Looking Back on a Marvelous Year...

My Journey through 2019

This year was so full of experiences, that I had to pull up many pictures to remember them all.  So, come with me, as I travel down Memory Lane to preserve some of these memories.

JANUARY:     January is always both joyous and hard for me, because it is the month of my sweet Mother's Birthday.  Memories of her flood my mind and heart frequently, but not like the month of January.  January is also the birth month of my third child, Debra Dawn Henderson Nish and my first granddaughter born to Heather, Elissa Nicole Newby DelToro.  

         

FEBRUARY:  One of the activities we went to at the Cultural Center on campus of the college in Prescott was to see a group called "Pink Martini!"  They were very good and quite entertaining.

February brought a record snow storm to Prescott Valley.  Literally "up to our knees!"

Dean and I were really surprised by the amount of snow that we had.  Just right for playing in!

  Here are beautiful bicycles hanging off of my Church!

 And in this picture that a friend of mine in Lincoln City sent me...shows that they even had snow there on the beach.  Crazy winter!

  MARCH:  In March, President Nelson visited Rome to dedicate the Rome Temple and he had a personal visit with the Pope of the Catholic Church.  An amazing, historic event.

  Sophia Messex has her adorable 1st Birthday!  She is my Great-Granddaughter!   Brendan (Heather's son) is her daddy!       

 Because of all the snow that we had in February, the desert showed off her absolute true beauty with the blooming of millions of poppies!  It was so beautiful!

March is the birthday of my firstborn daughter, Kim, and also her firstborn daughter, Aubrey!  It is also the birth month of my firstborn son, Mark.  He builds these amazing stairs!  Both of these children light up my life and fill my heart with an abundance of love.

  

 APR. :  My sister, Chrisie, sent me these beautiful boots!  It was a surprise gift and I absolutely love them.  They are a little tight, but with wearing them, they will loosen up!

April is also the month of Easter.  It is the time for remembering the Sacrifice of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who gave His all so that we can have Eternal Life.

We also had April Conference, when we heard from our General Authorities and our Prophet.  It was an amazing Conference.  So many messages aimed directly at me.








Beautiful Aubrey with her husband Matt and children, Blair, Van and Beck on a beautiful Easter Day.

 Grandson Scott and wife, McKenzie with daughters, Emerson and Elia.

 Dean resting on a rock at Granite Dells, while I zoom in for a photo.  We had our Easter picnic here.  Such a beautiful, serene place in the middle of a hustle-bustle city and away from all of the traffic.

This place is situated next to another beautiful site...Watson Lake.  We should rent a Kayak some day and paddle out onto the lake.

 MAY:  May is the month of flowers...and here are some of the beauties that IO received for Mother's Day from two of my daughters, JerriAnne and Heather!  I can always count on them to brighten my day with blooms that fill my soul with sweetness and love.

My Granddaughter, Jacki Lynn Messick Bracken with her children, Dallen, Sydney, and Jane on Mother's Day.  They are the sweetest little family that I know!

My Mother passed away on Mother's Day, 2002, so this day is hard for me! Dean's mother, Betty, is gone now, too, and we remember her with flowers on her grave.

We paid a visit to Dean's Dad and drove him to the Cemetery.

May is also the birth month of my 4th child, JerriAnne.  She is and has always been  one of the joys of my life.  I wish I could have her close to us forever.

 While in Tacoma, Dean went on a good hike with his brother, Dave and Dave's son, Zachary.  Those men love the heights and the joy of the outdoors.

May also found  Elissa's husband, Travis,  Graduating from Dental School in Phoenix.  He is officially a Dentist now.  It was so great to watch the ceremony and see the whole family gathered together for this auspicious occasion.  It was a grand day!

 JUNE:  How beautiful, this little "June" is!  And how appropriate that Jacki sent me these pictures in the month of June!

Both girls have been taking Dance lessons for a while and I love their little "professional"poses!  Takes me back many, many years to my own days of dance.

 Here we have Sydney.  She is the oldest and has been dancing the longest.  Gotta love these girls.

 My son, Billy was born in the month of June.  He is now 35 and enjoys his life as a Traveling Cellist.  Everything he does is to perfection.  Sometimes I wonder how I was so blessed to have such a son!

Here is a photo of a rose bush that we planted in our front yard.  Eventually, there will be two.  I love roses and watching them grow and fill up the branches with their beauty.  I pray they will do well.

JULY:  Dean and I donned our cowboy hats and boots and attended our very first Rodeo together in Prescott.  It was an extremely fun day and took me back to when I used to attend Rodeo's with my sister, Chrisie and her daughter (Granddaughter),Chloe!  The air is filled with excitement.

Happy 4th of July to our Country and all of its Citizens!  We attended the celebration at Watson Lake...had a great  show and watched the fireworks over the lake afterward.

 Look at how my roses are blooming!  I am so thrilled!

We attended more celebrations downtown Prescott and Dean and I found a horse to have our picture taken with!  Gotta love this "old west" town!

