I Did It!!!

I did it! I actually took my camera to Georgia and took pictures of our wonderful Christmas vacation. Here are a few shots of all the fun we had.

Here's the runners before they embarked on the last 3 miles of Jessi's 100 mile goal.

Here's the victorious joggers celebrating their run and Jessi's 100 miles completed!

Before we hiked to the top of Stone Mountain, we had a picnic.

Chad played frisbee with the kids.

Josh didn't really appreciate the picnic like the rest of us did.

We made it to the top of Stone Mountain! What great hikers we are! We were sooooo happy that the rain from the previous days stopped and the sun came out. We had perfect hiking weather!

Two beautiful sisters.

Mel, Michelle, Abbi and Summer catching our breath, enjoying the sunshine and the gorgeous view from the top of Stone Mountain.

Here's our newlyweds on top of the world.

Audra capturing the essence of our experience!

On Thursday we watched David, Abbi, Chad and Audra play tennis. Luckily there was a great playground right next to the tennis court where the kids played to their hearts' content.

Emily especially enjoyed the slippery slide.

Summer needed a little cuddling from Jessi.

Of course we had to take a few more pictures!

Josh and I had great fun cheering for the tennis players Chad, Abbi, David and Audra.

Here's the grandkids having fun on the playground.

What Happened?

In my blog "I'll be Home for Christmas" there is a huge blank space at the end. I don't know why that happened. I even spent about 15 minutes trying to delete the blank area, but it just seemed to not have any effect. Can anyone tell me what I did wrong?

I'll be Home for Christmas Part II

Our snowman display.

A special thanks to Crystal for this beautiful cross-stitch. We leave it up all year round, and we love it!

My favorite Nativity.

Hope you enjoyed your visit!

Merry Christmas!

I'll be Home for Christmas

This is the next best thing to being home for Christmas. So even though our family lives hundreds and hundreds (and in some instances thousands) of miles away, you can still enjoy the Christmas Spirit in our home. So welcome! Please come in and make yourselves comfortable!

Here's a closer look at the entryway tree.

Now come into the kitchen and family room.

Up close view of the family room tree.

There are plenty of Santa's to enjoy.

Each Santa is a type of Christ, the true Giver of all good gifts.

Me in a Nutshell ?

I just read Chris' personality profile, and so I did mine. (I am always amazed at how accurate they end up being). So, in a nutshell, this is what the test says I am like:

The Duty Fulfiller

You are responsible, reliable, and hardworking - you get the job done. You prefer productive hobbies, like woodworking or knittings. Quiet and serious, you are well prepared for whatever life hands you. Conservative and down-to-earth, you hardly ever do anything crazy. In love, you are loyal and honest. If you commit yourself to someone, then you're fully committed. For you, love is something that happens naturally. And you don't need romantic gestures to feel loved. At work, you remember details well and are happy to take on any responsibility. You would make a great business executive, accountant, or lawyer. How you see yourself: Decisive, stable, and dependable. When other people don't get you, they see you as: Boring, conservative, and egotistical.

So, did they get it right? What do you think?

Help Me With The Diagnosis

OK. I did it again. I took my camera with me to Utah, intending to take wonderful pictures and post them on my blog. I even purchased a new memory card for my camera that could hold tons of pictures (right now the memory on my camera only holds 6 pictures). Well, I took it all the way down and all the way back without touching the camera. The new memory card is still it its package. So no wonderful pictures of our Thanksgiving visit.

So here's my question: Why do I keep doing this??? (I did the same thing in October when we visited Utah.) I had great intentions of putting the new memory card in and taking wonderful pictures of everyone. But I failed again. Got any explanations for my malady and any cures for my camera-phobia?

Fessin' up

This is for the Pyne's - Lola and Ron, Elaine and Morris, Roger and Chris, and everyone else who came to Thanksgiving at Lola's. I called Lola's on Thanksgiving Day to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Everything I said was true, but it was misleading....... Lola and Elaine thought we were in Oregon, having Thanksgiving by ourselves. But we were in Utah. I wanted to spend Thanksgiving with my Mom and Dad, given their health. When I was talking with Lola, I got the great idea that we would act like we were in Oregon, and then come by and visit everyone that night. Just show up on the door step - SURPRISE!! Well, I guess the joke was on us, cause when we got to Lola's house that evening, the place was dark. Not a soul in sight. So just in case we were sighted in Utah by someone and labeled big fat liars, I had to set the record straight. My conscience was getting the best of me. So much for surprises.

You wanna be healthy?

