The Beauty of the Earth

Today I took Ambur to an appointment and it was such a beautiful drive.  I am so grateful for the beautiful earth I am able to enjoy every single day.  Today especially grateful for hawks, rabbits and mountains.

I love a blue sky.  Adding sunshine to a sky is so magical and uplifting.  The beautiful snow against the blue sky was so enjoyable to see.  Then, to top it off, Heavenly Father graced me with 3 hawks and 2 rabbits to view in my drive.  What a gift of joy and kindness.

It was such a beautiful drive and then I just waited in the car and watched the skiers, the birds and melting of the icicles as I waited.  I am blessed.  I love being outside.  Gratitude is overflowing.

Vacuum Cleaner

Ahhh, the Vacuum Cleaner.  Perhaps something strange to be grateful for, but I surely am.  I love to see the carpet after the vacuum has been run over it to pick up all the dirt, fuzz, gunk, hair etc that is there.  I don't know how long they have been in existence, but I am grateful to the inventor. 

My vacuum is about 5 years old now and it still does a great job.  It has no filters and has bags to suck the dirt into.  It does a beautiful job and I remember when I got it, there were so many choices.  I don't need anything too technical, I just want to gather up the dirt when I push the button on, and it does.

Adding a dog into the house presents some problems with the HAIR.  I am allergic so it is very important it doesn't build up. I had wood floors in Las Vegas and I loved them.  Just run the vacuum over the top of the wood floor and bye bye hair.  Sometimes some extra sweeping became necessary.  But every time the dirty dander and hair got picked up I felt relief in my head.

Now in Cedar city we have carpet upstairs (wood floors don't seem to be so popular here) and wood on the lower level.  Carpet and pets simply don't go together (in my opinion).  It gets pretty dirty and stinky.  I don't vacuum as often as I would like so it is something I need to improve on.  Recently I got a credit from amazon and I bought a new vacuum with it.  It is a floor vacuum similar to this one.

I would like to say how wonderful it is, but I haven't used it once.  I get severe anxiety just to try it.  That is another reason I am grateful for vacuum's--to help me conquer the fear of new ones, technical one that I might not be able to use--I mean, it is scary!  But I am going to use it before the 31st of January that is a deadline I have set for myself.  Right now all it does is stare at me.  Sometimes it talks and just blurts out, "Ready for use, " or, "all charged", or, "please read rule #...."  I feel it is judging me.  Ha Ha.  I will use it and hope it does a great job at getting the dog hair off of the floor so I can breathe a little freer.  There will be an update to this gratitude journal.

Humor aside, I am truly grateful for the vacuum and whomever invented it.  Something we may not think about all the time, but next time you turn it on, think about how it would be without it.

Conference addresses for the week

This week I only managed four addresses from General conference.  I started more, but kept falling to sleep.  So here is my report.

1.  Hallmarks of Happiness by Elder Gary B. Sabin of the Seventy.  His address was about how important a foundation of Jesus Christ is to our happiness.  The importance of a strong foundation is so important.  I believe I received a good foundation of the gospel, of Jesus Christ, from my parents and I have built it even stronger as years pass and I know I have a long way to go, but I felt as I was reading his address that in my strongest moments are the times I have the most pressing challenges in my life.  I think this will also be an address I read again and again because I think each time I read it I will gain some new knowledge from it.

2.  Humber to Accept and Follow by  Elder Joni L Koch of the Seventy.  Humility.  Boy I needed to read, hear and study this one.  I also read Alma chapter 5 as was suggested and I felt strongly that there is always room for more humility in our lives.  Especially to be ready to return to the presence of God.  That is something I look forward to doing-seeing Kelly and my Mom and Dad again will be a great moment and I will continue to work to be humble enough to be worthy of it.

3.  Seeing God's Family through the Overview Lens by Sister Tamara W. Runia.  This talk was so good and so applicable to me in my life that I read it twice.  She spoke of faith and how we view ourselves and our families and that we can view life with hoy and hope.  It was so uplifting.  It will definitely be a favorite.

4.  Brothers and Sisters in Christ by Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the twelve Apostles.  I have actually read this one before.  I love it.  I just love listening to Elder Soares.  I find him to be one of the most humble of people.  He speaks to enjoying spiritual kinship and different attributes and varied gifts that we all have.  I really feel so comforted from his talk.  

