Sunrise, Sunset~Swiftly Go The Days..

Happy Birthday Miss Piper!

Today is a happy day, albeit a little bitter-sweet. Our beautiful little first grandchild is turning 12! On this day 12 years ago... a joy, like a rushing, bright light entered our hearts and life has never been the same. I am still amazed at the instant, deep love one has for a grandchild, it is a beautiful gift and one that surprised me with its intensity.

Piper and Spencie

It seems like such a short time ago she and Spencer where so little and playing in the wading pool in our backyard. This year, not only Piper but Spencer and Connor will be 12 also. You know our kids, they do everything in threes. All married within four months in 1997 and all had a baby within seven months of each other, two years later.

Just yesterday...

This was that defining photo. When I saw it sometime this past year, I knew she wasn't a little girl anymore....swiftly go the days...! She is a cute and perky preteen and coming into her own on many levels. (Piper, we could not love you more or be more proud of you.) Just last night she performed in her first drama production at school. How sad we are to have missed seeing it. I know she was fantastic in her role. She is such a beautiful girl and so sweet and caring. I love that about her so much. Tell me this isn't the day she can start wear a little make-up! Yep, I think it is!



Twelve is a fun age for girls in our church. She gets to go to our Young Women's Program now which is just amazing. They get to learn more about the gospel as it pertains to growing up and seeking after a life that will make our Father in Heaven happy and make them happy too. They have wonderful leaders that help them learn the young woman's values which are:

This is their theme which they memorize and
recite in unison with their friends
every week on Sunday.

They have a lot of very fun activities and they learn to serve others and enjoy this beautiful earth we have been given at Girls' Camp once a year. They have week night activities one night a week as well as great Sunday lessons. It is a wonderful foundation for a young woman and one we are so happy that she will have. There is a companion program for the boys which I will share with you when Spencer turns 12 in May.

So Happy Birthday to our Beautiful Piper!
Eat Cake!

We wish we could spend this
Special Day with you, Honey!

Well Would Ya Lookee Here!

My Aunt Grace, my father's sister
when she was 26.

Her Great, Great Niece, Hazie
(our granddaughter)

My sweet friend, Margaret in Edinburgh, was stumbling through my blog and found an old post about my Aunt Grace that I did when she died in September of 2008. She just happened to notice how much Hazie resembles Gracie from the little photo I have on the top of my sidebar! You can probably compare them the best in the same view she did.

Margaret, thank you! It would have gone unnoticed by me and I cannot believe the similarities, they share some DNA for sure. I cannot think of anyone I'd rather have her grow up to be like either. Aunt Grace was full of life, a spiritual giant, and a beautiful fun-loving person. She was bright and compassionate and didn't have an enemy in the world. She brought light where ever she went, just like Hazie! Oh, I am just so thrilled by your discovery! A million hugs and thanks!

A Simple Woman's Daybook~March 14, 2011

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So, For Today...

Monday, March 14, 2011

Outside my window...It is the first week of Daylight Savings Time and pitch black out right now. It is supposed to be cloudy today with rain every day but Thursday this week. The temperature is supposed to get up to 70 though so that is a plus. The rain is good, our hills are apple green velvet right now. So lush and beautiful.

I am thankful for...The safe travels of our family this week. Everyone got home safe and sound yesterday afternoon. Jim must be exhausted as he is already heading towards the Temple this morning. Jen said they had a restful time. Since they use to live in Scotland and she served as a missionary there it wasn't like she needed to do a lot of sightseeing. Hazie and the other girls did just find while they were away and we are so grateful for that.

The only wrinkle was that their little dog, Molly, had an emergency trip to the Vet, surgery on a big gash on her side and flank and an overnight stay in the hospital. She was playing outside and came home with the injury. No clue how it happened. They live on the side of the mountain and only a portion of their yard is fenced so she went beyond the limits of safety and paid the price. Poor little thing but she is going to be fine.

From the learning room...Jim and I attended a fascinating lecture last night by one of the last eight living, survivors from Sobibor, one of the death camps in Poland. It was sponsored by the Jewish Learning Institute of Contra Costa and we were so glad we went. A quarter of a million Jews were gunned down or gassed in this camp and he and his brother were the only siblings to survive and two of 48 that survived after they masterminded an escape with six hundred others.

We have become students of the Holocaust thorough a lot of reading and an at home study course we are doing together. It was a very moving experience to hear him tell of his experiences. He is on a mission to share it and educate others, in keeping with a pact they all made if they were to survive. He is 85 years old and his name is Philip Bialowitz. He has just published his book entitled, A Promise at Sobibor.

