Good news today-
My sweet daughter’s father-in-law has been battling secondary melanoma. We have been so fearful since a couple of weeks ago,when we got the news. Last week they had to take off part of his foot, which was cancerous, and found cancer in two lymph glands (nodes?) as well. I have cried and cried because we love this man so much and I can’t bear the thought of Ryan losing his dad at his young age. I can't bear to think of Ryan's mom without his dad. Last night, as I prayed, I felt hopeless. Results of a complete body scan were to be in today. Can I just say, thank you, thank you, thank you, Heavenly Father. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you.
Who I’m missing today-
Ben, in Alaska. I miss his smile. I miss my boy.
and Czar and Angel. The dogs. Okay, I got hooked. I miss their slurpy kisses and their excitement to see me. David doesn’t jump around and lick me when I walk into the room. His tongue doesn’t hang out at my mere appearance. I miss playtime with the dogs. I miss tucking them into bed. I miss mixing their din-din. I really need to get a dog but being responsible for one more thing makes me shudder.....yikes! Their people/parents brought me a gorgeous bouquet of flowers as a thank-you. I think I deserve visitation rights!
Best food of today-Okay, I haven’t mentioned Harry’s restaurant for WEEKS! It’s a miracle! But, alas, today I do. Lunch was marvelous. Only they changed the menu and took off Brandi's and my favorite thing....the garden mix salad (greens, mandarin oranges, tomatoes, pinenuts with vinaigrette) served on a flatbread with a blue cheese creamy mixture melted on the flatbread. Kind of eat it like a salad pizza. It was HEAVENLY! I think we might start a protest. I think we should temporarily shut the place down. But can I just say, Harry’s Dip is marvelous. And Tosh’s prawns. I think I’ll survive.
Best Phone Call of the Day-
visiting with Marilyn B. (Mama Bawden) For over an hour! She always inspires me. She has started Total Health and Fitness. She is starting to eat healthy. She is starting to exercise. I promised her I won't hate her.
On my play list today-4 in the Morning- Gwen Stefani
Somebody’s Me- Enrique Iglesias
and...
The new Nashville Tribute to the Pioneers- that’s a switch, isn’t it?
Book I just finished reading today-
A Train to Potevka- by Mike Ramsdell
The story of an LDS intelligence agent in Russia/a true espionage tale
I thought it was a decent read, a fast read. I’d give it a "B."
Art class today....so much fun! I love this portrait class. Marilyn Gandre is a wonderful teacher. (How many Marilyn's can I have in my life?!) I have spent weeks painting a portrait totally in black and white as a value study. Today, FINALLY, I got to start painting with color. I’ve never painted with this method before and I love it. I’ll show the finished product...if I ever get finished!
Funniest story today:
I was talking with friends over lunch today about camping. Gayle just went camping with her family to Yellowstone. I asked her if she "camped" or stayed in a hotel? She camped, poor thing! Okay, I USED to camp. Gayle and I spent several years camping together at girl’s camp and I think we tied in grossing out the girls with personal stories. I’ve been to girl’s camp a dozen times as a leader. It changed my life as a teenager. I USED to love it. I don’t love it anymore. I love what happens at camp -like relations with the girls, the funny stories, the bonding with the leaders, the friendamonies and testimonies. But now I like cushy beds. I don’t like mosquitoes. I have about a dozen bites right now on my feet and legs and I feel like one giant welt. I itch and I scratch and I dab every ointment I can find for stings and I’m still miserable. And I haven’t even been camping. Now I like sleeping with fans blowing on me or air conditioning at night. I like snuggling. I don’t like sleeping in sleeping bags that smell like my boy’s socks. I don’t like getting my pillow case dirty. I don’t like critters in my food. I don’t like washing dishes in yucky water. I don’t like getting high centered on an air mattress or getting bucked off every time I roll over. I love to Dutch oven cook. I like to Dutch oven cook in my fire pit outside my garage, then eat under the tent umbrella, wash dishes with hot water and a dishwasher (okay, I don’t like that part), then go to sleep in my cushy bed. I digress. This story isn’t about me.
My friend, Brenda, confessed she really isn’t a very good camper. She said the last time she was a Young Women’s president, they lived in California. They went to the beach for camp. They borrowed the tents from the Scouts. They rolled out the tents and found all these perfect little wooden sticks rolled up inside of each tent. She thought, "Oh, how cute, the scouts put all this kindling for our fire inside the tents for us." They decided they would build a fire and cook dinner before they put up the tents. They burned all the little wooden sticks/kindling.
Needless to say, the tents didn’t stand up without stakes and everyone got to sleep outside under the big blue sky! Funny, huh?!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
A Favorite Recipe
We had all the family over for home evening last night. The kids bought one of those photo frames (that play a slide show) for David for his birthday (that we celebrated at Lake Powell), with a gazillion pictures on it for his office. He loved it! Everyone swam and we ate tacos or taco salad. I made one of my favorite summer salads that I haven't made in awhile and everyone loved it. Don't let the ingredients fool you and keep you away. It's delicious!
Strawberry and Cucumber Salad
strawberries
cucumbers
equal parts of raspberry vinegar (red wine will work also) and sugar
Last night I did the larger container of strawberries to two cucumbers. I take the cucumber and split it lengthwise, then core the seeds out with a melon baller or small tsp. measuring spoon. Then the chunk the cukes into about 1/2-1/4 inches. Just a nice bite size crescent moon shape without getting flabby. Slice the strawberries into fourths. I used about 3/4 cup sugar to 3/4 cup vinegar. Don't worry about all the sugar. It is a marinade so the strawberries and cukes are just coated. Marinate for a few minutes, then serve. You don't marinate it really long or the cucumbers turn reddish and are not as pretty.
Strawberry and Cucumber Salad
strawberries
cucumbers
equal parts of raspberry vinegar (red wine will work also) and sugar
Last night I did the larger container of strawberries to two cucumbers. I take the cucumber and split it lengthwise, then core the seeds out with a melon baller or small tsp. measuring spoon. Then the chunk the cukes into about 1/2-1/4 inches. Just a nice bite size crescent moon shape without getting flabby. Slice the strawberries into fourths. I used about 3/4 cup sugar to 3/4 cup vinegar. Don't worry about all the sugar. It is a marinade so the strawberries and cukes are just coated. Marinate for a few minutes, then serve. You don't marinate it really long or the cucumbers turn reddish and are not as pretty.
More Out Of The Mouths Of Babes
A few entries ago, I shared some funny things the kids said when they were little. Well, I found my original journal entries. I left out a few or some had further explanation.
Pasgeti, Basketi, Sesgeti: all the same thing- long, white noodles (they have learned from their father’s college tales) that they fling on the wall to see whether or not they are cooked enough. Usually eaten with one small tsp. of sauce ("Oh Mom, do I have to have sauce?") but preferred smothered with butter and Parmesan cheese (the way their mother eats it!)
Racaroni: similar to "Pasgeti, etc." but eaten with a cheese sauce. All those 8 boxes for $1 no-name brands will not do...it has to be Kraft or nothing!
Crunches: those wooden sticks that people with broken legs use.
Rainbrella: Something you put over your head to keep dry in a storm. Unfortunately, we’ve never had the chance to use one properly. Ours are always broken soon after purchase because they are so much fun to use as swords or as props in a tap dance.
Sister Canyon: What Jeri Cannon is to the children of the Ward
LMNO: said at a hundred miles an hour, this becomes one of the letters of the alphabet found between the letters "K" and "P."
Elvira: a popular song by the Oakridge Boys which, when first sung by our son, Travis, was said, "Elviro" and rhymed with the line "My hearts on fir-ro." Needless to say, Travis has been in speech therapy.
Archie-ologist: Greatly influenced by his past Primary teacher, Mark Galbraith, Ryan wants to grow up and be one so he can go around digging for "old stuff." (Actually, this was quite enlightening because Ryan has become somewhat of an expert on Book of Mormon archeology.)
Recolize- I think this is one word Ryan used more than any other as a toddler. He would use it in the sentence, "I didn’t recolize that!" Makes sense to me.
Hamgummers: Something you eat at McDonald’s with fries and a drink. I figure my kids can spot the "Golden Arches" from a 5 mile radius in any direction but cannot spot the dirty socks under the bed.
Amblee-unce- one of those white cars things with "sigh-runs" on the top.
President Ray-gun: Of course, the head of our nation whose policies encourage a stronger national defense!
Maz-a-geen: one of those book thingies Mom likes to read.
A garbage man- what Ben wanted to be when he grew up. I was surprised by his lofty aspirations and asked him why he wanted to be a garbage man. He said, "Because they only work one day a week and the rest of the time I want to be an artist!"
And yesterday I watched the kiddos. We've been enjoying Rainer cheeries, my new favorite. The kids loved them but Halle likes hers "without the bean inside."
Pasgeti, Basketi, Sesgeti: all the same thing- long, white noodles (they have learned from their father’s college tales) that they fling on the wall to see whether or not they are cooked enough. Usually eaten with one small tsp. of sauce ("Oh Mom, do I have to have sauce?") but preferred smothered with butter and Parmesan cheese (the way their mother eats it!)
Racaroni: similar to "Pasgeti, etc." but eaten with a cheese sauce. All those 8 boxes for $1 no-name brands will not do...it has to be Kraft or nothing!
Crunches: those wooden sticks that people with broken legs use.
Rainbrella: Something you put over your head to keep dry in a storm. Unfortunately, we’ve never had the chance to use one properly. Ours are always broken soon after purchase because they are so much fun to use as swords or as props in a tap dance.
Sister Canyon: What Jeri Cannon is to the children of the Ward
LMNO: said at a hundred miles an hour, this becomes one of the letters of the alphabet found between the letters "K" and "P."
Elvira: a popular song by the Oakridge Boys which, when first sung by our son, Travis, was said, "Elviro" and rhymed with the line "My hearts on fir-ro." Needless to say, Travis has been in speech therapy.
Archie-ologist: Greatly influenced by his past Primary teacher, Mark Galbraith, Ryan wants to grow up and be one so he can go around digging for "old stuff." (Actually, this was quite enlightening because Ryan has become somewhat of an expert on Book of Mormon archeology.)
Recolize- I think this is one word Ryan used more than any other as a toddler. He would use it in the sentence, "I didn’t recolize that!" Makes sense to me.
Hamgummers: Something you eat at McDonald’s with fries and a drink. I figure my kids can spot the "Golden Arches" from a 5 mile radius in any direction but cannot spot the dirty socks under the bed.
Amblee-unce- one of those white cars things with "sigh-runs" on the top.
President Ray-gun: Of course, the head of our nation whose policies encourage a stronger national defense!
Maz-a-geen: one of those book thingies Mom likes to read.
A garbage man- what Ben wanted to be when he grew up. I was surprised by his lofty aspirations and asked him why he wanted to be a garbage man. He said, "Because they only work one day a week and the rest of the time I want to be an artist!"
And yesterday I watched the kiddos. We've been enjoying Rainer cheeries, my new favorite. The kids loved them but Halle likes hers "without the bean inside."
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Ben's Love
Ben caught a plane back to Alaska today. One of his buddies got married here at Alta and Ben was the best man. Yeah for weddings so Ben could come home for a week! And the wedding party bought his ticket!
And speaking of weddings, I thought I would show you "what" Ben is married to. He's in love. He's smitten. He's head over heels, can't think of much else. It's tough love. Not for sissies. Definitely not for his momma. But she gets it. She thinks it's pretty incredible too!
GILEAD
I began a few years ago, when reading a meaningful book, underlining passages that I thought were beautiful or insightful to me. One book that I treasure is a bestseller called "Gilead." I have recommended it to many people and people either LOVE it like I do or think it is too slow or boring. Rather than slow, I would call it a gentle, spiritual book and it brought beauty into my life. The story is of an elderly minister, who lives in a small 40's town (I believe) of Gilead. His wife and child of his young manhood died so he lived alone for most of his life. When he was in his sixties, a waif of a young woman, shows up in the back of his church....and eventually they marry and have a child. The child is now about 6 or 7 and the minister knows he is about to die. So the book is letters, although not in letter form, sharing his life with his son that will probably forget much about him. I think that is why journaling (or blogging, which, to me, is 21st century journal writing) is so important. I hope that through my writing, my posterity will have a sense of who I am, what I thought about (food?), what was important to me, what I thought was funny, my spiritual sense. I loved this book and would highly recommend it. If you think you like something with a little more action, I’ll share my favorite lines that you can read and enjoy without taking the time to read the book. They speak for themselves.
The Methodist minister would talk about how wonderful it was to walk through the town at one or two in the morning. He said in the old days he could walk down every single street, past every house, in about an hour. He’d try to remember the people who lived in each one, and whatever he knew about them, which was quite a lot since many of the ones who weren’t his (congregation) were Boughton’s (his best friend and a Presbyterian minister in another church in town.) He said, "And I’d pray for them. And I’d imagine peace they didn’t expect and couldn’t account for descending on their illness or their quarreling or their dreams Then I’d go into the church and pray some more and wait for daylight." Pg. 71 Gilead
The minister is perturbed because his best friend’s wayward grown son has returned for a visit. Boughton, the father of the son, absolutely loves and dotes on his son, much to the chagrin of the minister. He says "It has been one of the great irritations of my life, seeing the two of them together." (Funny how good things can bug us. I’ve done this in my own life.) And another time the minister says, concerning this same father/son relationship: "I have said at least once a week my whole adult life that there is an absolute disjunction between our Father’s love and our deserving. Still when I see this same disjunction between human parents and children, it always irritates me a little." Pg. 73
"This morning the world by moonlight seemed to be an immemorial acquaintance I had always meant to befriend. If there was ever a chance, it has passed. Strange to say, I feel a little that way about myself." Pg. 74
"One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally, And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die."
John Donne.
