OUR HAPPENINGS... AS EMPTY NESTERS

I got to go out with the girls!  It was sooooo much fun!  We went to see Saturday Night Fever at the Derby Theater Playhouse.  The dancing and music was totally "groovy!" and the friendships/company was even better!  Jackie invited an awesome group of women to hang with.  I loved each and every one of them.  I'm blessed!  I love these women.  And I'm excited to get to know a couple of them even better.

Lora, Jackie, Kim, and ME

Nicole, Me, Kim, Lora, Jackie and Ashley

Nicole, Me and Kim

In other news, my grandson picked a flower for me while he was visiting my sister.  And she sent other wonderful pictures of "our" grandsons.  (We share.)  I was a bit jealous... but I'm grateful Skittles and Berry are so loved!

MY flower!

Skittles loves me!

A fort to nap in....

Grandma Mil shared her donuts with little "birds!"

Watching a show together!

At the creek.

(The other adorable picture at the creek contained a naked baby skinny-dipping,

and I try to keep my blog PG rated.  Ha ha ha!)

Aunt GJ taught Skittles the "I love you" sign for Grandma!

Scott and I decided that after redoing our bathroom last week, we needed to freshen up our walk-in closet.  We painted it, and Scott laid new carpet.  (He taught himself using YouTube videos.)  I love it!

Before

After

We keep catching a mean racoon.  We let him go and he came back.  This guy is vicious.  

The stick is for opening the cage without being bitten....

And we hired an amazing young man to come help Scott work in the yard.  I love this kid!  Thank you, Nicole, for sharing your son with us!

Love these guys!

Thanks, Jonah!

I found a new drink that Scott LOVES.  It's a limited edition: Blackberry Ale 8.

How did y'all spend National Hamburger Day?  We went to the Blind Squirrel.

Look!  I found more mushrooms to take pictures of!  Yahoo!  I don't know why they fascinate me so much?!

And then... my favorite part of this weekend, so far?!  My piano students gave a recital!  They really are remarkable and learning so much.  I get so excited sharing music with them.  I'm blessed beyond measure to have so many great kids to teach!

Music and Kids make life worth living!

And two more pictures... because Skittles is adorable:

I love how he lines up his toys so purposefully.

And... yes, he does dress himself... including the hat.

He loves his fedoras.

IT'S MAY! IT'S MAY! THE LUSTY MONTH OF MAY!

I LOVE May!  May means it's warmer.  May means it's spring.  May means flowers.  May means mowing the lawn. (I love the smell of fresh cut grass.)  May means mothers.  May means my grandson's and oldest son's birthdays.  May is wonderful!

We love celebrating May Day (May 1st) with delivering flowers to those we love!  My kind, amenable husband took me all over 4 different counties to deliver flowers to my friends on Sunday, May Day.  It was also really wonderful, that my own daughters sent me bouquets for the obscure holiday.  The flower arrangements are still bringing me smiles 2 weeks later.

Katia's flowers are on the left - Kiara's are on the right

I'm soooo blessed!

Mother's Day was quiet, but lovely.  I was spoiled rotten by my thoughtful husband, and wonderful daughters and sons.  I also gave a talk for Church.  (I'll include the talk at the end of my post.)

"These aren't the droids you're looking for..." unless you need salt.

Thanks, Katia and Skylar!

I LOVE my new necklace declaring me to be a mom AND grandma!

Thanks, Kiara, Cody and Skittles!

When I think of mothers, I would be totally remiss if I didn't mention my magnificent, marvelous mom!  (I really love alliteration.)  But my mom really is incredible!  She is such an example to me of hard work, sacrifice, love, service, creativity, etc. etc. etc.  I'm blessed beyond what I'm able to express.  Heavenly Father knew I needed her.  (So glad we have phones so we can talk EVERY day.)

Me and My Mom (aka. My Best Friend!)

Another truly wonderful mother:  Kiara Lea!  My grandson is so fortunate to call her mommy.

