Kathi's Korner

Mahjong

2009-10-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

I have started playing a game called Mahjong on Friday afternoons with a few ladies from the American Women's Association and also a funny British lady named Barbara Bugg. This game is kinda like playing Rummy except it is played with tiles and they have Chinese characters on them. It is a thinking game and that is why I decided to learn to play. I need to think. I haven't really had to think for almost 4 years now. My brain is getting mushy - hehe. Anyways, I have been playing for about a month now and each week I feel I am getting the game down a little better. When your are about to "mahjong" you have a term called "fishing" which means you only have one tile left to complete your game and you have to announce that you are fishing for that tile. I went fishing twice yesterday. I was very happy. Next week - who knows - I might actually MAHJONG. If so I will take a picture of it - for a treasured memory :). I might even post it.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

2009-10-29T04:24:00.000-07:00

I ventured out on a new exploration today. I needed to Visit Teach a sister that works at one of the universities here. Rather than get a taxi to get there I rode the bus. It is always a little nerve racking going on a bus when you aren't really sure which stop to get off of - but I googled directions from a site here - gothere.sg - it gave me very specific instructions - so I decided to venture out. It is so easy to catch the bus here - because a stop is right outside our front gates. It is also the cheapest way to get around. A taxi would have cost about $10.00 - the MRT would have cost a little bit more but I still would have had to take a bus to another stop so...I decided to get out there and just do it. I DID! ...and in so doing I found places along this bus route that I have been wondering how to get to and discovered how easily accessible they are. I am quite proud of myself :).

Baby Girl Nielson

2009-05-28T17:04:00.000-07:00

Received a phone call at 4:11 a.m. with good news that Baby Girl Nielson had arrived. After talking again with Taylor this morning - her name is Halle Joy Nielson. I think this is a beautiful name. I am so grateful that Kiers had a safe delivery and that all is well. Now I just have to be patient till I get home to give them all hugs. It's time like this that I really, really miss my family.

BABA House

2009-05-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

I went with a group of ladies to a museum called the BABA House on Thursday, May 14. The group of ladies were mostly from the Australian/New Zealand Women's Club and a few from the American Women's Association. I was happy to have been invited to go with them. The BABA House was the home of a very wealthy and prominent family of the Panakaran Culture. This culture comes from the blend of Chinese and Malaysian cultures. Wealthy Chinese men would marry local women and that was how the culture came about. The house was very beautiful. It was decorated as it would have been in the 1920s. This culture was very prominent in the politics at the time and from the house there is a lot of symbolism that shows the prominence of the family. I was able to take pictures of the outside of the house but none were allowed on the inside. Symbols of birds, flowers and statements written above the door - all pronounce these things to the eyes of people as they look upon the house. After the II War this culture was despised because of their support of the British during the invasion of the island by Japan. The locals felt that the British just left them to be overtaken by the Japanese. The people of this culture then mostly just called themselves Chinese to avoid the discrimination. Not until just recently has the culture started to explore it's roots again and have pride in the culture. The museum is fairly new and so I really enjoyed the experience very much.

After we visited the museum we went to a restaurant that serves the Panakaran food. It was very, very good. The blend of spices were wonderful. It seemed like a blend of Chinese, Indian and Malaysian. I am learning to enjoy the spices of the Asian cultures very much.

Mothers Day & Random

2009-05-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

I had a lovely Mothers Day - well actually several days of Mothers Day. Friday I talked with Andrew and Liz for quite awhile and enjoyed visiting with them. I received a fun card from them. Taylor called on Sunday morning and I received lovely e-cards from both Taylor & Kiersten. Bryce called yesterday morning (his Sunday evening). I received a Mothers Day card from Annie (our adopted Chinese daughter - who is serving a mission in Sydney, Australia) so I had a great Mothers day. Kurt took me out to dinner last evening (Monday night). I am a very blessed Mom.

