Not sure if it's good news......

Well, I guess you need to be careful what you pray for. Sarah was really missing Dave after he first left, and just wanted him home. So she asked me to pray for him to be able to come home and not go to Iraq.
So I prayed that if there was any way that he wouldn't have to go and that Sarah and him could be together and be happy and if it was meant to be then please to let Dave come home.
Well guess what, on Oct 9th, Sarah got a text message that Dave had been in an accident, he was okay, but had been in an accident.
He'd gone out running, because they make them run really hard everyday, and it was kind of dark out and they were running on really rough terrain, and he lost his footing with his left leg, and went to catch himself with his right leg, and broke his leg REALLY bad. He went to the hospital and they x-rayed it and put it in a cast. He had a broken his leg 3 inches above his ankle. They ended up having to do surgery and putting a permenant rod in his leg this last Tuesday. The surgery went well, but he is in a lot of pain. He had the surgery in the military hospital in Mississippi and will be in recovery in Georgia for a few months. Then in December if it's healed he still might have to go to Iraq, but his doctor said more than likely it will take 4 months to heal and then he'll have therapy to go through, and there isn't any way he could go to Iraq and carry the heavy packs they make them carry, so he'll probably get to come home. Possibly by Christmas.
He should heal fine and be able to walk and be his normal self. I guess I'm happy for both of them.
I just hope and pray he heals up fine and will be able to come home and not go to Iraq.
But it just shows you, that you need to be careful what you pray for. But I think it was meant to be. If Dave had gone to Iraq who knows what could have happened, maybe this is the Lord's way of keeping him safe.
Now, we just need to keep Sarah occupied until he gets home. Maybe we will be making wedding plans soon??? or at least sooner than we thought?
I like this pic of the two of them... aren't they a cute couple??

I also got new furniture!!! My whole married life I haven't been able to buy new living room furniture...we've always had hand-downs. Blacker's sent us an invitation to a "Bare Bones" sale where things were marked as low as they could go for a few special people. (I guess because we've boughten a washer and dryer and fridge there before) So we thought we'd go check it out, thinking it would be like other times we've gone and not really found anything we've liked....
well I was wrong! we found a couch and love seat and a new dining room set, and a complete bedroom set that we loved! But we couldn't get all of it. So we had to decide between living room and dining room or a new bedroom.
I thought since our couch was soooooo worn out we'd better go with that. So here's a pic of what we bought
a new love seat.....both sides recline

a new sofa.... both ends recline

and our new dining set. It has a bench seat on the one side and a hidden leaf that folds out and makes the table bigger...

It's so nice!! But in the middle of the night I woke up almost sick thinking of my old furniture gone, and the money we spent and wishing I could take it all back.
But then I woke up in the morning and went out and looked at it all and I'm way happy. I guess once in a while you have to spoil yourself. After all, I'd been married how many years with hand-me-downs??
Life is good...........

Conference Weekend

Oh, I loved Conference Weekend!!! but I better start from the beginning!!!!
Sarah found out in her communications/broadcasting class a week before conference, that they needed 9 students to go to conference and do a report on it. Sarah was one that was picked to go. She wasn't sure who she was going to go down with or who she would stay with. So I thought if I could get a motel room in downtown Salt Lake City at this late date, I would go with her. It was Tuesday before conference so I didn't think I'd have much luck. I tried the Plaza, and then the Radison, which had a room but they wanted $150 a night, so I kept trying. Crystal Inn was full, and so was the Shilo, but the lady from the Shilo asked if there were any other motels I wanted to try, so I tried the Sheraton, and they had a room with 2 double beds, and for only $75 a night if I booked it right then! It was meant to be....
I got off work Friday at 2:00 and Sarah had a friend, Andrew Baxter, who's family lives in Centerville and needed a ride down as well. So we all traveled together. Andrew's father is in the Quorum of the Seventies, I found out, and they are from England. And he just got back from a mission to Austrailia last April. He was fun to talk to, had to watch myself or I'd accidently start mimicking his accent. It was a fun drive, Andrew had his laptop loaded with all kinds of 80's tunes, Journey (my fave) Queen, Billy Joel, you name it. So we all just sang all the way to Centerville.
Next Sarah and I went to our motel, it was a lovely room!

