10 things about my Religion that I'm thankful for....

My Family and My Church have been my life.
   
     I have belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints my whole life. Well, technically since I was 8 years old. (That's when you are baptized in to the Church.
   Below is a picture of Jay and I with our oldest grandchild - Weston Jay Larsen. This is when he
was baptized into our church.

Our Church has a program called Primary that teaches the young children up to age 12 years about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then after 12 - they go into the Young Men and Young Women programs.

They learn more about living a Christ-like Life, but they also have more activities and goal-setting programs to enjoy.  Then after the age of 18 - The Young Women go to Relief Society and the Men go to their Priesthood meetings.

What is great about being and working in the Church  - you learn so much and can do so many different things.
You have callings that teach you how to do things that you wouldn't otherwise do.  For years I have been able to play the Organ and Piano for many of the meetings that we have.  I've also been able to play for Weddings and Funerals.  This has made me do better at keeping up on those musical skills than I would not have otherwise done. I'm thankful for that, because I actually enjoy it.

10 things about my religion that I'm grateful for:

1. Knowledge that God is my Heavenly Father

2. Being able to learn - The Gospel of Jesus Christ

3. Having a Prophet and Church Leaders to guide us.

4. Knowledge that my Family can be Forever (The Plan of Salvation)

5. Having Opportunities to Serve

6. Being able to study the scriptures (Bible and Book of Mormon)

7. Primary

8. Young Men's and Young Women's

9.  Relief Society

10. Knowledge of the Temple (and temple covenants)

10 places on Earth that I'm grateful for

Today I am putting down 10 Places on Earth that I'm grateful for. In some cases, I kind of lumped the places all together....such as: Beaches #3.) 

My #1 favorite place is of course the Wenatchee, Washington Apple Trail Loop around the Columbia River.  I can't count the many wonderful times that I have walked this trail and loved every minute of it!  I truly feel closer to God - by being out on this lovely trail.

#2  My next favorite place is in Eden, Utah.... We actually found a home there that we want to retire in.  We purchased the house a couple years ago and go there now for all Holidays and whenever we can get away.  It really is a beautiful area - with mountains all around and a big lake in the middle.

 #3  Ocean Beaches.......almost anywhere. I love the beach, but I do
prefer the warm beaches in places like:  So. California, Florida, Mexico, etc.) The above pic is of  the beach in Newport, Oregon.
Our Winters' Family has gone there in July for many years.
  

#4  Hawaii!  Yes, pretty much anywhere in Hawaii. We were able to take a cruise around all the Islands for our 25th Anniversary. I will never forget it. Each Island was wonderful!! Something about that Tropical feeling - just makes you feel extra good. 

#5  New York City!
 This is a pic of Times Square, of course. There is just Something about NYC. It's something that you can't quite explain to anyone that hasn't been there.  That's why I think everyone should go there at least once in their lifetime.  I was amazed at the diversity of people, places , food.......well, pretty much everything.
You could look down any street and see a mixture of all kinds of people, things, etc.  This city has it all.  I was lucky to go here about 5 different times and get to do all the usual tourist's things.  And I even got the chance to ride the elevators up to the Top of the World Trade Center before 9/11. 
 I also got to go w/my Son - Rocky, when he ran the NYC marathon.  That was an experience all in it's own.....just to be one of the 2 million spectators.  I am in awe of this City.  Hope I get to go here again sometime.

#6  Disney World and DisneyLand
Yep, these are definitely  very important places to go to at least once in your life, too. 
We are all just really kids' at heart, aren't we??

#7  Venice, Italy

Well, pretty much anywhere in Italy is on my list for favorite places to go.  I say Venice, because that is where I've visited and just loved it. We went on a business tour for fruit trees the 2 times I have been here - so we didn't get to see a lot of the tourist places in Italy, (like Rome)  But it still was wonderful what we did see.

  #8 The Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany

This was another place we got to visit on our Fruit tree Business tour. It really is a magical place.  

#9 Boston, Massachusetts

Boston is a special place to me and my family. My Husband went on his church mission there and our Son went to Tufts Medical School there.  We have had the opportunity to visit a number of times and those visits are very great memories.

Infact, I realize that this should have been much higher on my list of places on Earth that I'm grateful for.  

 

 #10  Zions National Park - Angels Landing

This one has to be on the list . Because it was one of the most awesome places to be (for me). We didn't know what a trek we were taking when we climbed this rock about 2 years ago. (our son told us it wouldn't be too hard)  Well, it wasn't easy that's for sure. Here's a pic of how we had to climb parts of it:

Yes, and there were tougher spots than this! There was also a sign that said at least one person a year falls to their death climbing this Rock!  Well, we did make it and here is a pic of us at the Top:

It really is something we will never ever forget. And the view from up there was just incredible!

10 food things to be grateful for!

