Candy Canes and Granddaughters

I'm glad the background of my blog looks similar to a candy cane. It is so appropriate for this story.... Friday night Matt was visiting my house with Shae (6), Audrey (4) and Eliza (18 months). Lindsay was with her family participating in a service project. After checking out all of my Christmas decorations, Shae spotted some regular size candy canes in my kitchen. She pointed them out and talked about them. I knew she was dying to have one of her own, so I asked her, "What do you think your mommy would say if I gave you a whole big candy cane?" (At this time of year I don't want to be too responsible for providing a sugar overload.) Shae hestitated and hummed and hawed, but Audrey immediately spoke up and said, "Mommy's not here." I couldn't stop laughing! She was right but Daddy was there and he heard her. We compromised and smashed the candy canes into small pieces. Sprinkled them onto vanilla ice cream with chocolate topping. It's a holiday story I won't forget!

WHAT I AM -- I've been tagged again

Because more than two hours of continuous sleep is non-existent since my foot problems, I thought I would answer this tag from Carly rather than lay in bed being frustrated that I was awake...again!

I AM
a daughter of God
a wife
a mother
a grandma
a professional volunteer

I BELIEVE IN
my Savior Jesus Christ
and His Atonement
the strength of my husband
the power of prayer
the power of positive thinking

I AM GRATEFUL FOR
family
my amazing husband
computers
freedom
Cherry Coke Zero

I AM OVERJOYED BY
my grandchildren
more than two hours of continuous sleep
phone calls and art work from grandchildren
family photos
great deals

I AM INSPIRED BY
the Book of Mormon
my husband
my children
my grandchildren
uplifting music -- especially Christmas music
the life story of Emma Smith

SOMEDAY I WISH TO
sleep all night long
see the whales
not have to worry about retirement money
serve a humanitarian mission providing water
bike around Kuaui

Wow! Eight grandchildren and three more on the way!

I never imagined that I would have so many grandchildren so fast. Years ago, David and I predicted that we would have 15 grandchildren. If my children keep it up we will easily pass that number. It's amazing how love doesn't divide -- it multiplies. I can hardly wait for the birth of each of them. We have the four older kids -- Eric, Shae, Tyler and Audrey; the three toddlers -- Rylee, Eliza and Keagan; and by June we will have the four babies -- Dax, Camille, baby girl Matheson and baby Lindberg.

I was just listening to my very favorite Christmas song -- "Heavenly Choirs"...must have had children singing along when they came to the earth...." and thought of my beautiful grandchildren. Being around them is like being in heaven for me. I love each one of them so very much!


This picture was taken the end of October when everyone was home for Sunday dinner. Again, it reminded me that together is truly the best place to be!

Tag -- You are it!

I've been tagged before, but I have never taken the time to respond. This time I will because it's a tag about my husband -- the man of my dreams. I would love to tag anyone else that wants to brag about their guy. Here's a picture of him supporting me at Girls Camp.



* Where we met – At his missionary homecoming from Guatemala / El Salvador.
* How long we dated before we got hitched – Four days. Not recommended but it worked for us.
* How long have we been married – 32 amazing years in December!
* What's my favorite feature about him – His hands and arms – the way his hugs make me feel secure and loved.
* What's my favorite quality about him – The strength of his integrity and the way he supports me in anything I want to do.
* What's his nickname for me – Cookiehead (not sure why...haven’t heard it in a while)
* His favorite color – Green (check out the color of his boat)
* His favorite food – Steak and potatoes, popcorn, ice cream, Dr. Pepper
* His favorite sport – Snowmobiling, motorcycling, boating
* Who said the L word first -- He did
* First kiss when and where – Day #3 of dating - in a church parking lot after lightning hit a power pole 30 feet away from us. Yes, I saw “fireworks.”
* Favorite couple thing to do – cuddle and...
* How many kids – 5 and soon to be 11 grandchildren
* His hidden talent – He loves to play with babies and little kids
* His age – 53
* His favorite music – Simon and Garfunkel
* What I admire most about him – I fell in love with his testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love his determination and his integrity.
* His favorite pastimes – Spending time at the cabin, watching sci-fi movies
* Will he read this – If I tell him I have updated my blog. I love you beyond words David!

