Heartstrings n' Love Notes

HOW TIME FLIES!

2010-03-17T15:09:00.001-07:00

ANYONE NEED A DESIGNER?

2010-01-28T17:57:00.001-08:00

We have put our beautiful house up for sale!

2010-01-14T17:11:00.000-08:00

Sad....but true! It is time for these "empty nesters"
to downsize. I am not a great lover of change but
I also look forward to new adventures. I have always
loved decorating each of the homes I have lived in.
I am excited to find an adorable little cottage and
fix it up to be charming, warm and homey. Check
out the house blog site (26viasanmartin.blogspot.com)
to see pictures and details. Some lucky family will
get to live in this great house in beautiful Dos Vientos
Ranch!

HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY DANIEL

2009-10-01T23:40:00.000-07:00

JUST A THOUGHT

2009-09-30T03:25:00.001-07:00

JOSEPH LOVED CHILDREN

2009-09-03T09:36:00.000-07:00

I have spent a lot of time the past few days thinking about
how strong my love is for my 3 children. Sometimes my
feelings are so strong and protective that I can hardly bear
it. I have been searching through the scriptures and words
of modern day Prophets for some source of strength and
peace. I came upon this picture of the Prophet Joseph. I
have often read of his love for children. He was able to
relate to them and to let his own playfulness show. As I
reflect on the sacrifices that the Prophet and his family
went through, I have an understanding of our Father's
mercy for us. He has given us our children to love and to
gain joy from. Just as in this picture we will often have
to wipe away tears and calm many hurts of our little ones
but that is ours to do. I will follow the Prophets council
and take heart that these children of mine are mine to
love FOREVER and EVER. Thank you Father!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!

2009-08-31T20:24:00.001-07:00

It amazes me that time can fly so quickly.
As I went through some old photos, I
found these treasures. I have enjoyed
every moment of being Ryan's mom.
He is a treasure to me and I love him
with all of my heart. He is one of those
souls that is kind and sweet and
generous. He is gifted and humble at
the same time. He loves life and
everything that it has to offer. What
a blessing it is to have him in our
family. Happy 28th birthday my son.

CONGRATULATIONS BILL!

2009-08-26T11:27:00.001-07:00

Bill took the exam for his Brokers License last week.
He just found out that he passed it! I am so proud
of his dedication to prepare for this test. He worked
really hard and it paid off. Congratulations Bill!

MY NEW QUILT THAT I MADE

2009-08-22T09:50:00.001-07:00

I was so excited to get a new sewing machine that I went
through all of my extra fabric that I used for model homes
and found some that worked for our master bedroom. I
love the colors and the whole thing was free! I also made
the large pillows to match. I can't wait to start on another
project. If I keep my mind and hands busy I don't dwell
on problems!

7 WONDERFUL YEARS

2009-08-08T15:26:00.001-07:00

It is hard to believe that Bill and I have been
married for 7 years now. It seems like we have
been together forever. I am so grateful that he
knelt down on the Golden Gate Bridge and
asked me to share my life with him. He is a
gift to me from my Heavenly Father and I
thank Him everyday for my sweetheart. Happy
7th Anniversary my sweet William!

How Can I resist this cute little boy

2009-08-06T15:06:00.000-07:00

How can I resist a plea from this cute little boy for
his favorite cookie recipe? It is a good thing that
Brandi has a craving for them too so that can help
Dan in the kitchen! I am so happy to have Daniel
with his family. I know that he got really lonely
for us while he was in Alaska. Seattle has stolen
his heart just like it did Ryan and Brandi. He plans
on staying on there for school and work. I just
have to find the time and save my pennies to go
and visit my little ones in Washington!

I NEED TO REMEMBER THIS

2009-08-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

I went to the Temple this morning and felt such peace.
I am finding it hard to keep the anxiety level down
right now. Everything seems to be in such turmoil.
This scripture hangs on my office wall.
I refer to it every time I feel upside down.
It helps me bring everything back into
perspective. How I love the scriptures!

GUESSING GAME

2009-07-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

Where in the world are we?

I love my life!

2009-07-20T09:32:00.000-07:00

She is back from the land of the Incas!

2009-07-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

I just love my daughter. She is my heart!
Click on this link and you can view
(over 700) photos of her trip to Peru!
www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=171yqe3u.4gafg7ty&x=0&y=tdwxvt&localeid=en_US

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDI

2009-07-07T16:20:00.001-07:00

It is Brandi's Birthday today! A beautiful baby
girl grew up to be a beautiful young woman.

