While you’re at it….

My husband hates to start new projects at our house because it often opens up a “can of worms” for him, with no stopping point.  It seems like when one thing gets fixed or improved, other things scream out for attention, too.

The latest time started at Christmas.

While many of you get personal items like books, jewelry, or clothing for Christmas, my husband surprised me on Christmas morning with new bi-fold closet doors under the tree.

(Don’t feel sorry for me, I’m fine with this system.  It seems that the budget will only go so far and I had been wishing for a change.)

Our old doors were less than attractive.

Here is a little sampling of what my husband goes through EVERY time he tries to do a home improvement project.

Wouldn’t it be nice to add some board and batten to the wall while things are torn apart?

Might as well change out that awful paint color, too.

(New paint:  Benjamin Moore Pelican Gray)

Do you think you can make the night stands a little taller?

 

The room is almost finished!

The Christmas gifted closet doors are in place.  Check.

Love the board and batten wall and the new paint.  Check.

Maybe we need a chair to finish off the room?

Check.

A little family added to the wall.

Check.

The chair corner still needs some wall art, but we are almost finished.

Don’t you think I got a lovely Christmas present?

Thanks, Ken!

I LOVE IT!

 

Blessings, Gratitude, and Indomitable Spirits

This is our sweet grand daughter Aubrey. We sure do love her!

She is smart, cute, limber, cuddly, feisty (stubborn), determined, and can fall asleep in almost any position, anywhere.  She tries to keep up with her big sisters and does a pretty good job on most things.  She sure loves her baby brother (occasionally, too much!).

She hasn’t  seemed very interested in learning to talk.  She knows some sign language and is pretty good at letting you know what she wants.

Imagine my surprise last week when she called me on the phone (with some help from her mom).  She chatted and chatted. 

She talked my ear off.

I’m not sure exactly what we talked about, but there was some good laughing and a lot of repetition, so I imagine it was important stuff. 

Every day is a new discovery for her.

Aubrey has Down Syndrome, so we were expecting some challenges with her development, but she is one amazing child.

 

I can’t wait to see what wonderful things she will accomplish in her lifetime!

* * * * * * * * * *

My husband and I are serving as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Inner City Project here in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Our job is to offer help and support to those who struggle.

We have been given training to help link people with resources for problems that might interfere with their happiness.  There are so many people out there who are willing to donate time and service to help others.  There are also many agencies that can help. 

Have you ever heard of the phone number 211? 

It can link you with different service agencies, and it can also link your service to someone else who might need it.

(For example, a boy scout wanting to do an Eagle project could call and offer his services.)

A young family in our mission area asked me if I would teach their two young girls to play the piano.  These little girls are so sweet and polite. 

They don’t have a piano in their home, just an old key board.

Today I taught them their third music lesson and I was impressed at how well they had practiced.  They are excited to learn.

Imagine my surprise when they told me their keyboard doesn’t work.

It has no sound.

That didn’t stop them from practicing.

They just couldn’t hear what they were playing!

Their dad has ordered a part to fix the keyboard, but I think they would have continued to practice on the silent keys-just to learn.

I’m not sure I would have wanted to learn piano enough to play on an old, silent keyboard, but I hope I would have.

Makes you think about how blessed you are!

* * * * * * * *

Don’t you love hearing about people who have an indomitable spirit- the kind that doesn’t seem to let problems get in the way of success?

source

JoAnn

Cold, wet, and a lot of fun!

 

January can be a miserable time of year if you hate frigid weather, endless snow, and slipping on ice.

It can mean foggy glasses, red noses, and cold, soggy feet.

It can be dangerous and hard to travel (especially during a winter blizzard).

Who likes canceled flights?

Sidewalks and driveways have to be shoveled (and shoveled).

“Bah Humbug!”

But,

on the other hand…

Winter can be a fun wonderland with the potential for fond memories down the road.

It can be filled with laughter and thrills (and hot cocoa).

It can be the best of times!

I “borrowed” some photos from our kids that capture some fun during this sometimes misjudged  month. (Thanks Liz and Irene!)

