Here's the little Mama and the little Papa! Lindsey and I spent all day putting away their Christmas tree and decorations and then moved the bed and stuff out of the guest bedroom. Then we moved their rocker/recliners into the guest bedroom, surround sound, TV and DVD player. They were sooo pleased with the new room.
Lindsey and I were silently laughing our heads off while rearranging the room. We wouldn't let them look to see what we were doing. (they wouldn't let us if they knew what we wanted to do.)At one point we were scooting a queen sized mattress down the front room stairs into the basement and Dad was sitting on the couch and couldn't even hear or see us! When we went to make the turn around the bend he hollered out, "Open the door and take it part way out." So, I guess he's not as deaf as we thought he was!
It's like they've acquired a whole new room to the upstairs of their house. They don't heat the basement anymore or go up and down because of the stairs. So, having this new TV room is like a new part to their house. I caught Mom telling Dad that he couldn't dump his clothes in that room anymore.
I think the reason why they quit watching DVD's is they forget how to operate the player. They have three remotes and it's hard to remember which goes with which. I walked Mom through the process, again, this evening and she could figure everything out. I told her to call me at work and I can tell her how to do it over the phone.
Have a wonderful New Year. I'm going downstairs to watch my new TV. Tomorrow, I'll take down my tree and put away the Christmas decorations. Oh horrors ... it will take all day!
Reese getting sworn in!

Reese and I were soooo excited when he was issued his uniform. Nice winter boots ... size 13! (2) T-shirts, pair of pants, a jacket, (2) socks, and a belt. Oh and that really nice back pack! He begins training the first part of January out at Camp Williams just for a Saturday.

You're In The Army Now...Private Hansen


This is the army Mister Jones.
No private rooms or telephones.
You had your breakfast in bed before,
but you won't have it there anymore!

This is the army Mister Green.
We like our barracks nice and clean.
You had a housemaid to clean your floor
but she won't help you out anymore!

This is the army Mister Brown.
You and your "baby" went to town.
She had your worried, but this is war
and she won't worry you anymore!

Private Reese Lynn Hansen is now a member of the Utah Air National Guard. He leaves for basic training in South Carolina in May for three months and then will leave for Virginia for 4 months to learn how to repair the Black Hawk helicopter.
More later ... we're excited and so is he!




Aaah ... Christmas Day... the long awaited day that we have so feverishly prepared for, from the shopping of the Christmas presents, the making of the cards, the baking of the cinnamon rolls, the wrapping of the gifts, and the preparations for the Christmas Eve celebration at Granny and Bomp's!


It's just one day in the year, that comes so quicky and sneaks out the door so fast! It's 6:00 p.m. and I'm still sitting here in my nightgown and MooMoo ... no makeup ... no combed hair ... no deoderant, and not even my teeth brushed. Aaah ... the one day of the year that I can do what I absolutely want to do, whenever I want to do it, and how I want to do it! And nobody complains ... that's the best part.

We had a wonderful time visiting with the family here at our home last night. The kids were wound up tighter than a spring and were yelling and hopping all over the place. They were very excited for Santa to come to their homes. One of the cutest moments last night was when four of them were standing at the open door hollering for Santa. They were looking up into the sky and yelling for Santa to come. The longer they yelled, the louder they got. It was quite comical. Even though we really didn't have any planned activities, it was just a wonderful time enjoying each others company. Everyone had gone home by around 10:00 p.m., and then it was lonely and quiet, with just Reese, Lynn, Dieter and me. We finished cleaning up the kitchen and then helped Santa with the stockings. We were in bed by 11:00 p.m.

