I BELIEVE !!

I believe...that the most important thing in this world is my family! I can't begin to tell each of you how much it meant to Papa and me to have you all here for our special Christmas Dinner, Nativity Pageant, Gift Exchange Extravaganza! I was so busy enjoying every blasted one of you that I didn't get many snapshots...but I believe you kids did...so I'm sure hoping your blogs are updated and include more family members - and especially YOU Erik - I want to see those great group shots at the end on the night! Somebody PLEASE post them! Anyway - here are the few I snapped.



Steele, Amy & Abi...thanks for traveling afar, and Luke - you and Rennie creating a convoy to get here was awesome! Jackson and Allison...believe me when I say thanks for being such good hosts to the St. Geo travelers - and we believe Luke's gang had a blast staying in "Harm's Way"!





Okay, and now for one of the best parts of the whole evening...we all got to meet Bobbie Brooks - your soon-to-be Step-Mother!
I don't believe your Dad could have found a more lovely, wonderful lady to spend forever with! PLUS, she jumped right in and saved Christmas! Believe me...There was NO WAY we would have been eating that wonderful feast at 6pm if it hadn't been for her and your Dad's help. Papa and I were in way over our heads!
Remember how we all lined up and circled the island - loaded with food?!

Yes, Rennie, I believe we can see your plate!

I still can't believe all 24 of us fit in the dining room, living room & island!
Jenny, Thanks for having your 6th Birthday Party at our house - well, sort of! Congratulations Sweetie!!



The Nativity Pageant was unbelievably beautiful kiddies...one day soon we'll get together again and watch the new movie - sorry I didn't get any snaps of the production - gee, what kind of a grandmother am I? Girls..help me out here - please post what you have!! You dad's did a great job watching the babies (and football) while the movie crew worked hard with your big kids! Thanks for so patiently waiting for the huge gift exchange - this was supposed to be a simple, homemade Christmas but wow...I guess when you multiply each person by 8 and then add all the grandchildren!
Anyway...Thanks for all the beautiful, creative, thoughtful gifts to us and each other - you ALL continue to amaze me!
After everyone left it was a little hard for Mimi & Papa to simmer down enough to get to sleep - what a busy fun beautiful day!
However...You girls KNOW that when you left I HAD to go through the big black bags of trash - right? After all, Little Jackson had lost a brown shoe and I didn't want it to get tossed out with all that mess! Well, let. me. tell. you...I ended up with a five foot high pile of smoothed out and refolded tissue paper (organized by color of course), several long red ribbons (yes, Ruth, they are SATIN!) But NO, I did NOT save the ripped up wrapping paper...the reconstruction process would have used up ALL the salvaged scotch tape...sure, it's lost a bit of its "tack", but it should be good for another go-round! Soooooooooo Jealous, are we?? You should be! Why do you guys think I INSISTED on having the party at OUR house?...all the left over roast beef, turkey, ham, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, green beans, squash & pie, PLUS all the GARBAGE!! Believe me - Papa and I feel like we really came out ahead this year!!




WAIT.............

Slam on your brakes and back up just a little bitty....December is almost OVER and so much happened before our big party, beginning with "The Kim's Julian Joint Birthday Dinner" @ Outback - "no rules, just right" (what in Sam Hill does that mean anyway?)!!

Then - Robin's flippin 25th birthdayWhat a beautiful little girl we have! COME HOME - WE MISS YOU!!

Then Miss Kylie turned 9!

so me and Papa popped in for a little private party - she LOVED the baggie of Box Top coupons for her school (more than her presents!)

Next...we watched Jenny & Jack while parents and baby sister partied in Vegas with Elvis. You can see how hard it was...
..stick 'em in a big tub of water and put a TV (not too close now) with a silly movie on...(hours of fun for the whole family!)

The next day was the annual AMOS (Arredondo, Mason,Organ & Smith) Christmas Party - it was good to see Jack & Ali, Mel & E and Sammy's gang there.

