Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget—lest we forget!

I read an article about a man, who in conversation,

 said "he felt uncomfortable calling

fallen soldiers heroes".  I can't imagine even

thinking that thought. 

The lack of gratitude and the

puffed up sense of self makes

me sick.  

I honor the men and women

who gave all for their country.

I honor their courage and sense

of duty and love of country and

love for family and fellow country men.

They gave their all and sacrificed their

futures and the associations of

loved ones.  

They are heroes to me.

God bless their memory and

God bless those who lost them.

Quote of the Day

“To be a righteous woman is a glorious thing in any age. To be a righteous woman during the winding up scenes on this earth, before the second coming of our Savior, is an especially noble calling. The righteous woman’s strength and influence today can be tenfold what it might be in more tranquil times. She has been placed here to help to enrich, to protect, and to guard the home—which is society’s basic and most noble institution. Other institutions in society may falter and even fail, but the righteous woman can help to save the home, which may be the last and only sanctuary some mortals know in the midst of storm and strife.”

                                      Spencer W. Kimball 

What am I thinking!!

When last fall came and I was

up to my eyeballs in canning,

freezing, etc. I really thought

I might not plant a garden this

year.

But true to my squirreling 

nature I am at it again.

Getting ready to store my

acorns for next winter.

We call them Locusts

If you are hungry for some

of these I may know a place

where you can harvest

a couple hundred.

 Look really hard at the very

center of this picture.

There is a Cicada...

and he is lounging on my

apple tree.

 More than likely he/she 

left some of her/his clothing

on one of my daisy plants.

These are actually exoskeletons.

Kinda creepy.

Every 13-17 years these bugs come out of the

trees and shrubs where their

mommys laid them.  

They are basically harmless.

Whahoo! Glad to hear that.

Visit from Daisy

Daisy came to visit last week. 

Her mother brought her.

We had a good time.

She is 18 months old.

It is a good age.  She

knows most of what is

said and is starting to show

her personality.

Daisy's Aunt Jill always said that

babies and their personal property

were "self soothing"items.

These are Daisy's

Binky

Blanket

and 

Teddy Bear.

Thanks for coming, Daisy.

Oh....thank you, Lee for bringing her.

Graduation Day

I had my first preschool graduation last week.

(I am amazed I actually went from Sept to May

and finished a whole year!)

These were the perfect children to

have my first year.  They were

so easy to please and so

eager to learn.  And now

they are all about getting

into kindergarten. 

Congratulations Jaxson, Annabelle and Cameron!

It's Spring in the high country.

Can I say again that I am soooo 

glad winter is gone!  I am more like

a squirrel than not.  I love each season.

And I act the part.  I know the end of

summer will bring a love for sweaters,

the color orange, cooler weather

and football.

But right now I can't imagine myself

ever wanting those things again.

I am so happy to get outside and

to see green everywhere.

 It's planting time.  David is always so

willing to till up the ground.  But, let me

make it clear, after that the garden is mine.

 We drove up the mountain

to make sure it was still there.....winter

was long enough that I had my doubts.

This is Crescent Lake.

 Big Lake looking west across 

the lake at the store.  

Lots of these girls out and about.

I never get tired of seeing elk.

HAPPY SPRING!

As Time Goes By~

I read my last post 

and thought you ought to know that

I am back in balance again.  I think

we all are.  Today's church was just fine.

Today we had our high counsel representative,

who happens to be one of the people

who used to be in our ward, come to take

care of some stake business.  He told us

it was nice to see us again since the division.

Except he said "since the surgery" and

that things were looking good here since

the "cancer had been cut out".  We

all laughed.  

Yup, we're laughing again!

The most constant thing is change.”

"The most constant thing is change."

Thomas S. Monson

Last week the boundaries were changed in our

ward and today was our first Sunday to

see who was there after the dust settled.

I try to get to church 10-15 minutes before

Sacrament meeting starts so I can say hello

to people.  I knew it would be different this

morning but I didn't expect to cry.  It just hit

me after I said hello to couple of friends and

realized how empty the chapel felt.   It was

quiet.....too quiet.  

I have thought  how my tears caught

me off guard today.  It is simple enough:

I love these people and it is hard to

let them go.  They were people who

honored their covenants.  And they are

just good.  

I will miss them.

I will miss their noise.

Frayed

I pressed this white shirt for David this morning.

It is fraying.  The top picture is a cuff and the bottom

is, of course, near the neck.  We bought this one and 

a couple others 3 years ago.  

 It seems like just yesterday.  

Since that time he has

 worn these shirts 4-5 nights/days a week. 

This fraying shirt is

a symbol of the work he does.  And it is work.

And it is sacrifice.  And it is molding the man.

Today at church I watched him walk up and across

the podium and sit down.  I saw him carrying

the weight of a Bishop.  But there was something

very strong in his walk.  As his shirts wear out

he seems to get stronger.  

I think that strength is really love.  He 

wants the best for each ward member.  And

that weighs a lot but I feel that he enjoys

the weight of it.  He is happy when they are happy.

And he hurts when they hurt.  

He says he needs new shirts but I hesitate

because I love what these loose threads

mean.  

Go Bring Them In From The Plains

This past Sunday was a big day.  First, it

was teacher appreciation day in Primary.

Our Primary Presidency carefully planned

our Sharing Time with the children (while we

teachers closed our eyes and ears).   I have to admit 

when the Primary Pres. came in and took

our picture I was clueless.  I had even forgotten

it until I saw this picture.  They sang us a

song and gave us flowers (for seeds we have

planted) and then they had this sweet card.

My only problem was I wasn't there.  I

wanted to be.  But I had the stomach flu.

So I missed the big event and my sweet

little class' excitement.  Bummer.

But that wasn't the only event of our

big day.  Our ward was divided.  Woodland Hills

was drawn out of our ward's boundaries and

is now part of Pinetop Lakes Ward.

I have been very emotional about the

whole thing.  But now I am ready to move

forward.  Easy for me to say.  I'm

not the Bishop....but I am married to

him.  I have been amazed with his

attitude towards this.  He is so positive

and sees this as an opportunity for

personal growth for each member of

the ward.

As for those who will leave us~  

They are the best people.  What

a boost to Pinetop Lakes Ward.

A friend put it in the right light

when she said that this was a

rescue.   Just like the saints

who were rescued from the

Wyoming plains in the

bitter winter by a party

sent out by Brigham Young.

I will miss these good people

but I am anxious to see them

breath life and lift burdens

in the Pinetop Lakes Ward.

Thought For The Day.

Keep It Small.

Keep It Simple.

Give It Time.

A good friend of my son's is a son to me.

I have updated my family photos with the

exception of Tim and Connie's children.

When David told me that Tim had taken

pictures of these boys on their Father and

Sons camp out I asked Tim to share.

And look what he shared!

So cute!

 Mike considering the complexities of life.

 Ben building new roads.

 The solitude of fishing.

 Thanks for bringing me dad.

 I think I can......

I love this picture of Mike.  I am also touched

by the simple activity that a DAD thought

of for the sons.