 

Pieces and Pieces

Today I am especially grateful for puzzles.  I have put together many, many puzzles.  I love them. For the many hours of working on them, it soothes my thoughts, brings comfort to my life and I just love to see them come to life.

This turtle puzzle was completed by Ambur.  I try to search for puzzles with vibrant colors and very large pieces so that she is able to be a part of working on them even with her visual impairment.  She did it and loved it.

Each puzzle has it's own story.  Can you imaging being the person who designed this puzzle.  All these Disney characters that come together in 1000 or 1500 pieces to tell their story.  This one took me a little extra time.  It wasn't so easy.

This one was a gift to me and I wasn't too excited at first--black and white, no color.  But it turned out to be quite fun to complete.

Some years ago we had a flood in our apartment and moved to a hotel with two double beds and all our belongings in our closets.  I needed a puzzle to work on for sure.  So I got this one with only 654 puzzle pieces.

It sure did take my mind off of the current problems and I was glad it came with a little 'cheat' sheet of instructions.  I couldn't figure out exactly the best way to do it for a while, and I think it took me almost two months to complete this bugger, but I got it.

It was finally finished.  It was a lot of fun to do.  I enjoyed the challenge and even today when I look at it, it brings a smile to my face.

I have many Disney puzzles.  This one is a collector's with old time disneyland.  I loved doing it.  During the flood in our apartment, it got wilted and melted but I liked it so much I couldn't discard it.  The picture isn't the greatest, but the memories and smiles are.

When I bought my house in Las Vegas, I decided I had room to tackle a 3000 piece puzzle.  I chose this beautiful ocean scene.  Can you just imagine being in the ocean and taking this picture?  Then turning it into a beautiful masterpiece puzzle?

I had to set up 3 tables to complete it.  The pieces seemed to be never ending.

We The People!  This was a very difficult puzzle.  Ambur has a bunch of historical documents to hang in her room and this was one we both fell in love with so we decided to put it together.  We used magnifying glasses to find the type of writing and/or signature and piece by piece we got it.  

When I hit a certain point on a puzzle, I arrange the pieces by the shape and just start at a point and put it together by shape.  Ambur always laughs (and maybe gets a bit frustrated) with me when I get to that point, but this puzzle needed it.  I didn't think we would ever finish.

This was one of my favorite puzzles.  It was different.  The pieces were made of plastic.  It was so beautiful.  I don't remember actually what happened to this one, but it was such fun to do.

This one was especially fun.  It was historical and not exactly easy but it was just a fun puzzle to complete.

This is the most recent puzzle that I completed.  Santa brought it to Ambur for Christmas and she loves it and ex excited to get it on her wall.  She did some of the puzzle but it was difficult for her to do.  It has been a few months since I worked on a puzzle so I was excited and finished it and it was pretty fun to do.  Matching up the words was somewhat easy and after I got to a certain point it really came together quickly.

 

There are so many things in the world to be grateful for, evidence that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us and wants happiness for us.  Puzzles might seem to be a simple thing, but for me they pull me out of gloomy moods, building them brings peace and contentment to my life and when completed they make me feel that I can do things when I try.  They are a truly positive thing in my life and I am very grateful for them.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAROWAN Picture Overload

I can never show enough gratitude for being close enough to my grandchildren to enjoy things in their lives.  Earlier in the week I got a call from Sara saying that the kids would be having a performance at school for Parowan's birthday.  I told them I would be there and I couldn't wait.   A little information about the school they go to.  There is an elementary which is Kindergarten to 6th grade and a High School which is 7th to 12th grade. The schools are connected.  There is no cafeteria in the High School so some of the kids go to the elementary to eat their lunch in the cafeteria and others just walk to the Maverick or across the street to the frosty place (I am not sure of the name of it).

Every year on Parowan's birthday both the elementary and the Highschool perform dances.  It reminded me of something we did as I was growing up in elementary school and each age group did a different dance.    So all the parents/family/visitor's set on one side of the auditorium and the students are all on the other side.  The parking was crazy so I dropped Ambur off and thank heavens they had seats saved for us. Ashlyn and Kinsley are both in this picture it is super full on the side with the students.

