Felt Nativity

I made a felt nativity to send to Tina.  I wanted to send her something that was lightweight and didn't take much space that she could hang on her wall.  Here it is.

Also, I had an interesting experience at the Disney Store today.  I got there about 5 minutes before it opened.  There was a large lock set up in front of the door.  The first child that came was given a large key to open the lock and there was a little countdown ceremony.  Then the little girl was given a little disney key as a souvenier and she got to enter the store first.  If you have a kid who is the right age it would be fun to take them to open a Disney store.  

Sister Dittmar is happy

 
When you enter the MTC you leave your family behind.  Your family does not get an email from you until preparation day.  Christina's first preparation day is next Thursday.  (The first two days at the MTC you do not get a preparation day.)  One of the blessings of having Frank serve as a Branch President at the MTC is that I go to church there, too.  It was really fun to see Sister Dittmar (Tina) at Relief Society.  She is soooo happy.  She loves her companion.  She said it is amazing to feel the Spirit so strongly all of the time.
It was a relief to me to see her so happy.  I will not worry about her anymore and I can wait until Thursday to hear from her now.

Counting my blessings

I am so blessed.
My husband is so good to me and is a good man.
I have four wonderful daughters who are serving the Lord and doing His will.
And I have beautiful grandchildren and good and kind sons-in-law.
We live in peace and comfort.
I am surrounded by the beauties of nature.
I know my Heavenly Father lives and loves me.  I know my Savior, Jesus Christ, lives-He atoned for my sins and He loves me.

Hip-hugger, bell-bottoms

When I was in fourth or fifth grade I got some hip-hugger, bell-bottoms.  They were royal blue with huge red and yellow flowers.  The flowers were probably 12 inches in diameter.  They had a  fabulous 3 inch wide shiny vinyl belt.   (I know!! You wish you had some.)
I hardly ever wore those pants.  In those days we were only allowed to wear dresses to school and since I have never been one to change clothes I would just wear the dress to play in after school.  I would pick out a dress to wear on Monday morning and I would wear it every day for the rest of the week.  Charming.
I actually remember that I didn't really like the way hip-huggers fit so that was another reason I seldom wore them.  Well hip-huggers were in for about another decade or so before people got sensible and waistlines went back up to the natural waist.
Then about 20 years ago someone decided that everything should be worn on the hips again.  My daughters grew up in a generation of girls who thought their natural waistline was their hip line.
Anyway, last week I needed a new pair of dress slacks.  I went into Macy's and tried on some dark blue denim dress slacks.  They came right up to my waist!!!  I was thrilled.  They fit perfectly and are so much more comfortable.  It is so nice to have pants that fit me again.

Popi and Molly

Yesterday, Popi and Grandma Doreen came to meet Molly.  In order to enter the nicu you have to scrub your hands and arms up to your elbows-just like for surgery.  Popi enjoyed
doing that.  Then he held his hands up like he was waiting for the nurse to glove them.
Grandma Doreen got to hold Molly for a few minutes.  Popi was content to look at her.  After a while he got curious about the nicu.  He left Molly's room to look around and ask questions.  He was fascinated.  He talked to the nurses for a long time, both telling stories and asking questions.  He talked a lot about when he did nursing during the polio epidemic and he said he never liked nursing in the equivelent of the nicu because he didn't like poking tiny babies.
It was a fun visit and it was so nice of them to come.

Don't worry about the future.

I spent some time yelling at the TV today.  I was watching the news and was annoyed at how willfully dishonest some of the leaders of our country are.
Tonight, I came across a quote in my notes.  Sister Deborah Christensen (wife of Elder Craig C. Christensen) said "Don't worry about the future.  The good guys win.  There is a Savior."

Happy Birthday Annie! and other thoughts

I am so thankful that Annemarie is my daughter.  She has brought joy to me and our family all of her life.
I hope you had a happy birthday, Annie.

Frank has been in Branch Presidencies at the MTC for almost three and a half years now.  It has been a great experience.  Recently, I began reviewing the notes I have taken at Devotionals at the MTC.  Tonight, I was reading my notes from a talk given by Elder Didier.  He made a suggestion about prayer that I really like.  He said to ask Heavenly Father to "help me to recognize the answer to my prayer."
I have great faith in the power of prayer and I know Heavenly Father answers my prayers.  I have faith that He will help me better recognize the answers if I ask Him for it.

