Christmas 2011

12-25-11

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE..... Have a wonderful day as you remember the "reason for the season"!https://picasaweb.google.com/joyceishappy/HERITAGEMAKERSJpg#5690069538582194466

We had a wonderful Christmas, but why does it come and go like the snap of your finger? Our day started out with church ( no we did not open any gifts till after). I have been going to church for over 50 years in the Weston ward. For those who have never been in our chapel, we have the most beautiful stained glass window of Christ knocking on the door. It is always pretty but yesterday morning at 9:00 a.m. the sun was shinning from the east and I have never seen the colors of the glass so bright. It made me feel like Christ was there with us. It reminded me once again of "THE REASON FOR THE SEASON". Another special thing happened during the nice program. Jack King, one of our good friends and probably the most talented singer ever, in our ward passed away a few years ago. For some reason, when the choir began to sing I thought of him and could almost see him standing in his spot. (His daughter is the choir leader). A few minutes later one of our ward members told a beautiful story of the last time when he sang but because of his age and his health, he was not able to finish the song. Later his grandson took his place to sing. Isn't life good when we stop to enjoy it?

The best part of my Christmas (yes, I loved my gifts, having our entire family together, and the party), but my favorite part was a visit with my aging mother at Heritage Home. She was so happy to see the kids and so appreciative of what little we do for her. Seeing her happy and able to have good memories was the best gift of all. We didn't know if she would still be with us again this year. As I was thinking how thankful I am, she summed it up by saying; " well, here it is, another Christmas and another year gone by". She seemed at peace. :o)

Enjoying our Grandchildren's Christmas programs.

12-20-11

Today we first enjoyed attending our little grandson's Christmas program in Dayton.  He did such a good job, just stood up there as proud as could be to sing.  Then we drove to Ogden, had dinner with our daughters family and then we attended our second Granddaughter's Christmas Choir Concert at  Bonnivile High Christmas Concert. she earned a solo spot and did a great job. It sure is fun being grandparents.  Just need a few more house a day to play with them!

Celebrating our 50th Wedding Anniversary at the Open House

What a wonderful weekend we had.  Our children, Shelley and Nate, Todd and Amber and our Grandchildren, Kayla, Hali, Abbey, Kinley and Bodie held a really nice open house for us on Saturday, October 22nd.  It was held up Cub River Canyon at Deer Cliff Inn.   Shelley made beautiful floral arrangements for all the tables.  Ensign, the wholesale floral company who we bought from for over 30 years, gave her some beautiful flowers which she used for the table decorations, corsages and bouts for all the family, and a beautiful bouquet for us to enjoy at home.  The flowers were shared with family and friends after the party. The kids displayed Joyce's wedding dress and Abbey wore Robert's WSH Letterman jacket.  There was a nice table full of photos from the past 50 years and some of the photo albums Joyce has made over the years.  Hali made a fun slide show with music that played throughout the day.

The weather was really nice and warm and the canyon was so pretty with all the fall colors.  We really had fun doing a family photo shoot with our friend Barbara Peterson..  If the pictures turn out as good as the fun we had taking them, they should be great. The kids were climbing up the big log for the perfect picture.

Everyone who attend the no host dinner was able to order what they wanted and it was served very quickly and was yummy. Joy, her husband and their staff did a great job serving us. We were impressed by how fast they prepared and served the meal and the rustic atmosphere of the 70 year old building was nice.   Our "famous" Frappe and cookies was served at the open house.

 It was really fun to get to see our family, friends and neighbors.  Many who were not able to attend called us and send beautiful cards to us.  We sure have enjoyed some good visiting with everyone.

Those of you who know Joyce, know she loves antique cars, well an antique car ridding club called at the last minute and ask if they could come up for lunch so they shared the building and parking lot with us.  It was fun to take some pictures with the cars.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You to everyone who made our 50th Wedding anniversay such a special day. We know how busy everyone is, and we really appreciate everyone giving up a Saturday afternoon to spend with us. The memories of this special day will last forever.

Today was our 50th Wedding Anniversary

Today was our 50th Wedding Anniversary, can that be possible?  Where did the years go?  We were married October 6th, 1961. We were young, but at the time about average for the age of young people getting married. 

We had planned to go to Tuacahn in St. George to see the musical Grease, but wouldn't you know it, the first storm of the season came in yesterday and we learned that today would be very cool and raining and since the theater is built in the beautiful red canyon and open to the elements, we decided to move our tickets forward a week and didn't go. 

Our good friends Marilyn and Dick Swainston picked us up and we drove through the canyon over to Malad for a nice shrimp dinner to celebrate this special milestone in our lives, one that only happens once in a lifetime and something many never experience!  For the most part, it has been a good 50 years for us, and we are so thankful for the good health and time we now can spend with each other in our retirement.

We are looking forward to the celebration and open house our kids are planning for us on October 22nd so save the date.  We would love to see all our friends and family there. 

UPDATE.....We did go to Tuacahn in St. George to see the musical Grease the week after our anniversary.  We enjoyed a nice drive down (except for construction in Provo).  We stayed for the first time in the house we are renting this winter from Sheldon Smith. It was fun to do some cleaning and get it ready for out 6 month stay later. 

We went to Tuacahn on October 13, 2011 with our friends Vickie and Keith Wood from South Dakato.  They treated us to dinner there and then we went to the musical Grease.  It was fun to see the kids preforming, the old cars and trucks and to hear the great music.

We also enjoyed spending a day with out friends Carolyn and Boyd Smith. They took us to a Pastacio farm.  It was so interesting to see how they grow and are harvested.  We bought some for Gifts.

