The day after....

Sometimes, I have a foreboding when I think of Thanksgiving. Well, just in the smallest degree. Not because I don't enjoy the day. But, I know that the very next day, we will start the process of decorating for the Christmas Season. Now mind you, this isn't an unpleasant task, just a LONG day, usually spilling into the weekend, the next week and ....well, you get the picture. We crank up the radio playing the Christmas tunes of the season, and we start pulling down our decorations from the attic, going thru the lights and figuring out which ones we have to replace, running to the store to replace the lights. (That is my job!) Usually, this is the icicles which are hung from the gutters on our roof. Now, you must be wondering what brave soul gets up on our roof, and does this dangerous job. We always laugh at the process, I do some praying that all will end well, pictures are taken and we have a good laugh. And our lights looks amazing!!

ENJOY....

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Things I am Thankful for: (as they happened today... and everyday!)
(photos courtesy of our amazing photographer - Jacque)

My thoughtful husband, Brad, who lets me sleep in on the holidays and of course who loves me unconditionally.

Aly, who makes our favorite breakfast for our family on a day she could be sleeping in.

Aaron, who called a little early to wish his family a Happy Thanksgiving. But it is he who brings fond memories to his mother of a particular Thanksgiving when he ran from room to room to make sure the Macy's Parade was being recorded!

My health - need I say more? 4 years ago, I had just had my first round of chemotherapy. I thank my Heavenly Father each day for the miracle of my health!

Jacque, and her desire to be healthy and happy. She ran her first 10K this morning with Yvette (we won't mention who was faster.....but Yvette, we ARE impressed!!)

Tyler - for taking the time to help us put up our tree. For some reason, he can always make us laugh. (In a tag-team effort with Dad) Ask Jacque how her how her leg works in correlation to the tree lights!

For Daughters who try hard to make their Mom look hip and "cute". This takes some effort on their part as they patiently try to teach me how to apply small amounts of make-up. Today was a good day....I felt pretty.

For Parents - they work all day to make our Thanksgiving Dinner wonderful, special and a family experience. They are wonderful and we love them dearly!! We love Grandma, even tho we don't spend our Thanksgiving with her....we are always thinking of her.

For Sisters - who share their lives with us. Whether it is thru Texting (like in snow pictures), or blogging or just in calling and sharing daily experiences....family IS everything!!

At dinner today, we had 5 sets of sisters! So I had Jacque take pictures of sisters...you know, that best friend you can't get rid of. The one that will be there no matter what you do. The sister you are the most competitive with in your younger years, but now, have the strongest relationship with. Yes....sisters are the best! (Even the ones NOT in the pictures!!)

Ashley & Faye

Aly & Jacque


Nicki & Jenny


Me and Stephanie


Mom and her sis, Aunt Sue

It was a wonderful day. We started the process of getting down our Christmas decorations and put on the music as we "fluffed" our tree this evening. Basically, my Thanksgiving was spent just how I wanted....with family around me, family relations strengthened and family in our thoughts.

Family IS Everything!

PS: We sure missed Aaron and Savannah and hope they had a wonderful day too!

Happy Birthday JENNY!!

Yeah! Another birthday for the Weech family! Today is Jenny's birthday and I thought I would post some pictures just sharing why we love her so much. The pictures say much more than I can, so enjoy!

Things we Love about Jenny:

Her infectious laugh and her beautiful smile

Her willingness to be a "big sister" for advice in all those important areas in life that matter to teenagers, most importantly, teenagers who are dating!!

We love how she has just fit in...being serious at all the parties....she and Tyler make QUITE the pair! Who would have thought there would be a twin for Tyler!!??!!

And lastly and most importantly....she is the perfect fit for Tyler and for our family. She brings love and laughter into our home, and has made their home beautiful as well. What a great way to start! We hope she has a wonderful day!!

LOVE YOU JENNY!

Happy Birthday Dad/Grampy!!!

Even tho this is a few days late, I wanted to let my Dad/our Grampy know how much we love him. He celebrated his 70th birthday this past week! He doesn't look a bit over 60, does he??

Grammy, LaNae, Stephanie, Dailynd and myself took Grampy out to lunch at Cafe Rio. Pretty good food, but the entertainment was worth every minute. Entertainment at Cafe Rio? Yes, when you bring Dailynd, there is plenty of entertainment for the whole time. That kid has more personality in his finger than the rest of us will have in our lifetime. It was an enjoyable lunch and us daughters had fun taking "Dad" out.

Thanks Dad for all you do to help our family keep traditions, stay close and realize what is important. Thanks for having such a strong testimony of the Gospel and for always sharing your testimony of the Book of Mormon. Thanks for taking the time to cook the most delicious rolls, meats and yummies for our families. Thanks for being a wonderful dad.

