Kerby's Ordination, General Conference, California Trip

On March 21st we had the privilege of attending and participating in Kerby's ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood. Steve assisted in the blessing. Kerby's dad, Mel Davis, gave the blessing and it was beautiful. Kerby is such a wonderful young man who is working very hard to prepare to serve a mission. He will turn 19 in August, so we are very anxious for him to have this wonderful experience in his life.

After the ordination, we went over to Dan and Darlene's house for a delicious meal. Dan did a great job of taking charge of the meal organization.

The first weekend in April was the best! It was Easter and General Conference. I hope you all were able to watch and listen to conference. It was so great and inspirational. I definitely am wanting to make some improvements in my life as a result of the counsel that was given.

Those in our family who were in town, (Katie, Ben, and Hallie, Kim, and Thomas) came over for Sunday dinner and Family Home Evening. We had very special guests who came from Ireland to attend General Conference, Tom and Satu Murphy, and they were able to come and stay with us on Sunday night. Tom Murphy is the district president of the Limerick District of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Ireland and some of the greatest people we know. We love them so much and feel it was a tender mercy that they could come and stay with us. In Family Home Evening, Tom shared his conversion story with the family. He joined the church when he was 18 years old. He had been very active in the Catholic faith, but was drawn to the Church and it's principles. He is a tremendous leader of the church in Ireland.

Tom and Satu Murphy

On Monday morning we took Tom and Satu to Salt Lake and met up with one of our former Senior missionaries, Elder Nield, who took them to stay at their house for the rest of their time in Utah. We were on our way to the airport to go to California and dropped them off before heading out there. Steve had an auto auction and then we were planning to see Steve and Cindy in Laguna Niguel.

I got to see Tiffany and her baby Jack while I was at Steve and Cindy's. Jack was born just a little over two months ago weighing just 5 pounds 9 ounces. He now weighs around 12 pounds. He has become a very solid little boy. His mother must be feeding him pure cream. It is fun to see what a wonderful little mother Tiffany has become.

The fun treat of our trip to Steve and Cindy's house is that my brother, Steve, who is a pilot, took us up in his plane, Tango Alpha. It was the perfect day for flying. There was hardly a bump in the flight and Steve had very smooth take-offs and landings.

Isn't that a great view!

If you think too much about it, it could give you butterflies.

Isn't the sunset beautiful!

We flew to Santa Barbara in a little over an hour and it could have taken five hours to drive it with traffic. We ate delicious food at the Elephant Bar and then flew home enjoying all the night-lights. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable trip.

First Sunday of the Month Family Home Evening

Every First Sunday of the month, we meet with all of our family who live close-by for dinner and Family Home Evening. Steve and I look forward to having our family all together. Since this month is St. Patrick's Day, I made Irish stew, rolls, and English Trifle. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food.
Here we have Allison, Reid, Katie, Ben, and Steve.

Katie, Ben, Dan, and McKenzie are digging in.

Thomas is cuddling with Hallie.

Hallie is all snug in her PJ's and ready for bed.

For Family Home Evening, we had a lesson on the first principle in the Preach My Gospel lessons which is "God Is Our Loving Heavenly Father." Everyone participated and had a good time.

Off to Arizona for Chase's Birthday

On Feb. 20th, I went to Arizona to see Brooke and her family and also to be there for Chase's sixth birthday. I was greeted at the airport by Noah's cute happy face. It makes a grandma feel so special when she is greeted with such an enthusiastic welcome.
All of the children had hugs for me when I arrived. It wasn't Chase's birthday until the 24th, but of course, I had to let him open my present early. I gave him a football and basketball. Almost immediately they were out in back playing football.

Here is cute Noah playing with his sword and stick.

Chase's birthday finall arrived. His favorite gift was a Cardinal's jersey. He is a serious Arizona Cardinals fan and wanted to wear his shirt to school everyday after that.

We went to Bounce U for Chase's birthday activity with the family. Isaac had fun on the train. Afterward's we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. That is Chase's favorite place to eat next to In and Out Burger. He loved sitting in the saddle and having everyone sing Happy Birthday ending with a big YE HA!!

