Catching My Breath

Let's see. Looking at the calendar, I think I have might have two weeks, maybe three, if I'm lucky, to slow down and breathe a little before things pick back up again.

Baseball season is finally over. Jared finished his coach pitch team the second week of July. I forgot to sign him up for soccer this year, but he says he's okay with it. Adam's team did well in their baseball tournament. They took 3rd place out of 16 teams. Adam had fun and ended the season with with a single and an inning of playing 2nd base, after spending most of the season in the outfield. After winning the consolation game to take 3rd place, I heard him saying, "Best season ever!" It was good to see him enjoying it. This next week he will finish up swim team. He best times in the regular meets have qualified him to swim in the Silver meet at County. He is also talking about taking lifesaving and water safety instructor courses in the future, so he can prepare to teach swim lessons and life guard at the pool when he is old enough to get a job. It's nice to have our community pool is so close to our home. We get a family pass every summer and take as much advantage of it as we can. Adam and Ryan are both old enough to swim without an adult, so they head over there quite often to swim with friends too.

Ryan just started practices for his competition soccer team. I sat and watched them for awhile the other night, because the coach had asked parents to be there for a meeting. I was really impressed with him--his coaching skills, his knowledge of the game, and especially the way he interacted with the players. He's expecting a lot of them, but he communicates it in a very positive way. I think it will be a great experience for Ryan to play for him. Ryan is excited to start 5th grade in a few weeks. We got an email from his teacher, asking him to practice typing, cursive, and times tables each week until school starts. It's hard to think about school in the middle of the summer, but he doesn't seem to mind.

All the boys finished the summer reading program at the library. They've been reading 15-20 minutes a day, five days a week, since the first week of June. They'll keep doing that even though the program is over, but I'll switch to encouragement mode, rather than "you have to get all your chores and reading and piano practicing done before you can have screen time" mode. Now they just have to do chores and Adam has to practice piano.

There are lots of changes going on around here, some of which are nicely facilitating my "breathing time." I decided to step down from the Library Board in June, after 3+ years of service. It was a great experience and helped me get to know our community after we moved here. I enjoyed it, but felt like I needed to put more volunteer hours in at my kids' schools. With all four of them at different schools next year, I'm sure I'll be busy enough.

Then, last Sunday our stake presidency canceled regular church meetings and held a special stake meeting--to reorganize ward boundaries. Every single ward in our stake was shaken up, most pretty drastically. We were moved from our ward of four years to a new ward made up of parts of four old wards. Everyone who was moved to a new ward was automatically released from their callings, so I am no longer the Primary president. I will miss the kids and especially the wonderful ladies I served with in the presidency. We attended our new ward for the first time today--sacrament meeting only. Our new bishop and his wife gave great talks. They introduced themselves and we learned that they met in a "military ward" in Virginia shortly after he returned from the Viet Nam War. (Sound familiar Mom?) He is from Hawaii, originally. By way of introduction, his counselor told us that he likes to give hugs, and he loves luaus. Our first ward activity will be a luau in mid-August. This change is going to take some adjusting for all of us--particularly Adam, who was attached to his deacon friends and Young Men leaders--but it will be an adventure and an opportunity to grow. Jared was happy to learn that several boys he knew from school are in our new ward, and it looks like there are some Ryan's and Dallin's ages too. Hopefully Adam will find some as well. We are sad to leave the friends we made in our old ward, but at least this time we don't have to pack any boxes to do it, and we don't really have to say good-bye either.

I've decided my motto is, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other gold." We've made so many wonderful friends in all the places we've lived. We love keeping in touch with them. (And living in Utah, we get to see many of them when they pass through. We visited with one family we knew in Texas last week, and we're having dinner with with four different families this week--two we knew in Cincinnati, and two we knew in Texas.) For Family Home Evening last Monday, Jeff took us all to Provo for a little "family history tour." We ate dinner at the Malt Shoppe on University Avenue, then drove around and showed the kids all the apartments we lived while we were dating and first married. Then he talked to the boys about all the places we've moved to, the good friends we've made, the wonderful experiences we've had, and the memories we've made. Then we talked about the changes in our ward and how we have the opportunity to grow and make new friends, just like our family has done many times through the years. It was a fun trip down memory lane, and hopefully an effective lesson. At least it kept the kids attention and they weren't wrestling on the couch, like normal. :-)

I feel like I'm rambling, but I'll finish up with this. We have a 16-year-old German girl coming in a few weeks to live with us and go to our local high school for the coming school year. She is the youngest daughter of a family Jeff first met as a missionary in East Germany. I'm not completely sure I'm prepared to deal with a teenager, or a girl, but we are excited that she got all the red tape worked out so she can come. It will be another adventure for us. Mostly I worry that she will get homesick, but I guess we'll cross that bridge if we get to it. In preparation for her arrival, we have to clean out all the stuff we've been storing in the guest room. So for the moment, I'm spending my breathing time deep cleaning my house, room by room, making space elsewhere to put that stuff. It feels good to dejunk a bit, and my house certainly needs the cleaning.

