Sammy

In this picture, Adrianne celebrates Sammy's first birthday at our home in 1997. Sammy's records showed she was born in June but with no actual date so Adrianne chose her date, the 26th, to be Sammy's birthday. She would make a dog cake of hot dogs, peanut butter, beef broth and other things that Sammy's loved. I think Sammy tried to eat the candle on this treat!

October 27, 2009

Dear Children,
I neglected to take any pictures this weekend while Morty was here! We had an enjoyable, non-Blazer visit with Morty this weekend. He said he enjoyed the cool weather break from Las Vegas. He introduced us to his friend from Moses Lake, Nicole Baker, who came down for part of his visit. Nate and Aaron met her in Las Vegas but I don’t think anyone else in the family has met her. We enjoyed a trip to Five Guys, a treat for Morty, bean soup, also one of his favorite soups and a movie on Friday night that Morty had rented for his plane trip, The Proposal. It was a relaxing night.
Saturday morning Dad and I were at the church for the Primary Harvest activity. Dad helped with pumpkin bowling which he said the children loved. We also had pumpkin cookie decorating, pumpkin painting and the children made thank you cards for their teachers. That afternoon I went back to the church for Relief Society Super Saturday and had signed up for way too many crafts before I knew Morty was coming. I tried to hurry home to not miss out on the fun at home.
Morty had to take an extra suitcase home with him since his Cardinal fan friend, Patti from Utah, was here for a CES speaking assignment and got him into the Nike employee store. Dad suggested that Morty might need a closet addition too soon! He also took home some homemade pumpkin bread. I love that it is pumpkin season and hope that my exercising can pay off enough to splurge for a Burgerville pumpkin milkshake while Adrianne is here for Paige’s wedding in a couple of weeks. She loves them also and last fall, when she was here for Mrs. Gueck’s funeral, there wasn’t any time to make it to Burgerville.
Even though Morty’s weekend was Blazer mania free, there was still a lot of sports with all the college football games he likes to follow. The most important one, to Dad and me, was the BYU game Saturday afternoon. It was an utter disappointment to say the least; I just hate watching the Cougar’s get defeated by so much on TV, just shameful! I planned dinner in front of the TV during the game; one of Morty’s favorite, sour cream burritos with pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread as dessert. I made the pumpkin pie for Nicole since she heard us planning to make pumpkin bread and she requested pie. I love this season’s traditional food! It is all great comfort food. Plus, this time of year I always get a craving for Abuela’s recipe of garbanzo bean dinner (REAL comfort food) since I used to always request it for my birthday while growing up.
I have several sad news items to share today. I spent Thursday morning with Marie Floyd. She passed away Friday evening. Some friends were taking turns being with her while Jim had to go to work. She had a very weak heart and so she was very weak when I was there, had almost quit eating altogether but as Marie always is, pleasant and grateful for anything done for her. Her funeral will be next Tuesday. Maybe they are waiting for her mother to come from Germany.
Ammon Gustafson, one of Nate’s scout leaders, is very ill with cancer. He has pancreatic cancer which has spread to numerous other organs. He felt back pain all summer and tried to relieve it with therapy but finally received this surprising diagnosis just last week. Of course, they are praying for a miracle.
And lastly, but more close to our family, we had to put Sammy to sleep today. She hadn’t been eating her regular food for a few days. Yesterday when she refused to eat her doggie treats and didn’t follow Dad around the yard as he raked the leaves, Dad and I knew something was very wrong. She had eaten only a couple of bites of turkey with some medicine. Last night when we came home and I called to her, she came out of her bed with a very confused and spacey look. She would barely come inside and you know how aggressively she bounds into the house when invited in. Her back legs were barely holding her body. She showed no pain but was not breathing normally for Sammy so we took her to the vet this morning. The vet found that she had a huge mass in her abdomen near her liver that was causing a lack of air flow and pressing on several organs. She suggested that Sammy wouldn’t be able to recover well, or possibly not make it through, from any surgery since something was also causing her nerves to not work to one of her back legs. She was over 11 years old and had already lived past the life expectancy of a Labrador.
I wish Sammy could have just died in her sleep at home. It was hard to make the decision to end her life even though we knew she was not comfortable at that point. The vet said that her breed does not show pain until it is something very bad. It was hardest to call Adrianne and let her know. She was able to tell Sammy goodbye over the phone. Adrianne requested that we bring her body home and bury her in the yard. Dad has started digging a huge hole on the side of the hill in the front yard next to Fred the turtle. Dad said she can watch the fire trucks go by!
She has been a good dog to many people and all the neighborhood children will really miss feeding her those doggie treats besides all the grandchildren that she loved to watch play in her yard. She protected our home from strangers up to the end. Last week she was just as ferocious as ever when the meter reader tried to get into the yard. We will miss her whisper bark ever time we drive into the garage and Dad will miss her morning welcome as he loads his tools each day. And mostly, Adrianne will miss playing and cuddling with her when she comes home in a couple of weekends as she visits for Paige Jensen’s wedding and to visit Mrs. Gueck’s grave a year after she passed away. Yesterday and this morning Sammy just wanted to head for Adrianne’s room when she was in the house. Plus, when she heard Adrianne’s voice on the phone in the vet’s office, she lifted her head to look for Adrianne. She loved Adrianne as much as Adrianne loved her. Our home will feel different without her.
In my institute class this week we studied 2 Nephi 9 with an exercise that would make a fun and interesting family home evening. We searched for the O’s and Wo’s throughout the chapter and discussed them. We discussed repentance and decided it was best to minimize the need for it by obedience and maximize the use of it when necessary. It is certainly a great gift.
I learned this week that Adrianne has added yet another interesting aspect to her life. She went with the Pre-Vet group to volunteer fixing fences at a horse barn in Springville where they hold therapy lessens. Afterwards, Adrianne spoke quite a while to the owner and, when she learned that Adrianne had trained gaited horses, she asked Adrianne if she would come back and volunteer to teach lessons and train her horses.
Sunday we had a great sacrament meeting on enduring to the end. Risa Whitaker gave a great talk; she is becoming more and more like her mother. She pointed out that enduring to the end was not just suffering until it is over but finding joy along the way and adding Christ into the equation (which adds the possibility of joy and healing).
Lastly, Dad and I enjoyed family home evening at the Stangers with the Daniels and Wollers. We carved pumpkins. We had one large pumpkin in our garden. It had beautiful insides, enough meat for lots of pies it looked like (but it was destined to be a Halloween jack-o-lantern instead). It was fun to line all the pumpkins up by their fireplace, put candles in them and turn off the lights.
I love you all. Love, Mom

