A Most Wonderful Idaho Christmas!

This was a fabulous Christmas for us. On the 24th, early in the morning, Jon, Bonnie and Ella drove with us to Idaho. We spent that evening at Angie's house which was very warm and cozy. We played games, ate, talked, ate, did a gift exchange where everyone wanted the Brittney Spears CD, and ate some more. As it our tradition, I passed out the packages containing matching pajamas for everyone.

Dad, as usual, did a family home evening presentation and read the Christmas story from Luke. We had our own two little angels to help add to the Christmas spirit. The whole time it was snowing outside and made for the perfect Christmas Eve. At the end of the evening they all had Jim and I close our eyes and when we opened them, there was the most beautiful, perfect adorable picture of all our children, their spouses and our granddaughters! Of course I cried and cried! Jon and Bonnie had had to travel to Idaho especially to have the picture taken, which was no easy thing during finals. I so appreciated the sacrifice that went into getting the picture. I absolutely love it!! (See below)

Christmas Day we all congregated at Aaron and Kelly's house. Kelly had the house decorated beautifully and she also had a wonderful breakfast waiting. We spent the morning opening presents, seeing what Santa brought everyone and watching Malia and Ella have a wonderful time with all their new toys. (Of course it wouldn't be Christmas without Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation....)

Kelly fixed a lovely turkey dinner that was fabulous and Jim and Steve took over the clean-up duties with everyone else pitching ing. Afterwards we played a couple of games and a few people took naps. (Party poopers!) Then it was time to call it a day. Jim and I had a fabulous time. The ride home the next day, however, was horrible! The roads were icy and snowpacked. It took us 8 hours to make a five hour drive!. Today, we are washing laundry, getting tires on the car, taking care of dogs and cats and leaving for California!

The House is Not Decorated Until the Nativity Set is Up

I can't believe Christmas is almost here. It has been a very different Christmas Season for us, this year. Different because we have been alone for the most part. We do see Jon, Bonnie and Ella often, but everyone else lives in the Boise area. Which is why we are traveling to Boise for Christmas. We are so excited to have the whole family together for the holiday. We will be having our traditional Family Home Evening on Christmas Eve at Angie's house. Jim will be telling the Christmas Story from Luke, with a few "Dad" things thrown in. Of course Mom has bought matching pajamas for everyone to wear.

Christmast Day will be at Aaron and Kelly's. It sounds like Kelly is putting together a wonderful dinner. It should be total chaos with all 13 of us, which includes the two grandbabies! I am so excited! Malia is three and Ella is almost two; perfect ages for the whole Santa Claus thing. I will be sure to take lots of pictures.

One of the best parts of the Holiday Season is being able to attend Tip Tap Toes dance recital in Idaho. Every year Kami holds a recital in December and every year it is adorable! This year I got to help by being the narrator, but of course, the highlight of the whole event was watching Malia in her two dance numbers. Prejudice grandma or not, she was not only the cutest dancer out there...she was the best dancer too. A chip off the old block, Kami. It seems like only yesterday it was you! What fun for Nena!

Alas, all is not fun. I am feeling guilty for not sending out Christmas cards this year. I just haven't had the time. I know, I know...other people are just as busy as I am, but I truly feel like I lost a week of the Christmas Season by being in Chicago for a week. (Never again!) But, I will send out cards after the first of the year, and I am good with that, so I hope others are too.

Tomorrow is our Company Christmas Luncheon/Party. I hope everything goes well. After that, I still have some shopping to do, a ton of presents to wrap, visiting teaching to do, gifts to deliver, etc. Then we pack and it is off to Idaho. We come back on Saturday and Sunday we leave for California for a week. It should be fun, but everything is so hectic!

Plus, I have been given some new responsibilities at work that I am still not comfortable with. It all adds to the stress but I am determined to enjoy the holiday. Today, (Sunday) I got up early just so I could snuggle by the Christmas tree and read Christmas stories out of the book I bought. It is my personal tradition to buy a Christmas book of stories every year, and then read them throughout the month of December. I got a late start but I am still committed to making time to read a couple every day until Christmas. They truly do make the season "spiritual" for me.

