** 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

"THE SCREAM"

Dear Alert Readers! So, here I sit, for the fourth day in a row, bawling my eyes out listening to the Broadway cast perform “Les Mis”. Oh my . . . .

Did you wear GREEN yesterday???? Not too many people had green on at Church. I’m not sure St. Patrick’s Day is a big deal anymore.

We are “on leave” from the Temple for a couple of weeks due to the Easter Pageant. The last Temple session begins at 1:30 PM. So we evening workers get two weeks off. Denny and I are going to try to use the time to good advantage. It’s sometimes hard for us to get some things done because TWO days of the week are already “lost”, and we are so tired on Thursday that we don’t WANT to do anything! We have doctor’s appointments (oh joy!) on Thursday, and, on Friday, an appointment with a Temple friend at his bed store to buy a new mattress. Ours is AT LEAST 20 years old!  YIKES!  Saturday is going to be our FAVORITE DAY- Rory Day!

WARNING! WARNING! IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO HEAR ABOUT

RORY-RORY-RORY, STOP HERE!!!!!!

Rory came last Friday to stay with us, and she was just a brilliant ray of sunshine from the moment her Daddy brought her in.  She said “Hi!” to us with her usual huge smile and hand-clapping, and then crawled off to her toys. She entertained herself for an hour and a half with her toys and crawling around the floor –with frequent “stand-ups” by whatever piece of furniture was nearby. She is getting more and more ready to walk. She can stand all by herself for quite a long time, but she hasn’t yet mastered putting one foot in front of the other. The whole time she was playing by herself, she was giggling, talking and laughing! We might not even have been in the room!  Sooooo stinkin’ cute! 

We finally put her in her high chair and fed her a container of green beans and a container of carrots- which she ate without spilling a drop! The minute she sees the spoon, she opens her mouth really big. She’s the easiest baby to feed that I have ever seen! After lunch, she got her bath- which she loves. We bathe her with the sprayer in the kitchen sink, and she loves to stick her hand under the water from the faucet when we’re not spraying. Sometimes, of course, she will splash water onto her face and eyes, but all she does is blink and look a little confused. After her bath, we lay her down on some towels on our kitchen island and, after putting a diaper on her (self-preservation, you understand!), we rub baby lotion all over her. OH! She smells soooo good! After she gets dressed (which she does NOT always enjoy!), she gets her bottle. No, she still WILL NOT hold her bottle! Grandpa “Baby Whisperer” Chris got her to hold it for a few minutes the other day, but the rest of us are total washouts! She almost always falls asleep while taking her bottle, but for only about 20-30 minutes. I love that part, because I get to hold her, something she doesn’t allow much anymore. She’s too busy exploring!

When she woke up, she was rarin’ to go!  Back to her toys!  She’s also trying to get through all of our “babyproofing” things we have around the living room to keep her “contained”. She got through one right next to me, and I couldn’t catch her! Papa had to go get her! She’s fast!

I decided to have some Fritos and dip while she was crawling around. Well, of course, she was instantly interested, and crawled right over. She stood up, patting my knee and opened her mouth! So I gave her a tiny taste of the dip. She pulled a face like I had POISONED her, but kept coming back for more! Every time she got a taste, she grimaced, but kept coming back with an open mouth. Funny girl! 

And then, to top off our day, we put her in her bouncer –which she absolutely LOVES! She was bouncing and laughing until her Papa had the absolute NERVE to go out the front door to get the mail! Her bouncer hangs right by the front door- maybe 6 feet away. She can SEE him clearly- but he was moving AWAY from her! Now, I did not SEE this myself (I was behind her), but Ali and Andrew arrived right then and saw her face. You know that famous painting “The Scream”? THAT’S how she looked! The poor little girl! She was being “abandoned” by her Papa! And that girl has a pair of lungs! WOW!

We so much love having Rory come to visit. It is getting harder for us now that she is so mobile. But she is also a lot more fun. We don’t know we are going to handle it when there are more great-grandchildren. We’re going to have to figure out a way to bond with them like we have with Rory- but we can’t imagine ourselves handling 2 or 3 children all at the same time. Duct tape, maybe?

I may actually write a blog NOT exclusively about Rory one day- but that’s a chancy proposition at best!  We LOVE that little girl!!!!!  Nine months old tomorrow!  

