Liam's quilt

Third grandchild and I got his quilt done a day AFTER his due date.  Luckily he was considerate of my goal to complete the quilts before the grandchild arrived and still hasn't come yet.  I finished the top last weekend but when I dropped it off at the quilter, she told me it might be 1-2 weeks before she completed it as she had several before this one.  The next day I got a phone call that it was done.  She had finished a big quilt and realized that the setting pattern was perfect for this quilt so she put it on and finished it in an afternoon.  I was so excited to pick it up and finish it off.  It is called "Baby Bricks" and I used fabrics which relate to boys.  I included the red polka dot material which has been on all three of the grandchildren's quilts plus a couple of the "boy prints" from Niki's quilt as well.  Jessica likes orange so I wanted to have some orange in there too.

 

I love it and Jessica and Elessia assure me that they love it too.

 

I stood on a chair to try to get the whole quilt without success but
you get the general idea.

Close up of the "Boy Baby Bricks".
There are sharks, race car, airplanes, rockets, sports stuff, Legos, ocean,
hearts and crayons plus several solids and prints to blend things.

With the back

So I have informed Liam he can now be born...................(although for the record, I have predicted June 6th for his birthday.)

My kids are all talking about having their second children sometime in 2017.  I will still be in graduate school so that might be a challenge to get three quilts done but fortunately babies are very forgiving and I will also have several months warning. 

I still don't like to sew but there is something about making quilts which I love.  For some reason it makes me feel a closeness with my mom and it feels almost like I am doing something for these sweet grandchildren in her behalf.  My mom didn't make quilts for the grandkids on a regular basis although she did make one for Tosha and I know Lisa said that they made one together when Lisa was 12.  However she did like to quilt and I love the quilt that she made for me when I was a freshman at BYU.

Who sews circles---that is crazy!

She made it out of fabrics she had, many which were from clothes she had made me as I grew.  It was on my bed for all my BYU years and in our guest room for years after that.  The material is worn in many places and now it sits on a shelf in my bedroom where I see it every day.  Now, of course, I wish that I had kept it perfect and not used it, but some of its value is the using of it for all of those years.  When I came home from a hard day of school or I was sick or homesick, it was there to remind me of my mom, my home and family.  It still does that today.  (And for the record, Jessica has spoken for this quilt after Dad and I die.)

So sweet Liam, I hope that you love your baby bricks quilt....and we will teach you that it represents the love of your Grandma Hall and also your Great-Grandma Giberson and all of the grandmothers before her.  (And I am excited that you will also have the name Michael as that was one of Grandma Giberson's most favorite boy's names ever! No offense to her other sons--Todd, Rick, and Scott.  Michael was just the name that she liked for a very long time before she had sons.)

Now we are just waiting...........

Seminary Graduation

We are proud of Jena today as she graduated from seminary.  She and I have read all four books of the scriptures over the past 4 years.  It has been a sweet experience.  And she has loved all of her teachers and classes in seminary.  We have been so lucky in that regard.

The Walnut Grove Seminary Graduates
Madi Holmes, Kyler Sparrow, Ashlee Graham, Katherine Brown, Montana Wagstaff, Jonathan Hatch, Bishop Slater
Meggan Sparrow, Ryan Miggins, Jena

We were so lucky when Jena went to Clearfield that Torrey Morrill was the principal of the seminary there.  They are in our stake and had been in our ward briefly so he knew Jena and he made sure that things went great for her.  We are so grateful to him and all of the teachers at seminary.

Jena taught Bro. Morrill a secret handshake one day
and he says since then this is always how they
greeted each other.

Some of Jena's dearest friends graduated from seminary with Jena and we got a couple of pictures for memories for her. The kids in our stake and ward have been great examples to Jena and have taught her so much about living.  I know that she has also had an impact on their lives as well.

Jena and Nick
Nick is leaving on his mission during the first
week of August to Birmingham Alabama

Jena and Kate
Kate's birthday is two days after Jena's in September
She is submitting her mission papers this week.