Here's my latest food tip: Add a little ground flax seed to your cereal every morning, and voila! Instant good health! Here's what flax seed can do for you:

Fiber

2 Tablespoons of ground flax seed has as much fiber as 1 1/2 cups cooked oatmeal. Harmful LDL cholesterol drops and good HDL cholesterol stays put. Regularity improves also :)

Lignans

Flaxseed contains high levels of lignans, a natural antioxidant. This helps prevent unchecked cell growth (i.e. cancer) Many plant foods have some lignans, but flaxseed has at least 75 times more than any other! To get the lignans that are in just two tablespoons of flaxseed meal, you'd need to eat about 30 cups of fresh broccoli. This could pose a problem, especially if you hate broccoli!

Alpha-linolenic Acid

So what in the world is alpha-linolenic acid??? It is the plant version of omega-3 acids. The oil in flaxseed is about 50% alpha-linolenic acid. Canola and walnut oils, the next highest sources, have about 10%. Goodbye high cholesterol!

So, what are you waiting for? Write 'ground flaxseed' on your grocery list immediately! It tastes good, kind of nutty (no lingering aftertaste.) Within a few days you will be leaping tall buildings at a single bound! Well, maybe only small buildings. So what are you waiting for? Get some flaxseed and eat it asap!

Thank you Jessi (and Chaunette)

I have been trying to come up with something to blog about, and thanks to Jessi and Chaunette, now I have something! So here goes:

7 Things You Didn't Know You Wanted to Know About Me!

1. I love mysteries. Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, Agatha Christie, Rumpole of the Bailey, "Mystery" all on PBS are some of my all-time favorites.

2. Traveling to other countries makes me nervous.

3. I'd rather clean than cook any day!

4. If it's got vinegar in it, I like to eat it! (within reason, of course.)

5. I feel guilty when I sit down and read a book.

6. I don't love tropical settings. Hawaii is not on the list of places I want to visit.

7. I love living history exhibits.

Now if any of you need something to blog about, this one would probably work for you.

Go for it!

I graduated!

My tap teacher called me the other day and told me she was going to have me attend the intermediate tap class instead of the beginners class. I went to the first intermediate class last week, and it was fun! I can't wait til I can be tippy-tapping around like they were! (I am now officially the worst one in the class!) I will have to hustle to catch up to their level and learn the new dances, but I think I can do it. Look out intermediate tap world, here I come!

Now how did that happen?

Today after I finished getting my seminary lessons ready, I was ready for a break. I'd put in my work, now I was ready to do something I enjoyed! Then I remembered: today was the day I volunteered to take dinner to a lady in our ward who has 4 little boys and is single. That meant I got to cook. I also remembered that I was going to make brownies for a seminary treat for Halloween. That meant I got to cook. Then I got a call from our RS pres asking if I could feed the missionaries tomorrow evening. That meant I got to cook. So much for doing something I enjoy. (Cooking isn't high on the list of things I do for enjoyment.) The rest of my day was spent shopping, chopping, stirring, beating, baking, and washing dishes. So if cooking isn't high on the list of things I do for enjoyment, why did I have such a great afternoon??? How did that happen?!

Trip of Joy, Trip of Sadness

Mel and I were able to take off last Thursday and visit family in Utah. We had a joyful trip being with Abbi and Chad, Adam and Jessi, the H* family and the P* family. We got to go to a BYU football game and stayed toasty warm through the sun, rain, and snow (plus BYU won!) We ate good food (Tanner will appreciate that!) It was heaven! (Click on Abbi's link to read her comments "Best Weekend" and Shana's link to read her comments and see her pictures on "Pyne Family Get Together") Everything went perfectly!

Mel headed back to work on Monday, but I got to stay a few more days and help my Mom and Dad. It was a joy to be able to spend time with them, but it filled me with great sadness to see the health problems they struggle with. Their lives are filled with difficulty, pain, and stress. I wanted so badly to fix things for them, but it is beyond my power and ability to do so. They truly are great examples of enduring to the end. I hope they know how much we all love and respect them and pray for the Savior's help and love to be with them. It is an honor to have such wonderful parents, and we hope to in turn honor them with our lives.

Don't bug me

We met a lady who has the most interesting job! She works for a company that makes artistic arrangements of beetles, butterflies, and dragon flies, frames them in shadow boxes, and then sells them all over the world. The business owner flies all over the world, purchasing and collecting exotic, colorful bugs. He then has them shipped to his business in Salem, Oregon. Who would have ever thought you could have a business collecting bugs and selling them??? Here's a few more examples of their work: (If you want to see more of their work, go to http://www.formandpheromone.com/)

To all us bug-lovers, this is neat stuff!

