Wonderful Gift

This Valentines Day was my 23rd one with Brent, and since his heart attack last year, I have been especially grateful for all the holidays. I realize that Valentines Day may just be a good way for retailers to boost their bottom line, but I choose to think of it as a day to be so thankful for a wonderful man and beautiful kids. Last year I wrote about our Valentines Day tradition of decorating the table and fixing a big breakfast, complete with pink waffles and strawberries, for the kids. I was a little melancholy this year thinking that Dalin wouldn't be here for the next two, and who knows how many after that, years, but we had a terrific day. The night before the big morning, Brent and I had a very gourmet dinner with some old and very dear friends. The prime rib and company could not have been better. Thanks Nelson's, Hall's, Tanner's, Tolman's, Legg's, and Hill's for sore cheeks from laughing, an extended stomach, and lasting memories.



And then, after 23 years of thoughtful and sweet Valentines Day gifts from my husband, this year, for the first time, he gave me a gift that made me cry. The painting of Joseph and Emma Smith cuddling their new babies is exquisite. I have spent many hours studying the lives of the Smith family, and I have always loved the story behind this painting and how it depicts the wondrous love of three fathers--Heavenly Father, John Murdock, and Joseph Smith. I can only imagine Emma's joy when she was given these two beautiful babies to raise as her own having just lost her twins.
There are so few paintings out there with both Emma and Joseph, and I am passionate about the role Emma played in the beginnings of the church. I have always wanted a picture of both of them. Thank you, my sweet husband. I love you. Happy Valentines Day.

Six Already

Jensen is six! Can you believe it? Of course, if she's six, that means that Brent just turned 45 and me, 42. Wow. We figured out last weekend (by we, I mean my brother Jared, who had a good laugh over it), that Brent will be 58 when Jensen graduates from high school. I gotta tell you, though, that having a little tag-a-long child at the end has been pure joy. I think everyone should do it. Other than having to dye my hair forever so people aren't asking Jensen if I'm her Grandma, I'm looking forward to the next few years. Since I usually don't have birthday parties with friends for the kids until they are 8, I hadn't really been thinking of a party for Jensen. However, she had. The Sunday before her birthday, she invited everyone she saw at church, no matter what age, to her party. She was so excited about it, I couldn't say no. (Part of that spoiled last child thing, I know, I know. . . .) No matter how much I tried to talk her into unicorns, Jensen wanted a "horse" party. Keep in mind that it is my SIL Lauralee who is the champion kid party-thrower in our family, and her living across the US really throws me into a panic at times like these. What the heck am I going to do for a horse party? Well, thank goodness Jensen was born in the days of the worldwide web and Zurchers party store, because between the two, we had a grand party with five friends (I made her whittle down her list considerably). Thanks, Laurie, Shaina, and Rily for all of your help with the party!

We followed up the friend party with a family dinner at Chuck E. Cheese, where "kids can play while moms relax" according to Jensen and the TV. That place is kid paradise, and Jensen couldn't have been more thrilled. We left Friday for Sun Valley to see Jared and Maren, ski, sled, hang out, eat a lot, and get our teeth worked on. My baby, who is absolutely terrified of anyone doing any kind of work on her, was so brave! She had to have some fillings, and we have been talking about it for a couple of weeks, psyching her up, positive mom-talk, all of that. She had finally convinced herself that since she would be six, since she could watch a movie at Uncle Jared's office while he worked on her, and since he had something called "happy gas," she might be ok. When I peeked into the room after she was in the chair and settled, I saw her crying softly and wiping the tears away quickly, trying so hard to get through. The hygenist was very sweet and telling her that they would take good care of her and that Uncle Jared would be very careful with her. Once the movie was going, the tears stopped, and she did terrific! The worst part was afterward when she realized she was numb and it wasn't going away immediately. That's when she cried a lot. Oh well. It was a big step for her, and I was just grateful she didn't have to be sedated or strapped down or something. My baby is growing up. . . . Anyway, Happy Birthday to most of us at my house!

