Happy 2013! Yes, Happy!

I have had many thoughts over the past few days about this new year.  I am sure you have as well.  Sorry my last post was a downer - just call me Debbie - the Downer, that is.  I am working on that!

2012 was a year of growth and challenges, of joy and fun.  The best things about 2012 would be:

~We were blessed with a wonderful vacation with all five of us to Emerald Isle, North Carolina.  We stayed in a nice home right next to the beach.  We love love loved it.  I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Dang- a few of us are getting chubby.... gotta work on that!

~ I was able to serve the wonderful women of the Columbia Stake in many ways.  One of the most favorite would be planning our Women's Conference held in April.  WOW - what work that was!  Many sisters enjoyed it, and that is the point.

~ I went to "Time out For Women" with my good friends Carrie and Diane.  Tons of fun there, I tell ya!

~I visited Arizona and helped my niece recover from surgery by helping to take care of her little adorable baby girl. She recovered quickly and we had lots of play time!  I loved being with my nieces and nephews and their families.  They are such a joy.

~Hubby and I went on a 28th Wedding Anniversary trip to a lovely place in Virginia.  It was a pleasant get-away together.  L and I went to a family homestead in New York.  See that same blog post for information.

~I finished a couple of quilts.  I should have finished more - I will do that THIS year!

~We spent Thanksgiving with family in Tennessee.  YAY!

~I supported Hubby through two minor surgeries.  He is becoming quite a good patient!

~We worked on a lot of home improvements!  We are almost done with the necessaries.

~I have gotten to play in the Nursery at church on Sundays now for a couple of months.  THAT is pure fun with those little angels - well, except when a few are crying, but they are learning and getting over it and that is a blessing!  They are so dear!

~I discovered The Pioneer Woman.  I shall blog about her soon.  I love her.  I think I mentioned that.

~My teeny small business runs well and grows without me trying to grow it.  That is cool.

~I spent lots of wonderful time with my daughter sewing, laughing, and working on projects.  We gained a love for the TV shows Castle and Dr. Who.  In spite of her health problems, she is still a joy to me in so many ways.

~I discovered SongPop!  Oh my....do you  know that game?  It's too much fun.

~Christmas was fantastic.  B and B were home with us. I got spoiled. Hubby does that.  I love him.

So, there are some blessings!  Wow - I feel so  much better.  I should count the joy more often.  Yes, I think I shall.

But you'll have have to WAIT a little while for more of that!

Number 28 and A Knight In New York

Not that anyone has noticed, but I haven't blogged since Mid-March.  I am in a continual quandary as to what this blog should be about, and who actually might read it.  For posterity's sake, I shall blog today about two important events over the past 10 days.  So, Posterity, Pay attention!!

Event # 1:  Last weekend, on the 25th, Hubby and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary.  I know - That. Is. Old.  (Has anyone seen "The Kid"?  Classic line from that great movie).  I digress.

Hubby planned a weekend getaway to Winchester, Virginia.  We stayed in a lovely hotel and enjoyed lots of walking and window shopping, talking, visiting some historic museums, and reconnecting.

We visited the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley which was actually a really well-done museum and was very interesting!  The main house was closed due to restoration work, but the gardens were absolutely beautiful to walk in.

We also went to the Family Drive-in Theatre!  What a hoot!  I haven't been to one of those since I was a kid.  This is a wonderful place, and seriously is almost worth the drive as a family just to experience it.  The family who owns it has done a wonderful job preserving the heritage of a drive-in, and keeping it (generally) family friendly.  Since it was Memorial Day weekend, my favorite part was the Patriotic pre-show.  They played memorable America-loving songs and showed scenes on the big screens about our wonderful country, saluting those who have died in serving our country.  I loved it.  Thank you, Family Drive In!!

Oh, and we did watch a fun movie - Men in Black 3.

L stayed home and enjoyed 2 1/2 days of alone-time bliss.

Event #2:  Hubby had to fly far away out of town this past Friday, so L and I took a little road trip to upstate New York to reconnect with our roots and a little church history.  You see, I am a descendant of Joseph Knight, through his son Newel Knight, who are prominent people in the beginnings of my church.  They were by the side of Joseph Smith during the early days of the restoration.   They are both mentioned in the Doctrine and Covenants, one of our books of scripture.

Well, about 3 weeks ago, I found out that the Knight Farm was being restored by some wonderful people, and they were dedicating a statue at this farm and opening up the home for all to see.  They were hoping to have some descendants to come and attend, in addition to local church members. I never even knew that the house still stood.  Most Knight descendants reside on the west side of the country - a few of us are transplanted back here in the East!  I stewed and pondered, and finally decided that I would probably kick myself if I didn't go on this little adventure with L and drive up there.  So, we did.

The farm is located in Nineveh, New York.  The first congregation of the church was established here by Joseph Smith and called the Colesville Branch.  Hyrum Smith, brother of Joseph, was the first leader of this congregation.  Newel Knight, my great-great-times-a-bunch grandfather was the second.  Many of the very first baptisms, including Joseph's wife, Emma, took place in the Susquehanna River just beyond the house and across a field.  This is sacred ground to members of my church.

The main purpose of this Open House was to dedicate a statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.  A little meeting  which included history, singing, and tears began the event.  I met a few distant relatives and enjoyed visiting with members of the church who live in the area and are so proud to be a part of this history now.  I was called "a Knight", which I have never been called in my lifetime.  But, I suppose I am and what an overwhelming thought that is!  To me, it is a legacy to live up to, and to cherish.  I am grateful for it and I am blessed.  It adds to my testimony of the restoration of the gospel and of the church.