She had a strong sense that the population at large judged her character by what appeared on her clothesline, and I can’t say she was wrong." Pg.80
"The waters never parted for him, not once in his life, as far as I know." Pg.90
"Strange are the uses of adversity." Pg.95
"I truly believe it is waste and ingratitude to not honor such things as visions, whether you yourself have happened to see them or not." Pg. 97
"These people who see right through you never quite do you justice, because they never give you credit for the effort you’re making to be better than you actually are, which is difficult and well meant and deserving of some little notice." Pg. 98
"He took so much away with him when he left." Pg.99
"Material things are so vulnerable to the humiliations of decay." Pg.100
"When things are taking their ordinary course, it is hard to remember what matters. There are so many things you would never think to tell anyone. And I believe they may be the things that mean the most to you, and that even your own child would have to know in order to know you well at all." Pg.102 (Another good reason for journal writing.)
"I enjoy the hope that when we meet I will not be estranged from you by all the oddnesses life has carved into me." Pg. 119 (and that is my prayer to my posterity! I’m nervous!)
"If only I could give you what my father gave me. (meaning testimony) No, what the Lord has given me and must also give you." Pg.114
"I have always liked the phrase "nursing a grudge," because many people are tender of their resentments, as of the thing nearest their hearts." Pg. 117
"The story of Hagar and Ishmael came to mind while I was praying this morning, and I found a great assurance in it. The story says that it is not only the father of a child who cares for its life, who protects its mother, and it says that even if the mother can’t find a way to provide for it, or herself, provision will be made. At that level it is a story full of comfort. That is how life goes–we send our children into the wilderness. Some of them on the day they are born, it seems, for all the help we can give them. Some of them seem to be a kind of wilderness unto themselves. But there must be angels there, too. and springs of water. Even that wilderness, the very habitation of jackals, is the Lord’s. I need to near this in mind." Pg. 119
(then later he talks about this wilderness again–) I think because any father, particularly an old father, must finally give his child up to the wilderness and trust in the providence of God. It seems almost a cruelty for one generation to beget another when parents can secure so little for their children, so little safety, even in the best circumstances. Great faith is required to give the child up, trusting God to honor the parent’s love for him by assuring that there will indeed be angels in that wilderness. Pg. 129
There is never just one transgression. There is a wound in the flesh of human life that scars when it heals and often enough seems never to heal at all. Avoid transgression. How’s that for advice. pg. 122 (I wanted to teach the minister about the atonement!)
When you encounter another person, when you have dealings with anyone at all, it is as if a question is being put to you. So you must think, What is the Lord asking of me in this moment, in this situation? ...you are free to act by your own lights. Calvin says somewhere that each of us is an actor on a stage and God is the audience. ....how well do we understand our role?...there is also the suggestion that God might actually enjoy us! I believe we think about that far too little." Pg. 124
"Much more prayer is called for, clearly, but first I will take a nap." Pg. 125
I have decided the two choices open to me are (1) to torment myself or (2) to trust the Lord. There is no earthly solution to the problems that confront me. But I can add to my problems, as I believe I have done, by dwelling on them." Pg. 126
(Uttered after the town found out he was sick, commenting on the food items continually brought to his house...he was a little annoyed by the attention.)
"I gathered that my flock, who lambaste life’s problems with food items of just this kind, had heard an alarm. There was even a bean salad, which to me looked distinctly Presbyterian, so anxiety had overspilled its denominational vessel." Pg. 127
"I know I am not being reasonable." Pg.128
"Rejoice with those who rejoice" I have found that difficult too often. I was much better at weeping with those who weep." Pg. 143
"You see how it is godlike to love the being of someone. Your existence is a delight to us." (the father writing to his young son)
The Methodist minister would talk about how wonderful it was to walk through the town at one or two in the morning. He said in the old days he could walk down every single street, past every house, in about an hour. He’d try to remember the people who lived in each one, and whatever he knew about them, which was quite a lot since many of the ones who weren’t his (congregation) were Boughton’s (his best friend and a Presbyterian minister in another church in town.) He said, "And I’d pray for them. And I’d imagine peace they didn’t expect and couldn’t account for descending on their illness or their quarreling or their dreams Then I’d go into the church and pray some more and wait for daylight." Pg. 71 Gilead
The minister is perturbed because his best friend’s wayward grown son has returned for a visit. Boughton, the father of the son, absolutely loves and dotes on his son, much to the chagrin of the minister. He says "It has been one of the great irritations of my life, seeing the two of them together." (Funny how good things can bug us. I’ve done this in my own life.) And another time the minister says, concerning this same father/son relationship: "I have said at least once a week my whole adult life that there is an absolute disjunction between our Father’s love and our deserving. Still when I see this same disjunction between human parents and children, it always irritates me a little." Pg. 73
"This morning the world by moonlight seemed to be an immemorial acquaintance I had always meant to befriend. If there was ever a chance, it has passed. Strange to say, I feel a little that way about myself." Pg. 74
"One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally, And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die."
John Donne.
She had a strong sense that the population at large judged her character by what appeared on her clothesline, and I can’t say she was wrong." Pg.80
"The waters never parted for him, not once in his life, as far as I know." Pg.90
"Strange are the uses of adversity." Pg.95
"I truly believe it is waste and ingratitude to not honor such things as visions, whether you yourself have happened to see them or not." Pg. 97
"These people who see right through you never quite do you justice, because they never give you credit for the effort you’re making to be better than you actually are, which is difficult and well meant and deserving of some little notice." Pg. 98
"He took so much away with him when he left." Pg.99
"Material things are so vulnerable to the humiliations of decay." Pg.100
"When things are taking their ordinary course, it is hard to remember what matters. There are so many things you would never think to tell anyone. And I believe they may be the things that mean the most to you, and that even your own child would have to know in order to know you well at all." Pg.102 (Another good reason for journal writing.)
"I enjoy the hope that when we meet I will not be estranged from you by all the oddnesses life has carved into me." Pg. 119 (and that is my prayer to my posterity! I’m nervous!)
"If only I could give you what my father gave me. (meaning testimony) No, what the Lord has given me and must also give you." Pg.114
"I have always liked the phrase "nursing a grudge," because many people are tender of their resentments, as of the thing nearest their hearts." Pg. 117
"The story of Hagar and Ishmael came to mind while I was praying this morning, and I found a great assurance in it. The story says that it is not only the father of a child who cares for its life, who protects its mother, and it says that even if the mother can’t find a way to provide for it, or herself, provision will be made. At that level it is a story full of comfort. That is how life goes–we send our children into the wilderness. Some of them on the day they are born, it seems, for all the help we can give them. Some of them seem to be a kind of wilderness unto themselves. But there must be angels there, too. and springs of water. Even that wilderness, the very habitation of jackals, is the Lord’s. I need to near this in mind." Pg. 119
(then later he talks about this wilderness again–) I think because any father, particularly an old father, must finally give his child up to the wilderness and trust in the providence of God. It seems almost a cruelty for one generation to beget another when parents can secure so little for their children, so little safety, even in the best circumstances. Great faith is required to give the child up, trusting God to honor the parent’s love for him by assuring that there will indeed be angels in that wilderness. Pg. 129
There is never just one transgression. There is a wound in the flesh of human life that scars when it heals and often enough seems never to heal at all. Avoid transgression. How’s that for advice. pg. 122 (I wanted to teach the minister about the atonement!)
When you encounter another person, when you have dealings with anyone at all, it is as if a question is being put to you. So you must think, What is the Lord asking of me in this moment, in this situation? ...you are free to act by your own lights. Calvin says somewhere that each of us is an actor on a stage and God is the audience. ....how well do we understand our role?...there is also the suggestion that God might actually enjoy us! I believe we think about that far too little." Pg. 124
"Much more prayer is called for, clearly, but first I will take a nap." Pg. 125
I have decided the two choices open to me are (1) to torment myself or (2) to trust the Lord. There is no earthly solution to the problems that confront me. But I can add to my problems, as I believe I have done, by dwelling on them." Pg. 126
(Uttered after the town found out he was sick, commenting on the food items continually brought to his house...he was a little annoyed by the attention.)
"I gathered that my flock, who lambaste life’s problems with food items of just this kind, had heard an alarm. There was even a bean salad, which to me looked distinctly Presbyterian, so anxiety had overspilled its denominational vessel." Pg. 127
"I know I am not being reasonable." Pg.128
"Rejoice with those who rejoice" I have found that difficult too often. I was much better at weeping with those who weep." Pg. 143
"You see how it is godlike to love the being of someone. Your existence is a delight to us." (the father writing to his young son)
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Lightening Strikes
Thursday night we had a wonderful thunderstorm with tons of rain, lightening and noise...Ka-Boom! It has knocked out my Internet connection and we couldn't fix it by phone so a repairman was suppose to come this morning between 8 and 12. You know the drill. It is a Saturday with things to do and places to go. A no show. I called the technical support center...I don't know what foreign country they are in but it is so difficult to understand the accent. And he was reading from a script so it was useless. "We have more difficulties than we have technicians in your area. Can we re-schedule for tomorrow?"
My niceness is being challenged. It's not about the problem or that they have to re-schedule...."difficulties" occur and I understand. What I don't understand is, why did they make an appointment in the first place but more importantly, why didn't someone call me to tell me they wouldn't be coming at all?! So my morning wasn't spent hanging out twiddling instead of working on my big "to-do" that requires leaving the house. It is not that big of deal, just aggravating.
I received the question a while ago that asked what my biggest peeves were. I wrote a reply and then decided not to publish it. We all have little irritations but is it really worthy posting for posterity? But since we're here (I'm actually at Brandi's while she is changing a "poopie" on Addison ...since I don't have internet service yet...sorry Addison...when you are a teenager and maybe reading this, I can hear the embarrassment in your voice, "Grandma! Don't tell the world I had a poopie!"), I get frustrated when people say they will show up and they don't. Guess you figured that out already.
Irritation 2: People have gotten lazy about using their car blinkers. We have a busy road by us, which requires, for me, a left hand turn. Almost daily, I wait longer than usual at the stop sign for cars that don't let anyone know they are turning, so our lane can move ahead. End of the world? Of course not! Just annoying. But I don't cuss because...
My biggest no-no is: Language. I grew up in a household where swear words were/are just another adjective or adverb and no harm was/is really intended...they weren't used for anger. And that is how most of the friends or the kids in my school talked. So I had a pretty good vocabulary when I went to Rick's College. When I let the first "bomb" drop, and saw my 5 sweet LDS roommate's jaws drop on the floor, I realized for the first time that maybe "that" language was inappropriate. Now I'm almost a word Nazi. I really, really hate foul language, especially from people who know better. ("If there is anything lovely or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." Which means, if there is anything not lovely, not of good report or not praiseworthy, we seek not after those things.) I guess it is one of those deals where you are so thankful to get rid of a bad habit, you just don't want it in your life or reminded of it. But it really, really affects my spirit. I mean "really!"
My niceness is being challenged. It's not about the problem or that they have to re-schedule...."difficulties" occur and I understand. What I don't understand is, why did they make an appointment in the first place but more importantly, why didn't someone call me to tell me they wouldn't be coming at all?! So my morning wasn't spent hanging out twiddling instead of working on my big "to-do" that requires leaving the house. It is not that big of deal, just aggravating.
I received the question a while ago that asked what my biggest peeves were. I wrote a reply and then decided not to publish it. We all have little irritations but is it really worthy posting for posterity? But since we're here (I'm actually at Brandi's while she is changing a "poopie" on Addison ...since I don't have internet service yet...sorry Addison...when you are a teenager and maybe reading this, I can hear the embarrassment in your voice, "Grandma! Don't tell the world I had a poopie!"), I get frustrated when people say they will show up and they don't. Guess you figured that out already.
Irritation 2: People have gotten lazy about using their car blinkers. We have a busy road by us, which requires, for me, a left hand turn. Almost daily, I wait longer than usual at the stop sign for cars that don't let anyone know they are turning, so our lane can move ahead. End of the world? Of course not! Just annoying. But I don't cuss because...
My biggest no-no is: Language. I grew up in a household where swear words were/are just another adjective or adverb and no harm was/is really intended...they weren't used for anger. And that is how most of the friends or the kids in my school talked. So I had a pretty good vocabulary when I went to Rick's College. When I let the first "bomb" drop, and saw my 5 sweet LDS roommate's jaws drop on the floor, I realized for the first time that maybe "that" language was inappropriate. Now I'm almost a word Nazi. I really, really hate foul language, especially from people who know better. ("If there is anything lovely or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." Which means, if there is anything not lovely, not of good report or not praiseworthy, we seek not after those things.) I guess it is one of those deals where you are so thankful to get rid of a bad habit, you just don't want it in your life or reminded of it. But it really, really affects my spirit. I mean "really!"
So, Addison, I'm sorry I mentioned the poopie diaper. It wasn't praiseworthy. But I promise you, you'll never hear me say something more crude than that and you'll never hear me swear. And I'll get over the service technicians standing me up. Outside the sun is shining, the birds are singing and life is good. Now, Brandi and Addison, let's go shopping!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
A NOT SO NICE WORD....
I just got back from my little women's retreat (you're saying "Again?!!! How much fun can one person get to have?") (and not little women as in Lousia May Alcott's Little Women) but our Relief Society focus group, called, for lack of a more artistic name- Utah Field Trips. In our year or so together, we have hit several museums, attended an art show in Wallsburg for an artist friend, Linda Curley Christensen, toured cool garden places and gardens, checked out favorite consignment shops in the valley, visited cemetaries and learned unusual Utah history, attended a 24th of July musical and had one of the stars, Michelle Baer, a FABULOUS LDS singer from Arizona (http://www.michelebaermusic.com/) give a special fireside for us. And, of course, we always explore the fabulous eateries the valley has to offer. This month we had a retreat at my friend and neighbor's cabin up in our beautiful mountains. An over-the-top wonderful time! I saw a baby moose (I love moose!), lots of deer, and I think even two wolves. They looked like wolves. They ran like wolves. They danced like wolves. Oh, I made that part up. But maybe they were someone's pets far from home. But then, I came back home and read another friend/neighbor's blog....about a mutual enemy. Here I was- happy and relaxed, spiritually uplifted and fed...and then I come home to her blog and it hit a nerve. It was about.....MAGPIES! (You can check out her full blog at(http://mamabawden.blogspot.com/) Can I just say, I am not nice when it comes to magpies. I think "magpie" is a dirty word. Here is my reply to her:
Oh my gosh...you've hit a nerve! I am battling the magpies as well. I've even written a poem about my feelings for the magpie. It's not a pretty poem.
