Merry Christmas

So it's after Midnite, Santa has been here, the stockings are filled, Mom and Dad are tired and ready for bed. Merry Christmas everybody, I hope today is everything you could ever wish for. Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright. I love you all!

Ho Ho Ho Santa lives at my house

This last Saturday, December 6th, Royce was a good boy and came to our ward YW fund raiser as Santa's Helper. He was so cute, he took extra time with each child and even with the adults, the fund raiser was a great success and it was fun to see how many people from the community were brave enough to come into the LDS Church. I am getting so excited for Christmas, I love this time of year, I love seeing the snow, it is beautiful here right now, of course it is always beautiful here in Victor. We are having our family Christmas party in Pocatello on the 19th and then to Grandma's for a party on the 20th and then back home just in time for Santa! Here are a few pictures from Santa to you.

Christmas Time Yee Haw

Well, we are finally to my most favorite time of the year, it makes me crazy because I can never get enough, the time zooms by and every moment is filled to the brim, and we have to fight like crazy to get some moments of quiet reflection. So I thought I would start this month out thanking my Heavenly Father for my Savior. I love the Savior so much, what a wonderful gift he is in my life. The amount of love that he has for each one of us in incomprehensible to me, I think of him at this time of year and just wish I could be more like Him. I remember a time in my mission when I was so frustrated at my lack of scripture knowledge, and after praying about it I was told that the greatest mystery that I need to worry about is learning to love the way the Savior does. Christ like love, that is what I want for Christmas. I want to be able to show those around me that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I want to show my Heavenly Father that I want to be his hands, I want to have his image in my countenance. I know this sounds trite, but it is truly the desire of my heart. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ, I am so thankful for the atonement and the chance I have been given here on earth to try to emulate him. I love this time of year for that reason, a chance to remember the greatest gift ever given to man. I love you all

Thanksgiving

I've let a little time go by and I thought it was time to catch everybody back up on what was happening in our lives. We had our Thanksgiving early this year, we all got together on November 15th because it was when we could all be here, it was wonderful! Micah and Marilee came up from Provo, and Josh and Elise were here from Pocatello. Ethan brought his friend Amy and her son Seth. We had a fun time trying to get everyone to fit in this tiny house, but we managed. The boys had an air soft gun tournament and ended up with mud caked shoes, and some welts!!! We all got together Saturday nite at the church and Matt and Seri brought their Wii, and some other video games, and everyone played basketball, which was fun (except for Matt injuring his knee) and a fun board game called the Wrong game, it is a hoot! and then we all gathered around the table as soon as Seth got back from Elk hunting. It was so wonderful to look around the table and see all of my kids, and Sue and Leon and Katie and Adam and Izzy and Kerry! Royce and I are so thankful for our family, what a great blessing our Heavenly Father has given us, the chance to grow and become who we need to be with all of these wonderful people surrounding us to help us and challenge us to be the best that we can! Then on Sunday we celebrated Micah's 25th birthday, and then went to church together, what a truly blessed experience. Micah and Mare had a challenge on the way home, they were hit by a drunk driver, but other than some damage to their car, they were protected, and I am so thankful for that. Josh and Elise had a flat tire, and then their doughnut tire ended up with a bubble on it, but they were able to get a new tire at Walmart, so all in all, we were blessed and protected! I LOVE my family, I am so thankful for each one of them, Royce for his patience, Josh for his joyful spirit, Elise for her talented baking skills, Micah for his listening ear, Marilee for her guidance, Seth for his giving nature, Matt for his willingness to help, Seri for her sense of fun, Crystal for being my confidante, and my right arm and leg, and Ethan for his funny and quirky sense of humor. Royce and I are so blessed to have Grandma and Grandpa Larsen and lots of wonderful brothers and sisters and lots of nieces and nephews and wonderful friends, We could lose everything and still be so blessed as long as we have our family and friends! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Hey all my creative friends! Our Young Womens group is having a fund raiser, we are having breakfast with Santa, a rummage sale and a mini-bazaar. So here is your assignment, please let me know of any fun and creative gift ideas for our mini-bazaar, we are looking for cute gifts for friends, teachers, visiting teachers etc.. Thanks to Leslie I have a great recipe for a chocolate cake in a mug, but I would love any clever or cute ideas that would make our fund raiser a success! It is going to be on December 6th, and it should be a fun day, Matt and Serenity and Crystal are all in the production of Scrooge that the community is putting on, and that same day the city of Victor has their Light Parade! Hooray for the Holidays! I love them!

