Wait...Where are Charlie's bday pics...?

Just realized. I forgot to publish the cute pics we took at Charlie's birthday. He's my pumpkin pie boy. How convenient that he's born in November...pumpkin pie month. There's a story about Charlie and pumpkin pie...Wait, how many poses are there of Jade and Charlie, anyway? We did have a good time. JB and I were there somewhere, too. (Jade was kinda hogging the camera.)

All of Those Crazy Boys!

The girls may be gone, but with the added males at my house...we're still pretty full to the gills. JB and Charlie the Goofball, had a fun football season this year. Go!! Juab!! Red and Gold. Go you...Wasp...ish things! Well, darn. They didn't quite make it to State but were undefeated in their regular season. Sting 'em in the eye!!

Max, the cougar like dog, is our newest addition, JB's little friend. He is only cougar like in looks, because he's a little baby ducky otherwise, a true sweety. When Milo is visiting, they wrestle nonstop. All over my house...nonstop. Milo is the toughest, though you can't tell in these pics. Crowden, their hero, doesn't usually get involved in their childish nonsense. He is five, after all.

(I have to tell you the million dollar America's funnier home-video we didn't take. It all started before the pic in the upper-left corner of this collage. Joey was holding up a treat for the dogs and they were dancing at his feet in excited expectation. This is how well trained our boys are. Joey commanded "Sit"; Instantly, as if on cue... Max layed down, Milo rolled over, and Crowdin stood on his hind legs and walked. Wow, incredible skill... huh..hmmm...that was funny... )

Fun Changes at the Homestead

Our pantry is almost finished. Yay! Since it is now usable, I'm concerned it won't get a whole lot further. That's the way Ellison projects go. Utility far outclasses Beauty at this homefront.

So the goofy little quote on the door I attribute to the boys preferring my "JK" quote to all of the serious ones. One idea I had was the word "RIGHT" large instead of the WELCOME and then the words "Not who Is, but What is" across it. JB said, "No mom. I don't wan't something up there that makes me feel guilty all of the time." He thought "A Kitchen is Love in Search of a Belly" summed everything up quite nicely. Holly, the lady who owns Matilda's where I had the vinyl lettering made, convinced me it was so easy to change it, I may as well put what the boys wanted for a while. The whole thing was less than $10...I thought, "Hey, what's money anyoldways?"

The really crowded family room is my newest favorite change. I convinced Joey to take the TV out of our bedroom--then eliminate my very beloved dining room table (bummer)--and finally create a family room in its place. Well, choices have to be made in small spaces. I love it. I so much did Not want the treadmill in my bedroom again (or Joey's dear dearhead, for that matter...) I can't explain to you every way that it is wonderful but...anyway, I kinda like it. I have a family room outside of my bedroom...imagine that.

Our Super-Star Young Women's Night of Excellence

Our Young Women's Night of Excellence was such a special event this year. I think it is the best program I've ever been able to help pull together. It was amazing to see how each of our leaders and a few of our young women took on large tasks and carried them out fully so that everything came together. Even a father or two and some young men added to our wonderful and special night. I think each of our young women in attendance truly felt that she was a Super Star Young Woman because she is a Daughter of a Heavenly Father who Loves Her. I hope all of our young women, young mothers, not so young mothers, single sisters, and grandmothers can know this is true.

"LUKE DA LUKE" and Lacy too!!

They came, they visited, they left... and we barely paused to take some pictures. Shoot... (oops--no pun intended.)

OK this is a "getting back on the plane" picture that got mixed in with the others. I thought it too cute to delete. Luke is such a serious dude, isn't he, and Charlie so studly.

Granted Luke was not as excited as we were. Of course, that would have been hard, especially after the 10 hours in airports he had.

So nobody's arms are quite as nice as mommy's arms!

Here are some TJ pics I forgot to post!

These pictures were taken before Lacy came to visit. I'm racking my brain to remember exactly when... How time does begin to run together.

That Little Ranagan...TJ

I just had to put the smile at the end...Aren't they just the moments we wait for?! A week ago I got to spend the day with TJ while the guys went to JUAB's 2A State semi-finals at Woodscross. Sadly Juab didn't make it to State. Pretty sure I had a lot more fun than the boys.

Crazy Milo...He gets himself into the most precarious situations!!

*Hawaii*

We had such a great time in Hawaii for our 25th anniversary! Check out all my great pictures:


http://picasaweb.google.com/wendyjoe6652/HawaiiSceneryOct2008#

So Thankful for Friends and Family Who Care...

Before TJ's frightening illness last week, I was thinking how sad I was to not have mom here to tell about Jade's early delivery of him. I don't know if that makes sense, but I wanted to have her counsel and comfort. Then when TJ became so sick, I was in a fog. Like on movies when everything zones out and all you see is the main character's tunnel vision, I was in that tunnel but wasn't the main character.

