Thoughts From a Frazzled Mind

A few weeks ago, Bishop Wilding asked me to give a talk on “Overcoming Trials”. I reluctantly agreed, and soon began writing my talk. I started researching the subject by reading conference talks by several General Authorities. They had many words of wisdom on the subject, and I learned a lot. However, as I started putting my thoughts on paper (ok, it was the computer, not paper!) the words began to tell the very personal story of BJ’s death. I tried to steer back to the wonderful conference talks, but again I found myself writing about my own personal story. I decided to pray about it and to ask the Lord to help me write the talk where I could share the message that He wanted me to share. Apparently, He wanted me to bare my entire sole and share all of the things that I had tried to forget about the year after BJ died. When it was finished, I asked Kim to read it, because I was worried that it would come across as a just a personal story and not as anything of value to the aud...

Mom has been sick for a very long time. She had diabetes, but pretended that she didn't for many years. The diabetes silently attacked her body from the inside - not showing itself for the monster that it was for over 30 years. By the time that it finally showed itself, it had damaged mom's heart, her feet, her eyes, as well as her kidneys. She had multiple surgeries on her feet, but in the end lost two toes on her left foot and her entire right leg below the knee. She was in congestive heart failure and constantly fought the swelling from the excessive build-up of fluids in her body. Her kidneys could not handle the strain, and finally quit working. Mom passed away on February 1, 2012. Mom was truly amazing! There were several times that she could have died - but she rallied back. The doctor said that she had used 10 of her 9 lives. Throughout it all, she never experienced any self-pity or depression. In fact, we found a little journal in which she had written almo...

What fun! Shopping for a wedding dress for Tasha has been delightful! She tried on dress after dress - each one more beautiful than the next! She looked just like a princess! We were pleasantly surprised when the owner of Petals and Promises in Logan suggested that she try on one more dress of her choosing. The dress she chose was a totally different style than Tasha had previously tried -and it was PERFECT! As soon as Tasha saw herself in the mirror she became overwhelmed with emotion. We all knew that we had found her dress! And the best part? The price was within the budget! We celebrated BJ's birthday this year by a fun trip to Texas Roadhouse for ribs. BJ loves ribs! And, we were not disappointed, they were wonderful. The next day we had an afternoon and evening full of games and dancing to the Wii. Cynthia joined us for awhile, and then Mert and Christy (Zane's sister) came over for a game or two. We had great fun!

Bubba just loves superheros - and their sidekicks! He got a set of costumes for Christmas and wears them all of the time! Today he was Robin - Batman's sidekick, and he wanted to pose for the camera! Bam! Zow! Zoink! Shandra and Tasha gave me new flooring for Christmas. It was a TERRIFIC gift! My linoleum had several holes in it which were covered by rugs and duct tape! I was soooo excited to install the new floor - but - when I looked at the cabinets I decided that I just couldn't put a new floor in with my cabinets looking so bad. So - one thing lead to another and soon my entire kitchen was torn apart and everything was piled high in the living room. Mert and Dan came over and helped me tear out the old flooring. Mark helped Kim install the new french door. And of course, David was here throughout as the resident expert on everything! Unfortunately, right in the middle of the mess, Kim severely sprained his ankle at work. Almost done! We still need to install th...

My baby is getting married! It is SO exciting! I'm so very happy for her, and excited to welcome Zane into the family. They will be getting married this summer and then live in Cedar City while he finishes school. Stay tuned for details!

There is nothing better than helping to rake the leaves - unless it is jumping in them!

What could be more fun that camping in the backyard with Grandpa?