We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!

At this wonderful time of year, we pause to reflect once again on our blessings as we remember the birth of The Divine Son of God and Our Savior. We hope that this Christmas greeting from our family to yours finds you well and happy. May the joy of this season fill your home and your life. Our wish for you is a most happy and prosperous New Year.

Love, David and Paulene

GRATEFUL

David and I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. We had a house full and loved every minute. We had four of our children and their families. We were honored to have our good friends Scott and Amy Browning and their four children in our home again. Our new and cherished friends Bernardo and Deedy Mayer and their four children joined our crew and were immediately part of our family. We had the usual turkey, actually two, and all of the trimmings. The girls had a fun time building our fun vegetable turkey. David and I mused as the day ended that we had felt pure joy in having our children, grandchildren and friends around us. We were truly thankful for the day and our family.
We gathered again on Saturday for a family photo and more food. It was another joyful day. I will post photos when they are available. We truly missed our Jesse, Sean, and Brandon. Our family is not complete without them and there certainly was a void that I still feel. They had a great day with the Burns family in Arizona. We pray for the day that ALL of our family will be together again.


We have now shifted gears and are in the midst of preparing for Christmas. As most people know, this is my favorite holiday of the year. I love the decorating, shopping, wrapping, and hearing from friends and family.
David and I bear our testimony that Jesus is our Savior. We honor Him as our Lord and Redeemer. We wish you a very Merry Christmas.

California Dreamin'

"All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray" You know the rest of the words--something about going for a winter's walk and dreaming of warm California. Well, I am living the dream. I am in California visiting Audrey and her family and it is warm; the flowers and leaves are still green. I have been at the pool for swimming and feeling the sun almost every morning. As much as the warmth and beauty is wonderful, the most wonderful part of the visit is that I have been able to do four of my favorite things with a daughter that I am only able to see three or four times a year.

We had lunch at El Torito which serves some of the best table side guacamole and chips. There is never a question of where we will go for lunch, but just when we will go. Our next stop was at Chico's for our annual shopping trip together. There were some great sales and we found fabulous things. Yes, our sacks are full and yes, we bought some of the same outfits again!

And of course, we are spending time at the dining room table scrap booking. Even though we have gone digital, we set up our laptops and scrap side by side as usual. We have set goals of numbers of pages per day and reward ourselves when we meet these goals. (Lunch today was because we completed ten pages). And last, but not least, is the time that I am able to spend with my grandchildren. It is a pleasure to kiss them goodnight and tell them that I love them in person rather than through the phone. This visit is truly a dream--I am California Dreamin'.

My friends, My sisters

I had decided earlier in the week to press delete on my blog. It has been a very long time since I have made an entry. I am reminded everyday when I visit blogs because the length of time since my last entry is noted. I have even received emails asking me if I am okay because my blog hasn't been updated. The pressure was on. It is not that I haven't been doing things. For example, I have celebrated a fabulous birthday, traveled to Wichita, Kansas to drive a bucket truck home, sat on the grass to hear Will's band in concert, and had a most enjoyable visit with Jessica and her family. I had just lost the fire to blog. Until tonight.
Tonight was Relief Society Enrichment for our Spanish Branch. I had been asked to help by bringing paper supplies and to teach a class on making cards. It was a most rewarding experience and one that I will not forget for a long time. Yes, as we sat around the table we did make cards and for some it was a brand new experience. It was hard to believe that some did not know what a glue dot was and that you can tear paper for decorative purposes. But the most important part of the evening was that we became sisters and friends. We laughed, talked, and laughed some more TOGETHER. We looked at each others scrapbooks TOGETHER. We cleaned up and laughed some more TOGETHER. We hugged and kissed when the evening was over and we all left TOGETHER, wishing everyone a wonderful conference weekend and looking forward to our meetings in two weeks so that we could once again be TOGETHER.
I love my calling as a missionary - now that is something to blog about. We are blessed to be friends and family in the gospel TOGETHER.

American Fork High School Class of 1968

They write books and movies about Class Reunions. The stress that it can bring just thinking about meeting classmates again after forty years is enough to make a heart skip a beat or two. I did stress over the whole event for a few months – thanks to everyone for humoring me and encouraging me to attend. My class reunion turned out to be one of the most enjoyable events that I have ever attended. My assignment for the reunion was to make the name tags. This was a very fun activity. As I made each photo ID, I was able to look into the faces of my classmates and remember dances, ballgames, pep club practices, and study times that we all shared.

