Back Home in Indiana

Well after being gone for a month I am back home. It felt so good when I walked in the house after being gone for so long. I had a great trip, but as Dorothy says "There's no place like home."
Ross and I flew to Salt Lake on Nov. 3rd to see our new grandsons. Oh they are just the cutest and most adorable little boys. Ross stayed until Sunday evening and then flew down to Vegas with Vanessa for a few days and then he had to come back home to pay for the rest of my vacation. At least that's the story he tells, Ha Ha.
I stayed for two weeks with Whitley and her new husband Brent, and then was able to go and visit Ben and Jocelyn and the boys. It was a great two weeks except for the 3 days that I was sicker than I have been in like FOREVER. I then flew down to Vegas to stay with Vanessa and Ryan for 2 weeks. The weather was great, but really didn't put me in the holiday spirit. Just a little too warm for Thanksgiving. Whitley and Brent drove down for Thanksgiving weekend with us so it was a great time.
Anyway I flew home on the 3rd of Dec. and feel like I have been going nonstop since I got home. Thanks heavens the Christmas shopping was done. I finally finished all the wrapping today so maybe things will slow down just a bit, but I doubt it. Ben has been interviewing for Dental school so that has been exciting. Can hardly wait until I know where they will be for the next four years. I am really hoping they will be close to us so we can see these new little grandsons more than once a year. All in all life is good and its good to be home

NAMES

Well just got word tonight the twins have been named. They are Jacob Thomas and Zachary Levi. Just wanted to let all of you who read know. I forgot to put in my last post how big the boys were.
Jacob was 7lbs. 15 oz. and Zachary was 7lbs. 8 oz. Pretty good sized boys for twins.

New Grandbabies

I am so excited. Ben and Jocelyn had twin boys on Friday. They are soooooo cute. Can you tell I'm the grandma! I can hardly wait til we get out there so I can hold them. It might be awhile though, because they aren't sure yet when they will have the babies blessed. So I am just hoping for lots and lots and lots of pictures. I am so happy for Ben and Jocelyn. They have waited a long time for this. They haven't named both of them yet, but the one with the dark hair, Jacob, looks so much like Ben did when he was a baby. The other one has light hair, so it will be easy to tell them apart. New babies are just the best. They are so sweet and cuddley. Our family is truely blessed.

