Mt. Timp

Just a reminder of of what the mountain looks like without fog and snow.

Christmas Eve Sledding 2010

I will be deleting this post eventually. I have yet to figure out how to make the photos post in the order I want them to be. Here is a peek at what we did on Christmas eve. The snow was not very deep, but the fun was!

View The Best Christmas Lights Ever

Go to holdman.com to view videos of award winning synchronized home Christmas lights. My brother Paul helped set the lights this year. They are impressive, awesome, beautiful, and amazing!

My Savior

Picture In Portrait 5x7 folded card

Unique party invitations and announcements by Shutterfly.

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A Dog For Deeds

Deeds is a little boy with autism and other special needs. Deeds recently qualified to have a special trained dog to be his buddy. The dog would help keep on eye on Deeds and help him in his daily activities and improvement. You can read more about Deeds and his dog buddy at dog4deeds.wordpress.com. Deeds family needs to raise $13,000 for the initial expenses of getting this amazing dog for Deeds. Through the generous donations of many, many people the family is half way to their goal. Please donate if you can, but in the very least please find a way to share his story. Thank you!

Happy Birthday Surprises To Me

Amanda is very clever. And thoughtful.

To give me this cute surprise

she had to be prepared and think ahead.

The morning of my recent birthday

I was pleasantly surprised

to find this adorable message in the car

as I was dashing off to work.

What a perfect way to begin a day!

Even Amanda's 'stick figures'

are more artistic than the ordinary. :)

It's Official- Amanda is now PERFECT.

When Amanda was young she had her front baby teeth knocked out. When her new teeth were coming in she was able to wear braces to help the new ones grow in properly. We could not afford a retainer at that time so her teeth were never perfect again. As Amanda grew up and asked for braces; as parents our response was that Amanda is so beautiful and talented that if she had straight teeth she would be deemed 'perfect' and perfect people are translated. If that were to transpire we would miss her very much. Thus we just couldn't allow braces for her. That reasoning did not sway Amanda one bit. She suspected the real reason was we just didn't want to pay for them. Want. Afford. How similar are those two words? A year and a month ago arrangements were finally made for Amanda to have braces. She cried out of pure joy when she was told the news. She never once complained of the discomfort or any of the hassles of wearing braces. To Amanda this was her biggest dream come true.

Yesterday the braces came off. Amanda is now PERFECT in every way. Sure hope she hangs on to some imperfection so she is not translated yet. We sure would miss her TONS!

Morning Hair

As depicted in the above photos I am one of those people who HAS to wash my hair and take a shower each and every day. I know of many women (Liz and Amanda come immediately to mind) who look radiant and beautiful even on the days they claim they haven't done anything except thrown on clothes to be ready for the day.
I am a firm believer everyone has a responsibility to do what they can to make this world a prettier place, which includes taking time to care for themselves and making themselves beautiful everyday. I also believe the time spent should be realistic, as we do not want to become vain. I once heard a smart woman say, "Do what you can- then forget yourself and think of others". IF you ever chance to see me in my morning hair please pretend you don't recognize me. It will make me believe the time I do spend each morning getting 'ready' is time well spent.

An American Tradition

Twenty-Seven people converged on the Scott home one the fourth Thursday of the Eleventh month for an annual American eating tradition. Somehow we over calculated on the amount of edibles needed for this event. Possibly the miscalculation involved the fact that over half of these people were age seven or younger. Who would have thought they wouldn't eat their weight in food? Everyone was contentedly full, so much that the pies were reserved for another day.
The detail which made this chaotic event so important is the fact that fourteen of my fifteen grandchildren were all under one roof. The one grandchild missing celebrated Turkey day about 18 hours previous due to the side of the world he is on at this time.

Missing from this pic: Chad, Jim, Becky, Aaron, Amber, and Thomas. They were thought of and greatly missed. I am VERY grateful to be surrounded by so many of my family- even if it was only for a day.

Andi's Blessing Day- 1990

So this picture is brought to you via a scan. Way before digital cameras were in use there was stuff called film. It was manually put in a camera to portray images on a film to be developed into photographs at a later date. Usually a person took their role of film contained in a metal cylinder encased in a dark plastic canister to a camera establishment to pay them money to have their professionals develop the pictures. You had to decide beforehand if you wanted singles or duplicates. Days later you would return to said establishment and pay a small fortune for pictures you may or may not want depending on how still your subjects had stood at the last event you attended. A person didn't dare throw out a questionable picture 'cause it might be important to someone decades later.

The important event was the day Andrea was blessed. This is taken on our front porch just before we headed to church. We lived on Blue Sky in Salem. Oregon. Eldon and Jane drove from Utah to be there. Vickie and Sammi are included in this assortment of kids. Everyone is related to Jim, Chris and Chad. We are all family!

Starting from the center going clockwise: Aaron (squished in the middle), Chris holding Sammi, Jim, Amryn, Rachel, Andi (in Jim's' arms), Chad, Vickie.

