Carrie Concert; Excells Visit to Look for New Home; Thanksgiving Day; Bon Voyage!

Glen bought us season tickets once again this year for BYU basketball home games, so we go to Provo for as many games as is possible for us to attend.

We went to a Carrie Underwood concert at Vivint Arena.

Carrie has swayed far away from her original country singing style and is way more rock than country these days. 

We loved when she came down to our end of the arena and sang a few slower, gospel-type songs. 

It is so much easier to appreciate her beautiful voice when she sings those kinds of songs.

She flew down to our end on a swing and went back to the main stage in this contraption. It was a fun experience, but pretty sure we will not be attending any more of her concerts in the future.

We had several dinner dates--one with Glen's sisters and their husbands.

Barbara always gives us two tins of Chex party mix at Christmas time. She used to give one, but when I ate most of it one year, she has now decided to give us two so we can each have our own. 

She is protecting her brother's rights to his own portion of the treat. Yay for Barbara!!

We had a lunch date with our missionary Nate Anderson and his wife Alexis.

We also treated Sylvia Nieto and Garrett Sanders--both of our missionaries who married each other--to lunch at Zupas.

Sarah surprised us by saying they were coming to town the few days before Thanksgiving. Time to pull out the French toast-making skills for the grandsons.

The boys hardly had enough time to play with their cousins while they were here because their cousins were still in school. 

Sarah's family left here on Thanksgiving Day morning to go to Cedar City to spend the rest of the week with Jeff's family. 

Jeff and Sarah had a very successful trip. They were able to put an offer down on a new home in Kaysville just east of Highway 89. They had gotten an offer on their home in Vegas, which was a relief for them so they have funds for purchasing a new home.

After bidding the Excells good-bye, we welcomed my parents, my siblings and their families, and Rebecca's family for Thanksgiving Dinner. 

Sam brought a perfectly-golden-brown turkey.

Kaelyn brought a beautiful green salad.

Mom brought her delicious homemade stuffing and also Texas sheet cake brownies which is a very popular treat with the young people.

I stopped taking photos of what people brought when I noticed Glen carving up our turkey while trying to listen to and watch a ball game on his iPad. That's what is called multi-tasking!

Presenting our delicious Thanksgiving spread. YUM!!

We had a very quiet household that day despite 30 people being here. We were missing Andy's whole family who were celebrating the holiday with Amanda's side of the family.

We were missing two of Mike's children who have young children. Kaelyn's youngest two were sick and were at home with Dennis. 

We were also missing Ben's family because Kade was sick. At least Ben and Haley were able to come up to get themselves plates of food while they alternated sitting in the car with the little ones. 

Unfortunately, Ben has gotten sick and has been feeling very miserable the last few days. Fingers crossed that the rest of us don't get it!! 

We had no babies attending this year. These are the youngest of our group who were very entertained with Bryce's video games he hooked up to our TV. 

It was fun to see photos of Jacob's family. Natalie was in town, so they took advantage of it to get family photos taken. I was thinking they must be at Cabela's, but Jacob said they were at a similar-type store, Bass Pro Shop. So funny. So cute.

Natalie was able to spend a week with her family in Nebraska the week of Thanksgiving.

Jacob's family helped deliver meals to people for the Salvation Army. What a great service they were offering.

The day after Thanksgiving I got busy changing out the decorations from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Glen never likes to put up the Christmas tree and every year says we are not going to have a tree, which he declared again this year. 

I would have been willing to forego the tree this year because we will be gone most of the days leading up to Christmas. But, I reminded him the Excell family would be staying with us over Christmas while they are in between moves. Surely the little boys need a Christmas tree. 

Later in the day, I saw this trail of lights and was actually surprised Glen had carried up the tree and had started stringing the lights.

He said he was doing it for the grandsons. Ahhh, so he's not such a Scrooge after all!! 

Funny thing is we just barely learned that Jeff and Sarah might be able to move into their new home a day or two before Christmas. HA!!

Rebecca's family came up later that day to watch the Disney movie, "Disenchanted." They helped put the ornaments on the Christmas tree before starting the movie.

Well, the time is upon us. 

We have been planning this vacation for a year and a half now and we leave in two days for Hawaii with my siblings and their spouses. 

I am excited like the rest of them to go on this vacation, but unlike the rest of them--I am worried about all that sun on my skin after the horrible time I had on our vacation to Spain.

So if I am posting photos of me from our vacation that look like this, don't be surprised.

The other members of the family will probably not be in the photos because they will likely be too embarrassed to claim me as one of their own. 

Bon voyage!!

Quotes of the Week

 I learned from the scriptures that my conduct and my attitude on the Sabbath constituted a sign between me and my Heavenly Father. With that understanding, I no longer needed lists of dos and don'ts. When I had to make a decision whether or not an activity was appropriate for the Sabbath, I simply asked myself, "What sign do I want to give to God?"

--Russell M. Nelson

Jesus Christ sees divine potential no matter where we start.

