Soup to Nuts

They're flying away...

2011-08-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

I have tried not to think about what is happening in our family tomorrow. But now it is weighing heavy on my mind. Part of our family is leaving and taking part of my heart with them. I love the Gaineses. They are creative, smart, fun to be around and they have two beautiful daughters, Anna and Eliza. The thought of not being able to just bop over and see them now is so very hard to imagine. Connecticut is gaining through our loss. They will have more room to spread their wings and see another part of the world. I don't begrudge them that. And we will be able to chat online which is very nice. But the hugs are what I'll be missing...and seeing Toni's amazing quilts in person. Ben takes such good care of his family that I know they will prosper and be happy. Good luck and by the way, Happy Birthday Ben.

My Humanitarian Hero

2011-05-23T15:31:00.000-07:00

Emily was honored by the Youthlinc organization last week for being one of 4 finalists in the Utah 2011 Young Humanitarian scholarship program. She won $1000 scholarship to further her education which is always nice. Below is her bio the scholarship committee used in their blog about the contest. Here is the link to the blog: http://youthlinc-blog.blogspot.com/ Scroll down to the Tuesday May 5th date. There is a great picture of Em with an older couple who were taught the gospel by her and her companion.

Emily Gillespie was raised with a firm belief in hard work and service. As a senior at Timpview High School she began and was president of the HOPE taskforce for three years where she worked with the school social workers and counselors to help at-risk students with depression. This cause was close to her heart as her high school was struggling with multiple young suicides. She made the effort to know everyone’s name in the school and at least smile at everyone she came in contact with. She says, “I just wanted everyone to know that there was at least one person at the school who knew who they were and that they mattered.” Emily also volunteered at Canary Garden Family Grief Counseling Center helping those coping with the recent loss of a loved one. She found a passion for helping others who were suffering through difficult times. After high school she had the opportunity to spend time in Mexico working on projects in two orphanages and building homes for poor families. As a student at Utah Valley University, she spent the summer of 2008 in Uganda with HELP International holding teacher improvement classes, building libraries and adobe stoves and working with children with disabilities and their care takers. She says “that experience changed my life forever as I learned the differences between wants and needs.” Nine months into her LDS mission in Chile the big earthquake of February 2010 hit the country and she was able to help in the recovery efforts in Machali. Since she has been home she has been volunteering with the Service-Learning community at UVU and is one semester away from graduating with an honors degree in philosophy and minors in recreation and community health. Her future plans include graduate school to study to be a recreational therapist and continue to serve.

Student engineers build human-powered drill for clean water in developing nations

2011-04-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

Cool new item for African development. Student engineers build human-powered drill for clean water in developing nations

Gift wish list item

2011-02-03T07:45:00.000-08:00

Have You Seen This? The JL421 Badonkadonk - ksl.com

Meeting Myra Jane

2010-08-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

Meeting Myra for the first time, Clark and Eva show intense interest in her owee.

Grandma and Myra hit it off right from the start.

Eva was so happy to see her mom again after 2 days.

Calm, sweet and tiny: words describing this newborn.

Clark is a happy big brother.

No explanation needed.

Caroline Harris

2010-07-14T06:40:00.000-07:00

Recently I have come in the possession of some old original notes written by my grandmother Netta Poulton Spencer. My grandma Spencer would be 129 years old this summer. She wrote a short history about her grandmother who was born in 1829 in England. Interestingly, she wrote this history in pencil on four Union Pacific Railroad letterhead memo pad papers. Here is the content of her history:
Caroline Harris was born 4 Feb 1829 in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England. Baptized at Stratford-on-Avon when a girl. Married James Poulton 8 Feb 1852 at Birmingham. Endowed in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. Died in Salt Lake City 6 Nov 1898.
Sailed to America on SS Amazon under Captain William Bramwell on 4 June 1862. Landed in New York 18 July 1862 with husband and 4 children. Traveled on train to St. Louis and then by wagon to SLC. Caroline's health was poor, she was pregnant. They arrived in the valley in the late fall. The family lived in a small 1 room house that was unchinked with no floor. James was given the head of a beef from the slaughter house which when skinned and cleaned and boiled over a bonfire in a large kettle provided soup which was much enjoyed. Caroline's health became more threatened so the family was invited to live in a basement in the 20th ward where her baby was born prematurely and only lived a short time. James made a tiny casket and carried the baby on his shoulder to City Cemetery. James was a willing worker and soon was able to move his family to a small warm house on 4th South between 3rd and 4th West which was their home until 1891 when they built a store at 424 S. 200 W. Caroline worked hard alone in the store.
He found employment in the ZCMI shoe factory where he worked for years.
I can remember her so well with her little shawl around her shoulders. She was slender and bent a little. She had a sweet kind face and a heart full of love.
She was generous and interested in the poor and unfortunate.
She was the mother of seven boys and three girls besides two girls who died. For years the large family was invited to "grandma's" house for Christmas dinner and we enjoyed a bounteous feast. Grandma and grandpa loved music and the family was blessed with musical talent and also with rich singing ability. I can remember hearing grandma sing the Christmas carols. Her voice was a beautiful soprano. They were never happier than when their sons, daughters and grandchildren sang together in chorus. Caroline was a wonderful mother, a faithful Latter Day Saint, a friend of many and mourned by all at her passing.

Valentine's Cookies from a Good Cook

2010-02-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

The ultimate Valentine's Day cookies.

Culinary Crafts 1053 East 2100 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84106 1400 West 400 North, Orem, UT 84057

Sweetness

2010-02-02T08:50:00.001-08:00

Put your feet up for a minute and enjoy!

http://god-gives-us-strength.blogspot.com/2009/12/lords-prayer.html

Thirty First Anniversary

2010-01-10T18:22:00.000-08:00

Does it get any better than this for your 31st anniversary? Turns out Harlingen Texas bought the plastic casting of the Iwo Jima sculpture. They had a local soldier who participated in the real raising of the flag in Iwo Jima. Plus they have a preparatory school for the marine corps there. We wanted to see this historic site and so we ventured out in the rain on the Saturday after Christmas to check it out.

I loved this picture of Ben and Eva. The Franciscos were the perfect hosts for our trip. We really appreciated the wonderful way they welcomed us into their home and showed us some fun places down Harlingen way.

I loved seeing this sculpture during one of our trips to Washington D.C. During that time the tour guide mentioned that there was an extra hand sculpted into the formation which was symbolic of God's hand in the battle. I loved that thought. Turns out it isn't true...

I wanted to see the famous fence on the border of the U.S. and Mexico. I really wanted to see the Rio Grande too. We started walking over toward this fence just at dusk (that's why it's a little blurry). A guard came out and stopped us in our tracks. We asked about the river. Turns out it is about a mile away at this point. Win some and lose some.

On our way up to San Antonio on the way home we stopped in Corpus Christi to visit the Lexington. This is a navy aircraft carrier that was decommissioned in 1990. It had most things a small city would have. There was a dental office, a post office, a barber shop, a chapel, and so many other things. The ship was huge. Our feet ached and we only saw about half of it. The most interesting thing to me was a description of the Japanese part of the war. Japan lost a lot of oil tankers to torpedos early on thus decreasing their ability to train their pilots in bombing runs. The general came up with the idea to train them instead to crash into the U.S. fleet's ships. This became a very honorable position for the Japanese air corp. The other thing that was interesting was the way the Japanese leaders asked the people to come together to fight for the motherland. They told the citizens they needed strong people both physically and spiritually. To strengthen them physically they would broadcast calisthenics instructions over the radio. Everyone dropped what they were doing at that moment and exercised together.

Here are Clark and Eva in the captain's chair of the enormous ship. They were good sports about our visit there.

Top 5 Reasons Why Being Grandma is the Best

2010-01-03T13:27:00.000-08:00

Reason Number One:
Having a cute grandpa to go with to the balmy South Padre Island

Reason Number 2
Having adorable grandchildren and watching them open presents on Christmas morning

Number 3
Being the guest at a scrumptious prime rib Christmas Feast.

Number 4
Seeing your grandchildren play in the imaginative and creative environments produced by their parents.

Number 5
While others are doing this:

Grandma gets to do this:

Hell's Backbone

2009-11-01T16:21:00.000-08:00

Here is a pictorial of the first part of our trip to Escalante. The next two photos are of the Grand Escalante Staircase and in the distance the Henry Mountains where I spent the good part of a month walking and walking.

We had heard about Hell's Backbone and wanted to see what it was all about. We ended up seeing a beautiful part of the country and more washboard roads.

We didn't get a really great shot of the quaking aspens that seemed to be forming a ski run down the hill but you can kind of imagine it, can't you?

The thing about Hell's Backbone is that it connected Boulder to the outside world finally in the 1940's. It had been a spot that defied roadmaking until them. The pioneers had built a small path at this point but had to transfer goods from a wagon to a mule or horse then back to a wagon on the other side. You have to look carefully to see the bridge in this picture but you can see the rugged terrain.

Off one side of the bridge

Off the other side

I think the fuzzy ball in the middle of these pictures is our guardian angel working overtime...

Today even it is a one lane road.

Here is what the WPA work group did. It was timbers laid out in a series of squares with dirt in the middle. I can't imagine how frightening it must have been to get the first bit in.

Now there is a strong, guarded road over the top of the originals.

This is looking back from across the way. If you enlarge this photo you may be able to see the bridge. There is definitely a small defect in the backbone right there though...

The Daunted

2009-10-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

Playing around south of Escalante, this represents the scenery for the first 2 hours on the washboard that claimed to be a road. We didn't see many signs of life during this time.

We were a little surprised that things could get worse but ran across this sign warning of road damage. Looked like the road had been partially washed away during a recent storm.

We passed this landmark called "The Hall" about 40 miles into our trek. Pioneers camped near here at 40 mile spring while the scouts were trying to figure out the rest of the route. They played, danced and generally enjoyed their time at this awesome place.

Some of the beautiful scenery at the end of the 50 mile mountain range.

After 3 grueling hours and 54 miles we finally met our match.

Doesn't look that bad from this picture but when Bus tried to go up in our Subaru, the nose of the car hit the rock. We had just heard from the man in the 3rd truck we passed that the "hole" was only 1-1/2 miles farther so we packed up our lunch and headed out on foot.

After hoofing it for about 40 minutes we could finally see "the hole". If you enlarge this photo look carefully along the distant ridge and you will see it too. It was about here that a nice couple from Highland picked us up and drove us to the end.

We rummaged around in this registration box discovering that the pages were already full of names. After shutting the lid we noticed this big spider :(

First glimpse of the payoff. Hard to believe the pioneers actually went down this with their wagons and horses.

At first it didn't look like the lake was that far away. When I came as an 8 year old the lake hadn't been built and the river looked a lot farther away than this. We saw all kinds of kids up there barefoot and in flip-flops so decided it couldn't be that hard and started down.

After slip-sliding for an hour we decided before we left the shade that the better part was to eat lunch here and skip the last thousand yards of hard steep loose dirt trail. The view was amazing and the day was perfect, slight breeze, 75 degrees. Those are boats down in the lake. Lots of people were climbing this trail with us. We started back up and found that while we were breathing heavier, we were able to go up faster than we were going down. I am so stiff today though. Quite a good workout.

Ten extra points if you know the meaning of this picture.

At the Fair

2009-09-18T16:07:00.001-07:00

Bus, Matt, Toni, Anna and I went to the State Fair this week. We had fun looking at all the exhibits. It is especially fun to see the animals through a toddler's eyes. Here is Anna in the goat exhibit.