I am done going through the major unpacking. Allied is supposed to come today and take away the boxes and as soon as they do then I can really start organizing and decorating. We had a new sideboard and mirror delivered and I'm going to love it. Also, ordered a new sofa (L-shaped) for the front room but it won't arrive until late May or early June. I am going to go back to the shops in an area called Dempsey Road to look at more tables. It's fun buying new stuff and the cool thing is we aren't having to pay for it. It's part of our lease with the apartment. If we decide we like it we can offer to purchase it when we leave. So it's fun spending money that I don't have to worry about - hehe - I'M LIKING IT! As soon as I get it all set up I promise I will try to post pictures.

This Thursday I'm going on a tour of a museum called BABA House. It's from the late 1800s time period and is a house set up like what a wealthy Chinese family would have lived in. I'm looking forward to it and will take pictures and attempt to post more about it after I have toured.

I am very proud of myself. I have gotten in to a workout routine. It's been very nice to have a treadmill available - so it has become a part of my daily routine. It feels good to listen to my i-pod and walk very briskly for 25-30 minutes. Feels really good :)

Thursday, April 16, 2009

2009-04-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

Since I last wrote we have enjoyed a wonderful Easter weekend. We were invited to the home of the MacArthur's for dinner. It was nice to visit with them and the Swingle family were there, too. It's been great to catch up with good friends. On Tuesday Sondra took me and another friend, Carolyn Conquist, to the pottery shop here. I'm going to love this shop. Lots of pottery and I love dishes so....I have already warned Kurt - :). She also took us to a nursery called the Orchidville - beautiful orchids (which Singapore is famous for). They were so cheap - I couldn't believe it and the smell is so beautiful. I will probably purchase many of these and even pay to ship them home when it is time.

Kurt had to travel to London this week. It's not been as lonely as I thought it would be. The days have gone pretty quickly. I'm loving the easy lifestyle here. I could learn to really, really like this life :). I have maid service every day - lol. If I want I can go upstairs to have breakfast because it is included in the lease at this service apartment. I can just go sit by the pool all day and read. I have my groceries delivered. Yes, I could really get used to this lifestyle.

I think we have found our permanent residence. It is at a highrise called the 4 Seasons. There are actually four towers - Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. We would actually live in the Summer tower on the 16th floor. It has a beautiful view and the minute I saw it I felt good in it. I will be able to feel at "home" and enjoy it very much. I have made a new friend, Carolyn Conquist, and she lives on the 14th floor of the same building. It is just a 5 minute walk to all the major shops. It is going to be very easy. If we still wanted to walk to Church we could do that too but we would have to catch the MRT and go one stop. No biggy at all. I will probably do that at least once a week because they have a scripture study class for the RS on Tuesdays and I will be attending that. The classes will end in June for the Summer break and then will resume in September when school begins.

I love reading all of your posts. It helps me keep in contact with my world. Hugs to all of you out there in cyberland :)

Sunday, April 5, 2009

2009-04-05T00:24:00.000-07:00

Well, we arrived safe and sound. The flight actually wasn't so bad. We flew business class and had LOTS of room. Now I know why Kurt can travel and it not affect him so much. We left at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday March 31 and arrived in to Singapore at 7:30 a.m. April 1. It was about a 13 hour flight but as I said wasn't too bad.

Singapore is absolutely beautiful. It is like being in paradise. I look out my living room window and see gorgeous landscape of tropical flowers and a huge pool with waterfalls. I feel like I am in a resort hotel and any day now we need to pack our bags and go home. Then I remember that this is home for awhile. It's HOTTER THAN HECK and humid but beautiful. We went on an island tour yesterday that the company arranged for us. We went with this beautiful Singaporean woman named Suzie. She was great. She showed us the ins and outs and wheres of the island and I feel a lot more comfortable and not quite so overwhelmed. We went to the top of a beautiful hill that used to be a rubber plantation, Mt. Faber. Now it is a state park and it has cable cars that carry people across to another one of the small islands called Sentosa. It was a beautiful view because you could see the ships out in the harbor. I have always loved watching ships come in and out. There was also a beautiful view of the city of Singapore. She took us to China Town and showed us the areas within the city that we would probably want to look for our permanent housing. It was nice to see the different areas and have a better feel of where we want to live. During lunch she found out the we were LDS so she asked us all sorts of questions. It was fun to play missionary for a bit with those questions. I don't think she was really interested for religious purposes but she enjoys history so we are going to try to get a Book of Mormon to her. After lunch she took us to China Town and there was a beautiful Buddhist Temple there. We went in and toured a couple of floors of it. It was gorgeous and there was amazing artwork everywhere. I plan to go back to visit the museum because it tells the story of Buddhism and it's beginnings. It will be very interesting to learn about the religion and the culture.

