Caroling, Caroling

The other night, Ken and I were surprised with a large group of carolers on our doorstep.  These wonderful kids live in our neighborhood.  For some reason, they LOVE to play in our yard.  In the summer months, we can hear cheerful childrens voices in our yard, playing night games.  They know just to meet in Hintons yard every night.  We love it.  This group of children are all home schooled by their mothers.  They have a home school co-op where they meet all together at least weekly and each mom teaches a unit.  One of the moms teaches music and prepared them for caroling.  They were really good!  She had them singing harmony and rounds.  It was great.

After the first song, we invited them in to hear the rest of their beautiful concert.  

Nothing brings the Christmas spirit more than music.  Thank you, kids!

Radiation Treatment Graduation

I am happy to report that I completed my radiation treatments and am now healing!  Yea!  I had a total of 21 treatments on consecutive weekdays.  They make quite a big deal of graduations. They presented Ken and me with certificates.  Then they had me gong the gong.  There is a legend that the gong represents healing or something.  All the other patients in the room, waiting for their treatments, applauded and cheered. 

So with the completion of my radiation treatments, I now am healing.  Besides follow-up visits, I am done with that part of the treatment.  I have an appointment with a genetic counselor to determine if I have the gene for cancer.  I also will continue to meet with the medical oncologist as he prescribes hormone blocking drugs.  But the hard part is over. At least let us hope so, as my dad would say.  At least let us hope so.  Merry Christmas!

My Favorite Things- Costco Eggnog

Sold at Costco.  Totally bad for you, but delicious!

To view other of my favorite things click here.

Kristen Comes to Visit

On Sunday, November 25th, Kristen, Audrey, and Sammy flew into Vegas to come and visit us for a week.   Ken drove down and picked them up.  They got here in time to get ready and go to our 11 am church.  Things were a little rough in sacrament meeting with two tired children, but both LOVED Primary.  Audrey came out skipping and singing, "I got two cookies.  I got two cookies."

That evening, Michelle, Brian and family came through on their way home from SLC where they spent Thanksgiving with Brian's family.  We had a delicious meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, peas and carrots, orange jello salad and pecan pie for dessert.

It was so fun to be together.

Our daughters love each other and don't get to see each other often enough.

I love this picture.  The other kids are off playing, but Gabbi rather listen to the adults visit.  She soaks it all in.

We all went out to lunch at Kristen's favorite Pasta factory.

Ken took the kids to our park behind our house several times, but one afternoon we all went to the Thunder Junction all abilities park.  It's a favorite stop for us when the grandkids come.

Audrey wasn't happy we were driving to a park, and not just playing at the one behind our home.  She was pretty grumpy the whole way in the car, but within seconds of arriving, she was all smiles.

Sammy loved the zip line.

The choo choo train was so fun.  All aboard! !!

The music section is so fun.

Audrey was so proud that she learned to pump herself on the swing while we were there.

Kristen was there for several of our first Keynote performances.  This was at our ward's RS Christmas party.

We went to the temple one evening and sealed lots of daughters to their parents, then went out to dinner at Café Sabors.  It was such a nice evening with our eldest daughter.

On Saturday morning, we packed up and headed to Vegas.  We got to visit with lots of cousins after Sonora's baptism.

We then went to Michelle's and made and decorated sugar cookies and had a nice dinner.

Brian barbecued chicken, roasted asparagus, and sweet potatoes.

After dinner, we decorated sugar cookies before Ken and I headed back.  Michelle and Brian took  Kristen and kids to the airport the next day.

The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ by Anonymous

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Per the prophet's challenge,
I just finished again the truest book on the earth, The Book of Mormon. I actually have read it a few times this year, and try to read from it every day. I love The Book of Mormon.



View all my reviews

Personal Progress: Individual Worth

For my Individual Worth Project, I did this blog!  One of the suggestions for a project in this value is that you write a personal history and add pictures.  I thought, "I already do that!"  Our blog is our family history with pictures, including family events, holidays, vacations, general conference reports, my favorite things, Ken's adventures, my mantras, a few recipes (though I also do a food blog with my daughters and post most of my recipes there ) many book reports (I write a review of every book I read- and that's a lot), and some "Merry Musings" of mine. The requirement is that you spend at least ten hours on your project.  I have spent three hours just today on blogging.  I have spent many, many more than ten hours.  My goal specifically was to get caught up on my all the time goal of posting twice a week.  I was about five posts behind, but as of today, November 18th, I am caught up.  I am still behind on posting about the happenings of our life, but I am caught up with my goal.  I feel that blogging is a way to keep perspective in life, and keep a record of our lives.  It also helps us stay connected with friends and family. Thank you for coming to and reading our blog!

All Grandpas Are Silly

Gabbi and Jaron rode with us in the car one day.  To entertain them, I told them the story my Grandpa, Lyman Conrad Gabrielsen, Sr.  told so often about how he and a friend climbed to the top of the mountain in Logan Canyon.  They then climbed a pine tree to the very top.  They then got the top swinging up and down until they could leap into the next pine tree down. They then got that one swinging until they could leap into the next tree.  In this way, they made their way down the entire mountain.  He told the story with so much detail and sincerity, that though is seemed implausible, no one ever knew for certain whether it was truth or if he was just being silly.
Jaron thought for a moment and said, "I think he was just being silly."  "Oh really?  Why do you think that?"  I asked. "Because all grandpas are silly."  Gabbi quickly said, "You only know two grandpas, Jaron." Jaron's response, "No, I know Caleb's (Shonna's son) other grandpa, too, and he's really silly." True dat!
So there you have it:  All grandpas are silly! 