Lacy, Renee, Tammy, Kim, Misty, Lisa, Trish, Jessica, Rosalie, ward members and my co-workers at CVMC helped me to endure such a hard time. Without having Joey right by my side, I was afraid and yet wanted to be strong for Jade, Tim, and TJ. I am so thankful for all the talks of encouragement that I had with each of you. Between that, and Joey's love and concern over the phone, I have made it through one of those awful, rough points of my life. I don't know what hardships will be required of any of us in the time we have left here on earth, but I know we are each better people because of the love our family and friends share with us. I cannot thank-you enough.

Love,
**Wendy

Jade, Tim and TJ!

Here are some pictures of Jade's and Tim's first time holding TJ. We were so happy that they were able to last night. I want to give you more info but need to rush off to the hospital. Jade is still improving and hopefully will go home tomorrow. Her blood platelets are at 58 this morning. Thank you to all of you participating in our fast for Jade and TJ. We love all of you.

Hello, Dear Family

I don't know if things ever actually wind down or if they just change, but I'm feeling as if my summer chores are drawing to a close and the persistant buzz of my distant family is calling to me through this wonderful medium of the internet. Faithfully anxious to read all of your blogs, I find myself, on occasion (wink, wink), neglecting my own. So here I am, family, at your mercy. Will you even notice that I have blogged, and if so, will you bother to read my belated and somewhat rambling thoughts? I do indeed hope that I hear from you.



I know pictures are worth a thousand words...well this is about a thousand.



Pictures I'd post if I had a camera:



**Two days after Youth Conference, and two days before our Annual Missouri Summer Trip***



The Family of Legs...



First photo op: Twelve Legs started the hike...(four belonged to Crowdin, the very little dog with a great big, brave heart and teeny little feet). After leaving one car at the bottom, JB, Charlie, Dad, Mom and Crowdin arrived in the second car at the top of a three mile hike in Bear Canyon for family night. Beautiful, perfect night. It was 8:30 pm at the top of the trail.



Second photo op: Crowdin's legs running back and forth between the boys who were down the trail and mom and dad taking it a little slower because the trail was a bit more rugged than mom realized. (Crowdin, the very little dog with a great big brave heart and teeny little feet, must have walked nine miles in those three).



Third photo op... We believe they were big legs, probably four, belonging to a bear, as evidenced by what bears leave behind on trails.



Fourth photo op... The four legs crossed casually on the Oldsmobile, Achieva when Dad, Crowdin, and Mom made it back down to the car.



Fifth photo op...The 4 seconds in the night that didn't actually involve legs, when J.B. said, "Where are the keys, Dad?"



Sixth photo op... Ok, the other .2 of a second when it dawned on 4 out of 5 of us that the keys were either lost in the dead of night somewhere on the trail involving a bear ... or in the Hyundai, Sonata at the top of the trail that really was more rugged than mom realized. (Either way, the whole "back up the three mile trail" idea didn't seem viable after 10:30 at night.)



Seventh photo op... We're all aware that the Ellison's don't even own a working camera, let alone one that will take good leg pictures in the dark of a forested night but, hey, we may as well think big. This would have to be a whole "compare and contrast" picture of Mom's and Dad's leg's forging forward, focusing in on Mom's and Dad's faces at precisely the moment one of them said "This will be a grand adventure, honey."



Eighth photo op... One mile down the road, twelve legs still walking, three out of five of us singing, "Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you." Well... admittedly it was just Mom singing, but three out of five were still smiling.



Ninth photo op... Another mile down the road, at a public campground, 11:30 at night. Yay!!! the 12 legs were bound to be rescued by the campground host...the 12 legs were waiting to be rescued by the campground host...the 12 legs were willing to be rescued by the campground host... "Hellooo, are you there, Mr. Host?" "What'dya Want!?" Can't think of anything bad enough to say about the campground host's legs that wouldn't get out of bed to help our 12.



Tenth photo op... Two miles down next road. Technically legs were still involved because legs were still moving, although somewhat less skillfully. Whatever is said by cell phone companies about 911 calls making a connection even when normal calls will not... Is a Lie. However, a 911 call will make your phone flash red and beep, beep, beep, beep.



11th photo op...Two miles further, though smiles and conversation were still portraying a semblance of cheer, legs would have stomped on any camera in the vicinity... besides those useless cameras, in the useless phones, sending out useless beeps... Hope is sometimes merely a tragic misconception.



12th photo op... New road, new opportunities. Some traffic on this road. For instance, the car travelling the opposite direction that honked a friendly honk as it passed the family of legs and waving arms walking their dog with no more teeny little feet on a mountain highway at 1:00 in the a.m..