Goats win hands down

Odds and Ends

2009-08-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

Some new additions

Bus working hard on the upstairs bathroom remodel

Tomato update

New fire pit

Family Reunion 2009

2009-08-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a month since we had the reunion but it has taken me a while to rediscover how to retrieve the photos from my camera. At least that is my excuse...
The other problem is that these are the only pictures I took, all of them on Thursday morning July 16th. I don't know why that is, but it is. We were down in Piute County population 1500. There is an amazing mining camp up Marysvale's Bullion canyon where the county has put together an outdoor museum of the equipment used in gold mining at the early part of the 1900's and sort of an explanation of the process. This first picture is a restored cabin where a miner lived showing what things they would have used back then.

Here the group is examining the museum artifacts

Then we thought since they had discovered gold here maybe we could too!

After examining every particle of sand and loading up our enormous cache of gold we headed down the canyon only to discover a forest service bear trap.

We cautiously approached and timidly knocked on the pipe to discover the supposed contents. With little in the way of answer, Harrison bravely climbed up and exposed the interior. We were all a little relieved.

4 wheeling adventure

2009-07-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

Here I am on my first 4 wheeler. I think I won't be able to hike anymore. It is just too easy to sit on one of these and push a button and go places that are beautifully amazing. We went down a path just wide enough for the bikes that reminded me of a cross between a slot canyon and flying through the forest like jedi knights. Yeah, it was a black diamond run.

My companion in adventuring. I'm thinking this is a great new hobby for the two of us...

Goin' down the road

We were the guests of our neighbors the Joneses. They have a beautiful cabin close to Marysvale where we spent the night. The rhino took us up the canyon to an old mining camp. There were lots of old mining implements and a cabin to look at up there.

Manning Meadow Reservoir is a cutthroat trout nursery for the Fish and Game. You can only fly fish here and the limit is one fish. It has to be over 22" long, otherwise it's catch and release.
I'm thinking there are a lot of fish with sore lips in that lake.

Barney Lake
There was a guy out there in a float tube fishing. Looked like a great way to spend the day. I would like to try the canoe up here. So peaceful and beautiful.

Where the Fun Is

2009-06-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

This is the street where Jan lives

Also the dashboard of our rental car...
(You are going west)

Here is the lucky house where Clark and Eva live. If you know the zipcode for Harlingen Texas and the name of the street which is Los Alamos you can determine their address...
(This is looking north)

Benefits of this house: Electricity which powers the AC. We learned how vital this element can be.
Also 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.
Nice little pergola in the backyard which provides shade for the swimming pool.
Completely fenced backyard with a storage shed and a composting tire.
Very nice neighbors to the west. Didn't meet the ones to the east though did see their dog poop on the lawn...
Best of all: 45 minutes to Padre Island Beach!

Padre Island for Father's Day

2009-06-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite girls

Beach play at it's finest. Warm water, sunny weather and darling grandchildren

Bring out a Subway sandwich at the beach and instantly there are dozens of seagulls ready for lunch. We watched this phenomena and the corollary which was Clark chasing the seagulls with his shovel.

Lincoln meets Sophia

2009-06-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

Here is Lincoln getting ready for the biggest ride of his life. He has a new baby sister to meet.

Lincoln, try a little harder dude, this is a big day

All this riding around make a guy thirsty

Here we go into the hospital with grandpa and Uncle Matt

We'll skip the part about the elevator. That was just too scary.

Here's mom's and Sophia's room

More favorite pictures

2009-05-29T07:37:00.001-07:00

We are a blessed family.

Favorite Pictures

2009-04-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

Lady Mountain, across from Zion Lodge. I climbed this mountain back in 1972. Can you even believe that? I can't. It had been outlawed as a hike for a few years at that time. When I worked at Zion Inn that summer there was a guy who had climbed it before so he led the expedition. I didn't take any water so was awful thirsty when we got back hours later...

The Great White Throne peaking out from behind The Altar and Organ Rock.

This is looking up at Angel's Landing. If you look close you may see people up on top. The face is famous in rock climbing circles.

The Great White Throne behind the saddle between Angel's Landing and the Altar.

It had rained the day before so this was a small waterfall by the Temple of Sinewava.

Watchman in the morning.

Spring Break 2009

2009-04-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

This was the scene when we left for a balmy spring break in Zion National Park April16th.

Doesn't look a whole lot warmer here at the start of the Narrows hike. Bus said the water was 32.5 degrees. It was colder than we thought and I hadn't brought anything too warm to wear.
It was cold but the beauty surrounding us warmed my heart. So many great memories of times spent here in the past. We went on a few hikes, only a few were life threatening...

I had to work pretty hard to get the gel to make that point on my head.

My Newest Project

2009-03-28T19:53:00.000-07:00

I have had such bad luck with starting plants inside in years past. In August I attended a workshop with Carol on gardening at George Wythe College. So between that workshop and another series of lessons I have been looking at online, here is how I've improved my luck with planting inside. First I had to find some fluorescent lights. With Bus' expertise this was accomplished thanks to craigs list. Turns out you don't need special grow lights.

The lights have to be 2-4 inches away from the plants. These plants were planted the last Monday in February.

The key ingredient seems to be lots of water and liquid sea kelp. Who knew? Couldn't find that anywhere here in Utah Valley so I found a source in Maine. I have enough to plant 38 acres...
Since I have had such terrible luck in the past, I planted 3 or 4 whole packages of tomato seeds not expecting much. I have over 60 tomato plants that look like they will make it. Memo to self--next year plan on a better yield...Hope some of you will open your homes to juicy ripe tomatoes in August.
Newspaper pots are a cheap alternative to peat pots. Wrap a folded length of newspaper around a tomato sauce can with the bottom cut off then stuff the left-over paper into the end of the can. Fill with potting soil, transplant and water with solution containing liquid sea kelp. Voila!

Grandpa Horne

2009-03-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

I have been alone the last three days. Bus is in Washington D.C. and Emily went to St. George with her friends. I won't complain though. It's kind of nice to be foot-loose and fancy-free.
As I wait for stake conference this morning I thought I would try and give a glimpse into the life of another one of our Spencer ancestors, Joseph Horne Jr. His wife's history was covered in another blog, July 2007. They are the couple that met and married and joined the church in Toronto Canada after hearing Parley P. Pratt preach in their neighborhood. Orson Hyde baptized them in July of 1836. They desired to be gathered with the Saints and came to Kirtland where they visited for a week. After inquiring of Joseph Smith about where they should settle they followed his advice and traveled another 100 miles to settle in Far West Missouri. They endured the persecutions, finally moving to Nauvoo in March 1842 where he opened a mercantile business and built a home 1/2 mile east of the Nauvoo temple.
In February 1846 Joseph Horne closed his successful mercantile business in Nauvoo and migrated toward the West with the first company of Saints. He was called by the First Presidency of the Church among others to scout for the best place to camp for the winter. The brethren located an area across the Missouri River in Nebraska which was named Winter Quarters.
He and Isabella came across the plains with the second company which left 2 months after Brigham Young's company. Their good friends from Canada, John and Leonora Taylor were the supervisors of this group. Joseph Horne was the captain of the first fifty.
Although they suffered many hardships along the way, they rejoiced when they finally reached the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. In the words of Isabella, "We arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in the evening of October 6, 1847, after a journey of four months. From the mouth of Emigration Canyon we traveled in the dark, having no guide but the flickering light of the camp fires on Pioneer Square." They had four children by then, Henry age 9, Joseph age 5, Richard age 3 and baby Elizabeth Ann. Our grandmother Leonora Taylor Horne was one of the first children born in Salt Lake City in January of 1849.

The following is a list of pioneering activities done by Joseph Horne Jr. after arriving in the valley:

*August 1848, Joseph was in a company appointed to go with Chief Walker and his band to explore the San Pete Valley resulting in the settlement of Manti.

*In November 1848, Joseph was called to go with Parley P. Pratt on an exploring expedition south. With a company of 50 men and 12 teams they founded Fillmore.

*In December 1850, Joseph was called to accompany George A. Smith and company to settle what is now called Parowan. Joseph built two log houses.

*About 1852, President Brigham Young sent for Joseph to assist Orson Hyde in building a sugar house. Here they first manufactured beet molasses. Then he supervised the transportation of the sugar machinery which was shipped from France, from Missouri to Salt Lake.

* In 1852 he also became a counselor to Bishop Hoagland of the 14th ward. He held this position for 8 years.

*From 1854-1858, Joseph was superintendent of tithing labor and team work on the temple block. He was also elected to the city council during this time.

*In 1861-62 Joseph was placed in charge of a company of men and teams to go back to Missouri for emigrants. During these various trips he brought 1200 persons to the Valley.

* In 1888, at age 76 he built a comfortable home for his family at 146-3rd Avenue Salt Lake City which they occupied for the remaining 9 years of his life.

Makes me tired to just list his accomplishments. He was truly one of the stalwarts in the community who served others almost constantly. Maybe we could look around a little more thoughtfully about what we could do to improve the situations we live in. The times are definitely different but the need for hard work and selflessness are still abundant.

What Do You Think About This?