9-11 A Day to Remember those who lost their lives.

Ten years later

Today, September 11, 2011 is the 10th anniversary of the attack on the Twin Towers and our nation.  We should always remember those who lost their lives, and those who gave their lives such a firemen, to save lives.  It was very humbling to watch so many stories of those whos lives came to an end so suddenly.  We never know when this might be our last day on earth.

As I watched the coverage all day, I could not help but realize how blessed I am to be a Heritage Maker for my family, friends, and clients as they do what they say they have been going to do for years, take time to write their life stories, gather their photos and record this important information for generations to come.  I take great pride when some one completes these projects and publishes their books. 

 

Todd Spent yesterday in the hospital and Ambers Dad had a stroke.

Well this hasn't been the best weekend for Todd and Amber.  Todd has been having pain for some time and finally yesterday had to go to the Preston Hospital. After several tests, they ruled out heart trouble thank heavens, but it now looks like he might have to have surgery to remove his gal blatter.  He goes into the hospital again in the morning to have ultra sound tests.  Sure hope it will go away through the night. 

Amber's Dad, Brenton Atkinson, had a stroke during the night.  We feel so bad for her and her family.  A few days ago the Dr's told them there is just nothing more they can do for him anymore.  It has been amazing how hard he has faught to beat the cancer.  He has been able to get almost 2 more years that Dr's thought he could. Our thoughts sure are with Amber and her family. 

 I love this picture of Brenton and Lois,

Catching up!

I guess it is time to do some catching up now that I have this new blog!

Our family is doing fine.  We are sooooo busy as Grandparents with our grand kids.  Starting with our oldest, Kayla is working for a care center in north Ogden,  It is her first real job and she is enjoying helping those elderly folks get the most out of each day they have left.  I so admire someone who can care for the elderly and sick.  I like happy things and don't do well with that, Good thing the Lord gave me creative talents instead of nursing.  LOL  Hali is a senior in high school and loving every minute of it.  She wanted a car of her own, so she got a job at a Pizza place and bought her the cutest little red car.  Both of Shelley's girls pull good grades and we hope they will be able to go school to better their lives.

Todd's kids, who lives close to us here in Weston, are growing up way to fast. Abbey is a Freshman at WSH in Dayton and quite the little (or should I say tall) "social butterfly".  She plays Volleyball and we love to travel from school to school with her watching the game.  She is doing really well.  We kinda hope she decides to play basketball as well.  Kinley is 11, and the cutest young lady.  She is almost always happy and brings a lot of joy to us. She also plays volleyball.  Bodie, our youngest, going to be 7, and our only grandson, just started 1st grade and he is playing soccer .  If we only had his energy LOL.

 

Mother is slowly ageing to where life isn't much fun for her.  Her energy level is low and she has a hard time remembering especially dates and time.  It really frustrates her. Clair is thinking about retiring from the Franklin Post Office and I think he will before the first of the year.  He bought himself a new truck and a nice new 5th wheel trailer and Robert and I are trying to convince him to come south with us.

 

Bob is doing really well, a miracle in fact, the treatments he so bravely endured at the Huntsman Cancer Center in SLC worked for him even though the Dr's were not sure they would.  He is between treatments right now and making the most of his retirement.  He comes up to Preston quite often to work his part of the farm and we are lucky that we get to do some camping and 4 wheeling with he and Clair when he is here.

Brent and Nedra are happy new grandparents to a cute little girl named Pasley, born to Kelly and Cody just a few months ago.

Gary and Sherrie just traded in their pickup for the prettiest new green car.  Gary works for Trenton Feed, or is it now Intermountain Farms.  Sherrie is a beautician in Smithfiled.  They have a nice home in Preston and keep the yards just spotless.

We don't get to see Lori and her family much now that Mother is at Heritage Home.  She keeps busy with their grandchildren and they enjoy spending time when they can at their summer place.

Robert and I are shocked as to how fast the summer has gone by.  It won't be long till November when we plan to go back down to the warm weather of St. George so we can make it through one more winter with my arthritis. I still say that if Medicare would just send us all south for the winter they could save tons of money on drugs!  LOL.  We try to go 4 wheeling in our RZR side by side at least once a week and we sure have seen some amazing country and the most beautiful wild flowers this year.  One of our favorite rides was to the "Old Ephriams Grave" up Logan Canyon.  I will have to tell you story of him for those who don't know. I attended my 50th PHS Class reunion and the Famous Preston Night Rodeo and the Franklin County Fair are over for one more year. 

I am loving working with about 170 clients through Heritage Makers where I encourage and assist others to tell their lifetime stories and preserve their precious photos by publishing one of our beautiful albums. I have a commercial Kodak scanner and help many to scan years worth of family photos to be uploaded and prserved forever.  I was just able to attend our annual Heritage Makers reunion/convention in SLC where I took several classes to learn more about being the Heritage Maker in my family. Ask me if you are interested.

It's Time!

It seems like every day our FREE time becomes less and less.  Who ever thought that when we retired we would be busier than when we owned a floral/Wedding business,  a farm and had other jobs?

As I work my Heritage Makers business I see a real need for a way to tell our family stories not just once in a while, but all the time.  I am so busy helping others to get their stories published and their photos protected, that sometimes I don't get my own done!

I have seen some very nice blogs where my clients post their photos and then tell the story of that photo.  I think this will be a big help to me.  I know that with my amazing Heritage Makers program I can in just a few minutes copy and paste all the good things I post here into my HM Yearbook so that at the end of each year, I can publish it.  I think this will be a great gift not only to Robert and I, but to our children.  

Friends and family....follow me on this awesome journey.