2024- Week 39(Sep 23- Sep 29)

 While we were gone on the cruise Cheri moved Julia to the memory care section of the assisted living home she is in. She had a fall and had been really starting to act up and upset the other residents. Ethan and I helped move a few things before we left. When we got back from the cruise Cheri went out of town and asked Sharon and I to check on her which we did. She was really having a hard time getting up on her own to they had her confined to her bed. I visited her on September 4th and she was in good spirits but had definitely gone down hill since I saw her last. Then she started rolling out of bed around the 18th and from there she really started to decline. She had a serious of falls out of bed. State law doesn't allow the use of restraints or bed rails in homes like this so we tried putting pillows around her, pool noodles, blankets and finally a pad on the floor. She managed to roll out of bed over all of those things and it was heart breaking to see. Cheri started sleeping there each night to try and help and to be with her. I went and sat with them and brought Cheri lunch. Julia was very quiet but she did talk a little bit and she squeezed my hand. By the 26th she was pretty unresponsive but still rolling out of bed several times. Terry came into town so he was there with her too. They ended up having to sedate her to try and prevent more falls and on the evening of September 28th she was close to the end. She began the death rattle and then passed away at 1:24 AM on Sunday the 29th. 

Julia was an angel in my life. I can't even begin to describe what she means to me. She always treated me as her own grand daughter even though I am technically her step grand daughter in law. She was the only great grandmother on the Shaw side that my kids have ever know. She has been a part of my life for 26 years. No one made me laugh more. She was always so caring, kind, thoughtful, welcoming, non judgmental, funny, crafty, artistic, calming, up for anything. I loved talking with her. I loved singing with her. I would play Stardust by Nat King Cole and she knew every word. She was hip on pop culture and the internet. She sent cards faithfully for everyone's birthdays. If you invited her to something she always came. She took amazing care of Grandpa at the end of his life. She had a firm testimony. She taught me so much and was such a big part of my life and I will miss her dearly.

Jeff and I went on a canyon drive up to Silver Lake for out date night. You have to pay now to walk around the lake so we just grabbed a quick shot.

Or ward Fall Festival was on Saturday. I stopped by after the temple. This is my friend Ana from Brazil. She is amazing. 

2024- Week 38(Sep 16- Sep 22)

We had DUP on Monday. This was my first one as captain. I gave the lesson on the early presidents of BYU, U of U and USU. I was probably more nervous than I should have been. We changed the seating and had everyone sit at tables which was nice. We had a good number of ladies come. Jenny Rock is back in our camp and she brought her mom.

Patty and I took Jen Bowles to dinner for our ministering. We went to La Hacienda and I had an epiphany that I am a taco person. I keep trying new dishes at Mexican restaurants  and I can never find what I love but I tried the tacos and they were so good. That is also what I order at Cafe Rio. So now tacos will be my go to. 

We had story group on Wednesday night. We were suppose to write about quotes that family members had said but I couldn't think of any so I wrote about my favorite Young Women leader Karen Broadhead.

I don't remember why I took this picture but I love how green the grass is and how clean the earth feels after the rain.

I taught the lesson on Sunday. It was President Nelson' talk Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys. I really focused on how attending the temple is all about changing us. I shared the story of Sir Christopher Wren who built the St. Pauls Cathederal in London. He asked three workers what they were doing- the workers didn't know who he was- the first said I am cutting this stone. The second said I am earning three shillings, six pence a day and the third said I am helping Sir Christopher Wren build this great cathedral. Our perspective on our lives should be that we are helping God build his kingdom in all we do.

A rare picture of me at work.

Ashytn was in a car accident this week. She was getting onto the Orem Center St. On ramp when her phone slipped and got stuck in her steering wheel and she drove off the road into a ditch. She had the phone propped up in the space at the top of the steering wheel. She called me but she just made it sound like a small accident so I told her we could call the insurance and get a tow truck. Her friend McKell arrived so I felt like she would be fine and didn't drive down there. If I had known the extent of the accident I would have gone. Two nice men stopped to check on her and called the highway patrol. The whole front bumper ended up falling off- I'm not sure if that happened in the accident or when they had to use two tow trucks to get it out. I let Ashtyn do most of the calls and paperwork so she could learn what to do. We got an estimate from Burt Brothers and they told us it would need to be taken to a body shop. We contacted the insurance and took it to Calibur and they let us know that the car was totaled. This was a huge bummer because that was such a great car and had been going strong since 2009. I am so glad Ashtyn was not hurt and she learned some valuable lessons but now we will have to find a new car and quick.

Mommy's Rules For Dating

 Both of my girls are deep into dating. My hope for them is that they find a man who respects them, treats them kindly and thinks they are the best person they have ever met. I decided to write my own dating rules for them.

2024- Week 37(Sep 9- Sep 15)

 My trainer Liz bought some books for me at Swiss Days that I needed to pick up so we decided to do an in person workout at her house. 

There was a beautiful Tabernacle Choir concert broadcast tonight that Ian told me about. It was so amazing.

Grace took me to the new H Mart. H Mart is a very big and popular Asian market. It was fun to wander the aisles and put a few things to try in my cart. They had so many fruits and vegetables I had never heard of. There was a whole fresh fish section with lobsters and such in tanks. They also sold lots of other things besides food. It was fun getting to see Grace in her element. She really misses the comforts of her Korean home. Plus after I read the book Crying in H Mart for Sharon's book club I have been dying to see an H Mart for myself.

I got my hair done. Three of Leanne's kids are seriously dating and could be married in the next six months.

I love that all the pumpkin spice and fall flavors are coming out!