Life Lately, Mostly in Pictures

So I don't usually post more photos than words, but this may be one of those times. Just got to catch up a little, and I think my brain is too tired to write more than captions at the moment.

Jared in his favorite birthday beanie, made by my dear friend, Charlotte is the Best! Doesn't he have the cutest smile?

Adam playing in his piano recital in April. He has a lot of musical talent, and he's getting better--despite minimal practicing!

Adam is enjoying another season of baseball, on the Angels this year. I love to watch him play, but it makes for awfully busy weeknights. I've been running around like crazy lately. Thus the tired brain.

Ryan has a nice smile too, although it's sometimes hard to catch in a photo. This was from his 4th grade program about Utah history a couple weeks ago.

Here he is singing a song, with actions, about both ends of the transcontinental railroad meeting up at Promontory Point. It's a really cute program with fun, catchy songs. Starts with dinosaurs and goes through Utah history up to today.

Gathered in Cedar City for my little sister's graduation from Southern Utah University last weekend. I'm proud of her!

My mom specifically wanted a shot of her jumping with her diploma. I think it turned out well!

It was really nice to spend Mother's Day with my mom. She is an amazing woman! I am grateful to be her daughter, and grateful for all the love she's given me over the years.

Dallin showing off for the camera.

Jared, Ryan, and Dallin eating treats at Grandma's house. Couldn't resist snapping this photo.

Happy New Year!

My life seems to go in cycles, roughly equivalent to school semesters. I suppose that might have something to do with the fact that 5/6ths of my family are either students or teachers. Fall semester always seems to be the craziest and most stressful for me, thanks in part to the holidays and four family birthdays. Since I realized this a few years ago, I've made a concerted effort to simplify my life and reduce stress between September and December. I have not yet completely succeeded, but I think I did better than ever this year. Yay me! It helped me this year to think of all the Christmas activities in terms of another birthday celebration--for Jesus Christ. That was inspired by this quote from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf in the December 2010 Ensign:

"Let us all make this year’s Christmas season a time of rejoicing and celebration, a time when we acknowledge the miracle that our Almighty God sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem the world!"

We enjoyed Christmas at my parents' home this year. It's not very fun to haul Christmas stuff, but it was great to spend time with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We also enjoyed the annual Packer family Christmas party with Jeff's extended family on New Year's Eve.

I suppose it's time to think about New Year's resolutions and all that, but I haven't had much time to slow down and do anything that resembles introspection. As soon as most of the festivities were over, it was time to get our Primary ready for the New Year. I expect chaos on the first Sunday of the year, and I think that is turning out to be a good strategy. I was pleasantly surprised when everything came together fairly well today, with only a few minor glitches. (I am VERY grateful for a counselor who can fill in when a music person doesn't show.) We'll make little adjustments as we go, but so far, so good. I love the scriptures and I am so excited to focus on them in Primary this year!

My kids go back to school tomorrow, which is a good thing. Two weeks ago I was glad to have them come home and not have to deal with the normal school routine. Now, after too many late nights and too much TV and video games, we all need the routine again. Maybe things will even calm down enough for me to set a couple of realistic goals. One of them might be breakfast related. We are all tired of cold cereal, so I'm looking for quick, easy, and nutritious breakfast ideas for school days. All suggestions welcome!

Happy 2011!

Halloween, 2010 version

Falling with style

So glad he wanted to be a ninja again this year!

Won a $5 McDonald's gift card for best costume in the 4th grade!
Our trunk-or-treat got seriously rained on though. Soggy Pringles anyone?
[Edit: Yes, we made this costume out of cardboard and butcher paper. I did most of the front. Jeff & Ryan did the chips and the back.]

The back of the Pringles can

Our mad scientist

Fall Break (Yes, it's a post--don't faint!)

I didn't realize how crazy our Fall Break was going to be until it was over. We started about 7:15 a.m. Thursday morning with cold cereal and a talk about what had to happen to leave the house by 11 a.m. The kids were good about dressing, packing their bags, then going out to pick grapes. I snuck a quick shower before going out to help. At 10:30 I realized I'd put the chore off too long and we just weren't going to get all the grapes picked. So we filled the two boxes we were working on and started loading the van. Nine boxes of Golden Delicious apples. Four boxes of green grapes. Two smaller boxes of purple Concord grapes, courtesy of Jeff's parents. A juicer. A canner. A Victorio strainer. Two boxes of jars. Lids. Sleeping bags. Pillows. Backpacks and suitcases. Camera case. Cooler. Snacks. Full gas tank. Prayer said and on the road by 11:15 a.m. Phew.