Today was Kalie Watson's "farewell".  She leaves for the MTC on Wednesday for her mission to Anaheim CA Spanish-speaking.  We are so excited for her, but Jena is really going to miss her.  They have been friends for a long time. (We forgot to take a picture when we went after Church to enjoy some great food with her family so we stopped after seminary graduation and got her in her sweat pants.

 Our seminary graduate!

One graduation down.....Another graduation to come!

The countdown until graduation begins in earnest....

This has been a busy week---umm, I seem to say that every week.  I will have to learn some other words for "busy", I guess.  It has been a good busy however, although in between things I haven't felt great.  I ended the week with a headache and stomach bug.  Glad it only last a couple of days.  Mortal life--you got to love it!

We got stopped by the train on the way to school one morning
so I texted Gary this picture.  We both love trains and brag about it
when we get stopped by one.  By the time we got home
this picture was Gary's new home screen on his computer.

I did walk a few days this week.  It has been since last fall that I have walked down at Jensen Pond.  It is amazing how something I love to do gets disrupted (by two months of kidney stone drama) and it has taken me so long to get it back in the schedule.  I have great hopes to get back to walking 5 days a week when I no longer have to get up at 6 to get Jena off to high school---only one more day of a 6:00 a.m.  high school alarm.




Greenery along the path at Jensen Pond

Apparently the horse thinks the grass is greener
on the other side of the fence, too.

 

 
Things have changed along the Jensen Pond trail which I have always taken.  Some of the land along one side of the park has been sold and it is now a new subdivision. Yuck--it takes away some of the beautiful sight lines to the Great Salt Lake and also adds more traffic, noises, and people along my peaceful walk.  I think they call that stuff "progress" but I don't like it.

We have still had rain most of the week until Friday.  Out my kitchen window I noticed what I thought was a clod of dirt...until later when it had moved on its own.

That can't be comfortable with the shell
hanging down like that.  It was a fairly big snail.

One of the things which made this week so busy is that Jena is in her last play at Clearfield High.  Their production class is doing "Tartuffe" by Moliere.  She is a servant named Rose.  She loves it.  They had productions on Wednesday night, Thursday and Saturday night and one more tomorrow night. 

They had to dress up for school on opening night so here is Jena wearing a dress to school. Not her favorite, but that's what you do for opening night.  I haven't gotten a picture of her in her costume yet but will do that tomorrow.  They have had late night practices and half of a Saturday and Jena loves it all.  Last night the cast went to Red Robin after their performance and that was fun for her as well.

They have been having parties and treats all week in different classes as often happens at the end of school.  They had hot dogs in seminary which is really going the extra mile.

Friday was a big night as she headed to Senior Cotillion with Kate Meyer and a couple of other girls.

Here is her dressed and ready to go.
We found this dress in one shopping trip at the
second store.  That is a win for the home team.
Neither of us are big shoppers.

Brooke, Kate, Jena and Maddi
on the way to the dance

Kate texted me that during the dance they did some shout outs to different people and they called Jena out to the middle and gave her a shout out and applause.  Kate said Jena loved it although we haven't gotten her to say much about it to us.  She also danced the last dance in the middle with Nick and a few other seniors.  We do know she has had a fun time with her CHS family.  She will miss these seniors, many who have been in school with her since kindergarten.

She got home from the dance around 11:00 and got in her pjs and joined us in the TV room while we finished a show.  She fell asleep immediately.  It had been a busy week and she still had a busy Saturday ahead.

In addition to Jena's play and Red Robin dinner, Gary, Jena and I attended a funeral for Aunt Glenna on Saturday morning.  She just wanted a gravesite services with an "open mic".  It was very sweet and tender, just like Aunt Glenna.  Her children all shared feelings and some of the grandchildren, great grandchildren and some of her daughter-in-laws.

