April 29, 2009 by Melanee.

The end of March I made a trip to Utah to meet my college roommate Gayle’s children. I also flew my father-in-law out to meet Randy. This was important to me because I needed his approval along with my parents approval since Randy and I have decided to marry this summer. It was a whirlwind trip that had every minute planned, but it was really worth it. We were able to get most of Kev’s family together to meet Randy and his family. Also Marlene with her fiance Stephen was there. The more the merrier. On Sunday I made a ham dinner for about 20 people at Randy’s home. A really special part of that weekend was being able to shop for Marlene’s wedding dress. We found a dress for her even though she was thoroughly exhausted after the experience. She looked so beautiful in each in every one of those dresses, but the one she picked is just right. Having all the family together and getting to know each other was great. I really do look forward to my future now. Randy and I feel very blessed to have found each other and be able to lift ourselves out of the trial that we both have experienced with losing both our spouses.

Easter was a wonderful time with Leah, Ed, Anya and Kevin here in Connecticut. We had our Easter on Saturday with my parents, then they spent Sunday with Ed’s family. Having Anya and Kevin around to fill the house with laughter and fun experiences gave me great satisfaction. We dyed eggs,did a little shopping, and had dinner with my parents. It was a cold and rainy day, but so glad to have my Anya and Kevin around.

A few days later I spent time training the Ma’s and Pa’s in our stake (church) for the pioneer trek that is being held in June. Kev and I were a Ma and Pa to 12 teenage youth from our stake. We enjoyed the experience tremendously, but it was still hard to relive those memories I had with Kev. I retyped the manual since they did not have a digital copy of it. Then I gathered all the camping gear, got the dutch ovens out, purchased the food, packed my car with all the equipment and traveled an hour down south to teach about 8 couples how to cook in the dutch oven and show all the equipment they will have to gather and bring. I enjoyed the company while we prepared Chicken dinner with carrots, onions, potatoes, and celery. Then we made an apple crisp. I stayed and cook the food while they left for a four mile hike. The food turned out perfect. The chicken dinner and the apple crisp was delicious. They even brought home the left overs. There was no apple crisp left. I came home feeling satisfied that I taught them a skill and glad that I got through a really tough emotional experience with all the good memories that Kev and I share.

The plans for Marlene’s wedding are coming along. Invitations are done, DJ hired, and reception hall booked. Now I am working on the photographer, sending the invitations, and making travel plans for everyone. Marlene is so happy and I am happy for her. Stephen, my future son-in-law is very responsible and has good future plans ahead.

Another trip out to Utah was made last weekend to attend Randy’s son’s wedding in Idaho. Fun filled weekend trip! His family was so welcoming and loving. I am really looking forward to my future with them. One funny thing happened at the reception. I caught the bouquet. It landed right next to me on the floor and I picked it up. So, it looks like I am the next one to be married (which is really happening). During the trip we had conversations about their mother and the memories I had of her while I roomed with her in college. We also visited her parents (who celebrate their 70 wedding anniversary today). They were so sweet to me and I really enjoyed their company as we talked. I brought pictures of Kev and my family because Randy’s children wanted to see what he looked like and who my daughters are. So lots of memories were shared.

Now I am home trying to get back into the swing of things. My job is very busy right now and getting Marlene’s wedding plans all set. Randy and I will be getting married August 1st in the Boston Temple. My father will be marrying us since he is a sealer. He will also be marrying Marlene and Stephen too -earlier in the Washington DC Temple. Isn’t this really cool!
Marlene and Stephen will be moving to Provo to finish out their schooling. I will also be moving to Payson 20 minutes outside of Provo to Randy’s new home. Most of my daughters are in the west which will allow me to see my other daughters more often. Leah will be staying in New Jersey. So, I will be traveling to see them.
If it was January 1, 2009 and you were to ask me what my life would be like, what is happening now would be far from my wildest dream–but it’s really happening and I am really loving it.
My blessings are my girls and they mean the world to me. They have done so well with their lives. I must say Kev and I did a really good job raising them because of how they turned out. They are all married (almost) and grown up now and have or will be having their own families. Kev’s and my posterity will do very well.

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April 28, 2009 by Ashley.