And today was my favorite Sunday of the whole year! The Sunday before Christmas! Our Sacrament Meeting was wonderful! We have so many wonderfully talented people in our ward that it is unbelieveable! Violins, flutes, piano and organ duets, a really, really good choir and some wonderful speakers all made for a fabulous program! It was truly a blessing to be there. People who do not get the spiritual side of Christmas truly miss out. I am so grateful for the blessings that are mine through the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Merry Christmas to all my family and friends!! Speaking of family...here are all my girls and my boys! I am so blessed!!!

No time to write, but I am getting "flack" from my kids about my blog being old news. It is just that December is so busy and work has been frantic that I just haven't taken the time. I will, I promise, I just need to get caught up first.

In the meantime, here is a picture of our Christmas tree.

It is a beautiful day in Oceanside, California! It is 2:15 in the afternoon and I am enjoying the 80 degree temperatures and the soft ocean breeze. I love being here with Jim but my visits are always way too short.

This morning we went to church in the old Oceanside Ward. We saw a few people we remember from 15 years ago, but most everything else has changed. Even the chapel is brand new; the old one torn down and a new one built in its place. We had a great sacrament meeting and I'm glad we went.

Yesterday we went to the La Jolla temple. It was absolutely gorgeous and an absolutely perfect day. We had a great experience in being there; it was so peaceful and quiet. The celestial room is the most beautiful one I have ever seen. It brought back a lot of memories from when the temple was built and when I used to be a temple worker, there.

We also spent time at the beach yesterday. Oceanside Harbor is still one of the most adorable harbors, anywhere. We love that place! Jim surfed while I read. It was very relaxing which is exactly what I needed.

This trip has been the perfect 'healing balm'. My blood pressure has been 'roller-coastering' for a couple of weeks. Work is totally stressing me out, as it is my busiest time of year, and of course there is always an issue or two with our family, which stresses me out too. (Ryan just called and he broke his ankle in two places. No job. No insurance. No rent money!) But being here for four days has helped bring back a little sanity and I just need to do it more often. Jim and I both always have such a good time when I am here!

Hi Everyone!

I forgot about my promise to post a picture of the Halloween costume. Here it is. Unfortunately, I won the contest in the "scarest" catagory, which is not what I was going for. But scarey is scarey, right?
Jim is leaving for Phoenix and I will be alone here until Thursday when I fly to California and meet Jim there. I am going to stay for a long weekend and just relax. Ok, that's a lie. I am taking my computer so I can work...but then I will relax.
We got a lot done around the house, this weekend, and took Jim's parents for a ride up to Wallsburg. I hope they enjoyed it. We also helped them with a couple of chores they needed help with, too.
One thing Jim and I have always enjoyed doing is taking walks together. We do it on Sunday mornings and any other morning we can squeeze it in. Here are a couple of pictures from our walk. All the pretty leaves are gone, but November does have a charm of its own. Enjoy, and have a good week!

The "Graff" side of the extended family doesn't know each other very well so Jeannette thought it would be a good idea for everyone to be on Facebook. That way, the cousins could all read about what is going on in each other's lives. So, last night I joined the Facebook crowd. Now I have a blog site, an online journal, and Facebook. As I mentioned in a previous blog, I just can't keep up with it all. So then I got the brilliant idea of directing everyone to one site...this one.

So, 'hi' to all the nieces and nephews on Jim's side of the family. Mine too, if they happed to add me as a 'friend' on Facebook. I will try to keep things somewhat up-to-date on this site, but no promises. I am on a computer all day at work. I'm not so sure I want to spend any more time on it when I get home. But, for what it is worth today, we are all fine and happy.

