Poppie

I got a call a week ago from my mom.  It was pretty late so that was not a good sign.  She called to tell me that my grandfather, Poppie, had passed away from a heart attack.  He was 89 and had just left a birthday party for a great grandchild.  He was driving home with my grandmother and complained of chest pains.  Fortunately he was able to pull over the car before he died.  My grandmother was safe.

So my mom flew up to Connecticut first thing Sunday morning and my siblings flew up Monday.  I decided to take Zach with me.  I figured this would make it easier on Mario.  Plus we like to separate the twins occasionally because they are different kids when they are alone one on one with us.  

I always saw Poppie as kind of grumpy.  That is unfortunate.  But when I had children, I saw a different side of him.  He seemed to really enjoy Eric and Erin.   I think maybe he mellowed in his old age.   We didn't see Nonnie and Poppie much.  We only lived in CT for about a year as kids.  But he and Nonnie would come to FL every winter.   So we did see them occasionally in the winter.

Nonnie and Poppie had a good life together.  They raised four very hard working children.  They were able to live together in their same house until Poppie's death.  They were both in good health especially for being so old.  I think Nonnie will live until 100.  She is amazing and never likes to sit still (just like my mom.) 

It was interesting to be in CT and see different family members.  I could see traits in them that reminded me of myself.  It was like a big family reunion.  Unfortunately it took a death in the family to get us all together.   

I will always be grateful the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Death is just another necessary step in the Plan of Salvation.   We will one day be reunited with our Heavenly Father and with our families.  This knowledge brings me great comfort.

My new job

If you are wondering why I haven't blogged lately, it is because I have a new full time job. Unfortunately it doesn't pay anything!  Well, I did get a new Mac computer, so I guess that is something. 

My new job is house hunting.  It is much more difficult than I would have ever imagined.  First, where to live?  Where to send the kids to school?  Which ward would be the best for our four children, especially the older two since they will be entering the Youth program shortly.  

All this is complicated by a husband who is tired of living in a 1300 square foot house with four kids.  Maybe he is just tired of hearing all my complaining about living in a 1300 square foot house with four kids!  Have you ever had to listen to two children practice the piano for 40 minutes each while doing reading lessons with twins in a tiny home?  It isn't easy.  

So anyway, he wants me to find him a 3000 square foot home, with five bedrooms, an office, a pool, 3 car garage, great schools, large ward, not to mention a short commute to work.  And he wants all this on a Major's salary!

Now, do you see why this has become my full time job and now I have no time to blog.   I have been given an impossible task!

He may have to settle for a 4 bedroom home that is closer to 2000 square feet with a community pool.  Hey, compared to what we have now, that will be a mansion!

Snow!

As we were landing in Salt Lake City, Eric looked out the window and saw all the snow.  He immediately asked if we could move there.  I hate cold weather, so my reply was "No!"  It only took a few minutes for Eric to understand my response.   He became cold very quickly.   He agreed that it is nice to visit snow, but maybe not live in it.  

We spent the first morning in Provo.  We found a great park that was perfect for sledding.  We called my YW's leader from 20 years ago, and she outfitted the kids with good sleds, boots, hats, and gloves.  They loved sledding.

After sledding we attended the Draper Open House.  I had never gone to an Open House before and  I  wondered what it would be like to attend a Temple that wasn't in operation yet.  It was amazing that they were able to maintain the same level of reverence inside the Temple even though it was open to the general public.  The kids enjoyed their tour.  Our purpose in taking Eric and Erin to this open house was to hopefully help them develop a strong desire to live worthily to one day be sealed there.  

After the open house, we went and bought a sled since we had to return the stuff we borrowed earlier.  Now the kids had to share a small disc sled.  They only had a coat, mittens, and tennis shoes.   But we found a great golf course that converts to a great sledding area in the winter.  It was icy so the kids had no traction in their tennis shoes but they had fun slipping around everywhere. 

The next day we went to Temple Square and visited the sights there.  We had lunch at the Nauvoo Cafe and then went to see a movie, Bedtime Stories.  I asked the kids if they wanted to go sledding again.  I guess they had enough from the first day.  Eric was a little sore from the day before.

We had a great visit. It was so much easier traveling with the big kids and not having Nathan and Zachary with us.  But we missed them and were anxious to get home and see them.  Mario missed us but had a great time with the twins.  He is a big believer that you bond with those you serve.  So he had a great week of bonding with the twins as he attended to every need and desire of 2 five year olds.  Believe me, those two are always  needy!

As always, I came back to a house much cleaner than I left it.  Thank you Mario!

Utah

The big kids and I are off to Salt Lake City tomorrow.  We are excited about going to the Draper Temple open house.  The kids are all excited about going to Target and buying a sled.  Too bad we won't last too long in the snow since we don't have any of our winter stuff.  We put it all in storage since we don't really need them here in Monterey.  Eric and Erin made the mistake of mentioning the snow to the twins tonight.  They freaked out.  They have been wanting to see snow since we left IL.  I felt sorry for them, but I had to remind them that they had a nice, long trip to FL last year.  I know, no snow, but they did get to go to Busch Gardens without the big kids.

Christmas

I am starting to get complaints that I haven't written in awhile.  I realize I am not as good at multi tasking as I thought.  We have had a nice past, couple of weeks, but with my parents visiting and Mario and the kids off from school, I haven't taken the time to blog.

My parents flew in Christmas day around noon.  The kids got their presents from Santa first thing Christmas morning.  Then I asked them to wait until my mom and dad got here to open their other gifts.   What a great new tradition!  We loved it.  My dad begged us not to make the kids wait but the kids seemed fine (for the most part) with waiting.   So we got up early and checked out Santa gifts.  Then we ate a big breakfast, played a new wii game, made gingerbread houses, and had lunch.  Then it was time to go to the airport.  Usually at our home, Christmas is over by 7 am.  This waiting to open other gifts really dragged out Christmas over the entire day.    We all loved it.  So that is our new family tradition along with our Nativity puppet show and big breakfast dinner on Christmas Eve.  

We had a great visit with Grandma and Papa.  Last year when my parents were in Monterey, we took them for a short, easy hike through the redwoods.  My dad was so mad at me because he struggled with the hike.  He told me that he would never hike with us again.   

Fortunately, my dad has lost over 100 pounds this past year!  So this time, he was able to do lots of biking and hiking.    We are all so proud of him.  He has done it strictly through diet, no surgery.  Now that he is feeling so much better, he is able to start exercising.