After we got back from our island tour we rested for a bit and then met up with our agent, Peter that is going to help us find a permanent residence. He took us to 4 different locations yesterday. One place was in a brand new building that was on the 29th floor. It had an amazing view and nice balcony. We could see clear out to the harbor. The only negative was that it is out quite a ways from the inner city area which I want to be close to and not real convenient for me to get public transportation. That is a real necessity here since I will not have a car and will need to walk or ride public transport to get around.

We did see a very nice apartment at a place called the 4 Seasons. It is absolutely beautiful and the kitchen in it was a true American size kitchen. I am in love with it. It also had a beautiful view but I'm going to go out tomorrow to see a few more before a decision is made.

We went to our new ward today. We don't get conference until next weekend since we are a day ahead. Conference is taped and then we will view it Sat. and Sun. of next week. We did hear the announcement of our new Apostle today, Neil Anderson. It was good to hear. As usual, no matter where we go and how many moves we make - the gospel is always a blessing and a comfort. We saw familiar faces today that we know from Louisiana and Houston and we met wonderful new people. It's always amazing to go where people are willing to serve and love and that is what we have always found in a new ward. Today was no different. It is a great blessing. We actually walked to Church today because it is only a 10 minute walk. I told Kurt from now on I'm wearing my tennis shoes to walk in and carrying my heels to put on when I get to Church. My feet hurt so bad from walking in my heels :P When Church let out it was raining cats and dogs. It was pouring down very hard so we waited around for a bit to see if it would stop. We finally ended up sharing a cab with a sweet young couple (Matt and Jenna Wong and their little girl Verena, who is about the same age as Izzy). I secretly was very glad that I didn't have to walk again in my heels - hehe :). Prayers are answered and LESSON LEARNED. ;)

Our RS lesson today was on "Finding Joy in the Journey" by President Monson from last October Conference. The focus was on dealing with changes that happen in our life. It was good to hear it. Actually, this has been my motto since Octobers Conference. Life is wonderful and our attitude is what makes it a happy ride or a hard ride. I love this ride and am very grateful for it.

Monday, March 30, 2009

2009-03-30T01:18:00.001-07:00

Well the packing went well and the goods are all loaded and sitting in cargo containers waiting to be off. I don't know where they are at the present time but know that some will arrive in Houston in about a month and Singapore will arrive in about 2 months. I hope our household good don't get seasick :) They have a long ways to go over the ocean in two different directions.

Yesterday was a lovely day. The ward had a farewell for us after Church. They presented us with a photo album of all the families in the ward and each (or some) wrote a little note. So sad to leave this wonderful ward. They have become like family.

We sold both of the cars this weekend so we are car less now. It's not too bad. Kurt got a taxi to work today and I rode the train to Twyford. I'm waiting for the people to come and check us out. I'm hoping they aren't too hard nosed about things. I can tell you - we left this house a lot cleaner than when we got it. But I have loved this house. It's been my "Nauvoo" house. I have had wonderful memories here. It was really hard on Kurt. He loves it here.

On to the next adventure!!!

Wed., March 25, 2009

2009-03-25T03:06:00.000-07:00

I heard really sad news from Nayda on Sunday. She called to tell me that Jared had died. I couldn't believe it. So young with so much potential. I think it was John and Nayda's worse nightmare come true. But they have strong testimonies of the gospel and have faith in temple covenants. These two days will really be hard for them. My heart aches because I'm not able to be there to support them. The best friends in the whole wide world. I love them, dearly.

We are in the middle of packers being here at the house. They packed the upstairs yesterday and about 1/4 of the down. The loaders come to pick up the Houston shipment today about noon. They return tomorrow to pick up the Singapore shipment. Meanwhile, the house is total chaos with boxes and junk everywhere.

