The Proposal

Chris and Sarah this afternoon

Sarah was really looking forward to Valentines Day.  It would be her first time to enjoy that particular holiday with a sweetheart of her own.  WalMart, however, had other plans.  Chris had a class at the community college that morning, and Sarah was scheduled to work for the remainder of the day.  There just wouldn't be enough of the day left for them to spend any meaningful time together.

Their schedules conflicted for the next two days, as well, so they decided to celebrate their first Valentines Day together on Thursday instead.  Chris planned out the entire day and refused to divulge any of his schemes to Sarah.  He only told her their date would begin at 11:00 a.m.

Chris's planning paid off.  He successfully surprised Sarah with a romantic afternoon.  They took a long hike along the Mogollon Rim.  Then they took a path into the forest, where Chris spread a blanket among the tall pines and provided a picnic lunch from his backpack: elk steaks, mashed potatoes, and corn.  Personally, I'm impressed that he managed to keep it all warm for so long!

After they finished lunch, Chris sang a song he wrote for Sarah.  He's been working on it for many weeks.  He calls it "I Am Blessed."  Sarah says she cried as he sang about how they met, how they fell in love, and how she has changed his life. At the end of the song, Chris went down on one knee and asked Sarah to be his wife for eternity.

Then he gave her a Valentines teddy bear holding a red pouch.  In the pouch, Sarah found Hershey's Hugs and Kisses and, at the very bottom, an engagement ring.  They are both so excited and happy!

Sarah wearing her new engagement ring and Chris wearing the indigo-blue CTR ring that Sarah gave him for Valentine's Day.  For those of us who are LDS, CTR means "Choose the Right."  Chris said it also means "Christ the Redeemer" and "Current Temple Recommend" to him. 

Sarah, age 21, on Thursday, the day she and Chris became engaged.

Wow!  Our lives keep changing in wondrous ways.  First, Ed and I met and married.  Then Jacob left us to serve a two-year mission for the Lord.  And now my firstborn and only daughter is planning her temple wedding (probably in August).  Life is full of surprise and promise!

We are so thrilled for Chris and Sarah and wish them the brightest of futures together.  Welcome to the family, Chris!

Our First Valentine Lesson

Today was our first Valentines Day.  Quite an occasion, considering that a year ago Ed and I hadn't even met yet.  That particular online anniversary is still slightly more than 6 weeks away.

Our sweetheart holiday didn't begin in a promising way.  We'd had a disagreement last night, one of those silly things we were unable to resolve before giving up and falling asleep.  Or trying to sleep, at least.  Things were still a bit cool when I left for work this morning.  It made me sad all day, and I wondered how it would be when I came home at the end of the day.

Ed grills up some chicken for dinner.

The card, chocolates, earrings, and socks I received from my ever-practical husband.

The small polka-dotted package was almost too cute to open, so I waited on that one.

Then I found a bag of gifts and a card waiting on my pillow.  I scooped them up, grabbed another small bag stuffed full of my gifts for Ed, and met him on the living room couch.  It was amazing how quickly our hearts softened when we looked upon the gifts we'd lovingly chosen for one another.

From the tiny polka-dotted box: small silver hoops studded with little diamonds.  I love them!

We completely melted as we read the tender messages inscribed inside the cards.  In seconds we were back in each other's arms.  How can a disagreement compare to the love we feel?  Funny how the traditions of a little commercial holiday can put everything back into an eternal perspective. 

Ed's gifts: chocolates, a watch, and a box of bullets.  He's a hopeless romantic!

A Valentines Day lesson: never let a day go by without sharing those sweet words of love and commitment.  Disagreements come and go, but love is meant to last forever.

The Dog House

The picture above has nothing at all to do with the title of this post, but I just had to share this small slice of everyday life.  On Monday evening, Ed was washing dishes when he stabbed his thumb on the broken handle of a ceramic cup and got a nasty, deep gash.  While I can be calm in a true emergency, I get queasy when it comes to gaping wounds, so I called upon my friend Wyndie to super-glue the edges of the gash together.  We were in her kitchen (down the street from our house) when I just had to snap a shot of Wyndie, her husband, and one of their sons with their heads bent over Ed's thumb!

I've been neglecting my blog lately, mainly due to a head cold and cough that lingered for 3 weeks and sapped my energy. I made it to work each day, but after I got home there wasn't much left in me for anything but the most basic tasks.  Now that I'm all better, I have a lot of catching up to do!

Just a few blocks from our house, there used to be a thrift shop called the Dog House.  Owned by the local Humane Society, it was quite a busy little place located in an old green house that was probably built in the 1960s or thereabouts, judging by the architectural style.  When we shopped there, I used to like to imagine what it was like once upon a time, when it was a family home.  I wish I had a picture of it from its heyday.