Inversions and Idiots

This what an inversion looks like. What's that you say? It must be early morning, late evening, or a big storm day? NOPE! It looked like this outside for about three weeks in January, and had it not finally cleared after three weeks, you would have had to write to me at my new address in Boise at the St. Michael's Institute for Mental Health. Seriously! Three weeks? It even snowed a little bit during that time, which in theory should've cleared out the crap, but no, it stayed GRAY forever. I spent three weeks praying and sitting under lights and trying not to eat myself under the table. . . .

On my birthday Wednesday the 21st, I was called in for jury duty. I had jury duty starting January 1, but of course the 21st was the first day I was called in to be questioned to possibly sit on a jury. This is my second time at jury duty in Canyon County (Brent and most of my friends have never had jury duty, mind you). I wasn't chosen for the jury the last time, so I was kind of hoping I might get a chance to see the jury process at work this time. I arrived at the court house at 8:30 and watched a short video with the other 70 or so prospectives. Then we waited to be called into the courtroom for the "voix dire" process--the jury questions. The attorneys and judge were doing pre-trial stuff, so we waited and waited and waited some more. The baliff gave us a potty break around 9:30, then we waited again. Finally at 10:15 the baliff came back into the room to tell us that the man charged with the crime had pled guilty to felony burglary, and we were all dismissed. He said that once the guy found out there was a jury panel waiting and knew that the jury would actually see the video tape of him committing the burglary, he figured he was pretty much hosed. Duh. A video tape? Why would you think you had a chance at being found not guilty in the first place if there was a tape of you ripping the place off? Ok, to be fair, Brent says that during the pre-trial the defense attorney was probably trying to get the tape excluded from evidence for some reason. I'm thinking that would have been an interesting and short trial. Kind of wish the guy would have taken his chances with the tape. . . :)

Other than that, Brent and I had a great birthday week. In fact, the whole week was a party. Thanks to friends and family who made it bearable getting older. We love you all! (A little spelling error, but the sentiment was perfect. Thanks, Cassie!)

A Little About Christmas. . .Finally

Hmmm. . . my kids are a little upset with me that I haven't done a blog post for quite some time, and Dalin says I need to put more pictures of him up since he will be gone for two years. Oh, brother. Alright, already. So here is an update from the Gunnell house on the holiday festivities.

Every year I promise myself that this December will be calm and peaceful and wonderful. I will get everything done by Thanksgiving, I will plan service projects for my family for the holiday season, and I will have hours to sit and watch the dozen or so Christmas movies that I have. Not so. . .again. This December will go on record as the craziest one ever. I only got to watch Rudolph, and I fell asleep right at the island of misfit toys with visions of spotted elephants in my head! That's kinda scary. . .

We had the traditional Christmas Eve at my mom's house with family and friends. I absolutely love Christmas Eve, and Christmas is kind of a let down after it. Jensen got to be Mary in the nativity play this year, and she was so excited. I love Christmas with children. Everything is big and wonderful and new. My favorite traditions at my mom's? My cousin Linda's stuffed mushrooms; caroling to the neighbors; hot cider afterwards; dressing the kids for the nativity; listening to the story of Christ's birth and singing carols; opening Christmas pajamas; gathering around the piano and singing the Forgotten Carols and Snoopy's Christmas with my brothers and Brent and my big kids (We added "Baby, It's Cold Outside" this year. Wow. It really was not to be missed. Cash and Jared were amazing, hee hee); staying up late and wrapping gifts with Brent, my brothers, SIL's, and mom; everyone crammed into mom's house sleeping over; and the Christmas tree with all the gifts under it, all lit up after the lights are turned off. Love it. Love the Christmas season. Can't wait for next year.
As I look back on 2008, I find that I am most grateful that Brent is healthy and well. I hope never to have a scare like we had in May. I am blessed to have such a good man and wonderful friend in the man I married. He is my heart. Also, in the last three months, two of Dalin's friends, incredible young men, have been diagnosed with serious illnesses, one with cancer and one with a brain tumor (still waiting on test results for this one). As I watch my handsome son get ready for a mission and the rest of his life, I thank the Lord that he is healthy and strong, both physically and spiritually. I am grateful that my girls are well and that I have my mom close by to lean on and cry at. My brothers and their families are a huge support, and they can make me laugh like no other. Brent's parents and siblings keep close track of us and always send their love. We love and miss them very much. I have been blessed with wonderful friends who offer constant support, give me great advice, help me with anything I need (whether I ask or not), and keep me sane. It is a blessed life we live at our house. Now, let's all rock 2009!