So every time I write a post I promise to myself I’ll do it more frequently. Yet I find myself continuing to start every post with “I’ve been meaning to write for a while now, but…” So here’s the latest with me:

First, in my obsession with saving money, I’ve been struggling back and forth with the whole “couponing” thing. I hear of these women who go to the store and buy ALL this stuff and their total comes to $1.16 or something ridiculous like that. At the same time it requires SO much time and energy and organization. I’ve finally succumbed and decided I am going to put it to a scientific experimental test. I got a subscription to a Sunday newspaper for $.63 per week for about 6 months. At the end of that time I will evaluate my couponing efforts and see if it’s worth it. I just started and I’ve probably spent hours researching this secret trade, but I think I might be addicted! Already I’ve gotten 2 free Glade candles (plus 1 free reusable grocery bag for purchasing them from Walgreens on Earth Day), 1 free 4-pack of toilet paper (which paid for that week’s $.63 worth of Sunday paper), and 3 bottles of salad dressing for $.25 each. Not bad, eh?

Lydia now has 5 teeth with a 6th close behind. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on how cute she is, but I’m afraid they may decrease when her bottom teeth become more visible. Like every mother out there, I thought Lydia would be a genius and perfect, but then her bottom 2 teeth started coming in and they’re totally crooked! And not just like a little bit crooked (all those mothers out there reassuring me, “oh they’ll straighten out”). I mean, they’re REALLY bad - they make an up side down V. I’ve been trying to get a picture, but getting Lydia to open up for that long is pretty much impossible. Her teeth bother her too it seems. I hear her grinding them quite often, which I actually didn’t know babies did.

Other recent news, Pat got released from being a Primary teacher with me. So yea I’m on my own now and have to teach every week, which is more work, but at the same time Lydia is no longer in class with us, which I think helps the kids pay attention to me more. He’s now working as an Assistant Scout Leader with the Bears. That’s the 9 year olds. It’s kinda fun because he’ll be working with all the boys that were in our primary class last year so he already knows them and the boys are excited that he is their leader again.

So at the end of March we got our real 1st snow. Pat was really excited to take Lydia out to play because he loves the snow. Lydia always looks way cuter than us in her outfits thanks to Anya’s hand-me-downs. (Thanks Leah and Mom!)

CLICK HERE FOR MOVIE –> dscn2430_med.MOV
I love the rosy cheeks she inherited from Pat.

Lydia’s 1st Easter
Our housing development has an annual Easter Egg Hunt. Of course it was freezing that day but we brought Lydia out anyway. She wasn’t too impressed with the eggs, but she LOVED watching the other kids running around.

Here I try futilely to get her excited about the egg.

CLICK HERE FOR MOVIE –> dscn2465_med.MOV

Me tickling Lydia.
CLICK HERE FOR MOVIE –> dscn2472_med.MOV

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April 25, 2009 by Mallory.

In my ward, there are several people who have great musical talents. One sister in our ward had an excellent idea to create a singing group, and fortunately, she invited me to be in it! There are 9 girls in the singing group and one who plays the piano. We named ourselves “Heart and Voice”. I’ve attached some songs that we recorded on my laptop. Unfortunately, when we recorded this, not everyone could be there. Hopefully we’ll record again when everyone can be there. (And hopefully it’ll work, because it took me FOREVER to try and figure out how to get these stinkin’ songs on here!) Enjoy!

Beautiful Savior
Our Savior’s Love
Savior Redeemer of My Soul
Sisters, Sisters

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April 16, 2009 by Mallory.

So I forgot to let you all know. I haven’t received a letter or anything from Wheel of Fortune, so I’ve given up hope. It was a good experience auditioning and it was fun. Maybe some other time. I’m still working on losing weight and getting healthier. Easter wasn’t very good for me, but I’m doing pretty well at getting myself back on track. Not much else is going on. I’ll write again when life is more exciting!

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April 16, 2009 by Melanee.

It’s 3:00 am in the morning and I feel so bad that I have not made any entries in a long time. My life has gotten unbelievably busy. So much good has been happening with my trip out to Utah, the Easter holiday, especially Marlene’s wedding, and my summer plans. Good, big changes are happening in my life. Okay, I will try to give details in a couple days. Thanks for your patience. By the way, Mallory, I am getting questions on if Wheel of Fortune has contacted you.

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