Traffic was heavy, as expected. Four hours later we turned off at Lydie's Canyon, just in time to pick the cousins up from the school bus. Aunt Mercy was a little late getting home from her new job, so I started washing grapes while the kids played. Mercy came home and got dinner for us all. We kept doing grape juice until 11:15 p.m. Four juicers full. Nineteen quarts. Bedtime.

Mercy was up early Friday to get her kids off to a half-day of school. My kids woke me up at 7 a.m. and we started another batch of grape juice. No sleeping in on our vacation. Then we set up for applesauce. It's so labor-intensive that we like to start and finish all in one day and get it over with. We did eight canners full--55 quarts, a new record. Then we started grape juice again. Fifteen quarts total. In bed about 11:15 p.m. again. Sixteen-hour day. We were tired. My knee was swollen. Mercy's back was killing her.



Saturday we got more grapes in the juicer by 7:30 a.m. We got two more batches done before I had to leave for Cedar City. Mercy was planning to go too for a mini class reunion with some high school friends, but woke up sick and just couldn't make it. I felt bad leaving her with a sticky kitchen floor. Thirty-six hours and 99 full jars later, we were on the road again. Crazy.

We had 2 1/2 boxes of apples and 1 1/2 boxes of grapes left over. It was all worth it, but I think we'll plan for more time or less fruit next year. The kids had fun with their cousins, and Mercy and I enjoyed visiting while we worked. We're on our third year of this family tradition. It's a win-win thing we decided. I have apple trees and grape vines. I don't enjoy canning all that much. She does. She gets free applesauce and grape juice, and I don't have to can alone.


After a pleasant drive over Cedar Mountain through the fall leaves, I attended Mercy's and Jeff's mini-reunion Saturday afternoon without them. It wasn't too awkward though, as most of the people at the reunion were my high school friends too. I tended to hang out with people a class younger than me or a class or two older than me. It was fun to visit and reminisce and laugh with good people that I hadn't seen for awhile. My dear friend Charlotte hosted the get-together at her parents' home and provided some yummy soups to go with our salads and desserts. After feasting on food and friends, it was time to hit the road again. I dragged the kids away from the TV at Grandma's and Grandpa's house, and we made it home by 7:45 p.m., in time to get baths and get ready for church and our Primary program practice today. I feel like I've been running for more than a week. Tomorrow IS going to be a lazy day. Oh wait, I still have grapes to do. Argh!

Grandma Grape

Two weeks ago Jeff's dad called with the news that our dear Grandma Packer had passed away. She was almost 92 and not in great health anymore, but I guess there was a part of me that hoped she would be around for awhile yet. I am not sad that she is with Grandpa again. Nor am I sad that she has been relieved of her mortal body. I have shed a few tears for myself though, because I won't be able to enjoy her association again until the next life. Jared said it best. When I told him that Grandma had passed away and returned to live with Heavenly Father, he said, "Now we won't get to hug her anymore."

Each life that touches ours for good

Reflects thine own great mercy, Lord;
Thou sendest blessings from above
Thru words and deeds of those who love.

Grandma was known for her love and acceptance of everyone. It could be safely said that the only person she ever said anything bad about was Kobe Bryant, during a playoff game when the Lakers beat the Jazz a year or two ago. She made each family member feel like they were her favorite child, grandchild, or in-law. During her funeral I realized that I feel a kinship with many of her granddaughters-in-law, not just because we married her grandsons, but because we have her love in common.

What greater gift dost thou bestow,
What greater goodness can we know
Than Christ-like friends, whose gentle ways
Strengthen our faith, enrich our days.

One of my favorite memories of Grandma is a time just a few years ago when I was sitting at the bar in my mother-in-law's kitchen with Marilyn (my mother-in-law) and Grandma. We were talking about family members, maybe about a cousin or someone else who was struggling. Grandma's eyes teared up and her voice wavered as she told us how much she loved her kids and her grandkids and her great-grandkids, and what a source of joy they were to her. I was so touched by the love I felt as she expressed her feelings about her family. I don't think I could hope for more than to become a grandma like her, whose family knows what love is because she loved them so much.

When such a friends from us departs,
We hold forever in our hearts
A sweet and hallowed memory,
Bringing us nearer, Lord, to thee.