Shutterfly(dot)com

I will let you in on a little known secret . . .
I L-O-V-E Shutterfly!
Those of you who really know me know that :
1- I take tons of photos.
2- I have tons of grand kids.
3- I take tons of pics of my grand kids.
4- I love to scrapbook and create photo books.
5- I frame pictures and display them in my house.
6- I love personalized photo calendars.
7- I take pictures of my daughter's art.
8- I take pictures of band kids and color guard competitions.
9- I take pictures of the sky, the clouds, light, color . . .etc.
10- I did my research to find the best company to order photo products through, and I have been pleased with their service ever since.

This year I am doing my Christmas cards through Shutterfly, (the best company to order photo products through. Refer to #10 above).
I love the design of the card I chose since I am able to share several pictures of my family plus there is room to brag a little bit. (refer to previous post to view the card I made on Shutterfly). I am so excited to get these adorable cards sent out to my friends and family.
I made a cute little 5 x 7 folded card for two of my grandsons with pictures of them on the front of the card. Their faces are on round Christmas tree ornaments. I just ordered that one this evening. I can hardly wait to see their reaction when I give their unique card to them.
You don't have to take my word only, (but why wouldn't you?) you can find Shutterfly cards on-line by clicking on one of these links. http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/photo-christmas-cards
For those of you who are REALLY ambitious here is a link to get started on your Valentine cards. http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/valentines-day-cards-and-stationery
I believe in making this world a better place one beautiful picture at a time. :)
Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… sign up: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Oki Diner In Kuaui, Hawaii

Blurred Edge 5x7 folded card

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Wishes of Joy and Magic

Joy Sage Story Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

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My Savior

My Savior

Oil painting by

Amanda Joelle Decker

Since Amanda is way too busy to have a time clock job, her mom has decided to peddle her paintings. Much to Amanda's embarrassment. Amanda never looks on our family blog so it will be months before she even gets a clue what I have done. Last August, the week before school began, Amanda had the opportunity to study for 3 hours a day for five days with LDS artist Jared Barnes. Jared encouraged Amanda to find her own style of painting. This oil painting of Christ is a step towards that. Here Amanda is using color to create a painting which is uniquely hers. The original is displayed in our home and the vision of it speaks softly to my heart. I am melted by His loving gaze as His eyes penetrate my soul. I am reminded to follow Him.
By purchasing prints of Amanda's artwork you would be helping her further her artistic education and training. Amanda wants to attend BYU in the fall of 2011. She will be paying for that education through scholarships (hopefully) and the sales of her artwork. We have decided to start with offering prints of her piece entitled . . .

MY SAVIOR.

Prices

5 x 7 $6.00

8 x 10 $12.00

11 x 14 $20.00

12 x16 $28.00

Please contact me to place your order. Thank you very much! Love Karen

Nelson's Grove

If you look closely and have a great imagination you can see the duck and turtle sitting on some reed hiding in the brush.
For a windy day and a cell phone camera these aren't so bad. NOT.
The colors on these fowl are beautiful. Guess you will have to go there and find out for yourself, cause the pic did not capture the hues and vividness.

So I had NO IDEA there was such a beautiful park so close to home. I had heard mention of "Nelson's Grove". But not enough to spark enough interest to find where it was. Now I know- GO if you get the chance. Make up a reason to take the grand kids here. They will L-O-V-E it!

Next visit will include a picnic blanket, food for the people, bread for the ducks, a camera, and relatives under the age of seven.

My Dad, Einstein

For Halloween I suggested to my dad that he dress up- as Einstein. He has always had the IQ for that role. Now he has the hair.

One day I spent my lunch break going for a walk with Dad and Olivia. Dad was eager to get out of the house for a while. It is such a blessing for my dad that mom got this motorized chair when she was so sick this time last year. (she never used it) Dad was ready to go before I drove up to his house.
I didn't get to eat much for lunch- but who needs food when you have sunshine and family?

Walnuts and a Puddle

I drive by our old house often since my parents live on the same street. On one such drive-by I was reminded of yet another thing I will not miss from that house. The Black walnut trees lining the front property are gorgeous in the fall as their leaves change from a young green to a very vibrant yellow. The sight of those gorgeous trees always brought a warm smile to my face. It was the plop, plop of nuts hitting the tops of vehicles or the hard thumps as the nuts hit the driveway which were tiresome. Just walking across the lawn took extra care as a foot trying to balance on one of those nuisance nuts could sprain an ankle of at the least make exasperating words escape a persons lips.
Another silly memory is of the day MANY years ago, where we had to repair a sunken driveway. Part of the driveway is built over an irrigation ditch. One day, after years of being a good driveway, the pressure of A VERY LARGE and HEAVY piece of construction equipment used by the city was too much for our old fragile driveway to withstand. For a short time we had a marvelously dangerous hole in our driveway. This specific memory is of the day the cement was poured and two adult men were in the front yard arguing on how to level the wet cement as to prevent water from accumulating on the surface when bad weather would arrive. Neither of them would listen to me or my idea. I could see that what they were planning was not the solution to this pending problem. My experience with the male species is that it is usually more important to 'just get it done' than it is to get it done correctly. My suggestion was completely overlooked. From that day forward whenever it rained, snowed or anything of that like, I was reminded of that day and that conversation and how two men would not, could not put a bit more thought and care in the task at hand. Yes- EVERY time I was out sloshing water and slush from that spot in the driveway I was reminded of how bull-headed some men can be.
So as I drive by this home with walnuts in a pool of water in the driveway, I smile and am glad it does not belong to me.
Life really is grand. :)

