There are so many of you I haven't met yet, so I thought I'd take advantage of Bill napping to tell a little about me/us. We met at a singles' conference June 1991. He was living in Heppner, OR at that time, and I was living in Moscow, ID with my four children then. My children are: Heather (married to Chris R, and they have 2 boys with a girl due in January, and in the process of moving to Hawaii), Holly (married to Robert G, has 2 boys, 2 girls, and they live happily in California), Heidi (married to Mike A, with one girl, Izabella, but we call her Izzy, lives here in, IN about 10 miles from us), and Philip (married to Heather, they are both students at BYU-Idaho and twitter-pated as can be). So, at this singles' conference, the first night was table games and active games. We played one that involved rotating to other chairs in a circle, and as I sat on one, he slid under me faster than a whipped whip. He may have been faster than me physically, but I left him speechless a time or two with my unique perspectives. The second day of the conference, we triple-dated into the nearby town to do the tourist thing, and he had the nerve to hold my hand. It made me nervous, but it felt good, too. The third day was testimony-sacrament meeting, followed by a brunch, then the drive back home. I rode with him part way until our roads split into two different directions, and my friends followed in my car to that same point. We talked for quite a while longer. Then I felt a pair of hands literally push me toward him. I turned around to see who that was, and no one was there! but I sure found myself wrapped in hug that felt like home. I was stunned. Once we parted, I prayed while I was driving my friends and myself home, and asked Heavenly Father if "Bill" was my eternal mate. The answer was the strongest "YES" I'd ever received. The Spirit was so strong, I started crying and could hardly see the road. The Spirit was so strong, my friends started crying and didn't know why. The Spirit was so strong, one friend asked, "Is THAT the Holy Spirit?" She had never felt anything like that before!
When we got home, I told my kids I had met my eternal companion over the weekend, and I didn't even know his last name! The next day, Monday, he called me in the evening. I learned his last name, and when I asked how to spell that -- you know him -- he said "T-H-A-T." We talked for 3 hours, and it never showed up on his phone bill. We made plans of when we'd get together again, made arrangements for a date to the temple, and to make a long story short, that ended up being the day we were sealed to each other in the Seattle Temple, 6 weeks after we met. And the rest is history, and it's been the happiest 17+ years of my life.
I loving being his wife, love being a mother and grandmother, and love that we share a testimony of our Savior, not necessarily in that order. I also love to do art work. I have a small collection of canvases I've done, and quite a few rooms in several homes with my murals, and stacks of sketches and pencil drawings. I also love playing and teaching violin and piano. At church I play organ 4th and 5th Sundays, interpret for the deaf the other Sundays, am the second counselor in Young Women, am serving a mission with Bill digitizing Family History Books and Local History Books to put online (I believe he's already given you'all the site). In my spare time, I like to... I'll have to let you know when I have spare time. Just kidding. I enjoy sewing, needlework, reading, baking, and yard work if it's not too cold outside.
I've also enjoyed reading all the emails that have come in from some of you. Yes, my son Philip, I read yours, but that doesn't count as a call home! Glad you're happy, though.
Now, Bill is napping in his chair at his computer. He has this cute little butler that comes out with his nose in the air when an email comes and says in his supersilious tone, "Sir, you've got mail." He should make his appearance as soon as I hit the "send" button. Maybe I better turn his volume up before hitting "send." I wonder if it will wake him up. Nice to meet you'all!
Love, Annette
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