October 18, 2009

Dear Children,

We have had a quiet week here but the rest of the family has been busy. Aubrey called today after her marathon. She actually ran the entire marathon and made it in less than two hours and thirty minutes. That is a GREAT time! Congratulations. She said that the weather in San Francisco was beautiful. Lots of people were walking the route and she said that would have been so fun since the scenery is so nice. Shawn and the boys met her at mile fifteen and the finish line. She said mile nineteen and twenty four were the hardest. They presented all the runners with a Tiffany necklace at the finish line! She said that they may come up for the Starlight Run next year as a fun running event to enter with the family.

Heidi is back doing her blog regularly now so most of you already are up to date on their family. This week was Canadian Thanksgiving so that was a celebration in their home. Bill has been very busy at work and has landed two wonderful new accounts. He was so busy that he didn’t have time to make chili for their ward chili cook off which was ironic since he kept baiting the other men in the ward with what he called “trash talk” to inspire them to be competitive about the chili cook off. The funniest part is that Heidi made the chili and she WON! Rebekah was very descriptive as she told us all about the trophy that they won. Today they were at the conference center with the prophet for a regional conference!

We had Sunhee and Meeja here this weekend. Angie was also doing an all-women run in Portland with several of her friends. She said that she made her goal of finishing a half marathon in two hours. Now she is training for the Hood to Coast. Dad and I had fun with the girls. The thing they wanted to do the most was play games so we did a lot of playing games. They talked of going to the zoo or the pumpkin patch but with the downpours this weekend, we stayed close to home. They did enjoy some backyard time on the bars and trampoline. They even picked some beautiful apples from the apple tree.