Bet these pictures bring back some amazing memories of your own.

 

How long has it been since you played in the snow?

JoAnn

P.S.  Anyone know where I can find some cheap winter boots, a hat, thick gloves, and some extra large snow pants?

Miracles and tender mercies…an update

Do you remember last year when I talked about our grand niece, Kenidee, who was in the bad auto accident?

She suffered multiple injuries, including brain swelling.

It was uncertain if she would even survive.

This picture below was taken after she was “out of the woods” so to speak.

(It was a tough battle just to get to this point in her recovery.)

She is quite an inspiration to everyone.   With her desire to overcome obstacles related to her accident, she has worked really , really hard. 

Look at her now!

 

 

If you’d like to read more about Kenidee and her miraculous recovery, check out this article that was in the local newspaper, The Herald Journal (Logan, Utah newspaper).

I think you will be impressed!

here

JoAnn

P.S.  I think the world needs more heroes.

Thank you Kenidee for being one of mine!

No news is good news…..

Life is back to normal at our house.

We are back at work (only two days back and my desk is already buried under loads of papers and things to correct and file) and the holiday celebrating is officially over.

As I have been taking down Christmas decorations, I’ve been cleaning and organizing cupboards, closets, and drawers.

I even painted the inside of a closet!

Our kids gave us one of those wall hanging things for brooms and other objects and it just seemed to require a freshly painted, clean wall to be installed on.

We are doing a little face lift in our master bedroom, too.

I do have a cute new chair!

The trouble is, none of this is very interesting to read about and I don’t have any pictures to show for my efforts.

I’m not sure anyone would really care to see the insides of our cupboards anyway! 

I like seeing before and after pictures of other people’s homes, but somehow my before and after pictures don’t look all that exciting.  Maybe our pre-existing conditions are too embarrassing.

Who knows?

So, while life is busy, it is just ordinary.

Boring, dull, common place.

Average.

No one can accuse us of setting the world on fire.

The phrase, “Background people” comes to mind.

I’m not complaining, though.

We find a great deal of pleasure in our quiet lives.

We love spending time with our friends and family.

So, to keep you from feeling  sorry for me, I thought I’d end with a photo that makes me happy.

This is Paul and his friends!

Isn’t he cute!

I love being a grandma to some wonderful children!

I guess I do have some good news to share!

JoAnn

P.S.  Maybe I should be like Ann Shirley and change the spelling of my name to include an “e” for more excitement.

 

Happy New Year!

“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning

but a going on,

with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.

Cheers to a new year

and another chance for us to get it right.”

— Oprah Winfrey

 

photo credit

We opted for a quiet evening tonight:

Chinese take out

Puzzle

“While You Were Sleeping” movie on DVD

I’m hoping we are awake to ring in the new year with our pots and pans, but I won’t promise!

Happy New Year!

JoAnn

P.S.  Are we the only family that uses old painted boards for 1,000 piece puzzles?

Wrapping up Christmas 2013…or “It’s a wrap!”

Utah had a white Christmas this year!

(At least in our part of the state.)

That is one of those details that we always wish for, but don’t always get.

 

We didn’t have any fresh storms the week of Christmas, but we had plenty of snow left from the week before.

It really was beautiful!

With Christmas music blasting indoors and post card scenery outside, it was easy to get caught up in the spirit and magic of the holiday.

I spent some time in Santa’s workshop making lots of these.

The decorations were hung.

The grand kids’ nativity got a lot of rearranging.

 

We cooked, baked, and ate far too much food (but it was delicious)!

(With one exception-which our children now refer to as “The Turkey Incident”!  Even my attempts at speed cooking in a gravy didn’t help our undercooked meat.)

We gathered together with our family and friends.

(And missed some who are no longer with us.)

We rejoiced in the birth of our Savior.

Many blessings were counted.

Memories were made.

(My camera kind of took a holiday, too, as I participated in all the Christmas fun.)

And…

We still have one more family party to go.

I hope you had a nice Christmas celebration at your house!

JoAnn