Our Visit to Houston January 2010

Mel and I went to Houston to visit the Wallace's (our daughter's family). We had so much fun. Benson (3 in March) helps "Popf" fix the dishwasher.

Bailey (6 years) goes to all day Kindergarten.

Brynley (almost 14 months) is a cruisin' cutie in her walker.

Benson got sick right after we got there, but quickly recovered.

Bailey has four freckles on her nose, just like her mom did!

Mel and I went to Bailey's school for lunch. We brought McDonald's.

Guggie and Bailey

Bailey enjoying her lunch and prize.

The weather was beautiful for several of the days and we'd play outside.

Benson "flying" his airplane.

The Three Musketeers: Kolten, Ty and Bailey. They are all in kindergarten and good buddies.

The world's most content baby -- inside or outside. Also very "cool."

This was a "Cars" big wheel and Benson loved the siren.

Our trip to the Children's Museum

Bryn wasn't so impressed with the exhibits. Here she is in her second outfit of the day. Evidently, she had Museum and Poop Fest confused.

The hands-on exhibits were very popular with Benson.

Once again, the most patient baby in the world.There was a genuine old Mustang the kids could sit in.
Bailey and Benson enjoyed driving it.

Bailey wasn't too sure about Benson's driving.

There were some really cool learning centers.

We had such a great time. If I were a little better at this blogging picture posting, I could show lots more!

Thanks for the great time Wallace Family!

Happy New Year!

"Cheers to the New Year, and another chance for us to get it right." (Oprah)

Thank heavens for more chances!

WHY I DON'T LIKE SNOW VERY MUCH

These are pictures of a parking lot on campus, taken 15 December. Yes, the snow is already piled in big dirty piles that will likely stick around well into March.
Snow looks beautiful, serene, and peaceful for about 10 minutes. Then, life takes over and we must get it out of our way. No snow days taken in Utah - no matter how deep it gets, or how fast it falls! This is my 13th consecutive winter here, and nothing has been cancelled for snow. Ever. Not even once.

It becomes dirty, nasty and totally ugly. I can feel good about calling it
"Mother Nature's White Trash."

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

This is a palm tree. In St. George, Utah. Sunny St. George. The white dusting is indeed snow. Lucky me, I was there to see it. Well, actually, I went for warm weather, sun, blue skies and Mel's office party. One out of four isn't bad. Is it?

Our Lucky Rainbeau Baby

"Babies born to families after the loss of a child are referred to as "Rainbow Babies." The idea is that the baby is like a rainbow after a storm. "Rainbow Babies" is the understanding that the beauty of a rainbow does not negate the ravages of the storm. When a rainbow appears, it doesn't mean the storm never happened or that the family is not still dealing with its aftermath. What it means is that something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy and hope."
Ralston Baby is due on July 7th -- 7-7, luckiest day of the year.

...and thebest news is:

Sarah and Bob and Yaya will welcome a new baby to their family in late June or early July! HOOAH!
This will be Number Seven for Mel and I -- Number Seven, due on 7-7. Perhaps this grandbaby will be known as Lucky.

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT

A couple of weeks ago, Yaya and her family were having dinner with us. After dinner, Sarah and I bathed and freshified the Divine Miss Laura so that she would be ready to get in bed as soon as they got home. We were all within 10 -15 feet of her, getting dessert on the table, and she was running around the kitchen/play area. All of a sudden, she slipped/tripped/fell into the corner of the little kids' table! There was that 2-3 second silence, before the horrendous shrieking - and blood. Quite a bit of it. We were all rushing too her (no doubt adding to her panic), and trying to get towels, cold cloths or anything to help. Poor thing cried so hard, she began throwing up as well as bleeding!

A trip to InstaCare with Mom and Dad resulted in 10-12 stitches on that perfect little forehead. There were seven on the outside, and at least that on the inside. By the next morning, she was no worse for the wear.

It took Guggie a little longer to get over it.

FAMILY TRADITIONS

My husband's family are game-playing ninjas. Card games and "Acquire" are the main ones they play. After dinner on Thanksgiving, the SkipBo cards came out for Mel, Grandpa, Brent, and Flor. Yaya decided she wanted sit on Papa's lap and play with the big people. She was quite serious about playing (note the look of concentration as evidenced by the binky in her mouth) -- which fits in perfect with how the clan plays. Yaya continued to play for at least 40 minutes - that equals an eternity for a two-year old! Papa was diligent in explaining how the game was played: Yaya was equally diligent in announcing his cards to the rest of the table. (Yes, she knows her numbers AND colors)

And so the madness begins. . .

THANKSGIVING 2009 in Which Laura Makes the Supreme Gravy of the Universe

The company was great -- we had Sarah, Bob, and Laura ; Brent and Flor; Dan and Jenn; Pam, Kate and Jim and Grandpa. Oh wait - where's Jenn in these pictures?! We can still see you, Kate.

We missed Mom and Lloyd this year - Lloyd was not too portable this holiday.

