My House Debra

"In whatever country you live, however young or inadequate you feel, or however aged or limited you see yourself as being, I testify you are individually loved of God, you are central to the meaning of His work, and you are cherished and prayed for by the presiding officers of His Church. The personal value, the sacred splendor of every one of you, is the very reason there is a plan for salvation and exaltation." --Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "Because of Your Faith", October 2010 General Conference

Every Grandma thinks her Grandchildren are the cutest............ but below I have the proof. I love them all so much and am so grateful for them.

Just talked with Audrey this morning. She was telling me about Family Home Evening with Frank and Sara. Apparently they were teaching the children about making choices. They had a couple of signs that the kids could raise up to answer certain questions. The signs had YES or NO on them. Little Owen was asked the question, "what should you do if Dad just washed the car - would it be right to throw popcorn all over it?" He said in his cute little voice "no" as he raised the sign. What a special thing these wonderful kids of mine are doing. This is absolutely the best thing they could be doing with their time: spending it together and teaching their children. I love them so much. To me they are absolutely the VERY BEST!

Mom and I shared a wonderful lunch with Diane and Elsa during the last week of August. They are two of our most favorite people. We grew to love them dearly when they were helping us with our backs using energy work to help us in healing This was a few years back. Our lunch was so yummy and they loved it. I made up a cabbage salad, potato salad, and zucchini crab cakes, with a side dish of pickled beats that Mom and I had canned. Then we had Mom's pumpkin bread for dessert We created a beautiful memory that day.

Each year for the past two years Marsha has come to visit during the month of August. It is really fun to have her. This year was no exception. One thing that made me mad though was I was somehow not in the camera taking mood. This picture was our only pic while she was here. Bummer!! We spent time canning, making bread, visiting Pleasant Grove (her old stomping ground), going to Boutiques, and then probably the highlight was President Monson's Birthday Party. It was a great week. One naughty thing: Marsha introduced us to the delight of Yogurt - Mom and I seem to catch ourselves going there now. Shame on you Marsh!!

I was so happy to be able to go and visit with Audrey and family on Lauren's 3rd Birthday Celebration. This time while I was there I was able to hang with Franklin and his family as well. They had just moved down there. So it was a double treat. Can't believe how the years fly. Little Lauren is getting so big now. She was still little enough to be afraid of the candles though.

From all SMILES to....

Don't get me near those candles!!

Connie's Zucchini "Crab" Cakes 2 1/2 cups grated zucchini 1 egg 2 T butter, melted 1 cup bread crumbs 1/4 cup minced onion 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning TM 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying 1. In a large bowl, combine zucchini, egg, and butter or margarine. Stir in seasoned crumbs, minced onion, and seasoning. Mix well. 2. Shape mixture into patties - you might want to squeeze out some of the excess water. Dredge in flour. 3. In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat until hot. Fry patties in oil until golden brown on both sides. Yummie (good way to use up some of that zucchini from your garden)................................................................................................................................................................... Grilled Chicken with Basil Dressing 2/3 cup extra-virgen olive oil. 3 T fresh lemon juice, plus 1/4 cup 1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, coarsely crushed 1 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp freshly grated ground black pepper 6 chicken breasts (skinned and de-boned) 1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves 1 large garlic clove 1 tsp grated lemon peel Directions Whisk 1/3 cup of oil, 3 T of lemon juice, fennel seeds, 3/4 tsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp of pepper in a re-sealable plastic bag. Add the chicken and seal the bag. Massage the marinade into the Chicken breasts. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day, turning the chicken occasionally. Meanwhile, blend the basil, garlic, lemon peel, remaining 1/4 cup lemon juice, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in a blender until smooth. Gradually blend in the remaining 1/3 cup oil. Season the basil sauce to taste with more salt and pepper ife desired. Prepare the barbecue for medium high heat or pre heat a grill pan over medium high heat. Remove chicken from the marinade. Discard the marinade. Grill the chicken until just cooked through, about 8 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to serving plates, drizzle with the basil sauce and serve. Really good! Angela Needham gave me this recipe and shared some of her Basil with me. I was very pleased with the results.

