LET IT SNOW , LET IT SNOW?????

Who was it that thought of the song Let it snow, let it snow. I think we were dumped on. We received 21 inches on the 26th of December. I think I spent 3 hours out there shoveling, and then finally had to quit, not because I wanted to, but because of the pride of my Father. It is so hard for him to watch me shovel the snow, but he can't do it anymore. Like I told him, I would rather do it than to have to bury him because of a heart attack.

Life is strange how the cycle goes. I love my Dad, he has been the greatest example in my life. To be able to give back some of what he has always given me is blessing to me. I just wish he could see it that way, and not think that he has failed at what he is doing.

I Love you Dad!

WANT TO VOTE????

I was going through some pictures again in the new ones I just had developed.... so the question is do I stay the color I am now (as this is what comes with "mature" age) or go darker like I use to be....(I think the dark was a hair dresser mistake actually ...)? All comments will be considered.

FISHING

I was going through some stuff and ran across some film that I hadn't developed yet and so off to the store I went.... and what should come up, these lovely pictures of when Mark and I went fishing in Tabiona.... I just had to share them with you. And one day we will have spring again and I will get to try this all over again.! But just like always, Mark always get the biggest one. Grandpa I am sure enjoyed that one.

Christmas Break....

Where can you go to work and love being around the kids and then have 17 days off for Christmas, and almost 3 months for summer. Only at a school..... only draw back is the pay!

Christmas Prom

Christmas at Hartvigsen....

It was the Christmas Prom at work with week. The kids get so excited. They ask their dates and dress up. The kids love the dances and look forward to them.

Our staff decided that we would dress up also, mainly because we never get to do it. We found our grandmothers jewelry and I ended using the dress I wore at Melissa's wedding, (that was 2 years ago) so now it has been worn twice. We had a lot of fun. We danced with the kids and by the end of the 2 hours we were beat....

I have the best job in the world I believe. Kids with special needs are the most teachable, humble, and great examples for us that think we have so much trial in our lives. I see these kids and the challenges that face them and they don't give up, they just move forward. If their feet or arms don't work, they find another way. If their thinking doesn't come out straight, they excuse themselves and try harder. How many of us could do the same? I watched as they were given gifts from each other, a pencil, or a ball and thought they had been given the best gift in the world.

I hope at this Christmas time, each of us will reflect on the blessings that we have. The joys that are in our lives. I am so thankful for my children and the way they have taught me over the years. Some of those teaching moments haven't been easy, some I would of rather not had but I really am thankful that after all was said and done that we still had each other and loved each other. I am thankful for the Christ child whom we celebrate at this time. Christmas, joy, peace, love. Let's celebrate it thought out the year.

I love you Brian, Scott, Cassi, Melissa, Jimmy, Mark, Heather, Natalie, Samantha, John and all the little ones that come along with this bunch.

Oh, How I have changed....

This is Terri (me), Robin Anderson, Nichole Button..
Hartvigsen SINKernized Swim team

You know not too long ago, no one would of ever seen me out of my comfort zone. But, I have learned what fun is that. So I am sharing with you a laugh, (I have learned to laugh at myself and it is great.) This is from the Hartvigsen Halloween Contest. Each class is suppose to come up with a theme ( this is the staff that does this, the kids come all dressed up also and it is alot of fun.) and then we are suppose to have a skit to do with it. Well, Barbara the teacher in our class loves to make us dance ( she use to teach tap, ballet, etc). So we choose that we would be the "SINK"ernized swim team from the school.. ( and that in itself is another story). The sink part is because even in the ocean in Capri I still sink... and not knowing how to swim, we decided to put the sink in it. Anyway, Barbara had us dancing around and on the floor flapping our legs and whatever you can think of. We were laughing so hard, I am not sure what we did. But it was alot of fun. And because we danced so very well (haha) we won 1st place.

So, don't wait 50 years to learn to laugh... and if you are 50 and haven't learned how yet... just do it.

Family Pictures at Last...

After 12 years we finally have family pictures.... (I don't know why this is underlining or in blue, but....) I thought it was hard 12 years ago with just 6 kids and Me. But that was nothing compared with 12 grand kids and my 6 kids and spouses.... trying to get everyone to look at the camera and smile at the same time. And also the photographer was Natalie and we needed her in the pictures also. So here we are...

Thanks Natalie!

Love you forever....

A Mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang:

I'll love you for ever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say "This kid is driving me CRAZY!"
But at night time, when that two year old was quiet, she opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor, looked up over the side of his bed; and if he was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you for ever,
I'll like you for always
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The little boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was nine years old. And he never wanted to come in for dinner, he never wanted to take a bath, and when grandma visited he always said bad words. Sometime his mother wanted to sell him to the zoo! But at night time, when he was asleep, the mother quietly opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep, she picked up that nine year old boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang;

I'll love you forever,
I"ll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a teenager. He had stange friends and he wore strange clothes and he listened to strange music. Sometimes the mother felt like she was in a zoo! But at night itme, when that teenager was asleep, the mother opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep she picked up that great big boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

That teenager grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a house across town.But sometimes on dark nights the mother got into her car and drove across town. If all the lights in her son's house were out, she opened his bedroom window, crawled across the floor, and looked up over the side of his bed. If that great big man was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Well, that mother, she got older. She got older and older and older. One day she called up her son and said, "you'd better come see me because I'm ver old and sick." So her son came to see her. When he came in the door she tried to sing the song. She sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always....

But she couldn't finish because she was too old and sick.The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living

my Mommy you'll be.

When the son came home that night, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the room where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm kliving
my baby you'll be.

Thank you my children.... as life gets so busy and crazy at times. As work schedule, life in general and the many things you have to do, take the time to rock those babies and let them know how much you love them. They grow up too quickly. I love you, Brian, Scott, Melissa, Mark, Natalie, Samantha and all those that are so much apart of my life.

Dreams......

Every mother's fear is when their child get hurt. It doesn't matter what age they are at, they are always your child, and those fears don't go away as they get older.

But, fear is something that keeps you from living and experiencing life also.

My sweet Scott, the boy with "no fear" when it comes to experiencing life, lies in a hospital bed at this moment. Desert Peak Motor cross Track is where he experience this moment of his life.

I guess it is not that he does not let fear stop him, it is that he is good at what he does, but like sometime in life, things don't go as you had planned and you end up getting hurt.

Scott was born to ride, he has been since the day he first received his tricycle. As he advanced up to 2 wheel bike with the power in his legs to make them go and then on to the little honda 90 and the yamaha, and then on to the many other dirt bikes he had. The bigger the hills the better. Scott soared over those hills. ( His mom cringed) but nothing stopped Scott.

Scott, has experienced many set backs with the many injuries he has received over the years, but he just gets back on that bike and carry's on.

I love my Scott, and as life experiences comes his way, I know he will learn from each of them. Sometimes the lessons will be easy and sometimes the lessons will be hard to take, but I know that what ever Scott is to learn that he will take those lessons and apply them and even if they are hard choices, I know Scott will make the best of it. I love you Scott.

Wee Witches....

We little witches were everywhere! Samantha, Abbey, Chole, Baylee, Deegan and I headed out to Garner Village to enjoy the sights and sounds that come out this time of year. The witches were fun and quit funny. There were people young and old dressed up like witches and the music and activities everywhere. Abbey and Baylee loved the witches, Abbey loved it so much that she was dancing with the rest of them. Abbey loves to dance! We had to put 3 in a chair because the other stroller was left home. But it was the "closeness" that made it fun.





Baylee and Abbey were excited to get out by the witches, Deegan on the other hand wasn't to happy to see those green faced ladies at any distance.



And the great pumkin patch was a good place for pictures... except for the sun in Baylee's tender eyes!!





We ended our visit with the witches and headed to McDonalds to feed our little "monster" and play.

A Good day is a day shared with family, especially the little one.

Red or Blonde? Oh what do I do?

Okay now what do I do.... All I wanted to do is get rid of some of the gray/white.... I guess vanity has its consequences and mine was going back to the red head I hated to be..

Let me tell you I was not to thrilled at what the box had done to me. I had thought if I buy a color that matches my hair that it would take care of it.... but no, within 15 minutes I was in trouble!!!! Real trouble. Here I tried to save a buck and it is going to cost me... Anyway, I had to wear the red for a day. Then thank you "Sally's" for color remover. The only problem with that is.....color remover does just that...any color that you have ever added to your hair is now gone. So now I am totally blond! Don't like that either, so thanks to April, she will rescue me before family pictures this week.

So lesson learned...to just pay the cost of someone doing it, or just believe that growing old isn't that bad and just let it go.

It is okay to be vain sometimes isn't it?

Thanks to a Cousin....

Thanks to Carol my cousin I was back in the canning business. She told me she was getting tomatoes and I said I could use another bushel, and as things goes in our family we do things big, she brought me 2 bushel of tomatoes, some peppers and hot peppers. The next day she came back with another bushel of tomatoes, some pears, apples and alot of other stuff. So thanks Carol!

