Cold and Warm

You know the weather is cold when the dog sits right next to the fire that's been on for hours.

Teddy has never done this before.  I thought the house was pretty warm
but he is missing his fluffiness just now!

The weather was cold today.  It was 2 degrees before I took Dan to seminary and 10 degrees this evening on my way home from the temple.  It is on days like this that I am extra grateful not to be a pioneer, or homeless.  I'm thankful the heater works, and the fire.  I'm glad that I have layers of clothing I can wear and coats, hats and gloves for outside.  I'm really glad cars have heaters too.  I tend to panic if I get too cold because I feel like I might never be warm again!

I am also thankful that I know a lot of people who are caring and kind.  That helps keep my heart warm :-)  A lady at the temple that I love but can never seem to remember her name gave me a big hug today and then hugged my friend Shellie too even though she'd never met her.  Dan carried in groceries.  Derek made me yummy food.  Kayli sent me fun pictures, as did my Mom.  People can be awesome!

I hope you all found nice people and stayed cozy wherever you went!

A Giant Snowglobe

Picture from:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/
articles/who-invented-snow-globe

Today my blue house seemed to be 

In a giant snow globe

With glitter falling from the sky

Twinkling in the sun.

The scene was blanketed in white

Little pieces shining bright

The roofs stacked high with snow

Warm houses down below

Snow came from clouds and then blue  sky

Gray and white up in the sky

The mountains standing tall

God's great creations all!

Sunday Highlights

 These are really just the highlights of the evening.  Despite the snow, Brigham and Tia came to visit.  Hooray!  Also despite the snow, they made it home safely.  Hallelujah!

My sweet grandbaby.  He's standing and walking by himself!

Second, I finally got to use the checkers that my friend Shannon gave me for the checker table I made out of an old D.I. table maybe 3 years ago.  The checkers are the perfect size, but that didn't help my ability to strategize!  Derek won - but we had fun!

Oops!

 

Photo by Rafael Hoyos Weht on Unsplash

Today was actually a really good day.  I visited with a friend, went on a date with Derek, watched a show I like, and went down to help Derek's parents put something on KSL to sell.  We also had a good chat.  And then it happened.  I got into the van with Jake and started backing out and I backed into the fence post at the edge of their driveway.  Usually I just back into garbage cans or snow banks.  Sigh.  It was impressive how far the pieces of vinyl post flew!

Jake was with me and he did warn me -- just a moment too late.  He picked up the pieces while I went to confess, and then he showed his grandpa and I the giant wasp nest that had gone flying too.  If this had happened years ago I probably would have cried.  This time I just sighed and thought, "well that wasn't very smart" and "we have a new project to do!"  My parents-in-law are always super kind and this was no exception.

As for the horse picture.  I just thought it was funny:-)

Choosing a Totem

 A counselor of one of my children suggested that it could be helpful to choose a totem, or a symbol that is just for them so that when they see it, they are reminded of whatever it is they need to remember.  For example, if you look up the characteristics of a bear you might find that bears are, gentle, tolerant, affectionate, and devoted.  If you chose a bear as your totem, you would remember those qualities whenever you see a bear and remember that you want to have those characteristics too and hopefully you will remember that, even if you aren't yet perfect at that list of things, it is something that you can improve on.  

I loved the choice my daughter made but since I seem to have collected elephants since my friend gave me one a few years ago when I was dealing with cancer.  I even made something to hang up.  Perhaps though, I need to narrow the things I want to work on or remember, because I can't ever seen to remember many things on the list!

If you want something fun to think about you can think about what you would choose as a totem and what you would want to remember when you saw that thing.

Corrie ten Boom

Corrie ten Boom

 Today I was able to watch a one hour documentary on Corrie ten Boom.  I read her book years ago and admire her and her family for their faith in God and their determination to do what was right no matter what the consequences might be, and there were very difficult consequences.  There was a quote I liked that I wanted to find and so I have been reading quotes from her - even after I found the one I was looking for.  Here are some that I like.  There are many more!

"No pit is so deep that God is not deeper still."

"Oh, this was the great ploy of Satan in that kingdom of his: to display such blatant evil one could almost believe one's own secret sin didn't matter.”

 “When He tells us to love our enemies He gives, along with the command, the love itself.”