Then they all headed over to Gary's mom's house for pizza and salad (I headed home as I wasn't quite eating stuff like that yet.)  Glenna was Mom Hall's sister and her last sibling.  Uncle Carl passed away at Christmas time so the children felt great comfort in the fact that they were together again.  Gary and I discussed that we are lucky to be the oldest because we are not likely to be the last of our siblings alive.  These are always special but hard moments of life which reminds how grateful we are that families are eternal.

Rainy May



The week continues to be rainy here much more like April weather than May's.  It is somewhat annoying because it rained during times I had planned to do outside things and then is clearer when I had to do things indoor.  So it has messed a bit with my schedule.  Thanks to Gary, however, who delivered all of the neighborhood party flyers during a break in the weather on a day I was gone to meetings in Salt Lake.  That helped so much.

Monday night we went and saw "Over the River and Through the Woods" at the Hale Theatre.  It was a sweet story about two sets of grandparents and their relationship with their grandson.  Very touching!

Despite the ongoing rain, we fit in a couple of outside activities-- The Special Olympic Torch Run on Tuesday and The Final Rocket Launching for CHS Functional Skills class on Wednesday.

Jena could only attend the morning part of the Torch Run because of commitments at school and she rode in a car most of the way due to wet conditions and cooler weather.

The police escort coming into the Syracuse Wal-Mart
They got treats and drinks and high fives from
employees!

Jena rode with the Ballards so she and Jessica Ballard enjoyed the view from the back seat.

 

I picked Jena up from the Wal-Mart and dropped her off at school.  Here are her Special Olympic clothes but she was heading to the bathroom to change into "high school" clothes before joining her classes.

Tuesday was a long day for her as she had play practice after school and then Institute that night.  She headed to bed a bit early that night.

After I dropped Jena off, I headed to Salt Lake to a Select Health Awards Banquet.  We had received a grant from them for our peer presentation kit for the Utah Down Syndrome Foundation to help families teach others in the community about Down syndrome.  It was amazing to see all of the great programs which are being provided around the state.  There were 25 awards given out at this meeting and lunch.  It was a very great event.  We had a self-advocate Reed Hahn accept the award in our behalf.  He did great and then the wife of the governor who was helping with the awards stepped to the mic and talked about what a great man Reed was and what a great family who has been so active in the community all of these years.  I guess they are from the same basic area of Utah County and have known each other for years. It was very sweet.

My day was busy as well as I had to leave that early to meet with some of Ben's treatment staff with Ben, then get Jena from play practice and head off to school.  Gary went another direction as he and Allan started their summer bowling league that night.  For most of the first 20 years of our married life we only had one car, now with only Ben and Jena home, we would never make our schedule if we only had one car.  Crazy how life is.

Rocket Launching was Wednesday morning and the weather was great.  They had made their rockets earlier in the week so came ready to launch them.

I tried to get Jena and Gary to pose for a picture while she was preparing to launch...

And it is off....

Edward and Angelo, two of Jena's friends in functional skills, chased the rockets for everyone.  Jena helped some but they were the main guys.  They loved that part better than shooting their rockets and they even caught a few in the air.

This was Steven's first rocket launch and he loved it.  I loved the smiles on his face when he push the launch button and off went his rocket.

This one went straight up!

 And Angelo is trying to catch it.........

And while we were shooting our rockets, we had some Air Force jets fly over us.  Notice the black jet in the right center of the picture.

 

 And wasn't that cloud cover amazing.  It looked like batting on the sky.

 

And the group-- (Her teacher, Mr. Andreasen was away at meetings.) I took several pictures but couldn't get one with everyone looking in the same direction.  They were so great and did a great job helping each other and waiting for their turns.  We have been doing rocket launching or pinewood derbies since Jena was in sixth grade at the end of the school year.  I will miss it!  I am not sure STEPS will be interested but we will have to see.

This week was also unique because both of my grandchildren (and their parents) took airplane rides.  On Tuesday, Scott, Chantel and Scarlett flew to Florida to spend 10 days with her grandparents.

