I can do HARD things...

Made another long drive to Utah about a week and a half ago.  Besides my bad attitude, there were challenges along the way.  But through it all, the Savior's hand was guiding me through, step by step, and task by task We recently moved mom into an assisted living center in our childhood town. She loves Vernal, Utah having lived there most of her life. Only other place she would rather be is West Virginia where she grew up as a child. It is difficult to have her there, but that is where she chose to be.

The ride up was long... fog, road construction, and rain, made it interesting.  The gentle touch of fall made it bearable.

Fog in Kansas.

Beautiful gold leaves of fall, the red ones had already fallen.

 Snowy peaks left me longing for a snowy wintry day.

 










Rabbit Ears Pass in Colorado.

I don't know if anyone could comprehend without experiencing it, but my sweet Mom keeps everything. Times that by 10 children and a very service oriented husband and you can accumulate a lot of stuff.  I was six years old when the doctor had taken out my tonsils. She kept them for 30 years before asking my permission to throw them away.  Hate to bring it up, the thought nauseates me, but it will help you understand our task at hand. She lived alone in a 3000 square foot home, filled to the brim, with unorganized and organized stuff. Here are a few samples.

My hair cut from when I was 10 years old.  Didn't see anyone else  hair cut, so this must have been special. She probably knew I wouldn't be a blonde my whole life I guess.

My art... mostly 6th grade I think.

Then the evidence of the job at hand. By the time we left of Friday the dumpster had been dumped twice and was half way full again.  2 trailers of donated goods had been taken to the local thrift store, and half way loaded again.  Several carloads of personal treasures and a trailer had been sent to Salt Lake.  We were going to haul an organ down to Texas for my sister, but, things didn't work out. So we hauled about a half of a trailer down. 

One of the best things of the trip was seeing family.  First time in years that we had all been together in one place. Even at the recent reunion not all of us were there at the same time. so it was a milestone... Celebrated my Moms 79th birthday on Sunday night when we got there. pictures of party and some of us at work.

 Mom and Becky. Becky is the oldest of nine children.

Glade and Liz.  Funny thing...my Dad name is Glade and my Moms, Liz.  Glade is number 8.

Sam 7th and the family comedian.

 Lousie, SIL and niece Rachelle and husband JD. Other brothers in the back ground. Allen, Scott, Farley, and Rick.

 
Nine names on paper stuck to the wall help keep every ones piles of treasures separated.


Scott wins the prize for most sentimental. He would have kept everything.


Chris, my youngest brother and I, both liked  the idea involving matches.

Becky was the rock... working day and into the night as she stayed in the house. I opted for a hotel and it was probably a good thing.

After five days of hard work we loaded the trailer and headed for home.  I would like to say we finished the task at hand, but a few more hard days of work from the brothers will be required.

 We found out there was snow in parts of Kansas and Colorado, so we went an alternative route.  We were going they ugly way back to Texas and took  an alternative route last minute.  We didn't think it would be too bad, but it put us back up in the high altitude of the Rockies. It was worth the drive though.  At one point we look up the road to see 3 charging buffalo. I was so surprised, I didn't get a good picture.    

Oh give me a home...

We were happy to see this beautiful rainbow at the end of our descent.  I thought to myself a promise from God that he is with us in hard times.

It was amazing to me to see the hard work of my siblings.  We all got along really well and there were no disputes over "things" of the world.

I think I am pretty lucky to have a great family.

My wish is that my own children can follow their example someday. I am pretty sure they can.

Falltastic!

Just couldn't wait, had to put out some fall happiness today.  It is only in the low 80's today, so I am celebrating.  Could be that I know I will get to experience fall at its finest in a few weeks.  We are on the road again, back up to Utah.  Not looking forward to the drive, but can't wait to see the colors of fall. It is absolutely my favorite season!

Where is our President?

Is Obama in hiding?  Embassy's falling, teachers failing, and talks with Jerusalem flouted.  Does this make any of you nervous. Does this shake your faith in our leadership in America.  It scares me.  I know that sometimes it doesn't take much to do that, but come on PEOPLE!