THE MAGPIE WAITS
The magpie waits at Hell's gate
with piercing, steely eyes.
He dares the Son to infiltrate
and soothe my fevered cries.
Night images wring
my darkened soul,
spilling carnage
within full sight.
He hisses, "Justice is served"
then strips my flesh,
savoring every bite.
Okay, maybe a little too graphic. But magpies interrupt my morning snooze with their screeching, eat my squished little critters on the road, drive away the other birds, peck holes in my fruit crop. They are prolific because they eat what man eats-meat, fruit, vegetables, grain. Okay, I don't eat dog food or road kill. I told one of my boys last week I wanted him to build a potato gun and start pelting the magpies with them. They make me feel not nice. They bring out the worst in me. They make me feel not nice about me. I have "issues" with magpies. They don't have magpies east of the Mississippi. Someone brought a bird west as a pet. What were they thinking?!
Once, a friend was up at Sundance film festival and observed a crowd of people waiting on a corner, to cross the street, and their antimated concern that someone's exotic bird had apparently escaped and surely it was worth a lot of money and how could the bird be caught. My friend looked on with amusement when she saw that the "Eastern" folk were gazing at a magpie sitting in the trees. Don't let those "tuxedo" outfits fool you! They're a menace! Sorry, you pushed my buttons! Even though the magpie/buffalo story was lovely. I know magpies. Grrr!
Oh my gosh...you've hit a nerve! I am battling the magpies as well. I've even written a poem about my feelings for the magpie. It's not a pretty poem.
THE MAGPIE WAITS
The magpie waits at Hell's gate
with piercing, steely eyes.
He dares the Son to infiltrate
and soothe my fevered cries.
Night images wring
my darkened soul,
spilling carnage
within full sight.
He hisses, "Justice is served"
then strips my flesh,
savoring every bite.
Okay, maybe a little too graphic. But magpies interrupt my morning snooze with their screeching, eat my squished little critters on the road, drive away the other birds, peck holes in my fruit crop. They are prolific because they eat what man eats-meat, fruit, vegetables, grain. Okay, I don't eat dog food or road kill. I told one of my boys last week I wanted him to build a potato gun and start pelting the magpies with them. They make me feel not nice. They bring out the worst in me. They make me feel not nice about me. I have "issues" with magpies. They don't have magpies east of the Mississippi. Someone brought a bird west as a pet. What were they thinking?!
Once, a friend was up at Sundance film festival and observed a crowd of people waiting on a corner, to cross the street, and their antimated concern that someone's exotic bird had apparently escaped and surely it was worth a lot of money and how could the bird be caught. My friend looked on with amusement when she saw that the "Eastern" folk were gazing at a magpie sitting in the trees. Don't let those "tuxedo" outfits fool you! They're a menace! Sorry, you pushed my buttons! Even though the magpie/buffalo story was lovely. I know magpies. Grrr!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
P.S.
I'm just getting ready to go out of town overnight with our Utah Field Trips group. We are going up to a cabin and having a little retreat, hike in the mountains (little hike since, remember, I'm a wimp and not so athletic!) (and with feet issues) and have some bonding moments and watch "Miss Potter" and eat Cafe Rio salad and laugh and witness and lift each other but I thought I would just post tomorrow's post since it is about prayer (which I've been working on in a new way) and "out of the mouths of babes" because another incident came to mind.
I know we learn to pray at our mother's knee, most often. And I did. How thankful I am for a mother that taught me how to pray because, although some really terrible things happened to me, I have always felt so secure in my Heavenly Father's love...and felt His arms around me. I remember kneeling with my daughter Brandi, when she was only little, like 3 or 4. I would say a line of her prayer and then she would repeat it. I was tired and not really sensitive to what I was saying....
I said, "Thank you for our health and strength." How many times have you said that?
But this was a little girl who REALLY had a relationship with the spirit and she wanted to understand what she was saying. She paused for a really long time trying to figure out what I had said or meant. After a pause, she replied, "Oh yes, thank you for our house and street."
She was (is) such a punkin! A good little reminder to me to not fall in cliches in prayer. Have an awesome day!
I know we learn to pray at our mother's knee, most often. And I did. How thankful I am for a mother that taught me how to pray because, although some really terrible things happened to me, I have always felt so secure in my Heavenly Father's love...and felt His arms around me. I remember kneeling with my daughter Brandi, when she was only little, like 3 or 4. I would say a line of her prayer and then she would repeat it. I was tired and not really sensitive to what I was saying....
I said, "Thank you for our health and strength." How many times have you said that?
But this was a little girl who REALLY had a relationship with the spirit and she wanted to understand what she was saying. She paused for a really long time trying to figure out what I had said or meant. After a pause, she replied, "Oh yes, thank you for our house and street."
She was (is) such a punkin! A good little reminder to me to not fall in cliches in prayer. Have an awesome day!
The Least of These
Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need. Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931)
Here’s another little story to add to my quest for unique service opportunities. It may fit in to the category of David’s admonishing "Be careful what you pray for."
A week ago, Tanner received a phone call. It was from a fellow that he met in Connecticut on his mission. This boy served as a Ward missionary in one of the Ward’s that Tanner served in. Tanner only served in "Elder’s areas" which meant the rough parts of town. Mike apparently was flying in to Salt Lake for a week’s vacation. The missionary that he had made arrangements to stay with, ‘fell through" the night before. I’m not sure what that was about and I guess it doesn’t matter. But he needed a place to stay. And Tanner said yes. I must admit, Tanner wasn’t excited. I must admit, neither was I. I was leaving for Circleville the morning he was arriving (since Tanner was at work, he called another missionary whose mother picked him up at the airport and brought him straight to our home.) And that meant someone I didn’t know at all would be alone at our home all day for three days during the daytime. Tanner said Mike was unusual. I think he may have learning disabilities...I’m not sure. But you could tell he had lived a rough life. You could tell that he wasn’t mainstream. Tanner shared that he had even been homeless for a year. His teeth are so bad from neglect...in fact, one of his front ones broke off while he was here. He didn’t smell so great all of the time. He joined the Church about 4 years ago and members basically took him out of a shelter and into an apartment. I think maybe he qualifies as a "the least of these." And, I must admit, it has been a long week. But I have learned several things:
1. That when you pray for things, Heavenly Father wants to know if you are serious.
2. If you pray for things, you had better do the thing Heavenly Father wants you to do.
3. That we are ALL Heavenly Father’s children. And he expects us to treat each with love and dignity.
4. That I have a sweet boy, Tanner, that took in this kid (he’s 27) and treated him to a week like he’s never known before. Tanner didn’t ask me for money, he used his own. He took him to movies, the Alpine slide, bowling, to several dinners, to hang out with his friends, to church and all their activities. Mike kept saying, ‘I love Utah. The people are SO NICE!" I felt such love for my boy that stepped up to the plate.
5. We are so blessed. And with blessings come responsibilities.
6. I have a new name to add to my prayer list.
7. I have a new kid to mother. I had to actively think of things to keep Mike busy. I was surprised he wasn’t swimming, but learned he was afraid of water over his head. He was intrigued by my painting so I drew him a picture of a large sunflower on a canvas and taught him how to mix colors in acrylics and paint. He loved it! I might have to send him an art box in the future. He kept saying over and over, "I can’t believe how well it looks!" He was pleased. I was pleased.
8. The scripture, "When you’ve done it to the least of these, you’ve done it unto me" kept coming to mind. I wondered if Mike were the Savior, would we be anxious to "pawn" him off on others, feel a little sacrificing to spend valuable time with him? It has been a long week but also a good week. God and I have had many a chit-chat on just what is expected, and then how "more" than what is expected is even better. I’ve been humbled.
It is easy to share of our resources, but time is another thing. I think of Kahlil Gibran (the favorite Lebanese writer of the hippie era) "Let me speak of giving. You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself, that you truly give." (For his complete discourse on giving see p://www.kahlil.org/prophetpf ) I’m not sure how we succeeded this week. I pray okay. And I know something...I’m going to keep praying for opportunities....
So....here are the three really unusual service opportunities I’ve been given in the last couple of weeks......
Bake 300 cookies for a friend’s wedding.
Take care of a child of God.
Be a doggie daycare provider with unusual duties!
So...what are you praying for?
Here’s another little story to add to my quest for unique service opportunities. It may fit in to the category of David’s admonishing "Be careful what you pray for."
A week ago, Tanner received a phone call. It was from a fellow that he met in Connecticut on his mission. This boy served as a Ward missionary in one of the Ward’s that Tanner served in. Tanner only served in "Elder’s areas" which meant the rough parts of town. Mike apparently was flying in to Salt Lake for a week’s vacation. The missionary that he had made arrangements to stay with, ‘fell through" the night before. I’m not sure what that was about and I guess it doesn’t matter. But he needed a place to stay. And Tanner said yes. I must admit, Tanner wasn’t excited. I must admit, neither was I. I was leaving for Circleville the morning he was arriving (since Tanner was at work, he called another missionary whose mother picked him up at the airport and brought him straight to our home.) And that meant someone I didn’t know at all would be alone at our home all day for three days during the daytime. Tanner said Mike was unusual. I think he may have learning disabilities...I’m not sure. But you could tell he had lived a rough life. You could tell that he wasn’t mainstream. Tanner shared that he had even been homeless for a year. His teeth are so bad from neglect...in fact, one of his front ones broke off while he was here. He didn’t smell so great all of the time. He joined the Church about 4 years ago and members basically took him out of a shelter and into an apartment. I think maybe he qualifies as a "the least of these." And, I must admit, it has been a long week. But I have learned several things:
1. That when you pray for things, Heavenly Father wants to know if you are serious.
2. If you pray for things, you had better do the thing Heavenly Father wants you to do.
3. That we are ALL Heavenly Father’s children. And he expects us to treat each with love and dignity.
4. That I have a sweet boy, Tanner, that took in this kid (he’s 27) and treated him to a week like he’s never known before. Tanner didn’t ask me for money, he used his own. He took him to movies, the Alpine slide, bowling, to several dinners, to hang out with his friends, to church and all their activities. Mike kept saying, ‘I love Utah. The people are SO NICE!" I felt such love for my boy that stepped up to the plate.
5. We are so blessed. And with blessings come responsibilities.
6. I have a new name to add to my prayer list.
7. I have a new kid to mother. I had to actively think of things to keep Mike busy. I was surprised he wasn’t swimming, but learned he was afraid of water over his head. He was intrigued by my painting so I drew him a picture of a large sunflower on a canvas and taught him how to mix colors in acrylics and paint. He loved it! I might have to send him an art box in the future. He kept saying over and over, "I can’t believe how well it looks!" He was pleased. I was pleased.
8. The scripture, "When you’ve done it to the least of these, you’ve done it unto me" kept coming to mind. I wondered if Mike were the Savior, would we be anxious to "pawn" him off on others, feel a little sacrificing to spend valuable time with him? It has been a long week but also a good week. God and I have had many a chit-chat on just what is expected, and then how "more" than what is expected is even better. I’ve been humbled.
It is easy to share of our resources, but time is another thing. I think of Kahlil Gibran (the favorite Lebanese writer of the hippie era) "Let me speak of giving. You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself, that you truly give." (For his complete discourse on giving see p://www.kahlil.org/prophetpf ) I’m not sure how we succeeded this week. I pray okay. And I know something...I’m going to keep praying for opportunities....
So....here are the three really unusual service opportunities I’ve been given in the last couple of weeks......
Bake 300 cookies for a friend’s wedding.
Take care of a child of God.
Be a doggie daycare provider with unusual duties!
So...what are you praying for?
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Growth Charts
I shared before how I have always had another world inside my imagination. As a little girl, we lived out in the country (although we were not country folk), with both parents who worked outside the home, and only one brother, who thrived in that environment. I spent a lot of time alone. So I had imagination games. I still play them sometimes to go to sleep. For instance, imagine you were given $100,000. And could distribute it to anyone you wanted, how would you divide the money and who would you help? Or, if I could give one cup of food each day to each of the starving pioneers, what food would be in the cup?
I’ve been reading and re-reading pioneer tales, now that I know some of my ancestors were in the Willie handcart company and other companies coming later. I’ve ached as I thought of mothers holding starving babies or husbands helpless watching the suffering of their families. So, my pioneer imagination game has been on my mind. What food would you give to keep the people from starving? And wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to save all those people. To get to play God. But that really made me think and remember. I love the Old Testament and especially the Pentateuch (the first 5 books) that deal with the children of Israel. Here God had a people, an earlier version of the pioneers, seeking their promised land. And God answered their prayers for food with manna every single day. They could eat all they wanted to. They didn’t have to starve. But it was never enough. Instead of being grateful, the people became resentful. I wonder what the pioneer spirit or contribution would have been, if "I" had been able to somehow "twilight zonely" appear, and take away a portion of the pioneers suffering. I heard a phrase today that stuck with me. It was "to have faith to make it through the night." And I think that is a worthy prayer for anyone. That we all have sufficient faith to make it through whatever challenges or trials we face.
So, today I celebrate the pioneer spirit. I’m in awe of their hardships and their faith which was a part of everyday life. Today I’ll watch the parade on t.v. (Our Stake has a float representing the Old White Church that I wrote about previously- I think it is red (the original color) in the parade) while David ropes with his buddies. Then some of the kiddo’s will come over to swim, we’ll go to the rodeo at the Energy Solutions arena, sit in a suite with all our family, eat pizza and popcorn in air-conditioned comfort, watch beautiful fireworks, sleep in the comfort of our delightful beds. And I imagine we will waste resources all day long. Somehow, it doesn’t seem fair. But I know Heavenly Father doesn’t want us to sit around and whip ourselves because we don’t have as harsh of lives as the pioneers. I know He expects each of us, to step up to the plate, and face each day with optimism and faith.