Both of my own grandmothers passed away early in my adulthood. I was close to them during my childhood. I love them and cherish my memories of them. I didn't really ever have an adult relationship with them though. Neither of them got to hold any of my babies or see me as a mother. I am grateful that Grandma Packer was around as I started my family. She means a lot to my children. When Adam was about three years old, Marilyn and I were trying to explain to him the difference between grandparents and great-grandparents. Marilyn told him that Grandma Packer was Grandpa's mom, and his Grandma Great. We thought he understood until he started calling her "Grandma Grape." She has been our Grandma Grape ever since.

For worthy friends whose lives proclaim
Devotion to the Savior's name,
Who bless our days with peace and love,
We praise thy goodness, Lord, above.
(Hymns #293)

Thank you for loving us Grandma Grape. We will miss you.

2009

It took me awhile to get this posted, but here are our family's favorites, in their own words, for 2009. I stole this idea from my cousin Karen, who does this with her kids every New Year. I thinks it's a great way to record what our family is like right now. Imitation is the best form of flattery, right?!

Dallin, 3
Favorite Breakfast--Cocoa Puffs
Favorite Lunch--peanuts and Honey Nut Cheerios
Favorite Dinner--chicken and rice
Favorite Treat--candy canes
Favorite Color--blue
Favorite Movie or TV Show--Tom & Jerry and Bugs Bunny
Favorite Book Read This Year--"No Nap for Natasha"
Favorite Fun Thing to Do--play with trains
If I had $1,000,000 I would--buy a dump truck
Best friend--Josie and Bryton and Spencer
Best part of school--brothers aren't home
Worst part of school--brothers aren't home
Favorite song--"Yoda" by Weird Al
Favorite hymn or Primary song--"I Love to See the Temple"
Favorite sport--baseball

Jared, 5 1/2
Favorite Breakfast--waffles
Favorite Lunch--pizza
Favorite Dinner--bacon
Favorite Treat--Skittles
Favorite Color--yellow
Favorite Movie or TV Show--Superman
Favorite Book Read This Year--The Count's Poem
Favorite Fun Thing to Do--play the Wii
If I had $1,000,000 I would--buy 4 houses
Best friend--Christopher
Best part of school--recess
Worst part of school--writing
Favorite song--"We Are the Champions," by Queen
Favorite hymn or Primary song--"The Wise Man and the Foolish Man"
Favorite sport--baseball

Ryan, 9
Favorite Breakfast--crepes
Favorite Lunch--nachos
Favorite Dinner--spaetzle noodles
Favorite Treat--cookie dough ice cream
Favorite Color--light blue
Favorite Movie or TV Show--Alvin & the Chipmunks
Favorite Book Read This Year--Percy Jackson & the Olympians series
Favorite Fun Thing to Do--play the Wii & play with friends
If I had $1,000,000 I would--buy an Ipod Touch, MP3 players, new Wii games, a new bike, and put half in the bank
Best friend--Andrew, Skyler, Jaxon
Best part of school--PE, recess, and reading time
Worst part of school--it's 7 hours long
Favorite song--"Alles Neu" by Peter Fox
Favorite hymn or Primary song-- "How Firm a Foundation"
Favorite sport--basketball

Adam, 11
Favorite Breakfast--egg in a frame
Favorite Lunch--Mexican
Favorite Dinner--chicken wings
Favorite Treat--chips and salsa
Favorite Color--blue
Favorite Movie or TV Show--Princess Bride
Favorite Book Read This Year--Percy Jackson and the Olympians series
Favorite Fun Thing to Do--playing with friends
If I had $1,000,000 I would--spend it on books, get a swimming pool for our backyard
Best friend--Nathanael
Best part of school--Volleyball
Worst part of school--long division
Favorite song--"Fireflies" by Owl City
Favorite hymn or Primary song--"A Child's Prayer," by Janice Kapp Perry
Favorite sport--baseball

Jeff
Favorite Breakfast--crepes
Favorite Lunch--burritos
Favorite Dinner--pad thai
Favorite Treat--dark German chocolate
Favorite Color--blue
Favorite Movie or TV Show--Mythbusters
Favorite Book Read This Year--"Ruhm" by Daniel Kehlmann
Favorite Fun Thing to Do--fly R/C airplanes and ride bikes
If I had $1,000,000 I would--pay off debts and buy a Fezzari road bike
Best friend--Harmony
Best part of school--Study Abroad
Worst part of school--Study Abroad
Favorite song--"Lucky" by Jason Mraz and "White & Nerdy" by Weird Al
Favorite hymn or Primary song--"The Spirit of God"
Favorite sport--cycling and swimming

Harmony
Favorite Breakfast--Cinnamon Life
Favorite Lunch--leftovers
Favorite Dinner--massaman curry from Bangkok Grill and anything Jeff cooks
Favorite Treat--Bottlecaps and Death by Chocolate milkshakes
Favorite Color--green
Favorite Movie or TV Show--BBC's "Foyle's War" TV series via Netflix
Favorite Book Read This Year--Percy Jackson & the Olympians series
Favorite Fun Thing to Do--photography
If I had $1,000,000 I would--pay off debts, build a garage, get rid of the minivan, buy some new camera lenses, give anonymously to the poor, and save a chunk
Best friend--Jeff
Best part of work--staying home
Worst part of work--it's never done
Favorite song--"Viva la Vida" by Coldplay and "Lucky" by Jason Mraz
Favorite hymn or Primary song--"I Have Faith" by Janice Kapp Perry
Favorite sport--football and yoga

SAHM

Okay, I think maybe I've been coming across as a whiner lately. So it's time to clear up a few things.

