A Week & a Day

It is already Monday & I haven't posted for last week....too busy! It has been a busy week, but I am not complaining. There is always fun mixed in with the work. Last Sunday I was trying to leave church, when I got stopped by Teancum's primary teacher. She is a great friend in my life. We were visiting teaching partners for a while. Teancum is in good hands. She let me in on a funny though. She said Teancum said, "If the pioneers had just run, they would have gotten to SLC faster...!" I am still laughing at that one. Those silly pioneers that walked & walked & walked....& walked. We have had a lot of rain in Utah. Mushrooms are popping up in lawns everywhere & snails are multiplying tenfold. Anyone have any good escargot recipes? On Monday I recruited Austin, Julianne, Addy, Robby, & Grampa to help my cousin Marilyn start moving. She is moving to a smaller place & saving a little bit of rent $. We loaded the truck twice, then went to Cold Stone for ice cream. I challenged Grampa to 2 lessons, 1 service project, & 1 activity a month for FHE. We'll see what happens tonight. Tuesday was a loooong day. In preparation for driving to Arizona on Wednesday I worked my hours ahead. I ended up working 8.5 hours, which topped me off for the week. After work was the packing & preparation for travel. I had been cleaning house & had a couple of projects left to finish. I went to bed @ about 1 a.m. & woke up at the usual time, excited to get on the road. Wednesday was the long, long car ride. In order for Grampa to have phone service on a working day, we drove the Las Vegas route. It takes a couple of hours longer that way. He did work on several work related issues, so the sacrifice is worth it, but 11 hour in I started to whine or murmur. If there was a facebook Book of Mormon character quiz I would maybe be Sariah! (murmur in the dessert!) We did eat at In & Out in St George, which is the Las Vegas route bonus. We finally arrived to the screams of 4 little girls. It is always fun when people are excited to see you. Thursday morning Jen & 3 of the girls, Tess, Brynn, & Claire had their full dress rehearsal for their dance recital. I was left to tend Jayne. Jamie came over & we hit the swimming pool. When Jayne fell asleep I was worried she was getting sunburned so we got out of the pool & went to Paradise Bakery for lunch & Savers for some bargains. I found 2 bar stools for grand kids to use around the table. It was fun to see Jamie & spend time with her. Jen & girls came home, we had chicken bruschetta for dinner, & relaxed in front of the television while working on dance projects. Friday was a little overcast, but it didn't stop us from a 2 hour swim. I found out Jayne wasn't sunburned, but my shoulders were. The girls & I played the color game, motorboat, motorboat, & played & played. It was a fun activity. We hopped out in time to dress for the recital. It was a fantastic show. After helping behind the scenes I sat down in my seat, pulled out the camera just to have Amanda say, "You can't take any flash photography in here." Oh my goodness. I sat through 41 song & dance routines & couldn't take even one picture. So many pretty dancers. Dave did a father daughter number with Tess & Brynn & Jen brought the house down with the teacher dance. I am so glad our errand to Arizona included their year end recital. It was priceless. Jen let us in on her news that she is having surgery on her heel this Tuesday. So on Saturday we packed for 4. We brought Brynn & Claire home with us. We drove home through Page, which is shorter & faster. The girls were on their best behavior. The only fussing was when Claire wanted to pick every movie, but Brynn is a peacemaker & would usually let her get away with it. Thanks Brynn. Our ride was quieter due to your generosity. That wraps up our week of work, travel, & fun. I am working ahead this week in prep to go to our family reunion in Las Vegas...I can't retire "busy" from my vocabulary yet. Thanks to Julianne & Erin for taking care of Brynn & Claire while I work. Between their own kids + 2 Julianne's backyard looked like a daycare facility...

A.W.O.L.

I have fallen off the blog, but have set a goal to update once a week. Hopefully I can find time on Sunday to do a week in review, at least until I get under control. This past week has been busy, as usual. Tuesday was Teancum's 10th birthday. He is now in the double digits! Their family went swimming in Lehi, then Pizza @ home. We watched him open presents which included a Bionicle, a BB gun, 2 squirt guns, & the best clothes. Springville celebrated it's annual Art City Days this week. Gramps & I bought a scone on Wednesday night & James & Erin took the kids to the carnival so they could ride a few rides. Saturday Gramps, Austin, Julianne, Addy, & I watched the parade. It was fun to watch Addy clap & wave. We picked up a few candies and did a little people watching. Actually, we got TMI of a particular parade attendee. I went to the quilt show by myself. It seemed like there were more quilts this year, so it was fun for me. I hope I have time to quilt before I am too old to quilt. We hit the food, carnival strip, & craft booths Saturday evening. Eric declared his new passion is to graduate college and then work into the "carney business". We couldn't be more excited for their future! Addy got to pick a duck out of the pond for a prize. She watched the ducks go round & round, but was hesitant to choose one & pick it up. With her dad's help she was a winner & got to choose a prize out of the bin. I watched the fireworks over the treetops from our front window. It has been so rainy & wet, we thought they would be cancelled. The next hot year I will go watch them up close & personal. Along with celebrating Art City Days I worked 33 hours. We are taking our big table & chairs to Arizona this next week, so I worked hours ahead. I attended RS board meeting. I walked 81,024 steps this week. Thursday I drove up to Bountiful and Amy & I made 6 freezer meals. The jury is still out whether or not we like them. It was fun to chat & work with Amy. I was lucky enough to not help with the clean-up. Amy had a test to get to & I dropped her off. So we worked hard & left the mess for them to face after school. (p.s. A & E, thanks for cleaning up our mess!) Saturday, between ACD events I met with Kris, Kathy, & Pam to celebrate Kris's birthday, which is today...Flag Day! Last Sunday morning a high council member called & said my name had been submitted to be on the Utah food committee for trek, would I accept? My thought process has been..."really? I feel really busy, but maybe it is a figment of my imagination." I accepted, don't know yet what that will entail. Also Saturday between events we went to a ward BBQ @ Big Hollow Park. Gramps took his grill & helped cook hamburgers. I made a fun new salad. I got the recipe from the extension agency class I took a couple of weeks ago. It was a hit. It has jicama, avacado, & pineapple in it & 2 serrano peppers give it zip. I am working on my list for the coming week & it looks about the same...No rest for the wicked comes to mind.