Tonight when I went to do my doggie daycare duties, I fed the dogs and let them out to play for awhile, while I went over to Cathy’s, to sit and visit, walk around the yard, admire their many improvements to our...I mean, their home! And they’ve really made it theirs. But when we went inside of the garage- old shelves stripped for new enclosed storage, she pointed over to one wall that hasn’t been re-painted. There, in pencil and pen,were the markings of a family growing up. Our family. Tanner’s little mark at 5 years old, when we built the home. There Ben is at 8, Travis at 12. Ryan and Travis when they returned from their missions. There are dozens of marks, even some of the kiddo’s (Parker, Gracie, Josh and Rylee- all lived in that home) and my heart got a big old choke in it! I love them for not painting over it. It was our growth chart, maybe every parent keeps one, and I imagine our Heavenly Father does as well. He wants us to measure up, to be all we can be. So instead of focusing on how tall the pioneers stood, I guess our challenge is to follow our dear prophet, face life with faith and laughter and optimism and fortitude...and the charge for each of us to stand a little taller! Amen! Happy July 24th!
I’ve been reading and re-reading pioneer tales, now that I know some of my ancestors were in the Willie handcart company and other companies coming later. I’ve ached as I thought of mothers holding starving babies or husbands helpless watching the suffering of their families. So, my pioneer imagination game has been on my mind. What food would you give to keep the people from starving? And wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to save all those people. To get to play God. But that really made me think and remember. I love the Old Testament and especially the Pentateuch (the first 5 books) that deal with the children of Israel. Here God had a people, an earlier version of the pioneers, seeking their promised land. And God answered their prayers for food with manna every single day. They could eat all they wanted to. They didn’t have to starve. But it was never enough. Instead of being grateful, the people became resentful. I wonder what the pioneer spirit or contribution would have been, if "I" had been able to somehow "twilight zonely" appear, and take away a portion of the pioneers suffering. I heard a phrase today that stuck with me. It was "to have faith to make it through the night." And I think that is a worthy prayer for anyone. That we all have sufficient faith to make it through whatever challenges or trials we face.
So, today I celebrate the pioneer spirit. I’m in awe of their hardships and their faith which was a part of everyday life. Today I’ll watch the parade on t.v. (Our Stake has a float representing the Old White Church that I wrote about previously- I think it is red (the original color) in the parade) while David ropes with his buddies. Then some of the kiddo’s will come over to swim, we’ll go to the rodeo at the Energy Solutions arena, sit in a suite with all our family, eat pizza and popcorn in air-conditioned comfort, watch beautiful fireworks, sleep in the comfort of our delightful beds. And I imagine we will waste resources all day long. Somehow, it doesn’t seem fair. But I know Heavenly Father doesn’t want us to sit around and whip ourselves because we don’t have as harsh of lives as the pioneers. I know He expects each of us, to step up to the plate, and face each day with optimism and faith.
Tonight when I went to do my doggie daycare duties, I fed the dogs and let them out to play for awhile, while I went over to Cathy’s, to sit and visit, walk around the yard, admire their many improvements to our...I mean, their home! And they’ve really made it theirs. But when we went inside of the garage- old shelves stripped for new enclosed storage, she pointed over to one wall that hasn’t been re-painted. There, in pencil and pen,were the markings of a family growing up. Our family. Tanner’s little mark at 5 years old, when we built the home. There Ben is at 8, Travis at 12. Ryan and Travis when they returned from their missions. There are dozens of marks, even some of the kiddo’s (Parker, Gracie, Josh and Rylee- all lived in that home) and my heart got a big old choke in it! I love them for not painting over it. It was our growth chart, maybe every parent keeps one, and I imagine our Heavenly Father does as well. He wants us to measure up, to be all we can be. So instead of focusing on how tall the pioneers stood, I guess our challenge is to follow our dear prophet, face life with faith and laughter and optimism and fortitude...and the charge for each of us to stand a little taller! Amen! Happy July 24th!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Out of the Mouth of Babes
I think that one of the greatest lost treasures comes out of the mouth of our babes. They are "lost" if we don’t record them in some way. When I was a busy young mother, I kept a recipe box in the kitchen cupboard with index cards. Sometimes all I had were minutes to jot down something funny or tender that the kids said. It was years before they got recorded in scrapbooks or journals sometimes. But they were recorded. Here’s a few favorites that come to mind :
When Brandi was about 2, she toddled to the half-open bathroom door. Her daddy was going to the bathroom. She pushed the door open and asked, "Who’s in there?" to which her daddy replied, "No one." Then she said, "Then, whose bum is that?"
My niece, Nichole, once said to her mom, "Mom, you know those sleepy seeds you get in your eyes in the morning? They taste kind of like bacon."
When Ryan was about 7 or 8, he and his next door buddy, Brandon, were sitting on a chest I had that held all sorts of family home evening ideas and pictures. They were looking through some pictures and held up one of Jesus and the disciples. They stared at the picture for a while and then Brandon pointed out that all the disciples wore sandals, to which Ryan replied, "Yes, they all wore sandals. That’s why Jesus had to wash their feet.
My niece, Ashley, was eating a Look candy bar in the car. Her mother asked her for a bite to which she said no. Her mom said, "That’s not very nice of you not to share." Then Ashley said, "Well, if you’re real nice, I’ll let you lick the wrapper!"
Ryan also had his own vocabulary. He used to call his long noodles "basketti", used a "rainbrella" in bad weather and "didn’t recolize that."
One time, David, Ben, Tanner and I went to dinner. Tanner was probably only about 8 and he was coloring and doing the word puzzles on the placemat and answering questions. He was reading the questions out loud and said, "How many testicles (tentacles) does an octopus have?" Opps! We were all on the floor with that one and haven’t ever let him forget it!
Ben said, "You know, I think it's kind of funny how we live on top the the devil but Santa Claus and Jesus live on top of us."
I took Tanner to see the Easter Bunny at the mall (at the same place that Santa Claus had been a few months before.) When we left, he had a big frowny face on. I asked him what was the matter and he said: "That wasn't the Easter Bunny. I could see he had a mask on. It was Santa Claus dressed up like an Easter Bunny!"
There's just a few. I'd love to hear any of yours!
When Brandi was about 2, she toddled to the half-open bathroom door. Her daddy was going to the bathroom. She pushed the door open and asked, "Who’s in there?" to which her daddy replied, "No one." Then she said, "Then, whose bum is that?"
My niece, Nichole, once said to her mom, "Mom, you know those sleepy seeds you get in your eyes in the morning? They taste kind of like bacon."
When Ryan was about 7 or 8, he and his next door buddy, Brandon, were sitting on a chest I had that held all sorts of family home evening ideas and pictures. They were looking through some pictures and held up one of Jesus and the disciples. They stared at the picture for a while and then Brandon pointed out that all the disciples wore sandals, to which Ryan replied, "Yes, they all wore sandals. That’s why Jesus had to wash their feet.
My niece, Ashley, was eating a Look candy bar in the car. Her mother asked her for a bite to which she said no. Her mom said, "That’s not very nice of you not to share." Then Ashley said, "Well, if you’re real nice, I’ll let you lick the wrapper!"
Ryan also had his own vocabulary. He used to call his long noodles "basketti", used a "rainbrella" in bad weather and "didn’t recolize that."
One time, David, Ben, Tanner and I went to dinner. Tanner was probably only about 8 and he was coloring and doing the word puzzles on the placemat and answering questions. He was reading the questions out loud and said, "How many testicles (tentacles) does an octopus have?" Opps! We were all on the floor with that one and haven’t ever let him forget it!
Ben said, "You know, I think it's kind of funny how we live on top the the devil but Santa Claus and Jesus live on top of us."
I took Tanner to see the Easter Bunny at the mall (at the same place that Santa Claus had been a few months before.) When we left, he had a big frowny face on. I asked him what was the matter and he said: "That wasn't the Easter Bunny. I could see he had a mask on. It was Santa Claus dressed up like an Easter Bunny!"
There's just a few. I'd love to hear any of yours!
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Doggone Service
An awesome sacrament meeting today. We had 3 college kids talk about how the Spirit has helped them in their lives this past year. I can remember being in their shoes, only in my Ward growing up, we were called out of the audience impromptu. Each of the kids did a wonderful job. One stated, though, that when asked, he tried to think of "big" moments during the past year when he relied on the Spirit for direction. He then realized that as members of the church, we are given the gift of the Spirit to help each and every day in our lives. It kind of goes along with my "blog statement" by Elder Buche. That when we choose to live by the Spirit, our lives will be filled with adventures, of constant, growing amazement, of surprising vision, of new aspects of life, of new dimensions of joy and peace." I believe that! So here's my new adventure.
I shared a couple of weeks ago how we talked at the Sunday dinner table about praying for unique opportunities to serve. Well, I talked about it and the boys pretty much gave me a hard time as usual. All in fun. But, nevertheless, prayers have been answered and unique opportunities have come which is an affirmation to me that if we desire to have promptings, we will. I will share some of the several things that have happened this past couple of weeks later but I want to mention one today.
Two and a half years ago we moved to our current home. Our neighbors at our prior home were the W.’s Of course, we see them at church but not much in-between. The phone rang the other day. "Marilyn, this is Bob W. calling." Me: "Hi, Bob, we’d love to watch Czar for you." Dead silence on the other end.
Now the W.’s have two dogs...Czar and Angel. Both are labs...Czar is a lab/boxer mix and I think Angel is straight lab. Well, since we didn’t have our "own" pets, Czar became our dog by association (Angel came later.) He has the cutest boxie face and I or the kids would always let him in and feed him steak and other delectable things. He’s a real barker at anyone driving up the street but he adored our family. Especially Ben. I remember one time when Ben blew out his knee skiing and had to have intensive surgery. He came home to recuperate for awhile. His room was downstairs and I remember going to check on him in the middle of the night. I opened the door and this huge black shadow lunged at me! Czar was always welcome through Ben’s ground level window and he was there to protect his boy! About scared me to death!
Back to the phone conversation. Bob said, "Why did you say that?" and I replied, "Oh, I was just being funny...do you really need us to watch the dogs?" (we've never watched the dogs before). Actually they were going on a family reunion and had been so worried about the dogs since all the family would be there. Their dogs are members of the family and they have really stressed about who would take care of them. A few nights ago, as they were talking, they wondered if Tanner’s work would allow him to watch out after them. That night in family prayer, they prayed to know what to do. When Bob called me, shortly after, that had been my reply. An answer to their fervent prayer. And an answer to mine. I had been praying for unique service opportunities and so God knew I had a willing heart and he just put us together. This might seem like such a little thing, but it wasn’t little to the W.'s They were so thankful they wept! I know that through other things that have happened in the last week, that there is no finer thing we can pray for, than to "be ready" to help who Heavenly Father sends our way.
So, Tanner and I went up to the W.s today to get the dog instructions. I think I'll be doing the dog sitting but I'll be gone one night so Tanner needed to do the drill also. Oh my, am I going to have fun with this! I told them I would be making fun of their routine for the dogs forever! It is hysterical. Really, to where bowls are placed, how to serve their food (the dogs don’t like to be watched while they eat) with a scoop of table yummies from the refrigerator in the evening on top of the dog food (Czar likes his soupy, Angel little water or she'll turn over her dish), which door they go out for breaks and which for nightime. We even get to "tuck them in at night" with a sheet over their bodies and heads, cover the eyes but not the nose!" It just cracks me up! I had no IDEA that ritual was going on every night across the street! I'll get a lot of mileage out of this one! But, I'm so happy we can do it. I love being a helper bee.
I shared a couple of weeks ago how we talked at the Sunday dinner table about praying for unique opportunities to serve. Well, I talked about it and the boys pretty much gave me a hard time as usual. All in fun. But, nevertheless, prayers have been answered and unique opportunities have come which is an affirmation to me that if we desire to have promptings, we will. I will share some of the several things that have happened this past couple of weeks later but I want to mention one today.
Two and a half years ago we moved to our current home. Our neighbors at our prior home were the W.’s Of course, we see them at church but not much in-between. The phone rang the other day. "Marilyn, this is Bob W. calling." Me: "Hi, Bob, we’d love to watch Czar for you." Dead silence on the other end.
Now the W.’s have two dogs...Czar and Angel. Both are labs...Czar is a lab/boxer mix and I think Angel is straight lab. Well, since we didn’t have our "own" pets, Czar became our dog by association (Angel came later.) He has the cutest boxie face and I or the kids would always let him in and feed him steak and other delectable things. He’s a real barker at anyone driving up the street but he adored our family. Especially Ben. I remember one time when Ben blew out his knee skiing and had to have intensive surgery. He came home to recuperate for awhile. His room was downstairs and I remember going to check on him in the middle of the night. I opened the door and this huge black shadow lunged at me! Czar was always welcome through Ben’s ground level window and he was there to protect his boy! About scared me to death!
Back to the phone conversation. Bob said, "Why did you say that?" and I replied, "Oh, I was just being funny...do you really need us to watch the dogs?" (we've never watched the dogs before). Actually they were going on a family reunion and had been so worried about the dogs since all the family would be there. Their dogs are members of the family and they have really stressed about who would take care of them. A few nights ago, as they were talking, they wondered if Tanner’s work would allow him to watch out after them. That night in family prayer, they prayed to know what to do. When Bob called me, shortly after, that had been my reply. An answer to their fervent prayer. And an answer to mine. I had been praying for unique service opportunities and so God knew I had a willing heart and he just put us together. This might seem like such a little thing, but it wasn’t little to the W.'s They were so thankful they wept! I know that through other things that have happened in the last week, that there is no finer thing we can pray for, than to "be ready" to help who Heavenly Father sends our way.
