Time just keeps on slipping...slipping...slipping...into the future...

Wow...here it is January 25th...and Daniel has only 7 months to go before he comes home from Chile. He has grown so much, he is such an amazing young man. He has gone from being my little boy to being a man and the journey has been so wonderful to see.

Right now I am dealing with a bum left shoulder. I think it happened back in July when I was trying on a shirt at Wal-Mart and couldn't quite get it over my head. I moved my arm to get it off and hurt something...well...it's taken months but it has gotten worse. I now have very limited use of my arm, can't put my arm behind my back and the pain can be excruciating when my arm gets jarred a certain way. The pain just keeps getting worse and I finally went to the doctor as I couldn't stand it any long. So I got an x-ray and the doctor said I have osteo arthritis. It's not any better and I went in again and now have had an MRI. We'll see what that tells us. I take 800 mg of Ibuprofen and vicoden and it isn't really touching it. Oh well...I don't want to be a complainer so we will see what the test results are.

Catherine is doing better right now with clients booking more often. Her clientele is growing and our prayers are being answered. She is looking to go back to school to become an MA and then nursing...that seems to be the plan for now anyway. She needs a job with benefits and a steady income so I am thrilled that she is working on getting back in school. It is fun having my Catherine around.

Michael is a senior at BYU Provo and working hard to complete his bachelor's degree and then on to Physician's Assistant College. He's such a wonderful young man...I just loved having him home for Christmas and getting to see him for 2 weeks. I so love my Michael.

Daniel is just doing so fantastic on his mission. He doesn't want to think about coming home in 7 months and I encourage him not to. He needs to concentrate on what he is doing and continue to do a great job in Chile loving the people and bringing them the gospel. I so can't wait to see him in 7 months though...I miss my gentle giant. He has lost so much weight and is looking amazing...he will have to work at keeping it all off after he gets home, that's for sure.

Christina is such a great mommy and is sure making a name for herself in the digital scrapbooking world. She is such a talented artist.

I just love being a grandma...my grandkids are just the best! They bring sunshine to my heart...they are my sunshine! :)

I am so blessed even with the challenge of my shoulder. What would life be without it's challenges? It's how we get through them that matters most.

Life seems to go by so quickly!

It's been a while since I posted. Life seems to go so quickly...it just is flying by. It seems like just yesterday school started and here we are at the end of the school year. I knew it would go quickly and it has. Daniel has been out for 9 months now...9 months...in some ways it is so quick and in others it is forever. lol

Daniel is doing great though...he just got transferred after being in Loncoche for 6 weeks and the day before he left he left his camera on the table and went to buy something and when he got back it was gone. Yep...someone stole his camera. He broke rule #1 though...he took his eyes off of a valuable item that was important to him. Oh well...lesson learned and I doubt that he will do this again. My heart hurts for him though because he was so upset. I love my dear Daniel and hurt for him when he is so upset. Now he has to get another camera...hopefully he will get a good one for a good price.

Christina has to get a biopsy on her thyroid...that will be within the next few weeks. Alexander has to have an MRI to see if he has a tethered spine...he's gone through so much and still has some more to get through. He is so amazing though...he has such a wonderful outlook on life and is so full of energy, everything is spectacular to Alex. He's such a joy to be with. I love my grandson so much. I know that with the Lord's help he will be fine as will my dear Christina.

I interviewed for yet another full-time job the other day...it was hard to deal with the rejection once again and then Christina asked me the most simple of questions. She asked me "Mom, why do you need to work full-time?" I hadn't thought of that...she asked if being a mom wasn't enough. Those words were so enlightening to me. I knew that I wasn't supposed to work full-time...I knew it because the spirit told me so but I had applied because my husband thought it was a good idea. Well...those words kept ringing in my ears and in my thoughts and I did tell her that I don't have to. I know that my family needs me, that just because they are all grown up it doesn't mean that they don't still need me. I know that my mood dictates how the home mood is and that it's more important for me to be home and work the part-time hours I work than to be stressed in a full-time job. I am so grateful for the Gospel and the influence it is in my life. I love my family and am so grateful we are going to be together forever. So...no more full-time job interviews...I'm not going to do it...I am a full-time mom with a part-time job. Life is good...it's the way it's supposed to be.

