** THE TOYS ARE LONELY . . . **

Hi again, Alert Readers! The toy box is looking forlorn and lonely this morning.  Rory is not coming today. She and her Mama and Daddy have flown back east to meet some of Andrew’s family. Rory’s toys are looking desolate. They seem to be asking, “Where’s that cute little girl who plays with us?” Oh well . . . there’s always next week!

We had a lovely Mother’s Day. We don’t get out of church until 4:30 (groan!), so the family came over at 5:30 for dinner. EVERYONE was here: our whole posterity! Kristin, Chris, Ali, Andrew, Rory, Nick, Emily and Trevor. My goodness! There are not very many of us, but we love each other, and we are growing! The men fixed the food: Andrew, who loves to cook and is a GOOD cook, made Argentine empanadas. These are not the sweet Mexican empanadas; these are made with meat. We had beef, chicken and ham and cheese ones. YUMMY! Chris made two delicious cheesecakes. Again, YUMMY! OH! And, fun!, we watched our DVD of our Santa Monica 1^st Ward roadshow “Circus Daze”. Our grandkids had seen it before, but it was NEW to Andrew and Emily- and a riot for all the rest of us too! We were all falling on the floor with Denny’s “I’m turning into skin and bones!” part. Had to play it twice! 

That DVD made us very nostalgic for “the good ole days”. Those 27 years in Santa Monica were the highlight of our lives. Working in the youth program was our joy. We couldn’t do it anymore. It was truly physically demanding. What a shame . . . we loved those kids!

We are missing our Sunday School kids. It is good to be back among the adults after a really long absence (our illnesses, etc), but there’s something very special about working with the youth. We love teaching Gospel Doctrine, and hope that we will get to know the adults in the Ward now . . . . BUT we miss those special kids! I love to get a hug from them in the halls.

Last Tuesday night was fun. Our Ward Relief Society had a very special Mother/Daughter Activity. I invited Krissy, Ali and Emily to come. It meant a lot to me that they came. There was a short program and then CRAFTS! Ali and Emily had signed up to embellish some summer flip-flops. CUTE! All four of us made photo blocks. We painted rather largish blocks of wood black and then Mod Podged a photograph onto it. Then came a nice black ribbon bow! Emily tied our bows for us and they are really beautiful! Her little girls are going to have cute hair bows, I bet! My block has our wedding picture on it- in black and white, of course. It looks really nice sitting in our bookshelf. Emily did a black and white photo of her wedding day too. Ali did one of her cute little family, and Krissy made one with Rory! All of them turned out really cute. And EASY! *** After the crafts, an ice cream sundae bar opened! Oh my . . . all kinds of toppings for ice cream! It was soooo good! We were only there for about an hour and fifteen minutes. PERFECT! It was so fun to be with the girls. I love them!

NEWS! I am going back to serve in the Temple on Wednesday nights! I am still having too much pain in my left knee to STAND, but I can volunteer in the laundry from 3:00 – 6:45 PM, and then go to the Recording Office until all of the ordinances are recorded (usually about 9:45 or so). Sister Milly Pike (who has been the volunteer running the office on Wed nights) is moving to Idaho, and they needed someone to take her place. Luckily, I’ve been serving in the office for nearly a year, and have been trained on all of the jobs and machines- so I can come in and take her place!  J  This will require me to train the two sister ordinance workers who come in on Wednesdays, but I think it will be fun. If another office opening occurs on Tuesdays, I would like to take that one too. That will put me in the Temple the same times as Denny.

MORE NEWS! John and Elaine Wallace and four of their kids (Daniel is staying home) are coming over Memorial Day Weekend! YAY! It will be so fun to see them! Elaine told me not to worry about “entertaining” them. We really don’t know much about childrens’ play places around here. They have rented a place to stay. And it has a community pool!!!! That will be fun for them. LOVE LOVE LOVE the Wallaces!

Must go. The laundry is screaming my name. I wish it would just wash, dry and fold itself!  . . . sigh . . .

Love to all, Sue J

** RORY SPEAKS! **

Hi, everyone!  It’s RORY!!!!!  My GG (who loves loves loves me- bigger than the sky!) said she would help me with the spelling today. So this will be easier to read, maybe!  I thought I was doing a pretty good job, but I guess there is room for improvement, huh?

