When it rains....it still floods!

We were paying close attention to our patio drainage during this torrential downpour so we noticed the water slowly rising.

Before it came into the house again we tried bailing.......

We tried using a pick ax to clean out our drain......

But finally a trip to Home Depot for a pump gave us a good fix until we get a better permanent drain.

When I went inside Matt got up on the roof in the pouring rain to clean out the gutters. When I asked, "Why didn't you call me, those would have been great pictures?" George & Matt replied almost in unison, "Because we don't want to be on your blog!!!" Sorry guys! The hanging from the roof in the rain pictures would have been so much more exciting!

I just read over this post and laughed at how I said, "We tried bailing....we tried a pick axe" and implied that we went to Home Depot. George says I was using the royal 'we' because to be honest, all I did was take pictures and go inside to scrapbook! I'm sure it was a great father son bonding experience!

Girlfriends

Aren't girlfriends wonderful? Our little group celebrates all our birthdays with lunch and gifts. Girlfriends think of such clever things to give. Our husbands are all wonderful but they would never come up with gifts like cute table runners, fun jewelry, summer tableware for the patio, & bright scarves in the winter! Plus we get laughs over the hilarious cards for women 'of a certain age'! I love my friends!

Dogs can pout

Did you know that dogs can pout? This poor little girl wasn't allowed into the living room where all the potential petters were sitting. Don't you feel sorry for her?

I tried making a smilebox!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Do I have to love a flood?

This is getting ridiculous!  When I said my motto for 2009 was going to be "come what may and love it", I was thinking that just the normal problems of life would come....not death and unemployment and floods!  

We were at a friend's house for games on Saturday when we got a frantic call from Scott.  Our downstairs patio was flooding the basement.  We had a torrential downpour and the drainage system that had worked perfectly well for the last 9 years didn't do the job and water was pouring into the house.   The carpet was soaked in one area despite the heroic efforts of Scott & Matt. So today we have a disaster clean up crew at our house.  It could have been worse because none of the furniture was affected.  Just the carpet and the baseboards.  I do love that part!

Notice the lovely holes bored into the wall behind the baseboards.

We have to have these huge "air movers' not fans going for 3 full days and nights.  It sounds like we are living on an airport runway!  Oh well...come what may!

Legacy

Early Thursday morning at 7:00 a.m. I took 5 sleepy 15 & 16 year old girls to the mountains for a two day experience called "Legacy". Keep in mind that this was the first day of summer vacation & they had all been to end of the year parties or concerts the night before so 7:00 was EARLY!  Legacy is an annual event  put on by our church, planned by a committee of girls (including one girl from our Ward who left for Legacy at 6:00 a.m.), and run by a group of dedicated unpaid women leaders.  We did service projects, had a fashion show, listened to talks, played silly games, ate so much good food that I may never recover, and made up wacky skits. We also read scriptures, wrote in journals, made goals, and were reminded of who we really are.  Most importantly the girls got to know themselves  and their Savior better as they contemplated the theme, "What Heaven Sees in You".  

One of my girls commented that she was starting the summer on a spiritual high.  I feel the same.  The Young Women theme that we repeat each Sunday says in part, "We will stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places as we strive to live the Young Women's values which are faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice & accountability, good works, integrity, and virtue".  My girls (I guess I can call them my girls) really do stand as witnesses and I love them all!  They are the perfect mixture of silly fun, spirituality, kindness, acceptance & they do live those values.  I'm lucky to associate with them!!!  And I know that Heaven sees such beauty & potential in them.

Here's a more serious pose with our wonderful Bishop!

And one more so that you can see how beautiful they are....even after two days with no showers, make up,  curling irons or blow dryers, and suffering from cell phone withdrawal!

FYI - Legacy stands for Laurels Experience Greater Appreciation for Christ in their Youth! 

Come what may and love it

Last fall I heard an unforgettable talk by one of our church leaders entitled "Come What May and Love it".  This wonderful man, Joseph Wirthlin passed away shortly after our semi annual general conference in October of 2008.  When I was setting goals for 2009 I decided to make "come what may and love it" my motto for the year.  Whew I had no idea what 2009 would bring!  I'm trying and occasionally succeeding in loving the changes in my life this year! 

So come what may and love it!!

If you want to hear this remarkable talk, look here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVNYhcYEwIE