Memorable Toast

Our good friends, Rick and JoLyn, paid us 2 visits this month, on their way to and from Utah. We devoured the killer coconut brownies too quickly to snap a picture, but here's part of our patriotic breakfast, all-American toast.

Spread the toast with cream cheese, then raspberry or strawberry jam. Then add a field of blueberries in the upper lefthand corner with a few stars of cream cheese on top, and red and white stripes of sliced bananas and jam. Yum! I also served red, white, and blue boiled eggs, and little meat sticks (sausages might work better) with a toothpick inserted in one end to resemble fireworks.

And why is there a hanger on the table? Well, I didn't realize it was there until Julie mentioned it. But, it just may be a reminder of Benjamin Franklin's statement, "We must all hang together, gentlemen...else, we shall most assuredly hang separately". This was in reference to the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Brave patriots, our founding forefathers!

Don't Give Up, and Don't Compare

Far too often, I fall short of my goals and desires. I like to remember this story when that happens. I searched for it today so I'd get it right, and found it on another blog. Thank you so very much, Judy and Lloyd, for posting this.


“Many years ago, when I was somewhere between nine and eleven, I participated in a community summer recreation program in the town where I grew up. I remember in particular a diving competition for the different age groups held at the community swimming pool. Some of the wealthier kids in our area had their own pools with diving boards, and they were pretty good amateur divers. But there was one kid my age from the less affluent part of town who didn’t have his own pool. What he had was raw courage. While the rest of us did our crisp little swan dives, back dives, and jackknives, being ever so careful to arch our backs and point our toes, this young man attempted back flips, one-and-a-halfs, doubles, and so on. But, oh, he was sloppy. He seldom kept his feet together, he never pointed his toes, and he usually missed his vertical entry. The rest of us observed with smug satisfaction as the judges held up their scorecards that he consistently got lower marks than we did with our safe and simple dives, and we congratulated ourselves that we were actually the better divers. “He is all heart and no finesse,” we told ourselves. “After all, we keep our feet together and point our toes.”“

The announcement of the winners was a great shock to us, for the brave young lad with the flips had apparently beaten us all. However, I had kept rough track of the scores in my head, and I knew with the arrogance of limited information that the math didn’t add up. I had consistently outscored the boy with the flips. And so, certain that an injustice was being perpetrated, I stormed the scorer’s table and demanded and explanation. “Degree of difficulty,” the scorer replied matter-of-factly as he looked me in the eye. “Sure, you had better form, but he did harder dives. When you factor in the degree of difficulty, he beat you hands down, kid.” Until that moment I hadn’t known that some dives were awarded “extra credit” because of their greater difficulty. . . “

Whenever I am tempted to feel superior to other Saints, the parable of the divers comes to my mind, and I repent. At least at a swim meet, we can usually tell which dives are the most difficult. But here in mortality, we cannot always tell who is carrying what burdens: limited intelligence, chemical depression, compulsive behaviors, learning disabilities, dysfunctional or abusive family background, poor health, physical or psychological handicaps— no one chooses these things. So I must not judge my brothers and sisters. I am thankful for my blessings but not smug about them, for I never want to hear the Scorer say to me, “Sure, you had better form, but she had a harder life. When you factor in degree of difficulty, she beat you hands down.”“So,

Enduring to the end doesn’t have much to do with suffering in silence, overcoming all life’s obstacles, or even achieving the LDS ideal (“pointing our toes” and “keeping our feet together”). It just means not giving up. It means keeping — to the best of our abilities— the commitments we made to Christ when we entered into the marriage of the gospel. It means not divorcing the Savior or cheating on him by letting some other love become more important in our lives. It means not rejecting the blessings of the atonement that he showered upon us when we entered his church and kingdom.
(Stephen E. Robinson, Following Christ: The Parable of the Divers and More Good News [Salt Lake city: Deseret Book, 1995], 34-38.)

http://judyandlloyd.blogspot.com/2008/11/35-lloyd-parable-of-divers-story.html

Early One Morning

Three years ago, very early in the morning, his spirit took flight.
I pray our love reaches you, sweet Jordan, wherever you are. Over the rainbow, swinging on a star, perched on a cloud, no matter where you are, I hope you feel it constantly with you. I can report that things are better than they have been here. You know many good things have happened over the last few months, and more are in the works. I just want you to know that physically present or not, you are always a part of what we do. Did you watch the balloons we released floating up, up, up to you near the end of March? Did you see the video tribute of your life that Missy put together? And your lilacs that we planted in the backyard, they're almost ready to blossom! We love having lots of reminders of you all around us!
I haven't slept tonight, just as I didn't sleep that night three years ago. When I went to bed, this particular song kept running through my mind, so I came down to find it on YouTube. Here it is, a song I learned when I was taking voice lessons, the year before you were born, I think. This is a more melancholy arrangement than the one I learned, and the pathos I hear in the instrumental accompaniment, more than in the lyrics, makes a fitting soundtrack for these quiet hours of remembering.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcCfAfDWAug
So good night now, my son. I'll see you some bright morning to come.

