Jack in the Box

Halloween Costumes

I love these pictures. Terry and Adam decided to be "Jack" and his son from Jack in the Box. They couldn't find balloons big enough to fit over their gigantic heads!!! But then Terry brought these home but they ended up not doing it.

My Garage Room

OK, Paul says we worked on the "Garage Room". It is my new family room. I don't like it being called the garage room, but I suppose that is what it is. It is an addition that used to be our carport. I cornered Paul and begged him to help me put in the flooring in my new FAMILY ROOM :o). He was so sweet and helped me all day. Terry was the Foreman and told us what to do and we put in the entire wood laminate floor. It was quite fun actually. I love my new room. Thank you Paul... I could not have done it by myself.

Family groups

Terry and I went to Muir Woods. I adore the forest. These particular trees are thousands of years old. It was very theraputic for me to walk through this gigantic majestic forest. It was cold and overcast. It is right by San Fransisco. In front of one group of trees was a plaque. If you look very closely at this picture you can see what looks like a burnt dead tree in the center. All around it is new growth. They call this a family group. From the ruins of the old dead tree, sprouts up new growth. It was quite inspiring for me. It is the start of new growth in my life.

Christmas Cheer

I was crying as I drove to the airport to take Adam to California. Every year Adam and I end up decorating our Christmas tree. This year we got only as far as putting up the tree and then we told Adam that he could have his wish and go live with his dad. Everything came to a screaching halt as he was so excited and started packing. As we walked out the door I told Terry that Adam and I always did the tree. Terry called Paul and Jenna who were watching the dogs for us. Jenna played secret santa and came in and decorated my entire tree. I walked in the house when we got back and purposely avoided even looking at the tree. I was buzzing around trying to stay busy and Terry said, come sit down. I sat and there it was in all it's glory. THank you Jenna, you made me feel so loved and cherished.

2 people

Two people doesn't seem like much, but they are more than my world, they are my entire existence. On December 5th, Andrew, their dad, may have thought that he "won". In actuality he received the biggest gift that I could ever give. It has shattered my heart into such minuscule pieces that i don't know that i will ever be able to retrieve the shards, let alone put them back together. i dont know how i ended up in this place. what i do know is that i love katie and adam so much that i will do anything asked of me from them for them. i LET them go to their father's to live. though, everything in my being says it is wrong. i know that they have to do this. i know that i did not do anything wrong, though it feels as if i did. i know that God and guardian angels will be surrounding katie and adam, ALWAYS! i have spent countless hours in prayer. i will continue to pray for them, about them and with them. i know that God has a plan that i do not know. i know that this is the season of giving, i pray that andrew realizes the gift he has just been given. i pray that andrew will cherish this gift.

Love Eternal

There is one person in this world who loves me unconditionally. He would do anything for me and does. I feel safe because I know he would die for me. So many things I could write about him, but I will say simply this.... Terry is mine forever and I will love him for eternity.

Drive Thru

We are driving home from the airport. Adam and I are starving. Adam LOVES to eat out. Adam says.." I am starving... we better go home and find something to eat." Terry and I both snap our heads around and say "WHAT??!??!" Adam has never asked to go home and eat. Adam replies..."I need some soap." Terry says"Soap? what for?" Adam says "To wash my mouth out, shoulda never said that!" hee-hee!! :o)

Phoenix Airport November 12th

Adam and I had to fly out to California. We did not know what gate we were supposed to fly out of. We went up the escalators that drop you off right in front of Paradise Bakery and I'm thinking anything sounds good from there right now. I am on a mission, forget the leader boards that show the departing flights and what gate we need to go to. Adam is following behind me. He is meandering as usual. My tunnel vision expands a bit and I realize that the people in the bakery are whispering and pointing ...I look around for Adam thinking... what now?!....and I hear Adam saying " Oh, excuse me" Then I hear a man saying to the person that Adam almost knocked over..."Thank you sir... thank you so much for running." At this point Senator John McCain ducks his head and says "You're Welcome" then the people at Paradise Bakery burst out in applause. Pretty cool, huh?!!

My young Man

I cannot believe that my baby is so grown up. He is only 1 inch shorter than I am! He wears a size 13 shoe. His hands are larger than mine. I can remember the day that I brought him home, as if it was yesterday. I love my boy!

ADAM IS NOW A TEENAGER!!!

