The first Facebook-inspired post - Mother Teresa

I don't know as much as I could about Mother Teresa, but I like her.  I like what she did with her life, and I like the things she said during that life.  The quote above my sink is by her, as a matter of fact.

During one of my trolling sessions on Facebook (because that is really about all I do on FB is troll), I ran across this post from a friend I knew way back in Scottsbluff, NE, which opens up a future blog post, but not tonight.
Tonight, I just want to share these words.  I find them beautiful, true and words to live by.

It seems that I am not capable of much more than a photo re-cap these days, but here we go again.  A few photos that are a little slice of life these days...

We are sad to see the Papworth's move to Rexburg.  They have been in our ward for about 10 years, and we love them.  Bro. Papworth gave Ashley, Chelsie and Allison their Patriarchial Blessings.  Moving is the best thing for them, so their parting is bittersweet.

This is the label on the back of my shower gel.  If  a person has issues with Gluten, does it really matter if something you put on the outside of your body is Gluten Free?  After I was done scratching my head on that one, I had to just chuckle.

I was cleaning out a box the other day and I ran across this postcard.  Yes, it is an actual postcard, addressed and mailed to someone.  (See below) As a child, seeing the "DO NOT REMOVE UNDER PENALTY OF LAW" tag caused me some serious worry.  What if it accidentally fell off my pillow while I was sleeping, or came off the mattress while I was putting on the fitted sheet?  Well, now I know what would have happened!  :)  I'm glad I never had to receive a postcard like this one!  This will make me smile for a very long time!!!
(Note - I think I must have been a young adult before I read the tag really carefully and realized what it was saying.)

The other side of the above postcard.  Check out that postmark!!  1969??  Crazy. The recipient was my in-laws' neighbor until about 5 years ago.  How in the heck did it end up in a box in our house with children's board books in it?  A great mystery!!

Kristin's "award" from camp.  Amber would be proud to know Kristin received this.

Speaking of Sister Rietz, she ended up getting about 3 stitches in her leg after slicing it open on the sprocket of her bike.  She was thrilled that Sister Moon got to put in one of the stitches.  Apparently, it is the only one that stayed in.  The wound ended up getting infected, and warrented another visit to the Dr.  She loves her mission, and loves Hesperia, the area she is serving in!!!

Kristin and I went to Spokane for one night last week while the boys were at Scout Camp.  All along the way, the wheat fields were either being harvested, or very close to being ready to harvest.  John spent his summer, 30 years ago, in a combine (not a John Deere, but a Gleaner).  He loved doing it.  In fact, he did it the following 2 summers as well.  How do I remember it was 30 years ago?  It was 1984, the summer we got married.  How has it been 30 years???

We took a little detour home, and found Trader Joes!!  Just walking in that store is a happy experience.  Although I really don't know why that is.  We just love that store.  Maybe its because we know we'll walk back out with these tasty little Pretzel Slims in our grocery bag!  :)  Not pictured is some really chewy Pugliese bread that called to us when we walked through the bakery department.

This was a fortune I got about 1 1/2 years ago.  I was amazed to pull it out of my fortune cookie , because I was just starting a pretty overwhelming project involving organizing my digital photographs, and I didn't feel any of the things that I was supposed to prove!  I taped it to my sewing machine so I am reminded of my potential, because, in all seriousness, its good to be reminded of such things.  This fortune has been on my mind lately because I used it as a jumping off point for my Relief Society lesson yesterday.


And finally, two quotes that have been rattling around in my head because I also used them in my lesson.
“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.”
– Lao-Tzu

"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good."  - Voltaire

What I would tell my kids...

Earlier this year, the bofm365 challenge on Instagram posed this question for the reading in 2 Ne 1:13-29 "If you were to leave some final words of counsel with your family, what would you say?  Why?"
I jotted down this quick list and stuck it in my bag, and every so often, I look at it, and think "Yep, I would want to tell them those things."  I decided to put them in permanent (is a blog considered permanent?) form, so here they are, with a bit of commentary, because I always have something to add...

Kindness matters -  I saw a quote on a marquee in town just today that says "Three things in human life are important.  The 1st is to be kind.  The 2nd is to be kind.  And the 3rd is to be kind."  I have seen a few people who are credited with this, but it doesn't matter who said it.  I know from experiences of trying show more kindness to those around me that it is true.

