Christmas 2009

It has been so wonderful having all of our kids home for Christmas! We have gotten to know Nathan so much better by having him and his parents here for 10 days. We have all played games, laughed, and shared and made new memories to sustain us until we can be together again.

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Here is our sad gingerbread house... First the frosting was too thick then we

got the frosting too thin and the candy slid off the roof! It was still fun to

make and fun to eat.

Our Nathan who has brought so much joy to us on

his first Christmas!

Our traditional Savior Supper by candlelight.

Jesse and Kevin on Christmas Eve when we each open one present.

I still make the kids, old or young, line up on the stairs in order of age

before they can go down on Christmas morning!

Here is our son Ryan on Christmas morning.

Heather, Ryan and Nathan

Here is a cute photo of Nathan and Papa!

Our Christmas tree

Here is our Christmas tree - we always have a live tree. In our 27 years of marriage we have never had a fake tree although there have been years I would have liked to have a fake one. I suppose it's because Rick has a BA in Forestry! Every year the kids get a new ornament until they are 18 years old. Ryan's ornaments are Soldiers, Kevin's are Teddy Bears, Jesse's are Snowmen and Leslie has Angels. Heather has Ballerinas, but I gave them to her after she got married. Each child will take them to use in their own homes and I hope it will bring back happy memories of Christmas's as a child at home.

November 2009 was crazy busy!

I had to be at classes for the MHTP (Music for Healing & Transition) program for 4 1/2 days at the first of the month,

in Eugene, Oregon. Normally the classes would have been held in Washington, but there were not enough people here

so I joined the Oregon students for a 4 day camp. I really had no choice because I could not wait another year to take the classes, but it turned out to be a great experience. The bonus was that I was only about 15 minutes away from Heather & and her little family. I got to see them a couple times while I was there. Thank you to Rick and Kevin who held the fort down while I was gone!

Then I had a week to catch up at home before my birthday, Jesse's birthday, and Thanksgiving. That's a lot of cake and pie!! We had fun with Heather, Ryan and Nathan here for Thanksgiving and look forward to everyone being home for Christmas. Blessings to everyone!

My favorite birthday cake with 7 minute frosting

Jesse's 14th Birthday

with his Reese's ice cream cake

Fun with Nathan at 7 1/2 months old

Rick brined & basted our turkey to perfection

Enjoying our Thanksgiving feast

Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

from Lucy the Princess

Popcorn Balls

We made yummy popcorn balls for a Family Home Evening treat last night! We added M&M's, but you can also add chopped nuts, chocolate, butterscotch, or peanut butter chips or even candy corn. If you want them to look like mini pumpkins leave out the extras and dye the mixture orange before you pour it over the popcorn. Then use a piece of black or green licorice for the stem.

Here is the recipe:

4 cups mini marshmellows

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 bags light microwave popcorn

Pop the popcorn and put into a very large bowl or cookie sheet. Melt the butter in a saucepan then add the sugar and marshmellows. Stir constantly so mixture doesn't scorch. Boil for 1 minute. Be ready with buttered hands and buttered forks to toss the popcorn mixture. Pour some of the mixture over the popcorn. Pour on some of the extras and stir. Repeat until all of the mixture and extras are gone. Form into balls and gently press together. This will make about 10 fairly large popcorn balls. Enjoy!

Nathan and more Nathan...

Last weekend we had a nice visit from Heather, Ryan and Nathan.! It was the first time they have visited us here in almost 2 years. It was their first visit since they moved to Oregon last month. Nathan keeps getting cuter and cuter every time we see him. What's a Nana to do?!

Our boy in blue at 5 1/2 months old.

Leslie helping to feed Nathan.

Nana with Nathan - I think he is starting to get used to me.

Papa is always happy to play with Nathan!

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Last month I went to Springfield, Oregon to visit Ryan, Heather and Nathan about 10 days after they moved there from Utah. It was all I could do to not go there the day after they moved there! Here are cute photos of Nathan at 5 months old when I visited them in Oregon.

All decked out!


A cutie with a cutie!


A cute photo of the boys!

LUCY...

Well I finally succombed to the pleading for another dog! I figured it was going to happen sometime anyway.