Jim gave a big presentation in California today and he said it didn't go as well as he would have liked. I'm sure it went better than he thinks; he just didn't have a lot of problems to talk about because his new market is doing so well.

I am in the middle of planning our biggest tradeshow of the year which is coming up the day after Thanksgiving. I will be in Chicago the end of November - first of December. So, the Christmas tree is going up before Thanksgiving this year, even though I am opposed to people doing that normally.

And tomorrow is Halloween. I am in charge of the company party / luncheon / costume contest. It should be pretty fun. I'm going as a cross between Peg from Married With Children and Flow from the old Alice sitcom. (Basically a Bimbo with really bad taste in clothes!) I'll post a picture tomorrow IF I get around to posting anything tomorrow.

And... one more thing. Aaron and Kelly are coming to stay for the weekend! Hooray! I love it! I can't wait to see them.

I'm not sure what is happening to me lately but I want to be anywhere but at work. For some strange reason I feel like life is speeding up and I have a lot I want to get done before I "check out". Being at work all day is stopping me from "living life."

Now, realistically I know that isn't true. Work is a part of life, but lately it is just plain boring. Actually, as far as jobs go, I have a pretty good one. And, I have enjoyed it up until lately. Planning events and tradeshows, designing tradeshow booth graphics, putting on employee functions, meetings and parties is usually pretty fun, but...not lately!

I want to enjoy the beautiful Fall. I want to be outside before the cold and snow comes. I want to spend time with Jim. I want to visit all my children and play with my grandchildren. I want to redecorate my house. I want to finish scrapbooks and journals. I want to sew. I want to quilt. I want to read. I want to write a book. I want to take yoga. I want to workout. I want to have friends over for lunch. I want to clean out closets. I want to take naps. I do NOT want to go to work!

Life is short. Life is good. I want to LIVE!

It's been awhile....

I don't know that I am cut out for this blogging thing. It is only for my family to see, but still, I can't seem to keep up with it. I would like to because I think it is a good way to keep up on what is going on in everyone's lives, but still....I can't seem to keep up with it. It is just one more thing that weighs on my mind and makes me feel guilty. Guilty? Why guilty? Because everyone else on the planet seems to be able to blog and chat and surf and text and IM and, etc. etc. etc. I feel out of the loop. I feel like a looser because there are just not enough hours in the day for me to do all that I have to do, and be up on all that stuff too. Again...I can't seem to keep up with it. Do I need to say it one more time? I CAN'T SEEM TO KEEP UP WITH IT!!!!!
And that is my blog for today.

Sometimes Life is Just Plain Hard...

Sometimes life is just plain hard! Things you thought were going to be great turn out to be a hassle, or worse! Things you thought were going to bring you joy, bring disappointment and heartache. But, I do understand the purpose behind all of that. If life was good all the time, we would not recognize it as "good". It would just be "life." We wouldn't learn anything. Unfortunately, it is through the bad experiences in life that we learn to appreciate the good. It is through the trials in life that we come to appreciate the mundane, and the day to day. Normal is good!

On Father's Day when Kami announced to Steve and her Dad, (I already knew) that she was expecting number two, we were all excited and thought that good news would bring us even more joy when he/she was born. After spending a few days with us in Utah, I drove Kami and Malia home. I hung out for a day and drove back the next morning after spending a couple of hours with Aaron and Kelly. Kami was all excited about her ultrasound the following week. While at the doctor's office with Steve and Malia, they were told there was no heart beat. I was so sad....and sad for Kami.
After waiting a week to deliver, with no luck, they finally did a D and C. Life is hard!!

Jim went with the Priests to Lake Powell. He always has a good time whenever he spends time with young adults! I reminded him he is not 35 anymore as he left the house that morning at 4:30 AM.

