Dear Gramma

Thanks for my new dress! Mom made some new bows for me to wear with it and I look so stinkin' cute! I love twirling around in it and posing for pictures. Thanks again!
love,
London

Annual Thanksgiving Sizzler Party

We had fun Wednesday night getting together for our annual pre-Thanksgiving Party. Thanks for coming everyone.

RUNNER #8 Finally done....

Well I finally finished my last runner. I am so happy that I got them all done. Jenn's was one week after Halloween. Liz's was two weeks after, and I finished mine last night. It will be SO fun to pull them out next year!!

sharing is caring

i found this little article on msn.com called "23 ways to celebrate your marriage" and thought it was pretty cool for us old married ladies.

http://lifestyle.msn.com/relationships/articlerb.aspx?cp-documentid=8319163&GT1=32023

Partay

Sorry, Linds, to cover your cute posts. But c'mon. CUTEST GRAMMA AND PAPA EVER! What a good lookin' group of kids!

Reward system

So although I came up with this cute idea all on my own...

he preferred gramma's fancier Buzz idea better. Of course.


Works great, mom! Thanks for all the good free advice!!
(By the way, this is Max's reward system I've implemented. With my jar version, he had to get 5 stickers to have a friend over or to play with a friend. With Mom's BUZZED OUT version, he needs to move the Buzz sticker up the spaceship to level 5, same reward.)

My latest crafts

Yea, now that Morgan is back, I'm taking full advantage of a live-in babysitter:)

Happy Halloween!

Such a fun party. Amazing grandchildren and their wonderful parents. The pictures don't represent how cute the kids looked in their costumes. Parents, if you have better pictures, please send them to me, and I will "exchange". Donuts swinging from the ceiling fan, musical chairs, and decorating pumpkin cakes. Chili, salad, bread bowls, and the ever wonderful Nothing "Bundt" cake. Loved it. Thanks everyone for coming. We need a picture of our fireman. He got called away to a fire before we could get his picture!! We sure missed our London, Max, and Spencer. We had a James Bond, Ninjas, a Policeman, a Dinosuar, Fancy Nancy, a Tiger Princess, and we would have liked to see Dash, Peter Pan, and Tinker Bell as well. Love you ALL!

Thanks for our table runner, Gramma!

You are so talented! I totally love this table runner! It is so festive and cute! Thanks for taking the time to make it and send it down here. It means a lot to have something of yours to display on this holiday, something to remind us of you. Thanks again! We love you!

WHAT HAPPENED??

FALLWINTER

What happened to our beautiful Fall. I miss it! I wanted it to stick around for awhile. Some of the leaves haven't even turned into their beautiful colors.....

Celebrating at the Cheesecake Factory

Last weekend we celebrated birthdays at the new Cheesecake Factory out at Fashion Place. We had to wait a long time to get in, but it was fun cruising the mall with everyone while we waited. Happy Birthday to Codye, Tyler, Trace, and Brooke. Thanks everyone for coming and all of your many good wishes. Thanks Bill for being our happy sponsor!! This definitely needs to be a new tradition! Love you all!

Happy Birthday, Gramma!!

G - Generous! Always hooking me up with a Pace's Diet Coke, the kids new jammies, and beautiful quilts for everyone! Also, Giving. She gives her time to everyone, even if it means she doesn't get any left for herself.
R - Republican! And all the good that it entails:) And Righteous. She definitely always has the Spirit with her. She has high standards that she doesn't change for any one or any occasion.A - Advisor! Any problem, she has a suggestion and it always seems to work.
M - Mother! She still takes care of her kids and worries about all of us. Call when you get home!
M - Meticulous! Never a detail left out. If you don't believe me, have her teach you how to quilt;) Such a great quality, especially for Bill and his doctors. She has them spell out the words their using so she can get it right. Smart!
A - 'A' Student. She is so smart, always knows the latest studies, news, and reading the latest books. Which is helpful for me because it saves me from reading them and I can just get the condensed version from her. While she's driving to work.
Thanks for being such a great example, mom. I love you and hope one day I can be just like you!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday Ally!

