Suprise Visitor at Church Yesterday!

Well, here in the Kirtland Ward of our church we tend to get a lot of visitors but yesterday we had one who is a prominent member, from Salt Lake City, but I think she was wanting to be 'low profile' or something! Plus she seemed in a very big hurry to leave right after Sacrament Meeting. My first thought was perhaps she had to catch a flight, but I found out she spoke at a Multi-Stake Single Adult Fireside in Pittsburgh, PA. She was probably needing to get on the road, it's a few hours from here. Anyway, it was our Relief Society General President, Julie B. Beck! I have been trying IN VAIN to put a picture of her here, but each time I try, it comes out just garbled symbols, letters & numbers. Oh well.... don't know what I did wrong!

I'm a big fan of hers and just loved the talks she gave last year at the Women's Broadcast (which is coming up on Saturday again!!) and in the October General Conference. I really admire her guts to say the things she did--which, by the way, were right on! I totally support her remarks on motherhood and glad we have a leader who can 'stand strong and immovable'for that which is right,as she said in her first address in September. I know there are some who criticized her and I feel sorry for those who did. I came away feeling encouraged and more hopeful to continue enduring the trials of motherhood and life in general and very impressed with her.

So, having said all that... I HAD to talk to her--which was really brief, since she was in a hurry to exit the building. I caught her on her way out of the chapel and asked her if she was (in fact) Sis. Beck (since she has a new hair style) and I wanted to make sure it wasn't just my wishful thinking that it was her! She smiled and hesitantly said "Yes." I already had my hand on her shoulder--my way of finally getting her attention--and so I put my arm around her a little and told her that I wanted her to know that I just loved her talks last year in both those meetings. I also told her how I'd used them in a Relief Society lesson a few months ago. Then I added that I was so glad she was our president. To which she smiled and replied, "Thank you for telling me!" And then she was gone.

I have wanted to tell her since hearing those talks, how much I appreciated her, and support her as our president. I'm thrilled I actually got the chance--though it was briefer than I'd hoped! LOL

I'm really looking forward to the Women's Broadcast coming up on Saturday--I love it every year!

Anyway, I just wanted to share that here.

As a post script... Philip is slowly recovering from his wisdom teeth removal--much harder than most as he ended up with an infection! I'll be glad when he's all better! He's rather cranky!!!

We have a buyer for our house!!!

This past Monday my dear husband came home (something that he can do quite often during the day since work is SO close) just beaming and he had a cheesy grin. Philip and I were in the kitchen and Tim just stood there smiling, ready to burst. It was really funny. He told us we have a buyer (that he knew I'd accept) and then Philip suggested a group hug and I'm sure it was quite silly a site I'm sure! LOL It should close the beginning of October--not too long!

With the rocky market and believe me it's probably not bottomed out all the way down in Cambridge, OH, but for us, we didn't feel we should hold out any longer for something better--that may not come, nor could we really afford to keep waiting for the market to turn around. Our house is a lovely old Victorian and it saddens me to have it just sitting there, lonely and empty. It needs a family to enjoy it! The price we're accepting is a little less than we needed, but it could have been a lot worse, so we're grateful. We have been praying for weeks, and even fasting, which we did yesterday. To me, it's a real testament to the power of faith and sacrifice. Also, a great lesson for the boys to see in action.

Sure, we could have waited the market out, and let it rise, but we have been feeling an urgency to get out from under that debt and worry. Who knows why... in fact given my history, that could be cause for alarm! Hahaha For example, the other day Tim and I took a little drive after visiting Old Kirtland to see some artwork on display that will be leaving soon. We went to the old quarry, where the early members of our church mined the limestone for the building of the temple in Kirtland. It is a pretty little place, but MUCH to much Poison Ivy! I steered clear of it. Anyway, we read all the signs about the quarry and to go see it was a short trail, which was only two-tenths of a mile all the way around the quarry, which is full of water. But when I read that sign 'easy trail', it made me hesitate! On that fateful day back on April 30, 2006, a similar sign in Zion's Park said 'easy trail' and it wasn't so easy and almost ended up being deadly for me. But I wasn't going to let my fear get the best of me. Course, I reminded Tim of that other sign and he joked with me about switching which side of the short trail I walked on so I didn't fall into the water! It truly was an easy trail. A little fear conquered! The real test will be if I EVER go to Zion's Park and face my fears of that trail and maybe get to finish it and see what I missed at the end of that half-mile easy trail. So, having rambled on and on about that, there was a point I think I was trying to make! I think sometimes we get divine guidance to do something, as it will lead us to something that can be either great, or something trying, which can also be great because of the growth we can receive. All these things shall give us experience and temper us... the old Refiner's Fire.