 AUGUST:  I love this month.  Everything is blooming, and especially my favorite...Sunflowers!  Next year, I plan on planting some along our back fence!  Won't that be grand?

August is Anniversary month!  My daughter Debi and her husband Brian celebrate on the 9th.  Dean and I celebrate on the 8th.  And Travis and
Elissa celebrate on the 19th.  A beautiful month to celebrate perfect unions.

Dean and I celebrated by a walk around Goldwater Lake, named after former Senator  Barry Goldwater from Arizona.

I don't know the name of those yellow flowers, but they were blooming everywhere around the lake.

Heather's birthday is August 2nd, and they celebrated by going back to an old Henderson family tradition of going to Lake Powell every August.  From the looks of it, they had a wonderful time with water, boating and each other.

 Dean and I attended our first horse race at Arizona Downs.  It was exciting.  We are not betters, but we did choose some horses just for fun that came in 1st, 2nd, or third.  Haha!  A good time.  And it reminded me of my dad when he used to go to the races in California.  I learned only a few months ago, that he was a jockey in his youth in Cedar City, Utah.  Maybe my love for horses is in my blood!

 A far cry and a trip down the hill took me to the Phoenix Temple with 3 of my friends from Church.  Oh, my, that was a really special day.  Not only did I get better acquainted with these three ladies (Bobbie, Billie, and Winnie), but I met my old friends from Santa Monica 2nd Ward, Kate Sheiss and Fred Cuthbertson!). They were both workers in met session!  Small world!  I loved it.

 Son-in-Law, Rich, with brand new Granddaughter.  Does he look proud, or what?  Nothing like it, son!

SEPTEMBER:  Hey, look...another Rosebush!

 ON SEPTEMBER 5TH, DEAN AND I WERE INVOLVED IN A REALLY SERIOUS CAR CRASH.  I TOOK THE BRUNT OF THE IMPACT, BUT THANK MY Heavenly Father EVERY DAY FOR THE SAFETY DEVICES ON OUR CAR...AIR BAHGS, SEAT BELTS, AND THE IMPACT PROTECTION THAT THE WHOLE FRAME HAS.

MY FIRST THOUGHTS WERE OF MY DAD AND THE CAR CRASH HE WAS IN J7ST 30 YEARS AGO THAT TOOK HIS LIFE BECAUSE NONE OF THOSE THINGS WERE PROTECTING HIM.

 Here's another plant we bought and planted in our backyard.  I can't wait till next year to see how it grows and flourishes.

We also bought a bird bath and Dean is painting it...very clever.  It will go in the middle of our outer flagstone patio.  That will take a lot of work!

 Not sure why I included this picture of Brendan and Railynn.  My sweet, sweet grandson.  They are so happy and have only been married a year and a half.  Love you, Brennie Boy

Here's mey happy Debi in Scotland about to take on a real Scottish Golf Course!  I know that she is in the top of her very best place right now!  She loves Golf...and to play it in the land where it was invented...WOW!

My sister, Chrisie sent me these pictures of her Horse Ranch in Erda, Utah.  She is saying goodbye to it because she can no longer maintain it.  I know how this breaks her heart, because this ranch was her late husband, Bob Kump's Horse Race.  He developed it and loved every minute of it.  He has been gone for about 5 years and Chrisie is just having a hard time keeping it up.

***A side note...the sale of this property has fallen through 3 times and now Chrissie is renting it to her Daughter (Granddaughter), Chloe.  Chloe grew up here!  And she is expecting her first child, a boy, in January, 2020!

 Oh me, Oh my!  Here I am walking into my neighbor's back yard being greeted by a boatload of old friends, new friends, and a luscious meal...all for my Surprise 80th Birthday Party.

I can't believe this husband of mind.  He put the whole thing together!  This was really a wonderful event.

My old friends Barbara Atwood, Ginger O'Bannion, and Suzi Klein were there from Santa Monica High School!  Plus my Bishop and Elder's Quorum President from my Church.  And the neighbors on my street whom I am just getting acquainted with.  What a joy and a wonderful reunion.

My children, Kim, Mark, Debi, JerriAnne, and Heather, plus my sister, Chrisie and Mark's daughter, Abbie all treated me to 3 days in Sedona, Arizona.  A beautiful spot for a family to gather and celebrate.  I loved every moment of each and every day...even the nights when I was alone to revel in the memories.

 We hiked, we ate meals together, we smiled and laughed at "Mother's crazy antics...as well as Aunt Chrisie's!"

We got in the pool and just didn't do much...just sat there and smiled at the camera!

 OCTOBER:  Together, Dean and I prepped the area in the backyard for the new Flagstone Patio.  It was a lot of hard work, but the hardest is yet to come.

We purchased more plants, pots and flowers and the whole area is coming together.  I love it and I love the work that goes into it.  (Well, Dean is doing most of the hard work!)

The yellow plant is a collection of tiny Mums.  They won't last, but while they are there, I am going to love them.

 Finally, the Flagstone is purchased and delivered.  Now, Dean has to get to work.  Those pictures will come later...probably into 2020.

 At the end of October, Dean and I took a car trip to Taos, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque.

