I told you I wasn't lost!

There is so much to write about...as with most/all of you, it's tough to know where to begin. First, it's a VERY rainy day. Sometimes the rain makes me feel excited to begin the day. I feel energized - sometimes. This is not one of those times. Instead, the rain has produced tears. It is almost as though the rain has given me permission to cry. What would I cry about? Hmmm, could be many things. I could cry about the multitude of blessings I have given (certainly, not earned): My Savior, because that is what He is. He is the one that takes me out of the dark, swampy, shallow mire. He takes out his wash board (you know the metal kind, cuz that's what it will take) , holds me by my shoulders, and proceeds to gently rub me up and down the metal ridges until I am thparkly (that's Bailey's and Marin's word) white. Then He welcomes me into his warm arm and hugs me, still being gentle. Or, I could cry as I think about the precious Priesthood. I have watched it in action through the MANY blessings given to my mom over the last couple of months. I am so grateful to have my life surrounded by honorable men who recognize and honor that power: my hubby (that one's for you Megan - and honestly, it sounds too child-like to describe someone so important in my life), my brother, my son, my son-in-law (who will be using that power to bless his newborn son today) and even the two sets of area missionaries who came when called to give my mom a blessing. I would not know about my Savior, the Priesthood, or the restored Gospel if I wasn't a member of His church. How thankful I am for my baptismal covenants and all of the eternal covenants beyond that. These promises will make it possible to be with my mom, dad, brother and his family, the Mick Man and my children - FOREVER! Now, back to the tears... These covenants/promises give me some sense of peace right now while my mommy is so very ill. The tears could be for her! I am getting a handle on how frail our mortal existence is...and I am uncomfortable with that knowledge.

I love hearing Janeen call Mom Betty-the-Great. Betty the great, is great. I am so thankful to have spent so many of my years so close to her.

Gotta go...but, I'll be back.

I'm not lost, I promise!

It's Sunday - there's so much to be thankful for...

* The opportunity to take the Sacrament and refresh my baptismal covenants.
* The Young Women's Sacrament meeting - Young Women in Excellence. The spirit was there in abundance. Their singing was angelic. I'm not a Sacrament Meeting crier, but I was today.
* The Gospel Doctrine class was great...they are a spiritual group of people. I learn from them every time I teach. We talked about the Spirit of Elijah...they have it.

I was even thankful yesterday

* I did a good deed. It felt GREAT!
* I was (and still am) thankful for available resources as I prepared for the Gospel Doctrine lesson.
* I am so grateful for the help as I prepare lessons - I never have to do it alone. I love the company of the Holy Ghost.

I was REALLY thankful on Friday the 13th

* The play was as good as it was going to get.
* I didn't loose any of the kinders in the crowd. That is always a fear!
* I was able to go see Carter's kindergarten teacher in action. She is great and so is Carter.

I was thankful on Thursday the 12...

* For the fact that the next day the kids were all coming early in order to attend the Wizard of Oz (p.s. I REALLY don't like the story/movie/play - the Wizard of Oz).
* Watching the Mentalist - my new favorite show
* I didn't have to go the staff meeting...Why? Because I teach kindergarten and we are in a world all our own.

November 9, 10th, and 11th

Here are the random things I am thankful for...
*a surprise voicemail from Mark Romo...why? I don't know, but I really smiled when I listened to it
*a sister (sister-in-law) in Utah who inspires me A LOT!
*a sister in Hemet who is giving such extraordinary care to my very ill mommy
* my car - I still love it 75,000 trouble free miles later.
* EAR PLUGS! WOW...they are just the best. I enjoy snore free sleep every night.
* the burgandy leaves on the tree in the backyard
* little girls in pink tu-tus and their hair in buns - sooo cute
* birthday shopping days with a five year old grandaughter
*Veteran's Day - I got to put out the flag.

It's easy to feel thankful on Sunday

* I am thankful for the 11:00 meeting time
* I am thankful for the teacher that teaches the Gospel Doctrine class on the weeks when I am not. Oh, I felt her pain today...she left her planned lesson at home. I have done that twice. SICK feeling.
* I am so thankful on this Sunday because the very ill mom is actually doing a little better. She is NEVER far from my thoughts.

I had a hard time thinking of thankfuls yesterday...

Until Bailey's CUTE b-day party and then I was remembering that I permanently thankful for being a grandma.

I am thankful for Briggs because he is the one who made me a grandma.

I am thankful for the Hansen grandkids because they made my VERY sick mom smile with their get well wishes.