We all missed the Arredondo's


- did you guys know that Robin called me, crying, the other day because it dawned on her that this will be the very first Christmas in her entire life that she hasn't spent with her mommy? It is weird (but not as weird as the boys elf dance)..Anyway - this slide show is for YOU baby girl - pretend like you're in each photo - cause that's what I do - I'll miss you more than you can imagine this Christmas - Mele Kalikimaka Ruby!

...A week ago...
J&A attended the annual BHN Christmas party with me and Papa at Monti's La Casa Vieja - yum filet myself!

And 1 night ago we (as in the whole fam damily except for Sammy's gang)met at Pizza Mart
...for a bite
pulling faces at Mimi...

....and a few games.
Abi found a friend to hang on the other side of Auntie Allison


Then we were off to see the beautiful Christmas Lights and concert at the Temple.
The Nativity was AWESOME
On our way to the always wonderful Kimball-Merrill-Julian Christmas Party, we went to the cemetery to see Michael's headstone - as you can see, it turned out beautifully. The rain was drizzling and so many plots were decorated with real lights for Christmas - it was a lovely sight.



Lest ye forget...here are our "Gifts to the Christ Child" we wrote down and hung on the tree last year at the cabin...I believe you remember!
Steele - Love my babies...Amy & Abi!
Amy - Provide service for others - be a better disciple of Christ - Listen and obey the Prophet's teachings.
Abi - Be kind and share with others.
Luke - Show my obedience & patience.
Rennie - Be grateful & prayerful.
Lainie - Give to others.
Shelby - Show love at home.
Carter - Love one another.
Creed - Follow the Prophet.
Erik - I will be a better husband, father and person this year.
Mel - Choose to be happy everyday & be more of a servant.
Kylie - Be more obedient & make right choices.
Jadyn - Be less whiny & a big helper.
Sam - Attend Temple monthly, daily scripture study, fast with a purpose each month, be more paitent with my family.
Ruth - Have a better relationship with Jesus Christ & Heavenly Father through Prayer & study of the gospel.
Jenny - I will show my love for Jesus Christ by saying a prayer every night before I go to sleep and remembering to brush my teeth.
Jackson - Learn to say my own prayers.
Jackson - Keep all of His commandments the best that I can. Be a better missionary.
Allison - Be more faithful & trust in Heavenly Father's will for my life.
Robin - Serve with Charity, Love everyone, Seek service, Spread His gospel!
After reading all these and thinking back over these past 12 months - I must say that I think every single one of you has kept your gift in your heart and done just what you promised you'd do. We're so proud of you guys - we believe you are the jewels in our crown! Much to our chagrin...we notice that me and Papa and Lane forgot to fill out our own gift tags to the Christ Child...so let me just say that we are all promising to keep hanging in there - getting old is fun, but we forget stuff! Papa and I have made and reached our personal goals of daily scriptures, prayers, reading good books (yes, including Twilight) attending our monthly family temple day AOAP and trying to be nicer to each other and each of YOU. Just let us know when you think we're slipping!
This has turned into a HUGE post...so I'll just say...thank you so much for all the wonderful gifts and all your love. Hope to see some of you Christmas Day!

Have a Blessed Christmas and a Fabulous New Year my darlings!

Fresh Grilled Cat !!

