AC

i know, i've posted about air conditioning before, but today is different, really.

our ac at church broke down this past week. it isn't fixed yet. so, i just came home from Sacrament meeting, with the rest of church being cancelled. you don't really realize how much you appreciate something until it isn't there or isn't working. today i am grateful for ac - at church - even though there are times i've been known to complain because sometimes it is just plain cold! seriously, not perfect over here, i've got such a long way to go.

at any rate, i am grateful for ac, in my home, my car, at stores and at church. when you live in the central valley it just makes life more bearable.

Linzi

Happy Birthday to our daughter-in-law Linzi! She has the distinction of being in our family the longest of all the children-in-law. We love Linzi and are grateful for her for many reasons, here are several that I am happy to share with you today, the day of her birth:
- she is a wonderful, loving mommy
- dedicated wholeheartedly to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and is determined that her children will be raised in the gospel
- she is adventurous - loves to travel and see the sights, and makes sure the girls have lots of experiences
- super supportive of our family togetherness and is up for anything we suggest
- loves being an aunt and shows it
- makes sure that the girls know that even though we are far away we love them very much
- desires for our family to be a happy one

All in all, Linzi is dedicated to our family; to Sam, to the girls and all of us. We are grateful to have her as a part of the Dell clan. =)

A new WinCo!

well, new to me anyway!

we received an ad for winco with freebies and while looking at it i realized it was for a winco i had no idea even existed! seriously?! i am pretty positive i've driven past it several times without noticing it. (if only i had my eagle-eye husband with me at the time, surely he would have noticed!) in defense of myself i should explain that it isn't really visible from the street we use that it is near...which probably makes no sense to you, but it does to me.

we have had a winco in modesto and stockton for years, and sometimes i will shop there, but they aren't my favorite areas (just my favorite grocery store, which is why i only sometimes shop there). now we have one in tracy! right by the mall! in fact when you get off the freeway there you go straight rather than turning and there it is...about a quarter of a mile down the road, but still, it is there!

pat, rach and me went shopping there today and i was giddy with excitement. i cannot even tell you how silly i felt when i found out it has been open since november! november?! where on earth was i?

probably in modesto or stockton shopping at their winco! well, those days are over!

i am grateful for a winco in lovely tracy! yay!!!

off predictions

the weathermen have been predicting that it would reach 100 today and tomorrow. fortunately for us they were wrong. i love it when that happens in our favor! seriously, one of the worst things weather related is when in the summer they are off - and it is way hotter than they thought it would be.

i am grateful for an off prediction - it's only going to be in the mid-90's! i can so live with that!

hope

i love hope. it just makes life so much better. when we lose hope life is not fun, at all.

i have a few hopes i am hopeful for right now that i will share:
- that our computer/desk, etc. will soon be returned to its rightful spot in the study
- that our brand new tile on our beautiful bathroom floor will soon be accompanied by the former and spiffed up base boards
- that i will soon find a juicer that is a great price and can begin juicing on a regular basis
- that my mom will be able to move closer to us relatively soon so that i can take care of her
- that angie's delivery will go well in august
- that rachel's half marathon will be wonderful
- that rylee will love kindergarten
- that amy's delivery will go well in october
- for all or our children/grandchildren to be happy and healthy

of course there are many other hopes in my life, but these are a few of them right now. i'm not going to tell you all of them! ;)

i am grateful for hope - and for the wonderful feeling it is to hope for things of importance and sometimes not important.

helpers

brad and amy began moving across the street from their 'current' apartment in oregon to their 'new' one yesterday and today. i am grateful for all the times my kid's families have moved and people have shown up to help. it makes such a difference! i just love the kindness of others... inspires me to be better.

flick

tonight rachel and i went and saw harry potter 7.2. she saw it opening night, well morning.  i have been busy lately so didn't have a chance to go until tonight.

i absolutely LOVED it!!!!

i decided to reread the 7th book and finished it today. i also watched the 7.1 movie today (did a lot of fast forwarding) just as a refresher.

i laughed, and boy, did i cry. some scenes were so touching. it totally surprised me that i reacted this way. harry, ron, hermione and the bunch of them have been 'a part' of our lives for a good long time now. i didn't realize how attached to them i was.

i am grateful that i could go see a flick with rach, but especially that it was harry potter 7.2.

good taste!

our tile floor is nearing completion. the grout is in, it just needs to finish drying and get cleaned up (and hopefully soon the toilet will be reinstalled!).

i can hardly wait.

so, my blog post title... what's with that? it would seem my taste is quite good - the floor is a thing of beauty!

