...leaving Cub Scouts...

It's that time. The time when the Cub Scout passes over the bridge to Boy Scouts. Michael is graduating, leaving Webelos and going to 11 yr old Scouts. Now we'll have 3 Boy Scouts!!! Yay.

...Arrow Of Light award

Michael has worked hard to earn his Arrow of Light award. Thank heavens for great leaders and a motivated Webelos scout. It's fun to watch how the Cub Scout program helps these boys grow and learn so much!

...Trip to the Oakland Temple...

Oh, how lovely was the morning...We took a family Temple Trip to the Oakland Temple this morning. Ben and I had a chance to do some ordinances while the youth helped with kids, then the youth had a chance to do baptisms. How can you pass on an opportunity like that!
Glad we got some pictures.  And would you believe, the skies were mostly clear and the weather was great (for January!)

What a wonderful day!

New Year, New Primary classes

I'm so excited for Primary this year! Jenna's out of Nursery. She's has wonderful nursery leaders (Thank you Sister Leichner and Sister Orr). But she's ready to move on to Sunbeams...and guess who her teacher is?! Her MOM!!!!  William and Michael are in Primary too. Although (and yes, with a little sadness) I must say this is Michael's last year for the PrimaryProgram. He'll be graduating into Young Men's next year. So, these are my Primary kids in 2014.

Merry Christmas, Y'all!

I saw Mommy kissin' Santa Claus, underneath the Mistle Toe last night....

...the time is far spent...

Today is Ben's last day of work in Chattanooga. Mostly, it's just signing people out, checking off their bonuses, and handing out final paychecks. We visited him yesterday and everything was eerily quiet. All the rail cars (tankers) are gone. No engine ringing it's bell or tooting it's horn as they rearrange the cars. No bright yellow/green vests walking up and down the tracks. No noise from pumps or other machinery. Everything was just quiet. The few people we saw, the smokestacks, the water circulation pools, the tracks, are all quiet. Today is the last day of school for Michael and Joshua. Andrew finished up yesterday since he has a 4 day school week. (Spring Break begins for the kids) We'll have a chance to go to Church on Sunday and bid our farewell to the Hixson Ward. Monday morning will meet us with movers coming to pack the house. Tuesday, all those boxes will be loaded on the truck and the cars loaded onto the transport. And then it's time to say good bye to the hills of Tennessee. We fly out from Nashville early Wednesday morning. It's becoming bittersweet for me. There are people and places and things that I'm gonna miss about Tennessee. The very things that drove me crazy when we first arrived are probably what I will miss most. The way people talk (I can finally understand most of them!), the crazy roller-coaster-roads that make you feel queezy just to drive them, the 'smokey hills' covered in morning fog, the dense vegetation, the cars that don't/won't pullover for the emergency vehicles, and of course getting out of the Northgate Mall with the ridiculous intersections. I won't have any of that in California. But I will find kind and friendly people in Northern Cali. And I can learn a new 'language'. And I will enjoy living in the wide open space of the Central Valley. And there will still be fog. And I'll learn to love orchards and vineyards and almond groves and groomed fields of locally grown produce. I'll get to experience the marvels of the Sierra Nevadas (which I'm sure will seem enormous compared to the Smokies). And I'll get used to nicely plotted and laid-out-straight roads. And perhaps there will be someone rude enough to think they are more important than an emergency vehicle with it's lights flashing. And maybe, just maybe I can find a mall with an intersection that just makes no sense! It's time for a new adventure. And I'm ready to enjoy the ride!

...united in prayer...

‎"While the storm clouds gather far across the sea, Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free, Let us all be grateful for a land so fair, As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer. " God Bless America, Land that I love. Stand beside her, and guide her Thru the night with a light from above. From the mountains, to the prairies, To the oceans, white with foam God bless America, My home sweet home." ~ Irving Berlin