Christmas 2012

Christmas 2012 has come . . . and gone!  It was much more commercialized than we remember in the years before we left for Guyana.  Everything, everywhere was about Santa Claus rather than about He whose birth we are supposed to be celebrating! 

Besides shopping, wrapping, mailing and cooking, we enjoyed having Kris here for a short visit in early December and having approximately 70 ward members and neighbors come to see our decorations and partake of our cookies and punch as one of four homes in our annual Christmas Around the Ward!  We put up our village above the stove in the kitchen and spread the Christmas cans around the house.  We also attended our ward Christmas party, a Relief Society Christmas dinner, a fun Rotary Christmas party at the St. George Art Center building . . . and went to lunch or dinner with several friends.

Stacy and her family came from dinner on Christmas Day.  We ate too much and laughed until our sides ached playing “Minute to Win It” – reminiscent of several such YSA activities in Guyana – and Skyped with family members far away!

It was a fun holiday season – our first traditional holiday season in the last three - though we missed having more members of our family here.  Christmas 2012 concluded on Boxing Day (December 26) with cataract surgery – a simple and quick little procedure which is expected to successfully clear up my foggy vision.  Cataracts develop for a number of reasons, but in my case it was as a result of the gas put in my eye to repair the macular hole.  I have had blurry, fuzzy, cloudy eyesight for more than six months and haven’t been able to drive at night because of the glare from oncoming headlights.  I’ve also struggled with a sense of having something in my eye. 

I have hope my sight is now restored.  Skilled surgeons are truly a gift beyond measure!  Merry Christmas.  

Playing by the Numbers

We recently had the opportunity to see our current Fair Issac Corporation score.  The FICO uses mathematical models to determine a lending institution’s credit risk for repayment based on payment history, a consumer’s current level of indebtedness, types of credit used, length of credit history and any new credit. A FICO score above 650 (from a range of 300 to 850) is considered to be a safe risk!

The problem with a FICO score is that it is very sensitive.  Shop for a new car - even if you don't buy one - it goes down!  Miss a payment on something - no matter how insignificant - it goes down!  Have half a dozen credit cards stuck away in a desk drawer - even if you've never even used them - it goes down! 

I always tried to teach my kids – and grandkids – if you have a FICO score of 650 or more and a current temple recommend, you are most certainly on the right track in life!!!

Meeting #11

Kris brought her “lover and best friend” for a first-time visit to St. George this weekend.  Our third daughter came home with tall, handsome Mike Muhlethaler, who is a partner in both a sales/marketing and a mortgage firm in northern California.   The couple traveled to Las Vegas for a Tim McGraw / Faith Hill concert and a quick trip to southern Utah to negotiate the "number of cows" Ed would accept for her hand in marriage.

He and Ed got along famously on the golf course, Kris is happier than we have seen her in a long time . . . and cow negotiations went well!

Together Kris and Mike have just bought a new home in Petaluma, CA (a small town of approximately 15,000 people about a “stone’s throw” from San Francisco). 

While they were here, Stacy, Rick and their family - including Taisley, Kendi and Danielle, Allysa, Josh and Daxton - came for dinner . . . and just as the food was being put on the table, Bruce and Jan Christensen and her daughter Jenny stopped by for "hugs and kisses" with Kris, who they consider their “foster daughter” and “step sister!”  We also celebrated Allysa’s 24^th birthday (December 6) with cake, ice cream and a boisterous rendition of “Happy Birthday” 

We were pleased to see these far-flung members of our family and look forward to an invitation to the wedding some day soon! 

Thanksgiving in Denver

We had a wonderful time on our recent long Thanksgiving weekend in Denver.  In addition to an amazing feast of turkey and stuffing, potatoes and gravy, candied yams, Jan’L’s delicious creamed (Enterprise) corn, and the usual pumpkin and mincemeat pies, we also enjoyed Pictionary, putting together a fun new 750-piece puzzle – since Grandma Linda declared it an old-fashioned, eye-to-eye  “electronics free” day -  and Black Friday shopping. 

