Best Things of Christmas 2011

Christmas was, as always filled with wonder, joy and fun!

Best gift that I ever got!

Eric was born exactly one week before Christmas, and he is definitely the best gift that I ever got (as one of my favorite Christmas carols proclaims!) Celebrating his birth will always be one of the best things about Christmas for me!

This is my Christ-mas tree... A few years ago, I decided that I wanted a tree filled with things that represented my Savior (not snowmen, santas, etc). The other things are fun, and many of my other ornaments have some of the most wonderful memories attached to them, but I really wanted to focus more on Christ. So, thanks in part to my sister who brought me olive wood nativity ornaments back from Jerusalem, I have been able to put together a truly Christ-filled tree. One day, I will have a large tree- but this small one is fine for now.

 I love nativities! Having a November birthday meant that my kids always got me just what I wanted, a new nativity (they still do)! This manger has a lot of significance to me. And I absolutely love this sign given to me by my sister-in-law. It's one of my favorite gifts this year and one that I needed more than she will ever know.

My nephew, Jeremy, left just before Christmas to serve a two year mission for the LDS church in Finland. As much as we will miss him, I am so grateful for his spirit this Christmas, and I am especially grateful for the 'twin brother' he has been to my daughter!

 We have a tradition of having a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas Eve, and this year was no exception. It is so nice to have a fancy dinner with the kids, spend the evening reading our favorite books and stories and then acting out the birth of the Savior of the world! I am so blessed that my kids can appreciate what Christmas is really all about! ( and you just gotta love 'Mary's' socks!)

And of course, spending time with family is the best thing about Christmas!

Merry Early Christmas!!

This year our family has a most wonderful Christmas present! My nephew, Jeremy, will be departing on his LDS mission to Finland next Wednesday! I am so excited for him and so proud of his decision to serve the Lord! However, we couldn't let him miss the family Christmas; so we are holding it one week early...

 So in that spirit, here is this year's Christmas letter:

Greetings to all our family and friends,

             

            This has been an exciting year for us, full of adventures, with the end of some familiar things and the start of many new!!

            Jonathan became an only child, in more ways than one. With Charly’s eighteenth birthday, Jon is now the only non-adult member of our family. He is also the only one of the children still living at home. He has done well with the adjustment, succeeding in school, spending time with friends, and still finding time to spend with Mom. Jon has also constructed a home theater system in our basement. It is so wonderful to be able to spend time relaxing and enjoying the fruits of his labors!

            Charly has grown up! Not only does she still enjoy her Irish step-dancing, but she has become a teacher of the adult classes. Charly absolutely loves to teach dance, and I am sure her students love having her teach! Charly has also moved out to attend UVU. She is just finishing her first semester, doing a fabulous job! And please stay tuned for a VERY exciting announcement regarding Charly’s talents the first part of next year!

            Eric returned from his successful LDS mission in California, graduated with his Associate’s degree from Snow College, and got married! Yes, I have another daughter!!! Alison and Eric are thriving in their new life together, and we are so thrilled to have them as part of our family. Alison just completed her degree from BYU, and Eric is starting his at the U of U. Their life is wonderful, as it should be!

            I bid a fond farewell to Riverton High School and now teach at Herriman High School. The change was a lot of work, but Herriman HS is a great school- And what an adventure for me!

            We hope that life is well with all of you. Have a great new year!

Love,

 Deanne, Eric & Alison, Charly, and Jonathan 

The Gift of the Gospel!

These are both photos of Charly and Jeremy. They are more than just cousins, more than just best friends... They have been doing so much together for so very long, and it is the best thing I could have ever wished for for my daughter! Jeremy's missionary farewell is next Sunday. He will be leaving to serve an LDS mission in Finland for the next two years- although we will miss him (especially my Char), I am so grateful to the example he has been and will continue to be for my children and for me!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ has brought so many blessings to my life both big and small. Big: the lives of my children, nieces and nephews have all been enhanced thanks to their individual testimonies! Every one of them is a great example to me!! Small: two examples...