“You may never know that JESUS is all you need, until JESUS is all you have.”

 

 

Giant Snowflakes, Sunshine, and Friends

Today we woke up to snow again, but the roads were okay and Dan was able to get to seminary early.  He was glad because that means he can see his friends before class.  I was able to get up the road to home.  As I sat by the fire trying to get up the energy to actually do something, I watched giant snow flakes falling.  They were so big that I stood close to the window and looked up.  It's like being in the snow without being cold or wet!  Later, after Dan was home, I was talking to a friend on the phone and the sun came out.  The snowflakes weren't nearly as big anymore, but this time they looked like glitter!

Brigham is cute.
My picture taking skills
aren't spectacular :-/

I was glad my friend called.  Life is really difficult for her and her family right now, and she needed someone to talk to.  It makes me happy that she feels safe calling me.  I love talking to her.  After I got off the phone I hurried to get ready for my appointment in Provo.  I made it in plenty of time and was out half hour later and on my way to visit Brigham!  He had so many smiles for me today!  He was walking around (carefully), or crawling really fast, or climbing rather expertly.  I got to see Mike and Tia too and that was great.

After getting home Kayli and I went off on a shopping trip.  It was one of those times when I ran into people I knew, or who knew me.  One was a lady I see at the temple, one was a relative that recognized me as being Doyle's daughter, and another was a friend from our old neighborhood.  I have been able to communicate with a few people this week and it is a blessing.

Home Town and Mullet Wigs

 

Erin and Ben from season 7:  The Mullet House

When I got home this evening and after I ate I decided to get out my laptop and watch one of the shows that I really enjoy.  So I turned on Home Town.  Pretty soon Jake was sitting by me.  I enjoy watching "my" shows with Jake because we can chuckle together at the silliness that is always in the shows somewhere!  This time Ben and Erin were fixing up a house that was supposed to be formal in the front (at the request of the grandmother the couple bought the house from) and party in the back (for the couple buying the house).  When it was time to do the demo, Ben handed out mullet wigs to the workers.  You know the hairdo with short hair in the front and long hair in the back.  They all laughed and one man declared that he was Roscoe and did some funny things.  It may not sound funny, but it was good lighthearted fun that I enjoyed more because Jake was with me.

Sibling Friends

Kayli holding Jake back in 2002.  Aren't they SO cute?
I looked through albums the other day and enjoyed every minute!

 
I have six children and am thankful that they are friends with each other.  Dan sometimes doesn't feel like he fits because his interests are different -- but Jake is still the good brother to Dan he has been since Dan was born and so they watch shows or talk together.

Kayli and Jake have become really good friends too.  If Kayli sees a spider or needs help with something you can hear her saying, "Jake, Jake, Jake, Jake" until he comes.  He often smiles when he hears her and he misses her when she is gone.  He likes to help and gets called on to help various family members quite often.  Jake is often Kayli and Teddy's walking buddy, and their ping pong playing friend.  

Tia and Brigham make video calls to Aunt Kayli quite often and Kayli loves that she gets to hear from Tia more often than before.  She also loves our fun Brigham.  If she shows up at their door Brigham will probably be in the window waiting and if Mike is home he'll greet her with a happy "Skillet!!" (Yeah I don't know).

Tia calls Trisa sometimes and Trisa and Kayli are often sending Marco Polos to each other.  Trisa sometimes calls Connor when she's driving home and he and Amanda invite Kayli over to watch a show or her and Jake to play games.

Sometimes they might struggle to communicate as clearly as they want, but they love each other which is a huge blessing to me, and one of the things I really enjoy when they are all together.

The Chauffeurs

 

Derek and Kayli getting the headboard in the right place.
Kayli is decorating her room.  The wall paper has to wait a little.

Today was full of Sunday snow.  We had made plans with people for them to come and visit but the roads weren't plowed yet and it didn't seem safe.  Luckily Jake has his new all wheel drive and has practice driving in snow, even in the dark, so he went to get his grandparents.  Later Kayli and Jake went and got Connor and Amanda in the truck.  Kayli called to warn us that the roads weren't good and so Derek and Dan took Grandparents home in Jake's car (they'd been here a couple of hours by then).  After dinner, moving Kayli's heavy, repainted headboard to her room, and a game, Jake and Dan are off again to drive Connor and Amanda home.  I bet Jake didn't know he was going to end up being a Chauffeur just because he has the car that drives in snow the best!

