Harris Family Temple program

Our nephew, Matt Merrill, married Lindsey Harris a year ago. The Harris family is very talented musically and gave a wonderful performance one evening while we were down in Mesa over the holidays. (Lindsey is 4th from left and Matt is 2nd from the right) Lindsey sang a beautiful solo about the mother Mary and her love for her child, which was made all the more touching because Lindsey is also expecting. That evening was also fun because I set up my niece Taila Klepinger with my nephew Troy Lisonbee and they attended the program with us. The Christmas lights were spectacular!

Merry Christmas 2009

This year Christmas was spread out over several days...which was really fun! We had our own Christmas morning at home and the girls were excited about their guitars. We drove down to Mesa that afternoon and the next day had another Christmas with our Mesa kids and grandkids. It was so much fun to get to see them open their little gifts. Grandpa Klepinger also gave everyone a little card with a personal message and some money. Everyone read their card out loud and we enjoyed Grandpa's words of love. It was a special memory!

Christmas Eve

Posing by the goodies for Santa. We were wimpy this year. Good grief, carrots and graham crackers and egg nog!? And yet, he still nibbled!

Christmas Eve slumber party! The excitement builds...

First dance

Calla's Jr. High had a "social" this past week during a school day, students could choose to go in a room and play games or watch a movie or go to the gym for a dance. She loves music so she chose the dance. There have been two other dances this year and she avoided being asked to dance by keeping herself in constant motion walking around the room and dodging. But this time she was asked by seven different boys. She came home glowing from the experience and yet was shaking her hands in mock disgust(Calla is very germ conscious and still thinks boys have "cooties")saying "Ewww!" We're glad she feels that way...at least for now.

FHE in December: Gingerbread Houses!

It's nice after being neighbors living side by side and all that goes with it (their chickens eating on our garden, our dog chasing and killing a couple of their chickens) that we can still smile and enjoy a fun evening together. Forgiveness is a part of being neighborly. We certainly get to practice it and they do too. The Ramage's let us play volleyball in their back yard, they watched Kelly while we went on a trip to Utah this year and they let Calla spend hours playing at their house with the kids. Their boys, Ethan and Kai really enjoy Jenny, because she plays ball with them (football, baseball, basketball). They'll come over in the summer and bang on the back screen door, asking for Jen. It makes her happy to have someone want to play with her. She's awesome at throwing a baseball but doesn't catch well, so the boys like it that they can hit a ball and she'll run slowly after it and they always get a home run. :) Sometimes on Sunday's Mikayla comes over and she and Calla will bake cookies together. They love to practice volleyball and softball with each other. Alan Ramage coaches girl's volleyball at the high school and his wife, Mistie is also very athletic and helps to coach teams sometimes. Mistie is working toward an RN degree and I call her sometimes for medical help. Alan helped drive a tractor and prepare our garden plot this year. We're so glad they are our neighbors.

Santa's Visit

We always look forward to a visit from our special Heber Santa Claus (Keith Bigler, Lathe's uncle). He sported a real beard this year and we had fun tugging on it. He loves the girl's so much and this year he brought them beautiful stockings with a surprise. Calla was on her way to babysit, and he followed her to that home to meet some new children in the neighborhood. He's so much fun!

A Rescued Reindeer story

Okay, I will confess this little incident:
The first Christmas Christopher was home from his mission, we were hanging up ornaments and as I unwrapped this one I tossed it in the garbage because it had some of its paint chipped away. Christopher's soft heart rescued it. He was incredulous that I would throw an ornament away that had hung on our tree several years. He then got a black pen and wrote on it's underbelly: "Mom threw me away, Chris saved me." I got the message, and he's safely hanging on our tree.

32 Years of Christmas

Our very first Christmas in 1977,I went to a little ceramic store and bought some ornaments and paints and created our first decorations. So far, none have gotten broken. I thought it would be fun to highlight them this year on our blog. They deserve some thoughtful recognition for their 32 years of faithful service (most of that time spent wrapped in paper in a dark box waiting eleven months to be rediscovered again).

2009 Taylor Grand Ball

Here are a couple of pictures of the decorations that were done for the Ball. I am always amazed at the talents that are shared. The first pictures are of the main entrance everyone comes in, the east foyer. You truly felt like you were walking into a homelike setting.

How do you decorate a long wall in the Cultural Hall? Grab some old white doors with cute knobs, hang some wreaths, string some lights and stockings and wah-lah!


My responsbility with the Ball is the meal. We had a smaller turnout this year, but the Cultural Hall and chapel overflow were full of tables and guests, approximately 350 to 400 by our best estimate. We served pulled pork, baked potatoes, gravey and BBQ sauce, corn, applesauce, rolls, green salad, carrot stix,olives and cake. Lots of work to pull it off, but we had good kitchen help when it came time to serve and clean up. Mark was a great help too all that day and we couldn't have done it without him. Love you, hon!

Reed Family Revue

On Saturday, Nov. 28th we had a dinner and variety show with the Reed Family at the Mesa North Stake Center. I wish I had taken a head count, but 100 were expected to attend and it looked pretty close to that. There were hamburgers and hotdogs to eat and afterwards we enjoyed watching members of the family perform. Calla sang Taylor Swift's hit, "Love Story" and she and I had made a powerpoint slideshow of all the married couples in the Reed family with their wedding pictures.

She did a wonderful job and looked so beautiful in a blue prom dress. The pictures of her singing didn't turn out because she was standing in the dark while the slideshow played. Next time we'll practice with some spotlights or something. Other acts were: piano solo's, poems recited, Mark and some of his siblings sang, a skit, lip sinc numbers, and even a unicycle demonstration. It was a really fun evening. Uncle Ronnie was so enthused he said, "Let's do this again...in 25 years!" Such a tease.

The "original" Reed's: L to R (Kirk, Patty,Gay,Ann, Mark, Janene, Becky, Brad)

Precious "Grands"

We went to Freestone Park and my dear friend LeeAnn Freeman took some family photos for us. It's not easy to try and capture sixteen faces all smiling and focused at once. She did a great job. The kiddies were in a happy mood which made their parents be in a happy mood. We weren't seeking perfection, just some shots that would be printable. You'll have to wait to see what we chose for our Christmas card...which reminds me, I'd better get them ordered! You'll have to click on the picture to see their faces up close. We love each and every one so much!

Standing: Grandma Reed, Durham Reed, Brolin Bigler, Grandpa Reed
Front bench: Saylor Bigler,Dawson Reed,Connor Reed, Stryder Bigler

Thanksgiving 2009

We had a wonderful day at Brooke and Lathe's home. All of our family was there together. Chris and Jenelle and their two boys had driven down from Provo. It was a "perfect" Thanksgiving day: delicious food, comfortable surroundings, beautiful weather, children playing, grownups talking and laughing, a little football on the t.v., playing Phase 10, a walk around the neighborhood, naps, some pie and a bonfire in the backyard. I hope I don't sound uncompassionate, but having Cindy feeling nauseous from her announced pregnancy was a major blessing to add to the others. I didn't do too well taking pictures, but I'll share a couple moments.