2009-07-04T11:30:00.001-07:00

The Two Sides Of Bill

2009-07-03T11:41:00.000-07:00

I love my husband. He has two totally different
sides to him! He is always trying to make me
laugh when I am blue and yet he is there to take
care of the serious side of things when I just do
not want to!

2009-06-29T19:56:00.001-07:00

I Can't believe it has been a year!

2009-06-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

Congratulations! Wow this year has flown by.
It seems like yesterday that we were in Hawaii
to witness their marriage. Great memories!
Sniff.....sniff......
Oh, a mama is entitled to a few happy tears!

RACHAEL'S CUTE LITTLE NEST

2009-06-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Teacher Visits Peru

2009-06-24T19:21:00.000-07:00

I am jealous.....how about you?
I can't wait to see all of Rachael's
pictures when she gets back!

Missing: Cute Couple

2009-06-24T19:12:00.001-07:00

These two lovebirds have been missing for
some time now. Family and Friends can't
recall the last time they saw them. If you
can provide any information on their
whereabouts, please contact the nearest
loved one. Only kidding.........
But, a little bird told me that Ryan is
doing really well at UW. I am so proud
of him and our sweet Brandi.

Dan The Math Brain

2009-06-24T19:01:00.001-07:00

Just an easy problem for any genius!
It is great that there are people in the
world who enjoy math. My baby is
one of them. I on the other hand am
not a lover of all things numerical.
I am proud of my Daniel.

Who are these wild and crazy people on my blog?

2009-05-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

Time To Catch Up!

2009-05-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

Bill and I had a great little weekend in
San Diego. We forget what a beautiful
State California is.

Just Call Me Scarface

2009-04-20T21:12:00.001-07:00

This is what happens when you think you are a beach bunny in your teens... Skin cancer! I had a tumor removed from my nose last week. I had no idea that I would look like the bride of Frankenstein! It is large hats and sunscreen for me from now on!

WHERE DID OUR LOVEBIRDS FLY OFF TO?

2009-04-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

It seems like yesterday that Ryan and Brandi
got sealed in the Temple in Hawaii. It will
be a year in June!

A shot of Mount Rainier outside of SEATTLE.
This was taken when Bill and I were flying
back from Calgary after my 50th b-day trip.
Little did we know that our little Ryno and
Berni would end up in Seattle. I am so
proud of them. They are working so hard
and it seems like everything is falling in
place for them (even if a problem or two
or three or four...arise). Enjoy the journey
my sweet ones!

Did they know I was coming to visit?

2009-04-06T12:18:00.001-07:00

I am begging mom to believe that this is dad's original headstone. She
is certain that someone changed it out in the middle of the night with
out even asking her! Poor mama.
Provo Cemetery. Visiting mom's parents grave site. Many important
people are buried in this cemetery. They have a walking tour map for
you to use. Uh....I think I will pass this time.
Grandma Williams/Gunther, Grandpa Williams, Grandpa Gunther.
Grandma (Emma) is in the middle with her 2 husbands on each
side of her. You can see in this picture that the headstones do not
have any snow on them. All of the other flat headstones around
them are covered in snow. There was no one else at the cemetery
at the time that Bill and I got there. I was not sure where the plots
were but I had an idea of what area they should be in. As I walked
a short way I saw a standing headstone with the family name
"JAMES". I recognized the names Love Peasnall and Daniel James.
Just in front of that headstone were the 3 that I was there to visit.
No snow on them at all (as you can see). Did my grandparents
know I was coming to visit them? Bill and I said a short prayer
while were there. I felt a warmth that they were listening....along
with my dad.
Bill and I really enjoyed our tour of the cemeteries while we were in
Utah last month. I keep having promptings to start working on my
genealogy. This was a sweet reminder of those that have paved the
way before me.

2009-03-27T21:22:00.000-07:00

Where oh where has my little Daniel gone? ALASKA!!!
I miss him soooo much! He is carrying a heavy
load working on his math degree. He is also
working 2 jobs. No wonder he always sounds
so tired when I talk to him.
He looks great, huh!

2009-03-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

We love our Utah Family!

Visiting with Rachael

2009-03-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

It was fun spending time with
Rachael. We stopped by her
darling townhouse in Daybreak.
We visited "Teacher" and her
class and then had a "happy
29th birthday Rachael" at
the only Cheesecake Factory
in Utah!

Beautiful McCall, Idaho

2009-03-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

We drove up to McCall which is north of Boise.
It was so beautiful. Bill used to go with
a friend and his family for a couple summers
when he was 12 years old. He had such
great memories of his time there. I would
love to go and spend a summer there myself.
Anyone want to go with? Each of the town
businesses had snow sculptures in front of
them. The hospital had fruits and vegetables
with "5 plus a day". The community
center had a whole candy land with a
cottage and it's own outhouse. It was really
charming. We stopped in and got some
hot chocolate and muffins and after being hit
by a local in our rear end (nothing serious)
we headed back to our hotel in Eagle, Idaho.