How Deep Is Your Snow?

On a snowy day in March I blogged just how cold & snowy the day was considering the date on the calendar. After all March does boast the first day of Spring.  I must now admit my complaints & sarcasm were premature. It is now April 16 and again we woke up to a boat load of snow. Will this winter ever end? All morning long I thought of sarcastic one-liners to describe snow in April.  Then I reminded myself of a kindly farmer type that once told me, "Spring snow is like a layer of fertilizer." I am sure the snow helps in the greening process, but is anyone else tired of the soft white blanket outside? Sad, but true...in August I will need someone to remind how cold this April snow was as I am complaining of the hot, dog days of August. But at the present time I am keeping my fingers crossed that warmer weather is just around the corner.

Colored Eggs or Colored Walls?

On Saturday while all families with kids were busy dipping boiled eggs in dye...Grandpa & I dipped paint brushes in paint to freshen up a room in our home. Thanks to the generous help of Austin, Amy,  Robby, & Ashlyn we were able to start Friday evening & finish Saturday afternoon. The next day Austin, Reese, Eric, & Robby even moved the office furniture in...Now I need to clean the blind and hang pictures. I hope you all had fun coloring eggs, but I'll admit I'm happy I have newly colored walls!

Thank You....Thank You Very Much!

I am grateful for the many hands that helped prepare for and those family and friends in attendance at Amy & Eric's wedding & dinner. In sending out thank you notes I do not want to leave anyone out that contributed in time, effort, or coin. I appreciate the effort of those that traveled, especially those with children. It is disruptive to schedules and costly. Thank you for your support. The closer to the day, it seemed  more details wanted immediate attention. Thanks to all that pitched in whether it was cooking, cleaning, crafting, sewing, combing kids hair, tending children for long hours, shopping, running errands, melting chocolate, playing a musical instrument, picking up flowers or shirts, etc. As you can see the partial list is lengthy and there was so much more help..too much to list. The important message here is thank you for your help. I couldn't have pulled it off alone and every contribution was valuable making each of you a hero in my eyes.

Give

March 26, 1944  I wonder if any of the people sitting in warm, comfortable homes have any idea what it must be like to be a beggar? Have any of those "good, dear people" ever asked themselves about the lives of poor people or children around them? All right everyone gives a beggar a few coppers now and then. But it is usually pushed hurriedly into his hands, and the door is closed.

We are all born alike; they were helpless and innocent, too. Everyone breathes the same air, a great many people believe in the same God! Everyone is born the same, everyone has to die, and nothing remains of their worldly glory. Riches, power and fame last only for a few years! Why do people cling so desperately to these transitory things? Why can't people who have more than they need for themselves give that surplus to their fellow citizens? Why should some people have such a hard time during their few years on this earth?

The true greatness of a person does not lie in riches or power, but in character and goodness. Everyone is human, everyone has his faults and shortcomings, but everyone is born with a great deal that is good in him. And if one were to begin by encouraging the good, bu giving poor people the feeling that they are human beings, too, one would not even need money or possessions to do this.

Everything begins with the little things. For instance, don't only stand up in a tram for the rich mothers, no, remember the poor ones too. Say you are sorry if you step on a poor person's toes as you would for someone rich. People will always follow a good example' be the one to set the good example, then others will follow. More and more people will become friendly and generous, until finally poor people will not be looked down upon anymore.

How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment; we can start now, start slowly changing the world! Ho lovely that everyone, great and small, can make a contributions toward introducing justice straightaway! Just as with so many thins, most people grumble because they think they receive so little themselves. Open your eyes, first make sure that you are always fair yourself! Give of yourself, give as much as you can! and you can always, always give something, even it it is only kindness! If everyone were to do this and not be as stingy with a kindly word, then there would be much more justice and love in the world. Give and you shall receive, much more than you would ever have thought possible. Give, give again and again, don't lose courage, keep it up and go on giving! No one has ever become poor from giving! If you do this, then in a few generations no one will need to pity the beggar children anymore, because they will not exist?

There is plenty of room for everyone in the world, enough money, riches and beauty for all to share! God has made enough for everyone! Let us all begin then by sharing it fairly.