AND, in keeping with the 'theme' of my blog page, things haven't been boring. We had a shooting at the boys' high school on the 5th day of school for this new year! Crazy!!! I don't know if it made national news--probably not since no one was shot nor hurt, but it was scary--for those present. It was a troubled 15 yr. old boy who wanted to commit suicide, and for some reason, wanted to do it at school. He fired off two shots--the trophy case and the ceiling before aiming the gun to his head. Thankfully the principal was able to calm the boy and get the gun away from him. I hope that boy gets the help he needs. Needless to say, school was in lockdown for awhile and then the kids were released early. But that's certainly not the kind of phone call a mother wants to get!

Today was my birthday... not a great day. (SIGH) It was a rainy day, kind of dreary. I had to take Philip to get his wisdom teeth out and there were problems, he's SO miserable, but then, he is of the male persuasion and by virtue of his chromosones, he's a baby! I'm joking (or am I)... I know how rough it is to go through that! Sure it's been WAY too many years to count since I had mine out, but I do know it wasn't fun!

There was more 'unpleasantness' that continued into the evening, but I'll try not to focus on it. I've had some wonderful converstations on the phone with family and friends today, what more could I ask for, aside from the really yummy birthday cake! (I made it myself, like I was going to trust that to the men in my house!) Oh, and I did have fun with my twin sister, singing "Happy Birthday to Us"!

No pictures this time... maybe next time!

More News!

Well, surprise! It's not been all that long since I last posted, so I thought I'd shock even myself by doing this! Hahaha

Right after my last post, Kathryn called to tell us she's expecting a new baby!!! She's not sure of the due date yet, but it should be in early to mid April next year. They're hoping for a boy, time will tell! It's hard to believe Cadence will be 2 in a month! Where does the time go?

That will bring our grandchildren total to 4. My mom told me that will bring the great-grandkid total to right around where their grandkid total is, which is in the 30's. I don't recall the exact figure.

My dad is having an angiogram today... he's been very tired, his heart isn't beating as well as it should. I hope all goes well! I've not heard anything yet and don't know when we will get the results. Course he is 87 yrs old, so things are bound to slow him down! I'm praying for you dad!

Well, we've been here in Kirtland a month now and they finally got us busy at church. I am the Enrichment Leader in Relief Society. (For my non-LDS friends, that is in our women's auxilliary--crafts, workshops, etc. that I'll be organizing.) Tim will definitely be busier than I will be--he's been called as the First Counselor in the Bishopric! He's a bit overwhelmed right now! (Again, for my non-LDS friends, a bishop is the clergy leader--like a priest/reverand/minister and the counselors are his assistants so-to-speak--not sure how else to describe that!) At any rate, it will be good for him!

His job here at the mortuary is going well. They keep busy, which is good, yet bad if you look at that in light of people dying! But hey, people die--we ALL will die--as Tim says, no one gets out of this alive. We just want them to use this mortuary when death occurs.

Enough being morbid! We had a wonderful visit with Elizabeth, Meredith and Xavier last week. She brought the boys back from her farm in Virginia, where they'd been for two weeks. It was nice and quiet here, then it got crazy! Philip moved up to stay with us the day before Liz and the boys returned. As much as I love my daughter and grandchildren, and as much as I loved spending time with them, it was nice to see them go home too--no offense meant Liz! (I'm sure you were ready to go home too!!!)

That's about it for now... no new pics, but if I can, soon I'll hopefully post a video clip of Xavier trying to laugh!

My Grandbabies, Life, etc...

