My Favorite Month

Here's why:

The other day, I was looking for something in my closet. Underneath a pile of sweaters and sweat pants, I found this:

It's cute. (Do you want it, Janet?) I don't remember using it at all. In recent years, I have gone to a bigger purse so that I can cram a bunch of junk in there when I fly. I do remember, however, stories of people finding all kinds of money and exciting stuff in pockets of old purses, so I thought that before I put it in the box for Goodwill, I should check it out. It was empty--except for one zippered pocket that contained these:

I took them downstairs to Rene and he reminded me of what they are and we both had to smile. These keys are to the outside door and library of the church in Mt. Vernon.

We spent a lot of time in that building. Rene was the branch president twice and the bishop once. I was the RS President twice, played the piano/was the chorister in Primary for 10 years (sometimes both at the same time!) and either played the organ or was the ward chorister for most of the twenty years we lived there. There was a break when Emily played and the Zieglers lived there.

But most of my time there and my favorite and very best memories are of the 15 years I taught early morning seminary, almost all in that building. The young people I taught are adults now--I even briefly taught a second generation. Among those students are all six of my own children. I think I only taught two or three of them for all four years (my 15 years were broken up a few times) but driving to seminary and home again with them are very precious memories to me. There was a lot of driving practice on those trips, too.

My favorite memories include the awesome scripture mastery games we played, the breakfasts cooked by the bishoprics (and their wives!), putting our coats on and going outside to look at a comet followed by reading in the Book of Mormon that "all things denote that there is a God" and of the thrill when a light bulb went on in their heads and they suddenly understood. Over the years, I had as few as three students and as many as twelve. One year, I had seven boys, some of them pretty tough, and one beautiful, sweet girl. I loved that year! The singing was heavenly and I enjoyed seeing Jenny handle those boys with poise and aplomb. I remember standing in that warm, empty room before the students arrived and feeling the Savior's great love for them and for all they sacrificed to attend each day.

I'm still in touch, sort of, with many of those kids. Life is hard and many of them, including my own precious children, have struggled with some pretty tough things. Some of them are not active in the church. They have not always made good choices. But my certainty remains--the Lord loves them! They are very special, both to me and to Him. I can see His hand in their lives, even if they can't. I am so thankful to them, for the things I have learned from them over the years and for their friendship.

Scoresby Scamper

The 2011 Scoresby Scamper (our own family 5K) included a fun run for the little girls. Lauren won the age 2 division, Macey won the almost 3 division and Afton won the almost 4 division. There were ribbons and door prizes for the three little girls.

In the adult division, Preston placed first (someone needs to train and beat him--just not me!), Janet came in 2nd and Rene, 3rd. The walkers (me and the pregnant girls) only make it about 2 blocks with the strollers. Afton was highly affronted when the adults ran off and left her and took off after them. Tanner was not happy, as in screaming his head off, so after corralling and consoling Afton, we turned around and went home. It was darn cold anyway!

What a fun family tradition! Janet did an awesome job putting it together, including professionally printed shirts.

And I don't know why Sarah is wearing this stupid fish hat.

Reindeer Games

I'll do a longer post later about our activities this week, but we got a good laugh out of this last night.

The little girls were playing Hide and Seek with Preston at Ben and Shannon's. Preston hid in the pantry all hunched over on the floor. The little girls opened the doors and looked in and didn't see or recognize him. He stayed totally still and they continued their search. After awhile, they went back to the pantry and just stood there staring at him. Nobody said anything for quite awhile, then Lauren piped up "Daddy, are you stuck?" (Okay, maybe you had to be there, but it was hilarious. And I don't know what's up with Lauren's jeans--she doesn't usually wear them this low.)

Ring Around the Rosie, London Bridge and Duck, Duck, Goose have all been popular this week, too.

Pre-Christmas Festivities

Grandpa with Tanner and Sadie

Happy Birthday, Tracy!

Smiling Uncle Ben and Tanner

Tanner, 3 months old

Silly Afton and Macey playing Pretty, Pretty Princesses

Great Grandma Allred reading to Macey

Wausau Christmas Parade....brrr!

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, I'm happy for time spent with these cuties:

I'm also grateful that our children are faithful, temple worthy members of the church and are raising our grandchildren to be the same.

I am thankful for my wonderful brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews and their children who have always blessed my life, but especially in the past couple of years.

I cannot even express how grateful I am for my parents and for all that they taught me. I'm thankful that my Mom is also my friend and that we have shared many things in the past and continue to do so. She has always been a source of comfort and support.

I'm thankful for the countless dear friends, new and old, young and older, who have brightened my life and uplifted me in many ways. I especially value the children and young people who think of me. Many of my former seminary students are also my friends and that makes me happy.

I'm thankful for Rene--for the priesthood he holds, for his daily acts of support, for 33 years of married life.

While I'll admit that my understanding is far from perfect, I'm filled with gratitude for the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ and our Father and his Son.

Oh yeah, I'm thankful for turkey and pie and a special day to enjoy it all!

Tanner's blessing

We were so grateful to be able to go to Virginia for Tanner's baby blessing. Although it was a very quick trip, spending time with our family is so precious to me. I'm also glad that Tracy's parents could be there. Fortunately for us, our grandchildren all call us Grandpa and Grandma and have other names for their other grandparents. Tracy's parents are called Nana and Papa. Being grandma has been one of the great joys of my life. I'm looking forward to more events just like this!