Kurt and I are staying in a very POSH service apartment until we fly out on Tuesday. It's the Forbury Hotel and is in a very nice location to be able to get to the towne centre and the beautiful Forbury Park is just across the way. We are also right next to the ruins of the Reading Abbey. It's funny because I always wanted to stay at this hotel and here we are on the tail end of our time here and I get my wish. How great is that :)

Friday, March 20, 2009

2009-03-20T10:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally just about have all the inventory done. So glad about that. I will be happy when this move is DONE. It's been beautiful here. Spring is everywhere. The sun has been shining. So happy that I was able to see one more spring. I'm planning to take video of our beautiful tree out front. It's an ornamental plum tree so it blooms with gorgeous purple blossoms. There are white blossoms around from the other bushes. It's just beautiful. I will have to take pictures and post.

I have really enjoyed viewing pictures of Isabel, Kiersten and all the pictures that Jamie took. Thanks so much Jamie Girl. I can sit and look at these pictures for hours. I've had to make myself be busy and get all this inventory stuff done :) My friend, Jane Monahan scrapbooks and she did the sweetest thing. She took pictures of Isabel and made a really sweet "Grandma" bragbook for me. It's small so I can take it with me. My friends here have all been so good. Every day someone has called or come by to visit for a bit and brought sweet gifts that will be wonderful memories.

Tomorrow we are going to the Temple. It will be the last time to go to the London Temple. It's a ward temple day so it will be nice to be there with dear friends. Kurt is going to do the work for one of his uncles that passed away a little over a year ago. I was wanting to get some sealings done but we have been invited to go afterwards to some caverns that aren't too far away from the temple. It will be a last site seeing excursion. Can't pass the opportunity up. The weather is supposed to be good, too. In England this is a rare blessing :).

When the movie "Young Victoria" comes out, go see it. It's really good. You will see a well written movie with some beautiful English countryside. It's about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert when they were young. It's a beautiful love story. Highly recommend it! Emily Blunt plays Victoria and Rupert Friend (who was Wickham in the Kiera Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice - also her boyfriend in "real life") plays Albert. Really good!

Okay, enough rambling for now. Time to get busy again.

Grateful

2009-03-19T00:38:00.001-07:00

This morning I have heard the news that one of my friend's in Tyler, TX has a brother that was hit in a freak accident up in SLC. He is in the U of U hospital and not expected to live. Made me realize how much a gift family is and how precious that gift is. We can be here today but gone tomorrow. Makes me very grateful for Temple covenants and how sacred they are and how we are bound together by these covenants. I am grateful for my covenants. I am grateful for my family and love them so much.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

2009-03-16T06:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a good day. We went to Church early to meet with the bishop. He released us both from our callings. I will miss the YW of this ward. I've learned to love them very much. We both gave talks in church and then the bishop asked us to do the fireside in the evening. We did it on Spiritual Crocodiles using the seminary video and talk from Boyd K. Packer. It went really well. We set up an obstacle course in the house and called it a crocodile pit (we got this idea from the ideadoor.com). We printed out 8x10 crocodiles that we placed on the obstacles. We had the youth try to go through the pit blindfolded by themselves first and then they were led through with help. It was a good lesson on how easy it is to misstep and become trapped by the things of the world that are trying to snap at them all the time. It was a good lesson on making choices and the consequences of those choices.

Yesterday was also a good day because we talked to Taylor, Kiers and Isabel. It's always good to hear those voices. I love hearing Izzy talk. She's growing up very quickly. She says her name now - it's wonderful. She even said Gran and Granpa. Makes my heart happy.

I'm finished with inventory on the downstairs. Today I'm moving up. It will be a week from tomorrow when the packers come. Weird for me to think that we will only be in this house one more week. We move into a hotel on the 24th. In two weeks I will be living in Singapore. WOW!

