This year we took a trip to Newport, California which included Budd and Jolene Harr. That was a fun trip where we got to go whale watching. Then we went to Tahoe for the Girls (Brinley's) Lacrosse Championships. Brinley's team won the Nevada Girls title - yes we live in Utah, but they play in the Nevada League. There were many parents from Nevada upset about giving the girls title to a Utah team. Oh well. They'll have to practice more!
This year for Brad's Birthday we rented a condo at Solitude and spend a few days together and rode the Wasatch Crest! What a fun place! We rode the Crest, a cherished bike ride favorite of Brad and I's. In our early married years we would take friends after work and go ride that trail, ending in the dark. We started at Guardsman, and came down Millcreek Canyon. The condo had a beautiful outdoor pool that we enjoyed as a family! It was a beautiful weekend together!Now November, we find our family here at Brianhead. When we owned the house on Fox Hunt, our payment was $2500/month plus very high utilities and taxes plus maintenance! When that home was demanded back, and all the money we had paid was claimed to be just rent by Kathryn, it was a difficult time. We think we gave them $250,000! We had paid that amount for 5 years, put a new deck on the house, and a new roof. We had spent a lot of money in maintenance. When it was taken - Brad and I decided that we could pay for a lot of hotel rooms for what we had been paying for that house! We haven't looked back. We enjoy the freedom of rolling in late at night to a light on and a clean room with all the beds made. We enjoy the breakfast prepared at the hotels we stay in, and have listened to conference from hotel rooms, had gatherings in conference rooms for free, we have enjoyed the swimming pools, and hot tubs. We have a habit of leaving a note of gratitude for the room when we leave, and I love to see my littlest ones take charge of that job. I appreciate walking out without having to clean the bathroom - although we always leave it clean, it used to be a huge job to leave because we had to leave everything spotless for Kathryn! She often came down to see that we left it clean so she could use the house for the next event she needed space for. Ugh. I don't need to go there - onward! All that to say, I don't miss that mess at all! We arrived at different times, but found this beautiful cabin equipped to sleep all of us in beds. They even set up and decorated a Christmas tree for us! I sit here in it's lights, enjoy the stars outside the beautiful windows overlooking the canyon! What a beautiful place!
This year we decided that our girls would do a tree for the Jubilee of Trees. Haley and Annie had never done one before, in fact Haley had never been to the Jubilee or the Festival of trees either one! As a family one night a few months back we choose the theme of a literature tree focused on the quote by AA Milne "The Past is History. The future is a Mystery. Today is a gift, that is why we call it the present!" We decorated in red and white and had fun nights making gnomes to go on the tree as a memory of Christmas past with Farmor. I love you Farmor! We gathered more than 25 Christmas books, and sewed darling red and white bags with numbered tags to open one book a day counting down to Christmas, encouraging families to take the time together to read and enjoy each other each day! Our tree was purchased by a cute family with two little kids, the Austin and Ashley Morris family in Little Valley. Liesl came down to help us decorate last Tuesday and Wednesday. It is fun to have her join us! She is living in SLC right now, and starts a new job on Monday - another story. She is doing great and has a cute boyfriend Nate who is here with us for Thanksgiving! The Jubilee lasts only one weekend, and on Monday night after 8:00 p.m. it closes, and we wrap the tree and deliver it to the buyer. We all (minus Liesl) went to deliver it. What a blessing to have three trucks and a trailer moving slowly across town with a beautiful tree on it! The family we delivered to were both only children. They admired our family and the joy we shared as we all carried pieces in, moving the tree and it's embellishments - which included a larger than life teddy bear we inherited last year when we delivered our last tree to the Children's Justice Center :) Our kids loved that bear for the past year, and were a bit sad to pass it forward, but those two cute little ones were super excited to get it at their house! What a blessing to share!In the past week we have also enjoyed working hard on the Bloomington Roundabout. It is decorated every year, and has been done by the Bloomington Community Council. This year, about three months ago I was at the grocery store and bumped into Gail Maxwell. He kindly asked if I would please come to the council meeting the next night. I had other commitments early, but told him I would try. I walked in late, and he welcomed me by saying "Oh good she came! Marta volunteered to handle the decorations for the roundabout this year." I laughed! He explained that he thought it would be good to divide the roundabout into sections, and assign different people each section. He asked if I would handle all the details. It is hard to tell such a good man no! Just a week after that meeting, he lost a married son who took his own life. Hard! I organized, and called some ladies, asking them to head up a committee from their friends to help us with this project. It has been such a joy! I found two ladies, and they are amazing! They each took a section, and recruited people to come help them. Jana Bickel and Kim Staheli each took a section. I thought I had the third one delegated, but the person I asked backed out. So my family helped with two of the four sections. It has been a lot of work, for months, but it is beautiful! Gail Maxwell is amazing! I wanted to put a huge pole like 45' in the center so we could do a big tree! He not only got it approved, but he got it donated! We had to dig the footer and pour the base, but he got Dixie Escalante Electric to install it! We have spent hours and hours there - like 4 days working hours at a time on the roundabout. The pole didn't get installed until Tuesday, and we left town on Wednesday (after Brad and I put in another 4 hours on the roundabout plugging, and staking down the cute Olaf and Sven we purchased from the Jubilee for the roundabout! That is the section coming from Bloomington headed North. In the section close to I-15 we have set up 15 angels singing Joy to the World! It is beautiful! Jana is not a member of the LDS church, but she organized, cut out, painted, and installed a beautiful white lifesize Nativity on the Walmart entrance side. It is beautiful! We consider it our gift to our community! There have been lots of comments about it on Facebook. It is beautiful, and continues to change! We hope to pull lights up for the tree next week!