Ok, today it is Food that I'm grateful for. I know I could really Keep going on this list, but I'll try to limit it to 10:

1. Anything Chocolate, of course!

2. Pasta

3. Ice Cream and Yogurt

4. Chicken

5. Roast Beef

6. Seafood (Sushi, too)

7. Pizza

8. Mexican food (that covers a lot of food items...:)

9. Some veges......like corn on the cob

10.Most Fruits.......like Peaches!

Yes, I did try to put Sprite and Dt. Coke down as food things that I am grateful for.
But I can see that they are drinks and really not food. So I think I did the best I could here...:)


Well, I tried and tried to put some pictures of food in this post, but something is wrong w/my computer today and it won't let me do it. I hope it works next time........

10 More things I'm grateful for: (Material)

Today I'm feeling grateful for living in this day and age and being able to enjoy the material things that we have.  Here's my list:

1. Our home

2. Cars

3. Computers

4. TV's

5. Cellphones

6. Things that make cooking easier: (i.e.: stove, dishwasher, refrig, microwave, etc.)

7. washer & dryer

8. Clothes

9. Books

10. Bank Accounts


We really are spoiled.  I mean I forgot to say indoor plumbing and air conditioners and furnaces and Hot tubs.  I'm sure there is more.

10 more things to be grateful for: (things I can do)

I feel so blessed just thinking of all these things I am grateful for. I really do take a lot for granted.

Here's a list of things that I like to do and am able to do:

1. I can travel - I love to do that.

2. I can do a lot of walking/jogging.

3. I can play the piano/organ.

4. I can read and write.

5. I can type/blog.

6. I can organize and clean pretty well.

7. I can work hard outside (i.e: weed, move rocks, paint, etc)

8. I can Swim.

9. I can dance and sing (ok, not really well, but I can)

10. I can cook/bake. (I make a mean pot roast).

 

But as a side note:  I have to say that being a wife, Mother, and Grandma are the most meaningful things in my life.  The above things are just things that I'm thankful I can do at this stage in my life.

10 things a day to be grateful for.

 

Yep, I'm going to write down here 10 things I am grateful for.

I will try to do it everyday for awhile.

We will see how this goes.  But today I thought I'd put down 10 things in Nature that I'm grateful for:

1. The Sun is #1 of course!

2. Water - I guess I should say Rivers and Lakes.

3.  Salt Water  - Beaches

4.  Mountains

5.  Trees

6.  Flowers and plants

7.  Tropical Climate

8.  SKY

9. Clouds and Rain

10. Waterfalls


I'd say that's pretty good to start with, huh?!

Grand kids

Don't I have the most beautiful grandkids in the whole wide world!?!  I can't tell you how much I adore them. And, Here's a pic of the whole family:

This is a pretty recent pic. (about a month ago)

Our daughter, Staci, is their mother and our son-in-law is Chad Larsen.

 

I feel like telling you a little bit about each one of them. I don't think I've said a lot in past blog posts, so here goes:

The Oldest is the only boy : Weston Jay Larsen. He is 9 years old. 

This pic is when he was 7, I think.  But he is really an amazing kid and I'm not just saying that because I'm his grandma.  A lot of other people have said it to me, too...:)

He is always beating us at games -almost any game I've played w/him.  And I don't even try to lose either. He has a very competitive nature and does excel at about everything he tries to do.

He has always been amazing at putting together Legos - starting at 2 years old. One day when he was 6 years old, he said to his parents, " Do you know what the greatest thing in the world is?"

And they said, " No, What?"

And he said, "Lego instructions!"

Now what 6 year old would say something like that!

(Okay, I'll  have to just say one story each about these kids, or I'll never get this blog done...:)

 

 

 

Okay the 1st pic of Analee was when she was a lot younger. (But I just love that one). And the next one is a more recent one.  She is 7 years old now.

She is a very sensitive and loving girl. She is also very observant.  I'll never forget when she was younger and she asked me what were all those polka dots (freckles)  all over my face!

Oh, here is an even more recent pic of Analee below:

 

Then you've got Kallista, age 5:

 

And

here is a pic below of her at around 2 0r 3 years:

She has been the one that has said sooooo many funny things. I have quite a list of them in

my little Grandma's book of sayings.  Here's an example:

I had been w/the kids for almost a week one time during little Lydia's surgeries and helping w/a move that they were making to Rigby. And at the end of the week, I was driving them to a park - when Weston asked if I had to go back home soon. I said, "Yes, I probably will have to go soon."  Then Kallista piped up and said "  Don't go Grandma!  We are just starting to like you!"

(Oh, out of the mouth of babes....:)

 

Next there is Gwen. She is 3 years old right now:

Above is when she was younger and would just let me hold her like that forever.  She was the only one that would do that for so long. I'd say that she did that for at least the first 2 years of her life.