Well... I certainly waited WAY TOO long to post. I initially was waiting until I had some news regarding the job situation I last posted about. I was going to post when things started to come together, but then I thought I'd wait until our grandson was born, and then Tim's new job and our subsequent move... I'll try to quickly (yeah, right) update everything. First off, our son Philip did arrive--in April. Things didn't work out with that young woman he was so 'head-over-heals' in love with--thankfully! I'll get back to him in a bit...

Kathryn's husband, David was baptized on April 12th, in Tucson!!! We are so thrilled for him and sure wish we could have been there in person and not just in spirit.

Now on to the newest addition to our family! Elizabeth's baby was born on May 21, 2008. I went down to Virginia for the blessed event and waited and waited and then had to return home--minus the arrival. (sigh) I was very disappointed! I should have know he'd come late. Meredith was late and arrived on my last night in VA when she was born 2 yrs. ago! I wanted to delay my return home this time since I was driving, but Tim had other plans... involving his new job. Anyway, Xavier Jones Kohl (gotta love that name--it takes getting used to! LOL) is healthy and quite a little chunk! I didn't get to even meet my grandson until he was about 6 weeks old! Richard & Charlie went with me to Virginia on July 5th to meet the little bundle of joy. The boys are still there and will be returning in 2 days! They stayed to help Elizabeth and Spencer on the farm. It's been good for them. The real bonus is, Elizabeth is bringing them back and will have Meredith and Xavier with her!!! Tim hasn't met his grandson yet. It will be nice to have them to ourselves--minus Spencer's family (which was visiting while we were there too--for Xavier's blessing at church). No offense meant, Gary & Marianne!!! It was great to see them! I just want to be selfish and have my grandbabies and my daughter to myself--well sort of--I do have to share with Tim and the boys.

Now, we did move. The mortuary in Cambridge is still up for sale--I don't know if the person interested in buying it, will or not, but we couldn't stay. Tim found a wonderful opportunity just 2 hours north in a town called Willoughby--which is 2 1/2 miles from Kirtland (which will only mean something to my LDS family/friends). We've been here since the end of June. Our house in Cambridge is up for sell, which could take quite some time... so this job was perfect--they have a house we are able to live in--for free! How great is that?! The only utilities we currently have to pay our for our own personal phone line, internet (DSL) and cable TV. This is a real blessing and relief to us since we'll still have to pay for our house and keep the utilities on (but they're minimal at this point). There's not way we could afford 2 house payments or house & rent pymnts. Tim has a short commute--across the parking lot! This is a nice 4 bdrm home and it came with a pool table in the basement, so the boys are thrilled.

Now, back to Philip... he was going to stay in Cambridge when we planned our move here, and he did--but now, less than 3 weeks after we moved in, he's going to join us--temporarily--not 'living' with us, but a guest while he finds a job and a place to live. He needs to be on his own, but he needs a little help getting to that point. I also think there are better opportunities here as well as more people his age at church, so all around, I think it's a good thing.

Since our house if free, I can't really complain, but the toughest part (aside from the fact there is no central a/c--just my 3 window units I brought and several fans), is the fact there is only one FULL bathroom! The downstairs one doesn't have a tub or shower. So it takes some scheduling! It will REALLY take some scheduling and juggling when Elizabeth is here for a few days! Yikes!

Now if we could just get Kathryn and her little family here, we'd all be together--that would be fun! I'd LOVE to see them, especially Cadence since I've not seen her for over 18 months, maybe for Christmas!

I'm including a few pics--first of Cadence, then Meredith, Xavier, and one (for now) of our house. Cadence wants to be a ballerina! The little yellow outfit Xavier in, was worn by all my boys! You can't see it since he's so chubby, but there is a little yellow bowtie. I'll be putting other pics of the house up later. This is enough for now!!!

Has it been THAT long since my last post?!

Boy, it's been WAY TOO LONG since I updated my blog. At first there wasn't anything earth shattering to say, so I waited... then things really picked up, but no real resolutions, so I've still been waiting, but decided I may as well post our current situation. I don't have any pictures for this post--couldn't think of any that 'worked' with it!

First of all, as my tagline up above says, "Where things are rarely boring!" has truly fit our lives and I feel like I've been on an emotional roller coaster!!! Where to start... hmmm... Good news or bad news? Or the good AND bad news and then good news again segment? Maybe I'll do that one first.