BIG NEWS!  I am WALKING!  And I mean EVERYWHERE! As soon as I caught on about putting one foot in front of the other, I just took off and haven’t looked back since! My PapaGG say they have a hard time keeping up with me. They put big thick cardboard against their bookcases to “keep me safe” (but I really know it’s just to keep me from playing with their pretty things) and they put a card table down on its side with sofa cushions on each side to keep me corralled in the living room. I am allowed to walk down the hall, but it dark and scary, so I come back right away. All of the doors are shut down there. GG has big cushions on each side of her rocker too, but sometimes I fool her and get through there anyway, and head straight for the fun shiny stuff in the kitchen. Papa jumps up and runs after me. It’s a game!     . . . and I win!

I’m such a big girl now (almost 11 months old!) that I can eat some regular food. PapaGG went to the store and bought me a bunch of “toddler food”. I don’t like some of it AT ALL!!!! My GG is determined to feed me veggies, and I like the smooth veggies she feeds me, but I don’t care for the lumpy stuff. She told me last time that it was veggies with chicken. YUCK! But she kept feeding it to me until half of the big bottle was gone. Then she gave me some bananas, and I felt a lot better! I absolutely ADORE my GG, but I wish she wouldn’t feed me that yucky stuff! I’m going over there tomorrow, and I hope she has something better than that chicken stuff!

 My Mama and Daddy took me swimming the other night. I have a new swimsuit with The Little Mermaid on it! I look soooo cute in it! See? 

I liked the water, but it getting pretty cold, so I was glad when we got out. Maybe next time we can go during the daytime! Then I can show off my cute swimsuit! 

Mama is taking me to a special class tomorrow at Church for little kids. We are going to have MUSIC!  I LOVE music! Plus, there will be other little kids there. Playmates! I am very excited! When it is over, she is taking me to visit the elementary school she worked before I was born. The ladies there really really really want to see me. So I am practicing being extra cute. After going to the school, I get to go to PapaGG’s for rest of the day! YAY! I sometimes fuss a bit when my Mama leaves me. She is my favorite person in the whole world . . . but PapaGG love me very much and will play all day with me. Plus, I get a bath!

 That’s my GG rinsing off my hair. Yes, I am in the kitchen sink. And here I am, being dried off by my Papa!

I have lots of toys at my PapaGG’s house. My First Birthday is coming up, and PapaGG have MORE toys to give me then! PapaGG want to give them to me NOW, but they decided to wait until my party. . . . sigh . . . But I DO have a lot of toys now.

I asked my GG to write how much I love all of you . . . I will write again later!  Love, Rory ;)

** SUMMER HEAT/BODY BEAT **

Hi Alert Readers! Who can believe that it is MAY?????  My word!  Where did Spring go? We are already in triple digits here in the Valley of the Sun. GAH!  Well, I must admit that I don't actually go out all that much. Now that I am on Leave from the Temple for a while, I pretty much only leave home to go to Kristin's for "Girls Day" once a week, and to church on Sunday. So I don't suffer the heat much. Denny does almost ALL of the shopping. He has done the grocery shopping for 3 or 4 years. Yep! I am a spoiled brat. Denny is Hubby #1 in the whole world! Love, love, love him!!!!! Now, I do SOME shopping- but it is on the Internet!  Does that count? 

I am frustrated because my left knee is simply getting worse- not better. We were hoping that time would come to our aid, and the knee would somehow just "self-correct". I know, I know . . . that was dumb to even consider. But we were not in favor of "exploratory surgery" for Dr. Matthews to get a look inside my knee to see what is wrong. We chose to wait three months and have another bone scan.

What I have to do is LOSE WEIGHT. I absolutely hate to say that out loud like this, because then everyone is WATCHING . . . and I feel that I am letting people down if the weight doesn't come off easily, which it won't. Losing weight to me is a very personal, sometimes bitter battle. Please, friends, just be patient and please do not mention my battle to me. I am aware that I need to lose weight. I have heard EVERYBODY'S weight loss scheme and story. I have done it before and can do it again – my way. If you see me eating a cookie at a party, please allow me to enjoy the cookie without criticism. CRITICISM DOES NOT WORK. Never has; never will.