i am grateful that every once in a while i have good taste...like when i chose pat for my hubby! =)

bread

my friend genie made bread the other night for the yosemite ward rs meeting. she happens to be a 'member' of that ward (the ysa's) since her husband, mike, is in the bishopric. in actuality they are in our ward, but that's another story.

at any rate she brought bread for the dinner we had the other night, fresh from her bread maker. it was delish. since my birthday is coming up and i've been considering getting a bread maker as a gift from my husband i emailed genie asking her which type of bread maker she has.

she replied that she has an oster. i thanked her for the info and thought nothing more about it.

today, genie and i had to be in tracy for the chester ward conference. on our way we talked briefly about the bread maker (she has had one for 25 years; the first one for 20, this one i am not sure how long for). she told me that the one she currently has she found at a thrift store - brand new, never been used for $8. wow.

on top of that she also surprised me by saying that when we returned from tracy to manteca there would be a freshly cooked loaf of bread for me to take home. isn't she the sweetest? we arrived at her home and she invited me in. the bread had just a few minutes left to go. i happily visited briefly, received her offering of fresh bread and went home.

rachel was pretty happy to know that we had fresh bread. before i knew it she had a plate, a knife and the butter out so that she could partake.

i am grateful for freshly baked bread...and the kindness of my friend genie.

tile

we decided a few years back that we would tile our bathroom floor. things progress slowly around here, it is what it is. today we have new tile in our bathroom! it's not grouted yet, but it is there, ready to be on monday. yippee!

i am grateful for a project that is near completion, and for pat and anthony working so hard to get it completed.

Dr. Larsen

Doc Larsen is my orthopedist. I paid him a visit today. He gave me a cortisone injection in my knee, which I am very grateful for. I especially like Dr. Larsen since he is so friendly and such a sweet guy! (sometimes i want to tell him about the gospel - he is a family man for sure! and then I forget since we are yakking away about family stuff...someday)

The down side is that someday I will have to have knee replacement surgery. :(  Sad, I know, but doable.

I am grateful for this very kind doctor and his concern for me. I am grateful that I can go back in 3 months if I need to and get another cortisone shot.

rs meetings

tonight we have been invited to attend the yosemite ward's (young single adult) relief society meeting. :) there is just something about being with these young sisters that is inspiring! they are amazing.

that means that i get to go to rachel's ward and while there be fed a nice, cool, salad dinner. a lesson will also be enjoyed while they celebrate birthdays.

i am grateful for relief society meetings and visiting other wards (especially my daughter's)!

Yummy peaches!

the other day amy mentioned to me that they had purchased some peaches at costco and how delicious they were. when rach and i were at costco the other day we decided to get some for ourselves. i felt like a traitor! our peaches are just now becoming ripe and i am so excited to have them daily! unfortunately we discovered another broken branch, which made pat quite sad. he is the keeper of anything green that grows around here, after all.

i love that we have peaches and nectarines in the summer from our backyard. such healthy goodness! i am grateful for our peaches and am looking forward to freezing them, baking them, perhaps grilling them and definitely sharing them...want some? :)

cook books

this morning i was perusing probably my most favorite cookbook i own - the woodhaven ward cookbook. i love cookbooks in general, i am a lover of recipes...seriously. ask my kids, they can tell you. some of them have actually followed in my footsteps in this regard. (that would be amy and rachel)

there is just something about seeing a recipe and knowing you can conquer it that makes one smile. i especially love the ward cookbooks since they are people you know or knew at one time that you consider your friends. it's like having a little bit of them with you when you cook or bake. it just makes it that much more special.

cook books - how i love them, i truly am grateful for them.

down time

i am hosting a pampered chef party tonight --- all in the name of love for rach. she has become a pc consultant (which means she demonstrates how to use their product line by making yummy food for others to partake of). i have been running around like crazy this morning. right now i am pretty well caught up with everything that needs to be done for the pc party tonight. i am beyond grateful for a little down time with which to relax.

new digs

amy hasn't posted this yet, but she didn't say i couldn't say anything so i am! brad, amy and boys are moving - across the street! she went visiting teaching last week and a sister she visits mentioned (i think) that there was an opening at their apartment and so amy looked into it. i won't go into any further detail (so she can) except to say this is a huge blessing for their family. totally unexpected since they just found out about the apartment. but, yeah, they are moving next week! yikes!

i am grateful that they are getting a new place to live that will suit their family better. blessings - what would we do without them?

led by the Spirit

today i spoke in lathrop ward on 'led by the Spirit' (found in 1 Nephi 4:6). the amazing and wonderful thing about preparing for this talk was that every single time i sat down to work on it, whether it was for research or writing, the Spirit was immediately there. every single time, without fail.