We didn't wake up until 7:00 a.m. and were surprised that Reese wasn't knocking at our door at 5:00 a.m. We finally got up around 8:00 to open our gifts, after having family prayer and thanking Heavenly Father for all of the wonderful blessings that we've enjoyed as a family this year.
How wonderful to have children who are so good and kind, who believe and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who are good parents that teach their children the Gospel, and who love and support each other. Who could ask for anything more.
We're blessed to have another great year with Mom and Dad. We went over this morning to watch the unveiling of their presents. Wow ... what a haul. Everyone is so generous to them. It's the only time of the year when they buy things for each other. Some of the kids and Mom and I put money towards a new recliner for Dad. Since we brought it into the house, he doesn't think that Mom helped pay for the chair. He just can't remember what Mom got him and keeps asking her what she got him for Christmas. I think it kind of hurts her feelings that he can't remember. I had the privilege of shopping for both of them. They each gave me money with a list of things they would like to buy each other. Well, actually, Mom gave me a list of things she wanted for herself and a list of things to pick up for Dad. Dad just handed over his money and Mom gave me money from her sock. At least I think that's where she hides it. :)
I bought a family gift for the three of us ... a new 32" flat screen TV. Now we can actually see the screen in the family room. I think the old TV was about a 7" screen. I'm not lying! We bought very few gifts for us since we had the TV. I got a new camera which I've been wanting for some time. I played with it for about 3 hours this afternoon. It has some really sweet features on it. I'll post some of the pics.
Grandma trained Dieter to dance for his food. I'll try and post the video of him so Sarah and Kate can see him dance. The kids were making him dance last night and laughing their heads off. In fact they spent all evening playing with him. He plopped down on the floor and fell asleep after they went home. He wouldn't even wake up for Lynn so Lynn had to carry him in his arms to put him on his bed. It was so cute!
I keep getting an error trying to post the video. I'll have to figure it out later.
I guess I'd best be getting the dishes done, the floors mopped, and myself cleaned up before bed.






Sorry Nat, but since I don't have small, cute children to take pictures and post on my blog, you'll have to put up with my indulgences with Dieter dog. I started crying yesterday thinking about what a blessing he's been in Mom and Dad's life. When I visit them, that's all they rave about. Dieter did this and Dieter did that. Mom has taught him how to stand on his hind legs and jump around for a treat. It's the cutest, dang thing! But he does stand on his hind legs and begs while you're eating at the dinner table. I don't like that. He'll turn out to be like Mabel's dogs and then you'll hate him.

I let the grandkids decorate my tree. As you can see there are several ornaments right next to each other. But so what, right? Everytime I look at the small snowflakes that are all bunched together on the right side of the tree I remember Ben and Ellie and how happy and serious they were about decorating Granny's tree. The Merry Christmas banner was actually a garland that I showed at the Virginia Beach seminar made with the Naturally Serif Sizzix Die. It's not supposed to be hanging on the tree but I placed it there yesterday so Dieter wouldn't chew it up.
We had such a fun time last night! We went to the dress rehearsal for the Morman Tab Christmas Concert and one of our favorite singers was the guest artist, Bryan Stokes Mitchell. We heard him perform at a concert in September. What a voice and what a marvelous stage presence!
Lynn picked me up from work and we had dinner at the Lion House Pantry. Since I had a late lunch I wasn't very hungry so had one of their famous rolls and a salad. Walking over to the conference center was beautiful. The trees were all decorated with Christmas lights and the night was quite warm. No wind ... and no snow ... which was a first! After the concert we strolled through temple square. They don't decorate all of the big trees anymore. I missed that. It didn't look as spectacular as it has in years past. We did see a beautiful sight. Looking up through the trees to the spires of the Salt Lake temple, there was a full moon. Surrounding the moon was a moon dog ... a large misty circle of light. It was beautiful. The only cameras we had were our phones. I captured a pic but you can't tell what it is. Lynn took one but I'm not sure how to get it off his phone and onto the computer. It was a beautiful sight!
This morning I'm off to the KJZZ studio to do a segment on Christmas home decor. I'm showing the glass blocks with our Stampin' Up! rub-ons, Decor Elements, and Decor Decals. I better stop and get dressed and ready for the segment.
It's our team's Christmas party this afternoon. It should be fun!
Sorry, Nat ... I just couldn't resist posting another picture of my third son! He's as bad as you kids used to be with the TV Guide and Readers Digest. He got in a roll of toilet paper this morning and had it shredded all over my bedroom floor, bathroom, and even down the hall. I picked up what I could and then had to get the vacuum out.