My Grandkids on Halloween

Since I couldn't hang out with any of my grandkids on Halloween, I asked all the mommies to send me some photos for my memories. By the time David gets off work and we get to anyone's house, trick or treating has started. The kids aren't too interested in Pama and Papa anyway. They just want the candy! The Matheson kids were straight out of Star Wars -- Eric was a Luke Skywalker, Tyler was Yoda and Rylee was Princess Leia complete with a cinnabon wig. Talya and Ryan were Army guys. Dax went as a "little monster." Looks like he was one occasionally on Halloween night. Don't blame him one bit. On the Hansen side Shae was a "red witch," Audrey was a cowgirl and Eliza was a lady bug and a giraffe. Can you guess who Matt and Lindsay were? Too bad the costumes didn't sway the vote. Keagan went as a pumpkin. Erica wore a costume that made an announcement. If you don't get it, look for Keagan's message in the teal colored shirt....

David and I spent Halloween at a movie and dinner. We went to Su Casa and saw "Forever Strong." I highly recommend the movie (and the restaurant)!

Sacrament Meeting Program

Sunday, October 26, was the annual Young Women's Sacrament Meeting program. It was wonderful as always. I introduced the program by sharing some of the highlights of our year. The topic was this year's theme found in Mosiah 5:15 "Be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works...." Some of the girls shared what the theme meant to them. Others talked about how Personal Progress helps them be steadfast and immovable. The rest talked about our reading the Book of Mormon challenge. After the passing of President Hinckley, many church members choose to honor him by reading The Book of Mormon in 97 days – a day for each year that he lived. As a YW group we took on this challenge but lengthened it another 80 days to represent the life of our newest prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. That meant we had 177 days or three pages a day to complete it. On Easter Sunday, all the girls received a pocket-size Book of Mormon along with a red pencil and highlighter. With the red pencil we marked every reference to our Savior, Jesus Christ. With the highlighter, we marked the words that He spoke. I can’t begin to tell you how this has changed my life. I’ve read the Book of Mormon 30 plus times never fully realizing the how often the Savior is spoken of until I took on this challenge.
I have watched the girls that have made reading The Book of Mormon part of their lives become stronger and more steadfast. I have watched them have the strength to fight off temptation and withstand the adversary. Their countenances have changed. Their attitude towards life is different. I can always tell when they have made The Book of Mormon a part of their lives. A few of the girls completed the challenge on time, many of the rest have promised to complete it by Thanksgiving. Mostly, I hope they are reading from it each and every day. I've started reading it again with the finish of goal of April 2009 General Conference. This time I am focusing on the blessings promised to the house of Israel and counsel given about prayer. I like reading with a specific purpose.

YW Fall Camp 2008

For most of the past six years, I have taken the young women to our cabin for an overnighter. First, we stop in Park City to ride the Alpine Slide. Then onto the cabin. We usually have dinner, work on a service project, eat, talk, play, and eat some more. Some of us actually get some sleep. We are home by noon on Saturday. Unfortunately, this year, I had to sit with my foot elevated and not do some of the activities, but we did see a moose. The scenery photos are views from the front porch of the cabin. Even though our numbers have dwindled over the years, we have a fabulous time. I love "my girls!"

Grandchild #8 -- Daxson Michael Allred

Five days after my surgery, on September 1st Labor Day, baby Dax decided to make his entry into the world at 8:13 p.m. He was 7 lbs. 9 oz. and 19.5 inches long. It was a long hard day for Carly. Dax was posterior and did not want to turn. He would almost be out and then slip back up and flip in the wrong position over and over. His heart rate slowed down at the end and scared us but two big hard long pushes later he finally came out. I'm so proud of Carly! She used Hyponobirthing to bring him into the world without any drugs. Talya was her doula and was fantastic. Dax is a now two months old and as cute as can be! The other day while I was talking with Carly he was screaming at the top of his lungs for no apparent reason. She put the phone near his ear so I could talk to him. As soon as he heard my voice he quieted down and let me talk to him for a bit. What a way to steal Pama's heart. He doesn't look at all like a Simonsen/Hansen. He is a total Allred. He looks like a little man - not a baby - with his furrowed forehead. Carly and Robbie are great parents full of a tremendous amount of love for their little boy.