Life goes on...and on....and on...

Well, it's been a while since I have posted so I thought maybe I should put an update on my blog. Time just seems to fly by most of the time. I can't believe it's already the 19th of January. Just thinking about the time that has passed makes me marvel at how quickly time can fly.

Daniel is in Chile on his mission and is on his second area. He wasn't in his first area for too long, just 2 1/2 months. He has had 2 companions and now has a third. He said that the Lord doesn't want him too comfortable and it is so true. I think it's good though because it keeps Daniel on his toes to move him to another area and a new companion. He is doing so great on his mission and working so hard. I am so proud of him and how great he is doing. He is working through his homesickness and is great about not thinking about his family except for just a little at night for prayers and holidays. He made it through the holidays and is moving forward...he's such an awesome young man. I am so proud of him and the choice he made to serve a mission for the Lord.

Michael was home for the holidays and that was great. I realized how much I miss having my sons around here at home. It was great getting to spend some time with Michael and enjoy him for a few weeks. I'm sure he was glad to get back up to college but I sure enjoyed having him home.

Catherine is keeping busy with her spa and still figuring out what else she might like to do in life. I am really loving having the opportunity to spend time with her as she lives at home once again. I don't worry about her now that she is living in California around family and am so proud of her for all that she is striving for. She is teaching Gospel Doctrine in her ward and is doing a great job. Catherine is such a wonderful woman.

Christina and Ray and the kids are a joy to me. I love, love, love to have my grandchildren come over. We get together every week and it is such a joy to me. Christina is talking about when they move to Idaho and I just pray it isn't for another year. I dont' know what I will do when they move so far away from us but know that we will follow as soon as we can.

It's so strange to have a count down to retirement for my sweetheart. Just a few more years and he will be able to retire from teaching at his high school. We laugh about when he graduates from high school we will buy him a class ring. It will be such a great accomplishment...he is such a wonderful teacher. I just hope that he will be able to continue to teach, maybe at a college, after he retires. I think he will go crazy without the classroom to go to.

Me? I'm just loving having a chance to be with my family. My favorite thing to do is hang with my family and my friends. Life has it's challenges, it's ups and downs, and when it is the down times I try to remember the good things and count my blessings. I am grateful for the experiences that I get to have, especially knowing that I can be with my family forever. That's what makes it worth it to get through the down times that I experience.

Today it is cloudy out and we are being blessed with rain. So much rain at once can be challenging, but what a blessing to have the moisture for the earth. I love it that we finally get some rain but also love how nice the weather is where we live most of the time.

Yes...life has it's ups and downs but with the Lord all things are possible. It's all in how we look at it, right? :)

I am so Grateful...

I have to say how grateful I am for a loving Heavenly Father and the fact that he loves us so much he gave us families to be a part of. I am so grateful for my family...they are so amazing and I love them so very much.

I am so grateful for a husband that loves the Lord, that loves me so much, and that loves his family. I am so grateful that he honors his priesthood and is willing to do as the Lord would have him do. I am so grateful that he gave two years of his life to teach the people of Germany the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that he has been such a great example to our children. I am so grateful for him sharing his missionary stories with our children and for the support that he is for Daniel on his mission and was for Michael on his. I am so grateful for the wonderful father that my husband is. The other day I found a journal that my sweet husband had started and in it he wrote about how he met me and the journey to our engagement. He wrote this 30 years ago...it was December 1979! I read it and it just made me feel so good to see what his thoughts were at that time in our life. It's so crazy to look back on 30 years of our life and all that has happened. I am so grateful to be where we are now and for all of the many experiences we have had and look forward to looking back on where we are in 30 years. :)

More to come...