I am thankful that they have been safe and that the car and the drivers allowed us to visit with people that we love, and would love to see more!

Connor trying out Kayli's weighted blanket.

Compulsively Sorry

A good spot for a restful time out!

When Derek and I were dating I had a really sweet roommate who was always compulsively saying she was sorry.  Derek and I would tell her that she had no reason to be sorry and she would say, "OK, Sorry!"  The interesting thing is that when I get tired or start to feel depressed this is one of the first signs.  I start compulsively apologizing.  I bump someone a little and say sorry.  They accidentally bump into me and I say I'm sorry.  I make a little noise and am sorry.  

I think when we watched the movie last night I said sorry to Derek about 8 times and I never really did anything wrong.  I apologized for some random thing today and Derek said, "Would you please stop saying you are sorry!"  When I'm feeling down I get too inward focused and can come up with some creative ways to make everything that happens that isn't perfect my fault!  Sigh.

When Derek asked me to stop apologizing I realized that I was feeling pretty emotional when absolutely nothing was wrong and so I, for a change, chose wisely and put myself in a restful time out.  I closed my door, sat in my rocking chair, put on uplifting music, covered myself with my electric blanket and just rocked with my eyes closed and rested.  At the very end I actually got on my bed, but then I realized I felt much better and went back out to be with everyone else.

I need to remember that when I start being compulsively sorry it is time to excuse myself and head to time out if possible!

This is the lamp I found at D.I. today for $3
I think it is really pretty and unique.
It also has too bright of a bulb in it right now so it is
rather blinding if it is on!

The Top 3

 

Photo by Fausto García-Menéndez on Unsplash

My three favorites today were sorting books, going to the antique stores with Derek to look for antique door handles, and watching the last Jurassic movie. 

One of my book stacks

I also finished the book I had assigned myself for January which is one of the older Dave Ramsey books called "Financial Peace Revisited".  The prices in the early 90s were different but the principles are the same.  "Never buy anything at full price."  Have an emergency fund.  Pay off your debt.  Accumulate wealth so you can help others and have that financial peace we all want.  (There is more to it -- that's just the quick summary).

I hope you had at least three good things in your day too!

The Best Thing

This is back when Grandpa Derek
watched Brigham.  He was drinking the
melted ice.  He likes straws.

The best thing about today is that my friend Shannon is home from her trip and I got to talk to her and hear a little bit about it.  Yay!  

Also, Connor wrote an awesome song that he shared, and Tia sent a fun Marco Polo of Brigham dancing.  I not so shockingly like all pictures and videos of my grandbaby who isn't such a baby anymore.  Sigh.

It was also nice that the chiropractor seems to always be able to fit me in and his receptionist is sweet!

Using Imagination for Learning

Trisa and a happy Chewy

I enjoyed looking at baby pictures of Trisa today and then talking to the grown up Trisa.  We were talking about The Chosen and I was telling her that as I watched the depiction of Jesus visiting the place where He grew up and telling people in the Synagogue who He really is, I realized that it is easy to read the Gospels and not stop to think of how Jesus must have felt, or Mary, or even the people in the town!  But if I do stop and think about it, and use my imagination to picture it, then I am even more grateful for what Jesus was willing to do.

I was also thinking about their depiction of the Apostles.  It made me think of them in the context of their lives and the people around them and how they were very human, and just learning as they went along.  They were far from perfect and yet the Lord was able to use them to do great things in building His kingdom on the Earth!  If He can use them, then He can use us - if we will let Him!

Repeat Gratitude

I love a good picture of Brigham!

 I was trying to decide what to write about today and am struggling to not feel like I am repeating the same things over and over that I am grateful for.  The snow is pretty.  We didn't get stuck.  My temple shift was good, there are nice people there.  Brigham is cute.  He loves Aunt Kayli who went to visit him and Tia today.  Teddy is funny.

I did go through all of our music CDs today.  Technology changes and then we end up with a whole bunch of nice music that we don't listen to.  At least we don't listen to it using a CD player.  We just stream music on Alexa, or Spotify, or something.  I figure that we don't have to get rid of them all, but there is no use storing the ones that I'm 99 percent sure we won't use again!

