Dear Children,
Dad and I are enjoying a gorgeous Memorial Day Weekend. It has been nice to be home and work on our singles ward callings and also get some yard projects done while the weather is so wonderful. Dad has been working on the front planters to finish the fence project. I am anxious to be able to plant in those areas. I would like to move the lilac bush and any lilies that survived the winter to the front yard. The lilac is starting to bloom nicely so I hope it doesn’t get shocked to death to finally move it from its longer-lived-than–we-expected-temporary spot in the garden. The apple tree will also be moved this week. Dad added a concrete wall to level out the bottom section of the garden; it looks so nice. The apple tree will be moved to that corner by the sandbox. I hope many of you have a chance to come and see it this season; it looks so nice.
With the nice weather, our sandboxes have gotten more use from the neighbor children. Eden, the only Whisenant girl, rides her bike over whenever she sees us in the yard and plays and talks (non-stop). She loves Sammy and Sammy knows when she is in the yard that means a bone treat. Yesterday
On our last couple of trips away, because Tammi Whisenant had just had a baby, the Jorgensen family took care of Sammy and the mail so they got to know the yard better and found that they like to use the sandboxes. Jaime said that they were going to put in a sandbox but heard that the house gets full of sand (I don’t remember that). So, she decided they would walk to our house and use our sand instead. With children visiting the yard I need to take over Adrianne’s old Saturday job more religiously to clean up after Sammy!
I got most of the garden in yesterday. I would have been able to finish except that I started so late in the day. Dad and I went for a bike ride in the morning but it was delayed by trying to find my sunglasses. With Katie and Adrianne’s help, I did some detective work to try and trace the last time I had worn them (after I looked all over the house and all through my ski stuff). With everyone’s help, Aaron found that I had left them in his car!
We road our bikes out to Al’s Nursery in Sherwood to look at their plants. I saw LOTS of plants I want elsewhere in the yard (for later projects after we have the time and money to pour the stamped concrete on the front walkway) but I didn’t like their selection of vegetables. Upon returning home, I left to buy the plants elsewhere. I didn’t return until late since I had to buy some more supplies for my humanitarian project before the week’s sales ended.
I am in charge of the humanitarian classes at Girl’s Camp this year. I had a hard time getting excited about any of the ideas suggested until a thought came to me about doing T-Shirt dresses for little girls. I was involved in a Relief Society project several years ago that made them; they were sent to
Not even a day after I started researching the possibility of doing them and learning that Salt Lake is not making them anymore to send out, Carol Stanger told me that Darren Stanger’s old mission president’s wife mentioned to her that she wished the Church still sent out the T-Shirt dresses to that part of the country since they really needed them and the girls loved them! I have asked Carol to find out from Sister Mann someone who will be visiting the mission that can bring a suitcase full of dresses since our camp budget cannot afford the shipping. That has been my dilemma; my budget is very small and since there are 150 girls working on these, I would like to make about 100. So, for the girls who do not want to attempt any sewing, we are making scrunchies to match the dresses. Anyway, I have been scouring clearance isles and watching for sales to get enough supplies for the project. I have almost everything thanks to many tender mercies and sales and coupons that “just happened” to coincide with each other. I needed my T-Shirts for less than $2.00 and I found almost 50 for $1.00 at several Target stores in the area!!! I will take a picture of these dresses when I get all my samples done; they are darling! I would like to make some for my grandchildren while I am at it, or maybe afterwards when time allows.
Lots of exciting things have happened in our family over the past couple of weeks. I have been lucky enough to see so many of you in the past few weeks!!! I was home two and a half days last week before leaving again but was able to squeeze in a lunch to catch up with Jeannena (she picked me up from the airport), feeding the missionaries and discussing some of our ward singles and working in the temple. I like when the temple work opportunities come up. I have worked in both the laundry and the kitchen. I am always very tired (and even sore) afterwards but I learn something helpful every time I go.
Most of the last while, I have been in 
ne. Gregory sure likes the water; well, he likes all adventures! It was a heat wave while we were there so the pool amenity was a big bonus! Once they get their own home, we will be staying with them and most likely, working on home projects!