I appreciate visits from the grandchildren since they teach us to quit working and have fun. They also teach us to keep a good schedule and be good examples. As I rehearsed that after dinner we would visit the neighbor girl, Eden, who loves to see them, come home and have a bath and then bedtime stories, Sunhee reminded me that we couldn’t forget our journal time and family scriptures. I love that they remember, with fondness, those special traditions that we have with them and depend on them. This visit was especially easy since Angie brought them up here from Sweet Home.

Grandma Bitter had lots of attention on her birthday, starting with Aunt Julie’s whole wheat waffles. She told us that Heidi brought her some quiche and French pastries and Katie brought over, guess what . . . cupcakes! Grandma is getting on the computer every morning now to read the grandchildren’s blogs. So, if you have a blog, send her the connection to it. Don’t you think that is great that Grandma is starting to use the computer!

I went to a fun gardening class to which I have been looking forward for months. It was about getting your garden ready for the winter. I got some really helpful ideas. Most of the people taking these classes know so much more about gardens than do I. I feel like my questions are so rudimentary!

I also went to a Saturday morning full of classes at the church for scouting, specifically Eleven-Year-Old scouting since that is one of my responsibilities in Primary. It was very good and most teachers were so helpful and knowledgeable but it was kind of disappointing that my two Leaders of the Eleven-Year-Old scouts were not there (even after all the reminders and candy treats that I gave them). I wonder what some of these people are thinking when they miss opportunities to be inspired. I certainly needed a shot in the arm since I thought I was all done with scouting (especially being over those Leaders of the Eleven-Year-Old year scouts since it is so hard to explain how important that year is).

Mostly, I have been consumed with Children’s Sacrament Meeting Presentation that is coming so quickly. I handed out parts today and was running around to find all the Spanish parents that I don’t know very well since they meet in a separate sacrament meeting. It should be an interesting presentation since some of our parts will be in Spanish. Katie will be here the weekend we are having it. She will help me not be so nervous. Morty comes this week so I am looking forward to that. I should think of a home improvement for him to do while he is here!!! Adrianne is planning to come the weekend of Paige Jensen’s wedding which is the week after Katie will be here. Maybe she will help me make (well, just frost by the time she arrives in town) the 100 cupcakes that Krista Jensen asked me to make!

I had another interesting institute class and afterwards went to the temple so it felt like a great day. It was about agency; we were studying 2 Nephi chapter 2. In order to have agency, you must have 4 things (found in that chapter):

P-power to choose (2 Nephi 2:15-16)

O-opposition (2 Nephi 2:11)

L-laws of God (2 Nephi 2:13)

K-knowledge (2 Nephi 2:5)

We also studied Elder Christofferson’s conference talk. His picture reminds me of Uncle Jack. I liked his thought to “reject the self-absorbed life”. There is so much selfishness in the world.

Adrianne is enjoying her six hour vet class every Monday and is doing everything that she would do as a vet tech right now. She loves it and sees that she is very capable and comfortable with the work. She is very busy with the Sun bear research; luckily her job on campus is the Sun bear research so most of the time she is in the lab, she is making money. Katie is at graduation count down with only one class next term that she needs to take. She is a pro behind the scenes as director in the news studio on campus. Everyone in the family knows that she is good at telling people what to do; actually, she does have an eye for seeing what needs to be done and taking care of it! Katie finally found a dentist that is good in Provo and on the discount plan for students. Adrianne, you should get that name from her since you will be in town more years than Katie.

We had a little bit of a computer scare this weekend with a malware called Windows Police Pro that just wouldn’t quit. Thankfully, instead of having to do all the many steps described online to get rid of it, I just recently learned that our neighbor, Notto Jensen does that sort of thing with his new business, Technology Butler. He was nice enough to work on it this morning. Although my goal of getting the news I had written out on Sunday evening had to be slightly delayed, I am relieved that problem is fixed.

I love you all. Enjoy the beautiful fall colors!

