Partly Cloudy or Partly Sunny?

When Kayli asked our electronic friend Alexa what the weather was going to be today, Alexa said partly sunny.  It was actually quite cloudy at the time and Kayli wondered how it was decided that one day it would be partly cloudy and another partly sunny.  Isn't it the same?

Let's call this picture
"Mostly Winter"

Well, if I were describing my day today I would have to say that my mood and general feeling was mostly cloudy.  I was tired.  It was hard to stay awake at church and I kept going from cold to hot and back again.  However, there were definitely moments of sunshine in my day.  The first was literally sunshine.  I sat in the sun at our dining room table and had lunch with Derek.  Warmth, food, and companionship.  It was great.

Next was family coming over.  Tia and Brigham, Connor and Amanda.  It was so good to have them here!  Then my friend Teresa and her familly came over and I got a couple of good hugs and enjoyed watching everyone watching the deer, and the kids playing together and making the house feel happy.

There was also Christmas Choir.  I still felt exhausted and a bit sad (which is what happens when I'm exhausted), but I absolutely love singing Christmas Music.

Finally there was Dan's enthusiasm when I got home from choir and from dropping off a coat that had been left here.  I went to hug him and he was really happy to see me.  Everyone could use an enthusiastic greeting every now and then.  It was as if that hour and a half I was gone was the longest hour and a half ever!

So, even though a lot of my day felt cloudy, there was a lot of "sunny" in there too!

This one from a couple of weeks earlier we will call
"Mostly Fall"

This can be "Mostly Fall Perspective #2"

Long Time Friends

 

Here are my "feet fingers!"

Today we got to visit with a few long time friends.  We are very blessed in the people we know.  They have blessed our lives and the lives of our children.  It was so good of them to take the time out of their day to come say hello.  It made for a happy Saturday.

We also had stake conference this evening and three of the speakers were Spanish speakers first, and English speakers second.  It made for some fun moments.  When the last speaker asked us to pray for specific people for 14 days he said, "You can count the days on your fingers" and then he looked at his hands as he paused and then added "and on your feet fingers, you know the fingers on your feet".  Then, "Oh -- your toes!"

I am grateful for long time friends, and for people who share good messages about loving others and about Jesus' love for us.

Cheesy Movies are Good For a Smile

Today I watched a cheesy holiday romance movie while working on a puzzle.  Later this evening we watched a rather silly adventure / romance movie that had us laughing a bit.  Sometimes it is just good to watch a few happily ever after type movies, even if they are a little predictable or unlikely.  Now we have Adrea Bocelli singing Christmas songs that meld with Dan's voice talking to Derek about things he is interested in.  A few minutes ago I took Teddy outside.  I discovered that I can no longer whistle at all and so I just have to yell for him to come back when he runs off after a deer.  Thankfully, he proudly runs back and runs inside hoping that ping pong is on the agenda next.

This is last years pumpkin and deer.

Oh!  Also, for the first time in my life I got to throw a pumpkin off of a deck!  It broke, but not too dramatically.  It does look like the deer found it and started having a snack.  We've been seeing a LOT of deer in the last few days.  Mostly they happily are lying down by the trampoline frame where they like to sleep.  It's fun to try to pick them out when they are lying among the sage brush.  Usually their wiggling ears give them away!

Deer, Friends, and the Temple

 

This is not the deer I saw
but it was this size.
So fun!
Photo by Laura College on Unsplash

Hi all!  Today I drove Dan down the hill to drivers ed.  He was too tired to drive this time.  Then I came home and slept a little more.  When I woke up and looked out the window there were about six deer including a couple of bucks.  One was a four point buck just casually strolling by the office window.  I really, really like watching all of the animals up here!  

I was amused yesterday when I looked out my bedroom window at the hill across the way and thought, "Wow! Those turkeys are big!" and then they moved and they were obviously deer.  Those truly would have been giant turkeys!

My friend Shannon invited me to go to the temple with her today.  What could be better than a good friend and time spent in the house of the Lord? Well, seeing other friends at the temple and then having time afterwards to talk to Shannon while we ate.  All of that made for a very good morning.

