HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM!

Today my baby boy is 17!! I can't tell you how strange that feels! One more year and I will have no more minors to raise. It is a very bittersweet feeling. Sam was such a sweet little boy, that I absolutely adored!! When I would look at that beautiful face it felt like my heart would just burst with joy. I have such wonderful fond memories of him in the back seat of my car wanting to hear Funiculi, Funicula one more time. I remember the summers we spent in England, and how fun he was in The Sherwood Forest, dressed like Robinhood, and the monastery, dressed as a monk. I remember the time he flew through the air into my arms when he was startled in the mirror maze. If I knew how to get pictures on my blog you would all be looking at my favorite picture of Sam dressed in his wise man costume for his kindergarden Christmas pageant. His teen years have not been nearly as fun, but I have to admit that Sam is a very good boy. He has given us less trouble than most, and we are very proud of him. We expect great things from him in the future, as he is very smart and very talented. We love you Sam!! Happy Birthday!!

Congratulations to the Bishop Family (and few other disjointed comments.)

First of all, I have to yell out a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Amanda and Steve. She shared some very exciting news with us this morning. I will leave the rest for Amanda to tell. We love you darling!!!!

Leaving On A Jet Plane:

I'm not excited, or anything, but HUUUUUURAY!! I feel like my feet have been nailed to the floor for months. We are excited to be going to Utah on Wednesday, and are planning on enjoying every minute. As much as I hate cold, I'm kind of looking forward to seeing some snow. But most of all, I'm looking forward to seeing all the people in Utah that we love so much, and even a couple of our favorite Idahoans are joining us there. Combined with the Concert-of-the Year, that our very own Laurie will be participating in, and our Bailey Christmas Party hosted by Anna, I'm planning on coming home totally exhausted and happy!! It is going to go by WAY too fast! I'll tell you about it when we get back.

Thanks To All

I just want to thank you all for your support. It is a roller-coaster ride, for sure, but I do believe that Tim is improving. We appreciate the prayers in his behalf.

Hard Week!

This has been a very hard week. I have wanted to write and talk to you all about what is going on, but it is
just too hard to put words to my thoughts. However, I want you to know that I am thinking of all my loved ones right now, and praying for your health and happiness. I have faith that the Lord is in charge, loves us, and wants our happiness. I will be back with you on the blog party-line soon.

Happy Thanksgiving/Happy Birthday Grandma

I have had a lot of great plans to write this week about all the things I am grateful for. I also planned to write a particularly touching and wonderful tribute about my mother on her birthday. My wonderful and heartfelt plans rarely see the light of day, and now here I am the morning after full of regrets for opportunities missed. Then I thought, "Hey, I'm still alive, so I guess it isn't too late yet!" So here is what I am grateful for:

A Heavenly Father who blesses my life, even when I don't deserve it.

Earthly parents who loved me and did the very best they could.

A mother who would stay up all night to make me a new dress, for no particular reason.

Brothers and sisters who are awesome.

A husband who would walk to the ends of the earth to put a smile on my face.

Children who are astonishingly good-looking, smart and talented.

Grandchildren who are even more astonishingly good-looking, smart and talented.

Health and strength.

Living in the "land of the free."

Being a member of the church.

Having a roof over my head, and food on the table.

Not having to pull a plow.

Sliced bread, paper plates, ice cream, chocolate, automobiles and airplanes.

Music!!

Recorded music!!

Dancing and singing.

And I say to myself, "What a wonderful world ......"


Emogene Romine Bailey:

Born November 22, 1928. The world is a better place for having her here. I am a better person for having known her. The world is also a bit more crowded because of her, and I, for one, think that is a very very good thing, because the world needs more of Gene's genes. I love you Mom!! Thanks for all you have done, and still continue to do for me and mine. You are an awesome mother, and my most loyal friend. Happy Birthday!!!!!

Sunday Evening

One word. S-W-E-E-T! I slept off the effects of the day, (but will never live down the humiliation) and went to Tim's house for Scott's weekly gospel discussion. Molly lead the discussion last night, and did a beautiful job. She shared a spiritual moment that she and Scott had together, and Scott shared a spiritual moment of his own. This has come to be my favorite time of the week!

What a Day!!! : (

You know how good Saturday was? Well, that's how bad Sunday was! If I had a "Groundhog Day" like that I would be leaping off tall buildings, and napping on railroad tracks. It was a day that nightmares are made of. You know that nightmare where you are at school in your underwear, and you have to give a speech in front of the student body, there's breakfast in your teeth and you haven't combed your hair since Easter? That was my day. It was kind of like the time I went to the dentist right after we were married. My parents volunteered to pay for one last trip to the dentist since they didn't have time to get me in before I got married. I had 22 cavities filled in one day. I was so numb I couldn't feel my eyelids, let alone my mouth or nose. My tongue was a useless, swollen, chewed up piece of meat that made it impossible for me to close my mouth, and completely incapable of speech. A sock would have been more useful! With my tongue hanging out, drool running down my chin, snot smeared around on my face, and my eyelids frozen open, I found my way to Greg's place of employment for the very first time since our nuptials. After finding that nothing came out of my mouth but tongue and drool and a few guttural groans, I took a pen and paper from the startled girl at the desk and wrote in childish scribble, "Get Greg Waite. I'm his wife." (Come to think of it, maybe this was Greg's nightmare?!!) Her face turned white, and she backed out of the room kind of whimpering. In a flash she was back pulling Greg by the arm, and about 12 co-workers poked their head around the corner to get a quick look. That was my day yesterday! Now that I have set up the proper level of humiliation, I realize I still have no hope of you understanding what a bad day I had. But imagine that you had been called to play the piano for Primary, and when you got there you realized you had never seen one of those instruments before and had no idea how to play it. Now you're getting close! Oh, by the way, I have a new calling. I am the new primary pianist. Yesterday was my first day. I don't know exactly what happened in the morning, and I may never know. My best guess is that somehow someone wanted to play a very cruel joke on me and switched out my medicine bottles, and gave me something that made my tongue hang out, drool and snot run down my face, and my eyelids freeze open. I staggered into the primary room and felt my way to what I thought must be a piano but there was not one recognizable note in sight. I opened the song book set in front of me, and all I could see were floating black dots in double exposure that meant absolutely nothing to me. The worst part was, I didn't care. I hit whatever key my numb hands fell upon. The flustered chorister kept saying, "Just play the melody!" I just kept saying, "Aww'm Saaaaawwwweeeee!" I don't know if I will ever be able to show my face in the ward again! I still don't know what happened. My best guess is I somehow mixed up my sleeping pills with my cholesterol medication. If that was the case, I took 3 times my regular dose of sleeping pills at 8:00 am! Let me tell you, that is a recipe for a very bad day!!