Christmas

Greetings everyone!

I have just a short time this morning and so I just wanted to quickly thank all of you who have made my life so special.  

I have had the opportunity of sharing my music with many as I played at the Main Post Office on Center Street in Mesa.  I played for at least 10 to 12 hours, broken up throughout the days before Christmas.  Had lots of compliments and had lots of fun.

We had the opportunity of spending the last week with family in Snowflake.  Our family Christmas program was great.  Shea and his family took charge and presented a wonderful gift of helping us understand again what Christmas is all about - FAMILY.  Jesus Christ has taught us the importance of family - we see evidence of this very strongly in the scriptures.  He believed in family and He has shared that with us directly through Prophets today.  I know how important families are and am so very grateful for mine.  Of course, I think mine is the greatest ever, but I know you all feel that way and that is most important.  I added to my family a short time ago when I married Nick and it has been very interesting how my love for his brothers and sisters has grown.  I don't get the opportunity to see them very much, but I am just amazed at how much I love them.  I guess it's because of the Gospel.  I know that Nick's family are my family because Nick and I were sealed together and because of that his family is mine.  The love that has come out of this is almost overwhelming and wonderful at the same time.

Each of you who are reading this little excerpt of my life have played a very vital role in my life.  You have helped me see the importance of friendship and the loyalty of family.  You have given to me the gift of love so strongly that I am awed by the feelings I have.  My life is so rich because of each of you.  THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU AND LOVING ME!!!

OK - enough!!!  I will try to upload some pictures on the next post.  I am mad at myself for not taking more pictures - I had the stupid camera with me all the time, but didn't take the dang thing out of my purse or pocket when things were happening.  Ever felt like you missed something?  Well, I did - but my mind's memory has them all cataloged away for reminiscing later.

Talk again at you soon,

Love,

Tawna

I haven't kept up with this like I wanted to, but just the same, I'm here now!  

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I made the best pie!  I will include the recipe here in this blog.  It was made with Splenda.  I know it looks like heck, but it was soooooo goooood.  Everyone chose it before they even cut into the other pies.  

Maybe there's hope for my cooking skills.  Nick still wonder's if I ever learned to cook!

I'm going to include a few more pictures from Thanksgiving.  We had a wonderful time.  And as usual, it was way too short.

We are all looking forward to Christmas.  The Flake's will be getting together the Sunday before and enjoying one another and then having Christmas at home.  Nick and I will be staying at Mom and Dad's.

Each year we have a tradition that I started 25 years ago this Christmas.  After I returned from my mission, I wanted to do something that the Finnish people do on Christmas Eve.  They go to the graveyard on Christmas Eve and place a candle at their loved ones' grave.  It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.  Just picture in your mind a graveyard covered with snow and thousands of little lights flickering in the snow.  Because of the time of year, it is dark most of the day, so the candles are just beautiful.  Some people would construct snowball pyramids and place the candle inside.  Others would freeze ice and place the candle inside.  Others just used candles in plastic containers made just for this purpose.  It was so beautiful to see and experience, that I wanted to share that with my family.

I invited my family to go with me and we put candles on the graves, gathered together and sang a Christmas hymn and then had a prayer.  The reason we have kept it going is because it brings a wonderful sense of hope and love like no other time of year.  To honor our loved ones by placing a candle at their resting spot and knowing that we will be able to see them again and be with them again is an awesome thing.  We are reminded by the candles of the Light that was sent here to earth to save all of us.  That "Light" was and is Jesus Christ.  He has given us the gift of Resurrection.  He came into this life in the poorest of circumstances and lived a life of service.  He knew from the beginning what He was going to have to do and He showed us how much He loves us by the life He led.  Then He did the most wonderful thing and took upon Himself our sins - all of the stupid things we do - He paid the price for them if we will repent of them.  Then He was crucified.  HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR US!  Then the most wonderful miracles was HE RAISED FROM THE DEAD to live again.  He has given us that gift and hope.  So, each Christmas our family honors Him by remembering what He has done for us and our loved ones.