Okay, kids...there's no picture to go along with this story, so just try to use your imagination. The day before Thanksgiving (Wed) we drove Grandma into work with us so she could get a perm and then travel with us down to Lukey's Ranch. Well...Mike stopped at Love's for some delicious gasoline, and Grandma and I sat in the Avalanche wondering what was so interesting about our ride..it seemed everyone was eyeballing the black beauty and we couldn't figure it out. Sure, it's a very nice pimped-out mode of transport - but the attention was unusually heavy that morning. Then Mike opened the door and pulled the hood release - I asked what all the fuss was about and he said everyone heard a cat and one fellow spotted it behind the grill. {well, I could've told him THAT...I heard it before we left our driveway, but thought it was UNDER the truck) So everyone joined in to extricate the furry freeloader. It was a beautiful black cat I'd seen in the hood, so we stuck it in the back end with the luggage and continued into BHN. Mike was going to let it go in the yard of the warehouse, but decided to turn around and drive all the way back to Maricopa with the fine feline. Oh, when we opened the tailgate, sure enough...it was sharpening it's claws on Grandma's nice red over-night bag! ( I pictured the scene from Grumpier Old Men when the cat was put in the car with the new upholstery!)
He returned an hour later and said the dumb animal just sat there on our driveway and wouldn't move - but it was gone 2 days later when we returned.
Soooo, the best part of this story is me telling precious Allison all about it and I'm using my hands to show the cat stuck behind the grill - probably screaming all the way down the freeway for 25 miles at top speed...and she says "why do you keep doing this? (and she mimicks my fingers spread across my face ..as the front grill of the truck) Isn't the grill like THIS...(and she puts her hands flat like a table top)...and I say WHAT? and she says..why didn't it just jump off? and I say WHAT? and she say's why didn't it just jump off the grill? and I say what the hell are you talking about? and she says...aren't you saying a cat was up on the BBQ grill you're taking down to Luke's? By then I'm on the floor...for one thing - why the hey would I be hauling a BBQ grill to the ranch? and second...well, there IS no second - it was just the most hilarious thing in the world watching her try to figure out the whole thing...she's so precious!

October's SO Over...& I Smell Turkey Roasting!

Hello my dear family....This is going to be not so short but maybe a little sweetish - not to be confused with Swedish - because I'm certainly NOT Swedish - I'm more Polish really...but who cares. I don't know how many times I've agonized over posting lately...I hate it and that fact is so obvious if you look closely - notice the huge gaps of time between posts...doesn't that SAY something to you??? I does to me...I tells me that my heart isn't in this - I don't mind the writing...it's the picture taking and the time consuming task of getting the images OUT of the camera, ON to the computer, and INTO my post - insane!! I wish I lived in the good old days of parchment and quills - so simple to write what's on your mind - or paint a picture with words..to show someone else what you saw or experienced...this modern world is too much for me. I can't get excited about cutting and pasting codes and remembering where the heck I've stored my memory stick or to which fantastic photo shop I sent all my snaps. I simply can't keep track of it all...and I DON'T WANT TO!! There, I've said it...I adore each of your blogs - my dear children... - they are bright and smart and funny and informative and clever...so keep up the great work and read each others often. I'll write when I can, and I'll stick a photo in if I can figure it out each time...sometimes I feel obligated to share every image I've captured during the previous month (or 6)!
I like to write because I like to write - but the pressure I feel when it comes to blogging takes the fun out of it. None of you seem to experience this anxiety - so I assume it comes with age or growing up in the days of snail mail etc.
I'll continue to fill my desk calendar with undecipherable scribbles, which doubles as my "journal"..and when I get a spare moment, and if something is important to me or all of us...I'll share a bit of it - I wish I had enough free time to re-write my journal scratchings. Someday I'll be dead and VERY embarrassed that I didn't get everything all nice and neat for my darlings to read. I encourage ALL writing and recording of family events, memories, etc. along with photos - it's FAMILY HISTORY. The only catch for me is...I've so much family history of my parents to work on, that posting to my blog for the simple reason that I now feel GUILTY if I don't..is almost a like a misuse of my time.
Wow, I had no idea I felt this passionately about NOT posting often! Now that I've found some release and relief...I might just be able to handle random writing!
Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving - wherever you are! Mike and I are driving down to Arivaca with Grandma in tow, to cook turkey dinner for Luke and the boys at the ranch - then we'll come home and he'll fly up to Utah to find Rennie & the kids. Everyone has gone their separate ways this year...This is going to be a very different holiday but we're very excited...aren't we Mikey??!!!