Farewell for now, Alert Readers! Talk to ya all later . . . .   Sue  ;)

** FOR TIME AND ALL ETERNITY **

Two days ago, at this very time, our Nicky and his Emily were kneeling at the altar in the Mesa Temple to be married/sealed for time and all eternity.  ** heart **  NickEm were so cute in the Temple. Both of them teared up, as did most of the spectators. Sniff!!!  Just hearing those inspiring eternal covenants spoken again was wonderful. We are so happy to welcome Emily into our little family.

When they came out of the Temple for greetings and pictures, Emily looked absolutely stunning in her lace wedding gown, with white flowers in her hair. And Nick was a very handsome groom. It was a gorgeous day with bright sunshine and blue, blue skies. I can't wait to see all of the pictures the photographer took.

We didn't stay at the reception for long. It was beautiful and there was a lot of good food, but neither one of really enjoys crowds any more. And we don't love outside parties. It is hard for me to walk on uneven ground. So after greeting the happy couple and getting a bite to eat with our friends Harry and Geri Hall, we decided to go home. We took Rory with us.

Rory was a real trooper all day long. She was outside of the Temple with her Uncle Trevor and Grandpa Bowler during the ceremony. Ali had found her a very pretty coral-colored dress to go the colors of the reception, and she had a little flower in her hair. So cute!!! She also wore her new shiny white shoes for the first time. They looked so good with her dress . . . . . and really finished off the "look". It was a very long day for her, and by the time the reception was in full swing, Rory was sooo ready to leave. She didn't fuss or anything, but was so tired. Ali sat down for a few minutes to give her a bottle, and that helped.  When WE were finished eating and visiting, we brought Rory home with us. She fell asleep in her car seat before we even got to the end of the block. But when we arrived home, we had to take her out of the seat, and she didn't much care for that. THEN we had the nerve to take her pretty dress off and dress her in something more comfy. But she HATED having her arms removed from the new dress- it must have hurt her.  Putting the other clothes on was no picnic, and she really let us know that she was NOT happy. That poor baby let out a howl that raised the roof! And she kept it up for a VERY long time. We tried rocking her, giving her bottle, bouncing her, and Papa carried her around the house a bit. But she just couldn't be comforted. We have never heard her cry/scream like that for so long . . . but evidently Papa got her to settle down. We changed a dirty diaper, and Papa talked to her and made her smile (finally!). Then she was completely content to sit on the floor with her toys and just crawl around. She entered new territory (the kitchen), but Papa was with her the whole time to make sure she was safe.

Papa and I have been nervous about this stage of her life since we started keeping her one day a week.  Now that she is so mobile, it's hard for us to keep up with her. We do set up chairs in front of our bookcases to keep her out of them, and use a chair as a blockade to keep her out of the kitchen, but she is no dummy! She figures out ways to get where she wants to go regardless of the barricades. She squished between my big rocker and the little table for my computer and escaped into the kitchen area before I could catch her! Whoosh!

Yes, she is a mover and a shaker!  And SOOOOOOOOO dang cute!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE OUR FAMILY!!!!!  From the man of my dreams, Papa, right on down to sweet baby Rory- YEP! Love them all, heart and soul. 

"FUN AT PAPAGG'S"

Hullo, Alurt Reeders! HI!  It's meeeeeeeeeeeeee!  Rory!  My GG s verry bizzy today and asked me to rite for her again. I have a lot to tell you! My Unkle Nick gitting merried on Thursday! That means my Ant Emily will REELY be my ant!  I luv her, so I am so eskited! I have a brand new pritty dress to wear to the party after- I think they call it a "resepshun"? Tomorrow morning, my Mama, Grandma, GG and I are going shoe shopping! My GG –who is my all-time favorite person (ahem!)- is going to buy me some "church" shoes to go with my new dress!  I think they all want me to be reely cute at the resepshun, and I will try reel hard!

I had a good week. I got to go to my PapaGG's house TWICE! Friday my Mama and Daddy went to the Tempul with my Ant Emily and the rest of the family. My poor GG had a weerd kind of thing on her leg they called "sell-you-lite-us". She had to stay home for several days. So PapaGG played with me while everyone else went with Ant Emily. They put my toys all out on the floor, and I played and played.  GG fed me something called "green beens" and some "karrots". I ate one whole container of eech of them. GG always laffs and is happy when she feeds me. I LOVE my dinner, and open my mouth the minute I see the spune coming towards me. GG says I am such a good eeter that I don’t spill even ONE bite on my bib! She says I am a better eeter than my Grandma was!

After my dinner, PapaGG gave a me a nice warm bath and dressed me in a cute dress with munkees on it! GG called me her "little munkee", but I didn't know what she was talking about.  (?)  I think I'm a cute little gurl! At leest, that's what people say!

