How to Dance in the Rain

Received an email I wanted to share:

How to Dance in the Rain

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health.

He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?'

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, 'She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.'

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought,

'That is the kind of love I want in my life.'

True love is neither physical, nor romantic.

True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

With all the jokes and fun that are in e-mails, sometimes there is one that comes along that has an important message. This one I thought I could share with you.

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

'Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

Sunset at North Pole

Don't you just love this picture? It is the sunset at the North Pole. There are so many fantastic things to see in this world. Someday......

It's official - I'm certified!

Well this ends a very long training period. I have been taking classes and just passed my final!!!I have decided I really don't like to study anymore and the more I have to memorize the crazier I get. But I must if I want to continue making money; which I do since I am a long way from retirement. I just completed special courses to add the credentials to my resume. I am now certified in loan modification and short sales. Basically I can now help people stay in their houses if they choose by getting the bank to renegotiate their loans or if they can't do that help them with a short sale so they won't have a foreclosure. Now, realize I have been doing this for quite a while, but it is so much more impressive to say "certified", are you impressed? It is sad this is what the real estate market has come to. It doesn't look like the market is going to turn around for several years. This is good news for the buyers, but very difficult if you have to sell your house. A lot of people are getting hurt. I hope by being the best in these niches I will generate some new business. I know I will be helping some people who will not be paying me, but I think the referrals will more than make up for it.

Home Cooking

I have decided to share my favorite recipes with everyone. To start off I will share Jim's special secret barbecue sauce recipe. Just look to the sidebar and you will find it. This is good with both pork and beef ribs. It is also great with chicken.

Memories

Thanks to Aunt Vicki!

Frustration!

This week I am grateful for computers! Yes, they are both my curse and my blessing. I have 2 computers, one my desktop that I use for almost everything. It has a huge monitor so it is easy for me to see. My eyes are going, so sad, but it doesn't mean I am getting old; just need new glasses. Well, it was running slowly so I let Cowboy Dan (the computer guy), put in a new hard drive. All of a sudden it froze up and come to find out, he had to put the old hard drive back in and since I was using the new one for 6 weeks that meant I lost most of my data for those 6 weeks. Including my emails that I was saving and some other stuff I cant remember but know I will need in the very near future. Very irritating.

Then my other computer is a notebook, I use it for business and can't live without it. I discovered I couldn't use the notebook with Mircosoft Word, a big problem. I called Gateway, was put on hold a half hour, finally got someone, talked for a few minutes and was disconnected. I did this routine for several days, totaling up about 8 hours of being on hold with very bad music playing.

Well today I spent 2 hours on the phone with Mel, who has a very stong accent (Raheem is probably is real name). Hmmm.... could I be talking to India? But miracle of all miracles Mel was able to fix the problem. I take back all my bad thoughts of him. I am now up and running again and wondering how did I live without these machines? So if you are keeping score it is:
COWBOYS 0
INDIANS 1

Relief Society

We had a great lesson on Sunday. It was about our divine nature as daughters of God. It emphasized how easy it is to not realize all of our individual potential. I especially loved this quote from the lesson. It is by Marianne Williamson.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Graphics for 4th of July Comments

Eberly's Misery

A small problem with "Truth in Advertising". Michael, Eberly and I took a little backpacking trip this past week, and it was much longer and harder than a review article said that it was. I'm afraid we almost ruined Eberly for ever going again!! Most of our energies were spent climbing over downed trees and scrambling over rocks (at over 7500' elevation).

The scenery was great, but it was hot and dry. NOT a "High Sierra" experience.

I don't think that Eberly ever finished counting all of her mosquito bites (we forgot repellent) and she felt bad enough when we first woke up in the morning that she didn't get to have a Delicious fried Spam breakfast!! We packed up early and headed out. At least we got to check out our backpacking gear and determine where changes need to be made. So now the question is "Eberly, are you going to try it again in 3 weeks when we do the "Sierra Trip"????

Love,

Dad, Grandpa, Jim

Where would I be without Jim?

This week I am grateful for my husband. This is probably the blessing I never take for granted. I am aware of how rich my life is because of him. Right now he is getting my big gulp to start the morning. It is 7:00 and I'm not even dressed yet. There are so many little acts of kindness he does for me. It just makes me love him more. It is so unusual for two people to have such a perfect fit. Even more amazing when you think how young we were when we got married. I was talking to a friend who was upset with her husband because he said some unkind things to her. He had apologized and said he didn't mean it, but she was still so upset. My advise to her was, "to let it go". She didn't really want to let it go since he hurt her feelings. She finally did come around to understanding how important it is not to obsess about things that happen. I think my letting go of the little things that irrate me or make me angry is something that has helped our relationship to be stronger. I love the phrase, "You can either be right or happy"! It is so true, you can't always have both. So I choose to be happy and I am delighted with the depth of the love that Jim and I share.

Too tired for deep thoughts!

It is Sunday night and I have been going since early this morning. I am way too tired for deep thoughts, but want to say something to help the week get off to a good start.



Ginger' Beauty and Fashion Tips
1. No one with perfect hair is really happy on the inside.
2. True beauty comes from within. Within a great hair salon.
3. Smart women know that real beauty doesn't come from a make-up bag.
You need a drawer.
4. "Natural" and "Beauty" go together like "Diet" and "Bearclaw".
5. Surround yourself with ugly people.
6. "One size fits all" is the cruelest phrase ever.

