Christmas just the three of us!!!!

Here is our Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning pictures it was just the three of us this year, but it was nice we had a great time. Of coarse there was not the pitter patter of little feet or the screaming of excitement of little voices. But it was quiet and relaxing. We received a call from Daniel to confirm the time he would call on Christmas Day and we talked about 45 mins. then. After the presents on Christmas eve we played a game of Monopoly and Sharise whipped us.
Christmas morning was the same "quiet" we slept till about 8:00 opened presents, had breakfast. We got ready and went to a movie (Marley and Me) great show, the modern day Old Yeller. I got a call on my cell phone from GA. just when the movie was just about over, told Daniel we would call at this # when we got home in about 30 mins. That way it was on our dime not theirs so we talked with him for about 1 1/2 hours it was great hearing from him. He is doing well, we will see him in 123 days or this tues it will be 4 months.

Here is alittle video of our first white Christmas since living in Southern Utah.

Open Open Open

Monday night we got together and let Logan and Raylie open their present from us so that we could see them. We had dinner and then opened presents. It was fun seeing them and their excitement. We are going to have to use the Web cam maybe to watch Carly and Sam (hint hint)
We love all you guys and are going to miss them on Christmas, but I guess we have to share them with their in-laws. :)

Conference Center

Saturday we drove to SLC to take my mom to Body World for her Christmas present. Then the three of us drove to the Conference Center to listen to Desirae play the Grand Piano there in the Lobby. It is very peaceful there and we enjoyed listening to her play Christmas music.

When she was fisnished Mark came with the kids and we bought us some hot chocolate and then we waited for the lights to come on, on the Temple grounds. It was beautiful as usual. Then we went to Jasons Deli for dinner and took mom home. I know it was a long afternoon into the night but she was a trooper and we enjoyed being with her. After dropping her off we went to back to Desirae's house and let the kids open their Christmas presents from us. Sunday after church we made a gingerbread house, it was fun being there with everyone right before Christmas. We had dinner at Grandma Fowlks, Roger and Misty are moving to TX. It was nice to have mostly everyone there for their farewell. Good Luck Roger and Misty with your new adventure.

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!

Monday was a very blustery day in Leeds and in St. George. I picked Logan up from pre-school, I had a hard time getting him in the van he wanted to play in the snow. I told him lets go home and you can play in the snow there. Well can I tell you when we got just past Harrisburg the snow was not sticking to the ground. So when we got to his house all there was on their lawn was the leafs that finally fell from the trees. So in the afternoon when it was snowing to much for Josh to work he went and pick up Logan and brought him out to grandmas to build a snowman. In Leeds it snowed all day long and most of the night. So we woke up Tuesday morning to a winter wonderland. Can I tell you how much fun Ron was having checking out which car would be the safest for Sharise to drive to school, then in his bobcat he was clearing parking lots and the roads and our driveway. I guess when you can't work you have to do something. You can see the top of our car that is the snow that feel we measured 71/2" Tues morning. It was a crazy snowstorm. Now I am ready for the Southern UT sun to come our and melt it all!!!!

I just had to post my Christmas tree and compare it to last years tree. You can go back a year and read about the situation with our tree last year. So this year I was going to have a better tree. We went to Lowes and pick it out of many that was pre-cut. Oh so much better than trudging through the snow. It was still 60* outside when we picked out our tree and it was wonderful. I am a Sun person not a snow person. Don't get me wrong, it was alright for the first and last time to go into the wilderness and pick out a tree. But as you will read from last year Ron forgot to wait for Sharise and I and he found a tree and chopped it down because HE was done with it. I am much happier with this years tree. Last year I had to keep repeating to myself "It is only a tree" Repeated frequently through out the month:)

Making Gingerbread Houses

So this was our annuel Gingerbread making night. We had a great time making the houses. Brittany will be posting picture of her kids and their house soon. This last picture is our house, Sharise did the major part of it I added the fence, Ron came and checked on us every now and again to see how things were going. Check out the faces in the middle picture they are great!!!!

Friday Celebrating B-Days at Leatherbys

We had fun celebrating Chad's, Ellie's and Logan's birthdays while we were all together. We went to Leatherbys for some ice cream. We had fun stuffing ourselves with ice cream. Happy birthday you three.