I can wear pierced earrings again!!!

I got my ears pierced for the first time about 3 years ago.  I didn't do it sooner because I thought I wouldn't like pierced ears.  Well, I loved wearing pretty earrings.  But, I soon developed an allergy to the earrings.  I went to wearing gold earrings, but that started to bother me, too.   I went for months without wearing any earrings.  A couple of weeks ago I decided to see if my ears were still pierced.  I put one of the gold studs that was used to pierce my ears into the hole and immediately took it out.  My ears swelled up immediately and hurt for a few days.
I went to Claires to see if I could find a solution.  The sales girl showed my some tiny plastic sleeves that go over the post on the earring.  I bought some and tried them.  My holes were tiny and the plastic sleeve makes the post bigger, so it was hard putting the earrings in the first few times.  But, I can wear earrings with no swelling and no pain.
The little plastic sleeves are ridiculously expensive-$6:50 for four pair, but it is totally worth it to make my beautiful earrings wearable again.  I looked on Amazon.com but they don't have a similar product.  So I will keep buying them at Claires.
I think it is interesting that I looked on the internet to see what other people with metal allergies did and I found no reference to the plastic sleeves.

Happy Valentines Day, young lady.

I love living in the center of the city.  Today I walked to the grocery store, a block away.  On the way home I was reflecting on the wide variety of people you see.  People of all ages, from many different countries, from all different economic circumstances.  I usually try to make eye contact and smile and say hi.
Today, just before I reached my apartment a man with obvious health issues whose life cannot be easy smiled at me and said "Happy Valentines Day to you young lady."  It really made me happy.  It is amazing how a simple smile and greeting can make your day.
And Happy Valentines Day to all of you, too.

A Marathon Drive

This post will probably only be interesting to my kids.
We left Provo this afternoon at 5:20 and got to our apartment in SLC at 8:14.  We didn't stop anywhere, just drove straight here.  It was 37 degrees and light rain when we left Provo.  By the time we got to the freeway there were light snow flurries.  It was snowing a lot harder at point of the mountain.  That was when traffic came to almost a standstill.  We crept along for at least 1 1/2 hours.  We finally found out that there had been a truck jackknifed on the road.  The snow came harder and faster while we were waiting.  We must have come to the accident about the time it was cleared because we suddenly started moving, but now the roads were snow covered and dangerous.  We drove at about 20 mph the rest of the way.  When we got to 600 S the sign said that it was too dangerous to exit so we continued on to 600 N, but when we got there we saw several cars stuck on the exit ramp so we still couldn't exit.  After that there really is no place to exit for SLC so we finally exited, turned around and got back on the freeway headed south.  We were able to exit at 600 N this time and fortunately got the light green or we probably couldn't have stopped and if we had we couldn't have started moving again.  After that it was slow going, but at least we were in the city and we finally made it home.  It was exhausting.  Frank is ready to move back to a warm climate.

The best presents I received as a kid.

I have thought a lot about some of the best presents I received as a kid.

The first would be the blue dog mentioned in my last blog.

Next would be my baby doll that I named Marianne.  

I loved the pink princess telephones that Beckie mentioned.  I particularly remember playing Cruella DaVille.  Beckie, were you Cruella or was I?

Another favorite present was one that Bob got.  It was called a Gorilla gun.  It was an air gun that you shot at a picture of a gorilla and the air made the gorilla move.  I don't know why I liked it so much, but it was fun. I have looked for it on ebay, but have never seen one.

And then there is Mystery Date.  It was the most popular toy that year.  I remember going to the store with Mom and Dad and hoping they would buy it for me but there was just one game left on the shelf.  They told me they wouldn't buy it because the box was broken.  Santa surprised me by bringing it anyway and it was the one with the broken box.  It really must have been the last one available that year.  We really played with that game a lot.

Perhaps one of the best gifts I ever received was from Aunt Norma.  She gave me a maroon leather bound, gold embossed copy of Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility.  That was my introduction to Jane Austen-decades before she became a fad. It is still one of my favorite possessions and I have read that copy many, many times.

Pictures of our houses.

I thought since Beckie is blogging about our houses I should post some pictures.

November 1957

Snow in San Antonio

Christmas 1957.  Beckie and I were so cute.  I am feeding my baby doll.