2009-03-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
~~~~~ Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931 - 2005 ~~~~~

Grandpa Kienke

2009-02-08T13:38:00.000-08:00

Our Sunday lesson today was about the Spirit of Elijah. It prompted me to think of my experiences with family history work and temple work and the very sweet spirit of that work. Since most of my experience with that has been on the one German great great grandfather's line I thought I would tell a little bit about him. I only know him because of what others have donated to the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers' data base. One interesting thing though is that a couple of weeks ago a man called and asked if I was doing work on the Kienke line. I replied that I was. He then said that he was writing a book about this man Johann Heinrich Christopher Kienke, he being a descendant from the first wife Barbara Pitchforth. We are descended from his second wife an English girl, Elizabeth Harvey. The man, a Mr. Smith, told of being in the BYU family history library looking for information about the Kienkes. He happened to ask one of the missionaries there if she knew much about Germans with the last name ending in "ke". Out of the many missionaries he could have asked this question, he happened to ask the one lady who has been helping me the last 3 years with my Kienke line. What are the odds? (No such thing as coincidences). She thought for a moment and said "Well the only one I can think of at the moment is Kienke". He was amazed. Needless to say he was given my phone number. My mother happens to have my grandfather Kienke's missionary diary. It's an old leather bound book that is fragile yet quite well preserved. It has the name of Samuel Pitchforth in the inside cover, probably one of Barbara's relatives. The diary is for the year 1874, his mission was 4 years later than that. I suspect finding that sort of writing instrument was rare in Nephi in those years. So at some point I hope to meet this Mr. Smith and share copies I have made of the diary. When the book is published the rest of the story about Johann Heinrich Christopher Kienke will be available. Until then this is what I have learned about him:
He was born 26 April 1831 in Warnitz Germany, a few miles from Schwerin in Mecklenburg-Schwerin Germany, just south of the Danish/German border. He was the only child of his father. His father died at an early age and his mother remarried. Johann's (John's)health was not good. When an uncle made plans to come to America, John's mother thought it best that he join his uncle.
He arrived with his uncle in Chicago in 1852, one of the last years of the gold rush to California. John was twenty years old and full of enthusiasm. He left his uncle in Chicago and started west. The Company arrived in Salt Lake City in the spring and remained a short time to rest. On the morning he was to press on, he awoke suffering from an inflammation of the eyes and was unable to leave.
He worked on a farm during that summer, fully intending to join a company going through in the fall. The day before he was to leave, he ran a pitchfork into his leg and once again was unable to go.
Before the spring he had joined the church and went to Nephi to work. There he met and married Sarah Barbara Pitchforth.
John was honest, sincere and dependable. He was one of the "Minute Men" always ready and willing to leave on a moment's notice. He was a peacemaker and responded to important calls to settle Indian disputes. He helped to make friends with unfriendly Indians. He was a very active member of the church and served on the high council for many years and served as bishop in a ward in Mona, Utah. He paid his tithing from the "Pick of the Crop" and in full measure, running over.
He was unusually generous and was often giving help to the needy.
He was married to Elizabeth Harvey in the Endowment House in 1864. He was the father of seventeen children.
John fulfilled a mission to Germany being set apart 11 November 1878. While serving his mission, he converted and brought to America, Mary Harvey, a sister-in-law, and her fifteen year old son Enoch.
Although John's health was poor while in Germany, the Rocky Mountain air was good for him.
He died in Nephi, Utah on the 5th of May 1900.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

2009-02-02T14:12:00.000-08:00

I have found my new favorite web site. It actually has the ability to bring joy to you and others forever and always. Check it out and see what I mean. Besides the producers of this blog are some of my favorite people in the world. Amazing job! Thanks for taking time to share. Go to Whatdomormonsbelieve.com

Thirty Years

2008-12-30T11:02:00.000-08:00

I know I have been neglecting my blog. Sorry. When I asked for a title for my next post Emily said Thirty Years. Her reference here is the fact that our 30th anniversary was the day after Christmas. Quite an accomplishment in this day and time, they say. We have certainly had our share of ups and downs. I think marriage is actually designed for that. We grow from both the ups and downs. This year there is a special significance I guess with the diagnosis of Bus with leukemia two days before Christmas. We have hope that this will be one of the ups in our relationship in that it will help us strive to become even closer and more reliant on the Lord. I am grateful that the Lord sees fit to give us these challenges. We are both trying to put the best spin on we can. The family response has been great. Nothing but support and love. I felt a special bonding with our family during the holidays this year even without the usual trappings of Christmas (I didn't decorate this year due to the dust). I loved the thoughtful things done for me this year. Thanks guys.

My Christmas Card to You

2008-12-04T17:59:00.000-08:00

A joyful expression to help you get in the Christmas Spirit

A Missionary Moment

2008-12-03T08:22:00.000-08:00

Here is a letter I received this morning on my email. We taught this young 13 year old student right before I left Korea. He was the nephew of a strong member of our branch, Brother Song, Yoon Heon. Apparently when the New Horizon did their reunion tour this past October this young man came up to Elder Munoa and asked if he knew me. Elder Munoa and I have communicated over the past couple of years while he was on a temple mission in Korea so he had my email address and told Jae Joong that he would give me his email address. I wrote to him yesterday and received this today.

Dear Sister Spencer !

I am very happy to hear from you.

In fact I have never forgotten your name.

As you want to know about me, I will tell you some about me first.

Now I am 46 years old (45 in american age), I live in Daejeon city.

I married sister Jangdongran who is a daughter of Jang Byung soon ( he got baptised in 1972 in Cheong_ ju).

And now I have 3 children.

My first son, who is 12 years old can play the piano very well so his nick name is little Bethoven.

My daughter, who is 10 can play not only the piano but also violin well.

And my youngest son, who is 7 goes to kindergarten and he can also play the piano and easily make people laugh.

I graduated Yonsei University and majored in Business Administration.

Then I went to Daewoo Security company and failed in Investment.

So, I had great financial difficulty in my age of 31.

I quit my job and I had managed a Car washing shop for 3 years.

And finally I got married when I turned 34 and I started to study electronics, and I have been developing new electronic products.

My wife is an English teacher, she teaches adults and young students English.

And sometimes she translates for mission president's wife and american visitors at the church.

she translated for Elder Nelson's wife in 2006, when they came to Dae jeon.

She is far better than I in English.

I didn't serve as a missionary when I was young.

However my wife is a return misionary and she served in Seoul mission in 1988.

At the church I have been serving as a mission leader of my ward for 5 years.

We baptised 11 converters this year so far and the goal of the next year is to baptise 25 people.

I am really enjoying working with young and wonderful missionaries.

And my wife and I love missionaries and missionary work a lot.

Later I will send you some pictures.

And now I will explain about my uncle, Song Yoonheon.

He used to be the first Dae jeon stake president .

Now he became a patriarch.

He is a professor of a business department in Choong nam national University.

His wife,sister Byun MyungJa, runs a nursery school for the children under 36 months.

My uncle lives in Daejeon too, 10 minutes distance from my house.

They have 4 children.

Their first daughter, Jae in lives in Utah with her Korean husband.

The second daughter, who is a doctor lives in Phoenix and her Korean husband is a dentist.

The third son is a doctor in Korea and he lives in Daejeon.

the last son is now studying in Utah to become a doctor.

I will think about "what to show you." later.

Anyway I am very happy to contact you.

I hope you will stay healthy and happy.

with my best wishes,

Song Jaejoong.

Seven Things

2008-11-16T09:35:00.000-08:00

Seven Things I Can Do:

1. Love my family
2. Do family history work
3. Be too serious
4. See patterns in things
5. Sit at the computer for hours on end
6. Work around blood
7. Store food

Seven Things I Cannot Do

1. Be funny
2. Not cry at musical events, especially marching band competitions
3. Relax
4. Understand math
5. Chit chat
6. Eat tuna and rice casserole
7. Stop worrying

Seven Things I Love About Bus

1. He's a hard worker
2. Laugh lines around his eyes
3. Broad shoulders
4. He still plays basketball on Friday mornings
5. He honors his priesthood
6. He likes my cooking
7. He drives an old truck

Seven Places I Would Like To Visit

1. San Antonio
2. Pampow and Wustmark Germany
3. Alaska
4. Italy
5. New Zealand
6. Jerusalem
7. Adam Ondi Ahman

Seven Things I Commonly Say

1. ...the coming pandemic...
2. Do you have your food storage?
3. ..my beautiful grandchildren...
4. Come and eat.
5. This stings a little bit but you'll feel better in a few minutes.
6. I need help...
7. I love you...

Seven Favorite Foods

1. Dark chocolate
2. Yogurt
3. Cookies
4. Funeral potatoes
5. Bananas
6. Soup
7. Anything someone else cooks

Seven People I Tag

1. Deah
2. Harrison
3. Taylor
4. Jolyn
5. LauraLee
6. Paula
7. Todd

Get Educated

2008-11-05T06:39:00.000-08:00

This is an important piece of information. I have been to several meetings regarding the upcoming pandemic. While no one is sure what the exact cause will be it is a foregone conclusion that it will be happening and probably soon. The LDS church has more information on their lds.org site as well. I think this plan from BYU Idaho has the best chance of saving people from being sick. Since the mortality rate from the avian flu has been over 50% this is significant. Do yourselves and your family a favor and find out about it. Of course, staying home for 3 months will require some advanced planning regarding having enough food and other essentials. There is still time though...

Cool New Trading Post

2008-11-05T06:12:00.000-08:00

Do you have books, movies, CD's or games that you want to trade? I just found a new site that will find a trade for something you want and all it costs is the postage to send out your part of the trade. How cool is that? You can even print out a postage and address label.

New Fun Stuff

2008-10-17T13:17:00.001-07:00

This is my latest toy. I cooked our lunch in it and the veggies from the garden were yummy.

This is banana bread that baked in it today. I think I overcooked it actually. I should have taken it out after an hour instead of letting it bake for an hour and a half. The good thing about baking in a solar oven is that it never burns, but you sense that it is overdone...

We also had this new window installed in the front room this morning. You can even see through this one. There is still some work to be done to fix the inside part but it is a vast improvement trust me. The old blue sectional has gone on to another family as well. So the remodeling has begun in earnest.

I guess I'll give up Text Twist...

2008-09-24T14:47:00.000-07:00

"I don't know whether I had been praying, but I felt, not heard, a voice. It was an impression, which I knew then was from God. It was this thought, and close to these words: "Someday, when you know who you really are, you will be sorry you didn't use your time better." " - Henry B. Eyring, 1986, BYU fireside

2008-09-11T17:55:00.000-07:00

Here is another cute shot of Clark and Eva's first interaction.

What a difference a day or two makes

2008-09-10T04:59:00.000-07:00

Here are Jan and Clark on Thursday. It's hard to tell if she is even pregnant.

Here they are again on Saturday. Her smile tells one story, her eyes the other.

Boy Meets Girl

2008-09-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a look at the first meeting of Clark and Eva at the hospital. I only wished I had been quicker on the draw with this. When he first held her hand he was giggling uncontrollably. I'm pretty sure this was Labor Day morning. Eva was 2 days old at this time.
Jan was such a trooper, released from the hospital 36 hours post-partum, she faithfully visited, walking about 1/4 of a mile each time to see her sweet baby 3 or 4 times a day even though she was still recuperating from major surgery!

How's Your Imagination?

2008-08-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

Wow, Now I Have A Title Place!!

2008-08-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks Thad. I didn't know where to find it. Now I do.

2008-08-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

Since my beautiful pictures of our campout will not load on here...
Imagine a tent in a forest of shimmery green shrubbery with three aspen trees lining the left border.
Next imagine a large cement pad with 9 picnic tables and a raised dutch oven platform.
Next imagine a quiet lake with trees completely surrounding it and mountains covered with pine trees in the distance.
Next picture is Bus walking through chest high greenery up a narrow hiking trail splashing mud.
The next day's pictures include a vista view of Utah Lake out beyond the canyons covered with pines and quakies, imagine the purple white and golden wildflowers.
The next photo is a view of the back side of Nebo where Matt and Emily climbed with their extended family members one day about 8 years ago. It is super steep and gray streaked with green brush and rocks. Another view is of the mini Bryce canyon-type formation near Nebo.
While the pictures tell part of the story, the rest of the story includes a wildfire that started just after we passed through the mouth of Payson canyon. It became so large that Maple Dell boy scout camp was evacuated Friday evening. This necessitated closing the road out of the canyon as well. Saturday morning the camp host rode his golf cart over to tell us as much and that we would have to leave via the road going toward Nephi. After we got breakfast over and had a ride in the canoe we packed up our camping and breakfast paraphernalia and started driving the "loop". It has been years since I last saw that spectacular scenery. What a glorious place.

2008-07-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

In honor of the 24th of July celebration I am posting a pioneer history. There are many pioneer stories that have become famous--either because of the calling of the person, or the extremeness of their situation. But the vast majority of the pioneers were men and women who did heroic things as a matter of survival and everyday sacrifice.

