Three Things Today

#1  I tried adding organic dandelion greens to my morning smoothie.  The flavor was too strong for me, even when I kept reminding myself how healthy it was.  I gave the leftovers to Lavender and she loved it!

#2  Marianne and Evan were able to spend time in the temple this morning.  I am grateful they were able to go and serve in such a beautiful and peaceful place.  

Photo from 2010 on Ryan and Molly's special day at the temple!

  While Marianne and Evan were gone, I asked Cammi to come and play with Lavender so I could get some laundry and cleaning done.  Lavender was thrilled to have a playmate and Cammi was a great little babysitter.

#3 We received both an email and a letter in the mail from Elder Aaron! Yeah!! Inside the envelope was a very thick pass along card.  Actually it was a few cards taped together.

I had to get out my scissors to cut them apart.  This is what I found inside:

It was his clever way of packaging his memory cards to send to us.  We will upload the photos to our computer and then send them back to him.  I am not so clever and will use a small padded envelope when I return them!  Here is my favorite photo from the memory cards:

Three happy things today!  I sure love my kiddos.  Even when they're all grown up!

A Gift

It has been a week since I posted, a good week filled with happy things.   Here is a sampling of some of the goodness:

*Thanksgiving at my brother's house.  It was wonderful to have the whole family together for a day filled with delicious food, laughter and a walk to the park for pictures.  I am so grateful to my sister-in-law for hosting.  I know it was a lot of work for her, but it was wonderfully stress-free for me.  Best of all, the sadness of missing my mom didn't really hit until the next day, which was fine because I could be alone and process my feelings.

*My family surprised me in a wonderful way.  While I was on a walk they got out all the boxes of Christmas decorations and even set up the tree.  This may not seem like much, but it is a major project to get everything down from our tiny garage.  It is not something I can do by myself.  Right now it isn't something I can do at all!  I was so excited when I came home to find the tree all ready for us to decorate.

*We spent Saturday afternoon at LaJolla Cove.  The tide was really low, so we had a great view of the tide pools and deep green sea grass.  We played frisbee on the lawn and even watched a bride and groom with their photographer.  We drove up to Mt. Soledad just in time to watch the sunset.  It was a perfect way to end the day!

Our "soft" frisbee which was perfect for a crowded day at the beach.

*Christmas cards make me happy!  We received our first card and newsletter (yes I love those newsy letters too) yesterday.  Our own cards are addressed and almost ready to go.  The letter is ready too, but I am holding off on printing it until after my doctor's appointment tomorrow in case I have any news to share.  Keep your fingers crossed.

*Molly and the girls came to church with us on Sunday since Ryan had to work.  We love spending time with them and it was fun to be with Brianne in the nursery.  Brianne was disappointed we hadn't brought the dog to church.  She asked for "woof woof" several times.

*Tuesday is my new favorite day since it is Aaron's pday.  He has been writing us a fairly long email plus a handwritten letter every week.  This is a wonderful surprise since Aaron is known for his brevity.  He sounds very busy and happy.  He loves learning Korean.  On Thanksgiving they got to hear from Elder Nelson and later they got to watch 17 Miracles which includes the story of one of our ancestors, which he recognized.  This proves he actually was listening during some of those family home evenings!

*Today should be another good day.  I get to see a dear friend who moved away last year and tonight I am going to the temple.  I am grateful for the the gift of happy days!

The Perfect Gift

I have received some lovely responses to our family Christmas letter. For some of our friends, this was the first they had heard of my mom's passing. Several were thoughtful enough to send sympathy cards, and one friend even sent us a beautiful poinsettia. Today I got something in the mail that made me cry. It wasn't anything fancy. It was a letter. A handwritten 3 page letter.

That may not seems like much, but when was the last time someone wrote you a real letter? Letter writing has become a lost art.

The letter was from a high school friend. She offered her sympathy on the loss of my mom, congratulated me on becoming a grandma and told me I looked much too young to be one! I haven't seen or talked to this friend in quite awhile, so the rest of the letter told me about her life. She shared what was happening with her family and mentioned a few challenges was facing. I loved reading everything she shared, but it was more that the words. I was deeply touched that this very busy mom took the time to sit down and write me a real letter. It made me feel loved and I knew she truly cared about me.

A handwritten letter just might be the perfect gift.

I don't like my handwriting; I prefer using the computer where I can edit and perfect what I have to say. But a handwritten letter has sincerity and emotion that don't come thorough on the printed page no matter which font you choose!

Is there someone who needs a handwritten letter from you this Christmas? It is a real treasure and won't cost you anything other than a little time.

Mail Time!

This arrived in the mail yesterday. It was correctly addressed to us, but apparently was delivered to a neighbor by mistake.

I'll admit our mail delivery isn't what it used to be. For the first 10 years we lived here, we knew our mail carrier by name. We always said hello to "Mark the mailman" and we'd even chat with him on the occasional Saturday. At Christmas time we gave him a small gift or homemade treat. My niece Emma asked him to autograph her "About Me" book in the "neighborhood friends" section. Marianne even wrote him a letter once. We received several cards and letters from Mark including thank you notes and a sweet response to Marianne's letter.

It's never been the same since Mark left to take a mail route in his own neighborhood. I suspected we had a lower standard of mail delivery. Now I have proof! Apparently some poor neighbor of ours has been receiving mail that is not addressed to her and she's not going to take it anymore.

She seems to be rather upset since she used a black sharpie, large lettering and FOUR exclamation points!!!!

It makes me wonder: Exactly how much misdelivered mail she has been receiving? Have I been getting all my mail? Am I missing bills, letters or more importantly holiday catalogues? Did I do the wrong thing by walking down the street to deliver my neighbor's mail that I received? Does she miss Mark the mailman as much as we do?

Consider this a warning to get those Christmas cards in the mail soon. You never know what could happen.

In the Mail . . .

We got the coolest thank you note ever!

We went outside and noticed a ball on our front porch. We were surprised when we realized it had been mailed to us! Our niece Jennifer and her family came for a visit earlier this month and the ball was their very creative way of saying thank you. They wrote us notes like "We had a ball!" and then mailed it. I wonder what the mail carrier thought of such an unusual package.

My long-awaited birthday present also finally arrived!

The red, lighted leather case (a gift from Marianne & Jenny) came first and sat waiting for a couple of days.


Finally, on Friday afternoon my Kindle arrived! It is one of the best gifts my husband has ever bought for me. I love the way it fits in my purse.


It is a dream come true to be able to carry an entire library around with me!


Now I just have to restrain myself from buying an entire library all at once. Fortunately there are many free books (most of them classics) available. I already have some Shakespeare, Webster's 1828 dictionary, the Scriptures, As A Man Thinketh and my newest non-fiction favorite The Talent Code . I'm trying to decide whether an old favorite or the Hunger Games trilogy will be my next purchase.

Going Postal

A few days ago, I sent out my Christmas cards. I love writing our annual family newsletter and sending it off to friends and relatives who live out of town. Today I received this in the mail.



You'll notice that the lovely plastic envelope says in large letters: WE CARE

Somehow, I wonder if they really do. If they really cared, wouldn't they have pulled the other half of the envelope out of the machine, so that I could figure out who the card was supposed to be delivered to? The return address doesn't really help me. Oh well!