Surprise Email Thanksgiving Night

This is an email and pictures I receive Thanksgiving night. It was just an added bonus to the wonderful day that I had being with my kids and their families

Dear Fowlks Family,
On this Thanksgiving, I wanted to reach out and send you a short note to let you know that we are indeed thankful for your sacrifice in allowing your son to serve as missionary in our ward. Even though Elder Fowlks has been away from home for an extensive period of time,undoubtedly on family holidays such as today, his presence is missed.Therefore, after dinner in my home yesterday, I took the liberty to snap a few photos of him and his companion that I have attached to this email for your enjoyment. As the ward mission leader, I have the privilege of being able to regularly go out and teach investigators with the missionaries. During my outings with the missionaries, I have been truly impressed by Elder Fowlk's diligence in doing the work, his desire to serve, and his love for the people and the Savior. From these experiences, I have concluded that he must surely come from goodly parents. My family's membership in the church is a direct result of diligent missionaries like your son and so we are eternally grateful for their service. So thank you once again and may you have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving Fun

We all stuffed ourselves with Turkey, dressing, rolls and more. It was fun being together as a family and visiting many other family members while in SLC. We are thankful for the family that we are.

WHERE'S DANO

I am Thankful For.......

Desirae: Who is my oldest, thankful for her organizational skills. She keeps our family cemented together (guess that comes from being the oldest) she is very energetic, always doing or making something. She is a wonderful wife and mother of 4. (and she lives to far away)

Brittany: Who falls second in command, she is right there with Desirae in keeping the family together (as much as we can be, when we are spread out.) Thankful for her fun spirited personality, fun to have around. Very concerned about family members. She to is a wonderful wife and mother of 2.

Danette: Third in line or as it stands the Middle Child. Thankful for her easy going personality. She has been my quietest, still is. She has always been the peacemaker. She has always been my most practical child. She is very talented in many ways. She is a wonderful wife and mother of 2 as well. (and she lives to far away.)

Daniel: Fourth in the line up and only BOY. Right now I am very Thankful for the man he is becoming. He as well has a very fun spirited personality, always making people laugh. That is the one thing his sisters hated the most, that when they were mad at him he would make them laugh and then they would be even more mad at him because he made them laugh. Can't wait.... 5 1/2 months til he is home.

Sharise: My fifth and last or in other words my BABY:) I am thankful for her love and concern for me. She knows that I have a hard time with knowing, that dreaded empty nest is coming way to fast and she is always concerned about me. It has been very different for her growing up in a emptier house than the older girls, but she has fared well.

Last but not least, I am thankful for my wonderful husband, who is very patient with me. He has always been the provider for this family so that I could stay home with the kids as they grew and I am thankful for that. He has worked very hard for his family. He is a great DAD! He also has that fun spirited personality (except for when playing games and he is not winning) We have had 32 1/2 great years together and intend on having many many more!!!!!!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL and I pray that you will continue to be patient with me as I continually learn to be a better wife and mother and grandmother which I am in training for right now. (I figure if I don't have the mother thing down I am probably to late.)

Bunnies Bunnies Bunnies

This is our new little visitor that comes
and visits us once and a while. A couple of months ago we had two big bunnies that would stop by our house and see us, we haven't seen them in awhile but now we have this little guy that comes his colors are a mix between the two that used to come around so I think that they must have had little ones. He is so quick that I had to be quick to get a picture of him.

This is for Aubrey

This is Elder Rex he is awesome, he is the one holding the plate of cookies that I sent to him last Valentines day. He will be home sometime in March we will keep in touch.

The Month of October

To start October off we flew to Texas (I know I posted previously about TX) but here are a few more pic. Love these of our little Sambo and cute little Carly. Then I was fixing dinner one night and looked out and saw Grandpa swing on the tire swing with Carly Kodak moment. The bottom pic are of the left over distruction from Hurricane IKE . Keep going there is more to October.

The month of October continued

Here we have Sharise's last Soccer game of the season. As you can see by the sign she was the only senior on the team but she had a great time and she improved alot. We had fun watching her and I for one will miss going to the games next year.

This picture is of FHE pumpkin carving night. We had a lot of fun as you can see by Raylie's face she had the most fun. Painting not only the pumpkin but her face as well.

These pics are of Sharise, Craig, Ron and I in Vegas, Craig's parents gave him two tickets to Phantom and I have been wanting to see it for ever so that is what Ron gave me for my birthday. So the four of us went and we had a great time. The Phantom was awesome.

Sharise and her baby, she cared for her for 3 days. She had to pack her around with her 24/7 and one day she decided to go to a Volley Ball game, and the baby was sleeping soundly until they started the National Anthem and at that point the baby started crying (very normal) so she had to pick it up and try and decide if she was hungry needed a diaper change. She was a little uncomfortable. Can I say that this baby had the most annoying cry.


