Play Together, Stay Together

I can’t remember how many times I have heard, “A family that plays together stays together.” (Okay, I’ve also heard it put, “A family that prays together stays together,” too.) But just ask yourself these questions and apply them to my favorite question that I ask myself to determine if something is true: “If people of the world would do this, would the world be a better place to raise my family in?” If you can answer with an exclamation, “Yes!” Then, in my opinion, it’s a pretty good idea to try and apply the idea.

So, with the above in mind, consider playing with your children. Children are a great excuse “to play.” My mother is staying with me right now and she said yesterday when a few of my grandchildren were playing, “I wish I could be your grandchild. I want to play, too.” I told her she could play, too. And almost she cried, “I can’t. It’s too hard to get up and down.” Trust me, I know the years pass all too quickly. Soon, I will be in my mother’s position and my children will be in mine. But perhaps if I can take learning from what my mother said, I can stay younger by continuing to play with my grandchildren. Parents, you too can play with your children. Turn off the television. Turn of the video games (at least for a while) and test the benefits of playing (spending quality time) with your children. Kids talk when they play, and they don’t have to get your attention because they already have it if you’re playing with them. Some of my children still talk about the season of our lives when Jeff (my husband) devoted 1/2 hour every Sunday by playing with each child doing whatever they wanted to do. (Happy memories—not of what they played but that dad played with them.) I am sure you have many inside Board Games and card games. Play them often when outside weather encourages it. With Spring here may I suggest some outside activities: walks, hide and seek, croquet, badminton, tennis, basketball, any kind of ball, hopscotch, jump rope, roller skating, hiking, gardening, exploring, learning outdoor cooking skills, biking. You get the idea. Please, just spend lots of time with your children. I know you will never be sorry.

Conversation Ball (An Object Lesson) & Lovely Thoughts for Your Conversation Jars

Getting conversations rolling during dinner may be difficult; especially if you have older children that have learned that they don’t have to talk if they don’t want to. So here’s an idea to help you bring the point home on the importance of learning to converse with one another: 1) Gather several balls. 2) Have family members sit on the floor on the opposite side of the room. 3) Throw the balls to individuals with the instruction to “catch it and hold it in your lap.” 4) When all have balls in their laps, just sit and look at them for a moment or two until someone asks you what point you are trying to make. 5) At this point say, “It really isn’t much of a game until you throw the ball back to me is it? Then point out that conversation also requires people to toss their ideas back and forth to one another. Point out that if your “catch” another person’s comment but fail to return a comment of your own, it is like holding the ball in you lap. The game is dead-ended. 6) Now, practice “throwing” words back and forth with family members. You might ask, “Joe, Did you have a good time with Grandma, today ?” If Joe responds, Yes,” then he has caught your words but has failed to return any words back to me. If Joe responds with, “Yes, we had ice cream!” Joe has learned to return the conversation ball. 7) Be sure to point out how well family members are playing conversation ball during the passing days.

Although I could supply you with lots more conversation questions for your Conversation Jars, I got thinking in the night that good quotes are fun to talk about, too. So, look up “conversation starters” on Google if you want more of them. Here now, I will include some lovely quotes that might add meaningful conversations to your meals (They can be copied and then pasted into your word processor. Print them up, cut them and add them to your Conversation Jar:

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along’….You must do the thing you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt

Sometimes God calms the storm raging around us, and sometimes He calms us and lets the storm rage on.

To Have striven, to have made an effort, to have been true to certain ideals—this alone is worth the struggle. We are here to add what we can to, not to get what we can from life.—Sir William Osler

This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good!

Security is not born of inexhaustible wealth but of unquenchable faith. Spencer W. Kimball

A heart stitched with prayer is more precious to God than a tapestry of gold.

God made you as you are in order to use you as He planned.

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. Helen Keller

Worldly hope is wishful thinking, gentle dreaming of fairies, magic wands, and limitless credit card balances. Christ-centered hope focuses on the truth that with God nothing is impossible.