The continuing saga of Philip (our oldest son): He agreed to move out here to Ohio and we offered to help him get back on his feet, pointed in the right direction, etc. So, we bought a one-way plane ticket (non-refundable/non-transferable) for April 23rd. This ticket was purchased well over a month ago. Well, less than 2 weeks ago, he informed us he wasn't going to come and that he was in love with a young lady he'd known less than 2 weeks!!! He seems to be head-over-heals! She is planning on moving from Tucson (where Philip is currently living) to a small town in Arkansas, where some of her family is currently living. He wanted to go with her instead of coming here. I can't tell you how this made me feel! To further complicate things, and to set the stage for WHY I have been so overwhelmed, this young woman is almost 23, getting a divorce (should be final next week) and has 3 children!!! One of the MANY thoughts running through my head was, "How does this young man think he can provide for such a family when he can't provide for himself very well??? I must say I think I handled things pretty well--I certainly didn't want alienate my son, but did voice some of our concerns--adding we would still love him no matter what he decided. I'm leaving a LOT of details out of this story for a couple reasons--my post will be way too long as it is, and there's no sense boring those who read this with all of the details (unless you really want to know--email or call me!). Well, as I said this story was a good news and bad news and then good news. I've been praying for my son to 'see the light' and take our advice--'if it's meant to be, give it some time, still come out here for awhile, work, save some money, and then if they both still feel so strongly, we'd be happy to drive him down to Arkansas' (that was the gist of it anyway). Well, thankfully, Stacy (her name, but I'm not sure of the spelling) took her parents advice, which was pretty much what Tim & I have been saying (along with plenty other people). Her mom also suggested it's too much too fast for the children--a new dad. So, my son called yesterday to tell me he will be on that plane to Columbus, OH on the 23rd! However, knowing my son as I do... I'm not holding my breath! But I am hopeful reason will reign!!! So, that's where it stands now with the continuing saga of Philip...

Next up, good news, since I'm not up to the bad news... our daughter, Kathryn and her little family are currently living in Tucson, AZ (which is where Philip has been temporarily staying). Her husband, David has been attending church meetings and meeting with the missionaries and now has decided to be baptized!!! We are very thrilled and very sad because we aren't able to go to AZ for his baptism. The baptism will be taking place this month--hopefully before Philip flies here, so he can be there for it.

Okay, now for the bad news (though it's still debatable if it will end up being good/bad or mixed when all is said and done). We've been here in Ohio almost a year--one month from today. However Tim has been here since the end of January. We moved out here for his new job at a mortuary. Things have been VERY slow at this particular mortuary for a few reasons I won't take time to go through here... well even after the corporate owners said a year ago that they wouldn't, they are now selling the funeral home! The manager has left--as of today--for a new job in a mortuary near Cincinnati. Tim can either find a new job, continue to sit here at this mortuary 'business as usual' (which isn't doing much of anything), or buy it. With the option of staying here until it sells is the possibility of being kept/hired on by the new owners. In fact that is supposedly what the sellers want in the sale--because there is a 3 yr. contract Tim had them agree to when he was hired. The buyers will either reject that stipulation, or keep him or 'buy him out'. If they reject, then apparently the seller will have to buy Tim out as an employee for the balance of the 3 yrs.

I'm not thrilled about moving AGAIN, but that may not happen... Time will tell. With the way business has been going I'm not all that sure buying this particular mortuary would really be a wise thing--aside from the fact my husband's father and sister think it might be. Maybe I'm being negative, but I like to think of it more as I'm being realistic. I just don't know if we'd be able to turn things around and make it profitable before we financially are destroyed.

So, we are looking at all options at this point--even the possibility of some other line of work and stay here.... but he may have as much luck as I've had trying to get a job!!! I'm STILL looking.

If we have to move again, we will... not my number one option though, but I'm not so attached to this area that it wouldn't be hard to leave. My biggest concerns are: would this house sell in the current market??? AND, I hate uprooting my boys again! High school is tough enough as it is!

So, there you have it--in a BIG nutshell. Trust me, it could really be MUCH longer of a post here. As I said, things are definitely on a rollercoaster right now. I'd like to get off!

