Look up!

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Mark turns 9 years old today. We went to the Payson Temple open house this morning. It was a walking tour without a guide, but in one of the rooms, a volunteer reminded us to “look up.” The ceilings were glorious. Everything was special. It felt like home. I thought of my great-grandparents who had a farm one mile from the temple site. When I saw a painting of a woman with a basket of apples, I thought of my grandmothers who bottled fruit in this area during the Depression and beyond. I hope that Mark remembers some details of this magnificent temple and that it was part of his birthday celebration to be there. I hope that he and the kids remember to “look up” for approval, guidance, and perspective.

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Nice Find

I read a book by Henry B. Eyring in 2012, just before we moved to Utah. I saved quotes from the book that were important to me, but I did it in a notebook that was shuffled around after the move. I found the notebook this week and as I looked through it, I found lists of names that I tried to remember from church in the first few weeks of living in Utah. I have misspelled names and omitted important family members of people that I now know so well that I call them dear to me. Also in this notebook I found these quotes from To Draw Closer to God and I’ll share a few with you today as we all continue to press forward.

None of the people for whom you are responsible can be truly served without your bearing testimony, in some way, of the mission of Jesus Christ. (p. 50)

 

 

You’ll understand people better if you assume that people’s behavior is rational, at least from their point of view. Try to see what they see. (p. 59?)

 

 

Be on the front row, early, whenever the Master calls. (p. 58)

 

 

If we stay at it long enough, perhaps for a lifetime, we will have for so long felt what the Savior feels, wanted what he wants, and done what he would have us do that we will have, through the Atonement, a new heart filled with charity. And we will have become like Him. (p. 71)

 

 

To know the Savior, then, is to be like Him. (p. 72)

 

 

I promise you that if you use your gifts to serve someone else, you’ll feel the Lord’s love for that person. You’ll also feel His love for you. (p. 88)

 

 

You won’t always see the miracles that come from your work, which is probably a blessing. If you did, you would get proud. But you can often underestimate what God is doing as He honors your calling. (p. 101)

 

 

The men and women who desire to obtain seats in the Celestial Kingdom will find that they must do battle every day. (Quoting Brigham Young) (p. 114)

 

 

How we react when we are surprised will tell our families whether what we have taught and testified lies deep in our hearts. (p. 180)

 

 

Our faithful effort to offer to our family the testimony we have of the truth will be multiplied in power and extended in time. (p. 182)

 

 

All of us in the pursuit of duty touch the lives of others. (p. 183)

 

First Class

1-DSC_2897 1-DSC_2902Timothy received his First Class Rank this week. Richard prepared a great slideshow for the Court of Honor showing the activities from the last six months. This is going to be a fun couple of years with Richard and Timothy going on Scout camps together.

 

Hoover

1-DSC_2849When Timothy was younger, his coach in Arizona gave him the nickname of “Hoover vacuum cleaner” because he scooped up baseballs so well. He is still a ball-stopping machine as catcher and first baseman. I’ve heard a coach say that he is the best catcher among the city teams. He’s also a great first base player.

1-DSC_2863He’s also a consistent, strong hitter. More than that, I like to watch Timothy play baseball because he seems to have a good time doing it. He smiles, shakes off rough innings, and keeps a positive attitude. I love that quality in Timothy.

Richard is an assistant coach on Timothy’s team and Mark plays baseball at a different park on the same evenings. I’ve only been able to see Timothy play twice this season, but I’ve been to all of Mark’s games. We blinked and now baseball season is almost over. Wow, it’s been a quick one.

Time is something we can’t slow down, and it’s in the spring that I feel this the most. It’s Timothy’s last spring playing baseball. It’s Paige’s last month of high school. These moments are sifting through my fingers and I try to chase them and hold them down by describing them with words before they wander away on the wind.

 

Game Night

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We were going for the awkward look, in case you were worried. Sparky is pouting in the corner because he isn’t allowed on the furniture downstairs.

Family home evening last night was a game night. Mark was in charge. He came out carrying a tower of games from which we could choose. Monopoly was among the choices, bless his heart. We played Quirkle with too many people, so it was a long wait between turns. To entertain the restless people, I read stories aloud from my memoir-in-progress, one story each about the children and one about the dog. We laughed and reminisced and then Timothy served the cheesecake.

Coming Home

I love coming home. Most of the time. There was one day this week that I sat out in the garage for a while before coming in because I didn’t want to face a couple of grumpy kids.