First things first. Although I have had my moments (okay, hours, maybe days) of feeling like Cinderella lately, and would welcome a fairy godmother with a magic wand, I am not without a handsome prince. Jeff takes care of me and believes in me and loves me in spite of my weaknesses. He is a great dad for our boys, he works hard for us, AND he cooks delicious dinners on a regular basis, just to name a few things. I am lucky to be married to him and to have him for my best friend.

Second, I love being a stay-at-home mom. Like any other job or occupation, it has it's frustrations (thus my whining), but I am grateful that I am able to stay at home, and given a choice, I wouldn't have it any other way. My family is my most important priority, and I can't imagine me, with the limitations I know I have, trying to juggle anything else right now, however worthy or fulfilling it may be. Also, I believe, as President Ezra Taft Benson and other prophets have counseled, that mothers should be at the crossroads. I know that if I went out and got a job, my kids would not automatically become juvenile delinquents. I trust, however, that they will be blessed and I will be blessed for staying home with them.

I visit teach another stay-at-home mom with a very large family. Her oldest two sons are on missions right now, and her youngest is not quite two years old. Just yesterday she was telling me how she's received some compliments lately about how calm and patient she is with her younger children. And she realizes she is more calm and patient with them than she was with her older children when they were young, because she has a different perspective. She can see now that how she raised her older children worked. She's getting some of the payoff. And she probably knows better what didn't work. I suppose I'm a little envious of that, but the older I get the more grateful I am for the process of learning from our experiences. She's just a few years ahead of me in the mothering experience. Anyway, the point is, I can't see right now what difference it might make that I am a stay-at-home mom. But I'm trying to do what I know I am supposed to do, despite the frustrations, and I'm trusting that somewhere down the road I will see some of the payoff too.

Fun FHE

So here's a little break for you from some of my deeper thoughts. Our three oldest boys got Razor scooters for Christmas, but haven't been able to play much with them due to the snow and cold weather. In fact, they've been watching TV and playing computer games and haven't been outside hardly at all since the snow from the last storm turned icy and crunchy. So tonight for Family Home Evening we took their scooters and their roller blades and headed to Classic Skating, our local roller rink. Skates, blades, scooters, and even strollers are all allowed on the rink, and Family Night is $10 per family, up to six people. It's a bargain, even though we also had to rent adult skates and a little three-wheeled Spiderman scooter for Dallin. (That will be a purchase in the near future, I'm sure. He loved it.) My goal was to get the kids to exercise a little, burn some energy, maybe even wear themselves out. Well they got some exercise, but I'm the one who's worn out. It was fun and felt good though. I wish I could find more fun and easy ways like that to work a little exercise into my life. Maybe we'll just have to go to the roller rink for FHE more often.

Catching Up

I have some thoughts running through my head that I really want to blog about, but I have some catching up to do first.

Many thanks to Jeff's parents who took our kids for three days before Christmas so we could have an anniversary get-away. It was so nice to have some down time, just the two of us. We raced a snowstorm up Provo Canyon to the Homestead Resort in Midway. I shouldn't say we raced, because we actually drove very slowly and carefully, but it was a race to get up there before the roads got too bad. It snowed most of the time we were up there, so we just hung out at the resort and didn't do too much exploring out in the treacherous winter wonderland. Still, we really had fun. Since we moved back Utah County, we've gone back to some of the places that were significant to us when we were dating/newly-married. We've discovered that you just have to hang on to those memories, because it's pretty hard to relive them. It's better and more fun to make new memories. Our new favorite memory? Hot-tubbing in the snow! It was a blast!

I told Jeff I'd make a snow angel if he'd go back to our room and get the camera. I wasn't going to do it without a way to prove that I'd done it! He said he'd make one too if I would go get the camera. So I put my boots and coat on over my wet swimming suit and hiked back to room for the camera. It was worth it--and it was COLD! But then the hot tub felt better than ever!



While we were hot-tubbing in the snow, the boys were seeing the Christmas light display at Willard Bay, building a gingerbread train, sledding at Happy Hollow, and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows in the snow. Thanks Grandma and Papa!