I thought I'd better end with something good: Elizabeth is doing well, but very uncomfortable in these last several weeks of her pregnancy. I will be going to Virginia when the baby comes!!!

I'll try to post sooner next time, and it won't be so long!!!

What a Coincidence... or is it...

Yesterday I did a little grocery shopping, bought some of the usual things, you know, like a bag of potatoes among other things. I set it on the counter in the kitchen, left it till later. The boys came home from school and Charlie (for some unknown reason, as he's never really done it before) looked at the pototoes and found a lovely heart shaped one in the bag! I thought it was pretty funny that out of all the bags I could have grabbed, to end up with the one with a heart shaped potato ON Valentine's Day! Just a conicidence? Who knows. But here's a picture of him holding it. Now he thinks he is the one who gets to eat that one! LOL It's not the beset picture of my baby--and Richard is in the background--amazing I got THAT much of him in a picture as he hates having his picture taken.

In other 'conicidences', why is it that when we get a nice income tax return, one that could help us out and get a head, we have to end up with some very irritating things to have to spend it on?! We had a modest amount of snowfall this week, and much to our dismay, we discovered we have a leak in our roof! Now we have some internal damage on the ceiling in one room. The jury is still out as to whether or not our home warranty will cover it. They won't cover leaks caused by wind, ice or snow. Crazy! We don't know yet (since they can't get on the roof to check it out with ice up there) it it's something they will cover or not. Of course, I'm certainly grateful the money is there so we can fix it, but still! We want to get a new laptop for Tim. It's hard in this household with only one computer! It's mine, I built it, paid for it, and yet I have to share! Darn it! LOL I'm trying to look at the bright side, an the only thing I could figure out (aside from the fact it isn't a MAJOR leak) is I'm SO glad we didn't get as much snow as Utah did this week!!! Wow!

We also discovered we have some new tenants--mostly in the basement and unfortunately in the walls--mice! EEEEEEKKKK!!! We had an exterminator come out. Before he even set any of his traps, we caught 7 mice!!! I must admit I was stupid to not even consider they'd go after pinto beans. They're SO hard! Everything else was canned, but not the beans (yet). In one 10 lb bag, we discovered at least 6 lbs missing! So now it's an all-out war to conquer and take back our home! Thankfully we've not seen any IN the house--just our dungeon of a basement--this house is over 100 years old, so you can imagine what kind of basement I'm talking about. This little problem is eating away at our tax refund too!

On a positive note, we decided to allocate some of our tax refund towards helping our son Philip move here--probably in May!!! Initially we had plans for ALL of the refund, but then decided to re-think how to spend it. So, here's to hoping our roof damage won't be too costly!!!

Now, if we can some day convince Kathryn & David to move East! I hate having her so far away... I am dying to see Cadence. Here's a picture of her (on the left).

She's such a cutie. I've not seen her since she was 4 months old! We're hoping to fly them out after Elizabeth's baby is born--but now it all depends on the stupid roof!!!

Here's a picture of Meredith (below) that I love.... Elizabeth has it on her blog, but I had to have it here too.

I'm looking forward to the new baby Elizabeth & Spencer are expecting in mid to late May. I just wish we knew if it was a boy or girl! I'll hope for a boy since that's what they want. I'm just just excited we live closer so I can be there and not have to schedule a flight so far in advance and then almost miss the birth like last time! Meredith was born my last night there.

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my parents!!! Today is their 58th of marriage. I'm only at 25 1/2 and can't imagine that many years.

This picture was done almost 10 years ago. My mother is very talented--she's the artist. It shows them as they currently looked (well, you know, 10 yrs ago), and then around the age they were married, and then as young children. She's done a lot of these types of portraits. I wish I had half the talent she has! She even did one of Pres. & Sister Hinckley similar to this and it was given to them several years ago.

My dad's a pretty able man himself. He taught me a lot about small household repairs, but more importantly, he taught me important values in life--both my parents did.

I just wish I lived closer so I could be with them in person on this special day! Below is another picture my mom did--a few years before she did the one above. This one was published under the Deseret Book label. I love this picture and am sad that two of these great men are now gone. Thankfully mom is considering doing a new one!

I love you mom and dad! Thanks for everything!!!