Sunday, May 22, 2011

Yes it was a busy week with kindergarten testing, birthday parties, and sleep-overs. We even squeezed in planting a garden. The kids got to choose the plants. We ended up with 2 tomato plants, 2 zucchini plants, 1 yellow pepper, and 6 watermelon plants. My kids love watermelon.

I had a learning lesson this past week. My son does not like to be called names. The kids got in trouble and made Tim very upset. Tim told them that they were acting like “poo-poo heads.” McCabe fell apart. He started crying. He was so hurt and for the next 10 minutes he would not let it go. Tim apologized and had a heartfelt talk with McCabe. They resolved the issue and now things are back to normal, but we have learned that name calling can be very powerful and cuts deep.

We were listening to the radio and there was an ad for airfare to China. Jacinda says, "let's move to China." "Why," I asked. "Because the panda bears are so cute." That gave me a good laugh.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother’s to all you wonderful mothers. Today was very low key for me. No big gifts. I did get cereal and toast for breakfast and a wonderful nap. Then Deb Hefner made a fabulous dinner for our family. I love that woman. It was a lovely day to remember mothers. One of the great things I like about my mom is her sense of humor. She was also a great person to talk with because of her experience with life. I sure miss her.

I have to note this before I forget, today I did the unthinkable…I sang a solo in sacrament meeting. Never in my younger years would I do that but my thinking and courage has definitely changed since having cancer. So when Michelle Schmidt asked if I would sing the duet part to “Mother, Tell Me The Stories,” I said sure. I think it went well…after all I did say 3 prayers that I would not be nervous and that I would sing well.

My children are so creative. McCabe found this empty oatmeal box and decided to build a squirrel house. Tim helped him cut a door and McCabe put in a rock and some grass to make it homely. Each day he goes out and checks the box to see if a squirrel is in it.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

It was a beautiful Easter Day. The weather was perfect, the spiritual element was superb and the children’s excitement for Easter is so much fun. Last night Jacinda left notes all around the house for the Easter Bunny. She wanted to make sure he knew there were kids in this house. We told her that Reese’s peanut butter cups are the Easter’s Bunny favorite candy. So she got six of them and put them on our front stairs leading up to the door. Eventually those treats ended up in the kid’s bags because the Easter Bunny likes to share. The kids were so excited about their treats. It turned out well. We did not go overboard with candy because the kids got so much junk days before Easter.

Easter is a great holiday. I love all the “egg” puns added to words like…egg-specially, egg-xtra, egg-cited. I will probably always think of Ethan and laugh inside for the rest of my life when Easter comes. Just two weeks prior we were in California and my brother-in-law was telling us some of his grammatical pet peeves…like saying “ax” instead of “asked” or “egg-specially” instead of “especially.” Every time I saw an egg pun I thought of him and laughed. Funny how silly things stick with you.

Today I heard a story that deeply touched my heart. The moral to the story is that God wants to give us more riches than we can give to ourselves. We have to decide when to give up the cheap stuff for the real deal. Enjoy the story.

Jenny's Pearl Necklace by: Author Unknown, Source Unknown
The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box.
"Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please!" Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face.
"A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma." As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her piggy bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores. She went to the neighbor, Mrs. McJames, and asked if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.
Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere--Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother had told her that if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.
Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."
"Then may I have your pearls?"
"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess--the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's my favorite."
"That's okay, honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.
About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"
"Daddy, you know I love you."
"Then will you give me your pearls?"
"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."
"That's okay, Honey. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss. A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.
"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"
Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. When she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It's for you." With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the prized necklace. With the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case. He handed the handsome velvet case to Jenny and told her, "Thank you for giving me your most prized possession that you even saved for all by yourself. Here Honey, I have this for you also. I wanted to trade you, but I was going to give these to you tonight either way."
As Jenny pried open the blue velvet box, so nice a thing itself she'd never known, the glistening white sheen of the rich genuine pearls struck her teary eyes.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

It seems like the days just merge into the same routine. However, this week there were some variances. I got a phone call from Sara Mumford. It has been years since I heard from her. She found my house by using her deductive skills. Using information from my blog and the pictures from the news. I was pegged. It was fun to get the note she left on my doorstep. I was not home because we were in California. I can rarely think of anything better than hearing the voice of an old friend.

