Trip to see Garin, Katrina and Olivia

Friday November 6th we drove to Leavenworth, Washington. It is a small German town nestled in the mountains. Garin, Katrina and Olivia drove from Seattle and met us there. They braved the snow and mountains to get there. I thought it was just a little snow but they hit the snowstorm on the way and when we traveled back there was a foot of snow on the trees. It was beautiful but frightening as I thought about them traveling in the dark on the mountain roads in the snow, without snow tires. Yikes!

That night we ate at a German restaurant serenaded by an accordian. The waitress was dressed in the German style dress. Mike was disappointed that the man playing the accordian and the waitresses did not speak German. We enjoyed the food and the atmosphere and Olivia had to get down and dance to the music.

We spent the night and the next morning on the sundeck the scene was so beautiful. The mountains, trees with their faded Autumn colors, a river flowing by and a small cottage barely to be seen among the trees greeted us. The clouds circled the tops of the mountains and set the scene of high in the mountain feeling.

We went to breakfast at a waffle house and the waffles were covered with strawberries and whipcream. Yum! The owner came and introduced herself and it made it even more memorable to have met her.

We walked around the quaint little town. They had little shops that sold anything you can imagine. I especially enjoyed the Christmas shop.

Olivia was so cute and sweet as we walked around. There was a bench that said Oma and Opa on it with an old man and woman. She remembered it whenever we passed. Then, we decided to get our pictures taken. We dressed in the German attire and Olivia smiled and said cheese. We got a really cute picture. I felt like we were retracing our roots by getting dressed up in our German town.

After lunch we traved back to Seattle. Garin and Katrina have a cute apartment. Katrina has the living room fixed up so cute. The apartment complex is new. They have two bedrooms and two baths, a kitchen and living room. They park under the apartment complex of six stories.

Olivia was so fun and our main entertainment. She sings along with Garin. She is taking gymnastics and showed us the bear crawl, forward roll, crawling on the stomache, running etc. She can catch a ball and she talks in complete sentences at barely two. She has beautiful blonde shoulder length hair with a touch of red highlights. When I said, "You"re so cute!" She smiled and said, Cheese so I could take her picture! We played hide and seek and chasing games. She has a little kitchen set she cooks and talks on her cell phone.

We got to go to church with them and enjoyed our trip so much. It was hard to leave and we are looking forward to seeing them at Christmas. Unfortunately, even though we bought a new camera for the trip and got some really cute pictures and beautiful scenery pictures we were messing with the camera yesterday looking at what it can do and accidentally deleted all the pictures. We were so disappointed and wanted to cry but hopefully Garin and Katrina have some and will post theirs.

Almonds! and Elis Italian Deli

There is a new sandwich place in downtown Boise that is really good. It is called Elis Italian Deli. They also do spiced almonds. The smell permeates the whole place and the nuts are so good fresh and warm! Dad and I have eaten there twice. We share a sandwich but I had to buy a small bag of nuts for myself yum!

There is a kind of power that comes from setting and achieving goals. When I drift in my life I feel lethargic and like things don't really matter very much. When I am achieving my goals I have more energy and excitement for life. This past eight weeks I have been participating in a program called "Feel Great in Eight" I have been exercising and eating right and I feel healthier and I feel that this way of living is right for me and that I should continue this way for the rest of my life. Today I got into a size 6 dress that I have had in the closet for a long time. I got it drycleaned this month just in case. It is not even tight. It is not the weight that I am excited about. It is the fact that I do have control over myself. I can exercise and eat right and feel good. I think it what Heavenly Father wants for me.

The little car that could

Some of you may have heard the story of how our car stopped in Nampa on the way home from San Diego. We were all tired and had been in the car since early that morning. Carter was asleep and we were anxious to get home. Mike was driving and suddenly the car just stopped. Mike pulled off the freeway and rolled into a service station. We said a prayer, waited a little while and Mike started the car and went home. We haven't had any problem since and so we thought it might be bad gasoline.