13th photo op... Less than a mile, a truck coming around the bend in the right direction and headed right at the family of legs and waving arms. Best ridiculous photo award... Mom's renewed vigor as her legs jump out of the way of the truck as it comes to a stop by the family.



14th photo op... Work truck's entire back is a tool box, so what's with the big box taking up the middle seat next to his gear shift? He offers to carry one set of legs back into town.



15th photo op... Look on dad's face when mom says, "I guess that will have to be you, honey."





16th photo op... Has something to do with honking loud and long at 1:30 in the morning and a campground host's legs who wouldn't get out of bed to help a dozen stranded legs on family night.



HeeHeeHee... Love You Guys

Delila is Graduated! AHH!

My youngest girl has officially finished high school! Delila graduated on May 28 and I cannot believe she is acutally done...She was so excited! Joey and I decided to get her a car for graduation...I think she liked it...

We were so excited to have our family there to support us...Lacy and Luke even came up for the graduation from California! Snook and Papa Joe were there as well. We really appreciated all the support...

I was really excited to have Lacy...I even took a ton of pictures with her...We looked so cute!

Just wanted to show everyone how incredibly LONG the graduation ceremony was...The program:

My Fortune Cookie...

(This picture is a repeat, but I thought it was kind of appropriate.)

So yesterday was a rough day for me as I'm sure my sisters also experienced. I asked Joey to take me out to do something when he got home, just so I could mark Mom's birthday in some way. Uncle Al called me, and I was so touched by his call. I didn't get to sound very friendly to him because I was sure that I would start crying. Almost instantly when I hung up from talking to him, my R.S. president called to see if I had any plans for the night. I think she was looking for someone to feed the missionaries, but we didn't actually get that far in our conversation. Unfortunately, I kind of fell apart. Great timing. I was so embarrassed.

Then an even more random thing happened. About two seconds before Joey walked in the door, I started listening to a message from our Scout Master. Take my advice... Don't ever do that. I thought this was too crazy.

He said, "Brother Ellison, I was just wondering if you could go to Round Table for me tonight. It's my birthday today and I wanted to go see my mom but there was (some kind of important information they were going to announce tonight). Would you mind going for me, because I don't think I can make it. I'll just plan on you going if I don't hear back." This from the guy who doesn't miss meetings and even scheduled a meeting on General Conference Sunday. (I didn't think that was done; is nothing sacred?!) As Joey walked in, I gave him the look. He said, "What? I don't have anything tonight." I shook my head and said, "Just wait till you hear this."

Joey thinks Scout Master is the hardest calling in the church, no holds barred. (You have my permission to debate it with him. He's not much of a debater, so you might win.) We decided he'd go to opening exercises to get the information for Brother Settle. Afterwards, we drove up to Provo and walked around the mall for the twenty minutes before it closed. Then we drove home. Woohoo. At least we were together.

Yesterday was one of those Murphy's law kind of days, and I was not particularly in the mood for it in the first place. Today I was much happier which is typical after a sad day. I took JB to physical therapy because he hurt his back in weight lifting. He always makes me laugh. He insisted that I take him out for Chinese food before dropping him back at school. I tried to deny, but he assured me that he would jerk the steering wheel into China Town's parking lot. Like he'd dare. We really enjoyed ourselves. His fortune cookie said something about him being nothing more than full of ideas. He said just when he starts feeling good about himself he goes to a chinese restaurant to be deflated. My fortune cookie said, "Face facts with dignity." How simple is that?...

Looking Through Old Pics

I know it's way after the New Year, and Jade probably showed this on her blog, but I was amazed at the light display in Nephi this year. They had 80,000 lights at the Old Mill Park. The pictures don't really show it well, but this one is the best. For little old Nephi, it was something to behold . (Hmmm..... I hate not having a camera)

My Other Self... April Fools

Hi All...Ok, I'm here...and I'm not here ...but somehow my words still appear. "Crazy hacker blogger". I can't quite find the words to say how my life is going because...well someone already kinda did that for me. I surely do thank them. More than they can know.

Life is so full of good and special times. One thing I did forget to mention, however, the last time I wrote when I wasn't here was that Saturday, Delila and I were able to go to the General Young Women's meeting and listen to wonderful talks by all the General Young Women's Presidency and President Eyring. We were able to see President Monson, President Eyring, and President... (Ya right...you thought I was really going to attempt to spell it. So, I pronounce it "Ookdorf". I'll have to look it up, but I'm pretty certain that's not the right spelling.) .

Anyway, what I was going to say was that it was such a wonderful experience. The girls' choir from "Cache Valley" (Renee's area) was outstanding. Delila and I were especially amazed by the young woman who played the flute during one of their numbers. She played during the entire song flawlessly even while a huge camera was right up in her face. I said to Delila, "She must have had a lot of experience playing in front of a crowd." DeDe said, "I bet she hasn't played in front of the whole world before." It was so impressive to see in person.