The Most Awesome Clouds

 

This is not what I saw, but I sure think clouds are spectacular!
Photo by Torsten Dederichs on Unsplash

I'm writing this a little past bedtime and have been feeling a little down, even though my day was great.  As I was sitting here trying to look back at my terrific day and see if there was any moment when I kind of paused and thought, "WOW!  That is really awesome!" I remembered.  I was driving down to get Dan from seminary and the view on the drive down is almost always spectacular, even in the dark.  Today started out rainy, but the rain had stopped for the moment, and as I looked down at Utah Lake I could see the clouds dipping down from the mountains on either side of the lake like a giant smiley face.  I tried to get a picture after I got home but the clouds had moved and I couldn't get the view I wanted.  You therefore will have to trust me when I say it was awesome!

I did a lot of cleaning and organizing today, which I generally enjoy.  I have a blue wooden box that I got at D.I. over a year ago.  I haven't known what to use it for lately, but I came up with an idea today and love how it turned out.  I put my children's books in it and so I now have a portable children's library!  It looks better than the messy pile I had in my closet before.

Later I decided to switch out the picture above my bed again.  I wasn't loving the way the one I had up before looked, and we had a couple of paintings in the garage that were painted by relatives (or at least one of them was).  Anyhow, I brought one in, washed it up and fixed it so it would stay in the frame correctly and hung it on my wall.  I like how that turned out too.

Thinking of these good things has driven away the sad feelings and I am now ready to sleep happy.  Remembering the good things, and being thankful, can work a happy kind of magic!

Teddy Vs. Vacuums

Jake was at work so he couldn't snuggle Teddy while I vacuumed
and Dan was doing schoolwork, so I chose not to interrupt him.

 I think the funniest part of my day was when I was trying to use our little shop vac to vacuum up dust in the "wood room".  I know that Teddy attacks both of our regular vacuums, we assume to save us from that loud creature, but I was hoping he didn't have the same issue with the little shop vac.  He does.  Fortunately I find it funny that he is always so determined to bite the vacuum.  Mostly I just used a broom which he doesn't tackle, but when I used the little vacuum he diligently tried to bite the end while I tried to vacuum really fast while getting between him and the vacuum.  I didn't do a great vacuuming job, but the room is a LOT cleaner and Teddy had a little bit of fun in his day while giving me something to chuckle about.  

Teddy and I by the fire one morning.

Be Kind To Your Future Self!

 

Aren't they the cutest?
This is Brigham and Tia.
She was showing me his obsession with his tongue.

Some days, the more tired I get, the more I feel like I keep messing up and doing things wrong.  Thus, this helpful thinking, and writing at the end of the day to remind myself of the good things I did, and the good people I got to spend time with!

This morning I got to get a haircut from my daughter Tia.  She does such a great job and I enjoy visiting with her.  Today we talked a bit about self care since she is in charge of an activity on Wednesday on that topic.  She was telling me how it had helped her anxiety levels to make a point to move more, and to not put off things she didn't feel like doing.  She thinks of it as being kind to her future self, and she is right.  I do like that way of thinking and I love my Tia!

Smiles

I absolutely love Trisa's smile.  Both her smile and her laugh are contageous.
This was from her birthday party that we held the day before we held Brigham's.
He practiced for his by helping Aunt Trisa open her gifts:-)

Today I really enjoyed smiles.  I enjoyed Kayli smiling at the neighbor's baby she was holding and the baby smiling back.  I enjoyed smiling at the same baby and having him smile at me.  Tia and Brigham came over and I enjoyed their smiles.  We went to Derek's parent's house for dinner with the extended family.  There were a lot of smiles there, but I got a kick out of our nephew Brigham's smile as he said or did things he found particularly funny.  There really is just something great about a smile that helps lift one's spirits and brighten a day, and I am thankful for every smile I saw today!

Time With Our Grandbaby

 

Brigham and his ball.  He likes bouncing on it (with help) and rolling on it with his belly
and making ah ah ah noises.  Very fun.

Today Derek and I were able to watch our grandson Brigham for a while.  He is SO cute (of course) and was happy enough to see us.  We sat down and started playing with him, but he really wanted to follow his Dad around the house while he got ready for work.  He would crawl as fast as he could trying to catch up to Mike, and stand up using Mike's legs when he was close by.  When it was time to go I thought we would have Brigham watch Mike get in his police car and drive away.  So, Derek held him up and he sat on the back of the couch looking out the window as Mike walked out, climbed in the car and drove away.  And then?  Melt down.  Brigham did not want his Dad to leave.  Derek comforted him, which took a few minutes, and it was pretty close to time for his nap and so that's what he did next.

