Nan and Neil we got your Christmas card today.  It was wonderful to hear from you and to get the picture.  You guys look great, never aging.  Nan, how do you ever get done all you do.  Five concerts in one month on top of everything else.  Congratulation on the birth of your first great-grandchild.  Yes, they are very special.
Everyone, we have known Nan and Neil since we all lived in Cheney, in 1972, when we joined the church.  They were a very large part in our conversion, for which we will always be very grateful for.  They are professional musician's.  Plus their children play instruments and grandchildren.  They all play more than one instrument. Their son, Barry Van Wie, plays the Fiddle and I have two of his CD's.  He is amazing.  I could go on but just wanted to give a glimpse into their life.  They live in Peoria, AZ.

I got my nails done this morning and then Kristene and I did a little shopping.  I got a couple of Christmas presents so, I only have two more people to buy for and then I will be done.  Tomorrow night Reese has a concert and then Thurs. night Emilie is in a play.  Fri. night we have our annual sleep-over and decorating of the tree.  Fri. morning I have a Dr's. appointment with Dr. Fischer, for my arm.  Just typing, all this down, makes me tired.  Good thing it is all, one day at a time.  This eve. I went to Janene's ward for a gift exchange.  It was a lot of fun and I actually walked away with a nice gift.


My grandmother told me how she ended up marrying Grandpa.  She was in her 20's and the man she was dating left for war.  "We were in love," she recalled, "and wrote to each other every week.  It was during that time that I discovered how wonderful your grandfather was."  "Did you marry grandpa when he came home from the war?"  I asked.  "Oh, I didn't marry the man who wrote the letters.  Your grandfather was the mailman."


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Never trouble another for what you can do for yourself.

Sure is cold out, especially when the wind is blowing.  Every day we get closer to Spring, flowers blooming, warm sun shining, lots of green, weeds...ugh, happy day any way.  Today was a very sleepy day, had to take a nap, which I haven't done in a long time.  Oh well, one has to do what one has to do, life is just that way.  I do feel much better though.  Not a whole lot to report today, just got with our group and Bill gave the lesson.  Oh, I forgot we did go out to Costco and got some dog food, we were completely out.  Other than that we just did the usual mundane things around the house.
Enjoy your day.






A wife is scrambling eggs when her husband burst into the kitchen.  "Careful," he cries. "Careful!  You're cooking too many at once.  Too many!  Scramble them! Now!  We need more butter.  They're going to stick!  Careful!  Now scramble them again! Hurry up! Are you crazy?  Don't forget to salt them.  You know you always forget to salt them.  Use the salt.  Use the salt!  The salt!"  The wife turns and asks,  "What is wrong with you?"  Her husband calmly replies, "I wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving."


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Life is not the way it's supposed to be...It's the way it is...the way we cope with it, is what makes the difference.

Time is traveling way too fast.  It seems the closer we get to Christmas the faster it goes.  I'm just not sure how that phenomenon works, but it is amazing.  A couple we know are serving a mission in Indonesia, where the earthquake was.  They have a driver and the three of them were on a quest looking for a town but they couldn't find it but they did come upon a village that had been totally forgotten.  The people had no water or food.  Those people weren't meant to be forgotten, and it was by, a miracle that they were found.  Every day we experience miracles all around us, that we are not aware of, it doesn't always have to be big and obvious.  I have had many big and small miracles in my life.  I just have to be aware of them.  I pray you will have a miracle in your life today.  I know if you look for it, it will happen.


Three guys are talking about what constitutes fame.  The first guy defines it as being invited to the White House for a chat with the president.  "Nah," says the second guy.  "Real fame would be if the red phone rang when you were there, and the president wouldn't take the call."  "You're both wrong," says the third guy.  "Fame is when you're in the Oval Office and the red phone rings, the president answers it, listens for a second, and then says, "It's for you."


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it.