WHITLEY'S WEDDING

Wow, what a week we had. Whitley was scheduled to get her endowments on Thur. at 5pm and then her and Brent would be married Friday morning at 10am. Well on Wed. Whitley woke up sick. You know, that awful stomach flu where you are in the bathroom all the time or laying in your bed wanting to die. I felt so bad for her. I kept checking on her all through the day hoping she would tell me she was feeling better. I went out for dinner that evening with Donna Meyers, who was back visiting from Mesa, Arizona, and Linda Deam and Karen Herr. We have all been friends for many years and always try to get together when Donna is home for a visit. Anyway, I came home and Whitley was still not feeling well. So I told her to just stay in bed and I was sure, or I was hoping it was just a 24 hour bug. Well on Thur. morning I woke up to check on her and she was laying in bed pretty still, and said she thought she felt better, that is until she got up to move around. There she was heading for the bathroom again. I layed back down and about 5 min. later, I am like , oh no this can't be happening. I was up and running to the bathroom. It was awful. This is like about 8am and we are suppose to be leaving for the temple around 11. I was just about beside myself wondering what we would do, knowing if Whitley didn't make it to the temple that day we would have to postpone everything. I was in tears and so was she. I just kept praying and reminding Heavenly Father that she was doing the right thing. She had planned all these years to get married in the temple and had done all the right things and just to please bless her that this would happen. Well a couple of hours passed and we were still not feeling well. If it had just been an upset stomach we would have been ok to travel, cause you know, you can always take a barf bag with you, but oh not we had it at both ends, so there was no way we could get in a car and travel over 3 hours to Chicago. By this time I am so upset and so is Whitley, we just don't know what to do. Well Ross called our home teacher, Bro. Moore and he came over and he and Ross gave both Whitley and I a blessing. I called the temple and explained our situation. They were so kind and helpful, they said whatever time you can get here today we will work with that. I felt somewhat better after getting off the phone with them. So now its about 11 and Whitley and I are starting to feel a little better. I know the blessing that Ross and Bro. Moore gave us was the only thing that could have helped. We still weren't great, but we at least felt like we would be able to travel. So we got ourselves around and left around noon. Needless to say it was a long trip to Chicago. Whitley was in the backseat just trying to keep her head down and rest as much as she could. Well we made it and on time even, which I couldn't believe. Everyone at the temple was so great. They were so excited to see us. They said they had been praying for the bride all day, knowing she was sick. They just wanted it to be the best day for her and I will never be able to thank them enough for all the help they were and just the great amount of kindness exhibited on her behalf. Whitley was still somewhat under the weather, but at least she was there and she knew she would continue to feel better minute by minute. It was just so great to be with her in the temple. I just felt so much love.
It was great too because all her siblings were there with her. I was just so glad they could all be there together. Families are just the greatest blessing the Lord could ever give us and I am so thankful for mine.
After her endowment session, we went out for dinner with Brents family. He had an aunt and uncle there along with his parents. It was nice and relaxed and we got to know his family a little better.
We all stayed at the Marriott Couryard on Friday. Whitley, V anessa, Natalie, and Whitley's best friend Amy Benkenstien stayed in a room and Ross,Ben and I stayed in a room. Macy's husband Brent came up that night also with their little girls, Vivian and Sophie. Natalies husband Chad came up that night with their kids, Heidi, Noah and Owen and stayed at his aunt and uncle's house. I was glad everyone was there the night before, at least I wouldn't worry about anyone getting stuck in traffic.
Anyway Friday morning everyone was busy getting ready. Macy did Whitley's hair, and mine. It's so nice having a hairdresser in the family.
We headed to the temple and I helped Whitley get ready. It was so wonderful. It was just her and I in the brides room. It brings tears to my eyes right now as I write about it. She was such a beautiful bride. She was our last one to get married and I was just so glad to be in the temple with her that day. What a blessing to have 5 children married in the temple. I just can't put into words how that makes me feel.
Anyway the wedding was beautiful. All our kids were there, except Ben's wife Jocelyn and Vanessa's husband Ryan. Jocelyn was pregnant with twins and couldn't travel and Ryan is in Dental school and just couldn't be gone. We really missed them alot, but understood why they couldn't be there. One of my best friend's Vicki Houseman and her husband Guerry were there also. It was so great to have them come and share our special day with us.
After the wedding Macy's husband Brent took the pictures. It all went pretty well and we headed for Grand Rapids for a reception there.
Well we had a little traffic and road construction and probably didn't plan quite enough time to travel so we were a little late. Whitley and Brent were even late. But all went well and they had a beautiful reception.
We headed home about 10 that night and had about a 3 hour drive. It was Ross, Ben,Vanessa and myself. I was glad Ben did the driving, I was pretty tired and Ross always makes me nervous when he drives. Anyway we made it home ok.
We got up early on Sat. and I started making lots and lots of salsa for the reception that afternoon in Huntington. I got it done pretty early and didn't feel too rushed.
Whitley and Brent were coming to our house to get her hair done and then heading to the church for the reception. Well needless to say they missed their turn coming home and got a little lost, not really lost but just not where they were suppose to be, so that was stressful for me. Anyone that knows me knows that I can't stand to be late anywhere. I mean I hate it., but they made it to the church on time and Macy was able to get Whitley ready. Oh she looked so beautiful. Just glowing.
We had a great reception. The church was decorated so beautiful. My nephew's wife Jill and her friend LaDonna Keel did the decorations and it was just so wonderful.. Whitley said it was just exactly what she had wanted. We had a DJ, and that was so much fun. It was just a great time. So many of Whitley's friends were there and she was so glad to see them. It was just a perfect evening.
Everyone took off the next day for home, except for Vanessa, she stayed until Thur. It was nice to have her be able to stay a few days longer.
Now we are officially empty nesters and I am having to adjust.
I can only say it was a whirlwind of a week with many ups and downs, but in the end it was all worth it. I told Whitley we will have many memories that just her and I shared to remember for the rest of our lives.