Okay- okay- I'll get off my soapbox now.  ;-)

Rory is coming to be with us tomorrow!!!! We are so happy to have her once a week!!! We have bonded tightly with her. She is now 10 months old, and so fun, entertaining and sweet-natured. Now that she is walking/sprinting, she really keeps us on our toes. We build a barricade to keep her safe, and she is really good about staying "in". Sometimes, of course, she DOES get away and escape.  But she's really good about coming back to us when we call her, uhhhhhhhhhhh . . . SOMETIMES! 

Rory's birthday is next month . . . and we have her presents all hidden in our closet. Why we are HIDING them is pretty silly- SHE wouldn't recognize them anyway!  But half the fun is stowing things away for later.  Her Mama and Daddy already gave her the big present. It is huuuuge, lights up and makes fun noises, and GUESS WHAT SHE WANTS TO PLAY WITH????  The box they keep the balls in!  Bwahahaha! I think for Christmas, we are going to give her some shoe boxes, wrapping paper and a ball of tape!  She'll be thrilled!

Not too exciting of a blog, I know. But THIS. IS. MY. LIFE.   . . .  sigh . . .   Farewell for now, Alert Readers!  We'll talk again later!   Love you all!  Sue ;0

** MUSINGS FROM THE HEART **

Hello, Alert Readers!

I am sitting here in tears watching a movie about a teenage girl who is being bullied by her "best friends". They have spread vicious rumors about her, sent lying texts and emails about her to the whole class at school, made fun of her openly, etc. I don't know why in the world I started watching this movie, and should totally turn it off right now- but it is something like seeing a train wreck: I can't seem to look away. I can somewhat relate to this girl.

In my Senior Year, one of the boys in my class got a sudden "crush" on me. Because my long-time boyfriend and I had broken up, this guy figured I'd be "easy pickin's" and decided that HE'D be the one to do the "pickin'". When it became clear to him that I was not interested, he began to spread stories about me, really nasty stories. I was fortunate, though, because my good friends DID NOT believe him, and stood by me. But it was very hard to walk down the halls at school and see the looks and hear the whispers from the OTHER kids. It took about two tough months before the kids moved on to another topic, and the guy's stories forgotten.  I'm sure there were some who still believed those lies, and maybe still do -50 years later- but it doesn't matter at all, of course. And, believe it or not, the guy had the nerve to actually ask me to "friend" him on Facebook!!!!  Yeah, right!

I was always a "big" girl. Not obese –like today- but bigger around than any of my friends. This brought an onslaught of insults (phrased as "jokes") from even my best friends. I'd laugh it off- but it ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS hurt.  And I still remember that hurt. Even on my mission, there were those who teased me about my weight. I would love to show you pictures of me in High School, BYU and on my mission. I was NOT FAT! But I was also not thin, lean, lithe, slender, etc. And emaciated models were (still are!) the ones society looked up to. I never felt beautiful until my Denny came into my life. He loved me –all of me- right from the start, and loves me –all of me- now. His sure love has helped me to find the beauty in myself. He is my Knight in Shining Armor . . . and I love and appreciate him more each day. THUMP! THUMP! THUMP go the strings of my heart!

I have never been physically abused in my whole life. But emotional and social abuse is just as dangerous. Bullying of any kind is dead wrong. My heart aches for any kid facing this kind of abuse. It can ruin a kid's childhood, schooling, social ability and make him/her feel "less" of a person.  I can only hope that someone wonderful like my Denny will come along into a bullied person's life and show him/her how wonderful he/she is.

Thank you, my love. Our 47^th Anniversary is coming up on June 9^th. If I had to choose again, it would still be YOU! You are my angel. I will love you for all of eternity.

That's it for today, Alert Readers. Love you all!  Sue ;)

MEMO TO MY BODY

MEMO TO MY BODY: It's time to get real. I've HAD it! You are a wonderful gift from our Heavenly Father, and I appreciate all of the exquisite and not-so-exquisite experiences you have provided for me. I remember the youthful years when you would do just about anything I would ask of you: running, jumping, swimming, diving, floor-sitting, dancing –oh, especially dancing!- and, yes, even cheer-leading. As I got older (and lazier), you began to "go south". Not your fault, body. Mea culpa. Chocolate, butter, gooey hamburgers, etc. added immense weight to your frame, slowing you down and creating a REAL problem with your arthritis. In 1999, I finally got FED UP with your size and immobility and changed my lifestyle. It took about a year and a half, but you cooperated, body, and shed 189 pounds. I felt much better and was able to get around more easily.