I pulled this picture off Facebook. They headed for the pool almost immediately upon arriving.  So far, we have heard that Scarlett loves the pool, has started walking all over the place, and has had her first encounter with a biting lizard and loved it.

The Wednesday morning, bright and early, Tosha, Austen and Niki headed to the Oklahoma Airport for their trip to Japan.  They flew commercial in two flights to Seattle, then had to wait at a hotel until the middle of the night and then got a military flight to Japan.  They have arrived but that is all we know since they left UD soil around 3:22 a.m. Thursday morning.

Niki did great on the US flights.  When they got on the plane for the second leg, they put him on the seat while they put stuff away and he tumbled out and got a black eye.  They left bad.  He has been a very content baby to sit and play with toys but has become a "mover and a shaker" now.  Here he is at the hotel in Seattle with his "tough" black eye.

I haven't heard how the plans have gone this weekend for these two little families but it might be possible that one set of them played in the Gulf of Mexico at the beach while the others were taking their first dip in the Pacific Ocean.  Hard to believe that my grandchildren's first trips to the beach and I missed them.  Oh well, we will make sure to have a trip or two to the beach with them some time.  I love the ocean and I hope they do too.

I think I can no longer tease my mother-in-law about a story that occur shortly before we left for Hong Kong in 1987.  We were visiting on a Sunday just a few days before we were leaving.  She introduced me to someone at Church and commented that we "might" be moving to Hong Kong.  I laughed because we were being packed up and leaving that next week!  We were moving to Hong Kong at that point.  As I Face-timed with Tosha, Austen and Niki (and their good friend, Erica) on Tuesday night, I understood her feelings.  It is hard to see part of your family going so far away and know that your contacts will be different and it will be a while before you see each other again. 

I have some advantages over my mother-in-law however--now we have emails and Facebook to keep in touch.  We will be able to do Facetime/Skpe also.  (I think we figured there is about a 13 or 14 hour time difference.) Also because we have done this ourselves, I truly know what a great opportunity it is for them to have this experience.  I can't wait to share in their adventures from a distant.  And we hope to make a few trips out there to spend time with them as well.  Like I told them, first is jet lag--then the next two months are amazing because you feel like you are on vacation--then there is 6 months where you are "oh no, we have to live real life here." -- and then you grow to love it and it becomes your home and when you leave you will be so sad and so grateful!  At least that is how it has been for us wherever we have lived and then moved.

While these guys have been traveling for fun and for work, Jessica and Elessia have been busy finishing up preparations for little Liam's arrival.  They report that they are almost done with the painting--one more coat on the ceiling and some little touch-ups here and there.  The crib should arrive this week and the new carpet the week after.  The carpet will probably come after he does but they are keeping him in a cradle near them the first little bit anyway so he doesn't care about carpet in his room.  Doctor reports that everything is looking good.  I also finally completed the quilt top for Liam and will take it to the machine quilter to quilt next week.

Our nephew Eric and his wife Brianne had their baby boy on Friday--Hyrum Ericson McKinney.  We are so excited for him and Liam to be friends.  He came a week early (he was due on May 27) at 8 lbs and 11 oz.

Look at all of his hair.
Eric, Brie, Emily and Hyrum

Friday, Gary's Aunt Glenna passed away after struggling with her health for a long time.  Her husband passed away at Christmas time last year so that is a lot for their children, but at least they are free from the physical limitations they both had for several years.  This is Mom Hall's last sibling which is a hard moment in a person's life.  She has been a great support and sister to Glenna especially over these past few months since Carl passed away.

Ben was able to transition on Friday from the CRU to day treatment which means that he comes home at night at 8:30 ish and then goes back in the morning.  They also are allowing him to stay home all day today which is nice.  Technically on day treatment they are not allowed to miss a day unless they are very sick but Ben has been trying to attend the Singles Ward and they supported that by allowing him to be home the whole day.  It is nice to have him sleeping here at nights.  Medication still is a struggle for him but hopefully he can find a balance he and we can live with.