Denver Weekend

We're back from a cool weekend getaway, and we're feeling pretty blessed. Since Neil's and {Penny's lost church records were located, with the assistance of my FL brother-in-law, Bishop Dwain Saxon, their ward has welcomed them with open arms, helped them with the baby twins, and been an all-round support to them. I believe the ward played a role in making it possible for us to witness Neil giving each of the babies a name and a blessing on Sunday, May 1st. McKay and McKenna are chubby, healthy four-month-olds now, and they couldn't be any sweetter or cuter! Holding them seemed to bring heaven a little bit closer. And having representatives from both the Reynolds and Washburn families there for this long hoped for and dreamed of family occasion, did too. It feels good to be unified with them at such an important time. I hope that we're able to assemble with them again for additional blessings.

We had a great stay with Greg and the children, Tori, Juli, and Christian. We shared stories, prayers, fun, games, movies, another Easter egg hunt, and thoughts on the resurrection, a picnic following the babies' blessings, a meal at Cafe Rio, and lots of hugs and laughter. Oh,, we didn't eglect work either. The children helped pick up their clothes and toys, looked for missing shoes, swept the kitchen, and Juli was very eager to help Dan and me make orange-glazed bunny rolls. She's only six, but she is serious about wanting to learn to cook. She says she wishes we lived really close, so that she could come over every week and help cook. :P The rolls were well received, but I made them yesterday again, when I found out that Rick and JoLyn were on their way for a short visit, and they turned out even better. Greg's flour may have been a little out of date or something, because yesterday's batch not only tasted better, but it was also softer and fluffier. I wish I could share pics of the folks, the food and the fun with you, but I can't. Here's the recipe for the yummy bunnies though. Just remember to use butter instead of shortening, and that this recipe makes about 24 bunnies, not the 12 it claims to make. If you try it and get 30 or more, we'll know that the bunnies are just over populating.
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Orange-Glazed-Bunny-Rolls

Easter Weekend

Today there's thunder, and hail, and the wind chimes are just a-chimin', but this past weekend the weather was nice. Ethan and Missy and the three Adorables came a-visitin'. They started off Saturday with an outing to a fun play center, which was followed by an excursion to Jason and Brianna's house. Brooklyn and Lilly painted Brianna's fingernails, and mine too, and everyone admired Brianna's bright and cheerful decorating choices. She's bold, painting some of the living room walls orange, and they really pop. (Haha, I got to use a decorating term I'm always hearing or reading.) They joined us next at Flying Pie Pizza on State Street, and Colin and Macey rode over on their motorcycle as well. Then we all piled into or onto our vehicles and went to Aspen Leaf Frozen Yogurt, a new business in town that Jason and Brianna recently discovered. They have 20 flavors of yogurt and 75 toppings. mmmmmmm, wonderful! After that, we trekked back to the parking lot for a few pictures. I enjoyed posing in my new Easter Bonnie costume. Dan stayed far, far away, not wanting to be seen with me thus attired, but he actually called from work today and asked me to email him the picture, so it must not have been too too bad. My friend Joyce made a purple vest and a green bow tie with pink polka dots for me to wear over pink pants and hoodie, all finished off with a pair of white gloves, a set of bunny ears and a fluffy tail. The little ones also wore bunny ears and tails for the Easter egg hunt, which was next on our list of fun things to do. Well, after they dyed a few colorful Easter eggs, that is. Then we invaded Colin and Macey's place for 15 or 20 minutes, just checking out how they were settling into their new apartment. Chic and cozy, I'd say. This has to be a record We then dined at our third restaurant of the day! Missy tried out fish tacos, and was underwhelmed with them just as I had been when I tried them for the first, and probably the last, time. I ordered something really crazy (must have been influence by my bunny impersonation earlier in the day), fried dill pickles. They were interesting, but I won't be ordering them a second time. Still, it's fun to assuage one's curiosity from time to time, although it goes to show that you just can't believe all the hype all the time. Dan and Ethan and the kids stuck with the tried and true. Where's that sense of adventure guys are purported to possess? :) Last of all, we (well, I guess I mean THEY) watched Toy Story 3. I snoozed.. It was a long and happy day.





