At the risk of sounding serious and insightful (obviously not my forte!), I am creating an inspirational post. Since earlier this year, we have been getting The Mormon Times along with our Church News. This poem, by Lowell L. Bennion, was printed there along with some interesting comments about his life. He was an Institute teacher and wrote many of the old manuals that we used in Sunday School, etc. I really, really like this poem except for the part about dogs. Everyone knows I'm a cat person. Anyway, I commend this to all. It's free verse, by the way, so don't wait for the rhyme or meter.

"Learn to like what doesn't cost much.
Learn to like reading, conversation, music.
Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.
Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, rowing, climbing hills.
Learn to like people, even though some of them may be...different from you.
Learn to like work and enjoy the satisfaction of doing your job as well as it can be done.
Learn to like the songs of birds, the companionship of dogs.
Learn to like gardening, puttering around the house and fixing things.
Learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of rain on the roof and windows, and the gentle fall on snow on a winter's day.
Learn to keep your wants simple and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others."

Okay, I can't say I really like hiking and rowing, so I guess I have something to work on. And I do like climbing hills--it's looking down from big, ginormous steep mountains I can't stand.

Jet-Puffed

A couple of weeks ago when we went to Minneapolis to help Emily, she sent us to pick up some things at the grocery store. This wasn't on her list, but I HAD to buy it, even though I don't like marshmallows. It was just so amazing!


Giant (baseball) sized marshmallows in pink and white

Next to a regular (not mini) marshmallow

In all their pink and white glory

The real question is what do you do with a marshmallow that size? Monstrous S'mores? You'll notice that the package shows one being roasted over the fire. All I can say it that it would take an industrial sized stick!

Beautiful Baby

This weekend, we made a quick trip to visit our new granddaughter. She was born a week ago and is a beautiful baby. We're thankful that our three little granddaughters are all healthy and strong. (We also helped Emily and Preston move, which is why we all look so lovely!)

Loyal, Strong and True

My family bleeds "dsorb". In case you are among the uninformed, dsorb stand for "Darkest Shade of Royal Blue." BYU's colors are dsorb and white. My dad was a huge BYU sports fan and he successfully transmitted his love of BYU sports to his offspring. At our family reunion this summer, the last song of our family home evening/singalong, the song before family prayer, was not "Families Can Be Together Forever" or "Love at Home." No, our closing song was "Rise and Shout, the Cougars are Out," (including the RA, RA's) and virtually everyone, including the smallest kids, knew the words. I'm pretty sure that when BYU plays Oklahoma on Saturday, members of my family from New York and Georgia to California and Arizona and everywhere in between will be watching.

Since we will be watching the game at our house with Ben and Shannon and their friends Aaron and DeAndra, who will be visiting from Davenport, IA, I wanted to do something loyally appropriate. About the same time Sarah came home, BYU, for reasons known only to them, sent her a block Y cookie cutter. Since she didn't think she'd ever use it, I convinced her to leave it with me. So I decided that this would be a great time for some block Y cookies. Let me tell you, it's darn hard to color frosting to be "dsorb". It took lots of royal blue, some black, some violet and a little bit of sky blue and this is the closest I could get. I think they're pretty cute. I'm also pretty sure that they will dye everyone's teeth and tongue blue. But, hey--loyal, strong and true....

Sad

I've always kind of regretted the start of the school year. While it was always nice to get back onto a regular schedule, I missed the kids when they were gone. I was pretty sure I'd never see Joseph again the first morning I sent him off on the school bus. I remember following the bus to school on the first day to make sure Janet was okay. While the causes of worrying have changed, it still makes me sad to see my kids go off away from home. This month, I feel especially bereft. Emily and Preston moved to St. Paul on August 15th. Yesterday, Sarah, Janet and Casie took off for Provo. Joanna will be moving to the Twin Cities in the next couple of weeks. And Ben and Shannon close on their house in Stevens Point tomorrow, so they'll be half an hour away, instead of 5 minutes.

I know that there is a lot to be thankful for. Our kids are doing well and it's wonderful to see them become responsible, independent and successful adults. Ben and Shannon and Macey will only be 30 miles away. And the three hour drive to Minneapolis to see Joanna, and Preston and Emily is not bad at all. But I'll really miss having them around on a daily basis.

Happy...

Sarah's home!

Macey gave her a special welcome.

What to do on a hot August day after running a 10K?

Ice cream, of course!