(Sorry, Pam, we wish you were here to celebrate with us!!)

Catching up with Celebrations....

Just wanted to share some pictures of our celebrations as of late. November seems to be a busy month for the Weech/Rogers. Birthdays and anniversaries. So here is a quick re-cap:

Our family took Brad out to dinner on his "real" birthday. First, we presented Brad with the book our family and friends made. 50 Reasons We Love Brad. I think he really liked this! We spent some time going thru it and listening to all the stories each picture represented.
Then, we went to Golden Gate. A cute little story about this place goes back to before Brad and I were married. When we were dating....(yes we can remember that far back!)...we each wanted to share our favorite 'Chinese Restaurant' with each other. Come to find out....it was the same place. The owner, Sue, is a wonderful person with a memory like a hawk. She remembers your kids' names, where they go to school etc. We celebrated Brad's 40th at her restuarant also....so, now, it's kind of a tradition. We had a great time.

Winter Formal

So, the next big dance at Highland is Winter Formal. This is a girl-ask-guy dance....semi-formal. Aly asked a nice guy, TJ Webster, by highlighting certain pages in a phone book, ending with "Weech". Then, she wrapped the phone book with packing tape, covered it with frosting and presented it at his door....looking like a cake. Poor guy! He had to cut into the book, realize it was NOT a cake, scrape off the frosting, cut into the tape and search the phone book for her name.
SO
We come home from a wonderful Evening of Excellence Program to find our front door looking like this:
Aly starts looking for clues. Nothing. Dad gets involved, and so does Mom, (but she is taking the pictures).

Finally, we pull off some pages that have clues...numbers....and we sort them on the sidewalk. Then what?? HMMMM
An idea pops into Aly's head....it's texting numbers!!! OF COURSE!! This TJ must know her VERY well!! For those who still can't figure it out....it says...."Yes, of course".

Happy Birthday BRAD!!

WOW....the big 5-0....half a century old. I can easily remember thinking that was old not too long ago. Well, maybe it's been a few years. Now, I look at Brad and myself and I realize we are still young (at heart), still in love, and still waking up each morning ready to make the best of what we have.
How I LOVE this man! He asked me to be his eternal sweetheart and since then, has treated me with respect and love. Last night, he brought me home a dozen roses. Why? He didn't want his "birthday" to be all about him. He wanted ME to know that I was special too.
Who does wonderful things like that??

Here are my BEST reasons why I feel blessed to have Brad by my side:
1. From the very beginning, his family has been his first priority. He started with an instant family and never looked back. He is always commenting on how much faith he has in each of his children. He is proud of their work ethics and their choices. He finds great contentment in knowing they are doing what's right and helping others.

2. His favorite thing to do is "be home"...with me and the family. He constantly lets me know that talking to me at the end of the day is his favorite part of the day.

3. He has always been a man of his word. He is full of integrity and again, I will say...he is without guile. He doesn't even avoid those pesky phone solicitors. He talks to them, and then frankly lets them know he isn't the slightest bit interested.

4. I feel safe and sure of myself when I am with him. I know without a doubt that he would move heaven and earth to keep us safe, protected and free from any pain. I have seen him in action as he accomplishes this.

5. They always say: "Look how a man treats his mother, and that is a good indicator on how he will treat you." Need I say more?? He loves his mother, calls her frequently and would do anything to bring her happiness. (He loves his father too!)

6. He is always the first to say: "How can we help them?" Even as newlyweds, he first instinct was to reach out, help and put his own needs last. It is a pattern I hope we pass on to our children.

7. He loves the gospel and our Savior. He tries each day to exemplify our Savior's teachings in his life and in our lives together.

Happy Birthday!!

It was a VERY GOOD Day...

Today is Tuesday. One, that means it's my temple day. That is a very good day. The cutest thing happened. I was standing in line...(yes, even at 11:30, on a holiday....there are lines!!)...in back of the cutest old"er" lady. A friend came up to her and said..."You look so good today!" She giggled and said: "Well thank you! Today is my birthday and I am 80 years old."

"Oh...and you are spending it at the temple!"

"Yes, I'm cramming for my finals!!"

I just had to crack up a little. She turned to me and said: "You know, I'm not getting any younger and I know the "finals" will be a doozy!"

I laughed about that the rest of the day.


Today is a holiday. No school!! Aly asked if she could have a "few" friends over for a brunch. "Sure". And then they started coming.....and coming....and coming!! I would hear some on their cell phones saying: "Come over to Aly's!! We're having the greatest breakfast!! I had to smile. I did wonder how my very clean kitchen would look after this "brunch". All in all, there were about 22 starving teenagers!! So....

