Brrrr

It is freezing in Colorado right now.  Tonight is supposed to be -20 and that is brrr cold for us.  We have a fire going and have some space heaters by the water pipes.

Last week Jim and I went to Utah to watch some BYU games.  We saw Jimmer Freydette (sp) play some amazing b-ball, and then the volleyball team killed UC Irvine. It was so much fun. Honestly, the best part was spending time with Jim and just having fun with my hubby. He takes such good care of me.  I had my Kindle and he had his sun flower seeds and that's how we drove to and from Utah. We laughed and played together. It was also great seeing Tyler and Jodi. They are darling together and I love seeing how much they love each other. Jim and I also went to the Provo temple, where we met some German bound sister missionaries, who just happen to live on the floor above the Russian sisters. They took the winter jacket to Jamie, along with some hugs. We stayed with Anita and the Duffins and spent time with Robin and Hyrum.

Who you marry is the most important decision you make in your life.  I look at Robin, her life and her nightmare dealings with ex-husband Doug, and wish I had a magic wand to make it all better.  Her son, who refuses to see his dad and has for the past year, is standing up to his dad.  Hyrum has suffered extreme emotional abuse at his father's hands- nothing which can be proven in a court of law, of course, but stuff that has deeply affected him and his views on women and authority. It took 9 months of them living here before we saw what I would consider normal behavior from Hyrum and then it was dashed to pieces when the court took him away from his mom and gave him to his dad. It didn't take but a few weeks before Hyrum thought we were all wicked and he was estranged from us. He has figured some things out regarding his dad, but now it is extreme the other way. Robin is stuck in the middle.  She'd love Hyrum to spend some time with his dad, but short of dragging him out the door, which she is physically unable to do, she can't make him.  She encourages him to be nice to his dad on the phone and Hyrum won't do that. Hyrum is done with being forced to do things.  If Hyrum were forced to spend time/nights with his dad, I hope Doug locks his bedroom door. 

For a reason Doug can only imagine, when Hyrum is rude with him on the phone, he feels the need to talk to Robin all about it. Ad nauseum. He feels he can tell her how to discipline Hyrum and what Hyrum's punishment should be for how he is treating him. Why Robin listens to him, I'll never know. There is no reasoning with him. His way is the only way to do things and he can't see any other way but his. Robin was busy with us and didn't want to talk to him the night we were there, so Jim answered the phone (after Hyrum came out of his room after talking to Doug) and Jim told Doug 3 times Robin was busy and couldn't talk. Jim sounded like a parrot repeating the same thing over and over as Doug kept wanting to speak to Robin. At least Robin was spared the ordeal one night. I can't believe Doug calls everynight to speak with Hyrum, who is hostile to him and then calls back and must speak to Robin about it.  Most people would get a clue. Your son is mad at you.  Back off a bit. Give him some space.  Try a different avenue. Send a card. etc. It is frustrating to see such levels of dis-function.

Robin has 2 court dates coming up and I hope to be at both of them for her.

Jamie is doing splendidly.  She loves the MTC and her companions, district, temple experiences, and everything connected with her mission.  Two more weeks until she heads off to Russia. She received a letter from Uncle Bobby, who wrote to her in Russian.  She loved it.  She also wrote me about J and J.  Boys from the Y and what she should do.  From my infinite book of knowledge on the workings of the male mind, I gave my humble advice. Shelve them for now and visit them in 1and 1/2 years.

Jeremy is back from Texas where he did installs for APEX last week.  What a great job for a young man. I'm glad it was better than Eugene OR, even though that was OK.

Talon is a stake president interview away from putting in his mission papers. Crazy.  Funny story- When he filled out his health portion of it, he said he'd had tuberculosis. I about had heart failure. I looked at that and thought doesn't he want to serve a mission or does he just want to serve in Utah? Tuberculosis was right next to Emphysema and a collapsed lung, which should have been a give away on the serious nature of TB.  He'd confused TB with bronchitis. His picture also looked like he'd recently come from a wind tunnel. He decided to do another picture and CUT HIS OWN HAIR so it would be more mission like. Crazy kid.  I hope someone was there to help him with it, but who knows.  He took care of it and that was good.  He's doing great at school.  Getting good grades and playing lots of volleyball.Kellie wants to go out for Spring Break.  We are chatting about it.

Sorry for the long epistle. you are officially caught up with me and mine. 
Cheers!