Celeste's Wedding

I flew to California this week to attend Celeste and David Hornberger's wedding. It was really wonderful to be with my family and enjoy a temple wedding. My Dad was there with Marva his fiance and Jan, my sister.

David has a large family and so does Celeste so it was a wonderful party atmosphere at the temple. My nephew Eric brought donuts to celebrate the occasion and all the Olsen nephews were dressed in suits and tuxedos. Even little 3 year old Caleb had a tuxedo on.

Caleb was in charge of handing out the chocolate favors at the wedding reception. I went outside to help him get his cumberbun on and there he was in the cool winter weather at the front door without shoes on. I sent him upstairs and we found his shoes and socks. He was a little bit warmer after that.

The ceremony that morning was wonderful. Right in the middle of the speech that the sealer gives the married couple my phone went off. Red faced, I apologised and quickly found the off button that I thought I had turned off. David's sisters came up and said, "Don't feel bad. It happens to all of us." I felt gratitude for their kind words.

Choices

READ THIS LET IT REALLY SINK IN - THEN CHOOSE . John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!' He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?' He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood I choose to be in a good mood.' Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life. 'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested. 'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.' I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw him about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?' I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place. 'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live.' 'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked He continued, '..the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.' 'What did you do?' I asked. 'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'.' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.' He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude..... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' Matthew 6:34. After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

Klutz

I have been thinking lately about what a klutz I am sometimes. Today I about fell on my face when a kid had his backpack in the aisle. My home teacher told me that last year a kid broke his leg that way in his Science class. Another kid asked me to hold his 60 pound backpack. Hmmm. Not a bright idea if I want to keep healthy. This idea came from watching and reading the Twilight. I can really relate to Bella in that way because I do klutzy things sometimes and especially when it comes to sports. For instance, last week I was standing in the gym teaching PE and lo and behold a ball hits me full force in the back of my head. Now why was I standing in between 3rd base and home? I have no idea. I about fell over and then couldn't see straight the rest of the day. Situations like that always happen to me. I can't believe that I can even fall off my feet sometimes when nothing is around me. It's like Whoops! flabby ankles.

In Memory of Theone Miles (some of her recipes she gave me)

Poppy Seed Cake

2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 large can carnation milk
1 1/2 c. mazola oil
3 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 can poppy seeds

Mix sugar, eggs, milk and oil well. Add flour, salt and soda a little at a time and mix well.
Add poppy seeds and mix well with beater. Bake 1 hour and 10 min at 350 in an Angel Food cake pan.

Scotcharoos (Chocolate Rice Krispies Cookies)

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup white corn syrup

Bring to a boil in a heavy pan. Then remove from heat and add 1 cup peanut butter. Stir. Pour mixture over 6 cups Rice Krispies. Add 1 cup chopped pecans (if desired). Spread in 9 x 13 pan and level. In double boiler, melt 1 6-0z. pkg butterscotch chips and 1 6-oz pkg of chocolate chips. Spread over first mixture. Wait until set to cut into bars.

Hot Chicken Salad

4 c. cold chicken in chunks
2 c. chopped celery
2 T. lemon juice
4 hard cooked eggs, cut up
2/3 c. finely chopped almonds
1 1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 tsp salt
1 TBS minced onion
1 c. grated cheese (cheedar)
1/2 c. crushed potato chips

Combine all ingredients except cheese. Place in deep dish. Top with cheese and potato chips. Bake 25 minutes at 350. Serves 12-16.

Acini de Pepe Salad

1 c. sugar
2 TBS flour
1 cup pineapple juice
2 beaten eggs
1 TBS lemon juice
3 cans mandarin oranges
1 can pineapple tidbits
2 cups marshmallows (tiny ones)
1 cup coconut
1 container of cool whip
1 pkg of acini de pepe
1 tsp oil

Cook acini de pepe with 1 tsp oil and cool. Mix all ingredients. Refrigerate 3 or more hours. Enjoy.

