Sweet Katie Sue!

What a pleasant surprise to see my granddaughter on the front page of the paper.

Farewell to Kyle

Kyle and his parents came by on their way to Utah to say Goodbye to me. He is entering the MTC on Wednesday and will be there for 2 months while he can learn the German language. He will be serving in the Germany Frankfurt Mission. I know that Kyle will be an outstanding missionary because he is obedient and friendly. Kyle is my 7th grandson to serve a mission.

Mothering!

I wish that I would've written down all of the cute things my children said when they were little. One sweet thing I remember was when Brent was about 3 years old. One day he came up to me, very seriously, and asked "Mama, are you an angel?" It made me want to be a better mother.

A Conversion Memory

A few nights ago, I was thinking about prayer and how I learned to pray. I had been attending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for several months. Our family lived in Eugene, Oregon and a youth conference was going to be held in Portland. That was the location of the stake center. My friend and I (both of us nonmembers) were assigned to stay at the Stake President's home. Brother Curtis, who was on the general board of the Young Men's also stayed in their home. We gathered around the table for breakfast and they knelt to pray. I had never witnessed anyone kneeling in family prayer so this was a new concept for me. That morning I learned by example and felt the spirit. The youth conference touched me and gave me an increased desire to be baptized. My friend and I were both baptized on July 2, 1950. I am so thankful for this important decision that changed the direction of my life.

Frugal Tip

Jill and I made a discovery. She needed some CUMIN of which hers was gone. We went to the bulk section at Winco and filled a little bag to refill her little container at home. We filled the container at home and the total cost was 10 cents. I would think that little bottle would have cost over $2.00 so give it a try.

I have a good recipe for you today!

We recently enjoyed this salad for dinner and it is very delicious.

BBQ Chicken Chop Salad

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup barbeque sauce

Marinate chicken in barbeque sauce, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Chop into pieces and refrigerate. (We used the warm chicken on top of the salad)

1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped

1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped

3 to 4 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 jicama, peeled and diced (opt.)

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 (15-ounce) can black bleans, rinsed and drained

1 cup frozen sweet corn, thawed

1/2 pount Monterey Jack cheese, grated

Combine chicken in a large salad bowl with salad ingredients and toss. Serve with Ranch Dressing, additional BBQ sauce and crispy corn tortilla chips.

I hope you like it!

My Doctor Visit

I wish I would've counted how many times I have visited the doctor in my lifetime. I'll bet 95% of those visits have been in my 70's. I thought of Bill and how much he enjoyed going to the doctors. Not always for help but for the opportunity to visit and get to know them. I'm not quite as antsy to spend money to visit but I needed a little help to spark some energy. So, yesterday was the day. The doctor wanted to know what caused my anxieties and I told him one thing was riding in the car with my daughter (pointing to Jill). He gave me a prescription to close my eyes when I'm in the car. I do that quite often but now it's doctors orders. Kind of expensive advice when I already knew it. He gave me refills on three of my prescriptions and some free samples---bonus! We had to wait for quite a while so we made a list of things to fill up my days.

1. scriptures
2. walk-wear a pedometer
3. 25 wall pushaways
4. lift hand weights
5. blog -share favorite recipe's, novel, humor, life, frugal tips from the expert, etc.
6. service-indexing
7. sewing project-it's a secret

I think that will keep me busy. I do have a little bit of humor for today. Right now I am staying with my daughter and son-in-law. I try to knock on doors and give them their privacy but twice in one day I caught my son in law not fully dressed (my daughter left their bedroom door open). I will say no more because of possible retribution or excommunication. If this happens again I may have to report it to the stake presidency :).