Wow--it's been quite a while since I wrote! I am posting a picture of Jodie getting her award, and also a picture of me and my girls at the shower that was given for Katie, who gets married in just over a week. I should post pictures of us at the beach--that's where we are right now, but once I get those downloaded, I will do that. It is WONDERFUL to be here at the beach--it is cool and relaxing. If you lived in San Clemente, you would never need to go on vacation--life is pretty much perfect right here! We have most of our kids here--but not our son, Brian, and his wife, Keri, and their son, Logan...so we are having a lot of fun being together. We spend as much time as possible at the beach--and read, and play games. Last night we watched the movie, "Little Rascals," and really enjoyed that. :)Cody, who is marrying our Katie, is fitting in well--and especially makes our youngest, Brady, happy, because he is always willing to play games. (A definite plus in Brady's book!)

I felt prompted to write in here again--I guess I've been on vacation mode, and haven't done many of my normal things. I was just reading the blog of friends of ours who are mission president in Sendai, Japan. It is very heart wrenching to read of their experiences and to see the devastation that happened with the tsunami and earthquake. I am thankful they are keeping such a good record, and sharing that with the rest of us. They (the missionaries) are giving a lot of service to the people, and that amounts to a lot of work with the fisherman, trying to untangle their nets, which is the source of their livelihood. And here I sit, basking in the sun and playing in the ocean--it is pretty humbling when you get a glimpse of what people have gone through.

Take care, and I'll write again sooner this time. :) Love to all, Louise

What an Evening!

What a fun night this was--I just need to share it. Actually I wrote this on Friday night, but couldn't get it to post until this morning (Saturday). Tonight was Jodie's spring formal--can't quite figure out why it is spring in the middle of summer? But oh well. It was supposed to be a 50's theme, and all the handicapped adults that are involved in different programs were there. I love to watch them at a party--they are so uninhibited, and so full of joy--they just have a great time! If they feel like dancing, they just get up and dance--they might have a partner, but they also might not. It is like watching people with pure joy--they are just having a good time! They gave out some awards. Jodie is part of a work enclave, where several of mentally challenged adults (I guess I can use the politically correct term!) work at a certain job site. For Jodie, her enclave works at the local hospital, and their main job is to shred papers. For this year Jodie was chosen as employee of the year, mostly from her work at our local grocery store, Fry's, but also for how she has been at the hospital. We were told about it beforehand--it was a suprise to her, so my daughter, Kelsey, and I went to the dance. We didn't want her to know we were there, so if she looked our way, we would look down or away...just so she wouldn't see us! It was fun to do that with Kelse. We waited about an hour for Jodie to get there, but finally she got her award. It was the cutest thing to see her get that--she was surprised and so pleased, and she couldn't stop smiling. She was thrilled that I was there, and even more thrilled to see Kelsey. We stayed after she got the award, and danced to "Rocking Robin" with her--she couldn't have been happier. It was fun to be there, to see her honored, and just to see how happy those people are. What a lesson we could learn from all of them--to just enjoy life in the moment, and dance with pure joy! Happy Saturday to you all!

Crazy Summer Days

Summer can be such a crazy time! Your time is so fragmented, and there are non-stop interruptions. It's hard to get any kind of schedule going...and then to add on top of that, a wedding and a remodel, and it's kind of "over the top!" I decided this morning that I am definitely in "the thick of thin things"--spending a lot of time and energy on things that are really pretty unimportant in the "grand scheme" of things. I worry about the color of my couch, or if my new hardwood floor is getting scratched, or if the envelopes for the wedding look just right---very much so the "thick of thin things." I get frustrated about things that really don't matter...so I hope that today I can focus on more meaningful things, but that may not happen.

I was just naming my blessings, when my computer decided to blot everything out that I have written. No wonder I feel frustrated these days--it seems like if something is going to go wrong, it DOES! I AM thankful we have the means to do this remodel...even if not being able to find a pan to cook in, or beaters for our hand mixer, keeps me from doing fairly "normal" things. I am thankful that all our children will be here for our upcoming wedding. I am especially thankful today for my sisters, who show me constant love and support, even when I'm stressing about unimportant things.

I am thankful for my health--when I think of where I was a year ago, and see how far I've come, I have MUCH to be thankful for. It is good to be able to eat, and to swallow, and to exercise, and to be able to do things again. I have always been able to swim easily, and this summer it has been a challenge. I am still trying to get stronger, and I saw that my weak arms really affected my ability to swim. However, that is getting better too...and I am swimming more.So I DO have much to be grateful for--things that matter a whole lot more than some of the other things that seem to be preoccupying my mind so much lately. So that's just a short update today on what is happening. I hope you can have good days too--much love, Louise

We love our Granddad!!