1. my printer works! Now you may ask what in the world I mean by that- but my printer was so very broken, wouldn't print photos at all! (and I have lots to print, already bought the ink and photo paper...) I cleaned what I could, searched the internet for solutions (tried a few), gave it a week in case it was the ink leaking or something- then basically thought about giving up, even pricing a new one- but honestly, a new printer won't be in the budget for some time to come... it may seem like a coincidence to many, but I know it was a small miracle that when I tried to print today (for the last time), it works! There is great power in prayer, even with the small, inconsequential-to-eternity kind of things!
2. Last night... So Charly spent the day downtown, riding Trax for transport. Now anyone who knows Char, knows that she gets lost pretty easily! I had been teasing her all week in anticipation of getting a phone call late last night asking for me to come and rescue her... So imagine my surprise when I really did get a phone call! Apparently due to an incident on Trax at an earlier stop, the driver forgot to enable the doors to open for the riders. Result: Charly could finally get out TWO STOPS PAST HER CAR! On the last train!!! And at a Trax stop literally in the middle of nowhere (no buildings, houses, etc. for at least a mile), a stop does not list the west co-ordinates on the internet site! I am so thankful for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Not only did it prompt me to call Charly again to clarify which stop she was waiting at, it literally directed me on where to drive to find the stop. I know that without the help, it would of taken me 20-30 minutes more to find my daughter. Having her wait in the dark and freezing night- well, I don't even want to think about the negative possible outcomes. 

I am so grateful for the Gospel in my life and all of the blessings I enjoy because of it!

Good, Better, Best! (part 1)

It's been far too long since I have taken the time to write anything... yes, I've been busy, but still!

 I have been trying to find ways here and there to make a little extra money- trying to make up for some of the misfortune and expenses that go with all of that- so for making a little extra money:

GOOD:

Attendance school- means I have to get up almost an hour earlier or give up my Saturday morning- nothing like getting paid to watch over some wonderful teenagers who want to make up their attendance.

BETTER:

Home/hospital- spending a couple of hours a week helping a student in his home with his geometry homework may not sound like much fun to some people, but it was actually a great experience... I had a student who was eager to listen to me PLUS he understood what I was explaining! (Guess this kind of twisted view on the world helps me to be a good teacher!)

BEST:

Being paid to eat ice cream and then give my opinion! Now if only this could be my steady job...

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly... Now for the Good!

Driveway before...

Driveway after!

Yes! The OZ Rally shell is sold!!! So happy! (Lest you are saddened by the news, I do still have 2, yes TWO, engines and 3/4 of Charly's car left for sale- so you haven't completely missed your opportunity!)

I also have a working washing machine! That's right! Thank you so very much, Christy! Your former washing machine is the answer to many a prayer around this house! I am so blessed by so many wonderful girlfriends who look out for me! You are the BEST hood a woman could want!

 Fall has finally come to the backyard!

These are the before...

After Jon and I cleaned up the leaves...

 And the even later after that... they are back! This is so good mostly because of the look on Jon's face when I showed him the yard- just priceless! Plus this means more time with Jon cleaning up the leaves!

And Jon is finished with the home theater! It is so amazing to watch things on this large screen!!!



Final two good things- that are really great (at least for this blog entry):

1. Charly is inches away from having her book published!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so proud of this girl!

2. Please check out Charly's latest blog entry:
http://allsortsofdancer.blogspot.com/2011/11/beautiful-heartbreak-and-what-faith-can.html

This truly says why life is good, and why bad and ugly, though not always fun, always lead to blessings in my life!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly... First the ugly and the bad!

The Ugly:

Having been a single mom for almost 16 years now, I can honestly say that the older dating scene fully qualifies as the ugly! I don't think I am being too picky when one of the only qualities I require in a future husband is HONESTY. So why has it been impossible to meet even one single man over the age of 35 with this trait?! The past couple of years, I have been lied to about schedules (yes, he had a date with someone else but couldn't let me know!), lied to about religious beliefs (telling me that you believe in God is NOT a good idea if you don't; I will notice!), lied to about number of divorces (um, yeah, it will eventually have to come out- lying up front will NOT make your past life change!), and of course, have heard the old 'you are so wonderful, beautiful, etc just because he wants the type of relationship I will NOT be giving away... Plus there was the whole, he broke into my house when I was out of town fiasco of this summer! ('Good' reason for it notwithstanding, did you really have to steal my house key and then lie about all of it AFTER you got caught?! Makes me wonder what would have happened with that whole situation if I hadn't found the fingerprints above the window to prove it!- Yes, even in this Heavenly Father has blessed me greatly!) Anyway, after all of this, am I really ready to try again? Can I really and truly believe the next man? Or will he at least be able to tell me the truth, warts and all, knowing that honesty is my number one requirement for whoever the future holds?! I sure hope so!

