Family

The Saturday after Thanksgiving is the Annual Papa and Nanny kickoff to Christmas with the grandkids

I have 6 grandkids and then Boo who is still at home being only 9 yrs old.
Each year we get together for games, food, talk about what Christmas is really about.
This year was another memorable one thanks 100% to my great wife.

The kids decorated their own Graham Cracker house with icing, candy and fun.
We had a wide variety of styles. From the detail obsessed to lets just dump a bunch of icing on.
We laughed and could see each of the grandkids personalities on display.

We then played reindeer games by tossing rings on to the antlers of a reindeer.

Then it was lets talk about the First Christmas and as we told the story each child added that piece to their own Nativity.

Then Maggie read a new book we gave each family. Pig the Elf.

Then I read a new book we found of Home Alone. Based not he movie. The kids loved it.

So grateful for a wonderful wife that puts all this on and for kids who let me be in the lives of my grandkid.

Modern Tech

I was on a conference call the other morning and the thought struck me of how far we have come.
Here I was sitting in my car driving into work wearing a headset that did not have wires, that was connected to a phone that was sitting in my pocket.
On the call were co workers located in Utah, India, and several spots across the country.
Later that morning I knew I had a call between people in Utah, Canada, Mexico and India scheduled.
When I awoke that morning I had rolled over in bed and glanced at my phone to see the latest email and what problems my day may hold.

This is a long way from when I first started out in the work force in the mid 70's.
Back then I had to make sure I kept a roll of coins in my truck in case it broke down and I would have to walk to get to a pay phone.
Or that one time that I faked my truck breaking down in front of the house of a girl I had a crush on in High School who didn't know I was alive.
I thought I could go up to the door and ask to use her phone to call for help.
Was a great plan until it was her dad that answered the door and offered to come out and look to see what the problem was...he was a mechanic...oh to be 16 again and have an excuse to be dumb headed.

I remember when years later my work got me my first pager. It was the size of a deck of cards that clipped to my belt and allowed below to enter in a phone # I needed to call.
Later I was so excited when I upgraded to the newest type that was the size of a magic marker and held 10 numbers.

The first mobile phone I saw was one my boss bought that had a battery back up pack that was the size of a purse.
He thought he was so cool carrying it around...well a lot of people thought he was cool carrying it around.

I remember my first Smart type device.  A Palm Pilot that had 500mb storage on it. IT was so cool to think I had my calendar and could even carry a couple chapters of scripture with me always.

Now kids today have no idea what it means to have to walk to a pay phone only to discover you don't have changed you thought you did.
Or parents wondering where their kids are and if something has happened..I don't miss that part.

While I sometimes hate that I am always connected tot he office and never really away from work, I am glad that in the same sense I am always connected to my family where ever they are in the world and never far away from them no matter what they might be doing. For that I am grateful
 

Church

Today I am grateful for Church.
I look at Church as my charger for my spirit. I go each week to be topped off.
Not just seeing friends and neighbors but to feel the spirit.

Today we had a returning Mission President and his wife speak.
Several thoughts that were shared:
There is no growth in the Comfort Zone and no comfort in the Growth Zone.

The Lord works from the inside out and the world works from the outside in

Nothing Draws you closer to Christ than a desire to change

Your Marriage can come closer together as you have Christ as your center and focus on the Atonement

Murmuring and complaining leads to justifying which can lead you further away from Christ.

Also each week I get the chance to sit in our youth Sunday School class and teach with my wife.
I have loved seeing the growth in her this past year.
She has such a love for the youth in our class. Her knowledge and love of the gospel has grown as she has applied herself to daily study.
It makes me want to up my game as well and for that I am very grateful.

Eternity looks to be pretty cool if I get to hang out and work with her.

Modern Medicine

Today I am grateful for the wonderful team of Medical people who have been part of our lives since March 2016.
Huntsman Cancer Center was the central hub of activity last year as my wife went through her Operation then Chemo and radiation and now our regular visits to check back in.
Today was one of those check in days.
Happy to say it looks like everything is great!
So grateful to have her in my life and for the miracles we had in getting her cancer taken care of.

Modern medicine is truly a wonder and I for one am glad to have it.

A Great Car Guy!!!

I am so grateful for John at Red Rock Auto in Salt Lake.

I had my starter motor go out on my car and he took care of me.
We have been going to him for 14 years I think. He is one of the most honest upstanding mechanics I have ever met.
He and his crew have helped us with every car we have owned I think.