I always get a bottle after my bath. My GG rocks me in her big chair while Papa fixes my bottle. She snugguled me in her arms and Papa put the bottle in my mouth. I think they wanted me to hold my own bottle. GG kept putting my hands on it, but I don't know why I should hold my bottle when one of my grown-ups will hold it for me! I am, after all, a PRINSISS! Rite?

GG rocked and rocked me, and I took a little power-nap. I like to snuggul with my grownups after I take my bottle- but when I wake up I REELY WAKE UP!!! I krawled rite over to play with my Papa. But before too long, my mouth began to reely hurt! Mama and Daddy told me that I have sum teeth "cuming in". I already HAVE teeth- why are there more? It feels like about 14 are trying to "cum in", and it HURTS!  So I tried to tell PapaGG what was wrong, but they didn't understand at first. I cried and cried as hard as I could! Papa finally understood me, and he told me I need to chew on something. He put one of my little toys in my mouth. I clamped down on it, then took it out of my mouth and banged it on the ground, which is my favorite thing to do with my toys. But my mouth still reely hurt, and I cried again. GG rubbed sumthing soft in my mouth, but I just likked it off! Finally, I just krawled over my GG's big chair, and she picked up and cuddled me. I was still crying, but after she rocked and rocked me for a while I felt better. I laid on her chest and watched TV for a while, then went to sleep. GG said I was snoring???  Mama and Daddy came for me not long after I woke up. I am always happy to see them!

Sunday, we went back to PapaGG's house again for sumthing called a "burthday dinner". It must have been for my Papa, because my grownups all sang a song to him. I wanted to sing too, but I didn’t know the words . . . or the toone. My GG had made lasanya for dinner, and a salad with froot and sum giggly red stuff. She also made garlik bred and bowls of karrots, callyflower and selry. My grownups ate the lasanya, but GG fed me sum more green beens and karrots, which I liked. Then she gave me a taste of the lasanya- which I wasn’t too thrilled with. But the verry WERST thing was when she put some of the giggly red stuff on my spune and put it in my mouth. UGH! How do you spell "awe-full"? I like my own food.

After dinner, Unkle Trevor came to get me and played with me. He and Mama put me in my jumper and I bounced and bounced! Wheeeee!  Grandpa took me out and we went back over to the dinner tabul for sum deezert. My Grandpa gave me a taste of deezert- sumthing called "lemun kake". I really twisted my face at first, because it was kinda sweet but kinda not. But then I showed my Grandpa that I wanted another taste and he gave it to me! I still squinched my face, though- so I didn't get any more.

Anyway, it's been a bizzy week. I wish these teeth of mine would quit "cuming in" and just FINISH already!  I'm eskited because I get to see my whole famly again on Thursday at the resepshun! I'll rite later and tell you all about it! Until then, bye! I luv you all!  Rory

WEDDING BELLS!!!!!

Dear Alert Readers!  BIG DOINGS IN OUR FAMILY!!!! Wedding bells are ringing! Can you hear them????? Flowers are ordered. Dresses have been purchased. The road trip honeymoon has been planned and paid for. An apartment is being worked on even as I type this!

One week from today, our grandson Nick will be married/sealed to Emily Pratt. Emily is a lovely young lady the Bowler family has known for several years through Actors' Youth Theater. She and Nick started dating 2-3 weeks after Nick got home from his Mission- and they were engaged shortly after.

Emily is receiving her endowment tomorrow in the Mesa Temple, but Denny and I will not be there. I have an acute case of cellulitis and am "grounded" for several days. %$#&*$#@! So we will miss that particular landmark in Nick and Emily's life . . .

The one good thing about this is that we will be hosting Rory while everyone else is at the Temple. YAY! She's coming about 4:00'sh and will be here until her Mama and Daddy pick her up after the session- and maybe dinner. Ali isn't sure yet if they are going to dinner with the engaged couple and the rest of the family. At any rate, we will have our Bitty Boo for a few hours anyway. She is going to wonder what in the world is going on when I lay down on the couch with my leg up on a pile of blankets and a firm pillow. We're sure she will crawl over and pull herself up by my face and stick her pointer finger right on my glasses!!! Oh boy! Like any little girl, she is entranced by anything shiny. GO FOR THE GOLD, GIRL!

Denny is a fabulous caretaker . . . he really takes good care of me. I have to have a warm compress on my shin 4-6 times a day. Then he washes my "wound" with anti-bacterial solution, applies ointment and then covers it with gauze and paper tape. The cellulitis is getting better, but still itches and burns. OUCH! OH! I also have to keep the foot higher than my heart as much as possible. ** whew **  What a pain the neck . . . uh, I mean shin!