Foot Surgery

I have a few moments of downtime so I thought it would best be used by updating my blog and explain the reason for being absent from the blog world for so long. It all started back on July 17th when I had a cortisone shot in my foot. I had been diagnosed with a neuroma (inflamed nerves in the foot) a few weeks earlier. It wasn't getting better so I had the option of the shot or possible surgery. I did not want surgery. I decided to give the shot a try since we were leaving for our annual Lake Powell trip in about ten days. Well, the shot was wonderful. It worked just like it was supposed to until July 31st. That is the day I stepped from the houseboat to the ski boat and felt a pop in my foot. As soon as I was home and able to make an appointment with Dr. Morgan I went in for another x-ray. Nothing looked wrong. We decided the shot had run its course and the neuroma was back. It was too soon for another shot so I learned how to tape it and went on my way. The problem was that it got worse and worse. On Saturday, August 23rd I hurriedly walked across the freeway (to check on the passengers in a car that had just rolled three times right in front of us) and my foot totally went out. The pain was awful. I lived with it until Monday when a new x-ray showed a very dislocated toe. At this point surgery was called for to fix the toe and remove the neuroma. It took place August 27th. They sewed the torn ligaments back into place and put a 3.5 inch pin in my toe to hold it in place. It has now been two months. The pin is gone but the toe is still sore and swollen. I just had a follow-up appointment and it will be another four months before I "go a day without thinking about the pain in my foot." I can't walk up hills, wear any type of heel or my red or black cowboy boots. I have one pair of shoes to wear that are a whole size bigger than normal to get on my swollen foot. I stood in line for an hour tonight to vote early and my foot is screaming at me. It is much better than it was, but not it is not where I want it to be. Obviously the surgery was a much bigger deal than I thought it was. My theory on what happened was the cortisone shot weakened my ligaments which eventually tore and my toe slipped out of place. I will never have another cortisone shot again. The x-rays are very revealing. Skip viewing them if you are queasy.

Recovery has slowed down my participation in optional activities (like blogging) so that I can keep up with required activities (like being a grandma and wife, YW leader and Festival Board Member).

Family Party

In the middle of July, we had a family tin foil dinner party up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was my Mother's Day present from Clay and Jenny. They know that my favorite thing to do is to be with all of my children and grandchildren so they organized this great get-together. We had yummy tin foil dinners, s'mores and roasted Star Bursts. The kids loved every minute of it. Everyone was there except for Lindsay. Her grandmother had passed away earlier in the week and the viewing fell on the same night. Thank you to all of my children for arranging your schedules in order to make it happen!

Keagan made us all laugh that night. Apparently he loves to pull out the diaper wipes or tissues and wave them like crazy with a big grin on his face. Erica said he was in training to attend a temple dedication.

Deja Vu' Weekend

This past Friday, David and I attended a 30-year reunion of the 2nd Branch at University Village. It was fun to visit with people that we spent so much time with when we were newlyweds and newly parents. There were a few marriages that didn't make it and a couple of deaths but for the most part we were all still happily living life together. David was remembered as the "Golden Husband" by some of the women because he used to vacuum back in the day. (He still does when I need his help.) The event was held at George and Anne Pingree's home. The highlight of the evening was hearing about their years as mission president in Nigeria and Anne's service in the RS General Presidency. Afterwards we met up with Jonathan and Rebecca Smith and Quinn and Sue Parker and laughed about old times and caught up on current events.

Leann pregnant with Talya and Matt. Our apartment window was directly behind my head.

Family photo up Big Cottonwood Canyon

Christmas Day 1979

Sunday was Stake Conference. Our visiting general authority was Cecil O. Samuelson who happened to be our Stake President during our years at University Village. His spoke about the temple -- specifically the Jordan River Temple and how it was financed. His story went something like this -- He was a newly called Stake President when he was issued an invitation to meet with the First Presidency one Sunday morning. At this meeting, the Stake Presidents of SL Valley were told about the Jordan River Temple and that it would be funded by the members. He was told he would receive a letter in a few days indicating the amount his stake would need to contribute. President Samuelson had in his mind an amount he felt his stake could raise. The letter came and it was the same amount only it had some additional zeros at the end. He was concerned about the amount but his bishops reassured him it could be done. The bishops were then instructed to ask every member to contribute what they could. We remember sitting in President Benson's office (President Pingree had been released at this point) and being asked what we could contribute. David was in school full-time, we had two children and our monthly salary was about $400. We prayed about it and felt that we could come up with $100 cash and sell our car if more was needed. The cash was graciously accepted and the offer for the sale of our car was put on hold. President Samuelson indicated he expected feedback from the bishop's requests but the feedback was completely different from what he anticipated. It was positive. He said that the money began to come in along with an offer to sell a car to help raise the money. Before long the report from his stake indicated we had met the contribution requirement from the church and, in fact, exceeded it. President Samuelson was humbled when he realized the amount we exceeded was the same number as the original amount he felt we could raise. No, we didn't have to sell our car to help build the temple, but the Jordan River Temple will always have a special spot in our hearts because we gave all we could to help build it.