Splish, Splash!

Fun Family Day!
Blue sky, warm water and family! What more could you ask for? Maybe a few more people, but that's coming! Yes, it is as much fun as you remember. Don't you love the photo of Dad down the slide? Eberly, Sara, Katie and Jimmy had to show us what they learned at swim lessons. They did great!

What a week!

So glad it's over! I just finished up 2 funerals for sisters in our ward! I couldn't believe it happened so close together. Both were because of illness, but both were unexpected. Can you believe I have done 12 funerals since becoming Relief Society President almost 5 years ago. I have actually put together a checklist (6 pages) of what to do for a funeral (especially good for RS Pres). I will send to any who need it. This is not something that you are naturally able to do, it is by experience that you learn.

One of the best ideas I had was for the second funeral. This was a very poor family, just husband and wife with limited mental capacities. Only one brother; so I knew there would not be many flowers at the service. I asked the women of our ward to bring a bouquet from their gardens if they had any flowers blooming. Well, the result was a chapel overflowing with flowers. The smell was unbelievable. The service was beautiful.

I was touched with the knowledge that each individual, no matter their personal circumstances, is important to our loving Heavenly Father. My understanding of life after death has increased by the witness of the spirit that we live again, love again and can always enjoy one another. I put this quote on the program, it is by Rossiter Worthington Raymond, "Life is eternal; and love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horison is nothing save the limit of our sight."

It was a week with many touching experiences, but now I am ready for something else, hopefully a little more fun!

Just call me grammy.

OK, OK, I'll admit it! I am a great-grandmother. I didn't really want to sound that old, but I love them too much to leave them out! Since I am so young, they really are more like grandchildren too me.

Up At Last!

Wow! This was more difficult than I ever imagined! But it is now good to go! It has taken me 2 weeks to get going. I should have just used the basic template, but that would have been way too easy. To add to the fun, my computer also crashed! I had a new hard drive put in and it failed, so they replaced the old one which is working just fine. Over the next few days, I will try to get a little better organized.

This is a wonderful project I learned about from Lauri Sue. Once a week share something you are most grateful for. This gives us a chance to reflect on the good things we have to be grateful about. It is impossible to feel both gratitude and gloom at the same time.

Love begins with gratitude.

This week I am grateful for fathers.

Before it is just a distant memory I wanted to share some of my thoughts on Father's Day. I was asked to speak at sacrament meeting (just 5 minutes) and this is the talk I gave. Read it if you want to take the time, I just wanted a record of it. I had many tender memories as I prepared it.

Father's Day - June 15,2008

When I was born my family didn’t know where my father was. It was near the end of WW2 and all my family was told was that he was on a Naval Ship “somewhere in the Pacific”. I still have the telegram announcing my birth which he carried in his wallet throughout the remainder of the war.

If my father was filling out a resume and listed the honors he had received, he probably could not think of any. He loved sports, but was never all-state in anything. He worked as an electrician; they don’t receive recognition for a job well done, just a paycheck. He was never elected to any office. And yet, he could write the word Husband. He was worthy of the honor of having a woman love and respect him. And he could write the sacred word, Father.

Father. There is no word which describes a greater honor, a higher title, for it is by the name Father that God has chosen to be known.

My father began as an ordinary man. He accepted the responsibility of fatherhood and fulfilled it and became a great man. He was the kind of father a child deserves. His deepest desire was to be a great father.

My father was a large man, with a big voice. When he called, I could hear him a block away. All of the neighborhood kids were afraid of my father, which was confusing to me. To me he was as gentle as a lamb and a pushover.

The greatest gift I ever received from my father was that I always felt loved. I can never remember a time when my father didn’t love me. I never questioned his love for me. We never went to bed without a kiss and saying, “I love you”.

My dad was an avid fisherman. He loved to surf fish. All summer my family would spend many evenings at the beach while he fished. He fished long after the sun went down. He and my mother would spread out a blanket and we kids would fall asleep on the sand listening to the sound of the waves. At the end of the evening he would carry us, all five, one by one to the car and then when we got home he would carry us one by one into bed. I can remember being so tall my feet almost touched the ground, but he still carried me to bed and tucked me in.

I have never doubted that my Heavenly Father loves me, individually and personally, because I felt such deep love from my own Dad. With his example, it made faith in Heavenly Father so easy to understand and accept.

The second greatest gift I received from my Father was a family tradition. I didn’t know it was a tradition, until my 8 children were grown and married. It was then that I saw the tradition being carried on in their homes. That tradition is that my Father loved my Mother. I think the most important element in raising happy, well- adjusted children is for children to perceive that their parents love each other.

A husband and wife who are as one because of a deep love make successful parents. They may not understand all that child psychology teaches, but they succeed anyway. They can be strict with their children and it will bring good results or they can be less strict and that will also work.

The best thing that a father can do for his children is to love their mother. Such things cannot be hidden. Nor can a lack of love go undetected by the child, who sees with his heart. Along with the undercurrents of love that can be felt by your children, you should also say out loud to your wife, in the presence of your children, “I love you.”

My father never had the opportunity of hearing the gospel message. He died at the age of 42. But the legacy he left was passed on to my husband, and then to my sons and son-in-laws.

He loved his children.
He loved his wife.
He was honest in his dealings.
He shunned filth in its every form.
He served others.
His family was his first priority.

My life has been greatly blessed because I am the wife, daughter and mother of great fathers.