Gwen is a very strong willed little girl now. I get quite a kick out of her and how she is.

A few months ago,she was upset about something.  So she had gone into my bedroom and shut the door behind her and had started to tear up some pages in my scriptures. (Greg also did this once when he was little) Anyhoo, I caught her and her parents found out - so they were trying to make her say "I'm sorry Grandma."  She just couldn't do it.  They brought her to me about 10 times until she finally said a very quiet "sorry".   It was so funny that I tried not to laugh, but it was so hard for her to do.'

 

Then we have little Lydia:

 

Lydia will be one in June.

 

 

The above is a picture before one of her surgeries. She had a cleft lip and palate.

Even with all that she has been through, she will smile. She has such a sweet spirit about her.

We are so thankful for this little girl.

 

Okay, I had to do a little bragging. That's what a Grandma does.

I'm OCD

Yes, I'm pretty sure I'm OCD when it comes to keeping my house clean.  I've always been a cleaner.  It's in my DNA, I just can't help it.  I can't stand CLUTTER!! 
You know I don't care if other people are messy. And if they can live with all that clutter around them - it's none of my business.  But I sure do care about my own mess. 

I have to have a house that is in order.  I've tried all my life to be a little more relaxed when it comes to having a clean house and I just can't do it!  I can't relax until things are as they should be - in order.
I'm afraid that I've passed this on to my daughter (and to some degree, my sons).
I've noticed that Staci is a workaholic when it comes to her house.  She really cleans and keeps things in order.  And with 5 kids, that is hard to do! I hope it doesn't drive her to the looney bin - like it almost did to me.

Those hoarder shows don't help me a bit.  I almost get sick when I see how bad it is for some of them.
And it makes me want to clean more! Oh, well........I guess there are worse things. And it's been much easier to keep a clean house with just Jay and I.

My Best Friend

But oh...the blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearlessly on any subject; with whom one's deepest as well as one's most foolish thought come out simply and safely. Oh, the comfort-of feeling safe with a person-having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away."   "Dinah Craik, A Life for a Life, 1859

I really like this quote. I do feel that I have a friend like this and that friend is my husband.  It's taken many years for me to feel that I can say almost anything to him and he will understand. I guess we had to pretty much grow up together - to finally understand each other.
It's true that we still have our days when one or the other of us feels grouchy and sometimes says something that may hurt the other's feelings. But we are quick to forgive each other.
I'm so thankful for this. It wasn't easy to get to this point and I pray that it can only get better from here.  I see so many couples that have crumbled as a couple and others that are crumbling. All I can do is be grateful that we have the relationship that we do and try every day to make it better.

Time

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven:  a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

 Yes, I'm going to start some Quote posts again.....:0)
I really am shocked how fast time seems to be going.  Even though,
I have more time in this stage of my life - to do the things I want.
It's
like that saying in the song, "There's never enough time to do the things you
want once you find them."  (I think it goes something like that)

I can almost feel time rushing past me.  How can it move so fast? Where did it go? What happened to my children? How can I help them with this concept of time??    

Am I using my time well??
 
One good thing about time going by right now, Is that we are moving in to the Spring/Summer season that I love.  Things are greening up and I love being outside.  I walked the River yesterday and was in Awe (as usual). The trees were greening up, there were small plants and flowers (like daffodils) showing themselves on the manicured side of the River.  The east side is more wild, but
it has it's own kind of beauty.  All the decay and grayness left by Winter is being
over-run by new green shoots (mostly weeds)  But hey!  it's still beautiful.
How can you not look at the pic above and not want to slow down time and just
savor the day and enjoy.   I sure do love to do that. Wish I had more time.

The Canal Caper

Well,

I didn't take any pics this year (today) of The Canal Caper (10 K) in Ephrata. So this one from last year will have to do. (Paula Cobb, me, Janene Cobb)

I really, really should have taken one, because it was the best weather we have had since I can remember!

And I've been doing this race (on and off, mostly on) for the last 10-15 years.

They were celebrating it's 35th year this year.  And the race director - Joe McManus - has been

running this event the whole time. This is his last year. What a nice man, I could tell he was a little

choked up today about it all.

I was able to run/walk and I did my usual (around 75 min.) But I could tell it was harder for me today.  I/m just not in the shape I would like to be! So I'm going to commit to doing better this year.

Yes, I said it - now I've gotta do it.

My Mother in-Law, Vera Adams, passed away February 5th. It wasn't too long after the last post that I posted below.

We had a wonderful Funeral and most all of her family came to say "Goodbye". I have a picture of all of us somewhere, but will have to post it when I find it.

