Another January Week and Pictures of Our New Home!

We closed on the new place we are buying in Utah County on Monday.  There was a little problem with the paperwork, and we we ended up just making the deadline to sign. We had to close on the house before 5 p.m. on Monday, and we finished signing paperwork at 4:42 p.m..  The old owners finally moved out on Tuesday afternoon (they were supposed to be on Monday), so we got the key and went inside to take a look Tuesday evening.  

It's a great place, and we are looking forward to moving in.  I'm especially fond of the beautiful mountain views it has. Charly has already made several trips, with a few things to move in, while I have been at school.  Here are some pictures of the inside.  Of course, I will show more pictures once we are all moved in and settled. 

This is our living room.  Charly and I both fell in love with the gas fireplace and bookshelves on either side. 

In this picture, you can see that Charly has already started moving some of his books to the bookshelf in the living room. 

This picture is looking from the entryway of the home into the family room area.  

This is the kitchen, dining room, and family room area.  There are French Doors that go out to the back deck and backyard. 

Here is a view from the dining room/family room area looking at the kitchen, stairway to the basement, and hallway to the master bedroom.   I love that the laundry is on the main floor, so I won't have to carry baskets of laundry up and down the basement stairs anymore. 

This is the kitchen, dining room, family room area, looking into the entry and living room area.  The appliances are quite new and top-of-the-line.   I've never had white cabinets in a house before, but I really like these.  

This is the master bedroom.  We will be replacing this carpet soon.  It's a nice space with an adjoining, large master bathroom with both a jetted tub and shower, and a walk-in closet. 

This is the completely finished basement.  We will be replacing the carpeting coming down the stairs and throughout the basement. 

This is the big downstairs family room area.  I know we will enjoy this space. 

This is another view of the family room in the basement, and a hallway leading to one of the two additional bedrooms downstairs.

Our new place also has a lot of storage. This is one of two huge storage rooms with built in shelves. There is also a large storage area under the staircase.  We have lots of stuff, so lots of storage is a good thing for us. 

One night last week, we were in the town where our new place is.  I had stopped to get gas in my car and Charly and I were going to try and find a place to get dinner.  As I pulled out of the gas station, I realized that I was in a right-turn lane, but I wanted to go straight and not turn.  I put on my blinker and changed into the lane that would go straight across a busy street.  Suddenly, I saw red and blue police lights in my rearview mirror.  I stopped, and the officer told me I had made an illegal left-hand turn because once in a right turn right I MUST turn right.  I received a $130 ticket.  I had actually expected the ticket to be much more than that.  In Arizona, about ten years ago, I got a ticket and it was $250, so $130 seemed like a bargain. The next day, I called the traffic court number the officer gave me and paid the ticket with my credit card. Lesson learned.  I won't try to get out of a right-hand turn lane again, even if the turn lane is taking me somewhere I don't want to go. 

I finished my first book of 2026 Thursday night.  I am trying to get back into monthly Reading Roundup Posts, so I will include a review and tell you what I thought of it then. 

School was not without its challenges this past week, but I got through it, and I left our Friday afternoon teacher meetings feeling overall positive and looking forward to the weekend. Only 92 days of school left this year and in my teaching career!

Friday afternoon school,  Charly and I made a quick trip to our new house because the old owners had left the hoses attached, and the freezing temperatures predicted for the weekend could cause the pipes to freeze. Charly had tried to take the hoses off, but had to get a wrench because they were frozen to the outside faucet.  Friday night, he was successful in getting the hoses off.  We were tired when we got back to Salt Lake City and stopped to have breakfast for dinner at a Village Inn Pancake House.  The food was good, and Charly and I enjoyed this little impromptu Friday night date. 

Saturday was a full day of packing up cars and moving things to Utah county.  Josh moved into his new place in Provo, and we helped him with getting his things there.  We also took something from our current home to put in our new home.

Sunday morning, I was up before 6 a.m..  I ate breakfast and read the scriptures.  I'm currently reading in I Kings in the Old Testament and the book of Mark in the New Testament.  I always mark and annotate the scriptures as I read them. 

