My Jord is 34!

Seriously, how did that happen?  It's hard to believe that my kids are in their 30s and that I'm, well, not in my 30s.  The passage of time and aging are such interesting experiences.  My first born Jordan Patricia is 34!  Wow!

This time last year she was merrily going along and was 7 1/2 month pregnant.  Thomas Jacob was born in November and life was good.  Little did she know that in January her sweet husband would find out that he had a very serious type of brain cancer.  That news turned their world upside down.  With a two month old son, and three little girls, the news took this brave girl of mine to her knees.  How was she going to deal with this new reality?  How was she going to take care of her husband, her kids and try and cope with an uncertain future? How? 
I'll tell you how.  I've witnessed greatness this last 8 months.  I've watched her and Jake get up in the morning and get going.  Sure there have been days when that was impossible and just lying in bed and wishing it all away was the best they could muster.  But, the majority of the time, they've moved forward into the darkness of the unknown.  I don't think anyone truly understands just what this involves unless they have actually done it themselves.  This is HARD, HARD work.  How to make ones mind stop going over the worse case scenarios and leave some room for HOPE.  Replacing fear with hope is no easy task.  Getting to the point of submitting our will to Gods is probably the hardest work we will ever do in mortality.  Coming to the realization that we are NOT in charge (even if we have some control over a few things) and that we are in the hands of someone more wise, more loving and more all knowing requires a lot of faith.  And Faith is what I have seen in my girl.  Determination.  Courage.  Submission when is was required.  Love.  Patience.  Moving forward with faith.
My mind goes to the list of the Christlike attributes found in Preach My Gospel, a missionary tool used by our church.  The attributes are attributed to one who is a disciple of Christ:

Faith in Jesus Christ

Hope

Charity and Love

Virtue

Knowledge

Patience

Humility

Diligence

Obedience

These are the attributes that Jordan and Jake are developing at their tender young ages of 34 and 35.  They are getting a crash course in becoming more like Christ through this terribly hard experience.  Most people get to practice acquiring these attributes through a life-time of living.  Jord and Jake are passing through this learning experience now in a condensed way.  They have their ups and downs, but mostly they are moving forward with faith, putting their lives in the hands of He who knows all and trusting that all these experiences will be for their good.  This girl of mine. She amazes me.  I thank God every day that she is my little girl.

The power of music in the lives of kids

Did you know that music has the power to increase your child’s intelligence? Scientific studies at some of the most respected universities in the world indicate that children introduced to classical music at a young age read earlier and perform better on achievement tests. Discover how introducing your children to good music can: accelerate language development, improve math and science skills, increase memory and concentration, improve reading comprehension and retention, enhance physical coordination and benefit children with learning disabilities and more. This book is a powerful guideline for any parent who wants to help their child develop into a bright, well-rounded and confident adult. Check out Good Music Brighter Children.   Author Sharlene Habermeyer gives you a simple, step-by-step program that any parent can follow.  Different aspects of a piece of music activate parts of the brain not activated before.

This article was recently published in the Deseret News.  It is so interesting to me.  Rick and I are both grateful that our parents encouraged us to take piano lessons.  He became much more proficient in playing the piano than I did and he also learned to play the clarinet.  It is probably due to this early training in music that he became great at memorizing.  It was interesting to learn that the process of learning to play the piano has intellectual benefits.  Also, listening to music, especially classical music is "somewhat magical in its ability to teach and reach, enhancing learning and building enduring skills."  The earlier the lessons, the stronger the connections.

Sing together

Teach children simple songs

Beat out rhythm

Play classical music in the background at home

Spent 20-30 minutes a day reading together

Put lessons or memorization of lists or concepts into songs

Sing songs that combine words with actions

 
Besides increasing learning abilities in children and adults, music has the ability to bond us together as communities.  Supporting the arts in our local communities is something I'm passionate about.  I do believe that music is an intrinsic part of a well-rounded, high quality life.
I'm so happy to see our children teaching their children music appreciation.  Our daughter Jordan is a Let's Play Music teacher in her area and she is teaching music skills and appreciation to her own children and many others she invites into her home each week.  Our daughter Claire and DIL Courtney are great at reading to their children, singing with them and and teaching them little songs and rhymes.  They all have musical toys to make music and rhythms and sounds.  Our SIL R is a great classical music lover as well.  I'm so glad that music is a big part of the lives of our grandchildren because I think it will benefit them greatly in their lives.




And don't be alarmed if a kid shows a poor attitude along the way!  It's all good!  She is as smart as a whip, so music appreciation must have helped her somehow!

Andy turns 26 (and goes off our insurance)

What to say about our big, strapping, happy-go-lucky, more-often-bearded-than-not, 26 year old son?  He is awesome!  Happy birthday to my Andy boy!  Here are some things I love about Andy:

He has the biggest heart.  He gives of himself to help others whenever he can.  

He is silly and loves to laugh.  He has a great sense of humor.

The games of "Things" is his favorite game, and no we don't play by the rules.

