SOMEBODY HAS A BIRTHDAY????

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN.....

What a fun Christmas gift our family received in 1970, just three days before Christmas. Here is a picture of our little guy who was blessed in the blessing gown his daddy was blessed in...made by his grandma.This was our family back then...we had an Indian son by the name of 'Marvin Johns'.

And now he has a family of his own.....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!!!!

Where were we 44 years ago????

Yep, we were at the LA Temple where we were married for all eternity. I remember getting up and driving to the temple very early in the morning and meeting Marvin's grandma, aunt and uncle and some friends. It was raining outside, but still a beautiful day for us. We had a wonderful reception...visiting with family and friends.

And what did we do today....since we are still serving in the Los Angeles Temple on a daily basis, that is exactly where we were. Without anyone knowing it was our anniversary, I was assigned to care for some of the brides today, which was thrilling and a reminder of my special day 44 years ago.

My sister Dale and GG arrived last night from Maryland and they came and spent some of the day with us in the temple and later had lunch with us. At night when we got off work, we all went out to dinner to "Chili's" and came back to watch a movie. It was a very nice day and evening....lots of good memories over the past 44 years.

And thank you family for the sweet phone calls...that made our day even better. So, 44 years later, 7 children and 25 grand children later...how do we feel. VERY BLESSED!

MERRY CHRISTMAS Family and Friends...

Jesus is Better than Santa
Santa lives at the North Pole.
JESUS is everywhere.
Santa rides in a sleigh
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
Santa comes but once a year
JESUS is an ever present help.
Santa fills your stockings with goodies
JESUS supplies all your needs.
Santa comes down your chimney uninvited
JESUS stands at your door and knocks.. and then enters your heart.
You have to stand in line to see Santa
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.
Santa lets you sit on his lap
JESUS lets you rest in His arms.
Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?"
JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.
Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly
JESUS has a heart full of love.
All Santa can offer is HO HO HO
JESUS offers health, help and hope.
Santa says "You better not cry"
JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.
Santa's little helpers make toys

JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.
Santa may make you chuckle but
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.
While Santa puts gifts under your tree
JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.
It's obvious there is really no comparison.
We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.
We need to put Christ back in Christmas.
Jesus is still the reason for the season.

May God’s gift of love bring joy to your heart this Christmas season and the New Year!

CALMNESS IN OUR LIVES...

I am passing this on to you because it definitely works, and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives.By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace. Dr Phil proclaimed, "The way to achieve inner peace is tofinish all the things you have started and have never finished." So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished and before leaving the house this morning: I finished a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of chocolates. You have no idea how amazingly good I feel right now.

Grandkids getting ready for Christmas

Monday morning when we arrived home (NP) for our P-day, Lisa and the kids had a surprise for us. They decorated our home for Christmas! They have an adult tree in the living room and a kids tree in the playroom. This is the kids tree they decorated all by themselves!
Marylyn & Annika all bundled up for the holidays...see you soon!
The other day, Ashley was playing with her manger set when Ruth heard her say, "Joseph, Joseph have to wake up the sheep." Ruth looked over and Ashley had Joseph in one hand and the sheep in the other. Then, Ashley lined up the animals and asked, "What are you doing here? The ground is all wet. You are all wet. I need a towel to dry you off." Then, she put Mary on the camel and moved them, as if they were walking.

Our twins FIRST CHRISTMAS

Matt always liked to Juggle, but how does Heather keep up?

Sunday was a full day!

We came home Saturday night, enjoyed a bowl of stew and watched some TV. Sunday we got up early and attended NP 3 third hour where we both gave a talk on "How the Temple helps each day".

Our friends, the Friebels, from the temple came to hear us talk, then we attended John's ward for Sacrament Meeting. After the Friebels and Carnell came to our home for dinner and visiting.

Later in the evening Marv and I were invited to John & Marrianne's home to watch them trim the Christmas Tree...and it is beautiful. Grandpa read Christian a tone of Christmas story books while the girls finished up the tree. They are getting me excited about decorating for Christmas too. Maybe we'll get the outside lights put up tomorrow?

Thankful Day 19

We are very thankful for our family. Especially thankful for the lovely meal and evening spent with John and Marrianne. Marrianne and the children had decorated a very lovely LONG table for us to all sit and enjoy one another's company.

Brooke and Madison played for us some beautiful music on the piano. Ashlyn enjoyed playing "Simon Says" with Christian, Brooke and me. It was really fun to watch Angie and Brooke doing those rythming games, Marrianne will probably post pictures. The food was WONDERFUL and we all left with full tummies. Carnell also came with us and is thankful for being with family. Also grateful hearing from Ruth's family...Kate's giggles and Ashley's "I love you grandma". Also talked to GG and Dale early this morning who were heading over to Duane and Ilene's home for dinner. Hope you all had a wonderful day! Now grateful for a nice warm bed where I am heading right now....very tired!

Thankful Day 18

I am soooooooo grateful to Ruth, Marylyn, and our Utah Heather for starting and keeping up their "Thankful Day" blogs each day. It has been so fun to come home each day from the temple and see what these three families have been up to each day. So a BIG thank you! Oh, and they can keep it up past Thanksgiving if they want to...we love it!

Thanksful Day 17

I am thankful for Mel inviting me to "grandparents" feast for Thanksgiving at her school.

They sang lots of song and did a "Reader's Theatre" [Mel is 4th from left, top row]. We were later served hot dogs in a biscuit, homemade pumpkin pie, fruit, cookies, apple juice...it was wonderful. So, thank you Mel for a wonderful day!

This is one of Mel's bestest friends from church and school.

Thankful Day 16

I have so much to be thankful for today!!!! First thing this morning we are thankful for the birth of our third daughter back in the 70's as she celebrates her birthday and grateful that she and her family will be here in just a few more weeks. Thankful for a beautiful grand-daughter who celebrates this day with her aunt Marylyn. And then as the day rolled on, thankful for my husband who patiently was the driver all over TO and NP as we got our yearly tests done, took Carnell to the dentist, and many other errands. And thankful for "In-Out" burger...hmmmm was soooo good! WEW...it was a full day. And to end the day with a delicious dinner and fun family night with Lisa's family. She really outdid herself with a roast dinner, potatoes, beans, jello salad and dessert. Mel and Spencer taught us about the first Thanksgiving through stories, Chelsea gave a sweet prayer and the activity of dancing was very fun to watch. And thankful for 'Mr. Bell' who invented the telephone so we could wish Marylyn a happy birthday. One more thing...thankful for a wonderful son-in-law who made sure our daughter had a super great day...thank you Andy! So yes, today I have many things to be thankful for...right now an electric blanket and warm bed.