HONEY MOON OVER......

All good things come to an end!

Tomorrow Alex and Ashlyn will back to the real world......she goes back to school to get her RN and Alex will be back to work with the family business.

I thought they were coming in Saturday after a 7 day cruise....they came in Thursday night after a 5 day cruise......they texted they wanted to stay all night....I said of course.  Thursday I had the Domino group and a friend came by late.....so when I went to bed about 9......

I was out cold.....my dog is deaf and if I sleep on my good ear....nada!  They came in about 11....went down stairs to bed....got up and showered and left a note......"thanks for letting us stay"....and were off to help Darren drive cars back to Venal...I found the note when I finally got up.  HELLO.....if you know how to get into my house..you could clean me out while I ....and my dog....sleep.  Ken said he kinda heard them......but didn't get up.
Went to church this morning.....Ken went over and went to Brayden's ward/   Dropped by Pam's to deliver a late birthday gift....Tiff and Aaron came by ....so nice day.

ANOTHER BIRTHDAY......

Cute nephew Mike Ramsey playing Mark Twain at Sun Dance with his Mom Leslie.....Yesterday was his birthday and I got to spend a couple of hours with him as we visited a cousin....Lucille was so happy we came......Mike played the piano and sang for she and Gene.  Lucille has let her self go and can hardly walk or breath because of weight....but her old spirit is still there....They had made fresh cinnamon rolls for us and sent home a big pan with each of us.....So sad to see her like that...Mike's daughter had taken him to breakfast and his best friends were taking him to dinner.....Yes. he is lonesome.....but handling it by staying busy.....We had such a good talk about life and all......

FRANTIC WEEK......

Well it began Monday morning......Sher and Ken got to UVU and began the process of getting Ken registered for school......and how to get from SlC to Orem........ finally home about four....wiped out! They take the trax from my house to Costco......change to Front Runner and then in Orem then ride a bus to the UVU campus......Ken will do this three days a week....Brayden's wife Libby will also be doing this and can help Ken with home work.....Sher did this Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.......then got caught in a rain storm that closed the road on the way home.....five and a half hours home.  Bet she is glad this is her last one to get schooled after a mission.  Tomorrow the schedule begins.

'

KENNY'S HOME.....

CONGRATULATIONS KEN......

Ken had a great homecoming in Vernal yesterday......such a nice talk and lots of people after church came by to congratulate him.....Ken and his mother were on the UVU campus early this morning to get scheduled for a quarter of school in Provo.  This is his first day of school picture!!!!!  He will commute on tracks with his sister-in-law Libby from my house.......

I rode down to the homecoming with Bud....Darren's dad and his girl friend RosaLee.....6 hours of driving....and hour at church.....lunch.....made it a long day.  So today dragging.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAM.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAM.....YESTERDAY!

As usual I am always trying to catch up.   Pam is so special to me....my only child for 11 years and then with her help we got the twins raised......She had my first three grandkids that are neat and lives close by.  This is a great picture when Nicci was married four years ago......She works in the Judicial system down town as a negotiator and a facilitator......and has taken up fishing to keep up with her husband ROB.  We celebrated her birthday early so I could go to Vernal yesterday.......

BIG BIRTHDAY WEEK.....

THANK GOODNESS DREAMS DON'T COST ANYTHING!!!!!

Seems each family has favorite months....ours has been April and August.....Yesterday was my granddaughter's birthday, today my grandson's,....who was born  on my mother's birthday...... Saturday my oldest daughters and the next day one of my son -in-laws,,,,,,and one more the end of the month ........a favorite nephew.

Tonight I am taking Pam to dinner to celebrate her birthday....Rob has a meeting.  Yesterday it was coffee at Patty's and I will go to Vernal Sunday for Ken's Homecoming.....August half over....and school starts Monday.  Been a busy summer.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAYDEN.....AND MOM

This is my fourth grandson and he has a birthday today......It is also my mother's birthday...she would be 106........HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAY.

He is one of the sweetest guys I know.....and someday will invent something wonderful.... He went on a mission, a year of school and has a cute wife named Libby.  He is settling in Salt Lake for the time being and just got a job while Libby goes to school.  It will be fun having him in and out.  this  is when he received his Eagle.  

FAMILIES......

HERE WE GO AGAIN.......OUR FAMILY HAS FALLEN  APART.....

I CAN SEE BOTH SIDES OF THE PROBLEM BUT WHAT CAN I DO????

Yes, everyone expects everyone to support their kids....but sometimes they don't reciprocate......

