More moles and relief society and stuff

I had to go in for my annual body scan on Tuesday.  I really dread this day and have to get all my courage up to go. Not only is it the most awkward, uncomfortable doctors visit possible, but then I can always count on him to find  moles that are "suspicious" and need to be removed.
Dr. B is super nice, and tries to make me feel more at ease by chatting away while he is examining  every inch of my skin...from head to toe.  When he sees something he doesn't like, then he gets out his magnifying, lighted thingie that he puts right down on my skin, then puts his eye right up to it.  Can I say awkward enough times?  This is about the time that I stop listening to him babble on and try to go to my happy place.
Oh wait, it gets worse.  After he finds a mole he wants to biopsy, then he puts a circle around it with his pen and has the nurse take a picture of it.  Ahhhhhhhhh
After he is all finished, then he gets out his recorder and tells it all about my moles....it sounds quite horrifying  as he describes what he doesn't like about each one he has circled.  Then he comes over and pats me on the shoulder and says " I don't think you have anything to worry about...those ones on your face will have minimal scarring."  Really?  Super.  He can't get me in till the middle of April so I'll have plenty of time to think about that.
On a happier note...
Wednesday night we had our Relief Society birthday party.  Naomi had a real neat program that they used when she was on her mission in Nauvoo. 
Muriel asked me a while ago if I would sing in a little choir she was putting together for the program.  We have been practicing a couple times a week for a few weeks and then with the whole program a couple more times.   The songs were really great though and fun to sing with these ladies.
The sister missionaries called and asked if they could come to dinner Wednesday ( the family that had signed up to have them over had something come up) so it was kind of hectic, but nice to have them over.   I have really grown to love these girls.  So after dinner, I dropped them off at their appointment, then went over to practice the program one more time before we put it on. 
The people in the play were all dressed up in Joseph Smith era clothes....really went all out.  They had their parts all memorized and it went off really well.  It was a real touching program about when the Relief Society was first organized, and all the good they have done over the years.  The songs went pretty well...kind of stuck in my head..."we must cherish one another, watch over one another, enlighten one another....that we may all sit down in heaven together"
Thursday night, I got another dose of sisterhood at bunko.  We sat and talked till about 11...listening to each others problems, and just things we are all going through. ..."cherish, watch over, comfort one another"  The few hours we spend together each month is pretty great free therapy for all of us. Love these ladies!

Wow I can't believe another week has flown by!

KC got a 1/2  price deal for bowling at Fat Katz from his work, so we decided to go for FHE.  What a hoot!

Candice has  her own ball and shoes!  Sweet!

I looked all over for mine, but couldn't find them....buried somewhere deep in the garage I guess.  (It's been about 15 years since I was on that league out in Sandy....That was a fun time!) 

What a fun family night!

A while ago, Angie asked me if I would go to Stephanie Nielsens book signing and get her a signed book  ( Heaven is Here...coming out April 3). 

I follow Stephanie's blog too, so I was happy to do it!

Candice came with me and we had fun walking around the beautiful new City Creek and shopping a bit.

I bought the book when we first got there, but Stephanie wasn't going to be there for about 45 minutes, so we thought we'd walk around for a while.  When we got back to Deseret book, there was a long line of women waiting to get their book signed.  We got in line too and a few minutes late, this lady came up and grabbed my arm.  I was thinking, Oh dear, this person must know me and I have no idea who she is!  But then she said "would you let us interview you for KSL?"    I couldn't really get out of it, so I said OK.   She said " just look at me and answer my questions"   Her camera guy came up behind her and turned on the bright light.  Oh dear, I do not think well on my feet, and I was really flustered and also having a hot flash.

She started asking me questions..."why would you stand in a line like this to have your book signed?"

I told her that I followed Stephanies blog and had been inspired over the  past few years by her positive attitude and story of faith and courage.  She asked me a few more questions, something about what I wanted to gain from this book.   I can't remember what I said...going into nervous blabbering mode...

Anyway, they interviewed a few other people there in line too, then went over and talked with Stephanie. 

We were in line about 45 minutes, but it was nice because they had Mindy Gledhill singing and brought around cake bites which were heavenly.

Finally it was our turn and we got to talk with her and her husband for a minute.  She was really sweet and friendly and signed Angie's book and a paper for me to put in my book.  ( I saw on her blog one day  that they were having a special that day to get the book half off if you pre- ordered it! ...but it won't get here till April 3)  Anyway, it was neat to meet her and her husband.

