July 19, 2025

 Well, our big news is that we have a new baby - suddenly but gratefully - we have a beautiful baby boy Jaxon Randall Walker 8lbs 6 oz born July 16 in LasVegas, Nevada!!! He is being adopted by Justin and JayLynn and they are over the moon. They just recently put their names out for adoption as JayLynn has been advised not to have more children due to her medical concerns. This little guy’s parents chose Justin and JayLynn and they, in turn, hurried down to meet him. In Nevada the adoption can be finalized in a week so they are staying in Mesquite so Justin can go to work from there. His parents are both black but already have three children and did not feel they could financially manage another. He is very cute and already very loved. Wonderful blessing for all our family and especially for Justin and JayLynn. I don’t think they expected this to happen so quickly.

I stayed up in Kelowna until Tuesday, July 8. We got Sayde up to her camp near Vernon on Monday and Liza felt that the older children didn’t need me after that, so I packed up and left Tuesday. It is hard to walk away after you have been taking care of the children because you worry about them and think about them all of the time. We got Sayde ready for camp while I was there, I got the front door painted, took her to her clinic appointments (she had pool appointments too), did lots of laundry, made meals and anything else that needed to be done. Ted had the girls and their families at his home so he slept in our basement each night. Luke and Matthew spent time at our house and the girls and the rest came over for swimming one night. We went to a BBQ at Dave and Jeannie’s one evening too. Breya and Keaton really wanted to go to the Burgess family camp, so after Liza and Brendon got home and Sayde was home from her camp, they drove up alone. George Goeders said they had a terrible storm while they were up there, causing a tree to fall on a car. I just wanted to make sure my grandchildren were okay. Liza and Brendon got back on Saturday, July 12. Alyssa picked Sayde up from her camp on Friday, July 11.

Cindy and Paul left for Finland yesterday. Max, Jacqui and Aksel are there now too, Aksel got RSV from daycare just before they left and ended up in hospital but the doctors gave him the all clear so we are praying for him.

I have been trying to get things done since I got home. I have checking with how friends are doing, power washing the stairwell (on a very hot day), doing banking and yard work, painting the driveway grate that Tom always painted, getting Kona to her annual vet appointment and getting back to the Temple. I always have things to keep me busy. Mostly though, I  been feeling grateful for my children, my grandchildren, my life, my heritage, my husband and the Savior and His gospel. All combined - I am very blessed. We are not perfect but I am very blessed! 

July 3, 2025

 I am in Kelowna right now staying with Liza and Brendon’s children while they are in Germany for Brendon’s IronMan race. They have been in the Netherlands too and able to visit with Bryson. I am hoping that they have a good time and that they are able to relax a little. The children and I are doing fine. Sayde has pool therapy everyday, as well as clinic therapy. I drove up on Friday and managed well except for traffic getting out of the lower mainland and getting thru West Kelowna. Kona got a little car sick which was disappointing. Liza and Brendon left on Saturday and I drove them to the airport in the large handicapped van as Brendon had his large bike case to transport. We went to a Stake youth activity at the West Kelowna chapel on Sunday. The youth had their own sacrament meeting, Sunday School and then ate lunch together. Sharon Hara was there with her daughter and grandson. Breya came too. We all went to the pancake breakfast at the church on Canada Day. Breya went to the beach with friends and then shopping with Keaton and other friends, They brought Michael and the Harper children over for a swim and I fed them all hotdogs before they went to watch the fireworks. Sayde stayed home with me. Big day! Keaton has been golfing with Ted and his Burgess cousins the last couple of days. He and Breya went to play pickleball with their cousins this morning. Breya keeps herself busy with friends and on her own with crafts and sewing projects. I am busy getting Sayde to her therapies, doing laundry, cooking, and cleaning up to be ready for Ted moving in downstairs when his girls and their families takeover his home. He will only come to sleep here at night. I have washed the front porch and back deck and I am now painting the front door. Keaton’s came Costco shopping with  me and is a good helper. Busy days! I will be leaving on Monday after Sayde gets off to her camp next week.

I spent the week before getting ready for my trip here. Kona was groomed and I got a pedicure and coloured my hair. I took Wendy and Cindy for Japanese food on Cindy’s Birthday. I drove Wendy for dialysis and ministered to Sam and Jaqui and got all my property and personal taxes paid. The week before that I worked on getting the Tesla ready to return. I cleaned it inside and took it for a car wash. I took it to the dealership when all was in order and Jean picked me up to get me home. I am glad to have just one car and I am happy with my Lexus. The difference in the breaking system has been the most difficult element to adjust to and remembering to lock the car, as you just walk away from the Tesla and Lexus requires actual locking,

Summer is in full swing and I am busy and blessed. Just FaceTime with Liza.