Dad and I spent some of the first part of our
It was great to see my cousin Vernie, well Verne now that he is grown up. I really can’t rem
ember seeing him since I was a teenager. He has lived his life partly traveling with rodeo circuits. He had lots of stories and he was thrilled to hear that Adrianne loves horses and suggested that he might leave his belt buckles and saddles to her when he died!
It was so nice that Aaron came up to the Bay Area for Bryson’s blessing. He makes things so much fun and naturally, he had solution to one of 
unny he replies, “No, I’m awesome!”
Shawn had his hands full with responsibilities while we were there. He had to finish an online class for his work (which he aced), speak in sacrament meeting and prepare for Bryson’s blessing. HE was awesome. Dad and I had a fun and relaxed time despite his stressful circumstances. On Sunday morning Aaron, Dad and I drove to
Aubrey planned some great meals at the Hawkins home over the visit. I have a new love; a 
barbecued sweet potato slice! Her dad dips them in sesame oil and grills slices of sweet potato. I am trying to get the procedure down; we had them last night.
Dad, Aaron and I moved over to Aunt Denise’s home on Sunday night; the price jumps to almost double at the hotel and I was anxious to she her remodeling. We had a great time there with Aunt Denise, Wiley and Michelle. I learned that Michelle loves (and is very good at it) playing games and she can get Wiley to join in also. She is a great card player. On her first time playing Canadian Salad she earned no points in the last hand. Wiley had gone shopping for all kinds of food including linguisa so we had a leisurely breakfast including barbecued linguisa.
Our greeting home in
Great news! Katie sold the Taurus in 
is buying it agreed to not take ownership until Katie’s last week of work so I am crossing my fingers that they do not change their mind. And . . .finally . . .a picture of Katie by the Channel 5 sign! Thank you Katie!
With the Taurus sold, we may just drive my car to
More great news! Adrianne has a full time job. She is working in Morty’s warehouse. She works with a group who speaks Tagalog all day but it is decent money, Monday through Friday work and close enough to their home. Thanks Morty! She is looking for some volunteer work with horses on Saturdays.
With my travels these past few weeks, I am caught up on Church News articles. I made some notes of course . . . DON’T QUIT READING HERE! These are some great thoughts. I read some summaries of messages from President Monson at two different commencement exercises:
- Vision without work is daydreaming. Work without vision is drudgery. Vision coupled with work will ensure your success.
- To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves.
- The past is behind; learn from it. The future is ahead; prepare for it. The present is here; live in it.
- Quoting Will Rogers, "If you want to live a happy, successful and fulfilling life, you must learn to love people and use things — never to use people and love things."
One last article that is a must read (please!) is the one in the May 3 Church News by Elder Bednar. You could read it and give me your input??? Here is the link but I would suggest that you down load it on your computer or an iPod so you may hear his voice; he is such a great speaker:
His talk considers the idea that because Satan is denied a body he strives to entice us to minimize the importance of our physical bodies, using the very useful forms of new technology to negate or maybe not fully live the true benefits of person to person communication. He said:
“Please be careful of becoming so immersed and engrossed in pixels, texting, ear buds, twittering, online social networking and potentially addictive uses of media and the Internet that you fail to recognize the importance of your physical body and miss the richness of person-to-person communication. Beware of digital displays and data in many forms of computer-mediated interaction that can displace the full range of physical capacity and experience."
Scott’s choir sang today and won’t be meeting until this fall again. He has enjoyed the group so much that he asked us not to come visit him this morning so he could be part of the this last performance. He keeps up his running and enters all the races. By placing in a race, he wins money to buy envelopes (since he gives all his library earnings away).
Tomorrow is Grandpa Bitter’s 91st birthday. I am sure that he would be pleased to hear from any of you this week. His phone number 801-225-0798. Dad and I are celebrating Grandpa’s birthday by skiing with our spring passes for the last time this season. I hope that I can do Palmer after my bike ride yesterday!
I love you and hope you have an enjoyable holiday and great week ahead. Love, Mom
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