i am grateful for this speaking assignment because it allowed me to 1)be led by the Spirit, 2)share my testimony about being led by the Spirit, and 3)learn more about being led by the Spirit. i love the feeling of the Spirit in my life - there just isn't anything else like it. i am deeply grateful and humbled.

shopping

what? me? shopping? really?!

yep, me. today rach and i went to ikea to take a gander at their bookshelves as i am hoping to replace the one in our study sometime in the near future (we bought it about 25 years ago). going to ikea is just fun. it wasn't super busy or crowded and i love looking at all of the furnishings, do-it-yourself stuff, and then items on the bottom floor! (i also love their food, and had breakfast for $1.99!)

while i enjoyed looking at the bookcases i decided i needed a lengthier vehicle to get one of those bookcases home in. so i opted to not purchase anything at ikea today (except for one package of the princess cake).(amy are you jealous now?!)

after we came home pat and i went to home depot and bought tile for our bathroom. i am super excited to get the carpet out of there and have tile (in a few weeks; thank you anthony).

so, miracle of miracles, today i really am grateful for shopping!

a reason to quilt

yes, that is 'quilt' not 'quit'!

i am grateful that little darci lynn will be joining our family in august. it gives this grandma a reason to make another baby quilt and that makes me smile! =)

harry and friends

it was 1999 and all was quiet in the dell household. our friends, the coopers, had been reading the much talked about series 'harry potter'. some i knew were against it because it was about wizards and witches, which of course meant that it was pure evil. little did they know. being the guarded mom i was i borrowed books one and two from the coopers, determined to make a decision based on fact rather than someone else's imaginings.

borrow the books i did, and i read and read and read and enjoyed every single minute of it! not only was it not 'evil' it embodied good and evil, right and wrong. clearly anyone reading would fall in love with the boy in the closet, the weasley family and a little girl muggle named hermione (which of course took us until the movie to know how to pronounce it!)

j k rowling gave us a gift when she wrote the harry potter series. i am grateful for all the hours of experiencing the world of hogwarts, the ministry of magic and diagon alley. how i would love to visit those places! the world of harry potter is amazing, truly. i am grateful, but sad that it comes to an official close tonight. i will not be venturing out to see the final movie any time soon, but i do look forward to it as i am reading the last book once again. thanks harry for sharing your 'life' with us.

ice packs

ice packs...now that sounds ominous or foreboding, something of that nature, right?

after cleaning our carpet with our carpet shampooer twice i am definitely grateful for ice packs - for my knee (that has arthritis and is unhappy as of late) and my ankle (achilles tendinitis - not fun). i might add i am grateful for our heating pad - for my back.

my, life is fun! i truly am grateful for the relief of pain that ice packs offer. honest. oh, and a much cleaner carpet.

unexpected kindness

today was one of those days, and yeah, it's only 4 pm. it started off with going to see my dr - not only did they want me to draw blood, and get an xray, but i also had the joy of returning about an hour ago for a mammogram. can i just say - blech.

so, all in all i wasn't feel too grateful today about anything, really...any.thing.at.all. not that my mood has changed all that much, but i did get an unexpected compliment/kindness from cc who first made me laugh at her comment on my pic, then she made me smile inside. so, thanks cc for your unexpected kindness - couldn't have come at a better time, really...truly.

our presidency

i love the relief society presidency i serve in. we had a meeting this morning, well it started this morning, from 11:15 - 2:15. wow. the great thing is that the sisters i work with are amazing - truly. i love them each. i am grateful for them - for all they teach me and for their example of who i should be.

delta breeze

the summer nights here in the central valley are killer - unless, of course, the wonderful delta breeze kicks in! thankfully we are experiencing cooler night temperatures that make sleeping so much more comfortable. i am so grateful for the delta breeze...summer is so much better when they are present.

mowed lawns

pat is currently outside mowing our front and back yard. i just love the sweet scent of newly mowed lawns. it always reminds me of watermelon for some reason. i am grateful for the look and scent of a mowed lawn.

Happiest Place on Earth

The Oakland Temple is closing for three weeks. We knew we needed to get to the temple, so last night Pat, Rach and I ventured to the happiest place on earth, well, one of them.

Temples dot the land around the world. I remember when there were just a few scattered here and there. That number slowly began to grow. Then, a few years back, President Hinckley had a vision of more temples so that all the members (and those that will be joining, no doubt) can attend the temple more easily. Currently we have 134 operating temples, 10 under construction and 16 more announced. That will bring us to 160 temples! Amazing!

Why am I grateful for the temple? Why do I believe it truly is the happiest place on earth? Because that is where we can receive the greatest blessings possible, individually and as a family unit. We are taught the truths of the gospel, we make sacred covenants, and we are sealed together for eternity as families.