Fall Wildlife Update

Here's our newest visitor. Luckily he has behaved himself and not caused any trouble (racoons can be quite the pests!) I do feel sorry for him, because the poor fellow doesn't have a tail. I wonder how he lost it? In a fight with an enemy racoon? In an illegal trap? As long as he stays up in the trees and doesn't cause any trouble, he's welcome to visit any time he wants.

Heaven Part II

I got to spend eight wonderful days with McKenna, Lydia, Kyle, Jordan, Emily, Tanner, Summer and Joshua, and their exceptional parents Jessi and David and Audra and Mike. Every minute was heaven! We got to hold brand new little Joshua, and boy, is he a cutie! On the weekdays, Tanner and I got to see Kyle and Jordan off on the bus. I read books with Tanner, Kyle and Jordan. I got to see McKenna play softball, and Emily and Summer at their ballet class. I got to eat school lunch with Lydia, McKenna, Kyle and Jordan. We watched "Oklahoma" and ate delicious dinners together. I got to watch "Wizard of Oz" with McKenna, Lydia, Emily and Summer. Jessi, Audra and I had totally successful shopping sprees (you should see how cool they look in their new clothes!) We ended the visit with lunch out at Olive Garden. The only thing bad about the visit was having to leave them in Georgia. We are counting the days til we can go back at Christmas. It's true, we have the cutest grandchildren ever!

Heaven

Here's why Abbi and Chad's wedding was a bit of heaven:

Mel, Michelle, Jessi, Audra, Adam, Abbi, Chad, David, Mike, McKenna, Lydia, Emily,Summer, Kyle, Jordan, Tanner were together.

Grandma and Grandpa Howe, brothers and sisters and their spouses and families, cousins and their spouses and families were there to support and celebrate with us.

Wonderful friends, some we hadn't seen for a long time, came to wish the newlyweds happiness.

We were in the Mount Timpanogas and Manti temples for the first time with all our family.

We got to celebrate with the C* family and get to know them better.

At the reception, it didn't rain and after the sun went behind the trees it was beautiful weather!

The sun shown brightly and the sky was brilliant blue on their wedding day.

We had a wonderful time at the C* Cabin with the H* family!

We toured Temple Square with the family on a beautiful summer afternoon.

Maybe in the next life, when I become a skilled writer, I will do that experience justice.

It was wonderful.

Great News!

Let me be the first to let you all know that little Joshua Reed C* joined our family early this morning at 4:07am (Eastern daylight time), weighing in at 7 pounds 11 ounces and stretching out at 18 1/2 inches tall! Unfortunately I don't have pictures, but I'm sure some will appear on Audra's blog soon. We hear that he is cute as anything and has quite a bit of dark hair. The proud grandparents will be over to visit this week and we can't wait til we see him! We're excited to see everyone else, too, of course! Congratulations Mike, Audra, Kyle, Jordan and Tanner!

Another Must-Read!

I just finished this book entitled Island of Saints and it is an amazing story you must read! It is by Andy Andrews, it was published by Nelson Books in 2005. It is listed under self-help/personal growth/success. You will learn a bit of history you might not have been aware of, and you will enjoy a story that portrays "the one principle that frees the human spirit."

It wasn't available at the Eugene library, so if you have trouble getting a copy, let me know and I will buy one and send it to you! (I won't by everyone a copy, I will just buy one copy and then you can all take turns reading it.) Let me know what you think!

The Buck Stops Here

I got a great picture of one of the bucks who are starting to go though our yard again. This one still has velvety antlers, but another one had already rubbed the velvet off his and was ready for a fight (or whatever they do after they rub the velvet off)!

Rollin' on the River!

On Saturday I went rafting down the Willamette River with a bunch of Relief Society Women! (I am in the boat in the forefront of the picture, and I am behind the lady with the hat on, on the left side of the picture.) This trip was particularly significant for me because I have a healthy fear of my head going underwater, and so I had crossed off "rafting down a river" as something I would ever do. For some reason I decided I needed to go, to get out of my comfort zone and conquer my fears and all that kind of stuff. I was reassured that the possibility of falling in was pretty slim, and when I realized some of us were 70 and 80 years old..... Hey, if an 80 year-old can go rafting, then I can go rafting! I just want you all to know that I did survive, we had a great time (we stopped along the way to pick wild blackberries and have lunch), and I just might go again next year!