Delila was also particularly touched by the people who were hearing impaired sitting just a few rows in front of us. Actually, instead of having someone do American Sign Language live, they were on a big screen TV. Another one was set up right next to it, also a big screen, with the closed caption turned on. I'm always touched to realize the thoughtfulness and precision that must be involved in presenting general conferences; not only are they thinking of broadcasting by satallite to millions of young women, mothers and leaders around the world, but also they're concerned about the 10 or 15 hearing impaired who come to the conference center to listen. Wow. So many things I could share, because I really was moved by it all. Delila pointed out to me after about half an hour into conference how the whole center was completely filled...it was something I can't even describe...to know that so many had come... and yet so many more were listening from other places all around our great big world. Wow.

And then, to top it all off, we parked across the street from the first apartment that mom lived in while she was in Salt Lake and walked right past it to the conference center. I was flooded with so many fond memories of mom on her mission. I was so thankful to have had mom here for that short time. It meant the world to me. She was my example of living the gospel to the fullest extent, of serving, giving of herself, loving others, and of continuing to learn new things through her entire life. Oh, how I do miss her!

It was a very special night and I thank Delila for her willingness to be with me. She has been my dear other female this last year. I can't imagine how it will all roll out next year with all three of my girls moved away. Life has a way of changing so drastically right in the middle of all the same old stuff. Crazy how that is.

So to end this current blog...that I'm pretty certain is my real true self... I have a little thought to share with you all. I was listening to this commercial the other day and I realized something of great value... One should probably never use the phrase "its the cutting edge" to describe advances in the medical world or dentistry... iiickkk ....

I don't know. Is it just me or what?

Love You All---

I know, I know...

So, let me start off this post by apologizing for not posting in so long. I have to say, I have been so busy that, when I get on the computer, it's to frantically check on my daughters and grandson (soon to be grandchildren), and see what's going on in their lives. Then, as I notice that I'm running out of free time, I zoom over to my sisters' websites and ooo and aww over their adorable posts...then, as one last, 'okay, i'm getting off, hold on', i click on my neice's website just to see a couple of pics...and then, it's off to something new. I feel like my life is just whizzing on by and I can't quiet get a hold of it. But, I do promise, I am around...

So, some exciting news, I guess...Jadie, my lovely second daughter, and her adorable hubby Tim have recently found out that she is expecting...so I am going to be a grandma x2 (i know, i already mentioned that, but i wanted to say it again)...I cannot wait until my little rannagan grandbaby gets here...Finally, I'll have one close to me...I only wish the other one was just as near...sigh...maybe some day...one can only hope...haha!

Another exciting announcement, delila, my lovely youngest daughter is...AHHH!...graduating from highschool! I cannot believe it...only two more to go (my awesome boys) and I do not have to deal with the whole dramma of highschool anymore...not that I want life to speed up any more than it has already...

The boys, JB and Charlie, are as crazy as ever, keeping me on my toes every day. I love them though. They keep life exciting. I cannot believe that I have another child (JB) that is old enough to date and drive...can life get any scarier...tell me...And Charlie is speedily coming up behind JB (in november, he turned the whoppingly old age of fourteen...I don't think I've announced that yet...isn't that crazy)...Part of me wants to hold on to them a little longer and yet part of me is saying, "you're still here?"...Don't know which part is stronger today...

Joey and I--you know, I feel like I'm writing one of those Christmas letters ("this year brought a lot of changes to our family") it's kind of funny...seeing as, I've never really done that before--Anyway...Joey and I are enjoying what time we have with each other. Just a couple of days ago we were able to spend the night at one of our Worldmark resorts (yay for timeshares!)...it was nice to get away with each other...as always...and then...YAYAYAYAY! I cannot wait...we are going to HAWAII for our honeymoon...I am so excited (even more yay for timeshares!)

As for my already-too-far-away, but still lovely, daughter, Lacy, and her little family, Jason and my little grandbaby Lukie, are leaving the beautiful west coast and heading for the east coast. That's right, all...my daughter who thought Provo was too crowded (she's like her father sometimes) is moving to MANHATTAN! She's going to live right, smack-dab, in the middle of the island...go figure...As if I wasn't stressed enough out about her being too far away...now she's moving across country...Isn't there any other way?! P.S. her hubby is going in to New York University's LLM program--don't ask me what it is...ask her...

But, all-in-all, our life is good, and we enjoy our family...And our love grows more each day as more people are brought into it...So, what does life hold for us now?...(in keeping with the Christmas letter theme..."I cannot wait to see what the next year brings us"...)

Well, I know it's a long post...and it's only words...the author doesn't have any pictures...but I promise...As soon as i find a way...and some time...I will put a post up with all of our beautiful smiling (highly stressed out) faces!

Until next time...