Oct. Journal highlights

Oct. 1: Elder Hales passed away shortly after the morning session of General Conference. He has been so frail for so long, that I almost felt happy for him.  He will be missed because he was loved. 

Oct. 2: My new washing machine arrived today! Darrel and all the kids went in on it.  Laura helped Darrel pick it out and I can’t wait to get it hooked up.  For FHE, I went to find Autumn alone.  It was worth it because I found it!  The maples are breath taking this year and I would have been super sad to miss them. 

Oct. 3: Hanna Lillian Shirley was born this morning.  Karrie was schedule for an induction, but her water broke so they went in early and didn’t need one.  Hanna weighed 8 lbs. 10 oz. and was 21 inches long with thick black hair. Darrel was there to help get the kids off to school and play with Josh throughout the day.  I had mixed emotions about that.  That has been my post in the past and I felt a little let down to not be there.  

Oct. 5: It was grandparent Day at RCE, so I went in to enjoy it with Sarah-Jane.  This is my first opportunity to go since SJ is our first granddaughter to attend RCE.  It didn’t last long, but it was fun.  

Oct. 6: Today was my 61^st birthday!  Darrel flew in from Mississippi today but with my activity run, I didn’t even see him today.  It was a good day.  I had lots of texts and emails wishing me well.   I did some last minute packing and cleaning and then headed out on my overnight run to the U of U with the speech and debate team.   The instructor was the navigator and her GPS system was a bit faulty, but we made it anyway.  I did a temple session after dropping the students off.  Bethany picked Darrel up from the airport.  He got out of Mississippi in the niche of time as Hurricane Nate was on the way.  I was able to talk to Darrel for while later in the day.  He had a great trip and it felt good to have him home.  

Oct. 8: Hurricane Nate hit the Shirleys overnight.  They fared quite well, although they experienced some pretty violent weather.  Little Hanna is not even a week old and she already survived her first hurricane.  J I went to the Salem cemetery.  I wanted to make sure everything was clean and that there was a splash of fall color around her headstone before her birthday.  I felt her gratitude for our effort enough to whisper “You’re welcome.” 

 

Oct. 9: Today we had Sarah Hunt take engagement pictures for Andrea and Jordan. All close ups had to be photo shopped because of her recent scope kiss.  

Oct. 10: Today was Mom’s 84^th birthday and I had a Region cross country meet. I made it home early enough to help harvest the potatoes.  

Oct. 20: Jordan’s family came down for a visit this evening. We had hoped that the weather would allow some outside activities, but it was super windy and rather chilly.  That moved the party in doors.  We enjoyed a nice meal and then enjoyed some “get to know you” activities.  They are great people and have a good, strong family. Darlene started to feel a bit ill towards the end, so the left quite quickly. But all in all it was a delightful evening and accomplished what I hope it would.  

 
Oct. 27: There are blessings for taking time to go to the temple even when you find out it is closed for cleaning. There wasn’t time to run to Provo for a session so we decided to do some leg work for the reception at the Provo Town Mall.  We did very well!  We found Rebecca Evan’s outfit--- as well as a suit for Luke. The price for each was more than by chance.  I also ordered a couple of skirts for me. Hopefully, they will work for the wedding. Andrea was the Little Mermaid in PCT Nightmare on Broadway, so we went to that that evening.   She looked the part and did well. There was definitely some serious talent in the show, but the whole thing was a little darker than I enjoy.  Jordan was there to support Andrea and it was good to see him.  He picked up Andrea’s “real” ring today and plans to give it to her on her birthday. He was visibly excited about how it turned out. 

Oct. 28: David Shuler passed away early this morning. Darrel was at his Mom’s with all his brothers and sisters cleaning the house out from 1:00 p.m. until bedtime.  He felt it was a sweet experience and they got it done. They decided together on a date and time for the Kenison Christmas party. Brenda reserved her ward building for that event. 

Oct. 29: We stopped to in check on Bott’s this afternoon.  Robert was recovering from black widow bites and looked pretty rugged. Wyatt and wife moved have moved in and Jason had a new job that he was gone on some training.  Their situation is so far from ideal, but Jenny seems to handle it all with optimism. 

Oct. 30: Today was Andrea’s 23^rd birthday day. I chatted with her couple of times, but we left the day open for Jordan.  He gave her real engagement ring to her and they picked up their marriage license among other things.  

Oct. 31: I ran north following my am run and picked up the wedding invitations.  They were beautiful!  I also ordered temple plagues for our out of state children for Christmas gifts.  I am hoping they can take them back with them following the wedding.  I figure it will save us $50-60 in postage.  Andrea joined us for the trunk-r-treat at the church and the party at Suazo’s.  Bethany and her kids looked great!  Sister Hurst passed away today. :(