july 24, 2009

I love the Handcart Days parade in Bountiful. I love the marching bands, especially those presented by our military men and women. I love the bagpipes, and the vintage automobile proudly wheeling each year's "Grand Marshall" down the street. How I wish I could have seen Vernal's parade this year, with my father as the Grand Marshall. He treated it as though it were nothing, yet I think it was a very big deal!

Attending this year's Handcart Days parade was bittersweet and I admit I felt nearly apprehensive. For the past two years prior to this one, I had always had a handsome man on my arm as my "date". Hugo (Grandpa B.) had sat out in the heat with me in '07 and '08, helping me keep an eye on my three amigos as well as pointing his cane at any rove candy my children may have missed. It never failed that he commented on three things: the horses, the bagpipes, and the marching soldiers (to which he would refer to what it was like to be a missionary in Berlin during the early days of Hitler's powers, watching armies of thousands of Hitler's follies marching in precise rhythm. Hugo said it sounded like thunder, it was so loud.). LaRee (Grandma B.) had never cared to go outside with us, concerned about the heat and the uncomfortable lawn chairs. So we'd eat dinner with her, then walk her back to their apartment. I wanted so badly for her to come this year. I thought if I couldn't watch it with her to take Hugo's place, my heart would break and I wouldn't want to watch it at all. For weeks prior to the parade, I began nagging her and begging her. After a while, I could tell her defenses were weakening. I almost thought she wanted to go (maybe she'd disagree with that and tell me I'd gone to far with that assumption). Imagine my delight, and the tears that surfaced, when on that day she caved and said she'd come. I was grateful I had sunglasses on, because more than once I thought about Grandpa and although my heart felt something was missing, I knew it was more full than it would have been had LaRee not come out. I know it wasn't particularly her idea of a good time, but I hope she enjoyed herself. Sometimes I worry because it's so easy for her to convince herself she needs to stay "in". That it's too much energy and even pain to move around. I know it's difficult for her to get around, but I'm always grateful when she's willing to put forth the effort. In the end, I hope she feels it was worth it, too. She'll never read this, but I hope I can tell her how much it meant to me to have her out on the sidewalk with us that evening. I just couldn't have watched that parade without a "Grandparent B."

Halle has decided she wants to save up her money to buy an American Doll. To help fund her cause, she sold bottled water at the parade. She wore this sign:
"I am saving my money to buy a new doll.
Please help me earn it!"
That sign proved to be worth it's weight in gold!
Not only did she sell all 48 bottles she had (for $1 piece), but many "grandpas" read her sign and felt badly for her. More than one handed her a five-dollar bill with the comment,
"Here you go, honey. I don't need any water. Just put this towards your doll."
We're exploring two options for next year's parade:
1) She'll walk with a wooden crutch and a patch over one eye,
or
2) I'll sell water with a sign that says,
"We'd like to buy a camp trailer. Please help us raise money!"
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A clown asked Halle to help her with a magic trick
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We also enjoyed pooling our fireworks with the neighbors and having a neighborhood firework display. It was fun to get togethers with people we enjoy, and hopefully can get to know better.
Plus, it helped cut down on late-night firework noise by getting most everyone's pyro-fix out of the way in one night!These are some neighbors who have stolen my heart:
the Ottesons.
AWE-SOME family!

the lesser-known dietary habits of tigers (according to Carson).

Today as Cowboy Carson and Mommy were playing,

we spotted a rare & very dangerous
toy tiger in the hallway.
"Cowboy Carson," I whispered cautiously,
"you have to save me! Go kill the tiger before it eats me!"
Tipping his black felt hat, Cowboy Carson snickered
at my naivete and put my fears at ease in his reply:
"No, Mommy, tigers don't eat you.
Tigers eat BE-YU-BERRIES."
Who knew?

notorious laundry.

I'm actually excited about doing my laundry this afternoon. Today the kids and I stopped by one of our very favorite places on earth (the library) where I picked up this little treasure:

Definitely my favorite Hitchcock film and who doesn't love Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman together? It's a 3-way hit! If you haven't seen Notorious, and you enjoy the classics, you've gotta put it at the top of your list. It's going to make folding clothes go by in a snap! Hopefully I'll have the laundry basket empty by the time Cary brings Ingrid down the stairs--that's one part when I'm gonna wanna just sit back and enjoy in my leisure. (sigh..........)

making a point. a pencil point, that is.

I love "back-to-school" time, mostly because I love buying school supplies. Is that weird? I love to buy brand new notebooks full of crisp, blank pages, waiting to be filled. I love sharp, unused pencils. I love stuff like post-its and Bic pens. It's like the line on "You've Got Mail" where Meg Ryan sends an email to Tom Hanks (unbeknownst to her, of course) and in reference to the wonderful season of FALL, her character says,

"It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils..."

