My DAY...

Slept in later than I had wanted to. Woke up sad for some strange reason. Told Paul that we should go and see Zach's new office. (might cheer me up) Called Heather and asked her to come along. She asked us to stop at Star Bucks drive thru so she could get her dose of coffe. We then drove across the street to McDonalds so Paul and I could get a McMuffin. Heather ordered yet another coffee. WHAT!

MELISSA TELLS NBT to KISS OFF!

Later in the day, Melissa called to tell me that she would be meeting with the director of the Ballet Company and was NOT going to resign her contract for next year. YES, that is right...Melissa will be going from KISS OFF with the Ballet Company to the KISS OF DEATH. Yes, my little ballerina wants to be a mortician. I will be going to see her perform in Cinderella and will witness her final bow. Someone bring the KLEENEX because I am going to need them.

I SHOULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING!

Melissa's choice to someday be a mortician should come as no surprise to me. These are photos of Melissa when she assisted with a local mortuary and cemetery in a disinterment. Yes, that's her being helped out of the burial grave site by the funeral director. She is just 17 in these photos. She has worked part time in the death care industry since then. Even though it will be sad to see Melissa quit dancing, I am so proud of her. She accomplished a childhood dream of being a professional Ballerina and she danced professionally for 7 years. Now she will be helping families send their loved ones off to eternity.

I DREAMED I HAD AN INTERVIEW WITH GOD

"So you would like to interview me?" GOD asked.
"If you have the time." I said.
GOD smiled. "My time is eternity."
"What questions do you have in mind for me?"
"What suprises you most about human mankind?"
GOD answered....
"That they get bored with childhood, they rush to grow up,
and then long to be children again."
"That they lose their health to make money....
and then loose their money to restore their health."
"That by thinking anxiously about the future,
they forget the present, such that they live
in neither the present nor the future."
"That they live as if they will never die,
and die as though they had never lived."
God's hand took mine and we were silent for a while.
And then I asked.....
"As a parent, what are some of the life's lessons you want your children to learn?"
God answered...
"To learn they cannot make anyone love them.
All they can do is let themselves be loved."
"To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others."
"To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness."
"To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds
in those they love, and it can take many years to heal them."
"To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least."
"To learn that there are people who love them dearly,
but simply have not yet learned how to express
or show their feelings."
"To learn that two people can look at the same thing
and see it differently."
"To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another,
but they must also forgive themselves."
"Thank you for your time," I said humbly.
"Is there anything else you would like your children to know?"
GOD smiled and said.
"Just know that I am here....always."
.....Author Unknown

IT'S DONE!

The floor is finally finished and the furniture put back. I couldn't decide on what accent color to use, and finally decided on blue. I will probably change it at least three times before I am satisfied, but it's blue for now. Simon and Zach came over late last night and Simon got to test out the new floor.

NEW ARRIVAL

Today when I checked the Dove Cage, I was greeted with a new arrival. I couldn't resist posting this photo. As many of you may know, I love birds.

WORKING ON THE NEW FLOOR

Paul and his brother Eugene have been busy working on the new Family Room floor every day. We were ALMOST finished when Zach called and needed his dad to come over to his new office and build a wall in one of the rooms. So, off they ran! Hopefully, I will get this room completed tomorrow with the baseboards, furniture put back in place and the a new ceiling fan (Paul isn't going to like that idea)

ALMOST DONE..

All we have left to do is replace a few of the baseboards and then the floor will be completed. I am so excited. Thanks also to my twins and Heather for coming over this afternoon and polishing up the floor. I think it looks beautiful. I appreciate your help...I know I have not been that much fun to be around lately.

ADRIENNE HELPING US

Well, I finally complained and cried enough that Paul agreed to replace the family room flooring. He wanted to do carpet, however...I got my own way and we are going to lay down some very nice laminate flooring. Adrienne came over this evening and helped to scrape the cement floor so we can start to lay the laminate tomorrow.
Thanks Adrienne for all of your hard work.

BANK OWNED KITTY

When Melissa was home a week or so ago, we found a house that had been forclosured on not far from our house. We went to look at it a few times, and each time we were there we noticed that a big orange female cat was living there on the property and it appeared that the owners just left her there to fend for herself. So, Melissa and I got a kennel and brought her to my back yard thinking she would get along good with my "outdoor kitty"...no such luck. She ran up the pine tree and stayed there for two solid days....then disappeared...until two days ago, when she appeared on Heather's back porch. Now Heather has an outdoor kitty too...We named her BANK OWNED KITTY because the bank had taken over the property and the house and we figured the KITTY too. Anyway,she loves Heather and the kids.