Move Preparations

2009-03-13T09:32:00.000-07:00

I've been sorting items to send back to Houston, things for our air shipment and most of our house will be sent to Singapore. It's been long and tedious and now I'm having to inventory - EVERY SINGLE THING. I'm a little tired of it :). I need a break so here I am. Today Amanda Berns came over to help me do some inventory. It took her 2 hours to just list all the CDs, books and DVDs. I'm very grateful for her help. I think I was dreading the inventory on these items the most. Tedious, tedious, tedious. Everything has to be written down and then an amount has to be put to it. This is all for the purpose for if our shipment gets lost or damaged - which I understand and is a good thing. The moral of the story - don't collect so much stuff :) Okay, enough ranting - now I need to get back to work.

Cardiff, Wales

2009-03-07T23:39:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I went to Cardiff Wales with my friend Kathryn Witts. We went to visit her daughter, Jessica. It was a good trip. I have been to Wales many times and love it. It is one of my favorite places but I hadn't been in to Cardiff proper. Jess is going to the University of Cardiff and lives in a gorgeous old Victorian townhouse. She shares it with about 6 other LDS students. We went to a rural life museum at St. Fagans. It was interesting to see the lifestyle of the old welsh and to feel the "spirit" of the old village that we were in with the thatched roofs, etc. Places were so dark. I can't imagine having to work with an open fire and the smoke in the room. Made me grateful for the time that I live in now but appreciate the hard labors of those who are from the past.

When we got back to Jess's home there were a lot of old missionaries that had served in our Woodley Ward there. They all attend the University also and most are Welsh. I have to say, I have a special place in my heart for all the Welsh missionaries that served in our Ward. They are just good guys. It was fun to see Luc Rasmussen, Simon Hayes, David Hall and Elder Gardner. I'm still not sure what his first name is. They were there with the girls practicing a "Bollywood" dance from the music from "Slumdog Millionaire". It was going to be filmed for part of a "Oscar Night" activity with the institute group. It was fun to watch them be silly young single adults. Brought back fun memories for me from those "good ole days."

When Kathryn and I got back in to Reading (Cardiff is about a 2 hour drive) we met up with Tim and Kurt, Bishop and Honor Mason and Linda and Frans Lambrechtsen. We went to a Tappas Restraunt in downtown Reading. Tappas is Spanish dishes that come in small servings. All really good. We are blessed with good friends here. It hit me pretty hard last night that this is all coming to an end here. I have loved these past three years. We have made wonderful eternal friendships and lived in a beautiful part of the world.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-26T23:57:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving last night instead of today Nov. 27, 2008. We had Amanda and Branden Berns, their friend, Jake. They are all students studying here in the UK. Amanda is at the University of Reading and her husband, Branden is working. Next fall they will be headed to NYU for him to start his law degree. Jake is working on his PHd in London. They were all really nice to have around. Our friends, Frans (American) and his wife, Linda (Brit) were here and our friend, Kathryn Witts. It was just nice to have a proper Thanksgiving dinner again and to have good friends around. I set a beautiful table and lots of good food. I am very grateful for my blessings. I am grateful for my family. For our new little one that will be arriving and for the blessing of watching Isabel grow. I am grateful for friends who are a special gift in life. I am grateful for the gospel in my life. Very humbled by that blessing. I am grateful!

Since we weren't able to be with our family this Thanksgiving I am grateful for the good friends that we have here and for the blessing of being able to enjoy a meal with them last night.

English Funerals

2008-11-26T05:56:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to write a quick thought while I was thinking about it or knowing me :( I would forget to put it down. I have been to several English funerals now and I have to say I really like them. I passed by a church just a few minutes ago in the village and there was a funeral procession beginning. At English funerals the morticians where full coats and tails, top hats and are very respectful and reverent. When they come to the casket they bow and when they carry the casket anywhere and then let it down - they bow again. It is really amazing to watch and makes me feel good. I really like the respect they show to the family and to the deceased. Okay, it is a random thought but I wanted to put it down :). Wish I could get some pictures and was a better descriptive writer.