June 13, 2023

Wendy McKinley drove me out to the airport on Tuesday, June 10 and I flew to Kelowna, as my family here were all at work. Ladene Rempel picked me up in Kelowna, as all the Burgess family were at work. Thank goodness for friends. I had a nice visit with both of them. As Ladene dropped me off I received a video call from Bryson. We had a nice and unexpected visit. I took the family out for dinner that night and settled in, minus my little “pup” who was staying at the Hardy home. I worked at my Temple and other responsibilities the next day before getting a drive with the Lexus shuttle to the dealership where I took care of all the paperwork, insurance and had my orientation to the car. They were all very nice but somehow had me spending more money. I drove back home the next morning by myself in my brand new car. We were hit by a few bugs. I felt calm and didn’t get tired - a miracle. I know I was blessed and had my “angel” with me. The car is lovely and now I have to get the Tesla ready to return. 

I went to the Temple this morning to do some LOW training and attend a session. Jean is coming over tonight for me to prepare her for our very busy day at the Temple tomorrow as she will be helping with three new Mandarin sisters that will be coming for the first time. I am praying that everything goes well and the angels jump in to help us provide a good experience for our total of 8 Own Endowments throughout the day. I am sure it will be fine.

Cindy took June 6th off work (the anniversary of Tom’s passing) to be with me. We went to the cemetery, cleaned the grave site and brought a plant. It looked very nice by the time we left. We went for brunch at the Saba bakery and then picked Kona up and headed for West Vancouver and visited my parent’s grave. We cleaned it and left plants too. We ate A+W at my house in the evening. My dear friends Melanie and Mary both left flowers at my door during the day. I have such wonderful people in my life. Kelly Groom also called and DeEtte messaged.  I am so surprised that people remember. I love Tom so much. I miss him with every breath I take and I pray for him always.

Breya and two friends arrived on Friday too and went to an outdoor concert. They stayed overnight at my place and left in the morning and had some Vancouver adventures before driving back to Kelowna.

I finished my Temple Preparation classes with my currents group on Sunday and then attended the Temple Workers Devotional Sunday evening. It was a beautiful hot spring day. Lost a pair of sunglasses.

I walked with Mary on several days last week and had my house and windows washed one of those days. She looks good and is doing better but just feels she is missing energy.

My friend Barb has been recovering from pneumonia and asked what I have been doing lately. She thinks my life is very busy and it is. I am a little weary tonight and still have “miles to go before I sleep”.

I am grateful for my busy and my blessings.❤️❤️

June 3, 2025

 Time seems to go so quickly and I am late getting this written.

I am preparing to turn my Tesla in and travel next week to Kelowna where I will pick up my new Lexus NX 450 plug in hybrid. I will fly up on Tuesday the 10th, pick the car up on the 11th and drive home on the 12th. I am working to get my finances in order to make the purchase. I found that I did have an investment in TD bank that I didn’t know I had and I have been working with Grace at the bank, to set it up in my name alone. I am hoping that it will be in place in time for me to use it for the car but if it is not ready, I have another investment coming due this week too and I can use it. I feel like I am being blessed thru this process as things seem to be in place at the right time. I thought I had ordered and RX but I started feeling like I should have ordered a smaller NX. When the dealership called to review my purchase, they said I had an NX coming in. I had felt that somehow I was going to get an NX and everything would work out and here it was. The Tesla lease was due at this time, the TD investment showed up and my other investment came due as backup. I am being blessed and I know Tom is involved too.

Cindy came and cleaned my garage, I power washed the driveway and sealed the back patio. I have a company coming to clean the windows and wash the outside of the house. I cleaned the yard trunk out following our raccoon nesting experience. I am getting my big spring cleaning needs done and I am enjoying the beautiful new fence our neighbor Kirk and his family ordered, stained and installed for Marie and I.  I had Kirk and his family along with Jean and Marie for lasagna dinner as a thank you for their kindness. Jean and Marie got them a lovely potted flower arrangement. I helped with flower planting at the Temple yesterday so I am trying to help get the Temple set for summer too. 

Mary Harvey had sever some pain and they discovered that she had a blood clot in her right lung. She is off her chemo medication now too. I went for a walk with her as she needs to move when blood clots are an issue. Wendy is still dealing with her health concerns and Karen Shirley ran into a door frame injuring her head and ending up in the hospital. I was to have lunch with Karen and another friend and that had to be cancelled. Lots have health concerns in our ward and we had a ward fast on Sunday for everyone’s various and serious needs.