Teriaki

2 lbs round steak cut in small strips
1 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
3 tsp sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup oil
1/2 bottle sesame seeds
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp garlic

Brown meat. Add other ingredients. Simmer 1 hour.

Twilight

Jenessa and I went to a late night showing of Twilight. It was comical from the beginning. I paid for the movie and Jenessa decided to use her card that gets points. She had two free small soft drinks on the card. Yippee!!! snacks we thought. That was an understatement. We got to the counter and the server said, "You can upgrade to a medium for just 50 cents more."

"A few more ounces over the 16 she is going to give us," I thought.

She started pouring the drinks and wondrous to behold, she had this humongous cup. "Exactly how big is a medium?" I asked. "Oh, about 130 ounces." Almost a full liter of pop!!!! I quickly ran to the bathroom in anticipation of what was going to happen before the movie began. Yep. I had just been out to eat at one of those places that serve you unlimited drinks when you order a soft drink. I was already full to the top of liquid. This is called being a gourmand when it comes to diet soft drinks. I also knew that I would be up most of the night if I drank that big enormous drink.

The movie began and true to form, Jenessa and I were both sipping those enormous drinks. Halfway through the movie Jenessa who had not prepared had to get up. She drank her whole drink. Wisely I drank half and took it home to grow stale in the fridge for breakfast the next day. Yes. I drank it for breakfast and guess what? I spent the whole morning making trips to the bathroom. Not pleasant to think about but thats what happens when you try to be a gourmand of diet soda. And even though we got home from the movie at 1 AM, Jenessa and I both had to suffer the after effects of the pop. We stayed up until 3 AM working up to the idea of sleep.

The next morning two very sleep deprived people laughed over the funny parts of Twilight. To us it turned out to be corny and comedic. Funny parts to watch for: When Edward and Bella meet in class and he is trying not to breathe because he doesn't want to eat her. When Edward makes Bella tell him what he is: ...Edward: "Say it Bella, say it out loud," Bella: "Vampire." And last but not least...when Edward exposes his chest to Bella to show her his sparkliness. Loved it. I actually want to go see it again.

Resolution

Today in Sacrament Meeting a there was this talk that I totally agree with. The topic was being thankful for our blessings. The delivery was wonderful and I could feel the truth of the message wash over me. This is what was said: We should thank God for all our blessings even the trials that we go through. Every day we should thank God that we have trials. We should thank God for everything. The decendents of the Pilgrims would put 5 kernals of corn by each plate on Thanksgiving as a reminder of what happened that first winter. Everyone was rationed 5 kernals of corn a day. Most of the Pilgrims ended up in the grave yard on the hill but some survived to celebrate the feast of Thanksgiving. They were able to thank God for their blessings. We have plenty and are very blessed and I thank God for all my blessings.

I was speaking with one of the temple coordinators last night and she was telling me the other side of the story about the LA temple. On the Thursday after this election when Proposition 8 passed in California many people congregated outside the LA temple to protest the involvement of church members in the resolution. Those who were in the temple were unable to leave because the gates were blocked and others were unable to go in. The temple president called Salt Lake to find out what should be done. Those patrons who were inside were organized to do ordinance work. During that day there were over 2,000 ordinances done inside the temple by those inside. That is an amazing amount of work. The Lord blesses his people even in times of trial and many times what has been a great trial turns out to be a blessing.

For all the gourmet cooks out there here is a challenging creation

Raspberry Mousse Cake

Crust:
8 ½ oz. Pkg. Chocolate wafers, crushed (1 3/4 cup)
¼ cup margarine or butter, melted

Raspberry Mousse:
2 10 ounce boxes frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed
2 TBS water 2 tsp unflavored gelatin
2 cups chilled whipping cream ½ cup powdered sugar

Puree raspberries in food processor. Strain through coarse sieve set over a heavy large saucepan, pressing with the back of a spoon. Cook raspberry puree over medium heat until reduced to 1 cup stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.