You and I worked together and kept the weight off for a few years- but bit by sneaky bit, I added a few cookies, a taste or two of ice cream, some cake and the occasional-to-frequent bite of candy to my diet, and the weight crept up and up again. It never reached its highest point again, but was still out of control.

Then we moved to Mesa. I greatly missed my beloved friends from Santa Monica, and the Young Women who had been a center point in my life for years. I missed my teaching at the LDS Institute, and the wonderful young people who were there. I missed having my family nearby (we moved to Mesa, near where Denny's family lives). Evidently I replaced lost sociability with food . . . because the weight crept up and up again.

Anyway, here we are again: needing a substantial lifestyle. My arthritis is worse than ever. Something is wrong with my left side: my knee (replaced 2 years ago) is aching, especially when I sit down or walk. Walking out of the Temple after our evenings shifts is really, really difficult. By the time we reach our car in the parking lot, I am in tears. OUCH!  Had to take a three-month Leave of Absence from the Temple. Not happy about that!

We saw our orthopedic surgeon, who took ex-rays. Nothing was evident- so he sent us to get a bone scan. The scan was really hard to do. I had to lie completely still, with my feet held together with an elastic band. The first two scans were only 6-7 minutes, but then came the 20 minute one! YIKES! Then when that was over, there were two more short ones. THEN, the tech came in to tell us that we were going to have to do the long one again, because it didn't take! DOUBLE YIKES!!!!  We excused ourselves to go the restroom before I had to get back in the machine. When we got back, the tech said we didn't have to do it again after all!!!!  They had enough "takes". YAY! 

The doctor my ortho surgeon wants to "read my scans" is out of town until Wednesday, so we won't get the results until we see my surgeon on Thursday. He told us that if this scan shows no problem with my knee, it's probably something to do with my L4.  (?)  Oh joy!  Will that mean back surgery?   AAAAAAAAACK!!!!!

Okay, enough about that! 

Our beautiful Rory came over yesterday and we had such fun with her! When she forgets what she's doing, she WALKS two-four steps. She sprint-crawls EVERYWHERE!!! She is so stinkin' cute! She knows where her toys are, and crawls to get them. She pulls out her favorite toys, and knows how to work them. She and I have a little "game" we play with one of her toys. We play "peek-a-boo" with a set of plastic keys. She hands them to me and I run them across her little face, asking, "Where's Rory?"  Then again and again. She takes them from me for a second, but then holds them up me and sticks her cute little face out to play again. Really cute!  And with Papa, when he slaps the couch cushions, Rory crawls right over and slaps them too. They play "percussion" so fun! Also, we noticed yesterday that if we ask, "Where's Papa?", she looks right at him. She looks right at me when we ask, "Where's GG?" We sooooooooo enjoy having her come over. She is the bright spot of our lives. LOVE her!

Ali, Andrew, Nick, Emily, Denny and I all went to Red Mountain High last night to see Trevor in "Grease". It was so fun to watch him! The live production is very different from the movie, and that made it even more interesting! ;)

Okay- that's it for the day. I know- not much interesting stuff here. But we'll try it again another day!!!!!  SEE YA'LL LATER!  Sue ;)

** RORY AND THE "EESTER BUNNY" **

MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2013

Gud affernoon, my GG'g Alurt Reeders!  Yep!!!! It's Rory! Yesturday was sumthing speshul called "Eester". There was nice musik at Church, and the laydies were wearing pritty dresses. Some even had flowers! I have kinda a hard time sitting "quietly". I am a gurl hoo likes to be mooving all the time. My Mama and Daddy take me out to the hall sumtimes, and I try reel hard to be gud. But Mama just sighs and mentions sumthing about "nurshury in a few months."

