41 YEARS

Today was our 41st anniversary. Every year I wonder if we will both be alive to celebrate another year together. I've decided we will stick around another year. I can't imagine my life without Jim. We have our tough moments but we work hard to get through them and learn something from them. For the past couple of months, we have seemed to work out some kinks and knots that needed to be worked out and Jim has been amazing in his kindness and efforts to make me happy. I want to publically let my family know that despite our differences and struggles, I love your dad. I honor him because of his great spirit and because of the strength he has possessed throughout our marriage to lead us, as a family, down the path of righteousness. As we get older and we hurt more and we sleep less, it is easy to become out of sorts and both of us have to work hard to not let the aches and pains affect our relationship.

As a word of advice to all of you -- marriage takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of patience. Just when you think you have it figured out, something else happens that tests that patience and love. Don't give up. Talk to each other. Work it out. Keep the Lord involved and it will all work out.

We were able to get tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert w/David Archuletta and Michael York as guest artists. We attended this morning - missed our ward Christmas program to attend this, but it was fabulous!! I have always loved David Archuletta's voice and it was out of this world today. His rendition of "Silent Night" made me weep because it was so beautiful. President Monson was there as well and spoke after the concert.

We had to get up at 5:00 a.m. to leave by 5:45 a.m. to ensure that we would have a place to sit. We got there in good time despite a freeway closure and pouring rain. In fact, we were the first attendees that were allowed inside the hall because Ammon is so darn cute. We were treated very well and they made sure we got great seats.

See Ammon's blog to see what he had to say about the concert. (I wrote it because he asked me to, but I quoted him.) It was well worth the early morning. I'm not likely to forget some of those songs.
I find the structure of the building to be very interesting and quite amazing. It was filled to capacity. The concert went three nights and they said it was full every night, meaning that approximately 85,000 people attended the concert over the three performances.

You can see Kaitlin sitting in an empty hall. We were soooo happy (and hungry)!

On a sadder note, I got this photo of the Provo Tabernacle burning. So very, very sad. I saw two of my cousins (not from the Teichert side) at the Christmas concert today and they were so excited to tell me that Grandma's painting had been salvaged after all. They told me it was on the news last night but I didn't see it. I was really excited to hear that news. But when I got home and looked at the newspaper, I realized that it was a print of Harry Anderson's "Christ's Second Coming" that was saved, not Grandma's spectular painting of Peter, James and John ordaining Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. The painting was lost in the fire.