I'm Getting Old

Being with my family this past week has led me to one very OBVIOUS conclusion.

I am getting OLD!

My nephew Ben will be leaving on a mission in just a few short months. I have a niece in college and another niece about to start college. This is just all sorts of crazy!

I was watching some home videos today of when Samantha was born, and that's when it hit me that she is almost a year old! Where has the past year gone?

Is it just me, or do the years go by faster and faster the older I get? I guess I still think of myself as the young girl without any wrinkles on my face and lots of energy and spunk.

Of course the truth is (as Trevor pointed out to me the other day) I am looking rather old these days. He says you can see it in my face. I don't see what he is talking about but I'll take his word for it.

I know how I feel, and I definitely don't feel that old. I can settle on just being young at heart right? Right?

Laura Packer Ferrell
(April 15, 1917 - February 6, 2009)

"Together Again"

OGDEN – Our wonderful Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, Sister, Aunt and Friend left us and her home on earth on Friday, February 6, 2009 to be with her eternal companion, our Dad (Grandpa). She was 91 years old.

She was born April 15, 1917 in Franklin, Idaho, the daughter of Philando and Veressa Packer. Laura completed third and fourth grades in one school year and later graduated as high school valedictorian from Franklin High School in 1934. She attended LDS Business College and Weber State College.

She met Benjamin Herbert Ferrell at a dance at the Coconut Grove in Salt Lake City. They were married for 72 years before Herb passed away on August 19, 2008.

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This past weekend was full of some good times. My Grandma and Grandpa were probably having just as good a time in Heaven. I met some fun relatives and reacquainted myself with many I hadn't seen in a while.

I met James Ferrell the author of The Peace Giver (one of my favorite books to read on the Loo) and my sister Jen and husband happened to have a copy they had him sign! How cool is that? It was probably a little inappropriate that they asked for his signature right in front of the casket, but he was very kind. I tried to get an inconspicuous picture of him, but it ended up being very blurry and of his back. Too bad eh?

We were able to be with both my parents who flew up from Texas where they are serving a mission. It was very good to see them! I miss them so much! This is my dad playing with Samantha in the hotel room.We went swimming and enjoyed staying up late talking. I just had such a good time! Logan and Samantha were well behaved for the most part and it was good to be away from Trevor so he could get some marathon studying in back at home.

I am revived. Now that we are back home it's time to clean and do the laundry. So until next time!

Logan, Samantha and I are in lovely Utah for a few days to visit with family. We are having a fun time just hanging out with the cousins and saying goodbye to my eldest brother and his family who are moving to the Dominican Republic for a few years or so.

I should say that the main reason we are here is for my Grandmother's funeral. She passed away a few days ago, and I am very happy she can be with her sweetheart again. But more on that later.

I find timing is a funny thing. It was a blessing that she passed away just at the right time for all of us to be able to say goodbye to my brother Kevin and his awesome family that I will miss so much! The bright side to his moving is the vacation that we are going to be saving for as soon as Trevor finds a job. Won't that be fun!

It has also been nice to get away from Trevor while he has been so busy studying. It has been a much needed break even if it is just for a few days!

The Children's Place ties are out! The boys ties only come out twice a year, so you better hurry before they are all gone!

politics and such

Okay. It was going to have to be said eventually. I am not afraid to do it, so bring on the opinions.

I was watching The McLaughlin Group on PBS the other night. Anyone who doesn't know what this show is, it's a show that brings both sides together on important issues and lets them fight it out. It can be quite hilarious at times.

The issue brought to the table was Obama's stimulus package. Has anyone really taken the time to look into this? I will admit I had not.

This is taken straight from the transcripts on Saturday's show. The following relates to how Obama's $825 Billion stimulus package will be spent.

DR. MCLAUGHLIN: Republicans think otherwise. In slashing attacks, Republicans critiqued the bill, especially for its alleged fat content: Infrastructure -- highways, bridges, et cetera -- $366 billion; jobless benefits and Medicaid, $180 billion; health care for the poor and unemployed, $127 billion; local school districts, $41 billion; federal buildings, $7.7 billion; Amtrak, $1 billion; digital TV conversion, $650 million; federal cars, $600 million; global warming research, $400 million; sexually transmitted disease prevention, $335 million; National Endowment for the Arts, $50 million.

I have a few questions.

#1 Sexually transmitted disease prevention?!? What the?? You have got to be kidding!!

#2 National endowment for the arts?!? We don't need the arts right now! We need jobs!

#3 Digital tv conversion! At this point my opinion is it's every man for himself. If you haven't done the conversion yet, you probably don't care or are too lazy to care.

#4 My last question is what is this Federal Cars deal all about? That one I don't know about.

So you see my problem with the Stimulus Package. If anyone can explain these things to me, I welcome you to do it.