This is my sister, Tracee. (And her husband, Danny.) Isn't she beautiful? This picture was taken on Thursday, August 13th, 2009. She passed away 3 1/2 days later, Monday, August 17th, 2009. Ironically...it was our mother's birthday. I have every confidence that mom came to get her! Tracee waited for the house to be quiet, for the lights to be dimmed, and for her sweet husband to be dozing right next to her. Then, when she knew all was well, she left us...quietly and peacefully her mortal body just went into an eternal sleep, to await a wondrous special day! But I am sure her spirit, that same spirit that carried her through her life of suffering and pain and happiness and joy, is enjoying a marvelous reunion with those that have gone before! My sister, Tracee, is happy, healthy and...beautiful! I love her and miss her!

So Much for Trying to Conquer Your Fears!

I tried. I went to the hospital to visit my sister, and I tried. I had worked an 8 hour day and spent most of that going up and down a ladder and she is on the 3rd floor. So....I took the elevator! Yeah, I know, BIG step! Well, I won't be doing that again! EVER! I got on; I was all alone; pushed the button for the 3rd floor and then I waited. The doors didn't close. Weird thoughts went through my mind. But just as I started to get back off thinking that this stupid elevator doesn't work, the doors close and up we go. About 1 floor. Then....wham....a big jolt and the elevator stops. My heart beat starts to rise, my breathing becomes faster, and I can feel the flush start up my neck! What to do, what to do. I look for a phone and start beating on the open button. Then all of a sudden the thing starts up again and then it stops smoothly on the 3rd floor. The doors open and I burst out and swear all the way to my sister's room that I will NEVER ride on a stupid elevator again!
Have a great day!
ps. This all took place in the time span of about 15 seconds, no joke!

I LOVE being a Naegle (neg-lee))

Hi again. It has been a few weeks since I have blogged. Since that time, I have had a short but sweet vacation to the beautiful White Mountains for a family reunion at the Naegle property, Rancho Valle Bonita! I had a wonderful time with my husband and my kiddos, (excepting Joshua because he had to work,)and I really enjoyed watching my grandson get dirty playing at the same ranch where I got dirty as a child. We met up with relatives that we only see every two years and renewed those friendships. We had cousins over playing games on our porch every night. We listened and learned of our ancestors. We laughed and cried. And of course, we had great campfires to gaze into until we couldn't hold our eyes open. What am I grateful for at this moment? My heritage!!

Just a Reminder...to myself!

I don't write very often, because I don't think I have much to write about. We have had a hot, slow summer. We have had cars break down, no money for vacations, and much worry about family. Life is/has been hard.
As I was driving home today from dropping my sweet/hard working/exhausted husband off at the airport, I was feeling sorry for myself. I could go on for a page about how my life sucks! What a whiner! What a weenie! What an ingrate!
So...I decided that I am going to write today about a few things that I am grateful for:
Number 1: The gospel and my Savior who still loves this whiner!

Number 2: My wonderful family. I have a husband that saves us thousands of dollars because he can fix anything. And he gives up so much of his time to help us out! I also have great kids and an adorable grandson that I love!

Number 3: Our health.

Number 4: Our jobs. I am very grateful that we have employment no matter where!

Number 5: My friends; I have great friends who care about me.

So...I am going to try to be grateful more. When you are counting your blessings, the crappy things don't matter as much! It makes me happy to be grateful!!

Happy Sabbath!!

It is Amazing......

how fast your heart beats when you are frightened of something. Today I had to...yes...HAD to ride in an elevator! I took my sister to the doctor and the office was not on the first floor. My sister was in a wheelchair. I actually thought...for a moment...about asking someone nearby to ride up with her. But then I felt guilty so I pushed the wheelchair into the elevator and after a brief pause, I walked in beside her. I pushed the button for the 2nd floor, yes it was only one floor, and the stupid doors took their sweet time to close. In the time it took for those doors to close, a million unpleasant thoughts went through my mind! One of those thoughts was that next time I will make my sister crawl up the stairs if I have to. Not really, I am just kidding!!! Anyway, the elevator worked fine and I only just started to hyperventilate. Baby steps, baby steps......

I knew I didn't ride ELEVATORS for a reason!!

Okay...so one of my biggest fears, perhaps my second biggest fear of all is getting stuck in an elevator! I don't have a problem riding in the one that has glass walls or windows in it because if it got stuck, people could see me screaming and panicking and then they would rescue me really quickly! But...the elevators that are like little closed up closets that move scare the heck out of me. My family and close friends know this. I will take the stairs even it I have to cover 5 or so floors. Occasionally, I have been known to ride in an elevator if it is big and clean and new. This is very rare indeed and it has to be fast because I start to hyperventilate. I am not kidding. I really do carry one single tranquilizer in my purse in case this ever happens to me. I was once in the elevator at the Joseph Smith Building in Salt Lake City and they were piling people in because A FEW of the other elevators weren't working. So..we are in this elevator on the 9th floor with a million other people...packed like sardines, literally...the doors close...it moves one floor and stops at the next floor. But the doors won't open...panic builds...I bang on the "open" button...the door opens and I burst out onto the 8th floor, a floor that guests aren't allowed on and then I argue with the sweet little old man and I tell him I won't get back on the elevator. He shows me the stairs!! (And, you know the Haunted House ride at Disneyland? Well, my family knows to stand back and create a large bubble of space around me as the room starts to grow longer so I don't embarrass them because...I don't want to ruin this ride for anyone...but I know that we are in an elevator!!)
Well....Tracee works at Banner Thunderbird Hospital on the early morning shift. She is a phlebotomist; she draws patients blood for the nurses and doctors. Anyway, she came home on Friday and told me a story. Yep...she got stuck in an elevator. She said it stopped between floors with the big jolt just like you see in movies! Then...after a few seconds....the lights went out and it was pitch black. Okay, I have to pause and breathe for a minute..... Anyway, a little closed up closet dead stops and then the lights go out! I thought I was gonna die just hearing the story.
The moral of this tale is this: I will NEVER ride in an elevator again because they really do get stuck!!!! I know someone in real life that has gotten stuck! (Okay, so it was maybe a few minutes, but it could have been longer!) I could probably take that tranquilizer out of my purse because I will never need it!!!! Breathe, breathe, breathe.....

Just Stuff!

It has been a while since I last blogged. Not too much going on in my life. Let's see.....I had a gross eye infection, much better now; Steve took the kids on a great hike to Salome Canyon, which is becoming a yearly thing; I got to watch Keegan ALL day, which was a blast; Joshua graduated from ASU, so excited for him; Tracee began working at Banner Thunderbird Hospital, she is awesome at her job and making lots of money to save; Jamon is doing so great at his new job; Kristen is out of school for the summer and having fun with Keegan full time, and she is teaching him so much (I think he is a genius); Courtney is now officially a Senior in high school!!! So...I guess that is all of my news. Oh...and I have another hero: she is so brave and can make you smile even when she is nervous. She has such a strong testimony of the blessings of the Priesthood and she is a terrific example to me. Again, she probably didn't want to be my hero...but she is!! And I love her!! Here are few pictures just because:

A friend of mine told me this picture looks like the mug shot of a drugged out shoplifter!!


How do they always find this cupboard??


Pictures of part of the canyon hike: the group entering the canyon, Courtney on nature's waterslide, and my girls (and a stranger) floating through.




Well, until next time; Happy blogging!!