I think the other great thing of the day is that Dan got to go spend time with friends.  I am so thankful for these friends who he enjoys being with so much.  He is alone a lot and I am glad that he doesn't have to be alone all the time!

I am glad that there are repeating blessings to be thankful for.  Maybe repeatedly writing them down will at least remind  me not to take them for granted!

Flowers

I am looking forward to the crocuses poking up through the snow!
Photo by Alexandra Vo on Unsplash

Today I'm thankful for fun shows where they re-do houses. Some of the houses were obviously in need of an update. Others seemed fine until I saw the re-do and then I could easily see they had improved. I'm a little skeptical that everyone kept the white couches though. It seems like they would be hard to keep clean! I love to see things fixed up! 

 I'm also thankful for the telephone since I made a new cover for mine that has flowers on it and the word "Thrive" because that seemed like something I would like to do. Mostly though because phones actually work as phones and so I called my sister Tina and she seems to be doing well which is great. 

I enjoyed the beautiful big snowflakes today but I was in the mood for pretty flowers. I had to look in magazines for those!

Who Guards Your Plates?

 

We have an Ewok and R2-D2!

The paper plates have Wonder Woman!

I was cleaning out the decoration closet the other day and found a box of little characters.  I didn't know what to do with them until I remembered that in one of the Happiness Project books Gretchen Rubin actually emptied a shelf so she could have a panoramic view installed.  The idea, and execution, gave her some joy.  I didn't do that, but I did have fun putting little characters at various places in the kitchen and one on my desk!

Captain Moroni (a righteous general) is guarding the desk.

Eeyore and Piglet are hanging out by the little plates and some fancier bowls.

Winnie the Pooh is helping me be cheerful about all the medicines to keep us feeling well.

Tigger is all about the supplements!

And finally, Olaf is playing peek-a-boo from the elephant pot.

Jake's Christmas Present Project

 Jake only asked for two things for Christmas.  One was a bookshelf, but he wanted one that he and his Dad would build to some specific specifications.  Today the bookshelf was complete and moved up to Jake's room.  Here are the pictures.  It is a very nice bookshelf!

Jake and his well made shelf.

Jake's shelf all loaded.

The Car Show Tradition

 Every year in January Derek and I head off to the car show.  Sometimes we are just looking at which car would look best with us in it.  This time we were wondering whether, when the time comes, we would replace the van and the truck with a truck, or if we'd just replace the van with an SUV and then get a truck too (which sounds extremely expensive).  Who knows when any of that will be.  We also just like to see which impractical and way too expensive cars we like, or imagine driving those huge camping vans that are missing the all important bathrooms.  Here are the pictures from this year.

Jaguar

Derek in a Jaguar

Derek's choice this year:  The Honda Truck

The breast cancer awareness / tribute jeep (and me)

Derek in the Nissan Z

My impractical car choice:  The Toyota Supra

The Toyota Rav 4.  I'm hoping they would throw in the kayak for "free".

Sunshine!

Teddy has pretty much taken over the bean bag.
He was a little sleepy and is always cute.

 Today was sunny which was really nice.  It was not warm.  But it was sunny.  And, through the sunshine, a whole flock of giant turkeys came flying across the canyon to our yard.  I mentioned yesterday that I like to see those big birds fly - and I do!

Today was driving practice with Dan.  He drove us to the antique store in Spanish Fork, and we walked around in there for a while.  I enjoy seeing old things.  I would enjoy buying them if they didn't cost so much and if I needed them.

Later I got to go and visit one of my friends named Maria.  I have two friends named Maria.  This one has a new grandbaby girl who is beautiful.  She is maybe 7 weeks old and was really cute and smiley while I was talking to her.  I love babies and I always enjoy talking to Maria.  A win for me!

Later I did my Christmas dog puzzle.  Derek helped me finish it.  After that we watched BYU almost win the game against Gonzaga.  Sigh.  So close!   

Questions

This is about a year ago.  It's hard to find pictures of us together!

Tonight, to break up routine, I looked up "questions for couples" and went out and asked some to Derek because I don't think we are very creative in how we spend our time together.  That ended up being my favorite time of today.  I like talking, I just can't always think of something to say without a good prompt!  

