Too Much Birthday!

About 30 minutes after the best surprise of my life, Ron came home from work. Since our young adult children were STARVING we took them to Subway where they partook from the sandwichy goodness. It was so much fun talking and catching up and getting to know Dustin. You know, I really like this guy. Good job, Heather!

Saturday morning, Christie climbed into bed with me like old times sake. We talked for quite some time and then Ron brought us both breakfast in bed--whole wheat waffles, bacon (OK, Christie did not have bacon but she COULD have), fresh strawberries and orange juice. What a treat! Ron, Jennifer, and Jacob then came in and standing in a row at the foot of the bed clasped their hands in front of them and began singing a breath-taking arrangement of "Happy Birthday." Truly indescribable. You would have to be there.

After breakfast, Gary and Vicki graciously allowed us to come over and ride their quads. Gary made a one mile track throughout his property by getting up at 6:00 am. I was touched by his sacrifice. It was the first time I had ever driven an ATV and truthfully, between you and me, I'm not very good at it. But, it was still very fun.



We then cleaned up, put on church clothes and went to the Sacramento Temple to do baptisms. My sister, Carol and her husband Dan and daughter Lauren joined us. When Ron had asked me a few weeks earlier what I wanted for my birthday, I told him I would like to go to the temple. Our ward's youth were planning on going and I couldn't imagine a better place to be with my little family. Ron knew the others were coming and called the temple to set up a family baptismal session. He then called a few good people in our stake to see if they had family names to use. He invited Dan and Carol to come, too. Can I just say again how awesome he is? The amazing thing is I had NO idea any of this was happening. We have many people who can keep a very good secret.

I absolutely loved being in the temple with my family. Ron was the recorder and Carol and I were "towel women." Dan, Jacob, and Dustin took turns baptizing different people. It was very sweet to see them exercise their priesthood. I don't think I will ever forget the tender look Jacob gave Jennifer before he began baptizing her for others.

We all went to Chile's for a late lunch. The food was great and it was fun laughing and talking. Carol interrogated Dustin during lunch. "How do you feel about changing dirty diapers?" "When your five of your six kids are acting up in Sacrament Meeting, who is going to take them out?" Dustin answered every question with flying colors. Did I mention how much I like this guy? Good job, Heather!


The rest of the day was filled with walks on the levee, Chinese food, Marie Callendar's Chocolate Satin Pie (my favorite!) and more talking. We got to bed very late. It truly was the best birthday I can remember. I think they should come and surprise me on my 100th birthday. By then I probably won't remember my 50th and it will be another great surprise!

Surprise!

A week ago Friday started as a normal day. Changed sheets. Washed towels. Picked up the house. Worked on a Sacrament meeting talk (OK, maybe that wasn't a typical part of a normal day, thank goodness!) and took Emily to and from school. Friday evening after a delicious dinner I took Emily over to the Stone's so Emily could get a blessing. She had a sore throat and twisted her ankle. Her dad wasn't home from work and she was performing a preview of The Music Man that evening. She was worried about how she would do. Her Uncle Gary graciously gave her a blessing and then I dropped her off at the high school. I saw my Bishop in the school parking lot and we smiled and waved to each other. Than it was time to go home.

I couldn't wait to see Ron! We hadn't seen each other since Wednesday morning. As I neared my home I saw a car with a Utah license plate around the corner from where I live.

"Oh, great! It's probably a BYU student selling the Living Scriptures," I thought. I have nothing against the Living Scriptures. Or enthusiastic BYU students selling various products--aka Living Scriptures, satellite systems, or pest control. In fact in our area, these earnest young fellows are affectionately called the "Bug Boys" or the "Dish Boys" or some other term of endearment. But frankly, I'm not in the market for The Living Scriptures and I hate hurting people's feelings.

As I opened the garage door, I was somewhat disappointed to see that Ron still wasn't home from work. As I unlocked the door leading to my laundry room I noticed my alarm system wasn't set.

