Picking John up at the airport!

Yes, It was fun to see them be so happy to see each other! My daughter is bright and bubbly again! I, however am sicker than I have ever been, not good I know! I can't even talk, which for me, if you know me is really a trial! Luckily John and Allison don't need me to entertain them, they have all kinds of things to do and places to go....but I feel like it is really quite unbelievable!

We received the invitations from the printers this week! They are perfect and it is very exciting. We also received the thank you notes from a different printing source and they are awesome.....the bridesmaids dresses are turning out great so its starting to get really exciting. We have ordered the guestbook and cake topper etc.... Bridal shower invitations have been sent out...... so things are starting to be fun, instead of just the idea of them.....they are actual things now!!!!!

Aileen approves very much of John!

And he brought me a box of "See's Candies"! He was definately raised right!

"You're never lost if you can see the Temple"

Tonight was our qtrly Enrichment Night for Relief Society. Our Presidency and Enrichment Night leaders and committee planned such a great time for us. They sent all the sisters the invite you see on the left here in the Mail, which always makes you feel like something really amazing is in store! And it did not disappoint!

We had a nice dinner and then the program started. We had a beautiful duet by two sisters in our Ward about the Temple and how it is a place of faith, and prayer, and learning. It was beautiful. Then we had 3 sisters share their different experiences about the Temple. One sister who works with her husband in the Temple every week. One sister who just got sealed to her husband recently, and one sister whose husband is not a member but told us what it meant to her to be able to go and get those Temple blessings! All very touching testimonies!

The next section, we all were able to make these beautiful temple pictures with silver leafing! I made one of the Dallas Temple for my parents as this is the Temple that they have been Temple workers at and I know that even though this is not the temple they were married in, the Dallas Temple is special to them! It was a joint Mother's Day and Father's Day gift. I am going to make a Salt Lake Temple one for Allison for one of her Wedding Shower gifts. I can't wait to see how that turns out!

The last part of our evening was a lesson on making our homes Sacred places like the temple! It was very well done and beautifully presented. It reminded us what we need to be focusing on in our homes! Then we ended up with cake and punch. We really were treated to a special night!

Landscaping.....

Allison has been willing to take on any odd job to make money this summer since 24 Hr. Fitness has been very slow at transferring her here this summer (new management that doesn't know how great she is). This is the slowest it has ever taken them to get her working hours so that she can work and earn money for getting married and helping with all the expenses that come in getting a new apartment etc... after you are married!

So she was offered a job to redo some landscaping in Dallas this week. She just got home tonight at 10:00 and is beat!

It took 4 days working two 12 hour days and two 10 hour days. Her body hurts like it has never hurt before. She had to re-shape the flowerbeds, which actually took them back closer to the house in some places, and then extended them out further some places. They had to lay the bricks around the flower beds, break up all the clots and lay down new dirt etc.... then they had to dig the holes for the trees and the bushes and the plants. The flowers of course were fast but everything else was back breaking lifting, hauling, and digging. And every hole they dug had tree roots they had to break through....it was a long old process. It looks beautiful now, but I'm not sure it really shows what they had to do.....it was way more than just planting plants and flowers!

Tickets! We don't need no stinkin tickets!

So funny thing....ever since Allison has said "I'm getting Married" the darnedest things have been happening. We have had car repairs on every car we own and twice on mine....which is bad enough....but then Alan got one of those lovely tickets in the mail from the camera's showing that he ran a red light! Uggh! And I said to him....we need to be using our money for wedding stuff so be careful...right? Well today he had to go pay a ticket for not wearing a seat belt! Really are you kidding me? Alan!!!!! But I love him....he's a keeper!

Movies and fun!

Since Allison has been home I know that she has really been missing John. John is still out at BYU and part of their singles ward and has room mates, people to hang out with etc.... I'm not saying it has been easy on him with Allison gone. But I think it has been a little more of a shock to Allison to be without John, because she is just with her old fogie parents! She is really not part of a group of people to hang out with (Thank heaven's her friend Katie has been around) and when I'm not at work we have to be thinking and planning for the wedding.

So yesterday when I got off work, we did run some wedding errands.....but then we did Lois and Allison's favorite thing.....we went to the Movie! Allison and I have both been wanting to see the movie "17 Again"! And I have to say it was really good. Zac Ephraim (sp?) whom I must say I really don't know as an actor and who I may have been a little skeptical was really excellent in it. We have seen movies with Adults who are having to have to act like Adults who are really 13 i.e. "13 going on 30", "Big", but I don't think we have seen a teenager have to act like he is really 30 or 40 while still trying to be a teenager. He really did a good job!