Kiara Lea and Red Skittle

The Kentucky Derby was unbelievable this year.  We were all cheering for Happy Jack since that was the name of one of the horses and is also the name of Skittle's stuffed buffalo.  But it was exciting to watch Rich Strike win.  I wore this amazing hat for our Derby Toastmaster celebration.  Katia and Skylar also celebrated in Idaho with their festive hats.

Katia and Skylar know how to have fun!

Biggest hat at the event!

Skittles turned 3 last week.  We couldn't be there in person, but we zoomed in for singing and presents.  He loved the giraffe drawing machine and book that we got him.  He's adorable!  My heart hurts when I think about him living so far away.  We miss him soooooooooo much!

Isn't he the cutest 3-year-old EVER?!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Skittles!

In other news, I have been able to go teach Nicole's 2nd graders music the past two Fridays in person.  It has been so much fun!  I'm so grateful she allows me to come sing with her kids.  She really is one of my besties!

Nicole is AH-MAZE-ING!

I worked really hard canning pork in my new pressure canner on my new camp stove.  (Thank you for the new stuff, Scott.  That was my Mother's Day gift from him.)

See my canner?  See my stove?  See my hard work?

And while I was slaving away in the sun with my book, Scott was redoing our entire bathroom.  New paint.  New floor.  New sink.  New medicine cabinet.  New light fixtures.  And new shower curtain.  I LOVE it.  I wish I had taken a before picture.

Scott is industrious and hardworking!

And... Scott and I are still crafting and painting for fun.  Tonight we made gnomes out of ceramic mushrooms from the Dollar Store.  And we also painted.  Check it out:

By Scott

By Me

By Me

By Scott

P.S. We celebrated Friday the 13th at P.S.  (Penn Station)

Here's my Mother's Day talk:

SPIRITUAL ENERGY – ROLLER COASTER

It was the perfect day to go to Kings Island, despite the fact that I have always been really scared of roller coasters.  My partner in crime, Mary Bettenhausen, who is my best friend’s daughter and was only 11 at the time, decided to be brave with me as we stood in line to ride the Banshee.  We were determined to have fun, and learn to love the rush of the wind and the excitement of the turbulence of the ride.  We listened to the screams as we watched rider after rider flying through loops, spirals and zero-gravity rolls at speeds of up to 68 mph.  Our stomachs were already in knots when we were locked into our positions on the roller coaster.  We grabbed each other’s hands and held on, scared to death.   

Two minutes later, exhilarated and happy, our feet touched the ground.  Mary and I had done something terrifying and lived to tell the tale.  We also decided that we really enjoyed the experience.

I’ve heard the metaphor that life is like a roller coaster MANY times throughout my life.  But I didn’t really understand the analogy until that day, 5 years ago, when we faced our fear of the unknown and rode the Banshee.  Although I haven’t been on a roller coaster since that day, the memories of riding the roller coaster, at times, seem pretty similar to my Spiritual walk with Heavenly Father.  Let’s be honest, there are many ups and downs.  There are many twists and turns on the road of faith.  There are days when I’m on fire.  And there are days when I’m a down in the dumps.  But the roller coaster keeps moving forward, through it all.  President Nelson calls it spiritual momentum.

Luckily, he explains that there are things we can do to keep our momentum going, even when our roller coasters seem to be hitting the ground.

First, we can stay on the covenant path.  We can stand in line to get on the roller coaster – despite the heat or the frustration of the wait.  The covenant path is worth it.  Elder Bednar asked us to consider What is our next essential ordinance to stay on the covenant path.  The answers he received were: baptism from his 7 year old grandson and sealing from another child.  He reminded them (and us) that the next essential ordinance for us as we stay on the covenant path is the sacrament.  Do we truly worship during this sacred opportunity every Sunday?  Do we focus on the Savior?

