Thanksgiving Again

It's been just over a year since I began this blog. It has turned into a rewarding outlet for my thoughts and experiences, a new way to share myself with family and friends.

So this Thanksgiving I want to express thanks for modern technology that opens the door to such a variety of communication lines: email and Facebook and blogs and web cams and instant messaging and cell phones with voice and texting. I will always love phone calls and letters as well. I am grateful that we can stay in touch no matter how far apart we are and how seldom we see each other.

Of course nothing replaces actually being together. And so this Thanksgiving I am also thankful for the opportunities I've had this year to be with each of you in your own homes and at important events in your lives. I look forward to any chance we can share time and experiences.

Thanks to all of you for being part of my life.

I have been blessed beyond measure. I am forever grateful to my Father in Heaven for my life and my family and my understanding of his plan. Every day is one of thanksgiving for me.

Life in Logan

I've been spending the last few days with three of my adorable grandkids: Rachel, Elena and Creed. Ben and Heidi took Cadence with them to visit Melody and Brock in Tennessee and I've been here to hold down the fort. We spent the first two days at their home in Logan and then made a run to Cokeville to see Mariah's high school's production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and spend some time hanging out with Jason's and Sarah's families. Today we braved the winter storm to drive back through the canyon to Logan.

Rachel and Elena are both in school all day long, so Creed and I got to read books and color and watch shows and other such fun activities. At our house, he built things out of legos. Creed has lots of energy and, most of the time, a very cheery disposition.

The girls are remarkably self-sufficient, making their own lunches and doing their homework and chores unasked. They both like to read and play with friends. While we were in Cokeville, they made a chain for the days until Christmas. On the drive both ways we listened to "Wicked"; Elena knows almost all the lyrics and especially likes "Popular" and "Defying Gravity".

The only downside to the whole deal has been an ongoing bout with some kind of stomach flu, beginning that first night with Creed, then hitting Elena and I, and now Rachel....no fun for anyone! Luckily it is a brief (though wicked) flu and by tomorrow, I hope, we should all be well before Ben and Heidi get home again.

Taking the opportunity to spend time with the grandchildren this year has been a great way to get to know them really well AND give their parents a chance to get away to their activity of choice without worrying about the little ones left behind. This Thanksgiving I am thankful for my children and their children....what a blessing family is in my life.

Good things come to those who wait!

"Regardless of how much patience we have, we would prefer never to use any of it." (James T. O'Brien) That is me to a "T".

For many months now I have been making meals on the plywood counter tops of my partly remodeled kitchen. While I have been really grateful for the extra shelves Seth built and the greater space on the new counters, the process of clean up has resulted in a variety of painful slivers and a concern for the actual "cleanliness" of the rough surface. It is difficult to get spills out of plywood. And so I admit that I've grumbled a bit.

But this week I have new counter tops. What a change! I can't help but stop and just look every time I come into the kitchen. I find myself running my hand over the counter surfaces, admiring the newness and smoothness of them. It even inspired me to paint the kitchen walls. Seth also installed a new light above the island. It is like a whole new place.

As you can see from the photos below, we still have work to do: the cabinets need a veneer and doors; the table needs to be resurfaced, etc. But for those of you who know the before, you can't help but recognize the remarkable changes already made.

Yes, "patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet." (Jean Jacques Rousseau)
My gratitude abounds....and it's been nearly a week since I got a sliver wiping a kitchen counter.

I Love to Read

There is really nothing like reading.

I like to read a variety of things--mysteries, dramas, comedies, plays and biographies, fiction or non-fiction, silly or serious, fact or fantasy, poetry and prose, picture books and even encyclopedias. I read food labels and cereal boxes and instruction manuals and prescription information pamphlets. I read magazines and newspapers and letters, blogs and emails and web pages. I read scriptures and self-help books and classroom tutorials and cookbooks.

I am grateful for the ability to read. I thank those who took the time and put forth the effort to teach me this valuable skill. I can't imagine my life without it.

I am grateful for those who write. I thank those who take the time and put forth the effort to put into words their stories, both real and imagined. I can't imagine my life without them.

While television and movies are wonderful and entertaining, I still find that it is in the act of reading a good book that I find my greatest pleasure and most valuable learning.

Curiosity and Hope

"Greet the world every morning with curiosity and hope." (Fife Robertson)

I love that thought. I think it's great advice.

If we could really do that, our lives would be full of learning and interest and anticipation. We would be positive, cheerful and happy. Of course, others around us would be touched as well. We could change the world one day at a time.

Yes. I love that thought. I think it's great advice.