Quote for the Week - I really lived...

Good Stuff...

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking the kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with the children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived." ~ Marjorie Hinckley

A night with Sheri Dew!

Last night was our annual Women's Conference. We were fortunate to have Sheri Dew speak to us. Sister Dew is one of my favorite authors and speakers. Over the years she has influenced many women. She is a great role model and very articulate. She served as second counselor in the general presidency of the Relief Society from 1997 ~ 2002 and since 2002 has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Deseret Book Company. She was called by George Bush to be a U.S. Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations She is a farm girl from Kansas, and is well-rooted. She admits her own weaknesses in her talks and writings, which I find refreshing. She is very humble and has a great sense of humor. She has a busy life with work and public speaking. We were honored last night when she said for the last few years she hasn't accepted many speaking invitations but felt strongly she needed to be at our conference. It was a privileged to sit next to her and to introduce her. It was a wonderful night and she gave another amazing message. We had over 500 sisters in attendance and I have had many calls and emails today commenting on the great evening we shared.

A few of my favorite Sheri Dew quotes ...

"On those days when we're not ready to stop being offended, not ready to forgive, still determined to dish out the silent treatment, what we're actually saying is, "Thanks, but I don't want to become more like the Savior today. Maybe tomorrow, but not today." Perhaps those are the times when we need to pray the hardest..." "My prayer tonight is that we can be equally clear about our mission as women of God. This isn’t just a really nice church that teaches really nice ideas so that we can live really nice lives. This is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, endowed with His power and charged with carrying His truth to the ends of the earth." "Knowing who you are as a son of God or a daughter of God and that you have a mission on this earth; you have not just been plunked down here to just see how you do. You are here to fulfill a specific mission."

Miracles

It seems these days most people think it unscientific to believe in "miracles." How you can look at the pictures of these four new little "miracles" that recently joined our extended family, and not believe in miracles?!

Rose

Beckham and Ellery

Brigham

My prayers each night are about 15 minutes longer as I have asked Heavenly Father to bless my nieces and my daughter-in-law to have healthy babies. I think it's a miracle every time a baby is born healthy. Perhaps it's something we take for granted. Babies have so much power! Babies make the old forget their aches. They make the sick feel vibrant and alive. They make the worried and stressed feel hopeful and at ease. An infant's giggle; their willingness to keep trying after each failed attempt to crawl; the goo's, dada's, blah-blah's, and raspberries -- they make you forget the pain in your back or the dirty dishes in the sink. Suddenly, you're laughing at their drool and living completely in the moment. Sorry if I seem overly sentimental, but it's been one of those weeks. I just feel so much gratitude for the safe arrival of Rose, Beckham, Ellery and Brigham. And I will be equally grateful to welcome the next three ~ Tucker and Julie's son in May, Bob and Robyn's son in July and my grandbaby in September. I can't wait to find out if Mark and Tiff's is a boy or a girl!!

Quote for the Week - A cup of tea

"Haji Ali spoke. ‘If you want to thrive in Baltistan, you must respect our ways. The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die. Doctor Greg, you must take time to share three cups of tea. We may be uneducated but we are not stupid. We have lived and survived here for a long time.’ That day, Haji Ali taught me the most important lesson I’ve ever learned in my life. We Americans think you have to accomplish everything quickly…Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them."

~ Greg Mortensen (Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time)

Sunday Dessert

I made a pan of plain, old brownies and Christopher turned them into a masterpiece! He's got that presentation thing down! I can't believe I forgot the cherries.

Yum - Yum!!

Just thinking ...

is there any question that our grandbaby will be oh, so adorable. Tiffani is gorgeous

and look at this handsome boy. I ran across this picture and was imagining how darling my grandson or granddaughter will be!

Wow, we look so young!!

Aunt Kay!

“I wish to be up and doing. I wish to face each day with resolution and purpose. I wish to use every waking hour to give encouragement, to bless those whose burdens are heavy, to build faith and strength of testimony.”

~ Gordon B. Hinckley

Uncle Dale~Dad~Aunt Kay
Uncle Bub~Aunt Bernice

I love this statement from President Hinckley. It describes the life of my Aunt Kay so well. She has been giving and serving others her entire life. So it is no surprise that she is going to serve a mission! She called me Wednesday night to tell me the good news. I am so happy for her, she will be a wonderful missionary.

Uncle Dale~Aunt Kay
Uncle Bub~Aunt Bernice~Dad

She will be serving in Chicago at the mission office. She will go sometime in August. It is not always easy to leave children and grandchildren. I know she loves them dearly but she also loves the Lord and wants to serve.

There is a constant need for more senior missionaries and they perform wonderful service. I admire Aunt Kay for her willingness to sacrifice and serve the Lord full time as a missionary. I know she and her family will be abundantly blessed.

Aunt Kay and Me ~ September 2009

I would describe Aunt Kay as a stalwart and so valiant. She has had more than her share of adversity. Life can be hard but she never gives up. She is strong, obedient, courageous and so much fun!

Congratulations Aunt Kay!

Quote for the Week - Alice in Wonderland

It is far better to be feared than loved.
Off with their heads!
~ The Red Queen

Sometimes I've believed as many as six
impossible things before breakfast.
~ Alice

(Alice in Wonderland is a fun movie,
amazing on the IMAX and in 3-D.)

Quote for the Week - Failure and Success

“Genius is only the power of making continuous efforts. The line between failure and success is so fine that we scarcely know when we pass it; so fine that we are often on the line and do not know it. How many a man has thrown up his hands at a time when a little more effort, a little more patience would have achieved success? A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed a hopeless failure may turn into a glorious success. … There is no defeat except within, no really insurmountable barrier save one’s own inherent weakness of purpose.”

~ Joseph B. Wirthlin

Winston Churchill is well known for his determination as the leader of Great Britain during World War II. On one occasion in his later years, he returned to a school where he had studied as a boy. Before he arrived, the headmaster told the students, “The greatest Britisher of our time is going to come to this school, and I want every one of you to be here with your notebooks. I want you to write down what he says, because his speech will be something for you to remember all your lives.” The elderly statesman came in and was introduced. His glasses were down on the end of his nose, as usual. He stood and delivered the following words from an immortal speech that he once gave in Parliament.

He said, “Never, never, never give up”

Then he sat down. That was the speech.

~ (“These Are Great Days,” in War Speeches, ed. Charles Eada).

I looked out the window ...

and thought I was dreaming!

Yea, more snow and lots of it, UGH!

I guess we got the patio furniture out too early, wait I don't think we ever put it away!

About 8 to 9 inches and it's still snowing!

Spring clean up in the yard will have to wait.

It is so beautiful but really, can't it stay it the mountains.

Tim was on the snow removal bright and early!

March came in like a lamb and quickly changed to a lion.

It's almost Spring!

Quote for the Week - Food for thought

Some food for thought ...

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and over fifty for Miss America?

I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose fitting clothing. If I HAD any loose fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place!

Wouldn't you know it ...Brain cells come and brain cells go, but FAT cells live forever.

Bumper sticker of the year

'If you can read this, thank a teacher ~ and, since it's in English thank a soldier.'