Poinsettia bush in front of our house on Infantry Post.  Beckie and I out front.  

First little house we lived in in Germany.  It was in Bad Vilbel.  It was a tiny house.  Bob in the front yard. 

Easter in the attic in Platenstrasse.  This is the small kitchen.  Notice the slanted roof, It is almost touching both Bob and Beckie;s heads.  The blue dog on the table was mine.  I got him as a present when I got my tonsils out in San Antonio.  I loved him and probably put him on the table so he could watch us decorate Easter eggs.  I was heartbroken when our dog, Dolly, chewed him up in Silver Spring.

Christmas in the Attic.

Our playroom in the attic.  Our household goods were shipped over in large wooden crates and Mom stacked them to make a doll house.  Beckie and I got our first Barbie dolls that Christmas in the attic.  I wonder why I am not wearing my glasses.  I got them when I was 3.

Bobby and Grandpa Brugger outside of our apartment building in Platenstrasse.  Bob always wore his cowboy hat and cowboy boots-even with his lederhosen (leather german shorts).

Bobby and I.  We had a little dutch car called a Daffodil.  

Silver Spring, Maryland.  Bob in front yard.

Our new home in Denver.  1967.   It was a beautiful house, just not a beautiful situation.

The polygamy house in Ephraim.  1968.  That is the Lind family.  He was the "mormon austronaut."

My bed in Ephraim.  That was probably the ONLY time my bed was ever made.  When Beckie and I shared a room I was always convinced that she was the messy one.  Then she left to go to Snow College and I found out I was the messy one.

Our cat, Ming, outside the Ephraim house.  MIng had no front claws, but that didn't stop her.  She terrorized the great dane, "Twiggy", who lived in the neighborhood.  When we moved we gave her to Twiggy's family.  She made friends with Twiggy and rode around on her back.  

The kitchen in the Ephraim house.  The floor sloped badly.   Love those glasses, Beckie.

Our duplex in Bad Vilbel when we returned to Germany.  1969

What kind of house did you grow up in?

What kind of house did you grow up in and what was the old neighborhood like?

If Beckie blogs about questions I will try to blog about them, too.
When I read the question about what kind of house I grew up in, interestingly I immediately thought about our house in Silver Spring, Maryland-so I will blog about it.
I was in third grade that year.  We lived in a two story house, with a basement.  We had a fenced back yard and we got a beagle named Dolly.  Dolly barked constantly and would escape from the back yard, so we gave her away to some people who lived on a farm.  We also had a cat named Kitty.
The house had a small kitchen, but we did have our first dishwasher.  It was round and opened from the top.  You took the top rack out to load the bottom rack.  Beckie and I also got our first electric blankets.  I remember the day we got them we were told NOT to get them wet.  Of course, I spilled a glass of water on mine that very first day, so I couldn't use it, but had to sleep in a wet bed.  
I loved the basement in the house where we had a play area.  I got my Easy Bake Oven that year and it was one of my favorite toys ever.  I baked lots of little cakes in that oven.  
That was the year we had so much snow that school was cancelled for days-so much fun.  There was a little hill separating our house from the neighbors and we would sled down the little hill.  (It really was a little hill, maybe 2 feet high, about like a baby slide.)  The neighbors had a little girl named Mary Hornbeck.  We played with her a lot, but she was kind of mean.
That was also the year I got Mystery Date for Christmas.  Beckie and Mary Hornbeck and I played it a lot.  
Popi's parents, Grandma and Grandpa Brugger lived with us a lot during our time in that house.  They had a suite off of the living room.
I could write a lot more just about that house, and as Beckie said we lived in a lot of houses.  Maybe I will write more another day.

Frank's 40th Birthday

Christmas 1985

Annemarie's first Christmas

(There is actually a picture of Carianne and Heather at the end of this post.)

We had the Christmas tree on top of the piano that year.

In Austin.

The wrapping paper was the most fun.

With Granny, Grandpa, Uncle Ray and Aunt Cindy.

This is a good picture of Granny and Grandpa.

Garfield always made Annie laugh.
 I got the Baby Big Bird doll free for sending in enough proof of purchases from Pampers
I also got a free Baby Cookie Monster.


Finally, a picture with Baileys in it.
Breakfast of Aebelskivers at Grandma Brugger's house.

Christmas in Austin 1993

I think these pictures speak for themselves.