And Now it's Friday and I am OH SO THANKFUL

I love Fridays even more than Thursdays and being thankful hardly expresses my feelings about FRIDAYS! Here's why...

Duh! I am home or choosing someplace else to be for two days. Again, my choice!
Monk - one of my only two TV shows that I watch
I can read, read, read, read and read some more and for as long as I want because I don't have any reason to wake up at 5:00 am

I am so thankful for Fridays - Even Friday November 6th!

Yesterday was Thursday

I love Thursdays and I am so thankful that they come along...LOVE Thursdaysbecause...
The Mentalist
it's the day before Friday (which is even better)
this Thursday I got to see Bailey and Easton
(just a note about Bailey and then Easton - Bailey hasn't seen big sissy, Lindsay for a while and one of the first things she said to me was, 'Just look who's here...IT's MY SISSY!' I thought that was very sweet. And then there's Easton who was using the Wii controller like a baseball bat - and was playing Wii golf. He's just full of it - baseball 'it' that is.

I am thankful for eagles

The real ones...they are majestic, huge and kinda mean looking. They have that don't mess with me look.
The ones that sing (you know, the Eagles)
The ones that represent the United States of America...I am so thankful to be an American.

It's Tuesday an I am thankful for...teaching kindergarten

My kindergarten classroom and here are the three reasons...

* The classroom is HUGE (large enough for 32 rambunctious kinders).

* I have my VERY own bathroom. Having the neurotic (I can't spell tonight!) bladder that I do, this is a GREAT blessing. I am so thankful to be able to go 'potty' on a moment's notice.

* I have my own preparation room with a massive amount of storage. There are only two classrooms in the school that have it and I have one of the two rooms.

I sure didn't think kindergarten sounded like a blessing when I knew it was in the offing, but I'm so happy to be where I am.

Monday is full of thanks, too

#1 - gigantic grapes (even if they do have seeds)
#2 -having enough sleep to be prepared to take on the 32 kindergartners.
#3 - the wonderful sunny (but NOT hot) autumn...it's just beautiful outside!

Sunday Full of Thanks

Yes, it's Monday but I'm still thankful for Sundays...

#1 - Fasting to come back in the Gospel line - it works!
#2 - Halloween candy (after the fast...of course)
#3 - The time change ... I needed that extra hour.

The newest member of the Witt household - Hillary

Hold onto your seat for this one...meet Hillary. Does this just crack you up? Two little oldish people riding around Northern California on a motorized tricycle. Mickey knows a man that builds these tricycles. He mentioned this to me a couple of years ago. Next thing I know, Mickey wants me to go see something...our own personal motorized tricycle. It's cute, don't ya think? The back mud flaps have Yosemite Sam on them with the words..."Back Off". It is so fun to ride. We have taken a couple of longish rides and I love it! We are pretty cute in our dark red, matching helmets. Shoot man...we're just plain cute! I'm sure that's why so many people watch us pass by them on the freeway.

The Red Letter - August 1

Okay, so here's why it's a RED letter day...That's when Andie was born. And here's why it's so cool that happened...
Andie is -
*a grateful daughter...I can't even count the number of thank you notes I've received from Andie, just because I'm her mom.
*a sweet, step-daughter to Mickey...she loves him, and that means so much to me.
*a great supportive, wife to Morgan
*a loving sister to Lindsay...they are sisters and friends, too.
*a fun, wonderful, energetic, entertaining, and full time working mother of two.
*a super successful insurance executive (may have taken a little liberty with saying she's an executive, but that's how hard she works)
*a voracious book reader - it's been that way since she was in the 3rd grade.
* a stellar Primary teacher (she instituted Reverence Jellybeans)
*so quick witted - I revel in just talking to her because she just plain old entertains me.
*she is pretty darn courageous...she's taking her kids to church (and that aint easy-hello EASTON!) just because she knows it's the right thing to do and she wants to give her kids a solid foundation. I truly respect her for the 'church' thing.
Shoot Man! I'm so glad she's my daughter.

Just more pictures of the beautiful cruise...a memory of a lifetime.

Shopping...it's all about shopping with the MickMan. Holy smokes - the man loves to shop. We really did see and buy some cool things. I never like spending money - but it happened. I have some beautiful diamond earrings, a beautiful silver/gold necklace with a diamond pendant to go with it. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm complaining (even though at the time I did complain) but that my husband delights in giving me beautiful gifts.

I took a picture of the hand sanitizer dispenser because they were all over the ship and I just knew Andie would love it. EVERYWHERE! Hand sanitizer... EVERYWHERE!

And that is just a microscopic view of our wonderful vacation.