NEW BATHROOM

Well my bathroom is finally done, well all except two cupboard doors for my linen closet that the guy made the wrong size so now I am waiting for the UPS man to bring.
I LOVE IT, I MEAN , I LOVE IT, DID I SAY I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Now Ross would say that I was being too materialistic, but let me tell you I feel so calm when I walk in it. It turned out just like I imagined.
For those of you who never had the opportunity to see it before, well let me just say it was original to the house. Pink tile on the walls, old laminate counter top, tiny little tile squares on the floor, dark brown cabinets, pink tile in the shower.
Guess what, NO MORE PINK.
I will try to post some old pictures along with the new if I can figure it out. I took some when we started the remodel but I didn't get them taken before I had ripped out the pink tile so you can't fully appreciate the change.
Anyway I love it and just walk in and look and I feel good.

My Trees are gone

Well we had two rather large trees cut down yesterday. One was a maple out by the road and the other was a huge blue spruce right next to the house. I always hate to see trees cut down but these were both dying and I really didn't want the blue spruce falling on the house. So things look a little different. It is a little easier to see though pulling out of the driveway. I watched as the one down by the road came crashing down. It was a little scary. It made quite a thud as it hit the ground. We will need to get something planted in its place. We won't live long enough to enjoy a big tree but someone else will someday. Whitley will be home Thur. with her fiance' Brent. I told Ross he needs to be nice when he meets him. I know he wouldn't be mean or anything but for those of you who know Ross he is a man of few words and some might think that he doesn't like them so therefore he isn't talking much. I am sure Whitley has prepared Brent. But like Vanessa said tonight, you can tell them but they don't really get it until they meet Ross. We will be busy next week making the centerpieces meeting with the caterer and meeting with the lady doing the cake. Hopefully then we can just relax and enjoy ourselves until the wedding. Well at least its wishful thinking. We still have a lot of people that have sent their rsvp so I am hoping I will be getting those this week. I gotta have a head count so I know how much food to have. I certainly don't want to be short, that would be awful. Well I am fixing Ross a bit to eat since he just got home and then I will be heading to bed.

Rain, Rain, Rain

Well we are having another thunderstorm this evening. The satellite just went out again. It always does that when it rains hard. We just keep getting more rain. I really don't think we need it. We had so much Ross was not able to plant much of a garden. I love the smell while it's raining. It's great living in Indiana. I love it. It is so green right now. I just sit and look out my living room window and thank Heavenly Father that I live in such a beautiful place.
Life is good!!!!!!

Visiting Friends

I had the best time over the weekend. Another friend and I went to visit my good friend Vicki Houseman in Springfield, Ohio. It was great. Just being with old friends and talking about all the fun times we had was so much fun. I don't think I have laughed so hard in a very long time. I think my stomach muscles got as good a workout as if I had been using the Ab Buster. I miss Vicki alot. We were such good friends when she was in the Huntington Ward. I will definately not wait so long for my next visit.

Well I have been painting and painting and yes doing more painting. Oh and by the way did I mention I HATE to paint. Well I do. We have been doing some remodeling in our bathroom so I have been painting walls and ceilings and then yesterday I added to that by doing trim and the bathroom linen cupboard. I know it will look really good when we ( or I should say I, because Ross has not helped at all) are done. I will have Macy show me how to post pictures, again, cause I don't remember how to. Wow that is the story of my life. Macy came over yesterday and we also put vinyl lettering up on my kitchen soffett. It looks so good. It only took me about a year to decide what I wanted to do. I don't like a lot of the cutesy sayings so it took me awhile to figure out what I wanted. But I am glad I waited cause I really like it. Our house is really starting to take on my personality. Thats good, because if it was taking on Ross' I am not so sure how it would look. His taste is well how should I say this without sounding terrible. BAD. I guess there was no nice way to say that. Yikes. Am I being mean. No, just truthful. Hopefully the bathroom will be done some time next week. The vanity is suppose to be here tomorrow and then guess what , I have to paint it. Oh wooooooo is me. At least the weather has been cooperating, not hot and humid like it was earlier in the month.
Ross will be pleasantly surprised when he comes home tonight. I made a rhubarb pie and shortcake for the stawberries that we have. He planted some last year and he is picking strawberries almost daily. I'm kinda picky about stawberries so I haven't been eating any. They are a little too soft for my liking. They have to be pretty firm and sweet for me to eat them. There is just something about a mushy soft berry that really makes me , well how can I say this delicately, GAG. There you have it. Sometimes you just have to say what it is and not church it up, as Macy would say.
Whitley will be home the 11th of July and I can hardly wait to see her. I am glad we will have a few weeks to spend together before she gets married. It will be a busy and fun time for all of us. She has really found herself a great guy. He is so nice and kind. I am really happy for her, but a little sad for me. She is the last one to leave the nest and I am having a little more trouble with that than I thought I would. Oh well I will surivie and live through it, I have for all the others.
All in all, life is good.