Because she's a Lewis girl too!

Adorable! Those big brown eyes, those humongous paws, those droopy lips...
Loud! Those snores are bound to keep anyone up at night!
Lovey! Always keeping close.
Young at heart! Because even though she's nine years old, she's still a puppy to me.

Other words that could have been used: Loyal, Attentive, Beggar, Funny, Fat, Sleepy, Photogenic, etc.

Happy Birthday big girl!! We sure love you!

www.decatastrophize.calm

I guess I have reached the point in my life where I have to conquer my fear of staying alone. I think that in my entire life I have only had to stay home alone once. Bill was traveling, and Liz slept over at a friend's house. I have been raising children for thirty three years, and so someone has always been around. Two weeks ago Bill was gone for two nights.

I was able to utilize some of the strategies that I teach the kids. The lesson that I am teaching right now is about stress. Usually I teach the techniques like deep breathing, tightening muscles then relaxing, and going to that calm place they have created in their mind. This year we are reviewing those, but also working on "decatastrophizing" our problems. Hence, the title of the post "www.decatastrophize.calm"..

The three w's stand for WORST, WONDERFUL, and WILL. What is the worst thing that will happen, and what can you do to avoid it? What is the most wonderful thing that can happen, and what can you do to help that happen? The last is what will probably happen, and how can you prepare for it?

In my mind the worst thing that could have happened to me is that someone would break in. To keep this from happening I checked the doors five times instead of just two. The most wonderful thing is that I would not be scared. Working on this one. What would probably happen is that I would wake up and nothing would have happened. THAT is the one that has helped me.

Honestly, it never ceases to amaze me how much I learn from what I do, and how much it helps me. Sure glad that Bill is home with no travel plans, and I do have a big, beautiful Golden Retriever to keep me company.

Marching with the Penguins at the Zoo!

Jenn invited me to go to the zoo with her and the kids. We had a lot of fun. For me the hightlight of the adventure was watching the penguins. So very, very cute!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRACIE LEWIS NORTON

Happy Birthday Tracie!! We sure love you and hope you have had a wonderful day. Sounds like Aaron really is going to come through for you. We wish we were closer so we could give you a few spankings!! I won't say how many......

T is for TESTIMONY (very spiritual lady)

R is for READING (which is your favorite way to spend extra minutes)

A is for AMERICA (love history)

C is for CURIOUS (could also be travel) Love to go on trips!

I is for INDUSTRIOUS (have always been a very hard worker)

E is for ENERGETIC (keeping those Young Women on the straight and narrow)

Thanks for all that you do for us. We so appreciate you. You are a wonderful daughter, wife, and mommy. We are all so blessed to have you in our lives. Happy and healthy year ahead. You deserve it!!

LOVEYOUTONSBABE...maybe next year we can be in the same state....

Liz and Josh....Josh and Liz???

Yesterday we celebrated Liz and Josh's birthday. I was a bit confused because Liz is married to Josh, but it wasn't his birthday. It was Josh, our youngest grandson's birthday. So Liz is standing in the picture with Josh AND Josh. Hence, Liz and Josh....Josh and Liz. Anyway we had a lot of fun celebrating and eating cake. Josh was fine that it was a Sleeping Beauty cake. He didn't seem to notice. As soon as he tasted it, he was more than happy to eat all he could get.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELIZABETH ANNE LEWIS HORTON

Hey Liz! We are so happy that it is your birthday! We are so grateful that you are part of our family. Neat that you found Josh and had such a wonderful wedding. WAY TO GO!! This was a big year for you. You are 21 years young. Amazing!! We sure love you because.....

E stands for elegant (just look at those wedding photos!)

L is for listener (the best one in our family of interrupters!)

I is industrious (way to work two jobs all summer)

Z is zealous which is how you approach your education!

A stand for Ally (we have her because of you)

B is beautiful, inside and out!

E is easy to get along with...no drama here!

T is the traveler (New York all alone....amazing!)

H is harmonious. You like "all to be well".