I like to come home to someone playing the piano. Last night as I drove home, I saw Timothy framed in our front room window, just home from a Boy Scout merit badge class, still in his baseball uniform, practicing the piano. This scene in the window, framing his act of dedication, was beautiful to me.

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Thank you for reading. I wish we could go out to lunch together instead, but at least we have this connection. Have a happy weekend!

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Anniversary roses from Richard

 

48 pounds of Chocolate

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How could I NOT take a picture?  It’s not for me. I picked it up for Lisa who will be making a lot of chocolate dipped strawberries. The truth is, these bags are totally unappetizing to me. Maybe it’s too much of a good thing!

This is almost all I have to show for my day yesterday. The rain makes me feel so sluggish. Today I’m forcing myself to mop my floors and vacuum my basement. My joints are ready for more movement!

Twenty years

1-1-1995 wedding day

Happy anniversary to us!

Richard has been sending me a letter each day for several weeks, 20 letters in all, to celebrate our anniversary. I don’t know what I will do when the mailbox returns to its usual graveyard of impersonal bills and ads. But I won’t dwell on it, and I have 20 letters to read when I need to see some human handwriting. This gift from Richard is significant because he types everything. If we need to make out a check or fill out a form, he often asks me to do it. He simply doesn’t write anything by hand because it’s uncomfortable and he’s been out of practice for decades.

I’m thankful for our life, busy, sometimes challenging, and as changing as the seasons.

Here is a little excerpt from the memoir I am writing:

(1994… the year we began dating)

I idealized Richard a bit, and wondered if I could ever be as good as he was. This wasn’t a bad thing. I wanted a young man who could inspire me to be better. I had learned to be aware of how a young man chose to spend his free time. Was he chasing entertainment and fun all of the time? Richard was a serious student and used his time wisely. This included time for fun, but it wasn’t the driving force in all he did. I had learned to watch for triggers to a young man’s temper, and to be cautious of a young man who always found ways to be offended. I felt safe and never worried that Richard would yell or get angry when something didn’t go his way. I had learned to appreciate a young man who planned dates carefully, but with whom I could also go on a walk and feel like it had been a nice evening. Richard was great at making our time together special. I had learned to look for someone who didn’t resent me for my abilities in school but supported me in my interests in school and the violin. Richard was there for every violin performance in the two years before we were married. He found ways to encourage me as I worked hard in school.

 

…We were busy with school and work, but he would leave things for me to find. One night as I studied on my couch, I heard a soft step moving up the stairs outside my door. Somehow I knew it was him. He didn’t knock, but left a box of fudge striped cookies in a bag on the door for me to discover with a note,

 

Angie,

Here’s a little something to help you on your physics test. Eat three of these before you take it and you’re guaranteed to do well. Actually, they’ll probably make you sick and then you won’t be able to take it at all (which could also be good).

                                                            Love,

                                                            Richard

 

One night I walked out to my car and found a bag of carrot sticks on the windshield with the label,

 

Angie,

All I’ve ever given you is junk food. How about something healthy for a change? Actually, I just want you to know that I am thinking of you, and I hope things are going alright. Hang in there!

Love,

Richard

With kindness such as this, is it any wonder that I wanted to marry him? I’m so glad that I did.

Why we need the Book of Mormon

Daniel taught our family home evening lesson last night to fulfill a missionary challenge for seminary. He taught us why we need the Book of Mormon. He had us look up scriptures from the various prophets of the Book of Mormon and we made a list of what we learned. Here is our list.

The Book of Mormon was written:

  • To persuade people to believe in Christ
  • To express the things of a prophet’s soul for his children
  • For a wise purpose
  • And it was kept and preserved over time
  • For our day
  • For a future people
  • To call us to come unto Christ
  • For the descendants of the Lamanites, the Jews, and the Gentiles
  • To join with the Bible and the records of the 10 tribes to convince the world of truth
  • And by it and other records will the world be judged
  • To help us grow closer to God as we obey its precepts…

Daniel shared this quote by Ezra Taft Benson,

…The only problem the objector has to resolve for himself is whether the Book of Mormon is true. For if the Book of Mormon is true, then Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith was his prophet, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, and it is being led today by a prophet receiving revelation.

And Moroni’s  promise (Moroni 10:4-5) to all who study and ask in faith if the book is true,

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know thetruth of all things.

Then we ate doughnuts. Awesome, quick, drama-free family home evening. Hooray.