Catch Up or This was sooo last year!

Once upon a time I thought that nothing of significance really happened in our home, but as you start to journal (write weekly letters, blog, etc.) you realize that there are stories and events that merit recording. Sorry Mark, this will be long. I will break it up so you can take a chapter at a time.

I will attempt to recapture and tell the stories of these past few weeks. I want you all to know that the computers in this house were in high demand, when I had a moment to possibly sit down and blog, there was always someone using the computer. Also, Lauren needs the internet to do her work and that limits my opportunity to get on line. I would also add that there was a baby in the house, enough said.

Before Christmas

The day after Thanksgiving, Ian spent the day at one of his friend’s home. There were several young men, on hundreds of acres with ATV’s, youthful energy and boyish tendencies. At the end of the day, they uprooted a tree and made a great bonfire. The next day, Ian discovered that he had poison oak. He felt very ill and did not go to church or to school on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (OK, I made him go to school, but he called me by 9 AM to come get him. It took me a long time to pick him up, I was working for Lauren and Grandma needed my attention.), Thursday or Friday. Ian had been feeling nauseous and slept a lot- probably because of the Benadryl he was taking. We finally got to the doctor to see what he could do, by then the rash was ugly. The nurse squirmed when she saw his legs. The doctor gave him a prescription for prednisone (steroids). Ian took his first dose when he got home and the improvement was immediate. The next morning he was shaking out his next dosage. I suggested that he take it the same time each day. “Oh no Mom, I was up till 3 AM! I would never get any sleep!” That is when we decided if he ever got poison oak again, we would not hesitate to get to the doctor. I know you would like to see a picture, but it would have grossed you all out.

Lauren came home for a week at Thanksgiving and found a boyfriend. His name is Dylan Moses. He is a very nice young man who plans of going on a mission when he turns nineteen. The best part is he likes our Wawa as much as she likes him. She confided to me that she has wanted a boyfriend since she was in third grade.

We thought about putting up the tree and decorating the house on Thanksgiving weekend. But that didn't pan out. It was about a week into December when I had the boys pull the boxes out of storage. This is how far I got on the tree before I ran out of lights. This is the way it stayed for almost a week.

Oh, Christmas tree, thou art bare in the middle!

Moving Lauren Home

Lauren has decided to take a sabbatical- no she is not getting paid to do work in her field of study, she is just taking this semester off from school. Actually she is applying for entrance to BYU Idaho and there is the possibility that if she were accepted and put on the spring/summer track, she would have to decline because classes in Fullerton would not be over yet. This way she can be home and hang with her girlfriends (and boyfriend) before they all head off their futures; she can live at home, work and save some $$. Also, she needed to get out of her apartment, roommate troubles.

The boys helped me unload the balloon van of all my equipment and I drove down to Fullerton. We stayed with Katie and Seth. The next day, while Lauren worked, I packed up her room and helped her home teachers load the van. We did not leave till late in the afternoon and traffic was starting to be a concern. Lauren was in a hurry. She wanted to get to the Single’s Ward Christmas “Ugly Sweater” Party, in San Luis Obispo, before it was over. AND Dylan was going to be there. ☺

We decided to avoid downtown LA and took a more northerly course. We were using the diamond lane to avoid too much slowdown. I needed to move over several lanes so I could move from the 134 W to 5 N. Just after we entered lane #3, we felt the van get rocked from the rear. Lauren looked over at me and said “I think we were just hit!” I headed for the nearest off ramp and found a place to safely park. The other car was right behind me. The driver, a woman came up to my window and started to yell “You ran into me!! Didn’t you see me?” Lauren was so calm, she kept reminding me that we were in the lane before we felt the impact. We exchanged information. The other driver told me that she was looking behind her and didn’t see me, so that proved I hit her. Well, the impact was in the right rear of my car so obviously I was in front of her and she did not see that I had already moved in the lane when she tried to occupy the same space. I called the Highway Patrol. Since there was no injuries or blocking of traffic, the wait for an officer would have been quite a while. They took my name and number and noted the time and location of my call. The dispatcher said I could file a report at any Highway Patrol office. I took a couple of pictures. All I got was some paint on my bumper. The little black Honda did not far so well.

Since then I have been contacted by both my and her insurance. Both of us claim it was not our fault. A third party will find fault. It is all in the hands of the insurance agents now. I am not worried, that is what we pay for.
Lauren got to the party just as it was breaking up. She and her friends went on to have a great evening anyway. And she had a story to tell.

December Tales

Our Ward Christmas Party, was the next night. Instead of boiled ham like the other ward had, we had a delicious tri-tip BBQ, they even roasted fresh vegetables! Mark Williams assisted in the BBQing. Sean has commissioned him to cook his wedding feast; we are in for a treat! The primary- all 20 of them- sang for the program. Bonnie Ilg is the conductor, she really gets into her calling and the kids love her!Ian has to go to extremes so I can get a picture of Daniel

I have started a tradition of making holiday dresses for the girls. I was running out of time to get them done so they could be in the mail. I finally got them all sewn. Here is a picture, there is one for Aubree, Killian and Kylee. They are alike, but each has different fabric. I made a Christmas bear to tuck in each pocket!


To be continued.............