Highlights of the Week Before Memorial Day

Last week was another busy one, and I was not in blogland very much. I apologize again to all of my blog friends for not checking in much.  I am hoping that will change in less than a week when I retire, and we move full-time into our new home. Here's a little of what we were up to during the week before Memorial Day. 

We started the weekend celebrating our grandson's birthday with him. He turned 20 earlier in May.  We celebrated with him by taking him to lunch and giving him a gift card for new shoes at Footlocker, and a special treat of Crumbl Cookies. We were so busy visiting and enjoying lunch that I forgot to take pictures.

The next day was Sunday, and Charly and I had been asked to introduce ourselves and give messages in our worship service, which we did. Speaking in church is not my favorite thing, but we did what we were ask, it went well, and I'm glad it's over with. 

Later Sunday evening, we went to our granddaughter's graduation from Seminary.  In our church, all students in grades 9-12 have the option of taking daily religious instruction in addition to their regular school classes. These classes are called Seminary. Hailey took the classes all four years they were offered and she received her Seminary diploma.  Here she is with her dad and mom.  Her mom is Tiffany, my second oldest daughter. 

We are sure proud of this beautiful young lady.  A couple of days after this picture was taken, she graduated from high school. 

Sunday night and Monday, we got some rain, which is much needed in this area. 

Our granddaughter's high school graduation took place at a large venue at nearby Utah Valley University.  In this picture, the graduates are filing into the venue. 

This is after the graduation and the graduates are changing their tassels to the right side, indicating the completion of their high school education.  

After the ceremony, we took lots of pictures. Here's our granddaughter with her mom and dad and siblings. 

Here's Charly and I with our sweet granddaughter. 

Here's the whole family together at this happy occasion. 

Here's our 15-year-old and 20-year-old grandsons after their sister's graduation.   Later, we all met a fun burger place for a post-graduation family dinner.  It was a great evening celebrating our granddaughter. 

After the graduation, we went back to our Salt Lake City home because I needed to be at school for the rest of the week, but Friday afternoon, we came back to our new home for the weekend. We put out the flags for Memorial Day. 

On Saturday, we went back to Salt Lake City with Josh to place flowers on our parent's graves.  Josh asked if he could come along.  

After going to the cemetery, we went to lunch at IHop to eat.  I enjoyed breakfast - pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns for lunch. 

Sunday morning we got up early and went to church The picture is another of the beautiful paintings of  Jesus in our meetinghouse. 

Later, I fixed this taco casserole for our Sunday dinner.  Josh came over to eat with us.   I've shared this recipe on my blog before.  It is one of our family's favorites. 

After dinner, I went for a walk around our new neighborhood, then Charly and I watched a little TV.  

We love our new home, and a week from now, I will be finished with the school year, retired from my teaching career, and living in this home 24/7.  Our old home in Salt Lake City is still for sale but we have had several showings in the past week, so we think it will sell before long. 

Gratitude for this week:

• Only four days left of school and my teaching career.
• Attending our granddaughter's graduation. 
• Spending time with our children and grandchildren. 
• Safe travels to and from our new home. 

Praying for:

• Our children and grandchildren.
• The sale of our home in Salt Lake City. 
• Our nation. 

Looking forward to:

• Selling our home. 
• Living here in our new home full-time. 
• Retiring at the end of this week!

That's all for this post.  Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great week!

Until next time. 

 😊Deb💖

"Let your hopes, 

not your hurt

shape your future."

~Robert Schuller

Gratitude at the End of May

 

It's the end of another week - a time to pause, reflect, and remember the positive things from the last week. Here are some things from the past week that I am most grateful for.  I'm joining again with Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story for Friday's Fave Five to remember the good things from the past week.

😊 I am grateful for all those who gave their lives for the freedom we all enjoy in the United States of America.  I'm also grateful for having the day off to reflect, visit the graves of loved ones, and enjoy some family time. 

😊 Charly, Josh, and I went out for a Memorial Day breakfast at a good breakfast place in our area.  The food was delicious and we enjoyed a little family time together, for which I am grateful. 

😊 Later, Charly and I went for a pedicure.  We enjoyed the great service and relaxing atmosphere of our favorite nail place.  I am grateful for pedicures that help Charly and I keep our feet healthy as we age. 

😊My granddaughter Hailey and grandson Miles both left on their summer humanitarian mission trips this week. Hailey is in Brazil and Miles is in Costa Rica for several weeks.  I am so grateful that they both are having such wonderful experiences to travel and help others. 

