Toby's baptism day

On Saturday my eldest son baptized his third child, Toby.

Toby was my 2nd grandchild to be baptized during 2012.  I wrote about Ruby's baptism here.

I love this photo of three generations of special men in my life.

Toby was so joyful on this special day that he had hugs for everyone.

Many cameras were recording this special occasion in Toby's life.

Sometimes grandmas turn their camera over to someone else.  Toby had many family members including cousins to witness his baptism.  Two year old Oscar was delighted and shouted, "Do it again."

We left the church and reconvened at Toby's home for lunch and cake.  We were celebrating not only his baptism but his 8th birthday the day before.  Sister Julianna loves her grandpa.

I love the many faces of Julianna.

Isn't she lovely.

And funny!

It's official!  Nephew TJ is now taller than his 6 foot tall Uncle David.  Uncle David is having a hard time accepting this news.

Just had to share the faces of some of my favorite people.

She makes me think of "Tangled."

This little one just lost her first tooth!

A casual meeting on the stairs.

And their reaction when they realize the camera has found them.  These are my two sons who married high school best friends from San Diego.  Lucky boys!  Lucky me!

Toby, being eight and all, lit his own birthday candles.

The girls watched to make sure that he didn't miss any.

One last candle.

Then it was time to sing "Happy Birthday."

Soon the candles were out and wishes made.

Grandpa led everyone in the birthday clap to eight.

I happened to glance out into the backyard later where the younger girl trio were playing.

I just had to snap away at these three little girls in dresses that color coordinated with the playground toy.

Then I decided to see what everyone else was doing.

Yep! Napping all by himself.

Cousin-in-law Ashley with her new baby girl.

She is also the mother of Emma, granddaughter of my sister Becky.  So cute!

The birthday baptism boy relaxing.  That flying toy was a gift from his grandpa.

His other grandma, Julia, and his lovely mother, Susan.  Julia was visiting from Washington state.

After Grandpa Glen woke up, he gathered the troops and took them back to our house for operation Christmas lights.

The big project of the day was to cover the lime tree, every inch, with bright LEDs.

Toby and TJ earned some cash and grandpa won the prize for earliest Christmas lights in the neighborhood.  But he's just getting started.  There will be many more in the week to come.

Birthday celebration

My family treated me so well on my birthday.  The Ranes family prepared homemade broccoli cheese soup in bread bowls for my birthday dinner.

Oscar brought balloons and noise makers and helped me blow out my candles.

And then they presented me with the most thoughtful gift.  DIL Nichelle collected memories and pictures from all my immediate family as well as my sisters, 60 of them, and then compiled and printed them in this book.  I felt so loved!  Still do.  Thank you to everyone for taking the time to share a memory or two about our life journey together.

Birthday gift for this and all future birthdays

Look what I just took out of the box.  A new Bernina sewing machine, the 750 Quilters Edition.  I put my name on the wait list a few weeks back.  Miracle of miracles it actually came into the Bernina shop on my birthday!  I was so excited.

We were leaving the next day to Arizona for Thanksgiving, so Glen put the box back into the car and we brought it with us.  I just couldn't wait to play with it and I knew my sister would enjoy playing as well.  Its permanent home will be in Provo and a Roberts sewing cabinet awaits.

My Bernina 830 is now 30 years old.  I still love that machine.  It will now get to stay in warm Arizona and rest from the monthly trips to Utah.  Based on that machine's longevity, I expect the new 750 to get me through the rest of my life.  It better based on price :)

A blog entry about a blog and fabric friends

My little blog is now 5 years old.  My lovely DIL, Sally, created it for me as a birthday present in 2007.  It has been one of the joys of my life.  It was Sally who first called it "A Place to Share" and that is what it has been for me, a place to share my thoughts, life, hobbies, and beautiful family.  I thought I would just be sharing with my family and friends. Earlier this month when looking at the stats I thought, "This blog will probably reach 40,000 page views by my birthday and blog anniversary."  Well yesterday, that is just what happened. 