My first impression as I arrived and walked into our old high school lunch room was that this room was full of old people. I guess it took me a few minutes to realize that it was not 1968 any more and that we had all grown older. We all had a good time visiting, reminiscing and catching up on what we had all done for forty years. There was a band there that played our favorite songs of the sixties. This really helped to set the mood of the room and after awhile it was just like the time had not passed. To prove that point, I have to confess that I danced the twist with a group of girls and it was FUN!!! .

But alas, time has returned back to reality. But I have very fond memories of this event. Yes, there were some that were not there because they felt that they didn’t have a friend in High School and why would they want to attend. I feel bad for them because it was fabulous to feel young again and be surrounded by so many good friends.

I Hope They Call Me on a (Part time) Mission!!

The conference talk that David chose to present to his Home Teaching Families in May was Elder Bednar's talk entitled "Ask in Faith" Elder Bednar instructs us to pray with faith for ways to be better life long missionaries. At that time our prayers changed and we prayed following his directions. We were expecting a neighbor or a casual meeting to occurr that would lead to a missionary opportunitity. Instead we received a phone call from the Salt Lake City Mission.
David and I have accepted a new calling to serve in the Utah Salt Lake Area Hispanic Initiative in the Utah Salt Lake City South Mission. Our assignment will be to serve for 2 years beginning this next week. We were released from all of our callings in our ward including visiting teaching and home teaching. We were set apart as Ward Missionaries with a special assignment to serve in the Hispanic Initiative. We have been assigned to serve in the Bingham Creek Branch in West Jordan. We will be attending this ward every Sunday and have committed to two nights a week for further service. We have training this Tuesday night and will know more details at that time . One of the emphasizes that we will have is to speak English and help teach the members English. We will be doing all of our communication in English and if necessary an interpreter will be provided. We hope to learn Spanish over the next two years. We feel overwhelmed but excited for this new calling. We love to the serve the Lord and will go where He wants us to serve.
We are looking forward to having some very spiritual experiences to share with our families and friends. We are very blessed to have the restored gospel in our lives. Our Heavenly Father is a very giving and loving Father and blesses us so.

"The Long and Winding Road"

The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday next to Christmas. We were fortunate to be able to spend the holiday with Audrey and her family at the Ronald Reagan Library. We loved it so much last year that we planned our visit to California so that we could go again. The 4Th just wouldn't be the same without an airbrushed flag tattoo, kettle corn, and a rousing rendition of "Stars and Stripes Forever" It brought tears to my eyes - not only because I used to play the piccolo part- but because I love America and I am proud to be an American.

To top the day off, we had a barbecue. Kevin has become a master chef at the grill. We were treated with ribs, burgers, fruit salad, and chocolate cake.

But alas, all good things have to come to an end. Our visit was over so we started our journey home. We both love to hit the road and see the sights. We headed north to Sequoia National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Lake Tahoe--all areas of the country that we had never visited before. The scenery was breathtaking. We just took our time and loved being the tourist. We stopped at almost every turnout to get out of our car and read about the scenery and take pictures. It truly was a long and winding road home, however, it was a relaxing, sunny, breathtaking, and extremely enjoyable road that led us to our door.

Summer is Here

Summer has finally arrived in Utah. Our first official barbecue was this past weekend to celebrate Father's Day. We honored David has the head of our family and the boys as the heads of their families. David has been an excellent and exemplar Father. He loves his children more than life itself. I think that my boys and my sons-in-law are terrific fathers in their families. David got a new barbecue for Father's Day and he absolutely loved breaking it in grilling hamburgers and hot dogs.

And what would a gathering be without a good session of Rock Band? Thanks Seth for bringing the entertainment. I am so happy that warm Summer nights have returned and that there will be more barbeque's and more gatherings ahead.

In Memory Of ...

Memorial Day has become a very enjoyable holiday for me. It has become a weekend for visiting graves and remembering our relatives who have gone before us. We tried to find David's great great grandfather, Edward Thompson, this year in the Centerville Cemetery. We were unable to to so. However, we were able to visit with Julie and Maddie. They were visiting with her parents who live just a few blocks from the cemetery.