October 11, 2009

Dear Children,

We had a nice, full weekend. Our Saturday was especially fulfilling since I wanted to fill it doing something fun but challenging but also learned the day before that the temperature might drop to freezing during the night. So, I also had to give the garden some much needed attention. We started our day with Dad making omelets from lots of vegetables in our garden while I finished part of a Christmas gift I had started during the week. (Remember that I committed to not do anything I “had” to do but only things I “wanted” to do this week? Well, that didn’t work out as soon as people learned we were really home so I only got one part of a gift done!) After breakfast, Dad took me on one of his regular bike rides, over Bull Mountain. I am sure that Dad does it a lot faster; both up and down the mountain (his speedometer said he was going 38 miles an hour at one point . . . not ME!). We were riding more than two hours. It felt good but Saturday night as I lay in bed, I wasn’t sure if it was the bike ride or the garden work that made me hurt.

As much as I enjoy working in the garden, I felt all week like it was one of the “have to” jobs that I tried to ignore. Learning that it might freeze though, I determined I must do a “have to” job since I didn’t want to lose all my summer’s work. After our bike ride, I gave much needed attention to the tomatoes and peppers, pulling all the vegetables to preserve and stripping all the leaves to get every bit of sun possible, and Dad pulled the green beans, cut off our one big pumpkin for the front porch, and the last of the beets. We filled two green garbage cans and my conscience is now clear of my “garden stewardship”!

Dad and I ended the day in the Whisenant’s driveway for a neighbor movie. The driveway was filled with a crowd and the neighbor children loved it; laughing hard and loud at its silliness. The movie was animated, called Monsters versus Aliens. It was a nice setting; they even had an outdoor heater.

It has been a week of regrouping. Dad was able to book himself solid for the next two weeks with work; something that hasn’t happened for months. I am thankful for that. I know that Ramona and Ivan came back to Oregon while they are in the states for two weeks for Chris’s wedding. I am hoping that he asks why the accounts receivable isn’t taken care of, since the office doesn’t return my calls about that work. Meanwhile I got a couple of other side jobs and I am determined, after the messages from conference, to be in the temple more each week.

I also started my institute class this week. We are doing a doctrinal study of the Book of Mormon, Religion 421-423. It should be very good. Our discussion this week was on the Tree of Life vision in First Nephi. We talked of how the Book of Mormon exposes the deceptive ways of Satan while other books of scripture rarely mention the devil and his reality. Going along the message of President Monson in the priesthood session of general conference, we talked about anger and strong emotions blocking the spirit and how it can become consuming. President Stark, my teacher, pointed out how it seems these days that people are so caught up with being anger over our government. He quoted 3 Nephi 11:29 and reminded us not to get drawn into debate so easily or in spiteful contentious activity.

I like the visual when my instructor said, “hold tight, KNUCKLE WHITE TIGHT, to the iron rod” since the rivers of filthy water and the mists of darkness are in such close proximity to the iron rod. He reminded us that every virtue, pushed to an extreme, can become a vice and referred to that great talk from Dallin Oaks about our strengths becoming our weaknesses (Ensign October 1994).

I have pictures that Morty sent me from his and Katie’s last minute trip to Southern California to see the Cardinals play. It is hard for me to admit this since; as a mother I worry about them missing school and work, but it is a good thing that they saw their team play this past week since I learned yesterday that they are out of the playoffs now. I am sorry for that since they were excited that they had some other playoff tickets. I would always like their team to win so that there might be something worth rooting for. Morty’s pictures made me smile; they looked like they were having a great time together.

This week was Adam’s birthday so we drove to Jefferson on Wednesday evening to take him to dinner. Dad and I told him he could pick any place he wanted to eat so he chose Sizzler’s. It had been YEARS since we went to a Sizzler’s; I don’t think there is one any where up here anymore. It had a great salad bar. Adam has been there before since Uncle Mickey and Aunt Lynn know the manager, so he told us about all of his favorite foods there.

I made Adam a pair of pajamas for his birthday. I tried to find some sports car fabric but when I found fabric with scout awards all over it, I decided to use that. Adam is now in Webelos and the fabric has all the parts to the scout law (which he needs to memorize as a Webelos scout) so that might help him remember those. I remember them by singing a song called “Trusty Tommy” that I taught Nate, Tyler Chism and Michael Pierson when I had them as Webelos. I remember seeing Michael Pierson outside the door of his Eagle Scout Board of Review humming the song so he could remember it in case he was asked to repeat it!

