Sabrina

Tyler's sister Sabrina had to be admitted to the hospital today. She has pneumonia. The doctor told them that if she wasn't better by Friday she would have to be admitted so I guess they had to admit her before Christmas. We are sorry that she has to spend Christmas at the hospital but hope she gets better soon.

We wish Barbara, Emily, Sabrina and Madison a Very Merry Christmas!

Work Party

I had my work party on the 12th. We made a reservation at Christopher's Steak & Seafood and got tickets to Kurt Bestor. Tyler asked if he had to dress up and I told him to wear a nice shirt and he could wear jeans. It was only Kurt Bestor not the symphony. I pulled out a button down shirt I had purchased for him a year ago at the Gap which he has never worn. He complained that it was a Sunday shirt. I convinced him it wasn't and he looked really nice. He should wear it on a date. I had also purchased him a jacket at the same time at the Gap which he also has never worn. I gave it to Michael last month but the shirt was too small. That was the last time I purchased nice clothes for Tyler. He is a jeans and t-shirt guy. He didn't get that from me.
We had a really nice dinner. Tyler had steak and a king crab leg. He almost ate all of the crab but it ended up being too much. We also had creme brulee, my favorite dessert. I have had better but still worth the calories. We are all looking forward to eating at the Blue Bayou (twice) in Disneyland and having the Monte Cristo sandwich, mint julip and creme brulee. It doesn't get any better than that.

I need to take my camera back to Costco. It is just having problems.

Christmas Eve

Tyler went snowboarding with a friend this morning. I am glad he has the opportunity to go this year. This is the first year we have not purchased a season pass because he is working on Saturday's. They took the bus to Sundance which is so nice. I don't want him driving up there in this weather. There should be a lot of snow. The sun has come out now so it should be nice for a while before the next snow storm hits. He also wore his Christmas tie to church last Sunday. He got it last year for St. Nicholas Day. We didn't celebrate it this year because I was out of town.

We are looking forward to tonight when we have our German Christmas Eve meal of sausages, rolls, sauerkraut, rotkohl and potato salad. Mutter and Michael went to Salt Lake this morning to Vosen's Bakery and Siegfried's.

We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Temple Square

I invited my mom to a weekend getaway in Salt Lake over the weekend. We were going to go for two nights but just didn't have enough time. We drove up on Saturday and checked in to the hotel and went shopping at the Gateway. We then went back to the hotel and rested for a couple of hours. We were on the 15th floor and a group of teenagers had checked in. Let's just say they acted like typical teens running, screaming and yelling down the hall with no adult supervision in sight. I did go out and yell at them once but in typical fashion they just ignored it. The purpose of our visit was for my mom to relax and recover after getting out of the hospital on Thanksgiving. Luckily she was able to tune the kids out. At about 2:00 a.m. they were singing Brittney Spears. I couldn't tune them out but what can you do.
That evening we walked around Temple Square and down to Siegfrieds for a German dinner and some treats. If you have never had Lebkuchen you have to try it. Plus they make the best sauerkraut there. Better than any we have had in Germany although not much comparison with Tante Magda's. She and Werner apparently stomped on it with their bare feet. Glad I missed that visit. We drove back Sunday through Park City and Midway. It was a fun getaway.

Ballroom Dance

Tyler had his Ballroom Dance recital on Friday, Dec. 5th in the Mountain View High School auditorium. The majority of the program was made up of Orchesis. We suffered through the "cheap ballet" until Tyler's performance. His class only had one dance. They performed "the hustle" to Last Christmas. He does really well at ballroom dancing. My mom told him that is where his talent is. He is going to take it again next year. I have it on video but it always takes too long to download to the blog. The only challenge came when he had to lift his dance partner. Fortunately nobody dropped anyone. He donated blood for the first time that afternoon which couldn't have helped. Today he is home sick. I didn't get any pictures but we took one afterwards.

