The Big Room

 We have one of those "open concept" homes, and today I spent a lot of time in the big room.  I ate there, read with Dan there, played tensies with Dan, cleaned up, and had some of my book club members over for a white elephant book exchange and tasty cheesecake that I didn't make.  Any book I picked up turned out to be about WWII in some way.  I don't have any pictures of book club, but the ladies were kind and fun.  I do have a picture of a book puzzle!  It seems a little bit related.  It was a really good day, and I'm sure Derek was glad not to have to remove another 2 feet of snow from the driveway!

Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow, SNOW!

 I felt like one of the "old folks" today because I kept saying, "I haven't seen this much snow since the winter of 1993!"  We lived in Bountiful then and I was pregnant with Tia.  I remember standing in the backyard with the snow pretty high on my legs.  Today I went out with Teddy.  He started hopping through the snow and I took this picture:

The snow was up to mid thigh on me back there.  For some reason I decided to walk around to the front of the house.  Probably because I like deep snow.  I just didn't bargain for quite how deep it was!  It quickly became too deep for Teddy -- up over his head -- and so he had to follow me as I broke the trail.  It was up to my waist!  It was a lot of work to get to the front door!  Teddy saw the front porch and bounded the last few feet while I tried to get my boot unstuck (with my foot still in it).  It took a while and once I freed my booted foot I ended up crawling the last few feet!

Kayli spent most of the day at Tia and Mike's house and sent me cute pictures of Brigham out playing in the snow.  She said she taught him to eat it and he just plopped down in the snow looking pleased that he was surrounded by a big snack!

I might have mentioned that I love this little character!

  

Quotes I Want To Keep

 

Photo by Nature Uninterrupted Photography on Unsplash

 "What I envy in others is showing me what I desire for myself."

"What I wish I had done yesterday is showing me what I need to do today."

"I probably see myself more negatively than anyone else."

"Most people think I'm doing better than I do"

"I don't need to feel guilty over what I cannot control"

"Nobody is required to live up to my expectations of them."

"We can either embrace someone for who they are in this moment or decide to limit the presence they have in our lives."

"It's safe to let go of past hurts once I've extracted the lesson from them."

Feelings and Emotions:  Question them!  Is this helpful?  Truthful?  Coming from a clear perspective or from a past wound?

*I would surely like to tell you where all of these came from but I just found them in my last year's planner and didn't want to keep the loose leaf papers around since I can remember where my blog is easier than I can remember where I put some random papers!

Sunday: Enjoying Brigham -- plus Monday

 

I had taken to using my Uke like a drum while Brigham tried to put his hand in the hole.
He likes to point at my ukelele hanging on the wall and spend a couple of minutes on my lap playing the ukelele while he is here.  I count it as snuggle time!

I'm sure that you all enjoy my one grandson as much as I do right?  Also, so that I can say I'm caught up, today I cleaned more stuff, did laundry, and while folding laundry, watched quite a few episodes of a show where they fix up old houses in Galveston Texas.  I did dishes too.  What a thrilling day.  Then I felt sad and sorry for myself for a while, took a shower, ate, and watched a movie with the family.  Vacation, such as it was, is over and it's time to get back to a normal schedule.  Happy President's Day!

Saturday: Closets and Sledding

 I actually didn't post yesterday for the first time in a long time so I'll just do two quick ones to make up for it.  By bedtime yesterday I was having a hard time staying awake.  I have had good days, and have enjoyed myself, but I spent a lot of energy organizing our closet!  I again forgot the before pictures except for the picture of Derek's stuff all over our room.  Here are the finished products

My side

Derek's side

 I am rather pleased with my work.  What a nice closet!

Even better than closets is that Brigham came and I got to go sledding with him in our back yard.  Not down the steep hill, just a really, really short hill.  He liked sledding with somebody but wasn't so sure about being pulled around.  I only have pictures of him in his awesome snow suit.

Brigham preparing to go outside.

Teddy stalking the abominable snow Brigham

While I worked hard on closets, Derek worked on finishing up the grout on the downstairs shower wall and preparing the floor for its tile.  I'll get pictures of that for another day.  That does explain the white knees in the picture.

Seeing Olivia

 Derek took me to the SHHS basketball game tonight.  We saw quite a few relatives and got to chat with a cousin of Derek's and a little with his Uncle Jim and Aunt Carla.  Partway through the game as Derek was focused on the game and I was scanning the crowd for familiar faces, I remembered who we were playing and that I have a niece who cheers for them!  Sure enough, there she was!  

I ran down at the end of half time to say hello and get a more close up picture.
Her Dad came to say hello too.
These are my favorite things about community games.  Finding family and friends
in the crowds!  Olivia's smile for me made my night!