We had a marvelous Thanksgiving dinner at Angie and Boyd's home. Angie did all of the cooking and everything was delicious! All I had to do was make the rolls. It was fun making them too ... because I wasn't rushed and I could really put my heart and soul into them. They were fantastic too. The flour makes all the difference. We got freshly ground white flour from the Lehi Roller mills in Lehi. Wonderful flour for wonderful breads and rolls!

Lynn and I have had nasty head colds for the past week. Even though we've felt poorly, we still had to crawl about doing our tasks. I had to sing and he had to speak at a funeral last Saturday. We were both hacking up our lungs. Then I helped in the kitchen for the luncheon after the funeral. And, had to co-teach the RS/Priesthood lesson on Sunday. I was still sick as a dog yesterday so didn't make it into work. I feel 100% better today. Dayquil and Nyquil work wonders!

Mom and Dad were excited to get out of the house for a few hours. They seemed to really enjoy the trip out to Angie's. The weather has been lovely these last few days. I'm afraid that we won't see too many more of these days until Spring.

Grandpa misses his car and says every day that he's thinking about buying an old clunker to drive. We keep telling him that he can't pass the eye test so he shouldn't be out driving. I'm not sure if he's serious or if he's just kidding us. He still insists that he can see fine. It's so hard for him to have that independence taken away from him.

We had another ward member pass away yesterday and his funeral will be Saturday. It's a big family so we're planning on 110 people at the luncheon. I'll help out in the kitchen again. We have a wonderful funeral committee who will take care of everything.

Well, Nat ... I hope you notice that there isn't one picture of Dieter in this round of photos! He's still doing fine and we love him to death! Your Dad is the fun one to watch with him. He kisses and loves him and holds him like a baby.





















Should have, could have, ... didn't because I was too lazy ... taken a picture of Dieter last night. You would have died laughing. I gave him an old blush brush to play with. He bit on it all day and kicked it around having so much fun with it. I picked him up last night to check out his face and his beard was all pink around his mouth, including his two front paws. Reese, Lynn, and I sure laughed.

Talk went well in Sacrament meeting. It was a good day. We fixed dinner for Mom and Dad and they really seemed to enjoy it. Dressed Up Chicken ... yum, yum. Recipe to follow:

Layer chicken breasts in a pan.
Mix 1 C. Sour Cream with a can of Cream of Mushroom Soup and a can of Cream of Chicken Soup
Pour mixture over chicken breasts and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Layer with swiss cheese and two boxes of prepared Stove Top Stuffing.
Put back in oven for 15 minutes.
Delisiosa!

Reese is meeting with a National Guard Recruiter this evening. We'll keep you posted.
One more thing ... I forgot to mention. I took Dad to the eye dr. to see if he could pass his vision test for his DL. He failed it, so he can no longer drive after the 1st of December, his birthday. It's a blessing. But it was really hard on Mom when I had to tell her. She cried and cried and the harder she cried the louder I laughed. She didn't like that. I guess it was kind of mean of me.

Dad sold his car to Gil. That will be great for Gil and good for Dad not to be tempted to drive.

Dad said that he would rather be dead than have no car. Sad, huh?
What a great day! Got to sleep in late, til 8:00 a.m. Got up, showered, dressed, then met the RS Presidency and one of my Compassionate Service leaders at the church. We've been collecting baby stuff for a little gal in the ward who is going to have a baby. She's a single sister, never married, no mother, and has lived with her grandfather for 21 years. I used to teach her in Primary. She's not active anymore. But we felt as a presidency that there was a need to help her. We've had fun collecting very nice baby things from the sisters, from a baby carrier, bath tub, diapers, clothes, and about $180 on a gift card. She was so grateful when we showed up this morning to take her the gifts. She's moving into her father's home in West Valley tomorrow. Her baby is due on the 3rd of December. We felt such an outpouring of love from the sisters in the ward for their help. Who knows ... maybe this will be the act of service and love that will bring her back into the church.