Place 2 TBS water in small bowl , sprinkle 2 tsps gelatin over and let mixture stand 10 minutes to soften. Add gelatin mixture to hot raspberry puree and stir to dissolve gelatin. Pour puree into large bowl. Cool completely, stirring occasionally.

Whip 2 cups cream and ½ cup powdered sugar in medium bowl to stiff peaks. Fold into puree in two additions. Refrigerate until thick enough to spread, folding occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Pour into 9 inch springform pan with the chocolate crust. Set for 15 minutes, sprinkle left over cookie crumbs on top. Pour on White Chocolate Mousse.


White Chocolate Mousse:
1 lb. White chocolate chips ½ tsp unflavored gelatin
7 TBS whipping cream 1 1/3 cups chilled whipping cream
½ jar raspberry jelly, mixed with 1 TBS water

Melt white chocolate in top of double boiler over barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from over water. Sprinkle gelatin over 7 TBS cream in heavy saucepan. Let stand 10 minutes to soften. Cook over low heat until gelatin dissolves, stirring constantly. Whisk cream mixture into melted chocolate. Transfer to a large bowl. Let stand until cool but not set, about 5 minutes.

Using electric mixer, beat 1 1/3 cups chilled cream in medium bowl to soft peaks. Fold half of cream into white chocolate mixture to lighten. Gently fold in remaining cream. Spoon mousse atop rasberry layer.

Melt raspberry jelly in a saucepan until its heated through. Put it in a parchment cone. Starting in the center of the mousse pipe jelly in a spiral, spacing coils ½ inch apart, continuing to edge of pan. Starting at center draw tip of knife through spiral to edge of pan. Move knife 1 ½ inches around pan sides, then draw tip of knife through spiral from edge of pan to center. Repeat, moving around pan to form web design, spacing evenly and alternating direction of stroked. Chill until mousse sets, 4 hours.

White Chocolate Ganache:
6 ounces white chocolate chips 1 cup heavy cream

Refrigerate the mixing bowl and beater for at least 15 minutes. Using a double boiler or microwave on high power stirring every 10 seconds if using microwave, melt the chocolate with ¼ cup cream. Remove from the heat before the chocolate is fully melted and stir until melted. Set aside until no longer warm. In the chilled bowl beat the cream until traces of beater marks just begin to show distinctly. Add the white chocolate mixture and beat just until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised.

Chocolate Band:
1/2 pkg semisweet Guittard chocolate chips, melted in a microwave
Pour this into a parchment cone. Scribble in a piece of wax paper that is 4 inches wide and 34 inches long. Take it outside on a cool day and wait until its cool and starts to set. Bring it in and wrap it on your cake. The coolness of the cake will set it. Carefully pull off the wax paper.

Cake Assembly:
Unmold the cake from the springform pan, set on platter. Frost the sides with the ganache. Attach the chocolate band and pipe a border inside the border on top of the cake with the ganache.

At Cherie's request

Five things I am passionate about:
1. My husband
2. My family
3. Serving in the church
4. Living the gospel
5. My cats

Five things I want or need:
1. more sleep
2. Healthy living
3. More grandchildren and married children
4. love and lots of hugs
5. friends

Five phrases I use a lot:
1. Well...
2. You need to...
3. Hmmm.
4. Tell me about...?
5. I love you.

Five things I want to do before I die:
1. Visit every continent
2. Be the epitome of health.
3. Publish a book.
4. Master charity.
5. Be alive to see my children have all my grandchildren.

Five things I have learned from the past:
1. Be kind to others.
2. Watch what you say and do, you never know who is watching.
3. Tell your husband you love him and don't criticize.
4. Trust your kids to make good decisions.
5. Be frugal with your money.

Five shows I watch regularly:
1. Heroes
2. Biggest Loser (You HAVE to watch the finale)
3. CSI
4. Chuck
5. Deal or No Deal

Five books I love:
1. Book of Mormon
2. The Bible
3. J. R. Tolkein books
4. Les Miserables
5. Wrinkle in Time

Veteran's Day

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day. I am so grateful for the men and women who have committed their time and effort to this country. If I could tell all of them what it means to all of us, I would. My Dad and Grandfather are both Veterans. In fact they spent most of their lives working with Veterans to help them have better lives. KUDOS to all Veterans.