Diane....So glad you came today.  You know you always have to come to lunch, no matter what. :-)  Today was a whirlwind of fun, fun, fun.  First breakfast at Janene and family's Ward.  Great entertainment with some of the teens in their Ward.  Especially our two grandchildren, Kareen and Eric.  They sang several Christmas songs.  Then lunch with our classmates and that is always wonderful.  Kristene and I spent some time going from store to store and not totally finding what we were looking for, but had a good time.  At five we picked up Emilie to take her to our Ward's party.  She even let us take a picture of her with Santa.  Afterward she told me she figured out that Santa wasn't real.  Last year she knew that her parents bought the gifts.  She is very astute in her thinking process.  Guess I had better shut down for the evening.




Nice 2-bedroom home.  The owner has noted that there are termites that have done some damage.  Selling house 'as is.'  Don't Wait.  This Wonderful Property Will Not Last Long."




THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Minds are like parachutes - they only function when open.

We are sitting here watching a movie called "Sorcerers Apprentice",  with Janene and family, celebrating Reese's birthday.  We had a very nice dinner of beef stroganoff, Reese's choice.  The kids
always have a choice of what dinner they want, on their birthday's.  It was a very nice evening.  All we did today was run a few errends and get ready for the party.  Oh, I forgot we also finished trimming our Cocker, Sandy.  Tomorrow we have a breakfast at Janene's ward.  Then a lunch with our classmates.  And then a dinner at our ward.  Between lunch and dinner Kristene and I have a few stores to visit.  I don't think we will get bored.


My five yr. old son and I were discussing some of the differences between his childhood and mine.  I pointed out that when I was young, we didn't have Nintendo, cell phones, computers, or even digital cameras.  I realized just how difficult this was for him to comprehend when he asked, "Did you have fruit?"


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Courage is not the lack of fear.  It is acting in spite of it.

We just finished watching the cutest movie called  "The Santa Suit".  I love it when so many Christmas movies are on T.V., this time of year.  They're always safe for the whole family to watch.  My girls came over for lunch today.  They just make my day more wonderful.  Chandler got stuck backing out of our driveway, so we had to give her a push.  The first push didn't work so she kept rocking the car and it finally broke loose.  It's funny how the main roads are bare but the side roads are so slushy and a mess.  Now that it has finished snowing, for a while, maybe we can wash our car, it is so dirty one can't even tell what color it is.  I don't think it has ever been this dirty.  Reese's birthday is tomorrow and he is so excited because he is turning 13.  He says he will be a teenager and with that comes change.  He is so funny. 


A woman is brought to court after stealing from a supermarket.  "Mrs. Krupnick,"  says the judge, "what did you take?"  "Just a small can of peaches," she answers.  "There were only six peaches in the can."  "Six peaches...hmm...I sentence you to six nights in jail, a night for each peach."  The woman is crushed.  She's about to collapse to the floor when her husband, seated in the gallery, leaps to his feet.  "Your Honor," he shouts, "she also stole a can of peas!"


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Your future depends on many things, but mostly on you.

Diane....We didn't know Dan Johnson has cancer.  I remember we were friends in High School but we haven't seen him since.  Actually, Bill just reminded me that we saw him, a couple of times, a long time ago.  Bill just called and is talking to Dan right now.  I will report as soon as he gets off the phone.   Bill said Dan has prostate cancer and is in California for treatment.  He is having photon treatment (don't know the spelling). He said it is like radiation only more precise because it can control the depth, to eliminate damage to good cells.  He does this for 45 days and has 39 to go.  We will keep in touch with him to find out how he is doing and keep everyone informed.  Bill said he and his wife will be vacationing in Florida next winter and....wait for this....they are talking about going on the cruise with....all of us.  Now wouldn't that just be exciting, or what.
We are nearly finished with Christmas shopping, just a couple more gifts to go.  I did quite a bit on line shopping, so just waiting, for the items to come in. 
 

A gnome is in the garden busily destroying some bushes when a house cat appears.  "What are you?" asks the cat.  "A gnome," comes the reply.  "I steal food from humans.  I kill their plants, I make annoying music at night to drive them crazy, and I love mischief.  And what, may I ask, are you?"  The cat replies,  "Um, I'm a gnome."


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
To profit from good advice requires more wisdom than to give it.