!st Day

2008-11-19T05:58:00.000-08:00

I flew with my friend, Kathryn Witts to Jerusalem on Nov. 12. We left early in the morning and flew in to Istanbul, Turkey on Turkish Airlines and then on to Tel Aviv, Israel. I'll be truthful, I was a little nervous about flying on Turkish Air but it was lovely. The food was amazing. They serve Mediterranean style dishes and the service was very good. Flying in to Istanbul airport was amazing because we could see the ships in the port. No matter where you go in this beautiful world - port cities are always busy cities whether by sea or river. It was very interesting to be in predominately Muslim country. Every woman is wearing a headscarf and the men are in their dress. That has been one of the most amazing things about being able to travel is to have my eyes opened and my mind opened to different cultures and religions and to appreciate that we are all alike yet all different.

When we arrived to Tel Aviv we had to get a shuttle bus to take us on our hour journey to Jerusalem. We had been told that the shuttle would take us directly to our hotel which was the 7 Arches. When we spoke to the shuttle driver he told us that he could not take us to the hotel because it was in the Arab sector of Israel and he was Jewish but he would arrange to take us to the Damascus gate and transfer us to a taxi there that would be able to take us on to our hotel. It was a little disconcerting to hear that but then at the same time - I felt very peaceful and didn't worry at all. When we finally arrived at the hotel we were given a room with a lovely view. We were right on top of the Mt. of Olives and just had the most glorious panoramic view of the city. I'm posting pictures of both day and night looking out our window. It was funny because every morning we would wake up and all the tour buses from others staying in the city would be out front to show their tours this view and all we had to do was open up our window. Yep, I was very happy with this blessing on the trip :)

Old Sarum

2008-11-19T05:35:00.000-08:00

The day that Kurt and I went to Salisbury we also went to old Sarum which is the ancient ruin of Salisbury. It sits high on a hill and is absolutely gorgeous. Old Sarum is where the 1st Cathedral was built. I'm posting a picture of the ruins and the castle hill. After Old Sarum we then traveled another 40 minutes to Winchester where the early Kings first came from. Alfred the Great was the great Christian King and other early Kings came from and were crowned here.

Salisbury & Winchester

2008-11-19T05:17:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, November 8, 2008 Kurt and I drove to Salisbury. We both have read or are reading the book Sarum which is about the early beginnings of England and the area known as Salisbury and Stonehenge. It really is a good book. Anyways, we decided to go to visit the cathedral and Old Sarum. It's only about an hour drive from us and we had a lovely day. We drove to the park n ride and rode the bus in. The country side is so gorgeous.

I'm experimenting with adding pictures and not doing to well at it. Sorry about the side view of the Cathedral entry.

Thoughts

2008-11-06T01:16:00.000-08:00

Not much has happened since my last blog. Kurt is in Singapore and will be home Saturday morning. I wasn't surprised to wake up yesterday morning to see that our new President of the US will be Barak Obama - I didn't vote for him but I will pray for him and for our country. It's been interesting to be in another country where EVERYONE is sooo very happy to have him the choice of the majority of the American people. Like I said, I will pray for him and for our country which I love and miss very much.

I'm out to do some shopping today. First I will go in and volunteer at the literacy program that I help out with a couple times a week and then I'm going to go and just browse and shop with my friend, Linda. Everything is Christmas here because they don't celebrate Thanksgiving. We have decided to have a Thanksgiving dinner here with a cute couple that here studying and doing post-grad work at the University of Reading, Amanda and Branden Berns. Branden is from Seattle and Amanda is from Littleton, CO. Funny story about that - they were here a week ago to drive to the temple with us for our youth baptism session and they saw pictures of Andrew & Liz, Taylor & Kiersten and Bryce & Ali that we have displayed. Amanda looked at the picture of Bryce & Ali and said - I've seen them before. She is good friends with one of Ali's friends and old roommates, McKenna and had seen their picture posted on her frig after they had sent out their wedding announcements. It's really a small world in the Church. Anyways, we are going to have them over for some turkey dinner and also, our friends Frans (American) and his wife, Linda (Brit). Looking forward to cooking a proper and good Thanksgiving dinner - lol - I haven't done it for awhile and the last one turned out HORRIBLE. Ask any of my kids about that story :)

Tomorrow I'm going in to a posh little village close to Windsor for a craft fair. I'm hoping it's a good one. It's being given by the American Women's Association so I'm hoping that it is more like an American craft fair. The Brit's do them - but they just aren't the same.

