Coming Soon.....

A slideshow of 2009 is coming soon!! Thanks to my 8 year old for going to her grandma's and using the same bag I used to pack McKenna's stuff to go to Jackson Hole and finding my CAMERA!!!

And yes, I looked in that bag a hundred times. I even used it since the trip in August. Amazing!

Thanks again Mom for having Elise over! She enjoyed it and we loved the movie today!!

Have you ever felt that pull?

Last Sunday I felt something I don't recall feeling before, ever. Maybe I have, but this time it seemed so different. It was a spiritual PULL. I could feel some pretty intense feelings of love, understanding, forgiveness, longing to be closer to the Spirit... It was accompanied by an amazing and humbling crushing of my pride. And it grew stronger and stronger through the day. By bedtime I wondered what it really was. I still do. But I will be satisfied in believing in my heart that it might have been an answer to my husband's fasting that day... I haven't asked him why he was, but he was and it wasn't Fast Sunday. And I'll settle with the other strong impression that I felt, that my Heavenly Father knows ME and He wants ME to be CLOSER to HIM, every day. And I need to work on some things in that department. I've felt a bit closer to our Savior the last week, I've been trying hard to feel where and what He wants me to do. In all this hustle and bustle of Christmas and entertaining it has been somewhat difficult as I'm sure it is for most everyone else.

So I guess this is a Thank you. If you prayed and had me in mind or heart last Sunday, I felt it. And there have been times when I should have good reason to feel prayers from others, but THIS time when nothing particular is 'going on' I felt it. It hurt and it was warm all in the same. I loved that pull, that spiritual pull away from temporal. It was very very tangible for me.

Have any of you ever felt that before? I hope you haven't 'had' to, but I hope that you maybe 'got' to.

Merry Christmas.

Here's to a New Year of memories, and being closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ!

~Vicki

If you don't have anything nice to say.....

Last night I was chatting it up with one of my friends while we watched out faithful YW play volleyball and she mentioned to me NieNie's latest post. I don't know how I missed it. So I read it this morning. No it isn't the Halloween pics, though her children are absolutely adorable in their costumes (my fav is the little witch), but the other post, the one just before that.

I have one thing to say to that lady that met NieNie at the grocery store.

I'm sorry you feel bad enough inside about yourself that you had to beat up a poor woman with your words. She's suffered enough. She will continue to suffer enough physical and mental torment the rest of her life here on earth. How thoughtless, how CARE-LESS, and further more, I'm sure your mother taught you at least ONCE in your life that "if you don't have anything NICE to say, don't say ANYTHING AT ALL."

There I've said my peace this morning. May this be a reminder for us all to THINK before we OPEN our MOUTHS. Sticks and stones may break your bones, and yes, words DO hurt.

I wish I had a magic wand, or at least a band-aid sometimes to heal others' pain. I'd wave my wand for Jami, David, NieNie & Christian, Brandi, Ward, oh so many. But I don't. All I have is my heart to give and the knowledge that I gain from their experiences. The chance to serve others' continues to show up in our lives. May I never let it pass me by. Don't ignore those urges, don't ignore those posts on FB, or their blogs. I've been SO blessed by several little 'fairies' lately that have listened to that little voice and brought me exactly what I needed that day. Soup, a smile, a hug, or even Dr. Pepper. I hope I can be as helpful and thoughtful to someone else, and to them. I'll be sad that they get to experience whatever, but I'll be happy to help.
Thank you little fairies, you KNOW who you are!!

Long Time, No Post

At last, I'm giving in to my inner blogger and blogging. Even without pics. Well, maybe I'll find some, from the last time I downloaded from my camera. Speaking of my camera, it is lost. MIA. Gone. Poofed. Missing. Run away. Stolen. It is just, ugh. I can't find it anywhere. I went to grab it when Kenna started sitting up just after my mom left for MD to be with my sister and her family, but I couldn't find it. Then I talked with mom on the phone:
"Yah, Kenna is rolling over to her tummy now. I'll get it on video for you and post it"
"Oh, thank you Vicki. I would love to see that. I'm going to miss a bunch of stuff while I'm gone."

Yup, you're right. No video. I haven't found my camera. I think it's been two months now and I feel terrible about it. Mom even loaned me her old digital camera and I finally had the heart today to get it out and set it to charging. I'm pretty broke up about this loss. So, hopefully, I'll start using Mom's cam and mine will just walk back in and tell me where it's been for all this time. That would be SO nice.... a girl can dream right?




Just like these two girls were dreaming while sitting in the Shark Tank Tube in Vegas this last June... so long ago!!!




This pic is from July... When my big sister and her fam came to visit. We usually go to the HAFB museum with my Grandpa once a year. I don't know that he enjoys it as much anymore, but I LOVE to hear the stories. Amazingly enough, at 89 this month, he still tells different ones most of the time. This pic is of Elise and her cousin Jar with Grandpa, next to an airplane just like the one he flew in WWII. He flew them across America, ferried them. He never saw combat, which I am so grateful for. But I think back in the day, he was sad he kept getting pneumonia and couldn't go.




This is obviously McKenna relaxing, I mean, trying not to cook, in June heat in Las Vegas when we went to visit Joyce. We went to the pool one morning. It was SO HOT. We left in 45 minutes. And the pool was as good as ice water. Not very fun either.

One of my faves of Elise at the Shark Tank. We sat in that last tube for two hours. We liked it very much. It was cool to see all the sharks and other fish.

Well, since I'm hungry and my niece and nephew just required some pretty intense talking to about ruining our stuff.... I better go. Thank heaven Kenna is napping.

Beautiful Silly Girl

Sometimes I forget what a beautiful thing being SILLY can be. And just exactly how beautifully silly my eldest is. She narrated this "game" to me a while back to put on this blog. It is still there, down at the bottom on the right. Maybe she'll change it again soon. It is her little space in my space on the internet. Here she goes:

Ballet Guess Game.
I changed the rule. Now no yab yapping yapping yapping. And NO asking somebody else the law, and especially don't ask me to show my own self and No Cheats! Just let me do the rest of the magic.
SO, lets start with how many pets I have.
Next I want you to guess how many pets I have counting 2 horses, 2 chickens, 1 dog, actually I don't have any chickens. I do have 2 ducks and 13 little quails and 14 chicks and have you guessed yet??
Hurry up?
Stick around on Ballet Guess Game, we'll be back after these eleven messages!

Next time on Ballet Guess Game will be right back on Taco Bell at Tuesdays, weekdays and Fridays. Oh, and especially Wednesdays. See you next time!!!!

Oddly enough, she sounds a lot like Pippi Longstocking. We just finished that book a few weeks ago. She's so dang cute. Now to get her out of bed in the morning she is more like a bear coming out of hibernation, every morning. And I have to go do that exact thing right now at 7 am so she'll be on time for school.