Spring/Winter Break

So we had a power glitch when I was trying to post and it messed up the whole format, so I am trying again!! Spring break starts next week and we have snow! LOTS of snow. Don't get me wrong, it is pretty, but late March? We don't normally get that much snow in Oregon and definitely not 6 inches by noon and still snowing, especially in late March. I am supposed to be working on getting the yard and garden in shape for another wedding reception in May (more on that in another post) and I am falling way behind!! Oh well, not much I can do about it. We have prepared for a power failure since it is such a wet snow. Who knows, we may get the 7 to 10 inches forecast with a possible 15 above 700 feet. Guess where we sit? So one very busy day suddenly had a cleared schedule.

What I Am Doing These Days

I have been very lax about my blogging lately. I have tried to keep up with most of you, but I have been consumed by other things. Besides having kids and grandkids around whenever I can, I have been working hard on a calling (an assignment within out church)that I was given last spring. I am the director of our Corvallis Nativity Festival. This is a community event that has been hosted at our church for 17 years. Last year it was held for 3 days and about 3,000 people came through. This year we have expanded to 5 full days. We have up to 3 concerts in the evening where other church groups and community groups perform for about 1/2 hour. On Sunday evening, we broadcast the annual Christmas Devotional featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. This year on Monday we are having our first ever community Messiah Sing In. Our theme this year is "Come Unto Bethlehem" where your are transported to the streets of Bethlehem with tents and shopkeepers and costumed people. We have live background music going on during the display and all the nativities are displayed within the design. We have between 600 and 800 nativities that are displayed.

Needless to say, this is a HUGE project and it has been consuming me. This year we are doing a big push with social media. You can check out our web site at www.corvallisnativityfestival.com or go on Facebook and type in Corvallis Nativity Festival and go to our page. We even have a couple of YouTube videos that are posted for people to see what we are doing.

I promise to get back to what is going on in my life after this month. But right now, I have TONS to do!!

Last Gasp of Summer 1/2 Marathon

I hope everyone understands that I am not trying to brag, but this is a big deal to me. A couple of weeks ago I completed my second 1/2 marathon. I walk, I don't and can't run. It is a big deal for me because 3 1/2 years ago I had a total knee replacement on the right knee. In addition, one year after that I had major reconstructive surgery to rebuild my left foot and ankle. I had what is a called a deep tendon transfer to re-stabilize and realign my foot and ankle. I spent nearly a year (before and after surgery) in a walking boot and in physical therapy. So for me to walk 13.1 miles is quite an accomplishment. This year I competed for the second time. Not only did I finish, but according to race results, I shaved 27 minutes off of my time from last year. I completed the race this year in just over 3 hours. I consistently walk at a pace of about 15 minutes per mile and I knew I was really pushing during this race. My friend Lori walked with me, along with Reed and Jessica. My son-in-law ran the race. It is a beautiful race on the Oregon coast that takes you up along the town's water storage with trees and ponds on both sides of the road, along a nature trail to the beach and then about 1/2 of the race is right on the beach. Jessica and I were true walkers while Lori and Reed did a little jogging. This has become for me a huge way in which to compel myself to keep active and try and stay in shape after these surgeries. It has helped me to be more active and hopefully to prolong the life of the left knee which is having the same problem as my right. I know that eventually I will have to have that one replaced too, but for now, I will keep walking.

Please excuse my race attire. I get very warm while I walk!

How Sweet

This sweet little girl will be 3 years old in another month. I just got a phone call from her. She wanted to call and sing me a song. So she did. She sang the whole song of "I Love to See the Temple". All by herself. Twice. Wow, I was so impressed. She knew all the words and she sang the tune! I was so excited and happy. It is so wonderful to watch your children grow, embrace what they have been taught and then teach it to the next generation! I am so proud of all of them!!

CATCH UP

I have been horrible at blogging. I check everyone's blog on a regular basis, but for some reason, I can't motivate myself to do my own.

It has been a really hectic summer. There have been LOTS of ups and downs. Things are finally starting to settle back down and I think I might be able to do this. We shall see.

We started off our summer with Josh returning home. I cannot describe what it was like to finally have my baby back home and be able to talk to him whenever I wanted. He is so fun to have around. He was all smiles as we welcomed him home with EVERYONE of the family at the airport. We had silly signs and a new nephew and niece to welcome him home. His funniest statement on returning home was "Wow, everyone has all their own teeth"!!!!

We took family pictures while everyone was home and had such a fun time.

Poor Josh was only home 5 days before we loaded him up in the car and started driving back east to the beach house. We took 65 hours on the way there. We enjoyed the 4th and gathering with Reed's family to distribute his dad's ashes at sea. Coming home from Delaware we took a week. We headed south and visited Arkansas and the home of Popeye Spinach (in Alma), drove through Missouri and stayed in Oklahoma for a few days. The people that Josh served are such wonderful, humble people. They loved him and I am so grateful to have met many of them and seen the love that they have for my son.

Then we continued our journey into Rocky Mountain National Park, Utah and finally home. I cried when I saw the Cascades. They are such beautiful mountains. In the words of Josh, they are REAL mountains. Jackie and her boys spent a lot of time with us at the farm this summer as Zach concentrated on collecting data and working on research for his doctorate. Reed and I headed out again for Utah to meet up with his family for the final distribution of ashes. We are now home and don't plan on going anywhere - until the latter half of September. But I will enjoy my time here.

I have been so busy helping my dad move a couple of times and now we are full on into canning. This week I have canned fresh tuna and green beans. There are more beans to go and then it will be peaches and tomatoes. I love filling up the pantry and storing up food. You never know what the future will hold.

This next weekend will find us down at the cabin, painting and hopefully relaxing. After such a busy summer, I need it.

The family at the beach!!

The grandkids at the beach!!

EVERYONE together at home.

Beach time

This summer we took the whole gang back to Bethany Beach, Delaware, for some much enjoyed time in the sand and surf. Jayme's girls went completely Hawaiian and decided they wanted to come back every summer! Aloha!

Aunts and uncles and cousins - all ready for a fun day at Sussex Shores!

Some eat corn, some eat sand. The beach has it all. It all comes out eventually.

Nothing beats Delmarvelous sweet corn at the beach!

Sunglasses, sunscreen, muscle shirt - this man is ready for the beach!

What is the best thing about a vacation to the beach? If you ask this crowd, you'd get 5 different answers. The worst thing is having to leave when vacation is over....

The Countdown

Well, I have decided that I will officially start counting down the days. In exactly one month my baby will be returning from his mission to the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission! I am excited. We will have a wonderful Father's Day celebration! His homecoming is on Sunday, June 19th at 9am in Corvallis 2nd Ward. We will celebrate with family and friends at 1pm that day! These last few months have just DRAGGED for me. But I am happy now to realize how close it is. I have the official travel plans, but Josh's current companion is trying to talk the mission president into a 1 transfer extension. I don't think they do those anymore, but I am so happy that they are doing so well together and are finding success in their teaching. I am a HAPPY MOMMA!!