ZEKE LOVES the BLONDES

Mikayla brought her blonde lifesize barbie doll to Heather's house, and Zeke fell in love with her. At least she didn't run and scream when he would try to hug her like Lydia does.

PHOTO POSTED FOR MELISSA TO RETRIEVE

I realize that I have posted this photo before, however, Melissa does not have a copy of it, and I posted it again so that she can retrieve it for her blog. I didn't want people to think I was totally out of my mind.

Thank You Nannette

Thank you Nannette for the beautiful Lavender Sachet that you made and gave to me. I love the smell of LAVENDER.
It was such a thoughtful thing for you to do for me. I do so appreciate it. It is rumored that LAVENDER was once referred to as the "GOOD WITCHES" herb, as it was useful in averting the "EVIL EYE" (I've seen that before) It is claimed to make the evil spirits quake at the scent of it. (could have used that a couple of months ago)
However, nowadays...holistic use of the Lavenender Seed is to induce sleep, ease stress and reduce depression...EVERYTHING I NEED...Thank you Nannette for your thoughtful gift.

BREAKFAST at AUDREY'S

This morning Audrey and Mikayla invited Paul and I to breakfast at their apartment. As you know, Audrey is a great cook. She made her homemade QUICHE, and as usual it was delicious. Mikayla made the "place sitting cards"...and you can see by the names, who all was invited. It was so yummy and I must say.. "a beautiful presentation." As Audrey and Shayneh would say..."ITS ALL ABOUT THE PRESENTATION."
I snapped these shots.

DINNER WITH THE BALLINGHAMS???

Tonight we went to Arby's for a quick bite before Brett's softball game. Wait a minute...is that Adrienne? I thought this was a pretty funny photo because Adrienne was working a "WAKE' at the Funeral Home Audrey works at...and Audrey took Adrienne's place at dinner with Brett and the girls..(still switching places...just like in highschool).

ZEKE'S 1st PAIR OF "BIG BOY" UNDERWEAR

Today Heather went to the Gymboree and purchased Zeke his first pair of "big boy underwear". This is exciting for us because we haven't experienced this since my oldest grandson Connor (who is now in 8th grade). So, I just had to document it in a photo. Looks like he is posing, doesn't it?

Artist rendering of the PEACE MAUSOLEUM

This afternoon I had an appointment with a client that wanted to purchase a crypt at our beautiful new and totally INDOOR .... PEACE MAUSOLEUM located in Holiday Memorial Park. I took the following photos with me to show him what the crypts will look like, since we are STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION. Adrienne was kind enough to pose for a photo in one of the crypts this past Fall. The client thought that was pretty funny. It is so great to help families know and understand what is involved when a death happens; and then to help them make such important decisions is so rewarding. If anyone is interested in above ground burial... it's the way to go!

ADRIENNE CLIMBS INTO A CRYPT UNDER CONSTRUCTION

UPDATE...ON MISSING DOVES

Yesterday, I caught the 2nd of the three doves that escaped from their cage (after I left the door open). Glad to report that only one dove is missing now. One of the females is sitting on two eggs, so if they hatch, I will be up one dove...making the total 8 doves. The missing white dove showed up on top of the cage last evening. I saw her out of the window. I walked right up to the cage and picked her up and placed her back inside.
It was that easy!

LUNCH with LYDIA

Today Heather, Zeke, and I met Adrienne and Lydia for Lunch. Zeke was so excited to see Lydia. He wanted to hug and love her. (I think it's her blonde hair) Lydia wasn't that excited about it. I snapped these photos while we were waiting for our table. So, innocent!

12 HOUR WORK DAY

Aaron and his good friend Ryan are embarking on a new business. Today was a twelve hour work day for the guys, and they are so tired! It is great to see Aaron so excited about this opportunity. They should have things up and running fairly soon now, I will keep you friends and family informed. Good Luck to Aaron and Ryan for this great step in your futures.

ZACH

I love this photo of Zach in the back yard. We had the ladder out because three of my doves escaped (I accidently left the little door open). We were able to catch one in the tree, and was hoping to be able to catch the other two. But not so LUCKY..