Cross Country Awards Dinner

Last night was the Cross Country Awards dinner at Mountain View. All players were given an assignment to bring something. All I can say is too many green salad. They served lasagne with it which isn't my favorite. I have never cared for tomato sauce or ranch dressing. Oh well, it wasn't about the food and we didn't starve. The cross crountry team came in second at state and had a pretty good year. Tyler received a participation award as he wasn't able to run most of the season. He is going to start up in January with lacrosse and track and we will see how it goes. I am hoping the time off from not exercising has allowed his body to heal and he will no longer have chest pains, epecially since they couldn't find what was wrong. He has decided that next year he wants to focus on doing triathlons again and so is going to start swimming again in the summer on the local team and then swim high school. Swimming is great for his training. He was able to run the St. George marathon a few years ago solely from swimming. The doctor said his lungs are big so he should be a great athlete. Plus, it is nice he can drive himself to the pool in the morning.

Gingerbread House

Grandma bought Tyler a Snoopy gingerbread house kit last week and he has been busy working on it in his spare time. I love the kits because I don't have time to bake, even if I could, or buy all the stuff. We are trying to get Tyler's math done. He is doing Algebra II online through the online high school. It is going really well but the challenge is finding the time to get online and do the lessons.

O Christmas Tree

I finally got the tree up on Sunday. Wow, what a lot of work. I purchased some nativity ornaments when I was in Jerusalem back in '99. I can't believe it has been that long but each year that is how I decorate the tree. I used to put it over by the balcony window but moved it this year to keep it more out of the way. We are probably going to spend the night at my parents and open presents there as we are not doing a big Christmas this year since we are leaving for Disneyland on the 30th. Yippee- We are so excited. I am trying to lose 10 lbs. by then so I can fit into my Disney clothes. Yes, I have an enitre Disney wardrobe thanks to Michael.

Missionary Splits

The missionaries were in our ward on Sunday and immediately after sacrament meeting Tyler got up and said he should ask them about doing splits. What an amazing kid! He went with them on Monday night for four hours and had a great job. Sunday night he got out Preach My Gospel and began studying the chapters the missionaries asked him to review. He stopped by the house and borrowed Michael's suit jacket as he doesn't have one. It drowns him a little but doesn't he look like a missionary? He only has a year and a half before he leaves on his mission. We always talk about where he is going to go and the food in that country. Of course that is from watching Bizarre Foods. I keep telling him he is going to China.

Thanksgiving

I called my mom on Tuesday. She hasn't been feeling well since April and I had invited her for a weekend getaway and wanted to check with her about hotels. It was a good thing I called. She was on her way to the doctor's office. The doctor had told her she could come in to see him or go to the emergency room. She doesn't like the staff at the emergency room so was going to see the doctor. I made her wait for me to drive her even though she didn't think she could wait that long but she was going to drive - CRAZY! At any rate the doctor had her admitted to ICU. This is the third time this year she has been admitted largely because of her blood pressure which has been too high and this time too high for three weeks and medication was not bringing it down. I spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning at the hospital. They were able to bring her blood pressure down but still do not know why she is so sick. They ran all kinds of tests but nothing. They released on her on Thanksgiving. Michael met me at the hospital so I could leave to cook dinner. We didn't eat until @ 3:30 and had a nice meal. Mutti was even able to eat a little which was good because she hadn't been able to eat for days. We didn't take any pictures. Ty and I left shortly thereafter as we were all working the next morning and had to get up at 3:00 a.m. Not the most relaxing Thanksgiving but we got through it.

