Kid Bath update

Today work started on the Kid/guest bathroom. New fawcets are in now. Toilet and carpet ripped out. Dad primed the inside with Kilz. You can see where Mark and Brian left their 'marks' on the floor around the toilet bowl. I really thought I taught them better than that. If their wives make them clean up around the toilets they might hit it more!

De Ja Vu

In 1990 I guess Lisa and I looked a bit alike. What do you think?

New Project

Can't I ever be just satisfied to sit around and eat Candy all day???

Well, now I have a list of Projects that need to be done.

Today, Larry gave me permission to start on the Guest Room bath. The Kids Bathroom.

As of tonight, anything that was in it, is gone, the wall paper is almost all off too. Updates as they happen will be posted.

Pain Free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Until you have been in pain for a long time, you have no idea what a novel it is to have a pain free day. I had one of those yesterday. Boy, I cleaned up the house and did a lot of those 'little' things I had been trying to get to for months if not years! I give credit to the Lord for such a day, I have abused my body so bad throughout my lifetime, that it's surprising I'm not more crippled than I am. So, Thank you Heavenly Father for a great day!

It's also a great day because Larry came home!

Harvesting our Fruit

We have a wonderful Orange Tree, of course we live in Orange County. But they all come ripe at the same time, usually March, but with all the rain they are ready now. If we don't pick the entire tree, they just rot. So, we pick the whole tree and I make Orange Juice and replenish what we drank into the Tropicana Carton. I also make lots of lemonade to freeze and save for those hot summer days and dinner.

Happy Valentines Day

No photo's but I thought I would just make note that yesterday, Feb 13, 1010, I gave 2 lectures in San Diego and after that we were to meet Mark and Lisa and Kam at the Los Angeles Temple to watch Kam for them. Turned out poor Lisa forgot to get her Temple Recommend renewed, how everyone has checked theirs by now, so she had to stay outside the Temple with Kamden and we just sort of helped. We all went out to dinner at Islands afterward. Mark and Lisa had a couple of friends that were being sealed to each other and their children, it was really special and spiritual, even afterward when they were taking pictures. All in All, I ended up driving 8 hours yesterday, I was tired when I got home.

Spring Cleaning will lead into Summer

OK, I went to Girly's house and helped her clean it up and out. It was pretty easy compared to what I decieded to do for myself. After cleaning out her office and making it really liveable and organized, I decided it was time to do that to my office too.

I started a week ago. The hallway is packed with 'stuff'. I have thrown away 4 large brown trash bags of paper and stuff. Moved stuff around. Dusted. Vacuumed where I could. Cleaned off the book shelves, going through the books and getting rid of stuff that was out of date. I cleaned out my desk drawers. Took the doors off the closet so I can see what's in there. The doors are now stored under my bed. I'm still not done. There is so much more to do. I am afraid that it will take me until the summer to get it all done. Heaven help me to have the tenacity to complete this task!

I could sure use a few prayers!

Visiting with Lisa and John & kiddos

To tell the truth, Lisa's house wasn't dirty, just messy. We got caught up on Laundry in 1 day. We have played games with the boys, cleaned out a few closets (game cupboard was my doing). And Lisa went 'whole hog' in deep cleaning one room at a time. We still have her bedroom to go into tomorrow. Today is Sunday and we went to Church at 11:00, nice. However Beckham has his nap at that time and so it's really hard for him, so I brought him home from Church during RS and Priesthood. I fed him changed him and put him down for his nap, peace at last. My hip is bothering me today, although I have slept well on one of the kids mattresses off the bunk beds. (Thanks Caleb) Now I'm board, so maybe I will take a nap, or maybe not. I'll go do email, that should put me in a funk.

And thank you girly for changing my blog, I love it!

I really miss Larry, he truly is the love of my life and my soul mate. I sure hope his 1st
Ward Conference went well, he was trying so hard to make it good, and he worked on his talk all week. In my heart I now it went well. I will be home next Wednesday for sure.

Christmas is officially gone

As I get older, it gets harder to get it all down and put away. But how wonderful to put up my 'babies' to look at all over again. We really need a new photo of Ty. I'm off to help Lisa out a little bit, so if anyone needs me, call my cell phone.