Okay...so here are a few recent snaps I wanted to share...

Robin had a really bad case of tonsillitis - gee, she doesn't LOOK sick - but you should have heard her on the phone - poor baby - sick in paradise!

So here Mike and I are with Kim, Beth and cousin Roy Julian & wife Clare in Sedona just before we took off on a beautiful hike up to the Indian ruins.

This is adorable Anna Kay Hallows...look at those big eyes...she was standing ALONE last night at Grandma's 90th Birthday party at Mel's house...she's only 9 months old for Pete's sake! She was a show stopper to say the least!


Carter was very happy about his new Monster Truck - what a handsome 4 year old! Notice the caterpillar on Jackson's upper lip!


What an idiot...Erik, you are SO easy to please - just give you a little bag of money and watch your face light up!

Carter carried all his stuff home in his new backpack!

Queen Frances Margaret Wolfgang Smith 90 years young! One of you got a nice picture of her and the lovely "memory photo" book we made (Mel, the cover was PERFECT!) Thanks to all who sent in their letters and photos...those who haven't can still make contributions - we'll continue to add letters etc to her book - she says she has gone through it several times a day ever since the party!

What a lovely party - fit for a queen! The bouquet from Carolyn Sue and family was beautiful and the cake was somewhat wonderful if I DO say so myself!


So, this is a new addition to my posts - I hope you read these words of wisdom, my darling children...and take them into your bosoms!

"Mimi's Annoying Health Section"
Here's Dr. Weil's advice on Three very unhealthy Breakfast choices...
1 Doughnuts. High in sugar, trans-fats, calories and refined flour, doughnuts are not only bad for your waistline, but ultimately disastrous for your energy levels as well. The high sugar content is likely to end in a midday energy crash. If you crave a doughnut, try a piece of whole-grain bread with some jam and peanut butter instead.
2 Fast-Food “Breakfast Sandwiches.” The combination of low-quality, fried meats, processed cheese, and refined breads adds up to a high-calorie, high-sodium, fat-laden food. A better option is to make a sandwich at home – include whole-grain bread, low-fat cheese and fresh veggies, for an added dose of fiber.
3 Sugared Cereal. While different brands vary widely in the amount of added sugars (do your homework and read the labels), sugared cereals should not be a part of your morning routine - or your diet, period. If you crave sweetness, try adding a teaspoon of sugar or stevia to unsweetened whole-grain cereals, or try a bowl of steel-cut oats with some blackstrap molasses, which provides an added dose of calcium.
Here's to our good health...PS - stay away from caffeine - read the Ensign article!!!

Remember September ?

MY SPECIAL MOMENTS: I had two really great moments this month. The first was when I was driving into town one day, stopped at the corner of Maricopa/Casa Grande Hwy and John Wayne Parkway, while a "30-something" Hispanic man was crossing my path. He noticed my waiting truck and did the cutest little hop-skip to get across the street faster so I could be on my way. As he jumped onto the curb he turned and smiled as our eyes met for a fraction of a moment...and I was so glad that I had a huge smile on my face to greet his! In a matter of seconds I was a block away and he was gone. But in that instant of "connecting" with this young man - my heart swelled up to the point of pain and the tears spilled over. I realized that I was recognizing him as my "brother" - and this was one of the sweetest feelings I've had in a LONG time. We are ALL brothers and sisters, and this experience brought that fact to the front of my mind and heart - where I want to keep it! The second special moment was one Thursday morning while on my way to work for Sam. I was turning from Cowpath onto Maricopa Groves - just behind our house - around 8am. I noticed highschool kids standing on opposite sides of the street - facing each other. It looked like two gangs lining up to challenge each other. I knew the bus would arrive soon and they would have to ride together to school - and wondered how that trip would play out. Then...to my surprise, a wonderful thing happened. I saw their stradegy for division. As I rounded the corner I looked over one last time and saw the football arc high over the asphalt and into the capable hands of who's turn it was to be the receiver...then again it flew high over the street to the next young person in line...who would have thought! I choked up again as I drove on my way, thinking of the unwitting example of these beautiful young people! Okay...now my attempt at organizing and recording highlights of our month! A very special day was September 5th - Sam's 30th Birthday!...we all surprised him by hiding in the IMAX theater when he and Ruth arrived to see "Dark Knight". Halfway through the movie we had a fire drill - Yahoo! FREE TICKETS! Unfortunately, my snapshots of our party were lost when our hard drive took a dive later in the month. Hope you love your group gift, Sammy - your new ladder! You're a son like no other and I'm proud to be your mother! The next favorite day was the 2nd Saturday - which is Family Temple Day for the Smith-Hallows Gang! Great turn out and lots of Barros pizza afterward. Taught "The Great Plan of Salvation" in RS and survived - again! Mel and I teach the same lessons so it's a lot more fun now having someone to study & learn with!