It has been 5 years since our beloved Lizzy dog died. I really think Heavenly Father must have had a hand in this because she is the sweetest little dog - perfect for our family. She is a chihuahua, daschund mix. We adopted her from the Humane Society 6 days ago.

What really got me about her online bio was that it said she was looking for a forever home. Take a look at these photos - I think she's found it!

We couldn't have asked for a more affectionate, well-behaved dog. The only thing is she snores like a bull moose!
Even with her sleeping in her bed on the floor of our room I had to put earplugs in the other night. I figure I'll get used to it after a while.

Summer trip to Utah

Our big summer vacation (road trip) was to Utah to see Nathan blessed and to visit family. Nathan is such an easy going, happy baby - we all enjoyed time with him (and his Mommy & Daddy)! We also spent a fun day at Lagoon, but we were having so much fun we didn't take any photos. Oh well those are photos in our hearts, sometimes the best kind.

4th of July

Leslie & Jesse dualing in a bouncy ring!

Nathan's Blessing Day
July 5th

Nathan with his Daddy and Grandpa's.

All the men who were at Nathan's blessing. Nathan has lots of good examples to look up to.

Nathan with his Mommy and the women who came to his blessing.

Nana loving on Nathan!

Papa with Nathan.

Jesse and me at the Oquirrh Temple Open House.

On the way home (the long way) we stopped in Shoup, Idaho and saw John, Dad, Sarah, Michael, & Mom. Happy trails!!

Charlotte's passing

Charlotte at 10 months old with her forever family.

This year we have had many loved ones pass on into the next life. Last month we tragically lost my niece Molly's 16 month old daughter Charlotte. She had a viral infection and became critically ill, her body went into cardiac arrest which caused profound brain injuries. As the doctors were testing for the depth of her injuries they also discovered that she had a fatal metabolic disease.

It is even harder to understand death when it is a beautiful, innocent child! Her sweet parents, grandparents, family members, friends, members attending the Temple and even some strangers prayed for a miracle. I prayed and fasted so hard. If love could have saved her she would be here still.

Yet this is not the end - how black and bleak would be all of our lives if we thought so! She is healthy and whole, living and loving with her Heavenly father and other family members who have passed on. Charlotte must have been an already wise child of God to bypass this life and go straight to Heaven.

We will not forget you sweet Charlotte.

freerice.com

I discovered an interesting and helpful website called freerice.com. It has various quizzes about countries, art, foreign language and vocabulary. Each question offers 4 choices so it is not terribly difficult!
The neat thing is with every right question you answer, 10 grains of rice are donated to the World Food Program. In the first 5 months of the program enough rice was donated to feed about 1 million people!

I'm not sure how it all works exactly... The website was started by an Indiana computer programmer named John Breen. It is fun, addictive (in a good way), and beneficial to others. So enjoy!

Saying goodbye...

My father-in-law Norris Ward passed away two weeks ago on May 31st. He had been failing for some time and we were praying that he would pass in peace. We drove to Idaho for the Funeral and to be with family. Heather and Ryan my son, were able to meet half way and drive the rest of the way together. All 15 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren were able to be there to pay honor to their grandfather. He would have been so proud and pleased to have them all there together.

Norris enlisted as a Marine when he was 17 yrs. old. He fought in World War II and was in some major battles. This affected him for the rest of his life and he continued to fight battles in his heart because of the things he saw and did on the battlefront. I felt that they were laying a

a true warrior to rest.

Mom and Sue

Mom with her three children



Nana with Nathan




My three handsome sons

3 generations

Leslie hanging out with Nathan. He was such a good baby the whole time! We know Grandpa would have gotten a kick out of his newest great-grandson.

Springtime!

SPRINGTIME

Mothers Day 2009

These matching dresses were made by a friend many years ago when Heather was 10 years old.

Now Leslie is 10 years old and can fit into the dress. Thank goodness I can still fit into my dress.

Someday the dresses will go to Heather when she has a daughter of her own and then to Leslie and her daughter. I hope they will continue to be taken care of and enjoyed for many more years!

Mothers Day with Leslie!

Here is our precious grandson Nathan at 5 weeks + 4 days old.

He is my special Mothers Day treat this year - look at that adorable face!

My favorite time in Spring is when the wisteria blooms at our house!