Okay, enough rambling - I'm off to town. I love reading all of your posts. Cheers!

Snow/Temple

2008-10-29T05:06:00.000-07:00

Last night was such a special night. The youth had a baptism session at the London Temple. The London Temple is a very beautiful temple. The time changed here this past weekend so the day is very short. It becomes dark by about 4:00 p.m. When we arrived at the temple it was already dark and the lights on the Temple were gorgeous. I love night lights. We had a very nice session at the Temple and then it is tradition that we stop in the little village close to the temple and get Chinese takeaway and we sit and eat it there. In England it is illegal to eat and drive in the car so..we always just sit around outside the shop and eat and chat and enjoy each others company. The youth love this tradition. As we were driving home it began to snow and it was just so beautiful to see the snow coming down. I was hoping that it would stick but it didn't but it was just a wonderful site, a wonderful night and a wonderful memory.

Jerusalem

2008-10-23T01:05:00.001-07:00

Since I have been back to England it's been pretty busy. I was home a day and Kurt left to go to Singapore and I had a hard time getting regulated back to the time zone. I coudn't go to sleep until 2:00 a.m. and then I would wake up at 7:00 a.m. I think I just wasn't sleeping well because he was gone. John and Nayda arrived on Oct. 10th and it was great to have them here. Kurt got back on the 11th. We didn't do any BIG trips but did short day trips. We went to Hampton Court, Basildon Park, Oxford and in to London. It was just nice to have them here and for them to relax a bit. It was hard to say goodbye to them.

I have a friend here, Kathryn Witts. We have become very good friends. Her husband, Tim is over in New Zealand right now helping a daughter renovate her house a bit so he is going to be gone until Dec. 13. She decided that she wanted to take a little holiday and asked me if I would like to come along. Of course I said, yes! So, we have made reservations to go to Jerusalem on Nov. 12-17. I am so excited - I cannot tell you how excited I am. I AM EXCITED :) I have always wanted to travel to the Holy Land and now I will be going right before Christmas. How awesome and great is that! We are going to be staying in a hotel right by the Mt. of Olives and close to the old city. I will be staying near and be stepping on ground where the Savior gave everything and suffered so much for me. I promise I will take pictures (I can't promise how great they will be) and post them. I'm still pinching myself in the fact that I am really going.

Kiersten called the other day and told me that they will be in Utah for Christmas. I was so happy to receive that news. Liz called and said they will be coming in after Christmas but they are coming. It will be so nice to have our family together for a bit. Kurt's mom will finally get to meet Isabel and Liz. Kurt's sister and her family are coming up to Provo to see us from Mesa, AZ. They will finally get to meet all of our sweet daughters-in-law and Isabel.

Good things happening all around. Like President Monson has told us, "Find Joy in the Journey". To add to our joy, as many of you may know - Kurt and I are going to be grandparents, again. Taylor & Kiersten are expecting late May or early June. I have to say, my journey is full of joy and I am grateful.

Back in England

2008-10-08T00:14:00.000-07:00

I arrived back in England on Saturday afternoon. That would be 1:30 p.m. England time, 7:30 a.m. Central Time in the US. I left from Houston at 10:25 p.m. on Friday night. It was actually a good flight because the plane wasn't crowded and I had a whole row to myself where I could stretch out to sleep. Since it was time to go to bed - it was easier to sleep on the plane. I don't think there were many people who didn't just sleep. There wasn't anything good to watch on the monitors so it was an easy decision (if that makes sense).

When I arrived in England it was COLD. The trees and foliage have started changing to fall colors and it is beautiful. I love having real seasons. I love the sights and smells of this time of year. I brought fall decorations from home to put up because they just don't do that here and it has driven me crazy for the last 2 years..... hence, now I have my fall decorations up and love the cozy feel of my home. I just had the chimney sweep come and clean the fireplace so that I can start a safe fire. I think I will make one tonight. I love sitting in front of the fireplace when it's really cold outside and drinking a cup of good hot chocolate.