New Christmas Song

Remember the Christmas song from a few years ago called, "Christmas Shoes?" It was the song that holiday season that forced me to pull to the side of road and cry the first time I heard it. Well, I found that new song for 2008. It made me stop and remember what is most important at Christmas--being with my family. We are so blessed. What better way to celebrate the birth of the Savior than by spending time with the people you love? Be sure to stop the music on the playlist in the sidebar so you can hear the song on the video. I hope you enjoy. Just be grateful you're not driving right now. . . .

MISSION CALL

For those of you who haven't heard yet, Dalin received his mission call on the Thursday before Thanksgiving. We all gathered around the webcam at Nelson's house (thanks, Laur!) while Dalin sat in front of the webcam on Daniel's computer at his apartment, and we watched him open the envelope and read it. Elder Dalin Brent Gunnell has been called to serve in the California, San Diego mission, English speaking. He will enter the Missionary Training Center on February 25, 2009, and he will leave for San Diego three weeks later.

Dalin is absolutely thrilled to be serving the Lord in the city with the most perfect climate in the lower 48. He has really never cared where he went on his mission; he has just wanted to get out into the field. I half expected that he would be speaking a language somewhere in the states, but as I have thought about and prayed about this call, I know that Dalin is going where he needs to be and that he will find people there who need his testimony expressed to them in English. (Of course, the basic Spanish he speaks probably won't hurt in California!) Dalin has an incredible testimony, and when he expresses his feelings about Jesus Christ, he is humble and eloquent. I love this young man. I know the Lord will be pleased with his service.

Road trip, anyone?? (Just kidding! Kinda. . . .)

San Diego LDS Temple -- San Diego, California

Tricks, Treats, and Cool Costumes

We had a pretty low-key Halloween this year. We didn't even carve pumpkins. How lame is that?! My poor last child is really getting the shaft. On Sunday after Halloween, I heard the front door close while I was making dinner, so I went to look out the window. There was Jensen trying to heft the big pumpkin I bought for her the day after Halloween into the house so we could carve it. We will have to have Thanksgiving jack-o-lanterns this year.

Nonetheless, we had a great time with family on Friday night. The kids looked great (and so did Grammy) for trunk-or-treat at Cash and Marisa's ward building. We started with mabel burgers here at our house, a Gunnell family (as in Brent as a little boy) Halloween tradition. What's that? You've never heard of mabel burgers? Well, you are missing out. Here are mabel burgers -- a delectable conglomeration of eggs, cheese, and ham, baked on a hot dog bun. Doesn't get better!
After mabel burgers (which were named after Brent's Grandma's neighbor, Mabel), we went to trunk-or-treat then went to Sonic for 50 cent corn dogs and ice cream cones. We ended up with a little trick-or-treating in our old neighborhood where Cash and Ris still live, then home to bed in a sugar-induced coma. The weather was fantastic, and I'm a trick-or-treat die hard, so even when the kids are begging to be done, Jared and I are saying, "Come on, just one more street. You're ok." Bad, bad parents. Hey, he's a dentist, so if his kid is still out scrounging candy, so is mine! :) Other than that, Shaina marched at a football game that night, and Cassie watched movies with friends, so like I said, pretty low-key. (Cassie is the pink power ranger.)