He is dependable.  Rock solid.  

He has a lot of balls in the air right now.  Work.  School. Church calling.  Husband.  MCAT prep.  Somehow he manages to keep track of it all.

He is working in the ER of a local hospital as a physician's scribe and is learning a lot.
He worked for two years at a residential treatment center for adolescent boys
 and was REALLY good at it.  

He plans to go to medical school after graduating from BYU this year.

He loves high adventure activities and has participated in plenty.  

He loves his nieces and nephews and they all love him.

He is the Elders Quorum president in his ward and works hard to visit around and encourage others.

He hates emergency preparedness when it is forced upon him by overzealous people.

He and Chelsea make a good team. 

 They are so sweet to one another and show great love and respect to each other.

He is a good example to many people.

  He can relate to and communicate with people from all walks of life.

He is a "yellow" personality through and through.  He LOVES to have fun.

He is a wonderful son and has shown great love to me and his father, and we're so proud of the way he lives his life.

We love our son Andy!

Happy 26 birthday dear son!

Chelsea is 22!

Happy birthday to our sweet daughter-in-law Chelsea.  She is 22 years old today and plans are underway to help her celebrate in a fun and memorable way.  Here are some things I love about Chelsea:

I always love talking to her.  She is a great conversationalist.

It's fun to travel with her.  She rolls with things easily.

She is organized and hardworking.  Her GPA prove this.
She will graduate next year from BYU.

She is a fantastic researcher and loves academic study and inquiry.  Her goal is to achieve her PhD.

She has a great style and always looks lovely.  She even makes casual clothes look good.

She loves cats!

She is a good money manager and works well with what she has. 

 She has learned the valuable lessons of living within ones means.

She is very athletic and brave.  She is up for new things and is good at them. She loves to go along with Andy and do high adventure activities.

She climbed Mt. Timp last year!

She can drive a boat with ease.

She is beautiful and she has an easy smile and laugh that make her even more beautiful.

She loves all her nieces and nephews and they LOVE her.

She has two darling sisters who adore her.

She is loved my her mom and dad and grandparents and we enjoy spending time with them too.

She is health conscious and chooses her diet thoughtfully/carefully.

She is the Young Women's president in her ward (although she is sometimes mistaken as one of the girls) and is a great example to her young women.  She freely gives of her time, energy and talents and looks out for each one of them.

She is a great wife to our son.  They make a great team and figure out their goals together.  

She loves the gospel of Jesus Christ and converted in her teens.
She values her membership in the Church.

She is always very kind  to me and I consider her a great friend.
 She is a valuable member of our family.

I love Chelsea!
Happy 22nd birthday sweet girl!

Good times with Dave and Courtney

We've had a really fun time with Dave, Courtney, Charlie and Margaret here for the past week.  It started out with the BYU Texas game and everyone was in high spirits after that big win.  Mom was here for a couple of nights and it was a great opportunity for Dave and Courtney to spend some time with her.  She got to meet Margaret and see how much Charlie has grown up.  She headed to Shep's blessing Sunday morning, but we were happy for the time we got to spend with her.
Sunday we attended church and then had all of Rick's family over for a dinner and birthday celebration for Pat and Margie's September birthdays.  We sat 22 adults and various children and had a wonderful meal and an evening catching up.  It was great fun for everyone to see Dave and Courtney and their children. Dave's closest cousin on Rick's side of the family is named Miles.  He and Dave were childhood buddies. He came with his wife Catie and their son Linkin. They are expecting their second son in about a month.
Monday we had planned to go up the canyon for a picnic and a river walk, but it was raining, so we went to IN N OUT instead.  No complaints there.
Syd and Adam come over for dinner Tuesday night and it was fun for these two little families to compare notes and babies.  Baby Shep and Maggie hit it right off and after some time to warm up, so did Rafe and Charlie.  Wednesday night, Andy and Chelsea came over for dinner and we had a long conversation afterwards.  It was wonderful to see these two brothers and their wives have a good time together.  During the days they were here, I had to go to work until early afternoon.  Courtney kept busy visiting friends and family and Dave worked the whole week remotely, so that was a nice perk.
We bought fabric for a baby quilt I am going to sew for Margaret and we found a darling pattern for it.  Courtney picked some very adorable fabric and I'm excited to get started.
Thursday night was the BYU first home game against Houston, so I tended the children while Dave and Courtney went to the game.  I was in charge of our department opening social that afternoon and we served over 100 people dinner at that event.  I went right from that to tending the grands.  It was a busy, fun day.
On Friday, Dave's family headed to AZ to spend some time with family down there, but they will be back on Wednesday for a few more days of being together.
It is so gratifying to me to see my kids in action.  Watching my son change poopy diapers, read stories, play with and help take care of his children is a real joy.  He and Courtney are conscientious parents who are raising our darling grandchildren so well.  They have taught Charlie all sorts of amazing things and I'm pretty sure he is a child genius.  They are a darling family and it was been wonderful to see them in action up close and personal.  We love them so.

Happy Grandparents Day!