So, Tanner and I went up to the W.s today to get the dog instructions. I think I'll be doing the dog sitting but I'll be gone one night so Tanner needed to do the drill also. Oh my, am I going to have fun with this! I told them I would be making fun of their routine for the dogs forever! It is hysterical. Really, to where bowls are placed, how to serve their food (the dogs don’t like to be watched while they eat) with a scoop of table yummies from the refrigerator in the evening on top of the dog food (Czar likes his soupy, Angel little water or she'll turn over her dish), which door they go out for breaks and which for nightime. We even get to "tuck them in at night" with a sheet over their bodies and heads, cover the eyes but not the nose!" It just cracks me up! I had no IDEA that ritual was going on every night across the street! I'll get a lot of mileage out of this one! But, I'm so happy we can do it. I love being a helper bee.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Just The Facts, Ma'am
I find one of the easiest ways to journal is to answer questions. They spark memories like no other. Maybe you've used this technique when interviewing your parents or grandparents about their life history. A memory jar is a great gift....I know Heather White made cute journal jars for her young women (and I think sells them as well....check out her blog at /heatherdwhite.typepad.com/ or email her at heatherdwhite@gmail.com ) (and Heather, thank you for tagging me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger. I will wear the badge with pride!)
When I teach journaling classes or personal history, people get frustrated when they think they have to "start at the beginning" and feel like they are always behind. I encourage people to write the most important thing first...that is their "concluding remarks." I'll share more about that at another time. And I feel that keeping a set of "Small Plates" is sacred and very important. And all the rest is bonus. Journal jars are a great way to jog the memory and capture some forgotten moments. Just pull out a question and see where you go.....
Where is the most interesting place you’ve ever lived?
Probably a little red house, close by the health center at BYU. We weresuppose to live at Campus Plaza (when it was fairly new and very expensive) but when my best friend/roomie Peggy and I arrived (after driving forever in my red hot Comet Caliente from Washington and Idaho), we found that C.P., had given out more contracts than they could fulfill and bought up what they called "over-flow" houses. These were old, falling down, houses from horror show sets (in our case), but what could we do? And we got to pay the same steep rent. I was in my "non-assertive" mode (until I was 30) and besides, they said if we didn’t like it, we could move elsewhere. Every other place was full. So we moved into a home that sat just a few feet from a gas station on the corner, so gas fumes (which I happened to like immensely before this experience) were a part of our every breath. There wasn’t any yard....just a giant, dying garden with cornstalks and dead vines. A little German lady by the name of Teresa (pronounced Ter-ra-sa) Mulhenstine lived in a small partitioned part of the back of the house. She was a widow and was granted that little living apartment when big business (C.P.) bought her out. Her little apartment smelled like corn. She lovingly translated some German passages that one of the dozens of boys I had sent on missions from Ricks College would send me in letters. She was the only lovely part of that experience. (Besides loving my other new roommates.) I used to spend hours visiting with her, listening to her stories about Germany (I must have known someday I would find my return-missionary-from-Germany-prince) and just trying to cheer a lonely old lady. I’ve always loved little old ladies, which is good because soon I’ll be one. All to the side of the house was asphalt, and overflow parking from, you guessed it, Campus Plaza. Peggy and I, while in our bedroom, which bordered this parking lot, kept hearing a dog howling and barking for several days. We would look outside of the window and never could see him. One day when I was at work, Peggy went out to use my car (you know, the red hot Comet Caliente one) and there was this guy, absolutely flipped out, pounding on my baby’s hood. He was crying and pounding and screaming, "Whose car is this? Whose car is this?" and Peggy replied, "It’s my car (fibber)...what are you doing?!" Come to find out, he had just found his girlfriend dead in a van that had been parked next to my car for days. And...her dog was inside as well. Well, the dog was alive. Police were called and we are all interrogated and because of all the police cars surrounded our "pretty little Halloween home", we were "crowd gawked" from the chain link fence for days. Apparently, the girl had been sleeping in the van, using a hibachi stove for heating and cooking. (I told you there was a housing shortage that year) (and this was the hippie era...I think when I got married, a couple of years later, we got 4 hibachi grills for wedding gifts and an equal number of fondue pots.) The fumes were toxic and she died. What I don’t get is why the dog didn’t die....never explained. Her parents came one day, so distraught, begging us to remember any detail we forgot. It was heartbreaking. So that was the bad experience, Teresa was the good. I was so traumatized by that year at BYU along with other things too....like finally trying to be a big girl and pay my way through school instead of depending on my parents like the two previous years....that I quit after that year. So, I’m a senior. I still take occasionally classes and my goal is to graduate with Tanner. I’ll be that little old-old lady with the spikie up-do, walking with a cane and sparklie flip-flops (totally inappropriate I know, but you know I have feet issues....) with her handsome, curly-headed son. But wait, I did find my prince that year. So school wasn’t a total loss.... I just didn’t know it. My heck, it’s taken a full page and my whole morning just answering one question.
It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated.
Alec Bourne
When I teach journaling classes or personal history, people get frustrated when they think they have to "start at the beginning" and feel like they are always behind. I encourage people to write the most important thing first...that is their "concluding remarks." I'll share more about that at another time. And I feel that keeping a set of "Small Plates" is sacred and very important. And all the rest is bonus. Journal jars are a great way to jog the memory and capture some forgotten moments. Just pull out a question and see where you go.....
Where is the most interesting place you’ve ever lived?
Probably a little red house, close by the health center at BYU. We weresuppose to live at Campus Plaza (when it was fairly new and very expensive) but when my best friend/roomie Peggy and I arrived (after driving forever in my red hot Comet Caliente from Washington and Idaho), we found that C.P., had given out more contracts than they could fulfill and bought up what they called "over-flow" houses. These were old, falling down, houses from horror show sets (in our case), but what could we do? And we got to pay the same steep rent. I was in my "non-assertive" mode (until I was 30) and besides, they said if we didn’t like it, we could move elsewhere. Every other place was full. So we moved into a home that sat just a few feet from a gas station on the corner, so gas fumes (which I happened to like immensely before this experience) were a part of our every breath. There wasn’t any yard....just a giant, dying garden with cornstalks and dead vines. A little German lady by the name of Teresa (pronounced Ter-ra-sa) Mulhenstine lived in a small partitioned part of the back of the house. She was a widow and was granted that little living apartment when big business (C.P.) bought her out. Her little apartment smelled like corn. She lovingly translated some German passages that one of the dozens of boys I had sent on missions from Ricks College would send me in letters. She was the only lovely part of that experience. (Besides loving my other new roommates.) I used to spend hours visiting with her, listening to her stories about Germany (I must have known someday I would find my return-missionary-from-Germany-prince) and just trying to cheer a lonely old lady. I’ve always loved little old ladies, which is good because soon I’ll be one. All to the side of the house was asphalt, and overflow parking from, you guessed it, Campus Plaza. Peggy and I, while in our bedroom, which bordered this parking lot, kept hearing a dog howling and barking for several days. We would look outside of the window and never could see him. One day when I was at work, Peggy went out to use my car (you know, the red hot Comet Caliente one) and there was this guy, absolutely flipped out, pounding on my baby’s hood. He was crying and pounding and screaming, "Whose car is this? Whose car is this?" and Peggy replied, "It’s my car (fibber)...what are you doing?!" Come to find out, he had just found his girlfriend dead in a van that had been parked next to my car for days. And...her dog was inside as well. Well, the dog was alive. Police were called and we are all interrogated and because of all the police cars surrounded our "pretty little Halloween home", we were "crowd gawked" from the chain link fence for days. Apparently, the girl had been sleeping in the van, using a hibachi stove for heating and cooking. (I told you there was a housing shortage that year) (and this was the hippie era...I think when I got married, a couple of years later, we got 4 hibachi grills for wedding gifts and an equal number of fondue pots.) The fumes were toxic and she died. What I don’t get is why the dog didn’t die....never explained. Her parents came one day, so distraught, begging us to remember any detail we forgot. It was heartbreaking. So that was the bad experience, Teresa was the good. I was so traumatized by that year at BYU along with other things too....like finally trying to be a big girl and pay my way through school instead of depending on my parents like the two previous years....that I quit after that year. So, I’m a senior. I still take occasionally classes and my goal is to graduate with Tanner. I’ll be that little old-old lady with the spikie up-do, walking with a cane and sparklie flip-flops (totally inappropriate I know, but you know I have feet issues....) with her handsome, curly-headed son. But wait, I did find my prince that year. So school wasn’t a total loss.... I just didn’t know it. My heck, it’s taken a full page and my whole morning just answering one question.
It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated.
Alec Bourne
Friday, July 20, 2007
Just an Update...
First, an update on one of my "littles." Elijah is home from the hospital, without a diagnosis, seemingly OK. For now. Who knows? Maybe some viral infection. Oh, except that they did another x-ray on his leg, which he hurt a month ago, and has two xrays already saying he was fine, and yes, he had a fracture....GRRRR! While I was waiting on news about him, I get a call from another son telling me they were on their way home from the hospital as well. Baby Nash just coughs and coughs and sounds so horrible, they've taken him into the Dr.'s a couple of times a week for a month now. They are still waiting for tests, as well. Whooping cough. Pneumonia. Or Asthma.
On a happier note, I had a great art lesson this morning. And I've been entertaining a boy, Mike, from Connecticut that basically showed up on our doorstep last week and is here through Monday. He was interested in my lesson this morning so I got him painting this afternoon and he's just loved it. He's a young man, I think, with disabilities and certainly a less than ideal life growing up, spending even a year homeless on the streets. My heart aches for him. But I think he's had a wonderful week here and I'm so proud of Tanner for being so gracious to take him in and drag him everywhere and just talk so sweet to him. Aunt Pat picked us up, Mike and I, and we rode Trax downtown and met another sister- and brother-in-law and ate dinner downtown, then attended the July 24th Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra Tribute at the Conference Center. I think it will be televised this week. Just amazing music and wonderful to see the prophet there, waving his cane at the audience and being so cute! The last 1/2 hour was a replay of the video about the tabernacle. As I was watching it, I remembered an opportunity that I had, of giving a prayer in that building. It was a special 5-Stake regional conference and I was asked to give the closing prayer. We had scheduled to go to Hawaii with friends that same week-end and I made us all change our reservations to another time because I knew that I would never be given an opportunity like that again. I remember sitting up there, where many General Authorities were sitting, and realizing I had to climb about 20 narrow stairs up to where the pulpit was. I was so nervous looking over that crowd, I thought I honestly might wet my pants on the climb up or trip and ricochet down the stairs with a bang! I was TERRIFIED! Not of praying, not of talking to my Heavenly Father, but AFRAID of those 20 narrow stairs! But I made it....and afterwards got to shake Pres. Monson, Elder Featherstone and other's hands. Elder Featherstone just pulled me close and whispered in my ear, "Now see, that was a lot better than Hawaii!"
It was a dear memory I had forgotten about until seeing that video tonight. So I'm glad I could record it , in case I didn't keep a journal that year. Oh, and I do remember another great moment from that conference. We were in a hurry to get there, in the wintertime, with 5 little kids. One of the kids threw up in the back seat, all over the floor but we couldn't stop to clean it up or we would have been late. It was so gross and disgusting, we all had to roll down our windows to have some fresh, freezing air to survive the smell. I think a neighbor took our picture outside the tabernacle...I wish I could find it and post it for a laugh. I remember no one looked like a happy camper!
Families...you just gotta love them!
On a happier note, I had a great art lesson this morning. And I've been entertaining a boy, Mike, from Connecticut that basically showed up on our doorstep last week and is here through Monday. He was interested in my lesson this morning so I got him painting this afternoon and he's just loved it. He's a young man, I think, with disabilities and certainly a less than ideal life growing up, spending even a year homeless on the streets. My heart aches for him. But I think he's had a wonderful week here and I'm so proud of Tanner for being so gracious to take him in and drag him everywhere and just talk so sweet to him. Aunt Pat picked us up, Mike and I, and we rode Trax downtown and met another sister- and brother-in-law and ate dinner downtown, then attended the July 24th Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra Tribute at the Conference Center. I think it will be televised this week. Just amazing music and wonderful to see the prophet there, waving his cane at the audience and being so cute! The last 1/2 hour was a replay of the video about the tabernacle. As I was watching it, I remembered an opportunity that I had, of giving a prayer in that building. It was a special 5-Stake regional conference and I was asked to give the closing prayer. We had scheduled to go to Hawaii with friends that same week-end and I made us all change our reservations to another time because I knew that I would never be given an opportunity like that again. I remember sitting up there, where many General Authorities were sitting, and realizing I had to climb about 20 narrow stairs up to where the pulpit was. I was so nervous looking over that crowd, I thought I honestly might wet my pants on the climb up or trip and ricochet down the stairs with a bang! I was TERRIFIED! Not of praying, not of talking to my Heavenly Father, but AFRAID of those 20 narrow stairs! But I made it....and afterwards got to shake Pres. Monson, Elder Featherstone and other's hands. Elder Featherstone just pulled me close and whispered in my ear, "Now see, that was a lot better than Hawaii!"
It was a dear memory I had forgotten about until seeing that video tonight. So I'm glad I could record it , in case I didn't keep a journal that year. Oh, and I do remember another great moment from that conference. We were in a hurry to get there, in the wintertime, with 5 little kids. One of the kids threw up in the back seat, all over the floor but we couldn't stop to clean it up or we would have been late. It was so gross and disgusting, we all had to roll down our windows to have some fresh, freezing air to survive the smell. I think a neighbor took our picture outside the tabernacle...I wish I could find it and post it for a laugh. I remember no one looked like a happy camper!