TWIN BOYS

I am so excited. Ben called yesterday to tell us they are having 2 boys. I think he is pretty excited to have someone carry on the Staller name, and also he said they can be fishing buddies. Ben is the only Staller boy, so now the name can live on. I know he and Jocelyn will be great parents. I am so happy and excited for them.

My New Kitchen Wall

I love my new kitchen wall. As you can see it was yellow and Macy talked me into painting a big red stripe on it. At first I didn't want to, but now I am sooo glad I did. I love bright colors and this makes me feel good. The bright blue wall vase was one I got when we were in Uruguay this past fall. It will always remind me of the great time we had there with Ben and Jocelyn.

WHAT WAS I THINKING, OR NOT

Friday was Heidi's 5th birthday, so on Sat. Natalie and Chad had a party for her at our house. She invited her Primary classmates and they all had a fun time.
Everyone had left and about 5:00 Heidi and Noah were playing outside. They were outside our living room window and I thought I heard some glass breaking. I looked out the window and 3 kids had broken the window at out neighbors house. Heidi and Noah were standing there watching them and they turned around and looked at us and I thought it was the neighbor kid. I assumed he had locked himself out and they were trying to get in the house. I knocked on the window and said something to Heidi and Noah and then noticed the girl that was with them was gone and the boys were walking around to the front of the house. I thought, boy are they gonna be in trouble with their mom for breaking the window.
Natalie and Chad left shortly after that and I headed into town to get gas. I checked the house when I went by and saw both cars were there so didn't think much more of it.
Well early Sunday evening we happen to look out the window and see the police next door. They are looking at the window and dusting for finger prints so I head over and tell them I saw the whole thing. Stupid me just thought it was the kid that lived there. Well I gave them a written statement, after they checked my drivers license to make sure there was no warrant out for my arrest, and yes I did pass that test in case anyone is wondering. There were 2 boys and 1 girl and I got a good look at all 3 of them. They were looking at the house and I assumed they say me looking at them out the window. Heidi, who is now 5, gave a great description of the girl. She even knew exactly what she was wearing. Hopefully they will catch who it was. The police officer said the neighbors have an older daughter who does not live with them and they thought she might be involved. I don't imagine I will make a very good impression with my neighbor. She probably will think I am a real idiot. Oh yeah the other thing, they are in Florida on vacation so we think it was some kids that knew they would be gone. I could just kick myself for not questioning what they were doing, but I really just thought it was the neighbor kid. We don't see them that much and he had dark hair just like the neighbor. Oh well, I hope I have learned a little something from this. It was a little strange though since they saw Heidi and Noah standing there watching them and it really didn't seem to phase them at all.
I am hoping I will get to look at a police line up and point them out. Maybe I should think about a career in law enforcement. In fact CSI may be trying to get it touch with me even as I am writing this. I see big things on the horizon for me. Oh yeah wait ,I kinda let them get away with this while I stood and watched.
Maybe I am more Barney Fife and less Andy Taylor than I thought. Well hopefully I will do better next time, wait I don't want there to be a next time!!!!!!

