Our New RV

It's kind of a long story, and as it's bedtime, I'm going to give you the Reader's Digest condensed version. (Are any of you old enough to even know that reference?) We thought that maybe we'd get a small old sailboat this year, but that turned out to be the wrong thing right now. Then we thought we'd get a small old motorhome. The problem there is that the kind we wanted to afford wasn't trustworthy past, let's say, Centralia. So then we went back and forth about what would be right for us right now. Well, this is the new 'RV'. It's remarkable how little you have to pay for a Cadillac with a hundred thousand miles on it these days. (Did you know this V-8 gets as many freeway miles per gallon as my Saturn, and beats Dad's Subaru by a long shot?) Stay tuned... more to come. :)

Signs of Spring~For Real

For those that watch for signs of color as evidence Spring is here, I have a bit of proof that it's begun. Daffodils, which won't be denied, some daphne about to open in one of those (As Amanda would say)"Little bit of heaven right there" scents, and the first buds of red on our wall of rhodies. The double crowned whatever it is from the Boy Scouts ("guaranteed to bloom"; who do I talk to about that?), and sweet tulips, gifts from students that get stronger and better every year. The rhubarb is beginning to be an inch taller a day, the apple tree is getting fat leaves, and Zach, it looks like the lilac didn't mind getting to stretch out in it's new home behind the house. Alright everybody, lets go do the sun-dance and pray for those 60 degree days!

Down and Derby

Okay, Okay, lots of things have happened since I last grumbled about this fake spring we're having... Here's a bright spot: We went to watch the car that Asa, Christopher and Grandpa made at the Pinewood Derby. Asa was always in the running, and Chloe wanted to play with the cars, and David was too old to run so he helped with calling the winners. These guys were all set up, they had the cars on computer so they could run the heats, eliminate, double-eliminate, check standings, etc all done with a program. Pretty sweet. I didn't get a lot of pics, though Ethan, Christy, Chris and I were there, you pretty much have to take my word on it. And whoever made the Rice Krispy treats did an awesome job.

Officially Spring?

The other morning when I woke up, I opened the blinds to see how much of the sky was going to be gray and saw---what?! Snow instead! I know it's been a week now, but I wanted to share my impressions of shock and dismay. They were not the serene,"Oh how pristine the world looks wrapped in a blanket of snow" or the scientific, "This will be excellent for the snowpack in the mountains. My first thoughts were not the ecologically minded, "This will be sure to kill the insects in the lawn" nor were they the optimistically cheerful, "This too will pass". No, I grabbed my camera, put my robe on, pulled on Danny's boots, and went out to capture the snow in MARCH. And as you take the photo tour of my back yard you can hear my saying, "No. I don't want snow, I want to see my hyacinths. I want to hang up clothes in the sunshine, I want to see buds on my raspberries." The fence is just because I had to admit the snow on those little peaks were a cool image. The 10 day forecast is that by the end of the month we are supposed to be in the mid 50's, with scattered sunshine. I'm ready!!

"A Woman of Sorrow"

A little while ago I met with my stake Relief Society president and we talked about the successes of our Relief Society, my goals for the future, and the needs of the sisters, among other things. I shared with her my vision of what I hoped to help bring about in our ward. Something like; I want to provide opportunities for the sisters to grow in love and friendship, so they'll have a desire to serve one another because love each other, not because they feel they have an obligation to fulfill. We talked about some of the hardships and heartaches that are being endured, and how well the sisters take care of each other. One of the hard things about my calling is being aware of all of it...about how much sadness is hidden behind pretty, faithful, sweet smiles. We talked about the inactives, and about those whose little, fragile, flickers of testimony blew out before they really got glowing, and I felt especially sad. At one point I teared up, and she said, "There is no way to love them and not be a woman of sorrow".
Tonight I had a really sad facebook 'conversation' with someone I once knew. Truly, as the hymn says, "The world has gone astray". The testimony once so strong and bright is being polluted with 'the philosophies of men'. For a few minutes I felt passionately, and defended the faith. I lifted up the title of liberty and proclaimed the truth. Then I saw it was of no use. I bore a short, simple testimony and asked to be left alone with my simple faith, because I've no wish to be contentious or participate in the darkness. My heart hurts; and I'm so sorry for the bad choices that are being made, and all the people who will be affected by one person's agency being used poorly. Be strong, my loved ones! Don't even go near things you ought not. Read good literature and listen to good music and watch good things on your media. Too much rides on the 100 choices we make every day to let any of them be choices that pull you away from the truth that brings happiness and light. Darn it.

Teeter-Totter

We spend quite a bit of time like this anymore, his black laptop next to my white one. He's reading Wisconsin census pages from 1880 and I'm reading my kids blogs being continually amazed at what cute grandbabies I have. He's jotting down notes about Lars Torreson Sandvik from Holmedal, Norway, and I'm jotting down notes to Jenna, Amanda and Jennis about life in the fast lane. He's excited to find a relative that's been hidden, and I'm excited to talk to a child in Idaho I haven't touched base with in too long. He finds a detail from the past to share with me and I find a detail from the present to share with him. He's very much wanting to make connections with his relatives of the past, and I'm very much wanting to make connections with relatives of this day. I support him as he is working to connect our family from here backward, and he supports me as I work to connect our family from here forward. It occurs to me that both are absolutely necessary. He is forging the links that secure us to our heritage, and I'm strengthening the ones that we make right now with our posterity. With the two of us standing hand in hand, he reaches out into the past with his free hand, and I reach out into the future with mine. Connecting families for generations.
We are like two little kids sitting on a teeter-totter; one going up, the other down. Neither of us would hop off and drop the other, neither of us would want the other to get hurt. So we give a little push as our feet touch the ground, giving the other the momentum to reach a little higher. It's all about family, and we need and love them all.

"sigh"

Okay, so life is good, and there's really nothing to be annoyed about, but I must admit I'm just the teensiest bit irritated.... I wanted to make this cute post, but noooo, only 5 photos upload at once, can't find the original post to go back to, sooooo, okay, try again. and again. and here I am yet again. HERES THE POINT: To make the best sense of these entries, go down to "My Valentines" start there and read UP, because as you all remember, new posts go on top of old, not on the bottom as in a letter, which would actually make sense when one is trying to create one long chain.... whatever....