Well, now you can hear the rest of the story.... Mike, Destenee and I traveled 15 hours to New Mexico and had a wonderful weekend with Heidi and Reed and the kids. The baby is adorable, the kids were fun and Destenee was so helpful and a delight to be with. We went on a hike, played outside, ate good food. The baby blessing was wonderful and we enjoyed church. Monday we traveled to the Indian caves and had a great time and then went to the park for lunch. We went to Heidi's and packed and left for home at 2 in the afternoon.

There is not much freeway between here and there. We were making good mileage. Mike had to pass cars on the two lane highway and the car was just humming along. We took an hour detour until we realized we were on the wrong road and turned back. It was a curvy mountain road with beautiful trees. Some of the prettiest scenery of the trip. We stopped at a hotel and left the next morning planning to arrive about 7 or 7:30 in Boise. About 100 miles out of Boise the car started sputtering. Mike pulled to the side of the freeway and we chugged along until the car started going again. The third time it did this it completely stopped and we couldn't get it started again. We called AAA to tow us home. We were allowed ten miles of towing and then it would cost us. We figured it would be about $400 to get home. The battery on the cell phone was getting low. We sat for a while as the semi's rocked the car as they sped past us. I asked Destenee to say a prayer. Then, we had to do all we could to help ourselves so we called Adam. Kimberly had to wake him up because he had worked all night the night before and was exhausted. We asked him to get the truck and tow rope and come and get us. He said he would. Corden was in the shower and so he had to call back for us to tell him how to get into the garage and where the key was hidden in the garage to get into the house. Adam got the keys, truck and tow rope and was on his way but first had to gas up the truck to start the rescue mission. Meanwhile, we were on the side of the freeway. It was getting dark and was starting to rain. The rocking of the car as the trucks and cars sped past was frightening. Destenee and I started to do a cheer. "Come on car you can do it if you put your heart into it! Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap clapclapcalp." Mike got the car started and we exited off the freeway and waited for Adam. Luckily we had Destenee who can invent games and riddles to keep us intertained. If you are ever stranded somewhere you can only hope that Destenee will be with you to help pass the time in laughter and fun. We still had a few crackers and grapes left to quiet our hunger pains. We also had a nice field of weeds for our other pressing needs.

Before Adam got there Mike tried the car again and it started again. Humm. . . We were so happy to see Adam and Thomas arrive with our purple truck. Mike said he would try to drive without having to tow the car on the freeway at night in the rain. We started off to drive the 90 miles back to Boise. I was watching the miles pass and praying the whole time. We had gone 5, then 10 then 15 miles and then the car started to sputter again. We pulled off the freeway but it didn't stop running. After a few minutes it started to smooth out again. Again we started counting down the miles, 5, 10, 15, 20 and then it started again. There was a truck stop and so we pulled off and idled until the engine smoothed out again. Off we went and made it home. Mike thought I would never want to ride in the car again and was making plans to trade it in and then he got an appointment to find out the cause of our car problem. The fuel pump was bad. The mechanic said that we must live a charmed life because as far as he could tell there should be no way that we made it home. He was shocked that we didn't get stranded somewhere in the middle of the desert with no phone service.

I felt so grateful for our green BMW for not stranding us in the middle of the desert and then giving the extra effort to get us home so that we didn't have to be towed on the freeway, at night and in the rain that I call it the little green car that could and I never want to get rid of it!! And that's the rest of the story!!

Corden was worried that he wouldn't be able to go to the Homecoming dance on Sat. because last weekend he was sick with the flu. He was able to get Lauren to say yes by singing to her until she agreed. Corden and Lauren and I went shopping for his clothes on Thursday. We got new black pants, a tan shirt, a black belt and a black tie. Saturday morning at 5:00 Corden was in so much pain from his eyes that he couldn't sleep. His dad gave him a blessing and then we proceeded to do all we could to help. His dad ran to the store for some eye drops, I tried the washcloth on the eyes and pain medication. He was finally able to rest and then we got the presciption from the optometrist filled as soon as they opened at 9:00 a.m. His eyes were so sore that he couldn't go outside. By the afternoon he was feeling a bit better. The group that he went with were suppose to go bowling but they spent so much time taking pictures that they didn't have the time. They went to dinner at PF Changs after coming here for pictures. They went to the dance and had a great time. Then, they went to a girls home and watched a movie. It was an eventful weekend and one that we won't forget.