I bottled another 63 pints of salsa, this time it is a bit hotter, but it still wasn't hot enough. Next year I will get it right the first time.

Saturday Grandpa Horrocks turned 80 years old and we went over there. Grandpa and Grandma Horrocks had a friend for years, in fact Grandpa grew up with Gloria. Anyway long story made short..... Gloria and Grandpa are now together, Gloria has been good for Grandpa since Grandma died. So they had a big party for Grandpa and I made him applesauce pies. Grandma use to make them for him. It has been so long since I have made a pie I think I miss it and will do it again, in fact Grandma White and I think we will make them for Thanksgiving.

Anyway, it has been a good, but busy week!



Only two more weeks and Missy and Jimmy and Maddy will be here !

REFELCTIONS

REFLECTIONS OF CONFERENCE

Today was a different type of General Conference around here, there were no crock pots, no extra family..(Natalie came down and I loved that), no Grandpa and Grandma ( they are in Tabiona), and Natalie decided that we needed something besides cottage cheese and yogurt for dinner. So I pulled a surprise casserole out of the freezer ( surprise because I wasn't sure if it was chicken enchilada's or what) and I made rolls and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.
The surprise casserole ended up being Chicken Lasagna, so that was good.
So Natalie and I watched conference together and enjoyed it. I think this is the first in a long time that I was able to watch conference with out interruptions. I was touched with the spirit of the meeting and I believe that they were talking to me. I know that I need to have more faith and hope in my life and not worry about the tomorrow so much. They are important but I need to put more faith in my Heavenly Father and know that He is there.

Scott and Cassi came over between conference on Sunday and it was good to see them. Baylee and Deegan are so much fun. They go a hundred miles an hour. The weather was nice and we went outside for a bit and blew bubbles, they had fun.




REFLECTIONS OF CHRIST DISPLAY

After the second session on Sunday Natalie, Wendy, Kristal and I went to the Joseph Smith Memorial building and walked through the display of Reflections of Christ. The photographer Mark Mabry was there and we talked with him a bit. He is an amazing photographer, the pictures he created had such a spirit about them. How would you feel if you had the opportunity to play the role of Christ or the other people that were displayed. I know the feeling that it gave me to just see the art work. I know that I need to put more of Christ in my life and not get so caught up in the the world, and the things that are on my mind all the time. I need to know that the trouble I have within my family will be taken care of in His due time.

So if you have time and want an amazing experience, so to his website... reflectionsofchrist.org and check it out. Wash the video, and read about the people that are creating this work. I think it could change more people hearts if they really remembered about the things the Savior did for us.


REFLECTION OF MY FAMILY......

EACH ARE YOU ARE WONDERFUL AND

I LOVE YOU ALL!

FALL

Fall is in the air.
These are a few of the pictures from Wolf Creek Pass.
It was beautiful. When I went up on Thursday it was mostly yellows. But coming back on Sunday the orange and reds were there. I don't remember ever seeing it so pretty. Natalie and I will make a trip back up there this weekend and get some good pictures for you to enjoy.

GRANDPA'S PILLS......

Tabby was a lot of fun this time.... we went to close things down and ended up having some time on our hands....

Deniece for some reason has in her makeup bag a bottle of hair dye... now why would someone do that? But, we found it came in handy this weekend for entertaining us girls..

Wendy, Deniece and Julie and I and of course Grandma were up a little later than the men (Grandpa and Jeff), so we decided to dye Grandma's hair. We tried this on Grandpa many, many years ago when he was Bishop and dyed his hair black.. that is another story.
Anyway, we had fun and Grandma humored us and it turned out rather nice.

The funny thing about this hair thing came later. When we were all finished Mom went into the bathroom and when she came out she said she had done something stupid. That is when she announced that she had taken Dad's pills instead of her by mistake. Well, what would a heart pill and a high blood pressure do? So we called Kelly's Jacob and decided that one pill wouldn't hurt her.. we headed to bed. The next morning when we ( Grandpa, Jeff, Deniece, Terri) were building the new steps on the deck Grandma came out and said to dad..."Myron look what your pills did to my hair." Grandma has some funny wit lately, but this was funny because Dad believed her, and she let him believe it most of the day. So if you want your hair to go dark.... try some of Grandpa's pills.

End of Week and Start of the next.....

Well, this busy week is over. I am not sure what free time is.

Work has kept me moving. With the changes there it seems like we never stop.


