Oh my human-gosh!!!!

Now this is what I call a REAL man of a snowman!! I was meandering home the other day and did this ever catch my eye! Being the conscientious blogger that I am, I immediately did a u-turn and came to a quick stop and snapped away!! Isn't this the biggest and cutest snowman ever?! I sat there for a few minutes and tried to figure out just how they hoisted all that snow to the top and then managed to get all the gear in all the right places (duh, maybe a ladder!?) Anyway, enjoy before the big melt comes!!

Words Rule!!

About 10 or 12 years ago Randy and I went on a Harley trip with some friends to Sturgis, South Dakota....home of the big Harley ralley they have in August every year. When we left Bountiful it was about 80 plus degrees and just kept getting hotter that day and the next. I can remember I had on jean shorts and the sweat would drip down the backs of my knees....real great image huh? Well you get the idea, it was HOT! As we got into Wyoming it started to cool off.....so much so that we had to stop at a local sporting good store and buy wool socks, hats, gloves, etc. It actually started snowing over one of the passes, brrrrr!
I love to read and because of the kind of Harley Randy had I was able to read novels on the back, it was a very smooth ride. I had finished one Michael Palmer medical thriller and was starting another when the weather got in the way of my reading! The snow turned to rain, we all stopped and got on our rain gear and this is the logo that was on the back of Randy's rain jacket (well almost, the "Motor Cycles" was in black so it was harder to see and the Harley-Davidson was in orange, much easier to see.
So here we are traveling down the highway about 70 miles per hour, in the rain and wind and I can't look up or down much less side to side without getting a face full of rain. Being the word freak I am and needing SOMETHING to do, I looked straight ahead and saw my opportunity to shine!!! I started making words out of the "Harley-Davidson" letters, beginning with the H so I could somehow keep track of the total number of words made (3 letter minimum for you Bogglers!) Wow, this was a challenge and it was FUN! So for all of you other word freaks out there (and you know who you are!!) I want you to get out your paper, sharpen your pencil and see just how many words you can make out of the "Harley-Davidson"letters, you can only use each letter how ever many times it appears in the logo, have you got it? Here's a hint the number I got was more than 200 but less than 500. You're going to need some serious down time to play this game, you don't need to post your words, only the number you get. The challenge is on!!

Here's to a great 2008!!

My girls have done a beautiful job posting Christmas photos as well as their thoughts about the holiday, if you want to see some darling photos just go to my kids' blogs--there you will find Marisa, Suni, Linds/Doug and Janetha's families.... and I second everything they have posted!! We had a terrific holiday with everyone at home, it is so great to have a family where we all love and care for each other so much, I must have the best kids, in law kids and grand kids ever!!
I ran across this on an e-mail today, not sure who sent it to me but I am glad they did. I hope you enjoy it and can resolve to be kinder to others, let go of the hurtful stuff and hang on to the good and make it a wonderful new year! I love you all!

Sand and Stone
TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING
THROUGH THE DESERT
DURING SOME POINT OF THE
JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN
ARGUMENT; AND ONE FRIEND
SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE
IN THE FACE
THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED
WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT
SAYING ANYTHING,
WROTE IN THE SAND

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE

THEY KEPT ON WALKING,
UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS,
WHERE THEY DECIDED
TO TAKE A BATH

THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN
SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE
MIRE! AND STARTED DROWNING,
BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM.

AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM
THE NEAR DROWNING,
HE WROTE ON A STONE:

'TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SAVED MY LIFE'

THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED
AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND
ASKED HIM, 'AFTER I HURT YOU,
YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW,
YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?'

THE FRIEND REPLIED
'WHEN SOMEONE HURTS US
WE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN
IN SAND, WHERE WINDS OF
FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY.
BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES
SOMETHING GOOD FOR US,
WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE
WHERE NO WIND
CAN EVER ERASE IT'

LEARN TO WRITE
YOUR HURTS IN
THE SAND AND TO
CARVE YOUR
BENEFITS IN STONE.

THEY SAY IT TAKES A
MINUTE TO FIND A SPECIAL
PERSON, AN HOUR TO
APPRECIATE THEM, A DAY
TO LOVE THEM, BUT THEN
AN ENTIRE LIFE
TO FORGET THEM.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

Here it is Christmas eve, with another raging blizzard outside, wahoo!! (no, I did not pray for this one!!) Randy is out running the snowblower, the kids are all trying to make their way to our home for our traditional clam chowder, rolls, custard, pie, cake, etc, etc!! The roads are a mess, but wow - we're really having a white Christmas, I can't remember when it was quite so snowy and perfect for the holiday!

The girls had a fun time sledding in our backyard Saturday. Sofi wasn't happy about any of it, although Risa got her to take one run! Kaylee and Lucy enjoyed the small hill, Eric packed it down so the sleds would run a little farther. After a few runs however, Kaylee informed me she was tired of dragging the sled back up to the top, she was ready to go in!! Lucy was scared at first--- I reminded her she was the one who rode all the scary rides at Disneyland, this hill was nothing!! No luck with a snowman, maybe another day! We missed Max, he was home helping his dad get a present ready for Suni (besides snow is old hat for him!!!)

I send my love to you and your families and hope this evening and tomorrow you are surrounded by those you love, Merry Christmas to you all!!!

Please, just enough snow to go sledding....

Ok, it was 45 degrees Tuesday and Wednesday, any snow we had was pretty much gone. The Bills arrive tonight from California and we really need some snow, otherwise how in the world would we be able to go sledding Saturday?? Well you know me--- I prayed for some snow. Well holy cow, am I ever blessed, take a look at these photos....it started snowing last evening and hasn't stopped yet! Now I turn my prayers to making sure the flight can land tonight! Merry Christmas to you all, may you enjoy your family and friends at this wonderful time of year and cherish the birth of our savior! Enjoy a cup of cocoa and be safe everyone!!

The cats (or Bills) are out of the bag!!!

Well, enough with the laundry room post! Now on to more important things.....our out of state family, the Bills, are coming home for Christmas!! Marisa and the girls gave up the secret yesterday to the family and we are all SO excited! They will arrive next Friday and we'll have Eric for just a few days and then Marisa and the girls for a few more days!! It will be a great time to have all of my kids under one roof again, families are what it's all about!! I am a richly blessed Nana Sue and hope all of you are able to have your family near by this holiday season!! Many photos to come, stay tuned!!!!

The calm before the storm....

My kids are saying "Oh my gosh!!" The rest of you are saying...."Is that her laundry room?? And why in the world is she posting a photo of this room?" The door to this room is ALWAYS closed, you are not allowed to see this room because it is where I stash EVERYTHING, important papers, unimportant papers, books, clothes, make-up, hair products, receipts, oh and of course laundry supplies, well you get the picture!! Randy told me if he would have known that the room would be a magnet for everything he only would have designed a laundry closet, very small! With Christmas approaching you can only imagine what it might look like in just a few days!! So soak up this photo, burn this image into your brain, it may be a long time before I dare post a photo of my favorite room!!