After 2 packages of sausage and 3 of bacon,
1 1/2 boxes of Bisquick
who knows how many cups of chocolate chips!
2 bottles of syrup
3 large packages of hash-browns
Most of the grapes
ALL the eggs (which was about 36)
ALL the pineapple (which was hidden!!)
ALL the strawberry topping
milk, OJ - 3 gallons, Cran-apple, cran-raspberry juice....
I guess they finally filled up.

Funny thing is, I left in the middle of their brunch (while they were cooking) for the temple. The rule is that you can have friends over, just clean up. I came home from the temple and I was amazed at the cleanliness of my kitchen. Every dish was done, floors were swept, counters sparkled.

I called Brad to let him know that his hard work at the office pays off as we are able to have Aly's and Jacque's friends over. They think our house is "cool". How cool is that?????

It was a VERY good day!!

Early Morning Reading

While I am waiting for Aly to eat the wonderful, hot breakfast I make for her each school morning at the blessed hour of 6:00 a.m., I usually open my mail and have some quiet reading. I was reading an article from Meridian Magazine about the "riots" in California and the opposition to the LDS community. You can read it HERE. I was amazed. And saddened. And I came to a realization that we are living in a time where we cannot waver in our faith. It is time to get off the fence and make a stand. Am I stong enough? More importantly, are our children strong enough? Is their faith "steadfast and immoveable"?? My favorite and most touching part was the quote found in a recent article on Christian Courage , Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote,
“I would say that one of mortality's great tests comes when our beliefs are questioned or criticized. In such moments, we may want to respond aggressively – to put up our dukes . But these are important opportunities to step back, pray, and follow the Savior's example...we respond to our accusers as the Savior did, we not only become more Christlike, we invite others to feel His love and follow Him as well. "

My resolve is to have more courage and to have more compassion.....to be more like my Savior.

Soccer Memories

So, while I'm on the subject of soccer, I was sitting on the sidelines thinking of all the soccer games Brad and I have gone to in the last 21 years. Yes, it's been that long. Aaron started as a wee-little one (grant it.....he had more fun blasting ghosts!) ((another story!!)) Tyler, Jacque and Aly have all played this sport. What is it about soccer and sitting out in the sun that makes it so exciting?

I'll tell you what. It's watching your child progress and learn that sometimes you play a sport because you LOVE to play a sport, not just to win. My, when we started, as many know, it's "bumble-bee ball". As they get older, you watch them learn positions, play, pass, do fancy footwork (where Tyler was the king!) and then, they start playing Co-ed. Now, if you have a boy playing co-ed, it's still a rough and tumble game. Hard knocks, slide tackles, elbows and lots of shoving is just another part of the game.

HOWEVER

When you have a girl playing co-ed, and especially when they are older, it's a little tricky. You want them to compete, play well and go "all out", but on the other hand, when you see an illegal slide tackle or a deliberate shove and it's knocking your daughter down, it's a little harder to hold your peace, stay in your seats and NOT over-react. Jacque plays on an adult Co-ed team. The rule is that 3 girls have to be on the field at all times. This is a VERY rough game, especially amongst those testosterone filled guys who are sometimes much more aggressive than you would expect. After all, it is JUST a game, right?? We don't have any pictures of those games....I guess it's against some un-seen rules that parents cannot make a big deal out of their daughter playing with adults. NOT cool.

However, Aly still allows us to take pictures and cheer her on. Today was a tough game. She played against the team she was on last year that was undefeated, which they still are....undefeated. Tough game, but they at least scored and did a decent job of keeping the score low.

She has grown up loving soccer...everything about it (well, except losing...but she is better about that over the years too!) So, I thought I would look up past years and watch her grow up....

We still enjoy watching those soccer games. Last night, Brad and I went to Jacque's game and about froze. It was a night game, and we were glad we had our jackets. "Championship Games" start next week for her. That should be fun. Today, we were at Aly's game, with our trusty umbrella and sweltering in the sun. Funny weather we have! With Aly playing the next season at Highland, we are gearing up for some more games, and a little cooler weather. All in the life of a soccer -crazy family!!

PS: Dani....I KNOW you read this......you were AWESOME!!! (For readers that don't know, she is the goalie and also Aly's best friend.) She probably blocked over 20 shots....not sissy shots either. Great job!!

This is what Dani did the WHOLE game!! Look at the determination in her face!

Just doing a little Braggin...

...after all.....it is my blog, so bragging is an indulgence I choose.....