This is what my schedule is like around here:

Monday: Worked. Then came home and cleaned house. I finally had time to get in and get some things done that haven't been done for a while. Dad and Mom were to be home Wednesday so I had to get it all done.

Tuesday: Went to work and then came home and went to the temple... I went to the early (4:40 session) and I am glad I did. When I was finished it was so crowded.


Wednesday: Went to work and then I stay on Wednesday for Community Ed so I don't get home until 9:00 p.m. (long days) This week we had them paint a picture frame and took a picture of them for it. They had fun doing them. For the second class we play games and it is so nice. We played Bingo. I am sure glad we changed that class to games it sure makes the night a lot less hectic.

Thursday: Went to work. Then Carol and Pat, Nicki, Robin, Bev and I went to a German restaurant and had dinner and talked about our Europe trip and just laughed and talked. It was so much fun. I am glad that things are good with all of us again. They are a fun bunch of girls and we are planning our next trip for next year. We will call it vacation on a shoe string. We will take $200.00 cash (and a credit card for the hotel) and a coin. The coin will tell us where we are headed. Flip the coin and head that way. With our luck we will go in circles or just land in Provo. But it will be fun. We will also take a tent just in case we end up in the middle of no where.

Friday: Went to work. Busy day at work. We had school elections. The students had their skit and then everyone vote. We give them a bean and we have a paper cup with the candidates pictures on them and they put their beans in the cup. Hey, maybe we should try that with our elections, it would get the same result....guessing. Then Robin and I made BLT's and sold them to the staff for a buck. ( that pays for the stuff). That night I went to Cyprus High Schools football game with my sister and brother and watched Jazz play and Whitnee do half time stuff. It was a lot of fun to just get out with the crowds.

Saturday: Sewed 25 aprons for a couple of ladies at work, started Maddy's elephant costume for Halloween, finished a dress for me I started months ago, went shopping with Samantha for about an hour before it was raining so hard she headed for home. So I finished up my sewing and headed to bed about midnight.









Sunday: I love Sundays!! They truly are a day of rest. I have enjoyed this day. I went to some good church meetings and came home and took a nap, and have been reading a good book.

Well tomorrow it all starts over..... Have a great week everyone.

Canning season is over?......

And this is how I finished out the week.... Yeah they are done. There are 62 pints of salsa. Stuart better appreciate it! I had forgotten how much work it is to have little kids around while you try to can stuff. I had Hunter, Abbey and Chole while I was trying to peel 1 1/2 bushel tomatoes, and chop up green pepper, onions and garlic and in the mist of all of that I had the hot peppers to do and boy, I should of put on some gloves because my fingers were a burning and on top of that trying not to touch Chole with them.
I miss not doing all the canning I use to do. Is that insane or what. I think it was a relaxing time for me back then, and the satifaction of seeing all those jars on the shelf. You kids don't know what you are missing. Anyway, the canning is done now for this year. And maybe I will have to find a big spot and plant my own tomatoes and peppers for next year... I like the dirt also.

THE GROOMS CAKE.....

I am not sure why this is underlining...but I don't know how to fix it... help nat!!!!!

this is what I did this week... Nathan Perry's groom cake. It was made out of rice krispie treats, and marshmellow fondant. It was fun to do so what do you think? We decorated with all of Nathan's hunting and horse stuff. Carol, Pat and I set up the lights and Jennifer did all the final touches and the creative touches this time. Carol served dougnuts and hot chocolate. It was very simple and everyone enjoyed it, except it was so cold outside.

The State Fair

We took our Home Living Kids to the State Fair Friday. They had a lot of fun. They had a tiger show going on that had all of these tigers that were different colors. Very beautiful. The kids enjoyed the show. At the fair they sell deep fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, deep fried mars bars and deep fried twinkies. They were interesting. I think I liked the mars bars from Scotland better.

Taking 5.....

I haven't had 5 minutes really to add anything to this, or maybe it is nothing is going on right now to make it interesting, but here are my 5 minutes of letting you know that we are doing great here at the White House. Mom has too much potassium in her, and so we are trying to take care of that, her foot is healing nicely, her head bump is returning to normal, she is still a bit tipsy, but other than that she is doing good and they are headed back to Tabby for the next couple of weeks.

Dad is remodeling anything he can find.. He will probably have most of our work done in Tabby when we go to close it down on the 27th. But as long as he is moving I know he is okay.

Natalie went back to Idaho for school. So I guess summer is over.