We ate at the Spaghetti Factory again. And then went to find an outfit for her to wear to conference. She had a VIP pass and would be allowed in the soundproof room that they let the media in. I didnt' have a ticket, so we were both hoping they'd let me sneak in with Sarah. She found a lovely skirt and blouse at Ann Taylor Loft. And shoes at Aldo's in the gateway mall to wear on Saturday.
So we went back to our motel worn out and went to bed to get rested for our big day.
We had to be at the conference center about an hour before it started. And all went well, we got there, with another friend of Sarah's who had to report on conference too. We parked in the Plaza parking, and walked over. Boy, there are a lot of people, this would be Sarah and my first time ever to conference!
We got up to the door where Sarah had to go and her and her friend got right in, but I couldn't.... I was sad. I felt so alone, and like I'd been turned away at the Pearly gates almost. So I made my way over to the Visitor's Center to wait and hope I could get in in the Stand by line. It was long... went from the gate right across from the conference center all the way around the corner and back by the temple. I had to choke back a few tears even. I waited and waited... and the line slowly started moving. I got around the corner, right across from the tabernacle. And this Venezuela lady came up and asked if this was the Stand by line, it was kind of hard to understand her, but I started talking to her and she didn't want to go to the back of the line, so I let her and her husband cut in with me and pretend to be my friends. There was a missionary boy in front of me too, that had gone to Brazil on his mission, and could talk to them in spanish. It was fun to visit with them all. Then we got told that there was no room left in the conference center. The Venezuela couple went to the chapel, the missionary left to find his sister, and I went to the Tabernacle. It was nice even tho' I had to watch on the big screen.


When it was almost over, while they were singing the closing song, I left to make my way to the conference center to meet Sarah by the fountain. Right outside the gates of the visitor center was a guy dressed as Satan, he was creepy. He made my hair at the back of my neck stand on end. He was ranting a raving and daring anyone to come talk to him about "Joe Smith" and there were others with signs saying "wake up!! it's just a cult,people"!! Goodness... I couldn't walk across the street fast enough. I waited for Sarah by the fountain outside the conference center and saw lots of people



... she got lots of good interviews... I was there to help with some, she had a byu-i news name tag, and an video camera and tri-pod and the works. She looked like a regular news reporter. But she interviewed some neat people, married couples, missionaries, teen-agers, even two cute little 9 year old girls, and they all had one thing in common, that their favorite thing about conference was to get to see and hear the prophet in person, and they bore their testimonies too, and some got tears in their eyes... it was neat.



After that, Sarah and I made our way back to our motel to change and go to Cheesecake factory. I love spending time with my kids. They open up to me and we have some good mother to daughter/son talks. Sarah and I had one of those that afternoon. I love the fact that she can come to me and talk to me about anything. We had a good time eating, then shopped some more. And found the most lovely dress that looked like it was just meant for Sarah. The lady that helped us find the dress was so excited to help Sarah, and find out she was reporting on conference. Almost like Sarah was already a famous reporter! And she asked if Sarah had a boyfriend. She was sad to hear about Dave, and said if it didn't work out she had a 30 year old son she could hook Sarah up with, that was done with school, and even threw in that he could buy a house, hahaha. But anyway, Sarah had to do the afternoon session of conference on Sunday, and wanted something else to wear, so we bought that one.
We shopped until we were both sooooo worn out. Then we ate a California Pizza Kitchen, and then it was back to the motel to sleep and get ready for the next day.
We had a restful night, and then slowly took our time getting ready for the afternoon session of conference. We watched the morning session in our motel.