Gratitude

We had some good talks on gratitude yesterday at church and thought I would share some of the comments. This is a quote from President Hinckley.
Gratitude is a divine principle. The Lord has declared through revelation: “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things. …
“And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.” (D&C 59:7, 21.)
Our society is afflicted by a spirit of thoughtless arrogance unbecoming those who have been so magnificently blessed. How grateful we should be for the bounties we enjoy. Absence of gratitude is the mark of the narrow, uneducated mind. It bespeaks a lack of knowledge and the ignorance of self-sufficiency. It expresses itself in ugly egotism and frequently in wanton mischief. We have seen our beaches, our parks, our forests littered with ugly refuse by those who evidently have no appreciation for their beauty. I have driven through thousands of acres of blackened land scourged by a fire evidently set by a careless smoker whose only concern had been the selfish pleasure gained from a cigarette.
Where there is appreciation, there is courtesy, there is concern for the rights and property of others. Without appreciation, there is arrogance and evil.
Where there is gratitude, there is humility, as opposed to pride.
How magnificently we are blessed! How thankful we ought to be! A bulletin of some years ago of the Royal Bank of Canada dealt with underprivileged people of the world:
“It is difficult for [most] North Americans to understand the plight of people in underdeveloped countries, because [most of us] have never been hungry. No one dies here of starvation. Elsewhere more than 1,500 million people go to bed hungry every night. … The fact is that not more than one in a hundred of the people in underdeveloped countries will ever, in all his life, have what a North American family would consider a good, square meal.”
Cultivate a spirit of thanksgiving for the blessing of life and for the marvelous gifts and privileges each of us enjoy. The Lord has said that the meek shall inherit the earth. (See Matt. 5:5.) I cannot escape the interpretation that meekness implies a spirit of gratitude as opposed to an attitude of self-sufficiency, an acknowledgment of a greater power beyond oneself, a recognition of God, and an acceptance of his commandments. This is the beginning of wisdom. Walk with gratitude before him who is the giver of life and every good gift.

The Dream Manager

I finally got a book at work that I enjoyed reading. It isn't long and you can read it in about 1-1 1/2 hours. It is called The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly. I like it because it applies a lot to personal life. Here are some of the parts I highlighted.
"In many ways, we are our dreams. But people stop dreaming because they get caught up in the hustle and bustle of surviving. And once we stop dreaming, we start to lead lives of quiet desperation, and little by little the passion and energy begin to disappear from our lives."
"Isn't one of the primary responsibilities of all relationships to help each other fulfill our dreams?"
"Nobody likes to feel that they are being taken for granted-that just builds resentment. But appreciation makes people feel good about who they are and what they are doing."
"If we really want to help people, we have a responsibility to help them identify and pursue their dreams."
"In a culture where dreams come true, there is no limit to the enthusiasm you can harness or the things you can achieve."
"...every person has different dreams, and that you cannot force your dreams on another person. Think about how much damage is caused when parents try to force their dreams on their children, or when one spouse tries to force his or her dreams on the other."

Question? What are your dreams or when did you stop dreaming?
My ultimate dream has always been to serve more missions. I knew as a young child that I wanted to serve a mission and did so. I also knew that it wasn't enough. I wanted to do more.
I also want to own a house, to get a doctorate degree (except at times when I know I am crazy!), travel, to live in England.

Disney On Ice

Last night was our annual trip to the Delta Center to see Disney on Ice, being the Disney freaks that we are. We go every year and have a great time. My mom was planning on going but wasn't feeling well since her surgery on Monday. She went in on Monday @ 11:00 for same day surgery which was to take @ 45 minutes. Michael took her in and they didn't get home until after 10 p.m. The geniuses at the hospital sent her home even though she was still bleeding and her blood pressure was too high. They left the catheter in, didn't schedule a follow-up with the doctor and told her just to come back if she didn't stop bleeding. As a matter of fact the surgeon didn't even visit with her after the surgery. The medical profession simply does not care. Enough about that...Her blood pressure was still too high and she wasn't well enough to go.

We were in the suite again which works out perfect for Kate's wheelchair. We only wish Samantha, Amy and Scott could have come because they would have loved it. The show focused on the princesses and the traditional Mickey Mouse characters. We even got to sing the original Mickey Mouse club song...You know, "Who's the leader of the club........" Michael and I still remembered all the words. The costumes were beautiful. It was a fun night.

My camera batteries died after the first four pictures. I kept turning it off and on and managed to take more pictures but they all didn't come out. David is counting down the days til New Years we we go for our annual trip to Disneyland. I believe it is 45 days.

Temple

I went with Ty, my mom, and David to the temple last night. It was nice that we could all go together and do some family names.