One of these, Amanda Morgan Miller was born in Vermont into a devout Quaker family. She was the last of 8 children. In about 1816 she married Josiah Miller. They had 8 children born to them but only 6 survived to adulthood. They had moved to Kirtland and it was there after her last child was born that she was baptized.

One of the recurring sacrifices that these pioneers encountered was a decision between family loyalty and church membership. The Millers had to face this decision several times. In March 1838 the Kirtland Camp was organized to facilitate the movement of the Saints from Kirtland to Missouri. Many of the Saints in Kirtland were in extreme poverty, and it was felt that traveling in a large company would be a good method of getting the Saints to Missouri. A previous plan to charter a steamboat had failed; and this new plan was the subject of much discussion. At a meeting of the Seventies on March 10 it is recorded that the Spirit of the Lord came down in might power, and it was felt by those attending the meeting that it was the will of God that the quorum should go up in a company together. A constitution was then drawn up under the direction of Hyrum Smith, who was the second counselor in the church presidency, which provided for an orderly organization of the camp. Six weeks later, however, Josiah was counseled to leave the camp because his son-in-law, who was not a member of the church, would not abide by the order of the camp.
The following is recorded concerning their leaving:
"Saturday, Aug 18, Josiah Miller, agreeable to the counsel given him, took his family and left the camp with the best of feelings existing between him and the Council of the camp; he left it only in consequence of the disposition of his son-in-law Aaron Dolph, to set at naught the Constitution by which the camp were bound by agreement to put their strength, properties and monies together to move the camp to the land of Zion."

The family stopped at Dayton, Ohio for a few weeks, then moved on to Indiana. They stayed there for a few years and then moved to Illinois.

The Millers left Nauvoo in 1846 with a group of Saints. Their daughter, Harriet had to make a choice again between church and family. She was married to Orton Warfield Burns, a school teacher who was not a member of the church. He did what he could to protect them but then was told if he did any more he would lose his job. Harriet, pregnant with their first child, could stay with her husband and be cut off from the church or leave with her parents and continue what she believed in but lose her husband. Harriet chose to go on with her parents. She had her baby boy, Miles Lamoni Burns in a sod-banked tent over a covered wagon in Council Bluffs.

Not long after leaving Nauvoo, the family had to sacrifice yet again. Captain James Allen arrived in June 1846 making a requisition for four or five companies of Mormon men to serve as volunteers in the war with Mexico. The Miller's only two sons then 27 and 25 both joined up. This left Amanda and Josiah with their three daughters to cross the plains.

On June 17, 1847, Amanda and her family left for the Great Salt Lake Valley in the Jedediah M. Grant Company. Amanda and her husband were 51 years old. Their daughters were 23, 20 and 17. Amanda's husband Josiah was a captain of ten in their company. There were so many companies coming at that time that they traveled in three or four columns across the plains. They reached Salt Lake on October 2, 1847. The next year, two of their daughters married.

In 1851 Josiah was called by President Brigham Young to help settle Salt Creek, which was later called Nephi. An so, in October of 1851--4 years after arriving in the Utah territory--their family moved yet again to Salt Creek. Their daughters and their husbands and 3 other families went together. By November, 17 families were settled in Nephi. Josiah was elected as Nephi's first mayor the next spring.

They experienced many miracles as colonizers in Indian territory. They had problems with cattle dying one winter in the extreme weather, but through united prayer and fasting, they beheld miraculous results. One observer said, "The first thing I realized on awaking the morning after the fast and prayer was a thorough thaw which continued steady, so that we have prospect now of our cattle doing well."

Fourteen years later on July 29, 1865 Amanda's husband Josiah died at the age of 69.

In September of 1872, another tragedy came into the lives of Amanda and her family. The younger of Amanda's two sons, Daniel, was killed by Indians, at a saw mill in Oak Canyon, three miles east of Spring City. He was the last white man in Utah to be killed in the Indian wars, leaving a widow and 9 children. Daniel's 12 year old son Danny, my great grandfather, was wounded in the attack.

Amanda Morgan Miller died seven years later in October 1879 at the age of 84.

She was a faithful pioneer woman who braved the elements, Indian attacks, and insect infestations with courage and faith. She lived out of a wagon for many months, perhaps years, moving as needed to stay with the Saints. She lost children but found strength and ability to forge ahead because of her testimony of the gospel. She was obedient to church leaders even in the face of ostracism, refusing to become offended or bitter. She saw her strong sons march off to war leaving a much weakened family to face the trek to Salt Lake Valley. Overcoming hardships developed strength of character which was recognized in the communities they served. I'm so grateful for this legacy in our family.

2008-07-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

I forgot to load this picture. It goes with the next post.

2008-07-08T16:15:00.000-07:00

These pictures are mainly for Emily's enjoyment. We did a little yard work in preparation for Gillian's wedding. You may or may not know what bad shape the yard was in prior to said preparations but here is the finished product, at least for the wedding. We are forever grateful that she asked to use the yard. It was the kick in the pants we have been looking for. Thanks again Gillian and Patti.

The picture below shows two new pieces of yard art we reclaimed from the Land of Desolation. Jethro designed these in one of his art/welding classes. The picture doesn't do them justice, you'll have to come and see them to appreciate how awesome they are. We thought they fit right in with the fresno...
Bus took out an extra pine tree that was languishing in this forest. It opened up the forest and made it look much better.
We had two bean plants sprout out of the whole package. Probably won't be needing to put up too many beans this year. We do have quite a few tomatoes though and the carrots came up pretty thickly. The peas have been tasty. Our yard looks quite a bit larger without the fence doesn't it? Luckily we have nice neighbors.
Ben Francisco really worked hard a couple of days cleaning up the Land of Desolation. He moved the wood stack (I KNOW) and the canoe, he rototilled the grass in, he moved bricks and brick pieces, he was wonderful.
Bus finally got his shed finished yesterday too. It looks great. John and Dorothy also came and helped a lot. Dorothy and Phil weeded our garden and the front parking space. John helped clean up the Land of Desolation with Ben. Bus and Ben hauled at least one truck load to the dump and then another truckload to the metal recyclers. We really appreciate all the hard work.

2008-06-22T09:41:00.000-07:00

This is just a public service announcement. Mozilla has a new version of their web browser, 3.0. Just go to firefox.com and download it for free. It is fast and user friendly. It is awesome. That is all. You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

2008-06-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

You know the best part of a vacation for me is spending time with awesome people like these. Hanging out with the family was the funnest part of the trip for me. I loved playing games every night (even though Jethro and Robyn won every game we played). I loved going to the beach with Toni and Ben and Anna and Bus. I loved having great food prepared by everyone. I loved preparing food for this most appreciative group. You guys are so much fun. Thanks.

While the art inside the Getty Center is astounding, (I asked Jethro to paint me this kind of a still life 3 years ago...I'm still waiting)

The real beauty is to be found in the gardens surrounding the big campus of buildings.
These are made out of painted rebar with beautiful flowering plants inside of them.

Thanks Mr. Getty for allowing us to see your art displayed in an unforgettable setting. And mostly for not charging us an arm and a leg to see it. ($8 for parking, that's it!)

2008-06-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

Another day another vacation done. I know, its a hard life but at least I took some pictures so you can enjoy the sunset vicariously. Bus and I walked down to the beach one night to take some pictures and enjoy the time together. We saw one couple at a vista lookout with their roasted chicken picnic and wine. There was a guy out surfing below us. Some Asian kids walked by us while we were relaxing on the bench. This is looking north from Crystal Cove State Park south of Corona del Mar.

2008-06-06T09:11:00.000-07:00

This book seems to have a lot of interesting lessons. When I finished it my head was spinning at how the story wrapped up. As I have been thinking about the message I have been wracking my brain trying to come up with my personal legend or what my main goal in life is. According to the alchemist whatever your personal legend is the Soul of the World conspires to make it happen for you. You have to be aware of the omens or little things that guide you towards your goal. Most times they are quite subtle. I will be thinking about this for a while and see what I can come up with. If you have read this story tell me what your impression of the message is. There were examples in the book of those who ignore their personal legend or don't want to put the effort forth to accomplish it. There were many other lessons to be learned from the shepherd's journey. So many symbols. I would love to hear your thoughts about this book.

2008-05-22T06:08:00.000-07:00

Guess where this is? Believe it or not this is what the Sacred Grove looks like in early spring.
Maybe one day I will see it in color. There is still a very special feeling here, much like what one feels in the temple. I loved contemplating what happened here. We all separated and walked through alone. There are benches placed on the many trails through the trees. It is quite a bit larger than what I imagined.

The Palmyra Temple sits just east of the two farmhouses on a hill across the road but easily seen from the historical farmhouses.

This is a shot of the inside of the cooper's shed where the plates were hidden by Joseph Smith one time.
This is the hearth that they dug up to hide the plates another time. I have always loved that story and the ingenuity of the prophet for thinking of this.

2008-05-17T05:57:00.000-07:00

This is the Old North Bridge outside of Concord Massachusetts where the American colonists faced down the British soldiers at the beginning of the war. Its hard to imagine something so violent taking place here. It is very beautiful and serene.

2008-05-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

Today's pictures are from the Boston Marathon. We selected a spot in Wellesley about mid point in the race to watch the runners. These army guys were the first people we saw on the marathon route. We weren't sure how long they had been marching or how far they would go. They were carrying pretty heavy looking packs on their backs. I was just glad I wasn't part of their group.

The herald of the runners were the motorcycle cops. We knew when we saw these guys that things were going to get serious. We had been waiting for about 10 minutes before we saw them.
The wheelchair athletes are the first to go. I think we may have missed the winners of that group since she was the only person we saw in that category. She is buff.

These were the first women runners we saw.
Here's Dorothy cheering on her man. I'm afraid he may not have seen these wonderful signs though. We didn't see him until he was almost passed us and he was running on the other side of the road. I was so busy trying to get his attention that I forgot to take his picture. Sorry John. We were sure proud of him though.

These were the Kenyan runners that eventually won the race in a little over 2 hours. They were pretty much sprinting past us.

Here are the first real group of women runners. There weren't that many in the initial group.

This is the picture that describes the main part of the race. We watched a river of humanity running past us for the next hour and a half. The numbers on their jerseys went as high as 26,500+ .There were occasionally some guys dressed up in costumes that passed by. One was Minnie Mouse, another was dressed in full fairy regalia. Sponge Bob Square Pants passed by as did a shark. One masochist was in a complete Yankee baseball uniform. We didn't ever really get tired of the parade which is unusual because I generally dislike parades. We enjoyed shouting encouragement to the runners, many had their names on their shirts. Some pushed their handicapped friends/loved ones in jogging strollers.

2008-05-10T03:51:00.000-07:00

This is what the Hill Cumorah looks like from the bottom by the visitor's center.

This is at the top on the north side. These are the great people we traveled with. As you can see we were there at a pretty good time. Not too crowded!
This is Moroni

This is Phil

This is one of my favorite people.

Have you ever wondered what the other side of the hill looks like?

We were surprised to find that there is a campground for the host missionaries on the other side.

2008-05-08T11:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my favorite Smithsonian exhibit. These were taken in the botanical garden. Take a deep breath and enjoy.

There is a small stream running underneath these beauties!

2008-05-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

This shot was taken on our way out of Canada but it gives an overall view of the falls. The closer falls on the left are the American Falls. They are separated by a land mass to the right. The big misty cloud is hiding the Canadian Falls on the right.
This is at the top of the Canadian Falls The interesting thing about this is that the camera picked up the frozen chunks. We could not perceive them with our eyes at the time. I didn't realize they were there until I saw the picture today. The water is going very fast right here.This is looking down at an intermediate falls. The chunks of ice are very easy to see now.
This is looking downstream at the American Falls and the Niagara River.

There really is a lot of water here. The mist makes it hard to see the whole falls but it was spectacular nonetheless.

Here are the falls on the Canadian side just below the hotel we were staying at.

This is looking upstream of the Niagara River. You can see that the land is really quite flat until it falls at this point.
This is my favorite picture.

2008-04-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

