Differences...

You would think that after 34 years, little differences could just be ignored, but then...there are some that are so blatantly opposite that they cannot be overlooked. 

My dinner plate...both plates started out like this...

Prior to the blessing, Bruce's dinner plate...

Enough said.

Happy Birthday, Bev!

Today was Bev's birthday, so the three of us went to Breckenridge to see the International Snow Sculpture Contest. Really fun...perfect weather...and beautiful and amazing artwork. We had a great time. First time visiting Breckenridge for both Bev and me. Here are a few pictures...

Annual Leavitt Ritual

It's that time of year again...we receive many Christmas greetings and letters from friends and family...but at the Leavitt home...we send out New Years letters. I have been sending out some sort of holiday family newsletter for about as long as I can remember. At first, it was a one page Christmas newsletter, without any pictures, typed and printed off at the copy store. A couple of years later, I got more festive and copied it on either red or green paper. Then I got all fancy, and copied it on pretty festive stationery. One year, I decided that Christmas was too busy, and so I started sending out New Years newsletters instead, and it has remained that way ever since. Our newsletter has evolved from one page with no pictures to two pages, designed with Microsoft Publisher format and many many pictures. Also gone from sending out all of the newsletters by snail mail to sending out the majority of newsletters via email. Three reasons for this... 1) it is less expensive 2) it is much more efficient than folding and licking envelopes and 3) the pictures are much nicer sent on-line. It takes a good while for me to produce this project each year, but I enjoy it and feel it is something I can do each year to stay in touch with those we don't get to see or talk to very often. If you are following our blog and have not had a chance to view our newsletter yet, leave me you email address in the comment section and I'll send you a copy. So I was excited today to get a New Years card from Brent and Rachel and family. Maybe the New Years greeting will continue with the family. Happy New Year to all of you! May this year bring the best of all your dream and wishes, and good health, and gratitude for all of our blessings! 

Christmas in Connecticut

Have you ever heard someone mention that "it was perfect timing"? Well, our trip to CT for Christmas was all that and more. As our plane touched ground at New York, LaGuardia Airport (by the way, probably one of the yuckiest airports ever), I checked my phone messages, and I had two from Tom and one from his friend Sterling. We were told that Amanda and Tom were now at the hospital getting ready to deliver grandbaby #9 and that his friend, Sterling would be picking us up from the airport. Amanda delivered Lydia Ann right on schedule on Christmas morning, after a lengthly labor, and Tom, Amanda, and little Lydia came home from the hospital right before the big blizzard hit 2 days after Christmas. We had some wonderful "one on one" or "two on one" time with big sister Lucy, and we all celebrated Christmas a couple of days late...with the best Christmas gift ever...a new grandbaby. Lydia Ann weighed in at 7 lb. 2 oz. and was 19 inches long. Mom, dad, and baby are all doing fine, and Lucy loves her big sister. We were able to spend an entire week with the new baby, and saw the subtle changes that take place even at that young age. We were so glad to be able to be there when she was born.

So here are pictures of Bruce and me waiting at the airport in CO Springs for our plane to leave...ho, ho, ho...

We were definitely in the Christmas spirit! So while we were there, a big snow storm came and dumped about 20 inches of snow on Danbury.

Unlike Colorado Springs, the city and the HOA are very good about clearing the roads, and we were able to get around fine. Tom loaned us his car and GPS and off we went to Target so we could shop for the new baby. We also visited Trader Joes, (one of my favorite places that I miss since we left AZ), and then headed back home. I enjoyed helping with the cooking and cleaning while we were there so that Amanda could get some rest. Tom also had paternity leave the entire week that we were there, so we were able to spend more time visiting with him also...also good timing. So while we were there, Tom said he would take some photos of us with his new camera. He took both inside and outside shots...outside ones turned out the best...took two different hairdos with me...and I like the outside look better. Bruce's new teeth and my new hair...wow! Anyway, we went out to a beautiful little park about 20 minutes away from Tom and Amanda's and went tromping through the snow with my tennies, but the pictures turned out great...thanks bunches, Tom!

We were scheduled to return home on New Year's Day. Amanda's mom decided to come out on New Year's Eve, instead of later in the month as originally planned. So her flight got in at 7 pm on New Year's Eve, our flight was leaving at 6 am on New Year's Day. Instead of having Tom make two trips to LaGuardia Airport, we decided to split the time and have both of us wait a few hours, so we celebrated the New Year sitting in LaGuardia (again, a dumpy airport) with a bunch of others doing the same thing as us. The major parts of the airport were shut down until 4 am, but there was still plenty of places for us to sit with our luggage, and watch people (we love to "people watch"). Bruce and I gave each other a kiss at the stroke of midnight and I snapped a couple of quick pictures, and then we just took turns walking around, eating a lunch we had packed and snoozing a bit until we could check in at 4. We returned home via Minneapolis. This place has to be the coldest spot on earth. (LaDelle, I can see why you don't visit Josh in the winter.) Anyway, we arrived back home about 11 am on New Year's Day, unpacked, and spent the rest of day by the cozy fire. Nice to visit family, but always nice to get back home too. Happy New Year to all of our friends and family!