We also have been dying to see "The Ghost of Girlfriends Past" it got such a bad review by the critics I knew I would love it...... So today we got up early ran some more errands for the wedding. Ate lunch at "The Cotton Patch" just us girls and then went to see the Matinee again and saw the previously stated movie.....and I was right we did love it! We then tried to find me a dress, for the "Mother of the Bride" and after stopping at one store, I was done too frustrating didn't want to look anymore! So we came home to Alan and Aileen, watched Australia (Alan and Allison saw that together over Christmas break but I had never seen) which made me cry. The ending where she has to let the boy go on his walk about about killed me.....it made me think about how you know you have to let your daughter go and get married, but its so hard letting go! Go figure that everything makes me think about Allison getting married. I think I'm going a little crazy!

Now I am getting my talk ready for tomorrow in Sacrament meeting!

Can I brag a little?

So, I hope I can brag a little and that it won't upset any of my children!

Sunday night, accidentally, I found out that every night before John and Allison go to bed, even though they are apart now, they call each other and do scripture study and prayer together! It was a very neat mother's day gift to find out that they have been doing this every night and that they will have this habit to take into their marriage! Amazing!

Also, very special on Sunday, my future son-in-law called to wish me a Happy Mother's day! I loved that he did that and Love him very much! It was my first mother's day call from a son! Wow!

Another very cool mother's day gift is that Anne Marie is getting straight A's in her classes! And I learned that Anne Marie beat me in wishing her grandmothers, my mom and mother-in-law happy mother's day! You have to be pretty quick to be more thoughtful than Anne Marie. She of course called me as well!

Aileen made me an amazing card and gave me many kisses today! What more could I ask for? Nothing!

Thanks to all my children for making my day so special! I love you all very much! More than words can say!

Happy Mother's Day!

I am very grateful for my mother on this special day we call Mother's Day! Every day should be mother's day and with my father it is. I am so blessed to have had the mother I have and that she taught me all the lessons that I needed to be able to deal with life!

She taught me about service, compassion, love, faith, happiness. I am so grateful for the unconditional love that she gave me and when I was a teenager, I am sure I tested that to its limit! I'm grateful that I was taught the gospel in my home and saw the example of what a righteous mother looked like, so that I in turn could try to be a good mother to my children!

My mother made many sacrifices for her children but she never complained. And today of all days I would like to say thank you.....but I hope that I show my gratitude every day! Thank you Mom for all you have done for our family! I love you!

How sweet it is.....

So this morning at 7:20 am I am pulling into the parking lot in front of the doctor's office and hear this crazy wild honking of a horn and waving of a hand and I smile because I know who it is and I wave out my window....but then when I get out she is still stuck at the light so I really get to wave and smile at her so that she knows how sweet it was to start the morning in such a great way! You rock K!

An Empty Office

For 2 weeks the Doctor's office I work for has looked like this. The Doctor has been on vacation and I have had to be in the office all day to answer phones! I have gotten caught up on my reading.....but I will say I am ready for us to be busy again. And believe me we will be after having had to make patients wait for this week!

I also started feeling achy and had a sore throat and acting like I was coming down with a cold and not just my allergies as I had assumed, and since everyone is so worried about this flu thing going around I asked someone to substitute for me in Primary on Sunday and stayed in bed and slept and tried to get better. I still have the allergy stuff going on, but no longer feel achy and head achy etc.....so that is a relief!

And Alan and Allison should be driving up to our home at any moment! I can hardly stand it!!!!!!

A Baby Shower.....

Today I helped give a baby shower to a friend in our Ward. Since she already had 2 boys and this new baby is a precious little boy as well, she really liked the idea of a "Children's Book Shower" that had been done previously in our Ward, so that is what we did! The invitations were so cute that LS did they had a picture of my Friend reading a book to her 3 little kiddos and then had the quote "You may have tangible wealth untold; caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I you can never be - I had a mother who read to me." I loved that! At the shower I made up a Children's book bingo game and of course gave books to those who won! We had yummy food but most important we had great conversation and a lot of fun and laughter! It was a really nice morning!

Thursday......

Thursday night we took the Sister Missionaries to dinner....which Aileen always enjoys!

I cut Alan's hair because he is flying out to Utah to pick up Allison and help her drive her car home from BYU......and he will be meeting our future son-in-law for the first time (which by the way, I am grumbling loudly over the fact that he gets to go and I don't)

My Visiting Teachers came to visit me tonight.

We had friends drop by - which was delightful

I Created and Printed out my Baby shower game for the Baby Shower on Saturday

Met Alan during lunch to help him pick out some clothes

Helped him pack for his trip

It's been a good day!!!!