Introducing Truman!

Well, I can't believe it's been so long... but I decided to wait until my new grandson was born before updating my blog. And he's here! Truman Scott Peterson was born yesterday (March 19) at 7:45 am, here in Tucson, AZ. He weighed in at (officially) 8 lbs 6 1/2 oz and his length is debtable--20 1/2 inches, or a little less or more. It is hard to measure newborns. Kathryn weighed about the same when she was born! I was told she was 22 inches, yet when the pediatrician measured her 2 weeks later, she was only about 20 1/2, and I know she didn't shrink!

Anyway, he's a beautiful baby. Just don't ever ask my husband because he thinks all newborns are not cute since they can b a bit puffy and splotchy, etc. However, for the most part, to me, they are beautiful--so pure and perfect. Such little tiny and perfect features and fresh from Heaven!

I don't have a lot of pictures yet since he's been having a little 'issue' with his lungs. Nothing serious though. But apparently it's something common with C-section babies. Cadence had a little problem like it when she was born.

Truman has been held captive in the nursery for 'observation', much to his mother's dismay! Though in some ways it was probably a good thing last night, so Kathryn could get some sleep. We're hoping both mother and baby will come home tomorrow evening.

Cadence has had a few 'moments'... and I'm sure she's not done having her 'moments' either! And I'm finding it's been way too many years since I've had to tend to a toddler. It's exhausting! LOL

I arrived here in Tucson on Tuesday evening (St. Patrick's Day) and will fly back to Ohio next week on Thursday, March 26th. It's been fun getting acquainted with my granddaughter! I only met her once--back when she was 4 months old when they came to Brigham City, UT to visit us for Thanksgiving and I was still laid up with my broken leg.

Anyway, I'm so glad he's finally here! Lastly, here's a cute pic of Cadence that I took the other day. She's such a cutie!

I'll put up more pics soon--as they come!

A new year... A new president... A frozen lake!

Okay, so I lied. I didn't ever add pictures of our house decorated for Christmas... maybe because I never did get around to finishing the decorating! But I do have a few Christmas pics I'll put up at the end of this. (AND, if I can remember how, I'll be changing my background/wallpaper and Christmasy colors.)

So, the holidays are past, our new year began almost 3 weeks ago and today we saw a new president sworn in. I'm none too happy about, but I still watched--after all, I respect the office and he is our president now. I just hope he can accomplish some of the many things he promised, but it certainly won't happen overnight. I couldn't believe how many people started cheering during the opening prayer! Shame on them! Where is their reverence?

Enough of that, I'd rather focus on fun stuff! Last weekend we were freezing to death here in this part of the country, but we did brave the extremely frigid air (with windchill, it was more than 20 below zero, and that was during the day!) and I took Richard & Charlie over to see what I thought was quite a sight--a frozen Lake Erie! Of course I have have no way of knowing how far that ice went, since it is a rather large lake--and I thought the Great Salt Lake was huge! This lake is HUGE, yet it's not the biggest of the Great Lakes. Anyway, as far as we could see, it was frozen. (Ignore the date stamp on the pictures--if you can see it--it's VERY wrong---don't know how it got two different years!) You should be able to click on the pictures and enlarge them to see the detail of the frozen lake.)

I foolishly thought it would look smooth, like a frozen pond, but actually, it almost looks like the water froze in motion--with whitecaps.

I know when I was out there, standing on the running board of our van, trying to get high enough to get the boys in the picture, it was SO COLD--that wind was whipping right off that frozen lake. Don't know why we were so stupid--LOL! As I was standing there, with a scarf around part of my face, trying to take some pictures, I started to realize that my sinuses seemed to be freezing--that feeling like brain freeze was hitting! I hate that feeling! It was awful! So I quickly got back inside the nice warm vehicle, leaned on my horn to hurry the boys up, so we could go. The one picture shows Richard & Charlie--and it looks as though they're is ON the ice, which I found out later, they're not, but almost.

I have a really good one of Charlie where it really looks like he's ON the ice, but it's on my cellphone. Seeing the lake like this made me almost feel like we were up near the north pole--it certainly felt cold enough!

Okay, the Inauguration news coverage is over now... on with life! This new year holds some exciting things!!! Kathryn will give us a new grandson--on March 19th and I'll be in Tucson to help her!!! I'm so excited! I'm flying in on the 17th, and will fly home on the 26th. I'm so looking forward to getting to know my granddaughter, Cadence, as well as welcoming Truman into the family and world!

Then, in June, all of us are flying out to Phoenix (Elizabeth and her children are also planning on going) to be with David and Kathryn as they attend the Mesa Temple and become an eternal family! By the end of this year, my parents, who are both in their 80's, will most have more great-grandchildren than grandchildren! I think with the (so far) 4 babies due this year that makes it close to being even numbers, but it's still early! LOL Quite a posterity my parents have! I'm glad they're still around to see it grow.

Here's a few Christmas pictures... (remember--the datestamp is off by almost 2 yrs!)

Before the chaos... Charlie, Tim & Richard

Richard and Charlie with the mess--Charlie being silly (as usual).

Philip & Tim relaxing after the cleanup (see the trashbag full of wrapping paper?).

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and here's hoping for a great year!

Things are always changing...

Not long after my last post, I was given a new responsibility at church (most of you who read this are LDS, but for those who aren't, this may not mean anything to you). I am now in the Relief Society Presidency--thankfully NOT president! LOL I'm the Education Counselor. I was actually relieved, since they released me from being the Enrichment Leader (often confused with the Enrichment Counselor), and it was a tough job for me! We have a new president, who was the Enrichment Counselor over me prior to her calling as President. I'm excited to work / serve with her. We have a lot of challenges here, plus it's extra challenging for us since both of us moved into this ward (congregation) the very same day! She moved from Arizona, so we do have a lot in common!