Jena is busy getting ready for a play at school and one at Centerpoint so her life is filled.  It is less than 2 weeks until her high school graduation!  It is so hard to believe that it is finally almost here.  She is so excited (and I am counting the days when I don't have to get up at 6:00 everyday of the work week.)  Her next two weeks are the normal craziness of senior life with events and activities and play practices to keep her busy.  Love that girl, too.

I did get some yard work done yesterday including planting some flowers and a couple of vegetable plants.  While in school it is craziness to think I can manage more than a few plants.  Especially as our August is shaping up to be very very busy!  Gary and Jena went around and cleaned out the flag poles in preparation for Memorial Day tomorrow.

I think that sums up the week.  Hope you have a nice Memorial Day as well.

Ode to Books......or can you hoard books?

Sometimes things connected together happen in such a way that it causes me to think about that subject more deeply than normal.  I have had several of those moments lately in regards to books and I decided that it was worth a blog post. 

Disclaimer:  I love books as you will see if you read this whole post.  However I understand that not everyone is a book lover.  I don't get that but I acknowledge it--I have several people in my own family who are not and I still love them to pieces.  However, if you don't like books you probably will think this whole post is over the top so you can stop reading NOW.

In March, I made a trip to Texas and while there added a number of books on my ongoing reading list.  One nice thing about memo pads on phones is that it is a great way to actually write down book recommendations.  So while touring my friend Andrea's new house, I checked out her book shelves along the way and added several new books to that list. 

Then in April on Facebook, there was a post in one of the mental health groups that I am in that related to hoarding but some of the comments specified hoarding books---um, is that even possible?  For me, books are valuable and meaningful.  Is keeping books hoarding them!  Does it count if they all have a "place" to sit in my house?  Should I give them away to somewhere that needs them "worse"?  I have been thinking about that ever since reading those comments on that post.

Then later in the month, I overheard someone talking about spring cleaning and taking a lot of books to the prison for the inmates to read.  Maybe I should do that too?? More thoughts and musing about books.

Then a friend of mine posted some quotes about books by authors on Facebook which I then reposted to my book loving friends.  I loved them all and if you want to view them you can check them out on my Facebook page.

"Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably."  C.S. Lewis

"Reading makes immigrants of us all.  It takes us away from home, but more important, it finds homes for us everywhere."  Jean Rhys

"Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book."  Jane Smiley

"To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life."  W. Somerset Maugham

"In books I have traveled not only to other worlds but into my own."  Anne Quindlen

"She reads books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live."  Annie Dillard

"In the end, we all become stories."  Margaret Atwood


Wednesday while Scarlett was here, I cleaned up our toy closet so that I could pull out some new toys for her and make the closet itself more accessible to her as she and the other grandkids grow.  Along one wall are most of our children's books--shelves of them!

 

Before I started I was determined that I would send some of them off to a place which could "really" use them.  However as I organized the shelves, I couldn't believe the memories which are connected to so many of these books.

 

The editions of American Girl and Babysitter Club which Jessica loved as a young girl.  I saved a few of them so that if she ever wanted them or one of my granddaughter that they would be here for them.  I also saved a few Goosebumps books which Scott and Ben read, although not in the same way that Jessica read.

 

Then there is almost a whole row of non-fiction books.  Scott rarely read fiction and even when he was little, he would ask if the book was real or not if I was going to read to him.  That led to us buying lots of science books, especially related to lizards, snakes, and the ocean.

 

 

Then there are the favorites.  Tosha loved Corduroy.  I must have read The Fly Went By to Jessica over a hundred times before she was 2.  She loved that book.  Ben loved Go Dog Go--Jena The Cat in the Hat.  (As I mentioned this was not Scott's genre of choice.) Each book seemed to have a connection to one or more of our children...so many memories to feel and think about as I ordered the shelves.  Not one book yet has made it somewhere else.  Some day, but now they sit waiting for new memories to be made with the next generation.  I can hardly wait!

 

Then came Thursday.....I mentioned that my sister, Valerie, came in for a writer's conference in Provo and had a book signing.  This is where she had it.