We had a very sad funeral a few weeks before Vera's for another member of our Adams' Family. Little Liam D. Adams, The brandnew baby boy of our Nephew& Niece - Richard & Leisha Adams. What a sad time that was.......
as Vera's funeral was more of a celebration of the good long life she lived. She lived to be 89.
 We've had so many people comment on the kindness and love that they felt from her. We've also received many cards of Sympathy on her behalf.
This is a pic of Liam's graveside:


A lot has happened the last few months. I'm so thankful that it is starting to warm up and showing big signs of Spring coming.

This is a pic from walking around The Columbia River. I've been doing it once a week for awhile now. I'm going to walk/run
the Canal Caper in Ephrata tomorrow. It's a 10K. I'm feeling like I've slowed down a lot. So we'll see how great my time is tomorrow.

Vera

Today I'm thinking a lot about my Mother-in-law, Vera. She has lived close by us all our married life.(almost 35 years) The last 10, well maybe 15 years have been tough for her. (since Dad has been gone.) She has had a lot of health issues. I don't know if I should start naming them, but here goes: 1st she had Ovarian Cancer and went throught the Chemo and a surgery and all that. Then she had a few falls, broke her hip, broke her arm, and re-broke her arm. She had to finally just let the arm hang w/a brace on it, because they couldn't fix it. So the mobility in using her Rt. arm was limited. Which seemed to lead to other things......because her bones are very, very fragile. She had the terrible fall at the church a few years ago that really put her down. She broke a lot of bones and was never able to get up and walk after that. So we had to put her in a Nursing Home. She has always seemed to have a chronic bladder infection and now I think it is getting the best of her. Her immune system is down and the infection has caused a high fever which has caused her whole body to be affected. She is now in the Wenatchee Hospital on some strong Antibiotics. Hard to tell if she will pull through this our not. She has been delirious and disoriented. Not really knowing what is going on. It is hard for us to see, but we know that she has lived a great life and if it is to come that she passes, so be it. She is 89 and her quality of life hasn't been very good for quite awhile now. Everytime I took her to church on Sundays she was always so upset that she couldn't see or hear well. She had macular degeneration and hearing problems that couldn't be fixed. I love her very much, but I've felt so bad for her for so long. It's hard to see your loved ones suffer and there's not much you can do about it. You try to visit them, take them to family functions, buy things at Wal-mart that they need, take them out to dinner and to your home for dinner. But trying to keep them in your home and taking care of them is a full-time job. It's very hard and all of us in the Adams' Family tried this before we realized it wouldn't work. So this is why I'm feeling such mixed emotion today. You never feel like you've done enough, but you have to come to peace with it. You have to realize that you've done the best you could do for the situation. I just re-read this post and it hit me that I didn't say the most important thing. That Vera was the best mom-in-law I could have had. She really is and was a very, very sweet lady. Never judged us and anyone else much for that matter. Everyone loved her. She was indeed, kind and sweet to all. She cared so much for her family. She was always wanting to know how everyone was doing and what they were up to. I feel so blessed to have been a part of her life.

Just a quick note to show you our Family Picture that we took at Christmas time. We can never seem to get the whole family together, but finally we did!!! Rocky is a Dr. in Mobile, Alabama....and so it is hard to get him out here in the West when the rest of us are together. Hopefully, we can get a picture like this every Christmas time in the future....:)

 

(The pic below is of our 2 nieces - Whitney and Melia who graduated from Zillah High School this year.)

 

 

Well, I'm going to try and catch up on some of the Summer things that happened this year.
We had quite a few big things happen this year. I hope I don't forget something, but I will attempt to list the big things that happened. (Not in any particular order)

 My Sister Mindi got married in June. (so happy for her - she is 36)

Staci had baby Lydia in June - and Lydia had a major surgery on her Cleft lip & palate in August.

Our nephew Mitch was married in Las Vegas. (we went to the wedding and receptions)

I had my 35th HS Reunion at the end of July. (in which I was quite involved in the planning of)

Our neice Gina got married in October ( her 2nd and his 1st)  everything seemed to fall in place for her. She soooooo deserves some happiness after some tough years w/the X.

Some other good friends found their mates. (So we've gone to a lot of weddings this year.)
Jay has had to perform a couple weddings, too.

Heidi graduated from Art Academy

Jay's brother Roger had some pretty scary surgeries, but all turned out fine.

Our sis-in-law Nadine had breast cancer and surgery.( Is fine now.)

Staci and Chad made a major move to another town - all around the time of the baby's operation.
(so I spent a lot of time down there and at our house in Utah)

Our grandson, Weston turned 8 and was baptized into our Church.

Jay & I were Thing 1 and Thing 2 for Halloween.

Now I will post a few pics of this last year. And maybe I'll feel like I've caught up.....a little bit.

My Class Reunion.

 

Fun at the Beach w/the Winters Family.

 

Memorial Day w/Grandma Vera in Ephrata:

 

 Our darling granddaughter - Kallista.