We had a nice Christmas. Santa was good to us, as were grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins. We enjoyed the gifts, but mostly we just enjoyed the family time. Jared wrote a cute note to Santa that I had to take a picture of:


He did get his robot. And here is Dallin playing with one of his favorite gifts:


Our New Year's was extremely uneventful, but we made up for it on the 3rd when Ryan was baptized. He and two buddies from his Primary class were baptized in the same meeting. After the baptism we hosted 30 family members for lunch at our house. I am so thankful to live close to family again, so that we can celebrate important events like this together. We are proud of Ryan for wanting to follow Jesus Christ, and for preparing himself well. He has a strong sense of right and wrong, and a great desire to do what is right. We are blessed to be his parents.


And finally, Jeff really outdid himself for my birthday this year. He has been reveling in the fact that he has set new birthday gift standards for husbands everywhere. :-) He says he hasn't scored this many points from my friends since he brought me flowers at work for no particular reason. I knew I wasn't getting any gifts because the camera I got for Christmas was for my birthday too. So I wasn't expecting the large envelope Jeff handed me, full of cards and letters and gifts from good friends, and the new blog he created for me, full of more birthday wishes and kind words from people I love. I was in tears reading them all. What a great birthday present! To all of you who participated, thank you, thank you! And if you are reading this now and feel bad because you didn't know about it, that's okay. Jeff contacted as many people as he could get in touch with, but he didn't have access to all my e-mail addresses because I hadn't finished updating my address book. (Now that my birthday is past, he's complaining that he's not getting any interesting e-mail anymore.) Still, it was overwhelming to hear from so many people, and to think of the many more dear friends I didn't hear from this time, plus the ones I've lost touch with (hopefully temporarily). I am rich with friends! Thank you!

Holiday Greetings from the Packers

New Year's Day, 2009

I told myself weeks ago that I wasn't going to stress about doing Christmas cards or letters this year. Then the cards and letters and pictures from family and friends started showing up in our mailbox and inboxes. I enjoy getting them and catching up with loved ones so much that I felt bad about not returning the favor. But I also knew it wasn't going to happen until after Christmas. We hope you had a wonderful holiday season, and wish you all the best for the new year.

For the first time in a long time, we don't have a new address or a new baby to announce this year. We love our home in Pleasant Grove and feel acclimated and happy to be where we are. We miss the friends we made as we moved around the country, but cherish those memories as we enjoy being close to family and mountains again.

JEFF is still working hard to build the German program at Utah Valley University. He's hoping to put together a study abroad trip to Berlin for next summer--anything to get back to Germany for a few weeks. He was happy to be released from teaching the Primary children and Cub Scouts when he was called as the Young Men's secretary at church. Jeff is still crazy about radio control model airplanes and cycling, but he also planted and cared for a successful vegetable garden this year. And a good part of his summer was taken up with a major home improvement project--digging two 4' x 4' x 8'-deep holes to patch some narrow cracks in our foundation. With the cracks patched, we are ready to start remodeling the basement bathroom and bedroom that flooded earlier in the year. Jeff's next project is teaching himself how to tile a shower. I'm really glad he's handy--when he wants to be.

DALLIN just turned two and moved into a twin bed over the holidays. He is a pleasant kid, smiley and giggly and quite the tease. Once he really started talking there was no stopping him, just as we expected. He mimics everything, English or German, and just recently started speaking some sentences. Dallin is a little "helper," often driving his mommy crazy in the kitchen when she's trying to get dinner ready. He loves to be outside, and enjoys all the normal toys that little boys love, plus a few that his older brothers would prefer he didn't get into. It's been fun to watch him grow this year.

JARED, 4 1/2, started preschool this fall. He has really picked up on letters and numbers with the help of his fantastic teacher, but loves the interaction with friends at school as much as anything. When Mommy lets him, he enjoys playing games on pbskids.org and watching PBS shows on TV. Jared took his first two sessions of swimming lessons in June, which he was not at all excited about. We're hoping he'll enjoy them a little more next summer. Four-year-old boys are just plain fun, and Jared is no exception. He's a delight to have in our family.

RYAN just turned eight and will be baptized this month. We are happy that he has chosen to follow Jesus Christ and wants to do what is right. He is excited about finally being able to be a Cub Scout too. He played coach-pitch baseball last spring, with his dad as the coach. Swimming lessons went well, although he won't go near the deep end yet. Ryan also played recreational soccer for the first time this past summer. He is a great little goalie--his preferred position because it required less running around in the heat. Ryan continues to excel in all subjects at school, but especially loves reading. He read the entire Harry Potter series TWICE during 2008. We gave him some new books for Christmas in an effort to broaden his horizons just a bit.

