snow. I'm not thrilled to be back to my crazy busy life, but what can you do...vacations always have to come to an end. So now you know what we've been up to. You deserve an award if you read this clear through to the end! (Are you happy Angel? :)
12 years ago