Families...you just gotta love them!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Journeys and Destinations
What a wonderful, relaxing trip with friends to Circleville-prior home of Butch Cassidy and family. I was clueless where I was driving but I got us there safe and sound. Heartbreaking to drive through the Milford area and see the fire zone. It looks like a bomb has gone off there and the smell of smoke is thick in the air. Heather took her own vehicle since she had to come home yesterday. I laughed, because it took us about an hour after the time we planned to take off, for us to get our "lists" crossed off. I got news at the last minute that someone my son, Tanner, knew in the mission field, was flying in that morning and needed a place to stay. So, at the last minute, I was changing beds and doing laundry since we had guests two nights before and I hadn’t had time to do it. And then, and then, and then. No matter how old a mother gets, she still just can’t pick up and go because she has a list of things to get done for other people. It’s not that I mind doing any of it, it just is
always a trick getting out the door. And do most of you "mop" your way out of the house or is that just me?
always a trick getting out the door. And do most of you "mop" your way out of the house or is that just me?
So, we are an hour or more later getting off, then realized it was about 12:30. Lunchtime.So, we debated, should we eat now or later? Later might not have as good selection. "Now" we’re not as hungry but we will be soon. We voted Goodwoods on the way out of town. We hardly touched our food (we ordered to share but the waitress misunderstood us and we had enough for
an army) but it was part of the adventure. I commented on how our husbands wouldn’t "get it." For them, they’d say, "Oh, we’ll just pick up something up at a gas station along the way" and that would suffice. Not us. Not only do we know we want something, we want to make sure that it is a good something. For us, it wasn’t so much the destination but the journey. We switched cars halfway to Circleville so Heather wouldn’t have to drive alone the whole way. The Barnson’s ranch was wonderful and a lot of improvements had been made since the last time I was there and it was great to see.
Butch Cassidy homestead
We had a great dinner that evening, then watched one of Pam’s favorite movies, Charlotte Gray (2001, I think.) The rest of us had never seen it...and everyone got mad at me because I was figuring out dialogue before it played and spoiling the moment. I’m turning into my husband! But it was a good movie and we had such a fun time! Wed. we spent a lot of time touring- things like the Butch Cassidy homestead, the beautiful red rock canyons, took a million pictures of landscapes, houses with hollyhocks, barns, etc. for future painting references. We hit the local hamburger stand in Panquich for some great onion rings and burgers, took more pictures and sent Heather off home. When we got back to the ranch, we took naps
then Pam and I painted for several hours. Laurie then insisted her daughter Jessica saddle up the horses, I think because she must have some repressed death wish for me. (see I Should Have Been A Cowboy ) But we rode around their large area and it was enjoyable to be together laughing and watch the gorgeous sunset and the lovely, reddish colored (from the fire) thumbnail of a moon. After the short horse ride, we changed into our suits and tried out their new hot tub. It felt so good to laugh and just relax. Pam and I then watched another older movie, An Unfinished Life. I thought it was pretty good. I especially liked the last line. The camera pans over the beautiful countryside and two of the main characters, Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman are talking. R.R.’s character says to M.F.’s character, "I heard you had a dream you were flying" to which the M.F. character says something like this: "Yes, I was flying all over the countryside and I could see everything...and from that viewpoint (as the camera takes in the stone monument grave of R.R.’s son who died in an accident and seemingly destroyed his life), there seemed to be a purpose to everything." I thought that was beautiful. As we look from a distance,a heavenly perspective, we can see God’s hand and our growth, even through those difficult times. And everything seems to have a purpose....
I came home, refreshed, happy, dying to see my husband (who had been out of town all week and just, I thought, had flown in today...but he got an earlier flight and came in yesterday)and family to learn one of my grandson’s was taken to Primary Children’s hospital. Apparently he had a seizure yesterday, then passed out. They are hoping it was all because of a bad ear ache but they are there for testing. Immediately my refreshed and happy bubble burst. I know life can change in an instant. Hopefully everything will test out well, but I know sometimes it doesn’t. This morning when I was alone in the ranch house, sunlight streaming in through the kitchen window, I was sitting there at the table reading my scriptures. As I was looking through my well-worn triple combination, a little note fell out, with just a scripture reference written on it. I don’t even know where it came from. I was excited and thought, "Oh good, this is a little message from God today. I wonder what it says?" I quickly looked up the scripture, Mosiah 24:13-15- it begins "And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying; Lift up your heads and be of good comfort..." Instantly I became sober, reflecting that for some time now, our burdens have been lighter and yet lately I have felt trepidation. I was familiar with and had underscored the following verses which states that the Lord will ease our burdens, even while we are in bondage (or in the middle of the storm) (but not necessarily take away the burden) and that is always so worrisome. No one "wants" trials and yet they are such a part of our learning. And I had to reflect back to the idea of "journey's and destinations." This, whatever it is, is part of that journey. It is how we learn. But, when I received the phone call about little Elijah, our funny little ray of sunshine, my heart skipped a beat. "Please, please, please..."
How quickly we turn to our knees.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
In The Beginning, the Lord created Chocolate
"In the beginning, the Lord created chocolate, and he saw that it was good. Then he separated the light from the dark, and it was better."- Unknown
So, I’m all packed up and ready to go, painting for a few days in the wilds with a few friends. Pam F. (my friend, the bishop’s wife)(but I try not to hold that against her!) (the one that makes fun of me for having so many "best" friends!) and I and Heather Oakeson are going to Circleville, Utah (where in the heck is that? Actually, I have been there before but I fall asleep as soon as I get into the car so I never know where I am) (hope that doesn’t happen today since I’m driving...) to another friend, Laurie Barnson’s cabin/ranch. Well, it’s more like a lodge. Lynn Barnson, Laurie’s husband, was our prior bishop, before Pam’s husband, after mine. I’m not sure this genealogy is important. In fact, I'm pretty sure it is irrelevant. So, rather than pouring out another long-winded story in case of my impending demise, I’ll share something REALLY meaningful here today, before I take off.
Can I just say, I know there is chocolate in heaven, because God would never have created something so wonderful if it wasn’t eternal. And if heaven doesn’t have chocolate, I don’t think I’ll be comfortable there. So, enjoy these quotes...they are near and dear to me and very uplifting. I hope you can settle back with a whole bag of M & M’s that you’ve been hiding in your secret hiding place. That reminds me of one time, Pretty Patty Petty was visiting me. We were downstairs (last home) in my craft room working on some magnificent project and Ben (a teenager at the time) came in and said, "Do we have any treats to eat?" I said, "Yes, in the secret hiding place." He nodded and left and Pretty Patty Petty looked at me dumbfounded! "You’re a nut!" she exclaimed, "that’s why it’s a SECRET hiding place...they’re not suppose to know where it is!" Ohhhh... And one more thing. I've noticed that a lot of these quotes have anonymous after them. One time, for my birthday (really, when I was in college), my mom sent me a birthday poem or something and signed it, "Amomymous." Funny, huh?!
"Carob makes a terrific substitute for chocolate, in much the same way that ketchup is a convincing replacement for fine wine." - Sandra Boynton
"The greatest tragedies were written by the Greek Sophocles and English Shakespeare. Neither knew chocolate." - Sandra Boynton
"Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar in four pieces with your bare hands--and then just eating one piece" - Judith Viorst
"Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals like chocolate." – Sandra Boynton
"My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far I've finished two bags of M&M's and a chocolate cake. I feel better already." – Dave Barry
"Chemically speaking, chocolate really is the world's perfect food". - Michael Levine, nutrition researcher
"Exercise is a dirty word. Every time I hear it I wash my mouth out with chocolate." -Charles M. Schultz
There's more to life than chocolate, but not right now. - Unknown
I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process…It may not be true, but do I dare to take the chance? - Unknown
"Chocolate: Here today...gone today."- -Anonymous
"Chocolate is most excellent, in nourishing and preserving health entire, purging by expectoration's, and especially by the sweat-vents of the body, preventing unnatural fumes ascending to the head."-William Hughes, The American Physician (1672)
"Life without chocolate is life lacking something important." -Marcia Colman Morton & Frederic Morton (Writers)
"Chocolate is nature's way of making up for Mondays." --Anonymous.
"Stress wouldn't be so hard to take if it were chocolate covered."-Anon.
"All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!" -Charles M Shulz
"Man cannot live on chocolate alone; but woman sure can."--Unknown
"There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles."--Anonymous
"I could give up chocolate but I'm not a quitter." --Unknown
"My tongue is smiling."-Abigail Trillin, age four, On finishing a dish of chocolate ice cream, quoted by her father Calvin Trillin Alice, Let's Eat Random House 78
"Anything is good if it's made of chocolate." --Jo Brand
"After about 20 years of marriage, I'm finally starting to scratch the surface of what women want. And I think the answer lies somewhere between conversation and chocolate." --Mel Gibson
"Equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, is a balanced diet"-Unknown
"Just as bees will swarm about to protect their nest, so will I 'swarm about' to protect my nest of chocolate eggs."--Jack Handey [Deep Thoughts], Recurring Saturday Night Live comedy bit
"As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, E, or U is the proper time for chocolate."-Sandra (Keith) Boynton (b. 1953), Writer, author
"Giving chocolate to others is an intimate form of communication, a sharing of deep, dark secrets."- -Milton Zelman, publisher of "Chocolate News"
"There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE"-Linda Grayson, "The Pickwick Papers"
"It's not that chocolates are a substitute for love. Love is a substitute for chocolate. Chocolate is, let's face it, far more reliable than a man." --Miranda Ingram
"Life is like a box of chocolates.... you never know what you're gonna get." -Forrest Gump (actually his mother said it....)
"There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who love chocolate, and communists."-Leslie Moak Murray in 'Murray's Law' comic strip
"A new British survey has revealed that 9 out of 10 people like Chocolate. The tenth lies." --Robert Paul
So, I’m all packed up and ready to go, painting for a few days in the wilds with a few friends. Pam F. (my friend, the bishop’s wife)(but I try not to hold that against her!) (the one that makes fun of me for having so many "best" friends!) and I and Heather Oakeson are going to Circleville, Utah (where in the heck is that? Actually, I have been there before but I fall asleep as soon as I get into the car so I never know where I am) (hope that doesn’t happen today since I’m driving...) to another friend, Laurie Barnson’s cabin/ranch. Well, it’s more like a lodge. Lynn Barnson, Laurie’s husband, was our prior bishop, before Pam’s husband, after mine. I’m not sure this genealogy is important. In fact, I'm pretty sure it is irrelevant. So, rather than pouring out another long-winded story in case of my impending demise, I’ll share something REALLY meaningful here today, before I take off.
Can I just say, I know there is chocolate in heaven, because God would never have created something so wonderful if it wasn’t eternal. And if heaven doesn’t have chocolate, I don’t think I’ll be comfortable there. So, enjoy these quotes...they are near and dear to me and very uplifting. I hope you can settle back with a whole bag of M & M’s that you’ve been hiding in your secret hiding place. That reminds me of one time, Pretty Patty Petty was visiting me. We were downstairs (last home) in my craft room working on some magnificent project and Ben (a teenager at the time) came in and said, "Do we have any treats to eat?" I said, "Yes, in the secret hiding place." He nodded and left and Pretty Patty Petty looked at me dumbfounded! "You’re a nut!" she exclaimed, "that’s why it’s a SECRET hiding place...they’re not suppose to know where it is!" Ohhhh... And one more thing. I've noticed that a lot of these quotes have anonymous after them. One time, for my birthday (really, when I was in college), my mom sent me a birthday poem or something and signed it, "Amomymous." Funny, huh?!
"Carob makes a terrific substitute for chocolate, in much the same way that ketchup is a convincing replacement for fine wine." - Sandra Boynton
"The greatest tragedies were written by the Greek Sophocles and English Shakespeare. Neither knew chocolate." - Sandra Boynton
"Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar in four pieces with your bare hands--and then just eating one piece" - Judith Viorst
"Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals like chocolate." – Sandra Boynton
"My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far I've finished two bags of M&M's and a chocolate cake. I feel better already." – Dave Barry
"Chemically speaking, chocolate really is the world's perfect food". - Michael Levine, nutrition researcher
"Exercise is a dirty word. Every time I hear it I wash my mouth out with chocolate." -Charles M. Schultz
There's more to life than chocolate, but not right now. - Unknown
I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process…It may not be true, but do I dare to take the chance? - Unknown
"Chocolate: Here today...gone today."- -Anonymous
"Chocolate is most excellent, in nourishing and preserving health entire, purging by expectoration's, and especially by the sweat-vents of the body, preventing unnatural fumes ascending to the head."-William Hughes, The American Physician (1672)
"Life without chocolate is life lacking something important." -Marcia Colman Morton & Frederic Morton (Writers)
"Chocolate is nature's way of making up for Mondays." --Anonymous.
"Stress wouldn't be so hard to take if it were chocolate covered."-Anon.
"All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!" -Charles M Shulz
"Man cannot live on chocolate alone; but woman sure can."--Unknown
"There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles."--Anonymous
"I could give up chocolate but I'm not a quitter." --Unknown
"My tongue is smiling."-Abigail Trillin, age four, On finishing a dish of chocolate ice cream, quoted by her father Calvin Trillin Alice, Let's Eat Random House 78
"Anything is good if it's made of chocolate." --Jo Brand
"After about 20 years of marriage, I'm finally starting to scratch the surface of what women want. And I think the answer lies somewhere between conversation and chocolate." --Mel Gibson
"Equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, is a balanced diet"-Unknown
"Just as bees will swarm about to protect their nest, so will I 'swarm about' to protect my nest of chocolate eggs."--Jack Handey [Deep Thoughts], Recurring Saturday Night Live comedy bit
"As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, E, or U is the proper time for chocolate."-Sandra (Keith) Boynton (b. 1953), Writer, author
"Giving chocolate to others is an intimate form of communication, a sharing of deep, dark secrets."- -Milton Zelman, publisher of "Chocolate News"
"There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE"-Linda Grayson, "The Pickwick Papers"
"It's not that chocolates are a substitute for love. Love is a substitute for chocolate. Chocolate is, let's face it, far more reliable than a man." --Miranda Ingram
"Life is like a box of chocolates.... you never know what you're gonna get." -Forrest Gump (actually his mother said it....)
