How did we do it?

There's a cute little family in our ward that we've come to love. They lived in the same ward with Quinn and Tiffany when they lived in Champaign, and now they are in our ward. They are a very busy family -- precocious children involved in lots of activities, and somehow being with them gives us the feeling that we could be with our own grandkids.

We hadn't gotten together for a while, so Friday night we invited them over for dinner and games. It's amazing! Randy and I had six children, and we regularly would get together with another family with six children for dinner and games, singing, and sometimes "whole family sleep-overs". It seemed pretty normal and I don't remember ever thinking that it felt overwhelming (unless it was four families of six kids each and we were rehearsing for our Nauvoo Christmas programs). But as we waved goodbye and turned out the porch light, Randy and I looked at each other and said, "How did we ever do it?"

Eagles

Our ward had an Eagle Court of Honor Sunday night for five outstanding young men. Our ward has a long tradition of calling only the finest men to work with the scouting program and the results of their efforts are obvious. When they invited the Eagles in attendance to come to the Eagle's Nest it was pretty amazing. In that group are two members of the stake presidency, the stake YM president and one of his counselors, the entire bishopric, four previous bishops, fathers, YM leaders, etc. etc. Many of these men are the very same men who helped our four sons become Eagle Scouts. On the other side of the room was a similar arrangement of chairs filled with young men who are on the Eagle Trail. Looking at that Eagle's Nest, what young man would not want to become an Eagle Scout?!

Fly Like The Wind!

Neither Randy or I grew up skiing, and the best we could do for our children was a day of skiing every couple of years. Some of them have learned to enjoy skiing, but probably none of them would label themselves as a "pro." But skiing is Adam's "thing." He LOVES to ski, and he is very good. This weekend he will be racing the Slalom, the Giant Slalom, and the Super G in the Intermountain Cup Championships in MaCall, Idaho. He's one of only thirty 13 and 14 year olds to qualify from the entire Intermountain Area. Take a look at Adam on the slopes!

How to Host a Feast

Through three different mission presidents, Randy served as a counselor in the mission presidency. How we loved those mission presidents and their wives. The Christmas card we sent to one of them was returned with no forwarding address. Had we lost touch permanently?! Through the amazing internet we found a phone number and re-established contact. When Geri emailed me she asked if Randy remembered taking the two of them home for lunch one Saturday. Oh how I wish we could forget! Here's the story:

I had been out of town for a week -- arrived home late Friday night. The next morning, Old Mother Judy went to the cupboard to fetch poor Randy a bone. But when she got there, the cupboard was bare, and so poor old Randy got none. He had a full day of meetings, and high on my list of "to dos" was to get to the grocery store. There was a little lunch break during the meetings, and conveniently, McDonald's is just next door to the stake center, so most people headed over for a burger. But Randy, the ever gracious host, said to President and Sister Holbrook, "Let's not go over there and compete with all those crowds. Let's just go over to our house (almost as close as McDonald's) and get us bite to eat there. WHAT WAS HE THINKING?

I returned home from the grocery store and as I entered the kitchen, there sat Randy and President and Sister Holbrook. I have no memory of what Randy was eating, but President Holbrook was eating an old dry crust of bread with peanut butter, and Sister Holbrook was eating soda crackers and water! For me it was one of those near death experiences, and I still break out into a sweat whenever I think about it. But here's why I will love the Holbrooks forever. Sister Holbrook said, "We don't need to have a banquet to make a feast. We just have to be together." So come on over and we'll have a feast. I have several boxes of soda crackers and eight super giant bottles of peanut butter!

Think Green

We've had an unusually mild winter this year with occasional days that get up close to 60 degrees. So today I decided to take a little spin around the yard to see what Mother Nature was doing. I found tulips pushing up out of the ground, daffodils getting ready to bloom, and green things poking up everywhere under leaves and mulch from the fall. Oh, it makes my fingers itch for the feel of dirt. I'm excited that Randy will be around this Spring and thinking how nice to have some muscle to help me. For weeks Randy seemed to have all day every day with nothing to do but recuperate. No one bothered him. Now, as he's feeling stronger and ready to help, the phone rings all day and he sits at his computer for hours at a time. I hope I'm not setting myself up for disappointment.

Clever Valentine

Our cute little Natalie made this valentine for Grandpa and me. It's a bean bag. It had a note pinned to it saying, "Whoo Whoo" loves you? Nat and Nicole. Clarissa and Clayton sent us "singing valentines." We were absolute losers. Our grandkids got absolutely ZIP from us this year. Sorry. We'll try to do better next year.

Answers to Prayers

We all remember the times when our children have prayed for small simple things like being able to find a lost quarter or do well on a test. Heavenly Father loves little children and strengthens their faith by answering these small requests. But I'm amazed at how often I petition the Lord with a similar small request and receive an almost immediate answer.

When our little Blake was blessed in December I took some notes of her blessing (as I have done for each baby blessing I have attended). With all the confusion of Christmas and then Randy's surgery, I didn't think about it again until this week. I looked through my purse but the notes weren't there. I had no idea where to look, and was afraid I had cleaned out my purse and thrown them away without realizing what they were. I felt terrible. As I prayed last night I asked the Lord to show me where they were (if they still existed). Just as I was drifting off to sleep I saw a place where I hadn't looked. This morning when I checked, they were there. It was a precious little tender mercy for me. They have been typed up and sent to Blakelyn. How grateful I am for eyes that see where I can not!