This is looking over the side of the walkway that goes over the street....This place is really amazing!

( They didn't show any of the interviews with the people in line on the news, but you could see Candice and I in the back ground when they showed the interview with Stephanie!  HA!  I was so relieved!)

Last time I was at mum's I brought home an awesome book with lots of wonderful old pictures of our family and extended family.  They won't mean anything to anyone besides me and my sisters...but to us, they are priceless memories.

The old jalopy

Grandma and grampa Braegger....one of the rare photos with her smiling....not that she was an unhappy person...always very kind and pleasant.  Maybe she didn't have any teeth!

This is an awesome picture of Grandma Braegger and the Relief Society sisters in the Providence 2nd ward

 Mum, with her best friend Margie

Daddy's family

My great grand parents...front center...That's my grampa Braegger on the right in back.

That's me...age 5

Grandma Braegger...age 18

 Another picture of daddy, his brothers and sisters and grandma and grampa.

This is my great grandmother...Gottleiben.  As I read about her life in a history my cousin Lana had put together, I could understand why she looked so sad.  She had  a very hard life. She came here from Germany, married my grandfather, then about 5 years later, he went back to Germany on a mission.  He met a lady there and she came to Providence to be with him. Him and this woman were both excommunicated from the church and he ended up marrying her.

Gottleiben never learned English and did her best to raise her children alone.  It was mentioned that Jakob ( my great grandfather) felt bad all his life for the unhappiness he had caused  and would bring treats and gifts for the kids on holidays.  His membership in the church was  re- established later in his life, but he lived out his life there in Providence with this other woman...causing much humiliation to Gottleiben who lived there too.  Gosh my heart goes out to her....it was interesting to read this story...I've never heard anyone talk about it before.

 Our cute family...pre-me.

 This was the first picture that appeared in the newspaper talking about mum and daddy's beautiful garden.

 Young Jean

I love this one!

Irrigating...wow, how many pictures like this one I have stored in my heart!

 The girls

At Bear Lake

We would go there every summer...pretty much best outing ever!  After a fun day floating on the old inner tube and playing in the water, we would go to Tony Grove for a picnic...mum's fried chicken...I can still smell it!

Oh this was a good one...I could never remember what our house was like before they built the bedrooms upstairs and down.  It said on this picture that this was just before they tore down the west room.

Love this picture of me and daddy.  You can see he was just pouring the foundation for the addition to the house.

This is me ...not a lot of baby pictures, but I understand, being # 5.

Awwwww,  this was at Tony Grove lake...I remember catching pollywog's there in the shallow water.

Young Jean and Del

Daddy and Aunt Dorella...love this picture!

It said mum was 18 here

Lena and Elmer Tibbitts...grandma and grandpa.  I didn't know Lena...she died in 1955.  Then Grampa married Edith.  That's the grandma I grew up with.  Looking forward to meeting Grandma Lena in the next life.  Reading her life history was wonderful and helped me feel closer to her.  She was a hard working woman!  I was amazed at all the things they did to keep their family going.  They farmed, raised their own animals, grew all kinds of fruit and berries to sell, and served faithfully in their many church callings and in the Temple.

This was in front of the house mum grew up in with daddy, Bruce, grandma and grandpa, Elmer, Dyrene, and Marcell.

 Mum's house

 Mum with her mutual girls...she served there for many years and always talked about how much she loved it.

Teina and I with Bruce's son Shawn

This was in front of Teina's house in China Lake.  Teina lived there the first few years of her marriage.  We went on a trip to visit them when I was about 13.  ( I made that top I had on in home EC!)

This trip was pretty monumental!  I had never been to California ( or anywhere else for that matter) and we got to go to the beach!

Oh my best friend Donette!  We had so much fun together and were pretty much inseparable!   

This was on my Baptism day

Leslie Lapray..  She lived across the street and we were best friends from the earliest time I can remember. Some of my favorite memories with her were playing on the monkey bars ( clothes line) and making up shows to put on for my family.  We would play in the ditch in front of her house.  It was cemented on the bottom and we would dam it off at the top, then when it got full, we would pull out the board and it would send us sailing down the ditch....scraping our bottoms all the way.  We would end up with nothing left of the backside of our shorts...Ha! Mum would scold me, but it was sure fun!

Leslie and I out shoveling snow....seems like we used to get more snow back then.

Leslie Lapray and I (dress up was another favorite pass-time)