My Country "tis of thee

Today is election day, I am so thankful that I live in a country where I am allowed to vote my conscience, I know this is an incredible responsibility. I am also glad to be at the end of this never ending political maelstrom, that we have all been bombarded with. Even with all of the doomsday predictions and the pie in the sky promises I feel secure, because I know that there is a power much more potent than that of the earthbound government that we deal with on a daily basis. That is the Celestial and Eternal Government of my Heavenly Father, and I know that His eye is on us all, and that all of His promises are kept, and that as long as I strive to keep my covenants I will be okay. That's the kind of "political" promises that I hold to, that I place my faith in. So make sure today that you go vote, that you place your mark on this pivotal day, and then remember that you are loved and cared for by an omnipotent Father, and with God, nothing is impossible!

Happy Halloween

I love Halloween, I don't know if it is the memories of childhood, or the chance to be a child again for just a day! It's not near as fun as when you have a house full of little kids, although that is stressful and crazy, I remember one year after getting six kids into their costumes, doing their makeup and baking my cake for the cake walk, I looked in the mirror and thought, "What am I going to be?" and then it dawned on me, I just printed up a sign that said "Old tired Mother" and went to the school carnival just the way I was, which was a mess! I hope you are all having a fun day! Every now and then we get an opportunity to make lasting memories and if we use it right, today could be that day! I love you all, Have a terrific day and a terrifying night!

How well do I know Royce

Serenity asked me to answer these questions on how well I know Royce, so here goes:

1.Where did you meet? We met for the first time at Taco Time in Rexburg, I was with a group of single adults on our way to Yellowstone, and we stopped and picked Royce up so that he could go with us.

2.How long did you date before you got married? We met in January, had our first date in February and we were married in June.

3.How long have you been married? 27 wonderful years

4.what is Royce's favorite feature? Well......he has great blue eyes, that only I get to see, because he hides them behind glasses, and he still has a cute behind. I can't believe I said that! LOL

5.What is Royce's favorite quality? He is nonjudgmental and very kind

6.Does he have any nicknames for you? Yes, SweetPea, Honey, Crazy woman

7.What is Royce's favorite food? Steak, Shrimp and Lamb

8.what is Royce's favorite sport? He loves to watch football and baseball, he loves to fish and hunt

9.When and where was your first kiss? It was on our first date out in front of my apartment, as he was getting into his truck he gave me a sweet little kiss that sent fireworks shooting and I walked on air back up to the apartment, totally blown away!

10.What is our favorite thing to do as a couple? Camping, traveling, grocery shopping

11.Do you have any children? Yup, 6 great kids I gave birth to, and 3 great kids that are now a part of our family.

12.does Royce have any hidden talents? yup, he can dance the mountain dew dance and he is very funny

13.How old is Royce? 53

14.Who said I love you first? I think he did, but I can't remember for sure

15.What is his favorite type of music? Old time country, like Sons of the Pioneers, Bar J wranglers, etc..

16.What do you admire most about him? He loves me and accepts me, he is a very loving and caring father

17. Do you think he will read this? yes, I sure do!

So there you have it! I would love if Mary and Brittany did this one! Love you all

Tag, you're it!

Well what do you know, I guess I have been officially welcomed into the world of blogging! I have been tagged! Thanks Adri for including me! I am supposed to write and tell you about six of my quirks, well that is going to be a little bit challenging because I am just a great big quirk! But here goes:
1. I am a bit OCD, I have certain rituals that I don't like to change, I always want to shop at the same grocery store, and I have a certain pattern of shopping in that store, if I don't get to shop that way I get all crazy. I also have to clean my house in a certain pattern, I have divided it into sections, it is the only way I can stay on task and keep my ADD under control! LOL, lately I have been walking and at a certain point of my walk I have to touch the drinking fountain, this quirk amuses and irritates my family!
2. I love to read, anything, cereal boxes, hunting magazines, hobby farm, along with normal stuff, I will read just about anything, but my favorite place to read is in the bathtub,I have ruined many a book that way, my Ensign is always waterlogged, and Crystal has banned me from reading any of her books in the tub!
3.I love to watch reality TV shows, Top Design, Project Runway, Top Chef, The amazing race, The biggest loser, Jon and Kate plus 8, Little people Big world,Supernanny etc...and I like to watch them two at a time so I switch back and forth which drives the other TV watchers crazy.
4.I can't watch TV without doing something else, so I crochet, or read, or play a game on the computer, or play with clay, or doodle.
5.I love kids, anyones kids, I especially like little boys that are about 3-5, for some reason I am fascinated by them, I want to rub their heads and tease them, and buy them batman toys, Royce works hard at keeping me under control so that I don't get in trouble at Walmart.
6.I have always wanted to be Mrs. Santa Claus, okay so who am I kidding, I have always wanted to be Santa, I would love to wake up one morning with a full beard and a red suit, and elves and reindeers and everyone encouraging me to eat cookies! I would love to have a sleigh, but I would want it to be heated, and have heated seats, I am getting too old for the cold, I would like an unlimited amount of money to make everyones dreams come true! lol
okay so there you have it, and now I tag: Marilee, Elise, Anita, Shona, Katie, Stephanie and Jen and Noel! So TAG you're it!!!!!