Always kiss your spouse goodnight...and hello...and goodbye...and just because.  - Keep your courtship going.  It may not seem like a huge thing, but it is one of the most important things you can do to keep your marriage strong.

Keep the commandments - This one seems like a no-brainer, but there is evidence all around that many people do not choose to do this.  It will bring you happiness, and help you avoid a lot of pain and heartache.

Follow the Prophet - This may seem redundant of keeping the commandments, but in a church that has the privilege of continuing revelation through a living prophet, we would be foolish to stop our obedience at the 10 commandments.

Service, service, service - Sometimes service falls into your lap, and sometimes you have to seek it, but try to do something everyday that will ease someone else's burden.

Enjoy the journey - On my very long list of regrets is not enjoying all the aspects of this journey I have lived so far.  I am trying to rectify that.

Love deeply - No one will ever be spoiled by too much love.  Give all you have.  I promise it will come back to you.  Never withhold words or actions of affection.  Either of those is the greatest gift you can give someone.

Be brave (or to quote Sara Barielles, "Say what you wanna say") - Don't be mean, don't be rude, but don't be afraid to say what you want or what is really important to you.

And finally (well for now anyway) Be yourself - Don't be someone you aren't just to impress someone else and don't apologize about being you.

I am sure there will be more, and maybe I'm off base on a thing or two, but I have learned a thing or two in my life, and I don't think you will go wrong following these little bits of wisdom.

Don't make me call my flying monkeys...

I have always been a Wizard of Oz fan.  I truly have no idea how many times I watched it as a child/teenager.  I haven't watched it a lot as an adult, mostly because my kids weren't very interested in it, not like I was.  I love that it starts out in black and white, then magically changes to full color when Dorothy landed in Oz.  

I love the Munchkins, Almira Gulch and her bicycle, flying through the air, and Dorothy's interaction with each of her Oz friends - the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion.  I don't know how old I was when I realized the farm hands in the beginning of the movie were those three characters in Oz.  I LOVE Dorothy's ruby slippers and the fact that she can tap them 3 times and they will take her home.  

I also love the soldiers marching into the castle singing Oh-Ee-Oh, Oh-Oh.  (maybe its the song I love more than the actual soldiers.)  I don't love the wicked witch, but I do love the concept of her ability to call out the Flying Monkeys when she needed a little back up.

Now, I can't claim magical powers, or that I know the secret to getting yourself back home when you lose your way, but I have been known a time or two to warn my kids that they don't want me to call my Flying Monkeys!!  :)

Enter this sign that I ran across at the BYU Bookstore the last time we were there!  I truly couldn't resist buying it because now I have something physical I can flash when the need arises to call out the FMs.

So perfect when my inner wicked witch surfaces!! ;)

The Sewing Room Mascot

This is my thread cabinet.  Just one of the many things I love about my laundry/sewing room. John made it for me from a pattern I found and ordered.  I really love this cabinet! See the yardstick around the cabinet door?  I found those yardsticks on ebay and they are original, from West Virginia and old (circa 1950).  You can see the old fashioned phone number listed - RE 4-5511. Believe it or not, by the time I was born, they were using the present-day seven digit phone number, but I always found the letter/number combo a bit intriguing.  See the tin on the top?  That is a relic from my childhood and is quite bizarre, but I like it, always have, always will.  The mini oval-shaped box?  That really means nothing, other than I am drawn to toile patterns, and it has that toile look. The photo in the middle is one Alli took in her LHS photography class.  It is Trevor's hand catching drops of water from the spigot.  Clever and artistic.  The ribbon hanging on the side is close to impossible to make out, but that is an "Award of Merit" for a quilt I entered in the fair a few years ago - Square Deal, a wall hanging.  I remember how nervous I was when I saw the judges begin their judging process, then how happy I was to see them pull out their camera to snap a picture of it!  They really loved it!  I took it as a great compliment.  The assortment of threads are a little less than exciting, but hope to remedy soon by adding some bright spools to give a little "pop" to the cabinet.  Not really part of the thread cabinet, but another top favorite of the room is the beautiful orange walls! They are a Christmas gift from Dallin and Chelsie.  I love, love, love them!!!

Looking a little closer, you can see one of the quotes I have stuck in the corner.  Amber used that for one of her YCL favors at camp 2 years ago.  It  is a great quote, and I loved it before she used it, so I was happy she had a leftover I could have.  The other quote is about the pleasure of a bike ride by JFK.  Not such a pretty presentation, but a quote about a great subject.