I am grateful that my family has continued this tradition.  

Afterwards, we go back to Mama and Daddy's for grilled cheese sandwiches and soup.  Now you can't beat a good hot meal after standing out in the cold for a good hour.

I have a wonderful family!  I love each and every one of them.  I thank the Lord daily for my blessings and am awed by those family and friends I have the privilege of spending my life with.  Each of you mean the world to me.  Thank you for your love and support.  I hope that I will live my life worthy of that love and support!

OK - enough - here's the recipe for Tawna's Apple Cherry Pie:

Ingredients:

3 pounds pealed and sliced tart apples

1 pound frozen pitted dark cherries

place into a large mixing bowl.

In a smaller bowl mix together:

3/4 cup granulated Splenda

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

Pour over the apples and cherries.  Then add

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

3/4 cup melted butter

and continue to mix this together.  (You can of course try to perfect this recipe, but remember, I thought of it first..... nanner, nanner, boo, boo!)

Place bottom crust into a round glass cake dish - it won't all fit in a pie plate - of course you can always split this into two pies - whatever.  Pour in the mixture.  Take the top crust and lay it over the top.  You can seal the two crusts together and then slice some holes in the top for the steam.  Take the 1/4 cup of melted butter left over from the stick and brush it over the top of the pie.  (This may be sugar free, but unfortunately it isn't "fat free.")

Place pie into a preheated 425 degree oven and bake for one hour.  At about 40 minutes you may want to cover the top of the pie with foil so the crust doesn't burn.  Make sure you put it on a foil covered cookie sheet so you don't have to clean your oven after this adventure.

Take it out, let it cool, and then DIG IN!  It was soooo yummmmy!

Well - give it a try and let me know if it worked for you.  

Love you all,

Tawna

Seattle

Well, I'm back!

It was a fun trip.  We arrived in Seattle on Wednesday afternoon, got the car, checked into the hotel, then vegged.  My friend's mother and two of her grandchildren came over to the hotel to meet us and then we went off to dinner.  After dinner, we went back to the room and died.

Next day we met with her daughter and boyfriend and had breakfast at IHop.  Yummmyyyy!  Then we went over to her mother's home which is in Orting.  When we first arrived we met the family dog.  The dog barked at us for 2 solid hours - I am not kidding!  She didn't stop barking until "Mom" came home.  We stayed and met the other two grandkids, ate spaghetti dinner and then "roughhoused" with the kids for a couple of hours and then we left.

Next day, She took me around to the places where she grew up.  Seattle has grown a lot, she tried taking me places that were no longer available to see.  In some ways she was very disappointed.  It rained on us Thursday and Friday, but it wasn't too bad.  Friday evening we went back to "Mom's" house and had Turkey dinner with all of the trimmings!!!  It was sooooo goooood.  I'm looking forward to this week when I can have more..........

Because there were members of the family that have diabetes, the sweet stuff was sweetened with "Splenda" and let me tell you - I was impressed.  I have never had "diet" food taste so good.  I am hoping I can get the recipe for a couple of the things we had for our dinner here.

I know - you aren't really interested in a travelog, but didn't know what else to write.  I was welcomed and it was very comfortable with her family.  I had had some reservations, but they were put at ease.  

When we got to the airport in Phoenix and were about to board the plane to Seattle, I looked and saw France "Fritz" Willis standing at the desk.  I looked twice just to make sure.  It was him alright.  He was going up to Seattle for Francine's daughter's wedding.  Talk about small world.  It was fun running into him.  When we got to Seattle, we saw Francine and visited for a little bit and then we parted company.  Sure hope all went well with Fritz.  He was traveling alone because his wife had gotten ill just before the trip and couldn't travel.  Francine looked great - a little disheveled because of getting ready for a wedding and all - but looked good all the same.

