A Special Christmas Event

The day that I left Utah to come home, Jakson and I watched "The Polar Express" together. I believe it was the fourth time in two days that he had watched the movie. Just before we left for the airport, I got Jakson's coat from the closet and walked into the front room by the tree to help him put it on. Jakson did not know I was behind him. He reached up to the tree, pulled off a little silver bell, held it to his ear and shook it. He then put the bell into his pants pocket. Almost immediately he pulled it out again, held it to his ear and shook it again. Satisfied that he could still hear the bell, he put it into his pocket for good, turned around and saw me behind him - he just smiled at me. It was a special event for me to witness.

He can hear the bell - he believes.

It is not good for man to be alone

No pictures for this blog. It is just a confession as to why it is not good for man (especially me) to be alone.

1. I buy Cheetos - Cheddar Jalapeno Crunchy (and end up with orange, spicy fingers)
2. I drink milk directly from the jug without a glass (why dirty a dish?)
3. I eat ice cream directly from the carton (same reason as #2)
4. I wash no dish before its time (we've got a lot of spoons and knives)
5. I do not make the bed every day (or any day)
6. I turn up the stereo to listen to my music (from anywhere in the house)
7. I watch sports and programs that would normally be considered a waste of time
8. I have nothing to look forward to at home after a day of work
9. I have no one to talk to and don't want to go anywhere by myself
10. I can burp loudly after drinking a soda but have no one to whom I can apologize

Fortunately, Mom is coming home tomorrow night. WooHoo! I'm going to clean up my act before she gets here. I think I'll go do the dishes now.

A Little This, A Little That

The past two weekends have been just delightful - sunny bright days, cool, dry air. We wanted to be outside just to take advantage of the weather. Last weekend we decided to attend the Renaissance Festival in Plantersville. Mom and I spent the whole day going to all the "appropriate" (family friendly) shows and walking through all the shops. It was a hoot! The best part was people watching. Some had really elaborate costumes you wouldn't believe. I think this was my favorite.

 

I was even selected to come up out of the audience to participate in a juggling, comedy show. Here I am prepped to receive the pins:

 

Here I am afterward. Please notice that I didn't drop any of the three pins. WooHoo - I can go into a new career!

 

We enjoyed all the shows, especially the guy who played the "Big Bells". We've heard him before and wanted to see him again. We purchased one of his CDs last time we attended the festival.

 

This year we attended a new group which played bagpipes and drums. They were really good. Enough so that we purchased one of their CDs. No picture, however. We passed on the turkey leg, but had sausage on a stick and other local foods. This is a picture of a “church” where people can have weddings. Kind of cool – eh?



Yesterday was a wonderful day again. I wanted to go to Galveston, as I've not been back since the hurricane last year. But Mom had other ideas ....

Tell me if you can tell what is different from this picture.



If you said that the scraggly looking bushes in the corner of the yard were gone, you'd be right. And some of you might notice the big limb that has been cut off the tree. You'd be right too! I did it with my trusty little (actually it not so little) chain saw. WooHoo - me and Paul Bunyan! We spent most of the day working in the yard cutting big limbs into small little limbs. We gave it all to the Lassens for their fire pit. We like having the back yard a little more open. And we don't have limbs that hang over the roof of the garage or back room. It was enjoyable to work together outside.

Mom has been very busy this past two week with speaking in a ward conference, All Board meeting, Friends of the Library session, coordinating Feeding the Missionaries during a Zone Conference, providing Annual RS Leadership Training at the stake center, attending a PPI with the Stake President, publishing her monthly newsletter to RS Presidents, etc.

Me - I just go to work and try to keep up with her. I had someone in from Europe for the whole week that I was training.

Big Changes

So - Mom gets called as the Katy Stake Relief Society President, and what does she do? She redecorates!

I admit that the wallpaper was pretty dated in our front room. I came home from my "On the Road Again" trip and Mom had hired some laborers to redo the front room. Three of them did everything in one day. Naturally, having a nice front room made the entry way look out of place and tacky. It took two days for Jon and I to do the entry way. (I guess we are not skilled laborers!)


The top portion is a light brown - think of a melted Frosty. The bottom half is dark brown - think of a Hershey Chocolate bar. The woodwork was repainted white. Mom even ordered some new binds for the front windows, which we installed yesterday. It looks very nice. Notice the stylish shelves with "art" objects to decorate the walls. She has good taste!

Since I'm publishing something to this blog, I might as well include what we did last weekend. We decided to get some outside culture. There is a very interesting Hindu temple, the first one of its kind outside of India, which was built here in Houston.



Mom had called ahead and scheduled a tour for us. (She had previously been here with the Old Ladies of the Library group.) It was very interesting to learn about their religion and culture. I learned some things I never knew before about Indians and their discoveries, inventions, mathematics, etc.

This building is made without any steel or supporting structures. It is put together like Lego Blocks - over 30,000 of them. The marble was carved in India and shipped over here. Very beautiful and interesting. Afterward, we went to an Indian restaurant for some very good Indian cuisine.

Random Comments

Eight day ago we had a "typical" Texas rainstorm. You can see the results.



Not only did we have 6 inches of rain, we had a little flooding in the back room. (Jon can demonstrate his carpet laying skills for us when he comes at the end of May.) This weekend we only had 1 inch of rain. Still, it was enough to kill (drown) one of the bushes outside the kitchen window. I dug it out yesterday.



A couple of weeks ago Mom sang in the Lone Star Choir concert. Her first costume was western wear. (Isn't she "HOT" lookin?) Her next concert will be at Lone Star graduation.



Her next costume was suppose to be from some other culture. She used some of the stuff I brought back from New Zealand. (She looks good in any culture, doesn't she?)

34 Years and Counting

Mom and I celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary on April 18. Here we are in Downey, Idaho on that wonderful day. I was a lot skinnier then, but Anne is just as beautiful!



This was taken during the reception in Downey that night. (Check out those sideburns!)



Here we are in our first house in Houston.



This last picture was taken on our cruise in Oct'08. I'm more gray and Anne is even more beautiful.



It has been a wonderful 34 years, and we've only just begun! Along the way, we've picked up Bethany, Jefferson, Jonathan, Leanna. Next came Zak, Vanessa and Crystal. Finally, we can lay claim to Jakson and Storey in our extended family. Ultimately, I expect Leanna will find her "He Who Shall Not Be Named".

We count you as our greatest blessings.

Here We Go Again

It looks like I get to work from home again on Friday. Ike is headed our way and will probably give us substancial rain and wind. They have declared an evacuation for Galveston and Baytown. When I drove past the local gas station, cars were lined up four deep at each station. We are well stocked at home and will "shelter in place".