I did learn a few things while cruising - wanna know what?

I learned that it'sworth it to be upgraded from a verandah suite to just below a penthouse status. It didn't cost us an extra cent, but boy did we ever enjoy the room and the verandah. COOL!
I also learned that a "tender" is something more than fast food chicken...it is a mini ship that looks just like what I picture the Jaradite barges (?) to lookl like. Really interesting. That was how we left the ship and went into Ketchikan. I also learned that cold strawberry soup is really like a strawberry milkshake. I wanted to lick the soup bowl even though we were at the formal dinner. I also learned that to 'muster' doesn't mean that the 'd' was left off 'mustard' ...it's when you gather on a ship to go through the escape procedure...in case you run into an iceberg. I learned that when fresh water meets salt water, there is a change in the water color.

The cruise pictures

What a great experience. I will just post the pictures with little or no remarks because the pictures will probably be boring enough. Ya sure don't need the extra words...

Road Trip #3 - I 80 through the Recliner - REALLY

Really? Really? Interstate 80 through a recliner? What can that possibly mean? well, here goes. I will tell you that I am THE only person I know who has run right through a real recliner. Here's the story and I'm sticking to it! It was about 7:45, dusk. It was the Tuesday before Mickey and I were to fly to Seattle to catch the cruise. I was driving home from Lindsay/Andie's houses...happy, happy, happy. The far right lane was vacant while the middle and left lanes were fairly crowded. Duh, so change lanes. And there it was a recliner sitting upright in the far left lane. 'Was' is the operative word...because I promptly smashed it to pieces (strung it across the three lanes). The thing was demolished and I did it! Well, me and my beloved Honda Pilot. I thought for sure I had two flat tires, so I pulled over to check it out. At the same time, I made sure no one could see my face...SO embarassing. I was just fine, but my beloved Pilot was pretty messed up - NOOO!flat tires just a lot of dropping headlights. I watched as the bumped cumbled and fell in the dirt. The right side of my car which had been previously damaged was also slightly messed up. I am so glad I was driving my Honda/SUV. If I had been in a sedan, the thing would have been totaled. But the bill to the insurance company came to just about $3,000. And the car was repaired just 2 days later. Yes, I personally destroyed a tan recliner. Shore was a proud moment.

Road Trip #2 - Mid June - Seattle/Enumclaw

OH, great memories...The middle, endish part of June I was invited to ride along with Lindsay, Carter and Marin to see Uncle Chad, Aunt Janeen, Briggs, Livvy and Emily. I was pretty flattered that Lindsay would even consider letting me go along. What a dream come true...seeing 5 of my 7 grandkids all at the same time. The kids were a delight to travel with and that is one L O N GGGG trip. I'm not sure how long it took us, but it was longer than 2 hours. Honestly, the kids were awesome little travelers. Hard to believe, huh. The 5 kids played together (well, not so much Emily because she had just had her tonsils taken out) and just hung out together. Janeen fixed us some delicious meals and Chad just entertained the mother. Dang, it was FUN in every possible way. One of my favorite pictures is of the 4 kids on a ferry ride (I so missed Emily being with us). I'll share a Chadism with you. When we drove to the place to drive onto the ferry (we went without Janeen ???) it looked like there a LONG line of cars waiting to drive onto the ferry. None of the cars moved. We waited and waited and waited and waited. None of the cars moved. So Briggs and I jumped out to see what was going on. We towards the front of the line of cars only to discover that the line of cars we were waiting behind were parked cars (ya know, the ones that have NO driver in them). I had to laugh. Briggs and I hustled back to the car to let Chad know we were waiting behind a long line of parked cars. Yeah! Mom and Chad make a great pair. We needed Janeen! Again, just a GREAT trip.

June 2009 Roadtrip #1 - Peace & Quiet!

I have decided that one of my yearly jaunts needs to be to Sparks Nevada right after school lets out for the summer. This was the second year I've taken that little trip. It was so peaceful and relaxing. I spent some quality with Mark & Megan, slept, read some books and just LOVED it. My very favorite part though is always the vision of lovliness called the Sparks Marina...that's right, THE Sparks that is in the middle of the desert has a marina. When you hear the word 'marina' does that bring a picture of water, sailboats and maybe sand to your mind? It does mine and even after seeing the Sparks Marina, I still have the same picture in my mind. WOW! a desert marina. I will let you make a comparison between the Sparks Marina and another Marina. The contrast is startling...but the idea of a desert community having a marina is precious.