Then we checked out, and were to meet Andrew Baxter for Sarah to interview in the visitors center.
It was more packed than on Saturday!! I dropped Sarah off at the gates, then parked the car in the plaza again... Free parking there on Sunday!! woo hoo!!!
Then I started to make my way to the Visitor's Center. And Sarah called me and said Andrew had gotten me a ticket!! I wouldn't have to try the stand by line!! woo hooo!! I was excited!!!

Sarah had a good interview with Andrew, and Sarah and I met some of his friends from Hawaii. Then Andrew said we'd better go get our seats!
We got into the conference center, and I thought we'd be up in the balconies or something, and Andrew kept going down the stairs towards the pulpit..... and we were down in the closest section!! I felt lucky!! we could have sat about 6 rows from the front but the camera stand was in our way, so we went back to where we could see good. We were only 19 rows from the front on the left side as you looked at the pulpit, and that's where the prophet sits!! I realized that this section was for the apostles families, and with Andrew's dad being in the Quorum of the Seventies that's where we were!!! I was amazed... my prayer had been answered, I'd made it in and with the most awesome seats ever!! Andrew pointed out his dad up in the seats on the stand and his mom was sitting down in front. Conference was amazing!!! I loved all the talks, and the feeling you get in conference. I kept turning around and looking at the thousands of people that were there. I remember mostly the spirit that was there when the congregation sang "I am a Child of God" I was seated next to a father and son from India, and then it was me and Andrew, who was from England, and we all sang that song. Yes, we are all children of God, I have to admit, I got teary eyed.....
I loved the rest of the talks, and had to keep elbowing Andrew as he fell asleep. :o)
But I remember the prophets closing remarks, then we listened to the choir sing the closing song... it was so peaceful, and quiet in there... with that many people it was amazing. I didn't want to leave! Then the prayer was said and it was time to go. Andrew left to find his family, and I left to find Sarah, and help with more interviews.
It was amazing.... I thought, if those people with signs and the ranting and raving Satan man, could have been there to see and hear what I did, they wouldn't have any doubt that this church was true, how could so many people be wrong? compared to the few people with signs ranting in the streets!! And to hear the testimonies being born as Sarah interviewed people... and that peaceful feeling I had in the Tabernacle. I am soooo sooo thankful I got to experience that. I am so grateful I got a ticket, that is something I will always remember!!!



Later afterwards Sarah and I just had to go eat a California Pizza kitchen again, our new favorite is the thin crust Spinach, Artichoke, Chicken, and sundried tomatoe pizza.. Yummo!


Then we got to go pick up Andrew, and his dad answered the door!!! And asked if my conference experience was better today than yesterday!! OH, I couldn't thank him enough for the ticket! and I got to shake his hand! A member of the Quorum of the Seventies!! How awsome is that!! We visited a few minutes then had to go home.
Andrew and Sarah slept most of the way while I drove. Small little miracles do happen in your daily life.....All in all it was a terrific weekend!
And today I'm baking cookies for Sarah to take back to Andrew for a thank-you!

It's Autumn time..........

I love Autumn.... the chill in the air when it's still warm. And the smell of the air. And an occasional goose formation flying overhead and there honking as they pass by. And the beautiful leaves turning yellows, and orange, and red...... And we had a beautiful Harvest moon the other night. It was still up this morning when I got up to wave goodbye to Andy as he drove off to work....

The sun was just coming up and my favorite mountain had this little mist on it and the sun was on it. It looked pretty. Everything was so crisp this morning....

But Autumn also gives me a bit of nostalgia.... the summer is gone, no more hot sunny days, or sprinklers to run through, or the smell of fresh mown grass, or flowers to water and watch bloom everyday... and you say goodbye to a few favorite things... like fresh garden vegetables, the birds chirping in the morning, and butterflies..... I've been cleaning out my garden and felt a little sad as I pulled my bean bushes off of the trelis. Just made me think another summer season over, and now it's time to live through winter until the spring comes again.
But one thing that really made me a bit sad this Autumn was those boys and men in the National Guard leaving for a year in Iraq. It's really close to my heart this year because Sarah's Dave was joining them. To see their hearts break as they had to say goodbye, made my heart break as well. I know it's not easy. Jim was in the Navy during the first Iraq/Kuwait war and I had to say goodbye to him for 6 months. But Dave is leaving for a year. I hope and pray he'll be safe and both he and Sarah will be comforted. I hope Sarah will be able to keep busy and concentrate on her degree at BYU-I and do well in school. She'll be about done when Dave gets back! Then they can have a life together and share the experience of life together. I want that for them more than anything.