"There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who love chocolate, and communists."-Leslie Moak Murray in 'Murray's Law' comic strip
"A new British survey has revealed that 9 out of 10 people like Chocolate. The tenth lies." --Robert Paul
Monday, July 16, 2007
The Joe Valerio Syndrome
"No one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that He loves each of us—insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all. " Jeffrey Holland
THE OTHER PRODIGAL
Saturday night Tanner got home from Lake Powell with a friend’s family. Relatives of the family were there also, which reminded me of a story from the past (since it had to do with another of their relatives.) Tanner and David and I went out to dinner and I told them this story:
Brandi was about in 5th grade. She was/is a beautiful, kind, wonderful person who would never have thought to do a naughty or unkind thing in her life. She had a crush on a boy in her class named Joe Valerio and he liked her. He was handsome. One day Brandi came to me and said that a group of her friends were going roller-skating at Classic on Friday night and asked could she go. I said, "Of course. That sounds fun." But Brandi kind of hesitated and hem-hawed around until she confessed, "Ah, boys are going too." "Oh," I said. "That kind of makes a difference to me, then." I explained to her that if she were doing the boy/girl thing then, she had a long time to go until she was 16 and what was there to look forward. Long story shorter. Brandi didn’t get to go skating but her best friend, Kara, went and skated all night with Joe Valerio and by the end of the evening, he asked Kara to go with him. Brandi heard the news Monday at school. She came home from a looonng day, chin just a’quivering. She told me the news and I could tell her little heart was broken. A few minutes later she asked me, "Mom, what’s jealous mean?" I answered, "Well, you’re jealous when you want something that someone else has and it makes you feel kind of mean inside." Brandi pondered that for a bit and then I asked, "Are you feeling jealous of Kara?" to which Brandi burst out crying "No, it’s not that I don’t want Kara to have him....I just want him too!"
So, the "Joe Valerio" syndrome was born. It has served Brandi and I well through the years. When in high school, Brandi made cheerleader and her best friends didn’t. They didn’t handle it very well but it was easier for Brandi and I to talk about, since we understood and could say, "It’s the Joe Valerio Syndrome."
Envy is an easy thing to fall into (and of course, Brandi was/is just so dang good she would WANT the other person to have some too!) (she's kind of the adult in our relationship and she's certainly my role model....) The women in our Stake have been reading the Book of Mormon again as a Stake project from the new Stake Relief Society presidency. You see the pattern over and over again. The people are humbled, they get blessed, they start acquiring "stuff" and getting more "stuff" than their neighbors and then one group starts feeling superior to the others and the others start feeling mean that they don’t have as much "stuff"....and wickedness starts flourishing from that main cause....and then they get so wicked, they crumble....until they get humble, and they get blessed.....
The Book of Mormon in a nutshell.And we know it was written for our day. Recently I re-read a great talk by Elder Holland called "The Other Prodigal."(Search it out on lds.org) It is an amazing talk and one I could read and read, over and over again. He talks about the elder son, the son that is so unhappy for all the attention his father is showering on his repentant brother. As though the love that is shown to another somehow diminishes the love our Father feels for us. I had an ungrateful experience when I was a teenager that kind of typifies this:
Just before I went to Rick’s College, my best friend and I went together to get our patriarchal blessings. It seemed normal that we would go together since it was in her home that I really learned about the gospel. I spent every Sunday at their home, between church meetings (morning Sunday School and evening Sacrament Meeting) and that is where I learned about family prayer, the temple, the scriptures. But when we were in high school, my best friend took another path. It was heartbreaking for me to see and the summer before college, she went into a drug-induced coma. Through a priesthood blessing, her life was preserved. She was a new person again! She was anxious for a new life and I was leaving for college and so, together we went to the patriarch to see what the Lord had in store for us.
My friend’s blessing was first. It was amazing. But what was even more incredible was that the patriarch sobbed all through her blessing as well as my friend. I could FEEL the incredible spirit that was there! It was very emotional and powerful. It was a celebration of the prodigal. Then it was my turn. The patriarch gave me a blessing that seemed nice, but there was none of the dynamic emotion of my friend’s blessing. I remember feeling a little resentful... heh, I was the one that didn’t make bad choices. I was the one that took the harder path. I was the one who had remained faithful. I remember going away from that experience feeling like Heavenly Father must have loved my friend more than me.....
I somehow felt diminished.
How surprised I was, when I got a copy of my blessing, to read just how incredible it was! I was so busy "comparing" that I missed out on recognizing my own incredible blessing! It has governed my life, shared things that only God and I knew about. Really changed the course of my life. The patriarch didn’t know me from Adam since my parents weren’t in the church and he actually lived in another town than us. From my blessing, I realized how much the Lord KNEW ME and loved me! And I know that He loves EACH one of you just as much. And that doesn’t take away ANYTHING from me. I think the answer is found in developing our self-worth in our Heavenly Father’s love. If we try and develop our self-worth through worldly things, we will always be found lacking. Someone will always have a better job, a bigger home, be prettier, be thinner, be more talented. But all that can change in an instant. And that kind of comparison diminishes us. Our H.F.’s love only increases. We say "I Am A Child of God" over and over. But do we believe it?
(Sorry I’m being so gushy....I might mention I’m going on a girlfriend trip tomorrow for a couple of days and I ALWAYS get teary before going....."What if I don’t come back? What if my posterity doesn’t know about the "Joe Valerio" syndrome. What if, what if, what if. " Brandi braces herself when I go out of town because, being the oldest, she knows the drill and HATES it. "Yes, Mother, I KNOW where the wills are. Yes, Mother, I know where your obituary is (I’ve already written it...I like having the last word....) Yes, Mother, I know Cathy is suppose to come and torch your laundry room before the Relief Society ladies come.....) (Sorry, Brandi....and I’m really sorry I said I’d rather live with Ben a few blogs ago because he wouldn’t make me do physical therapy when I’m old and you were the mean one (being a physical therapist and all....) (I’m apologizing just in case I don’t, you know, come back.)
"Our envy of others devours us most of all. "
THE OTHER PRODIGAL
Saturday night Tanner got home from Lake Powell with a friend’s family. Relatives of the family were there also, which reminded me of a story from the past (since it had to do with another of their relatives.) Tanner and David and I went out to dinner and I told them this story:
Brandi was about in 5th grade. She was/is a beautiful, kind, wonderful person who would never have thought to do a naughty or unkind thing in her life. She had a crush on a boy in her class named Joe Valerio and he liked her. He was handsome. One day Brandi came to me and said that a group of her friends were going roller-skating at Classic on Friday night and asked could she go. I said, "Of course. That sounds fun." But Brandi kind of hesitated and hem-hawed around until she confessed, "Ah, boys are going too." "Oh," I said. "That kind of makes a difference to me, then." I explained to her that if she were doing the boy/girl thing then, she had a long time to go until she was 16 and what was there to look forward. Long story shorter. Brandi didn’t get to go skating but her best friend, Kara, went and skated all night with Joe Valerio and by the end of the evening, he asked Kara to go with him. Brandi heard the news Monday at school. She came home from a looonng day, chin just a’quivering. She told me the news and I could tell her little heart was broken. A few minutes later she asked me, "Mom, what’s jealous mean?" I answered, "Well, you’re jealous when you want something that someone else has and it makes you feel kind of mean inside." Brandi pondered that for a bit and then I asked, "Are you feeling jealous of Kara?" to which Brandi burst out crying "No, it’s not that I don’t want Kara to have him....I just want him too!"
So, the "Joe Valerio" syndrome was born. It has served Brandi and I well through the years. When in high school, Brandi made cheerleader and her best friends didn’t. They didn’t handle it very well but it was easier for Brandi and I to talk about, since we understood and could say, "It’s the Joe Valerio Syndrome."
Envy is an easy thing to fall into (and of course, Brandi was/is just so dang good she would WANT the other person to have some too!) (she's kind of the adult in our relationship and she's certainly my role model....) The women in our Stake have been reading the Book of Mormon again as a Stake project from the new Stake Relief Society presidency. You see the pattern over and over again. The people are humbled, they get blessed, they start acquiring "stuff" and getting more "stuff" than their neighbors and then one group starts feeling superior to the others and the others start feeling mean that they don’t have as much "stuff"....and wickedness starts flourishing from that main cause....and then they get so wicked, they crumble....until they get humble, and they get blessed.....
The Book of Mormon in a nutshell.And we know it was written for our day. Recently I re-read a great talk by Elder Holland called "The Other Prodigal."(Search it out on lds.org) It is an amazing talk and one I could read and read, over and over again. He talks about the elder son, the son that is so unhappy for all the attention his father is showering on his repentant brother. As though the love that is shown to another somehow diminishes the love our Father feels for us. I had an ungrateful experience when I was a teenager that kind of typifies this:
Just before I went to Rick’s College, my best friend and I went together to get our patriarchal blessings. It seemed normal that we would go together since it was in her home that I really learned about the gospel. I spent every Sunday at their home, between church meetings (morning Sunday School and evening Sacrament Meeting) and that is where I learned about family prayer, the temple, the scriptures. But when we were in high school, my best friend took another path. It was heartbreaking for me to see and the summer before college, she went into a drug-induced coma. Through a priesthood blessing, her life was preserved. She was a new person again! She was anxious for a new life and I was leaving for college and so, together we went to the patriarch to see what the Lord had in store for us.
My friend’s blessing was first. It was amazing. But what was even more incredible was that the patriarch sobbed all through her blessing as well as my friend. I could FEEL the incredible spirit that was there! It was very emotional and powerful. It was a celebration of the prodigal. Then it was my turn. The patriarch gave me a blessing that seemed nice, but there was none of the dynamic emotion of my friend’s blessing. I remember feeling a little resentful... heh, I was the one that didn’t make bad choices. I was the one that took the harder path. I was the one who had remained faithful. I remember going away from that experience feeling like Heavenly Father must have loved my friend more than me.....
I somehow felt diminished.
How surprised I was, when I got a copy of my blessing, to read just how incredible it was! I was so busy "comparing" that I missed out on recognizing my own incredible blessing! It has governed my life, shared things that only God and I knew about. Really changed the course of my life. The patriarch didn’t know me from Adam since my parents weren’t in the church and he actually lived in another town than us. From my blessing, I realized how much the Lord KNEW ME and loved me! And I know that He loves EACH one of you just as much. And that doesn’t take away ANYTHING from me. I think the answer is found in developing our self-worth in our Heavenly Father’s love. If we try and develop our self-worth through worldly things, we will always be found lacking. Someone will always have a better job, a bigger home, be prettier, be thinner, be more talented. But all that can change in an instant. And that kind of comparison diminishes us. Our H.F.’s love only increases. We say "I Am A Child of God" over and over. But do we believe it?
(Sorry I’m being so gushy....I might mention I’m going on a girlfriend trip tomorrow for a couple of days and I ALWAYS get teary before going....."What if I don’t come back? What if my posterity doesn’t know about the "Joe Valerio" syndrome. What if, what if, what if. " Brandi braces herself when I go out of town because, being the oldest, she knows the drill and HATES it. "Yes, Mother, I KNOW where the wills are. Yes, Mother, I know where your obituary is (I’ve already written it...I like having the last word....) Yes, Mother, I know Cathy is suppose to come and torch your laundry room before the Relief Society ladies come.....) (Sorry, Brandi....and I’m really sorry I said I’d rather live with Ben a few blogs ago because he wouldn’t make me do physical therapy when I’m old and you were the mean one (being a physical therapist and all....) (I’m apologizing just in case I don’t, you know, come back.)
"Our envy of others devours us most of all. "
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Clapping' and A-Honkin'!
"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. " Marcel Proust
I’m a clapper. I like to clap for fabulous mountains, good food, great looking clouds, a whole covey of little baby quail running frantically after their mamas. And I like to clap for people. We are surrounded by such depressing news and horrible world situations...or we get so busy and I find it easy sometimes to overlook the beauty and especially the people who surround us, who make a difference in our lives. I tried to teach my children to be clappers. I have been known to roll down my car window, and seeing someone out in their flower garden weeding, holler out to them (not knowing them) "Your garden always makes me happy when I drive by. Thank you!" (Surprising to think I used to be reserved!) I’m not sure when I changed, but I think I realize how much it means when someone says something nice about you. Especially if you know they mean it. I keep a drawer in my dresser that is full of "treasures." These are special notes given or sent to me through the years by family or friends or acquaintances expressing appreciation or love. Sometimes when I’m a little down, I’ll take out some of those notes and read them. They always lift me up. Sometimes when I’m kneeling in prayer, I feel Heavenly Father giving me a little pat on the back. (Other times a nudge!) That matters to me. He freely gives us His expressions of love and we can do that for others. Gratitude journals are big and I think they are important but I think it is even more important to express gratitude to each other, not just write it in a book.
I’m a clapper. I like to clap for fabulous mountains, good food, great looking clouds, a whole covey of little baby quail running frantically after their mamas. And I like to clap for people. We are surrounded by such depressing news and horrible world situations...or we get so busy and I find it easy sometimes to overlook the beauty and especially the people who surround us, who make a difference in our lives. I tried to teach my children to be clappers. I have been known to roll down my car window, and seeing someone out in their flower garden weeding, holler out to them (not knowing them) "Your garden always makes me happy when I drive by. Thank you!" (Surprising to think I used to be reserved!) I’m not sure when I changed, but I think I realize how much it means when someone says something nice about you. Especially if you know they mean it. I keep a drawer in my dresser that is full of "treasures." These are special notes given or sent to me through the years by family or friends or acquaintances expressing appreciation or love. Sometimes when I’m a little down, I’ll take out some of those notes and read them. They always lift me up. Sometimes when I’m kneeling in prayer, I feel Heavenly Father giving me a little pat on the back. (Other times a nudge!) That matters to me. He freely gives us His expressions of love and we can do that for others. Gratitude journals are big and I think they are important but I think it is even more important to express gratitude to each other, not just write it in a book.