Driving through this part of Arizona is filled with beautiful vistas...like Window Rock...the Navajo Nations headquarters.

We stayed with Dean's long time friend, Kathy Cordova, in Taos.  She drove us all around Taos, El Prado and Ranchos de Taos and helped us find some of my friends.  She also took us to the Cemetery so Dean could pay his respects to Arsenio, her husband who passed away recently.

Pictured below, is Billy's Baby Sitter, Bonnie Chacon, with Dean and I.  She is such a wonderful lade.  I loved taking Billy there...and at Christmas she would give me her homemade  Tamales to take home.  Yum.

 Another good friend we got to visit was Carmen Lieurance.  She was always welcoming and such a joy to be around.

We had to meet her at the Church, because she had to be at a meeting.

 Dean's main reason for coming to New Mexico was to attend his Scottish Rite Reunion at the Scottish Rite Temple in Santa Fe.  This is a wonderful experience for him and he hasn't been able to do it for many years...since leaving New Mexico in 1998.

 Here, Dean is pictured playing the Long Trumpet in the courtyard.  It is part of the services that they put on inside of the Temple.

After we left ew Mexico, we drove to the Petriffied Forrest National Park.  It covers many miles and has many, many pullouts to look at the ancient and petrified wood.

They look like just old trees fallen down, but they are hard as stone!  That's because they have turned to stone.

 Here is an old, old car that broke down on old Route 66 in the middle of the desert and was just abandoned.

My favorite photo of the Painted Desert. not far from the end of the Park.  This old world has so much beauty and we are beholding only a few vistas and panoramas that it has to offer.  Mind boggling!

 NOVEMBER:    Another trip for us...this time to Flagstaff, to see the President's Own Marine Band in concert at the University!

We stayed at a beautiful Air B&B and met some amazing people.

 The Band was phenomenal and so "tight" with all of their music.  Dean was in seventh heaven, for sure!

When we left Flagstaff, we drove up to the ski area to check it out.  There is no snow yet, so everything is pretty bare, but I  loved the Aspen trees.

After Flagstaff, we drove to Lake Havasu to spend a week in a Time Share.

It was a wonderful.  We took the ferry across the lake to the Casino and had a light lunch.  We then walked around outside and found this interesting SUV...Dean had to get a photo.  The Casino was closing its doors the very next day, because they have built a new one up the lakeshore from where this old one sits.

I loved the memorabilia all around and near the bridge.  This is the London Bridge, which was taken apart brick by brick and shipped to the U.S. where it was then brought to this part of the Colorado River.  There is a dam south of here which created the lake.  The rebuilding process was quite phenomenal!

 Dean and I wearing "funny" hats in front of the shop that sells them.  The owner was a real jokester who loved playing with people's heads.  We got a good laugh that day!

 Billy came to be with us for a few days and we loved his visit.  While he was here, they put Christmas wreathes on the bridge and I just had to get a picture!

I also love the picture below of Billy standing in the old English phone booth!  (Talking on his Cell Phone!)

 Dean, Billy and I went for a boat ride on the lake and had such a wonderful time playing together.

After Billy left, Dean and I explored some more and found this beautiful fountain.

I loved Lake Havasu and will definitely say yes, if asked to return.

 After leaving Lake Havasu, we drove to California to visit with Kim and Kenny.  Here is their new house that they will be moving into after we leave.  It is a wonderful floor plan...simple and sweet and just right for the "55 and older" population.

The photo below is a sunset picture taken of San Clemente.  Kim and Kenny will be moving from there and I am sure they will miss it.

The photo above is out of order, but it is of us driving home and watching the moon come up over the Mingus Mountains on the horizon.  It was a beautiful sight! and we were glad to be home.

 For Thanksgiving, we drove to Phoenix to spend the Holiday with my friends, Suzanne (no picture), her husband, Lew and Ginger and Sam.  We had a glorious celebration.  Suzanne is a perfect hostess.  We laughed until we cried and sometimes lost our breath!

Dean had a full-blown Asthma attack and we had to take him to the hospital for treatment.  That was the only downside for the whole event.

We spent the night and really had a delightful time!

The photo below is of Sam and Lew fixing the dishwasher, because there were a lot of dishes accumulated with so man y people and so much food!

DECEMBER:  We all prepare for a beautiful and wonderful celebration of the Birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  I love the beautiful reminders that He is the light of the world, as we look at the lights of the Temple on Temple Square.  I love the music that radiates from Choirs everywhere...from Churches, from home recorded music music and from our own hearts.  Christmas is the culmination of a pretty amazing year and we can pause to say, "Thank you, Lord for blessing us with so much beauty, family, friends, memories and our Lord and Savior."

And I have to add...Thank You for preserving our lives so that we. can feel in our hearts the love that radiates out of the Universe to all of us.

We are now on the threshold of a new year...it is the year of Our Lord, 2020...and we open the book, turn to the first blank page and begin to write the first chapter of this new year.

May God continue to bless each and everyone with "enough!"  I look forward to what will be written on the coming pages in the journey of my life.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!