In this day and age it is good to know when you get an opinion from someone you know it is the truth.
He goes out of his way to make sure we know everything that is going on and our options.

So grateful for my car guy!

Church Family

Today at Church I was once more reminded that I am very grateful and lucky to have the group I call my Church Family.

I am lucky to be surrounded by people who truly care and appreciate each other.

In the meetings we had this morning I could see the care everyone had. The smiles people give each other as they said hello and caught up since last week.

The concerns expressed over family members and neighbors as we discussed what was going on in the neighborhood.

I had a late afternoon training where a small group of my "Ward" members sat behind me and I could just feel the kindred spirits we have for each other.

This group who while not perfect strive to be Christian in what they do and how they act.

I am grateful for like minded people who I care for and who I know care about me.

November-Start of so many things

Well I must say I have been ashamed that I have forgotten about this blog, or so it would seem but that's not quite true. I think about it a lot and why I started it...ALOT! So I am trying to do better.
November is the start of a lot things in my life:

NANOWRIMO is November.
 The National Writing Month. Where people all over the country try to pound out a 50,000 word rough draft of a book in 30 days
I have always said I want to write and at times I do it, and enjoy the results. For the past 5 years I have signed up for this and then fell short.
But this year I will do it....truth be told I am behind since I haven't got a good start. Today perfect example, Nat and Boo are away at some all day pinners conference and I had hoped to run a few errands then buckle down to write.
Went to the gas station only to have my car not start, after a jump still no go, so I think it might be the starter motor. A nice guy and his 2 kids tried to help me but no go. So they gave me a ride to my moms where she in turn gave me a ride home. I will go back and try to figure it out once Nat gets home.
So I was going to write but made the mistake of turning on the TV to see what Christmas show was on Hallmark channel and I got sucked into a Christmas movie about a writer of all things.
Then thought I can't write without my diet Coke but no car...So I walked up to the gas station (Not where my car was) to get a drink, came home, turned on Christmas music and thought to start to write.
But here I am writing this instead of my story. I am grateful for the guy and his 2 toddlers, who tried to help me and I am grateful for the Hallmark movie since it made me cry and feel good and hopeful for Christmas magic. There is greatness in the world still and sometimes I forget that.

November is National Adoption Month
If you know us then you know how Adoption has touched our lives and how much fuller and more complete we feel with Boo in our family. So grateful for her birth mom. A day doesn't go by without me thinking of that miracle almost 10 years ago.

Christmas music
Now I must confess that I have some Christmas music on my phone that I play all year.
I also load my play lists Oct 1 to start listening in my car and such, But come Nov 1 more people seem to be on board with it.

Leafs
We have a few large trees in our yard as well as the neighbors. I love the shade in the summer and watching the leaves change color. I hate raking leafs. But I am grateful for the reminder the hours and hours I spend doing it that I need to get in shape and stop just donating my month gym membership I pay. It also reminds me that my yearly physical is coming up and I know what the dear Doctor is going to say...."You know Scott, if you would drop a quite a few pounds your entire life will change...Heck you might even have a longer life thanks to it. You going to do it this time?" I love my Doctor...

My wife
I have the privilege of having a wife that has several sides to her. My 2 favorite are:
Her Disney Persona- she just glows and seems extra happy when we are at Disneyland or talking about going or talking about our memories of having gone. I love this side of her.
I also love the glow she gets when it comes to the holidays. Her concern for making sure everyone is happy and the thought she puts into each and every gift selection, while I know it frustrates her it makes me appreciate her and the person she is all that much more

Insurance
November is the time we look at the insurance options at work.
With Nat's Cancer and all her treatments from last year I am grateful for Insurance. Every time we drive up to Huntsman Center for her followup appointments and tests, I am amazed at all they do and so glad I don't have to worry about footing the bill all by myself.

Family
We get together with Family a lot in Nov it seems. It starts on Halloween and keeps going. While my family and my in laws some times drive me nuts I am glad I am part of each. I am so grateful for Boo having cousins so close to her.
So grateful for my kids and grandkids as well.

Christmas
November is the opening act to December which I love. Not looking forward to my birthday since I try to forget how old I am going to be. If you want to know ask Boo, she tells everybody she sees. Friend and stranger alike...I think she thinks it's funny.
But I do like the spirit I feel in our home in December, as well as out in public.