Opa and Kylie at Heidi and Reed's home in New Mexico.

Kylie before Church.

Opa, Oma and Destenee at the Inidan caves in New Mexico.

Opa and Max on the hike.

Hiking in New Mexico. Destenee, Caleb, Carson, Max and Maia.

Thomas and Brandon standing tall.

Out on the lake in Boise.

Corn on the cob, made with jelly beans!

The cousins at the beach house. Destenee, Thomas Calvin, Carter, Gene and Isabel with Destenee holding Jeremiah in the second picture

Here we are after the blessing of Jeremiah Frank Fuhriman. Kirk, Opa, Gretchen holding Carter, Oma, Leticia, David holding Jeremiah, Adam, Kimberly, Calvin and Corden. Gene, Thomas, Isabel and Destenee.

This summer we spent a week at a Beach house in San Diego. Here are my boys before another day of riding the waves!

On the road again

Tomorrow we leave after work for New Mexico. We will travel 15 hours in two days. Spend two days and come back for two days. We decided to take Christmas gifts with us so we have been Christmas shopping. This week there popped up lots of extra things to do instead of get ready to go. Mike had to get his quarterly report done before we leave. Then, the roof leaked and we had to get that repaired. Then, we had to get the car repaired. Now we have a flat tire to get fixed before we go. Then, I was asked to work on Thursday. So, tomorrow I will have my 3 dance classes then run to work and leave on the trip after work. So tonight the list of things to do is so long that I don't want to face it. But, before I can face it I have 4 dance classes and need to pick up the drycleaning and go to Corden's soccer game. Mike has to pick up the car, work, come back for the insurance adjustor and go back to work and miss the last game of the season because we will be gone for the tournament. As soon as we leave Diedre will come back to Boise. Always the trials before the blessings.

Even with all these obstacles I can't wait to see my new granddaughter Kylie!! and play with Caleb, Carson, Maia, and Max!!

Corden's first out to dinner date

Corden took Lauren out to dinner. They went to PF Changs. They had a nice dinner and then they met friends and went to the new Harry Potter movie at 12:01 a.m. She changed out of her dress before they came here so I didn't get a picture of them together. I don't know how to cut this picture that is side-ways. Oh boy! I finally learn how to add pictures and now I do this.

San Diego

It was my great pleasure to travel to San Diego June 7th. The Browns met me at the airport and I went to their house for dinner. David and Leticia and Gene came for dinner along with Leticia's sisters Mollie and Koreena. We had a wonderful dinner of chicken salad and fruit. We had homemade lemonade from lemons they picked from the tree in their yard. So good!! We had yummy baked beans and pound cake with strawberries for dessert. We celebrated David and Leticia's birthdays. Leticia was due to deliver her baby the next day. I got to see her beautiful round stomache. She looked adorable.

The next day David and Leticia got up early and went to the hospital. I slept in and stayed with Gene. When David texted me to say, "The baby's here!" I shouted it out, "The baby's here!" and Gene ran for the door to let him in!! Leticia's mom and sisters brought lunch and then we went to see the baby, Jeremiah Frank. We let Gene go in first to see his brother and then we all took our turns holding and admiring the baby. He was beautiful and was filled out so cute. He even had hair.

That afternoon I got to go to the park and play with Gene. His Grandma had given him a golf set and we took it to the park and went down the slide, played golf and explored the park. It was so great to play with Gene. He got so he could hit the ball and we laughed and played for a while.

Leticia joined a club where four women cook for each other. So, two of them brought us dinner that week and we bought them pizza. One of the couples were out of town.

The rest of the week was like heaven. I got to hold the baby and play with Gene and be with David and Leticia. I took Gene to his story time at the church which was really fun. Gene and I would run around outside at the hospital when he got bored. He wanted me to chase him. I called him my personal trainer. I got to play dinosaurs with Gene and read him stories. David and I took Gene to the lake where we hiked and also played at the park by the lake. David and I had some nice talks. I got to go to church at their ward which was also very nice. The people were so friendly. They announced about the birth of Jeremiah and Gene started laughing and saying, "He said Jeremiah!" The Browns came for Sunday dinner. We fixed a roast with baked potatoes. I made cheese cake for dessert. The Browns are such wonderful people. I loved being with them and sharing in the birth of our grandson.