Goodbyes are always hard...but the welcome homes are the best!!! I hope all those that have loved ones going overseas will be comforted and have a peace that their loved ones are safe until they return.
And summer means the end of free days for most kids, and Andrew is no exception. He started a full sememster at ISU this fall too. He's busy doing Art scupltures and paintings. I wish things would fall into place for him. He's trying way hard to get his grade point average up so he can get accepted into BYU's art program. They have a great computer animated art class that he would just love to be in. That's what he wants to go into. All I can do is pray and encourage him to do his best.
Jim had to say goodbye to his job this fall too. His company's contract didn't get renewed. Another company got it. We were way worried and wondering what life would bring. But on Monday he got an offer with the new company. Will be a bit of a pay cut, and we'll have to budget a bit more than we were, but we have a job and didn't have to move. So that is a good thing.
Life goes on, and we all seem to adjust to the seasonal changes as well as the life changes. We grow in a lot of ways, older, wiser, and more loving to those that are important in our lives as well as people in general, I think.
Anyway, Happy Autumn!

My latest Craft project..........

Well, I think it was on August 10, that my sister, Juli's best friend in Arizona's, conjoined twins passed away. It was a sad thing. They shared a heart, and were having little operations here and there, trying to prepare for separation when two hearts became available. The heart they shared was way to big to put into just one of them. But they had complications in this last surgery and their lungs filled up with blood, and they passed away. They would have been 4 on the 20 Sept. Their names were Emma and Taylor Bailey.

Juli was trying to think of something to give to their Mom on the twins' birthday on the 20th. Everyone has been doing things with pictures in frames and sayings and things like that. I had given Juli a pot pourri doll years ago when I was really into making them. So she thought maybe I could make two for her friend, Mandy.
One liked to wear blue, and the other twin liked to wear purple. I thought I would make them if I could find all the right stuff, I hadn'd made them in years. But as luck would have it, I had some of the wooden blocks that I made the bodies out of left. But I couldn't find the wooden balls I do the heads with anywhere. Then as I was cleaning out my storage unit, I ran across a box of wood pieces for painting and inside were 3!!! Then I had to try to find doll hair. I think every craft store is moving away from doll making. But I had Andrew look in Sierra's in Pocy, and they had some!!! So I began to paint. I hadn't painted forever, and had a hard time with the eyes. But I after painting one face, and having it not look right and starting over, I did it! Then I had trouble finding pot pourri... but I found a little and combined it with stuffing to stuff the legs and arms so they smelled good. I got them done, and I think they turned out pretty cute. Here's a pic.

I also made a little block with a saying on it to go with them...

Juli was excited with them. I hope her friend likes them and that they will add a smile to her day. I enjoyed making them.
And that's what I've been busy doing this last week......

Andy's newest comic con pic

Here is the pic that Andrew drew for the 3rd Tucson Comic Con. He drew it in pencil then sent it to cousin Taylor who colors it in on photo shop.! I think it turned out awesome.

Andrew wants to go to the Comic Con again this year. We had such a good time last year when we went. Although I think the funnest parts of the trip were our days just driving.... you really get to know your kids when you are one on one with them in the car all day, and, yes, they get to know you too. We would get quite slap happy and silly, especially trying to find the grand canyon in the dark... that's a long story.
Well Andrew, I will try to get off and go if you really want to again. It was fun.

I feel special.......