Another way to keep moving forward on our journey is to joyfully repent.  Scott and I recently read the book “Falling to Heaven” on our looooong drive to Idaho with the Uhaul.  One truth seemed to jump out at me and I have been pondering it a LOT the past month:  Repentance is an even greater gift than forgiveness.  Alma makes this point when he said, “May the Lord grant unto you repentance.”  Notice he does not say, “May the Lord grant unto you forgiveness.”  Repentance allows us to be supported by our Heavenly Father, and thus we become closer to Him.

Learning about God and our Savior is one of my favorite parts of spiritual momentum.  Becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ is not just one of many things we do.  The Savior is the motivating power behind ALL that we do.  He is not a dip in the roller coaster.  He is the strength that propels us upward.  He is not a scenic byway or even a major landmark on the ride.  He is “the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Him.”

When Mary and I took the trip to Kings Island, we were both frightened.  But we decided that together we could do “hard things.”  We aren’t alone.  Heavenly Father is always with us, even when we’re riding a rollercoaster.  At one point, during our excursion, Mary’s glasses flew off during a ride.  We prayed, and Heavenly Father provided a miracle.  Her glasses were found.  At the same time, Jacob Bettenhausen, who was also along for the adventure, got really sick.  We didn’t know what to do.  The group decided we needed to say a prayer: and another miracle occurred.  Amy saw a man who “looked” like a member of the Church.  He was.  He ministered to Jacob, and Jacob was able to continue on our day outing.  We can expect miracles, when we are on the covenant path and living with spiritual momentum.

Yes, roller coasters can be fun.  And sometimes they can be scary.  But it’s our choice weather we scream, or enjoy the ride.  It’s our choice to stay on the covenant path, even when it’s hard.  We have the opportunity to repent and continue on learning of Heavenly Father and His Son.  And we aren’t alone.  We can expect miracles.  Let’s enjoy this ride together!

IDA"HOME"

 Idaho is becoming my home away from home.  Not because I love the mountains/land (although it is pretty) but because my entire family is there.  After dropping off my grandson and his parents in Rexburg, we said goodbye to our sons and daughters, and headed to Boise.  I got to spend an entire week with my mom and sister.  It was absolutely wonderful to spend quality time with my besties!  Here's what we did:

We spent a morning visiting with Skylar's grandparents.

They are amazing!

Skylar blessed us by marrying our daughter so we can become friends with his family!  

GJ and I have decided to share our grandsons!

Berry kept me busy.  So glad he liked me.

I got to read 3 whole pages before he decided to move on to the next activity.

Sure love this guy!

Mom and I spent 3 whole days canning on her new outdoor stove.

It was fun for me... and I loved the new equipment.

I made dandelion jelly for my sister and mother to share with their friends.

One of GJs friends, Kaylie, shared her jelly with her family.  GJ got this adorable text from her.

Breakfast with some of "our girls!"

Me - Sheila - Mariah - Kaylie - GJ

A flower arrangement from Tara's garden for my mom!

Another angle.  Isn't it gorgeous?!

I got to teach GJ's YW class on Sunday.

We learned about how God gives us commandments out of love for us.

Here are the treats I made.

Ben and Kristi took me to see their property in the mountains.

It's spectacular!

Ben even trusted me to drive his side-by-side 4-wheel drive.

The beauty of our Heavenly Father was on full display!

Blessed to be with my brother and my sister (Ben and Kristi)!

And afterwards, he treated us to Chipotle.  Mmmmm!

It was a wonderful "vacation!" I miss my family already.  I especially miss my own daughters, sons and adorable grandson.  Lucky for pictures:

Apparently Skittles wanted to paint his fingernails...

Thus, he found some permanent markers and proceeded to do so.

Eating ice cream together makes life sweeter!

Sleeping in his Spiderman big boy bed.

Skittles LOVES watching out the door.

Learning to make macaroni and cheese.

And learning to make scrambled eggs.

I couldn't resist buying (and sending) Skittles this fedora.

I LOVE that smile!