Saturday night, October 32nd, was the annual Hill Halloween party, and the theme this year was heroes and villains. Brent and I threw something together on Saturday morning, literally, but my brothers always go all in, and they looked fantastic! I've decided that I will try to at least match their costume enthusiasm for next year, so they need to come up with a theme like, now. I need a lot of time. . . .

If you want to see more pictures of the party, go to Marisa's blog and web album.

BYU Weekend

Two weekends ago, Brent and I took Cassie and Jensen to Utah to spend some time with Dalin at BYU. It was Parents' Weekend at the school, so there were several activities planned, but we chose to participate in two and spend the rest of the time with the family. The only bummer was that Shaina couldn't go with us because she had her huge district marching band competition at BSU that Saturday, so she had to stay with a friend all weekend. Shaina and Dalin have been having a good time e-mailing each other since Dalin left, so Shaina was really disappointed that she couldn't go on the trip, and we really missed her.

My mom went along with us so she could spend some time with her friend who is on a family history mission in Salt Lake, but she went to Provo with us on Friday to see Dalin first. We spent the weekend walking around campus, shopping at the bookstore, hanging out in Dalin's kitchen/living room, and just being together. We threw in some bowling, and the dinner we went to for parents' weekend featured Polynesian dancers as the entertainment, which Brent loved seeing again. Brent ran a 5K on Saturday morning and did awesome! He came in fourth in his age division and ran the 3.3 miles in 21 minutes. He is running at least 4 times a week, and it's obviously paying off -- although he is really skinny these days! It was a great weekend, and Jensen and I shed several tears when we left.

I wish I could adequately explain how it felt to see Dalin there all settled into school and living life without me. Those of you who have reached the time in life where your kids start leaving home know what I'm talking about, and those of you who haven't reached that point, it stinks! No, actually there are a lot of mixed emotions. I'm so proud of Dalin for the choices he's making and the life he is living. It's also nice to see that he is capable of surviving on his own with a little peanut butter and jelly and some toaster waffles. I'm excited that he is meeting new people, working to support himself, and doing well in school. But, I miss him. I hate that he isn't home, sitting in his rocking chair reading. I miss talking to him face-to-face and seeing him grow and mature every day. I miss having another man in the house. I miss being able to sneak up on him and kiss him on the cheek. I just miss him. Having children home is a difficult thing full of challenges and rewards, but no one ever told me how hard it was to have them leave. The upcoming mission will be something that will take a lot of getting used to for Dalin's mom.

Speaking of mission, Dalin's papers will go to SLC sometime close to Nov. 5. WOW! My baby is almost 19 and is going to go serve the Lord for two years. He is a good man, and the people wherever he goes will be blessed to have him there.

The Olden Days and Growing Up

Cassie went to her first formal dance last weekend. She looked absolutely beautiful and had a fantastic time. Times are sure different, though. When I went to a dance, my mom often sewed or rigged my dress, my cousin did my hair, and I painted my nails if they weren't all chipped off from playing the piano. Cassie and I went to the mall and found her dress for a great deal, if I do say so myself, and it only took going back and forth between two stores three times to make a final decision. The Monday before, we went to Sun Valley so Uncle Jared could file and polish her teeth and fit her for a bleaching tray (angling for favorite uncle status, hee hee. Thanks, Jared! We love you!). The day of, she paid to have her hair done at a salon even though I had offered to do it for her. I'm pretty sure I could have curled it like the hairdresser did, but she didn't believe I could, I guess. The funny thing was that while she was getting curled, it literally poured in sheets of rain. I was shopping across the street, and Shaina called me to ask me to go to Target and buy an umbrella so Cassie's hair wouldn't be ruined going from the salon to the truck. I probably could have figured something else out, but I was wet and tired, so I just went to Target and got the dang umbrella.

