Time passing

I wonder how I ever thought that days were long and that time wouldn't pass. Now that I am "middle aged" I find that time is a precious moment and if we don't watch carefully, it slips through our fingers so quickly.
This last week I had the opportunity to take care of my precious 6 grand kids; Trevor, Riley, Spencer, Jacob, Karly and Kennedy. Now it wasn't planned that way, that is what luck does for you. Sad news arrived on Monday that Ken's Grandpa Thompson had passed away unexpectedly. I had promised Rob and Kelly that I would watch their children while they attended a seminar on leadership in St. Louis. Well, that is double the children, double the fun. I am so thrilled that the kids got to spend three days together so that they became friends more than cousins.
It was amazing how well they got along. It was hard for this old grandma to keep up, and to bend and lift, but with a full heart, you can do anything. We did have a couple of challenges however and had to work as a team. When the Arizona kids came, we made a deal for the 7 of us to work as a team while Ken and Marci were over to Brigham City helping with the arrangements. Little did I know that those words would be the linking of a real team effort. On Thursday, Karly, Spencer, Jacob and Trevor dressed in their snow clothes and off they went for sleigh rides up by the cemetery area. Kennedy and Riley and I were making doughnuts while the older kids played. I was rolling and cutting out the last of the batch when I heard Trevor and Karly calling that she needed my help. The door opened and Trevor was helping her into the house with a face full of dirt, blood and no skin on her face. Trevor was so frightened but helped her all the way down. Karly said she was going down the hill and hit the road with her face when she ran out of snow.
I gave her a wash rag to begin lifting out the dirt while I cleaned up the rest of the dough and put it away. The little girls had been playing on the cabinet and were worried about Karly so I was careful not to act panicked.
Karly was so brave. Very little crying, and Trevor just stood by her asking"will my sister die"?
We cleaned up Karly as best I could, but knew she needed to have some deep cleaning of the area in and around her nose. I called Raelyn as she was having lunch in Logan with some friends. She came over to clean the wound. Karly was wonderful to keep the ice bag on her face to take the swelling down. Jacob and Spencer had gathered up the equipment and returned the two sleighs to the neighbors and came running in to make sure all was well. They cared for the little girls while Trevor and I worked on Karly. It was a total team effort
About 4 Karly asked if she could go to the Drs as it really hurt. I took her to Dr Stevens in Providence and LeAnn next door watched the 3 older kids and I took the two younger with me. Again, the kids were awesome and the Dr was fantastic. He sent us for Xrays in the morning and gave her a perscription for infection and re cleaned the cuts. The swelling had gone down quite a bit so he was able to do more cleaning than Raelyn and I.
I was so glad that she was protected and blessed and after the Xrays there was nothing broken. It is one week later, and you wonder if she was hurt. We talked about how her father was in the sleigh riding accident when he was nine, and how badly he hurt his face and how she was just like her dad in being brave and blessed.

Week of reflection

With the passing of our beloved prophet Gordon B Hinckley, it has been a time of reflection. What would be said about me if I left this world tomorrow. What would I be remembered for? What talents, characteristics, values, educational and spiritual beliefs would my children have for good or bad in their lives because of my actions and beliefs. President Hinckleys daughter said that she wondered how she would ever teach her children to believe in her beliefs, and how to instill in them the values she had. She said she went to a talk given one evening by her father and as he spoke she realized that it was by what she did, how she acted, and the example that she demonistrated that she would teach her children. It isn't the preaching, the lessons we pay for the children to take, or the house we live in, or the money we make, it is our actions that speak louder than our words.