We had a delightful visit that evening; it is so refreshing to be able to spend time with a grandchild. There is something so special about being a grandparent and the very endearing bond that is between a child and their grandparent. Every child deserves to have grandparents that adore them!!!

What is so impressive about Adam was how, at dinner, he was retelling Dad all about President Monson’s conference message from Sunday morning. Adam was intrigued by the jar of warm fuzzies sent to the prophet on his birthday; the prophet has repeatedly asked us to do something kind for someone in need and I believe I remember that he expressed that also in an earlier pre-birthday wish. The prophet’s conference message centered around the question, “What have I done for someone else today?” Adam remembered so many of the details of the many acts of service reported to President Monson. Adam has a very keen memory and quite a sensitive nature.

After Adam’s birthday dinner we extended our visit to Kyre’s place where we played some games and visited with Kyre and Klaire. Klaire loves visitors and is ready to take center stage to show everyone what she is learning. She had a pile of library books to read, a couple of them she had already put to memory many of the pages.

We talked of the good Utah family times with Scott on Sunday and his love for his institute class and its special meaning in his life. It is amazing to consider what we take for granted. He is looking forward to the chance to hear about any of the conference talks. If you have a favorite, he would love to hear from you. I am sending him some summaries this week but you can send him the entire text of your favorite.

Grandma Bitter called me this week excited to tell me that she got on the computer and was able to pull up the blog email and to print off my last family letter. I was very impressed! Her birthday is this week.

Dad and I enjoyed Sunday dinner at the Chandler’s; they also invited grandma. The day was colder than we had been used to so it was quite pleasant to sit by their earth stove and talk for an evening. Which explains is why I did not finish this letter on Sunday! I also received news this weekend that Marie Floyd is terminally ill and her heart is failing her. She was sent home from the hospital not expected to live more than a month. Her family has all been here to visit. I feel sorry for Jim and the children; she is only Dad’s age.

I hope that you enjoying experiencing the seasons change and making preparations for fall. I have been reading Elder Christofferson’s conference talk on Moral Discipline for my class this Thursday. Here is a quote to remember:

Choose the right because it is right, even when it is hard! I love you. Love, Mom

October 5, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADAM!

Dear Children,

Contented exhaustion is what I feel after the last couple of weeks. What a mix of emotions I have felt as our family said goodbye to Grandpa Bitter! Funerals are always a great time of family gathering and reminiscing of fun family traditions and happy times. I was so pleased that so many family members made the effort to come to Utah to honor Grandpa. I LOVE being around all of you and seeing you so happy to gather with your siblings.

As we rushed to make arrangements to travel to Utah, we figured that we would be there just a few days and stay at Heidi and Bill’s home since Grandma’s home would certainly be full of out of town family. After arriving on Sunday, we quickly felt the importance of staying longer and close by; there was surprisingly room to spare. Sunday evening was a potluck meal at Grandma’s with over 60 family members and many were still traveling! It was nice to be of help to both Grandma and also Julie and Jerry who are there in town all the time.

Dad was relieved to be in town early enough to be able to help dress Grandpa on Monday afternoon. That morning it was a great feeling to round the corner of the staircase and see three of Grandma’s sons surrounding her to give her a blessing as they prepared to leave for the mortuary. Dad, Doug and Jerry had the opportunity to dress Grandpa and then have a quiet lunch all together. I headed to campus to watch Katie direct the BYU Daily News at noon. She has really grown in her expertise; all changes or questions are run through her for split second decisions while broadcasting. She was working with a new producer that day so there were lots of mistakes to cover up. We met up for lunch with Shawn and Aubrey, who had arrived the night before on their rearranged triangle trip from the Bay Area to Utah and then ending at a weekend wedding in Los Angeles with a side trip to Disneyland.

For the Monday night viewing, the mortuary was beautiful and many family members had done much to make the setting a perfect one. The room was filed with displays, pictures and even a slide show. From the first minute to the last, there was a steady stream of people; I was so surprised at how many people came. I thought it would be mainly family but there were acquaintances from long ago that even Grandma had a hard time to remember. Morty, Aaron and Nate arrived later that night and decided to also stay at Grandma’s since there was room; they were only going to be there for one night.

