Stand with the Catholics

I'm very proud of the Catholic church for making this message and posting it for all to see.  The issues we face this fall are that critical and I hope we can get President Obama and his team out of office.  They and their ideas and moral standards are hurting our country.  It's time for them to go.  They brought CHANGE alright, just not the kind we want.  Vote for values that will stand the test of fire - life, traditional marriage and freedom of religion just to name a few.

I run the old mill (who knew?)

When we were at the beach a couple of weeks ago, we sang a rousing rendition of an old song that my dad use to sing to us call "I run the old mill." We asked Mom to come prepared to share her life history and to tell us more about her courtship and early marriage to dad.  It was a wonderful evening and everyone enjoyed it and learned a lot about them both.  She shared her testimony and love for my dad.  We ended by singing "I run the old mill."
Turns out that the song was pirated by the folks in Clarkston, Utah to suit their purposes.  Our internet whizzes found the lyrics of the song (Claire) and the original recording (Jake) preserved at the Library of Congress call "Wal, I swan." (or sometimes called Ebenezer Frye) recorded on 12/2/1912 in Camden, New Jersey of all places.  Check it out and listen to it HERE.http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/2962
Way to go Claire and Jake.  Your skillz amaze me once again.

The Magnificant MOON!

I've really been quite fascinated the last couple of weeks with our lovely, interesting and beautiful MOON. Three things have happened:
1.  We went to Oceanside exactly at a time when the "super moon" was in full swing.  Besides the fact that it was larger than normal, it also made the ocean currents more active and the tides were higher.  It made for some great adventures in the ocean.  I even went boogie boarding this year and I got tossed around a goodly amount of the time.  The rest of our crew also felt the power of the ocean and the tide more than usual.
2.  The Eclipse!  I thought it was very interesting to watch an event that happens so rarely.  Those "burning rings of fire" were fascinating to watch. We went over to a neighbor's home who had a telescope on the sun with a side projection showing the moon as it passed in front of the sun.  It was heavenly marvel, that's for sure.




3.  The BYU Planetarium.  For our annual college staff retreat, the theme was on STARS.  As part of the retreat we went to the Planetarium for a star show and a great feature presentation showing more about the size of the universe with pictures from the Hubble telescope.  Wow.  That's all I can say.  It was so interesting and I learned a ton.  I love those kind of activities that are fun and informative.  

 

 It reminds me of this verse of they hymn:  How Great Thou Art

 Oh Lord my God
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds
Thy hands have made
I see the stars
I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout
The universe displayed

Then sings my soul
My Savior, God, to Thee
How great thou art
How great thou art
Then sings my soul
My Savior, God, to Thee
How great Thou art
How great Thou art

MBA Dave

 Congratulations to a great son  who worked so hard and received his MBA degree!  We're so proud of you son and congratulate you and Courtney on working together to get it done!  Now, on to real life with a job and a career to support your little family.  Hooray!

Little Charlie's blessing

 ~ Uncle Andy meeting little Charlie for the 1st time.  We were happy to travel down to see the little baby boy Charlie receive his name and a blessing from his father.



~ Grandpa Rick meeting the little man.

~ A happy boy in his blessing outfit made my his mother.

~  Taking a little nap before the blessing started.

 ~ Grandma Mary, Mom and Dad with Charlie, Aunt DeNae and Uncle Paul

 ~ Brothers and Charlie

 ~ All the priesthood men who participated in the baby blessing

~ Aunt Jordan, Uncle Jake and cousins L, E & A.

 ~ Proud grandparents

 ~ The sweet little VCR man who we all love dearly.

The different stages of mothering

I love Mothers' Day!  I love thinking about my own mother and the wonderful job she and dad did raising me and six siblings.  I love thinking of my grandmothers and remembering the special things they did for us their grandchildren.  I love remembering what is was like to be a mother of young children and of teenagers.  I love to be the mother of grown children and interact with them on an adult level.  I love watching our sons and daughters with their young children.  I appreciate my mother-in-law because she raised my husband do be the good man that he is.  I love to watch my sisters as mothers and grandmothers and learn from their examples.  I really do marvel at the institution of mothering and applaud all the good that mothers do in the world.  Sure, there are less than perfect mothers who do less than perfect things, but that is not my focus today.  I want to celebrate and remember THE GOOD that the mothers do who have influenced my life.
Here are a few things I remember:
Grandma Fuhriman - she was a small woman who was strong in many ways, she always colored her hair, she always looked nice and wore jewelery and dressed up when she went out, she was a wonderful cook and make candy, cookies, pies and cake, she bought me Paint My Number when I would visit her in the summer and give me money to go to the store, she took me to the Capitol Theater to the move with lunch at the Bluebird, she gave us lovely Christmas presents and had an extended family Christmas party most years, she worked hard on the dry farm every summer cooking for the family and hired men, she wanted all her grandchildren to get along and have fun together, she served at the Logan temple for many years, she made me a beautiful satin hand-stitched quilt, she knew how to tat, she was widowed at a young age and made the best of her circumstances, she loved her children and grandchildren and we all knew it.
Grandma Mayme - she was a tall woman who worked hard her whole life, it was easy to talk to her and she was always ready with a hug and encouraging words, she was a wonderful cook who make amazing desserts, salads and main dishes from scratch, she taught me how to play Rook and Parcheesi, I loved to sleep over at her house because the sheets always smelled so fresh and the covers weighed a ton in the basement bedroom, she always looked nice, she often used an outhouse and was very frugal but very generous, she had a garden and bottled fruit by the ton, she was a postmaster and it was fun to visit her in the one-room post office with a pot belly stove as the heat source, it was always wonderful to visit her and gather around her kitchen table for a meal, she knew how to crochet and she made 100s of crochet items, she made me a purple and white floral quilt, she loved her family and worked endlessly to take care of their needs, she taught through her example how to be strong and do hard things.
Grandma Mary/Mom - she learned how to work hard as a young girl and she has worked hard her whole life, she is a caregiver and loves taking care of people, she has served others in the church and community and has worked to lift the burden of those in need, she has experienced great joy and happiness and she has known her share of heartbreak and trial - yet she perseveres through it all, she is joyful and fun to be around, she loves to get out and go and see  and experience new things, she is easy to be with and it is always good to talk to her, she is wise and knows what to do, she gives good advice, she gives people the benefit of the doubt, I love that she got to spend last week with us so that her grandchildren and great-grandchildren could get to know her better, she loves her children and their families and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, she is a strong link in the generational chain and I'm so proud of her and so happy to call her mother.
Our children (and Rick) organized a little tribute night at the beach before we all left and they said some sweet things to Grandma Mary and to me.  I haven't had all my four children (and sweet Courtney) around me for Mother's day in a long time.  Their comments meant a lot, I'm not gonna lie.  I'm so proud of our children and their spouses and love them so much!
All these women have excelled at mothering.  All these women are women of faith and courage.  All these women taught us how to live life well and how to be strong, compassionate, kind, and loving and I'm so grateful for their wonderful examples.