I took the Hardy family out for dinner before Jack’s return to Lethbridge. He worked remotely for John Layton while he was here but managed to do some fun things with his family and friends too. I think he was missing Annika.

Liza’s family came on the weekend for a Temple trip. Keaton was already here for rugby and drove home with them. They left on Saturday evening as Liza had to teach a class on Sunday.

I am still teaching the Ward/YSA Temple Prep at the Temple View chapel and will finish this round of lessons on Sunday. I have six ward students and two YSA.

Got my second monthly bouquet of flowers from my kids as my Mother’s Day gift. I am blessed and I am well aware of it. Miss my boy❤️❤️.

May, 15 2025

 The Walkers’ new home is large and lovely. The whole downstairs is dedicated to Trevor’s gym and there is a lot of equipment. They have been busy setting that up and Trevor’s office up. Tammie has the kitchen organized and other areas of the house are getting settled but she has also been busy doing things at their old home as requested by the new buyers. Their new neighborhood has a lot of construction going on. We celebrated Tammie and Jadyn’s birthday while I was there. Trevor took us out to dinner on Jadyn’s birthday and I took them to dinner at the Italian restaurant where Trey works while he was working. We did some shopping, exploring of their new neighborhood and we attended Trey’s flag football game and church. Jadyn is doing well in Utah at her job counseling children and she is just ready to start Graduate school online from Arizona State University. Trevor and Tammie have two new little, miniature schnauzer puppies Bailee and Bentlee and they still have Pali - all females. It is a busy house. I tried to do some cleaning to help out and I bought a plant arrangement for their front door. I had a direct flight home on Monday, May 5. Tammie was not feeling well when I left and was in bed. I am sure she is exhausted.

I jumped back into my activities when I got home. It is always lovely to get to the Temple. I got my hair cut, picked up groceries and went for brunch with Cindy as a birthday gift for me. I drove Wendy to dialysis at the hospital. I also visited the plant nursery for more plants, ran errands and checked in on friends.

Then came the weekend and Ronda the Raccoon. I served in the Temple on Saturday and some time, after returning home, I went out to pot the new plants I had bought. When I lifted the lid on my yard bin to get some potting soil, I was greeted by a large raccoon hissing at me. I quickly put the lid down and went for help. Kirk came but was just leaving with Krista to go somewhere and couldn’t do much. I decided to get a ladder set up by the bin, go up the ladder so I would be a distance away, and then raise the lid with a rake. I asked Marie to come spot me. The raccoon ran, as I had hoped she would, but she went directly under my deck. Marie brought her two dogs and they successfully sniffed the raccoon out but came out from under the deck only long enough to confront the dogs before retreating to safety. I put a weight on the bin so she could not return, poured vinegar under the deck and placed a spotlight under the deck, all in an attempt to get her to leave my yard. The next day was Sunday and after I got back from church, Kirk wanted to spread cayenne pepper around my bin. He came into my yard while I was walking Kona and then ran to meet me just as I was returning and just as I was coming face to face with the raccoon, who was now sitting on the Chabot’s front porch, looking worn and weary, having relieved herself all over the step. Kirk quickly informed me that there were two babies in the bin and we realized then that this valiant mother was going nowhere no matter what deterrents we threw at her. Wildlife suggested we clear the area and allow her to retrieve her babies. We braced the bin lid open and left. I went to Cindy’s for Mother’s Day High Tea which was lovely. When I returned later the babies were thankfully gone and we are all hoping that Ronda has found a safe place for them. In talking to another neighbour, I learned that their home had recently been damaged by an animal which resulted in further interior water damage. I am sure that it was Ronda trying to find a place to nest prior to her finding my bin. I feel terrible for separating her from her babies and I am praying for her and her little ones. What an experience! We have displaced these animals from their habitat and they don’t know where to go or what to do.

Kona was groomed this week, I had my blood pressure checked by the doctor’s nurse after I took it by myself for a few days and I had the furnace and gas fellow come to check things out in that area today.  Kirk and his father in law are replacing the fence between my yard and Marie’s this weekend so I am feeding everyone dinner on Saturday. I have most of the meal made and in the freezer. Jean and Marie a going together to get a plant arrangement to thank them for all they have been doing for the three of us. They are so kind. Always a busy week.

I am blessed❤️❤️. Cindy delivered the first of my monthly flowers from all four children for Mother’s Day.