Went to Target with Reese looking for a side table for my living room. Didn't find anything I really liked. He bought a suit at Target. Can you believe it? And it looks pretty nice. The sleeves could have been a little longer but he was happy with it. He had $75 in gift cards from the company and only had to pay around $20 on his own.

Reese and Dad are at Ryan's watching the BYU/Utah game. Since I had to prepare a talk for tomorrow, I had to stay home.

Lindsey called to see if they could come out this evening. I had to tell her not right now because I was working on a talk. Dang ... if I would have prepared it sooner, I could have enjoyed the kids this evening.

Oh well ... it's just me and Dieter tonight. He's chewing on a stuffed gorilla. He's got one hand and one foot chewed off and now he's working on the fur on his head. Poor ole thing!

I found a great way to bathe Dieter. I just let him climb in the shower with me. He loves it! He just stands there with his head in the air, letting the spray hit his head, and lapping up the water. He's loved his bath ever since we brought him home. After I dried him off I used the hair dryer on him and then brushed his curls. You should have seen him. he was the fluffiest ball of fur you've ever seen. Sarah ... I can just hear you oohing and aahing over him if you could have seen him.

All for now ... tah, tah!






Our cute, little, red-eyed, Bendy!



Ellie


Aunt Dee Dee and DD (Devil Dog)
Motorboating ... this will give you something to laugh at, everytime you look at me!



Got up this morning, got ready for work ... didn't want to ... coming down with a cold. Stuffy head and a bad headache. Took one Excedrin ... my miracle drug for a bad headache. Also took some Zycam. Hopefully I'll be able to ward off this cold before it consumes me.

Bought Dieter a coat and a squeaky toy last night. It's so funny watching him trying to run in his coat. It kind of restricts his legs and he looks retarded when he runs. Mom insisted that he needs a coat when he goes outside. Who would ever believe that my mother would insist on an animal having a coat. Good grief! I was raised on a ranch where animals were kept outside and fended for themselves. Occasionaly the cats would get squirted with the warm milk from the cows while Gil and Dad were milking. And we left food scraps outside for the dogs. But other than that, they pretty much took care of themselves. (Now Lynn thinks I should buy him a sweater ... so it won't restrict his legs so much. Perhaps he should wear his sweater at night ... so he won't get too cold.) Oh ... did I tell you ... he sleeps on his little bed by the side of our bed. Is that cute, or what?

The squeaky toy may have been a mistake. It's driving me crazy. Deiter is running back and forth in the house squeaking the toy like there's no tomorrow!

I took him over to see Mom and Dad this morning. They were still in bed and seemed really happy to visit with him. I put him on their bed and Mom just can't resist petting him. They really love him.

I'm waiting to go to work. I'm calling Sears this morning to see if Dad can get in to see the eye doctor to sign his waiver for his driver's license. I warned Dad that the Dr. may not sign it. I've tried to talk him out of reapplying for his license, but it just doesn't register. So, I'm hoping that the Dr. won't sign the certificate and then he won't be able to renew his license. He still drives well, but his reflexes and hearing are bad.
Say ... perhaps we should have TWO Christmas parties! One before Christmas and one on Christmas Eve. Actually I'm fine with what ever the rest of you want to do. I love the tradition of Christmas Eve, but I also know that Ryan and Lindsey would enjoy being with his family on Christmas Eve.

But, Camie ... I think I'm up to going shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. What about you? How early are you goin? Knowing you ... you're already through with your shopping. :) Maybe those of us who would like to go, should go as a group. That would be fun! Let me know what you think.

