Happy Birthday

My dad would have been 71 today. It's hard to believe he's been gone almost 13 years. This is one of my favorite pictures of my dad. It is just before he left on his mission to France. He is so handsome.

As a child we always put up the Christmas tree on dad's birthday. We carried that tradition on here...but this year with the kids all gone at Thanksgiving I needed some Christmas cheer so I decorated the tree the day after Thanksgiving. It looks like Canada on the first of December outside of my window. We got another six inches of snow yesterday and the trees are covered and it looks like a winter wonderland.

Things I miss about my dad.

*His laugh

*His voice

*Riding in the golf cart while he does a round

*His sweet tooth(He was a pro and sneaking into goodies....but sometimes he got caught....like when his ring got left in the chocolate box)

*The way he was with my children

*The way he treated his mother

*His crooked nose

*Cussing in French (Like we didn't know what he was saying)

*Knock it off!!!

*His love of curling

*His love for my mother

*His wisdom

*His impatience (I got that from him and he got it from his grandma Card) Funny that it was one of the things that drove me crazy while he was alive and now it something that I miss.

Happy Birthday dad. I'd like to think that grandma Viv has just finished baking you your chocolate cupcakes with her famous fondant icing and you are sitting down at a heavenly table enjoying your birthday. This is my dad on his last birthday before his passed away. I love you dad.

So blessed

I will have to finish blogging about our trip to New Mexico at a later date....but I had to write down how thankful I am for the blessings in my life and for the power of prayer. We pray for our kids by name every night....that includes Brent and Stacie. Well.....we really needed those prayers this week. Stacie was in a car accident....and thankfully she only ended up with a sore arm. The car is pretty bad.....but it is only a car. She is okay....and that is the only thing that matters. When I saw a picture of the car I was so surprised that she wasn't hurt worse. I got on my knees and thanked my Heavenly Father for watching over her. This happened on Wednesday morning. Saturday is email day from Elder Jackson. Our email this morning said "I spent the night in the hospital on thursday" What? Are you kidding me. Now normally this wouldn't cause me to have a minor meltdown....but he is in MEXICO. My heart skipped a couple beats and I got a knot in my stomach as I continued to read. He would have called because they were going to do surgery....but changed their minds. He had been having pain in his arm....but of course....this is the first I've heard about it. Anyway.....it kept getting worse so he showed the mission presidents wife and she told him to get to the hospital. He had an infection in his sweat glands. They ended up giving him stuff in IV's and then he said the infection exploded like a volcano out of his arm. He said "Don't worry mom.....I spent all day THursday at the hospital and spent the night. I'm fine now. I just have a hole in my arm." So....that makes me feel so much better.....NOT. I'm so grateful that he is serving in the city right now and he was able to go to a nice private hosptial. From the pictures he sent it looked very nice and clean. I emailed him back with lots of instructions and he sent me another quick email and he said to stop worrying.....lots of prayers were being said oh his behalf. I know he is in the hands of the Lord.....and I know my children were watched over and protected this week. I am thankful for the peaceful feeling I get when I feel so blessed and I know that God's hand has been in our lives.

National Park/Day 3

We rented an SUV that we could all fit into and we drove a couple hours to this National Park in New Mexico. Scott kept seeing these black things crawling across the highway. So....being a guy....he just had to stop and see what it was. I stayed in the car when I heard the word spider. Holy smokes....they were all out there taking pictures of this tarantula. Who's the smart one in the family now? That would be me!

Out in the middle of nowhere were these beautiful cliffs and that is the national park.

Kevin said "We are going to climb up on top of these things." I said "Are you kidding me?"

The different rock formations were so intriguing.

Mom and her kids.

The scenery was just beautiful.

I couldn't stop taking pictures.

Stacie and Carolyn wanted to have their picture taken in the little hole in the cliff.

Carolyn's turn.

There were several ancient inscriptions on the walls of the cliffs. I was surprised at how far back some of these dated.

Kevin let me borrow a hat to keep the sun off of my face. I already got burned the day before on our hike. The weather was beautiful. It was in the 80's. I am taking a break with my sweetheart.






As we were walking this snake appeared on the trail and went right between Scott's legs. We were happy that it didn't have any rattlers on its tail.

Caught the sun as it peeked through the break in the cliff.

On the front surface of this cliff it appeard to have a face in it. It was really cool.