ADAM, age 10, isn't our little boy anymore. We have just three short years to figure out parenting before he becomes a teenager! He enjoyed Jr. Jazz basketball early in the year. In the spring he played his first year of Little League with the kids pitching to each other. His team didn't do so well, but he continues to improve his skills. If Adam ever gets a growth spurt, he may give Michael Phelps a run for his money in the swimming pool. He is our fish, making great strides, er, I mean strokes, in swimming lessons. Adam does well in school, but is also gaining a reputation for his knowledge of interesting facts and trivia. He continues to use his musical talent by singing in the elementary school choir. He earned his Bear badge in Cub Scouts last summer, and is now excited about being a Webelos Scout. He looks so sharp in his new Scout uniform.

HARMONY continues to hold down the fort and tries to keep everything balanced. In addition to enjoying my family, I still attend an occasional yoga class, read an occasional novel, and write an occasional blog entry. I volunteered for the city library board and now serve as it's secretary. At church I started the year teaching Primary children, then moved to Primary secretary and Cub Scout den leader, then to 2nd counselor in the Primary presidency. Teaching children about the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a challenging but rewarding privilege. I also enjoy singing in the ward choir. On top of all of this, Jeff decided I needed a hobby and conspired with our parents to buy me a really nice Canon digital SLR camera for Christmas. And he's promised to take care of the kids while I take a photography class. I feel a little liked I'm being forced into this hobby, but I don't think I'm going to mind.

Our lives are filled with work, school, church, Cub Scouts, sports, and family activities. Our travels were limited to family events in Idaho and Utah. Some of our favorite memories of the year were camping with Jeff's family in the Uintah mountains in June, playing with Harmony's family at a ranch house reunion in August, and a trip to the Lagoon amusement park that the kids earned by doing chores and reaching their summer goals. Jeff lost both of his maternal grandparents this year, but they had lived long, good lives. We miss them, but know that we will be reunited with them when the Lord calls us home. We are so grateful for the peace and joy He gives us. We are also grateful for you, our loved ones. Our relationships with you enrich and bless our lives.

Love,
The Packers
Jeff, Harmony, Adam, Ryan, Jared, & Dallin

Yes, Ruth, it's high time for an update...

...but here's why I haven't gotten around to one lately:

Oct. 31--Halloween
2 weeks later--Dallin's birthday
2 weeks later--Adam's birthday & Thanksgiving
3 weeks later--Ryan's birthday
4 days later--our anniversary
3 days later--Christmas
1 week later--New Year's
3 days later--Ryan's baptism
1 week later--my birthday

And that doesn't include Christmas parties and choir concerts and pack meetings and presidency meetings and shopping and visiting teaching and laundry and cleaning and decorating and baking and dishes and grocery shopping and, sigh, all the rest. Oh, I realize that many of these big family events at this time of the year are mostly my own doing, but it's a little late to change any of them. :-) (What was I thinking?!) So look for more blogging from me in January, maybe, when I can breathe again. I do have some things that have been on my mind to blog about, when I get around to it. Here's a teaser you can ponder until I get my thoughts written down: How do you lose yourself in service, without losing yourself?

Happy Birthday America!

Fun

Flags

Food

Family

Flowers

Fourth!

Family Camping Trip

"A good guy"

Our trip to Idaho was long, but good. We survived the long drive thanks to Cyndi, my friend and lifesaver, who kindly lent us her portable DVD player. Ours died a few months ago. The kids can make the three hour drive to Cedar without it, but the seven hours to Boise would have been ug-ly.

Grandpa Jo's funeral was really nice, a fitting tribute to a good man. Jeff's uncle did a great job with his life sketch, telling some stories and interesting things about Grandpa that I didn't really know, such as how he took pride in his yard and garden, saved lots of things he thought could be useful and often found uses for them, and could fix almost anything. He wasn't ever rich or famous, wasn't a war hero, but he loved his family and always did nice things for them. As Uncle Mark said, he was just "a good guy." I remember Jeff's mom bringing Grandpa and Grandma Jo to visit me in our little basement apartment on University Avenue in Provo about a year-and-a-half after we were married. Jeff had been gone to ROTC Advanced Camp at Fort Lewis, Washington for a long six weeks and was about to come home. I told Grandpa and Grandma Jo about my plans to surprise him with a night in Park City after I picked him up from the airport. Grandpa Jo pulled a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet and gave it to me, with instructions to use it to do something fun with Jeff. That was such a sweet gesture that sticks out in my memory when I think of him. After the dedication of the grave, I took a minute to remind my Ryan that his middle name is Grandpa Jo's name, and that I hope he will grow up to be a good guy like Grandpa Jo was.