Back to the RANDOM Classroom :)

Today I went back to the RANDOM classroom. I enjoy working with these kids and I am there all week long. Today one of the boys asked me if he could be RANDOM. I told him yes. It was really cute.

I am really excited for Cherie to come out in January. I bought her a plane ticket today and hope that she won't leave Lily behind. Talk about being random...I have the letters to Lily's name in my name...see Carolyn Miles. I know it's kind of silly but one of those random things that you think about when you have nothing else to do.

The Rain has Started....

The winter rainstorm is part of living in the Northwest. Luckily last week we had some beautiful days. And besides Kerry does not like the snow. I do. Snow has such a clean look to it. Everything is white and it deadens the sound. It is like being in a different world that is peaceful and quiet. I remember in Montana when we had a snowstorm where we could not even get out of our driveway. We all had to walk to church and the snow was deep. Albert was about 4 and he came with me to church. The snow was up to the top of his thighs. I had to carry him most of the way but we made it to and from church. The church was about three quarters of a mile away and so the distance wasn't too bad...maybe 6 to 7 blocks. Then we shoveled a great big pile of snow that was up to the 2nd story porch when the drifting started...

Halloween

It's Halloween night and the ghouls and goblins are coming to the door. Well I think I have seen more Spiderman and Superman costumes than any other. Kristen and Jenessa are off to a Halloween party dressed as Barbie and an Ipod. Kristen was all black, including her face and Jenessa found all the pink in the house to wear with a blond wig. They are out to a Singles dance and I am home waiting for Kerry to come home from Seattle. He will be home about 8 tonight. I am looking forward to the company.

I am watching people get surgery on TV. I wonder why people watch shows like this. In fact, I wonder why I am watching a show about gross surgeries. Yuck. This lady is getting fat put in her lip. I wonder why people do that to their bodies? HMMM. I think I will grow old gracefully except that I will dye my hair fun colors not because I don't like my gray hair but because it is fun to do it. I was reading a story today about a woman who was 50 and she said that she was too old to do a lot of things anymore. I thought that I am 50 and I don't feel that old. Maybe I am perhaps to my kids, but I still have 50 more years to live maybe.

I wonder...

I wonder if the sun will shine today.

Lily and Cherie

This is my granddaughter Lily with my daughter Cherie. Cherie sent me this picture today in the mail and I just love it. This is an absolutely beautiful picture of Cherie. I am sure that she and Keith had a good time that day going through the corn maze with Lily and hunting for pumpkins. It is that time of year to get out the Halloween decorations. We have a pumpkin on our porch all ready to be carved on Halloween night. I have lots of candy for the trick or treaters this year. I hope we get lots of kids coming to our house. I don't want to eat the huge bag of chocolate I bought.

Trunking for Treats

Last night was the annual Halloween party at the church. We all got dressed up for the party. I was a high school athlete, Jenessa decided to go as a cheerleader, and Kristen was a Cat. Funny thing about Kristen being a cat because she frightened our new little kitten. Sophie had her mouth opened and was actually hissing at Kristen when she had her cat ears on. We also had Cameron, Jayden, and Ashlyn come over for the party. Cameron was a vampire, Ashlyn was a princess, and Jayden was wore a 50's poodle skirt. Jayden won best costume at the party.

It was really a fun night. I bought some candy at Costco and handed out the treats. Jayden later came to help hand candy out after she had done her round. It was really fun to see the little kids in costumes. My friend dressed her family up as the Flintstones which I thought was really cute. Her daughter Brinley was Pebbles and had a bone in her hair. We had a good time eating Chili and cornbread, playing games, and talking with the ward members.

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!!!

Cameron

One night I was dreaming about Cameron and he told me that he had changed his name to Gilham. I thought that was a funny dream. Last night he called and said that he had a new laser that he wanted to use to play with our new kitten. He wanted to come over. I said that would be okay but that Kristen and Jenessa had institute in 2 hours so he and Jayden could come for a little bit until they left.