I helped Leticia sort out the baby clothes and put them out. She had some really cute things. I like sorting things. When the baby came home I rode home between my two grandsons. It was such a joyful time. Leticia kept up taking her pain medication and taking care of the baby. She was amazing. Even with lack of sleep and in pain she was so pleasant and their home is so full of love! Mike called to see if I missed him but I didn't and I didn't want to leave but Monday morning I was on the plane headed for home. Thank you David, Leticia, Gene and Jeremiah for a wonderful time. It is a time I will never forget.

Happy 4th of July

On Thursday night Destenee spent the night at our house. We were planning on taking the 5th wheel camping but it was looking like a thunderstorm. So, we cooked our tin foil dinners in the oven and cooked our marshmellows on this table top smore maker that we have. We went to see the movie "Up" We liked it. Then, we three slept in the 5th wheel. The next morning we had bacon and eggs and then went fishing. These are the two fish Mike caught. We found a nice pond not far from home. We were so happy that there were trout in the pond. Mike and I went back early Sat. morning and took the boat. It was beautiful. However we caught no more fish. The green belt goes around the pond so after we got the boat loaded I went for a bike ride and Mike fished from the dock.

Kirk's graduation

Congratulations to our son-in-law Kirk Cheney. He graduated from Yale Law school! We are very proud of his accomplishment. We were lucky enough to get to go to the graduation and spend a day in New York while we were there. Adam and Kim and Corden also came. We had a great time. This is us in Central park. We really enjoyed the graduation, the trip and seeing Carter! Carter was such a trooper! He went to New York on the train and sight seeing with us, to church, to the graduation, and out to dinner and he was so good.

Krews First Pre-birthday party

Diedre and Krew came to Boise for the weekend. Diedre's friend Marcella Ward was married on Saturday. Lucky for us, Diedre decided to stay until Wednesday morning. So, we had a birthday party for Krew while they were here. Adam and Kim and their family came on Monday night. We got out the slip and slide and then had hot dogs. Brandon has this tradition in his family that each child when they turn one must eat his first dirt. So, we let Krew eat dirt!

Pictures

I am so proud of myself. I finally figured out what to do to get our pictures on the computer. I looked up on the helps and it said to add the camera. Well, it didn't have our camera there. So, I searched the internet and found a driver for our camera, downloaded it and yeah!! It worked and I was able to download all of my pictures.

It starts with a sample of the hats I have been crocheting.

Then a sample of Corden's facial hair.

The other pictures of Corden are kind of Mickey Mouse.

On to our trip to Rexburg and a picture of Diedre's lovely Yorkshire puds that she fixed for breakfast. Also, Oma and Opa with Krew.

My dance recital was a great success. I posted the class pictures so you can see my girls.

Of course I must post pictures of #13. Jeremiah Frank Fuhriman.

Playing with Gene in the park and David and Gene at the lake.

Music Week

The School night concert for Music Week was on Friday May 1, 2009. The Boise Public Schools music department featured over 1500 students. The Kiwanis choir of young boys sang first. Garin and Corden were in this choir at one time. The Honor choir sang next. Brother Griffin directed that choir for years and our family was apart of it for years. The honor band Adam and Troy both played in. The jazz band was a combined with all the high schools this year. It was fantastic with a great saxophone solo which reminded us of Garin. Corden was in the High School combined choir which is so impressive. Also, CDVE sang this year. It was fabulous! Heidi, Garin, Gretchen, Diedre and Troy were in CDVE at one time. Corden will probably be in it next year. I loved this concert and I am so happy that our family could be apart of it for so many years. This is one of the reasons I am glad that we moved to Boise. Boise music week is a tradition of Boise that I am very proud of and it brings back so many precious memories.