KELLY and MELISSA

Melissa left for Vegas early this morning. I so hated to see her go. It has been so great to have her home this past week, even though it went so quickly. Melissa is such a joy to have around. It breaks my heart every time she has to leave again. Yesterday (Sunday) we got to have a very Blessed Day. The whole family was home (except for our little Mikayla) and we got to spend the whole day together. Aaron did all of the barbecueing and we had a great time hanging out in the back yard, eating, laughing, and enjoying each other's company. Melissa won't be home again until the first June or July. We will probably be going to Vegas to see her perform in CINDERELLA. Miss you already LuLu.

GRANDKIDS + WARM WEATHER = TREE HOUSE

With the Warm Weather approaching, the grandkids are going to want to start playing in the Tree House that Aaron and Paul built a few years back. That means I need to get up there and clean and freshen things up a bit, add some new toys and fun things. They might even have a sleep over or two in there before the summer is out. I love this playhouse!

Photo Shoot on Porch of Treehouse-MY LITTLE NUTS..

Some of the grandkids were kind enough to pose for this photo. I love them all so much!

MY DOVE LAID AN EGG

It must be Spring because when I went out to feed my doves this beautiful sunny morning, one of the females was laying in a nest of pineneedles. I gently picked her up and found that she is sitting on an egg. Hopefully, we will have a baby dove shortly. I always get so excited when the doves have babies. It is a sign of HOPE!
God Bless my Friends and Family who read my blog. I love you all.

AUDREY..CARRIED AWAY WITH HER BAKING

Our Audrey is such a great cook. Tonight, she promised to make me some of her homemade lemon cookies.. UMM! Audrey always has fun at whatever she does. Looks like she got out of control with the flour...

CASH & MOSES HAVE A PLAYDATE

'KITTY CASH' and 'GOOD KNIGHT MOSES' enjoy a playdate with Melissa's cat 'BELLA'. Here they are enjoying the warm sunshine in the family room window. 'ABU' must be hiding under a blanket somewhere. My Sphynx Cats love it when Melissa comes to town and brings her two Sphynx cats to play.

HEATHER AND JESSE'S ANNIVERSARY

Today Heather and Jesse have been married for 5 years...and we said it wouldn't last.

LUNCH WITH MELISSA

Melissa is home and that means we have to "eat healthy." Today we had lunch together and she chose the 'RED MANGO'. I was thinking more of "Wendy's or "Taco Bell". When she explained to me that it was a "really good yogurt place", I was thinking of GOLDEN SPOON and those gooey nuts they put on top...OH NO...The two choices of yogurt were "original" and "green tea". I tried the green tea (not a fan of green yogurt). The toppings were "fruit" and more "fruit".
YUM! Melissa enjoyed her "green tea yogurt with mango"..

MANTI TEMPLE and Melissa

Today I had two appointments to help families with Pre-arrangements for their Funeral Plans. The appointments were in Manti, Utah. Melissa volunteered to drive me there and it was nice to spend some one on one time with her on the two hour drive there and back. In between appointments, we drove up to the Manti Temple and took Melissa's photo, It's hard to see her...but she is there. I kept thinking about how peaceful things were there on the Temple ground. Thanks Melissa for coming along with me.

MY BOY ZACH

I was feeling kind of down tonite (what else is new lately) and Zach called to just say hello and was thinking about me. You have to understand....Zach is SO BUSY with his business and his own little family...he is a great husband and father....that it is great to get a call just out of the blue to check in on his mom (even though he spent alot of time with me yesterday)... it was nice. Thanks son...Remember when I was pregnant with LULU and I would always send you to the 7-11 on your bike to buy me 'BIT O-HONEY'S...
You were only 9 then. You were such a great kid and still are. I love you.

EVERYONE WANTS TO SIT WITH LULU

When Melissa comes to town, the nieces and nephews cannot get enough of her. It's so cute to watch them with her. They think she is so special...and she is.

EATING OUT WITH A BIG FAMILY

It is always such an adventure when we go out to dinner as a Family. When the hostess asks..."How many in your party"...it's always a shock when we answer...
"We need seating for 16, and also two highchairs and one infant carrier." Here we are today at Chili's Restaurant. The wait was only 10 minutes! I love this big family, and the time we spend together.

CRYING OVER SPILLED MILK (or sprite)

Our sweet little Evelyn (named after my sweet mother) wanted to sit by Aunt LuLu at dinner. All of the little girls wanted to, however we had to inform them that Melissa would be here for a week, so we needed to take turns. Evelyn's turn was today at Chili's Restaurant. Evelyn accidently spilled her sprite on Melissa's white sweater. She immediately started to cry, thinking she was going to be in touble. Melissa assured her that she wasn't angry and that it was an accident, as she dried away her big tears on that beautiful little face of her's.