The Saga of the Ring...

My wedding ring has a story...

The first part of the story came a long time ago. In the mid 1980's, we were living in Fort Collins. We were dirt poor...didn't have too many expensive or important possessions except maybe 3 kids...and my wedding ring. One afternoon, I looked down at my ring, and the diamond was gone. Granted, it's not that huge...1/3 karat...but it was important to me. I was frantic, thinking I'd never find it. So the best thing I knew to do was to get down on my knees and pray about it. I asked Heavenly Father to please help me find my diamond. I had been everywhere that day, but I received the answer to go look on the floor of the car on the driver's side. So, that's what I did. I opened up the car door, got down and looked on the floor...the light was shining just right...and made the diamond glisten. There it was...my tiny diamond. So we took the little money we had and went to the jeweler and had it placed back in the ring, and made sure from that time on, that I checked the prongs to make sure they were not worn down. I was thankful that my ring was intact.

Next part of the story...

About 8 years ago or so...can't remember exactly...I started having problems with my fingernail on my ring finger. I thought I was getting a fungus in it or something, so I went to the doctor to get it checked out and he couldn't find anything wrong. The nail finally fell off completely. I soon discovered that my wedding ring was cutting off the circulation on my finger because I had gained weight and it was just way too small. So, with much effort and allot of soap and grease, I was finally able to get the ring over my knuckle and off the finger without having it cut off (the ring I mean). The fingernail grew back and I put the ring away in a safe place in the original box, hoping that some day I would be able to get it resized so I could wear it again. So the years went by and I would occasionally think about it, hoping that Bruce would take it in and get it resized for me. It was kind of the principle behind the whole thing...I could have done it myself, but I thought it would make a wonderful anniversary or birthday gift if he would do it for me. Then, we came to a point where we didn't have any money to get it done, knowing that gold was expensive. It didn't bother me too much not to be able to wear it, except when we went to the temple. For some reason, that bothered me. So anyway, I was talking to our friend, Nancy one day and she said she had a good jeweler that could do it for us for a good price when we were ready to do it. He had a little shop in the back of his home. Bruce remembered that, and bless his little heart, he decided that for our anniversary this year (#34) he would get my ring resized. He called Nancy all by himself (I was so proud),  to get the name and phone # of the jeweler, Paul Reiley, and took the ring in to have it done. This was a friend and a former neighbor of Nancy's. Bruce took it in about 3 weeks before our anniversary. He called him to check on it the week before, and he was not in, so Bruce just left a message for him to call back. He had been out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday, and when he got back he returned the call (this was on a Tuesday morning prior to our anniversary on Friday). He said he was working on the ring and should have it ready by later that night or the next day. So we waited for a phone call back from him and he never called. On Friday, Nancy and I were together prepping for a catering job, and I thanked her for giving Bruce the information, and told her that Bruce had taken the ring in to have it resized. That's when she broke the news...the UPS man found Paul Reiley dead in his backyard on Wednesday morning. Now what? Where's my ring, and how long will it take to get it back? Nancy said she would find out some information and get back with me. On the following Monday, Nancy called and said she was going over to retrieve my ring and she would bring it to me...yeah! When we got the ring back, we realized that Paul had been working on the ring when he died...he had extended it (2 sizes), but it was not finished off. We were not charged anything, since the work was not completed. At least we had the ring back. So now we needed to find another jeweler to finish the job. Another friend gave us the name of two jewelers...Nelson Jewelers and Moretti Jewelers. Bruce first took it over to Nelson Jewelers, and there was a sign on the door stating that they no longer did business in Colorado Springs. OK...let's try Moretti Jewelers. Bruce took the ring in, told them the story, and they said, "this is a first." Bruce proceeded to tell them that if anything happened to them while they were working on the ring, that he would get rid of the ring, knowing that it was most likely "cursed." Anyway, they ended up doing a wonderful job finishing off the ring, it looks beautiful, and fits great. Total price...$35. Not bad for getting a ring sized up 2 sizes. Bruce said, "yeah, $35 and a man's life, you'll probably have to account to him in the next life." And so ends the saga of the ring.

Christmas with our "family"...

