Then Pealed the Bells More Loud and Deep. . . .

God is not dead, nor does He sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail. with peace on earth. good will to men." (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
We gathered on Christmas Eve for our annual Tamale Dinner. The Ladies gathered earlier in the week and made the tamales. After dinner the younger set put on costumes and acted out the nativity.Theresa directed and Ryan narrated and everyone sang. It was a lovely chaotic evening. It was a crowded inn!!

I love Thanksgiving!!! It is all about being grateful and being with family without commercialism or pressures to buy and impress.
We had a Thanksgiving week that began with the visit of Uncle Bob (Poppy's younger brother). November 24th was a birthday celebration for Grandaughter Eden and Uncle Bob.
Cameron, Ashley and Brooklyn came on Wednesday and were joined by Galen, Abel,and Max and Clint, Liz, Alora, Cougar, and Eden on Thursday. We worked it out so that Galen and Abel could go for a bike ride in the early morning, and those that wanted to go to the movie "New Moon" could. Grammy and Poppy joined us and the feast began at 2:30pm?? Everyone helped and Everyone enjoyed.
Grammy and Poppy made it back before dark. The Crandalls joined us and we played games,and put together the puzzle that we brought from Missouri. It is a painting by Jack E. Dawson entitled "If My People" It is a picture of the Saviour mending a very tattered American Flag. It has hidden pictures in the folds of the flag that represent important events and issues facing our country. The promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14 is the theme of the painting. "If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." I love it!

Veterans Day Shoot Out

Veteran's Day was a beautiful day and Tedd and I decided to spend some time target practicing with our guns at Redington Pass. Morgan Mari and Heather came with us. We were amazed at how many were out shooting! We had to drive a ways to find a spot not occupied by other shooters. We have decided to schedule a shoot out once a month so we can be familiar and proficient with our fire arms.
My only regret that day was that I didn't make it out to the Fountains for their annual salute to the veterans. They always do such a great job of honoring our veterans with displays and flags and speakers. I was very thankful that Galen, Abel, and Max made it and took pictures (of course!) Thanks Galen
I did spend the next afternoon with Grammy and Poppy and they were amazed to see their pictures on Facebook. Thanks again Galen.

Thanks to Galen, the family photographer, we have lovely pictures of our annual Pomegranate Harvest. The Picking, the cutting and squishing is great fun to do with lots of hands helping. The juice gets drank, turned into lovely jellies for gifts, and my favorite is to brew some into pungent vinegar. We are very thankful to Grammy and Granpa Bailey with vision for planting them in the mid-1900's. They would be so pleased to see us enjoying the harvest. It was their desire that posterity would enjoy their efforts for generations AND WE ARE!!!!

Mari and her friends had fun sorting the small and less perfect pomegranates from the large and supple ones to sale. The first day She and her two enterprising young friends Sarah and Amber Curtis set up at the street around 3 pm to catch those going home from school and work. They had great fun and made about $50. They weren't too happy when they found out that they had to split the money up with the landowners who cared for and paid for the harvest. The second day Mari went out to sell she started out by herself thinking that the profit margine would be greater if she had less ways to divide the profit, but she soon discovered the fun was in doing it together with friends. They brought in $62. Then life got too busy and we thought signs would attract customers, but we only brought in $20, so it was the cute girls not people's desire that sells pomegranates.

Now on to jelly and vinegar making.

My 58th Birthday

I had a wonderful 58th birthday! Tedd and I flew to Branson, MO and stayed in a nice room thanks to Grammy and Poppy's time share. Even though it rained two out of the four days we were there and a lot of the leaves had fallen it was beautiful and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. We enjoyed dinner and a show on the Branson Belle showboat, took a trip back in time and re-experienced Beattle mania with the show "Living Legends". We thoroughly enjoyed Silver Dollar City with it's folksy artisans and Ozark blue grass music. We then spent a day and a night with my brother, Garry and sister-in-law, Nancy at their beautiful home on the Lake of the Ozarks. We left wanting to return and bring our family and have determined to plan one family adventure a year and one Tedd and Carol Ann trip a year.

Weakly Ramblings

Sunday, June 21, 2009

I used to write weekly to keep a record of my thoughts and deeds and keep my family connected. Somehow I got out of the habit! Some of my children complained that they did not want to appear in “The Family Letter”. I seemed to regularly overstep my bounds, so forgive me. I will prayerfully commence this record in order to strengthen my brain, (it is growing older and very forgetful) preserve a history, (great civilizations and individuals kept a record) and strengthen the ties that bind us together as a family (I believe those cords are eternal and so we share).
Last night we shared a special spiritual experience. Gary Lohmeir, the father of a great family entered the waters of baptism. His oldest son is Matt and an exceptionally fine young man was very close friends with Cameron and that is how we came to know them. The mother, Jennifer, started coming out to church about the same time that we moved to Tucson. She was quietly faithful. The children joined church. Gary was a rough and tough UPS driver and set in his ways and had ways that he was not willing to give up. He was a good husband and father and there are four beautiful children in the family, Matt, Mandy, Stephen, and Gina who is severely handicapped. We heard that he was going to be baptized Saturday night and were so thrilled! Cameron and Ashley came down from Queen Creek, Matt flew in from Oklahoma where he in training to be a fighter pilot. (He is in our Air Force), and the chapel was filled with people who have loved the Lohmeiers. It was a joyous occasion and a wonderful reunion.
Mari is my last child home and is ready to spread her wings and fly! She finally completed her school studies and is ready to go to girl’s camp and enjoy the rest of the summer.
Morgan is in and out and you have to be alert to catch him to have a conversation. He is doing very well selling home security systems. He plans to go to school and is looking to buy a house
Tedd loves working hard as a Certified Financial Planner. He enjoys where he works. He loves playing tennis 3X a week when he can fit it in and is busy as the executive secretary for our stake of the church. He enjoys mowing the lawn with our new lawn mower. We gave up on borrowing one from Uncle Scott
I am trying to hike 3X a week and enjoy my farm chores. Milking the goats, watching over my flock of chickens and working in the garden which a jungle right now. We have lots of luscious tomatoes. People come and buy eggs and milk products and some produce. It helps pay for the feed
I love where we live. The love the mountains, the desert, the monsoons, and even though I am growing older, more forgetful, and my joints are talking to me I love my life. I love waking up at 5 am and taking off on a hike. I have built a cairn that represents our family and when I make it to that spot I stop and ponder the goodness of God and the blessings of life. I talk to him about each one of you and pray for your welfare
Today is Father’s Day. I am grateful for all earthly fathers who “by divine design . . . preside over their families in love and righteousness and responsibly provide the necessities of life and protect their families” (The Family, a Proclamation to the World)
Thanks to my father Garrett Eugene Blackwell, my father-in-law, Gale Stanley Bell, My sons, Clinton Troy Bell, Cameron Dean Bell, and my sons-in-law, Dennis Letner, Abel Smith, and Ishmael Soto. My undieing love and apreciation for the father of my beautiful children. He is a great husband and has worked so hard to provide so well. Tedd has sown some "AWESOME" seed. I love, appreciate, and pray for you all!!!