Soooooo excited about the upcoming wedding! Our little family is slowly but surely growing! Welcome, Emily!  We love you!

Farewell for now, Alert Readers!

OUR S.S. CLASS ROCKS!!!!!!

Howdy, Alert Readers!  W.O.W.!!!!!  ARE WE EVER PROUD OF OUR SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS! Yesterday was the first time we turned most of the class over to three of them, as per instructions with the new system of teaching. Weston, Kellee and James each took a topic and led a discussion. They did a great job, each of them!  Kimberlee and Nathan (Hughes- not Cox; he’ll get a chance later) have opportunities in our next class time.

We absolutely LOVE these kids; they are the best! Can’t wait to see them each week.

Last week, I was sick and couldn’t go to Church- so the kids made me a “Get Well Valentine” out of the weekly bulletin. It was so cute! It was Jazlee’s idea. Some of the messages were funny (“I love you more than a redneck loves Nascar!” and “I love your guts”); some were sweet (“I love you and miss you. Please get well fast.”). All of them are precious to me. We * heart * our class!

Let’s see, what’s new in “Roryland”?  Well- now that she has fully mastered “sprint-crawling”, she is working on walking! She will stand for a few seconds now all by herself. She is sidling across the furniture now- sideways from GG to Papa and back along our couch. She belly-laughs! But- she will NOT hold her own bottle!!!!!  We have all tried to get her to take it- but she just pats it with her hands and knows that one of her grown-ups will hold her and feed her. Denny and I even bought her a special short bottle that would be easier to hold- but NO! She’s no dummy, that girl. Why should she feed herself when she knows one of us will do it????  OH! She’s eating baby food really well. We had her here on Saturday, and we fed her one whole container of green beans. She opened her mouth every time the spoon came to her, and she didn’t spill a single drop on her bib! Then- because she kept looking at us and opening her mouth, we fed her a container of carrots!  Again, not a single spill! Her bib, which is usually a disgusting mess after her meal, came off of her completely clean!  ;)   She is growing up just too fast! Papa and I keep talking to her about it, but she just won’t listen! She looks at us with those dark blue eyes and just keeps on growing. We love her so much!!!!!!  I LOVE the look on Papa’s face when Rory lights up and claps her hands when she sees him. Oh, she’s got him right where she wants him!

Uhhhhhhhhh . . . me too, I confess.

Something happened this last day with Rory that hadn’t happened before: I had to leave to take care of a personal matter (ahem!), and Rory CRIED when I left the room!!!!! Later, Papa went out to get the mail, and although Rory could SEE him through the front door (she was bouncing in her jumper), she cried until he came back in. THIS IS NEW. What gives?

A couple of weeks ago, Andrew, Ali and Rory attended Church with us! Before church started, we carried Rory around to show her to our friends in the Ward. EVERYONE who knows us has heard us talk about Rory! She wore her pretty red Christmas dress and head band, and was ADORABLE, smiling and waving her hands. We took her to our SS class for a few minutes, and she was so cute with our kids. We sat her on one end of the big table, and Ali went down to the other end and talked to her. Rory ADORES her Mama, and just GLOWED and giggled. The class loved it. * heart *

Poor Ali had such bad heartburn last week that Andrew finally took her to the Emergency Room. After tests and an MRI, she was diagnosed with gallstones! There was talk of removing the gall bladder, but they wanted to wait for final test results, and Ali felt better,

so she came home to her Mom and Dad’s house. Krissy took Ali to her OWN doctor on Monday, and he suggested that they just wait and see. This pain may never happen again- but Ali is not to eat spicy or greasy foods. NO PIZZA?????????  No way!

We had a nice, quiet Valentine’s Day. Denny had a teeth-cleaning appointment at 11:00, then came home to pick me up and we went shopping, then to lunch at PF Chang’s (YUM!), then stopped by to visit our Rory and Ali- then stopped by Kristin’s for a short visit. We gave her a bag full of Valentine candy, and she gave us TWO DOZEN of her wonderful chocolate chip cookies!  BOY! Did we ever score on that deal! Can we do that again, Krissy? Puleeeeze???? We went home after our travelings, took a nap and then spent the evening together watching a movie. I LOVE my Valentine!!!!!!  S + D = eternity!

Not much more to be said- so, farewell for now, Alert Readers. Maybe Rory will write next time. I’ll check with her. Love to all!!!!!!