Something To Smile About

 

Teddy in his bath

robe!

Blossoming Like A Rose

Adenium Obesum - The Desert Rose
Photo by Chee Seng Chin on Unsplash

Isaiah 35 1-2 (KJV) The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; . . .

I was listening to the Christian radio station on the way home and there were 2 people talking about this scripture.  One had just written a Bible Study and presumably this scripture was in it, and I liked her thoughts.

To her the desert is a hard place.  A place of trial where the only way to survive is to trust in God and rely on Him and His mercies.  She talked about it being a place that she wants to leave.  Perhaps we think that if we follow God to the best of our ability He will (or should) lead us out of the wilderness.  Instead, she said, the Lord helps that desert place blossom like a rose.  She guesses most people will spend 90 percent of their lives in the desert.  I wonder if using this analogy, our whole lives are a desert!

The question is, which desert will we be in?  Will we be in the desert that is hard and we can't see God in anything around us or in anything that is happening and so we give up reaching for Him and wander aimlessly while our body and soul whither?  Or will we reach for Him, follow Him, and patiently wait for Him and find that our desert has blossomed like a rose and no longer looks or feels like a desert even though we will still encounter thorns here and there.  

In this desert, even encountering thorns and pain will not turn us from God if we just remember how bleak the desert used to be, and how much it has grown up into something beautiful!  Truly, in that desert we will rejoice with joy and with singing!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Photo by Susn Matthiessen on Unsplash

 Actually, I was super tired today, and I started doing taxes.  Boo!!  However, I also saw a lot of nice people today and I am going to go to bed early!  Hooray!

Also my Mom mailed me a super sweet Valentine that I opened today which I loved.

A Clean Closet and A Jello Loving Brigham

 

Yes.  I do like cleaning closets.  I think it's kind of fun!

Brigham with some red jello.

Today was a good day for me.  I also cleaned underneath our bathroom sinks, and cleaned out and organized our bathroom drawers, and went with Dan to Lowe's to return some tile and pick up more grout. Probably I was also avoiding doing the taxes I was going to start.  Maybe tomorrow:-)

Jake's Happy Birthday

 

Jake with his birthday loot

Jake does not love being the center of attention, but it was his birthday and so he had to endure a little bit of that!  He opened his presents before his grandparents, older brother, and Tia and Brigham came, and after they did came and we had dinner, he cheated and blew out his candles before we were done singing so I couldn't take a picture of it!  Dan missed the singing all together!  I think Jake was trying to avoid getting wax on his cake since I was running around trying to find my phone. (Imagine me not knowing exactly where it is at all times :-/

Jake is a hard worker, a great son and brother, and has a gift for being able to figure out how things fit together.  He has always had great spacial awareness!  Thus his ability to walk at 9 months and to do scary things without falling.

Jake, Kayli, and Trisa.  The big windows don't always make for great pictures!
Also, when Brigham was here, he was very interested in having some of Jake's donuts!

Jake having cheated and blown out his candles while we were singing.

Derek laughing that Jake had already blown out the candles :-)

A Poem of Saturday

 

My flowers and my books.

Today I woke up hurting.  My head was in much pain.  I knew there was no hope that I would go to sleep again.  So I got up and ate breakfast, and took medicine too, because when you are in pain, that is often what you do!  This was not a great beginning, to a happy Saturday, but I did not give up hope and I got ready for my day.  Down to the dusty basement, I headed for a chore, to go through the big garbage bags we filled up years before.  They held a lot of pictures that are not hanging on our walls, and I stacked them very neatly so they leaned, but would not fall.  

Lunch came rather quickly and my head had eased a bit, and I wrapped Jake's birthday presents and set them where they fit.  I read a few good pages in a borrowed magazine, warm under my blanket where I dozed but didn't dream.  Then all of us got ready for our late Christmas book trip, and we climbed into the van, the steering wheel in Derek's grip.

And as I looked at books, I remembered Tia's tip.  "You have enough self help books, you don't need more on this trip!" So I went for something different than I have read in quite a while, and I have high hopes the stories will be good and bring a smile.

My  Books

Then when the books were chosen, by all those in our group, we all got in the line, all of us made quite a troop. Then we headed home for pizza, that I had bought before, for Derek to cook up for all who entered in our door.  Tia brought me flowers, Brigham played with toys, Connor played piano, and his game brought us some joys.  And now it is all over.  My head is feeling fine.  And now I'm nearly ready for goodnight sleepy time.

I told Connor that his picture probably had red eyes.  You can even tell when it's in black and white!