May 1, 2025

 I am in Tennessee, as I write, visiting the Walker Family. I arrived on Tuesday and Jadyn, who is also visiting from Utah, had arrived earlier. It was the 29th of April and Tammie’s birthday. I had flown to Calgary, where I got slowed down in a long line at immigration until I realized that they had a Nexus line, and then on to Nashville where Trevor picked me up. My children are always there for me and I appreciate it. 

I have been working on my taxes the last week or so with Phil and finally have them in and paid. He was wanting me to get T5 forms from TD bank and I told him I thought Tom had closed that account but just to make sure, I went to TD bank to inquire and yes, we have a significant Waterhouse USD investment there and they gave permission get the T5s and information about the account.  My name is on it too. It was a blessing that Phil inquired because it revealed this information to me and it will make a difference to my financial planning in the near future. Interestingly, Phil found out afterwards that he already had the T5 information and hadn’t needed my investigation after all but I needed it.

I received my covid shot, visited the cemetery to see how conditions were there, picked up plants from the nursery, made the VT posters with routes on for the presidency, hosted Cindy’s family for Easter dinner, Liza’s family overnight for a Temple trip and went to Cindy’s for Last supper dinner and to an Easter movie with the Hardy family. Jeff has returned to Wagner Hills and we are all praying that, that goes well. I went out after my Temple shift to take him the two bags of clothes that he left at my house. He seemed good and had enjoyed his two weeks at Jennifer. Marie and I had decided that we would replace the fence between our houses this year and Kirk, our neighbor, is insisting on ordering the sections and installing them. They are such a kind family.

Always busy, always grateful but always missing my boy.❤️❤️

April 17, 2025

 Jennifer drove down from Kamloops and picked Jeff up on Thursday, April 3. Jeff and I had gone that day to see a Sportage that Omar brought in and then to the Lexus dealership in Port Moody. I am considering at a Lexus plug in hybrid. It has been helpful to have Jeff with me for support and to talk me thru things. He is a very sweet boy and wants so badly to move forward with his life in positive ways and I am praying for his success. After they left for home, I phoned back to Kevin at Lexus to tell him to put my name on a 6-12 month wait list for the Lexus I thought was appropriate for me and I told him I would return to put money down on it. I then felt I should give the Lexus dealership in Kelowna a call as they kept popping up when I checked Lexus cars online. I asked the girl if they had any inventory in what I wanted and she said they could get me one the beginning of June. That was perfect for me as that is when I would be preparing to turn the Tesla in. She said they distribute cars mainly for people in their area but with Liza’s address I could get on.  I put money down and it was settled in about ten minutes. I even had a choice of colors. I felt like I had been directed and I felt very blessed. This is a huge decision that has been weighing heavily on me and it was a big relief to have it finalized. Now I must get the Tesla ready for it’s return to the company.

We experienced a wonderful General Conference and I felt like I needed that slow down to listen to our leaders in these tumultuous times. I pray for my family and for the world and I pray for me. Cindy’s family had me over for dinner on Sunday after the last session.

Jean Ward and my friend Ruth Bohemer served as missionary companions in Hong Kong years ago and Jean wanted to get together. When Sabina heard Jean was coming out here, she asked to come visit me so I had them all over for an afternoon tea at my house. I served apple cider and treats. We had a nice time and it was good to reconnect with Sabina. Jean and Ruth are now reconnected as well and can set up other times to get together.

Later that week I had Camille and her family come to stay with me and visit the Temple with their ward. I made bran muffins and hamburger soup before their arrival. They came Thursday evening and left Saturday afternoon. Their ward and our stake provided child care for the three children at Temple View Chapel while they attended the Temple, so that was nice for them and helped me out as well. They went to visit friends Friday evening. I went that day to take soup and muffins to Cindy’s family.

I seem to have visitors coming and going on a regular basis and that is good and one reason that I keep my house. It does, however, mean that I am frequently changing beds and cleaning guest bedrooms and bathrooms. That is probably good for me too. I am happy to share and to help if I can.

Cindy seems to be doing well with her recovery from her hysterectomy surgery and she trying not to rush it or do too much. I am hoping she feels much better, with enhanced capacities having put these struggles behind her.

Aksel and Hansen have both experienced their first birthdays and Max wrote his final CPA exam. I am proud of my grandchildren as they and their families move forward in positive ways.

The days have been warm this week and I am trying to get the yard taken care of and the back deck cleaned.

Life goes on and the world continues to turn. I am blessed.