I am reading...The Sweet By and By....still with this book but so far I am not that motivated. Hoping it will come into its own soon, so not giving up yet. Also ordered the above mentioned memoir so will be starting that soon.

From the kitchen...All stocked up and prepared for the week, I love it when that happens. Soup, tacos and salads on the menu and a few other things.

I am wondering...How Japan will recover? Seriously so sad.

I am hearing...Sunshine on My Shoulders~John Denver.

Today if I could change one thing...that there could be a season of decreased war and evil designs of conspiring men...that we could just have a rest from it all. We may have our modern conveniences in this era but our stresses and concerns are as heavy, just different, as at any other time in the history of this planet. We knew it was coming but sure wish we could catch our breath between disasters and bad news.

I am quoting..“I shall come again because I like myself when I am with you.” Daryl Hoole
A quote from the featured blog post of the week. Don't miss it!

I am thinking about...what the humanitarian efforts of our church are and will be for Japan and hope we can help. The church is the only place we would make a financial contribution because we are assured every cent will go to Japan with no administrative costs. But I am wondering if, as a church of millions, we will make blankets, personal hygiene kits, crocheted bandages, etc. like we have in the past. I hope so. It is amazing what we can accomplish in a short time with a concerted effort and many hands busily working and serving.
I am going...get well this week. After two weeks of coughing, especially at night I am exhausted. I pretty much stayed home all last week but can't shake the cough. But this week I am going to do it!

I am missing...getting together with our entire family so we are planning a reunion in Utah this June.

One of my guilty pleasures...connecting with family and friends on Facebook. It really makes everyone feel so much closer. Did I mention I saw The Social Network and story of Facebook last week? Crazy story and I do admit to having a love/hate relationship with the site. I also admit to being mostly a voyeur and posting status updates that are very benign.

Pet Peeves...with regards to Facebook; Farmville and the likes of all that stuff, make me nuts!

One of my favorite things..iPhone apps. If you have little ones around you, check out Talking Tom Cat. That little critter kept me entertained last week. I also love Grocery IQ and Gas Buddy.

An enjoyable movie I have watched lately...The Sarah Plain and Tall Trilogy. Excellent Family Entertainment. A wonderful story and Christopher Walkin and Glenn Close do a great job of it.

I am curious about...how many more times we will get to go to Rhode Island now that the kids are staying for another two years and maybe more. I LOVE that wonderful place so we are excited. They are signing papers on another house tomorrow so they will have more room. Yay!

A few plans for the rest of the week...Today a WW meeting and prep for tomorrow at the Family History Center's work and a movie night with Jim, Wednesday, Missionaries for dinner, Thursday I am going to pinch Jim since I know he will not be wearing green, seeing a friend that is turning 40 on Thursday also and getting the hair cut and touched up, Friday weekly friend gathering, and then a trip to Room With A Past ( if you want to join us, let me know) and celebrating being a Gramma for 12 years on this 18th of March, maybe a day trip on Saturday since we have no plans for the weekend yet except church on Sunday.

Here are some photos and some thoughts I am sharing with you...we are skipping St. Patrick's Day and jumping right into Easter over here.

Our Funny Easter carrot with his bunny snacks.

I have a little collection of lambs
and these are two I really like.

Jen gave me this cloche last year and I decided to dress it up with some Easter things. Found this little bunny over the weekend at a Spring Opening Sale at the Elegant Clutter in Danville.
I also got the eggs there and the little nest below. Already had the moss so filled in with that.

These bunnies are from Utah and the
bedazzling is complements of Miss Jen.
The copper glitter makes them perfecto
for the kitchen window sill.

I love this sprawling jack rabbit.
Have had him for quite awhile.

My favorite, these little
glitter eggs from Misto Lino
in a tiny bowl with moss,
pour le bain!

So this is part of what I did last week while
passing the time until Jim came home.
It is not earth shattering business or anything,
just something I enjoy doing.

The Blog I visited with the Most Excellent Advice this week.....This post focuses on good advice for in-laws. I found it very true, very insightful and worth reading. It focuses on how to be a good-in-law, as a parent. There is always something to learn in this area of our lives. The wise person protects this relationship like The Crown Jewels. You can find it here.

What Color is Your Day?

Some days look like this...

Other just look like this.....