We love you Liz. We can't wait to celebrate on your special day. Thanks for being the neat person and example that you are!! loveyoutonsmom

Sorry to put this over London's walking.... but looky looky

My kids. And Katie's boys. It's just the greatest thing ever. It's just beautiful. What this woman can do. Christy, I do adore you.

Did I mention...

She's actually been taking steps for a few weeks now, but only recently have we seen actual walks across the room. And getting braver every day.

When you tuck your kids into bed at night ask them these two quesitons....

I have learned a great deal about kids because of my chosen profession. I have shared a lot of this information with my little "mommies" because sometimes they ask me. Sometimes I share when they don't ask, too. Even though I have "mothered" four wonderful daughters and some other wonderful little mommies as well (a.k.a. Kelsey and Brooke), been involved in education for seventeen years, and studied psychology, I am still learning. I read a wonderful article in the Ensign today. There were so many great ideas that I just had to share one or two.

The question was "I love and am grateful for my young children, but I sometimes get distracted or discouraged by the practical details of raising a family and I struggle to remember what an important work it is. How can I better align my day-to-day actions and attitudes with gospel truths about family?"

My favorite answers:
FOCUS on what YOU do well... (not what someone else does well)
Don't run faster than you have strength. (limit your "lists")
Try to keep the big picture in sight.
My favorite and the whole reason for the post.
When you tuck your kids into bed at night, ask them these two questions.
1. "What was your favorite time today?"
2. "Did you have any sad time today that you would like to tell me about?"

You are all doing a great job. Be sure to tell yourself that once in a while. LOVE YOU!

COOKIES...Bite-Size Life Lessons!

My first lesson this year is about Attitude. I decided to use my book about cookies. Of course that means I have to make cookies for the whole school. Making the cookies won't be too bad. Listening to the kids ask for cookies every time I go into their class for the rest of the year is going to be hard.

"COOKIES... Bite Size Life Lessons"

COOPERATE means, "How about you add the chips while I stir?"
PATIENT means waiting and waiting for the cookies to be done.
PROUD means, "My chin is high, and I sure do like the way my cookies turned out."
MODEST means you don't run around telling everyone you make the best cookies, even if you know it to be true.
RESPECT means offering the very first cookie to your grandmother.
TRUSTWORTHY means, "If you ask me to hold your cookie until you come back, when you come back, I will still be holding your cookie."
FAIR means, "You get a bite, I get a bite, you get a big bite, I get a big bite."
UNFAIR means, "You get a bite, and now I get the rest."
COMPASSIONATE means, "Don't worry, it's okay. You can have part of my cookie."
GREEDY means taking all the cookies for myself.
GENEROUS means offering some to others.
PESSIMISTIC means, "How awful, how absolutely dreadful. I have only half my cookie left." OPTIMISTIC means, "This is great. I still have half my cookies left."
POLITE means, "Excuse me, can you please pass the cookies?"
HONEST means, "I have to tell you something. The butterfly didn't really take the cookie, I took the cookie."
COURAGEOUS means, "It was not easy for me to tell you that I took the cookie, but I took a deep breath....and made the words come out."
ENVY means, "I can't stop looking at your cookie out of the corner of my eye--it looks so much better than my cookie. Boy, I wish it were mine and not yours."
LOYAL means that even though the new person has a much bigger cookie, I'm sticking by you and your little cookies because you're my very best friend."
OPEN-MINDED means, "I've never seen cookies like that before, but, uh, sure I'll try one." REGRET means, "I really wish I didn't eat so many cookies."
CONTENT means sitting on the steps-just you, me, and a couple of cookies.
WISE means, "I used to think I knew everything about cookies, but now I realize I know about one teeny chip's worth."

A few pictures from a long lost friend

Now if this isn't the most amazing tombstone you've ever seen. It's incredible.

It's neat to see my family heritage. Even if it is just on a tombstone.

I may not have known my Aunt Pam very well, but what an incredible woman. And I have to admit, she had (has?) an amazing husband and family. Her funeral just a little over a year ago was such a beautiful tribute.

"We can find something fun to do ANYWHERE!"