But did you notice this guy tucked in the corner of the yellow thread section?   He started life as two balls of sticky tack, one yellow lump, and one obviously white.  One day, I realized he had been created!  Soooo cute!  I'm not sure which of my kids made him.  I have a guess who, but I kind of like not being sure!  I smile when I see him, and like to think he is keeping an eye on the room, just in case the scissors decide to rebel or the pins rise up in revolt.  He'll keep things in check!  Haven't thought much about a name, I'm not sure what fits him.  I will have to think about that!  I think he's pretty cute and looking at him, brings me happiness, but more than that, knowing one of the kids took time to make him for me makes me feel special!   That probably wasn't the intent of the sculptor, I have a feeling creativity just took over, but I love it when my kids do little, unexpected things for me!  The word special is often overused, which is too bad, because there is really not another word I could use to describe how I feel - special! 

2 big cities, 4 short days, lots of pictures

Warning: This is a really loooooonnnnggg post. (My sincerest apologies in advance, but thanks for hanging in to the end.)

John and I spent 4 days in April with Ashley, Brandon and the boys. 2 days in Philadelphia, 2 days in New York City.

Can I just say 4 days was not long enough!!! We needed a few more days, mostly because we couldn't get enough of these two little cuties!!!



But I digress...easy to do with those two little tykes around.

Here is a whirlwind summary of the trip, the things we saw, and a little commentary along the way.


You can't go to Philly without seeing the Rocky statue and posing like said statue. Good imitation Grandpa and Talmage. Apparently another popular touristy thing to do is run up the stairs in front of the Art Museum just like Rocky. We chose to stick with posing. Although, we did watch some tourists running up the stairs. I say we can check it off our list.

This was a common sight during the trip. Talmage couldn't be with Grandpa enough. He was excited to show Grandpa everything about the Please Touch Museum. This picture is the two of them heading into the museum.


You also would be remiss if you skipped the Liberty Bell. There is so much American History in this town.



The trickiest thing to see in Philly is Independence Hall. I say tricky because you have to get tickets. We didn't get tickets as early as we wanted, so it was a little iffy with the boys because we had to wait a few hours until we could get in. But as luck would have it, the boys were troopers and we got in. The room in the picture above is the room where the Continental Congress met to write and sign the Declaration of Independence and form the United States of America . John and I both agree that you can feel the history surrounding you as you walk through the rooms.

Ashley and I agree that when you come to Philly, you have to go to Reading Terminal Market and buy the best pretzels in the world. Sadly, we didn't get a picture of the pretzels, the above picture is the produce section of the market. We just have the memory of the buttery, chewy, salty treat. Isn't there a recipe out there somewhere????

New York City was the destination for the other two days of our trip.

All I can say is wow! What a fantastic place!

#1 Favorite Place (in my opinion)
Central Park

The Plaza Hotel is right on the corner of Central Park. Even though I'm not a huge Eloise fan, I got a kick out of seeing a flag flying in her honor.

Talmage was just the right height to peek through the wall.

This is the fountain from the movie "Enchanted". I had hoped for a little production number to come through the park while we were there, but I had to settle for 2 drunk guys holding each other up as they walked through the park. :-) Maybe next time.

On many of the park benches there are metal plates with dedications to people or quotes like the one above. I have no idea who Jane and Terry Shea are but I love that they put this on the plate for this bench.

Talmage decided to have a little two-year old meltdown on the way through the park. Here he and Brandon are reconciling - just a little dad/son moment.

I put this picture in just because it says "Central Park West". Maybe some of you needed a little proof that we were actually in Central Park. :-)

This is the memorial to John Lennon in Strawberry Fields. I can't say for sure, but I'm pretty sure he lived just across the street from this part of the park. Ashley said there was a man who took care of Strawberry Fields, kind of its caretaker, I suppose, and quite often this is decorated with flowers. We clearly came on his day off. Even if you're not a huge Beatles fan, its a beautiful thing to see.

This is the view of Central Park from the observation deck of the Empire State Building. It doesn't even do the park justice. (And in case you are wondering, yes, I wish I had framed the picture a little better so that railing wasn't in it and from a different angle so the big, tall building wasn't the main focal point. Oh well...guess we'll have to go back so I can try again!)