So, I'm an OK cook. Sometimes I approach "good cook." There are some foods that I cook well. Gravy has not been one of them. I always end up adding a can/jar/evelope of gravy mix to redeem what I've tried to produce (usually with lumps). This year, I made make-head gravy. You cook turkey wings in the oven, then on the stove, etc. Time consuming, but too easy. I knew it wouldn't be enough for all of us, so I bought no less than 6 jars of gravy to add to it. But, first, I decided to TRY the pan drippings from one of the turkeys (yes, we were a 2-turkey event this year) to make some gravy. Well, Gravy Heaven smiled on me, and the two gravies mixed together were absolutely superb. I'm really being modest and humble - but it was DIVINE.

THE GRATITUDE DANCE

THIS REPUBLIC OF SUFFERING

I've read this book over the past several months, a few pages at a time. It was quite fascinating, to see how the Civil War changed our culture's view of death. Since reading it, I've picked up on several references to ideas and mind-sets in our current lives. The accounting of soldiers' lives is always important - the total sum of the dead versus the individual deaths. Interesting, too, to see how the casualty reports affected military decisions, communities, and individuals.
If you are a Civil War buff, this is a must read.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE YOUNG MEN GONE? GONE TO SOLDIERS, EVERY ONE.

We have added a name to the Memorial Hall wall of heroes. Another young man, CPT Corey Jenkins, USA, was killed in Afghanistan on Aug. 25, 2009. He was serving as a Physician's Assistant. He was returning from a humanitarian mission to give cholera vaccinations to a local village. On their return, he and 7 others were killed by an IED. Today, we memorialized him at BYU.

This is the third name we have added to the wall since I began working here in April 2001. I hope it's the last. It's probably not.

I look at all the other names, dating from WWI, and think of the collective grief that each name represents. One long side of the Hall is all windows, facing east, framing Y Mountain. It seems fitting to be able to see the majesty and permanence of the mountains from this room.

The mountains give me a necessary reminder of my place in the scheme of things.

. . . IN WHICH WE PLANT A TREE

On Sunday, October 25, we planted a tree in Sarah and Bob's back yard in memory of Baby Boy, born still on July 23, 2009. Bob's parents and brother were visiting. Sarah and Bob chose a Linden tree, which is native to this part of Utah. Dan, Thomas, and Bob dug the large hole to accomodate the tree and root ball. [Kate held Yaya over the hole and scared her to death! It was classic teasing at it's finest] Sarah had chosen a scripture "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21) We listened to the song "You Are My Sunshine" and cried while they filled in the hole. (I always sang that to my children; my dad sang it to us; his mother sang it to him) It was such a tender moment, and my heart ached for them.

Sarah's greatest fear is that we will all forget him, but that will never, ever happen. We love ALL of you so much.

MOVIE MANIA

I rarely watch movies on DVD, videos, whatever. I do have NetFlix, but generally send the movies back after they sit around on the kitchen bar for a month or more. However, 10 days ago, I went with my sister-in-law to see "Amelia." It has Richard Gere (yum!) and Hillary Swank. It was excellent! It was worth even full price. I know, the critics panned it, but it was a great [mostly accurate] story of Amelia Earhart and beautiful scenery that made me glad I saw it on the big screen. I'm not a Hillary Swank fan, but I loved her in this movie.
Last night, I decided to watch my NetFlicks selection "P.S. I Love You." I had been duly warned that it was a tear jerker, and it really was. Cheesy, yes. Believable, no. It is the ultimate chick flick -- Hillary Swank (again) is rather homely in it, but she has these great guys in her life - Harry Connick, Jr., Gerard Butler, and Dead-Denney-from-Grey's-Anatomy. Plus great scenery from Ireland and Manhattan. I mean, really, how can you go wrong? I didn't even multi-task while watching (except the first part while I ate Panda Express for dinner). No needlework, no reading, just sat and watched a movie. It was a modern miracle, I'm telling you.
Thank you, Dan and Jenn, for not laughing at me crying through the entire thing.

Tomorrow's weather. . .

Snow is predicted tomorrow. . . hopefully not this much.

Can you guess where I was?

Did you think I'd go anywhere there wasn't Diet Coke or flamingos?!

You should go to South Dakota

Club Janke

I went to South Dakota (and Iowa and Nebraska - sometimes all 3 in just a few minutes) to visit my dear friend Peg last week. It was such a wonderful, restful break in mi vida loca! I think I'll make it through the holidays at least! We spent two full days, in our jammie pants - no hair or make up -- and made homemade cards. Peg had everything set up and has TONS of great papers and doo-dads to work with. (I have tons, too, but wouldn't know where to begin to find them in my mess!) She had precut, pre-printed, filled the house with snacks and diet Coke....it is a wonder I ever came home! I got to see her two darling grandchildren, Aidan and Ayla. Aidan was waiting for me at the airport with a "Guh Leseberg" sign he had decorated. (My grandkids call me Guh) I hadn't seen their mother since she was about 10 or 12, so it was great to see Kendra too -- and meet Aaron, her husband. Did I mention Peg's husband Roger? What a great sport to give us DVD set ups, news updates, etc while I was there.

The last day, Peg treated me to a SPA DAY! We had pedicures while we ate lunch, had manicures, and then a MASSAGE. Oh, the decadence of a massage -- I'd never had one. I was almost purring by the time it was over. She may have created a monster.

I took pictures of our mess -- but not how neat and orderly the den was before we began our marathon! I actually make a bigger mess by myself when I actually sew or scrap book.