Christmas Holidays

We had an odd Christmas holiday this year. Mike left town with Nick shortly after school let out (December 19) and headed to the very frigid town of Vernal. He was going to re-model and make his sister-in-law's bathroom handicap accessible. It was a big job and Nick was nice enough to go along to help.

Mike had initially said he'd drive up, come home for Christmas, then drive back to Vernal and hopefully be able to finish. Because he simply HAD to finish--there was no going back and Christmas break was the only time off school/work that he had. So we decided that instead of doing all that driving, we'd meet him halfway in Provo on Christmas Day/afternoon, spend some time, then go back to our jobs.

Well, the weather didn't cooperate. I don't mind driving in snow. Too much. But long, unnecessary drives that put my entire family (or a great big chunk of it) at risk are just not worth it. So we waffled back and forth, trying to decide whether or not to stay or to go. It might have been okay to leave and then stay a while, but I really wanted to be in my home ward to teach that last Gospel Doctrine lesson from the Book of Mormon ...selfish reason to hurry home. So we ended up NOT going to Provo. [Enter Sad Face here.] Mom and Dad were in Provo, too! So we didn't get to see them over the holidays. I didn't feel too terrible because we did see them both in September and I saw Mom in November, so we've been in touch. But still...I think the roads were not as terrible as they might have been. You just never know about those mountain passes.

We had Mike's parents over for Christmas Dinner, we played games. Gail and Seth and Caroline were all together and that was when Gail made her big announcement to Caroline and her grandparents--that they are expecting a baby in June!! Yay! It's been a very long wait for this little one. Yesterday was her ultrasound and they are having a boy.

Mike was working hard in Vernal, it's so cold the cement won't set, there's always way more work to a re-model than anyone ever expects and difficulties always arise with plumbing, electrical or something....typical kind of chore for him. It was nice that Nick got to be there to help.

Then things took a turn for the worse on the home front. Here in Cedar City, Mike's Dad was rushed to the hospital on Sunday night the 28th of December, unable to breath. They admitted him to the ICU and he stayed there until he passed away Wednesday evening, on New Year's Eve. Mike's sister, Gayela, was able to come down from Salt Lake on Wednesday afternoon to be with their mom and dad for those final hours. I stayed nights (Monday and Tuesday) at the hospital with John so Berenice could go home and get some rest. Monday was hard, as he was fighting with keeping his IV's in and covers on, etc. But his 95 year old body was just worn out with an arm-long list of ailments, and it was time for him to go home. So he did. He woke up long enough to kiss his sweetheart of over 60 years 'goodbye.' It was a very touching moment for those who were at the hospital. Mike and Nick did come home about Thursday night very late, but not until after they got as much done on the tile job as possible, having to leave some for others in Vernal to complete.

The holiday (New Year's Day) kind of threw things into a mess, getting funeral arrangements made. Gayela was here to help with much of it, and one of my jobs was taking care of obituary submissions to newspapers. Everyone helped, my neighbors and friends were wonderful to bring food--to us! I was touched. But, you know, it was so appreciated. I was so beat after working (just half days, but still working) at the library and being up so late those three nights...not having to worry about meals was such a blessing. There really is a lot to do, planning for a funeral. I sure hadn’t had any experience with those sorts of things.

My talented kids helped with assembling a nice display of photos of John, and a slide presentation that was played during the viewing at the mortuary Sunday evening. That was a fun project for us, browsing through photos. I wish we could have used more--selecting just 30 or so for the slide show was difficult. We framed a nice selection, too, for display on a table, and I think the display turned out quite nice. I didn't take a picture of all our hard work, however.