My other favorite was Teddy, the abominable snow dog, chasing turkeys with gusto.  It's fun to see those giant birds fly!

I also enjoyed buying new glass containers with lids to keep leftover food in.  Sometimes it is the small things in life :-)

One Thing

I couldn't find a picture of Isabelle fast enough, but she is beautiful like these flowers!

I worked at the temple today answering the phone and I got to talk to my niece Isabelle!  She is preparing to go on a mission to Denmark.  YAY!!!  That was my favorite part of what really was a good day.

Dan and The Wright Brothers

Dan and I are reading The Wright Brothers by David McCullough for a part of his school.  It is very well written and Dan and I are both enjoying it.  It is fascinating to me how the Wright brothers could so consistently be curious and fascinated enough with flight to write to experts, do experiments, build models, and then test models on the beach.  They did this while running their bicycle shop to earn money for all they did.   They did it even though the beach at Kitty Hawk wasn't necessarily a comfortable place to live!  Once an awful cloud of mosquitoes came that they couldn't get away from (Yikes!) They lived in tents for months, cooking over a fire.  It sounds like a miserable adventure!  I'm sure some of it was really fun, but wow!  I wonder what it would be like to be so very determined to learn to do something nobody has done before, and many people said was impossible!

This Savior Who Loves Me

 This Savior Who Loves Me

Photo by Pisit Heng on Unsplash

Did you ever wonder why the Savior came?

Did He really love me that much?  

Was I really worth the pain?

I imagine Jesus kneeling in the garden all alone

And He sees my face before Him when we were both at home.

And I was very little thinking He was very tall.

I loved Him very much.

And I looked at Him with awe.

He knew when I was born that though He’d remember me,

I would not remember all the things I cannot see.

He knew I’d make mistakes as I try to follow Him,

And He loves me very much and wants to save me from my sin.

I then imagine soldiers who are being very mean,

And hurting Him so badly, worse than anything I’ve seen.

And Jesus thinks of me and how I never intend pain,

But I will make mistakes and I will count upon His name

So I can call upon Him to release me from my shame.

I can see my brother carrying a large and heavy beam

As those who line the streets - spit on Him and scream.

And He knows I won’t be able to carry all my load

When I am here on earth walking on the earthly road.

So He keeps on stepping forward so He can do His part

And lift the heavy load that would be upon my heart.

In my mind I hear the pounding of the nails

As they drive into the hands and feet of He whose love won’t fail.

He doesn’t even cry out as He sees again my face

And He knows there is no other who can ever take His place.

Without Him I’ll be lost and He will not let that be

And He swallows all the pain.  Even more than I can see.

And finally it’s finished.  He’s rescued me from sin

And all I need to do is keep turning unto Him.

This is a blessed miracle, but there is one more still.

I watch as Jesus’ body is carried down the hill.

Tears roll down my face for this brother that loves me.

This will not be the end!  I keep looking and I see.

The stone is rolled away.  The tomb is empty there.

And He lives again.  He took more than I can bear.

And I know the final miracle is that I can live again.

And I also know I want to live my life with thanks to Him.

This Savior who loves me more than I can comprehend.

By Sherie

The idea for this poem came during the Sacrament at church today. I was afraid I would forget and so I started writing it down and had half of it finished before the meeting was over. Hopefully I'll be forgiven for not paying very good attention to the testimonies given. The parts I heard were good!

Visiting

 Kayli and I drove up yesterday to visit my parents.  We kept them up late chatting and then got up late with them to make some pancakes for breakfast.  Pancakes with pecans.  Kayli and I spent a lot of time with my Mom today doing some thrift shopping and working on food for our dinner at Jenny's this evening. Trisa came at a little after four and Kayli, Trisa and I played Jenga.  We played four times.  I lost twice.  At least I didn't lose every time! In the meantime Derek was mostly hanging out with boys.  Brigham in the morning, and Connor, Jake and Dan (and Teddy) in the afternoon / evening.

I don't have many pictures but I do have some!

My Wonderful Mom

My awesome Dad with Lizzie

Lizzie

The fancy decorated Christmas tree at the clubhouse for my parent's neighborhood.

A very happy Brigham and Grandpa Derek