HAPPY HOLIDAY TO YOU

HAPPY HOLIDAY

It's Christmas Time Again
(by Bob Lazzar-Atwood)

Put your problems on probation
Run your troubles off the track,
Throw your worries out the window
Get the monkeys off your back.
Silence all your inner critics
With your conscience make amends,
And allow yourself some happiness
It's Christmas time again!

Call a truce with those who bother you
Let all the fighting cease,
Give your differences a breather
And declare a time of peace,
Don't let angry feelings taint
The precious time you have to spend,
And allow yourself some happiness
It's Christmas time again!

Like some cool refreshing water
Or a gentle summer breeze,
Like a fresh bouquet of flowers
Or the smell of autumn leaves,
It's a banquet for the spirit
Filled with family, food and friends,
So allow yourself some happiness
It's Christmas time again!

Love to all,

Bill & Sylvia

GUESS WHAT?

This morning the post office line was short so I bopped in to mail a Christmas card to Dillon in South Korea. This close to the deadline for Christmas everyone is standing in long, long lines (you know, the kind that go clear out the door) to send packages to far away loved ones. Anyway, I digress. There were very few cars in the parking lot so I veered in and ran in the door ahead of the people that pulled in behind me. Only 2 ladies were ahead of me in line. Whoppee!! I could mail my card to Dillon. I had no idea how much it was going to cost but I stood patiently while the two white haired ladies sent their precious gifts to their children and grandchildren. An employee came up to the empty window and asked if he could help me. I held out my pretty red envelope, braced myself for the bad news, and told him that I needed to send it to South Korea. With a sweet smile he said, "42 cents, please." I gasped and said, "Is that all?" "That's it." he said. "Any APO addresses are only 42 cents".
So if any of you out there have an extra card and any regular 42cent stamps left and would like to make a lonely soldier happy - here is Dillon's address.
Pvt. Blimes, James D.
Camp Casey
South Korea
HHC 1-72 ARBN
Unit #15077 Box 355
APO AP96224-5077

It's An Offer!

After looking at a kazillion houses in Southern Florida (well, at least 35) we have decided to leap out into the darkness and put a contract on a new home. Yes, we love our little house in Dell Lake Village but this is something we are going to do because we can (and a nice, new, really big house sounds like fun to me). This house is in Lehigh Acres. For those of you who have never heard of Lehigh Acres - it is a rather large area of newer homes that sprang up around a tiny town that was built out in the countryside near Ft. Myers in the 1950s. There are lots of spaces for homes but they did not all get built and the house we like is on the outskirts where the homes are few and far apart. Much of the forest area has been left so it looks like "old" Florida. This house has never been lived in. In fact I get to buy my own appliances and window treatments, how fun is that? I will let you know in a few days if the offer is accepted and how our buyer's remorse is going.

What A Week!!!

The G's bought them Holiday dresses that were kind of alike but not "just alike". Kind of like these girls who are kind of alike but not "just alike".

This is a dress to do Cambodian dances in. Nysa & Kaya showed us how to do a Cambodian flower dance with little petal holders in their hands.

Nysa and Kaya in their Barbie car.
Kaya is a crazy driver.

Spending time reading with grandpa Blimes

Nysa loves to have her picture taken.

What's it like to spend a week with 2 little angels? It was so much fun to spend a week with Chad, Nysa and Kaya while Savin was in Cambodia. Nysa went to school for part of two days and then I picked her up and was amazed at how much she is learning. Bill helped teach her how to count her 20's. Nysa enjoyed some alone time with her G's during those 2 mornings. She played quietly with gramps and her weebly wooblies.

The Name Is Blimes!

Valentine's Day 2008

Kaya Blimes

Nysa Blimes

This is the week that we are babysitting our youngest granddaughters.
That means that I am taking a kazillion pictures but I do not have the cord to download them to this computer so I have to use these pictures from last summer. Look forward to seeing lots more of them next week when I am back home and able to download. After reading Valerie's blog I must say that I agree with her that it is the rule for children to distort their faces whenever they see a camera pointed at them. Especially when I am trying to take that one most adorable closeup portrait to save forever.
Dillon called and talked to Bill this morning. Yes, he is in South Korea. It was late at night there so he said he will call tomorrow and talk to me. He is doing well but he sounded tired - that could be the lateness of the hour or pure tiredness of his body, goodness knows which. At least now I know that he is okay, just very far away.
Thank you, Savin, for going to Cambodia so that I can spend this special time with your daughters. You are a fantastic mom. You and Chad have done a wonderful job training these girls in the way of truth. They have sang songs to me, prayed with me and shared their hugs with me, thank you.

Look What We've Done!