Observance = Cleverness = 'Ah ha'

Decades ago I had a teacher who passed out a quiz to each of the students telling us it was to test our ability to follow instruction. At the top of the page were the instructions to read through the test before beginning. One of the first items said to stand up and twirl three times. Another required the test taker to call out their favorite color. You get the idea. It was a noisy quiz. At the bottom of the page it said something like this: Now that you have read through this quiz sign your name here and turn this paper into the instructor. I was one of the few who completed this task correctly. What did I do differently than the other students?

I Love Vintage Stuff

. . . including my husband. Found this pic (on Bruce's desktop) taken in 1955. My bet this is his mom's mom who is holding him. Most likely taken in or around Elma, Washington.
How adorable. Love this guy!

I Looked Out My Window

Two of my bird feeders are in view from the kitchen window. Don't get any ideas in your head that I spend any significant amount of time in the kitchen- cause I don't. For the rare times I do venture in the kitchen I generally get a peek at a few cute birds.

Sometimes they peek at me.

Sometimes this bush jiggles
due to the quantity of birdies hiding there.

And sometimes I take pictures even though

the sky is cloudy and a screen is between me and my subject.

Repentance Requires Forgiveness

I would like to share a few of the notes I recorded during Relief Society lesson this morning. The topic of Repentance was presented by Liz Lambert, a new gal in our ward- yup even newer than me.
What I recorded in my spiritual journal were comments shared by sisters in the class. One of these days I will actually know the names of each of these gals. Hopefully that doesn't take me fifteen years cause I'm not sure all of these girls have that many years left. I love these ladies because with all their wisdom and life experience comes the ability to laugh at life itself. Their testimonies of Christ and their faith in the gospel they strive to live each day shows in their faces and in the endless service and love they give.
Here is a summary (in my words) of bits of knowledge and testimony shared during RS meeting today.
- The commandment to forgive is one commandment which the promised blessing comes very quickly. The peace comes completely and quickly to the one who truly forgives in their heart. (I have experienced this one many times for myself.)
- Having a constant state of forgiveness makes it so others have no power over you. (think of the feelings you harbor or the poor choices you have made when you have allowed someone's wrong towards you overcome your thoughts.)
- Christ has already paid the price for that sin against you- He asks that YOU forgive.
- Not forgiving yourself is a tool Satan uses against us in attempting to make us miserable like unto himself.
- Forgiveness equals Freedom

The Water Hole

Kids, Sunlight and Water

are perfect ingredients for cute pictures.

Braxton's Birthday in the Park

This is the guy turning four.

The reason for the cake and presents.

Michael hung on to this football

for quite some time.

Coming back for seconds and thirds.

Four Generation Photo

Is it too much to ask for all eyes to be on the photographer?

Smaller groups are easier to photograph.
Wish we had one more person in this pic. Where's Bruce?

Even with it's imperfections I feel privileged to have this picture.

Chad and Katy came from Cedar City to provide a fun way

for family to celebrate Braxton's fourth birthday.

Little Caden had celebrated his 'birth' day just days previous.

(refer to previous publication)
Thanks to all who made this rare photo moment possible!

The Numbers

I am the third child of fifteen. Chad is my third born. He and his cute wife now have three sons. I kinda like the number 3.
I verified the count- my parents now have 25 great grandchildren. Tish has two grand kids, Aurelia has eight, I have fifteen. (hmm, there's that number 15 again).

Caden James Huntsman

This cute guy was born this evening shortly after 8 pm. He is the third son of my third son. He was born in Cedar City, Utah on this day, September 14, 2010. He is 8 lbs. 5 oz. and 20 inches long. He has grandparents in Utah County anxious to see him and hold him. Congratulations Chad and Katy!

What was Lost is now Found

Orem High School Marching Band

Provo Freedom Festival Parade

July 4Th 2006

For several years now I have been wondering where I had put a whole parades worth of OHS marching band pictures. I had actually given up thinking that I had somehow mistakenly deleted them forever. They were found this evening as I was searching for a couple of photos of sugar eggs. Thank heaven for sugar eggs!

As a reminder to myself these files are found on the 'f'' drive under what is this\july4th\actual parade only :) And of course these five photos are not even a hundreth of what was found. YAY!