Those Lazy, Crazy, Hazy Days of Summer, Part 4

Things I love about summer: TOMATOES! Aren't they fabulous in the summer? Remember those pale orange things they try to pass off as tomatoes in the winter? Summer is the time to take advantage of home grown tomatoes. These beauties reside at the farm less then a mile from our house. They are so delicious. We love them plain, in salads and on BLT's. Paula Deen suggests putting your BLT's on a biscuit. We tried it and agree with her suggestion!

The perfect summer read

I love the book Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier. When I love a book, I try to find another book by the same author. The other day I was roaming the library and I found this little gem: The Parasites by Daphne Du Maurier. I loved it. It is a charming tale of the lives of three children who were raised by parents in the London theatre. We follow their story through childhood and adulthood. It was the perfect summer read.

Called to Serve!

We currently have NINE missionaries serving from our ward. The ninth one left last week. This has been one of the greatest joys for DTA as he has served as Bishop. He has worked with these boys, served with these boys, and mainly loved these boys. These boys have spent hours in our home and we both love them like our own. DTA is standing in the middle. (He is the old one) My Boy is on the left of DTA and is the only one holding scriptures. These Elders are serving in the following places: New York, Panama, Russia, Idaho, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Nevada, Colorado, and Brazil. Their service has blessed our ward. We have had six convert baptisms in our ward this year! I feel this is a direct blessing. "Far and wide we tell the Father's story. Far and wide His love proclaim!"

I love being Grammy!

Here is my second post on why I love being Grammy! This is my new little friend and granddaughter, Littlest D. We became such good friends when I went to see her when she was born. We got even better acquainted during our visit in July. I love to talk to her and tell her all about life and the wonderful things she has to look forward to in her life. She looks into my eyes and I look into hers. I love Littlest D and I love being her Grammy.

Bishops' Night at Young Women Camp!

Last night was Bishops' Night at Young Women Camp. I love this night and look forward to it every year! It is such a great opportunity to sit around the campfire with the young women from our ward family and share our tender feelings. My shirt says, "My Bishop Rocks!"...the perfect shirt for the Bishop's Wife to wear! DTA did a wonderful job talking to our young women about being anchored in Christ.

I love being Grammy!

I love being Grammy to Little D, Little O, Little V and Littlest D. Here we are playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos! Being a grandmother is fabulous. I cherish the time I spend with each little girl.

Those Lazy, Crazy, Hazy Days of Summer, Part 3

Another thing I love about summer is being able to buy apricots! I love apricots and I never see them in the winter. Apricots are delicious and have to be good for you with that rich, orange color. They remind me of my grandmother. She had an apricot tree that shaded her whole backyard. They smelled so good and tasted even better. She always had homemade apricot jam on her pantry shelves. So here is another shout out to summer and to apricots!

"Hey, Lisa! Did you bring your potato salad?"

I make the best potato salad! Seriously~ ask anyone! When I entered the ward party last week people yelled out, 'Hey Lisa! Did you bring your potato salad?" It is the only recipe that I made up on my own. Here is what you do: You peel and chop 10 lbs of cooked red potatoes. You peel and chop about 8 - 12 hard boiled eggs. ( how many eggs is up to you) In a separate bowl mix about 2 cups of mayo with chopped fresh dill and chopped fresh chives. Put as much as you want in the mayo. I put in quite a bit. Mix it together and then add it to the potatos and eggs. You can use regular dill weed and chives from your spice section but fresh is best (thanks, Kage!) Let it chill in the refrigerator for a bit and there you go! Enjoy!

Those Lazy, Crazy, Hazy Days of Summer, Part 2

Things I love about summer: Sweet Corn!

I am fortunate to live less than one mile from Kellers Farmstand. Beginning this week, they offer the finest in Illinois Sweet Corn picked daily on their farm. This will last until a little after Labor Day. We had our first taste last night. Delicious!

Those Lazy, Crazy, Hazy Days of Summer, Part 1

I love a summer sewing project.

Over the past summers, I have enjoyed sewing young women camp shorts with crazy fabric patterns for Kage, Linz, Coco and me. The young women in our ward leave for camp tomorrow. Our young women president was saying the other day that she wished she had something that would unify the girls and identify them as being from the same ward. "Yes! A summer sewing project", I said to myself. I volunteered to make 20 bandanas for the girls to wear to camp. The theme this year is "Anchored in Christ" and the girls decided to go nautical with the theme, thus the nautical fabric for the bandanas. It was great fun making them!

One Down, One To Go!

On July 18, 2007, we took My Boy to the MTC and said a tearful good bye for two years. Today marks the anniversary. He has served one year and he has one more year to go! My Boy has had an amazing experience. He has lived in very primitive conditions including a house with no running water. He experiences power outages every day. He walks miles and miles every day in 90+ degree heat, all year round. There is no air conditioning anywhere. He has mastered the Spanish language. He has had three native companions and two Americans. He has witnessed miracles. He has baptized ten individuals. He has made wonderful friendships with many, many people. His letters are always full of optimism and hope. My Boy's greatest character trait is his heart. This heart of his has served him well on his mission. I really, really miss him. He is a great friend to me. But I am so incredibly proud of his service, dedication, and love for the Lord and for the people. One down and one to go! We can do that!

Still in the teenage girl stage.....

When Kage was about 13, DTA came excitedly running into the house exclaiming, "We've been TPed! We've been TPed!" (I have no idea how to spell TPed) I think he thought being TPed was a rite of passage and that we had officially entered the stage of having a teenage girl in the house! This is the scene that we awoke to just yesterday morning. Yes, we had been TPed! Big Time! Our culprits used 100 roles of toilet paper. Here we have been mournfully counting the days until our Coco goes away to college only to be reminded that we are still in the teenage girl stage! (BTW - she had it coming!)

"The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world" ~Abraham Lincoln

We have a lot of girls in our family...eight girls and four boys. DTA and I have three daughters and four granddaughters. We often joke that we wonder who will carry our caskets? Whenever one of our daughters announces that they are having a girl , My Boy always exclaims, "what is this?". When I think of all these girls I think of Abraham Lincoln's famous quote, "The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." The girls in our family are powerful. I am always so uplifted when I spend time with each of my daughters. I already sense a special force in each of my granddaughters. They will be mothers when times are even tougher then they are now. I feel very blessed to call these girls my posterity. The future is in good hands.

A place where Men can act like Boys

My favorite activity in San Antonio was visiting the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. At the ranch we were given two bags of food at the admission stand, and then we drove our 12 passenger van through this African Safari - Texas style. Our first encounter was with a group of deer who were ready and waiting to receive our offerings. The animals were well trained and would come right up to the windows and take food from us. The best part of our safari was watching the grown men in our van. Right before our eyes, they reverted to little boys. DTA was seated at one window, Big J at the other, and NTG kept trying to open the side door (against regulations) so he could get in on even more of the action. Our "boys" were thrilled when an ostrich, buffalo and zebra almost came through the windows as they popped food into their mouths. They laughed laughs that could almost be called giggles! They were in boy heaven!

The Yellow Roses of Texas

The New Yorkers wanted to visit San Antonio's Finest, Boot City. Little V, Little O, and Little D really got into the cowboy hats and boots! Why is it that when you walk into one of these stores that you start thinking a pair of cowboy boots could really round out your wardrobe? I mean, seriously? Cowboy boots with my newest pencil skirt from Talbots? No worries.... I did not succomb. The store did, however, bring back memories of some fabulous Frye boots I wore in college. They were hot!

Busy as a man can be...he's our Bishop, Part 2

Today our son in law, Big J became the Bishop of his ward. I'm not surprised. Everytime I visit his ward I say to myself, "this ward could not run without Big J". The last time I visited, a member of the stake presidency spoke, praised the leadership of the ward and specifically mentioned Kage and Big J. Big J will be an awesome Bishop!

Busy as a man can be...he's our Bishop, Part 1

Last night we had a wonderful ward party in a pavillion by our River Walk. The Bishopric and wives were asked to do a little skit. Here is the Bishopric, looking like little men getting ready for work. The wives are hidden behind them serving as their hands. This is tooth brushing time. When DTA was first Bishop, he disappeared during a Ward Halloween Party one night. I could not find him anywhere for over 20 minutes. When he reappeard I asked him where he had been and he said that when he heard it was time for the pie eating contest he hid in a room. He knew they would want to involve him and he didn't want to be humiliated as the Bishop. After serving six years, I guess he felt like a little humiliation would be fun last night!

The reason for our gathering

The reason for our gathering in San Antonio was because of this little doll. On Sunday, littlest D was blessed by her father in her ward. There were three babies blessed that day and the ward was joyous! Littlest D was the last one to go up. Her uncle and Papa assisted. What a beautiful experience to watch these men take this sweet baby girl in their arms to give her a name and a blessing. NTG was moved to tears as he contemplated the love he has for this little girl. It was the highlight of our trip.

This is my first post on my blog! I can't think of a better time to start than just after a wonderful reunion with my family. We all gathered in San Antonio at the home of Linz and NTG. We had a fabulous time! We rented this 12 passenger van so we went everywhere together! It was so much fun! We had many adventures all of which I will share in future posts.