I'm also excited about a top-secret Family Home Evening I've got in the works for next Sunday night (which is "back-to-school-Eve" at our house: school starts next Monday). Anyway, fun dinner, fun games, fun dessert are all up my sleeve and I'm practically biting my fingernails at how much I'm anticipating surprising the kids with it all! You can bet I'll be posting about it. Until then...

give me your money, as well as future generation's, but don't ask any questions.

My brother emailed me this little "scenario" and it hit the nail on the head about how I feel about this whole health care reform.

"Customer: I want a better car than the one I have now.

Car Salesman/Obama: You need this school bus over here.

Customer: That isn't what I really want.

Obama: Oh yes, it is.

Customer: Why would I want that?

Obama: Well, it is what the experts from NADA, AARP, and motor trend say you SHOULD be driving.

Customer: Won't it be more expensive than what I have now?

Obama: Yes, but you do not have to pay the difference.

Customer: Who does?

Obama: Your grandchildren.

Customer: How much will my grandchildren have to pay?

Obama: Who put you up to asking that question?

Customer: Nobody but I have a question about efficiency and safety.

Obama: The worst thing you can do is keep your status quo car - if you do not act now, you will be stuck with that.

Customer: You aren't answering my questions.

Obama: Let me be clear, this bus is not trojan horse and it will not kill anyone and you will not go over your budget buying it - I won't let that happen.

Customer: Can't I just fix up my old car?

Obama: Your old car cannot be fixed without buying this bus.

Customer: Are you nuts?

Obama: We can't keep listening to the naysayers and the mechanic's union who must have put you up to this - your attitude is fishy and unAmerican.

Customer: Didn't you used to advocate asking questions of salesmen?

Obama: Yes, but that was when I didn't have this job - now that I have this job, you should just listen to me - now let's talk some more about this bus you need.

Customer: Can I at least see the warranty or the owner's manual or price tag?

Obama: Those have not been written yet and let me repeat, buying this bus will not cause you to need a bigger bus later - trust me.

That's about how this has been. Obama is NOTHING MORE THAN a salesman who is trying to get his foot in YOUR door on health care - do not let him because once he is in he will invite his controlling friends and none of them will ever leave - NO MATTER HOW CHARMING HE IS, IT IS A BAD IDEA TO LET HIM GET HIS FOOT IN THE DOOR."

I'm very disturbed by the footage I've seen and stories I've heard of people being called "unpatriotic" or "unAmerican" simply because they've wanted some detailed answers. I feel this "reform" presented by the Obama Administration is being rushed through without having the opportunity to really be reviewed or understood by those being asked to pass it. What's worse is I feel the urgency behind it is intentional, as though someone's trying to pull the wool over our eyes. I didn't vote for Obama, but I had high hopes for him once he was elected. I chose to see the glass half-full and genuinely wanted him to live up to the potential everyone else seemed to see in him. I'm terribly disheartened as I feel he is already too full of power, full of himself. He hasn't even been in a year and already I fear he's becoming exactly what I'd voted against.

breathing lessons.

Mid-July Brett underwent a little procedure. Actually two of them, and they weren't so little. After years of experiencing uncomfortable congestion and even some difficulty breathing, he finally paid a visit to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doc, who informed him his tonsils could win awards for their gargantuan size, and that his nose had a septum that was a bit off track (deviating, you see). Being hit with this double-whammy made him a bit nervous, but thankfully the surgeries went well and we're happy to say he has felt a change. His airways are clearer and who doesn't love a little more O2? Fortunately, his pain level wasn't too high, although having surgery on your nose and having it stuffed tightly with packing is extra-terrible when combined with a tonsillectomy. You can't breathe through your nose, but it hurts to breathe through your mouth. Too bad breathing through our ears wasn't an option. Within a week, however, he felt more like his old self and I think also started feeling glad he'd had the operation (up to that point, that little tidbit was definitely in question). I have to say, I've always felt unnerved any time I've seen a loved one in the recovery room after a surgery. They look so helpless and feeble. My heart swelled with love as I sat with him, waiting for his oxygen levels to get to a point where he could be safely discharged. Here is this man that I love, laying on a table, struggling to overcome the anesthesia that had been administered to him. I knew from the positive reports I'd recieved from the doctor and nurses that all had gone well, and that I really had nothing to be concerned about. But how do you not worry? He truly is my best friend, the love of my life. And as much as he and I joked about how silly it was for him to be nervous for the day of the surgery to arrive, deep down I think I was nervous enough for both of us! Now we're both pleased to have it behind us. Thanks to the operation, we can easily take in a deep breath as we sigh with relief.