😊 We got this picture of our grandson doing some last-minute shopping before he left for his mission trip to Costa Rica.  We also got a nice "thank you" for helping both grandchildren with these trips and I am grateful that we were financially able to do so. 

 

😊 Thursday was our final contract day of the school year.  I am grateful that this school year has wrapped up.  It has been a challenging year and I'm honestly glad it's over.

😊 The other night, I was out walking around my neighborhood, and I saw this beautiful, perfect rose growing in the garden of a house I passed.  I am so grateful for the beauty of this world that God has created for us. 

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by to share the good things.  Have a good weekend. 

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"The power of finding beauty 

in the humblest things

makes home happy and life lovely."

~ Louisa May Alcott

The First Part of Memorial Day Weekend

 

Here's a little about this past weekend in my world. 

School was a late start, early release, Goodbye Assembly day.  Basically, it was play-day for the students.  Which is totally fine with me.  I worked in my room.  Some students came to class, and I let them talk and play Uno because grades are closed and posted.  Yearbooks were given out at the end of the day.   After dinner Friday night, I went to worship at the temple by myself.  I needed the quiet prayer and contemplation time. 

Saturday morning, I got up early to go to breakfast with a friend who is probably going to be moving to Arizona in a few months.  The food and conversation was good.  I will sure miss my friend when she moves.  She is probably my best female friend in this area.  

After breakfast with my friend, Charly and I had a Saturday morning walk at the mall. 

When we got home, I put some flags up on the front of the house to commemorate Memorial Day.

The main thing on my to-do list for Saturday was beginning to clean out our backyard shed.  We spent quite a while going through stuff we have been holding on to for years.  We ended up taking two loads of things to donate at a nearby thrift store. 

I also spent quite a while going through some school files I had in the shed.  I kept a few things but recycled most of it. 

After dinner Saturday night, we visited the cemetery where Charly's parents and mine are buried and placed flowers on their graves. We also took some flowers to my paternal grandmother's grave, which is right next to where my parents are buried. 

Sunday was a beautiful day!  It was warm and the sky was blue and cloudless. We went to church about mid-morning (our main worship begins at 10:30 a.m.).  We came home after the worship service.  I ate a light lunch and got Sunday dinner put in the crock pot.  I had quite a bad headache all morning, so I decided to take a little nap after dinner was in the crock pot.  I ended up sleeping for about an hour and a half, which is quite a long nap for me.  When I got up, my headache was gone, so the extra sleep helped!

Sunday dinner was barbecued chicken, onions and potatoes, along with corn, baked beans, and green salad.  I got this new-to-me recipe from my blog/vlog friend Kathy at Kathy's Happy Home.  In her Youtube video, Kathy explains how to make this delicious chicken step-by-step.   I did modify the sauce a little.  I used Sweet Baby Ray's original barbecue sauce ("Award Winning") and added some ketchup, brown sugar, and dry onion soup mix.  It was excellent!  I will definitely make this easy recipe again! 

After dinner, Charly, Josh, and I drove to a town about 20 miles north of where we live to put flowers on my maternal grandparent's graves.  It was a lovely evening to be out. Lots of people were at the cemetery, but there was a good vibe and it was very peaceful as people remembered and honored family members who had passed on.  

As the new week begins, I am reading and enjoying this book, Bet Your Bottom Dollar by Karin Gillespie.  I am reading this book on my Kindle. It's good and a nice change from the mystery/suspense/thrillers I have been reading. 

Weekend Gratitude:

• Having beautiful weather.
• Being able to get together with a friend before she moves.
• Making progress on cleaning out our shed.
• Visiting family graves with family. 
• Worshipping at the temple and at church. 
• Having Monday off!
• Honoring those who gave their lives for our freedom! 

Praying For:

• My granddaughter and grandson (Hailey and Miles) both are whom are going on multi-week humanitarian trips this year.  Hailey will leave for Brazil tomorrow and her brother Miles will be going to Costa Rica on Tuesday. 
• Josh to be able to go full-time at his job, or transfer to a full-time position in another department at the same organization.
• Inspiration from God for big decisions we need to make. 
• Our nation.

That's all for this weekend.  Have a good Memorial Day and remember those who gave their all for our freedom!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

The First Weekend of My Summer Vacation

Friday was the last day of the school year.  The students weren't required to be at school, although some students did come to say goodbye.  Teachers were told we didn't have to show up until 8 a.m. (about an hour later than a normal day) and we could go as soon as our rooms were cleaned, our technology locked up and our year-end check list was complete.  I left about 10:30 a.m..