Well, I've been sick with a head cold the last couple of days, one of those where you're congested in the back of your throat, and cough and are headachy. Last night I snored so bad I had to go sleep in our extra bedroom/craftroom so Jim could sleep. I had a rather sleepless, tossing and turning kind of night. I hate those. I got up early to help Andrew get off to work, he had to be to work by 8 am. I always feel its tradition for me, kind of, to look out the window or sit on the steps and wave to whomever is leaving the house. (did you ever see the movie "Ever After"? Cinderella does that to her father) Anyway, I decided to sit out on my steps and wave to Andy as he drove away on this frosty, chilly morning, the sun was just coming up and shining right on my steps, it felt good. All of a sudden I hear a whirring, humming sound, and look, and there's a little hummingbird not 2 feet away from me, hovering just above my pot of purple petunias. We sat and looked at each other for what had to be a complete minute, and then it flew down along my flower bed, and then hovered about 6 feet off the ground for another minute as if saying goodbye, and then flew away over the house.

I always feel special and that I'm going to have a lucky day when I see a hummingbird because I don't see them very often. I remember the day I was going to the hospital to get my tonsils out when I was about 8. On the walk up to the door, my mom and I saw a hummingbird, and she said "Diane, you're going to have a lucky day, your surgery is going to go well, and you'll be just fine." And I did! I got to go home right after the surgery cuz I didn't bleed much. Back then, you'd usually end up spending the night in the hospital for a tonsilectomy. So since then, I've kind of considered seeing a hummingbird a special thing!
Have a great day! I'm going to!!

hmmmm.... a Lonnnnngggg day

I had lonng day at work... sometimes the hours just dont' seem to pass even tho' you are busy.....
Last night I went with Sarah to help her get settled back into her apartment after she spent the last 3 weeks with us. She kept crying and didn't want to leave, but once we got up there and got things settled she was excited for school to start again. She's changed her major and is going into to communications/broadcasting. She even saw Jay Hildebrandt at the fair, and he remembered her from when she waited on him and Johnny Carino's! She's in his class at BYU-I! I really hope all things go great for her this year, and she can get good grades and maybe intern with one of the news channels here.
Speaking of the fair, Jim and I were both off on Labor day, so we got up and went to the fair for breakfast/lunch. It was not to bad!! We thought the crowds would be terrible, but it wasn't! One of our favorite things to get is the trout at the "Here we have Idaho Trout" barn. They have great fish and fries too! Yum!! Then we wandered around a little, looked at vacuums at the Brady's booth. Jim really liked one of the vacuum's. While we thought about it we just had to go get an egg roll of course, sure helps with the decision making. Then we went back and bought the vacuum! It's awesome, had to try it out when we got home, and it really fluffed up our carpet!!
We ran into Sarah and Vanessa at the fair, and had to top off our eating with Reed's dairy ice cream! Jim got Huckleberry, Sarah got cookies and cream, and I had to get my very favorite, Burnt Almond Fudge on a waffle cone. Needless to say we were full!! We wandered a bit more and looked at lawn mowers, and Sarah looked at the puppies in the petting zoo, there was the cutest little chihuahua--(not sure if I spelled that right!) But we said maybe when she graduates college she can get a little dog to carry around in her purse.
On Sunday, we did the normal church and things, but I made Dad a cake for his birthday, and we took it down with ice cream and helped celebrate. His birthday was actually Tuesday, the 7th, but we had the cake, so might as well celebrate early! Kim and Ang came down, and so did Brian and Jennifer and their family. It was fun.


My dad looks great for an 84 year old I think.
Jim and I had been talking about changing our storage unit for a long time, we had one on the shady side at Groveland Storage and in the winter the door would freeze shut from snow and water build up. So we asked Trudy Scott if we could get one on the sunny side, and we could! So that's what we did all day Saturday, moved and sorted stuff from one storage unit to another. It was good to get done. But what a dusty, messy chore. But it's more organized now, and will be nice to be able to get into it in the winter. And I ran across all my jigsaw puzzles! I just had to bring them home and I've been doing one all week!! I used to love to sit in my room and do jigsaw puzzles while I listened to my "Journey" records back in JR high/ high school!
And that was my holiday weekend!