By 9 a.m. we were at church for our Sunday worship service.  It was a cold morning, but as you can see from the flag, there was no wind.  We had blue skies and thin clouds most of the day. 

After church and lunch, we took some more things to our new house.  All of my puzzles are now there. I organized them on these shelves in a walk-in closet in one of the downstairs bedrooms. 

I am posting this early tonight because we eat dinner within the hour, then make another trip to Utah County with a few things to put in the new house.   I think we are going to eat leftovers for dinner, so no need to post a picture and recipe today. 

Weekend Gratitude:

• Safe travels to and from Utah County as we moved Josh into his new place, and some of our things into our new place. 
• Getting a lot done over the weekend.  
• Enjoying a nice dinner date with Charly on Friday. 
• Moving Josh into his own place. 

Praying For:

• Josh to find a job.
• Safe travels as we continue making almost daily trips to Utah County. 
• Our nation. 
• My family - children and grandchildren. 

Looking Forward To:

• Getting the new carpet in the basement and master bedroom of the new place. 
• Finishing the school year - 92 more days. 
• Seeing my grandchildren again. 

That's all for this week.  Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for your patience with me as I am doing very well at keeping up with visiting and commenting on other blogs at this very busy season of my life. 

Until next time, 

😊Deb💖

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, 

nor be afraid of them: 

for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; 

he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

~Deuteronomy 31:6 KJV

 

Education Week, Family Time and Another good Weekend

 Here are some highlights of a very good weekend. 

On Friday, we went to the last day of Education Week at BYU in Provo, Utah. Charly and I had looked forward to attending this event since last year, and it did not disappoint. We left our house about 7 a.m. and got to the BYU campus shortly after 8 a.m. We attended classes in retirement finance, marriage, relationship skills, the history of the Christian Reformation and the U.S. Constitution. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at The Creamery on Ninth (a favorite campus eatery) between classes.  Our daughter Tiffany invited us to come to her home for dinner, so we enjoyed seeing and eating with our daughter and her family before returning to the BYU campus for evening classes.  After a full day of learning and enjoying family time, we got home about 9:30 p.m..

Saturday, we were tired from attending the final day of Education Week, so we slept in just a bit later than usual. When we got up, we walked at the mall, then we went back to Utah County to go to an open house at this property.  From the pictures on Zillow, it seemed promising, but after going through it, we knew this was not the house for us.  

Since we were just a few miles away, we decided to go back to the BYU Campus and have lunch at The Creamery on 9th - again.  

Their cheeseburgers and onion rings are the best.  (Their fries are pretty good too!)  We enjoy being at the BYU campus, 

Saturday night, I went to the Taylorsville Temple.  It was nice to experience the peace of worship there, but when I got back home, I had a terrible headache that got worse as the night went on.  I did some chores, then took the car to get gas and ran it through the car wash.  After the car wash, we vacuumed and cleaned the inside of the car.  Charly was with me and helped.  I do like a nice, clean car - inside and out. 

Sunday morning, I was up by a little after 6:30 a.m..  I went through my usual morning routine.  I ate breakfast, and while I ate, I wrote a gratitude list in my journal.  I then read scriptures.  This Sunday, I finished the book of Joshua, so on Monday, I will start the book of Judges in the Old Testament.  After eating, I did my morning workout in the family room while listening to a podcast. 

Sunday morning was cloudy.  The temperatures were cooler than they had been for some time, but it was quite humid due to the rain and thunderstorms in our forecast over the next couple of days.  I sure hope that we got the predicted rain because we have had a very dry summer, and really need the moisture. 

Sunday afternoon, I relaxed and took a nap.   I got dinner  (One Pan Baked Chicken, Potatoes, and Green Beans) ready and in the oven. 

Here's what our Sunday meal looked like when it was ready.  It was all delicious - a real winner of a chicken dinner!

After dinner, I went for a walk around our neighborhood while listening to a Christian podcast.  

While I was out walking around our neighborhood, Josh called me and asked if I wanted to go with him and walk at our favorite walking trail, so as soon as I got home from one walk, Josh and I left to do another.  We had a nice walk and some good mother-son conversation. 