I'm including a couple of pictures - one is the top of Mt. Rainier - couldn't get much more because of the cloud cover and the other mountain is Mt. Adams.  I would include other pictures, but I don't have permission at this point.

Love you all.  Let me know if any of this makes sense.

Tawna

Hello, everyone!

I don't know how many of you actually look at this, but I'll keep it up just in case I have something that might be of interest.

I had a fun and unique night last night.  I had been asked to help an elderly couple with a "family home-evening" group.  They wanted me to come up with music to go along with a reading that would be done.  I thought it would be interesting and these people are wonderful and if I could help them, I would be more than happy to do it.

Well, the reading was about Abraham Lincoln.  Lyle had pulled together quotes and items about Lincoln that he had collected through the years and he wanted to have authentic music included with the presentation.  

That's where the fun really began.  I went online and looked for anything "Abraham Lincoln."  Well - any of you that have ever done searches knows that you can come up with just about everything - some good - some bad.  Well, I ran into a few sights that I was glad I didn't need to spend any time with..... But I also found some great places to visit when it came to music.  Anyhow, I found a site that had Lincoln's favorite music mentioned.  So - I started looking for sheet music for these songs.  Then I took those pieces and plugged them into the script and we performed it last night.  There were about 30 people there, Catherine Caldwell sang "Amazing Grace" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and was the narrator, then Lyle (I can't remember his last name - sorry) read the other parts.

It was really a good evening - supper was provided also - YUMMMMMM!

----------------------

Tomorrow I am flying up to Seattle with a dear friend of mine.  She hasn't seen her mother in years and now she has the opportunity to do so and she asked me if I would come along.  I had told her a long time ago that I would and now that she actually has us booked, I can't back out.  I feel somewhat like a fish out of water already, as she has, through the years, told me about her mom and sister.  They sound pretty interesting and I know this will be difficult for her.  There are some things that will have to be confronted and I hope that because I'm there, She will be able to handle everything OK.

She is planning on taking me over to the Wharf and showing me the places she grew up around.  I am looking forward to that part.  I just hope that I don't cause any problems with my being up there with her.  I want this to be a wonderful reunion.  Oh, yeah - I get to have an early Thanksgiving dinner on Friday - LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT!!!!!

So - I'll try to get some pictures and send them when I get home.

Love you all - thank you for everything you do for me.  Just knowing that I have loving friends and family around me, makes me happy.  You are all the GREATEST!

Now - quit wasting time on this and get busy with things that are much more important!!!!!

Love you,

Tawna

Hello faithful family and friends!

As I said earlier, I'm trying to keep this up so that it becomes a habit and it doesn't just get left behind like so many other projects I get into.

Wow!  Wow!  Wow! I find it so interesting how Satan loves to keep things stirred up.  Here is a section of an e-mail that was sent to me by a friend of mine.  California is at it again.  (I hope this pastes in ok - if it doesn't, let me know if you want to read the whole thing and I'll e-mail it to you.

Here goes:

Anyhow, it talks about protesters at the LA temple.

It is just amazing to me how people have gotten their heads screwed on either the wrong way or too tight.  They just can't see the right way even when they are pointed toward it and shown specifically where it goes.  Amazing!

The article even goes into blogs that are being attacked and used.

Where is it going to stop?  It won't.  Satan is so determined to try to harass us, try to get us off balance, to start feeling sorry for those that sin, to get us to "see the error of our ways and our beliefs," to prove to us that the Church is wrong in its treatment of homosexuals.  By the way, I am offended when these people use the word "gay" to describe the fact that they are homosexuals.  "Gay" is a wonderful word for meaning happy, light hearted, fun, etc.  How dare they tromp on such a good word!  It's like those that find it funny that I have (and all of my family and relatives) the last name of "Flake."  I have heard some pretty funny "flake" jokes, but I always remind the teller that as long as he is not talking about my family and loved ones, I can handle a few funnies.