Bretton returns

Tomorrow around noon Bretton will be arriving in Boise after a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The thought of a returning missionary brings back a flood of memories. Thank you to all family and friends who have been on a mission or have been missionaries. I have faith that our feeble efforts to do the work of the Lord will have an impact. That by small means the Lord is able to do great things. I always wanted Heidi to go on a mission and when her friend came back from his mission he knew how I felt. He said that I should consider him as one of her converts and that because of her, he went on a mission. That her influence has changed his life forever. I am also so thanful for all those who shared the gospel with Kimberly. She is such a joy to me and has a strong testimony. At one time when I was lamenting to myself that my daughters did not go on missions the spirit spoke to me and told me that they were being sent into the mission field with their husbands and there they would accomplish a great work. So, thank you to all and welcome back Bretton.

Valentine's day weekend

We traveled to Rexberg on Friday to see Diedre, Brandon and Krew. When we arrived Diedre was just pulling homemade pizza from the oven. We were so hungry and it was really good. Corden got to drive half of the way there and did a great job on the freeway.
The next day Corden and his friend Cameron went to Targhee to snowboard. Mike took them and stayed while they snowboarded. I didn't want to leave. Diedre and I visited and played with Krew. Krew is adorable! He laughs and plays and crawls and is so even tempered. When Brandon got home he insisted that Diedre and I have some time alone. He watched the baby and Diedre and I went to see the temple and walk around a craft store. It was nice! That night was Valentines and Diedre fixed the table so pretty and fixed us a lovely dinner. The boys were tired from snowboarding. Corden was thrilled with Targhee. It has great snow! Dad even bought him a t-shirt from there. We enjoyed having Cameron with us. He was easy to be around and joined in the games and was so appreciative of the trip.

Sunday we went to church. Their ward was very friendly and I got a good baby fix. Everywhere I looked were adorable babies, toddlers and expectant mothers. It was so wonderful! Diedre fixed another wonderful meal after church and we played games and video games. Krew was so adorable and easy to take care of. Diedre and Brandon were so welcoming and loving to us.

Monday Diedre was going to fix German pancakes. I went in to look at the recipee and found out that it was Yorkshire Pudding that I had in England! It is hard to make so I never tried it. Diedre's turned out beautiful. It raised up just like it should and was so good. It was a special treat for me. I took a picture of them but our computer won't upload the pictures.

Mike took us out to lunch and then we went to see the Rexburg museum. It has a special section about the Teton dam collapse of 1976. It was an interesting display. We were impressed by the influence of the church and how much they were able to help. Then, we had to leave. It was hard to go, but we were all glad to have made the trip.

We hosted two athletes for the special olympics. David and Mitchell are from Canada. They came to our home on Wednesday afternoon. We had dinner and then David went with Corden to the YMCA and out for Krispie Kream donuts for mutual. Mitch liked playing on our PS2. The next day we had breakfast and then they went to Bogus to practise. That night our area sponsored a dinner for all the Canadian athletes and coaches. The food was good and for entertainment they had fiddlers, cloggers and an Indian dancer. They next morning we went to the grade school and the athletes went into class rooms to explain who they were and the event that they were competing in for the Olympics. Then, we went to the mall and walked around. We had lunch at the mall and then went to the museum. The museum had butter making, calf roping and hula hoops along with the regular displays. That night we stayed home and watched movies and played video games. The next morning we took them back to their team.

It was the opening ceremonies at Idaho Center in Nampa that day. We went and enjoyed the festivities. There was good entertainment and some celebraties. The lighting of the torch was the highlight.

Tuesday Mike and I went to Bogus to watch them compete. We got there in time to watch both of them in their alpine skiing event. We cheered them and enjoyed it so much!! We were glad that we got to see them one more time.

It was a great experience and we loved being the host family.

Work with Mike

Once a week I have been going into Mike's office to work. I do some filing, write letters, update his accounts and do some copying. I have organized his accounts so that he can make contact with all of them several times in the year. At the first of the month I print out the list for that month. This week I was trained by the secretary to substitute for her when she takes a vacation. Next week I will go in three days to continue the training. It is interesting work with a lot of important details. It is a challange and I liked it.

Temple work

We held a family baptism the last day of January. We were able to perform about 100 baptisms. It was a really nice time. Today I was able to do initiatory for 10 women. I just enjoyed it so much. I can't really explain what a joy it is for me to help my parents with the genealogy and to be able to do the temple work for our family. It is quite an experience. The work is appreciated by my parents, the temple work seems more meaningful to me. I feel that I am doing something important and I can do most of it at home on the computer. I am so thankful to live in this day of computers.