I LOVE Monday's!!!

So...I have to say how much I LOVE Monday's now...I will for the next two years! :) I am so grateful for Monday's and being able to hear from my son so quickly. It is so wonderful to hear how he is growing and loving the Lord. I am so grateful for his choice to serve and his willingness to go and love the people of Chile even though it has been emotionally hard on him. Daniel is so wonderful and tells us how much he can feel the Lord's love and that's what makes it all worth it. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I am so happy being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and wouldn't want to live my life any other way. I have been so blessed in my life and continue to be blessed.

I must say how grateful I am for all of my beautiful friends...they are such a blessing to me in my life. Near or far I love my friends and will be forever grateful for them all.

A Phone Call...

So I'm on the phone with Catherine and think it's Chuck calling home so switched over and there was a lady on the phone asking if this was the mom of Elder Oversby. I said yes and she said that she had just been in Chile and seen my son. I couldn't believe it! This sweet sister got the phone numbers from the elders so she could call the moms and tell them she saw their sons. I started to cry I was so happy that here was a mom that had just seen my sweet son. We talked for a while and I apologized for crying but she said it's okay, she was too and she didn't know why. :) I am so grateful for this sweet sister calling me today...it meant so very much to me. I never thought I would hear from someone from Daniel's mission and here this sweet sister called. She lives in Orange so it's not too far away and she had gone down to pick up her own sweet son from the mission. She told me how sweet the people are there and how warm hearted they are. She told me what a wonderful mission it is and it just confirmed what Chuck and I knew...that Daniel was sent where he needs to be where the people will open their hearts to him and he can open his heart to them. I know this is going to be an incredible experience for Daniel and am so happy for him.

Thank you Anne Olson for being so kind as to call a mom who is missing her missionary son. What a blessing!!!

I love hearing from Daniel

So...I got my first email from Daniel in Chile...it's so crazy that he is finally there. We waited for so long for him to actually get on his mission that it's so crazy he is finally in Chile and getting things done. I have been anxious to hear from him to see how he is doing and what he thinks of it there. I was also anxious to see where he was assigned to serve. He is doing very well and adjusting to his new environment.

I know that in such a short time this will be normal for him...living in Chile and teaching the Gospel. For now though, it's the strangeness of it all. He told me to count down by fast Sunday's so we officially have one down and 21 to go. I was so happy because I knew that I would hear from him today...it's just the best time of the week to get a message from my Daniel. He is just such a gentle giant of a man...he is my baby and he is so amazing! I am so proud of him and his willingness to do what is right. I am blessed in that my children all strive to do what is right...I am so grateful for all of them and the blessing they are to me.

On Friday night Chuck and I were at the Halloween Party at the church with the grandchildren. It was fun to see them all dressed up and having fun. When it was almost time to leave I stood up and had a strange pain in my left side...ovary area. Well...I thought maybe I pulled a muscle or something so figured it would go away. The stupid pain woke me up during the night Friday night and I still have the pain. I figured out it's probably my left ovary and I figure I might have a cyst that is acting up. I have been putting off calling the doctor even though Christina told me to. She is very worried about me. I finally figured out today that I have gained about 10 pounds the last few months without reason so maybe it's all related. I told the lady I work with about this and she told me to call the doctor too. So...I finally got a hold of the doctor and will be going in next Monday to get it checked, unless it gets worse then I'll get in sooner. When I first called they didn't have an opening until the 30th of November and I told them, "Uhhhh..that's not going to work." I had to explain more fully why I wanted to see the doctor so they are getting me in in a week. Whatever, I figure it's all okay and I will be fine. I always think that and don't like to go to the doctor because I don't want to be told it's because I'm so overweight or it's all in my head. lol...the pain really is in my abdomen, not in my head...lol

So...I had a nice time with Catherine today running a few errands. It's nice to spend some time with her. I love spending time with my girls...they are such a riot to be with!