That very idea was reinforced to me this weekend and I was reminded that I didn't do the best in my example some of the times. I relected on Saturday evening as I watch the funeral and proceedings again, that life is about example. What an awesome example our prophet has been to the world, what standards he has set for each of us as we live each day. I realized how much I valued his love of the youth and how much better my children are for the lessons he taught by his life. I thought about the times as a family we would laugh as he brought humor into the gospel and how important that was to us. I remember his "B's. How simple yet how powerful. I thought about the tree planting 30 years before, and how such a small example of planting a seed turned into a reminder of strength and beauty for each of us to see when we watch the conferene talks from the beautiful pulpit. I guess I thought about the fact that small things can bring beautiful rewards with time even when we don't know we are planting seeds.

I was made aware this weekend of my short comings, my faults, my lack of parenting as I thought about what difference I have made in the world and in my family. I came to this conclusion (as of tonight anyway), that if we do the best we can each day, that is what our Father in Heaven wants. He didn't expect us to be perfect each day, he expected us to make some errors in judgement, to loose our tempers sometimes, or to say and do emotional things, but he wants us to learn from our mistakes, to grow in wisdom, to look forward not back, and to find joy in life each day. Some days I think I did great, other days not so great. Do I know more now, yes, but at the time I was making some choices, and raising the family, I did the best I could with the knowledge and skills I had. I can not go back and do overs, but I can be a better grandma and maybe even a better mother if I use what knowledge I have gained from the mistakes of the past. I know that my commitment has been strengthened this weekend by listening to the life of our prophet and his example of loving and caring. I hope to do better in my daily living and to make the gospel a stronger part of my life.

WOW How does a person work?

It has been a month now since I retired. I have been so busy having fun I am not sure how I ever found time to work. I have enjoyed so much the opportunity to "Hang Out" at the kids homes and not be fearful about taking time off.
I returned home from the Rigby's on Saturday evening January 26th. Jake and Amanda had come up from Price and hit Beaver mountain for the day.
Chelsea had gone to Denver for the weekend with the FFA group from school and was returning that evening around 7 PM. Craig and Kathy Rigby said they would pick her up if she needed a ride so that I could join Amanda and Jake for dinner. They wanted to go to dinner at their favorite Mexican place calledCosta Vita. I fixed the kids a little dinner and met them at the restruant. Great food. They invited me to go back with them to Price and Amanda would bring me home the next week. It only took a minute to decide. Didn't unpack just reloaded and off I went for the week. I love this life of not having to worry about time off.
The have so much more snow in Price than we do. When I left on Friday evening, the fire hydrant in their yard was covered. We have snow, but the have SNOW. It was great to visit. Jake had a birthday on Tuesday and turned 26 again for the 3rd time and Amanda had his family and some friends over. Ate pizza and watched a movie. I think Jake was surprised. We did our best, but he came home for lunch and saw that I had cleaned up his work area.
They have done so much work on the house. Should have taken some pics of the progress. It was awesome. The colors they have chosen are awesome. Jakes work is fantasitc on the crown molding, sheetrock and floor. Good job kids.
Amanda brought me home on Friday after we found Chaco. Yes, mom lost the dog. Talk about scared to death. The neighbors were on 4-wheelers and drove around looking for her too. I called Jake at work and he came home to search, but no dog. She disappeared for about 3 hours, but must have gotten tired, cold, hungry, who knows, but she came home. Man, I think I would rather loose one of their kids. At least the kids will be able to talk and tell me where they got lost at so I will know where to search next time I lost them. Glad she was home. Dumb thing was I had her shocker neck band on her, but she bailed out the door before I turned it on and she was off. It will be interesting if I get to "care" for Chaco ever again. I am sure they will think twice before trusting the grandma to tend. It was a great day for a walk however.
We are so blessed to have this area to live in. The sky cleared and the sun came out with all the new snow over the red mountains and dessert area, it was fantastic.
Amanda went shopping on Saturday and found a couple of things to brighten her home with; a new bedspread, and a wall hanging. Don't know what Jake throught yet, but hope he liked them both. She made it home Saturday evening and was in good health. She almost had a wreck with hitting a deer. I was worried about the snow, but that wasn't as much of a problem as missing trucks and deer. I was certainly glad she made it home unharmed.

WOW How does a person work?