My Wedding Day (I made this dress myself)
Mindi's family with Grandma Morris

Bill, Sylvia, Mindi, Chad & Katie
Kaya & Nysa Blimes

Jeremiah & Christina Szot

Bill sliding the garter off of my leg to throw at our wedding

Chad & Katie Blimes

While looking through our pictures I was amazed at the changes in our family group. We went from a young couple to a family of 5 and then to a family of 4 and back to a couple again. Yes, we take care of 7 girls now but we are more of a "couple" than we have ever been. We know each other so well that most of the time we can tell what the other one is thinking. Our favorite pastime is to lie in bed late in the morning and visit about what we are going to do next.

Children and grandchildren pass through my life at various intervals.

Sometimes I see them a lot but usually they are just on the fringe of my adventures. I wish that they were more a part of my experiences and that I could share what I think and believe with them.

Hopefully this blog will help me to impart a small portion of my thoughts to those who take the time to read it.

My children and grandchildren are loved as a part of our family but even more as a part of God's family. My daily prayer is that we will all go out and have adventures and return Home and share what we have learned.

I Hope You Dance!

I hope you still feel small, when you stand beside the ocean

Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens

Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the chance to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance

I hope you dance



Many years ago, Axal, told me that this was his mother's favorite song and he explained why. "Just listen to the words," he said. "You have to participate in life to get anything out of it." Axal has always asked us thoughtful, religious questions, like "where is my mom and what is she doing now that she is dead?"
Good question.
How glad I am to have the answer to that and to be able to assure him that she is alive and learning many new things with the help of those who love her and went on to heaven before her.
There is no doubt in my mind that she will be there to greet each of her children and the rest of us when our time comes to join her.

So this blog is for Axal, where ever you go.
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the chance to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

It's A Small World After All

Since Savin, our daughter-in-law, is in Cambodia, Mr. Bill and I are going to go and help take care of 2 of our granddaughters next week. These are 2 of the most adorable little girls - and I am not even just a little bit prejudiced. All of my grandchildren are beautiful. It amazed Bill and I that two very ordinary looking people, like us, could create such lovely children and then they had children and we were totally blown away. Each one of our grandchildren are positively enchanting as babies and they they grow up to be beautiful people inside and out. Last fall we took Kaya and Nysa to a Princess Dinner at Disney and it was so much fun. We could not believe how friendly and interesting all of the princesses were. Nysa kept waiting for Princess Barbie to come through the door but we all enjoyed the attention that the big princesses showered on our little princesses. Wish that we could have done this for all of our little girls but each child gets something different from us and hopefully they will all remember us kindly when we have gone through that one way door into heaven. Not that I am planning on doing that any time soon but it does not hurt to be ready and accepting of what the future may bring. I plan on seeing many new places and having great adventures for many years because it is a small world.

Oh, Where, Oh, Where, Has Dillon Gone?

Where in the world is Dillon? Did he take his skateboard? Is he still as "buff" as he said he was after basic training? This boy that would not leave his room without kicking and screaming is now protecting his country in a foreign land. He told us he was going to South Korea with his army calvary unit. Like any worried parents, who don't know where their shipped out son is living, we sent a letter to him by way of the Army Location Department because that was what the Red Cross suggested we do to find him. Hopefully that will work and he will send us a snail mail address or email address so we can keep in touch with him. Every night I speak to my Heavenly Father and ask him to watch over my children and grandchildren. It is wonderful to know that someone all powerful, and who loves them no matter what they do, is watching over them in my place. I would not make it through this life with my sanity if I did not have my faith. I'll let you know when I hear from him.

We Didn't Want That House Anyway!

It is only the most impressive "grandma" home I have ever seen. A place that all of my children, grandchildren, friends and relatives can comfortably fit to visit, even all at the same time. Of course the old wiring would have made it impossible for them to plug in and use their hair dryers because it did not have enough amplicity (or some kind of electrical word and means not enough amps). Flushing the toilet might also be entertaining with the fountains of water splurting out of the old pipes and washing down the walls. In fact we might all be washed away by the rain cascading past the crumbled sheathing that is suppose to support the roofing shingles. The columns in the entry stand like sentinels guarding the dry rot and decay that lurk beneath intricate floorboard patterns created by some long gone craftsman. I loved that house and now I must let it go and get on with my dream of retiring in warm, sunny Florida. It isn't all bad, is it?