Sure enough while trying to "prove something" on a waterski, he biffed it and wiped out pretty hard. Hard enogh to send him to the ememgency room when he got home. I was still in Idaho or I would have been with him and made them do a more thorough exam. The simple version of the story is, he broke a couple of ribs and is badly bruised. The longer version is, it has been almost two weeks and he is still in terrible pain. He hasn't had a good nights sleep since then and he isn't quite sure what to do. However, they did do a CT scan while he was in the emergency room and it was discovered he has spots on his liver. Never a good thing.

That along with the fact that he is having terrible pain in his left arm at night, leads me to believe that his cholestrol medication is doing more harm than good! He was told to get it checked out by a specialist right away.

So, he has a doctor's appointment with Dr. Karnam Monday afternoon. This time I will be there to get all the details that Jim allows them to miss because he does not ask a lot of questions. I pray it is nothing terribly serious; maybe his liver was bruised in the waterskiing wipeout!?! But, nevertheless...life is hard!

But, life is good too. We are all going to Hawaii together at the end of this month and I am looking forward to a wonderful time! I love my kids and my grandbabies so much. That is the good part of life; love and relationships! In that department I am truly blessed!

Going Back Again....

Fourteen years ago we left Oceanside California and it broke Jim's heart. He loved it there. He loved surfing the harbor, one of his very favorite places on earth. He has returned several times since then, but only for short visits. Then his company transferred him to Southern California again.

We made the decision not to sell our house in Alpine and move. With all the foreclosures around, we knew we would take a huge loss, but we needed to do something, so Jim decided to commute, three days a week.

We knew we needed some place for him to stay while he was there. Orange County is way too expensive. Hmmmmm, Northern San Diego County might work. Well what do you know! That is where Oceanside is!

So after a lot of searching we took advantage of the foreclosure market (we recognize it is at someone elses loss) and bought a small condo in Oceanside. We spent all last week getting it ready to move in. Note: People who are forced to leave a house do not leave it very clean!

After a few disasters like the washing machine flooding over, the gas line leaking, a plugged toilet and sink, it was finally OK. I say OK because there is still a lot to do.

I wish we could have furnished it with brand new furniture but most of it came from our house; stuff we really don't like anymore. But, someday I hope we will be able to fix it the way we would like. In the meantime, take a look at Jim's new digs...

Father's Day Gift

It's Father's Day. It started with breakfast in bed for the wonderful father of my children. A heart healthy breakfast of oatmeal with brown sugar and pecans, raspberries and blueberries, and an English muffin with strawberry jam,(No butter!)and orange juice.

I did good when I chose him to be the father of my children. I'm sure they appreciate it because they all love him so much.

We took a walk around the pond, which was very peaceful then got ready and went to church. It has been a very nice Sunday.

It was also a very special father's day as Kami revealed in her card to her dad, that she was going to make him a grandpa again! He (and I) couldn't be happier! We are so excited. And, today was also the day she told Steve he was going to be a Daddy again. Little Malia gave him the news when she posed for pictures holding signs that said, "Surprise! and I'm going to be a big sister!" The pictures were included in his and grandpa's cards. So cute!

Life doesn't get any better than having a husband you love, children who make you proud and being a grandparent! I am so blessed.

Dancing, Birthday, Haircut, and more Dancing!!

I just returned from a work related trip to Seattle last week, took two days to catch up, do laundry and check in at the office before I headed off to Idaho! It has been too long since I have seen my grandbaby, Malia and this was the perfect weekend to visit. You see, it was Kami's dance studio recital, which means it was Malia's dance recital, and grandma Nena couldn't miss that now, could she. Malia was fabulous and as far as I'm concerned, she stole the show. She was adorable in her red, white, and blue sailor outfit, complete with sailor hat, dancing to "On the Good Ship Lollipop." I helped backstage with all the little dancers and again, it was another rousing success for 'Tip Tap Toes Dance.'

The next day, May 22nd, was Kami's 22nd birthday. We all went to lunch with Aunt Nene (Angie) and I got to babysit that evening while Steve took Kami to the Melting Pot for dinner, then to Circ de Sole. (Is that how you spell it?) They had an awesome time and I am so glad.