Yes, Ken's home coming from a two year mission that none of us expected to happen....is important to his mother....BUT seems every one is busy and can't be bothered to drive six hours to support Ken! So the Christensons and the Cooks will not be available to support William at his wedding in a couple of weeks......I understand that????  The Cooks have dropped out of our family circle....unless they want our support????  And the Christensons are tired of being the ones who always cancel or make it happen to be to all the weddings, farewells. etc.   OK kids.....that is life.....and it will always be so.

As i try to figure all this out......I have decided the only way to avoid this is to be raised as an orphan and never get married and have kids!

Thank goodness for good friends and neighbors!!!!

MY WEEKEND......

IT IS SUCH A GOOD FEELING TO KNOW YOU ARE YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND.......

THROUGH THE YEARS I HAVE LEARNED TO DO MOST EVERYTHING ALONE......AND ENJOY IT.   MOVIES, OUT TO DINNER, TRAVEL .....SHOP.  I DO LOVE SHOPPING WITH MY GIRLS, BUT ALONE IS OK TOO.  IF YOU WAIT FOR SOMEONE TO ASK YOU TO DO SOMETHING OR GO SOMEWHERE......YOU MIGHT HAVE A LONG WAIT....SO BECOME YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND AND GO AND DO WHATEVER YOU WANT.....WHENEVER YOU WANT!!!!

KARMA........

AS I BEGIN MY CHRISTMAS SHOPPING.....I ALWAYS DO IN JULY WHEN THE SALES START......I AM TORN.....DO WE INCLUDE THE "WHOLE" FAMILY WHO SEEM TO BE TELLING US THEY DO NOT WANT ANY PART OF US.......THOUGH WE KEEP TRYING! OR DO WE KEEP TRYING....BEING BETTER THAN THEY ARE?????  THIS FAMILY HAS NOT SHOWN UP AT THE LAST TWO FAMILY WEDDINGS OR WEDDING SHOWERS THIS SUMMER.....WOULD NOT ALLOW ANY OF US TO VISIT THE HOSPITAL WHEN MY GRANDDAUGHTER HAD HER BABY......MY SECOND GREAT-GRANDCHILD.....EVEN THOUGH WE WENT TO HER BABY SHOWER, BABY BLESSING AND ATTENDED SCOTTS FINAL  GAME IN LACROSS BECAUSE THEY ASK US TO.  WHEN DO YOU SAY..."ENOUGH IS ENOUGH"...I HAVE ALWAYS SAID....."WHAT GOES ROUND....COMES ROUND" AND SEEN IT PLAY OUT TO BE TRUE AS IS KARMA.

I KNOW....IF WHAT YOU ARE DOING ISN'T WORKING.....CHANGE WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!!!!

REFRAME THE PAIN.....

When your feet hurt, does the thought of it keep popping into your head?  Do you tell everyone who will listen how much you dread you upcoming root canal?

If so you are prone to "catastrophizing"......which helps the pain hang around for a long 

time.....Catastrophizing interferes with you body's innate ability to suppress pain signals by heightening your anxiety and attention to pain......You need to teach yourself to stop amplifying your pain by flipping thoughts and experiences from negative to positive.....

Thinking differently helps you act differently so that you begin doing things to self-soothe.

For some reason I am not sure all that advise is going to make my aching feet better!

I have Bree for the weekend.....I did change my sheets, wash rugs and do laundry today....it is suppose to be 100 degrees tomorrow......August is going too fast....before we know it...TOMORROW WILL BE CHRISTMAS......

KEN MOVING ON.......

I just got word last night Ken will be back as he got a class at UVU and will attend college this Fall quarter with sister-in-law Libby.

When Ken was two at LDS children's hospital they were not sure he would ever talk.....he is not autistic....or aspergers....just a learning disability....and stutters a little.  He is 6'3 or 4....and very eager to do and be like his two big brothers....and friends.  He finished high school....took a date to graduation his last two years.....learned to drive.....and just finished a two year service LDS mission on Temple Square.  Next Step ....back with grandma Betty for college and find a job........

I think it will be fun to blog once a week on how and what Ken does in the coming months.....someday he will be glad I did....or his Mother will..

HOLD THAT THOUGHT!

OH YES....THE WONDER YEARS.  I JUST READ AN ARTICULAR BY TWO OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE....JOANNA AND CHIP GAINES......

I love when a new thought causes all kinds of new thoughts.....

We have all witnessed the fact that our children are excellent at seeing the possibilities beyond current realities.....a piece of tree bark or a big stick is that no more.  If there is a stream near by these can become boats waiting to set sail.......For children a big cardboard box can become a palace or a fort....a broom becomes a horse...... emptied toilet paper rolls become telescopes......Kids are able to find  value in things that have been discarded, forgotten or are presumed useless.......It is fun to watch your child take something that has served its purpose by adults standards and breath new life in it......