I Love This House

This is the coolest house I have ever seen. It is out in the Ohio hills but in a small community. It was built in 1936 for an executive of a coal mine or a tile making factory (or whatever it is called where they make bricks and pretty tiles for flooring and stuff). The floors in the parlor and living room are hardwood and form a gorgeous pattern. We learned this when the realtor was showing us the house and we were standing in front of the ornate fireplace in the front parlor staring at the stained, smelly and dingy carpet. "Bet that the floor under this is hardwood", I said, conversationally to the realtor, Joe. "I'll just pull this corner up a little so we can see." (Gasping noises as I get my first glimpse of beautifully preserved wooden flooring creating an intriguing pattern on what is just a small area of the floor.) "How about you giving me a hand to pull this back a little farther?" When the carpet is pulled up halfway across the room I let Joe stop tugging and we just stand and stare at the beautiful pattern of squares created by thin strips of wood in almost pristine condition since the ugly carpet served to protect it for umpteen years. I love this house. It is the home that I want to spend my final years in, no matter how long they may last. I don't care if it gets cold in the winter. I love the change of seasons and I'm tired of being hot in Florida. So today we contacted our realtor, Joe, and we are going to make an offer. Whoopee!!! Here we go again. If you want to see my house here is the web address http://athome.realliving.com/Property/Details.aspx?PropID=10658907

"Am I My Brother's Keeper?"

What causes 5 lovely young women to sneak out in the middle of the night and go skinny dipping in the scummy water of an abandoned pool? Why would they do such a thing? Yes, there were boys involved, and it was a good thing, or one of our girls would not have made it over the top of the pool fence on which she became stuck. Why would a girl who had approval to go to a conference in Peru risk such a thing? Yes, she lost the privilege of a lifetime experience for an hour of childish behavior, but she knew that it was possible that she would lose her trip before she snuck out. Maybe she did not feel that she was worthy of such a fantastic experience or she was scared of moving out into the darkness. Who knows what teen age girls are thinking? Or if they even do think before they act. It is sad that these little girls do not get to be little girls but their lives are such that they must learn to be responsible for themselves and each other in order to survive. If one of the more responsible girls had refused to go and had told the others not to go then some of them may have stayed home and been safe and not in trouble. The risk of someone being hurt and the home being sued or losing its accreditation and closing down, (which would force all of the children here to find another place to live) that is a real concern but not at 2:30 am when you are 15 or 16 years old and your buddies want you to sneak out with them. Are they their brother's (sister's) keeper? You bet they should be. What will the home say when another sneaky girl wants to travel to Japan next summer? The girls who really want to succeed now will have to accomplish all sorts of good acts all winter in order to regain their special previleges. One of those acts will be to teach themselves and others how to look out for their sisters by saying, "I am not going, you should not be going and don't ask me again because I will not ever go." Then they will truly be their brothers (sister's) keeper.

Yesterday Bill received an excited call from his cousin, Carolyn, in Ohio. Carolyn had taken one of Bill's stabiles to an art gallery in Nelsonville, Ohio to see if they would be interested in selling them. It was an example of his craft that he had given to Carolyn as a gift. The owner of the gallery, Gayla, kept Carolyn's stabile and wanted more. She thinks that they are a hot item for Christmas sales. Bill is ecstatic and has been working every minute to finish several to ship to Ohio tomorrow. Gayla's enthusiasm confirms that Bill creates art worth selling. I always knew of his talents but it is special for him to have an artist appreciate what he sees when he attaches wire, jewels and fishing lures into objects that twist and shine. He is now ready to step out of his little circle of light and into the darkness knowing that there will be a steady glow to guide him. President Monson reiterated today in Conference that we need to go out and live our lives to the fullest by stepping out of the light into the dark. So we shall step.

Day By Day

I toil in a children's home with 7 teen age girls and that's how I get through my challenge - day by day. Yesterday 2 of our girls brought up the subject of abused women and how they cope and why they stay in an abusive situation. One girl's mother had been hit by her boyfriend and when this girl's brother hit the man this 16 year old boy was taken to jail because the mother was afraid of what the big man would do if she said that he had hit her. Why do women stay with abusive men? Why does one of our girls have a mother and a grandmother who lived for many many years with an abuse man? I want to help our girls learn from these stories so they don't continue the cycle as they grow up. After disclosing to them that our daughter lived with an abusive man and had 3 children by him they said that they would not want a man to treat them mean. "Ms. Sylvia", they said, "What would you do? I told them that if Mr. Bill ever hit me I would tell him, "you better never go to sleep".
Later, the girls decided to cook steak for dinner. They grilled the steaks, made microwave baked potatoes, a very tasty salad (by a girl who has never created anything that others could eat) and fried onions as a condiment. After a flour fight they deep fried fry bread. The kitchen was really a disaster by then. One of the girls came and stood inside our apartment door and Bill told her, "Stop! Stop right there, you are making white footprints on our carpet". It is amazing what they will do when they are really bored. I love these girls but it is a long 3 weeks and the only way to get it done is day by day.

"What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

"What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Romeo and Juliet