Taking my van to the repair shop is like pulling teeth!

Today is a lesson in staying positive. Just last week, we spent $1000 on Bruce's pickup for new tires and repair work. Now my van is in the shop getting some much needed, but VERY expensive repairs. There is only one thing that I hate worse than car repairs, and that's going to the dentist...oh wait, I just did that two weeks ago too. So between the dental bills and the vehicle repair bills, I'm watching my savings dwindle away slowly. Through it all, I am trying to stay positive, and make the most of not having my van for a few days. I knew that I wanted and needed to go exercise at Curves today, so since I didn't have a vehicle, I decided to walk. It's not all that far-only 2 miles. So I waited until it wasn't quite so cold and bundled up, and off I went. I think I kept up a pretty good pace because I got there in 35 minutes. It was actually kinda fun and I burned allot of calories besides. Between walking 4 miles and exercising at Curves, I think I burned about 700 calories...not bad. That's definitely positive! As I was walking, I had plenty of time to think. As much as I hate forking out $2000+ for car repairs, in the long run it's still better than a monthly car payment, and my van has been pretty good to me over the last 13 years. If we plan on doing any traveling, especially to visit family, and we plan on keeping the van for 4-5 more years, I guess the repairs will be well worth the money. On the way home I walked past this street sign, and by the time I got home, I realized that I was pretty hopeful that all would be fine.

2013 Leavitt Family Newletter

Our 2013 Leavitt Family Newsletter is hot off the press. If you haven't had a chance to see it yet, I've posted it here on our blog. Enjoy!

May you all have a happy and prosperous New Year from the Leavitts!

Tale of Two Shoes

Bruce has two pairs of brown Sunday shoes... almost identical with the exception of some small embellishment on top. I'm not sure where he got these. I think they were given to him. I didn't even know he had TWO pairs of brown shoes. Anyway, they are OK looking shoes... IF you have one shoe for each foot. 

Our last trip was to Arizona last month for grandson Dallin's baptism. If you know me at all, you know how picky I am about being properly dressed for church or special occasions... like baptisms. So I spent a couple of hours at the ironing board (which I was very happy to do), prior to the baptism, ironing a total of 7 white shirts and a couple pairs of pants to make sure that all the men and boys had their appropriate Priesthood attire ready. So when Grandpa Bruce, (who being the Patriarch of the family and should be the example for all of these little boys to follow), is getting dressed for the baptism, he realizes that he brought his brown Sunday shoes, but not exactly a pair. Instead he had 2 right shoes, or in this case, 2 wrong shoes. So we have 2 options... wear the right shoe on the wrong foot (left foot) or wear his tennies with the Sunday outfit. He opted for the second choice, and of course, Grandma Cathy was embarrassed by the outcome. I tried to swallow my pride and realize that in every other way, he was still a pretty good example to these little guys of what an honorable Priesthood holder should be. 

 2 brown shoes for the right (wrong) foot

 Lovely tennies

 I did not take this picture. Therefore, all of the feet were showing. Notice that the grandson next to Dallin (Joseph) also has shoes that match Grandpa's. He was probably thrilled.

I took this picture. Notice that I shot above the feet.

 Special note: Doesn't the baptism boy look excited?

Bruce's Gold or Fool's Gold?

My husband should have been born back in the 1800's, so he could've been around during the Colorado Gold Rush of 1859. For many years, the word Colorado has always been synonymous with the word gold... at least in Bruce's vocabulary. He has a dream of going up into the mountains and finding his fortune in gold. At this point, it has become somewhat of a family joke, but I still think he expects to finance our retirement with his gold dust findings. 

Our latest adventure was the South Platte River near Deckers .... here he is with his latest new toy... the metal detector. So far he has found a treasury of pop tops and beer caps, even though he is sure that he has detected gold flakes in the river bank.

The next tool for every serious gold searcher is the shovel... not the small compact shovel, but the large garden type, so that every passing vehicle can wonder what you're digging up.

The next tool that every gold "digger" needs is a gold pan. Since his only authentic gold pan rusted out many years ago, this is now his gold pan of preference... the Marie Calendar special...

Last tool of a great gold miner is the plastic bag from Target... perfect for taking home black mud that is laden with gold dust...

Be careful... it could be mistaken for something else.

As you can see, you must wear special attire when panning for gold... this includes holey jeans, the worn out cowboy boots, and oh, don't forget... the famous floppy hat...

If you get really serious, you must eventually shed those boots and socks, so you can get into the water and feel that gold dust between your bare toes...

When he's deep into the "panning mode," he doesn't want to be disturbed... so I gladly take off with my camera to shoot pictures of the countryside... far enough away so...

Today's find... a rock with gold flecks in it ? 

...and this rock that looks like something we could eat ... should we call it a potato rock?

