Month: December 2025

Christmas 2025

We had a wonderful, magical Christmas.

I love buying gifts for my children and wrapping them all up, and as I was watching them open them up, and give to each other, it’s really not at all about the gifts; it’s about the thought behind it, and the happiness or smiles that it brings to the person giving and the one receiving.

That’s what I like most!

It was wonderful having all three children together with their partners, and of course our grandson because he makes Christmas fun!

Today I have the letdown, that I get every single year.

My Emma Lu just left, she was the last to head back home and now Pete & I are here alone with the dogs.

I love that, but I love most being with all my family, all together.

Especially during the holidays!

I have some new goals and new things I want to reach & achieve this next new year, and I know with Gods help I will accomplish this.

Wishing all of you that read my blog the most wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is probably my favorite day of the year.

The excitement in the air; the preparation, looking forward to that magical day.

Every year, wrapping gifts late into the night, and trying to make sure that everything would turn out perfect.

I miss the mornings when my children would wake up early, so excited to see if Santa came. The joy & laughter that filled our house.

I loved everything about it.

When I was growing up my mom & dad made sure us kids always had the best Christmas. Jay put a lump of coal in my stocking when I was 8 yrs. old. I cried because I thought Santa did it until my parents made Jay tell me it was from him. Waking up at 3 a.m. in Hurricane Utah, checking to see if Santa had come, only to see my dad downstairs preparing gifts and telling me to go back to bed before Santa showed up.

The wonderful days as a child going to grams house meeting all the cousins on Spanish Fork main street, I don’t know how we all fit in that house. My Aunt Arlenes laugh, with my dad while they were cracking jokes, Grandpa Jay happy with his beverage, the special presents, puca shells that we thought were so cool, Gram gave me a scrapbook one year, and wrote me a poem, I knew back then I would always make scrapbooks.

Every single Christmas day of my life has become even that much more meaningful and lovely as I grow through the years.

Letting go of the past, with my family, and now the fun of playing Santa when my kids were little.

And now it’s a new kind of fun, a different kind of fun, with no more playing Santa but with our grandson and spoiling him with the excitement he brings back to me full circle.

I am thankful for my life, my family, Pete & the children.

I am grateful that we all get to be together and I miss those so much that have moved on to a better place and look forward to being with all of them again.

I had fun with A I making pics with me & Pete.

Merry Christmas

Jayda Dawn

the baby visits Santa Claus

My daughter sent me these amazing, & stunning pictures. I can’t get over how beautiful she is.

We went to the Princess in Scottsdale to see the Christmas lights. It was a fun evening with family. The baby got to see Santa & Mrs. Claus. He told Santa he wanted a book for Christmas, then Santa asked him what else and he said, “Two books”. He is so cute, he wasn’t the least bit afraid. I’m glad that he is going to be a reader like his gaga, Aunt Eme, Uncle Jay, & Grandma Paula. It must run in the family.

Karl turned 2!!

More Christmas fun festivities with the fam.

Kash had a tree planted in his name for his outstanding achievements at his job, and Eme got a raise!

Life is good.

Other than, I am tired, and the puppy phase is hard!!

swim lessons & our new puppy

Our grandbaby goes to survival swim lessons; and he is doing amazing!

I am covered in bruises and bites from Autumn & April.

April has a cone on because she had to have surgery on her leg and the vet had to take the stiches out, so she follows me everywhere I go, while she is playing & maybe I think fighting with baby Autumn, the cone hits me hard in my legs and I now see bruises.

Autumn loves to think I’m a toy and she puppy bites me all the time. My arms look like I’ve been beaten up.

I try to redirect her with other chew toys, but it’s still hard.

She loves April but April is being not very nice with her. We just hope it gets better because we got the puppy because we wanted someone for April to play with.

But Autumn has won her way into our hearts. She is doing pretty good on the potty training. She is slowly but surely learning to go poop & pee outside, not inside. She makes the cutest little baby puppy noises, and we really have fallen in love with her.

Except for April!

getting in the Christmas spirit

A beautiful evening.

We went through the neighborhoods to see all the decorations and lights, and I think what I love most about it are the big trees that remind me of home.

This is a tradition that we do every year.

The neighborhoods participate in decorating up their houses for Christmas and it feels like I’m either at the north Pole or the grinch movie, where it’s all so festive.

I wish I lived in this neighborhood.

Bryans car, he got it for Christmas!

It was a fun night with my family.

I do this for myself & my children

I read this and I loved every word.

I can’t post this on Facebook but I can post it on my blog.