After lunch, we headed down to Utah County once again to look at a house that is for sale.  The house we looked at is shown in the picture.  It was a nice house and it was in our price range, but we still want to see what options are available to us in St. George, so we will be heading back to St. George soon.  Earlier in the spring, we found a house in St. George which we initially liked and hoped to buy, but  after thinking about it, we decided that it wasn't exactly what we wanted, so we continue to look.  Because of the high interest rates,  a lot of sellers are starting to lower asking prices, so we keep looking, hoping to find something that is affordable and feels just right. 

We also went to one of our favorite bookstores in Utah County and I was able to find this book, The Slow March of Light by Heather B. Moore.  It is a novel based on a true story.  I have been looking for this book because my daughter read it and told me about it and recommended it to, so I will be reading it soon!

Saturday was a rainy day.  It poured rain from early in the morning until late afternoon. 

We had plans to meet up with some friends in a small town about an hour north of us, called Brigham City.  Our friends told us there was a good restaurant there and some fun shops - including a used bookstore. 

The restaurant is called Idle Isle Cafe and it is one of the oldest restaurants in the state. It has been in the same building for over 100 years!  The food was good, and we had a very nice visit with our friends.  (I borrowed this picture from the internet.  The skies were definitely NOT blue the afternoon we were there.  It was cloudy, gray and pouring rain).

After lunch, we did a little browsing/shopping at some of the fun shops in Brigham City.  This is the fun used bookstore we went to.  It was small but had quite a good selection. 

We also visited a thrift store in Brigham City and I ended up bringing home this Seasons of the Heart complete set of books by the Canadian author, Janette Oke.  I had read a couple of her books years ago and enjoyed them, so I decided to get all four books in this series because they were only $1 a piece!  That's a bargain considering they are probably out of print now.  (On Amazon, a complete set like this, used, sells for over $32!)

We also got some Pure Utah Creamed Honey at a local boutique store that had some fun and interesting things made locally.  

By Sunday morning, the rain was gone and we were up and off to church early. We attended both the main worship service and the classes after.  Today's topic in the class was integrity and we had a good discussion on a virtue that is so lacking in our society today.  Good stuff.  I came away with a renewed commitment to stand for and defend what is right instead of what is politically correct.  As a public school teacher, this is somewhat challenging so I found the lesson inspiring and very relevant.  

Sunday afternoon was nice and sunny, and I enjoyed a walk around the neighborhood while listening to a couple of Christian podcasts I enjoy. 

I put up the flag for Memorial Day. Since we keep our front porch light on all night, I figured it would be appropriate to put the flag up today and leave it up for tomorrow. 

Our Sunday dinner was oven baked chicken with potatoes and green beans. This is an old "tried and true" recipe that I had never made before.

It was really delicious - a 5 star recipe for sure!  We enjoyed it with green salad and French bread.  

Ingredients

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in quarters

2 can green beans, drained or 2 heaping cups fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces

6 lg red-skinned potatoes, cut in quarters

1 pkg zesty Italian dressing mix (1.25 oz)

1/2 c butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a 9x13 pan, place cut chicken breasts in the center, green beans on one side, and potatoes on the other.

2. Sprinkle the Italian dressing mix over the top.

3. Drizzle the melted butter over it.

4. Cover with aluminum foil.

5. Bake 1 hour.

Above are the directions for our "winner, winner chicken dinner".  The only modifications I did was using gold potatoes and also adding dry onion soup mix, in addition to the Italian dressing mix because Charly and I both like onion flavoring.  The recipe above comes from the website Just a Pinch.

I also made some zero calorie Dr. Pepper brownies for dessert.  It was a tasty way to finish off the meal!

After dinner, we watched our scripture master class on Youtube.  It was so good.  I love our weekly scripture master class, and always learn something from it.  

Later, I went outside to water the flowers and plants in the vegetable garden.  I was so happy to see these little baby grades on my grape vine.  The grapes we got from this vine in the past were delicious, so I am looking forward to having a special treat later this summer of grapes from our own vine. 

Weekend Gratitude:

• School is out for the summer!
• Lunch with friends on Saturday.
• Safe travels in the rain.
• Good conversations with Josh.
• Our grandson's baseball game on Thursday.
• Living in the United States of America - a free country defended by the best and bravest in the world!

Please take time to remember and give thanks for those who gave their all to defend our freedoms this Memorial Day.  Freedom is never free.

Until next time, 

🎖Deb🪖

"Courage is contagious. 

When a brave man takes a stand,

the spines of others are often stiffened."

~Billy Graham