Anyway,  I'm on my soap box for sure......  I won't get political here, but I just had to air off a little at why the world is so stupid!

Nick and I were so looking forward to going up to Prescott to watch Tiffany play volleyball.  We got a call and found we were not going to get to go.  I am so proud of Tiffany.  She has been the heart of that team and to have them experience a short state tournament breaks my heart.  This is her senior year and she is already feeling the effects of not having another year to share with her teammates and school.

Hang in there, Tiff!  You have so much going for you.  You are a lovely person - inside and out.  As long as you continue to be a friend to everyone, being careful not to go too far, but letting those around you feel you care, you will continue to be an influence for good to everyone you come into contact with.  As long as you stay close to the Lord and His Church, you will eminate the love of the Savior to those that need a little flicker to restart their flame of hope.  When a person keeps the Holy Ghost with them, others feel it - others gravitate toward it, because it makes them feel better, happier, warmer, wanted.  You have that gift and if you will continue to be the leader you are, if you will continue to be the teammate you are in the gospel, if you will continue to show love to your neighbors, you will see how happy your life is and how blessed you are.  You have the best parents and the greatest sets of Grandparents of anyone I know.  They all want you to succeed and be happy.  They will do anything to help you as you go throughout your life.  You have Uncles and Aunts that love you dearly and will always be there for you.

I love you!

To the rest of you - I love you too and look forward to talking with you later.  TaTa for now and I'll be back.

PROMISE!

Tawna

OK!  Tawna is really blowing it with spelling and grammar.  PLEASE FORGIVE!!!!  You'll just have to wince and move on - she ain't changin' and bein' any diffrnt!

Decided I need to keep up with this thing so it becomes a habit and doesn't just end up collecting dust and not getting any use.

I don't know how many of you know what I do with my days, now that I'm married and all.  Well, sometimes I still wonder what I do - nothing seems to get done - I start one thing and end up on another and I see the other hasn't been finished!  Brother!  No wonder it took me this long to find a husband!

I was going through a couple of boxes this morning and found myself reminiscing over some of the things I had kept.  Of course I keep everything so I had a lot of reminiscing to do....  Anyhow, I had a couple of pictures of some of my nephews and nieces and I had to sit and laugh at how much they have all grown up.  

I look of Shea's daughter Tiffany - wow!  18 years old, a top volleyball player and beautiful!  I can still see her standing in front of the family giving a poem about "toot, toot, peanut butter" when she was just little.  

Derek getting asked out for the dance!  My goodness!  

Jordan is class President and killed an elk with one shot!  When I would see the boys come get the guns at Grandpa's, I would think "that gun is bigger than Jordan - how can he shoot it and hit a target?!"  Boy, am I put in my place or what?

Rhett playing football and excelling in music and school.  

Aubry turning into a tall young lady with a beautiful smile.  

Brynn is growing up soooo fast.  She is quite a dancer and gymnast!  

Melanie - what can I say but "our Mel" is growing up to be quite a young lady herself.  She still goes over to Grandma's to see how Grandma is doing.  

Brooke still sings like a princess and does her share of gymnastics and dance.  It's fun to watch these girls as they are learning such things that Aunt Tawna always wanted to do, but was a little more like the hippos in "Fantasia!"

Payt - he's the one I spend a lot of time with.  I am privileged to do "RESPITE" care for Payt and I get to take him to his therapy classes.  It has been so awesome to see him progress.  He definately shows his personality and lets me know when he's happy or not.  What a wonderful time I am having with him.  I am so grateful the Lord has blessed him - we have seen many miracles happen in him, to him and with his family.

Kamy is so sweet.  I haven't had as much time to spend with her as I got married and moved away.  But, she knows who I am and we have had some nice conversations when I go up to Grandma and Grandpa's to visit.  She grows at least an inch every time I go up.  CUTE!!!!!

