It seems that for days there is nothing worthy of writing other than...all is well. Then everything happens and there is so much to write, but no time!! So I am going to briefly recap the last 2 weeks.
On Mon, Nov 10th after I got home from teaching early morning seminary I received a phone call from a neighbor who saw 5 teenagers go into an empty home (foreclosed house). He called the cops and then me (I am the HOA president). I called another board member and we went to meet with the cops because only the day before we had seen a lot of tagging (gang graffiti) near by and thought it could be connected. To make a long story and long day short...2 of the kids were arrested and 3 let go. Because the 3 were let go for the time being...our house was egged the next weekend. Fortunately Curtis saw it at 5:30 a.m. on his way to Bishopric meetings at church. He cleaned up the bulk of it. I cleaned the rest of it before leaving for church so the HOT Arizona sun would not bake it into the garage door and driveway. My garage door now looks beautiful! Needed a bath!
Then on Thurs, Nov 13, Curtis' parents Melvin & Gloria flew into town for a week. Unfortunately Melvin picked up the BAD flu before arriving and wasn't feeling great and just felt badfor about 5 days eating chicken noodle soup and sprite! But!!! Gloria and I had project. She wanted to complete the christmas shopping for all her Arizona kids, grandkids and grandkids. So we had their wish list, made decisions about what was needed, mapped out the route for the stores and set off on Friday, Nov 14th to see what we could accomplish. Surprisingly we were all done at 1pm. That only took 3 hours!!! A record was set. So we decided to go to lunch. That was fun. Then that afternoon it took us 1 1/2 hours just to wrap everything.
On Sat, with Curtis home, we all went to IKEA for lunch, then over to Curtis' cousin's home in Gilbert for a visit. Hit Deseret Book in Chandler and then home.
Sun - We went to Sacrament only..took Melvin home to go back to bed. Gloria and I went to watch Haley and Christian sing in their Primary Sacrament Program in the Sarival Ward. When I got there my Mom and Dad were there, my niece Lisa and her family were there (brief visit, stop on way back home to Utah) so it was Family Reunion on an entire pew. Haley did so well. She knew every word of every song! Christian saw his dad half way through his talk and had to stop and wave at him. Kids are great!
That evening we had all the kids over for a dessert and visiting with Granny & Farfar. (Farfar
is swedish for Father's father) Here are photos of all the grandkids together on the couch - they are all under the age of 5! These are our kids & spouses who live in Arizona. Heidi's husband was at church meetings and not with her in the middle.
Through out the week I took Melvin and Gloria to each of our Arizona kids' home so they could see their house and visit with them personally, so that when they are home in Kaysville, they can visualize where these little families are.
Wed morning I put them on the plane. A great visit with them. They are getting up in age and one never knows if this is their last trip here or not.
This week in Seminary has been a delight. We have been studying the saviors last week and focusing especially on the Atonement in Gethsemane, Golgotha, and the Ressurection. It truly has helped me more focus on this coming week of Thanksgiving. How much I have to be thankful for in the eternal perspective. I am so grateful for the Plan of Salvation that gives me the knowledge to implement saving ordinances in my life. For each of you who read this...know how much you have impacted my life and are dear to me. I with you each a wonderful family time together this Thanksgiving!