I had a wonderful trip home. Priceless time with Taylor, Kiersten and Isabel. I loved being able to bond with Isabel and hopefully she will remember me the next time she sees me. I worry about that sometimes. That is another reason I am so grateful for the webcam - hopefully she won't forget my voice and will remember our faces. I was able to see all three of my brothers and their families. Taylor, Kiers and Isabel went with me to see my Dad and his wife, Gaye. So grateful to them for sharing their time to visit with him so he gets to know his great granddaughter. I dealt okay with my Mom. I visited with aunts, uncles and cousins that I haven't seen in years. I am very blessed and I acknowledge that.

Awareness

2008-09-30T06:08:00.000-07:00

Today I will be letting my Mother know that we are aware of her Alzheimer's. I am sure she will probably not accept and may become angry. My brother, Eric will be with me when we meet. I don't want her to feel like we are attacking her. I am hoping that we can gently talk and let her know how much we love her and we are there for her. I asked Taylor to give me a blessing this morning. I have to say that since he blessed me, I am feeling so much more calm. He said the words that I needed to hear. I love the gospel and the peace that it brings. I am grateful for priesthood blessings.

Bad News

2008-09-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

I received some bad news tonight. I found out that my mother is in the early stages of Alzheimers. It's really not something that I didn't expect but just strange to hear it. My cousin who's father is suffering from the disease told me. Her father is my mother's brother - Uncle Glyn. She has a sister that already suffered from the disease and passed away. My Uncle Rex is also suffering from the disease. This cousin, Carolyn and her mother, Lucy had encouraged the siblings to go and participate in a study to help in research. Through the tests that were given it has been established that my mother is in the early stages. Again, I'm not surprised - it explains a lot of the anger and frustration that she has been showing the past few years. It answers a lot of questions. She hasn't even told me herself. My cousin has suggested that we get a power of attorney. My name and my sister-in-law, Lisa, are already on her checkbook. Lots of things to think about and questions. I'm meeting with my Aunt Lucy in the morning to glean more information. I am supposed to spend the day with my Mom tomorrow. I don't think I will mention it to her unless she does. I want to enjoy the day with her. I will let her know that I know after this weekend. This weekend is to be a celebration of Isabel's birth - she will be one. I don't want to ruin the mood. I don't think my brothers know either. Makes me again, grateful for the peace that the Gospel brings. I am grateful for prayer and the comfort that it gives.

Blogging

2008-09-25T10:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Kiersten helped me set up my blog spot so here goes. I'm calling it Kathi's Korner because I always said if I opened up a gift/book shop that this would be the name of my shop. I've always secretly wanted to own a Hallmark Shop and thought this would be a great name.

Anyways, I always write like I talk so please excuse the bad grammar, bad punctuation, etc. You know me and love me or you wouldn't be reading this. I hope to use this as a journal so hope you will be patient with me, too. I've never been very good at keeping a journal so maybe this will make me better. Ali will be proud of me because it seems to be very similar to scrapbooking but I don't have to be quite so creative :), cause we all know I didn't get blessed with those gifts - lol.

I am enjoying being home in the States very much. I love living in England and have made very dear, eternal friends there....but there is no place like home. It's been very humbling to come home with the storms that just took place. If you would like to read thoughts on all that I made a note on my facebook. Lets just say that I'm very grateful for the Gospel in my life and the peace that it brings. It also is amazing to me how we come together as community, church and nation when a crisis happens.

I was blessed last Thursday, Sept. 18 to participate in the temple session with Cherie and Jesse Mallory when they received their endowment. On Saturday, Sept. 20, I was also blessed to witness their sealing together and to their two precious little boys, Ben and Jackson. It was a good day. Very special people in my life and in my heart.

I'm loving being at Taylor & Kiersten's and sharing time with them and sweet Isabel. I must say she is the most beautiful, fun, sweet and adorable little girl in the whole wide world. I love being her Gran - very grateful for that blessing.

I was able to visit with my brother, Paul and his family last night. Taylor and Isabel went with me. I hadn't seen my niece, Jamie or nephew, Cole in years. It was just really great to be with them for a bit.

Today get to meet Blake Jett Hubbard. Really looking forward to seeing Jamie and this new little guy. Yep, life is good and I'm very blessed.