Angels Watching Over Me

I just returned from a great Thanksgiving in McCall which I will talk about another time. It is late Sun. night but I feel compelled to talk about my angels who travel with me all the time.
Before my mother died a few years ago, she gave both Jessica and me a little gold angel to put in our cars and said "Remember, the angels are with you always." This angel has a lot of meaning for me for two reasons. The first one being my mom gave it to me and it reminds me a lot of her and the fun times we had riding around in my little car talking and eating soft ice cream cones from KWIK Way. I miss her but know she is happy and watching over me as I travel. Second reason I love that little gold angel is when Spence and his family lived in Idaho Falls a couple of years back, Max loved to go with me to do the million errands I would do on Saturday pretty much every weekend. I loved his company and we had so much fun and as we tripped around Idaho Falls he would always ask to play with the little angel. He always put the angel in a safe special place as we would run into a store or where ever we were going. He loved that little angel and it reminds me everytime I look at it about our fun days we spent together.
So, back to my story. Yesterday as I was leaving Boise after our great Thanksgiving, I saw a car in front of me with the license plate holder that said "Angels are Watching Over Me" and I wished that I had a holder just like that one.
On the long trip home, I kept glancing up at my little angel and wondering which angel was riding with me. I know I require a whole gang of angels pretty much most of the time, but I know they have other people to watch over but one or two of them are always there. It was a passing thought but I just kept looking up at that little angel.
It was about 10:30 p.m. when I finally started across the dry farms climbing altitude up to my little mountain home. I was anxious to get home after the long trip and my stops along the way. I had been travelling on the freeway so I was used to going about 85 mph and knowing there was little enforcement out on the highway, I kept about that speed until I crossed Canyon Creek Bridge about 20 miles from home. As clear as day, I heard "Black Ice" a couple of times but I was following a pickup going about the same speed as I so I thought I was safe. Again, just after crossing the brigde "Black Ice" came into my mind so I slowed way down against my wishes and began to drive much slower. I arrived home safely and in my prayers again thanked the Lord for my safe trip and my angels for watching over me.
Now, for the rest of the story. During the announcements at church this morning, the Bishop informs us that a friend and fellow teacher Charlotte Barr) was killed the night before only two miles from her home when her pickup hit a patch of black ice, rolled five times, and she had to be extricated from the pickup already being dead. This was not the pickup that I was following, this happened only 1/2 hour after I had passed this same spot. Her and her husband had taken a quick run to Rexburg to pick up a car and they were travelling home with her driving the pickup and he driving the car behind her. Two miles from their home he watched (I'm sure in horror) as she hit the ice, rolled the pickup five times, and was pinned inside. He tried to get her out but to no avail and the extrication team had a hard time getting her out. I believe she was already dead.
One half hour after I had passed the same spot! I have been thanking my angels all day long for the warning. That could have easily been me and that late at night I may have been trapped inside for hours before anyone found me.
The moral of this story. Always pray that your angels will be with you as you travel and then LISTEN!!