Bathroom Remodel

Monday was a shopping day. Macy and I went to Home Depot and Lowes looking for stuff for the bathroom. For those of you who don't know we are about to embark on a bathroom remodel. Now this is happening much to the chagrin of Ross. He likes to keep things just as they are. You know, if it aint broke don't fix it. Well unfortunately it is broke, he just doesn't want to admit that it is.
Several months ago I noticed that the paint on the wall next to the bathtub was starting to bubble up. I said something about it to Ross, but he pretty much ignored it. Well it got worse and once again I said something to Ross and again he pretty much ignored it. Finally I got him to admit that there might be a slight problem, such as a water leak. But, all he said was, well we can't do anything until we find the leak. Ok, so I thought he was going to find the leak. Well that didn't happen so I took matters into my own hands. We have really old pink tile on the walls in the bathroom and one actually fell off. Now this really did happen all by itself, I had nothing to do with it, but it gave me an excuse to get those tiles off the wall. I knew we had a leak and I knew we had to find it. So I started my quest. I knew Ross would not be happy when he came home from work to see my handiwork, but I knew I had to take matters into my own hands. As most of you know Ross moves pretty slooooooooooow. And that is an understatement. Well he came home and I was surprised at how calm he was. All he said was "Car, why did you do that".
Well that has been over 2 months ago and nothing more has happened. So I finally called a friend who is a contractor and he is coming in the morning to asses what has to be done. And all Ross said was, well we have to find the leak before we can do anything. So I told him that is what Lee is going to do and he is going to tell us what has to be done. Well now on to the fun stuff, the shopping. Well, it's suppose to be fun, unless you know what you want and you can't find it. Lowes assortment of sinks for the bathroom was well lets say not the greatest. I had found one online though that I liked and they are going to order it for me. My only problem is I left the store on Monday without paying for it so they can't order it until I pay. I bought other things that day and completely forgot to pay for the sink, duh. I also got a new faucet which is really cool and a new faucet for the kitchen sink. Now I am on the hunt for flooring for the bathroom. I wanted to get a vinyl that looks like wood, but haven't really found what I want. So I may have to rethink things. I am just glad Lee will be here in the morning and we can get started on all this. We are going to try to do most of the demo ourselves, so we will see how that goes. I pretty much have all the tile off the wall and have taken up some of the old tile off the floor. This bathroom is really dated so we have several things to get new, but it will look great when we are done, at least in my mind it does now. Hope it does when we get done. Oh the joys of remodeling. I am just glad this is one Ross won't be doing. That means there will be a completion day. Yeah.

My Weekend

Wow it was a busy weekend. As you know from my last post I had Vivian and Sophie Friday and Saturday. Saturday I took Vivian with me to a baptism at church. She was really good. I left Sophie home sleeping with Ross, and I was really crossing my fingers she would sleep the whole time I was gone. Well I must be living right cause she was still asleep when Vivian and I got home. That's good cause sometimes Ross isn't that great at watching the kids, he thinks he is, but no he really isn't. It was a nice day and Ross worked outside most of the day. He took Vivian out with him so she could pick some flowers, aka , dandelions. Well he turned his back and Vivian was making a beeline for the road . I hear him screaming at her to stop, so I looked out the kitchen window to see him running after her as she is heading for the road. Thankfully she took a turn and stopped because I could hear the traffic out on the road. We live just outside of town, but right on the highway and the cars go by really fast. Well needless to say I just about had a heart attack. Vivian had to stand in the corner, she did a lot of that over the 2 days she was hear. I keep telling Ross you can't take your eyes off the kids when they are outside cause they will be gone just like that. Wll after all that I decided Miss Vivian needed a nap, so I put here down in my room. That was a mistake cause I went in to check on her and guess what, she wasn't in bed. She had made a mess and was trying to climb up my dresser. Well just let it be said that by this time Grandma had lost her patience. I finally decided I needed a nap and layed down with her and we both fell asleep.
On to Mother's day. We went to church and had a good meeting. It was a little hard for me hearing the one talk since my mom passed away last year. It made me think of her and how much I miss her.
I love being a mom and grandma, it's been the best. My kids are great, and they have grown into wonderful adults. I couldn't have asked for more.
We went to Natalie's for lunch and the guys fixed our meal. I had New York Strip on the grill and it was great. I never have steak and ooooohhhhh it was good. Macy made salsa and that was great too. We stayed all afternoon and then brought Heidi and Noah home with us for a sleepover. They are so much fun. They slept good, when I finally got them to bed. All in all it was a good day.