Watch out for parked cars

You won't believe what happend to me last Friday. Larry and I went to a wedding reception at a fancy restaurant in Orange Hills. It was a long driveway up and when you got to the top, you had to valet park. So far, no problem. So many people came at the same time, they started parking 3 cars across and kept going behind lining up 3 cars across. As I started to exit the car, Larry said "Watch out for cars, honey". So, as I got out, I noticed they were still parking cars behind outs, so I closed the car door, and strode off at my normal power walk rate, when the car parked next to us (2 ft. away) opened the drives door at such a fast speed I never saw it coming. I slammed my right leg right into his car door edge and it stopped me dead in my tracks! OWWW! Now I have a black and blue mark going from my knee up to my groin on my right leg. Right snap dab in the middle too. It hurs. So, now I not only have sciatic making that leg ache all the time, I now have a matching pain going up my leg in front.

The guy was really appologetic, and it wasn't done on purpose, but it was so perfectly orchestrated to look like we had planned it. I forgave him.

It can't be ARK time again!

This is a shot from Southern California. There were many other's too because everyone seems to think we need a new Ark. I got news, The Lord said never again by water, but we had better watch out for the fires next time. Our weather is getting pretty extreme, kinda like Seattle, only harder. For now the Bishop and I are staying fairly dry and when I travel the freeways it's bizarre how everyone is driving with at least 200 feet between cars and no one moves lanes. It's rather nice to drive in.

Who says my family doesn't do GENEALOGY?

When I was a young mom, I used to feel guilty about not doing my genealogy. So I became a gatherer. I had so much pain or conceived pain in my life that I didn't think it was a good Idea to journal my life either. If I had had the technology of Blogging, that would have been different, because I would have chronolized all the cute, smart, faboulous things my chldren did. Just as two of my daughters are doing. This year Kate showed me that she could make a book of her yearly blog. I exclaimed that it would be a stellar gift for me for Christmas. It was. Then I suggested that Girly do one for her blog and give it as a gift to me too. Well, as you can see below I now have all the genealogy that my family has to give me at this time and I am in 7th Heaven!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the best gift of Christmas I could get! I hope all my children will take note that I really, really like this kind of gift. Someday in the far future though I hope to pass the Family History I have done to one of them with my blessing, but until that day comes, I will be satisfied with this.

I agree with Andy Rooney

Now, I got the following in an Email. I don't know if its a hoax and I don't care. I agree with the sentiment whether it was said by Andy Rooney or not. It's just about covers it all!

Andy Rooney said on '60 Minutes' a few weeks back:

"I don't think being a minority makes you a victim of anything except numbers. The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television, and Miss Black America. Just try to have things like
the United Caucasian College Fund, Cloud Magazine, White Entertainment Television, or Miss White America; and see what happens, Jesse Jackson will be knocking down your door.

Guns do not make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer. You can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to ban you from driving to the ball game.

I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, which is why there are no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts! ARE YOU LISTENING, MARTHA BURKE?

I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an opinion.

I have the right 'NOT' to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off.

When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in cities where 70% of the population is black, that is not racial profiling; it is the Law of Probability.

I believe that if you are selling me a milkshake, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English! As a matter of fact, if you want to be an American citizen, you should have to speak English! My father and grandfather didn't die in vain so you can leave the countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours.

I think the police should have every right to shoot you if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word 'freeze' or 'stop' in English, see the above lines.

I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you are qualified for any special loan programs, government sponsored bank loans or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, trinket store, or any other business. We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in wars to defend their freedoms, so that decades later they could come over here and tell us our constitution is a living document; and open to their interpretations.

I don't hate the rich; I don't pity the poor. I know pro wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television... That doesn't stop you from watching them.

I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more. If it ticks you off, go and invent the next operating system that's better, and put your name on the building.

It doesn't take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a parent to stand up to the kid and smack their little behinds when necessary, and say 'NO!'

I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but please don't pretend they are a political statement. And, please, stay home until that new lip ring heals. I don't want to look at your ugly infected mouth as you serve me French fries!

I am sick of 'Political Correctness.' I know a lot of black people, and not a single one of them was born in Africa; so how can they be 'African-Americans'? Besides, Africa is a continent.
I don't go around saying I am a European-American because my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was from Europe.. I am proud to be from America and nowhere else.
And if you don't like my point of view, tough ...

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA , AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a problem in having 'In God We Trust' on our money and having 'God' in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the 14% to BE QUIET!!!