 

 

 

 

What book lover would not LOVE a book store like this!  This is located on Center Street in Provo, Utah.  It is different levels, has new and used books of all kinds and has several rare additions of famous books.  I actually stood at the door by my sister during almost my whole stay because I knew that I could get very caught in a store like this and I would be there all night and no telling how many books I might end up with.

 

It is hard to see in this picture but the checkout counter is in the left and
framed in stacks of books.  Very cool!

 

My sister and I talked about our love for books and saving books.  Both of us have Babysitter Club books for our daughters. I talked about regretting that I hadn't made sure to keep some Trixie Belden books from my childhood.  Valerie commented that she also remembered those books at our house when she was growing up.  I said that I should look it up on the internet some time and get a couple for old time's sake.

 

Other people came to her table so I started wandering and I took a few pictures.  Seriously, book lover's heaven.

 

In my wanderings, I happened upon a row of Nancy Drew books.  There were 20-30 copies of different stories.  It occurred to me that this would be the section where there might be a Trixie Belden book.  Sure enough on the bottom row there were four copies.  It was fate or karma or whatever--I bought the Book 4 as the other ones were actually written later than my elementary school days.  It was amazing to read the titles of the series and to still have recollections of some of the stories.  Our minds are amazing--too bad I can't remember everything I should do in a day now.

 

$3 is not much to pay for memories.  My elementary school library, eating an apple and reading on my bed--sometimes with a flashlight past my bedtime, sharing books with my friends--that's a lot for $3.  I actually reread it and like old friends the characters were still the same and it was so familiar. Not great literature, but sweet memories of becoming a "reader" of mysteries.

 

So I have counted--I have 9 bookshelves, three book niches, a book shelf in the kitchen, books on my mantle, and two nightstands filled (and stacked) with books.  That doesn't count the books on my kindle on their virtual shelves. 

 

 



And like the books in the toy closet, just glancing at the titles as I walk by or as I dust them makes me happy. I have said that every room needs books and a good blanket to cuddle in while you read.

 

So there you have it--books--probably in the top five of my most favorites things!  Have a great day and go read a book!

 

PS  In this discussion of books, I don't want future readers to not understand that in all of my reading, the most important books in my life are the Standard Works of the Church especially the Book of Mormon.  Reading those words and those stories have taught me so much about the type of person I hope to be and can be with the love of our Heavenly Father and the great gift of the Atonement of our Elder Brother Jesus Christ.  If you read nothing else, be sure that those books are read and reread your entire life.  So study the scriptures and THEN go read a book!  :)



 



Thursday as promised---

Actually I realize that I am even dividing up Thursday into two different posts--one the facts and the other the "musings".

The facts:

Thursday my sister flew into Salt Lake International Airport to attend to an LDS writers Conference in Provo.  I offered to pick her and her friend up and take them down to avoid them needed to rent a car and also because it was the only time that Valerie and I could spend together during her busy few days.

It turned out that Tamara, her friend, had arranged to borrow a car from her brother, so we headed to South Jordan and dropped her off, and then headed to Midvale to visit very briefly with my dad and Karla, before driving down to Provo.

I love Provo and it was fun to spend some time after dropping my sister off at her hotel to enjoy some of the local spots which have some many memories for me.

Sat in the parking lot and read a
small book that my sister had given
me "Whirlwinds of Motherhood".

I love this temple
for the years I believed it would be there,
the 4 years I walked its grounds as a student hoping to be inside
the day when I was inside for the first time (3/3/78)
and the many times since then when I have had some many sweet experiences.
This will always be "my" temple!

Of course, the "Y' on the mountain

I then headed down to the Pioneer Book Store where my sister and her friend were having their book signing prior to the conference.

Valerie and her book- "Ideal High"

I missed visiting with one of my friends who I hoped to see but she was at work in Salt Lake that day.  It still was a very nice and memorable day and I was happy that I had played taxi for Valerie and got some time in Provo.