I have been getting up late this week because Tyler has been driving himself to school. It has been really nice but we haven't been having family prayer in the mornings because he leaves while I am getting ready. This morning I decided I had better run out before he leaves so we can have prayer. We always have it at the front door before we walk out. I walked out and said, "We need to have" and looked up and there was Tyler at the front door saying a silent prayer. That just made my whole day.

First Snow

First snow for the year-

I got up this morning and heard some kids outside celebrating and looked out the window to see it snowing. My mom has let Tyler borrow her car for the last few days and I was a little worried about him driving but apparently it went okay. I didn't receive a call. Traffic was slow on the way to work and there was an accident on northbound @ 1600 North. Glad I wasn't going to Salt Lake. About an hour later the snow was off the roads and now it is no longer on the ground. I spoke to someone in Salt Lake and they mentioned it hadn't stopped. It always amazes me in Utah how different the weather can be in short distances. It was really pretty this morning with a nice chill to the air but oh how I dread winter.

Happy Halloween

I got home from work after five and turned on the Halloween lights and lit the pumpkins. I got the basket of goodies all ready and waited for the trick-or-treaters. It was a slow night. The smallest number of trick-or-treaters I have ever had. Most of them were older, @ 10. Tyler stayed at my parents since I had to get up early the next morning to work. They also didn't have a lot, which means - MORE CANDY FOR US! Although I am sick of eating chocolate. I have enough at work for one more day and I got rid of all my other treats so it looks like hunger from here on out. Maybe now I can start working on my goal to lose 10 lbs. by the end of the year. I took down most of the decorations but still need to take down the lights and throw the pumpkins away. All I need now is some time.

Teenage Driver

It's official - Tyler passed his road test yesterday and got his license. He received a paper copy yesterday and the hard copy should arrive in a couple of weeks. Kirsten and Marshall were kind and let him have their Saturn so now we have to get it registered and insured and he is ready to go. I got out of class early last night and called to see where Tyler was. My father had let him borrow their car and Tyler had driven over to Shayla's house. Her brother took them to the library. He isn't allowed to drive other passengers, other than family, for six months.

Carving Pumpkins

They were some thick pumpkins. Ty had to get a long knife to cut through it but did a good job. They are out on the balcony with candles in them and look great. He had to change designs because some of them had a lot of small cuts and it was too difficult with the thickness of the pumpkins.

Pumpkin Patch

Monday after going to the doctor we stopped at Walmart to do some shopping and looked at pumpkins but didn't see any that we liked. Plus they didn't have any stems. We called my mom to see if she wanted to join us for lunch and then go get some pumpkins at the nursery on Geneva Road. I had wanted to do it on Saturday but there is never enough time. They had a ton of pumpkins to choose from and we of course went for some of the larger ones. I love Halloween!

Band Concert

Don't know why getting a gray bar in my pictures. Ty is in the middle.

Monday night was Tyler's band concert. He plays the clarinet, which he started playing in 7th grade. It was their Halloween concert so all the students were to dress up in costumes. Tyler borrowed his grandfather's military uniform and it fit quite well. I think Tyler was more excited wearing it than playing in the concert.

First Date

Tyler went on his first official double date on Saturday. He has taken girls to school dances but not on a date. He asked a girl named Shayla who goes to Orem High School. Don't ask me how he know all these girls from every high school in Provo/Orem. His cousin Austin Skousen called him and asked if he wanted to double. Austin is Trudy Hansen's son. They went to Panda Express for dinner and then to Thanksgiving Point. They played lazer tag and went through the David Archuletta corn maze and the haunted maze. The girls wanted to have a contest to see who could get through the corn maze faster, the boy or them. Well, the boys won getting through the maze really quickly, in just minutes. They called the girls who immediately thought they had cheated. The girls had cheated and were still inside. They all seemed to have a lot of fun.

Happy Birthday Kate

Saturday was Kate's birthday and we celebrated the day stuffing ourselves with pizza and cake, which unfortunately Kate isn't able to have any of. Kristina's friend Denise came and also Scott's father. Tyler couldn't make it because he was going on his first official double date. Kate got lots of new clothes for her birthday. Noelle Lind gave her a bracelet with the initial "K" on it which fit Kate's arm perfectly.