We had a nice visit with aunts and uncles and lots of cousins. Every single member of Jeff's mom's family was there. It was a little chaotic, but still so fun to be all together. I am grateful for God's plan of happiness, a plan that makes funerals joyous family reunions rather than mournful tragedies, because we know that through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we will be with our loved ones in the next life. What a comfort.

While there, I also got to visit with Obara Shimai, one of my Japanese missionary companions, and her family. We went to church with them, and then had dinner at their home afterwards. Her husband was also in my mission, and they have four cute children now. We've stayed in touch over the years, but it was fun to see them again after so long. Kiyomi is the Primary president in their ward, and since I'm also in Primary, I sat in on their Singing Time and Sharing Time. I got a couple ideas for our ward, plus it was fun to see her in action again--her mannerisms and her love for and dedication to the Gospel. I felt a little bit like Alma, happy to know she is still my sister in the Lord. (And now it came to pass that as Alma was journeying from the land of Gideon southward, away to the land of Manti, behold, to his astonishment, he met with the sons of Mosiah journeying towards the land of Zarahemla. Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord... Alma 17:1-2).

Hectic

I don't even know where to start catching up, so I guess I'll just jump in. I learned a couple things from our busy, busy June. First, don't sign the kids up for the 9:30 a.m. class of the first session of swimming lessons. It was just too chilly. Most days after lessons I had to send someone into the boys' locker room to get Adam and Ryan out of the warm showers. And we made hot cocoa several times to warm us up when we got home--in June! The second session went a little better--summer finally showed up for real, and I changed their lessons to the 11:50 a.m. class. Second, don't sign up for swimming lessons before baseball is over. We did swimming lessons every morning and baseball almost every night and tried to squeeze the rest of life in between. Swimming lessons ended two weeks ago, and baseball finally ended last Wednesday. Phew.

I thought maybe we could stop running, but it hasn't happened. We spent four days in Cedar and Glendale, visiting with my family and catching "Two Gentlemen of Verona" at the Utah Shakespearean Festival. The kids loved playing with their cousins and Jeff and I enjoyed a little down time. We caught the new Indiana Jones movie one night after the kids were in bed. It was fun and we were glad we saw it on the big screen. Jeff was a good sport to watch nine kids by himself one day while my sister and sister-in-law and I took a break to do lunch and a little shopping. The Slip-n-Slide helped! My mom provided the Shakespeare tickets. She wanted Adam and Ryan to see their first play, so we opted for a comedy. It was a little slow and not as impressive as some other Shakespeare productions I've seen, but the comic fool (Brian Vaughn) and his dog made them laugh, so they weren't too bored. I think they'll be willing to go again in the future, but we'll try to find a more exciting play to keep their interest. Of course the highlight of their weekend was the marshmallow gun fight--thanks Uncle Enoch! (I'll post photos when I get my camera software re-installed.)

I got unpacked and got the laundry done just in time to turn around and go to Jeff's parents for the 4th of July weekend. We had a great barbecue and fireworks with extended family. It's really been a blessing to be close enough to spend time with grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins again. While there though, we learned that Jeff's Grandpa Jo had slipped into a coma in Idaho. He passed away yesterday morning. We will miss him, but congestive heart failure had made his quality of life so poor for so long that his passing was a blessing. Again, I'm glad we are close enough that traveling to his funeral this weekend won't be difficult, but we're off and running--again. I have this faint hope that my life will slow down when the kids go back to school in August. Whatever happened to slow, relaxing "summertime and the living is easy"?!

Happy Birthday Grandma Grape!

Yesterday we gathered with Jeff's extended family to celebrate his Grandma Packer's 90th birthday. It was a fun family event and a wonderful tribute to a very wonderful lady. I have known Grandma Packer for a little over fifteen years. I have never known anyone more full of love. Here are a couple of stories about this woman who is so dear to me.

When my son Adam was little, probably three years old, Jeff's mom and I were trying to explain to him the difference between grandparents and great-grandparents. Jeff's mom told him that Grandma Packer was his grandpa's mom, and his Grandma-Great. We thought he understood until he started calling her "Grandma Grape." In our family, she has been our Grandma Grape ever since.

One of my favorite memories of Grandma Grape happened a couple of years ago. Grandma and Jeff's mom and I were gathered around the bar in Jeff's mom's kitchen. We were chatting about family members, maybe about a cousin or someone who was struggling. Grandma's eyes teared up and her voice wavered as she told us how much she loves her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and what a source of joy they are to her. In that moment, I felt her love, as I have many times, and I felt just as strongly as ever how grateful I am to have married into the Packer family.

Grandma Packer is one of my heroes. When I am 90 years old, I hope that too will be a Grandma Packer like her, a matriarch of a family who knows what love is because she loves them so much.