Happy Anniversary

This is a picture of Papa Adair and Mary from 1992. All the years we lived in Animas they could never agree or remember if they had been married November 18 or 19th. It was actually the 19th and I just remember how sweet Adair was to Mary and how much he loved her. It was always such a treat to go out to eat in Lordsburg to celebrate a birthday or anniversary with them. Lordsburg was 25 miles away and Silver City was 70.
Happy 60th Anniversary Momma Mary :)

China Temple

November 13, 1976
Randy took me on a date to eat at the China Temple in Las Cruces, NM and then we were going to a dance at NMSU. After we finished eating we walked out to the car. Before he opened the car door for me, Randy turned me around and proposed. I was so shocked I couldn't say anthing. He let me in the car and we drove to the dance and after we had been at the dance awhile I told him I would marry him. He was probably dying thinking he had made a big mistake in popping the question. We had only been dating six weeks and I already knew I wanted to marry him but....I wasn't expecting him to propose so soon. I can also remember him calling his Dad to tell him the next day while I was at his trailer and I don't think Papa Adair was too excited about Randy and I getting engaged after only six weeks of dating. We had actually know of each other for six months though. LOOK HOW YOUNG AND SKINNY WE USED TO BE! I remember thinking "Here is tall, dark and handsome, in the flesh!"

Merry Christmas!

For the faithful few that ever look at my blog, here is a preview of the picture our family took recently and will place on our Christmas card this year.

From the Mission Field

Elder Merrell says (Nov. 17, 2008):
Our district here is doing really well. In the Branch Chiapa de Corzo they had 11 people in Sacrament meeting, and they have planned 6 baptisms for the end of this month. I hope that the investigators accept the challenge to be baptized.

In our Area we have two people that have accepted baptismal dates for the 29th of February, and 5 others that are progressing. The other Ward that is in our district has 9 prospective investigators for baptism in December.

I am excited for the opportunity to train trice. It will be a learning experience for me. Also as District Leader I will have added responsibility and Leadership opportunities.

This past Sunday was the Rededication of the Mexico City Temple. It was super. They had a cultural program that was really neat that tied in the history of the Book of Mormon plus the history and Heritage of the Book of Mormon, plus song and dance. Then Sunday President Monson and President Eyring dedicated the Temple.

Keeping Up with Brother Jones

We did spend one whole day working on Ron & Verenda's new home. We painted the shutters black, the mailbox post black, mowed and edged the lawn (my personal project), changed doorknobs and closet knobs, laid carpet in the family room and hall and hung blinds and changed toilet seats. We got lots done and here is our final project...with lots more to do.
P.S. With four bedrooms to fill, here is a picture of Ron practicing for a family (quiet the crying baby...good job Ron!).

Jumping Geehosalotsafat

We ended our weekend at a warehouse that is wall to wall trampolines. Karen and a friend are going to have their joint birthdays here in November. We stayed one hour which was 50 minutes too long for Grandma but Jared never did stop. At one point he got onto a platform and never broke his jumping stride up and down and yelled at us to get back on the trampolines. There is also a picture of Ron and Audrey on a dance fever machine if jumping isn't enough exercise for you!

Pumpkin Posing

With so many pumpkins everywhere I had to get at least one picture of pumpkins. Here is Cindy outside Wal-Mart after she and Audrey had their nails done.

The Many Sides of Kate-0-Eight

Anna told me that Kate loves to have her feet kissed. Guess what? She really does! She stops crying immediately when Anna starts kissing her feet. Also, she is posing in her "I Love Mummy" onesie Grandma had to buy for her. It said it glowed in the dark and it really did during Karen's concert.

Birthday Buds

Our next stop was at Karen's Brass Concert in Provo. This was the funnest concert of all time. The director wrote music from scenes of his favorite music scores all for brass instruments and then the audience watched the clips while the band played the movie scores. It was great! Music selections came from: Dumbo, Roadrunner cartoon, Bugs Bunny, Silverado and Apollo XIII.

Great Grandma Merrell

We stopped and visited Mary at Bart's home in Pleasant Grove. Here she is holding Kate.

