The Gift that Keeps on Giving....

I mentioned in an earlier post that our children gave us a cute little booklet with their Christmas wishes, and some ideas about what they would do for us this year. Brian had us for January and February. He worked on computers for us and got things running better. Right after Christmas, he made all the arrangements and he and I flew to Idaho to visit Heidi and her family. That was fun to see what they received for Christmas, and just visit for a day. Last month, and into this month Brian straightened out our home phone line, which required re-wiring and he also dealt with Quest over the phone several times for us, because they accidentally shut off our internet when they stopped the phone. It really took a lot of stress off of Ralph and I both to have him do this work for us.

Well, it is March, and Jeff and Heather have us for this month. Yesterday they came and spent the day here working in the kitchen. They worked so hard. Heather was up on the ladder taking down the wall paper border that Ken put up about 15 years ago. She washed walls, and got the sticky gunk off the top edge above the cupboards over the cooking area. As I watched her, I thought about the pain I would have had in my back, neck and shoulders if I had been the one doing that. ( I also thought about my mom who was climbing up on her roof to fix things at my age, but that is another story for another day! ) Now for Jeff...........he had the horrible job of tearing off the coved linoleum! You know, that part that goes up the wall about 5 or 6 inches. Well, that was a nightmare. It was glued and tacked onto the wall and a real bear to rip off. Jeff has battle wounds on his hands to prove it. Thanks Jeff! He also painted the ceiling with the KILZ paint that has to go over the oil based paint before the latex can go on. It was a mess, and they cleaned it all up for me before they left.

I will get started now on the spackling and sanding so they can come back to paint. I am very excited to see the kitchen come together and look nice again. Thanks again to Jeff and Heather for all the help yesterday.

Heather is up on a ladder on the stairs. The very thought scares me!

Can you smell the fresh paint? It is the BEST smell in the world!

Train Buddy Grandpa

Heidi, Ken, and family, were here in town for a few days while their children were out of school on Spring Break. One of the highlights of that trip was their visit to our house where they played for an afternoon and evening with their Grandpa. They were so delighted with the big train layout that Ralph had so meticulously set up for them. Probably the most fun of all was playing after dark with only the lights from the little buildings and lamps, and the trains. They all had such a great time. I prepared a dinner for them, and made cookies, and they also enjoyed playing with the dogs.....but most of the time was spent enjoying grandpa and the trains.

Grandpa and Kylie

Ashley loving on Grandpa

Lizzie and Grandpa


The four engineers



The most fun of all in the dark.........
notice Grandpa, Ashley and Lizzie in the corner

The Weather Frog

Hi.... I am the weather Frog! My forecast

for today is SNOW!

I am Gracie, the happy Dachshund!

I thought summer was here, but I LOVE snow!

Do you want to dig a tunnel with me?

I do not stand still for photos, but I hope you can
see me stylin' in my pretty coat


I wish you could have seen Oscar too,
but he ran inside the second he did his.....
well, you know! I hope you have a fun day too!

HAPPY SPRING!

It was such a warm and beautifully gorgeous day today. I have been doing a little raking and cleaning up in the yard this week. I love that my Hiacinths are peeking their leaves above the ground. It will not be long until they are spreading their delicious scent through the air.

Today is the first day of Spring. Oscar and Gracie seemed to know. They found warm earth to scratch their backs on, as they were sunning their tummies.

I enjoyed watching my 16 month old granddaughter, Rory, discover the thrill of her latest obcession....."Walkie, Walkie", outside, taking her mom all over the neighborhood, as she discovered the sights and sounds and colors of Spring. She was so disappointed that it had to end eventually.

The house got too warm today, and I had to open windows. The breeze coming in is so nice.

I missed my mom today. I miss her arms around me and her comforting words when I am feeling discouraged. I miss her humor and her faith. I read some of her journaling, a few days ago, and it lifted me. The signs of new life around us right now is a comfort. I do know that I will see her again and enjoy the sweet relationship that we treasured for over 64 years on this earth together.

The past few weeks, I have been reading "The Miracle of Forgiveness", by Spencer W Kimball, and have had the blessing of discussing it with some friends in my ward. I recommend it to everyone. It brings to mind so many precious teachings and insights from a prophet whom we all loved. If everyone read this one book, and applied the principles within, the world would be such a nicer place.

Best of all, today, another House of the Lord was dedicated this morning, in Draper, as the sunlight bathed it in beautiful light, almost as if it understood the meaning of this day. Maybe it did!

Sweet Rory discovering Crocus in her front yard

Gracie, sunning herself

Oscar enjoying the warm ground and the sun on his
fat little tummy

Oscar and Gracie

It has been said that, "A dog naps so much because he loves so HARD!" This is particularly true of my little friends. Both of them give us so much love. They are playing hard too! They are enjoying the yard since it is not frozen. Gracie has exposed her first gopher tunnel of the season. Oscar is checking things out too. He has dug a few shallow holes in harmless places. Chasing leaves and running fast is a favorite past time. They act so funny, I am still laughing at them every day. They love each other. Gracie takes care of Oscar. She pulls a blanket up over him and tucks it around him. When I call them inside, she rounds him up and bumps him with her nose, keeping him going in the right direction. I am hoping with her encouragement, he will move around a little more and lose some weight.