My favorite place to visit on Memorial Day is the American Fork Cemetery where my parents are buried. Rikki and her boys, and Paul, Bree, and their girls joined us there. The cemetery was very beautiful with all of the flowers and flags. Abby, Jacob, Liv, Bree, and I walked around the grounds noticing the different flowers and ornaments that were placed on the different graves. There were many families gathered to honor and remember loved ones. The feeling was very peaceful.

It was very touching to me to watch Paul show his little girls the headstone of his Grandparents, and the little girls great grandparents. He outlined the letters of Paul Gauger and told them that his name was just like it and that he was named after this wonderful man. We will all remember these feelings for a long time. In fact, Abby, wants to know when we can do it again. I think that this is what Memorial Day is truly about . After all, families linked together is an eternal concept. I have been blessed with a very remarkable and very memorable family.

DELIGHT IN JOY

I have wonderful children, their spouses, and their families. I have especially appreciated them all the past couple of weeks. They have truly brought me joy and I have delighted in it.

Jessica graduated from Arizona State University in Biochemistry with a 4.00 GPA. She is amazing. She has done this while balancing being a mother and wife. I want her to know that I appreciate all that she has done and know that at times it was not easy. She is truly amazing and I am so very proud of her.



The joyful weekend started Thursday evening. We joined Kevin, in town on business, for dinner at Jessica's favorite restaurant. Sean was returning home from a week long business trip, so it was a happy reunion all around. One of the best parts was being able to sit outside and enjoy the warm Arizona weather. After graduation on Friday, Jessica and I left for a girls afternoon out of shopping. I know that she thought it as strange that I wouldn't let us leave a store that we usually do not shop at. I had to keep her there so that Audrey would be able to find us and surprise Jessica as a graduation gift.

We spent the next couple of days eating out, shopping, and having manicures and pedicures. What more could a Mother and her daughters want? It was truly a delightful time. This weekend was also Mothers Day. Not only was I able to spend time with two beautiful and accomplished daughters that I usually do not get to spend time with on Mother Day, but I heard from and talked to all of my children. They expressed wonderful sentiments, we laughed, and it was a truly joyful experience for me. My sons have married very well. Their wives are oustanding mothers and I love them as my own. I'm not usually a big fan of Mother's Day, however, this year was different. I took time to delight in the joy. Thank you children for being you. I love you all.

38 and Counting

Hooray for us!! We have just celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary. We took time out to drive to Palm Spring to spend a couple of days in the sunshine. Our winter and spring have been so cold and wet here. We had a very relaxing time and did soak up a few rays and enjoyed sitting outside on patios to eat our meals. Remember when we were traveling a few weeks ago and ran into people from our ward -- well-- in keeping with that we did it again. We randomly picked a ward out of the phone book to attend on Sunday. We were singing the opening hymn and noticed that two rows ahead of us was a couple from our ward that live in Palm Desert during the Winter. Funny thing is, I am her visiting teacher and can never find her. Needless to say, we had a fun reunion.

I received a most wonderful gift for my anniversary. David gave me a laptop. I love to digital scrapbook and especially scrap with others. However, it has been difficult to move computers around, etc. This new computer has solved that problem. While we were in California, we just had to stop by Audrey 's house to try out the new equipment. It worked perfectly. We have always spread out our supplies and papers and scrapped on her or my dining room tables. This photo really shows how far we have come. We had a wonderful anniversary. I love my new laptop. All in all, the past weekend was perfect.

Spring Time in the Rockies

The weather can be very volatile this time of the year. We woke to snow this morning. It makes me appreciate the warmer weather that we have been enjoying.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter. David and I attended our meetings and enjoyed the spirit there. We then had Paul and Will and their families over for Easter Dinner. I need to thank Katie for the darling recipe for the Bread Bunny Veggie and Dip Holder. You can see it if you look to the lower part of the photo. I really thought that I was getting more of it when I took the picture.

We also had an Easter Egg hunt. The kids had so much fun, that we hid, found, and hid the eggs again and again. I had to chuckle. When it was my turn to hide the eggs, I heard Abby tell Zack that she knew where all the eggs were hidden because she could hear Grandma's flip flops in the living room.

So It may be snowing today. However, it will be warmer and warmer everyday from now on. And I will be wearing my flip flops everyday. Happy Spring and Easter Season to Everyone.