He didn't wake up until his Mom got home.  He was happy to play some more with Mom close by.  We enjoyed getting to see the whole family during our visit and I thought it was sweet that Brigham loves his Dad so much, and his Mom too, that he is sad when they leave (though thankfully he gets over it and plays).  I love what a good job Mike and Tia do taking care of and loving Brigham!

How to Spend More Time With People You Love

 The answer is simple.  You take them to an understaffed and poorly managed restaurant where the server keeps forgetting everything about your order and bringing combinations of different people's meals on the same plate.  Derek's mom's onion rings came with Derek's burger and so eventually the server brought Derek's Dad's sandwich with fries (on the same plate) and announced that they were Derek's fries.  It was sad and funny all at once.  

I'm sure you aren't any more shocked than we were that this poor fellow, who was the only person waiting tables and serving, was just out of training.  I wonder if he will stick with it?  We arrived at the restaurant a little before one and walked out at 3 with Derek's Mom's meal in a to go box.  We did at least all eventually get food, we all got a story to tell, and everyone was agreeable and good to be with!  

You could also throw a birthday party for a cute one year old.

Or attend every family gathering you are invited to!

Watching Traffic

Dan used to like to get his picture taken.  He was always posing dramatically.
Now this is about the best I can do.  This is Dan at This is the Place Heritage Park.
We went a week or so after his birthday and rode horses.

 At least with most of my children, when they've had drivers ed, they've had to observe traffic for an hour and mark the traffic violations they see.  I think we mainly did this in summer sitting by the hospital,  but today Dan and I sat in the van by the main light in Payson and he marked traffic violations.  We went into Walgreens first to get snacks.  Smart move!  I had a book or two to read and looked up every now and then to point out somebody talking on their cell phone.  I very much enjoyed Dan's commentary as he was disappointed in how often he had to make a mark on his paper.  "Oh man!  People!"  He did like when there were trucks that went by with two men who looked like they were enjoying good conversations.  He said, "I don't know why, but I just like that."  I've never had so much fun with this particular assignment before.  We were still glad when it was over, but time didn't drag!  I'm thinking I should have been a little more creative and fun when I went with the other kids to do their traffic watching.  For sure snacks would have helped!

The Look of Christmas

Earlier today.  It is much snowier now
but dark!

Today I went to Provo and got a cortizone shot in my right wrist.  I hope it will make my wrist and thumb all better.  It was the quickest appointment I think I've ever had.  Ten minutes tops!  Then I went to lunch with a friend.  It's hard to beat time with a friend!

As I drove to Provo and back I listened to a book from the online library and there are two quotes I want to remember.  They are not exact because I couldn't write them down while driving.

The first had something to do with not letting other people decide who we are, what we "should" do, and what we are or aren't good at.  We can do that ourselves with God's help.

The second quote said "If you believe something, then it's as if it were true."  The author told a story about one of his co-workers in a closet (It's a long story).  The author told the man he was going to put a chair under the door knob so he couldn't get out.  It turned out that the chair wouldn't fit, but the guy in the closet didn't know, and so when he was told he was locked in he yelled, and tried climbing into the ceiling to escape, but he never once tried the doorknob.  He was never stuck.  He just believed he was.  So if we believe something about ourselves that isn't true, it can keep us stuck -- never trying something that could be the solution we need!

The rest of the day I worked around the house while watching the snow fall beautifully outside the windows.  Of course, I listened to Christmas music because I like to do that.  It was a nice peaceful day.

Good All Around

Payson Utah Temple

Today was a good day.  I don't want to pick just one thing and so here is a short summation of some of the good things.

1.  Dan had drivers ed AND seminary and so I dropped him off at 5:30 a.m. and didn't have to be back until 9:00 a.m.  Can anyone say nap?  I needed that sleep!  So did poor Dan who slept through a part of seminary by accident.

2.  Teddy is a cute dog and enjoyed riding to the school and back to get Dan.

3.  Dan and I went to the library.  I really like libraries!

4.  Tuesday is Temple day.  I work with such nice people and am able to help other people schedule important events.  I enjoy my work there.

5.  When I got home there was a waffle for me!  I had peanut butter, maple syrup, strawberries, and whipped cream.  It was a sweet dinner.                                                      Literally.

6.  I got to talk to my Mom and both of my sisters on the phone.  What a blessing!

7.  I got hugs from the people who live here before coming to bed where I am typing this before, hopefully, going immediately to sleep since the alarm will go off early!