McCall Here We Come

I know, it's been a while since I did a new post but everytime I go to my blog to post I get busy reading everybody else's blogs and it gets past my bedtime (I actually have myself on a schedule as much as I love late-night stuff) so I tell myself I will do it tomorrow. I have discovered (duh) that tomorrow never comes. One of my New Year's resolutions is going to be spend more time on the computer. I am still waiting for someone to invent a chair that you can exercise in while you are on the computer. I need to somehow figure out how to hook my computer up to my tread mill so I can read e-mails and blogs while I walk. Even if there was a way to do that, I probably couldn't figure it out so I am just going to have to buck up and reserve more computer time. I might have to stop watching "Dancing With the Stars" although the season is almost over. Then I am sure something else will come on like American Idol that I can't resist. I need to get rid of my dish.
I actually talked to someone in church that reads my blog. I was surprised. I know my family reads it on occasion but I didn't think anyone else did. Thanks Barbara for keeping track of me and the fam.
Speaking of the family, we are off for a new adventure for Thanksgiving. Because Ned (Nichole's hubby) is busy keeping the peace in McCall and has to work on Thanksgiving (he is a police officer) we have all decided to pack up and go to the mountains for Thanksgiving. Jessica and Tommy are coming from El Paso on Wednesday so we booked a couple of adjoining rooms at the Lake Shore Lodge in McCall which overlooks the beautiful lake, has a big rec room, a movie theatre, an exercise room (like we will use that!) and lots of space for the little ones to run and play. We will have an "easy to fix and eat" dinner at the Crossley's then off to the Lodge for the afternoon and evening. Spence will have access to his football games but we are hoping he will have more fun with the family than sitting watching football (in my dreams). Hopefully we can get the kids all settled fairly early so we can pull out the games for family game night which we don't get to have much of these last few years.
Nichole has asked for a late check out for Friday so hopefully more swimming and hanging out together. Jessica and Tommy then leave for Spokane Friday night to visit his daughter for a couple of days. It will be fun to have them here in Idaho. Maybe if it weren't so cold Tommy might decide he would like to live here.
So, thats the plan for the Nead family. I hope everyone else has something fun planned with their family as that is what really matters. I am so thankful for my great family. I am truly blessed to have healthy, happy children who have chosen wonderful mates and have blessed me with the best grandchildren in the world.
As I age, I am becoming more aware of how lucky I am to be in such good health. I know I complain about my extra pounds, but if that what it takes to be healthy so be it. I have a friend who has a lot of really expensive paintings and who doesn't hurt for money that told me one day that she would trade everything she had to be as healthy as I am. What more could anyone ask for? I might not have a big fancy house but I also don't have a lot of aches and pains which is a huge blessing at my age. Luckily my knees, elbows, hips, and shoulders all work well (although Spencer keeps trying to convince me that I need new knees) so I can excercise about 90 minutes a day without much problem. No wonder I don't get much computer time.
So this Thanksgiving, I hope whoever reads this long, drug out blog (which I meant to keep short) will appreciate their many blessings and enjoy them to the fullest. I still love the country western song "Live Like You Were Dying" as you never know when that time may come.
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Halloween, Ball Game, Birthday Getaway

Going to try and keep this short but have a lot to talk about. I was getting ansie(sp?) last weekend so decided it was time for a road trip, so I got off school early (grade day) and headed West. I did have some other motivation though, first it being Halloween and second it was Spencer's birthday, but what I didn't know was Max was having his first basketball game ever and Spencer was the coach. Not going to say much about the game except I enjoyed watching Max play although I got a little out of control and realized why all my children grew up so competative and really enjoyed watching Spencer coach those little six-year old boys. He was really patient and didn't lose control of himself unlike his mother.
I drove as fast and frantic as I could from Teton Valley and arrived in Boise just in time to see the grandkids and all their friends finish their "trunk or treat" at the church. Max was so excited - he came up to me, showed me his bag of candy and said "look how much candy I have and I haven't even been to the neighbors yet." Maddy, she was sitting in the back of the van covered with chocolate and looking cute in her princess costume. Macy soon arrived looking as cute as Maddy in her identical costume. Summer said that Maddy was supposed to be the frog this year as per tradition but carried the princess costume all over the store and she didn't have the heart to make her into a frog instead of a princess. Smart move Summer.
After the trunk or treat, Spence loaded up the van with all the kids - about 10 of them - and off to the neighborhood to trick or treat up and down the block. It was interesting because I think there were more adults there than kids. Besides parents, there were grandpartents and aunts and uncles. We had a great time watching the kids run from door to door and visiting along the way. The weather was warm enough that coats weren't needed and the street was filled with princesses, ninjas, monsters, and you name it. Wasn't long the Neads ran out of candy so Summer just put a note on the door "Out of candy". What a fun evening and some great memories. Friday night alone was worth the long trip from the valley.
Sat morning we took off for Max's basketball game and again the gym was filled with as many grandparents as parents. We finally found a few chairs in the corner and Summer got a little frustrated having to take care of the two girls while trying to watch the game. She decided she would hire a babysitter next game so she could concentrate on the game. The little boys were so cute and it brought back a lot of memories from my days watching kids on the basketball court. Fun times and great memories for me.
Later that afternoon I watched the kids (actually didn't do much watching - but playing) as Spence and Summer went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. That was part of my gift for Spence was a little time off from the fam and time alone with his wife. I'm sure we at home had a better time than they did though. We spent time flying paper airplanes and building lego spaceships. Another great evening for nana.
I got up the next morning and headed east this time leaving with a lot of good memories and a long drive with a short visit but well worth it. Luckily the trip home was uneventful - no flying truck tires in the windshield this time.