Fading photos of tomatoes-past! What a crop we had! The bulging bags of frozen red orbs come in handy for salsa and soup making - I have a winter's supply and I'm so thankful for Mike's hard work in the heat of the summer - he will reap the benefits for months to come! Let's back up a bit...Labor Day brought the Swimming Parkinsons! We had a great time bobbing in the pool with the cutest Little Mermaids around! Thanks Grandma Smith for taking such good snapshots!

Welcome Home Julie and John aka Elder and Sister Thompson of Selma, Alabama fame! Steele drove down with a load of cabinets for Justin and made time to enjoy their early morning mission report! Kim and Beth hosted a full day of food and fun - Becca & kids Mat & Macey - along with Kevin - made our celebration so much fun - Jackson & Allison and the Parkinson's completed our day!! Thanks guys, for taking time to party with the old people! Tad & Kimmy (grandpa & grandma) took a break to visit baby Aiden (congratulations Tristen & Richard!!) but came back to eat beef stew (Beth)homemade rolls (Julie) and Strawberry ice cream (Yeah for me!) Macey entertained us to tears! What a cute couple of grandkids Kim! - good job Becca! Kevin & sister kayaked down the river with Kim the next day...and survived the drive home! My favoritest thing about September was finally getting my arch support orthotics from Dr. Hallows - thanks Sam...they are wonderful and I recommend them to EVERYONE! Our MOST favorite night was when we went to "Wait Until Dark" with J&A at the Hale Centre Theatre - what a show! We sat on the front row and that picture of J&A shows the refrigerator where the final scene gets real scary!! We hope you'll all get a chance to go see something there - it's amazing and so fun!

Okay, so the funnest trip EVER was our road trip with J&A to Arivcaca to celebrate Lukey's 33rd birthday (and Rennie's VERY late Aug. 17th Birthday)! The Round-up was an education for ALL of us - Rocky Mountain Oysters didn't mean anything but a name till we saw Ron fryin' 'em up at the ranch house! The kids and horses and haystacks were such a wonderful break from our city life! Thanks Luke and Rennie for a fabulous weekend! Keep up the good work with the boys at Arivaca Boys Ranch! Now it's YOUR turn to come see us! Bye everybody! See you next month! I wish I could break this pattern, but not much hope for me. And with our hard drive gone - I have no pictures to update the past posts...you can all cry for me...my tears are gone!