"That's strange," I thought. "I'm sure I set it."

As I walked down the hall I heard voices--male voices.

"That's strange," I thought. "I'm sure I didn't leave the TV on."

Instead of calling 911 like any rational person--or quickly backing out of the house, into my car, and running back to the Stone's where THEY could call 911, I kept on walking down the hall.

Female voices were now added to the male voices.

"Maybe I did leave the TV on," I thought.

As I approached the family room to turn off the TV (which really wasn't on) I saw out of the corner of my eye people--lots of people--standing around in the living room. Instead of screaming, running back down the hallway and out of the house, I took a second look.

There was Christie. And Heather. And Jennifer. And Jacob. And someone I had never seen before. It was my children! Who should have been in Utah! There was much shrieking and rejoicing and hugs. They had driven all day in order to surprise me for my birthday which was the following day. Once I hugged everyone I turned to the "stranger" and asked, "Are you Dustin?" It was! Heather had brought her "special friend" home and it was great meeting him, too.

It was the beginning of the celebration of the BEST birthday EVER!

Top Ten Things: Happiness

I'm not a great fan of David Letterman, but I do enjoy his Top Ten List. Here are my top ten things (or people) that brings me happiness!

10. Successfully completing a challenging Sudoku puzzle.

9. A clear night when I can see thousands of stars or waking up early and watching the sunrise.

8. A trip to the library.

7. The feeling I have when I finish exercising.

6. Studying the scriptures.

5. Attending the temple.

4. Sew What's New and Book Club.

3. Going to lunch with friends.

2. A phone call with either my mother, my daughters, or my sisters.

1. When Ron finally gets home from work!

So, what brings you happiness?

Happy Birthday, Steven Barclay!

Ron and I went for a walk before the morning session of General Conference began. (It's my way of helping him exercise PLUS I get to earn another point for the Smokin' Hot Momma Challenge thank you very much.)

As we were walking, he mentioned that he couldn't believe it was already April.

"Yep, April 3rd," I replied. Two seconds later I randomly said, "Happy Birthday Steven Barclay!"

"Who is Steven Barclay?" he asked.

So, I told him the following story.

When I was a little girl, our next door neighbors had a son named Steven. We were best friends. I was a year older than him but we played together very nicely.

When I was four years old, my mother taught a family home evening lesson on the Plan of Salvation. The lesson really touched me. The next day when I went over to Steven's house to play, I told Steven and his mother that I was going to a beautiful place someday.

"Oh, is your family moving?" Mrs. Barclay asked with interest.

"No," I replied. "When I die, I will return and live with my Heavenly Father and it will be beautiful!"

She was impressed that a four year old would have such a concept of life after death. A short time later, she asked my mom more questions and then shared her desire for Steven to go to afternoon Primary with me. In those days, 3 year olds normally only attended Primary when their parents were serving in Primary, but how could my mother say, "no."

Soon, Mrs. Barclay was also attending morning Relief Society with my mom. A few months later, Mrs. Barclay was baptized and she was now Sister Barclay. When Steven was old enough, he was also baptized and his father joined the church many years later. By this time, our families were no longer next door neighbors but still kept in touch.

Every year on April 3rd, I recall that it's Steven Barclay's birthday and I always think about him and what a great friend he was. So Steven Barclay, you may not remember what good friends we once were, but Happy Birthday! Someday, we are both going to a beautiful place and it will be a joyous reunion.

The Case of the Missing Pyrex Dish and Other Mysteries

I like to think I have a fairly orderly home. I have enough home organization books where I SHOULD have an orderly home. However, sometimes my system of order simply is not enough and things go...missing.

Last Saturday, Ron was craving a batch of his special whole wheat waffles. He is the specialist in our family and always makes the batter. He looked for the cookbook containing the recipe and could not find it anywhere.