This last picture is of the graduationg Laurels. The RS made quilts for the girls to welcome them into RS.

Sharise is up and running

A little note to let everyone know Sharise is up and running again. Yeaaaaah she remember her password so she has new post on there, so go visit her sight and leave her some comments and let her know she is loved!!!!!!!!

Update on Elder Fowlks

Daniel and Elder Edemenang His shirt he bought at Wal-Mart

He was transferred on Oct. 1 to Commerce GA which is only 30 miles from Winder where he served in his seconcd area. He was made District Leader and his new Comp. is the one he had in the MTC Elder Edemenang, he is doing great, feels a little overwhelmed with the new calling as DL but I know he will do a great job. Oct 30 he will have 6 months yes I said SIX MONTHS left. I really can't believe how fast the time has past. I am just hoping that these last six months don't take as long as the whole mission, I have heard that from other MOMS.

Pres. Uchtdorf

Today I got up as usual and went to an early morning meeting and then stayed to set up the Relief Society room. I was in the foyer talking to one of the Sisters and Sharise comes out and says she is going to call Craig. I thought it was a little odd but continued to talk. I went in just minutes before Sacrament started. Walked up to tell the Bishop something, then went to sit down and Sharise said that Craig was coming to see Pres. Uchtdorf. I said what? Looked up front, I was so oblivious to my surroundings that when I was talking to the Bishop I didn't even notice Pres. Uchtdorf sitting one seat away from the Bishop. We had a great Sacrament meeting and he took a few minutes at the end and talked to the youth and bore his testimony. So I had every opportunity to shake his hand when I was up front but no I was in my own little world so I had to wait and I just about didn't get a chance to shake his hand. I followed behind him hoping he would turn around but his is quite a tall man and I guess I wasn't in his range so I had to dart through the overflow area and get out into the foyer before he did so I could shake his hand before he left. I decided right then and there I really need to pay more attention to what is going on around me.

Fun Watching Carly and Sam

I was creative and emailed all my phone pic to my email and then added them to Danette's pic so here are a few pic of the fun we have had. Sam didn't have a good night last night so we are taking it easy today, but we will be up for some more fun tomorrow so stay turned for more cute kids.

Texas

We arrived in Texas on Fri. we came to watch the kids while Danette and Chad go to San Antonio. They left this morning (MON.) So we are here with the kids and having fun!!!!!!!! We are going to go and have some fun today will post pictures when I get home I don't have my cord with me. So stay tuned for some pictures.

Post for Sharise

Sharise is having technical difficulties (because she never adds anything she has forgotten her passward) so being a dutiful mom I am posting for her. This is how she is asking Craig to Sadies. She is posting these "wanted" signs all around the school. Very clever idea since the theme of the dance is "Wanted" we will see how many other wanted posters are posted around the school with the same idea.

Everythings bigger in Texas

HURRICANE IKE
Just a little update to let everyone know that Chad and Danette and kids are fine. They had a very rough night Friday night into Saturday, lost a few branches from their trees but house and human and pets are doing fine. They have been without power since about 3:00 am Saturday morning so they are a little on the hot and sweaty side, but they have a good attitude what else can you do. They will post pictures as soon as they are up and running again with power.
We love you Chad, Danette, Carly and little Samboman.

Pine View/Deseret Hills Soccer Blanket

Project complete, this is what I have been working on for the past week. I can say it took me longer to clip the seams than it did putting it together and can I say how my hands, fingers and thumbs hurt from clipping through four layers of flees. But all worth it, I thought it would be fun to make a blanket for Sharise, so she can remember her 4 years of soccer. She has 3 years at PV and 1 year at DHHS so that is why there is a mix of panther paws and the lightning bolts representing Thunder, I know I know Thunder is a sound so I guess they figured that the lightning bolt would be the closest representation. We were not in on the picking of the Mascot I for one would have chosen something else, along with a few others. But what can I say they didn't ask me. Anyway it has been fun watching Sharise play soccer and progress in her soccer skills. GO SHARISE, we love you.

Soccer Season

Soccer season is once again upon us. They are just in their pre-season games, Friday they played Delta in Delta they won 3-0. We drove to Beaver and stayed there for the night. There next game was Satday morning and the won 7-0. It was really interesting watching these girls play together because they have come from two different schools, and they played like they have played together for along time. Good luck with this season DHHS we hope you go far.

Eight isn't Enough

Here are our 8 wonderful grandchildren, as you can see Raylie wasn't too happy (she wasn't feeling to good that day). But each little face expresses their cute little personalities. We love them all very much and treasure the times that we can spend together. It was great having them all together over the 24th.