More UGLY (be warned this one made me want to scream...)

Here is a sample of the message I received this morning (after a text telling me how worried he is, etc.) from a man I have only been communicating with for a week- and haven't even met!:
"

Hello Darling, How are you doing? Thanks so much for your lovely message and thanks for your concern so far. I want you to know that i have not been happy all day, I have been very sad and worried. I got a call from the bank this morning and they informed me that the transfer of my money was stopped by their federal ministry of finance, They said they the reason why they stopped the transfer is because i am supposed to get the Foreign Exchange Approval Certificate before the transfer of my money will be completed. I was so sad when i got the news, I immediately called the lawyer they assisted me get the court approvals and he told me that he will be able to help me get the Foreign Exchange Approval Certificate but he said its going to cost me $23,000.00 and he assured me that once he gets the certificate for me, the bank will immediately complete the transfer  and the money will get to my account. All i have left with here is $15,000 so i immediately called few of my friends and two of they offered to loan me $3000 each, they both sent me the money 2hours ago and i have the total of $21,000 right now but i will still need about $2000 to be able to complete the money to pay for the certificate, I have been calling friends all day to see how i can raise the remaining $2000 but no luck, I did not want to bug you with my problems but i have been thinking and decided to confide in you,I want to ask you for just this favor honey, I will really appreciate it if you can loan me the $2000 so that i can complete the money to pay for the certificate, I promise you that i will pay you back immediately i get back home. I am so confused with now and i really can't wait to get this done and have my mind at rest. I swear to you that i will pay you back once i get back home, If you will love to help me,let me know so i can direct you on how to wire the money to me here. I want you to know that i really do care about you..."

You get the idea. Does he (or I guess it could be a she) REALLY TRULY think I am that STUPID?!!! Obviously the answer is, yes. SO grateful to my father that he didn't raise that stupid of a girl! But honestly, where is the honesty?! I want to laugh, scream and cry all at the same time! (So if anyone out there wonders what they can get me for Christmas this year: just asking for proof that an honest unmarried male over the age of 35 actually exists! - oh, and heterosexual would be nice too!)

The bad:

This is a pic of the shell/body of 'the bad'. The plan had been to put the engine from Charly's car (the one she had wrecked) into the shell of this car. It so could have worked! I had a friend who worked so hard and did so well in making it happen until, that is, he wasn't sure how to do something. Instead of figuring out how something came apart, he cut the wires- all looks like at least 50 of them! It was a fatal error of the worst kind because it was made by someone who meant well. Then instead of finding a way to make it right, packed up and left me with this in my drive and pieces of engine, etc. in my garage... still hoping and praying that I can recover at least the money for the one car- will never recover any from Charly's...

And the washing machine is still quite broken- anyone know of any good deals on one?

Now, lest you think that my life is at all bad in and of itself... stay tuned for the Good parts later this week!

Greg the Great!

It's been yet another long week! Worst thing- the washing machine is broken AGAIN! It's so frustrating to have spent so much money to just have the same problem again... hoping to find a more permanent solution (or at least one that lasts more than 3 weeks :)! )

But it is so comforting to know that my Father in Heaven is looking out for me! Opened the mail today to the best news and very needed miracle: Jon's neuro-psychology bill. Now I can just hear you asking. 'how can this be good news much less a miracle?!' That is easy to answer: Instead of the $1000 + bill I was fully expecting (as that is what it cost me 3 years ago and I have the same doctor/same insurance plan), I opened it to find a $300 check! That's right, I had my deposit fully refunded as the insurance paid the entire bill! Anyone who has had any experience with public employee insurance knows what I mean when I say that this is a miracle! I actually have a start to the washing machine fund! (Now to be able to sell the great auto lot sitting in my driveway! I still have many, many Mitsubishi Lancer parts up for grabs for anyone interested! ha, ha!)

Just sixteen years ago, my life changed drastically. I became a single mother... and my beautiful sister introduced us all to the best brother-in-law in the entire universe, Greg Bird! More than he even realizes, Greg has filled a place in lives of my children, while being such a terrific husband for my sister and an amazing father to his adorable children! He has helped me install sinks, remove and rebuild windows, move (twice!), fix doors and lawn mowers and washing machines, etc, etc, etc! He has helped teach my children to drive, change oil on their cars, and wire up the sound system in the basement!

See why I KNOW Greg is GREAT! And, Ardis, you made the best choice ever! Thanks sis!