I Love to see the Temple

Last nite I was waiting up for Ethan to get home and turned on the BYU channel, and listened to two different talks, both of them talked about the Temple and how important it is to go to the Temple for ourselves. By this I mean for our own growth while we do work for others. It isn't that I didn't already know this, its just that it was an aha moment for me, that the Temple is where we need to go when our lives our chaotic and full of challenges, that it is in the Temple that we get our priorites straightened back around. In the Temple we can discover more about ourselves, our strengths and our weaknesses and how the Lord helps us grow through our challenges. I decided I needed to recommit myself to regular Temple visits, so that I can work on being a better wife, mother and a better Deanne!

Lions, and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!

All of you have heard our bear stories and the mountain lion from a few years ago, but we had another visitor last nite! Our outside dog Lucy ( the kids call her Mindy) started to bark like something was terribly wrong! Royce grabbed a flashlight and bravely went out onto the front porch, when he came back in his face was white and his eyes were as big as saucers, He said there was a big mountain lion out on the side yard by the trampoline. Yikes!!! It ran off and the dog barked for quite awhile, We called Crystal and told her when she got home from FHE she needed to call and let us know she was here so that Royce could walk her in from the car, we didn't want her to be a tasty tidbit. So there will be no more romantic moonlit walks, at least for awhile!

Garage mural

A couple of weeks ago, I spent some time in Utah while Grandma Larsen had some surgery. To pass the time we attempted to paint a mural on the side of the garage that faces the back yard, I didn't have a camera, but Shayle took a bunch of pictures and she has posted them on her blog www.James-Shayle.blogspot.com if you want to check out our "masterpiece"