Our Special Olympic athletes arrived yesterday afternoon. Their names are David and Mitchell. They are so very polite and helpful. They are both skiiers from Canada. David brought us some smoked salmon and a banner for Corden of a Canadian Hockey Team. It was nice to have more boys in the house! Mitchell liked to play video games and after dinner played for a while. David went with Corden to Mutual. They went to the YMCA for the evening and then out to Krispie Kream. This morning they are practising at Bogus. Mike took them to catch the bus. It is nice because they have a special trailer for their skiis so we didn't have to have the truck to haul them around. Tonight there is a dinner for all the Canadian athletes and their host families at our church. On Friday we will go to the YMCA, the museum and perhaps the mall. Sat. is the opening ceremonies and the competition will begin. During the competition they stay in hostels.

The special olympic committee requested people knit or crochet scarfs for the athletes. They are to be done in blue and white, the olympic colors. Boise got so many scarfs from all over the country that people could donate to the olympics for a scarf. They let me pick out one for every member of the family. I only got three.... not one for each of my family. It was so special to me because one of the scarfs was knitted by a girl scout from New York. that's the one I wanted. It is a wonderful experience to get to be a host family for the Special Olympics. It is a great experience.

Corden joined Tactus

A new semester has hit at Borah High School. Corden's guitar class is over and we didn't know what he would do for the next semester. His choir teacher was trying to get him to join Tactus. He came home the first day of the semester and he had done it! The tradition lives on. Garin started it, Troy joined and now Corden. I am excited. Tonight we get to listen to them perform at a Barbershop Festival. It will be a Timberline High school. With the change came a new seminary teacher that he really likes and a new math teacher that he thinks he will like a lot better also.

Crocheting hats

I crocheted a hat for Corden. It only took 2 evening. I was hoping that his friends would like it and would want one. Now I am making three more for his friends. The problem is one of them is too big and one is too small! So, I will have to undo them and start over. So, hopefully I can get the pattern down. The problem is that I think I know better than the pattern and so I alter it a little. Once a little big and once a little small and neither one worked.

My week

If you are wondering what I do all day.
Monday I go see my mom and dad and work on genealogy after I shop, clean house and do laundry
Tuesday I go to work with Mike as his assistant at Waddell and Reed
Wednesday I teach 4 dance classes
Thursday I go to the temple and teach 2 dance classes
Friday is Oma day
Sat. nothing planned

My own miracle boy

Corden turned 16 on Jan 13th. We had four of his friends over for a lazagna dinner. It was fun! They kids were so nice and we all laughed and enjoyed the meal together. We sang Happy Birthday and Corden blew out the candles on his cake. Another milestone for another child. The next day he went shopping and bought a new pair of pants, a shirt and a nice jacket. He looks great in his new clothes. He was so excited. He went with his friend (girl) Lauren. She helped him pick out his clothes and wouldn't let him buy anything unless it looked goood! He is so much fun! Today he has Thursday school (detention) for being late too many times but it wasn't his fault. He is going snowboarding today after Thursday school and on a campout with the scouts on the weekend. Oh, and he found his drivers permit so now he can drive again. What a great week for my miracle boy Corden.

Max birthday

It has almost been a year ago that our grandson Max was born. It was such a frightening time. Everyday we would wander around the house thinking about him in the hospital. When he was born his lungs weren't developed. Not something we expected from such a big baby. Our daughter, Heidi. spent so much time at the hospital away from her other children. We spent so much time worrying and praying. I will never forget the day Heidi called and said that we need a miracle. Please pray for a miracle. Of course I had to call my mom and dad and ask them to pray also. That's when everything started to turn around and why Max is a strong healthy boy now at one. I believe in miracles!

Oma Day

Friday the 9th Isabel came over. We went to the bank to make a deposit. There is a playroom there and they give out popcorn. She loved it! For lunch I made heart sandwiches and we went downstairs and watched a movie. Isabel likes to lay down and watch a movie and eat lunch.