Some thoughts on the Sappington boys:  Kyle (age 6) is one of the brightest children I have ever been around.  He has at least a 6^th grade vocabulary and reads at a 3^rd grade level – though he is only in 1^st grade.  This observation really isn’t a case of a prejudiced grandmother . . . this child truly is brilliant.  Kole is a happy, high energy, loving and precocious 11-year-old.  He is a competitive player who “takes no prisoners” in Pictionary and knows his way around his iPad.  In a word or two, Kole is “fun” and adorable!!!  His serious allergies and bothersome eczema haven’t slowed him down socially or in any other way!  Kaler has made huge strides in terms of his autism.  He continues to maintain a near perfect GPA and is a pretty typical 14-year-old (except he is still a little smaller than other boys his same age - but no doubt is going to catch up).  He loves history and is happy to share his knowledge of facts and figures as he plans to travel to Washington DC in the next few months with his classmates.  

The boys cried when it was time for us to head home . . . and Kyle said he was going to hide in my luggage!  We love these boys . . . and their Mom and (especially their) Dad!  They are all so much fun.

MOMMILIES: 1-2-3 for Dental Health

I had an appointment the other day with Allen Hilton - my dentist for more years than I care to remember.  This was my first visit to his office since before we left for our mission at the end of 2010.  Happily, I got a clean bill of dental health.  I have not had a cavity in many years and I have no indication of gum disease!  Yahoo!!!  As my family knows, I am vigilant in taking care of my teeth and told Dr. Hilton in the beginning of our relationship, I want to take these choppers with me into eternity.

My regimen is as simple as 1, 2, and 3!  I floss at least once a day . . . brush at least twice a day and see my dentist 3 times a year (although I may have to cut back to two annual visits since we no longer have dental insurance)!  There are certainly many things which would be worse than having dentures, but having all my teeth pulled ranks right up there on my list of The Top 10 Things I Don’t Want to Experience.

 

Thanks, Allen for your friendship and service in Rotary and for your skill and expertise in the office helping me keep my happy smile!!!

Another Small World Story

The other day, we attended the funeral of Lois Baker, one of our ward members. Lois is the mother of my visiting teacher Jill Jones and a son - Greg Anderson - who lives in Pennsylvania, both who were in attendance at the funeral of their mother along with their spouses. At the viewing, Jill and Royce introduced Ed and Linda Sappington to her brother and his wife.  Greg's wife was obviously startled then responded, "Are you kidding me? My full name is Joyce Sappington Anderson." What followed was a fun exchange of information as we became acquainted with a cousin from another part of the world . . . although this experience shows - once again - that it really is a very small world!!!

To Anaconda and Beyond

The destination of our most recent road trip (October 4 – 11) was Anaconda, Montana to visit Kaytee,  Josh and two of our precious grandchildren, but along the way we also visited SLC’s new City Creek Shopping Mall and Temple Square – looking for Sister Alicia Phagwah (from Guyana) – and a side trip to Brigham City to see the Church’s newest – and 137^th temple.  We enjoyed an overnight stay in Logan with Stan and Diane Blackett where we watched conference and got caught up with their life and family.  We also had a great two nights with Kelly, Gary and Whitney in their beautiful new home in Clinton. We enjoyed lively conversation and had fun getting caught up and when it was time to go, our #1 daughter questioned why we had to leave “so soon.  Thirty-six hours is just not enough!!!”  How happy it makes us to know we are welcome in the homes of our children.

Our three days in Anaconda included a pork chop sandwich, reading to the kids, a quick tour of the historic Washoe Theater (one of the most beautiful theaters in the nation – built in the 1930’s by the same architect who built NYC’s Radio City Music Hall), a trip to Phillipsburg (about 25 miles from Anaconda) where we found lots of things to photograph, including a wonderful old-fashioned (but pretty expensive) candy store.  We also had a tour of the lovely little home Kaytee and Josh hope to own before the end of the year (so we’ll be making the 11-hour trip again in the coldest part of Montana’s winter . . . with our paint brushes and other DIY tools).  My baby and her babies got teary-eyed when we said goodbye (Josh just smiled, probably glad to see us heading home after 3 days, although he was in good spirits during our visit) but we promised to come back when they are ready to move. 