Now, a few weeks later, Mickey and I left Seattle aboard a cruiseliner. As we left, I noticed THE Seattle Marina. here we go...just comapare the Seattle Marina with the precious Sparks Marina. I know...I'm just mean. Do you notice any difference? Can you tell which one is which?

Don't hold your breath...but:

Here is my way of making something happen in the world of BLOGS...here's a list of things I will be writing about...someday.

August 1st 1977 - a RED letter day.
Strawberry shakes - cruise style
Tenders - not chicken ones
A week end by the Sparks Marina - a comparison
Room 22 "after"
Room 2 before and after
The roadtrip
My mom
The Kindergarten teacher.
Are you just achin' to know about all of these things? I'll bet you just can't wait.

Life is GREAT!

The Famous Ketchikan

Yep, it's famous but you may not have even known that. It is the leading salmon fishering place. Ya know who comes here to fish? Johnny Depp...we just missed seeing his yacht. DANG! We went to see a world famous totem pole carver...what an interesting and peaceful man he is. I wonder if that is because he works with a product from earth all the time. We also saw and group of Tlingit dancers. Mickey MADE me go up and dance with them. The dancers were great but a little girl about 18 months old really stole the show and she wasn't even a part of it. We may have a picture of her...she was moving pretty fast between the dancers with her bottle. The mom Tlingits dance holding their newborns and infants.

I LOVE the fog horn!

Oh! Sitka!

I sure didn' know much about a place named Sitka until yesterday...oh, and for those of you who think Sitka was the place in the movie 'The Proposal'...it isn't. The movie was filmed in New England. What a bunch of cheaters those movie folks are. But, the real Sitka is even better. It is a small fishing community, really just an island. The only road goes 7 miles one way and then ends...and it goes 7 miles the other way and the ends. But it is BEAUTIFUL. There was so much history there. Russian history, American history and Tclinkit Indian history. I have a new love for totem poles. I've always thought they were kinda dumb, but they are NOT! As you might guess, totem poles tell a history of a village or a family. The one thing I thought was a great idea was one of the four reasons for a Totem...to tell the history of a clan, as a kind of family crest, to tell legends, as a mortuary/memorial, and to display shame. I loved the last one. Imagine this, someone in the community does something awful (to the Tclinkits that would be stealing) anyway, they would put a totem in front of their home until the wrong had been corrected. Can you imagine our society putting a shame totem in front of someone's home until the wrong was corrected? Food for thought!

Internet costs $.75 a minute so I'm outa here for now...I do love the ocean!

One Less Thing on My Bucket List

Before I kick the bucket, I wanted to see a sheet of ice fall from a glacier...
I DID!
We saw and watched the Hubbard Glacier yesterday. Blue! Huge! Silent! Thunderous! Cold! (Duh, on that one). The glacier (I almost wrote 'thing' instead of glacier - how irreverent!) is 40 stories tall, 26 miles wide and I don't how deep it is....but MASSIVELY MENACING. We also got a cultural perspective from a ? tribe, and a scientific perspective from a park ranger.

Global Warming? to quote the park ranger...Global Warming is a new field of science and because of that a lot of mistakes have been made and will be made. The earth IS warming, but it is most likely the natural cycle of the earth...what has YET to be determined is what part we earthings have had in it. Here's my belief...for what it's worth...it is a natural cycle determined by our Father in Heaven and His Son...but we earthlings have been irresponsible and haven't taken care of the precious home as we should have.


OFF to Sitka!

OH NO! we are leaving Juneau

I just walked out on the verandah and watched Juneau fading away. I am a little sad. It is really a unique city. The only way that it can be reached is by air or water. It is literally built on the side of a mountain that builds from the shore. VERY unique. We weren't able to go on the float boat today because the cloud deck was too low. I guess safety comes first. We wandered around the town and purchased WAY too much stuff. I have a very generous husband and a new set of diamond stud earrings . We shopped for the Witt/Hansen families. The school teacher got the best of me and I bought a children's book. Oh, well...you'll just have to accept me for what I am...a kindergarten teacher...yep, I think that is what will happen. It is 10:00 pm and still light enough outside to read. And that is with the fog setting in. What a delightful few days. Tomorrow we get to visit an inland passage and view the Hubbard glacier. I have wanted to see a glacier for YEARS. I love it when I get what I want.

It's not that I haven't had a fabulous summer!