First up was Kindergarten which means Maddox would be there.  They danced to Little Liza Jane.  It was so fun to watch them come out through the door and walk onto the floor (which was covered with the special mats).  His partner is in the red and white dress with the ruffles over the shoulders.

And there is Maddox with his special vest on.  If you look at all the different kids, there are so many different varieties of clothing--anything goes.

When they turned and twisted under each other's arms, it was so cute.  Just amazing what they can get the kids to do.

I just love these next two pictures.  It looks like he is proposing to her and then there they are with her on his knees.  So much fun.

Next is Jaxon.  He did the Hokey Pokey.  I wasn't able to get great pictures of everyone, but I just loved watching Jaxon.  He is a kid that does what he is told by teachers.  I always yell out their name and  it is embarrassingly fun (Blaine hates it when I call out) but at the same time I see the smiles on their faces when I do and Jaxon was no different today.  He would really look at me much, ignored me, with the sly little smile he gives so freely.

Next up was Tessa.  She was easy to spot because her coat was very bright.  Her dance was the Virginia Reel.  She smiled when she saw me so the only thing left to do was just to yell, Go Tessa.  I wasn't able to get quite as good of pictures with her because she was way down on the end.

I just love Tessa's age now.  She is so precious and sweet and little things seem to mean a lot to her.  She always says thanks for anything I do and she is loving and kind.  Sometimes she is a little negotiator and she doesn't like anyone to be left out so she will fill in gaps if she notices it.  She is also an animal lover.  She has a sense with animals and she can't imagine anyone ever being mean to one or not wanting one.  Her feelings are tender and she is just sweet.  Her dance was real cute.

Kinsley is next in line.  She did the dance to the song, Oh Johnny.  It was so much fun to watch.  She tries not to look when I give her name a holler, but she was so close she couldn't help but look.  She didn't ever really look like she was enjoying herself in the dance, but part of it is age, I think.

I love the skills the school here teaches the kids.  Social skills, there is really not a problem with younger and older kids because they all go to the same school and you can just feel the love the teachers/staff have for all the kids.  I love seeing their great work in progress.

And last but not least, Ashlyn.  She is in 9th grade and she has a best friend, Lily (sp?) and she talks about her and the things they do together all the time and she was right next to Ashlyn.  I yelled out, Go Ashlyn and she just giggled (as always for her) and Lily was smiling so I yelled out, Go Lily too and she gave the biggest smile and laugh and the picture turned out blurry which is sad, but I used it anyway because it was such a great memory maker.  Ashlyn's dance was the Country Line Dance.

Ashlyn will always have a special soft spot in my heart.  She has had some real struggles in her early school years and she has worked through them and I am proud of her.  She is also my first grandchild and  that is something that just can not be beat.  She is such a beautiful young lady and kind to all.  She loves anything outdoors and she is fun to talk with.  I just love her so much.

The event is not over after the dances.  The school does a really well choreographed finale with all the kids exiting the gym and then they come back with a young child paired with an older child and they walk around the gym 2 by 2 then two more join in so they are 4 by 4 and then more and it goes on until the gym is full of all the kids.  It was so great to watch and how they keep it straight I will never know.  I tried to catch as many pictures as I could as one of them came by.

Maddox came in with a senior.

Jaxon, so cute.

Tessa-I barely saw her when she came in.

Kinsley, she came by and I almost missed her.  Not the best picture.

Ashlyn 2 by 2

Once everyone had come through once, it was nearly impossible to keep track of where they were.  But the next pictures is what the gym looked like as it got fuller and fuller.

Then it is over, and there is an announcement for a certain grade to go back to class and then one by one they dismiss kids and tell them where to go next.  Then it became a little crazy kids going everywhere and parents trying to find them to say see ya later.  The following are a couple of pictures I got and I even got hugs from Tessa, Kinsley and Maddox.

These last pictures are actually from when I first arrived, I was trying to find them across from us before it started and I took pictures as I found them.

Had the most wonderful time and I am so blessed to be grandma to these sweet souls.  I love them each and everyone and each time I am able to attend a function, I am ever so grateful that I live here where I can go..  It is a great memory to have and I cherish it.