Other things we saw in NYC.I took this picture of a hot dog stand just for Kristin. She was a little disappointed we didn't actually get a hot dog from it, but a picture was the perfect hot dog stand experience for me. Apparently, when many people see a corner in Manhatten they say "This is a great place for a hot dog stand." (That is the name of a book we adopted at our school library many years ago. :-)
There are so many old churches right in the middle of all the skyscrapers. This church is right across the street from Ground Zero and was used after the attack on the twin towers as a place for the rescue workers to rest, get food and take a break from the very difficult job they had to do. There was a tree that was uprooted from the attack, and the roots were huge. Not one of the gravestones was damaged when that happened. I thought that was amazing.
This is one of the doors of the Trinity Church (think National Treasure). The church has beautiful stained windows (no picture as they were having a service when we peeked through the doors). These doors were worth the trip though. Such detail is truly amazing.

Of all the religious buildings, this was our favorite. Right across from Julliard Music School and the Lincoln Center is our very own LDS Temple. To see all the huge buildings surrounding it, you wonder how those who enter are able to leave the world behind, but I imagine they do just fine with that.
They think of everything in NY. Notice the marquees (sp) in the steps of the Lincoln Center. We country mice thought that was pretty cool and efficient of the designers, architects - well whoever thought the concept up.

Brandon was so excited to take us to Empanada Mama. A hole in the wall (literally) that served authentic Columbian Empanadas. We were happy to indulge him and eat lunch there. Yum! John had a little trip back into time when he ate a dish he had often on his mission.

Here is a shot of the financial district from the Empire State Building. In case you are wondering, I wouldn't have done one thing different when I took this picture. I really love it because it gives you a feel of the vastness of New York City.My Mother's Day present from my family was a ticket for the musical "WICKED" Oh my word, it was fantastic!!! Ashley and I had ourselves a little girl's night out, and saw it together. Should I sing a few songs from it for you? I could...Seeing a show on Broadway is a once in a lifetime experience. Although, I wouldn't mind making it a twice in a lifetime thing...:-)

When we got into the subway system, a security person asked me not to take any pictures "inside the system". So, this is not a picture of us riding the subway to the financial district!

Here are my traveling companions at the very tip of the island. You can see Lady Liberty in the background. We chose to admire her from afar.

Times Square was the biggest sensory overload!!! Apparently, my senses were so overloaded that I didn't get a good picture of it. Take my word, it is an amazing place. There is a huge Toys r Us that had a ferris wheel in it. Talmage and Brandon gave it a whirl and gave it their stamp of approval.

We walked across this (the Brooklyn Bridge 1.3 miles)....

...so we could eat this!

We ate the yummiest pizza and meatballs in Brooklyn. Not at the famous pizza place (the name escapes me) but at a different one. John and I didn't know what the other place was like, but we really liked the food here. Tanner really loved it too. So much that he gave his mom and big slobbery kiss for taking him there!
Walking across the bridge was great. The view looking back to Manhatten was amazing, and the bridge itself is pretty amazing too. It is a suspension bridge, really old, and has a lot of character. We decided to skip the walk back and took the subway instead.

I thought I should take a picture of the NY Stock Exchange. I like to know where our money hangs out when it is not with us.

This is one of the things they have in the Pre-Memorial for the victims of 9/11. It is covered with patches and other stuff from the rescue workers. It is very sobering to see the whole area. We couldn't see the actual building foot prints with the construction going on all around, none the less, a person feels the significance of what happened that tragic day in September, almost ten years ago.

The Apple Store is right by Central Park. We watched an employee count off a certain number of people and when there was the right amount, they would stop letting people in and wait to let the next group in. I hope they all like their new iPads.

Of course, I had to get a picture of the New York Public Library. I can't be too jealous because we are finally getting a new library here! Yay! Maybe I'll suggest they fashion it after this one. I'd happily make a copy for them.

Here we are in Grand Central Station. It wasn't as bustling as I expected. We were probably not there at peak time. I was still in awe of its beauty and size.

The very last thing we saw before getting on the bus was Madison Square Garden. We didn't actually get to go inside the coliseum, but there were some pretty interesting things to look at outside it.

Well, we are still country mice. I have checked. After a not very scientific poll, not one person said I look more sophisticated after our trip. So, we are still country mice. I can tell you, these country mice were pretty happy to see our valley at the top of the Lewiston hill, but we wouldn't trade our trip back East for anything. Especially when we get to hang out with these two compadres and their parents.

Thanks, Ashley and Brandon, for showing us a heck of a good time!