So ... here's my dilema ... after reading President Uchtdorf's talk, Lift Where you Stand, -- how, as a ward can we take care of 20 people in the ward who are over 80 years old, shut-ins, widowers, and failing health? I asked our presidency, this evening, if they would each choose a family in the ward and take them a meal next Tuesday, instead of meeting for a presidency meeting. Between the five of us we're taking in about 13 meals as well as visiting them, in one evening. I'm hoping there can be a way for our ward to catch the vision and do the same thing on a regular basis to help relieve the care givers and provide some companionship from the ward. So ... give me your ideas.

It's late ... got to go to bed. Actually I have to prepare a talk for Sacrament meeting this Sunday. It's on gratitude. More later.
What a wonderful four days we've just had with Natalie and Abigail!

We also had the blessing of having Thanksgiving dinner together ... a little earlier than the normal holiday, but one that was full of happiness, love, and togetherness and of course great food!

Thanks to Ginger for arranging the church for our dinner. It was so nice to have a place for the kids to run and play ball in the cultural hall and nice to have tables and plenty of room for good eats.

Thanks to everyone for providing such terrific food! Camie ... thanks for making Grandma Hansen's punch recipe. It brought back such good memories of past family dinners with Lynn's parents. Angie, your stuffing is the best! Ging ... your pies were wonderful ... especially the sour cream lemon. The pumpkin was good too. I'm sure the chocolate and banana were excellent too ... I just didn't have any. Loved, loved, loved Lindz's macaroni salad, even though her family doesn't care for it ... we did! And your corn was divine. Laurel makes a mean relish tray with dip, which I certainly enjoyed. Of course no family gathering is complete without Angie's clam dip. Yum, yum. Loved, loved, loved Nat's cranberry sauce and pasta bow tie salad. Great recipes!

It was a wonderful evening. Thanks to everyone for getting your little families together, bringing the delicious food, helping with the set up and clean up. It was a great time and one which I hope is repeated for many, many years to come.

We missed D.J., Grandma and Grandpa, Neal, Sarah, and Kate!

Let's start planning our Christmas party. Does everyone still want to meet on Christmas Eve, or would you like to do our family party on another evening. What's your thoughts?
This photo makes me happy! Look how darling Abby is and how beautiful Nat and Angie are. I think Abby is smiling at her Bomps!

Great Grandma Veda, Abby, and Nat


Nat, Abigail, and Great Grandma Ginger
Abigail Jane Peton -- "Am I beautiful, or what?"

Nat and Abigail arriving at the Salt Lake airport on November 13, 2008.



After the regional seminar six of the staff, including Shelli Gardner walked Croc's for dinner. It was wonderful food. Shelli, Darlene, and I each ordered something different and then split it between the three of us. We had crab cakes, blackened tuna, and fish tacos. It was wonderful! And of course no dinner is complete without three fabulous desserts, which we all shared. Lisa and I continued walking to the boardwalk and the rest of them returned to the hotel. Here we are on the beach trying to snap a decent photo of ourselves!

My good friend and demonstrator, Seijra McConkie from Virginia Beach. We had lunch together on Friday and then took a little tour of the beach. It's a beautiful place. Wish I had my camera in the daytime.

I spent the weekend in Virginia Beach, Virginia at the Stampin' Up! Regional Seminar. There were around 800 demonstrators in attendance. I loved the area, the demonstrators, and the weather. I'd love to come back for a family vacation. Kids, let's go to Virginia Beach in the off season. Ging ... see if you can get us condos there! Wouldn't that be fun. Perhaps in a couple of years?

The picture is a little blurry, but this is our team.

Our team dressed up as vampires and draculas for our Halloween party at work. I'm Glampire!
We flew out on Halloween day to Jackson, Mississippi. We had a two hour layover in Atlanta, GA so had time to catch a bite to eat.

It was early evening when we took off for Jackson. The moon was just an orange sliver in the dark sky. After collecting our baggage we went outside to hail a cab. There were no cabs in site! In fact, there wasn't much of anything in site. I went inside and asked where the cabs were. He assured me that there were always cabs waiting outside. He then proceeded to take me outside to show me where they would be. There weren't any cabs outside! After waiting a few minutes a good, ole, southern boy showed up and offered to take us to the Marriott. We asked him why he chose to take us instead of the other people who had been waiting for a cab longer than us. He stated that we were the longest ride, largest fare, and he chose to take us instead of them!