What contributes to the difference? For me I think it is the futility of certain things, discouragement and a lack of vision to recognize where the color actually is. It comes when I am depending too much on the arm of flesh. It comes when I am so busy looking within and around myself and forget to look up! It comes when I feel impatient and unforgiving and when I expect too much. It comes when I feel I am battling the black and white alone. It comes when I forget to remember.

What do you do to put some color back into your world? What does it take to paint your world in vibrant beautiful colors again? What are the brush strokes that bring the sun out? Where is the red that brings out your passion, the yellow that brings out your courage, the green~your zest for life and blue, your sense of peace and hope? What is the wind beneath your wings that dissipates the clouds of gray and helps you see things as they really are?

For me it is when I do remember and also when I try to forget. For me it is a complete palate of vibrant colors that I need to actually seek and find and reclaim through faith, hope and charity. It is giving myself permission to get it back through repentance, forgiveness and gratitude. It is remembering that the Savior holds out His hand to me and forgetting about the things that make me sad. It is about moving on, moving up and moving mountains. A little here, a little there until the perfect day.

flickr
It is feeling the love from its source and being satisfied!

Tsunami Hits NorCal After The Quake

Flickr attribution

Tsunami Hits NorCal After Big Japan Quake « CBS San Francisco

Video Link~ Scroll down to Santa Cruz Damage, it takes a minute to load.

I have been sitting here thinking about the might and fury that natural disasters can bring and how frightening for those involved and those that watch helplessly. My heart is turned to those who have suffered and died because of the earthquake in Japan. My mind boggles at the strength of it and the magnitude. This is one case where the media didn't have to sensationalize to get their story. The videos speak for themselves. Reminders of Katrina, Chili, Haiti flash back to me. Especially Katrina because our kids lived on the Gulf Coast at that time, Chili because Jim's boss was in Santiago for her son's wedding, and now Japan as our nephew and his fiance just returned from a business trip there a short time ago.

When I saw the above video I realized how very small this world is. My sister-in-law's parents and our dear, dear friends live just a few blocks from where this all took place this morning. You can walk to the beach from their house. It is very sad that so much damage was sustained in Santa Cruz, estimated at $14 million. Thankfully no loss of life here, except possibly one man who was trying to take photos and was swept out to sea in another area.

My question is, "Why in the name of heaven do people do that?" Oh and let us not forget the surfers who stayed in the water for the thrill of it all. Really? It is not just CA insanity though, people had their kids out at the beach during Katrina too. I don't understand "cavalier" during such times. On the Gulf some of them did not live to tell about it.

The videos from Japan just brought home to me how very small we are as human beings in the total scheme of things, and how little control we have over things that happen sometimes. And I was completely astonished that it came all the way to our shores in what I think was faster than it takes to fly from Tokyo to SF. I could be wrong on that, with the time difference and whatever, but close enough to make a point.

And as with every natural disaster I hear about, after the shock wears off my thoughts are turned to the innocents. The babies and young children, the elderly and infirmed, the young adults just starting their lives, well, just everyone. I think about the anguish of the people that survived and are trying now to find their loved ones and may never know for sure what happened. In that case closure from death is almost impossible.

I pray that God will somehow comfort everyone who is feeling the impact of this tragedy tonight (which should be most everyone). I wish they all could know and believe that life is eternal. And that instead of turning away from God when they need Him the most, they will turn to Him and seek His peace. I find it very odd that I would write two posts today, both about boats and faith!

"Faith Gets Out of the Boat"

Do you ever read or hear something that just speaks to your soul and you cannot stop thinking about it? Now I don't want you to think I am becoming an Ann Voskamp groupie or anything, but since I am studying her book right now and reading her daily blog posts the things she speaks of are on my mind.

Anyway, not sure where I saw this quote of hers, but it just keeps returning to my mind and I cannot stop thinking about it. It is like a catchy tune that keeps replaying in my head. I told our daughter, Laura, about it and she made this great photo above for me. I just had to share it.

I think these words are going to be with me now for the duration of my life. I think it will go through my head whenever I am afraid or doubtful that I can do something that seems insurmountable. Whenever I am faced with something that doesn't seem logical but needs to be done, I'll think of it.

Faith is so much more than thinking you really can do something. The faith with power is the faith in Jesus Christ, and that through Him all things are possible. That is the faith that heals and saves and helps us to change and progress. Just like Peter, we need to remember that faith is a verb. We have to do something. Faith is focusing on Him and getting out of the boat. As we fix our gaze upon Him we can walk on the water but when we look away, we're sunk.

When Truth is Funnier Than Fiction

Thanks Mike for sharing this on Facebook!