Happy Birthday Kate!

Tyler Update

Tyler was having chest pains again over the weekend. Monday I took him back to the doctor who wanted to see him while he was having chest pains. The doctor came in and began reading over his notes and deciding what further tests to run. All of the other tests have come back normal. My mom took Tyler to the chiropractor. He thought it was Ty's ribs. Well, I told our family doctor what the chiropractor had said and the end result: He doesn't believe in chiropratic medicine but if we feel it is helping continue with it and then took the chiropractor's diagnosis. I guess it is good we stopped now before the doctor ran $10,000 in tests for nothing. Now just taking Tyler to the chiropractor. The family doctor wanted to recommend physical therapy but I have tried physical therapy before and it didn't help. First, the therapist doesn't even work with you. It is a bunch of students. Second, they don't think you are really in any pain. Third, I told him I was starting to get migraines and he didn't do a thing about it. After my second accident I went to the chiropractor and he was so much better. I could actually feel a difference. Never going back to physical therapy.

Art in the Eye of a Needle

Inspiring Story. I always find it amazing how some individuals can surpass and overcome enormous odds. Amazing how this artist started in grade school and was made to feel worthless but became something. I think that is why I am so amazed at two of my brother's. David suffered from seizures from the time he was a small child and was humiliated by teachers who made him stand in front of the class while he was seizing and students who made fun of him. But I have never known David to complain because of his circumstances. He is really an example of true humility. Michael overcame tremendous challenges in his life and has never let it beat him down. I have never known anyone more giving or who looks out more for the welfare of others. He is really an example of showing true compassion. Kirsten always wonders how I can read things like "A Child Called It," which is a story of a boy who suffered from severe child abuse. One of my other favorite books is "Anastasia: The Riddle of Anne Anderson" by Peter Kurth. I love him as an author. I think he has amazing talent to write about human stories. I think the reason I like these stores is they overcome and beat the odds. They are all amazing individuals.

http://www.maniacworld.com/art-in-the-eye-of-a-needle.html

Choir Concert

Tyler sings with the concert choir at school. Last night was there Autumn concert. After dropping him off I ran to Target to get some cd's for the camcorder, got to the school and realized I hadn't charged it. At least I had a camera with me and was able to record the concert. The image just isn't as good. Luckily Concert Choir performed first on the program so I didn't have to sit through all of it. Ty's group sang three songs and did really well. The Nightmare Before Christmas was really cute but I guess the teacher didn't add the movements until this last week which made it a bit more challenging. Tyler felt at least blessed that he wasn't a member of one of the other choirs. The teacher had the males wear bonnets and sing in high voices like women. I think Tyler was embarrassed for them.

Posting videos is taking too long so we try and post them later.

Habitat for Humanity

Yesterday was our build day at work with Habitat for Humanity. We started at 8:00 a.m. and my fingers felt like they were going to freeze off. I had taken some hand warmers but it took forever to get a little bit of warmth from them. At 3:00 when I pulled it out of my pocket it was really hot. Luckily the weather warmed up after a couple of hours. There wasn't much we could do as we are all inexperienced. We ended up standing around a lot but were able to help make some progress.

Of course, being bankers, after our four hour shift we headed out to lunch at PF Chang's and after ordering everything off the menu and stuffing ourselves we went on with our day. The lettuce wraps and shrimp with melon and walnuts are a couple of our favorites.

New Hair

I finally made it to the salon to get my hair colored. I am liking the blond so have continued with it although this time added more base color. I think I like the blond from last time better. I was just flipping through magazines reading articles when I saw a cute shorter cut I liked so decided to have a few inches cut off. It is not often I do anything spontaneous but I always wait too long to get to the salon and by that time and sick of my hair.