The Tuesday morning viewing and funeral services went forward flawlessly. All family members were well prepared as all Dad’s siblings spoke and most grandsons were pall bearers since they were separated into two “platoons”, as Grandpa would have labeled it, with responsibilities at either the church or the cemetery. One of my favorite parts of the service was when all the grandchildren and great grandchildren stood and turned in their seats in the front to sing “I am a Child of God.”

The day of the funeral was absolutely perfect, including the weather. The afternoon service to bury Grandpa at Camp Williams at the point of the mountain showed signs of a storm approaching with lots of wind whipping the flags. The graveside service was accompanied by a 21 gun salute which was extremely intriguing to the great grandsons. Five year old Ryan Young said as he shushed someone next to him, “Now this is going to be the good part!” Dad likes this picture by the casket since it represents his bond with his dad in life and beyond. Being the beginning of October, our trip started with summer-like heat and ended with driving through lots of slush, driving hail storms through northern Utah while snow plows were already busy at work and snow from Snowville Utah to past Burley Idaho! The day after the funeral an early, season chilly storm had hit Utah.

The turn in the weather curtailed our plans to bike to Bridle Veil Falls but we still hiked the Y one morning. We decided to stay in Utah and watch the BYU versus Utah State football game and then through general conference. I had forgotten how great Grandma and Grandpa’s football seats were! It was fun to sit so close. Making it even more fun was that Katie and Adrianne came over at half time and visited with us.

On Thursday night Adrianne volunteered to watch the girls so Heidi and Bill could go to their annual dinner with Elder Bateman. She was the perfect auntie and made bread so they could make their own personal pizzas. The girls slept over with us so they could have a sleepover to try and make up for us not sleeping for a few days at their home. We had a fun “sleepover” with the Brady family the first night that we arrived in Utah. They were staying at one of Bill’s client’s homes in Midway. It was very luxurious and gorgeous and so were all the surroundings with the fall leaves changing color in the canyons!

Dad and I love being on campus. On Friday morning I took Dad to see Katie’s broadcast while I took Jenna and Rebekah to see Adrianne’s lab. Adrianne showed us her work in the sixth floor laboratory with all the Sun bear samples and then, in the basement of the Widtsoe Building where all her “fresh” samples are in freezers, we ate our lunch! It is the very hall that a bat landed on me during an experiment while I was in college; it still gives me the creeps. Among the locked up samples and animal bones we shared the lunch that we had packed for Adrianne. Looking at all the meticulous and time intensive methods used to not jeopardize the integrity of the research, it was very apparent why this study is SO overwhelming. We all thought it would be done in a year but now I HOPE it will be done before Adrianne graduates as I believe she is hoping it will be her senior paper.

As soon as Adrianne had to head back to work, Dad was coming back from the studio so we got to visit upstairs again while Dad got a tour. This time, Adrianne let Jenna and Rebekah handle a couple of bags of rat liver and kidneys! Dad really loved his visit to Katie’s studio and was amazed at how professional they were and with Katie’s leadership skills. He got a wiggly voice describing the calm in which the team handled the interruption of the late breaking news story of a small fire in the Wilkinson Center.

My favorite session of conference was the Saturday morning session and the several messages about learning to be guided by the Holy Ghost. There were some very detailed instructions to which I hadn’t ever given much thought besides the interesting teaching from Elder Scott about the importance of our confidence! Several family members were there including Katie, Wendi and Heidi’s family. I fixed an egg puff and a huge bowl of fruit filled with Grandma’s yummy pluets that I picked earlier that morning. When I mentioned to Adrianne that I was making egg puff, she said she was also. She and her roommates had invited many friends over for an in between conference FEAST of cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, egg puff, pumpkin pancakes and tortilla soup. When I asked her if any cute young men came, she said many did and one young man was kind enough to stay to clean up until every dish had been done. Dad said that he must be of the Army of Helaman who was taught correctly by his mother!

