September 18, 2010 - Homecoming Dance

Brooklyn had her first date...errr...group activity. There was a group of deaf kids from Southern Utah that were set up on dates with hearing kids from around the valley. Brooklyn's date, Tanner Van Komen, is a senior and actually goes to the Tuacahn School of Performing Arts. Even though Brooklyn goes to Hurricane High School, these kids were all invited to attend the Dixie High School homecoming dance.



We had a lot of fun shopping for her dress. She made the comment before we went shopping, "I am a tomboy; I don't like to wear dresses." I informed her that she couldn't wear a basketball jersey to the dance! She actually began to enjoy looking for her girly attire and completed her outfit with a pair of shoes that had a bow on them....she thought they were "soooo cute".

Aunt Ginger was nice enough to come down and do her hair and makeup. She looked beautiful and I think she felt that way too.



The evening began by the kids (and the chaperone, her Teacher for the Deaf, Adam Billings) coming to pick her up at our home at 5:30. We took the obligatory couple pictures here and then they were off.

They went for dinner at the Sky Mountain Golf Resort. Brooklyn, who normally doesn't like "Sunday" food, said the roast beef was the best she had ever had. They had extra time for pictures and to drive a few golf balls.





They then headed over to the dance. They spent time dancing with their dates, with their friends' dates, and with each other.



She arrived home at about 11:30 pm and I, of course, was waiting up for her. I couldn't wait for her to sit down and tell me all about her evening. She said she was too tired and just wanted to get a bath and go to bed. No, no, no, no, no! I would let her do no such thing! She then spent the next half hour recounting the great time she had. Yay, first date down and first date a success!

Shhhh! I have a secret....

You know how sometimes you just want to keep things to yourself until you are ready to reveal them. That is how I felt about my house. When I bought this house, a few friends and relatives came through saying, "That place is a dump!" Well, my only criteria when talking with my realtor was this: Find me the ugliest house for the best price. And he did!

One thing I know about myself is that I can see potential. I can see the diamond in the rough. I love to uncover the scum and see the true beauty that lies within. That is what I look for in a house.

This house had been abandoned for almost 2 years, it was a foreclosure, and it was a dump. There were no mice ( I hate mice!), but spiders and cockroaches...both dead and alive...had taken up residence here. There was a lot of work to be done. But I knew I wanted to be the one to love this house back to life.

Thank goodness I know a guy who can read my mind, has skills to perfection, and was willing to live here for 7 weeks (before I moved down) to get it all ready for me. He worked his magic and his touch covered every inch of this house. He took the bones and made them beautiful. I was the decorator...the one who put the jewelry on. the two of us together made this house a reality. And now it is ready to present to the world ;)

Although there are still a few things left to do...ie: a bedroom to be decluttered, a backyard to be completed, and a bathroom to be updated...for the most part it is beautiful.

To see the transformation...feel free to take a peek at my other blog: thetransformationofagirlandherhouse.blogspot.com Throughout the week I will be posting pictures.

My home is in La Verkin, Utah. Right outside of Zion's National Park and about 20 minutes north of St. George. I would love for you to come visit. Nothing makes a home like love, smiles and laughter. Come on down, up or over...and enjoy my new place. I would love to have you!

A Full Plate

Something about too many things happening at once, puts me in survival mode.

On July 25, my son Justin, had his missionary farewell and going away party. After feeding and entertaining about 100 guests, the mad rush began to have him all packed for Nicaragua, and the rest of us all packed for our new home La Verkin, Utah. My goal was to drop Elder Moore off at the Missionary Training Center, and keep driving South. I did not want to return to the house I had called home for the past 17 years. I was ready for my new start.




Brooklyn and I arrived in La Verkin on the evening of Wednesday, July 28. We had a couple of days to just rest while waiting for our trailers to arrive on Saturday. How one person can have so much junk remains a mystery to me. I will forever be grateful to my boss and his wife, Mike and Heather Fronk, for driving 3 huge truckloads of important and not-so-important crap to my house down here. They blessed my life incredibly by their willingness to help me with this monumental task. To add to their generousity, when I told Mike I was moving, he asked me to work remotely from home. I couldn't be more blessed in that area of my life.




The trailers (a big one and a small one) arrived on Saturday and the unload began. Many people contributed to getting my stuff down here as well as getting it out of the trailers. I am thankful for the service they provided. I believed that when I finally got here things would settle down for me and I might be able to find the peace I have been seeking the last six years.