A Flower's Super Power

 I think a flower's super power is to brighten up a room, or a spot in the outdoors.  Flowers can brighten a day and bring a touch of Spring to Winter.  Flowers can remind us of the love of God that shines through in His creations.  Flowers can say "I love you", or "you are important to me".  Flowers are beautiful!

Thanks on Thursday

 

Isn't he cute riding the bike we got him for Christmas!
It was really fun watching him get on.

Brigham bouncing on his ball.

Today (and every day) I feel really thankful that we have hot water.  Today I was also thankful for our big tub to soak in which helped me feel SO much better.  I am not usually a huge tub person, but they certainly have their perks!

Dan and I went to the library after that.  I love libraries!  Lots of books to try without having to buy them!  Magazines too!  Naturally I got quite a stack even though I am working on several here at home.  I am making progress and books are fun to look through and read.

After lunch I got to go to Tia's house.  Tia is a good listener.  We figured out her sewing machine a bit, chatted, and then played with Brigham.  When he woke up he gave me a big hug.  I love hugs and Brigham hugs are extra great. He's getting big and he liked showing me the things he could do.

Brigham is still working on steering.  This shows his Mom's arm reaching out to help him re-aim for the doorway.

Here he is looking at the ball he was bouncing on.
I'm not sure what he was trying to do.

Today ended up being a much better day than I expected when I woke up.  Derek worked from home and I got to spend time with him this evening which was nice too.

Finally, I was reading today about Jesus' perfect love for me, and I was pondering a question from the book I was reading.  The question was, "How might focusing on Jesus' love for you help you love others more?" (From The Chosen 40 Days With Jesus Book 3).  I didn't have a long attention span today but I do think that when I am feeling loved, it is easier to share love with others.  When I do not feel loved I am a lot more inclined to focus inward and feel sorry for myself and sad.  Jesus' love is perfect, and focusing on His love can help me love more perfectly too.

Turkey Serpentine

 

Dan called for me to come to the window today because he said he had never seen so many turkeys.  I'm sure there were some ahead in the line and behind the line that I didn't catch but this is the letter S - if you use your imagination.  Somehow we just don't get tired of the turkeys.

Later I went to see Shannon and to take a look at their fabulous recreation barn.  It is awesome!  Shannon is awesome too.  I like her even more than her barn:-)

After getting groceries I stopped by and chatted with my mother-in-law.  Naturally I could have kept talking to her for a long time, but I decided I'd better get the groceries home.

Not long after the groceries were put away Trisa called.  She is having quite a week!  Weather permitting, she is coming home this weekend to celebrate Jake's birthday with us.  We'll need to treat her extra nice and give her time to relax.  I'm pretty sure that she could use a bit of relaxing!

Finally, I took a friend's shift at the temple and just got home a few minutes ago.  I worked with really nice people as usual.  I even knew most of them.  When I got home I closed the door a little too hard.  Everyone was in bed!  Oops.  Dan came and hugged me goodnight and I said goodnight to Derek who was awake.  Now it is time to sleep!

Tonya, Tammy, Temple Tuesday

One of the most peaceful places on earth.  The Celestial Room of the Payson Temple.
used with permission from newsroom.churchofJesusChrist.org

 Today I didn't want to get out of bed, but I remembered that my sister-in-law was supposed to have surgery today and so I texted her and that was a really nice way to start out my day.  I got out of bed late, but I enjoyed good "chats" via text.  I liked the text she shared with me from The Unexpected Deliverer by Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler that says,

"If we hold on too tightly to what should have been we will miss what God is doing where we are."

Later in the morning I chatted with my counselor who is compassionate and tries to help me see that even though some of the things I deal with are invisible to others, they are still hard and I need to remember to give myself grace and not beat myself up over all I wish I could do, had done, or think I "should" have done.

Early afternoon had me heading to the temple.  I love temple Tuesday.  I work in the office which is super busy, but I work with super nice people, in a really happy place.  Today was extra great because I got to go do some temple "work" with my niece Isabelle and a few family members including Derek.  It was great! 

It's The Little Things

 Today I was tired and cranky and I just really didn't want to do anything.  Of course, there were plenty of things to do anyway.  As I was sitting on the couch working on fixing appointments that I had set over top of other scheduled things, I remembered that the water softener needed salt.  I mentioned it to Derek when we had guests, but I figured he probably forgot.  So, even though I shouldn't be lifting heavy salt bags, I headed down with the scissors thinking how careful I would be not to hurt myself :-).  Derek had remembered and filled up the softener and I was so thankful!  I let Teddy out for a few minutes and then we headed back upstairs.

Later, my beautiful Tia sent a picture of her and Brigham.  We had sent some bread home with them on Sunday.  Brigham liked it!  How could I not smile at that picture?

