President Gordon B. Hinckley, Beloved Prophet

My brother called just a short time ago and told us the news from Utah. President Hinckley, at age 97, has passed away at home with his family near by.

I love President Hinckley. He was such a great and marvelous man of the church and man in this world. Every time he spoke, I wanted to do better. I wanted to be a better member of the church, mother, neighbor, child of God. He was such a great example, motivator and teacher. I will miss him and his wonderful sense of humor.

But on the other hand, I am so glad that he will be able to join his lovely wife now. I am sure that he has missed his "second half" the second she left. The reunion that he is having with his wife and parents must be indescribable. Not to mention having our Father greet him with, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

He will be missed terribly, but our joy is that much more because of his efforts here on earth on our behalf.

I have no doubt that the Church will continue to flourish under acting President Packer's loving watch. Then in a few days President Monson will be sustained. I love the way that Christ set up our Church.

No School Mondays are rivaled by No Church Sunday

Today was a day that went down in history for Mike and I. It was the first time that we have ever had church canceled. Our Home Teacher called this morning to make sure we had the news. That is how bad the weather was today.

It started yesterday with the freezing rain. The rain coming down froze so quickly that Mike had to scrape the car windows each time we came out of a store. That would make 4 times. (Yes, Mike and I had many errands to do yesterday and he was a good little shopper though all of them. All you women would be so proud of him.)

This morning the snow started somewhere between 5-7 am and didn't stop until at least 12 hours later. I bet their is about 9 inches out there. I just feel fortunate that we have our electricity.

The day was a memorable one as we decided to have our own Sacrament Meeting complete with the Sacrament and Testimonies. It was kind of cool to have Mike preside, Tyler bless the Sacrament and Jeremy pass it. Then everyone actually bore their testimonies. It was neat because Brigam had never tried baring his testimony and it had been since Primary I had heard Tyler's or Jeremy's (not counting Sacrament talks they have given in the past.)

It was a super neat experience to know that the very same Priesthood that presides, blesses and passes the sacrament at church is the same that my "boys" hold. Makes me a very grateful member of our church.

Teenagers are good for a few laughs

I just have to share the "teenager funny of the week" with you all. You'll get a kick out of this one.

Tyler had a job interview with the Kid's Activity Director at the Tri-City Court Club this past week. Things were going well in his interview. Roberta was telling Tyler about how the kids play soccer and dodge ball, etc. Then she asked, "So do you come to the Club a lot?" I'm not sure if it is the fact that we have been out of Q-tips for a while and cleaning of the ears hadn't been done or simply his brain was working faster than his ears, but he misunderstood the question. He paused for a minute, unsure how to answer and then said, "I'm sorry, what did you say?" Roberta repeated herself and then Tyler laughed a bit and said, "Oh, I thought you said, 'Do you wear a CUP a lot?' " Roberta got a good laugh with that one.

When Tyler was telling us about it he said, "Well, she was telling me about the dodge ball and soccer and I guess that I thought she thought it might be a good idea to wear one." Is that the funniest?

The next day I went into Roberta and asked her if she did a cup-check on all her applicants. She laughed and told me that THAT interview would go down in her interview history.

The greatest thing about this whole story is the fact that Tyler wasn't embarrassed at all. He repeated what he thought she said and then he shared the funny with us. He is such a good sport! What a great example with being comfortable with yourself!

PS By the way, Roberta isn't hiring until next month - he's supposed to call back then. He thinks that is a good sign.

Take it to the Mat

Yesterday was Jeremy's first 7th grade wrestling meet. Highlands vs Desert Hills. Jeremy has been practicing for a while now and has had some experience in the past from being a member of the Mat Rattler's wrestling team. He was quite excited about this meet. His practices leading up to this meet were somewhate schizophrenic. Sometimes he'd come home knowing his potential to be Washington's State Champion in 2013. Other practices were "stupid" and completely frustrating for Jeremy. Somedays I live in an amusement park with a roller coster that goes up and down, but I never know when the dips or climbs are coming!