Yesterday Kami and I spent seven, yes seven, hours at Angie's salon while she colored, and another gal, Jackie, cut my hair. I have not had my hair this short in a very long time, but it feels good to get a good haircut. I hope Jim likes it, but since he doesn't like me with short hair, I doubt he will.

Tonight, Malia and I met Angie and Brent at the Boise Burn game so we could see Kami dance with the 'Hotshots'. Of course she was fabulous, and without being prejudiced, she is by far, the best dancer on the team. We had a wonderful time watching the game and the dancers while Malia polished off a whole bag of popcorn, a pack of fruit snacks, a bunch of grapes and a sippy cup of milk. On the way home, grandma couldn't resist driving through Dairy Queen to get a Turtle Cluster Blizzard for herself and an icecream cone for Malia. (Who then required a bath when we got home!)

Tomorrow morning I drive back to Utah. I am excited to see Jim because I have seen so little of him the last few weeks, and to spend a quiet Memorial Day with him on Monday. We plan to visit my parents graves early in the morning, then go out to breakfast, so we can talk and catch up.

Life is good, I can't complain, but I am excited to get back into a routine again and get going to the gym, too. But, that is another story for another day.

I'm fi - fif - fiffff ...I just can't say it!

Tomorrow is my fi - fif - fifffty fifffth birthday. There, I said it! And it feels as awful as it sounds! I can hardly believe it. I don't feel that old. I may look it but I don't feel it. And I guess that's good.

I can honestly say, "What a ride!" I have had a wonderfu life, so far and I am so blessed, so it really would be ungrateful to say I didn't expect the next 55 to be just as wonderful!

Although I don't particularly like turning 55, (there,I said it again)I like my birthday. All the kids usually call and everyone at work is so nice. A group of friends are getting together for breakfast tomorrow morning,too. I am expecting a wonderful day.

Also, tomorrow Jim will be finding out if his company will require him to move to California or if they will let him commute. If he could commute, that would be awesome! Especially he they pay for the plane tickets and hotel. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Anyway, here is the birthday girl the night before she turns 55. (Wow! I think I am getting used to it!!) Happy, happy birthday to me!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Makella Juliette turned one year old on February 13, 2008. This year has gone by so fast and we have loved every minute of being grandparents to such an adorable, sweet, precious, and of course, smart, granddaughter! She is a delight! Jon and Bonnie gave her a little birthday cake of her own to eat. Since her birthday really was the first time she has had sugar, she thought it was extra great! She got lots of new clothes from both sets of grandparents and lots of toys from her parents. Happy, happy birthday Makella! We sure do love you a lot!

The younger generation, with their cell phones, are chatting, texting and sending pictures at all hours of the night. My own kids, now that they are older and "their own bosses" spend half the night on the phone, and then sleep until late morning. I know this because the behavior continues when they come to visit.

But, for those of us who were not raised with a cell phone in hand, we still dread the "middle of the night phone call." Any phone call that awakens you from a deep sleep can only mean one thing....bad news!!

So, when my phone rang at 3:00 AM last Thursday morning, I caught it on the first ring with my heart racing. I was correct, it was bad news. Jim, who was in California where his new market is, was calling from the Huntington Beach Hospital. He was having chest pains and had driven himself to the hospital. The Dr. took over the conversation telling me how Jim was in the midst of having a heart attack and they were "911-ing" him over to Fountain Valley Hosital where they had a cath lab.

The phone went dead and I began running around. I ran down stairs to make plane reservations, then ran back up stairs to get my glasses because I couldn't see the computer screen. Everything said "unavailable" so I thought I better call instead. I went looking for the phone which never seems to be put back on the cradle. I couldn't seem to dial correctly and it took me several tries to get through. I made a reservation for a 6:00 AM flight, then cancelled it because I wouldn't be able to make it in time. I called back, made another reservation, then hurried to pack. I ran down stairs to get a suitcase but Jim had both small suitcases with him so I thougth I better borrow one from Cheryl, however, it was way too early to call.