I'm not really one to frequent thrift shops.  With my obsessive compulsive disorder, I can rarely bring myself to wear clothes that have been worn by others or use any goods that have belonged to strangers.  Luckily, my children have no problem with hand-me-downs, so there have been occasions in which we've searched the thrift stores, and the Dog House was always our first and favorite stop.  It was there that we obtained Sarah's gorgeous, black-beaded prom dress for only $20.

Our last visit to the Dog House was on Tuesday, November 23rd. It was just 6 days before we left to drive Jacob to the Mission Training Center in Provo, Utah, and we were looking for a final few items like black socks and dark slacks appropriate for a brand new missionary.

At noon the following day, a fire started in the old green house and quickly roared out of control. Firefighters battled the flames for hours before they finally put it out. The good news is that everyone except the pet canary got out in time, including two dogs and two cats. The bad news is, the entire building was gutted by the blaze.

The Dog House as it appears today.

It was surreal to drive past the blackened shell of the Dog House on my way home from work on the afternoon of the fire, knowing we had been shopping there less than 24 hours earlier.  Smoke was still pouring out of the building and floating across the highway.  It made me very sad. 

For the Humane Society, who relied on the funds generated by the thrift shop, it was a heavy blow. For us, it felt like the end of an era for our family.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Tonight we had a special guest over for dinner: Sarah's boyfriend Chris!  They've been dating since early November and recently they officially became "an item."

As Sarah's family, we met Chris back in December.  He usually attends church with us each Sunday, as well as attending meetings in his own ward.  However, he'd never been to our home before, so we decided it was time to have him over.

We had a wonderful dinner, featuring one of Ed's signature dishes, beef stroganoff.  After the meal, Chris joined us for family home evening before he and Sarah went off to attend the singles' family home evening activity. 

A bouquet of roses and lilies Chris gave Sarah just before Christmas.

Even though Sarah is twenty-one, she's still my little girl.  It feels so strange to see her sitting there with a man's arm around her, a man who's calling her "honey."  Yet I'm also thrilled to see her so happy.  And to see how happy Chris is to be with her.

After Chris and Sarah went on their way, Ed, Dylan, and I set to work on building a gingerbread house.  It was one of our gifts from Jeff and Dana's family at Saturday's belated Christmas party. 

No, it's not great art, but it was fun and I think it turned out to be pretty homey.  Now Dylan can't wait to eat it up!

Christmas in January

Sarah spends quality time with her Aunt Dana!

Due to a big snowstorm and the illness of four family members, we were unable to hold our annual family Christmas party during the actual Christmas season.  We had to postpone it for two weeks, but we finally got (almost) everyone together yesterday to visit and eat and share gifts.

The bad news is, due to work schedules and other factors, not everyone could make it this weekend.  They were sorely missed!  We'll definitely plan better next year.

For now, we hope you'll enjoy these candid shots of the family who were here!

Ed and our nephew Burke (this is my last shot of Ed with his beard; he shaved it off this morning!)

Grandpa Myron and Grandma Kathy (my dad and step-mom):

they were good enough to lend their home for the party.

Elyssa and Mariah with their mom, Karla (my sister)

Emma, Elsie, and Callie with their mom, Dana (my sister-in-law)

My niece Genevieve with her husband Scott and two of their three kids,

baby Max and big sister Brooke (middle sibling Jaycee was playing elsewhere).

Sarah helps baby Max work on his walking skills!

Mariah and her snowman share a moment!

Haley and Hayden made a Mini-Me!

Elyssa's husband Ross (followed by Julien) works on a GIANT snowman...

...but his plan is foiled when the snowman's body breaks in half.

He is consoled by Addison, Gabby, and Brinley.

Time for the gift exchange!  Jeff and Dana's family goes first.  Pictured, from left to right:

Elsie, Emma, Dana, Callie, Jeff (my brother), Haley, and Hayden.

My niece Amber and her 1-year-old son Ian

Addison and Jaycee wait while Karla opens her gift.

Scott and Genevieve's family goes next.  Left-to-right:

Sarah, Brooke, Scott, Genevieve, Jaycee, and Gabby.

Callie Jayne loves her princess wand!  She magically turns 4 in just a few days.

Zone Conference

6 Jan 2011: Elder Jacob Carter and Elder Jeff Reed in Ukiah, CA.

On Thursday, Elder Carter and his companion, Elder Reed, attended a zone conference of the Santa Rosa, Eureka, and Ukiah Zones in Ukiah, California.  Elders Carter and Reed are currently assigned to the Ukiah Zone.  Sister Bunker, the mission president's wife, put these pictures on her Santa Rosa Missionary blog.  I'm so happy she is a blogger!  It's great to see my son on there and know he is happy and healthy.