In between Saturday sessions we gathered Wendi, Rebekah and Jenna and went to Katie’s apartment to hang her new curtains for which we had found bright yellow material. They are bright and make her room look cheery. She wanted a new look instead of everything being pink or Cardinal baseball red. After the Saturday sessions we had a big Crockpot meal and then I took Jenna and Rebekah to Pleasant Grove while Dad and Bill got ready for the priesthood session. One of Morty’s friends asked Katie and her roommate to join her indoor soccer team since they wouldn’t have any men on the team for their recreational game during the priesthood session of conference. Even though Katie couldn’t find her shin guards or goalie gloves, she still played with the boldness that is characteristic of our Katie! I knew her team was in for a difficult battle when I saw that most of the players walking into the complex were Hispanic! They lost by a big margin but looked like they had fun.

I didn’t take as many notes this year during conference, just enjoying the listening part mainly. I loved President Eyring’s Sunday morning message about families when he reminded me that moms cannot, nor even God, can compel happiness in a child. My favorite message Sunday afternoon was Elder Jeffrey R Holland’s very direct and strong message to us to embrace the divinity of the Book of Mormon and its God. We were at Heidi and Bill’s place for the Sunday afternoon conference. We watched conference with Grandma, Jennie, Mikael and Miley in the morning and then said our goodbyes in between the sessions in hopes that we could stop at the cemetery with enough time to also get to the afternoon session in Daybreak. I am glad that we took the time to stop at the cemetery. Dad said that he knew that was just a resting place for Grandpa Bitter but felt that his spirit was still close to home with Grandma. It is always hard to leave Grandma’s home but even harder on this day. She thanked Dad for being the backbone of her home for the week; she puts a lot of trust in Dad. I was glad that we had already planned a trip back in November for the Utah game after Thanksgiving.

It sounds like most the siblings will be at Aaron’s home in Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. Heidi and Bill both said they want to go, Katie and Adrianne plan to go even though they both were there last year and Shawn and Aubrey plan to be there even though they will not be able to travel up to Utah with most of us. It should be a fun and lively time together.

At Heidi’s home we saw the last session of conference, ate a wonderful dinner and played games with the girls: Candyland, Chutes and Ladders and a Doctor Seuss game. Even when it came time to blow up our bed, the girls made a fun game of it. It was fun to learn of Rebekah’s kindergarten class at the new school. She gets to wear a uniform to school.

Although I was so looking forward to adventures and relaxing with Dad on our dream trip to Hawaii for these two weeks, there is really no place I would rather have been than in Orem, Utah with all of you. Like Dad said at one point, “We have loved looking forward to our trip for over a year but we have loved Dad (Grandpa) for a lifetime.” I looked ahead to see when the cruise we hoped to go on would be offered again and it is either during BYU April graduation or next fall so next fall seems the perfect choice for us. Even though Dad and I would be extremely excited if any of our single children announced they were getting married, PLEASE do not choose the last part of September or beginning of October of next year to do so!

I have made a commitment to TRY and NOT do what I “should” do when I get back into town but what I would love to do: start making Christmas gifts. I loved last year’s Christmas when I was able to share some homemade gifts with many of you. I planed all year to do even more but I DO NOT know what happened to those winter, then spring and summer months! Here I am at my normal “think about Christmas” time and I am just able to start with my sewing! Since I was supposed to be in Hawaii this week, I will look at the week as one extra week in my life and fill it with my second favorite thing, creating gifts. I look forward to this chance to make what I hope will be the perfect gift as much as I look forward to the Christmas season!