I took Scarlett and Stella to lunch at Ruth's and then we went to Art in the Park at This Is The Place. Stella is talking so much and it was fun having conversations with her. There was a booth where you could paint your own watercolor card and Stella loved that. I always enjoy being with Scarlett.

Saturday was Stake Conference. There was a Bishops meeting we went to with our area authority Robert T Smith and his wife. They provided snacks for us to munch on while we chatted because the men had to go straight there after the leadership session. Some things that stood out to me from the conference was the talk by the new temple president and matron The Cannons who are also in my stake. They said the temple provides Peace, Power, Protection and Perspective. "You are entering a Calming Zone" Some of the promptings I had were to spend more time with the kids and to do family temple trips. "How are are actions affecting our children and showing them what's important to us?" There was also some good thoughts about Sundays. Someone said "Don't partake of things on Sunday that you do every day." It should be a day of holy rhythms and sacred traditions. The cannons shared about missionary work on Sunday and said "Are we greeting people with rioting or love? Let God decide who is worthy of our care." They also talked about how everything we do is one work. Then the last thing that stood out to me was Elder Smith talked about using our ancestors stories to share about the temple covenants. It was a great few days. After the Saturday session we went to Nielsons and got ice cream with The Halls, Barney's and Farnsworths. The onion rings were so so good. 

2024- Week 36(Sep 2- Sep 8)

Monday was Labor Day. We went to lunch at Red Robin. Whitney came up and brought Luke Sampson her new boyfriend. He is Brynn's cousin and actually Ashtyn's first kiss but that was a few years ago- they never ended up dating. He is really easy to talk to. He was very personable, nice and funny. He loves golf and The Office so he fits right in ha ha. He is really nice and has a great spirit about him. But the best part is how he treated Whitney. I don't know who she will end up with one day but I hope it is someone like Luke. After lunch Jeff went golfing. Ashtyn, Whitney, Luke and I went to the church to play pickleball. It was really fun. Whitney and Luke won one round, Ashtyn and Whitney won one round and then Whitney and I won the last one. After we went back home for a little bit and then Whitney and Luke went back to Provo and Ashtyn and I went to the Mountain View Shopping Center to do a little shopping. We stopped at Panera and tried the Kitchen Sink cookie that was so good then we came home and watched Dan in Real Life. It was a great day.

I couldn't help myself and put up my Fall shelves and got out my Fall soaps. It has been such a hot hot summer and I am so looking forward to Fall.

I visited Julia in her new room. Cheri had it all set up and it looks great. She can no longer get out of bed on her own. I found that her phone had fallen underneath the bed which explained why she hasn't been answering my calls. I brought her some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies because one of my favorite memories is visiting her and her giving us pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that she got from Winder Dairy in her weekly order. We had a good visit. I told her all about the cruise.

Mike and I went and saw the movie The Forge. It is by the Kendrick Brothers who also did my favorite movies Fire Proof and Courageous. It is a MUST see and had such a powerful message of Christ and what it means to be a disciple. I don't know what Mike thought. He hasn't been active in religion for a long time but he is such a good guy so I hope it touched his heart and made him think. It really made me think. 

I love my new lounge wear.

Cherry and I went to our coworker Tessa's reception. She runs the gift shops and we 

are so excited for her.

I opened the last of my Girl Scout Cookies this week. It must be some kind of record that I still had a box in September. It helps to put them in the freezer so I forget about them.

Our stake participated in the National Day of Service. We did landscaping and we put together shoe kits for the organization Sole Hope. They make shoes for Africa to combat jiggers that infest the feet of people there. I helped with the shoes and Jeff helped with the landscaping.

2024- Week 35(Aug 26- Sep 1)

I bought myself some anniversary flowers from Trader Joes. I know Jeff would eventually buy me some but I just love the flowers there and was going shopping so I grabbed some. I also found these fun little baby chocolate chip cookies.

Ashtyn informed us that the 27th of August is National Eldest Daughter's Day so I did a post for her on Instagram ha ha. 

Joidee finished her round of chemo and radiation! I took her a balloon bouquet to celebrate. This is not the end of her fight but this is one of the hardest parts. I am so glad it's over for her!!!

Thursday night we had a garden walk about for Relief Society. We started at Pam Maddocks home and then went to The Millers to see their salsa garden and finished at Alisa Jones. I ducked out early so Jeff and I could go to the temple to see the new endowment. They shortened it by 23 minutes. There were some things I missed but overall it is awesome and streamlined and hit on the most important things. I had a little miracle happen to me while there. Right before the session started I got a tickle in my throat- the kind of tickle that no amount of coughing for water can get rid of. I was freaking out and almost stood up to leave but then I remembered I had a cough drop in my pocket. I popped it in my mouth and started praying so hard. Almost immediately my mouth started filling up with spit. I know that sounds so gross but I would swallow the spit and then it would fill right back up again. This happened the whole session and then as soon as it ended it stopped. It kept my cough at bay.

Blake and Jill are in town so Friday night I went to dinner with her at the Harvest Restaurant at Thanksgiving Point. It was so good! She got the fish tacos and I got the meatloaf. After dinner we went to the Ashton Gardens. We had it mostly to ourselves and it was such an amazing night. I love being with her. She is so positive and uplifting. 

Saturday Jeff went golfing with Blake. I had Melinda and the kids come over and clean the house. They are great little workers and I will definitely be asking them again. Even Bronson was a big help.
Sunday my mom called me early in the morning and told me she was sick so Jeff and I ran over to give her a blessing. I stayed with her until Emily came home. Emily dropped me off at church a little late. It was our turn to host Shaw family dinner that night. I made crockpot potato casserole and Winger's sticky fingers. We played the Bank dice game that we played a lot on the cruise. It was so fun. Miles made the most delicious banana pudding trifle for dessert.