That has filled our November pretty full of beautiful projects!
Right now Samuel is 17 and Brinley just turned 16. They are struggling to find their independence and direction. Samuel 's birthday is in March, and he should be looking to a mission soon thereafter. He has voiced more times than I wish to remember that maybe he won't go on a mission. We have really had some struggles with him lately. Brinley has also had a hard year, sneaking out to meet boys from girls camp stressed us all to the point of nearly calling the police. She didn't show back up until 2:30 in the morning at the camp where all the girls and leaders were still up worried, searching for her with us! What a night! Teen years are not easy. We hope they know that we love them, and we struggle to know how to love and care and yet not enable them to be brats. Their telephones and time are both frustrations! They have phones to communicate with us, but they don't. They communicate with friends about meeting and going, and don't let us know where or when so we are left to wonder, worry, and be upset! Oh life! They will soon be on their own, and I won't be waiting on them hand and foot any longer. Brinley just turned 16 on November 8th. Until then, everyday we took her over the hill to beauty school by 8:30 am, and then I picked her up at 1:00 to take her to the high school. Tuesday - Saturday (Saturday schedule was all day until 5 at beauty school) everyday! It is a huge blessing that she can now drive herself in her cute little explorer to where she needs to go, but now she is hanging out with friends, not telling us where she is headed. Oh life!
The problem with not writing often, is there is so much to catch up on. I want to remember the good!
Also in the past month, I have been majorly involved in feeding lots of people on Saturdays! The last weekend in October, there was a tristake scouting Little Philmont held in our stake center. I was asked to handle lunch for 250 people. I called some ladies, with Brad's direction - to come help me that day, but handled all the cooking, prep and set up for that day! Wew! We served Pulled Pork Burritos beautifully for them.! Then next Saturday, Sister Kaylynnn Larson's funeral was held. She has been sick for more than a year, and it is a blessing she is now free. I was asked to do a menu for the grandkids! Specifically Chicken Nuggets. With the help of Sara, we put on a beautiful spread including the requested chicken nuggets, cute vegetable cups, jello squares, cheese and crackers. It was a fun, cute table, but took most of that next Saturday! Then the next Saturday was our stake conference, and we had a visiting authority come. I helped Kim Staheli host a luncheon for the stake leaders, the elder's quorum presidents and their wives. Kim does a beautiful job and has a beautiful home! It was a joy to serve with her! That all rounds up to nearly a full month of Saturday's washing dishes! I have washed lots of dishes lately! I am grateful to serve, and know that my Heavenly Father sees and knows of the wishes of my heart. I desire to serve others and in so doing, serve Him with much love!So we will soon begin December! I have organized the 700 cards for the office. The paper is coming, we have a cute Christmas ornament to include in each card that Jed has been working hard on. Liesl has been helping me design a beautiful photo of the Savior for the front of the card. We plan to include 10 ways to love on the inside top, and the our Merry Christmas and signatures on the main inside. I am certain it will come together quickly next week. :) I am grateful for amazing people who come to help pull of great things! Also next week is our Office party. I have arranged to have it catered at Tuachan, and we bought tickets for all the adults to attend Fairy Tale Christmas by Michael McLean. I hope it is a beautiful night next Friday, December 1st. :) Always lots happening!
I have much to be grateful for! Today I celebrate this Present! Today, here with all my family. Yes, I wish that we had grandparents that cared and would show love, but we don't. That continues to be a very difficult relationship - even receiving a demand for our apology and repending of our pride and hard heartedness just a few weeks back. Oh it is not good. There doesn't seem to be a way to have a relationship. Sad. Onward, celebrating my own kids! They are amazing! We love being together!
Thank you Heavenly Father! I am so grateful! Laus Deo!This photo may well have been Stephen's last ride on the alley cat. He got a new bike this summer and we have ridden the Green Valley loop often with everyone on their own bike! WE love riding together!
Brinley turned 16 on November 8th, and has worked hard to get her Driver License on that day. She had to drive early morning through the school so I took her at 6:00 a.m. for several days to get her driving in so we could be ready to go to the DMV as soon as she got out of school on 11/8. She put in $1,500 to match our funds towards a cute little 2 door Ford Explorer we purchased from Shellie Cox. It is not automatic so she is learning to shift! She is flying on her own now. I pray for her safety in more than just a physical way! She is now a senior (yes at 16) at Hairitage Hair Academy. As you can see in this photo, she got quite the work over at school on her birthday, the other students got to do her hair and makeup. She definately didn't look 16! I am grateful for her and love her beyond words!