I know that is peanuts to full-time bloggers, but it kind of blows this blogger's mind.  When I look at my audience and how it has become worldwide it really humbles me but also makes me feel a part of a worldwide community.  My original intended audience and blog circle of family has moved on to Instagram and my daughter put that on my phone a couple of weeks ago so I could keep up, but I still enjoy the blogging format and my pictorial journal.  To those I follow, thank you for sharing yours.

This morning I've been putting together a quilt top of all these fabric girls holding hands.  It has been a very fun project.

I'm taking a break due to an issue with a inner border.  I'm hoping for inspiration while my mind does something else.

Special date night

My sweet youngest (and tallest) son took me on a date last night in celebration of my soon to be 60 years of life.  (How I feel about that is a whole other story:(

His equally sweet wife went with us, so Nate was surrounded by his favorite women.  He took me to Hale Center Theater to see South Pacific.  They didn't know what to expect, but when asked it was what I wanted most.  The movie, South Pacific, is a big part of my childhood memories.

I grew up just off the main highway that connected the tiny town of Sugar City to the larger town of Rexburg in Idaho.  Along that highway stood the Teton-Vu Drive-In movie theater.  My father was great friends with the owner and used his hay mower to keep the grounds in front under control.  In return, our family had a free movie pass meaning a simple wave of the hand in anytime our car full of pajama clad children showed up at the gate. That is why I remember so many 50's and early 60's movies.  South Pacific was one of my very favorites.  I think it was the beautiful scenery, delightful music and dancing, and poignant love stories.

Hale Center Theatre put on a really great show and Nate and Nichelle were pleasantly surprised.  Now Nate knows where his chorus director got the tune "Nothing Like a Dame" for the males to sing at his 8th grade  program.

My hubby is not a musical kind of person so he offered to do Oscar watch.  He shared Finding Nemo with Oscar for the first time.  After Oscar fixed me breakfast in my new kitchen this morning, he asked for the Nemo show again.
 

I was so happy that his family chose to spend the night before heading home.

Sometimes you need a serious cook in the house.

I love this little Ikea kitchen.  Sister Lynette and I even broke out the screw drivers and put it together by ourselves.  I like having special attractions to entice the kids to grandma's house.

Election 2012 - "oh, my"

This is where I lived with my husband and first baby in 1976.  We were in the unit on the right.  Lehi has really grown since we lived in this duplex which then sat on a simple street without sidewalks or neighbors.  It was purchased by Glen's father as an investment property.  I drove by it the other day after shopping in Lehi and took this picture.

1976 was a presidential election year and a bicentennial celebration year honoring the formation of The United States of America in 1776.  Jimmy Carter won that year beating Gerald Ford who had been vice president before becoming the president when Nixon resigned over Watergate.  Carter was a one term president.  That was my hope for Obama.

I truly was surprised at the amount of despair I felt as I realized that Mitt Romney would not be our next president last Tuesday evening.  It has been a hard four years.  I was so ready for a change.  I spent a long night tossing and turning.  I really do worry for my grandchildren who will carry the burden of big government and mandates with its inherent loss of freedoms and agency.  California has led the way and I worry that they will be our first bailout, our Greece.

With Carter we entered a phase of run away inflation.  I dreaded my grocery store runs, knowing that prices always went up while the food budget didn't.  Interest rates for home loans were in the double digits.  It was a constant squeeze.  It felt scary.  That is how I feel now.  Scared and worried.

It's interesting to compare the two maps and see the changes in red and blue states in the last 36 years.  Notice how close the popular vote was in both elections.  It seems hardly worth it to vote for president unless you live in one of the swing states with their valuable electoral votes. But I will vote.  I won't squander that right.

How the election shaped up by county in 2012

On this Veteran's Day it is hard to know that generations of men and women have sacrificed to uphold our freedoms and principles.  Now we are told that the culture is changing and we have to change, too.  I know that the world is changing and there will be change, but I also know that a strong country needs strong and committed families who value work and honesty and taking the higher road.

As a Mormon watching a Mormon run for President of the United States, I also felt very much like Daniel C. Peterson who described his feelings here.  He is of my generation and a Mormon and he states it so well.