Christmas Decos a go go

Bishop and I got up early and he suggested that we take the day to get all the outside decorations down, packed up and put away. We did it too! Everything is all finished, just don't look at what's inside- That is going to be put away after I come home from Salt Lake City next week.

Happy New Year- last of the visitors

Linda and Denny came to spend a few days with us, so of course we had to have a crab dinner!

Larry is serious about cracking it just right, umm it was good.

One of the main reasons they came to town was to go to the Rose Parade, and we did it up right. We had primo seats in the bleachers right across from the Simon Rosenthal Museum, and just under the KTLA booth. Every float, horse group, marching band and all did their best stuff right in front of us facing us! It was an awsome experience.

Before the parade got started, we parked in such a spot, so that we could walk back along where they were lining up the floats before the parade and I would hurt your eyes if I blogged every picture of float flower that Larry got close up. It was fun and so well worth going.

Can I do anything right?

Linda and Denny, Larry's sister and husband are here for the Rose Parade. They came in yesterday and the Bishop sent me with a hand drawn map to the Long Beach Airport to pick them up. It was dark. So, I drove there OK and picked them up on time, but coming home was a nightmare, attimately it was my fault. There were no directions on the map as to N or S or E or W. So, when we went back to get on the freeway, I didn't know which way to take, so Linda suggested we go North. (it was the wrong way) and we ended up in Torrance on Artesia Blvd. I finally got on the 91, took the carpool lane and made it to the 57 N. However, I wasn't paying attention, and passed Lambert exit, so I went on to Diamond Bar Blvd, where I turned around. Bottom line, I can't drive well.
Larry criticizes me when I drive too.
Today he criticized how I park.
He told me to get him a sign for his door, and he wasn't very nice at telling me he doesn't like what I made for him. I didn't save the receipt from Sears so he could see how much I paid for his clothes, so when he took them back with the gift receipts, they gave him a lousy time and he ended up paying some. I screw up names on signs. I pass gas at the wrong time. Then I get an email from my oldest son telling me that I am scaring his kids by telling them about the state of our Country. Well, I'm passionate too, and right about now I'm so passionate that I'm about to throw up with all the criticism coming my way. Just everybody back off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas Everyone! Here is the Bishop and I on Christmas morning waiting at the top of the stairs just like we always made the kids do. It was fun. I don't think I have ever grown up when it comes to Christmas. I love decorating, giving gifts, receiving gifts, the lights, the busy stores, the cars looking at our lights, walking and being amazed that our neighborhood goes all out every year. Christmas time makes me feel ALIVE and I love that feeling, when it seems the world is right for just a little while. I keep a positive attitude during this time of year, and it never seems to get me down.

I have nothing to do!

Well, here it is December 21st and I'm pretty much bored. Gifts are done and given. Cookies are cooked and delivered. Christmas letter is written, but not addressed yet, but I have no desire to do it anymore. So, I go onto the blogs hoping that I will get some stimulating information about my grand kids, but Lisa is the only one with any time or desire to post anything. My husband is now in meetings most of the time, or if not, watching football. That's not my thing. I should clean up my office, or the garage, but my hip hurts and I don't feel like it. No, I'm not depressed, just venting some feelings I have at this moment. There really is a lot to do, I just don't feel like it. Tomorrow I go back in for my 3rd and last Epidural for my pinched sciatica nerve. The wind is cold and wreaking havoc on my outside Christmas decorations too. Maybe I'll just go to bed. Good idea, good night.

The 4th Wiseman- Bishop Rober

As you can see, a few changes have taken place around here. Last Sunday Larry became the Placentia 2nd Bishop, our children were here for our early Christmas get together and he played the part as a wiseman the day after our kids left. I think he makes a pretty cute wiseman. The costume was borrowed from Joe France in the Brea Wards and it was a beautiful piece of work. In fact I have never felt or seen fabric like this before in my life. I must get out more.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Oh My Goodness! Larry finally took my nudging and outlined the entire house in lights!!!!!!! WOW! It looks wonderful. Thank you, Thank you honey! We sort of changed a few things around this year, but today we spent the entire day putting out the Outside lights, candy canes, lawn lights, Christmas Tree, Peach on Earth sigh, Soldiers, Candles, poinsettias, Candy lights, front porch decorations, Soldiers and Bells. Tomorrow is our day of rest. We'll tackle it all again and hopefully finish up on Monday. I'm pretty tired tonight. When we finish, I will post a photo!