Any way - I sure am grateful for the "kids" the Lord has given me.  I'm grateful that they still love their crazy old aunt.  I also think about Dallas' two boys and wish I had more experiences with them.  I remember practically raising Trent at the beginning and when Dustin came into the picture, I was there to help Karma with him also.  They are both grown men and Dustin even has his own kids!  Wow!  

I pray for each of these kids of mine.  I want them to have everything I had growing up and more.  I was given a wonderful childhood by loving parents who were very unselfish and gave us kids opportunities to become who we wanted to become.

I love my family.  I cherish the memories and the times I still have with each of them.  I couldn't ask for better "kids!"

I have had the opportunity of meeting many of Nick's nephews and nieces and I have fell in love with them too.  I pray for their happiness and success.  I wish we were living closer to them so that I could get to know them better.  They have been very patient with me and I think we could all have some fun together.

Well - Nick came in and asked what I have been doing.  He saw that I was sitting crying at the computer and he wanted to know what I was sad about.  I told him that I'm quite the opposite of sad - I am one of the most blessed people in the world because I have such a wonderful family and he has doubled that for me.

Thank you everyone, for loving me and sharing yourselves with me.  I have the greatest friends ever and I hope I will be able to show each of you my love by the way I live and what I do.

Take care until next time.....

Tawna

It's done!

Well - It's Done!  We have the first black to be elected president.  I don't mind that, it's just what he stands for.  What does he stand for?  He has glossed over so many things that it frightens me that he will not be accountable to us while he is president.  We are definately heading for 4 years of "it's above my pay grade" on many subjects and then the promises to bankrupt the coal industry, to cripple our military, to blur the lines on what our country stands for......  All I can say is "Heaven help us" and pray that we will all be strong enough to make it through.

I see that my brother, Shea got the most votes for School Board.  Go Get 'Em Shea!!!!  Also that the bond passed.  We do need to address the classroom situation for sure.

I feel badly that Cameron Peterson lost out.  That is very unfortunate for Navajo County.  I think Cameron would have made a pretty decent Sheriff.

Sylvia Allen won - I'm glad.  She has worked hard to get where she is and I hope she actually can make a difference.

I see Jack Brown lost out this time around.  It's too bad he was so naughty last election (actually it was the Democratic Party that was the worst) and there are those that remembered.

I'm so glad we were able to pass 102.  (Just to have Obama through it out later.)  I also noticed that California won theirs!!!!!  Finally, Californians stood up for themselves and beat the devil down!

Anyhow - so much for the rehashing.  I really am saddened by the fact that we will be facing a lot of "crap" for the next few years.  I'm afraid of what he will do that will affect us in the years to come - long after he is out.  Oh well - I guess I just have to get my own life in order so that Nick and I can "kesta" (last, in Finish) through.

All of you that read this - I hope I haven't offended anyone.  There is one thing though that I do want to say.....  I am so grateful for having the Gospel in my life.  For the understanding it brings to me and helps me make it through tough times.  I know Jesus Christ lives and He is very mindful of what is going on.  Because I can see the "whole picture," I am confident that things will all work out in our lives if we will put Him first.  We have a living prophet today, President Thomas S. Monson, who will guide us.  We have Twelve Apostles who love the Lord and will help us in our spiritual journey.  We have so much to be grateful for that something like this should be taken into stride and not throw us.  We will prevail.  I have confidence in that.

Hey - gotta go for now.  Love you all!  Thanks for stopping in and spending a minute with me and my rambling.

Take care!

Tawna

Election

Hi, everyone!

Just got off my e-mail some disturbing news.  If Obama is elected, he could repeal the "marriage" amendment that will probably pass here in Arizona, possibly in Florida and by a slim margin, California.  He has already said that he does not agree with making a marriage so clean and clear cut as "one man and one woman."  

If he gets elected, I feel we're going to have our world rocked almost to the core.  I have been talking with people from other countries and they are all looking for us to elect Obama.  They want change.  They are tired of conservatism and they want to get Obama in.  They all say it will be the best for the world.