Not just family.....but best friends! These four were so happy to be together again.

Mom and her girl! Love you bug.

Our beautiful daughter.

Our son in a thoughtful moment on top the cliffs.

Another beautiful view.

Stacie loved this picture because it made her look like a giant.

There were old Indian dwellings that had been discovered up on top of the cliffs.








We made it to the very top. We had such a great time. We were starving by the end of our hike....so we drove back to Albuquerque and went to our favorite Brazilian place for a feast. It was great. The playoffs were on....so the nice waiter kept checking the score for us. What a wonderful day.

New Mexico--Land of Enchantment/Day 1&2

We arrived in Albuquerque on Wed. afternoon and we had dinner at Kevin's. He made some delicious stuffed peppers. We had a nice evening visiting and catching up. Thursday morning while we waited for Brent and Carolyn to arrive Kevin drove us up to the base of the Sandia Mountains that he and Stacie have hiked up. There was cactus everywhere.

I imagine that when the catcus are in full bloom in the spring that the desert is spectacular.

Kevin had fun jumping between rocks.

Dad joined in....and mom kept yelling "Get down from there before one of you breaks a leg."

Kevin seems to like the desert.

Enjoying the sushine. It was 80 degrees the whole week we were there.

Mom sure loves these kids.

Guess who arrived? Carolyn and Brent showed up early that afternoon and we headed to the outskirts of town to see the petroglyphs.

These four have sure missed each other and they were happy to be back together again.

Brent admiring the petroglyphs

It was a really nice hike....even though mom got sunburned...even with 50 proof sunscreen on. The day was beautiful and it was so nice to have the family together.....we missed Chris though. Didn't help that Brent so nicely pointed out that we were only a 10 hour drive away from him.

Carolyn and Stacie kept saying that their shoes didn't fit. Maybe because they had so much sand in them along the hike

I love Fall

This tree across the street from us is always the first tree in the neighborhood to start showing signs of fall. It was just beautiful on Saturday morning.

I love fall because it is cooler...and because of the beautiful colors...and because it means it is time for our trip to Bainbridge Island to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with Drew and Ross and their family. This year they decided to do it a few weeks early so we could enjoy the nice weather and eat outside. We had a little time before catching the ferry and so we went and walked around the docks for awhile.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day in Seattle.

THe puget sound is such a beautiful area and we love the waterfront in Seattle.

We sat and watched this seagull for a long time. It had a starfish stuck in it's mouth.

As we headed toward the island we snapped a picture of the waterfront. Isn't it beautiful!

Mt. Rainer looked majestic as we rode the ferry.

Got busy and didn't get a single picture with the gang at dinner. Drew cooked for two days. The meal was fantastic. Turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, corn casserole, bean casserole, salads....three kinds of pie. I didn't even mention the delicious appetizers. The best part of the day was the company. Ross and Drew have a wonderful family. Hayley and Claire are the sweetest girls. Ross's parents and sisters are so very nice. Their friends are all wonderful too. We always enjoy spending the day over there. One of these days I am taking Drew up on his offer and I'm going over there for a retreat. They have such a beautiful yard....nobody around....it is so peaceful. I think a good book and Drew's couch would do a girl good.

CONCERT!!!!!!!

On the 28th of August my niece Kelly and I went to the Keith Urban/John Mayer concert out at the Gorge. It was a beautiful summer night. The music was incredible. It was the best concert I have ever been too. The ladies went wild when Keith Urban came to the stage. We sat up on the hill....but it didn't matter because they had the big screens set up....and we had our trusty binoculars too.....the view was great. Keith put on one heck of a show. Then John came out and joined him on stage for a few numbers before Keith finished up his set. Some people left after Keith was done.....but they were crazy. Mayer put on a great performance as well.....and then Keith came out to finish it up with him. It was the longest concert I've ever been to. It lasted 4 1/2 hours. Kelly and I were up and dancing and singing for most of it. I had so much fun. Those two guys should tour together all the time. This was a special deal out at the gorge.....we were so lucky to get them both at the same time. It was AWESOME! Thanks Kelly for a great girls night out.

An elect lady!