It was a nice weekend in every way! As soon as I post this, I will read until bedtime.  I am hoping to finish at least two more books before the end of August. 

Weekend Gratitude:

• Having a great experience at Education Week. 
• Going to our daughter's home for dinner and time with her and her family. 
• Enjoying time with Charly. 
• Traveling safely to all the places we went this weekend.
• Worshipping at the temple and our Sunday church service.
• Walking with Josh.
• Reading.
• Napping. 

That's all for this weekend.  Thanks for stopping by.  Have a good week!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

End of the Week Favorites and Gratitude

It's always good to take some time to look back over the past week and give thanks for the good things and blessings we have received.  To do this, I am joining again with Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story for Friday's Fave Five. 

😊 I had my annual routine eye exam this past week, and I am so grateful that the ophthalmologist said that my eyes continue to be healthy with no new problems. I don't really enjoy eye exams, especially the eye dilation part, so I am grateful to have this exam over for another year. 

😊 We had a little plumbing problem this past week.  A clogged drain pipe rendered our upstairs bathroom unusable.  I'm grateful that the downstairs bathroom was not affected, and that we found a plumber who came out the next morning and fixed the problem in the upstairs bathroom in just a couple of hours.  I'm also grateful that the cost was less money than we expected it to be.  

😊 We finally got the street we live on resurfaced this week. This has been needing to be done for a while, and the city kept scheduling it, then canceling and postponing the resurfacing. This was a problem because the street was closed and no one could park or drive on it for an entire day and night. For us, this meant we had to park our car about a block away and walk back and forth to our house.  It was quite inconvenient so I am grateful that this necessary maintenance is finally finished. 

😊 This past week was Josh's birthday.  I am grateful for Josh, and the awesome young man he has become. 

😊 We took Josh out for a special birthday dinner the day after his birthday (he was off from work that day).  He chose to go to an Asian noodle bar for his birthday meal and the food was delicious.  I am grateful that we had a nice family dinner out together to celebrate our youngest son. 

😊 My backyard garden is doing quite well this year.  I am grateful for that, and I am especially grateful for the multitude of grapes that are growing on the vine in the foreground of the pictures.  I have had grapes from this vine before and they are delicious!  

😊 These beautiful Day Lilies, that I planted last year in my front garden, are out in bloom now and they are stunning.  When I planted the lily plant last year, it didn't do great at first and I didn't have a lot of hope for it, so I am grateful that it survived and is doing so well this summer. 

Thanks for stopping by to share the good.  I hope that you have had many blessings, great and small, this past week as well.  Have a great weekend.

Until next time, 

😊Deb💖

The Weekend that Josh Graduated from College

 

Last Thursday, we left about mid-morning and drove to Rexburg, Idaho, where Josh was set to graduate from BYU Idaho.  It's only about a three-hour drive and we couldn't check in to the motel where we were staying until 3 p.m., so we had an early lunch in Brigham City, Utah, then we stopped in Pocatello, Idaho so Charly could go to a couple of game stores he had been wanting to visit.   Even with the leisurely drive, we got to Rexburg exactly at 3 p.m., and checked in the Motel 6, where we have stayed on most of our trips to see Josh.  Motel 6 is not high-end, but the rooms are clean, the staff (mostly college kids) are super helpful and friendly,  and the price is right.  This is the room we stayed in.  I realized this will probably be the last time we stay at Motel 6 in Rexburg, for a long time, if ever again.

Once we were checked in to the motel, we picked up Josh at his apartment and headed out to dinner at an all-you-can-eat pizza place in the town called Pizza Pie Café.  This has been one of Josh's favorite places to eat in Rexburg, and we enjoyed eating there one last time. 

Friday morning, we got to campus about two hours before the main graduation event.  I worried about finding a good parking spot, but I need not have worried.  We actually parked in a lot right in front of this building, the "I Center" where graduation was held.  The I Center is a beautiful and huge event center that is usually used for special speakers and religious services.  It was almost completely full for the main graduation which included all of the spring semester graduates. 

Here are the graduates filing in for the ceremony.  There were a total of 2,542 graduates.