Cove Fort

Audrey and I had a four-day weekend and so we headed North. Our first stop was Cedar to pick up Cindy and Sarah and then I wanted to tour Cove Fort so here we are...
Cove Fort was established between two settlements because the telegraph would only travel 30 miles and they needed a way-station in between to relay messages. It was built and maintained by Gordon B. Hinkley's Grandfather and his family for 20 years.

October Kinder Quilt

Just showing off how talented my kinder kids are. We have mastered the shape, square, and our spiders are anatomically correct with 8 eyes each.

Dixie State College Homecoming Parade

Here's our Desert Hills Middle School featuring Audrey on her marching French Horn going down Tabernacle St. early this morning in 52 degree weather.

Kate-O-Eight

Audrey and I went up to Cedar to watch General Conference with the fam and help hold kids and give Connie and Ben a break. I don't know if we were more work or more help. Here is a cute picture I took of Audrey and Kate (2 months old). I thought she was smiling but she was sticking out her tongue...licking her chops looking for lunch.

Santa Clara Swiss Days

I'll share the history of the area with all you bloggers as I learn it. Brigham Young sent a whole bunch of Swiss immigrants down to Santa Clara (NW of St. George), a rich farming valley, to settle when they arrived in Salt Lake. They were the first ones in the area. Every year their descendants put on a festival called Swiss Days. It was a typical carnival with lots of booths with food and all types of other products. Inside the community building the descendants of the original Swiss immigrants had genealogy and quilts and pictures displayed. That was interesting. Audrey and I also heard some little girls yodeling. That was fun. We ate some Swiss bread and went home. It was not what I expected. I expected Swiss chocolate everywhere in 97 degree weather or at least a few Swiss cows. I guess they were dirt farmers and not dairy farmers.

Return With Honor

When Elder Karl Kohler returned from his mission in Monterrey, Mexico it was a happy day but noone was happier than Scott Kohler who had waited over a week to open his mission call until Karl could be there. What I remember most about that day in June was Karl didn't have a lot to say. I think he was still thinking in Spanish and trying to translate into English.

Love Ya' miss Ya' already

This is what Audrey misses most about Dallas...trying to drive Uncle John and Aunt Julie crazy! This technique usually worked.

Pioneer Days 2008

Our Stake really goes all out for the July 24th Celebration. Here are a few of the pictures I took of the grandkids that day. They were riding a horse made out of horseshoes and then making rings out of horseshoe nails. It was lots of fun!

Lucky 7

I need to catch up with my blog news and so here is a picture I took the day Kate and Connie were ready to come home from the hospital. I was there for the birth of Kate and it was pretty exciting when the midwife announced the baby was born at 08:08 am on 08-08-08. I am still telling people about it and people I told remember me as the Grandma of the 0808080808 baby.

Outstanding Freshman

This is Audrey's school picture from this year. This image could be out of date quickly. She has decided she likes her hair down and is waiting for the OD to call and say her new contacts are in. With her (merrell genetic deficient) astygmatism she is going into gas permeable hard contacts. She is pretty excited about it. She is also auditioning for the Zion Youth Symphony this Monday. They need french horn players and put out the word so she's practicing like crazy to see if she can make it. She is also playing trumpet in the jazz band and has a marching french horn that they play on days when they practice marching. Her school is called Desert Hills Middle School and has just 8th and 9th graders. She is having a ball so far with seminary ten steps away in its own building. She has it later in the afternoon. Right now she is reading the Brandon Mull "Fablehaven" series and LOVES IT!

From Brunettes to Blondes

Here is us working on making a tree with Spring leaves and blossoms today. They turned out really cute and I was pleasantly stunned at how well 5 year olds did with tissue paper and glue. I have moved from the land of brunettes to the land of blondes. Are my students so cute you could cry? Fourth graders were cute too but these faces just make you glad to get up every day :)

School pictures time! Here's what I look like teaching Kindergarten, September 2008, here in (still hot) St. George, Utah. I like it! Same ole eyebrow raised when the flash goes off, same ole thin hair, same ole big smile. I can't do much about my age or looks but I decided I can do something about my weight and our school sponsors their own "Biggest Loser" competition so I decided to join.