So Cameron and Jayden came over and I fed them dinner. It wasn't much because it was leftover night. I dug something up from the fridge...Watermelon, Beef Teriaki, and Italian noodles. I also made toast with chocolate hazelnut spread on it. That last was a hit with both of them. They played for awhile with the kitten Sophie and Romeo our cat before Jenessa and Kristen had to go.

On the way to drop Jenessa off at institute Jenessa was talking about how she didn't like this Chihuahua movie because they made the dogs look like 'sluts' and that she didn't think it was appropriate for kids to see that type of movie. Cameron pipes up and asks, "What is a slut?" Kids sometimes ask questions that are hard to answer in the content of what a kid would understand. Besides, how do you explain to a child what a 'slut' is? So I gave it a try and hopefully he wasn't more confused about it. I explained to Cameron that a 'slut' is a person who dresses immodestly and uses her body because she thinks people will like her if she does, that she swears and has a dirty mouth, and acts totally the opposite way in which our Heavenly Father would have her act. I hope that explanation helped him understand but it was a really awkward moment.

We invited Cameron and Jayden over tonight to go to trunk or treat. Jenessa is going to make them some costumes to wear to the ward outing. I can't wait to see what she comes up with.

Randomness

On Monday I was teaching a class and we had a guest speaker come in who taught the kids Social Skills. She was talking to them about being random. Now, I never thought that people who were random irritated other people. I just thought they were changing the subject. Since I have been accused .of being random many times by my daughter Cherie I started listening to what the teacher was saying to the kids. Randomness is an essential conversational piece to get rid of in instances where the conversation is focused on one thing. I really don't get what randomness has to do with anything except that these kids had trouble with social skills.

The other thing that she talked about was talking non stop and not letting someone get a word into the conversation. She said that a conversation means that both people are contributing and one person is not being a 'know it all'. Being a 'know it all' is probably one thing that people who think that they are smart do. But thinking about it I get irritated when people are 'know it alls' because I feel like they don't care about what my opinion is. UGH! Have you ever had a conversation with a person who won't let you get a word in edgewise? It really isn't fun. It seems to me that I have called those people 'run at the mouth' people in the past. I am guilty of the same when it came to my history papers that I got really excited about but generally I don't have 'run at the mouth' disease.

Jenessa is home from Europe!!!

My world traveling Jenessa is home from Europe today. What a relief to have her safely with us again. I picked her up at the airport at noon and she was really glad to be home too. She traveled to many different countries. She said her favorite city was Rome and least favorite was Prague. Wow. I am going to be looking at her awesome pictures tonight. Kerry is also going to be home tonight with us. YEAH!

Her big surprise when she got home was our new little Sophie. That is the final name that we decided upon. I love the name and she is such a playful little kitten. When she runs her back legs are faster than her front so it looks like she is running sideways. Romeo licks her everytime he sees her and this afternoon she was brave enough to lay down beside him to take a nap. What a lot of excitement around the house.

Oh by the way. Jenessa brought me PINK toilet paper from Paris. :)

Mother

Here I am at the mouth of the Grand Canyon. This was the year before my mother passed away and we took a trip because Cherie graduated from college. I thought I was doing something unique for her but she had gone earlier with her friend to visit. Jenessa came with us though and she had a first time experience. My mother and father accompanied us. The memories of that vacation were great. We got to spend some time together and see things that will ever stay with us. I loved going to the National Parks there in Utah and Arizona and traveling across the desert. We went through a beautiful lightning and thunderstorm on our way back into Utah. It was an awesome display of how nature can be both beautiful and frightening.

Speaking of traveling. Jenessa will be home this week from Europe. She has had a wonderful experience traveling with the school and we can't wait to have her come home.