I could write a great deal more about the history of this place, and all the wonderful things my ancestors did to support Joseph Smith in his mission to perform a most important work.  I won't - but if you want more information, I can recommend some great books!

Instead of writing, I will share a few photos of our experience in Colesville, New York:

View from the street

The Porch

A little history

Testimony of Newel Knight, hanging right in the front door

fireplace

A room upstairs being renovated - original floors

More original floors - imagine whose feet walked here

View from the back yard

The part of this well below ground is the original well, built by Joseph Smith and Joseph Knight (or at least that is my understanding)

Us - beyond the line of trees is the part of the river where baptisms had taken place

It was a wonderful couple of weekends.  I am blessed.  I wonder when I'll get another trip this summer?

Well, a great one is coming up in August, but I'll just have to WAIT a little while.....

Tait Times of 2011 - Part Two (yes, this one includes a link to all the wedding stuff!)

MORE fun just for you... hahaaaa.....but, in reality, it's probably only for me.

July:  Our dear friends, the Davies, moved to Texas several years ago.  They are a family who likes to do birthdays up BIG.  For her 50th birthday, he wanted to fly us out for her big party as a surprise.  He invited several of her "old best friends" from over the years.  It was so very wonderful!  We had a great time.  I even went on a helicopter ride!  Shocking, truly.

The next few months of details have blurred lines.  From July through September I was overwhelmed with wedding plans.  "But you were just the mother of the groom - what was the big deal?" you say?  Silly you.  It was decided that the wedding would be in the Salt Lake LDS temple.  We were hoping family would travel to it from all over the U.S.  We were blessed that they did.  So, I needed to plan what we called a "Groom's Dinner" for the families of the bride and groom.  We also decided to have an Open House here in Maryland, which would be pretty much like a reception.  I was also helping with many of the reception plans.  So, I think I didn't breathe again until September 18, the day after the Open House.

Engagement photos were taken by Britt's mom.  Here is her blog - she really does a great job!

The kids both flew back here after school was out (BYU Idaho has a summer semester ending mid-July, in case you didn't know).   We looked forward to some time with Britt before they got hitched -we needed to test her to be sure she'd fit in, right?  Well, she did of course.

She EVEN attended a Karaoke competition that Rich did with his work - singing ELVIS!  Now, that's love!

We were sad to see her go....

August - We celebrated Brian's birthday.  Fun!  Continued wedding frenzy consumed me.  I messed up the name of their blog for RSVPing on the little paper that went out with the wedding invitations.  D'oh!  Holy moly.  I think I had a birthday in there somewhere as well.  My friend Amanda was queen of the Open House here, and we met and talked on the phone probably a million times.

September - OH, September!  I will spare you all the minute details. I flew to Utah several days before the big event to prepare and to help out in any way possible.  There was much to do!

The wedding stuff is in a separate post here.

During all of the wedding festivities, I was also involved in planning another Stake Relief Society event.  Thankfully other members of the presidency and committee members took that one over since I was in wedding mode for so many weeks!

Leslie also started her first full semester.  She started out great until.....

October - the beginning of October changed our lives once again.  We thought it would be just for  a few weeks, but has turned into an on-going challenge.   Les began feeling dizzy and nauseated in class.  We gave it a few days, then started going to doctors.  Then we went to more doctors.  And more doctors.  Stay tuned for November and December....

Halloween, oh Halloween.  This is Les's favorite time of the year (next to Christmas, of course).  She planned for months to turn our front yard into one of the video games from  the Legend of Zelda series.  She worked for weeks to paint and create her scene.  She sewed her own costume, which she has worn to many anime conventions.

 Very cool, I must say.

I quilted in October - yet again.  Pictures on that to come.


November - more doctors.  Leslie had to withdraw from all of her classes. She could do only a little bit more than "veg" on the couch, rest, listen to audio books, etc.  She was dizzy and light-headed nearly all the time.  Her appetite was horrible due to the nausea. It has been a very frustrating process.

 A very boring and uneventful Thanksgiving came and went.

December - well, in addition to CHRISTMAS, we finally got a diagnosis for Leslie.  We went to a doctor affiliated with Johns Hopkins and he says she has Vestibular Migraine.  He is unsure of the cause, but he and we are pretty sure it is from a medication change that happened the beginning of October when this all began.  It's like something in her brain snapped and won't snap back.  There is no quick solution, although he assures us she will see an end in sight.  At this point, we don't know if she will be able to go to school in January.  More tests will be run soon.  Say a a prayer or two for this dear young woman, if you would.  

We decided to fly to Arizona for Christmas this year.  We haven't been there to celebrate this holiday in many, many years.  Since B and B were there working and taking a semester off, it seemed like a great plan.  We had a lot of fun - except for Christmas Day when all 5 of us were sick in the hotel room with the stomach flu.  UGHHHH.....

Suns!  Not a great game, but we were THERE!

My brother with two of his grandbabies

Our dear friend, Sis. Gina Stephens, serves in Mesa.  We sneaked in a little visit!  

I also was able to attend a get-together with some high school friends.  I didn't get photos of all of us together, but here are a few:

These women blessed my life in high school and college, as well as today.

What an amazing year!  Lots of travel, lots of planning, lots of visiting with family and friends from past years, and lots of blessings.  I know Heavenly Father's hand has been with us every step.

It seems we have an every-other-year-that's-good.  2011 was fabulous.  I am nervous about 2012.  Still I have great hopes to learn new skills, to organize, to be healthier and  to be closer to God.

I don't know what to do with this blog.  I feel like my thoughts and words are pretty boring to most.  Maybe I'll find a new twist.

Guess you'll just have to WAIT a little while and see.....