Time to catch up!

2009-03-26T20:42:00.000-07:00

Project Idaho...West Highlands....complete. It was really fun working
with Bill, Rachael, Ryan and Brandi to get this one done so far from
home base. Whew! This was a lot of work! Now it is time to go and
play in beautiful McCall, Idaho (north of Boise).

My Talented Son

2009-02-25T16:06:00.000-08:00

Ryan is such a talented guy. He designed my logo several years ago.
Now I asked him to design a logo panel for me to leave in the models
and sales offices projects that I complete as advertising. I just love
the look. Ryan spent hours and hours on this last project for Idaho.
He is a miracle worker. He did a wonderful job. Thank you Ryan!

Finally...It's time to get back to work!

2009-02-16T16:51:00.000-08:00

After too long of a time off......it is finally time to get in gear and get some work done! I am so happy to have a new project called WEST HIGHLANDS that is in Middleton, Idaho. It has gone back and forth for almost 2 years now. I am really surprised that the builder is going ahead with the project with the housing market the way it is. I will be installing the last week of February and into the first week of March. Wish me luck! I have felt lost without a Makita in one hand and a tape measure in the other. I hope to spend a few days looking for other opportunities in Idaho and Utah. California has a long way to go before it's new home market picks up again. Maybe it is payback for all the crazy Californians that were so hateful to us last November.....what do you think? : D

I love this man!

2009-02-08T22:06:00.000-08:00

I love this man! He is so good to my mom.
He sweeps her off her feet every time she
sees him. He makes her feel like the most
special woman in his life. He is loving and
tender with her and can get her to calm
down and be happy like none of the rest
of us seem to be able to do. He loves all of
my family and tells me how wonderful
each of them are. He puts on an apron
and helps me dip cream puffs into melted
chocolate all afternoon so that we can
take a special treat over to Dennis and
Sue's that the grandkids will like. He is fun
and sweet and wonderful and the best
thing of all is that he actually loves me too!

I miss these days

2009-02-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

Where did these days go? I wish
that I could go back in time and
play with my babies again...

How cute are these 3 little darlings
of mine! Good....good memories......

We love our "JAZZ" girl!

2009-02-05T10:27:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun time with our "JAZZ girl". Rachael got
Bill, me, Ryan, Brandi, Daniel and David tickets to a Jazz
home game. We really enjoyed the game even though they
lost. After the game we bundled up and walked over to
Crown Burger. We pigged out on chocolate shakes and french
fries. Yummy! Daniel is such a health conscious guy that he
got a salad and sandwich (go Dan!). After we stuffed ourselves
we walked over to Temple Square. It is so beautiful at any
time of the year but in the winter it has such a magical feel
about it. We had taken the TRAX train from Sandy earlier so
we hopped back on and took it back to our cars at the station
and drove home to Rachael's adorable little house in Daybreak.
It was a really great day. I was just sitting here thinking about
it and so I had to share.

Daddy's Girl

2009-01-29T14:11:00.001-08:00

I have found out a lot about myself recently. I am actually a "daddy's girl" big time. I love my dad. He always made me feel special even when I was feeling really bad about myself. I spent some time at my mom's house the other day looking for some important documents. I found myself looking through old certificates and letters from my parents lives. I also came upon the programs and a typed manuscript of the talks from my dad's funeral. It was really touching reaching back to the days right after I lost my dad. He is the most darling man I ever met. I love the picture on the back of the program that has dad with his first great-grandchild Andi smiling and waving at the camera. Perfect picture. That was dad in a nutshell. I am still a "daddy's girl". My dear sweet husband spoils me just the same. How did I end up so lucky?

Thinking about an old friend

2009-01-27T20:10:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here thinking about the end of an era. My mom and dad's generation is slowly slipping away from the earth and heading on to the next realm. It is the end of a life that I have known since childhood. They are an amazing generation. They braved the great depression and then went to fight a world war. They built the United States into a world power and raised the baby boomer generation. They are all a class act. Tomorrow morning a dear friend will be laid to rest. Iletta Robbins was the most fun, energetic and happy person I ever met. She hugged me and smacked me on the behind when I deserved it. She always did it with love. I have loved watching my mother with her best friend, Iletta. They have been there for each other through births and deaths, weddings, baptisms, missions, good times and bad times. They have been a true example to me of what friendship really is. Here is to you Iletta......farewell for now. Say hello to my dad for me and give him a big hug.