Things that have disappointed me this week would take me pages to write.  I guess that is what happens when you are older, and don't have to help the children with homework, or put them into bed. You start to get more politically involved. To bad It took me so long.

It's always someone else fault. No one is taking responsibility. Our embassies are getting ransacked on the anniversary of one of our nations saddest moments. Our people are getting murdered by tyrants and it is the "movies" fault. Do they really think the American people are dumb?  The President of Libya even said it was an attack on Americans.

So how does one find peace?  How does one sort through the information given to them?  Prayer, asking if it is good, asking if it protects us from all that is evil, asking ourselves if it will improve the world we live in. It all comes down to being responsible for our decisions.  This election is a serious one. Take your vote and decisions seriously.  I plan to.

I find peace in the words of a Prophet of God.

Enough said for today.

Politics....

Okay, I am in explosive mode.  Usually, the only relief I get from this condition, is to write. Which is really sad, because of my lack of good writing skills. Here it goes...

We are better off because... Osama bin Laden is dead, and GM didn't go bankrupt.  Boy that's a relief, I feel better.

We are better off... because we took God out of the Democratic Platform.  I'm speechless!

We are better off... because we give more food stamps. I always liked the quote "teach a man to fish...

We are better off... because we don't require welfare recipients to work. Hey, let's all quit working!

We are better off... because I have to pay for my healthcare...and a lot of the people in my doctors office don't.  I really didn't need the 1000.00  I paid in medical bills the last few months.

We are better off... because we will provide anyone with birth control, that's good because I WOULD HATE TO GET PREGNANT NOW THAT I AM IN MY LATE FIFTIES. And I love paying for everyone else's.

We are better off... because we now accept Jimmy Carter as a great president, and dead Ted Kennedy as a pit bull for the DEMS.

We are better off... because as women we surely don't have enough on our plates just raising good families, and keeping food on the table.

We are all better off... because we want high gas prices and no drilling. That's a relief, my husband and two  sons work for oil companies, maybe we will get food stamps!

We are all better off... because we get to empty our wallets for a whole sack of groceries.

How can anyone look at the direction of this country, and feel that they are better off?

disclaimer:  I am very thankful for my blessings. I know everything I have comes from God. I taught my children the meaning of hard work. I bought a house I could afford.  My cars are not fancy. I have never traveled outside of the US, not even Hawaii. We pay 10 percent plus of our modest income to charity every month. I don't know if anyone one can fix this, but I do know we are headed for trouble if things don't change.

By the way, now I feel better!

37...

Just celebrated our 37 year anniversary.  No fan fare or glitz, just a regular low key night.  Due to the travel we have done this summer, budget, and being worn out, it was okay with me.  Why, because I am taken care of, and treated well, everyday.  Everyday is a celebration of our anniversary because of this. Flowers  wilt, gifts loose their luster, fancy foods to extra pounds, but good are those feelings of friendship, companionship, charity, and love. I love my husband.

Taking the Scenic Route

It was hard to come back to Texas, but at least I talked Rick into my favorite route. Down to Spanish Fork Canyon, over to Price, east to Grand Junction, Colorado, down to  Fruita, Montrose, up to Ouray, and  to the summit Silverton, and  desend  to Durango across to Pagosa Springs, an absolute must for everyone.

The ascent.











 You go straight to the top.

 Isn't this beautiful!

 Ouray, Colorado loved the architecture in this quaint town.

  Doesn't this look like a painting?

 Never guess what happened here...

The summit.

The descent.

Chimney Rock

It was worth the extra hour.  Aren't God's creations beautiful?  And isn't taking time to take the scenic route great. It was good to be out and about.

Homeward Bound

Well we just returned from our trip.  As predicted some happy and some sad, but glad we took the time to go up. We have always had things that came up that prevented us from traveling to my reunion,but this year I told Rick we had to go.  We left  on a Saturday morning with a fully loaded car.  We took the Dallas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Denver,Colorado, route to Vernal,  Utah.  We travel 14 hours the first day, and  9 the second. My first glimpse of the Rockies got me more excited about the trip.