If you live in Utah and are looking for a salon Jean Nicole's Salon in Draper is great. I have been going there for 2-3 years now and love it. Penny and Nicki are both great although I usually schedule with Penny. They do a great job with color and have a new wax that doesn't hurt at all. Fabulous! Phone number is 801-571-3536.

Best Brothers in the World

Michael called last night to let me know some items I had ordered from Disney had arrived. Ty and I had just gotten home from shopping and we invited them to come down for dinner but they were going to Wendy's and David didn't want to change it. So they invited us along and stopped by to pick us up. They brought me a present which was so nice and a card which made me laugh. The gift was a pumpkin with Minnie Mouse on top - so cute. It goes great with my Mickey Mouse lights. We decided that Wendy's would be family home evening so Tyler came up with a quick spiritual thought before we left. We had a great time together. I have the best brothers in the world and they are even better uncles. They do a lot with Tyler and he loves spending time with them. Then there is the ultimate vacation - our annual trips to Disneyland where we have a blast.

No Enlarged Heart

Well Tyler doesn't have a big heart after all. He has been having a lot of chest pains and hasn't been able to exercise for the last week under doctor's orders. The pain has been going on for several months. The first visit to the doctor about it didn't net any results. I don't think the doctor thought it was a big deal. After the second visit the doctor thought his heart might be enlarged and ordered an echocardiogram. I got a call yesterday and test results were normal, thank goodness. The female from the Dr.'s office who called said to have him keep taking Tylenol and if doesn't go away to schedule another appointment. You have to love the medical profession! Wait and see approach to pain and illness. Why would it just go away when they haven't done anything?

Last night Tyler got sick again and claimed it was spreading to his mid back. He was also running a fever which seems to happen when he has an attack. I'm really glad it was not an enlarged heart but now it is a guessing game to figure out what is wrong. I need to call our insurance and see if I need a referral for him to see a cardiologist and try and bypass the family doctor.

Pay Back

I was watching some T.V. last night @ 9:30 p.m. and Tyler walks in and asks for some help with a Health assignment due the next day. The class is working as a group and making a poster. I really wanted to strangle him. Why wait until the last minute and then tell me? So typical. I managed not to yell at him (although really tempted) because I remember doing the same thing to my mom. At least he didn't come with a research paper which is what I did in 7th grade.

His topic was creating a value system and how children learn beliefs and behaviors in the home. It took me an hour to get it done and we still hadn't had scripture study yet or family home evening. Ok, I was late with that anyway. We did manage the scripture study but still have to do FHE this week.

Haunted Forest

Tyler went with some friends to the Haunted Forest in American Fork on Saturday. It was a perfect night to go. Dark, rainy and cold. He was really nervous about going. The last time he went to a haunted house was at Universal Studios when he was 10. Michael and I had to keep him between us because he was so scared. All they did was jump out at you. We made David go first so we could see where they were but sometimes they were too smart for us and waited. I scream when anything jumps out at me. It's like with a movie or book. I like to know what is happening before I see it. Michael of course no longer goes through Haunted Houses after injuring his pinky finger. We always tease him because it cost him $3,000 in physical therapy. It is too bad because he it is a blast to go through with him.

Some of the group of friends were girls and being male I am sure he didn't want to embarass himself. He kept saying he was going to wet his pants so I was a little concerned. When he got home he was so excited and had so much fun. The clown (scariest of all) knew Tyler from school and kept going behind him and calling his name. It took Tyler a while to figure out how the clown knew his name.

Mexico

Tyler had the opportunity this past summer to go to Mexico on a humanitarian service program with Medical Explorers through UVRMC. One of the group leaders sent some pictures out and a video they made. We just got it in the mail today so thought I would share a few. I will have to add all the pictures and open a picture account.

He had a really great time and would have loved to stay longer. The primary focus of the trip was to put in cement floors. I believe they completed @ 20 floors. It was hard work but very rewarding. We also collected @ 10 boxes of school supplies from the bank for Tyler to take down and included some dum dum suckers for the kids. He was able to go to the local school and give them the supplies. I hope he gets to go again next year. We haven't heard anything from Medical Explorers this year so need to follow up on it.