"Loralee," he called from the kitchen as I was standing in the laundry room at the other end of the house washing some clothes, "Have you seen the whole wheat cookbook?"

"What?" I called back. "I can't hear you."

"I said, have you seen the whole wheat cookbook?"

"No," I replied. "I never use it."

"Well, you know where EVERYTHING in our house is."

Well, how could I fail this challenge. I went through both cupboards containing our assortment of cookbooks. (How can one family accumulate so much recipe goodness? And I have even gotten rid of some over the years.) Alas, the whole wheat cookbook was not there. I admitted defeat.

A couple of days later, I noticed that one of my 13 x 9 Pyrex dishes was also missing.

"Emily, have you seen any stray 13 x 9 pans lying around the house--say in your bedroom?"

She hadn't. I tore cupboards apart. I cleaned out the refrigerator in the off chance that it might be hiding amongst the bounty there. I checked the big freezer thoroughly. No pan. I even checked areas of the kitchen I would NEVER store such a pan. It was not there.

In defeat, I bought another Pyrex baking dish when I bought the Easter Candy.

A couple of days ago, I noticed that the top to my replica Ten Virgins oil lamp that my mom bought me in Israel is missing. I looked all over the place for it. It's no where to be found.

This morning, I was gathering up all the towels to do a load of laundry. I knew that we had three kitchen towels just itching to be washed. Only two were in the kitchen. At this point I thought, maybe we have a ghost (or kleptomaniac) in our house.

And then the mysteries began to be solved.

I opened up the cupboard holding the powdered milk and there was the missing whole wheat cookbook.

Later this morning, I opened up the drawer holding the potholders and there was the missing towel.

A few minutes ago, Ron came in the house from the backyard.

"You'll never guess what I found outside," he said.

"What?" I asked.

"The 13 x 9 glass dish. I found it on top of the water barrel of all places."

I have no ideas how it got out there. Emily and Ron don't remember taking it outside. (Why would they?) And unless I was sleepwalking, I KNOW I didn't do it. That's one mystery that may never be solved.

Procrastination

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. It's a time to reflect on Jesus Christ's life, his sacrifice for us on the cross, and the miracle of his resurrection. I also like it because it means spring has arrived. One of my favorite times of the year (minus the allergies) is spring.

I also really like Easter candy--specifically Reese's Peanut Butter Easter Eggs. Imagine a peanut butter cup but egg-shaped and somehow much more satisfying. I usually buy my Easter candy several weeks early. However, I have learned through sad experience that if I have candy too early, it's gone before Easter which means I need to make another trip and buy more.

In an effort to keep the candy out of my mouth and the pounds off my hips, I postponed my Easter Candy shopping trip until yesterday.

I will never do that again.

Armed with coupons saving me $1.00 to $2.00 on various selections, I eagerly made my way to the Easter section at Target. Ron and Emily love the Starburst jelly beans and those made my way into my shopping cart. I picked up several more bags of candy and then began anxiously scanning the aisle for my beloved Reese's Peanut Butter eggs. I couldn't find them. I checked again more carefully. Yes, there was the advertised sales price listing the peanut butter eggs. Yes, there was the section that SHOULD have held the Reece's Peanut Butter eggs. But, there was not one package anywhere in sight!

I am not kidding when I say that I was very disappointed. Easter would not be the same without my beloved peanut butter eggs. My hips would probably thank me, but my taste buds definitely would be very deprived. I walked up and down all the aisles containing Easter merchandise thinking that maybe I would find an abandoned package somewhere. No luck. With a heavy heart I made my way to the checkout stands.

As I was preparing to stand in line I saw a shelf holding.....Reece's Peanut Butter Easter Eggs! I counted 12 packages. I grabbed two (I didn't want to be too greedy) and rejoiced!

The moral of the story is...when you really, REALLY look forward to one certain candy all year long, don't wait too long. You might not be able to find it.

So, what's your favorite Easter candy?