Miracles Still Happen

The most difficult moments in life most often occur when you fear for your children and feel helpless to do anything about it. Thankfully I have not had to experience this type of event many times in my life. However, on the 6Th of March one of those fearful moments did happen.

My youngest daughter, who is attending Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah, was traveling home to see her brother promenade at his junior prom (which is a HUGE event in Moab). She had only traveled about 40 miles on the interstate and it was beginning to snow quite a bit. Valerie lost control and spun off the road into the median. We aren't sure how many times she spun or what happened before she left the interstate but she entered the median going sideways, (we can tell this from the distance of the wheel path). She skidded about 200 feet before the car flipped and ended upside down.





Thankfully she always wears her seat belt. Other travelers witnessed what happened and rushed to help. She was able to get out of the car and realized that, MIRACULOUSLY, she was not injured. This is something that most often doesn't happen. It is hard to explain the anguish and fear that I felt waiting to hear her voice and know that she was OK. Of course there was a couple of days of sore muscles and fitful sleep. Thankfully she had wonderful friends around her that took great care of her until we were able to get to her.


I know that she was blessed to have survived such an event at all let alone uninjured. Valerie's spring break was this past week and she spent it at home with the family. It was so nice to have her here. I realized how much I have missed her while she has been at school. I am truly grateful to my Heavenly Father for granting us this evidence of modern day miracles

I Feel Like Dancin'

I enter the dance studio with my clogging in hand, taps jingling. I feel a little silly coming here. This is a place usually filled with girls from about three years to about 15. It is clear that I am not a part of that grouping. Though I have spent many years inside my share of dance studios, it was always as a spectator. I enjoyed the many hours watching and encouraging my own daughters as they worked to learn the various tap, ballet and clogging routines. Secretly, I always wished I had been able to participate. This is something that was not a part of my childhood.

So here I am. A little nervous, afraid of looking stupid, and feeling a little self-conscious. I look around at the other adults who have decided to take the clogging class as well. I size them up. Most of them are at least 20 years younger and at least that many pounds lighter. Some of them I recognize but cannot place a name with the face. Strangers! Then I see a face I know. A friend. Merrie! Finally, someone I can relate to. Someone in my age group! She shows no signs of fear and so I find courage, and gather my resolve to do this. I put on my white clogging shoes and find a place beside Merrie. We begin learning the basic steps and it all seems fairly simple. As the music begins, we hear the sounds of "Don't Tell Me" by Madonna coming through the speakers. Suddenly it seems that the music is too fast and I don't think that it is possible to do these dance steps at that rate of speed. As it turns out I was right.

However, about seven weeks have passed since I began this new adventure. Some of the younger students have excelled and others have dropped out. I am somewhere in between the two. We have learned all the steps in the routine and continue to get better each week. The music doesn't seem as fast but the routine seems to get longer as we approach the end of the class. I continually find myself trying to keep straight in my mind the difference between a "Double" and a "Fancy Double", the "Donkey" and the "Outhouse", and the "Rocking Horse" and the "Karate kick". When the class ends there is excitement that we made it through the entire routine. It feels good.

At the end of the class we watch the young dancers begin to leave and Merrie and I head to the back of the studio. We laugh at how much fun it is, talk about our accomplishment and then take a minute to rest!

Feeling Blue!

I still remember the first time I saw a truly blue sky. I was 19 years old and made my first trip to Moab to see Rusty and meet his family. I thought how unbelievable the sky was. It reminded me of a crayon picture drawn by a small child, you know the one with the house and the tree in the yard with really green grass and a blue sky. It is the same one all kids draw. I never understood why we all chose that same color blue because I know that I had never seen a sky that color, until that spring day. After nearly twenty nine years it still amazes me.

It is the 4Th of February, still officially winter. As I venture out to walk/jog my daily three miles, I am welcomed again by the beauty that surrounds me in my own little corner of the world. I am again reminded why the world is drawn to come here in search of the beauty that greets us everyday and we most often take for granted. I find myself slowing my pace and pause to gaze at the intensity and beauty of God's creations. Feeling certain that this is the only place with a sky this blue and grateful that this is home, I continue on looking upward and with a much lighter step.

With the passing of years and the inability to to stop the aging process which is being thrust upon me, I am drawn to find sources which will prove my youthfulness. As a result I have given into the need for speed and daring recklessness. After much longing and window shopping I finally took the leap into the world of speed on two wheels!

Oh, the thrill of speeding by the tourist bikers and joggers, the little kids staring in awe and the seniors wishing they would've had the courage to take the leap. I love to feel the power as I cruise along on my scooter with the Raspberry Ice Metallic color glistening as I ride off into the sunset.

100 Things About Me

1. I miss my Dad
2. I am a singer
3. I love to ride my scooter
4. I love my husband and have been married for 28 years
5. I drive a mini bus and placed 4th in the state, in my division, at this years bus roadeo competition
6. I want to write a book
7. Most of the time I see the glass as half full

8. I hate being late for anything!

9. I wish that my kids were 2- 12 years again and still at home

10. I wish I was more organized

11. I am scared of heigths and knives
12. I love to go on road trips
13. I don't much like exercise but I love to dance
14. I can imagine myself on a stage singing to thousands of people
15. I would like to write a song
16. I taught myself how to play the piano
17. I hate the wind cause it messes up my hair
18. I have a hard time saying no
19. I tend to burn the candle at both ends
20. I want to learn how to do armenian knotted lace
21. Roses are my favorite flower
22. I HAVE to have the top edge of my covers turned down!
23. I love to throw parties
24. I want to build a house
25. I love being a grandma
26. I can only swim on my back
27. I am obsessive-compulsive. Everything has to be even and symmetrical, so I spend a lot of time counting.
28. I love popcorn with LOTS and LOTS of butter.
29. I am a sun worshiper
30. I am taking a clogging class
31. I love to do just about any kind of craft except scrap booking.
32. I rode a Grey hound bus from California to Florida with just my sister and two brothers when I was 12 years old
33. My favorite college class was dance
34. I took a tap dance class in college
35. I have hiked to the top of Mount Peale which is the second highest peak in Utah
36. Last march I ran my first five mile race and will be running it again this March.
37. I have lost fifty pounds
38. In my house I am the computer genius
39. I have a great memory for dates but I am bad at remembering names
40. I don't mind washing dishes or folding laundry but I hate to put them away
41. If I start to read a book, I have to finish it before I can get any work done
42. Mary Higgins Clark is my favorite author
43. The only bone I have ever broken is my left wrist
44. If I had lots of money I would spend it on massages and pedicures
45. I love to shop
46. Even if I am just going to work in the yard all day, I always get up and do my hair and make-up
47. I seldom bust out laughing even if I think something is Really funny
48. I am a good cook
49. Gardening is one of my favorite things even though I hate the feel of dirt
50. I have been on two cruises
51. I love the smell of the sawdust of a freshly cut board
52. I don't like many tomato based sauces but I love tomatoes
53. I have six children, four girls and two boys
54. My furniture hasn't been rearranged in more than twelve years
55. I have had the same couch and bed for 23 years
56. I'm not a risk taker or daredevil
57. As a kid , my favorite actor/comedian was Jerry Lewis and I always watched the Labor Day Telethon
58. I kept log books of the American Top 40 while I was a teenager. I can still remember lots of music trivia about songs from the 70's
59. I don't like fantasy or sci-fi books or movies
60. I learned to drive a car that had the gear shift on the column
61. I dream of owning my own business even though I don't know yet what it would be
62. I have always been fascinated with MT. Rushmore but I have never been there
63. When I cry my eyes get so puffy that they swell shut
64. I don't like when people "deviate from the plan"
65. I regret not finishing college
66. The first haircut I ever did was on my husband for our wedding
67. I wish that I were more proficient at speaking Spanish
68. My legs are short but I walk very fast
69. I love to be at home
70. I don't like horror/slasher/blood and gore movies. I love suspense ones
71. I tend to hold a grudge
72. I'm scared of dying
73. I always have to have my toenails painted
74. I love to plant lots of flowers in my yard
75. I own 44 pairs of shoes buts really only regularly wear about five of them
76. Just like shoes, I love recipes and cookbooks. I can't resist buying them. I have tons of recipes that I download from the computer or tear out of magazines. I continually bug friends and family till they give me a copy of a recipe that I want
77. I get really stressed out about my hair. Every hair has to be in place and then coated with hairspray!
78. I have battled the habit of biting my nails all my life
79. I want to raise a couple of pigs. I love pork chops!
80. I have been told that I am a control freak
81. When I was in high school my nickname was smiley
82. Summer is my favorite season
83. I would love to take a road trip back east looking for antiques
84. I grind my teeth when I sleep
85. The only sport I played in high school was badminton. My kids don't think that qualifies as a sport
86. Since I made the switch to a digital camera, I haven't printed a single picture to put in the photo album. You just have to look at them on the computer
87. I love to watch romantic comedies
88. I think that working on a puzzle is very relaxing but the only time I ever can justify spending the time to do it is on Christmas
89. I never just sit and watch television. I always have to be working on something like cross stitch or crochet
90. I don't like to have a conversation through cell phone texting. Just call me!
91. Camping is just OK but I like camping a lot better when my whole family is there and I can sleep in the comfort of a camper with a bed and a bathroom
92. One day I want to travel to Italy
93. I enjoy learning about my genealogy
94. I look forward to someday having my own greenhouse
95. I always wear perfume. It is just part of my morning routine
96. I would like to learn how to build furniture
97. I have a large mole on the back of my neck. It is just like the one on my grandmother, mother and daughter's neck
98. I am a perfectionist
99. I believe in God even though there are times I question why He causes things to happen that I don't understand
100. My family is the most important thing in my life and gives me more joy than I could ever imagine