On Sunday, I received the phone call that my Granny, Mabel Florence Lindsay Pennington, had finally entered the next life after several months of illness. She was 95 years old. The funeral was planned for the following Saturday. We made preparations for the 25 hour drive to Tyler, Texas. My parent's expedition was loaded with luggage as well as 8 people...Papa, Grandma, me, Brooklyn, Ginger, Bailey, Laynie and Lori. We had four people who could drive. We made the drive straight through taking turns at the wheel. When people weren't driving they were sleeping.





What a beautiful weekend it was as the descendants of my Granny gathered to pay tribute to her life. All 28 of her grandchildren were there...travelling from California, Utah, Arizona, North Carolina and other places. It was the first time I had felt whole in a long time. Many of her great-grandchildren were there as well as her great-great-grandchildren. After the funeral in Tyler and the burial next to my Papa, Hugh Smith Pennington, in Longview, we travelled back to Tyler for the luncheon. It was a beautiful time. Family pictures were taken. One was taken of the cousins with all 28 of us lined up from oldest to youngest. I am the fifth oldest.



Afterwards, we went back to the hotel where we all were staying. We had fun getting reaquainted, swimming and sharing stories. The men cousins decided we should all meet out at my cousin Byron's barn for a party that night. So off we went to another amazing event. My aunts and uncles barbequed sausages, made homemade peach ice cream, and just loved us. There was so much happiness and love that was felt this weekend. I cannot imagine Granny could have been any happier.

My granny left a wonderful legacy. She was honored in the newspaper the following day as a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who was instrumental to helping the church grow in East Texas. I am proud to be called her grandaughter.

So many wonderful things. But even wonderful things can be stressful. I have a trick to survive mortality. Tunnel vision. I only take one step at a time, looking to the next thing to be accomplished. If I look anywhere else, I become so overwhelmed and feel as if I will crush under all the responsibilities. Life is hard, but life is also meant to be lived. I for one am living life...hook, line and sinker...even though it is not my choice !

A Very BIG Day....

July 28...was a very big day. Elder Justin Lee Moore entered the Missionary Training Center to begin his two year service in the Nicaragua Managua North Mission. Wow! That pretty much sums it up.

I had a blessing on Tuesday. I needed one. Mixed in with this was that after I dropped him off I would be moving to our new home in La Verkin, Utah. I wished I could have spent more time focusing on him. There were so many distractions, packing up, cleaning, etc. I am so grateful for the friends who came to help me. I honestly couldn't have done it without them. I did leave a few loose ends, and I feel bad about that. But I just needed to move forward.

Justin said he wasn't scared or nervous, but simply excited as he would finally get to do what he had been preparing for for the last 19 years. Having two full-time missionaries creates some bewildering feelings. I am okay though because some of my very best friends have also had two missionaries out at once. There is one thing you can count on in this life: Whatever situations come your way, someone else has already been there.

Back when Brandon left on his mission, the family entered the mtc, watched a movie together, sang and prayed. Then the missionary went out one door, while the family went out another door. But my favorite part about the old way was that upon entering the mtc, I was able to put Brandon's missionary tag on him. Now, you just drop your missionary at the curb, give a quick hug, and drive away. No pinning on of the missionary tag. For some reason, this part bothered me, and I mentioned it to Brandon.



On July 19, I had my birthday. I received a gift from Elder Brandon Moore. Inside the padded envelope, was that very same missionary tag I had pinned on him almost twenty months before. It said, "Elder Moore" and underneath had the name of the church in Spanish. It was exactly the same as the tag Elder Justin Moore would be receiving. Brandon said I could put it on Justin, take some pictures, but then he asked me to send it back to him, because it was his most special tag. What a thoughtful and meaningful thing for him to think of. That made the day even better.



After packing til 1 am, picking up a few forgotten things the next morning, making sure I was on all Justin's bank accounts, etc. we were off. We ate lunch at Goodwood and then drove to the Provo Temple. We took some last minute pictures, gave some lengthy hugs, said our I Love Yous....and then hopped back in the car to follow the protocol the church set up to drop off the missionaries.

We entered the Missionary Training Center driveway and were waved on to a "number on a stick". All along the drive there were missionaries waving and smiling on the curb with tags on that said, "Host." I decided maybe Disneyland isn't the happiest place on earth after all. We stopped at our post, five elders greeted us, we gave the last hug, took a picture, and then sent Elder Moore off with another elder and his luggage following closely behind. Only three questions were asked of him: Do you have any car keys? Do you have a cell phone? Do you have your immunization record?

As we drove away, I was pretty numb. Two of my boys are gone. It is now just me and Brooklyn. Two years seems like forever from the beginning, but at the end seems only like a blink of an eye. I can't wait for Dec. 10 of this year to get one of my sons back...and July 28 of 2012 to get the another one. But for now I take comfort that their testimonies are being strengthened and that they are in the service of our Lord. May God bless all of us.