SLC trip for the 24th

This is some pictures of the trip up north when Danette was here visiting and some from here in St. George. It was great having Danette, Carly and Sam here, we missed Chad but all in all we had a fun time.

Fun filled month of July

This is the fourth of July we had a fun day and ended it with our annuel trip to the Church lawn to watch the fireworks in St. George.

Texas or bust

Sharise left for TX today to spend this week with Danette and Chad. I was alittle nervous about her flying by herself so like a dutiful mom I asked if I could get a pass to go to the gate with her, and they did give me one but also letting me know that they usually don't give out passes to go through with a seventeen year old, but I informed them she had not flown alone before and she did get one for me letting me know again that they don't do this. Oh well I was happy and Sharise and I headed for the gate, I, letting her lead the way following the signs and she did a great job, getting through security and on the tram to the D gates and to the right gate as well. So that put my mind at ease for when she got off in Houston. I then had complete faith in her that she would find the baggage claim area and Chad. She is safe and sound in TX and having a great time. On her return she will be bringing with her, Danette, Carly and Sam. Can't wait to see ya'll

Indy Dan

Leave it to Elder Fowlks to find something somewhere to do with movies. All of you that know Daniel knows that he loves anything to do with the movie industry. This is a hat store that he found, he is thinking about buying this hat. What do you think, doesn't he look great in the Indy Hat:)

Update on Elder Fowlks

The picture on the left is of Daniel and his mission Pres. the day he arrived in GA. He emailed me the one on the right a week or so ago. We noticed that the picture on the left behind his smile was alittle bit of nervousness going on. The one on the right 14 months later is a more relaxed smile. Pres. Browning is now longer the mission Pres. as of June 27th. Pres. King and his wife arrived there on the 27th and Daniel said he is a great Man and is excieded to work with him. (Sister King is the one and only Michelle King from the chanel 2 new in SLC)
The lower baptism is one he baptized in April and the upper pic is his most resent baptism (Jun 28) the pic of Daniel and the older gentlemen (92 yrs) he said they were going to start reading the Book of Mormon with him. And this last pic I received by email with the little caption of "This is my new comp. and he doesn't say much." I told him that, that little guy was kind of creepy. I can't believe as of June 29th he has only 10 months left. He is loving his mission and doing a great job.

The whole gang

This is at the Park we had a fun time.

Trip to SLC

We had fun at the pool and park. Brittany, Logan, Raylie and I took a trip North so we could spend a few days with Des and family. We went to "This is the Place" Heritage Park and rode the train. Chantelle (Daniel's friend) came with us she came swimming and to the park with us also. We had a great time Fri night we celebrated Joshs' 9th birthday which is tomorrow. We had a great time and will be heading home Sat morning to get back into the everyday routine of things. Thank you Des for the use of your house.

32 Years and still going strong

Today marks the 32nd year of our marriage. We were married in 1976 4 days after I graduated from High School. It was a beautiful June day and life was wonderful. We were married in my parents back yard. This is the day we started our little family, which expanded to 7. We lived in an Apt. at the U of U for awhile. We then moved to Murray next to Ron's parents, that is the house we lived in when Desirae was born. In Jan. of 1978 about six weeks before Des was born we where sealed in the SLC Temple. We moved to Kearns when Desirae was about a year old and that is where we added two more, Brittany and Danette. When Danette was 16 months old we moved to Leeds. Where Daniel and Sharise came into our family. Where we still dwell.

We have had 32 wonderful years together oh of course we have had our share of ups and downs but wouldn't change anything. From those ups and downs we have become stronger and we continue to grow in strength together. Thank you Ron for 32 wonderful years and here is to the next 32........years together. I love you!!!!!

Here is Sharise on her birthday after she returned from a trip to Laguna Beach for a week with her friend and parents. Top pic Craig and Sharise at Chuck a Rama for Josh's B-Day (tomorrow) Brittany surprised him with his family and ours meeting there. But anyway we then came home and Sharies opened her presents and got a picture with her cake. I have to explain her cake, not my idea even though it was fun making it and I LOVE Palm Trees. I text her the other day and asked her what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday. She text me back and said how about a Palm Tree. I said, "a sure anything you want." I then asked her what she was doing that day and she then told me she was sitting out on the beach, therefore I am sure that was the inspiration behind the Palm Tree cake. I'm sure there were Palm Trees swaying in the breeze as she was tanning on the beach. It was fun to make and we are having her birthday dinner tomorrow so that is when we will cut into it. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHARISE!!!!