The greatest joy I have ever experienced is being in the temple with family members. That is when being in the temple truly hits home - this is eternal, this is the greatest blessing we can have. Yes, I have much to be grateful for.

Birthday Buddies

Today is my dad's birthday. He would have been 84. (sigh...how I miss him)

It has gotten me to thinking of birthdays, but not just his...and this is why -

Birthdays are an individual thing, but sometimes we share birthdays with others, hence becoming birthday buddies forever! What I love is when 'new' people come to earth and share birthdays with people that I love.

For example: our dear friends Chris and CC Monson had James two years ago on my dad's birthday, which makes James even that more special to me. (Happy Birthday James!!!)

This seems to be a pattern with their family in particular, oddly enough! Chris and his sister, Marissa, are my birthday buddies. Chris' birthday is 3 days before mine, Marissa's is 2. As a result we are forever birthday buddies. I will always remember their birthdays, not just because they are near mine, but because they each mean a lot to me. Fortunately I have a 'new' birthday buddy in my grandson Gavin, born 4 days after my birthday. :)

Interestingly enough, Chris and CC's daughters are unknowingly birthday buddies with members of my family: Catherine was born on my niece's birthday, and Grace, was born 2 days prior to Amy's birthday.

Sometimes we marry into families where that happens as well, in our case this happens in May: Craig is 2 days older than Brad; Angie's birthday is 4 days after Brad's.

Then we have those that are expected on one person's birthday in the family and unexpectedly arrive on another's. Take, for example, our grandson James - he was due on my mom's birthday, January 10th, yet he surprised everyone and arrived on December 28th, my brother's birthday. Oddly enough! Sadie's story is close to the same: expected on Rachel's birthday yet arrives the day after Sam's.

Other shared birthdays for our family:
Corey was born on Sam's birthday.
Lucas was born on his other grandma's birthday.
Pat's birthday is 5 days after my mom's.
Amy was born 2 days before Grandpa Dell's, who shares his birthday with Seppi.
Rylee was born on Kyle's birthday.
And Darci is expected on her other grandpa's birthday, August 25th.

Enough already, right?! To me it is interesting to realize that important people in our lives can be born on or near another important person's birthday or anniversary.

I am grateful for birthday buddies - they just give us another reason to celebrate life.

Yummy tomatoes!

I love tomatoes, more than anyone else in my family!

(seeing as many of them dislike them)

I actually grew up eating tomatoes with sugar on them,

since that was how my mom ate them.

This year we had every intention of going to the store

and getting some tomato plants.

However, our plans were thwarted...

by Pat's friend at work who gave us six heirloom tomato plants!

Yummmm!

This morning Pat picked the first one for me to partake of,

which I will sometime later today.

My, how I love tomatoes fresh from the garden...

they make me grateful for healthy goodness!

Bicycling

Rachel is on a quest to be healthier. She is training for a half marathon this August. Lately she has been getting up at 6 AM and going for her run. When she gets home she has breakfast, then waits for me to get up at 7 and off we go bicycling. We only go around our neighborhood and we aren't gone for more than 1/2 hour.

I am grateful for Rach and the time we spend together bicycling. Her old mom is going to be healthy if she has anything to say about it! :)

Land of the Free

I am so grateful for the United States of America, for those who gave their time, talents and sacrificed their lives or their loved ones lives so that we might enjoy the freedom we have. I am grateful for those who currently serve our country in order to maintain our freedom. We are truly blessed and I am deeply grateful.

May God continue to bless America!

RS lessons

Today Sister Kim Ballard (who happens to be my vt) taught our RS lesson. It was her first time EVER! She did a wonderful job. Her topic was 'Kindness beings with me.'

Needless to say I think I fall short in this area constantly. While one of my favorite quotes is "never suppress a generous thought" (Sister Camilla Kimball) I have a tendency to get that generous thought and then absent-mindedly forget it! While kindness is not just about giving of ourselves they kind of do go hand in hand.

I am grateful for the gentle and much needed reminder to be kinder, and hopefully not suppress my generous thoughts. Also, I am grateful for Kim's efforts - she did a wonderful job and I am very proud of her!

Creations

One of my favorite places is right here in California...Yosemite! We were able to go to Yosemite early this morning and spend the day there, taking in Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite Falls, and Happy Isles. I have such fond memories of being there with my family when I was growing up and later with our family. Half Dome is by far the sight that amazes me every time I see it.

Being in Yosemite makes me so grateful for God's creations. He must really love us.

shorts

with the hotter weather rearing it's head today i sure am grateful for the few pairs of shorts that i have. they just make summer so much more doable. sometimes it really is the simple things in life that we can be grateful for.