So this is what happens when important people like the Pope come to Washington and head for the White House. He was staying in an embassy on Massachusetts Avenue that we stumbled upon while leaving Washington the next day. But this time we were stumbling all over the Mall looking at monuments. When the police started closing down the streets and yelling at innocents who just wanted to cross the street we decided to stick around and see what was going to happen. I wanted to look closer at what was captured on my camera to see if we could see a face etc but I will have to wait until my tech savvy people come home for that to happen. A few minutes after witnessing this parade we were crossing the lawn west of the Washington monument and heard a woman singing the Lord's Prayer over a loud speaker. We looked north and there was the White House with a lot of people outside on the back lawn and a big projection screen with video on it. That night on the news we saw it from the White House side of things with the President and the Pope sitting on chairs in front of the gathering. I felt just like Forrest Gump.

2008-03-31T08:21:00.001-07:00

Tender Mercies. I love to identify these sweet moments when I realize Heavenly Father is aware of me and my righteous desires.
Friday I had volunteered to drive marching band members from the high school to Lehi for their "band tour". I knew from past experience that this would take all afternoon and evening. I had prepared for that eventuality by bringing two books and my knitting. I was actually looking forward to having nothing to do but read and knit. I knew that there would be a big enough time slot that I could attend a session at the temple without being missed so I had put on a skirt and brought my temple gear. I had even brought a plate of my favorite chocolate chip cookies to share with my riders. But when all the students were loaded into the various cars and vans my car remained empty. Parents came who were not expected and their students and their friends filled those cars first.
I was able to go directly to the Provo temple. I ate some cookies along the way (thank goodness it was a short way :)) and Bus and I were able to go out on a long overdue date to a play at BYU. I still smile when I remember the love I felt.

2008-03-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

This is a blog to encourage passing readers to take a moment and peruse the good self help link on my blog. I love what this guy writes about. I love his perspective on life. Tell me what you think.

2008-03-07T12:28:00.001-08:00

Too Beautiful for Words

2008-02-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of our newest granddaughter Anna Lynne Gaines. She is just beautiful and very calm. She weighed 6 pounds and 7 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long. Toni did a great job.

Great looking family!

Here is Anna in her grandpa Gillespie's arms. We are so glad to have her here with us.

2008-02-18T20:32:00.001-08:00

This is the start of Matt and Mom and Dad's excellent adventure. The snow was perfect for walking/skiing on. We had a wonderful time and we are excited to show you our neighborhood as we discovered it today.

Side shot of Toni's favorite ski hill

Home sweet home

It may look like a sarcophagus but is really the picnic table.

Where the fire usually sits.

Such a beautiful day

Matt is standing on top of the picnic table...

For illustrative purposes

Newest kid on the block

Yeah it's pretty deep

Getting ready to head back The end of a

wonderful adventure.

2008-02-12T16:12:00.000-08:00

Dad bought me a new car this past Monday. Subaru Outback and the maroon color isn't lame which I really like. I felt pretty sporty as I drove to the BYU family history library this morning. I parked in the MOA parking lot and felt pretty awesome. After finding some new ancestors I came out and put the key in the lock and much to my amazement and horror the car alarm sounded. I haven't ever had to deal with this annoying safety feature before. I have no remote control to deactivate the loud honking. I tried putting the key in the ignition but that didn't work. I tried to turn on the car, that didn't work. I got out and locked the door again. It went silent. I looked around. People were smiling to themselves. I took a deep breath and put the key back in the lock and immediately the honking sounded again. I went through this crazy pattern several more times. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to when it would start or stop. I started thinking that maybe I was on some bizarre reality TV show with a camera hidden somewhere. I'm sure I would have laughed had I been an onlooker. Finally a man came to my rescue. We tried disconnecting the fuses. Nope. We tried locking and unlocking, key in, key out. Nothing. Finally he disconnected the horn wires. There was still one honking after that. The one in the back of the engine was finally located and disabled. I got in the car, turned the key. Nothing. Turned on the headlights to see if it was battery related. No lights. He guessed the battery was dead. (Don't the horns use the battery???) I told him I would call my husband, not to worry. He left. I put the key in once more and the stupid thing started right up. I was befuddled but grateful.
When I got home I called the dealer. This is what I learned. When you lock all the doors at once using the handy dandy lock that is conveniently on the driver's door panel when you leave the car it will activate the alarm when you come back and put the key in the door. To disable the alarm one must put the key in the ignition and click it 3 times, not turn it on all the way, just click it 3 times to get the alarm to stop. The 4th time will turn the car on. The handy dandy lock is for use while IN the car. Otherwise just manually lock the doors when leaving the car (very convenient). Now we know.

2008-01-31T13:39:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite quotes from President Hinckley is the one that says everything will work out. I have found this very helpful during times of stress and trial. I think he is right. Things do work out. Even when sad or bad things happen time seems to heal those things as well.
On the way to class this morning the car's engine stopped. Luckily it was at the top of a hill and I was able to coast until I found a convenient parking lot to stop in. When I turned the key after putting the car in park it started right back up and off I went.
I picked up my new friend to take her to class (she's over 80 and doesn't like to drive on the snow-packed roads) and it happened a couple of more times. On our way to her house after the class as we were passing Timpview it started making a very awful noise then clunked and stopped again. I was able to coast for quite a while, running the stop sign but this time when I stopped and turned the key it didn't make a sound.
What would I have done if Emily hadn't been playing basketball at Timpview? She came to our rescue which was nice because my friend Louine had an appointment at noon and this happened about 11:30. She took Louine home then she dropped me off. I was able to finally get in touch with Bus. He was able to call Larry's towing. I had to be at work at 1:00. Emily came home just in time to take me to meet the tow truck. She proceeded on her way to take her friend home then returned to take me to work after I had finished my business with the tow truck driver. I was even early today for a change.
See, it all works out. I even have faith that I will find a way home from work and will be able to get to Jethro and Robyn's before 7 to tend Lincoln. What a great day!

2008-01-03T07:55:00.000-08:00

Wow. It's already 2008 and a month since I blogged last. So much fun in the last 4 weeks. We made quilts for the humanitarian center, 8 of them. We hosted a party for the ward family that was pretty nice. Fun family parties as well. This was our first Christmas with grandchildren. They are so much fun and so handsome. We were able to see the Bells Concert at the Conference Center but not the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert with the King's Singers; we did get close to seeing it though. Christmas Day was a little traumatic for me. I think I'm recovered though. I didn't want a gun. Santa was just a little confused I guess. We enjoyed having all the children home for Christmas and before and after. I love the anticipation of Christmas the most. I loved doing sealings with the family. It was an incredibly warm and cuddly feeling that afternoon even though the weather outside was kind of cold and blowy. I loved playing games with you all as well. The present yesterday was so much fun too. Another little one in August/September. Sooo good. Thanks for all you do to enrich my life.

2007-12-05T13:11:00.000-08:00

The yearly ritual of decorating for Christmas is an interesting phenomenon at my house. We dread getting everything out of storage and hauling it all upstairs. It tests our patience to put on the lights, try and find the right combination of decorations for the available nails already in the wall, and then find a place to put our regular decor while the Christmas stuff is out.

We enjoy the decorations if they stay put and the lights stay on. But after Christmas we can hardly wait to take it all down and resume the normal boring life. Why do we bother?

2007-11-20T14:03:00.000-08:00

Last month I agreed to work for Audrey for today and even though I realized it would be a crazy week I said I would. She called me last Thursday to tell me her surgery had been canceled and I wouldn't need to work. I was quite relieved actually. I had agreed to work at Utah Valley Wednesday morning so that would be two days in a row working full time, not leaving much time to get stuff ready for Thanksgiving. I had planned the day out carefully so I would have time to get everything prepared.
This morning when I returned from my walk with the girls there was a phone message waiting. Apparently, unbeknownst to me I had been scheduled to cover a shift in urgent care at BYU in place of my being canceled by Audrey. I was already 40 minutes late and I still needed to get showered and dressed. Somewhat begrudgingly I hurried and got ready, packed a left-overs lunch and got in the car. Turned the key and nothing. Tried multiple times over the next 10 minutes with the same result. Got under the hood, jiggled some wires still nothing. Called my trusty visiting teacher to bail me out. She came quickly and drove me to the Health Center. When I arrived and explained my situation to my co-workers it suddenly occurred to me that I had a hair appointment at 2 and now I had no way to get there. My boss had said he would cover for the hour I needed to go. I think he felt bad about what had happened.
When I told him about my dilemma he offered his car for the appointment. Nice guy.
When I pulled into the hair salon my friend and stylist Robyn hurried in to apologize that the lady before me hadn't told her that she wanted her hair colored so she was double booked for that hour. But she would see what she could do to expedite my haircut. Between three of them I was finished and back to work in an hour. Things always work out. I just hope I can get a ride home from work.

2007-11-14T15:23:00.000-08:00

I got a call from the A-1 Uniform store yesterday. They had my phone. The battery was dead so they took it to a Cingular store to get recharged. She looked in my directory and found my "grandma", called her and she gave them my home phone. So nice. Apologies to Jan for missing the calls. Kudos to A-1 Uniform store for going the extra mile.

2007-11-13T08:39:00.000-08:00

On the off-chance that anyone has tried to call me on the cell since last Thursday this is just to let you know that my phone has been missing since then. If I haven't returned a message that would also be my excuse. I am on the lookout for it but I'm sure the battery is dead so it is more of a challenge. Please continue your patience with me in this matter.

2007-11-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

ISFJ - "Conservator".
Desires to be of service
and to minister to individual
needs - very loyal.
13.8% of total population.

I find these tests very interesting. We took several during our nursing training. I'm never sure that I answer the questions the way I really am or the way I wish I was. Anyway, thanks Jan for the momentary diversion. Now I'll get back to my service project...

2007-11-01T15:32:00.000-07:00

Some days my brain doesn't work as well as others. Today for instance. After our walk I thought I had a free morning. I was doing some work on the computer for a while. Then Emily came down the stairs about quarter to ten and announced she was ready for our class at the church. I was still in my walking clothes. Plus, I remembered at that moment that I had told Kathy Shumway I would come and tend her two little kids while she went to the class. I didn't have time to change so I went to Kathy's as I was. She called soon after she left and asked if it was OK if she went to the store after class to get a couple of things. I thought for a moment and said it was probably OK, not remembering the conversation on our walk that we would all meet at Tahitian Noni cafe for lunch at 11:30. Thankfully she didn't go to the store after all but came home. I visited with her for a few minutes, still not remembering that I had the lunch date. After I came home and put the hamburger in the microwave to defrost I suddenly remembered the lunch date. I was supposed to be there in 15 minutes. I still needed to shower and get dressed. I was 10 minutes late for lunch but enjoying the company and the terrific food when it hit me that the hamburger was still in the microwave. I did make it safely to work after stopping off at home. I'm almost afraid to go home to discover/remember the next disaster.

2007-10-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

OK I'll play. I've been tagged by Robyn.

Here's the rules:
A. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
B. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog, for these rules.

1. I walk 5 days a week with some of my favorite people. We walk from 2-4 miles a day. Very good for the body and the soul.

2. Reading is one of my escapes. A new series I am working on is the Great and Terrible series by Chris Stewart. I have finished the 4th book and am waiting impatiently for the next one to come out.

3. Genealogy is a true passion. There is a special spirit that attends one who does this work. I try to get some time in every week to bolster my spirit.

4. A new quest is the Medical Reserve Corp which is just starting up in Utah County. I attended an organizing meeting last night and ended up on the board as a nursing specialist. Maybe I will learn some new skills.

5. Keeping up with the new grandchildren is going to become a new obsession. I can't believe I'm old enough to have grandchildren!

6. The favorite time each week is when we eat Sunday dinner and then play games together. I so enjoy my family and their entertaining ways.

So now I will tag Bus, Jethro, Matt, Jolyn, Ben Gaines and Ben Francisco. Take it and run guys. Let us hear your stories.

2007-10-21T08:40:00.000-07:00

I feel some prompting to share some insights I have gained lately. Granted I have been reading a lot of books lately on the subject but that isn't abnormal. I have always had a fascination with end-of-the-world stories. But then as I was reading through a conference talk issue from last October (Our bathroom is a lot like the doctor's offices...)I read the talk given by Larry Gibbons in the Sunday afternoon session. It was a confirmation of what I had been reading in the books. I recommend that you read his talk but this nugget he had in his talk was something that I felt had a strong message for us.