COMPUTE THIS:

Like most 'youngest children', Carson wants to do whatever his big brother and sister are doing. That includes playing on the computer. When Wyatt was in this same stage, I could satisfy him by getting a children's toy computer--oops, I mean SANTA got him a toy computer. Carson rebuffed any sort of imitation. Only the genuine, real-deal was good enough. Thankfully, it was about that time I read Marie's post about a great TODDLER computer game called "Reader Rabbit Toddler". A Pre-K kid like Wyatt can play it using the mouse, but for someone like Carson, still developing his fine motor skills, the space bar serves as his tool to select and play.

Look how happy he is
doing what "big kids" do!

we can't afford to be indifferent.

This healthcare stuff is really getting to me. I am not necessarily "politically savvy", but I do try to educate myself on what I consider to be important topics. Like voting, I feel it is my civic duty to be aware of the goings-on around me, especially when it comes to subject matter that will effect me, my children, and my grandchildren directly. The Obama Administration's proposed Health Care Reform plan definitely does that.

Have you looked into it? Or do your eyes glaze over when the subject is broached on the evening news? I attempted to read through some of the 1,000+ pages, but of course it's in a language too haughty-taughty for a simpleton like me to understand. Thankfully, my friend Val's husband helped break it down for me. I encourage you to read this post on his blog. It confirmed some of my suspicions and was the final straw for me, especially after reading another post he has with an article from FORTUNE Magazine which is very informative. I immediately contacted my representatives. That's the only way this is going to not go through, people. You've got to get off your duff and make your feelings heard! I hear so many people complaining about this, and yet how many of them actually took the five minutes to contact their national representatives to tell THEM? People whine and moan to each other, to talk radio, but when it comes to telling the right people, how many do it? If you disagree with this socialized healthcare plan, please get involved. If you google "Utah Representatives" (or whatever state you live in) you'll be effortlessly guided to the right websites, where sending an email is a piece of cake. If you live in North Salt Lake, I'll make it easy for you--Congressman Bishop is who you contact. I also contacted all the Utah Senators. Seriously, it took me about 10 minutes--TOPS! My email was not eloquent or refined...I'm a simple person without even a college education. But I'm not a complete idiot and I believe my opinion does matter. I'm so sick of people I know being shamefully casual, lazy, even blase about anything politics. I know we have busy lives, and there are things in politics that even I have to admit I have a hard time really understanding or caring about, but when it comes to something like THIS, how can you NOT take the time to form your own opinion and let it be heard? It's like people who are too indifferent or ignorant to vote in a major election...I just don't get it. So yeah. There's my soapbox. Read the blogpost, form an opinion, and share it with the people who can actually DO something with that opinion. Then, no matter what decisions are made, at least you know you said your peace and you can't have any regrets about that.

here's a question that's been asked since grade school...

what do you do when you love someone important to you but the feelings aren't reciprocated? (in fact, quite the opposite)

i've been thinking about it a lot lately, even praying about it, and the only answer that comes to mind is to SERVE THEM. serve them not because you feel they'd appreciate it or show gratitude, but rather because i love them and want good things for them, despite how they may feel about me.

so i guess i just answered my own question, although sometimes the answer is easier said than done.

i might not have much to offer, but it is enough.

This week at Youth Conference, each morning we started our day with scripture study and a discussion about what we had read in the second chapter of 2nd Nephi. (One might recognize that chapter from their seminary days, as a well-known scripture mastery can be found in verse 25: "Adam fell that men might be: and men are, that they might have joy.") Much of this chapter addresses the fall, opposition in all things. But it also speaks a good deal of our redemption, which is through the Holy Messiah, Jesus Christ. After we read, one of the young men leaders made a comment that struck me. He referred to the idea that salvation is free unto all. And while it is in a sense, we do pay a price: our effort and our faith. Despite what we are asked to pay, the blessing of the Lord's plan is that we can all afford it.

Verse 7: "Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit..."

The mercy and unconditional love of the Atoning sacrifice of Christ is available to all who are willing to offer in return a heart filled with genuine remorse and a sincere commitment to improve. The Lord has not asked anything of us that we cannot afford to give. I found that comforting to know...I might not have much to offer, but if I do it willingly, "believing in Him", I shall be saved. I can do that, and that's an empowering knowledge to have. It reminds me of the story of the Widow's Mite (Mark 12:41-44). How grateful I am this Sabbath morning to my Savior, that He would accept my meager offering and in return grant me eternal life and happiness.