November 2022

We put up our tree on KK's birthday this year because it was on a Saturday and that is what she wanted to do.  But she fizzled out after about 10 minutes because it's super hard and not very fun and Rals and Walt and I did the bulk of the work.  It was hard this year, I don't know why.  I LOVED the top.  It is so flamboyant.  But then as I worked my way down, it was feeling more and more anti-climactic the lower I got and that made me feel frustrated.  I took a break and ate some lunch and got back on it and it finally came together and I really love it now.  It makes me feel so happy when I come home and that is the first thing I see.

It is so much cuter in person.

Pictures never do it justice. 

I don't do very many things well, but I am

really good at Christmas Trees.

Our tree is TOTALLY pintest worthy

I think KK would tell you that her 12th birthday was a bit of a bust.

I could tell that she was a little sad all day.

We were pre-occupied with the tree and Christmas decor.

It was just a typical Saturday, nothing special, until the evening when the family 

came over for cake.

Then she perked up.

KK and Brayden almost share a birthday.

She was born the day before his 16th birthday.

So, sometimes they celebrate together

Our company had the unfortunate happen to us...

Company Photos.

None of us were happy about it. 

Jan kept saying that her personal hairstylist was coming in to do her hair later in the afternoon and I thought she was being funny, but an hour and a half before the photoshoot, Jason (our CFO) came in and plugged in the wand.

At first I thought HE was joking... but he very much was not.

Jason's wife is a hairstylist and apparently, she has trained him to do women's hair.  

He says it is that, coupled with the fact that he was raised with 5 sisters, makes him a man that can do womanly-type things really well.

He is SO good.  I am not kidding. 

He did several of the girls' hair and every one of them looked gorgeous.

If I felt even the slightest bit comfortable having people touch me, I would have asked him

to make something fabulous of me.

But instead, I sat there, safe in my personal space bubble

with my boring straight hair with my bangs flipped back in a clip

Jan and I are good friends.

We work with the homeowners.

This month, we manage 260 homeowners.

It will be 300 in 2 months.

The growth is insane!!

But there are plenty of good people to help

One of the Sundays in November was Stake Conference and we were getting 

a new stake president.  We knew the seating would be limited

because our stake is so huge. We spared the kids and let them stay home.

To us, it felt a little like a date.

We looked cute in our matching outfits

Right as the meeting began, a super cute little old lady asked if she could sit by me.

She had a classy little outfit on.  A long black skirt with a black and tan wrap.  She had a hat on with a 

matching stipe in it and super cute black lace up shoes.

When she sat down next to me, she grabbed my hand and said "I am freezing"

I sat there holding her frozen hand which normally, I would have felt so anxious about, but I didn't.

I was instantly attracted to her.  

She was darling and we sat there for 15 minutes and talked and held hands. 

She told me about her kids. 

About how she is selling her house in Springdale because since her husband died, her kids want her to be in town and not up on the mountain.  

So she is new to the stake and didn't have many friends.  

She told me her 80th birthday was going to be on Veterans Day.

She told me all about her new house.

She was so sweet.

The meeting started, the new president was called and half way through the meeting, after she woke up from her little nap, she leaned over to me and said...  "I'm too cold, I am going to go home and get warm"

and she was gone. 

But I couldn't get her out of my mind. 

One night in the middle of the night I woke up to a voice in my head saying

"Don't forget LaWanna's birthday is on Friday."

Well... Okay.... I won't...

So I began the hunt to track down where her house was.  

She hadn't switched her records over to her new ward yet, so she wasn't in the Tools App.

I had to call three different Relief Society Presidents before I found out where she lived. 

Then I ran to Anything Bundt Cakes and got her a frilly little birthday cake and wrote a card and put them on her porch. 

Late that night, I got a call from her. 

She too, had to investigate to find me, but she did.

And she told me how much my gift meant to her. 

Her children came from all over to celebrate her birthday earlier in the week, but her actual birthday was quiet and restful and a bit lonely.  She was so happy to have a piece of cake on her actual birthday.

I felt VERY President Monson-like as a served a cute little widow.

Very out of my comfort zone.  

I loved doing it.

At work:

Our quarterly KPIs were met and then some.

So we celebrated at Fiesta Fun with some bowling and tons of cash prizes

playing the Red Rock wheel of FORTUNE.

I won.

My bowling team that I had no confidence in (because I was on the team)

 unexpectedly took second place. 

 I could not believe it.  

Even more cash to us

...

In the month of November, on top of my salary

I have won, been given, bonused this amount of money.

I am the new girl y'all.

I really haven't done very much yet to earn this much of a stash.

They just give out cash all the time.

One day I was just sitting there and one of the bosses just put  $20 on my desk.

And said, we are so glad you are here.

I had my 90 day review on the 30th.  It was 1 1/2 hours long. 

It was the most amazing hour and a half I have ever had at a job.

An hour and a half of praise and encouragement and kindness and appreciation.

And a raise.

I can't wait until I have been here a while and done a few things

to truly be deserving of monitary prizes.  Holy cow.  What a great place to work.

Ryker was given the Armor of Achievement in November.

His teacher LOVES him.  He is the stereotypical teacher's pet and

he isn't even embarrassed about it.

He has a spectacularly obedient personality.

He follows every rule perfectly and tries to make sure every one else does too.

He has to be the first to be finished with his work, but then he goes around and helps

the kids that are struggling.

He was also chosen to be one of 7 kids in the 5th grade to present his

term paper to the school.  He made a power point all by himself 

(well,  KK helped him to make it pretty).

But he gave his presentation without a hint of nervousness.

He is a natural born leader

Rals got up on the roof and put the lights up.

I sat down below in case he lost his footing and fell off.

I don't know what I would have really done, if that had happened.

I am so glad he didn't

It's just a little bit off the ground

The "Beehives" had a mother/daughter activity.

A little Christmas Art Project

I was almost instantly frustrated, so I opted to just watch them,

and cheer them on

It was fun just hanging out with them.

We like to go shopping too.

We have gone shopping several times this month.

They are so different in their styles, but they get along really well

and they are both really funny!

We have a crepe little tradition on holidays where we are all together in the morning.

They are so delicious and we make them several differnt ways

with several different toppings. 

I have had crepes in France.  Ours are every bit as scrumptious

if not more and believe me...  the service is 10/10 better!!

By the way... this month, literally overnight, Peyton is taller than me

I was stressed out at Thanksgiving dinner time. 
I don't know why.

It was mostly related to my big kids and what they are all going through.

But, once we sat down to eat, it went away.

The food was so, so good as always with the exception of 

one of the pots of mashed potatoes that I made that had too much salt.

Not a problem for me personally, but I felt bad for other people who

don't love salt as much as I do and had to eat them.

We followed dinner with a very lovely family talk with

Brayden and Crysti and Crysti's sister, who is a sweet as she can be.

I enjoyed every minute of it and it was so good for my soul.

On Black Friday, I got a wild hair and decided I wanted 

to decorate a second tree for the upstairs window. 

It's just a little 6 footer, no big deal tree. 

I think it looks so cute, especially from the road.

Walt thinks we are rich because we have two trees.

He said all of the rich, famous people have more than one tree. 

You keep thinking that buddy.  

This month I felt so blessed and watched over. 

I have been so stressed out over my big kids and their lives that

are kind of adult like.  They are stressed out and so that makes me

feel it too.  I pray for them everyday, but this month, I really pleaded.

At one point, I had this overwhelming feeling to just relax because

Jesus was going to take the wheel for a while.

Quinceys life was a bit chaotic and she was so sad!!

She would come over to my house and just cry.

I was so sad for her.

She knew she needed to make some changes, but she is scared to death and feels so alone.

My heart was breaking.  And I felt so helpless.

But, there was a calmness in me because of the feeling I had.

All of the sudden everything just starting falling into place for her.

She got a job which has turned out to be a dream job. 

She found a place to live in the basement of a gorgeous brand new home.

She is moving out of her tiny studio apartment here in St George where she was paying $1250.00.

And into a basement apartment in Lehi with a huge bedroom, a den, a living room for $850.00.

I am so happy for her.  

I really hope she reconizes the help and guidance she is receiving.  It's sure been fun for me to watch.

Brayden has been wanting to move to Salt Lake for a year. 

It just wasn't going to work out ever.  

His lease is up at the end of December and he was panicked because  he just felt like a move up north would never happen for him.  It was too complicated.

All of the sudden, a transfer opportunity with his company opened up in Salt Lake, he applied and got the job and found a place to live in literally 2 days.  He starts his new job on January 2nd. 

I can't believe it.  

I am so happy for all of them.

I am just loving it all right now.

It is so good.

I haven't been this much at peace in a decade.

I am sure that getting my health under control has helped.  

I KNOW my work environment improvement is helping.

My kids getting settled where they are happier is helping. 

I love the holiday season.  I love the way my house feels in November and December. 

I am looking forward to the future.

To good healing and growth.

I've been really pleased with the changes that have taken place

in all of our lives. 

May the blessings continue.