April 21-27. 2014

Monday - Happy 57th Birthday, Dee! Started out with an "Uncle Si Talking Friend" from Nate and Jess... I made his favorite biscuits and gravy for breakfast.

Since this is a non-kaylee week, after my cleaning was done, I worked on Nate and Jess Wedding tasks. I completed these Hershey Kisses that have become a tradition (Sorry, Allison and Mike...no idea these existed when you two were married.)

 Sad thing, in my house, which was about 78 degrees, the kisses were already soft. They are now in the freezer. By May 27th, I will have to serve them FROM the freezer. :)

Kayty brought home a cute birthday card...and a gorgeous tie...for Dad's birthday.

I used MY earned babysitting money and took Dee to his favorite restaurant, New Asian Kitchen, for dinner. We then went to Ethan and Cam's, where I played with Kaylee, and Ethan helped Dad fix the newer jeep differential. No more leaks! Plus, they gave him a Cabela's gift card. Awesome!

When we arrived at home, we were greeted with a cheeping box on the back porch.

 What a nice gift! We lost one hen on Friday, so we are down to one lonely hen. These new friends will be fun for her...someday...I hope...

Tuesday - Happy Anniversary, Ethan and Cameo! I worked in the yard, cleaned, and went to the dentist for a filling (Thanks, Nano, for the ride! I had no vehicle!)

 The dentist wasn't so bad, so I planned on working on Wedding Stuff, but Dee hadn't had time to do treats for his Cub scout Pack Meeting that night, so I ran to the store, came back with cookies and the makings for ...

 Edible campfires!

 They took all afternoon. I had anticipated an evening at home...alone...with everyone gone, but Dee pouted his way to me attending pack meeting with him. UGH! I ONLY like pack meetings where my grandchildren are involved. I did survive.

Wednesday, more yard work. I have been picking TONS of tomatoes. Many are smaller, but they will make awesome sauce.

 I noticed we were on our last loaf of bread, so I baked four more. I absolutely LOVE my Bosch!

 Dee got a Caprise Salad for lunch...all Black Krim Tomatoes. I love these tomatoes. They are mild...not so acidy...so they are just so tasty.

My visiting teacher stopped by with banana muffins and a great message. We had an awesome visit! Then, I set out and made 8 more wedding wreaths. They will be used to decorate the patio pillars, etc.

I am storing them on Nathan's walls. His room NEVER looked better!

I did something stupid after dinner and fell right on my tailbone...on the stone kitchen floor. Oh my aching bottom! I creaked and moaned all evening. I helped watch Kaylee for Ethan and Cam...we swang and played for an hour or so. 

I crawled into bed...and didn't even wake up to jog. 

Thursday...Happy 34th Anniversary, sweet hubby! I made him grits and cheese for breakfast...another favorite! and got everyone up and off to work. Nicest thing for me: alone-ness. I was sore and bending over and standing up where chores, but I could do what I want, and hang out in my jammies and work!

This is some of our garden oregano I picked and started to dehydrate. 

After work, we worked in the yard, getting the support cover ready for the garden. 

I guess work has been the theme of the last 34 years...

I heard his voice behind me in a college religion class. 

There was something about that voice...

Ours was not an immediate story of love at first sight (though I loved HIM right away. It took him a bit of time...and us going separate ways...to finally hear what the Lord had been telling him.)

We married, at 9:28 am on April 24th. We knelt across an altar in the temple, and were sealed for time and for all eternity. 

It was a Thursday. 

We were back from our honeymoon on Saturday. On Sunday, I was called to a church calling - and I didn't even recognize my married name. On Monday, we were back at work at our jobs. 

We began to create a team. 

It took work...a lot of work. (Any great team does)

56 hours weekly machinist work.

3 church dances to disc jockey

full time mom to six precious kids

stake missionary

primary president

t-ball, dancing lessons, soccer practice, piano lessons, French Horn lessons, band concerts, flute recitals, football games, chorus concerts, invention conventions, home room mom, little league championships, and on...and on...

hunting, fishing, camping, hiking

building a house

repairing that house

Lots of work.

Many ups and many many downs. 

But oh, what we have learned. 

Oh how we have grown.

 Side by side, and sometimes not seeing eye to eye

But always looking toward eternity...

On our knees, 

Crying our eyes out - hearts breaking and hearts full of gratitude. 

Not easy

But I am so glad we are...

A team!

Friday - work from home day for Dee. I should have grabbed the opportunity to use the car, but I am still so sore. Standing, walking, running are easy, but sitting, bending, twisting is such a chore. So I cleaned.

We did more work on the garden trellis.

Since Nate didn't get his birthday dinner, Dad made him some of his awesome hot wings. He loved the traditional Frank's Red Hot and butter, with a splash of lime juice.

 Saturday, we went on our weekly yard sale date. Dad got some stuff...all thread, a torch, tooly things. We grocery shopped and I got more cake mixes (the newer ones have fewer ounces of mix than the original ones I used for Amber's wedding, and the recipe uses cake mix as an ingredient, so I am going to need to weigh it. ugh) I also got the nuts - sunflower seeds and roasted slivered almonds - and vacuumed sealed them in jars for the wedding ring ceremony dinner. Each jar is part of one salad.

We got quite a bit of the garden trellis done, and thus, with my already sore back, we didn't attend the High Priest dinner/social. Dee grilled a deer stake and I got my recipe book and planning book organized, which will help me plan meals so much more easily.

I also worked on a book to organize our new church calling as Stake 8 Year Old Baptismal Coordinators. Got the duties, lists, and even what Dee says when he makes the ahead calls and conducts the meeting.

Kayty had a Superhero Party to attend...and Kayty does NOTHING small!

Sunday - Church was great. We had a couple speak to us. They are both prison chaplains. They both also serve as temple workers in the Mesa Temple. They drew so very many parallels of how the work they do at both places are much the same. It was such an inspiration to see the hand of the Lord helping everywhere: a temple...a prison. 

Dee snoozed in his chair during the afternoon. I set out to organize the remaining photos from Nate's mission, and then put them in his scrapbook. I finished it...such as it is. There are few explanations of the pictures...of what he saw...or who he is with. He is a busy groom to be. It is my last missionary album...and I am glad. Not so sure it was worth the effort. Maybe someday...

We spent the evening working on getting in touch with baptism candidates for next week. Only moderate success there, but we will keep on. 

That's it...that's all.