All the missionaries of the Ukiah Zone!  Elders Carter and Reed are in the back on the right.

Of the zone conference, Sister Bunker wrote: "It was wonderful to spend the day with all of these fantastic Elders and Sisters. They keep me going! I love serving with them. Here's to 2011...a year full of change and growth and faith and charity and happiness!"

Date Night

Ed takes our picture tonight at Moose Henri's.

Ed and I don't go out often enough, just the two of us.  I believe a weekly night out as a couple is a healthy thing for a husband and wife to do.  We just never seem to find the time.  Or we get busy and forget.  Or we're just too tired.  I doubt we go out alone together more than once a month.  Probably less often.  We've decided we need to work on that.

Tonight, though, the opportunity to go out presented itself and we took it! Two teachers I've known for nearly 20 years are in a band called Fat Chance. They play many types of music, but they specialize in the blues. I heard they were performing at Moose Henri's, a bar and grill near our house tonight, so I invited Ed to go enjoy them with me. Usually I avoid bars like the plague, but my husband loves listening to live bands, and he has a particular fondness for jazz and the blues. It seemed like a perfect date night!

 

Blues band Fat Chance performs at Moose Henri's.

It was fun!  Many of my fellow teachers and school administrators showed up to watch the band.  Steve Knudsen (second from left) was one of Dylan's teachers last semester.  Everett Peterson (third from left) teaches at the elementary, and his wife Judy is a high school English teacher just down the hall from my classroom.  I was a little worried about the atmosphere, but Moose Henri's felt more like a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant than a bar, and since the state legislature banned cigarettes in all public buildings, it wasn't even smoky. 

Originally we thought we might have dinner there, too, but in the end we left and had dinner at the China Wok Buffet instead.  That's one of the first places the kids and I took Ed when we met him, so it has good memories attached to it. 

First date night of 2011: accomplished!  So, where shall we go next week?

A New Year's Day Crisis, or Two

3 Apr 2004: 14-year-old Sarah with 2-year-old Cocoa Puff

This isn't the way to begin a brand new year.  Our morning started out badly first thing, when Sarah went out to feed her rabbits and found that Cocoa Puff had died in the night.  Sarah was understandably upset.  It's always hard to lose a beloved pet. 

However, Cocoa had a full life. She would have been 9 years old come February, and that's a good, long life for a little bunny. Back in 2003 and 2004, Cocoa was Sarah's best show rabbit because she was so calm and patient, easy to pose for the judges.

20 Apr 2009: Sarah and Cocoa 5 years later

Cocoa was always a big hit with little children who came to our house, too. Her sweet temper, coupled with the qualities that made her such a good show rabbit, made her gentle and still while being held tightly by tiny, eager hands.

12 June 2009: Cocoa Puff with our great-niece Analyce

Cocoa is survived by her sister, Likki Nikki (short for Licorice Nicole), the last of our rabbits.  Cocoa had begun to seem frail over the past few months, but our bad-tempered Likki still seems hale and hearty.

We received almost 2 feet of snow between Wednesday evening and Friday afternoon, and then last night the temperature dropped to the lowest point I've seen in my 21 winters here: 13 degrees below zero!  No doubt the extreme cold contributed to Cocoa's demise.  The cold certainly created our second crisis of the day. 

After returning from shoveling a neighbor's snow, Dylan found this outside faucet spraying water into the air.  He tried to turn it off, but no luck.  Water was also gushing from under the house and saturating the ground along the foundation.

From there, the water ran under the snow and flooded the trail from the porch to the gate.  By the time I took this picture it had begun to soak in, but the water was several inches deep when Ed and I came home from shopping.  Dylan had called and summoned us home, panicked and unsure what to do.

On the other side of the saturated wall is Dylan's bedroom, and we found that corner of his room filling up with a rapidly expanding pool of water about 2 inches deep.  While Dylan unplugged all his electronic equipment, Ed quickly located the water switch-off valve and shut down the water to our entire house, which stopped the flood.  Dylan was dispatched to his room with a bucket and an armful of towels.  Now he has 3 fans blowing on the carpet in an attempt to dry it out as quickly as possible.

Probably the pipe leading to that faucet on the outside wall became frozen and burst during the night (a not-too-uncommon occurance in our area), but the water only began to leak when the temperature rose this afternoon and the ice began to thaw.  After exploring our insurance options, Ed decided it will be more cost effective to repair the pipes himself tomorrow.  Meanwhile, we get to live without water for the next 20 hours or so.  Groan...

And it's only the first day of 2011!  I hope this isn't a foreshadowing of the type of year we have ahead of us!  Maybe it just means we got all the bad stuff out of the way, and the rest of the year will be smooth sailing!

Happy New Year!