Since we don't have any family close by, we have adopted our family home evening group as our "family" here in the Springs. We have been meeting together now for almost 6 years...we have lost a few good folks, and we have adopted a few along the way...but we have become a great group of friends, and love doing things together. We were all originally from the same ward, but we are now from 4 different wards...but all in the same stake and living pretty close together. Let me tell you something about each one...

• Dick and Nancy- Dick and Nancy, along with Bruce and myself, are the only original orignals in our group. Dick and Nancy were called by Bishop Larsen to start our little group in Oakwood Ward about 6 years ago. We love them both...fun to be with...great insights...add enthusiasm to our group. Dick is a car salesman (a good honest one) and retired AF, and getting ready to retire for the second time soon. They have moved from house to house in the last several years, and are now living in a little basement apartment with their daughter in order to save some money for retirement. Nancy works with me in my catering business...hard worker, creative, and fun. Nancy and Dick also know everything there is to know about Colorado Springs...great resource.
• Rex and Alene- Our senior couple. They joined with us just a couple of months after we originally started. They keep us laughing...both of them. Rex is ex-Marine, and his mouth often proves that. Alene just sits and shakes her head. They are both in their 80's and have been married now for 64 years. Alene is a great pianist and Rex loves to sing and play the harmonica. They have been on 3 missions, and Rex is an ex-bishop. What a fun couple to be around! Rex and Alene are now our unofficial "leaders" of the group.
• Bev-what can we say about Bev? She is a super friend, and fun to be around...also works with us in my catering business...hard worker, and goes and goes like the Energizer bunny. Bev is just a few years younger than my mom...has lots of insights and wisdom, and great sense of humor... but she still acts like a teenager sometimes. We brought Bev along with us after she moved into Ridgeview Ward about the same time we did. She lost her husband several years ago, has been on 2 missions since, and has great spiritual strength...also very opinionated...of course, we all are...that's what makes our little group interesting.
• Wayne and Michelle- We asked them to join our group when we lost Dave and Linda Deming. (Demings moved to Parker, after Linda was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease...passed away a short year later, and Dave remarried.) Wayne and Michelle are also in our ward. Wayne is our hometeacher also...the best. Wayne and Michelle were high school sweethearts from southern California...Wayne was a surfer dude, and he loves motorcycles. Michelle is fun and has some great insights...gives wonderful lessons, but is mostly a mom and grandma. Wayne loves to read, and is a wealth of knowledge, and is a retired Army officer. He is now a "cable guy" quality control inspector.
• Kim-one of 3 single sisters in our group. Kim is an elementary school counselor and is "Miss Super Activity." She always travels and hikes and hikes and hikes...and never has a weight problem, like some of us. Kim also has some great insights, and gives great lessons. She loves reading children's books and will often read some to our group...it keeps us young.
• Maureen- she is the newest member of our group, but been with us long enough now that she fits right in. Maureen moved here from Sacramento, CA, and is a supervisor at Wells Fargo, who transferred her here to the Springs. Maureen is musically talented...is the  stake music coordinator, and has some great insights for good lessons. She is great addition to our "family."

We meet together every week...most often for lessons...but sometimes for activities like concerts, potlucks, or games. Last Friday night, we had our annual Christmas dinner...everyone contributes a part of the food. This year, we were excited to have it at our home. Bruce worked hard to make sure the house was clean, and then we festively decorated two tables to get everyone in the holiday spirit. I must say, it all looked really nice, and we all had a good time. Some of us played games afterwards, while Bruce washed up all the dishes. I did ask him if he wanted help...but...he just kept working, and then collapsed afterward. So here is a picture of our cute little group...

and our house all decorated for the Christmas season...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our wonderful "family" friends. We'll see you when we get back from Connecticut.

Who says you have to have turkey for Thanksgiving?

Well, this Thanksgiving was definitely different...first Thanksgiving without some family around and first Thanksgiving without turkey. But it wasn't all that bad and I'd probably do it again. Not the "no family" part, but the different meal was nice. We were planning on going to Brent's in Provo for the holiday, but the roads were all so snowy and icy that we decided it would be much safer to just stay put at home. We talked to all of the family by phone or webcam and then just spent the rest of the day cozy by the fire. Even got in an afternoon walk after our scrumptious dinner. Our menu was as follows:

Herb crusted salmon
Stuffing
Steamed veggies
Cranberry salad
Multi-grain and herb dinner rolls
Pumpkin mousse parfaits
Iced pumpkin spice cookies
Apple Cranberry sparkling cider

And  Bruce did most of the cleanup...in 15 minutes. Can't beat that for a stress-free Thanksgiving.