Today a cute young man gave his mission farewell address in Church. I don’t really know this boy, not having any reason for interaction with him, but I have observed him for years. He is the boy who is serving at a Ward BBQ....and stays to help clean up the mess. He is the boy I saw at a wedding in their yard for someone else...just working his tail off helping whatever needed to be done. I saw him serving in the Special Needs Mutual and when they came to speak in our Ward, as I watched him interact, I just wanted to cry. So last year I wrote him a note. And told him how I felt. I didn’t sign it but simply said that my life was better for watching him. Don’t you love it when someone does something anonymously for you...and you think of ALL the people who could have done such a thing?! Makes you grateful, doesn’t it?
I was driving home the other day and had this thought about a friend of mine, J. I’ve shared our correspondence before and I hope she doesn’t mind. She has such an amazing way with words and she touches my life profoundly and I want to share her with you.
Dear J.
Just a shortie. My sweet daughter, Brandi, gave me a gift on Mother's Day, where she listed the things she had learned from me. She told of a story when she was about 12 years old and she went into a 7-11. When she came out to the car, she said the black girl working at the counter inside was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. I told her then she needed to go inside and tell her. At first she resisted, then I said, "How would you feel if someone said that to you?" So she did.
So....
I was driving home from the store, cruising on Dimple Dell Road. I thought, "You know, M., you know a lot of really incredible woman." And I do. I really, really do. And then I thought, "J. is really one of the most incredible women I know."
Just wanted to tell you so!
Love-M.
Dear M.,
I was in Idaho for the past few days and went to the little library there to check my email. Thank you for cheering me on with your kind words to me.
We have a cabin on some acreage up there and we see lots of wildlife. Seems like there is a plethera, gaggle, of birds everywhere. I have a half a dozen bird feeders that I am continually filling and sometimes I feel like just flinging the seed out to them to save some time.
Last year at about the same time that I received this RS calling I had run across a little article about Sandhill Cranes. These are gigantic birds w/ wingspans of up to 6 feet. I loved the article so much I copied it down in my little book and used it in my first RS lesson in my new call. Always watching for them, I think I have spotted a few Sandhill Cranes up around the lakes in Idaho this summer. Anyway this is a piece of the article that I loved:
'These large birds who fly great distances across continents have three remarkable qualities. First, they rotate leadership. No one bird stays out in front all the time. Second, they choose leaders who can handle turbulence. And then, all during
the time one bird is leading, the rest are honking affirmations.'
Bruce Larsen 'Wind and Fire'
I have tried to remember how important it is to 'honk affirmations' to my leaders and friends and family but I don't do it nearly enough. I had forgotten how good it feels to receive a honk every once in awhile. Thank you for it and for the reminder that I also, like you, want to be like the Sandhill Cranes - continually honking honks of affirmation, endorsement and encouragement while on our long distant flight through space and time.
I'm tucking your words into a little nest I have built in my heart.
J.
So beautiful....thanks, J.
Dear J.
Just a shortie. My sweet daughter, Brandi, gave me a gift on Mother's Day, where she listed the things she had learned from me. She told of a story when she was about 12 years old and she went into a 7-11. When she came out to the car, she said the black girl working at the counter inside was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. I told her then she needed to go inside and tell her. At first she resisted, then I said, "How would you feel if someone said that to you?" So she did.
So....
I was driving home from the store, cruising on Dimple Dell Road. I thought, "You know, M., you know a lot of really incredible woman." And I do. I really, really do. And then I thought, "J. is really one of the most incredible women I know."
Just wanted to tell you so!
Love-M.
Dear M.,
I was in Idaho for the past few days and went to the little library there to check my email. Thank you for cheering me on with your kind words to me.
We have a cabin on some acreage up there and we see lots of wildlife. Seems like there is a plethera, gaggle, of birds everywhere. I have a half a dozen bird feeders that I am continually filling and sometimes I feel like just flinging the seed out to them to save some time.
Last year at about the same time that I received this RS calling I had run across a little article about Sandhill Cranes. These are gigantic birds w/ wingspans of up to 6 feet. I loved the article so much I copied it down in my little book and used it in my first RS lesson in my new call. Always watching for them, I think I have spotted a few Sandhill Cranes up around the lakes in Idaho this summer. Anyway this is a piece of the article that I loved:
'These large birds who fly great distances across continents have three remarkable qualities. First, they rotate leadership. No one bird stays out in front all the time. Second, they choose leaders who can handle turbulence. And then, all during
the time one bird is leading, the rest are honking affirmations.' Bruce Larsen 'Wind and Fire'
I have tried to remember how important it is to 'honk affirmations' to my leaders and friends and family but I don't do it nearly enough. I had forgotten how good it feels to receive a honk every once in awhile. Thank you for it and for the reminder that I also, like you, want to be like the Sandhill Cranes - continually honking honks of affirmation, endorsement and encouragement while on our long distant flight through space and time.
I'm tucking your words into a little nest I have built in my heart.
J.
So beautiful....thanks, J.
So....last week, my challenge was to pray for service opportunities. I've had some good ones, some secret ones, little ones, big ones. And this week, I want to focus on honking. I loved that image that J. shared about the cranes. I hope you will choose honking too. Write some secret notes. Write a love letter to your husband or friend or parent. Honk a little more in your prayers to Heavenly Father. I get worn out watching the kiddo's and doing all I need to do....just think how He feels!
"Gratitude is the heart's memory." French proverb
The Grouchy Lady's Pickles/Homesick
So, there is this lady in the Ward. I’ll call her, affectionately, "The Grouchy Lady." When my parents visit from Washington and we drive by her house, my dad will say, "Is that where the grouchy lady lives?" Yes, it is. She is the Ward librarian and she barks at everyone (she isn’t selective) and all the kids in the Primary love her, because, although she grouches at all of them, they know she will feed them candy...except on Fast Sunday. I was afraid of her until I learned she’s a "barker" with not much of a bite. But if you go to her house at Christmastime, you'll see she has every animated thing-a-ma-gig you can imagine and know that she is a softie. I can’t let her or her husband tell me any jokes because they sometimes burn my ears (even when I plead with her that they have to be nice!) One time her husband got up in Testimony Meeting and said how much he loved his wife....they had just celebrated their anniversary and he said, "Forty years and for her, 40 pounds later...." All the wives just glared at their husbands, "If you EVER do that to me, I’ll kill you!" And I really doubt she has an extra 40 pounds....she’s a trim little, feisty thing! She prides herself about being the oldest member of our Ward. Her husband, who is the Ward historian, likes to get up each month on Testimony Meeting and chastize everyone for not turning in their monthly Ward histories. It’s a good little talkin’to each month that we anticipate and shake our heads but love him anyway. They are good, good people. Sometimes. So, last month, Debbie S. and our husbands signed up to do temple sealings. Mrs. Grouchy and Mr. Smiley Chastize are regulars on our monthly assignment. Although I love her to death (well, maybe not THAT much!), she said some pretty mumblie-grumblies during the session that I found myself getting a little un-spirited. Then, while waiting for our husbands out in the temple foyer afterwards, she said something (kiddingly) REALLY inappropriate! Debbie and I looked at each other wide-eyed, sure that a lightening bolt was gonna shoot down right through the temple! So, it was no surprise, when G.L. be-bopped into our Sunday nursery (Debbie and I along with Cheryl Curtis are comrades in there)(and next door to the library- her domain) and Grouchy Lady says, "You wouldn’t believe what happened when we got home from the temple. I had to go to the emergency room! My heart defibulator started going crazy and I thought I was having a heart attack!" No kidding. It was just a little lightening bolt! G.L has signs all around the wrought iron gates in their front yard. Signs like "No Parking!" and another "Keep Out!" and another "No Parking!" I found a sign a little while ago that says, "Trespassers Will Be Shot. Survivors Will Be Shot Again!" I plan to sneak it on her fence here sometime soon. Isn’t it great to have characters in the neighborhood and Ward. It keeps things from getting boring. And because we know and love each other, warts and all, it makes it all the better. I know that G.L. and Mr. Smiley Chastize man would do anything for you in a pinch. Except maybe not telling you bad jokes.
So, one of the things I love best about G.L., is that she shared with me her "top secret family recipe." She said if I shared it with anyone, she’d have to kill me. And I believe her. Here’s the recipe...it is FABULOUS! (And my dad LOVES them as well. He always says, "Tell that Grouchy Lady thank you!)
Grouchy Ladies Fabulous Bread and Butter Pickles(perfect for the hate-to-can- person like me!)
½ gal. Nalley’s Garlic Pickles (whole)
(really- two 48 oz. Jars- a little more than a gallon)
2 garlic cloves, sliced (I also use strained garlic from the original brine over the
store-bought pickles- throw juice away.) (I have also used garlic paste)
4 cups sugar
2 cups cider vinegar
12 whole cloves
2 sticks cinnamon
Slice or chunk pickles in bowl. G.L. slices, I chunk. In a pan, combine sugar, vinegar and spices (including garlic) Bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes. Pour over pickles in bowl and let cool. Stir once. (I’m not sure what happens if you stir twice. Maybe G.L. will come and get you!) When cool, take out cloves and pour the rest of syrup over pickles packed in jar. Put on lid. Keep in refrigerator. Good to eat the next day or later. Now, this recipe makes 2 large jars of pickles. So, as you could tell, you could easily divide the recipe in two. But they are so good, you’ll want two jars. And please don’t share this recipe with anyone...or at least with anyone who G.L. knows and would then figure out I told. That wouldn’t be good.
When I get homesick for my folks, I do funny things. Like I’ll go out and buy Jergen’s hand lotion and put it on and wear it to bed so I can go to sleep thinking/smelling of my mom. And last week, I bought one of those Vick’s Inhalers....those little pocket tubes that you stick in your nose and breathe deep. I grew up on those...my dad always had one around and I was missing him. When I saw one in the store, I about freaked. I love my dad. When I moved to Salt Lake, the year before I got married, I would get real homesick. Eight track players were big and I would drive around with my 8-track of Glen Campbell’s "Christmas Is For Children" playing full volume, with the windows rolled up, singing and crying. What made it worse was that would be in the middle of August. And there are certain foods that are comfort foods....that I cook or make, to take off the edge of homesickness (do you ever NOT miss your mommy or daddy?) I’ve been making a lot of meatloaf lately. David doesn’t like meatloaf really, so we haven’t had many during our married life. Except lately. I’m homesick! We had a saying in our home, "If it’s meatloaf, it must be Tuesday." Tuesday night was Mom’s bowling night and so I got to cook dinner. Meatloaf and baked potatoes every Tuesday night. It was the first meal I could make.
But here is an even simpler homesick fix. Which brings me to G.L. pickles. My mom would make us a snack....a saltine cracker (or Ritz would do) topped with a wedge of cheese to fit, topped with a bread-and-butter pickle. Mmm-Mmm-good! A good way to help curb homesickness (and actually morning sickness which my husband thought was disgusting!) Another good way is to make plane reservations! I’m doing that today as well!
So, one of the things I love best about G.L., is that she shared with me her "top secret family recipe." She said if I shared it with anyone, she’d have to kill me. And I believe her. Here’s the recipe...it is FABULOUS! (And my dad LOVES them as well. He always says, "Tell that Grouchy Lady thank you!)
Grouchy Ladies Fabulous Bread and Butter Pickles(perfect for the hate-to-can- person like me!)
½ gal. Nalley’s Garlic Pickles (whole)
(really- two 48 oz. Jars- a little more than a gallon)
2 garlic cloves, sliced (I also use strained garlic from the original brine over the
store-bought pickles- throw juice away.) (I have also used garlic paste)
4 cups sugar
2 cups cider vinegar
12 whole cloves
2 sticks cinnamon
Slice or chunk pickles in bowl. G.L. slices, I chunk. In a pan, combine sugar, vinegar and spices (including garlic) Bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes. Pour over pickles in bowl and let cool. Stir once. (I’m not sure what happens if you stir twice. Maybe G.L. will come and get you!) When cool, take out cloves and pour the rest of syrup over pickles packed in jar. Put on lid. Keep in refrigerator. Good to eat the next day or later. Now, this recipe makes 2 large jars of pickles. So, as you could tell, you could easily divide the recipe in two. But they are so good, you’ll want two jars. And please don’t share this recipe with anyone...or at least with anyone who G.L. knows and would then figure out I told. That wouldn’t be good.
When I get homesick for my folks, I do funny things. Like I’ll go out and buy Jergen’s hand lotion and put it on and wear it to bed so I can go to sleep thinking/smelling of my mom. And last week, I bought one of those Vick’s Inhalers....those little pocket tubes that you stick in your nose and breathe deep. I grew up on those...my dad always had one around and I was missing him. When I saw one in the store, I about freaked. I love my dad. When I moved to Salt Lake, the year before I got married, I would get real homesick. Eight track players were big and I would drive around with my 8-track of Glen Campbell’s "Christmas Is For Children" playing full volume, with the windows rolled up, singing and crying. What made it worse was that would be in the middle of August. And there are certain foods that are comfort foods....that I cook or make, to take off the edge of homesickness (do you ever NOT miss your mommy or daddy?) I’ve been making a lot of meatloaf lately. David doesn’t like meatloaf really, so we haven’t had many during our married life. Except lately. I’m homesick! We had a saying in our home, "If it’s meatloaf, it must be Tuesday." Tuesday night was Mom’s bowling night and so I got to cook dinner. Meatloaf and baked potatoes every Tuesday night. It was the first meal I could make.
But here is an even simpler homesick fix. Which brings me to G.L. pickles. My mom would make us a snack....a saltine cracker (or Ritz would do) topped with a wedge of cheese to fit, topped with a bread-and-butter pickle. Mmm-Mmm-good! A good way to help curb homesickness (and actually morning sickness which my husband thought was disgusting!) Another good way is to make plane reservations! I’m doing that today as well!
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