I have started back to work and it is running us ragged. So many changes and it is affecting everyone. But in time we will get back to normal.... that is if we find out what normal is.

Thought: Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain. So keep dancing everyone... I love you all.

Learning to Sail....

Today my mother fell again, and so we take another day to learn how to adjust those sails so that we can move though the rough waters ahead. The saying "You can not direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails" is so true. We are trying to take each day at a time, and sometimes life (waters) get so rough! Sometimes I am not sure which way to adjust that sail, especially when it comes to helping both of these people that I love so much.

I have before me two of the greatest examples of life, and learning. As much as they go through they just adjust and go on. But the adjusting is getting a bit harder later. I know that the wind will die down one day and they won't have to keep adjusting, then that is when I will really have to adjust my sails. Life is great, we learn from the footsteps of others and move forward.
I love you Mom and Dad for all that you have given to me to help me know what and where I am going in life.
I just think my children need to know that Life is so precious, so live it wisely. Another saying I like is " Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life". I love each of you so very much and I know if not from the example I have tried to give to you, but from the example your Grandparents have given I know that your sails will be adjusted as needed.
Sometimes we get so caught up in the many things in life we have to do, that we forget to take the time to look around you and see those people, whether family or friends that need to know how much you care about them. I love you all!

I think I am finally caught up!!

I think I have finally caught up on this ... so the post will slow down a bit. I start back to school (work) on Monday and things have changed around there. It will be interesting to see how everything goes. Lots of changes.

Grandma is doing better, the foot looks a little bit better. Grandpa has gone out to Tabby with Steve and Derick for the day. They are bow hunting and Grandpa had to check Tabby out. Fall is coming and we will be closing down Tabby soon. We have planned the last weekend in Sept. to do that, so anyone who wants to take that last trip out plan on it.!! It will be a fun work weekend. But who knows what next year will bring, so take advantage of every opportunity to get together that you can. I love you all!

Family Campout Johnson's Sawmill 2008

Well, we finally did it! Most of us made it to the camp out. Missy and Jimmy and Maddy of course are in Alabama and Heather and Brylee and Conner didn't make it ( we sure missed them all!), but the rest of us finally where in the same place at the same time. It was a lot of fun to have everyone there. I still have a hard time realizing that these are my adult children... when did I get so old!
We had looked up soapstone, and silvermeadows for camping spots but with the bow hunt that was a little bit difficult...plus Scott and Cassie bring a "train" with them and so Grandma suggested Johnsons Sawmill, and it was perfect... Scott didn't have any trouble parking and didn't have to unhook the trailer so that was good. It was really nice to spend some time with my kids, their families are growing and I know one day I won't have this chance. So I will enjoy and take advantage of any time I can spend with all of them. I decided we want this to be a yearly thing, so I have asked the kids to take a turn at picking the place and time.. so Brian is next year and then down the line...One day we will have everyone together.
On the second morning we woke up to everything covered in FROST! It was so cold! Samantha ended up taking Abbey and Chole home that night because it was just too cold for them. But we did have fun....

Tabiona

Natalie, Samantha, Qyncee, Gracee, Hunter, Abbey, Chole and I went out to Tabby and spent a few days there with Grandpa and Grandma. Grandma had decided to feed her hummingbirds Monday morning and go up on a stool, well, I suppose you can guess what happened next...she feel. She was pretty banged up, she broke a blood vessel on the top of her foot and it looks bad. So I went out Monday night, and so that is how we started off our tabby trip. Grandpa and Grandma ended up going back in on Thursday, because of the foot...it was a good thing she did. She is slowly getting better. It is hard for her to sit back and have people wait on her and not being able to do things for herself is really hard....hang in there mom!
I have put some pictures of tabby in here, so that those of you that haven't seen it for a while will remember how nice it is out there. The trees are growing and filling in. The river by the house is dry right now but, the main river is still running. It is nice to have someplace like that to go to. Grandpa and Grandma have really enjoyed it out there this year. They have spent most of the summer out there and it has been really good for them. They have at least 50 hummingbirds feeding off their 3 hummingbird feeder....no wonder grandma is always filling them. If you haven't been there, go... it gives you that lift from the struggles of everyday life.
While out looking for a place for our Family campout we went up wolf creek pass, and stopped at Blue lake. I use to go there and caught salamanders when I was young and never took the time to stop before...it is usually dry but this time is had water in it. Beautiful lake....
The next day, Natalie, Qyncee , Gracee and I took a hike up Buckboard, it is up wolf creek pass also. It is so pretty up there and it was a good hike.