Goals
Since November seems to be a time to be thankful and grateful for things I have set the goal to be more active on here. Doesn't mater if no one but me reads it, it at least has been said (as long as I write it)

What are you thankful for?
What little day to day things are around you that you take for granted or forget but know deep down you are grateful for them?
In the coming days I will share some of my crazy ones...let me hear yours.

My Father's Death on Easter

My Dad has been in the VA Home for the last 3 years. He has been healthy(for a almost 90 year old)
But unable to take care of himself and too much for my mom to take care of him.
On Friday before Easter my Mom said that he was not doing well, all of a sudden.

Sunday Morning my Mother called early saying he was not doing well and I needed to come up.
I made sure Natalie was ok teaching our class by herself and then drove the 30 miles.
I spent the morning with my siblings and mom. It was a bitter sweet time since we could tell that Dad was not going to be around very long.

Around 1 I went home to spend Easter with Boo and Nat.
My mom called shortly after saying Dad was gone and it was very peaceful.

I guess the reason I am writing this is that how sweet it was to have him pass on Easter. The day where the Whole Christian world celebrates that life goes on and death is not the end.

My dad was a quiet man who bent over backwards to help anyone that needed it.
Many kids in the neighborhood owed their bomb of a car running to my dad and his expertise with engine.

I am so proud to be part of his legacy. As well as the sure knowledge I have that I will see him again.

Small Blessing and the IRS?

At work I manage 3 contracts that basically take care of AP related items for our clients.
One of these contracts require my team to create, print, mail and handle the 1099 tax process for them
This is usually a busy Jan to get it all done and out the door by the deadline of Jan 31.
We then work through all the errors and corrections people send in and send the final file to the IRS by Mar sometime.
Well a Ops manager on another contract was talking to a friend of his that is an account, they talk once every couple of months, come to find out that the IRS changed the filing deadline to Jan 31 instead of March.
We confirmed it with the IRS (Such fun to call them this time of year) and sure enough it changed.
Because of the 2 friends talking and 1099's coming up I was able to save embarrassment and fines from the IRS for my client...small tender mercy
 

Plumbing and blessings,

Today in our Sunday School class (13 year olds) we talked about items we just take for granted.
We brought up what would happen if you went home and the power was out, no big deal to these kids.
What if the heat was out, again not a big deal.
I then asked "What would happen if you went home and your parents informed you that there was a plumbing problem and you would be without a bathroom for the next week.
The girls gave me looks of utter disgust as they said it would be gross. Some of the boys said we would just break out our port a potty bucket that is in our food storage.
I then asked what would you do with the things that went into the bucket, their response was quick Dig a hole and bury it.
Well I am glad for plumbing. Several years ago in the middle of Jab our main sewer line had to be repaired and it took several days from start to finish where we had no plumbing. Nat and Boo went to stay with her mom but I had to stick around while the workers were here early and late so I spent the nights with our port a potty 5 gallon bucket. NO FUN!!!
I was also grateful at this time that I had keys to the Church near by so if really needed to I went up there to go to the bathroom...
Small and simple things we tend to take for granted...

Simple Things like heat!

I think I need to restart this adventure.
Maybe in the near future I will update everything that we went through in 2016 but not today. Let me just say that my wife was diagnosed with Cancer in her Uterus last Feb and we spent the year helping her get better. From Stage 3 cancer up to recovery where we are now. I had a lot of gratefulness thrust upon me during the past year and I will share it as time goes on. She is well and her hair is coming back extra curly...
As for today, this past week I think the highs for a temp has been in the 20's and teens. A few days it was single digits for the high here in Utah. We got 12inches of snow on Christmas eve, then 3 more inches on New Years then this past week another 12 inches. We have ran out of places to pile the snow, But I am grateful for the gas company that keeps gas running to my house so my furnace can work and give us a bit of warmth. For a house that has not sprung a leak yet (Guess I better wait until thaw comes it could just be frozen over) For sweaters that help take a bit of the chill in the house away (Yup we are not only cheap but live in a house that is not the most energy efficient)
For a micro wave that will heat up a bag of corn that we were given for Christmas that keeps my feet warm all night.
For a pesky 8 year old that demands we snuggle each night as she falls asleep.\
For a healthy wife that tells me that she loves me but hates the ice forming on the outside of the house, I feel like I should do something but know that too must wait until spring thaw.
I now relate to the brothers in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers when the canyon was blocked in till spring thaw...also I now believe House Stark...Winter is coming, in fact it is here and it is a cold friend.