We got to Vernal early evening on Sunday.  We went to visit Rick's Mom, that night.  The next morning we got up, ate breakfast, and grabbed one for Mom and headed over to Moms.  Nothing could have prepared me for her frailty.  She has lost an incredible amount of weight and her mind as most do, is fading.  We had a good visit.  We took some things out of the house up to DI to make it safer for her to get around, found some music for the reunion, reviewed some bills and got rid of extra cost, and talked.

Tuesday Rick went with his family and I stayed with Mom.  We went to the cemetery, to see Dad's grave, took some more things to DI and went and grabbed a burger for lunch.  We drove to the tree shaded street that Dad and Her would eat under, before Dad passed away.  I got her packed to go to the reunion, and vacuumed for her.  Then we took off to Salt Lake.

We hadn't been to Salt Lake in 5 years and were excited to see the changes. First stop, down town, City Creek Center, my what an impressive place.  The LDS Church bought the property and restored and revitalized  it. It was stunning.

And who could ever get tired of looking at the Temple.  Special for me, because that is where we were married.


Then it was off for the best hamburger ever, and best of all, to see my favorite Virginians.

Then our old neighbors invited us to come for a get together. It was one of the highlights of our trip.  We love these guys!

Then up to Heber Valley Camp.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the most awesome camp above the Heber Valley.  It is run by 68 Missionary couples, if I go on a mission it will be there.  I will have to convince my husband to buy a trailer and a 4 wheeler but for 224.00 a month I can handle that. Plus, who wouldn't want to live there. Visiting, hikes, watching the wildlife, playing, singing, eating, and reconnecting family bonds.

I borrowed this picture of my sweet Mom and my little brothers.  We didn't get to stay on Saturday to see them, I wish we could have. I almost feel like their second Mom, being the second oldest of 10, I baby sat a lot.

Bubbles and sticks.                                                                                  

Babies galore this year. Becky's family provided 3 of them.













Cutie Laynie found a frog. No fear with her she picked it right up.


Brother, Allen's family in the back ground. Anna and Morgan Daily.

Becky and DJ had their hands full as they were in charge of two of their grandsons. They deserve a medal!

Gavin and Rick had a great time.  They built Legos, played tic-tac-toe, and talked.

Rick and I had a great time visiting with Mom and most of the relatives, we missed some though. We enjoyed the beautiful weather and NO humidity!

So good to see Jamie and his family we have missed them a lot.  Hope we see them sooner than later. We were glad we made the effort to come and attend our Sowards 2012 Reunion.

DUCT TAPE

This isn't my normal went somewhere, did something fun, kind of post.  It isn't a post full of cute pictures of grand kids. We are going home for a family reunion, and a brief visit to our old stomping grounds in West Jordan, Utah where we raised our family. I am excited and apprehensive at the same time.  So many of our trips home have been centered around weddings of our children, and saying goodbye to loved ones that have passed on, both of which have made me happy and sad. They were expensive, stressful, and never just time to sit and take it all in.

I am hoping that this trip will be a happy one, but reality there are things that need to be addressed while there. My friend just said in her blog that there was no DRAMA at their family gathering, I was impressed! So here is to hoping all goes well.  I have been told I am a know it all, I don't try to be.  I have a bad habit of wanting things to be fixed when they are broken,  problems to be outwardly and honestly stated, and misunderstandings to be resolved.  I don't care much for being politically correct when things need to be done. What I am saying is that I just fail miserably when it comes to saying. "We can do this, things will work out, or let's get things resolved!"

I pray that I can keep my mouth shut, my opinions to myself, and just enjoy the time I have with those I care about.  I have thought about duct tape.

Letting it go...

What was I thinking? Was this really important?  Why was I keeping this for? My kids will just throw it away...  These are just a few of the questions running through my mind as I have been cleaning up and letting go.

Finally got the cubbies  (an Ikea's favorite of mine)  for the big closet in my craft room. I ended up carrying tons of clothes, tons of old school stuff, and I will just say it, " JUNK" out of this closet.  The feeling I get every time I walk in there now without things falling on me, and stubbing my toes, is simply wonderful.

Before..

After...
My collection of Ikea. Closet, Playroom,  Craft room,  I guess you could say I like them.

 Love them! Can't imagine organizing without them.

I even cleaned out the filing cabinet in the garage. Letting go is good!