President Heber J. Grant said: "There is but one path of safety to the Latter-day Saints, and that is the path of duty. It is not a testimony, it is not marvelous manifestations, it is not knowing that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, . . . it is not actually knowing that the Savior is the Redeemer, and that Joseph Smith was His prophet, that will save you and me, but it is the keeping of the commandments of God, the living the life of a Latter-day Saint."

Think about that. Keeping the commandments. Doing your duty as a Latter Day Saint. Staying strong so the priesthood you men hold is ready for use at any time. That is what is going to save us. The other things will of course not hurt us at all. In fact, I think they serve to remind us of why we do our duties. The saving is in the righteous, obedient action.
What do you think? Am I way off base on this?

2007-10-17T14:27:00.000-07:00

Here is an excerpt of an interesting time in Utah history by Davis Britton in Meridian Magazine. We think its bad if we have a few spiders or flies in our houses...

It was January 1849. The Latter-day Saints in the Salt Lake Valley had survived their first winter and were now in their second one. Thanks to the gulls, they had avoided a complete crop failure, but it cannot be said that their crops in the fall harvest had been overly abundant. They were grateful for what they had.But the pressure was still on. Incoming wagon trains had boosted the population of Saints in Utah to perhaps four or five thousand, which of course meant many mouths to feed. They would have to be frugal to make their limited supplies last until the next summer.
As for lodging, you were lucky if you had a cabin. Many were still housed in cramped quarters in the fort, and of those who arrived in the fall many decided to make do by living in a dugout or in their reinforced wagon box until spring. Without good insulation, all of these habitations were often drafty, wet, and cold.
It was in this context that the community leaders organized a community pest hunt. It was not kindness-to-wild-animals time but a struggle for existence, and certain animals, identified as "noxious vermin," posed a threat. The more of these that could be eliminated, they thought, the more food would be available for the struggling humans.
To add to the enthusiasm, the leaders organized a competition between two teams, one led by John D. Lee and the other by John Pack. These two team leaders ended up by quarreling over the numbers. The hunt stretched over the month of January 1849.
And we have the total animal victims: 2 bears, 783 wolves, 409 foxes, 2 wildcats, 2 wolverines, 331 minks, 9 eagles, 530 magpies, owls and hawks, and 1026 crows.

I wonder if they had a ward dinner after this...

2007-10-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

I found this very interesting letter written by Orson Spencer, my great-great grandfather to the leaders of the church. He was on his way home after serving as the president of the British mission in 1849. He had left to go to England just after his wife had died in 1846 outside of Nauvoo, leaving his 6 children in Winter Quarters. They came to Salt Lake without him in the second group in 1847. He returned home with his new wife Martha Knight Spencer and their new baby Martha in the spring of 1849. The following is an excerpt of his report to the brethren about their trip on the ship Zetland and now on a steamship going up the Mississippi from New Orleans.

During the passage, we baptized one very promising young man, and confirmed more than a dozen, who were baptized after they entered the ship at Liverpool. Four infant children died on board the ship, and three infants were born, and a fourth child has been born on the steamer since. In every single case the mothers never did better. William M`Hendre, who begged his passage at the moment of our sailing form Liverpool, proved himself an infamous wretch. His iniquity found him out, and made him loathsome to the senses. I hope no other company will be disgraced and annoyed with such a contentious, lewd, filthy person. Two young females married sailors immediately on their arrival at New Orleans. If they had been married sooner, it would have been some apology for previous conduct. However, the spots on so large a company were very few. General love and union have prevailed. Nearly the whole of our large company are on their way with me to St. Louis. The cholera prevails in New Orleans and river towns to a considerable extent. It pleads with emigrants to hasten forward to the mountains for safety. Several deaths occur during every passage to St. Louis. We have already buried seven persons, and one or two lie waiting for the same rite. One brother and one sister have died, and are buried at the island "82." The brother's case was very much like cholera brought on by imprudence. The wife of William Eure had been in poor health for many months previous to her death. Very much of the sickness and death now prevalent may be traced to imprudence and gross mismanagement. I venture to say that it is not prudent of English emigrants to change their habit of diet too suddenly upon their arrival in New Orleans. A free use of strong drink, to which the emigrant is tempted after long restrictions at sea, is disastrous and often fatal. If our companies that are now actually emigrating through the midst of pestilence, that walketh in darkness and wasteth at noon day, plunging its thousands into death, with little notice, will use due circumspection and follow counsel, they will escape the pestilence to the astonishment of all that behold them as our company has done. And, as a caution to forthcoming emigrants let me say, some will transgress wholesome rules and be drunken and gluttonous. Then the transition of climate and change of water and food, in some instances destroy the unwary: Two Irish people have walked out of the boat, or from the shore into the river, to return no more, under the influence of strong drink. One of our own brethren even walked into the Mississippi upon a plank of moonshine (to use his own expression) taking the moon's reflection upon the water for a plank, but was fortunately rescued from death by brethren at hand. Strong drink was the sole cause of this perilous adventure! Others will overcharge their stomachs with brandy in order to keep off the cholera, to which course, they are often advised by strangers. The company under my charge however, have thus far excited the admiration of all observers for their extraordinary cleanliness and good order, and wonderful measure of health. It was confidently said by officers of this steamboat, that at least fifty of so large a company would die on our passage to St. Louis. We are now within fifty miles of St. Louis, without any apprehension of another death unless a Gentile doctor on board kills them with his favorite dose of 20 grains calomel, laudanum, camphor, and brandy. This dose was given to our deceased brother and sister, contrary to my wishes, (F. Ryder and Mrs. Eure) and to many others who died immediately within a few hours! Several Saints I rescued from this dose who were as mortally seized, and they now live.

2007-10-09T21:44:00.000-07:00

I have many things to be thankful for. I am thankful for a loving family that helped me have a really wonderful conference weekend. I am thankful for the outstanding conference addresses given by gifted and spiritually mature individuals who show us a better way.
I'm also thankful for my oldest son Jethro who turns 28 years old today. He has been a joy to raise and now he has his own little boy to raise with his beautiful and talented wife. The circle of life is incredible.
We just returned from a band competition. Beautiful music beautifully rendered by high school students who enjoy doing hard things, making them look easy and earning praise and adoration of the parents who love them.
These are the things that make life worthwhile and good. Too bad the world newscasts like to focus on the ways a few people die instead of the worthy ways a lot of people live.

2007-09-24T09:20:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a cry baby. I accept that. But why is it that every year when I walk into the stadium to watch the marching band and hear their initial yell and see them looking so sharp in their formed lines and their uniforms do I start to sob? It is so embarrassing. I hope I can control it somewhat this year though because I will be helping take the percussion equipment in before the show. Maybe that distraction will help...
Is there any hope for me?

2007-09-18T12:09:00.001-07:00

In perusing the newspaper today I found two items that may interest readers. The first was the running back stats for the high school teams in the state. There in the Deseret News
sports section/running backs was Spencer from Riverton. He has the highest yards per carry at 11. He doesn't have the highest yardage but when you look at the stats he is probably the most efficient runner. He is fun to watch.
The other item was a great obituary about a man who was the ultimate in law enforcement I knew as a child. Check out the link if you want a chuckle and an idea of what the Cedar City good ol' boys are/were like. Thespectrum.com
Look at the obituary for Kent Hoyt.

2007-09-16T19:18:00.001-07:00

This has been an eventful week. I was asked to work three consecutive mornings drawing blood for the BYU faculty/staff wellness center. They draw blood every 6 months to check cholesterol and other things. While it isn't rocket science I found a tremendous anxiety in many people relative to needles. This in turn creates a moderate amount of anxiety in me as the blood drawer. If I miss the vein I feel terrible, probably worse than they do. The second day, first victim comes in and announces that he always faints when he has his blood drawn. He wants to start out lying down. So he lies down on the floor and I kneel down to draw his blood. Everything goes just fine. He lives through it and is able to get up and drink his orange juice. He seemed amazed that he was OK. How much does it really hurt to get your blood drawn? Not that much. But the anxiety level of most people is very high. I did miss a few. But then I had a few that said it was the best blood draw they had ever experienced. You never know. I was able to meet lots of nice people and many that I knew which was fun. I even met some "famous" people which was a bonus.
The other part of the week that was fun was that Em was taken off her work schedule. This couldn't have happened at a better time. She was able to sleep in and clean her room on Thursday. Friday she went to class but Friday evening we went up to our Indian Canyon pleasure palace and camped out. When you first get out of the car up there you notice the piney sweetness of the place. It was very dark when we arrived at 9 p.m. There were millions of stars and some distant lightning. We quickly put out our sleeping bags in the trailer, Matt in his tent, and settled in for a long night. The next day was delightful. We ate a hearty breakfast then started a fire. Not that it was cold, it was very comfortable. We just wanted a place to gather and talk. After a while we commenced gathering firewood, Bus ran the chain saw, Matt on the ax. After 15 minutes we had more than we could carry in the truck. There are so many dead logs up there. If any readers want some free fire wood give us a call. We like excuses to go up there.

2007-09-05T16:03:00.000-07:00

I know this is a weak way to blog but I appreciate this message so much that I wanted to share it. Plus I don't have anything earthshaking to say otherwise.
M E R I D I A N M A G A Z I N E
Getting From Childishness to Godliness
By H. Wallace Goddard

It is an unusual baby who arrives on the mortal scene concerned foremost about the well-being of others. Imagine a newborn saying (or acting as if to say): “Wow. I can see that all of you look very worn out. Mom, you look spent! What a struggle for you! Dad, you need a rest. Doctor, thank you for making my arrival so warm and safe. Why don’t I just relax a few hours while all of you get caught up. Let me know when you would like to visit. Maybe we can chat and have a snack in a few hours.”
As much as we are delighted with the arrival of newborns, they come with a rather different attitude. “Man! That was miserable! Do you know what I’ve just been through? And I’m not that crazy about the light and drafts here. Listen. Why don’t I scream and holler until you can figure out how to make me happy. Then maybe I’ll rest for a while. But I’ll let you know when I need something. And when I scream, I expect service.”
A Clod of Complaints
George Bernard Shaw’s words fit the newborn quite well: “A feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.” The baby may be demanding and self-centered — but we make allowances for being a brand new human.
Unfortunately our attitude doesn’t change quickly or easily as we age. Many of us in adulthood are still struggling with the same attitude. “If I’m unhappy, I intend that everyone else be miserable as well. So, if you don’t want to be tortured, get busy taking care of my needs.”
Something Better
A few people break the pattern. Something is different for them. They are different from the rest of us. You know them. There is the ward member who seems to take genuine interest in people who struggle. There is the neighbor who cares for an ailing parent or a disabled child without complaint. There are those who set aside their own burdens and disappointments so that they can serve patiently and endlessly. I have been blessed by the ministering and example of many such people.
Van Wyck Brooks describes people who have moved from being narrow and contracted to being expansive: “How delightful is the company of generous people, who overlook trifles and keep their minds instinctively fixed on whatever is good and positive in the world about them. People of small caliber are always carping. They are bent on showing their own superiority, their knowledge or prowess or good breeding. But magnanimous people have no vanity, they have no jealousy, and they feed on the true and the solid wherever they find it. And, what is more, they find it everywhere.” (A Chillmark Miscellany)
I would like to be one of those magnanimous people. How do we get from the clod of complaints to noble goodness?
Ladeling from Life
Life provides each of us an experiential stew filled not only with chunks of vegetables but abundant weeds and rocks. The hodgepodge includes the intriguing, the indigestible, the enriching, and the toxic. We all eat stew from life’s general pot. Yet some are stunted while others flourish. Why is it that some extract nourishment for their goodness while others get only poison for their minds and souls?
People who have been served a bitter bowl of stew and still flourished have become iconic. Elijah turned national disgrace into personal discovery and continuing service. Corrie ten boom transformed Holocaust hate into embracing forgiveness. Frankl found meaning in the concentration camp. C. S. Lewis transformed a lonesome childhood into an embracing faith. Jesus metabolized the sins and pains of creation into the triumph of love.