Did you know that last Sunday was grandparents day? Me neither.  It isn't a holiday that is widely celebrated like Mother's Day or Father's Day. But maybe it should be.
About 60 percent of all adults 50 and older are grandparents, including 80 percent of widowed persons and 13 percent of never-marrieds in that age bracket. The ranks of grandparents swelled by 50 percent in just 25 years. According to new research and this article, grand parenting isn't what it use to be.  The article points out that baby-boomers (my generation) have changed everything their whole lives, so why not change grand parenting? 

Key findings include:

• The vast majority of grandparents in the quantitative study said they play a very (59%) or somewhat (30%) important role in the lives of their grandchildren.
• About seven in ten (69%) grandparents live within 50 miles of their closest grandchildren. Another 10% indicated that they have to travel over 200 miles to see their closest grandchildren. A little over four in ten (43%) grandparents have to travel over 200 miles to see their grandchildren who live furthest away from them.
• Grandparents who said they did not see their grandchildren enough most often cited distance (67%) as a reason why; followed by the grandchildren’s busy schedules (64%).
• The most frequently mentioned methods of communicating with grandchildren were either face-to-face or telephone. In the telephone survey, nearly six in ten grandparents said they speak with their grandchildren at least once a week (58%).
• Grandparents see their role as shapers of another generation. Specifically, grandparents mentioned the importance of passing on values and helping their grandchildren develop morally and spiritually.
• The majority of grandparents in the telephone survey indicated that they have discussed morals and values (78%) and religion or spirituality (66%) with at least one of their grandchildren. As a corollary, nearly half (47%) indicated that they have attended religious services with their grandchildren in the past six months.

Grandparents represent one of America's largest and most underutilized natural resources, they are healthier today than ever before, more vital and they have more financial resources than grandparents did in previous generations.  Many grandparents like to give their grandchildren cultural experiences and take them on trips. Grandparents desire to share family history, teach grandchildren things they felt were important and to love unconditionally. At least half of grandparents discuss very serious topics with grandkids, including sex, drugs, underage drinking, morality and dating. By the numbers, 78 percent talk to them about morals and values, 73 percent discuss personal safety, 72 chime in on school and career plans and 66 percent on religion/spirituality.

I've had the good fortune to spend some quality and quantity time with each of my eight darling grandchildren in the last couple of months. They are such fun and interesting little people and it is a joy to watch them grow and develop.

Grandparents have never been better connected and now they have the opportunity to talk on cell phones, text messages, talk over Face time or Skype and share information on social media outlets.  I love to stay connected with my little grand kids through most of these outlets.

Grandparents are important people.  I think it is important to find ways to keep the channels of communication open and for grandparents to take opportunities to spend time with their grandchildren in meaningful, memorable and fun ways.  I love being a grandparent and look forward to future shared experiences with my GRANDS.

Margaret's baby blessing

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe that little children don't need to be baptized until the age of accountability, which we believe is eight years old.  Children that age know the difference between right and wrong and can make the decision of whether they want to be baptized into the Church.  When babies are small, they are given a name and a blessing through the power of the priesthood as infants.  This is what happened last Sunday when our newest little darling granddaughter Margaret was given a name and a blessing my her father, grandfathers and uncles.  It was a sweet occasion and we were happy to be there to participate.  Courtney had made baby Maggie the most beautiful blessing dress and she looked angelic in it.  She made her a bracelet and headband and she was all decked out for the occasion.  Big brother Charlie was looking so big next to his little sister and I know he was proud to be the 'big brother'.  We love our sweet son and his wonderful family!

30 incorrectly used words that can make you look less smart than you might actually be

I'm married to a walking dictionary.  As a former English major in college, he knows his stuff.  He is an exceptional writer, spelling whiz,  grammar snob and composition genius.  When I came across this article, I thought of him. He would score a 100%.  Do you know the difference between these words and how to use them correctly?  Test yourself and check your answers HERE.http://time.com/96982/incorrectly-used-words/

No wonder people learning English say that it is a very difficult language to learn.

 

Adverse and averse

Affect and effect

Compliment and complement

Criteria and criterion

Discreet and discrete

Elicit and illicit

Farther and further

Imply and infer

Insure and ensure

Number and amount

Precede and proceed

Principal and principle

It’s and its

They’re and their

Who’s and whose

You’re and your

My favorite summer salad

My sister-in-law Deborah makes this delicious salad.  It has a unique flavor and I really like it.

Chicken-Bacon-Pasta Salad

this is not a picture of the actual salad, but it look similar to this

1 box Bartoli bow tie pasta, cooked and drained

3 cups purple grapes - cut in half

1 large can chicken, chopped

1 pound PEPPERED bacon (must be peppered), chopped

1 bunch green onions, cut up

1 cup chopped celery (optional)

1 cup chopped cashews (optional)

Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup vinaigrette (Vidalia Onion if available)

pepper - to taste

garlic salt - to taste

1 T. salad supreme

1 t. Montreal seasoning (to taste)

Enjoy!