We also played bingo. Isabel handed out the cards to me. I was to do 8 at a time so that everytime she called out a letter I would have a match. She turned all the letters over and one at a time she would pick one up slyly look at it and then turn it upside down on the carpet so I could pick it up. She didn't want me to have a handful of the markers. She wanted me to only take out one at a time. I was getting bored so I started making up songs or saying etc to each letter. She started getting excited and was joining in the fun. Then, we got so excited she was screaming at the top of her lungs and I was laughing my head off.

We also made letters to Barbie and played Barbies for a while. She was totally exhausted by the time she left.

Spending time with Corden

Corden has been asking us to go up to Bogus with him when he goes snow boarding. So, Friday he said if he could stay over night at his friends that on Saturday he would spend the day with us. I thought that we could take him up snowboarding and have a great day up watching the skiiers and snowboarders. Of course he said no he didn't want to do it. We would be bored!! so he didn't want to go. So, our next idea was to go shopping at a second hand store. Mike and I love doing that. Corden agreed. We found Corden some shoes and after that it was all over. He had to get out of there. So, our day together ended up to be a half hour of fun and a half hour of misery for all of us.

He doesn't want a birthday party. So, I asked him if he would invite 3 friends over for dinner. He said it would be alright maybe, I guess. I thought I would fix lazagna and make rolls but I think he wasn't enthusiastic at all. I think he would rather go to a fast food place.

One family home evening I asked if we could think of one thing that we all like to do that we could do together. There are only 3 of us there has to be something. You would think so. We all made a list. We tried to decide. It ended in a fight with Mike saying this is what we are going to do and that's IT! So much for spending time with Corden.

Primary class

Well, I wanted to make one of those roller boxes. I brought the box, dowels, paper and tape. The kids were going to draw and color the pictures and them tape them together and we would watch it on our "TV" when they were done. No one volunteered to draw anything. When I asked them they quickly scribbled out something that I couldn't tell what it was. I couldn't get anyone to draw any animals, so I drew some and asked one of the girls to color it. She scribbled over everything with blue crayon. O.K. I put words on each picture so I could tell what it was suppose to be. We taped them together and put on the show. It was boring to everyone I know because they told me. Only the child that helped me roll the pictures enjoyed it. Of course it was boring those blobs looked like nothing! So, I let the other 2 kids come up to roll the pictures. They couldn't do it. They kept rolling the dowels the wrong way. What a disaster!!

Hosting Special Olympics

Mike and I are hosting for the Special Olympics again. We are excited for it. It will be Feb 4-7th and the games will be Feb 7-13.

Luscious Lemon Dessert

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 sticks margarine
2 (8oz) pks cream cheese
2 cups confectioners sugar
3 cups whipped topping (2 for recipe and 1 for top)
3 boxes (4 serving size) instant lemon pudding
5 cups milk

Crumble flour and margarine together. Blend together and press in bottom of 9x13 pan. Bake 15 min at 375 let cool

Cream confectioners sugar and cream cheese together. Add 2 cups whipped topping. Whip together and spread on cooled crust.

Mix 3 boxes of lemon instant pudding with 5 cups milk (do not follow the directions on pudding box) Pour over second layer and top with additional whipped topping. Chill serves 12-18
(cream cheese and butter should be at room temperature for best results)

Book Club

Book Club was wonderful. The book this month was written by a woman who was born in Russia. During the Russian revolution her family emigrated to France. She became a successful writer in France. She began writing this novel during the 2nd World war as Germany swiftly overcame and occupied France. She was arrested and died in Auschwitz. Her young daughter took the notebook she had been writing in and kept it. Her daughter thought it was a diary. Years later her daughter discovered it was an unfinished novel. Her daughter was instrumental in getting this book published. The novel tells about the people fleeing France before the Germans arrive. Then, it tells about a small village and how the people coped with the occupation. There is no mention of the camps or other happenings of the war. Mostly a commentary on how the people reacted to their circumstances.

We talked about how in times of stress we do seem to think of ourselves and our family and try to survive. As the times in our country seem to become more unknown it is good to think about our reactions. We must decide if we will help those around us or horde to protect our own.

The dessert I fixed was yummy. It had a flour and butter crust, a cream cheese middle and lemon pudding.