Mother's Day

I have to admit that I love Mother's Day. I have no expectations and I am never disappointed. I am always happy to wake up just knowing that I was blessed to be a mother.




The day started perfectly as Brooklyn, Kelli - our wonderful interpreter, Brooklyn's dad Marshall and I walked over to Spence and Sandy Lloyd's home. They are long time friends. Spence, on this morning, is known as Patriarch Lloyd. Brooklyn received her patriarchal blessing. It was beautiful and the best way to begin the day.

We then attended church. After church, Jaime received the office of Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood. I have enjoyed watching him learn and grow in the gospel. This was a big step for him and one that he did not want to take until he felt prepared to accept the responsibilites of this priesthood.

We returned home to a wonderful meal and awaited the phone call from Elder Brandon Moore. His girlfriend Amber was here. When the phone rang we all jumped. I grabbed the phone and handed it to Amber to answer. I gave her first dibbs at talking to "her missionary." After her time was up, I spent three hours listening, laughing, counseling, and sharing. It was a delight to hear Elder Moore's voice. The next time I talk to him will be face to face! The time is flying by.




As I fell into bed, I couldn't help but smile...for I am truly blessed this day. I will forever be grateful for my 3 beautiful children who are always so good to me.

The White Envelope - April 28, 2010

You know how it goes when you are waiting for your son's mission call...you keep checking and checking and checking the mailbox...only to see this:



The mail usually is here by 3:00...but it is 5:00 and still no sign of the mailman. About 5:45, I hear it...the soft hum of the little white truck. It is here !!!!



Justin didn't get home from work until 9:00 p.m., so we invited all his friends to come at 9:30. It was a packed house! The suspense was thick as people were guessing where he would go. As for me, I don't like to play that game....it is what it is :) Justin only had one desire...he wanted to go someplace really, really poor. He began to read:



Dear Elder Moore:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Nicaragua Managua North Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months.

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, July 28, 2010. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish Language.

The crowd roared. And the boy has looked like this ever since!



Congratulations Elder Moore! You will make a great missionary :)

The Dreaded Organ

So about six months ago I was called into the Bishop's office. I was released from my calling as Laurel advisor and asked to be the Ward Organist. Interesting enough, I don't play the organ. The Bishop explained that the new organ we had was actually an automatic organ. He said his 3 year old could do it. Well, if a 3 year old can do it, than most certainly I can! Of course, he said with a smile, "You will actually be more of an organ operator." So I accepted, but I was still hesitant.

I had a quick organ lesson by the stake organist...who by the way showed me the organ shoes I could purchase if I really got into it! I most assuredly told him that I was just an "organ operator" and wouldn't be purchasing the shoes. Being an organ operator involves dialing up the hymn on the computer and pushing a series of buttons to start the intro and to start each verse.

The first Sacrament meeting I played, there was a glitch. The organ stopped playing on the second verse. It started again on the 3rd and then stopped again on the fourth verse. Because I do play the piano, I quickly started playing, but since I don't play the organ, the pedals were not involved and it sounded like a very half ditch effort at best.

A few weeks went by where everything went well, but you can never trust an organ too long. Once again, it betrayed me. The hymns are dialed up by a computer. When I went to dial up the hymn, it was all in Spanish. I quickly shut the organ down, while the congregation...and me...waited for it to reboot. When it finally did, it began playing "Joy to the World"....in February no less. The organ was redialed and began playing the hymn. It played the introduction and then continued on to the verse....only it wasn't the verse...it was the introduction again. AAAAGGGGHHHH! The substitute chorister stopped the singing and said, "Let's start over." And so we did.

Well, along comes April. Things seem to be going well. Until today. Every song the organ belted out was off tempo. My poor sister Ginger is the chorister. She is just waving her arm to the music. Three quarter notes are held for one count...one count notes are held for three counts. It was a disaster.

The one thing I can say is that I make sure that everyone knows I am not an organist and I am not the one screwing up. It is that blasted organ. During the prelude, I will start the organ and then go get a drink of water. Or during the hymn I will itch my nose or turn the pages of the hymn book to the next hymn. Anything so the congregation knows I am not responsible!

Sometimes people say they move to get out of callings. I am not moving to get out of this calling...but it is definitely one of the benefits of moving :) I can say that I don't get flustered when this happens because the last five years of my life have made me no stranger to embarrassment. I am now so use to embarrassment that I just take it all in stride. It is just one more story I will have to tell in the coming years. But I will say, with my whole heart, that I will celebrate next week when I play that *#%@ organ for the very last time. Sorry people in the ward...the entertainment will be over!!!!