We ended our week back in Salt Lake, where we stayed overnight with the Harris’ . . . our friends with whom we had served in Guyana.  We shared memories, dinner and laughed all the way through “Maiden Heist” in their HUGE downstairs theater room (if you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend it for lots of laughs).  On our way through Provo, we caught up with Michael for a quick dinner together before getting on the highway for the last 5 hours of travel.  Fun trip and nice to discuss numerous topics, including the upcoming elections, without anyone getting hysterical!!!

WIM Reunion

We attended our very first WIM reunion since coming home from Guyana in June.  It was a combination of President and Sister Robison’s missionaries and those of us who served under President and Sister Gamiette, held in Provo in the afternoon of Friday, October 5.  It was delightful to see many of the couples with whom we served in both Trinidad (Jim and Joey Luster, Jim and Jan Wheeler, Ralph and Paulette Childs) and Guyana (Larry and Karen Harris) and others who served in other parts of the WIM (Clive and Arlene Henderson,  Bob and Raylene Bush and Doug and Valerie Salmon).  We also met some of the couples who served before us (Robison, Faux, Bulloch, Hymas and others).  After an hour of catching up with the seniors, the young missionaries began arriving.  It was so much fun to see Wally So’Oto, Hayden Van Meeteren, Abe Austin, Tyler White, Kyle Dyson, Rusden Scott, Brock Beeson, Nikita Vi, Kolton Arnold and Tobin Prince.  It was pretty funny how often we were asked “can I call you Linda?  Can I call you Ed?” but we asked the same question of others.  A mission is a wonderful experience – one for which I will always be grateful and seeing the faces of those we loved and with whom we served -if just for a couple of hours - was a delight!!!

I Am EJ!

Oh, my gosh!  I have become my grandfather, Elgie James (“EJ”) Bradford.
 

Larry will remember this, but when we lived next door to our grandparents on Palm Place, Grandpa Brad would come home from work then spend his evenings on the front lawn with his pocket knife picking out every single weed . . no matter how small!!!  Because we were kids, we snickered a little at his passion for making sure there wasn’t a weed to be found anywhere . . . and now I am him! 

When we got home from our mission in Guyana we were pleased to find Stacy and her family had done an amazing job of keeping the lawn mowed and generally cleaned up, but then I took over the project, including pulling weeds and washing rocks.

No kidding!  I took up all the rocks in the back yard, put down new ground cloth and washed all the rocks clean before putting them back down.  My husband thought I had totally lost my mind, so Kole helped me for a couple of days while David and Jan’L were here on vacation and while Ed refused to play along.  Now I spend my early mornings walking my fence lines looking for weeds to dig out with my big old kitchen knife, spraying with Roundup, collecting and discarding dead snails and tending my winter garden (peas, brussel sprouts, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, radishes, sugar peas and carrots). 

I could only find one picture of my grandfather, because he didn't like to have his picture taken.  Oops, that's two!  I just hope I don’t pick up any of my grandfather’s other traits!!!

Yet Another Sappington Family Reunion

David, Jan’L and their three boys came for a week of R&R.  Although David questions their sanity in deciding to come to St. George during the “dog days of summer” he admits it has been fun and relaxing to have nothing to do and nowhere to go.  For their family – and for Taisley who tagged along – the week was filled with swimming, lots of waffles, a “mystery trip” with Grandma and Grandpa along the Water Walk (beginning at Brooks Pond and ending at the extremely popular Splash Pad in downtown St. George), and an overnight camping trip to Pine Valley Mountain with Grandpa Ed.  We dined at Jan’L’s favorite places – Pizza Factory and Marv’s – and finally got to see the end of "Aladdin" at Tuacahn (we were rained out a couple of weeks ago) and made ice cream at Stacy's.  Fun, fun, fun with family - and we miss them when they go home.