Hopefully you'll be seeing lots less of me.

Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished (in 7 days)

Everyone probably already knows the big news in the lives of Barbara and Audrey because in my excitement I have told everyone who isn't comatose. We will be moving to St. George, Utah around the 4th of July!
I had decided to stay in Clint because there are library positions opening and Audrey was good with that. In my earnest prayers I mentioned that I didn't know what else to do if the Lord wanted me somewhere else and to inspire me where to send more applications etc... The next morning I got a call from Washington County School District. They wanted to know if I was still interested in coming there. I explained how I couldn't even consider it because cost of living was so high and teacher pay in Utah was so low. They said, "Let's talk about it." By the end of the conversation we figured out that I would be making a little more than I currently am here in Clint and I told the secretary to go ahead and send my application out to principals. I had no intention of moving to Utah, thinking nothing would come of the conversation. Little did I know.... Within five minutes one pricipal called and another by the end of the day. They conducted phone interviews the next day and asked me to come to Utah for personal interviews. They mentioned they couldn't hold a position for me because they needed to wrap up their school year and first come first serve. I wanted to say, "I know that trick. Whatever!" but instead I said, "I can be there Monday for interviews." I made last minute airline reservations thinking, "At this price this better pay off." Connie and the four grandkids picked me up in Las Vegas and before the day was over I had interviewed with 9 principals and visited two schools.
As we left town headed back to Las Vegas we passed the community of Bloomington Hills. We swung in there to look at the school. It was about 5pm and we saw two teachers just leaving. They gave us a tour of the school and we all laughed getting to know each other. All of a sudden the kinder teacher turns to me and says, "Oh! You're the lady from Texas we're going to hire for kindergarten!" I was glad they had been talking about me but had not been offered any job yet." When we walked out of the school I noticed, for the first time, two huge building accross the way. I asked if the one on the right were a hospital. The music teacher informed me that it was the brand new high school that would open 2008-2009 and the building next to it was the middle school for 8th and 9th graders. Well, Audrey is going to be in 9th grade. "Do you mean to tell me that the kids from over there could literally walk over here?" She explained that the landscaping wasn't done yet and they still needed to put in a street light so it was safe for the kids to walk back and forth but yes, indeed, they could walk here. This is where I wanted to be! I knew if I were here at Bloomington Hills Elementary I wouldn't have to worry about Audrey.
The very next day Central Office called and offered me the job at Bloomington Hills Elementary. It had been exactly one week since I had mentioned to the Lord that if he wanted me somewhere else he would have to help me out a little. I will be 45 minutes from Ben and Connie and 5 grandkids and 3 hours from Ron & Ren, Karen and Calvin at BYU, Mama Mary and Bart and Janis in Pleasant Grove and lots of cousins and other relatives. I love it when a plan comes together but I love it more when the Lord blesses me through the Holy Ghost and I am worthy to understand the promptings and obey. Another 7 day miracle has occurred in modern times.
Click on this link to see my sweet principal:
http://205.126.24.6/Team%20Pages/Office%20Staff.html

Every Teacher Thanks You!

What I love most about teaching is kids. It just wouldn't be the same place if they didn't show up and it sure wouldn't be as entertaining as it is if there weren't a wide variety of them with a wide range of personalities and learning needs. We find a reason to LOL everyday. Friday I passed out bubble gum that dyes your tongue blue and we pretended that we were practicing for the Texas TAKS tests because someone heard somewhere that if your mouth is moving your brain is in gear. We counted it as an educational experience.

AUDREY has taken off for Dallas! We decided as a family (the two of us) that we could save a lot of time and money if she finished out the school year in a public school instead of home school. She took off with my sister Julia Blankenship and her favorite cousin Cristin. We gotta hand it to you Audrey and remember...someday you will be able to look back and laugh at all the things that now are so different from your past life: 1) going from too much alone time to none 2) mostly silence to late night serenades from an electric guitar AND enjoy all those things you may not see much of when you return: 1) regular meals 2) someone to play with 24/7 and 3) no birds, cats, dogs or lambs to feed. I dedicate the Trace Atkinjs song "You're Gonna Miss This" to you.
Love ya, Mom