After checking into the hotel and confirming that our packages had arrived for setup the next day, we decided to check out downtown. Let me state this nicely ... There is NOTHING in downtown Jackson. No conveniece stores, no service stations, no pharmacies, no clothing stores, no hotels, other than the Marriott, and no restaurants. There was one bar a few blocks down the street. We walked to the bar and watched some drunk gay girls, scantily clad in Halloween costumes, dancing in the street with each other, while holding their beers high above their heads. Not sure what that was all about. I told Shannon that Halloween is just an excuse for some people to dress up like sluts!

We got back to the hotel just after 9:00 p.m. and found that the only restaurant had closed. So we went to the lounge and shared an order of case-a-dillas!

My room was nice but I wasn't sure if it had been cleaned. I found a gum wrapper, with chewed gum inside, laying on my dresser and a tag from a dress laying on the floor. The sheets and pillowcases were all wrinkled too. I was sure that someone had been sleeping in my bed!

Just before leaving Salt Lake I decided to take a projector with me. We had ordered one through the hotel, but I just had a feeling to take our own. After setting up our equpment the next morning we found that the hotel's projector didn't work. If I hadn't of brought our own we wouldn't have had much of a show. That was truly a hand of God in prompting me to take the projector!

The demonstrators were lovely ... so kind and warm and loving. We had a great show, with wonderful demonstrators who helped at the event. We started the event on time and ended on time. We had a bunch of demos from New Orleans who offered to take us with them to dinner. We ate at a lovely restaurant, far from downtown. A place called Nicks. It was quite pricey, but very nice. Shannon and I had the cheapest things on the menu and it still came to $80. The demos wanted to order appetizers, which were around $17 each. We decided that we should pay for one of them, which we did. Wish we could have paid for everyone's meal. That would have been neat, but it's not in the department's budget.

We had a great trip home and found all well at home.

Grandma and Grandpa are doing well. Grandma had a little spill off her recliner. She was reaching for the dog and was sitting too far on the edge of the recliner and it tipped over with her. She hit her cheekbone on the ottoman. It's sure black and blue. Her arm is a little sore too. But other than that she's doing great.

Grandpa failed his eye test at the Driver's License Division. I took him to get his license renewed. I warned him that he may fail his eye test because he hasn't been wearing his new glasses. He couldn't see a thing! It was sad seeing him so disappointed. I think it's God's way of telling him that he needs to give up his license. They told him that he would have to have his eye doctor fill out a form. I'm not sure what he's decided to do. I sure hope he decides to give up driving.

I'll have to take some pictures of them and post them on my blog.

I leave for Virginia Beach, VA tomorrow morning.

Can't wait to see Nat and Abigail in a couple of weeks!

Don't forget our Thanksgiving dinner coming up soon. Check your e-mails!



Jackson capital building.


Pretty flat country! I had forgotten how flat the south is!


Setting up the equpment at the Jackson, Mississippi Half-Day Regional Seminar!
The funniest part of the evening was when Ben did his 'poo' walk. Poor little devil ... pooed his pants and was crying. I guess his face and walk were quite comical! (I didn't get to see him, but heard about it.)
We had sooo much fun last night at the family Halloween party. These pics were taken before Angie's family arrived. Everyone seemed to have such a good time.

Camie and Ryan had decorated their house so darling and with the addition of their new finished basement there was plenty of room for everyone. The kids seemed to have a wonderful time!

I truly looked forward to being together with the family. Everyone was in such a good mood and we decided that we would have to make the party a tradition at Ryan and Camie's.

The kids took great care of Dieter and tired him out by playing with him. He slept well last night.

Leaving for Jackson, Mississippi tomororrow. I'm excited to go back to my mission field. Just Shannon and I will be teaching at half-day regional seminar. We'll be back on Sunday.








Dieter Amandus Mueller --- our 8th child!