Let's catch up

I thought it would be fun to catch everyone up on what is going on in our wonderfully wild family! Royce and I keep getting glimpses of empty nesting and we think we could survive it! LOL !! Right now we have Ethan and Crystal with us and we are loving every minute of it! They both add such fun and craziness to our home. Royce is still working at Trail Creek Nursery, and I love going with him on deliveries to Pinedale, we get time to talk and dream and solve the worlds problems. He is in the Sunday School Presidency in the ward and also is responsible for the Sacrament Meeting at Calderwood Care Center, which is a home for mentally handicapped men. He is so good with them, and we have all come to love these guys. I am back in Young Womens, I am the first counselor, so I get to play with the MiaMaids. We carry an activity bag to church filled with appropriate books and toys, just so that the kids in the ward will sit by us, it keeps us happy, I am not sure about the kids!! We still have 3 left over pets, Seths' dog Brutus still keeps strangers at bay and is Royces outdoor partner, Crystal and Marilee and Micah rescued a kitten a year ago, then a little stinky bag of bones, now a big black tom, which we thought was a girl, named her Stella, found out she was a he, changed the name to Stellar Fellar, but he is still called Stella by Crystal, if she is here, then Stella is draped around her neck purring away, and finally we have Hamper, a rabbit that Josh brought home two years ago at Easter, he lives in the laundry room in a cage and Royce loves him, he searches his garden for the tastiest treats for him, oh wait a minute, we also have Pete, our Sheep (dog) this is a little bum lamb Royce saved that is a huge big sheep that loves Royce and follows him like a dog, he has even been known to chase bikers up on the bike path! Pete, not Royce!
Josh and Elise were married in May and are living in Pocatello, they both work with the mentally handicapped, Elise was just promoted to supervisor at the house she works at. They teach a primary class together and have the cutest apartment in Pocatello, thanks to Elises sense of style and her hard work and her ability to keep Josh painting and doing his assigned projects. Elise is going to school at I.S.U. and Josh is hoping to start next semester. Elise is my blogger guru, she set the blog up for me, thanks Elisie!
Micah and Mare have been married for two years, they live in Provo and are going to BYU, Marilee is working on her Masters in social work, and Micah is finishing up his major in International relations. They bought an old home last summer and overhauled it so that it could be rented, it has three apartments, two they rent out and a penthouse suite that they live in, they have done such a good job and Royce and I are so proud of the work they have done. Marilee is in her second internship and Micah picked up an extra job at the school working in the Entrprenuer program. He also has a online business which does virtual landscaping, called Wolfstone Design. They teach the Gospel Doctrine class in their ward
Seth is living here in the valley, he works for a company called Volco Construction, he is the framer for the multimillion dollar houses that are taking over the Valley!! He loves his work and has learned alot. He is in a Golf league, and loves to spend time developing his talent in that area, he also plays community basketball. He spends every spare minute fishing, water skiing, wakeboarding, camping, and soon will start hunting and then snowboarding and snowmobiling. He is a joy to have close and it is fun to see him and talk to him and live through his adventures!!
Serenity and Matt got married in August and we are so excited because they have moved into Victor, so Seri and I and Crystal get to go walking together every morning. Matt is managing the Subway and Seri is working at the Joshua D. Smith foundation working with the same guys that Royce takes his Sacrament program to. They are so happy and have turned the basement apartment into a really cute apartment. We love having them close, it is fun when they come up and play with us!!!!!! Serenity is my computer helper, I don't know what I would do without her!
Crystal moved home when Seri got married, I think living with the old people has been a bit of a challenge but I love having her here. She took the old bedroom downstairs and turned it into a darling room, she painted and cleaned her little heart out, and it looks great. She is working as a nanny and a physical therapy assistant. She works for a mom that has MS and Crystal is her right hand woman, she love this family and works hard for her money! She attends the singles branch and is the service chairman. She also loves to go country dancing at BYUI on Wednesdays. She is going with the family she nannys for to Florida at the end of the month, so that will be a fun adventure.
Ethan is home, probably not his favorite place to be, but necessary for now, money will do that to you! He is working at Subway with Matt, and has been told by a customer that his sandwiches are a work of art! He loves to find great music and share it with us, he is always looking for new artists with a new sound. He spends time on his computer with a game called Hackers, which looks like nonsense to me, but he likes it and says it challenges him. He is my sunshine and can make me laugh and not take myself so seriously, and gives me terrific hugs!
Well that is probably more than enough, hope it wasn't too long and made you late for your next blogger! LOL Love you all, Deanne

All about us!

Well I can hardly believe that I am about to enter the world of the bloggers! I have been blog stalking for awhile now, and have thoroughly enjoyed learning all the comings and goings of each of your families. So here goes, Royce was born here in Victor, Idaho. He was an RH factor baby and one of the first ones in the area to survive, he was given a complete blood transfusion shortly after birth. Thankfully it worked and we as a family are grateful for that miracle. He is the youngest of three, he loved working with his Dad on the farm and considered all of his Dads' friends to be his friends. It has been hard for Royce, losing his mom and dad and then having all of his elderly friends pass away. He attended Ricks College and graduated with an associates degree in Applied Sciences, dealing with Forestry and Agriculture. He went on a mission to New Zealand, and then attended BYU in Provo, Utah. His Dad got sick over the holidays and Royce went home to help on the farm and his sister convinced him to come on a Singles ward snomobile weekend to Yellowstone. The singles group was from Ogden, Utah, and it was on this trip that Royce and I met. We watched Old Faithful go off four times and talked continuously, it was as if we were trying to catch each other up on what had happened since we got to earth. (Cheesy I know, but true!) I was born in Ogden, Utah, the oldest of 7, went to High School at Weber High School, and went to Utah State University, where I studied Art, English Lit. and Elementary Ed. and then went home to Ogden and went to Cosmetololgy school, I worked as a hair dresser, until I went to the Catania, Italy mission, returned home, started going to the Singles ward and then here we are 27 years later, with 6 amazing children, and two terrific daughter-in-laws and a brand new son-in-law. Royce and I are looking forward to the near future when we can go on a mission together, and be the best companions either one of us has ever had!!!