Tim was hoping (FAT CHANCE!!!) to maybe be 'just' the organist for church, but no, he's still 1st counselor to the bishop. It's been challenging for him, but I keep reminding him it's good for him! It provides growth to his character.

The boys are doing well... though both are sick with colds (guess they'll have to miss that campout tonight--for which I'm relieved since it's about 3:30 pm and it's under 30 degrees outside... imagine what it will be overnight!).

Philip turned 24 yrs old today!!! He's having a rotten birthday too... poor guy. He also was laid off--thanks to our 'lovely' economy, a few weeks ago. He's not found permanent work, but is doing a temp job--which is better than a kick in the pants!

I've been in touch with a couple old friends recently, for which I'm thrilled! It was great to talk with you, Sally!!! And it was great to hear from my dear friend, Dwan--after way too many months! It's always fun to hear from good friends -- all year round! Heaven knows we've moved enough, that I have friends all over! Some stay close, others unfortunately don't. But at this holiday season, I'm grateful for my dear friends, and of course for my family!

We'll be putting the decorations on our Christmas tree tonight, so I'll post pictures soon! I love this time of year, the chrispness in the air (though it's already a bit much here not far off the shores of Lake Erie!), and the spirit of the season.

I'm trying the pictures--again!

Thanks to my friend, Celeste Goetz, she pointed me in the right direction on this. I never noticed there was the html or compose windows here where you create a new post. DUH

Anyway, a lot of you may have already looked at my pics at the kodak website, but I did want to try this out and post a few of my grandbabies!

Here is Cadence on Halloween (the one Kathryn DIDN'T post on her blog!). This is the one that I think reminds me so much of Elizabeth!

It worked! However, it won't go any bigger and I even clicked on large... maybe it has to do with the camera setting/size Kathryn used. Oh well!

These next two pics crack me up. The first one is of Meredith when she was much younger, and the next one is of Xavier recently. I bought that toy for Meredith back in 2006. It's amazing to me just how different they are! She's much darker and he is much fairer. Looks like he'll be keeping his blue eyes! I'm excited. I always wanted a boy with blue eyes but all 3 of mine got the dark brown eyes and hair, whereas my girls were more on the fairer side and blue eyes. It will be interesting to see how Kathryn's baby boy (whose name will be Truman Scott Peterson) turns out to look more like.

Thanks my friend, Celeste--BTW, when is your newest baby due???!!!

Has it really been that long?!

Wow, over a month has passed since my last entry. I initially held off on a new entry as I wanted to wait until it was a 'done deal' with the sell of our house in Cambridge. Well that happened--on October 8th!!! So exciting and such a relief! We did love that house, did a lot of work to it and we miss it, but it is just a house after all. We really felt impressed to get out from under that obligation. Interestingly, Tim pointed out that we are pretty much in the same boat we were almost 18 yrs. ago--no home of our own (as in homeowners) and three kids at home. Well, we just have 3 kids at home now and don't own a home! Perhaps given the current economical state and dismal forecast, that may not be such a bad thing.... time will tell.

Actually a lot has happened since my last entry... now I just have to remember it all! After selling our house, we decided it was time to get rid of the car we had, as it was falling apart. The really sad thing is, we didn't have any payments, whereas no we do--again! But they're not huge and we feel safe in a vehicle that's a little newer, roomier and we're not afraid it's going to fall apart! We went from a sedan to a mini-van again. But these boys are getting so big, and Richard is so tall, it's hard to find a sedan roomy enough. Plus, when we took a day trip into New York the first of November, it was much more pleasant than 3 adult sized sons sitting in the back of the old car! I'll get to our trip in a minute...

I wanted to announce that our daughter, Kathryn, who is pregnant, found out it's a boy!!! She and David are SO excited! She is due in late March. Cadence will be just over 2 1/2 by then and is excited about the baby and then she's not--she apparently isn't sure! Hahaha But I'm sure by the time he arrives, she'll have a better understanding of it all. Kathryn says she tries to push Fruit Loops or some other cereal into Kathryn's belly button to 'feed' the baby. I was going to post a picture of Cadence on Halloween, but for some strange reason it's not working! All I seem to get when I upload them is symbols and letters INSTEAD of the pic. So, if there's anyone who knows what I'm doing wrong, please let me know! I've obviously posted pics here before, but now it's not working and making me crazy! Anyway, it's amazing to me how much she looks like her Aunt Elizabeth when she was little. If you go to Kathryn's blog (the link is on my page) she has some of the pics there.

Charlie turned 16 last week!!! I can't believe my baby is already that old! Time sure flies! And tomorrow Richard turns 17!

Our day trip to New York last week was a long day, but well worth it. First we stopped at Niagra Falls! It's only about 2 1/2 hrs from here. Of course, we also went a couple hours further (after the Falls) into Palmyra, NY, which to those of you who are LDS, know what is there! But for those of you who are not LDS, it's a very important place for us--the beginnings of the restoration of Christ's church. I have uploaded a number of the photos to Kodakgallery.com. But since I'm a newbie at these things, I've not figured a way to get you directly to that page, so I've sent an email 'inviting' everyone I can think of in my email list, so check your emails, if you haven't.

Today we had our first snow here. It was pretty earlier! We had a little 'lake effect' going on too. Philip has decided he doesn't think he's going to like winters in Ohio! I told him to get used to it, since he has a new lady friend who loves living in Ohio and she lives RIGHT ON the shore of Lake Erie!

Other than that, I think this will have to do! We did have a beautiful fall here, but most the leaves have fallen and now it's not so pretty, but when everything is blanketed in white, it is beautiful.

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!