The graduation was beautiful. There were two amazing musical numbers and several inspirational speakers.  I loved that the speakers emphasized that the graduates need to go forward in faith and make an impact on the world in many positive ways as disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. 

I admit that I am probably prejudiced, but I thought Josh looked very handsome all dressed up for graduation.   Most of the graduates were dressed up in their "Sunday best" under their graduation robes.  They all looked great.

Later, there was a convocation for each of the colleges within the university, where the individual student's names were called and they were given their diploma covers.  The convocation for Josh's college - Language and Letters - was held in a large chapel in the building where religion and theology classes are taught. 

Here is Josh receiving his diploma cover.  The actual diploma will be mailed to each student. 

Here is Josh being congratulated by multiple professors in his department.   Overall Josh (and we as parents) have been very impressed with the faculty at BYU Idaho.  They truly seem to care about the students and adhere to Biblical Christian teachings. 

Here's Josh just after he got his diploma cover and was congratulated by the professors and dean of the college. After the convocation we took lots of pictures, because graduating from college is a big deal. Here are some of the many pictures, the proud mother of the graduate took.

Josh has a history degree from the College of Language and Letters at BYU Idaho. 

I love that the mission of BYU Idaho is to "Develop Disciples of Jesus Christ." There is a Christian emphasis on everything done at the school, right down to starting each class with prayer. 

Josh is now part of the legacy of BYU Idaho.

We wanted to take more outside pictures, but as you can see from this picture, it was a really windy day. 

Josh wanted to go to Outback Steakhouse to eat after graduation.  Here we are enjoying a celebratory meal. 

After the meal, we went back to campus for some outside pictures because the wind had died down a bit.  Here is Josh by one of the signs at the entrance to the campus.  You can see that he had changed out of his shirt and tie, but still looked great.  

We are very proud of Josh and all his hard work.  Now all four of our children are college graduates!  

Saturday morning, the day after graduation, we packed both Josh's and our cars, and headed back to Utah. 

Josh said goodbye to the apartment where he lived for the past almost three years while he attended BYU Idaho.  His apartment was on the middle floor, on the right side of the doorway.  By and large, he enjoyed living there and had some very good roommates. 

On the way back to Utah, Josh and Charly drove in Josh's car and I was alone (with lots of Josh's stuff) in our car.  The drive went very well. Traffic was relatively light all the way home and there were no problems.  I listened to and finished this excellent audiobook, Shepherds for Sale by Megan Basham.  I would recommend this book to anyone concerned about non-Biblical ideas and philosophies seeping (and sometimes flooding) into the church. We were home by about 3:30 p.m..  We had two cars to unpack and lots of laundry to do (Josh had been saving his up until he could use mom's washing machine).   We were up later than usual, then, I had a hard time sleeping with all of the thoughts and memories of the past few days swimming around in my brain until the wee hours of Sunday morning. 

We were up and off to church on Sunday morning as usual.  Josh is now attending church at a different location which has a congregation of young adults just his age.  After church, I was tired from not sleeping well, so I took a nap, which was very helpful.  

Later, I fixed ham, potatoes Au Gratin, salad, green beans, and corn for dinner.  We all enjoyed eating Sunday dinner together.  It's been a while since we have done this. 

Weekend Gratitude:

• Josh graduating from college!
• Traveling safely to and from Idaho.
• Getting Josh settled in here at home.
• Josh having an online job interview Friday after graduation and having several good job leads.
• Enjoying lovely, sunny, warm spring weather here in Utah this weekend.

Coming up this week:

Monday - Back to school - Spring Break is over. 

Monday - Follow-up appointment for my broken foot.

Tuesday - Dental appointment for Charly.

Tuesday - Women's activity at church.

Wednesday - Doctor's appointment for Charly.

Wednesday - Dental appointment for me.

Thursday - Saturday - Apologetics and theology conference.

Praying for:

• A dear friend who is back in the hospital in ICU.
• Another friend who is succumbing to the ravages of dementia. 
• Josh as he searches for a job. 
• Our nation.

That's all for this weekend's post.  Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the week ahead, and have a blessed Holy Week!

Until next time,

😊🕆Deb🕆💖