To make a long story short I caught the 11:30 Southwest flight, got delayed in Las Vegas, coming and going because of Airforce One, was late into John Wayne Airport where we didn't have a gate. Finally, I made it off the plane where Marilyn Seebold picked me up and drove me to the hospital.

Jim had had surgery and they had put in a stint. They went throught the artery in his groin and up to his heart. By the time I was able to see him late that afternoon, he looked great and was feeling great, too!

How grateful I am that he listen to the 'still small voice" that told him to get himself to the hospital. The Dr. said it was a major heart attack and probably would have been fatal had he not already been in the emergency room when it happened.

Everyone has been so wonderful. Jim has received so many notes, phone calls and e-mails wishing him well. His company has been fabulous in insisting that he take time off and rest, which is something Jim is not used to doing. Friday we began the long drive home, as his Dr. said he could not fly for a couple of weeks. We stayed the night in Nevada then drove on home yesterday.

Kami, Steve and Malia drove in from Idaho Friday night and Aaron drove in on Saturday. They all love their Dad so much. Jim is feeling great and we are having a wonderful time together. There is about three feet of snow, (honestly!) outside and the boys have made snow runs, and snow caves for Malia.

I love my family so much and I am so very thankful we are still 'ALL' together.

Ok, I was going to write in here on a consistent and regular basis beginning January 1st! It didn't happen. That is because EVERYTHING has shifted. I don't think the earth is still rotating around the sun on the same axis as it was in December. Let me explain...

We have been planning a trip to Maui and Kauai for several months. My husband won a company contest to Kapalua on Maui. We decided to add a hop over to Kauai for a few days because it is our favorit island. Jim is a surfer and he has a favorite surf spot there. We were scheduled to leave on January 3rd, but on January 2nd he received a phone call, (a phone call?) telling him he was being transferred to Souther California!!! No, this is not optional. If we want a job, which we do, because he only has 18 months until he can retire, this is where we will be.

Needless to say, we had a lot of talking to do! And it worked out perfectly. We spent a lot of time together in the sun, discussing our options, making plans and figuring things out, between surf sessions, watching the golf tournament, shopping, snorkeling and eating! We came up with what we thought was a perfect plan.

With his raise and bonus which he is expecting in March, we would buy a small condo probably somewhere in Orange County, CA. He would work and stay there Monday through Thursday and fly home on Thursday nights. We would be together for a long weekend and he would fly back on Monday morning. The condo would be an investment and the kids and their families could come and stay for California vacations. Jim would enjoy living there because his good friend of 23 years, Wayne Seebold lives in Huntington Beach and they could surf and fish in the late afternoons and evenings.

We had a fabulous time in Hawaii and returned home early Sunday morning.

Late Sunday afternoon we received a phone call from a friend I haven't talked to for many years. She was calling to let us know that Wayne Seebold had died of a heart attack earlier that morning!!! Jim was shocked and devasted!!! He flew down to Orange County on Tuesday and I followed on Thursday. The whole thing was just so terribly sad.

Jim spoke at the funeral and did a great job. We say many people we hadn't seen since we lived in Huntington Beach 21 years ago. They had a "Paddle Out" which is what surfers do when "one of their own" dies. They all paddle out on their boards and form a circle. They have a prayer and one surfer starts it by going into the middle and talking about their thoughts, feelings and experiences about the person who has died. One after another takes turns. There can be singing or other things too, like throwing leis and flowers into the ocean.

It was such an emotional week that I am physically and emotionally drained. Jim is more so than I am.

But now, what do we do? Jim doesn't want to go to California and be all alone in a condo for four days a week, and I certainly don't want to move to Orange County! We just don't know what we are going to do at this point. Life can be so hard!

But, anyway, that is my explaination for not posting sooner. I will try to do better and I threaten myself by saying I will have to go back to hand writing in a journal if I don't keep this up.