Our family's annual New Year's Eve tradition: sparkling cider and homemade cheesecake (this year, with chocolate chips)!

To each of our beloved family and friends, we wish you all of God's greatest blessings for the New Year: love, peace, family, faith, joy, wisdom, charity, humility, health, safety, personal growth, and prosperity in 2011.  Happy New Year!!!

A Weekend in Mesa

My nephew Jeremy with his 14-month-old daughter Makayla.  His wife Cami is seated in the background.

On the weekend before Thanksgiving, we made a quick trip to Mesa to take care of some shopping for Jacob's missionary needs.  It turned out to be a fun weekend filled with family activities.  Unfortunately, Sarah had to work over the weekend and was unable to travel with us.

Jeremy and Cami's two older children, 4-year-old Analyce and 2-year-old Jaren, just after they woke up Saturday morning.

My oldest nephew, Jeremy, and His wife Cami invited us to stay at their nice new home in Santan Valley.  It was fun to have the extra time to visit with them.  They recently moved back to the Mesa area when Jeremy found a piloting job closer to family there.  He flies air-evac helicopters.

20 Nov 2010: Ed and Jacob in front of the Mesa Temple.

On Saturday morning we went to the temple in Mesa with my sister Karla and her daughter Genevieve.  After our session we enjoyed lunch in the temple cafeteria.  This was Ed's third temple session and Jacob's second, and for both it was the first time to attend a temple other than the one near us in Snowflake.

I have special memories of the Mesa Temple due to serving there as an ordinance worker from November 1983 to December 1985.  The best two years of my life! 

Jacob with his benefactor, Lorin Hatch.

While in Mesa, Jacob met with a man who collects donated missionary clothing as a hobby, then provides it to missionaries free of charge!  We met him at his home and he took us to a large closet literally overflowing with suits and other missionary clothing staples.  He gave Jacob two nice suits, two white shirts, and a pair of hardy shoes.  We can't begin to express our gratitude for his generosity.

Blue Ridge versus Florence High School.

After meeting with Brother Hatch, we headed into Phoenix for the semi-final game of the high school football playoffs.  Blue Ridge dominated!

Jacob, cousin Julien, and Dylan at the game.

We invited my nephew Julien to watch the game with us, and the boys had a good time.  While there, we ran into my brother Jeff, his wife Dana, and their kids, who were waiting for the Show Low game to begin after ours ended.  We all filled up on the kettle corn that little Callie generously insisted we share with her! 

20 Nov 2010: Jacob and Dylan spend a few hours with their dad, Mark.

After the game, we drove back to Mesa and dropped Jacob and Dylan off at their great grandma Helen's house so they could spend a few hours with their dad.  They always see him when they can, but this visit was extra special because Jacob won't get to see his dad again for the next two years.

After we dropped off the boys, Ed and I headed over to Organ Stop Pizza for some ice cream.  We had just realized that the next day, November 21st, would be our 6-month anniversary!

Ed protects his ice cream from my niece, Celesta!

It just so happens that my nieces and nephews have been working at Organ Stop Pizza for many years, with the younger ones replacing the older ones as they grew up and moved on to bigger and better things.  We got to spend some time visiting with my niece Celesta while there.

My niece Brianna with her friend Bryce at Organ Stop.

We also ran into my niece Brianna just as she was leaving at the end of her shift.  She was the last of Karla's daughters that Ed had yet to meet, so it was a fortuitous meeting.  (He still hasn't met my nephew Josh yet.)

We visited at Karla's house for the rest of the evening before picking up the boys from their visit with their dad.  Then on Sunday morning we attended church at Karla's ward, after which we returned to Jeremy and Cami's house, where everyone gathered for a delicious luncheon featuring Mexican chicken casserole.

Scott takes a dive into frigid November waters.

While we were there, Genevieve's husband Scott decided to do a polar bear plunge into the pool.  We all agreed he was nuts!  It may be warmer in Mesa than most places this time of year, but that water was still very cold!

Dylan goes for a cannonball approach to his soak.

I didn't think Dylan would do it, but he borrowed a swimsuit from Jeremy and followed Scott in!  I'm sure I don't know what those two were thinking!

Karla with her grandbaby Makayla (and Jacob in the background).

Makayla with her mommy, Cami.

Ed tended to our 8-month-old great-nephew Max while lunch was being prepared.

Max's older sisters, 5-year-old Brooke (left) and 3-year-old Jaycee.

Genevieve and Scott, proud parents of Brooke, Jaycee, and Max. (And Karla hamming it up in the background...)

We enjoyed a great visit with everyone, and after the meal we packed up and headed home with mixed feelings.  We always look forward to sleeping in our own beds again, but we're also sad to say good-bye to loved ones.  I'm so glad that families are forever!