I was a bit cranky that I have to wait until the 15th to talk to the Doctor about my MRIs.  I just wanted to know what they said, and then I  remembered that there is a patient portal.  It turns out my reports were right there on the portal waiting for me!  It took a lot of time looking up all of the words, and I still don't know what the doctor will suggest we do about all of the things -- but at least I got to look at the report and try my best to interpret it!

Later, while folding the laundry I got to watch a new episode of Home Town.  I enjoyed that.

I finally decided to lie down with my electric blanket until Derek got home.  I was feeling a bit sorry for myself, but he came home and we went out to eat.  I found that my Magnolia magazine had arrived and we got to watch The Chosen with Kayli, Jake and Dan.  It left us hanging but I enjoyed it!

It really was a bit of a hard day for me, but obviously there were lots of happy things.  They may be little, but they seem big!

Musical Brigham

 Brigham came to help his Grandma play the Ukelele.  I love Brigham!  And also you can't see the mountain behind me because we were in a cloud off and on today.  It's really kind of awesome to look out our big windows and only see clouds - unless you get close - and then usually you can see the yard.

Lunch With Family Who Are Friends

photo from opensanctuary.org

 My favorite part of today was going to Chubby's with Cousin Brian and Patty.  They are good company and we don't get to chat often.  Afterwards they came for a tour and the wild turkeys put on a show.  There were more than 20 scratching for food under the bird feeders, and then they went single file to the road where they ran really fast up the street.  A few minutes later they came flying past the windows and across the canyon, and a few minutes later there they were under the bird feeders again!  Brian and Patty will probably need to come at a different time of day to see the deer.  They showed up later this evening.

Fun With A Friend

 

This is the Provo Library that used to be Brigham Young Academy.
I believe my Grandma Fuller Graduated from BY Academy.

Today I went with a friend to the Provo Library and then to D.I. to look for treasures.  What fun!  We found clothes and books and I found a couple of other random treasures like a new pizza pan and a pie dish with roses on it that sparked joy!  It was fun to have time to talk to a friend and to shop D. I. with someone else who enjoys hunting for treasures!

Probably my best deal was a skirt I found that still had the store tags on.
 It cost $38 at the original store and $8 at D.I.!

The Best Kind of Coincidence

 

This has nothing to do with my post.  I just was looking for something related and 
spent way too much time looking at my cute family.  This was the Avenger Christmas
Maybe 2012

I went this evening to have two MRIs.  One of my right wrist, and one of my right thumb.  Two trips into the loud machine that sometimes sounds to me like someone saying "no, no, no, no, no" for a long time and sometimes like the muppet aliens who say "yip, yip, yip, yip, yip".  When I was done I went out and discovered Uncle Den waiting for his turn in the machine!  This is Derek's Mom's brother.  We only had time for a hug and a very quick chat, but his wife Aunt Sherry and his son Laren were out waiting and so I got to visit with them while Uncle Den was listening to the loud machine, which he likened to gunfire.  I haven't seen Uncle Den and Aunt Sherry for quite a while, and it was very nice to get to spend a little bit of time with them!  This kind of meeting is the best kind of coincidence!

The Pantry Project

 We've been in our house for over a year now and I realized that the cans in the pantry were scraping the paint off and so I thought I would belatedly put on shelf paper.  I'm sure my family is totally thrilled that I also rearranged the pantry while I was at it!

Here's the first shelf I did (with the floor below).
I really like it!

I actually did this first.  I labelled our containers for the first time that I can remember.

All done!  It looks great right now!

Unfortunately, while cleaning the fourth shelf, I got distracted from my task by the Rice Crispies that expired in 2019.  I thought I should throw them away and I stepped back.  I forgot there were two steps, not one, and I fell and hyper-extended my knee backwards.  It is the same knee that hasn't quite recovered from me hyper-extending it sideways in the summer.  My falling created quite a thud.  It scared Dan who was upstairs and came running fast.  I was just lying on the floor holding my knee and, probably weirdly, thinking that I was like one of those athletes that gets hurt and lies on the floor holding their knee.  

Dan asked what he could do and I said, "you could pat my head", but I don't think he thought I was serious and so he patted my shoulder.  I sent him for my knee brace, put it on, and got up.  I finished putting the shelf paper on the 4th shelf and Dan swept up lots of Rice Crispies, ran up and down the stairs getting things for me, took lots of garbage out, and handed me things so I could reload that last shelf.  I'm glad he was home!  I then went shopping with Kayli, dropped some stuff off and took a peak at my grand-nephew, and came home and iced my knee.

Was the pantry worth the hurt knee?  Well -- my knee was hurt already and I assume the swelling will go back down and it won't be much worse off than it was so I'll say -- yes!