Aly made the JV Highland Soccer team!!! This is no small accomplishment considering how many try out, how many are on club teams and how time consuming the commitment is to such a team. But, with all the determination that we all know that Aly has, she made the team and is very happy about it. So now, along with getting up for school at 5:15 a.m. and going to school for 7 1/2 hours without a lunch-break, she now practices after school for 2 hours. When does she eat? I don't know. But with 2-3 hours of homework and studying each night, her sleep hours just became a precious commodity.

In our family....soccer never ends, it doesn't sleep....it just keeps going and going and going! Good thing it has become my favorite sport to watch....that is when my kids are playing!!! We have been going to soccer games since Aaron was 4. We haven't missed a season. So, for 21 years, we have been soccer fans. I think that qualifies me to be an official soccer mom! I better get my soccer ear-rings out.

Go HIGHLAND!!!!!!!!!!

Still on a Soapbox.....

Just doing some reading, eating a nice lunch and came across this quote:
AMAZING!!! It applies to us now, to our children as they face friends at school and on the ever famous facebook, and in everyday living -
Neal A. Maxwell in 1979:

“Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.'

“This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.

“Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened....Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."

This quote gave me chills. It's prophetic and we are living it...today. I, for one, am going to be even more determined to make a stand, to speak if necessary for the truth and to speak up, when the time is right. I will try not to complain of the "heat". (Of course, in Arizona, we are already used to the heat!)

Interesting Turn of Events

I sit here wondering what will happen with a newly elected president who has questionable ethics, integrity and morals. What becomes of our society? Just how bad can America get? It causes me great concern and reflection on just what is important today in my life.
For instance:

Last evening for FHE, we had our weekly "grilling". That is where I hit any grocery store and pick up whatever kind of meat is on sale. (Sadly, we have learned that Wal Mart has the worst type of meat EVER!!). We always call Jenny and Tyler to invite them and usually they are most willing to come for a steak and potato meal. Last night was beautiful. I wish we had some pictures to capture the wonderful time we had as a family. The food was good and we ate outside where the weather and bugs were most cooperative. Our family is not the normal family that sits politely and has engaging conversations. NO, we are laughing at the most silliest things, teasing each other and remembering the funniest stories ever. It was a wonderful evening!

Then, in my reading for the night, I came across this from Howard H. Hunter:
"I promise you in the name of the Lord whose servant I am that God will always protect and care for his people. We will have our difficulties the way every generation and people have had difficulties. But with the gospel of Jesus Christ, you have every hope and promise and reassurance. The Lord has power over his Saints and will always prepare places of peace, defense and safety for his people. When we have Faith in God we can hope for a better world - for us personally, and for all mankind."

So, in my mind, our families are going to be our refuge, our defense against the decay of society. I'm still hopeful that the Propositions will pass. I think I will be more disappointed in those failures than I am with our new president. I still believe that this is a choice land, but I also know that we must keep our families close and relationships even closer if we are to weather the storms ahead.

How I love, LOVE my family!!
PS: We sure miss Aaron and Savannah :)

A Teen-Age Halloween

Ah, the teen age years of Halloween. It's when, as a Mom, you wonder just what part of the personality is going to come "out". True to form, both girls picked something that FIT their personality AND their stage of life.
Aly and her friend, Brittany, were BumbleBee's. Perfect. Buzzing around, funny, quite original, and a statement. I guess you were allowed to wear a costume to Highland HS, and Aly wore hers with no problem. I took her lunch and as I waited for her to cross the street from Highland to Seminary, I watched and looked for original costumes from other girls/guys. NONE. I saw a few capes, a few t-shirts and VERY few costumes.....especially like Aly's. Then I see Aly...coming....no, skipping down the sidewalk, hugging everyone in site, laughing and being quite the social "BEE". Perfect!!! Not many would have the confidence to stand out like THAT!!

That evening, Aly, along with her good and fun friends went out for the night to a few parties..but ended back here for a good movie, claiming the last party was "lame". How I love that she and her friends feel comfortable here in our home, where they can raid the candy drawer, or the freezer for some ice cream!

As for Jacque, she went to find a costume. Done. We met at Subway, where we didn't even stop our cars because of our busy schedules. Well, HER busy schedule. We pulled up to each other, I threw the subway in her car window (it was wrapped, of course) and she threw the costume in my window, asking me to iron it out. Done.
She had one of her friends come over to finish her hair. And wa-la...she was ready. And it fits her. She is in the Young Adult - go to parties - watch out, I'm here - mode. It was a perfect fit for her also. As her Dad commented...."Yep, she's gonna turn some heads tonight!!"