In my mind I have blogged so many times and about so many different things...it just never really happened. BUT, this is really happening right now! I am about 6 hours away from Juneau Alaska...REALLY! We are in a beautiful veranda suite because the cruise line upgraded us from just a veranda to a veranda suite. We are having a wonderful time! That sure sounded dumb, but how else could I say it? There is so much to do on the boat and as most everyone knows, sooo much food and it is excellent! I swore I wouldn't overeat...I wanted to do it differently...NOPE! The gentle rocking of the ship and the QUIET of the ocean is food for thought. I also happen to be with good company...Mickey! We have taken some spectacular pictures and I will post them later...Yeh, right!

Tomorrow we will take a float plane tour of several glaciers, and go to a mountain lodge.

The staff of the liner sure wants us to buy some diamonds in Juneau...we'll see about that.

Should I report in later?

You can tell I'm no photographer!

I'm cracking myself up (which is usually the case)! I just enlarged one of the pictures of the play structure - what else should I call it? - and I noticed that it looks like a giant bird feeder is part of the 'structure'. Yay for great composition. The bird feeder is attached to the tree, not the play place. DUH, Sue!

So, here's what's new at our house, the play area in the backyard. It's actually not even an eyesore. Lots of the grandkids have been over to play on it and it has been accepted as a member of the family. I love our backyard! We still have the area behind Gma Betty's room/little patio for the kids to play baseball. And the roses/flowers are lovely (that's a Bailey word). Dang!this is a great time of year.

>

I almost forgot!

Just gotta add this to the 63 year old birthday note...

Mickey! Mickey! ... you're so fine! You're so fine you blow my mind !...Hey, Mickey!

(just had to do it!)

Why is May 8th important?

Because that is the day 63 years ago...(yes, six-three), when Mickey happened. Gee, that must mean that May 8th is his birthday! YEP! He sure is easy when it comes to birthdays. All he wants is a phone call or a b-day card. That's good because I can NEVER figure out what to buy him. He's such a little shopper that he buys stuff when he wants it. AHHHHH!

May 8th sure has made my life more enjoyable. I love his laugh! I love his big hairy hands. I love his voice. I love it that for the next couple of weeks he is 3 years older than me. I love it that he lets me stay at school until I get my work done. I love it that I get to have my house cleaned professionally every two weeks, and I don't have to feel embarrassed or guilty. I love it that he took me out of the world of 'singlehood' almost 14 years ago. I love it that he will go to the temple with me or let me go alone if I need to. He just has not thwarted or squelched me in any way AT ALL. If I want to go on a road trip with Lindsay, Carter, and Marin, he just says go ahead and have fun. He knows how much my kids and grandkids mean to me. And he thinks I am really funny. I do have those frequent 'blonde' moments and he just laughs. And, he sure is good to my mom. Yep, I scored when I married that man who is 63 years old today. Dang, he is old!

To quote Andie...'Going, Going,...GONE

This used to be my school creative corner/classroom. BUT things will be changing the first part of June. I have been instructed that I WILL BE CHANGING ROOMS. I think I will be in Room 8 instead of Room 22. I am truly sad. I loved my room. I had a beautiful view from the windows that were on the east and west side of my room. There it was,a beautiful lawn that fed Canadian Geese as they traveled from North to South. The field is ( I should say 'was' because it will only be in my imagination from now on, except for minute views as I traverse the campus) bordered by tall leafy evergreen trees that monitored the breezes. What a beautiful, open view of where the sky meets the earth. I did love watching the clouds move across the window. The other window has some of my favorite deciduous trees - Chinese talo. I watched the seasons change through the leaves of those trees. DANG! I am NOT happy...did I already mention that?

A Small but Lovely (that's Bailey's new word) Birthday

A small, but loving celebration of Marin. Andie, Morgan, Easton, Bailey, Grandma Jill, Emily, Logan, Papa Mickey, Lindsay & Norm (DUH!), Grandma Betty, and me were all there. That is one hecka long clumsy sentence.

A Pink Birthday Party

Marin is three and LOVES pink (and just as a side note...so does Carter!) We loved watching her Tuesday night. Thinking about where she has been and what she has had to endure just made the celebration sweeter.

What is a Lindsay?

A Lindsay is 30 years old on April 9th.
A Lindsay is a wife, a mom, a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, a friend, a sister-in-law, a niece, an aunt, a stepdaughter, a homemaker, a college graduate, a hairstylist, a coach, a mom/cardiologist, a caregiver, a Primary teacher, a minimalist (she is NOT a clutter collector), a home designed card/announcement maker, a tennis player, a dancer and a singer. There is much more to be said and I have risked leaving something out as I have created this list. But above all, she is someone I am so grateful to call my daughter. She does it ALL and she does it with flair and kindness. She is one determined woman. Happy Birthday, Lins.