Family gathered in droves for Sunday night's viewing, only two stayed at our home. Mike's long-time-gone older brother, Jack, in Arkansas managed to get here . It was a wonderful turn-out of family and friends for both the viewing and the Monday morning funeral. The only bad part about the whole things was that the weather turned really nasty Monday at noon. The funeral was from 10 to 11, the luncheon for family right after, and we had to be on the road at noon, to be in Provo for the burial by 3, and HAD to be out of the cemetery by 4 pm. (Their rules and schedule, not ours) It started snowing around 11 or 12 and we (or rather, Mike) drove through snow most of the way to Provo. There was a lot of snow still falling for the burial service, but Berenice was so pleased to see every one of her nieces and nephews from that area at the graveside to see her, plus many old friends. The drive home to Cedar City was quite harrowing, in that the snow was still falling AND there was black ice in the southern part of the state. We were all blessed to arrive at our destinations safely, however. Many cars were off the road all down the freeway—dozens that we could see.
My whole family came, and even Casey was able to fly in to meet up with Katie so she wouldn’t have to drive home alone. She drove all the way from Reno to Cedar City alone with Hayden on Saturday. Seth gave the family prayer after the Monday morning viewing—Grandpa really liked Seth and Seth has been close to them, too. Damian gave a prayer, Mike spoke. The rest of us bawled. It was a happy/sad occasion. John was so homesick for HIS dad and wished frequently to be able to talk to his dad [Lesson here—be careful what you wish for!] and now they will have their happy reunion.
For those of you who Facebook, Eric wrote a lovely tribute to his Grandpa and you can find it in the “notes” section of his Facebook page.
We were hoping to help ease Berenice into widow-hood, so on Tuesday evening and on Wednesday evening, we went to her house to eat dinner and help polish off all the leftovers from the funeral luncheon that the kind Relief Society Sisters had brought to her. We did a fairly good job of finishing them off. She’s still very busy doing Avon, taking care of the necessary paper work that has to be done, and answering myriads of phone calls from concerned family members worried about her being lonely. I think she’ll have her moments, but she does have many things to keep her occupied—she’s just that kind of woman. It helps to know that John had a long, eventful, and full life and has left a large and loving posterity behind.

Christmas Card, 2008

Family Picture
This is the picture that we had printed on our Christmas Cards this year. No letter, no news. But, as they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Right? Damian was not really here this summer when this picture was snapped in our backyard. He was digitally added at a later time. Pretty good, eh? My kids spend WAY too much time on the computer! Thank you, Tandy, for sending the good snapshot of Damian so we could add him in!
Happy New Year!

December Snows

We received a bunch of new snow over the past week. Get a load of all the snow in the branches of that tree in my front yard!

And we played around in Kanarraville at Pam's house with Damian and Tandy and kids.



Sometimes it's just fun to lounge around, too. This is Tandy and Ella visiting with me in my bedroom. Heated water beds in winter...mmmmm...comfy.



These are some pretty pine cones that took the place of my fall squash on the front porch. Seth and Caroline found these pretty things while out Christmas tree hunting in the woods.

Technically, Kanarraville got several more inches of snow than we did. On Saturday when we drove out there to visit for a bit in the morning, there was frozen fog all over the area. It was so beautiful. Gail was lamenting that she did not have her camera, so she used mine to try to capture some of the beauty. There are few things prettier than frozen fog on trees.




If one owns a Santa hat, one should WEAR said Santa hat on all appropriate occasions. I would think dragging a sled around on Christmas week qualifies. So does work the week of Christmas (yes, I wear my hat to work!).

Happy Holidays!

I've been tagged

I don't usually do this, but my friend Erin tagged me. I said I'd give it a shot... why not?
I'd RATHER be posting cute video clips of my grandkids playing in the snow this morning. Our California Kids came up for a pre-Christmas visit, and we've been having lots of fun. Fun for a later post, I hope. In the mean time, here's a review of 2008 (sort of):

The Year 2008

The year 2008

JANUARY
1 Who kissed you on new years?

Mikey. Probably. Unless we were asleep. It counts at 10:00 pm, too, you know!

2 Did you have a New Year's Resolution this year?
Nope, I’m a total slacker.

3 Does it snow where you live?
Yes, if we’re lucky.

4 Do you like hot chocolate?
Yes, with marshmallows that get stuck in my mustache (let’s not go there)

5 Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop?
No, but I don’t usually watch it on TV either. NY would be better at other times of the year, but not during that small segment of time. Can you say “pickpocket”?

FEBRUARY
1 Who was your Valentine?
Mike’s my best Valentine. He brings me chocolate ;-)

2 When you were little, did you buy Valentine's for the whole class?
Yep.

3 Do you care if the groundhog sees its shadow or not?
Nope. Weather is weather and I can’t change it, so why bother?

MARCH

1 Are you Irish?
Welch. Close enough?

2 Do you like corned beef and cabbage?
Yep. I used to make it for the family to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but have since grown lazy in my old age.