There are those who have eaten from the same pot and yet are spiritually malnourished. Sigmund Freud showed the nature of his own soul when he wrote that, “I have found little that is good about human beings on the whole. In my experience most of them are trash.” A cynic would argue that Freud’s bitter assessment of humans is the result of his extensive experience with them. It seems even more likely that it is the result of his corrosive cynicism and atheism.
Throughout history there have been those who would destroy others to advance their own cause. Cain. Herod. Hitler. McVeigh. bin Laden. It is chilling to discover that we all have a little Timothy McVeigh in us. We may not be willing to destroy a whole community, but we stingily disburse our good will. At times we may even wish harm on this person or that nation.
The Answer
So how do we move away from our churlish childishness and become more like those expansive people we admire? What is the key to this mighty change?
I reflected on the question as I sat in church. I thought of the complex answers about biological dispositions and environmental shaping. I thought about all the things research recommends for moral development. How can all these ideas be summarized?
The answer came quite unexpectedly. The organ began to plan and words ascended from the seekers. “I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me, confused at the grace that so fully He proffers me. I tremble to know that for me He was crucified. That for me, a sinner, He suffered, He bled, and died.”
I felt flooded with the simple truth that Jesus is the Way for any who want to move from tired self-absorption to glorious contributing. Even for those who have never heard His name, His persistent invitation to gentleness and goodness is resident in their souls. The Light of Christ.
“Oh! It is wonderful! Wonderful to me.”

2007-08-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

I made the mistake of going to the Quilted Bear last night. I haven't been in the store in Provo before. Two hours later with multiple bags in tow I staggered out. Its a good thing I don't go too often. But the bathroom looks cuter now and I love my new picture by the front door. I am even wearing a new t-shirt today and hope it makes up for the fact that I didn't want to put on make-up.
Today has been fantastic. Walking for an hour with Karen, visiting teachers, 4 hours at the red church reading old church records in German and now waiting for the apple crisp to cook so I can make another batch of banana bread, then sweet and sour pork for dinner. The best part is that there is no where to go tonight, just sit home and eat. You are all invited. No wait, stay home. I'm going to vej. Come next time.
P.S. Two mission calls today: Brian Spencer to Johannesburg and Nathan Spencer to Sao Paulo Brazil. So good. They leave the day(s) after Christmas for their respective MTCs in- country.

2007-08-10T05:50:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a day where everything goes a little haywire? I had a day like that yesterday. I had a list of things to accomplish and I was bravely attempting to conquer it. But then the bottles with carrots that I had just put in the pressure cooker started breaking. I lost 6 or 7 pints in the four batches I cooked. Then the pressure cooker lid wouldn't come off each time. As I was fixing dinner (while at the same time trying to finish the carrots and make triple berry jam) I put the hot zucchini soup into the blender and it splashed all over the cupboard, into the toaster, all over the light under the cupboard, everywhere. I guess I had put too much in the blender. I put a package of sauce into the microwave to warm it up. It burst the bag with a loud pop but only spilled a little bit. The kitchen was a huge mess.
There were so many pots and pans to clean. But there was only one thing on my mind. I was going to see our new baby boy, Lincoln. Bus and I went over to their house and were able to hold him for a while. He is an active, alert and strong little guy. He started to fuss a little bit so we quickly handed him over to his mom. He settled right down. He is in good hands.

2007-08-09T07:11:00.000-07:00

Clown collar award to Robyn. She delivered a beautiful baby boy yesterday morning. His name is Lincoln James and he weighed 6 pounds 6 ounces and was 19 inches tall. He has a little bit of light brown hair. We went to the hospital in American Fork soon after he was born and were able to watch his first bath. He has a good lusty cry and great reflexes. I forgot to take my camera so Jethro and Robyn will have to post those. But trust me, he is a beautiful boy. Congratulations to the new parents! Well done.

2007-07-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

This is a new kind of blog written especially for my children so they can become acquainted with their pioneer ancestors. Others are welcome to read this but just so you know. This was written for an assignment I had to give a 7 minute report on a pioneer ancestor in Relief Society. I have pages of information copied off about her that I will gladly send to the first person who asks for it.

Mary Isabella Hales Horne

Mary Isabella Hales was born in England in 1818. The Hales and their family of five sons and two daughters emigrated to Toronto Canada where Isabella met Joseph Horne at a Methodist camp meeting in 1834. They were married two years later. Mary Isabella was 17 and Joseph was 24. Within two months after their marriage Parley P. Pratt came to preach the gospel in their neighborhood. They listened with eagerness to Elder Pratt’s sermon. The spirit of the Lord bore witness to them that what he taught was true. They were baptized by Elder Orson Hyde in July, 1836.

She writes about meeting the Prophet Joseph Smith for the first time. “When I shook hands with him I was thrilled through and through and I knew that he was a Prophet of God, and that testimony has never left me, but is still strong within me.” John Taylor and his wife Leonora were close friends and they and the Hornes were able to travel with the prophet to visit the branches of the church in Canada.

Isabella met the Prophet again in Quincy; this time he was only a few steps ahead of the mobsters. She writes, “Brother Joseph Smith and several of the brethren and sisters came to Quincy. They came to my house, partook of refreshments and scattered. Brother Joseph was in the best of spirits. He said laughingly, “Sister Horne, if I had a wife as small as you, when trouble came I would put her in my pocket and run.”

On another occasion the Prophet Joseph, in company with a number of the brethren, came to Quincy to talk to the Governor about the affairs of the Saints. On his return to his home in Nauvoo he was arrested and brought back to Quincy. Isabella recorded that about noon the next day the Prophet came to her house and said, ‘Sister Horne, the Spirit always draws me to your home.’ He needed clean clothes to continue his journey and Mary Isabella was happy to help him with this.

The Hornes lived in Nauvoo for four years and then prepared to go west with the saints. They left Winter Quarters in June 1847 Isabella tells of an incident that occurred on their journey west. “In the month of July, we saw a large band of Indians located on the other side of the Platte river about half mile ahead. In the morning Apostle John Taylor invited my husband to drive on before the company to meet the Indians who were swimming over the river to trade. One Indian brought a pony to my wagon and wanted to trade for my baby girl fourteen months old. I said, ‘No trade.’ He brought a second and a third pony and indicated that he was very determined to have my baby. Just at that time the rest of the company came up and I had no more trouble with him.

While the brethren were trading with the Indian men, the squaws and children were going among our wagons stealing cooking utensils or anything else they could get hold of, so that when we camped for the night we found that many useful articles were missing.

Once they reached the Salt Lake Valley one of the greatest sources of trouble and inconvenience were the mice. The ground was full of them. They ran over them in their beds, dropped from the ceiling, ate into their boxes and destroyed much valuable clothing. Various kinds of mousetraps were devised but relief was obtained only after securing a kitten for 50 cents from the only family of cats in the camp.

Early in the spring a man came into the valley from California with some pack animals and brought some potatoes. Her husband paid him fifty cents for four potatoes about as large as a hen’s egg, from which he raised over a bushel of fine potatoes. But they couldn’t eat them. They saved them for seed Their sugar was all gone but a man from California came with some. She waited for an hour and a half and then she could only buy one pound of brown sugar for which she paid one dollar.

In 1858, Johnston’s army threatened invasion and devastation to Salt Lake City. Her husband Joseph was away on a mission in Southern Utah so Isabella drove one of their teams to Parowan with her six month old baby on her lap and had three other children under 5 years of age with her. Her older children were also with her. Grandpa Spencer's father's mother was 9 years old at this time. Her name is Leonora Taylor Horne.

Isabella was the first president of the Salt Lake Stake Relief Society when it covered all of Salt Lake County. There were 24 wards in all. This position Isabella continued to occupy for 31 years until she was 85 years old and the stake was divided into 6 stakes. Simultaneously she served as the treasurer of the General Relief Society under President Eliza R. Snow and then Zina Young. She was also one of the main women's suffrage leaders in Salt Lake City.

In the fall of 1869, Isabella was issued another challenge. President Young, touring southern Utah with other Church leaders, was troubled by the fact that wherever they went, great preparations were made for their entertainment. The sisters even stayed at home instead of going to meeting. When he arrived in Gunnison, where Isabella was visiting her son, he spoke with her about the matter. “ Sister Horne, he said, “I am going to give you a mission to begin when you return to your home—the mission of teaching retrenchment among the wives and daughters of Israel. It is not right that they should spend so much time in the preparation of their food and adornment of their bodies, and neglect their spiritual education.

Isabella took the president’s concern seriously. the Senior Retrenchment Association was organized. To help them understand the theory of the organization she served bread and butter, preserves, stewed dried apples, one kind of cake and cold water.

When Isabella was 74 years of age, she made a trip to England to do genealogy research. Her nephew happened to write about this encounter she had with some leading lady suffragists there.

One of the ladies was very curious to know how polygamous families get along and pointedly asked Sister Horne if her husband was a man of many wives. “My husband has other wives,” was her reply. With eyes wide open, expressive of the greatest astonishment, the lady asked, “How did you feel?” “Just as you would feel,” replied my aunt. “I am a woman like yourself, and, but for my religious convictions, would no more have consented for my husband to take another wife than you would; but I know that the principle of plural or celestial marriage is true and from God. God has spoken from the heavens and raised up the boy prophet, Joseph Smith, to establish his kingdom on earth in these last days, and I have a testimony of the truth of these things. I have had the honor of entertaining the prophet in my own home and know that he was a man of God.”

“Well, but you don’t expect to convert US to these things?”

“Oh no madam. If we wished to convert you to our religion we would begin with the first principles, not with the highest and most exalted ones.”

Emmeline B. Wells, a long-time friend and associate said of this remarkable woman, “She was a born leader, a sort of General among women and indeed in this respect might surpass most men. Sister Horne can appropriately be called a stalwart, a champion for the rights of her own sex, and indeed for all mankind. She was undoubtedly a woman of destiny. This woman of destiny who had borne fifteen children, including three sets of twins was a much-loved mother and grandmother. I am grateful for her example.

2007-07-17T10:16:00.001-07:00

The rich industrialist from the North was horrified to find the southern fisherman lying lazily beside his boat, smoking a pipe.
"Why aren't you out fishing?" said the industrialist.
"Because I have caught enough fish for the day," said the fisherman.
"Why don't you catch some more?"
"What would I do with them?"
"You could earn more money," was the industrialist's reply. "With that you could have a motor fixed to your boat and go into deeper waters and catch more fish. Then you would make enough to buy nylon nets. These would bring you more fish and more money. Soon you would have enough money to own two boats. . . maybe even a fleet of boats. Then you would be a rich man like me."
"What would I do then?" asked the fisherman.
"Then you could really enjoy life."
"What do you think I am doing right now?"

2007-07-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

So yesterday at the 4th of July parade in Provo (I only go because Matt marches in the band--they looked very fine yesterday) we are carefully making our way down the east side trying to find a small patch of earth not already marked off by someone else's blanket or shade tent so that we can be on the shady side of the street and also be on the side where Matt anchors the tuba line. Emily texts us that she is taking a half hour break from East Lake Care Center to come and view the band with us. We decide that 800 North is a good meeting place. Surely there won't be that many people on the street itself since it can't be roped off like the rest of the places along the parade route that have been "saved" since Monday or earlier. But no, there are10 rows of people there. How will we ever find Emily in this chaos? All of the sudden I see her on the side of the parade route, her phone tucked between her shoulder and her ear. She is wearing shades and a smile. She unexpectedly drops to the ground. I rise on tiptoes to see her doing her balancing act on one hand that she perfected as a Miss Camp Shalom contestant. She gets up to applause. She wades through the throng to where we are standing. The people along the front wanted her to "do something" as she passed by. She accommodated them without missing a beat.

2007-06-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

This past week was so delightful. I loved having Jan and Clark here to play with. There were several highlights including the trip to Ikea with many of the female members of the family and eating so many meatballs. Then we watched Em's team win their softball game. Ben found a great deal on the softballs they were clearing out. Jethro has now offered to draw pictures on them and adopt them into the family...There was the cake making event, the sewing events, girl's night out and scrapbooking event combined with the cake eating event. We crammed a lot of fun into a week. We are getting better at Puerto Rico, the game. We will have to practice some more though because Jan buried us all that last go round.
Thanks for adding a colorful thread to the fabric of my life the past week. You are all so interesting and fun to be around.