We heard talks by Elders Ballard and Uchtdorf at stake conference the next morning, had a nice Easter hamm dinner, and Ethan and Missy picked up and packed up and drove away till next time. Thank you for coming, dear family! If you enjoyed it half as much as we did, it was worth your long drive. I made an Easter dish garden which I wanted to talk about with the kids, but things were so fast-paced that I never fit it in. Maybe next time. I found instructions for the garden online. When I first started working on it, I asked Colin to guess what it was. He guessed a hobbit house, which was sort of a fun surprise to me as I hadn't thought of the similarities until then. I was quite pleased with it before long, as I made little improvements on it here and there. I used a terra cotta 12-inch shallow dish for the container, and used potting soil to cover a 4-inch pot which I turned on its side for the garden tomb or sepulchre. On the small pot, I placed soil and wheat grass that I'd grown in separate pots, planted little Johnny jump-ups on one side, and placed rocks to simulate steps going up a hillside. My bunny vest- and-bow tie-making friend, Joyce, gave me a tiny frog, duck, and dove to add to the garden scene. I thought about the resurrection a lot, while I tried to figure out how to explain it in a way that would help a child feel the wonder of it, surpassing all the bunnies and ducks and candy the world has to offer. I am so grateful for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, opening the way for us all to receive this enormous blessing. If anyone wants to hear more about adding more meaning to the Easter celebration, let me know. I'll be happy to share some things I've come across and thought of this year.

A Truly Beautiful and Joyous Wedding

Two strong families came together on March 25th, to show their love and support for the creation of the new, strong, young family of Colin and Macey Washburn. It was one of the most joyous and blessed events I've ever been privileged to be part of. So many wonderful people joined forces, sharing their collective wisdom and talents, to see that it all came to pass. Thank you all so much! You know who you are, and you know we love you! Right? Right. It was fun to stand in the reception line and shake hands with so many friends of Colin's and Macey's, too. It may have been hard on the feet, but it was certainly easy on the heart. I loved every minute of it!

Greg is the last to leave for home, which means he's the one who's been drafted into posting-pictures-on-the-blog duty. Thanks, Greg. And thank you again, all you friends and family for everything from the bells, to the chocolate-dipped strawberries, pictures, videos, help with shopping for food and for clothing, for your advice and/or suggestions, for rides and flights, and so much more. And that's just the Washburn side of it. I know Macey's friends and family have a long list of kindnesses of their own for which we're all grateful. And now for a few of those pics. See if you can spot Shane anywhere. He was there, arrayed in full cardboard.

Moving Day

Pretty exciting happenings around here! It has been so much fun watching Colin and Macey preparing for their upcoming marriage. Today, they're moving furniture and other belongings into the apartment they'll soon be sharing. We're just so hhappy for them! Macey is absolutely adorable, and her family thinks just as highly of Colin. Having most of our family arriving to celebrate this momentous occasion, only adds to the joy. Sometimes it seems incongruous to feel so wonderful when I know there are so many people who are suffering. But I have to remind myself that during my time of greatest trial, life still went on for others, and that was as it should be. I know I will never be completely oblivious to the trials of others, though. All those affected by the earthquake, and tsunami, and the looming nuclear disaster in Japan are in my thoughts and prayers. When I enter the temple tonight, and next Friday, I will be conscious of the fact that others are in less desirable places, such as clinics, hospitals, etc., and I will be praying for them. Rejoice when you can, and pray always.

So, here's a good laugh Greg sent me recently. It's an account of a road trip we took from our home to visit my sister Becky. He wrote:
"Anyways, I am thinking it is story time right about now. Today I shall tell you about an incident that occurred on a family vacation when I was at the tender age of 13 years old. We were driving from Washington State to Los Angeles and we elected to take many of the scenic coastal byways through Oregon and California. In the back of our minivan we had a little bed set up where we would rotate who got to lie down and take a little nap as we drove. Somewhere in northern California, it was once again my turn to lie down and relax. I was pretty tired by this time as we had been on the road the entire previous day. It didn't take long for my eyes to grow heavy as I was hypnotized by the drone of the tires on asphalt. As the minivan swayed back and forth, I could feel myself slipping deeper and deeper into sleep, and I began to dream. :) In my dream, there was a very warm and soothing mist that danced back and forth across my face. I snuggled my pillow tighter as I enjoyed this luxurious sensation. My mind began to wonder and question from where came this spa-like treatment? Finally it was too much, and I awoke. To my surprise, the side of my face was indeed moist!! I sat up quickly and this is when everything became all too clear.....there was my mother, dumping a cupful of my 3 year old brothers urine out the window, which was then misting me through the open side vent :/ Lets just say I didn't attempt to get any more sleep hehe :) "
It's an account all right, but not a true one. He wasn't 13, and his brother wasn't 3. Aside from being a little off on their ages, I have to admit that it is pretty near to the truth. Hmmm, I look forward to hearing what stories our sons will be swapping this time next weekend.