Covenant Hearts

                           Tomorrow is my husband, David, and my 36 wedding anniversary.

In honor of that I want to post some thoughts on marriage that I have saved over the years.

. . . . falling in love is a trap

Whereby life snatches people by the two’s

And ties them so rightly together

That they can’t get away

Until they learn something.

Learn about love, real love:

Being in, working in. loving in

Rising in --- all begun by

Falling in.

Carol Lynn Pearson, beginnings & beyond , 2005

 

"Marriage in its truest sense, is a partnership of equals, with neither exercising dominion over the other, but, rather, with each encouraging and assisting the other in whatever responsibilities and aspirations he or she might have."
Gordon B. Hinckley

Marriage has less beauty but more safety

than the single life.

It is full of sorrows and full of joys.

It lies under more burdens but is

supported by all the strengths of love.

And those burdens are delightful.

16^th century Bishop

“I lift thee, and thou lift me, and both ascend together.

 Quaker Proverb

Successful marriages and families are established

and maintained on principles of

faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love,

compassion, work and wholesome

recreational activities.

 Proclamation on the Family, 1995

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

I have long felt that happiness in marriage

Is not so much a matter of romance as it is anxious

concern for the comfort and well-being of one’s companion.

 Gordon B. Hinckley



It scares me to think of life without David.  He is patient.  He
is still waiting for me to be the girl he married.  But he made
a covenant to stay by me.  And I made a covenant to stay
by him.  And Christ seals our covenant.  How did I get so blessed?
.........How did I get so blessed?? 

 

Do spices last forever?

I have been cleaning out cupboards and shelves and came across

this bottle of Thyme.  It has been on a shelf for 20 years.  I think that
is Pete's handwriting.  He was probably in the 8th grade.

How do things just get overlooked right in front of me

for 20 years!??  

I threw it away. 

Just north of Burger King

This past Friday evening David H. texts my David and asks if he wants to go on a trail Sat. morning.  It would be 3 Land Cruisers and one Jeep....David's.  We would meet at the Burger King in Show Low at 9:00 and be home by noon.  That was perfect for our Saturday.

So we made it to Burger King at 9:00 and as we were waiting for David 4x4 vehicles just started showing up.  We didn't know anybody.  Wait...David knew the man in the K-5.  By the time David H. got there I think there were 8-9 vehicles.  We shook hands with most of them and took off.  We turned north on Central and just kept on going.

This scene is so Show Low.  At least it is the Show Low I grew up with.  Fields with cows and fences made with barbed wire and limbs from Cedar trees as posts and whatever else was available.

 We were last in line.  Which isn't bad if a potty stop is needed.  Kinda fun being

part of a caravan.

This is Show Low Creek.  In all my Show Low growing up I had never been here.

 Still felt like home.

  

 

The trail was rocky and had some big turns and as we came out

of one turn this truck was there.  It wasn't with us when we

started.  We thought it was funny that this guy got stuck in between

this group.  But as it turned out they were just meeting up

with the rest at a point that we didn't see.

This was a stream of water that sounded a lot bigger

than it actually was.  I was busy checking it out when

David was on the trail impressing everyone with his

Rubicon's ability to scale this steep part on the trail.

Sorry no picture.  I always miss the best pictures! 

But here he is coming back down.  

 

There was a lot of water crossing and mud!  No problem!  It took

a little longer than thought. That was probably because of

all the water crossing and everybody stopping to watch

everybody climbing up and down and around.

This trail was interesting to us because it was so close to

home and it definitely had its moments.  We actually had been

on part of the road from the other end but did not know that

Burger King was the start.  It is good to know we don't

have to travel so far for a fun morning in the Jeep. 

Kitchen Redo

I just redid my kitchen....again.  Nothing big but it looks nice.  Through the years every

time I have done something to my kitchen I thought it was "nice".   Funny how "nice"

changes through the years.

I decided to post the evolution of this kitchen.  But as it turns out if it weren't for birthdays and

Christmas I wouldn't have any pictures of those changes.  And I missed a couple anyway.

 

 This is Jill's first birthday.  The wallpaper was on the wall when we

moved in.  I didn't mind it.  Do you love the floor?  I did. 

This is 4 years later.  Jill's birthday again.  And then Tim's birthday a couple years later.  

When I was expectingHeidi (in my arms) I wall papered over the original paper. 

I thought it was nice touse a plaid and a flower combination.  

And I wanted the faces of the doors to

match the white cupboards.  And I loved those curtains.  

(Do you see the rotary dial phone...I was a Cub Scout leader and 

one day one of the boys needed to call his mom 

and he had to have me show him how to use our phone.)

I couldn't find pictures of the next time I wallpapered.  There was a

wallpaper store in Eagar and I was at an all day track meet there

and in my spare time went to that store.  They had this pretty

maroon pinkish paper.  I bought it.  I brought it home and realized

that it was the same pattern and close to the same color as the

couch and chair I had made slipcovers for.  I stayed up late

that night and put it up.  I began to think it was too pink

 but in the morning I loved it.

This picture is from Christmas around 1996.  I bought

this paper when we were in Provo at some kind of camp for one

of the kids and wandered into another wallpaper store.  I do love

wallpaper.  I loved the green face on the doors.   It wasn't 

too long before we put new brown counters and a new

floor down.   I also painted the faces of those doors yellow

somewhere in between....can't remember!  Then I

painted them red.  (This is when Jeremiah became

part of our family and he told Heidi that I had toooo much

paint on the cupboard doors!)

When we enclosed the back porch  (2002) and made the laundry room

a bathroom we closed off the door that lead into the

laundry room.  For a couple of years I put a storage chest

that Tim made against the wall and hung all of my cast iron

pans on that wall.  I really liked having those pans so easy

to get to.  They are kinda heavy.

I think it was 2005 or 2006 when we tore out the

kitchen.  Lee and I did that.  We used a crowbar and

sledge hammer and a screwdriver....as you can see.

Then I wallpapered!   I loved this paper 

until I didn't.  Let's see it is 2011.....that is a long time.

This picture is this past Christmas.  These were the Elders in

our ward.  At the sink is Elder Pearce...he went home

this week.

 

 

This is what I did last week.  We considered crown moulding

but this is not that kind of house so we went with trim that

matched the rest of the house and I think it was the right thing

to do.  I had the wallpaper.  I do have a bit of a stash.  I don't

know if a stash of wallpaper is healthy.  And I had the

red paint.  It is the same paint as the wall in the new room.