Anyway, Briggie and I show up about 3:55, Tyler at 4:10 and Mike at 4:15 all there to support our little State Champ who is all decked out in red and black and looking very much like a wrestler. He was there to support his team, cheering from the sidelines, but as I continue to see the wrestlers come out on the mat, I turn to Mike and ask, "Jeremy weighs more than those kids?" For those of you who don't know how a meet works - the little guys go first then up to the heavy weights. Jeremy is really one of the little guys at 85 lbs, so I keep seeing these boys come out on the mat - but they are starting to look a little bigger than our Bear. Mike goes down to check out the situation and finds out that Jeremy will not be wrestling today. The other team didn't have enough boys in his weight range to wrestle, so Jeremy will be there to cheer on his team today.

Jeremy did a great job in cheering on his team and supporting them. I was proud of him.

After it was over, I kind of felt bad because he came over to me and said, "I'm sorry for wasting your time." Sad to think that he has to perform for my time to not be wasted. I wonder where I gave him that impression in the past? Must have been a "Bad Mommy Moment". I told him it wasn't a waste. We were happy to be there to support him and his team. Everyone needs cheerleaders and that's what we were doing.

Hopefully, he'll get to wrestle next time, but seriously, I just enjoy the fact that I get to be there to watch him. He's so dang cute in his little wrestling uniform!

What day is it?

I have a confession to make. I hate NO SCHOOL MONDAY(s). Monday is really the day that I use to get everything done (house clean, organize, things on the to do list crossed off, fixing everyone's weekend problems (like Jeremy's confusing, or as he calls it STUPID, mp3 player. Uhm, did we try to read the directions?) - you get the idea). After one of these Mondays and by the time Tuesday comes, I have missed a whole day of accomplishment in that department. Why can't they always have NO SCHOOL FRIDAYs. Oh wait, they are having no school this Friday.

I think it bothers me so much because I am a scheduled person. I think in time of minutes ticking off and how much time I have to get a project done. I think when I am doing projects and the kids are here they somehow get put on the backburner. This tends to show up in bad behavior from said children. Then bad behavior shows up from said mom.

My to do list is about 1 mile long. On that list is to order new birth certificates for all of us. I can't order all 6 on line because each state LOVES to be unique! Utah was fine (those Mormons know how to use the internet), but CO, CA and WA are a trip. I have to mail out those requests and for the last one - I can certainly walk into their office to get one. Not so bad, but the 3 in UT cost $30.00 total. CO is $17, CA is $14 and WA is a whopping $20 and as I remember WA birth certificates really aren't special looking in any way. They look kind of lame. Why do I need this, besides the fact that being alive does not mean that you have been officially born? Appearantly, you need a piece of paper to tell others that.

To order new SS cards I have to have new birth certificates for everyone. Crazy. I am still waiting for the Titles to all our vehicles that we paid for since the burglary.

Good news, I do get to meet a friend for an early lunch today and workout with (I guess that would be for, not with) Lori - my earns-every-penny personal trainer.

I really need a girl's night out. Is anyone game?

Happy Birthday (oh, now there are two teens in the house!)

Today is my wonderful Jeremy's 13th birthday! Yes, for all you past Primary workers out there - he is actually 13.

I think that he is a wonderful boy with such a great future ahead of him. He's known what he wants his future job to be since he was 8 (pilot), he's planned his schooling and in his present schooling works hard in math, science - well, everything - so that he will be prepared for his future. He really impresses me with his organizational skills and his time management skills.

He is also impressing me with his self-mastry. He really is getting in control of his emotions and is able to think about others better than he ever has before. This year has been a year of greatness for Jeremy. The older he gets, the more I like him! Just imagine how much I'll like him when he's as old as me (for all of you that forgot, :) I'm 28)!

Well, he and Tyler are off to pick up his friends for some BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION! And I have some candles to locate.

Happy Birthday Jeremy!

The RING with the BLING is back on the FING(er)

Happy days! I have a ring on my finger again. It is quite nice. I was kind of feeling like an amputee - the ring felt like it was there, but it was not. It's nice to have something back.

As for the rest of the stuff that is gone - we're still working on that. As for the one's responsible - the Police are still working on that. I am not sure what takes so long, but then I am not a policeman.

Anywho - I have a ring back on the finger. Now all those boys can QUIT flirting with me! I AM A MARRIED WOMAN! :)