Adam told me that for his birthday dinner he wanted "funeral potatoes"! So that is what I made. He has been wanting a wii fit for a long time. We saw it at Walmart about 2 months ago and bought it. He has been so patient. We had the grand opening tonight. He played it for about an hour with everybody! Nancy and Miranda Bodrero, Paul and Jenna Dunn and Matt and Jen Jarrett & baby all came over for cake! It was fun.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Adam is so much fun. I showed him CNN online where they have a map of the entire U.S. and the voting results as they come in. He has just learned about electoral votes. He is so excited about the entire process. We have the TV on and the computer running so we can have the most updated info.!!! Katie and Adam asked me who I voted for. I will tell everyone when the election is over, but until then it is my secret. I have not made it a secret how I feel about proposition 102. I volunteered at the phone bank, was a team leader for my neighborhood to pass out door hangers and have had a sign in my yard for at least a month. I want to protect marraige as commanded by God. This is not a civil matter. I want to protect the sanctity of marraige as we now know it. I believe everyone is entitled to the same rights. Doesn’t Prop 102 take rights away from some people? No. Prop 102 does not take rights away from anyone. Prop 102 simply defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Everyone has the right to live as they choose, but no one has the right to redefine marriage for all of society. Voting “yes” on Prop 102 secures the definition of marriage for future generations. As Terry says.... "that's my story and I am sticking to it!" We shall see what this night brings. Last time that California voted about this issue I was pleasantly surprised at how the majority of people voted the same way that I did. My faith in God was strengthened to see that the majority of California voters felt the exact same way as I did about marraige. I am hoping that the same will hold true for Arizona voters.

Mother's Day 2008

For this Mother's Day Adam spoke for the first time in Sacrament Meeting. He is such a great public speaker. This picture says it all.

3rd Annual Pumpkin Carving Party

This year we added another family, The Platt's. We had so much fun. Beth finished first, Parker Platt would have kept carving until christmas had his pumpkin been larger, and the men, Terry, Matt and Justin all took it very seriously. I was glad to welcome Megan who like me did not get into the competitive spirit and was content to sit and chat with me. I collected all the seeds like last year and have toasted them.

Here are a few pictures from last year....

We were at Tom and Beth Porter's house. Tom and Beth, Jen Jarrett, Paul Dunn & Jenna, and Adam were the participants for 2007.

PHOTOGENIC

As you will see my family is VERY cooperative when it comes to taking photos. One of my favorite things is to take and scrap all kinds of pictures. Just lately my family thinks that it is "so funny" to take the Bodrero's aptly named "dork shot", which would be fine if I could at least get ONE photo to scrap!!! This is a series of photos of Katie this summer. I had no idea what she was doing and thought that we were taking some memorable shots. When I saw the camera and asked her what was she thinking!??!?! she said, "Mom, I was really trying but my face just kept...going like this" at which point she scrunched up her whole face and giggled!!!

PBR 2008

This summer we went to the PBR. That is becoming one of Terry and I's summer traditions. We both love the rodeo. We started it off by going to Prescott in July of 2006 and we have gone to a rodeo every summer since. PBR is not really a rodeo, but it is super fun. It is the grand daddy of bull riding entertainment. This year Matt and Jen went with us. We were lucky to have Katie and Adam visiting with us this summer. It was great!!

Phones...

Phones...

Sometimes I hate the phone. But tonight I love it. I called Katie and she didn't answer, but she called back and I was able to talk to her for 38 minutes!!! It was so good to just chatter about nothing and everything. I cannot believe that my baby will be 16 years old on the 24th. I so want her to be here so we can have a fantastic "sweet 16" party, but she is in CA and wants to have one there. I just saw a picture of her new hair. She is so bold. It is shaved on one side and she wears it well! Here is a picture of her this summer when she came. She told me that she looked like "cotton candy"!!! You decide. It was some great colors.

Elder Boyd K.Packer

Today was our regional stake conference. It is amazing to think that the church is so huge that the general authorities cannot make a personal visit to each stake. I loved each of the talks and felt privileged to be able to have them talk to me. Terry and I sat next to Matt and Jen Jarrett. I can't wait to be a grandma. Jen says any day now. She is due in 10 days. She says that I get to be her Mesa Grandma. Though this baby will have tons of people lining up to love it, Jen is so sweet to me. OK, back to the conference. Matt was taking notes on his phone and I was scribbling on this little 2"x 3" pad I found in my purse. Jen was teasing me saying that I needed a bigger pad. The thing that I loved the most was said by Elder Packer. He talked about his responsibility to warn the Saints. He said that the thing he felt he needed to warn us most about was how to receive personal revelation. Since I was a primary president back in Arkansas, I have felt very strongly about this. Our generation needs to listen to the spirit. We have gotten very far away from hearing the holy ghost in our daily lives. We need to identify it in our personal lives and then teach others how to be guided by that personal revelation. He said so many great things. He talked about preserving marriage. That we can have tolerance and that this word is used as a weapon. He said " have tolerance, but not for patterns of transgression" He warned that change is coming but to have faith, not the antithesis of it... fear. He warned us to teach our children about faith vs. fear. He left our region with a blessing that we should remain steady, inspired and gather as families and do what we have been taught to prepare for hard times. I could feel the love that he had for us living here in "the" valley of Arizona.