As for the earlier week before heading to Utah, Dad and I had a great time with last minute planning and preparations for the Hawaii trip so it is kind of like we will had some of the fun of it without going! We took our fins and snorkel equipment to the gym to practice snorkeling and planned all our side trips at each port. We also planned our weekend around the Florida State versus BYU game. It was the evening of a ward member’s wedding. I was asked twice if I could please help with the set up that afternoon but I had to refuse even though it is so hard for me to say no since I refused to miss the game. I gave most of my day Thursday and Friday helping with her flowers, making 34 centerpieces. Eileen Daniels was in charge of the flowers and decorations and had approached me several weeks ago to start working for her. In the same conversation, she asked me to block out those two days for that particular wedding. I was more willing, even though I knew I would be busy trying to get things in order to leave for two weeks, since I hoped it would help put money into our household account. Halfway thorough the work though, I learned she thought I was just volunteering as I usually do! That was kind of disappointing even though I would have been glad to volunteer; I just don’t think I would have given so many hours considering the timing. I did volunteer for the kitchen (and volunteered Dad to help) so I could get out of Julie Brandt’s pleading that I be there earlier in the night (during the football game!). I am getting kind of tired of the “expectation” that the ward members will put their lives on hold for a few days to create these incredible receptions that are out of a family’s normal wedding budget. Eileen’s business is kind of complicating the grey area of this all being reasonable; some families pay and some families don’t. It doesn’t seem fair to the families that are willing to sacrifice to pay and align their plans to what they can afford. I am happy to help; it just seems that it has gotten overboard in the expectation part.

Morty was in Provo for the Florida State game. He was glad that he was up there for Grandpa Bitter’s last weekend living and his last BYU football game that he would attend. He said that he looked great on Sunday when he left. A joke at the funeral was that the disappointing loss against Florida is probably what made him sick! Katie wasn’t at the game for once since she was working in Salt Lake for the NBC Dew Tour. I don’t know what all that is about but it had something to do with bike racing and such. She loved being inside NBC’s sports broadcasting truck. That would be her goal, to be the director in a sports broadcasting truck. Morty and Katie were in Denver last weekend at the Denver-St. Louis game. Adrianne was here in Portland that same weekend for her friend’s, Meg, wedding. I felt like ships passing in the night since we left for Utah before she did!

Aubrey has been training so hard for a Nike half marathon only to injure herself after placing in her most recent race. She still hopes to be able to run later this month. Shawn has been toying with the idea that he might look for a MBA program. He got some advice from Uncle Dave this past week so he is not sure. Sunhee is on a soccer team again this year. Dad and I hope to get down there next week to watch her play. She reminds me of watching her aunts play!

I forgot to mention that on our last night at Grandma’s home, TJ and Kelly came over for a visit. TJ showed us the buzz haircut that he and Jonathan gave themselves, just for the fun of it. They asked Grandma if they could live in her basement; she was so thrilled. They are expecting a baby in May. Grandma thought the difference between TJ’s face color and bald scalp was too dramatic so here she is blending some of her makeup on him to blend the two colors together! And, he is allowing it!

Today Adam turns 10. Can you believe it??? Dad and I will connect with him this week for his birthday. If we were in Hawaii we wouldn’t have even had cell coverage to give him a call. He had a birthday party at Kyre’s on Saturday with games, a piñata, and pizza! I am excited that Adam will be staying with us in December while Mickey and Lynn go to Texas for their son’s wedding. It will be fun to do Christmas preparations with a grandchild. He will be able to help me with neighborhood and friend gifts and deliveries and maybe even our widow chili deliveries! Yeah!

Speaking of Christmas, here is the family Christmas gift rotation for this year:

Scott and Kyre’s Family gives to Shawn and Aubrey’s Family

Heidi and Bill’s Family gives to Aaron

Morty gives to Nate

Shawn and Aubrey’s Family gives to Katie

Aaron gives to Adrianne

Nate gives to Scott and Kyre’s Family

Katie gives to Heidi and Bill’s Family

Adrianne gives to Morty

Yes, Christmas is coming!!!

I love you very much. Love, Mom

Just before leaving town, I was able to slip away to travel down to Salem to tell Scott the news of Grandpa’s passing so he would hear it face to face. I am glad that I did so; we were able to laugh and cry together with lots of memories of Scott’s. I also had a feeling that I wanted to tell them I was giving Scott this news and ask if there was a more private place to tell him. I grabbed a list of phone numbers as I left the house in hopes I could reach someone. It all worked out for the best in that the chaplain came in as we talked and let us know that, if there were a recording of the services, I could send it to his office and he would call Scott in to listen to it. That will be a great benefit. He also invited Scott to come to his office on a later day and he would let him call Grandma on a regular phone and in private. Now that is a huge privilege!