I had so much fun with Brooke and her sweet and energetic family. I was able to babysit so that she and Spencer could get out for a night off and do fun shopping and other activities with Brooke as well. It was a great week for me.

Winter in the Ogden Valley

It is such a beautiful day today. Unusual as it may seem, we have not had a bright sunny day for quite awhile. Even though Northern Utah has not received a great amount of precipitation this year, we have a couple of feet of snow here in Eden. I was down in Bountiful on Saturday and there is no snow down there. I guess it has been snowing in the mountains where it is most needed. The picture I've included is of a waterfall at the mouth of Ogden Canyon. As the water falls, it freezes into beautiful ice cascades.
As for an update on my knee surgery, it does seem to be improving. I was very disappointed when I went to the doctor for my follow-up visit and he told me that there is a place on my knee where it is bone on bone. He said that someday I will be a candidate for knee replacement. Yuck!!! The idea of it grosses me out. I asked him how long he thought my knee might last and he said there is no way of knowing. He said I may be back a year from now or it could be twenty years. I was advised that I should do no high-impact exercises so I can preserve what I do have. You can be sure I will follow his instruction. The only thing that is bothering me right now and causes me to still walk stiff-legged is a painful catching and popping that happens when I bend my knee at a certain point. I understand that will go away as the ligaments and tendons heal from the surgery.

McKenzie's Baptism

On January 30th, 2010 our granddaughter, McKenzie Caitain, was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was one of the most spiritual baptisms that I have ever been to. I think one thing that made it so special was because our stake lets families have their own private baptism. In addition to our family, Reid and Val invited their neighbors who are less active and not members of the church. The missionaries, ward mission leader, primary president, and member of the bishopric were there. McKenzie asked me to speak on baptism and Steve to speak on the Holy Ghost. Valorie and Gary Carter (her other grandpa) bore their testimonies.

Beautiful McKenzie.

Her dad, Reid, performed the baptism and confirmation.

McKenzie, with her parents, Reid and Valorie.

Nadine's Knee Surgery

On Monday January 25th, 2010, I had knee surgery. It was something I kept putting off thinking it probably wasn't bad enough to do and also because I know it will be harder to get health insurance. Well, we are on Cobra health insurance now and it expires in March so I decided I should find out how serious my knee problem was and get it fixed while I still had health insurance.

I began to suspect that my problem was getting more serious when I took some long walks and found myself in a lot of pain afterward. I origionally injured my knee when we were in Ireland. After one of our meetings we took a drive to a beach. This beach was covered with the most symetrical, smooth, oval shaped rocks I had ever seen. As I walked on them, they shifted causing me to go down and severely twist my knee. After that, I had twinges of pain, but not unbearable. When we came home, I was too busy with family and getting settled that I did nothing about it.

I have a friend in our ward who is a former orthropedic doctor, but no longer practices because she is disabled. I told her about my knee and she had me come over so she could look at it. She could immediately tell that I had muscle deterioration in my right quad and suspected that I had a torn meniscus. She also told me that if I didn't get it fixed, I would have arthritis that would eventually lead to a need for a complete knee replacement. I got a doctor appointment and his diagnosis was the same as hers so I was scheduled for surgery.

Now the surgery is over, I can admit that the recovery is much slower than I expected. I am not the kind of person that enjoys sitting around, but Steve has been so good with taking care of me and keeping the dishes done up. The floor washing and vacuuming will just have to wait and I will have to learn patience.

Dinner at the Spallino's

We had a real fun evening tonight. We went to Linda and Terry Spallino's house for dinner and had a reunion with people who served in the Area Office in Solihol, England when we were on our mission in Ireland. Gerald Lund, who was released in October as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy, and his wife Lynn were there. They are pictured in the top row on the right. We had a great evening reminiscing.

I might add that I just finished Gerald Lunds newest book, "The Undaunted." I really enjoyed it. It is based on historical facts about the pioneers who were called to settle in the Four-Corners area of Utah. They constructed a road to the Colorado River through what is known as the Hole-in-the-Rock. They had many harrowing experiences in their journey. This historical book is interwoven with a ficticious story of a family who went on this pioneering trek. I felt a great sense of appreciation for the suffering and sacrifice of these noble Saints. If you want to read it, I would be happy to loan you the book.