After church, ALL of my Mama's fambly went to my PapaGG's house for dinner! It was so fun being with everyone. All of my grown-ups seem to be happy to see me. They pass me around and around until each of them hugs and kisses me. I wiggle and wiggle around because I want to get down on the floor to play with my toys. My Grandma took me to sit on the floor by my PapaGG's fireplace and I found TOO presents for me left by "The Eester Bunny". There was a kute Little Mermade doll and a reely fun turtell that rolls around and makes noises. It is reely fun, and I like to follow affer it.

We played for a little bit- and then we ate dinner. I sat in my high chare and my GG fed me sum green beens and karrots. THEN she took some fun food from her OWN plate and let me taste it. My Grandma, Grandpa, Papa and GG were all at the table where I was sitting- and they all thot it was reel fun to watch me eet "reel" food. I must have made sum funny faces, becuz they laffed at me. GG said they had chicken salid, potato salid, eggs, awlives, tomatoes, cheez. crossants, and punch.

After dinner, most of my grown-ups did sumthing kawled an Eester Egg Hunt. Everybody except my PapaGG, Grandma and Grandpa ran all over the house hunting for things. There were differnt colors of plastik eggs full of sweet stuff. Also, there were choclit bunnies, and other little boxes of things. Everybody had a reely fun time- and so did I! I krawled around, following them all. Peepul kept kalling, "Watch out for Rory!" "Don't step on the baby!" But I don't know what the konfushun was all about- becuz nobuddy stept on me at all!

After the "hunt", we all sat around the living room and tawked. I played with my toys and krawled around from grown-up to grown-up . . . espeshilly when my Grandma gave everyone a bowl with strawbury shortkake in it! There was this white fluffy stuff on top that looked gud!  THEN I reely krawled around. All of my grown ups gave me bites from their bowls, and I LOVED it!

I love my grown ups verry much. They are all so gud to me. I like to play with them, and I will even share my toys with them! I know that my PapaGG would like to play with me more . . . but GG can't get down on the floor with me, and I usually krawl to the peepul on the floor and play with them. But I get to play with PapaGG when I stay with them one day a week. ;)  Gotta go. I need a nap, Mama sez. Luv you all!  Rory  ;)

** RORY AND OTHER THINGS **

Hi there, Alert Readers! It's been kind of a weird couple of weeks!  The Mesa Temple is closed right after the 1:30 Session every day due to the Easter Pageant. That means those of us who serve on the evening shifts (3:10 PM – about 9:00 PM) have these two weeks off. We had a little list of things we wanted to accomplish with the extra time, and –with a week still left- we have finished almost everything!!!!  I even got to go over to Kristin's with Krissy, Ali and Rory for a fun "Craft Day".  Rory slept through the first part, and I got about half of a hat put onto my loom, but once Rory is UP, crafting comes to screeching halt!  We pretty much just sit around watching her. She is pure entertainment!!!!! 

Ali let me feed Rory some lunch (green beans and carrots) while we ate OUR lunch. I'd rather feed Rory than myself. She is a LOT more fun!!!!!  And what a good eater! The minute she sees the spoon, her mouth flies open and she just slurps down her food.   She's the best-eating baby I have ever fed. She doesn't even spill on her bib! And NOW- finally- she is CHEWING!  It has taken patience on Ali and Andrew's part, but Rory now will chow down on Ritz crackers and other "hardish" things. No, she still WILL NOT hold her own bottle. She just stretches out on our laps, throws her arms out to the side and opens her mouth. And we, like the lovesick serfs that we are, put her bottle in her mouth and feed her. OH MY! I mean, WHY should she feed herself? She's a princess, right?

We met Chris and Krissy for lunch at PF Chang's on Friday. YUMMY! They get such a kick out of going to restaurants with us . . . because we always want to go EARLY in the day, and most of the customers are like us: white-haired and slow!

We did actually see a couple of younger groups at the restaurant, but MOST were our age or older (is that even possible?). Chris and Krissy feel like a couple of teenagers!  Ha ha! It is so fun to go out with them- it gives us a chance to "catch up" on all of their news. They are wonderful company!!!!  ;)

After PF Chang's, Denny and I went shopping for a new mattress and box spring. One of the brothers who serves with us in the Temple (Greg Lee) owns six mattress outlets, and we went to check his stuff out. We found a GREAT mattress and box spring for a TERRIFIC price!  It is very comfortable!  Greg delivered it today, and took our old junky pieces away. Ah! Lookin' forward to a good night's sleep tonight!  