I am feeling a little lonely today, though I am not sure why. I have Vivian and Sophie for all night so you would think that would be keeping me busy and it is don't get me wrong, but just knowing everyone is out of town makes me feel a little lonely and on my own.
Ross took a vacation day and went to Indianapolis to the time trials. I went with him last year and well lets just say it wasn't the best time I have ever had. In fact it was about as much fun for me as it would have been for Ross if I had taken him shopping, I think you all get the picture.
He is stopping to see his mother on the way home. Now lets talk about that a little bit. The other day I suggested to Ross that he take his mother out to eat for mothers day. Well his response was, and I quote, "I'm just gonna get her something."" So what does that lead you to believe? Well I took it that he was going to do just that, get his mother something for mothers day. oh no, Ross came home that night from work and asked me if I had gotten his mom anything for mothers day. Ok, you can just about imagine my response. Sometimes I just don't understand how men think, and you know what, I have come to the conclusion that hey, they don't think. Anyway I got his mom a present and he was stopping to see her and give it to her tonight.
Natalie and Chad are also gone today. They went to Chicago to a Cubs game and will be home late tonight.
Now the reason I have Vivian and Sophie is because Macy and Brent also went to Chicago to celebrate their 7th year wedding anniversary. So it just feels a little lonely here in South Whitley with everyone out of town. I am pretty sure I will survive though
Now another dilema I have. I am on the hunt for a really good sandwich wrap recipe for Whitley's wedding reception. You know I want something that when I eat it I say , Wow, that was really good. I haven't come across it yet.
I tried a recipe yesterday that I was very hopeful about, but it just didn't wow me. It was just ok. My niece Hollie gave me the recipe from the hotel where she works and it sounded like it would be really yummy, but like I said it was just ok. It was turkey breast with lettuce and pepperjack cheese with a cranberry mayo. I was just a little, well actually a lot disappointed.
So I am still on the hunt for something that is just really gonna make me crave it. So if any of you have any suggestions, I am open and ready to listen. I just decided since this is the last wedding I will be doing, I wanted to do something a little different that just plain sandwiches.
Hopefully I will find something.
I picked up Whitley's engagement pictures yesterday so now I am just waiting for the invitations to arrive so I can start the process of putting everything together. They turned out pretty good. Macy took them when we were in Utah helping Whitley pick out her wedding dress.
Everything is on track and I think we are good to go. Just need to buy some airline tickets and get a hotel room reserved. After 5 weddings I have become pretty good at all this. Practice makes perfect.
Well like I said if any of you have any great wrap recipes send them my way.

well here I am in the world of blogging. This is all pretty new to me so we will see how it goes. I really enjoy reading other peoples blogs so I hope I have something of interest to share with others.
My kids have blogs, so I thought I might as well give it a go. I was talking to Vanessa today telling her I might start a blog, but wasn't sure I had anything to write about and then she started giving me all sorts of ideas. I guess my life isn't as ho-hum as I thought it was. Or maybe it really is and everyone else's is too.
Today I am babysitting Natalie's kids while she is at the dr, shopping and looking at some houses with Chad. Noah has on his superman cape so he is as happy as can be. He really gets into superman. We had lunch and Owen, who is 1, ate as much as Heidi and Noah. I think he really likes food, and lots of it.
I have been looking for a dress for Whitley's wedding and have really not had a lot of luck. Since I am not as thin as I use to be, or ever was for that matter of fact, I am having a hard time finding something that doesn't look like my grandma would have worn it. I did buy a dress a couple of weeks ago that will work if I absolutely can't find anything else, but it really isn't what I am wanting. Macy got some really pretty material and if I can find a pattern I like we may just have to make it. Well I should say she , not we, would make it. I have no sewing abilities at all. In fact I hate to sew. I find it very stressful. I can remember in Jr. High when all the other girls made dresses, I made a pixie scarf. Now I am really dating myself, cause most of you probably don't even know what a pixie scarf is. Well Macy was nice enough to tell me maybe I could make a pixie scarf to match the dress she would make for me. I raised such a nice loving daughter. She is always thinking of me.
No really she is always thinking of me. She helps me with all the sewing and crafty stuff that I stink at. Which is just about everything.
Welll such is my first blog. Hope someone out there enjoyed it. If not, well ,just don't let me know. It will be better for my ego that way!!!