Thanksgiving

As planned, Shonna and Blake and family came to spend Thanksgiving with us, despite Shonna's injury.  Just a couple of weeks before, Shonna was outside in her yard.  They were putting in a fence and the company had dug post holes for the fence before they left for the evening.  It was dusk.  The neighbor's dog got out.  Shonna was helping them capture the dog and didn't see one of the post holes and stepped in it.  She broke the bone, severed one ligament and damaged others.  It required surgery.  I was having daily radiation treatments, so couldn't go, but Ken drove to Logan for dental work and to tend the kids on surgery day.  

After getting it cast on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, she asked the doctor if she could go to St. George.  He said, "Sure, as long as you keep it elevated in the car."  "How am I supposed to do that?"  "Get creative" was his only answer.  So Blake did.  He put her knee scooter in front of the middle back seat in their van, and put several pillows on it.  Shonna propped it up on there and rode to St. George like that.  She had Lily on one side and Caleb on the other, with Hannah and Gabe in the middle seats.  They came on Wednesday.

Shonna keeps a positive attitude through her trials.  The kids love when mom is down because she reads and reads and reads to them.

Ken got this shot early one morning.  I am seriously amazed that Shonna is reading a book OTHER than a Care Bear book.  We have a couple of Care Bear books that were our kids'.  The kids want us to read them over and over and over again.  And there's no skipping.  They know every word!  Those books are in tatters and torn.  They are well-loved!  I should have got a picture of us reading those Care Bear books!  Oh wait!  The one above this one is a Care Bear book.

With me not being 100%, we were a bit concerned about pulling off the feast.  But Blake and Ken helped a lot and it was delicious.  I took two naps before our lunchtime dinner that day.  I was not feeling great.  I got up from one to find Shonna in a kitchen chair, coaching Blake in rolling out the rolls (I made the dough before I took my nap)  Blake also made the stuffing, potatoes, and gravy.  Everything was delicious!

Lily made the place cards.  We missed Shonna, though.  Shonna ALWAYS sets the Thanksgiving table.  She loves to make everything beautiful, fold the napkins fancy, etc.  This year Grandma was a poor substitute.

When my children were little, I made these care bear plates.  Now my grandkids absolutely love them.  It is a highlight of coming to Grandmas- eating on the Care Bear plates.

Time to "return thanks" as Grandma Peterson would say.

Uno cards were flying after dinner

When not entertaining a child, Shonna and I visited or she was studying the Book of Mormon

A kind neighbor and good friend, Kurtis Larson sent me this adorable turkey flower arrangement.  Gabe spent the entire weekend determined to eat his beak!

The kids love to play dress up when they come to Grandmas.  We have two big bins of dress up clothes.  This is my Princess Saturday costume that I wore in 1972, I think, when in a stake play in Nampa, Idaho.  I made the now-collapsed princess hat for Michelle one Halloween when she in grade school.

One evening, Lily was just fascinated with my matrushka dolls that I have in the living room.  I got them out of the glass case for her.  She was delighted to discover a teensy tiny doll inside the smallest one I had displayed.  Can you see it?

This is the biggest one in the set.

Hands Down was the other favorite game of the weekend.  Lily especially LOVED playing it.

With a shower chair, plastic garbage bag to cover her leg, and a handheld shower head, Shonna was able to get a shower.  Yea!

I was texting with my sister, Joan and Hannah insisted I take a picture of her and send it Joan.  "She'll want to see my pretty hair."

"Now the back."  Joan and Whitney visited Shonna and kids in Logan a couple of months ago and Hannah  remembered her.

More UNO

Shonna's leg and foot got really hot, so she had to hook up to an ice machine regularly and to a leg squeezer machine.  She looked a bit bionic.

The Camerons left on Sunday morning.  Ken went to Vegas that morning to pick up Kristen, Audrey, and Sammy from the airport.  They came to spend a week with us. They got back in time to go to our 1:00pm church with us.

That evening, Michelle and Brian and family came through on their way home from SLC where they spent Thanksgiving with Brian's family.  We had another delicious feast of Sunday meat (meatloaf) and the trimmings.

Family dinners are the best

It was amazing to see all three of our daughters in the same day!!!  Red letter day for sure!!!!
The following pictures are out of order, but I'm too lazy to fix it.  A favorite activity when the grandkids come is to take them to the all-abilities park here in St. George.  It is an amazing park and is free, except for the train ride which costs a much - worth-it dollar.

The electricity got Lily's beautiful hair.

One afternoon, Grandpa and Caleb hiked Webb hill near our home.

 They had a great time together.

Some beautiful autumn shots Ken took on his early morning walk.  Autumn in St. George is absolutely gorgeous.

We had a most Happy Thanksgiving!