And I’m really not wanting to point fingers, and/or prove my point that I’m right and your wrong. It may come across that way if you read my blog.

Those honestly are not my intentions, I want to have all this in writing for myself, I want one day for my children, and grandchildren, and great grandchildren to see my blog and read my thoughts about a president who is a cruel human being.

Every intention from him has been about him, and him only. He has no regard for anyone other than himself, and he doesn’t seem to care when others are suffering.

As long as he gets attention, money, status, and tries to prove to everyone that he is right no matter what, even though innocent people are getting hurt and treated like animals.

And I’m really not trying to prove that I am right no matter what on my blog. I post because this is where I can vent my feelings whether, I am right or wrong.

And maybe I’m wrong? I don’t know, but this is the way that I feel and have always felt about this awful, incredibly cruel racist monster.

p.s. He will NEVER take away Martin Luther King Day from me.

If you watch real news, NOT just Fox, you will see all the people he has hurt! People who are not even illegal immigrants, people crying, young & old that they are US citizens why are they being taken away and thrown into cars? The old, the young, ripping babies out of mother’s arms, husbands and wives pleading & begging not to take their spouses away.

It makes me sick to my stomach.

One day, if we survive trump, we will look back on all this and see the awful chaos, contention, and hatred that he has caused. They will write about him in history books about what not to do if you are a president.

Our children & grandchildren will read about him, not as a hero, but as a monster.

And I pray that one sweet day we will get our country back, out from the grips of evil greedy millionaire, racist, hateful men

Christmas past & present

Christmas past & present.

I like having this, it brings back so much.

Christmas is my favorite holiday; I just love everything about it.

Remember:

His law is love and His gospel is peace

eva we still miss you

I saw this video I made for our beloved Rottie Eva back in 2021

after she passed

she passed in April, and our new rottie April was born in April

when I look at this video, she reminds me of our new puppy Autumn

although Autumn is not a rottweiler

there is just something about her, that reminds me of Eva

Eva was there for me through my most difficult days

from 2013 to 2019

she was always by my side

she never left it

and now, after we brought April into our home shortly after Eva passed April has been an exact replicate of Eva

it’s almost weird, like she never leaves my side

the only difference with April is she likes to chew on bones

and Eva only liked to chew on blankets

now with our new puppy Autumn

I’m feeling Eva vibes again big time!

I purchased a human dog bed for Christmas!!

Thank you, Pete, for supporting me always with my love of dogs

and loving them as much as I do!!

she waited for me to get better,

she waited for Eme to come back home

she helped me start doing yoga & meditation

and then she sent us April

and now Autumn

Sage & Bryan Christmas pictures, and my thoughts

Banks nose, every single time I see his nose, I see Sage, and this makes me so happy!

When I observe his little mouth & lips, I see myself and this makes me so happy.

I am simply amazed at how God has brought back to me anything and everything that I ever wanted.

The love, the simple love of watching my grandson interact with our new puppy, and watching my youngest daughter come to meet him, sometimes my heart feels so much love & joy I get overwhelmed.

I can’t imagine my life without them

and then I think of Pete

the life he has given to me

how could I have been so damn lucky?

to share this

to witness this

to see this in action

it is beyond breath taking and beautiful

and I realize as I witness this, I am so lucky

I’m just amazed

share this life

Our new little addition

We got Autumn on Friday evening, Pete went and picked her up in Prescott from Tanner & Shandee, and we have been obsessed since!

We were babysitting Karl, while Amelia & Kristie were in Texas, so Karl got the chance to get to meet her for a couple of days. Bryan, Sage, & Banks came over the next day to meet her when they got back from Mexico.

Pete & I are now going through this process of settling into a family of four. April does not like Autumn, and she is very jealous. We are trying so hard to give April extra love and attention while she is going through this transition. Autumn growled at April at first meetings, while April was smelling her and trying to figure out what was going on. Now Autumn is super sweet & playfiul with April but April is jealous and does not like her.

It will take time for all of us to get used to this new transition. My prayers are that April will soon love her as much as we do.

She is so cute & playful. She is frisky and has puppy breath and I just melt. She is slowly bringing out the spunky side in April because I do see April’s little nub wagging, when Autumn tries to play with her.

Me going off to work and leaving my dogs is something that I don’t like and do not want to do.

So far it has been great because they are low at my school and I have not had to go in.

Last night Pete & I observed April trying to Mother Autumn. Every time Autumn tried to jump on the couch, we would say no and April would come right up and growl at her. So, April was helping us in trying to let Autum know the rules of the house!

I added these three videos because although I had posted them on my blog, I saw that they were private, so I am posting them again!