But....isn't this narrative true for all of life?  In one season a seed is just a seed....and in another season, it finds itself to be a mighty tree....Then it might become a pencil, matchstick, a toothpick, firewood or a kitchen table or siding of a cabin........But all along the way it is unaware of what it might become, unaware of what it's journey might hold.....unaware of all that it was made to be.

It is an inescapable narrative that we all play a part in.  Time and time again, this story of being remade is told.  Take yourself.....when one chapter in your life ends....you begin another and many times it takes you down a different road.....You are not the same person today you were 50 years ago and that can be for many reason......I love wondering what adventures lie ahead for me.....I just keep getting surprised.

A NEW CHAPTER....

I have always been someone looking for more......learn more....do more......see more....be more!

I saw a little thing called "A MOMENT FOR YOU!" it seems to fit me.

"You have so much going for you!"

You're definitely not ordinary (TRUE)

Absolutely not average (O.K)

And totally not typical (I KNOW....LOVE TO T RAVEL)

You've got mountains of strength, and ocean of potential and miles and miles of ability....which means you've got a world of possibilities just waiting to be explored!" 

As I come to the end of a chapter in my life......grandma missionary stuff......I will close that book and seek out new things to do and learn in my time left on earth.  I am so grateful for my health and all the great friends I have.....the bridge games and Mexican Train group have been a part of my life for a very long time.....Then the occasional family affair and the fun holidays.....that just come and go so fast.....I have added many wonderful people to my life......neighbors.....and lost some people I loved a lot.....but I trust that God will always be there for me.

WONDERFUL FAMILY......

This family is so happy to be together......

I am proud of this family.....Three great boys.....all have their Eagle Badges......all completed a LDS Mission.  Both Alex and Brayden have darling wives pursing their education....one a nurse and the other a school teacher......and Ken has yet to decide what his future will.  This family work very hard, love their church and do a lot for others.  They also play hard and enjoy their cabin in Park City, their house boat on Lake Powell and the many toys for snow weather or flying their airplane ..They are very good to me......sleep overs, Spaghetti Factory etc.  My two years as Ken's mission companion has been very special.

HOME COMING COMPLETE......

As usual Sherrie on the ball......remembering all the Missionary homecomings she wanted Ken to have one also......soooo when Darren flew Ken home from Salt Lake at the Vernal airport was Ken's welcome home group....signs and all!!!  Ken has great parents.  She said he was surprised but happy to see friends and neighbors who were proud of him.

Ken's SEND OFF.....

THIS IS MAKING MEMORIES........
Ken's last week .....he was honored by the people who have helped him through his mission....
We gathered on the 26th floor of the office building on Temple Square and he was presented with a plack of his mission with the dates and place....and we met the wonderful couple in charge of the learning disabilities missionaries gathered there. Both grandmas ....both brothers and wives and his parents.....all so proud of Ken. They served doughnuts and chocolate milk.....That makes four of my grandsons who have completed an LDS Mission.......

A FUN WEDDING.......

ALEX AND ASHLYN CHRISTENSON

Such a fun weekend with the family in Vernal and such a nice wedding......they looked so happy and they both were wearing their cowboy boots!!!!  Real Vernal thing.  Her mother was not happy about the wedding and it showed through many times....but it got done.   Tiffany, Aaron and I drove down Friday night to help Sherrie.....The Baines were there and Mike Mendoza....to help.  We put up the tents and the tables and chairs arrived and we set up the decorations.......Sherrie very organized and it was so pretty.  She feed about 125 people after the ceremony......then Ashlyn's family had the reception with picture taking etc for most of Vernal it seemed.......I became the bathroom monitor because my feet hurt......Pam and Rob took Don and Tony and left after they ate.....as did Darren's dad and Rosealee.....Darren's brother and his mother......and Karrie's two boys.  The Cooks and Andrea did not show up......NO SURPRISE!.....Which made me very angry.......I think I am done wih them.....They are taking a cruise for their honeymoon......

WOW......

"THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO LIVE YOUR LIFE:...ONE IS AS THOUGH NOTHING IS A MIRACLE.  THE OTHER IS AS THOUGH EVERYTHING IS A MIRACLE."....
      Today my Kennedy finished his two year mission on Temple Square in the Postal Department....and to think when he was two the doctors said he may never talk.....Because of wonderful parents who believed in him and treated him just like his two big brothers.....KEN has really
surprised us and grown so much the last two years......Every morning at eight he gets into
his pickup.....drives over to the track station and rides down to Temple Square and spends the day ....he has made friends and seen he is capable of much.....Today was his last day ......his father met him and they flew to Vernal to meet the bishop and be released......Hopefully he will be back the end of August to go to UVU and continue to live with me....we are good roommates.