Today would have been my grandmother's birthday. We lost grandma in 2003 and there is not a day that I don't think of her. Sometimes we get an extra special blessing from our Heavenly Father. Grandma Viv....was one of those kind of blessings. There will never be another quite like her. She was a special lady that not only touched my heart....but I was so happy that I got to share that blessing with my children and they got to have the best great grandmother that the world had to offer. I spoke at grandma's funeral and I asked a lot of the grandkids for memories they had of grandma. Some were beautiful....some were funny....and some I know I will have to answer for when I see her on the other side someday. Here is a list of special memories I have of grandma.

*chocolate cake with fondant icing

*ice cold glasses from the freezer for our grapefruit juice

*her little dish of jubejube's.....it was alway's full....unless Tim had been there

*gingersnaps and chocolate chip cookies

*The Lawrence Welk show

*Royal Milk

*forgetting the punchline to her jokes

*praying for each of her grandchildren by name

*The world's worst photographer....she always cut off our heads

*Ooli gog

*chasing my kids around with her false teeth out and making them squeal

*Burping contests with Chris....which she almost always won

*Spongy hair

*Driving through the "Red Light" district in Edmonton with me.

*Being at my provincial speech competitions

*Pushing her in a wheelchair all over the campus of Eastern Washington at the National Science Olympiad competition for Kevin

*"While you're up"

*two ice cubes

*rice balls

*The way she doted on my father

*Always making me feel important in her life

*Sunday calls

*"Strawberries sure improve the taste of these pancakes"

* Saying that my husband Scott is her favorite...and I have it on tape to prove it.

*Her Unwaivering faith. No matter what trial she was facing.....she never lost her faith.

I am so greatful that Grandma Viv was chosen to be my grandma. I am so proud to have her name. Chandra Vivienne King Jackson. I love you grandma....and miss you....but I am sure that you are with dad....and he has a smile on his face...because he doesn't have to share the cupcakes with us. You only get four grandparents......and if you are really lucky.....you get at least one that is exceptional. I was that lucky. She was all that I needed.....and then some.

A big day!

August 24th, 2110 is a big day in the lives of my children. Today is Kevin's first day of graduate school at the University of New Mexico. We are so proud of him for studying so hard in University. He is going to be an excellent professor some day. Today is Carolyn's first day as a special education teacher. She has a full time postion with an elementary school in Provo. She has spent countless hours getting her classroom ready for the big day today. She is going to be an awesome teacher. We are so proud of her. We are so grateful for their wonderful spouses and the support they have been for them on their journey. Thanks Brent and Stacie for all you do. We love all of you very much.

Today is also a big day for Elder Jackson. Today marks 6 months in the mission field and he is now 1/4 of the way through. He is presently serving in Guaymas, Mexico but should be due for a transfer any time now. He loves his mission. He loves the people he teaches. We are so proud of him and we are so happy that he loves this experience so much. As a mother my heart is full today. Overflowing with emotion. My children are happy and healthy and it brings me great peace to see them doing so well.

A humble missionary

Today was email day from Chris. Some days I worry more than others with him in Mexico. There was a massacre this weekend in one of the border states down there....and I had a hard time sleeping lastnight as the violence in those border missions is escalting....and some days I wish he was just about anywhere else in the world....and then I get an email that touches my soul and I remember that Chris prayed to be sent to Mexico....it is where he wanted to serve....and the experiences that he is having there are shaping his life and will help make him into the man he will become. I wanted to share his email today. Hello family! ill send missionary moments.. Hey ML 5TH WARD! Mexico has been a great place for me to serve a mission, very humbling. Every other friday we eat with a Family that makes 8 american dollars a day. They dont eat with us, they watch us eat. Anyways when i was walking to the house i saw a boy of the Family, i said HEY! you excited to eat with us!, What he said changed my life... ¨Elder Jackson when we feed the missionaries we dont eat that day´´ I did not know what to say, I love this family so much they sacrifice everything. When they asked me if i wanted more food i said no, but they still put more on my plate. These people are the most loving peole i have ever met in my life. They dont know the difference between Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and Elder Christopher Jackson because we both have Elder, they think its equal. Im loving the mission, its the best place for me to be. At times i wish i had running water, cold air, washing machine, but at times i dont even notice im missing them. I love Mexico I Love MY MISSION!

Okay thats my missionary moments, im not going to lie, i cried when the boy told me that but it looked like sweat so i still have a good rep haha.

Chris loves the people of mexico......I know he is where he is suppossed to be.