Speaking of old friends, Tim and I were on a date and we went to Iggy’s. When we walked into the restaurant, we were greeted by my childhood friend Natalie Hopkins LaMar and her family. They were kind enough to let us sit with their family. It was so much fun catching up with everyone. Friendships are so important. I now consider the only thing better than hearing the voice of an old friend is seeing one.

Saturday the kids did an egg dive at the Recreation Center. They had such a good time swimming for plastic eggs and then playing the Easter games. They got candy, and more candy, and then sno-cones. So much sugar is going into their little bodies. This month seems to be a never ending one of candy. I do need to mention what Jacinda said about Easter. According to her, Easter is important (in this particular order) for the candy, Jesus, and the eggs. I had to write that down so she can read it in 20 years and laugh.

I love Sundays that are so spiritually rich. Today I had the opportunity to hear from a missionary who is serving in the Bountiful area but is from Slovania. His words were so simply but so powerful. I loved the part of his talk when he said he sincerely asked the Lord….are you there, is there more to life after I die and not just become a pile of ash, and are you my father? The spirit strongly touched me. I am so thankful for his words and the knowledge that Heavenly Father loves each one of his children. He is there we just need to sincerely ask Him and He will reply.

March 25, 2011

So Tim was out of town and that means a green light for projects because he cannot tell me "no." Last time he was out of town, I popped up the tile and lath in the bathroom. This time it was re-doing the wood floors. It took 5 sandings, 4 coats of polyurethane, and 4 trips to Home Depot. It took a lot longer than expected. I had to put Xadia in the back pack while I sanded. Tim did find out about the surprise while he was away because every time he called I was working on it. He was not very happy with me and he told me to not put on the clear coat until he got home. He wanted to make sure it went on consistently. I did wait. We finished the floor together. After I put on the first coat he said the floor looked great and not to listen to him. That was the best apology and compliment I could have received for all the hard work. I sure love that guy.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Tuesday, March 2, we had a huge surprise. I was up in my bathroom and the rest of the family was downstairs putting away food storage. Suddenly I heard a loud noise, the room shook, and the lights flickered. I thought a food shelf had fallen. I ran down 2 flights of stairs screaming…”is everyone alright?” When I reached the basement Tim and the kids were busy putting away food. He had not heard the noise but saw the lights flicker. “There was a noise too loud to ignore, something big happened,” I told Tim. He got the flashlight and went to check it out. When he opened the door to the garage he saw dust in the air and debris on the floor. He also noticed a big hole in the side of the wall. I was mortified. There was a boulder the size of a washing machine in our garage. It came off someone’s property bounced across Skyline Drive and rolled down our hill into our garage. It did about $50,000 worth of damage. Now we are trying to get some safety measures put on the above property along with something on Skyline Drive. We are having a hard time because no one wants to take responsibility. However, insurance is being really good to us. At least that is working in our behalf.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

I don't have much to write about. We did spend the weekend in Ephriam with Rox and family. That was really fun. The kids played well together.

I was asked by a member in our Relief Society to share something I have learned in Relief Society. Ummm that opens up a slew of thoughts. What would you say? I was able to narrow it down to 2 things. The first is that I am surrounded by silent heroes and that gives me inspiration to move forward. One woman in particular is a mother of 6 kids, 2 girls and 4 boys. Three of her children are diabetic and one of them has downs syndrome. I never see her upset or angry. She is always happy and very pleasant. She is my hero that endures with happiness.

The other thing I learned in Relief Society (which was the hardest lesson ever) is how to be a gracious recipient. When I was first diagnosed with cancer and learned that I was going to have chemo treatments, the RS president confronted me and asked if she could have women come into the house and clean while I was receiving my infusions and bring meals for the next few days. I was extremely hesitant and embarassed that efforts were going to be focused on me. I told her no thanks. I thought I could do it myself. Needless to say she did not accept no and after each infusion I came home to a clean house and meals that would last for four days. This was such a relief and a nice surprise especially week after week as the chemicals built up in my system and I was barely able to stay awake for an hour at a time. I didn't like being the "welfare case," but I really needed the help. Later I realized that this is why the RS was established. In D&C I learned that the lord will call upon us and use us to help in ways that will serve others to further His work on earth. Literally these women were hands of Heaven on earth. I think it is always easier to be the giver, but being the recepient made me realize that people receive blessings by serving. It is not fair to deny them the blessings when you really need the help and support. The Lord knows me well and he sent his saints to help me. Somebody once said, "If you deny the gift, you deny the giver." I am so grateful for a loving and giving Heavenly Father.