Kristen and The Settlers of Catan

This past week Kristen and I have had a contest to see how many times she can beat me at the game Settlers of Catan. So far she has won every single night for 10 days. She is a great strategist but she also played almost every night on her mission. We have had a good time with this. So last night I was determined that I would win and even did some blocking. No way was it going to work. She won again.

Kerry called last night to say he went to the emergency room because he has conjunctivitis and then said that his day began badly when he found there was no heat in the place he is staying. BRR! It was 8 o'clock and he had not had dinner yet when he got into see the doctor. We were home eating chicken enchiladas and playing the game. Afterwards Kristen and I went to Walmart for a popsicle run.

Miles Family United

I loved President Eyring's talk about unity. In unity we can accomplish a lot. I have thought about this subject a lot and know that when people work together for a common cause that more can be accomplished. How do I know this? I have watched my children help each other over the years and know that just by helping each other that their unity gives our family strength. When a family is strong people work together.

I think of this summer when all my children decided to come together in August in Vancouver and we had such a good time. There was no contention and everyone was working together to bring family unity. I just love that the most. Jonathan, Cherie, Keith, Lily, Kent, Kristen, and Jenessa were all here having a good time, playing together, talking with each other, and generally showing love towards each other. Wow! It was a wonderful experience for me.

Old Blog

If any of you would like to see my past posts you can go to my Beautiful Mommy blog. Kristen came up with the term Beautiful Mommy after I asked her what I should name my IM. So here is the site if you are interested. http://bragspace5.spaces.live.com/

General Conference

Today we have been watching General Conference on TV. I was asleep and woke up to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Chior singing.

"Wow!" I thought, "it must be late!"

I jumped out of bed and ran in to listen to conference. On the way I was trying to find Kristen but could not. Downstairs Kerry was getting himself a bowl of Cranberry Macadamia Crunch cereal.

"Where is Kristen?" I asked.

"I don't know." Kerry replied.

So I looked around some more and there she was lying on the couch underneath a blanket. She looked like she had just awakened herself. Her hair was tosled and she was in her pj's.

Okay. So sometimes I am not the greatest at watching TV without doing something. So I ran upstairs and got on the elliptical machine for a half hour while I watched conference. But I did learn some new things.

Some of the highlights that I remember from the Saturday morning session are:

President Monson asked that we pray that the missionaries will be able to enter countries where we have not been allowed to preach the gospel yet.

President Perry asked that we live within our means and not live in homes that are too expensive for our income.

President Uchtdorf talked about his wonderful mother and the power of prayer when she lost her 4 children in a railroad car.

Sister Allred and Brother Aidukaitis bore a beautiful testimony about their gratitude that their ancestors joined the church.

Hope that you will enjoy Conference this weekend and listen to the testimonies of church leaders.

Our House

Kerry and I are in the process of selling our beautiful home the we love. Unfortunately we can't take it with us to Olympia. Sometimes life is ironic that way in which you get something that you really love and you have to give it up and move on. Some of the things that I have to give up in this move are the friends I have made in this ward, my book club, my work in the temple, and my house that we have just finished fixing up. But one thing that I miss most of all is being near my children. I am moving farther away.

I hope that when we move that I will love living in Olympia just like I love Vancouver right now. I have been really blessed to have lived here.

Book Club

I belong to a book club and meet once a month with the most wonderful women. I am thrilled to be friends with such great company. Today we met and had a really nice luncheon together. It was my favorite...chili and cornbread with waldorf salad. The table was decorated for autumn and it was really beautiful. For dessert we had brownies shaped like pumpkins and decorated with candies. Nan really outdid herself.

The book that we had presented to us today was called "The Last Lecture". It was about a man who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was a professor and was losing his battle but wanted to give a last lecture as a legacy to his children. You can see it online at http://www.thelastlecture.com/. The professor's name was Randy Pusch and he died this July according to Susan Plessinger. I loved the presentation.

I have a new blogspace

We have been in the process of job hunting or should I say Kerry has. Kerry lost his job in May but as I went to the temple and prayed about this I knew that everything would be all right. In a month and a half Kerry had a new job that he is absolutely loving. I am so happy for him.