--Clark G. Gilbert

Find your patriarchal blessing, blow off the dust if you must, but study it often. If you don't have one, get one--soon. Don't delay finding out what the Lord wants to tell you now about who you are.

--Bonnie H. Cordon

Temptation fades as we seek Christ in every thought. I assure you that there is a way back; there is hope in Christ.

--Ulisses Soares

Quotes of the Week

 Make time regularly to boost your spiritual immune system by remembering the blessings you have received from the Lord.

--Jose A. Teixiera

Practicing gratitude may not prevent us from experiencing sorrow, anger, or pain, but it can help us look forward with hope. We can give thanks for our loved ones, for our bodies and minds, for music and literature, for the beauty of the natural world.

--Russell M. Nelson

I am grateful for the awakenings I have received in my life that have helped me to know that the heavens really are open today. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is the greatest example of both heeding the will of His Father and giving thanks in all things.

--Russell M. Nelson

Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before that answer comes. That causes your faith to increase and your character to grow.

--Richard G. Scott

My Birthday; Caroline's Play; Big Bro; Sarah's Half Marathon

It was that time of the year again--when I was turning a year older--this time turning 64-years-old. 

My birthday was on a Friday, which is the day I usually get my weekly allergy shots. So that's how my day started--getting stuck in both arms causing major itching for several days. 

As I walked back to the injection room, the male nurse asked how my day was going. I told him fantastic because it was my birthday. He then ushered me into the room and there I saw a small brown bag with "Happy Birthday" written on it. 

He handed me the bag, which was filled with skin care samples and some Halloween candy. What a sweet thing for them to do for me. 

The female nurse told me the male nurse had been so excited when he noticed I would be there on my birthday and he so happily set about getting my birthday bag ready for when I arrived. So thoughtful!!!!

Another great thing about that appointment at the clinic was Glen went with me, so I had somebody to sit with me while I waited out my 30 minutes to see if I had an allergic reaction. 

Glen later took me to Little America for an early dinner. Since I am such a bread-loving girl, I was happy to see the big, beautiful rolls they set before us. I must admit they don't compare to my very favorite rolls at Texas Roadhouse, but I enjoyed them nonetheless.

My birthday celebration just continued as we attended Caroline's junior high school play which was held in the high school auditorium. 

Caroline was part of the children's chorus in the play Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She was on stage almost the whole play and it was fun for us to find where she was in every scene. Madison helped point her out to me. 

The lead singers did an excellent job. The whole play was very entertaining.

Rebecca's and Ben's families came over for Sunday dinner and game playing. 

Apparently, Glen and I are not very observant, because it wasn't until later in the evening (with the hint from Rebecca to notice Levi's shirt) that we realized something exciting is brewing. Levi is going to be a big bro. 

Yes, the news is now out--Ben and Haley are expecting another baby BOY!! The boy/girl ratio of grandchildren is sure heavy on the boys. The numbers are 7 girls to soon-to-be 13 boys. Crazy!!

Sarah is a high achiever and once again she has accomplished another major goal--competing in her sixth half marathon. 

I was very impressed with her time. Way to go, Sarah!! She will be remembering this race for quite a long time as her injured toenails try to make a recovery.

Abe and Klarissa made a trip back to San Francisco. They are trying to get one of their properties ready to sell. In the meantime, they were enjoying all the things they love best about California.

Magnus is a big Cars fan, so off they went to DisneyWorld to celebrate his birthday. 

Glen and I went to dinner at Red Robin with our missionary Parker Allred and his special girl, Mallory. 

We see a lot of deer in our backyard. The other day I saw eight of them wandering through our yard. I haven't seen this buck for a long time. This was my morning view today.

Glen had an eye appointment and so I coerced him to go to a Christmas boutique with me right before his appointment. After all--the boutique was right across the street from the clinic.

The reason I wanted both of us to go was because Clark Burbidge, one of the men that serves with us at the prison, was there selling his books. He had invited us and I thought it would be nice to support him in his venture. 

He was telling us that his Christmas book A Piece of Silver is in the process of being made into a movie. That is exciting news. He and Leah stopped by yesterday afternoon to gift us with a copy of that book. The pictures are very beautiful. 

I will be anxious for whenever his movie goes into production and then will be anxious to see the finished movie.

The Burbidges were telling us about their son-in-law, Robert, who had gone to the hospital for kidney stones and had been given an overdose of medication and had to be resuscitated after his heart stopped twice. 

His kidneys were shutting down and he was on dialysis and was on a ventilator and was put into a medically-induced coma. 

It all happened so suddenly and they were still reeling from the surprise shock of it all. 

Imagine their grief and our sorrow when we learned this morning that Robert had passed away in the night. We are so very sad for Clark and Leah, for their daughter and grandchild who have just lost their husband and father, and for all the other members of Robert's family. 

At each death, it causes us to reflect on life and how blessed we are to experience earth life with our loved ones. It is always so sad for the ones left behind.