Oh, and don't forget our lovely bag of ...

And yes, at the end of our adventure, I still love him, because he's kinda cute...

A picture is worth a thousand words ... or maybe thousands of bucks!

Take a look at these pictures that I have displayed on my family room wall. Take a good look ... they may look vaguely familiar to you. You may have seen one or more in frames at Walmart or Walgreens or other stores, you may have seen them in model homes, or maybe even in restaurants. It gives a whole new meaning to one of our favorite movie quotes ... "it came with the frame" (from the 'Burbs). 

So you ask why I would have these pictures hanging in my family room? They are pictures of my 2 sweet boys, Brent and Tom, over 30 years ago. My brother, the professional photographer, took a bunch of pictures of my adorable children, and then shortly thereafter asked me to sign a release form, releasing all rights to these photos. As a naive young mother I did so, not ever thinking that they would appear again and again everywhere! Just last night, one of my Arizona buddies, LaDelle, was in Crackerbarrel Restaurant, and sent me a text message that said, "Brent and Tommy in Crackerbarrel!", and then sent me a copy of the first picture. One year, one of the boys saw a frame with the picture in it at a store they were at, so he bought it, wrapped it up, and gave it to the other one for a birthday gift. The reason for this phenomenon is that my brother ended up selling the pictures to ad agencies who sold them to clients who thought the boys were as adorable as I did, and in the meantime, he continued to collect the royalties, and I got nothing. So it seems ... but ... even though I may have not earned enough money to help put both of them through college ... I got something even better. I got to enjoy the live version of these 2 cute little boys, with their wonderful smiles and antics, who have brought so much joy into my life and have turned into handsome young husbands and fathers who dearly love their mother. So, who do you think turned out the richest? 

The "Remarkable" Employee...

Today we attended a recognition celebration out at the Franciscan Retreat Center where Bruce works. He received his 5 year recognition certificate and a Chili's gift card. He's actually been there for about 6 years now, but since his anniversary date actually isn't until later this month, he celebrated 5 years. It was a nice little ceremony where each of the supervisors got up and told a little about the honoree employees. Sister Joanne praised Bruce for the hard worker he was and his congenial personality. I'm so glad they appreciate him at work for a change ... so much different than his old AZ job. Even though the pay isn't that great, it makes me happy knowing that he is loved and appreciated by the people he works with, and that he works in an amazingly beautiful location with peaceful surroundings.

Tribute to a special friend ... my other "mom"

Beulah Hunt Stratton ~ 1972

I received a phone call today letting me know that my dear friend, and someone I considered as my "second mom," or as my daughter Paula said "my LDS mom," had passed away on Sunday. Beulah Hunt Stratton was truly a special lady ... a friend to all, and someone I will never forget. Thinking about Beulah today has brought back allot of fond memories of when I was younger ... when my testimony was growing and very tender. The influence that this great lady, as well as many other dear friends, had on my life during a very influential age, has made the difference in my entire life, as well as that of my children, grandchildren, and other posterity to continue. 

I knew that Beulah had been struggling as of late and that it would probably not be long before I received this call. I can only imagine the warm welcome that she had as she arrived on the other side. The last time I saw Beulah was about a year and a half ago, when I was in Snowflake for my brother's burial. Bruce and I went to visit her on her birthday before returning home. She was starting to get forgetful, but still very much remembered us, and still had her sweet personality and sense of humor. Her words were, "Cathy, I don't get out much any more because I'm just too dingy." I'm glad that I can remember her as that person instead of when her memory and health deteriorated. 

Beulah was my young women leader for several years during the time when I was gaining a testimony of the gospel before I was a member of the church. I especially remember her influence as my Laurel leader. Since my own mom was not a member of the church, I was able to go to Sister Beulah (which we lovingly called her), with any gospel questions. I was sure that I was her "favorite," even though everyone else in the class felt the same way. She called us her "lovely Laurels," and attended each of our temple weddings along the way. Beulah worked for many years as secretary at the high school, and she had a great love for the youth.

Outside the Mesa AZ temple with Sister Beulah, Jennifer, and Barb (both pregnant)

Beulah's first husband, Rex, died one night in his sleep, unexpectedly, and a few years later, she married Lorum Stratton, a long time friend who had also lost his wife a few years earlier. They were very happy together and were able to serve several missions together. Both were always happiest when they were serving others. I always thought the two made a perfect match. I was happy to be able to make a small wedding cake for them when they were married. 

I will not be able to attend the funeral service on Saturday, but I hope Beulah knows that my thoughts will be there with her and the family, as well as my fond memories of days gone by. I love you Sister Beulah, and will hold a special place for you in my heart forever. 

Two special letters from Beulah that I will always cherish~

Received on the night of seminary graduation~

A Christmas note~