I went across the street and tried to open the umbrella to get me and my wet clothes into the salon (didn't really need to bother), and guess what? It was broken! It shot straight up when I pushed the button, but it wouldn't open, and it had a hole in the top. LAME! Of course, Cassie was in a hurry to get home and change before her date picked her up in thirty minutes, so Shaina and her friend Rily forcibly stretched the dumb umbrella out enough that they could stand on either side and hold it over Cassie's head while she made it to the truck. They then handed me the wet thing, and I trudged back to Target to get a refund. The funny thing was me, standing there sopping wet and dripping, plopping a broken umbrella down on the customer service counter. The customer service gal couldn't even meet my eyes. Uh, sorry, was about all she had to say.

I made it home just in time to see Brent taking pictures of Cassie and Jeff and to say good-bye as they walked out the door. Ah. Yet another event in my children's lives that makes me realize that the days with my children home to enjoy are numbered. I loved the talks in general conference today about finding joy in the now. Looking back, I never thought I would miss the dirty hands on everything, the crying in the night, everything that goes with having a house full of little ones. I do. While having older children has its perks, and my teenagers are great kids, on weekends when I see my beautiful little girl in a grown-up dress walking out the door with a young man, or when my son comes home to visit from college for the first time, I realize that I didn't enjoy my time with them as little ones as fully as I could have. Oh well. Look forward, as Pres. Monson said, don't look back. Enjoy the now. I will.

It seems like just yesterday that I was going to high school dances; although, looking at pictures like this, it doesn't look like yesterday, does it? (My first formal dance --Sweetheart's Ball 1983)

Jensenisms: Tales of Boys and Busdrivers

Having this little girl tacked onto the end of our family has been pure joy. She has the gift of making me laugh every day, and one of my favorite things about her is that she loves to hold my hand. The wonderful thing about that is that she is very adamant that my hand is tightly and securely grasping hers -- no fish hand. She often reaches over with her other hand to wrap mine around hers the way she wants it. I love it. None of my big kids will hold my hand anymore, and I dread the day that Jensen thinks she is too old to do it.

Another thing I love about her is that she is a thinker. She is constantly stringing these very grown-up thoughts and words together, and sometimes they come out very, very funny. This week, she and I were walking through WalMart near the pharmacy, and we passed an end cap that had a diet pill display. Right at her eye level on one of the boxes was a picture of a pudgy woman, and next to her the same woman, only thin. Jensen said, "Mommy, if you want to skinny up, then you really need these." Then, she poked at her own belly and said, "I think maybe I should skinny up."

Today she came home from school and said that she had so much fun playing at recess today. I turned to listen carefully because this is the first time she has said that. Recess is her LEAST favorite part of school. When I inquired as to what had made recess so fun today, she said she had played "boy tag." Boy tag?? She explained that she had gotten a girl who doesn't usually play very much, and they had chased Isaac, Dillon, and Jacob all over the playground today. Oh wow. Should I be happy about the fact that she had a good recess, or should I be worried about the fact that she is chasing boys?

On about the third day of riding the bus home, Jensen got off the bus and told me that her bus driver made her change seats on the way home. What? Why make a kindergartner change seats on a bus full of kindergartners? Evidently, she got in a bit of trouble. I automatically kicked into cub protection mode, and I asked what happened. She said that the boys behind her were throwing "trash with slobber on it" at her and Ellie, and they were just throwing it back. EWWWW! I'm assuming "trash with slobber on it" translates to "spitballs," and picking up someone else's spitballs is soooooo disgusting. Jens said the bus driver wouldn't listen to her try to explain and just made her move anyway. I wasn't thrilled with the bus driver. Oh well. At least I can be grateful for this: (the miracle of hand sanitizer. . .)

Finally, this week Jensen asked me if I knew what her favorite holidays were. I had an idea, but I went ahead and said, "No. Tell me." Her response made me a little melancholy, "Christmas, Easter, and the day Dalin comes home." Is that perfect or what? I love that little girl.