Trevor has been in New York for the past few days. His school choir was chosen, along with a few choirs from all around the world, to sing at CARNEGIE HALL! A world-renowned composer (whose name I have completely forgotten) held auditions and selected the best choirs. Trevor's choir (Red Mountain High School) was chosen! The kids are coming home tonight . . . and from all reports, they have had a BALL!  Jazlee Fenn, a lovely girl in our Ward and in our Sunday School class, is also in the choir, and auditioned for a solo, and GOT IT! So she sang a solo in Carnegie Hall! What a thrill!  We are so happy that Trevor has had this opportunity.

We went to church with Ali, Andrew and Rory yesterday. Rory was really "on one"! We don't know if it's because WE were there- giving her an audience- but she did not want to settle down and be quiet. Ali took her out for a while, then Andrew took out her for a while too. She wasn't being a brat at all- just a tad noisy. We appreciate the fact that Ali and Andrew are aware of the distraction, and take her out quickly. They are very good parents.

Rory adores her family- all of us . . . but her Mama and Daddy are the heroes of her world. She smiles and giggles for all of us, but when Mama and Daddy come in, she lights up like a firecracker, and crawls right over to them. Ali almost always sits on the floor when they come here to pick Rory up, and Rory is all over her. Sooo cute!  She's not much of a cuddler anymore- too busy to want to be snuggled.  . . . sigh . . .  but someday there will be another infant from Ali and Andrew or Nick and Emily. THEN we can cuddle and snuggle to our hearts' delight! YAY!  I must mention, however, that on her own volition, Rory gave me a great big sloppy kiss when she left the other day.  M'WA!!!! I had to wipe my whole face off!  Bwahahahaha! And it was worth it!

Rory is VERY close to walking! She stands all on her own for a loooong time, and of course sidles along the furniture all over the house.  She will take a few wobbly steps if we hold one hand. The other day, Denny and I were SURE she was going to just take off and take 2 or 3 steps from me to him . . . but she looked around, decided it was too scary, sat down on her bottom and crawled to him. I don't know WHY we are all encouraging her to walk- it's just going to be harder to keep up with her!  AAARGH!

Ali and Andrew understand that it getting harder for us to keep Rory. We absolutely LOVE it, and DO NOT want to stop . . . but we are very tired when they come for her. She is the joy of our lives. Ali told us the other day that when she and Andrew have another baby, they will bring the baby over by her/himself for us to love on. They are very sweet to think of this. But, but, but what will we do without our Rory????  I think the arrangements will be that she will come by herself too, another time. We LOVE that little stinker! We would miss her horribly if we didn't "tend" her frequently.  FREQUENTLY! PapaGG LOVE Rory!

*&^%$#@$%^%$!!!!!!!  My left knee is really bothering me again. Hurt! Hurt! HURT! Denny made me an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Matthews, this Thursday. I am not happy- because I am afraid he is going to suggest another surgery. He is, after all, a SURGEON!  But we do need to go find out what's going on. I'm sure an ex-ray will be taken in his office, so we should know something Thursday.  ACK! 

This is all for now, Alert Readers! More later!  Love ya all!  Sue  ;)   (see below)

****Hi, my GG's reeders! This is Rory! I wanted to tell about sumthing eskiting that happened to me! Saturday night, my Mama and Daddy went out on sumthing called a DAYTE . . . and I met two brand-noo peepul! My Mama said that two gurls were coming to "babysit" me as a prawject for their award! I have been tended by my family many times, but this was my verry first time with sumone I didn't know! Mama and Daddy were a little bit wurried- because sometimes I can be a "handful", whatever THAT meens! But I liked the gurls! They played with me and gave me a bath (PapaGG had given me one earlier, but I LOVE my bath, so I was happy-happy-happy!), and fed me. When Mama and Daddy came home after three hours, I was happily sitting on one of gurls' laps, being as kute as I could possibly be! I think that Mama and Daddy may let some gurls take care of me sumtime. I don't know if Grandma and Grandpa, Unkle Trevor or PapaGG will be happy about that! I KNOW they love me verry much. They keep telling me how kute and fun I am. And they keep pressing their lips on my cheeks! 

Anyway, that is MY big noos . . . I'll write again later. Luv you!  Rory