This is starting to be really fun!

I have to thank Amy and Sarah who have been encouraging me to start blogging more. I am so thankful to have such bright ambitious daughters who inspire me to do all these "cool" things. Well I didn't think I had anything exciting to blog about because all my children are out of the house. However, I have wonderful grandchildren and a husband I adore. Ken and I went to a work party tonight in downtown Sacramento at the Sutter Club. It was a celebration of the 25 years of his firm Perry-Smith and Co. He was very handsome in his tux and I got dressed up in a black dress. (not my color :) Unfortunately we were not able to take a picture together. I left the party a few minutes early and he is still not home.
Sarah told me I needed to keep practicing writing on this blog or I would forget how to do it. I was excited to figure out how to add Wendy and Mike. I realized they were not on it and that just wouldn't do! I love to write in my journal so I have decided this is kind of like that. I wanted to tell everyone who ever reads this blog that I love and cherish all my children and cute adorable grandchildren. I feel like I am the most blessed woman in the world to have such a wonderful husband and a great family. All of us have our trials and difficult things to bear but I am so thankful for all the blessings that the Lord has blessed us with.
As I get better at this I will add more pictures and start trying to be as creative as Amy, Wendy and Sarah. You are all my inspiration. It is fun to experiment with all of this especially when I am waiting for Ken to return home.

Bishop Astle at Young Women in Excellence 2009

I just got back from our Young Women in Excellence tonight. I have recently been called to be the Laurel Advisor in our ward. I was so impressed by the sweet spirit in the room and the great young women that we have. All the leaders decorated the room so beautifully and it was a great program. At the end they had asked my husband Bishop Astle to give the closing remarks. I was so impressed with his powerful spirit. The reason I wanted to post this on the blog however were the kind words he said about his four daughters Amy, Wendy, Sarah and Heidi. Ken is by nature a quiet man (probably because I talk too much :) and since he has been the Bishop I have seen the mantle of the calling manifest itself in so many ways.
He spoke about how he was raised in a very "boy" home and then in our home it was much more "girl" oriented. He spoke about his sweet daughters and how they were such accomplished young women. I could feel the love he had for each daughter and then he talked to all the young women about their worth in the eyes of the Lord. He spoke to them about how sometimes their self-esteem can be low when they compare themselves to others. He spoke about the love the Lord has for each one of them and the difficult years of youth. I was so touched by his words he spoke and the spirit was so strong. I am so grateful to be married to such a righteous man and one who honors his priesthood. I miss him when he is away so much but I am thankful to have him serving to the needs of the ward.

Utah trip October 2009

I have had such a great time with Sarah, Jeremy, Eli, Heidi and all the Utah family. I got here on Monday and had the most amazing Honey Lime enchiladas I have ever tasted from the kitchen of the famous chef Sarah. On Tuesday Sarah and I did my yoga tape and then we took Eli to his six month check-up. Heidi came up for dinner at Sarah's house and we had another amazing Zuppa Tuscana soup and home made french bread with peanut butter cookies for dessert. If I didn't miss Ken so much I would just travel around to all my daughters and let them feed me because they are all so AMAZING at cooking!!On Wednesday Sarah, Grandma and Grandpa Astle and I went to lunch and then Grandma and Grandpa and I went to see Heidi's Singers rehearsal. I then took Heidi shopping for our girl bonding time. She is so cute and looked adorable in everything. She dropped me off at Lynn and Marion's house and I got to visit with them and Grandma and Grandpa a little longer. That night Sarah met me and we went to the Kings Singers concert with the BYU Singers. It was a great concert with both groups having such a beautiful blend and great expression. The Kings Singers were very entertaining and the crowd loved them.
Thursday morning Grandma Astle called and invited Sarah and I over for lunch with Laura, Marie and Bobbie. We had a nice visit with these great women and Grandpa. Grandma and Grandpa recently redid their kitchen and it looks great.

Thursday afternoon Sarah and I took Eli to go over to Jeremy's work. They have a halloween dress up party for the children of the employees and their families. Jeremy gave me a tour of his work place and it was so interesting. We took these pictures of Eli in his cute pumpkin outfit. He is the most adorable pumpkin I have ever seen! He is a very good natured baby.

Thursday night I drove down to Provo and picked up Heidi for her intermurals basketball game. She is the captain of her team. It was fun to see the team because four of the players are from our stake. It was so fun to see Heidi play basketball again. She made two beautiful three pointers and played such aggresive defense. She has such a love of sports and it was fun to see her enjoying the game again. I took a picture of her after the game with her two roommates Breana and Jamisyn. We had fun laughing about the contrast between the dressed up Heidi for the concert and the "sporty" Heidi at the game. After the game I took the girls back to their apartment and we had lots of fun talking. Heidi has very sweet roommates and I was so impressed with what good girls they all are. I enjoyed their fun conversations about life in college.Friday morning Sarah brought Eli out in this cute snuggly outfit. I had to get a picture of him.
Eli is just learning how to eat solid food in his new styling high chair.

Nampa trip

I drove to Boise with my friend Christie Pace and Marcie Gallacher for Christie's wedding in the Boise temple. We had such a fun time chatting and we made the drive from my house to Amy's house in 7 1/2 hours. Christie told us to not drink any water and we only stopped for ten minutes in Winnemucca. I had a great time visiting with Amy, Rob and their four adorable children. Amy had not been feeling well and she had lost her voice. She was a trooper and we all had fun together. Amy played a beautiful organ solo in church and I had fun going down to the church to listen to her practice. Brenna came with us and was so excited to go with "the girls". I played lots of basketball with Seth and Brenna, did puzzles and read books with all of the children. Rob and Amy have such a fun family and I was so glad I got to make the trip to see them in their beautiful new home in Nampa.

New Jersey trip

I had a great visit in New Jersey with Wendy, Michael and their family. Wendy and Mike had a week-end get away in New York City and asked me to come and baby-sit. That was an interesting experience with a nursing baby. The children were very sweet and so well behaved. We all survived it! Vanessa was a trooper even though she did not take her sippy cup or her bottle. Wendy and Mike and their family have a wonderful spirit in their home! It was conference weekend and the kids snuggled in with me with their blankets and we watched
it together. They not only watched but they listened as well. They loved to sing the hymns that they knew and we had lots of fun together. The children were so cute and we took many long walks in the beautiful fall weather. It was fun to spend time with them in New Jersey. I am so sad that they are so far away but thankful that we have telephones, blogs, email and planes to make the distance seem a little shorter.

Trip to Idaho August

We went to Idaho for Amy and Rob's son Seth's baptism. Seth and his grandparents. Grant is peeking around the corner.

Amy, Rob and Seth at baptism.

Seth looking handsome in his suit.

this is another practice

Grandma holding Amy's baby Russell.