3 What did you do for St Patrick's Day?
Celebrated Relief Society’s Birthday, probably.

4 Are you happy when winter is pretty much over?
Depends on how long it takes to get winter over with. If it’s in June, yes!

5 Do you get tons of candy for Easter?
I’m the candy buyer. I try to be moderate. It doesn’t usually work.

APRIL
1 Do you like the rain?
Do I have to be out in it? Is it in Hawaii?

2 Did you play an April fool's joke on anyone this year?
No, I’m so boring.

4 Do you love the month of April?
Yeah. I love Income Tax Day, especially. It’s also my daughter’s birthday AND my son-in-law’s birthday and sometimes they come on Easter! What could be more fun than a birthday Easter Bunny cake?!

5 Your birthday is in April, isn't it?
No, only seven months away, however

MAY
1 What is your favorite flower?
Yellow Roses. Unless it’s spring tulips in my yard.

2 Finish the phrase "April showers…"
bring May flowers. . . is this a trick question?

4 Is May anything special to you?
Yes, it’s Gail’s birthday and Damian’s and Tandy’s anniversary, and some cool other stuff, too. And a very cool birthstone I covet.

JUNE
1 What year did/will you graduate from high school?
1974. I’m almost an antique.

2 Did you do anything fun during this month?
I think I just did work stuff and garden stuff and home repair stuff at my in-laws with the kids and Mikey.

3 Have a favorite baseball team?
Not a one. I wouldn’t even know if they went on strike. They’ve done that before, haven’t they?

JULY
1 What did you do on the 4th of July?
I think we skipped the parade, skipped the fireworks (because we didn’t know where they were), and just relaxed at home. We had a new (used) hammock in our backyard I put to good use.

2 Did you watch the fireworks?

Nope, skipped them. Utah Summer Games ones are better, anyway.

3 Did you blast the A/C all day?
We don’t HAVE A/C.

AUGUST
1 Where did u go?

I honestly cannot remember if we managed to go anywhere at all during the summer.

2 Did you have a sunburn?
Nope.

3 Did you go to the pool a lot?
I WISH!

SEPTEMBER
1 Are you attending college/school?
Nope, just a random fun class every now and then to keep the ol’ brain alive.

2 Do you like fall better than summer?
By FAR! Although, summer is great, there’s nothing like crunchy leaves and bright crisp skies. Ripe apples on the tree . . .garden harvests.

3 What happened this month?
I got MARRIED! To the sweetest guy about 32 years ago.

OCTOBER

2 What is your favorite candy?
Cherry chololates, Dove Chocolates, Baby Ruth bars. . .just about anything and everything except sour things. How can something SOUR be classified as candy!

3 What was your favorite thing(s) about this month?
I love Mike’s birthday and the Harvest Holiday. And the fall weather, unless it turns winter too fast and snows on leaf-laden trees, breaking limbs. Yeah, that gets ugly. But you should see me ride my bike down 700 West through those crunchy leaves! It’s the greatest!

NOVEMBER
1 Whose house do you go to for Thanksgiving?
Mine!

2 What are you thankful for?
My family, my friends, my home, my job.

3 Do you like stuffing?
Yes!

4 Anything special in this month?
Family Time!

DECEMBER
1 Do you celebrate Christmas?
Yes, and I have all my life.

2 Have you ever been kissed under the mistletoe?
Yes.

3 What do you want this year?
Cards to automatically be addressed and mailed.

4 What do you love most about December?

The music, the feeling of love, the time with family. More music. (The Messiah)


And I tag Tandy, Katie, Gail, (what happened to Hali?), and Trecia . Have fun!

December Musings

I made a lovely jello salad late last night for our Book Group potluck dinner tonight. I put it in the fridge. It's very festive and pretty (red, you know). BUT, I failed to put a note of any kind on it saying that it is for a PARTY. For me. Later. Don't eat it.

I am wondering how much of the jello salad will be gone before I get home from work today.
Just wondering. So much for MY December musings!