Well - not so.  I firmly believe that Obama does not have this country at heart.  He is a pawn that is being used to further dishonest government.  It grieves me that we even have a member of the LDS church involved in this outrage - Senator Harry Reid.  Anyhow - I think we're heading right into prophesy and I hope we will all be able to endure to the end.

Each of you that I have included in my circle of friends are important to me.  I truly pray that you will all be blessed in your efforts and in your families.

I'll be back in touch.  Vote your conscience, but DON'T VOTE FOR OBAMA!

Later......

First entry - November 2, 2008

Today is Sunday.  We had a wonderful Stake Conference which included just about the whole State of Arizona.  President Packer was the main speaker and we also heard from a couple of the Seventy and the first counselor in the General Primary Presidency.  They all gave good talks.  We enjoyed the morning.

This evening I was looking over my e-mails and musing about some of the stupid ones I get on a regular basis.  I have had offers for just about everything ever thought of and more.  Then I decided to look into my "Bookmarks" and see what I have saved so I can look it over again.  I happened to notice my brother and sister-in-law's blog, so I clicked in.  Yvette was talking about memories of being a kid and this time of year.  As she expressed her feelings, I too was taken back to my childhood.  

A couple of weeks ago, I called my Aunt Janet and had a fun visit with her.  We talked about so many things as we laughed and cried and remembered more.  It was so much fun.  She has a few things about me in her memories that were hilarious and as she remembered them, we laughed until our sides hurt.  I am grateful that she reminded me of some of the fun things I experienced when I was young.

Then, as I continued to read Yvette's blog, I remembered that I completely missed an important day.  Today my mother's mother, Grandma Baker, would have been 101 years old.  She had always said she wanted to live to be 104, but didn't quite make it.  She was such a wonderful influence in my life.  She had a lot of hardships growing up in Mexico and her early married years were difficult, but she weathered through and raised a good bunch of kids and was endeared by her grandchildren.  She was a beautiful quilter, a great cook, and a lot of fun.  I am grateful I had the opportunity of living with her and Grandpa for a few years and experience their love on a daily basis.  I will always love them for what they have done for me and I felt a little sad that I had almost missed this special day of celebration.  Probably on this blog, I will fill in more about my family as time goes by.  If anyone out there has anything to add, please, please, please do.

I will try to get pictures up on here so we can be caught up with everyone.  I'll have to find the transfer cable for my camera so that I can do that.

This last week, Lilli and I went to Payson to watch niece Tiffany play volleyball.  What a thrilling experience.  They did not cease to entertain us with balls that rolled along the net, nearly hitting the floor with dives to hit the ball back into play, stuffing the ball down the throat of the opposing team, etc.  It was a lot of fun to watch.  Tiffany is very talented in this sport.  It's hard to see her growing up so fast.  Here she is 18 already and getting ready to graduate from High School this year.

Each of my nieces and nephews are very special to me.  It has been fun watching them all grow up and making me feel like I'm their "favorite Aunt."  I hope I never let them down on that.

I have been hoping to catch up on my new nieces and nephews I gained when I married Nick.  Unfortunately none of them live close enough to get to know personally, but I hope they will want to write and e-mail so we can get to know each other.  (Hint, Hint!)

Nick and I have been married for 2 1/2 years now and it has been wonderful!  I can't believe the time has gone by so quickly.  I have to laugh though, we sure have become the "old married couple."  We know how each will react to certain things and know when we've stepped over the line without having to be reminded, etc.  But, it has been fun getting to know each other and making plans for things.  I'm glad I waited for Nick.  He is a great man and I am so grateful he still loves me.......

Well - this is a start.  Let's see if Tawna can keep up with things and information that is worthy to share with all who are interested.  Let me know if you want to hear about anything or want to share your thoughts about things.  It would be lots of fun.

Talk at you later,

Tawna