The car in question -- Datsun 710

Youth Leader Skit at Girls Camp

Girls Camp

This year for Girls Camp we went to Heber Valley. Wow! We had flush toilets, cabins, electricity and even an ice machine. I am grateful for President Hinckley's vision and his dedication to provide such a remarkable facility for the young women. We had a fabulous time as the Tahiti Sweeties with flamingos being our mascot. The stake kept us very busy coming and going. I love camp! It is the best way to get to know "my girls." Good news -- we get to go back next year as a ward!

Where do I start? Backwards I guess with Lake Powell...

I have many things to post and I have debated where to start -- the beginning of June or the end of July? I've decided to start with our Lake Powell trip from the end of July and go backwards. We spent a glorious week at Powell on Canyon Magic with everyone but Eliza, and Clay and Jen. We missed them immensely! I was talking to the four oldest grandkids about how our whole family was with us but the three that I have mentioned. Eric kindly corrected me and said, "Barney is part of our family and he isn't here." (Barney is a dear family friend with whom Eric has formed a special bond during other Lake Powell trips.) It was difficult to narrow down which photos to use. These should give a taste of the fun we had! (If you want to see more, visit my kids blogs. There is a link to all of them on my blog.) The three oldest grandkids waterskiied. All of them tubed, swam, and went down the slip 'n slide. It was a great week -- heaven on earth for a happy gamma and grandpa.
RYLEE ON THE BEACH
RYLEE AND TALYA
KEAGAN LOOKING TOO GROWN UP
KEAGAN AND ERICA
LINDSAY, AUDREY, CARLY, TYLER AND SHAE
TALYA'S GREAT WIPEOUT
SHAE'S FIRST TIME WATERSKIING
SHAE LOVING LIFE ON THE TUBE
AUDREY AND GRANDPA
AUDREY GETTING READY FOR HER TUBE RIDE
AT THE END OF THEIR SLIP 'N SLIDE TRAIN
ERIC LOOKING COOL
ERIC ENJOYING LIFE
TYLER WORKING ON THE SAND CASTLE
TYLER SHOWING GREAT FORM
CHUCK, KEAGAN, ERICA, PAMA AND PAPA DAVID, LEANN, CARLY WITH DAX, ROBBIE
RYAN, TALYA, PAMA WITH RYLEE, PAPA, TYLER AND ERIC
PAMA AND PAPA, LINDSAY, MATT, SHAE AND AUDREY
The men spent hours building a slip 'n slide down the sandy hill. They actually did it twice because we switched camp spots Tuesday night. (There had been a canopy with chairs and a tent marking a prime beach location. After three days with no one showing up, we decided to move the houseboat and take possession. The tent owners showed up Friday but seemed to understand why we did what we did.)

GAMPA AND AUDREY ON THE SLIP 'N SLIDE


GAMMA ON THE SLIP 'N SLIDE


SLIP 'N SLIDE TRAIN

Has it really been six weeks?

I can't believe how long it has been since I have added to my blog. I have been incredibly busy since June 1st and it is only slightly slowing down. I figured that from June 1 to July 5 I was home for only ten days. I have many things to say and lots of pictures to add. I hope to have a quiet moment to get caught up on my blog before we take off for Lake Powell in a week. But my first order of business has absolutely got to be finishing organizing and unpacking Girls Camp stuff. Blogging will be my reward for putting off the inevitable.

Kids and Swings

Last Sunday (the Sunday we found out that #9 is on its way!) we put Rylee and Keagan in the swings. As you can see Rylee was mad about being in the swing. She actually tried to get out by herself. However, when we let her hold onto the monkey bars she was thrilled! Keagan, on the other hand, was thrilled to be in the swing. I think this experience says alot about their individual personalities....especially Rylee. Next time Eliza is around we will have to let her take a test drive.