We are still in the middle of a mess--wow, remodels are incredibly crazy, and you certainly feel totally disorganized. I just wanted to express my thanks for Spence, who has done so much--it has not been easy for him, and the stress is taking its toll on all of us. And yet, whenever he says a prayer with me, he reminds me of how thankful we should be for my miraculous recovery, and all the blessings of health that I've had in the last year. He seems to try to help me to regain perspective, and to not get caught up in the "thick of thin things"--an easy thing to do when you're dealing with STUFF. So today we get carpet...and I need to get off this computer. However, I am going to try to post a few pictures...and then call it a day, as far as posting goes. No matter what goes on in our life, it is so easy to get caught up in things that really don't matter, and forget those things that really DO matter.

The pictures I am going to try to post are of my father-in-law, Reed Price, who is a real favorite of my kids. They love him, and when we were in Utah for my nephew's wedding, all my girls wanted to be sure to get a picture of them with Granddad. What a legacy and example he has set for all of them! The top picture is of Emily, who wanted a 4-generation picture--she has always been a real favorite of her Granddad's. The next picture is of Kelsey, who is so cute with her granddad, and always makes a definite point of making him feel special. The last one is of Katie. Her granddad takes special pride in the fact that he "discovered" Katie's musical talent, and encouraged us and her to improve upon it. He is probably the biggest fan of her singing. They all feel very special towards their wonderful granddad. What a blessing our families can be!! :)

July Update

Hello everyone.
My internet is not working on my laptop, and that's where most of my pictures are. I will try again to import a picture--but my luck hasn't been so great lately! How are you? And how was your 4th of July? We are pretty much into picking up, putting away, and throwing away stuff...so we didn't play much on the 4th. However, we did have a fun evening--a late dinner, that was super traditional--hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, fruit salad, corn, chips and pop. It was delicious. Then we went swimming, and watched fireworks from the wall by our pool. It was great not to have to go anywhere--it is such a pain to wait in a parking lot forever after watching fireworks...which we don't have to do when we watch from home. We usually watch from our roof, but could see just fine from the wall. Our pool is pretty warm (Phoenix in the summer), but still it was refreshing to be outside, and to have gone swimming. I am easing back into the swimming scene. I have always been able to swim lots of laps fairly easily. WIth the soreness in my arms, it has been more of an adjustment this year to swimming...but I am trying to build up strength again.

I have had some dumping problems lately, and that has been frustrating to me. Still, it is a learning process. First of all, I just can't eat too much. Then I need to lie down after I eat, and let everything settle before it heads for my intestines. I also tasted some of the yummiest ever ice cream on Saturday nigth. I loved it, and had just a spoonful...but loved it so much that I asked for another spoonful. I paid for that for the rest of the night, and felt light-headed and like I was having a diabetic attack. Both Spence and Brady took super good care of me, and helped me get through it all. SIGH...I just can't eat those sweets, or just in very tiny increments.

I am also sure that I have ADD. I can't focus on anything for a long period of time. I have to "mix things up," or I go stir crazy. With the wedding and the remodel, I find myself pulled in several directions at once. I have to change things up, just so that one thing doesn't drive me crazy! :)Anyway, that's an update from here. Hopefully next time, there will be a picture.

Crazy into this remodel!

I am giving myself a break today, since this remodel stuff is driving me crazy!! It is the hardest thing to try to sort through all the stuff you've accumulated for years and years...and try to discard things that you've kept forever. At the same time, I am also working on updating names on the wedding list for my daughter, Katie--and trying to get a hold of people and find out the address changes is another cause for stress. My study has been the stuffing place for everything you can think of...and it's amazing how incredibly messy a place can become.

It is also a very nostalgic time for me.I get quite emotional having to part with things. Surprising to me, the most emotional part for me has been throwing away all the materials I accumulated when I was an early-morning seminary teacher for the high school kids in my church. I did it for 3 years about 3 years ago. I would teach every day about 10-15 teenage kids before they went to high school--so anywhere between 6 and 7 in the morning. It took a lot of preparation, and it was always a challenge, since the kids would have rather been home, asleep. But as I went through those materials, I found myself tearing up quickly, for it brought back so many tender memories...and when you invest yourself in something that time-consuming, it becomes a very big and important part of your life. It was wrenching for me to throw those things away, and I hope that someday I might get the chance to teach like that again. How grateful I am for the opportunities that I've had in my life to teach people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and about the principles that I hold so dear to me. So, in spite of some of the headaches that this remodel is causing, it is also a reminder of some of my most favorite memories.

I am enclosing a picture of me with my baby, SJ--someone requested that I put a picture of me with him onto my blog. I haven't done that for a while. Have a happy Sunday, and a wonderful 4th of July. With lots of love, Louise Well, next time will have to have a picture--I can't make it work this time.