This week I added tap to my dance classes. They love the noise they make. One of the girls was so excited for tap class that she cried when I said we were having ballet first. Tonight the ladies are coming to my house for book club. The dessert is in the fridge. The chairs are out and the house is clean. It is such a good feeling.

Temple Sealings

On the last day of 08 Adam and Kimberly, David and Leticia, Evelyn, Mike and I met at the temple. We were able to seal Grandma Fuhriman to her parents. It was a wonderful spiritual experience. From the family file were also sealed 4 couples, 14 daughters and 17 sons. These people are from my dad's line and were all from Virginia or West Virginia.

Primary

Sunday I taught my primary lesson. I brought playdough, string, tin foil, pom poms, blocks and chalk for the chalk board. They had to spell CTR with each one. After they finished we played a match game. They tried to find the letters. . . can you guess. . CTR! Then we sang the song about choosing the right and I gave them their new CTR ring.

Quilt

David brought his old jeans with him and Leticia and I made a jeans quilt while they were here for Christmas. I really liked the way it turned out and enjoyed the marathon sewing project.

Mike's birthday

Sunday Jan 4th was Mike's birthday. We bought him a new suit so he wore his birthday suit for church. (When Grandpa Martin got a new suit for his birthday he said it was because his other birthday suit was wrinkled) I fixed a roast with german potato pancakes and german sweet red cabbage. Yum! I baked the double cupcakes and when Adam and Kim and children came over we all got a cupcake and a candle to blow out after we sang happy birthday. Of course they had rainbow chip frosting. Mike had been hinting about his gift and he got exactly what he wanted, a renewal to net flicks. Thank you!! It's what I wanted too!

Oma Day

This Friday Jan 2, 2009 we had Oma day. Destenee, Thomas and Isabel came over. We played with playdough, ate sandwiches with raisen eyes and noodle smiles cut into hearts or stars. Destenee spent time rollerblading. We put together puzzles, played clue and spiderman monopoly. Destenee and I played Yahtzee which is our game. She beat me again. Aghhh! We went to the dollar store and they all picked out something. Destenee got jalopeno chips, Thomas got a gun and Isabel got a small princess and prince with accessories. I love Oma day.

Christmas 08

The treasured tradition of my dad playing Silent Night on his harmonica was experienced again this year for Christmas Eve. Even though my dad is still weak he played through the song twice. We had my moms delicious enchiladas prepared by Angie, tacos, chips, mango salsa, refried beans and salads to eat. The children dressed for the nativity scene with Gene and Destenee as Joseph and Mary. Lyndee's Toree was the baby. Thomas was the shepherd and Isabel was disappointed not to be chosen as Mary. Mike read the Christmas story from the Bible. We sang Christmas songs together and recieved our generous gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Martin. The traditions become more dear to me each year.

Christmas morning with Gene was exciting. He was happy about everything especially the candy. He played with every gift and in the middle ran down to play fooseball again!

Our dear children surprised us with a Year of Romance for my husband and I. They gave us a booklet with a whole year full of dinners, movies and desserts for us to use. We love going out together especially when we don't have to pay for it. It makes it soooo much sweeter for us! Thank you for the perfect gift!

We got a phone call from Troy on his mission in Virginia. It was nice to hear from him in the short 40 minutes allowed to talk. He sounds excited and he is striving to do his best and learn all he can.

After the turkey was finally done we traveled Christmas day to the cabin. The drive was breath taking beautiful. The snow plopped on each tree wherever it could fit. The river was flowing with the rocks covered in white. The roads were clear until we reached the road to the cabin. It had been plowed to the first house. We took several attempts and finally the Land Rover made it through.

We ate our Christmas dinner and relaxed inside. The turkey was especially tasty because we had smelled the aroma the whole way up. Gene was surprised to see the animal heads on the wall! He showed them to all of us. We put together a puzzle of Time Square New York until 3 in the morning. We got that particular puzzle because David, Leticia, Gene, Mike and I were there together this year.

The next day we played in the snow. It was deep and fresh and soft. Even Leticia, Dad and I went sledding. When we got too cold we went in to warm up but David and Corden stayed out longer having contests of various brother competitions. The snow plow came and blew the snow in the air with Gene giggling and shouting about the tractor and the snow flying!