A Gust of August

Don't look at this yet...seriously...it's just my notes to prompt me when I get time in September to remember what the heck happened to August - I'm disgusted that Augusted has passed so dang fast.
Birthday month for Ronnie, John, Abi, Mimi-(me), Rennie.... Anniversary #2 for Tad & Kim!
Just when you think you've have enough cake, there's.....to consider (whatever that means?) Now I need a note for a note!
Mexican invasion - the Ronald Julian Family + Judy!
RS Lesson - did you see Mel's last handout? I suck at such!
Dear responses to photo albums I sent to Lee, Cecil, Bill & Virginia
I love those slightly old people!
Family Temple Saturday - love it -
Grateful for self-healing body! Rib's on the mend.
Allison's whole wheat chocolate chip cookies - guaranteed to please! Now, can you do that with oatmeal raisin?
Grateful for my job, boss, co-workers.
Grateful for Sam and weekly adjustments - spread the love!
Grandma's Rummikub skills are sharp - she whips me down!

July...flew by!

This is a work in progress...so check back in a few days(or weeks) for more photos etc...........

It's only because of Aliceinwonderland's constant prodding that I even write again...we agreed today that we wish the computer had never been invented - and we could just get back to the simpler life. (of course she's not really OLD enough to remember the simple life) But no such luck, it's here and we're stuck!
I was serious about June...please read the rest of the family's blogs for
details.
I want to say now how grateful I am for family and friends who make the hard times in life so much easier to bear...you know who you are and you know what you've done for us!!

June 30th Robin's return to the desert! Oh, Happy Day!Welcome home baby girl!

2nd Jack & Ali celebrate #4

Mike helped Steele unload wood & security door at the "dirt" Abi and Mimi chilled in the 105 degree shade!


4th Thanks Luke for the Arivaca 4th of July Extravaganza!

Abilicious loved the stop along the way to Arivaca.


Kids all nicely in a row!




Nurse Amy removed many cactus stickers from kids - and Grandpa Lane! (Rennie with pliers finally did that surgery I think)


Luke and Creed had some serious disagreement on how exactly to operate the Gator!


It looks like Lukey took Creeds advice after all!


Lane and Mike didn't know when to come in out of the rain...but it finally stopped in time for the shindig.




5th Mimi cracked a rib during spa rescue - 7 wks later still mending!

10th After a bite at Rosa's with the fam - Robin flew the coup and landed back in paradise!


Luke and Jenny had a "fox" fight right at the table! Oh, children!


11th Luke and family vacate premises - sadly happy day! Come back..

12th Family Temple Day with Sam - haircut party at Jacks!

16th Mike's 59th - We took the day off work & swam all morning...
Then had a yummie pizza lunch/party/presents with...


Kim & Beth @ NYPD!



Mel and the girls helping Papa celebrate!


Mel's awesome gift - A Tribute to Michael


Then off to Charleston to dine with Tad & Kim


17th Jackson's 28th - all the usual suspects at Joe's BBQ




We all love you so much Jackson - yer some kinda somethin'!

25th First Leon & Florene (Happy 108th) Julian Reunion in decades! Missed all who couldn't attend - especially Uncle Lee! Thanks Aunt Virginia & Steve & Liz for the "1st Cousin party" & Anita & Jay for the wonderful accommodations & everyone else who made it happen!
Here's the cousin gathering at Steve & Liz's in Deer Valley.












27th The Mo Tab and Osmond concert at Conference Center was a total surprise...

27th Overnight with the Judd's in Kanab and a quick visit to Fredonia to hug the Swapp's - got to eavesdrop on Dennis giving a video interview on the early movie-making days in Kanab - awesome stories!

Work work work & eat with Waters!

End of the great tomato harvest!

From apples to applesauce..

Grateful for new neighbors - Jim & Stephanie (not Schumaker)

Murder at midnight...turned out to be a suicide 3 doors down.Call Mike - he can tell the story since he was up and heard the shots and saw all the neighborhood commotion

Great storm with lots of Lightening and thunder - I LOVE IT!!!

Grateful for GOOD pest control - thanks Katrina of Kat's Pest Patrol!! Look her up - she's the best and most affordable in the valley!

Grateful for Comet - it's taking the junk off the floor tiles at work quite nicely!