Worst of Enemies, Best of Friends

This was a long day with these boys. They fight so much but are fiercely protective of each other. It warmed my heart to see this sign of friendship with each other. Kids are so nice when they're asleep.

What a Woman Wants Expo

I did an expo in April in Orem. Heidi Johnson is the cute blonde who worked with me for the afternoon. It was a fun time. A great chance to talk about Shelf Reliance and learn about food storage from so many experts out there. I hope to become one.

Gluten Free Pancakes

These pictures are of the gluten free pancakes that I gave the recipe for in March. I added frozen blueberries and always add a mashed up banana. They are fabulous. They are fluffy and brown just like regular pancakes.

Bridge Builders

My mom and dad came from extremely difficult, impoverished upbringings. They suffered abuse, cruelty, my dad hunger and cold. These two young kids from backwoods found each other, found the gospel of Jesus Christ and raised a loving, intact family. I have always been sure that before we came to this Earth my parents stepped up and said they would bring us all together, my folks, my brothers and sisters and now more than 20 grandkids.
For Mother's Day, I shared how I felt about my mom. I am thankful for her love of animals, her optimism, her kindness, her intelligence, her love of music, her thoughts on alternative medicine, her green thumb, her cinnamon rolls and regular rolls, her love of my dad and her love of Christ. I expressed my gratitude for her bringing the gospel to all our lives. This morning when I read this poem I thought how aptly this sums up my feelings for my parents.

The Bridge Builder

An old man, going a lone highway,
Came at the evening, cold and gray,
To chasm, vast and deep and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side

And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim near,

"You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide --
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?"

The builder lifted his old gray head:
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
"There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pit-fall be,
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."

Will Allen Dromgoole

I love you guys. Thanks for everything.

Normandy's Prayer

I am so grateful that my family has developed the habit of daily scripture study and family prayer. It never fails that when I'm finding it hard to find strength that one of my kids inspires me. Today in her prayer Normandy said, "We're thankful for parents so that we can learn from their mistakes." Nothing gets past these guys.
Most times I feel like I could be such a better parent but I know this is exactly what I should be doing and I'm grateful for this opportunity to raise these kids.

Hood River

We are home visiting the Hood. This is the view from my parent's back yard. It truly is amazing.
We are home visiting my parents. The kids and I are staying in the house I grew up in. It is so nice to be home. I loved attending church yesterday. It felt like putting on an old sweatshirt. I am so grateful for the folks in Hood River. When my family was struggling and tired, we came to Hood River reluctantly. We were greeting with open arms. We were loved and taken care of. We healed here. I am so amazed that these folks who really knew me (some since birth) still loved me, warts and all.
It is bittersweet because we know we will leave soon. But we will try to soak in all the HR loveliness that we can before heading back to Zion.

Fearless Thou Shalt Be

Fearless, Thou Shalt Be 

 

In the wake of yawning decadence,
In the arms of dreadful pestilence
In the eyes of hopeless impudence,
Fearless Thou shalt be!
When the time is ripe to cast the sword
When the time is prime to spread the word,
When evil’s ugly head is reared,
Fearless Thou shalt be!
When it’s time to do the best things right,
When it’s time to hold your stance and fight
When you don’t look back to dread your plight,
Fearless Thou shalt be!
When evil’s deed is unvanquished
When all good seems to have perished
When good almighty’s left ravished
Fearless Thou shalt be!
For darkness comes before the light
Victory comes as the hero’s right
Tarry not, Stand up and fight!
Fearless Thou shalt be!