The Birthday Girl Gets a Tribute from her Sister

Jenni 66:  So here’s a few stories: Dr. Rose (pictured right) is a damn good anesthesiologist. She makes good decisions and stays calm under intense pressure, like when the patient is crashing and she has SECONDS to intubate a challenging airway or the patient will DIE. She holds a patient’s hand and helps them through a scary time. She takes time and explains what is happening. #asgoodasanurse

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Of her own free will, she CHOSE to hike 8-12 miles/ day along the Amalfi coast for her honeymoon 😱❤️🏃🏻‍♀️🥾 #notlazy
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She finally got to go on her dream vacation to Greece. (I use the word “finally” somewhat loosely as she goes on a dream vacation about every 6 months 🙊😂). Kristi was there with a bestie and her two kids. Only there 12 hours when her bestie got word that her partner was killed on a motorcycle. Shaken and in shock, Kristi’s friend wasn’t in a mental state to figure out the logistics for getting back home. Kristi arranged immediate flights to the US (NOT easy) but there weren’t enough seats for her friend’s 9-yr old son. Kristi flew home with him, her return one-way ticket costing triple the price of the original round trip. #amazingfriend
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When my dad had open heart surgery one month ago, Kristi dropped everything and flew from Virginia to be here and help for a week. #daughteroftheyear
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When she came for a visit, we went on a little bike ride. That’s what you do with her....something active. I caused her to crash into me. She was so helpful and calm (#stilldoctoring) helping me limp home with my broken arm 💪🏼. #DidntGetMadAtMe#patient
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She has sacrificed SO much to become a physician. But she has helped so many in immeasurable ways. #literallifesaver . .

She’s planning to hike Kilamanjaro. #holyxxxx! .

I could go on and on and on and on. It’s hard to encapsulate a person’s life who dedicates herself to service and being awesome in a stupid little IG post. You’ll have to just take my word. This girl deserves the BEST the world has to offer. She IS the best the world has to offer. Seriously. #nohyperbolehere .

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sister. She’s younger than me but I look UP to her more than anyone. 😘👯‍♀️💚💙

This makes a mother's heart so happy.  I love that they admire and respect each other so much.  They are THE BEST....just like their Grandmothers!

A Happy Letter From My Favorite Elder

Hey grandma. Thanks so much for the prayers. They seem to really pay off. The mission is so much fun. Can you believe im already at 5 months? It goes by fast. We are finding a lot of success with people. There are a lot of baptisms coming up soon hopefully.
   The Hispanic people are so great too. I love Spanish so much.  This week I feel like I've been speaking it really well. I gave a talk at a baptism for someone I found on Saturday and someone came up to me afterwards and said that they thought I was a Latino for a little bit (I'm probably made a grammar mistake on something really simple and that's what gave it away). I also met someone yesterday who just got here from Columbia and he was asking me if I new how to speak English and then he asked me where I learned. I was like "English?Do you mean Spanish?" but he said no, and wanted to know how I was able to learn English.
   It's so great when my prayers are answered like that. I've studied so hard but I've also prayed even harder every day asking God for the gift of tounges and to help me speak as well as the Hispanics do. I'm obviously not there yet but as continue to work on my humility and study and pray then the language keeps on coming. A big thing is learning all of the slang and just how things are said because just because something is correct, doesn't mean it's how people usually say it.
   So that was my week. I love you tons grandma. Have a good week. I fasted this week for Grandpa'd health amongst a 1 or 2 other things.

Oh, just warms the cockles of my heart!

(Whatever that is!)

My Mother's Purse

After my mother died in 2004, I was in her bedroom, going thru her things.

On top of a dresser in the corner was her blue purse.  She had used it for a very long time, but I was not prepared for what I saw when I opened it.

The lining inside was totally in shreds....torn completely apart.  At that sight, I burst into tears.  I wept openly for a long time.

I'm sure part of that was the emotion over her death.

But another part was that the purse was a reminder to me that my mother is the most unselfish person I've ever known.  Her purse was a sort of evidence of that because she didn't buy stuff for herself; she shared with others.....

When she got money for Christmas, she spent it on her children.  My parents had many people stay in their homes over the years; some for extended periods of time.  She fed homeless train riders who found their way to our home on Thanksgiving.  People loved to come to our home for her incredible meals and she fed them so willingly and unselfishly.

When I think now, these so many years later, I see my mother in my mind's eye and she is smiling,  She is the gentle mother who asked little in life, but gave much; much laughter, happiness, joy, goodness.

(Recently my husband was extolling the virtues of our two daughters; their thoughtfulnesses, their kindnesses, their goodnesses, their concern and caring, and I said they get it from both grandmothers. )

Oh, dear mother, if you were here, we would go shopping and I would gladly buy you a new purse.  But that is not what you would want of me; I see the greater lesson here..... I need to be more like you!  I need to be doing for others, like you did your entire life for others.

My parents on a mission to Hawaii.  Dad taught law and business law.  Mom was a secretary for a lady in the art department.  She was much loved by her boss, who had been notoriously difficult for others to get along with.  I love this picture because it shows my parents so happy - giving service to others, which was what their lives were about.

It's not really about a purse at all, is it?  It's about being a giver, a doer, a carer, someone like YOU!

What a legacy of goodness you have left for me to try to follow!

I Dreamed a Dream

HA HA HA HA

The other morning, just before I woke up, I dreamed that I was Donald Trump's secretary.

His desk was in utter chaos; papers and mail everywhere.

In my dream, I wanted to organize it for him, but he just got upset (imagine Donald Trump getting upset; just not his nature, right?!?!?!?!).

If I organized it, how would he find anything, he ranted and raved at me?

The dream, thankfully, was very short-lived, and when I woke up, thankfully also, Donald Trump was nowhere to be seen!

GRADUATION! It's a Party!

It's that time of year.  And, look at this cute California girl graduating!  She's so multi talented, creative, artistic, musical, and a roller blader to boot.  I"ve never seen her on the blades, but it looks dangerous to me.

So, bring out the cap and gown, and look out world, here, she comes!

Thanks for the Thanks

I loved this thank you note because it features pictures that our son, Justin, took at their wedding.  And such beautiful pictures they are at that.

This is a note from Brookie Gee for a small graduation gift we sent her.  So thoughtful.

In time, no one will actually WRITE notes because they won't know cursive.  

But, I'll tell you this after doing a lot of indexing, that might not be a bad thing because people have terrible handwriting.  I'm good with printing.

Laughing Out Loud

I admit it;

I have a lot of apps,  secure websites, financial websites, etc.

So, that means I have a lot of passwords.

WAY TOO MANY.

Early this morning, I decided to be a little more efficient with my passwords.

I would make them ALL very similar to one another, (whether that is smart or not).

And, it was all very standard until I came to this website, which totally made me LOL!

REALLY?

A 60 character password...that was a new one for me.  I wonder how many people take them up on a 60 character password...

And, it still makes me smile.