It has been a fun surprise to return to music teaching and recognizing how much I love to work with the kids and helping them develop their talents. Here's a couple of pictures of two of my piano students Dylan Kaufman and Joseph Needham. They are both wonderful kids with varying degrees of talent and desire.. but I really enjoy trying to figure out ways to motivate them to learn and enjoy music lessons. This next season coming up I have 20 students. It finally began to mushroom on me and I'm looking forward to it, as well as a bit nervous. I think I can handle it. All of the kids I'm working with are super.

I think this is the trip when Audrey came up to visit us with Little Sterling and Lauren only a few months after the baby was born. It was still fall here in Farmington and we had a really fun time together. I was terrible at watching little Sterling as I recall. One night I took a turn at feeding the baby, and somehow I pulled the feeding tube clear out of his nose and throat. Poor little Audrey had to be the big girl again and take care of him the rest of the night. Little Sterling was in the Stroller while we were walking along. So sad I didn't take any pictures of him when we were on our walk. We had his head covered so he wouldn't get cold. I have one picture below of him while he was in his car seat.

Over the past years we've had some fun times with Franklin and Sara and their family. We've been able to share in Birthday celebrations, Holidays, and other fun gatherings. Here's just a few of the pics that I liked. Some of the events were when we went to the Tree House Museum together and also the fun time we had when we were at Thanksgiving Point for the Tulip Festival. The last two pictures were of Joy at her Dance Recital. It is so fun being Grandparents... so many wonderful things to share in......

Pictures from JoAn's visit at the Salt Lake Temple near the reflecting pool........ It's uncanny to me that I would receive this sweet story from my sister, just as I'm trying to re-cap this year, putting pictures, memories, and emotions into place. But I thought it would be good to fit this in right here... in the middle of my wanderings and wonderings............................. (I know we all get inundated with email but this is JUST what I needed to be reminded of today!!! Love you all!!! JoAn)........................ A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in WalMart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout.. We all stood there, under the awning, just inside the door of the WalMart. We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day. Her little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in, 'Mom let's run through the rain,' She said. 'What?' Mom asked. 'Let's run through the rain!' She repeated. 'No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit,' Mom replied. This young child waited a minute and repeated: 'Mom, let's run through the rain..' 'We'll get soaked if we do,' Mom said. 'No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning,' the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm. 'This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?' 'Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, ' If God can get us through this, He can get us through anything! ' ' The entire crowd stopped dead silent.. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain.. We all stood silently. No one left. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith. 'Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If GOD let's us get wet, well maybe we just need washing,' Mom said. Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They got soaked. They were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing. Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories...So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.

Christmas of 2011 was a year that will not be forgotten. Little Sterling was still very small and needed to be taken to the emergency on Christmas Eve due to an infection. Gratefully all was well with him and Andy returned home with him that night. We enjoyed our Christmas morning with Audrey and family and shared a lovely meal with Ben and Melana and their family. That evening we did a little performance for Norma and Kent just sharing Christmas music together. Monday we went over to a friend of Wanda's to perform and spend some time with her. And then on Tuesday the day we were leaving we were woken up by a telephone call that notified us of Dad's death early that morning. We couldn't believe it. We had just seen him a few days earlier and he didn't look that far gone. We were shocked. All of us congregated at Dad's to be with Patti and help plan the funeral.

We decided that this year we would spend Christmas in AZ. It was a sharp departure from our family tradition. But then children have a way of changing things for us as we become Grandma and Grandpa. So we made a plan to stop and visit with Dad on our way down to Audrey's home. Little did we know at the time that it would be our last chance to see him alive. We stopped by on Thursday and he passed away the following Monday.