2007-06-11T20:38:00.001-07:00

I have loved reading your blogs this past week. You are all insightful and fun people. I love getting a glimpse into your lives and what you are involved in or thinking about. Thanks so much for sharing these things with the world.
This afternoon at work we were less busy and I happened upon this article that kept me fascinated in spite of its length. The link is http://pewforum.org/events/?EventID=148
Richard Bushman was interviewed and questioned by reporters from many of the nation's biggest media outlets about Mormonism. He is a master communicator. Mitt Romney's campaign has been a major impetus for people in the nation to find out about the church. This was good PR for our side. I encourage you to peruse this when you have a minute. I think he deserves our clown collar award this week.

2007-06-04T09:14:00.000-07:00

We have a new clown collar award to announce. Drum roll please...
Matt has finally finished his Eagle Scout Award! He just has some paperwork to finish up but everything else is done. Yeah Matt.

2007-05-23T13:41:00.001-07:00

Another clown collar award. This time it is the Gaines family.
Last night was a highlight. There we were sitting in the Timpview commons on our smoky camp chairs with the sunlight beaming through the windows. Dr. Fullmer announces that the next performer would be none other than Billy Joel. Out comes Ben with his harmonica holder and tells the audience they should sing along with him as he plays but that he will pretend they aren't there.
He proceeds to play the exact piano notes that Billy Joel plays on his song and then the harmonica. It really sounds authentic. The audience cheers and claps. He sings his heart out the rest of the song then comes the finale. For the last chorus he points with both hands over the piano giving the audience the chance to shine. They pull through for him a capella and then everyone erupts in cheering and clapping as the song becomes the audience's song as well. It was so much fun. He was a fantastic Piano Man. Grandma was there. She was so glad she was.
The other part of the award goes to Toni. She is taking classes this term and is the lone woman in a poli-sci class with 6 men. They recently had a test. Two people got A's. Toni was one of them. You go Toni!

2007-05-21T18:03:00.000-07:00

So I thought I would put in a quote from one of the big guys on connectivity...

"One of the main problems in society today is that we spend less and
less time together. Some, even when they are together, spend an
extraordinary amount of time in front of the television, which robs them of
personal time for reinforcing feelings of self-worth. Family home
evenings give individuals and families important time to talk and listen as
parents and children, brothers and sisters, spouses, and friends. Time
together is precious--time needed to encourage and to show how to
do things. Less time together can result in loneliness, which may produce
feelings of being unsupported, untreasured, and
inadequate."

Topics: Family

(James E. Faust, "Enriching Our Lives through Family Home Evening," Liahona, June 2003, 5)

2007-05-16T05:32:00.000-07:00

Something special happened yesterday thatI want to share . Jethro was in a bind with a work project that ended up being more than he anticipated. His partner was unable to help finish so Jethro called on his siblings to help him out Em and Matt went to Orem to help him finish the weeding and rototilling and smoothing of a lady's yard, preparing it for sod. It was hard, dirty work. They didn't whine about missing dinner, complain about how hard the work was or why was he making them work after they had already put in a full day at work and school. Their concern was how can we help out Jethro in his bad situation.
After dinner Jethro pulled out a wad of money to generously pay them. He was fully aware and grateful for their sacrifice and hard work. They gave him back a significant amount claiming that they didn't need as much as he offered. After he left they both remarked that it wasn't about the money. It was about wanting to help a brother. Clown collars all around.

2007-05-15T09:13:00.000-07:00

Being a blogger brings a new kind of pressure to my life. I don't want to blog my personal life too much because, well, it's personal. I want to be a part of the family communication link but feel that I don't have terribly interesting or funny things to say. The longer I go without blogging the more pressure there is to come up with something interesting. If too much time passes the heaviness almost incapacitates. That is all I have to say about that.
On a lighter note, I really enjoyed Mother's Day this year. It was so nice to see everyone and eat more than was necessary. The weather was perfect. The trip to the cemetery helped me feel Dad's comforting spirit around us. I really was spoiled with great gifts. Thanks so much to my children and husband. You make being a mother very rewarding. Thanks for all the good you do.

2007-05-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

Brownies with a Difference

Many parents are hard pressed to explain to their youth why some music, movies, books, and magazines are not acceptable material for them to bring into the home or to listen to or see.

One parent came up with an original idea that is hard to refute. The father listened to all the reasons his children gave for wanting to see a particular PG-13 movie. It had their favorite actors. Everyone else was seeing it. Even church members said it was great. It was only rated PG-13 because of the suggestion of sex--they never really showed it. The language was pretty good--the Lord's name was only used in vain three times in the whole movie.

The teens did admit there was a scene where a building and a bunch of people were blown up, but the violence was just the normal stuff. It wasn't too bad. And, even if there were a few minor things, the special effects were fabulous and the plot was action packed.

However, even with all the justifications the teens made for the ‘13' rating, the father still wouldn't give in. He didn't even give his children a satisfactory explanation for saying, "No." He just said, "No!"

A little later on that evening the father asked his teens if they would like some brownies he had baked. He explained that he'd taken the family's favorite recipe and added a little something new. The children asked what it was.

The father calmly replied that he had added dog poop. However, he quickly assured them, it was only a little bit. All other ingredients were gourmet quality and he had taken great care to bake the brownies at the precise temperature for the exact time. He was sure the brownies would be superb.

Even with their father's promise that the brownies were of almost perfect quality, the teens would not take any. The father acted surprised. After all, it was only one small part that was causing them to be so stubborn. He was certain they would hardly notice it. Still the teens held firm and would not try the brownies.

The father then told his children how the movie they wanted to see was just like the brownies. Our minds are leading us into believing that just a little bit of evil won't matter. But, the truth is even a little bit of poop makes the difference between a great treat and something disgusting and totally unacceptable.

The father went on to explain that even though the movie industry would have us believe that most of today's movies are acceptable fare for adults and youth, they are not.

Now, when this father's children want to see something that is of questionable material, the father merely asks them if they would like some of his special dog poop brownies. That closes the subject.

2007-04-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

I have just received the new schedule for the summer at the Health Center. I will only be working Mondays. Wow! I love the new feeling of freedom that has come over me. The past two summers I have worked 3-6 every afternoon. Not bad but not as good as working all day one day and having the rest of the week off.
In celebration I am going to share with you my hot fudge sauce recipe.

1 can evaporated milk
1 cube margarine or butter
1 c. chocolate chips (semi-sweet is my fave)
Mix these together in a large sauce pan over medium heat and stir until everything is melted.
Then add 2 cups powdered sugar and 2 tbl karo syrup and stir often if not constantly for 8-10 minutes. The longer you cook it the thicker it gets. It also gets thicker as it cools. After cooking it to your desired thickness take off heat and add 1 tbl vanilla. Stores in the fridge for a month.

2007-03-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

Did you know that we are among the 10% wealthiest people in the world? Most all Americans fall into this category. We also use 86% of the world's resources which makes us seem more than slightly piggish. I especially hated to hear that 28,000 children die each day (ten million a year) due to starvation or preventable disease. As I hear these statistics I feel some resentment for the guilt complex that comes with it. On the other hand, I feel compelled to help however I can. I realize that that statistic may be suspect. How can you really know that this is so? Who counts dead babies in the 3rd world? There are so many remote villages. Statisticians probably can defend this from some sampling they have done somewhere. . . But I think we all know that there is a problem with starvation and preventable disease.
John Hatch started the Village Banking model of microfinance in 1984 while on a flight to Bolivia. He said it was the double bourbon that gave him the insight for this new idea in dealing with the poverty situation in the world. FINCA is the result of his idea and with other NGO's (non-governmental organizations) who do a similar service have reached 100 million of the world's poorest families. There are only 160 million left needing assistance. One of the interesting things he told us during the workshop last week is that the poorest of the poor who FINCA would like to serve will not come to them for help. They are scared of starting a business and having that responsibility. I feel their pain. I have the same fear. But that is for another blog. The point I would like to make here is that we have made excellent headway in solving the world's poverty problem and there is a goal by some to end all poverty by the year 2025.
The plan hatched to reach this goal by some former BYU student interns with FINCA calls for us to cut back on our consumption 1% and give $1 per day to their organization called ASAP. ASAP is an acronym for Alliance of Students Against Poverty. This would amount to one less soda or other treat a day. If only 2 million people would do this for 10 years they could reach their goal of raising 7 billion dollars to stamp out poverty. ASAP, which is just starting up, will research all of the current NGOs out there who are doing microfinance and support the most efficient ones with the money they raise. I like the idea. What do you think?

2007-02-24T21:10:00.000-08:00

You are all invited to come and sit on our new couch. Dad and Matt surprised me today when they went to the store and brought back a couch that matches our newly remodeled TV room. Buying a couch at the store has actually never happened in our family before so that is why it is blogworthy news. We have looked at many stores for said couch. We finally found the one that we thought was right. Dad told me as we were leaving the store empty handed that we would wait until payday to actually pick it up. So I was prepared to wait a week. I think he likes me.

2007-02-11T17:03:00.000-08:00

So far this grandma business is pretty nice. The baby is doing so much better lately. We are encouraged and ready to tackle him on our own almost. As you can see from the pictures, Clark really likes his mom. We're all happy about that...

2007-02-05T15:55:00.000-08:00

Wow! Today has been the respite I have needed from the winter weather. It has been so beautiful and warm outside the urgent care door. I have hope for spring. The past couple of weeks winter has given us frozen, icy roads; the car caked with salty dirt. I'm tired of the cold. So today's sunshine lifted my spirits. Many people I know have been in Hawaii the past few weeks. Their tales of 80 degree weather and naps on the beach haven't helped my disposition. But after today I can see a glimmer of hope, a glimpse of future warmth. Its something to keep me going.

2007-01-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

I remember now why I don't want to work full time. By the time work is over at 6:00 all I want to do is go home and sit on the couch and watch TV or play Matt in a little Tetris Attack. It is amazing to me what working 10 hours more per week does to my ambition to accomplish other things. I have a quilt I could set up, I have laundry I could do, I have shopping that needs to be done (we are out of cold cereal, Matt may starve), I haven't exercised for a couple of weeks. Basically my life is a shambles just because I worked 10 more hours per week than I usually do.
I'm pretty sure the extra money isn't worth the coma-state that is produced by the extra hours. What a relief it will be to get back to the old routine.

2006-12-26T20:20:00.000-08:00

Soup to Nuts
So we had a very Merry Christmas and are anticipating a great New Year. To go along with the title of the blog and the spirit of the season in gifts I will put on some recipes for your perusal.

The first one is the perennial favorite Sunday Chicken Casserole

1 package stove top stuffing
1 can chicken chunks
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pt cooked carrots or other vegetables as desired (optional)
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 T. dried onion (optional)

Mix the stove top stuffing according to package directions. Drain liquid from chicken chunks and save in a medium bowl. Add soup, eggs, onion and sour cream to this liquid. Mix together. Layer stuffing, chicken and vegetables in a greased 8 X 12 pan or 9 X 13 pan. Add creamy mixture and fold gently with stuffing and chicken and vegetables. Cook in oven at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until firm throughout.

2006-12-07T15:19:00.000-08:00

Soup to Nuts

This has been a different Christmas season for me. I asked Bus to do the Christmas gifting this year. He readily agreed; this is the dawning of a new and brighter future. I must say he has done an admirable job so far. He is even shopping before the 24th! For myself, I haven't given the same thought to buying as I have in the past. I think this is helping me focus more on the true reason for Christmas. KBYU rebroadcast Elder Bednar's talk about the tender mercies of the Lord today and that has helped my focus as well. Bus has outdone himself helping me at home as well so I feel very blessed. We are trying to prepare our home for the annual bishop's openhouse in a little over a week. So far the tree and two wreaths are hung, various decorations have been placed around the home and I discovered Smith's had their ice cream on sale for $1 for half gallon. So good progress has been made. I only have to do sharing time, finish the quilt for the wall, make some cookies and candy, help Toni and Ben move, welcome Jethro and Robyn home (YEAH!!), and finish up some stocking stuff. Not too bad really. I am grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord.