Winding Up the Year with Hope and Great Expectations!

I hope all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed the blessings of the season with family, friends and all with whom you felt to share. Our holiday was begun with the Stake Christmas program I was blessed to be in. I love it and love the associations I have with those in the choir. It really enriches my life. In the midst of Christmas preparations, I was told of an opening at the local Curves for Women circuit training club....The manager was leaving and would be gone on the 26th. Hmmm.....My sister in law informed me of it and so I called and made an appointment to apply. After the initial interview I got to meet with the owners that afternoon. They called me the next morning and said they wanted me. I had almost talked myself out of the job when she called. Her enthusiasm changed my mind and I decided to take it on. She asked if I'd consider teaching a nutrition/weight loss class twice a year....oh sure, no problem! And would I be willing to go to Waco, Texas for a week's training? With maybe a split second's hesitation but without revealing my initial shock, I said, " Oh sure, no problem"....Inside, I was thinking..."WHAT???? WACO???? Oh......ok." Hey, I'm up for adventure!! Why not??? So, I'm reading the manual, practicing the script, which I can't say I love, but I'll do it and no one will know I don't like scripts. I like impromptu dialog. I feel strongly to own what I say...not borrow someone else's words. Anyway, this should be a great opportunity for me; getting paid for doing what I like best; being the cheerleader for women. I will be able to work out whenever I want, talk with all the ladies, give them encouragement and pass along the happy attitude I get from my membership in the church. I think it will be most rewarding.

We had a wonderful get together with the family last night at Marilyn's new and spacious home. It was the perfect place for us. We really appreciate their inviting us all there. It was great being with all the kids and my own kids. I love being in their midst. It's a very spirited group! They are all such characters, full of "billy heck", fun and each one is the smartest in the group and can assure anyone who doubts such. As they enter teen hood, they really get that affectation! Hahahhaah...It's all fun! They are all great and we love them soooo much! They are such a lively bunch! They play off each other and do it so well. We have so much fun together!!

I had a great experience the other night. I dreamed about my granddad, "Dad-Dad". I hadn't dreampt of him since he died in '74. This dream was sooo real! He was wearing a medium brown suit and nice tie. He expressed his interest in all the family and by some manner of which I can't remember let me know that he was fully familiar with the scriptures and loved the Lord. He had the countenance of confidence and peace. It was an extraordinary dream! Later that day I realized it was his birthday!! And it would be so like his character to visit me, all dressed up in a suit to let me know of his respect for the Lord and his Church on his birthday. I can't stop thinking about it. It has brought comfort and a definite sense of peace to me. Before he died, he had told me of his desire to know about things. He didn't go to school beyond the 4th grade down there in Mississippi in the 1890's, but always yearned for learning opportunities; travel shows, documentaries, reading the newspaper, reading Western stories and gathering information on the solar system. He loved truth and I knew he would seek out truth, sooner or later, concerning the Church.....he found it and I know it! It was a very special experience for me.

Have a wonderful New Year's and know you all please your parents and make us "proud", in the best sense!! :) Mom