The Lord saved for now those spirits who would have the courage and determination to face the world, and all the powers of the evil one and who would build up the Zion of our God, fearless of all consequences. George Q. Cannon

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain

There is no such thing in anyone’s life as an unimportant day. Alexander Woolcott

We can do no great things; only small things with great love.
Mother Teresa

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity. Henry Van Dyke

You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love. Henry Drummond

I think that God means that we shall do more than we have yet done in furtherance of his plans and he will open the way for our doing. Abraham Lincoln

Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity. Margaret D. Nadauld

We salute you, sisters, for the joy that is yours as you rejoice in a baby’s first smile and as you listen with eager ear to a child’s first day at school which bespeaks a special selflessness. Women, more quickly than others, will understand the possible dangers when the word self is militantly placed before other words like fulfillment. You rock a sobbing child without wondering if today’s world is passing you by, because you know you hold tomorrow tightly in your arms. Neal A. Maxwell.

The right way to pray for the answer to all your problems is to feel and know that the Indwelling God knows only the answer. Because this is true, you will only know the answer and recall the truth: God never faileth. Joseph Murphy

Time is really all we have. And every individual has an equal portion of it. The trick is to get more out of what is available to us. Gordon B. Hinckley

Truly, there is nothing more vital to our success and our happiness here in mortality that learning to hear the voice of the Spirit, for it is the Spirit who reveals to us our identity-which isn’t just who we are, but who we have always been. Sheri L. Dew

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is bliss, taste it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it. Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it. Mother Teresa

There is no obstacle too great, no challenge too difficult, if we have faith. Gordon B. Hinckley

Self trust is the essence of heroism. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Only the Lord can compare crosses, but all crosses are easier to carry when we keep moving. Neal A. Maxwell

For the faithful, our finest hours are sometimes during or just following our darkest hours. Neal A. Maxwell

Be glad of life, because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars. Henry Van Dyke

Solitude is bearable only with god. Andre’ Gide

You can’t do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth. Shira Tehrani

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook. William James

If...we truly want the best for our sons and daughters, we would want for them—not status—but more meekness, mercy, love, patience, and submissiveness. Neal A. Maxwell

With every ounce of...obedience comes a bushel of blessings. Neal A. Maxwell

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Eleanor Roosevelt

If you suffer pain and heartache, for the good that you have done, God has honored you and blessed you, to become just like His son. Peter G. Czerny

Motherhood is not what was left over after our Father blessed His sons with priesthood ordination. It was the most ennobling endowment He could give His daughters, a sacred trust that gave women an unparalleled role in helping His children keep their second estate. Sheri L. Dew

Nothing is so strong as gentleness, and nothing is so gentle as real strength. Ralph Sockman

I wonder sometimes if we realize the importance of music. I wonder if we know that the Lord himself is concerned about it. Pres. George Albert Smith

We must be clear about our most crucial role as women if we hope to stand steadfast and immovable regarding the issues that swirl around our gender. For Satan has declared war on motherhood. He knows that those who rock the cradle can rock his earthly empire. And he knows that without righteous mothers loving and leading the next generation, the kingdom of God will fail. Sheri L. Dew

To withdraw into our private sanctuaries not only deprives others of our love, our talents, and our service, but it also deprives us of chances to serve, to love, and to be loved. Neal A. Maxwell

I am asking that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life we “accentuate the positive.” I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort. Gordon B. Hinckley

All my life I’ve wanted to be somebody. But I see now I should have been more specific. Jane Wagner

I attribute my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education which I received from my mother. George Washington

Don’t let life discourage you. Everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was. Richard L. Evans

God does not begin by asking us about our ability, but only about our availability, and if we then prove our dependability, he will increase our capability! Neal A. Maxwell

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. Abraham Lincoln

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is. Albert Einstein

We can do no great things—only small things with great love. Mother Teresa

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. Helen Keller

Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you’re alive, it isn’t. Richard Bach

Prayer should be the key of the day and the lock of the night. Thomas Fuller

If wickedness never was happiness, then righteousness never was misery.

I do not pray for success. I ask for faithfulness. Mother Teresa

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in my pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return. Mary Jean Iron

And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. Abraham Lincoln

Only God can fully know what absolute honesty is. Therefore each of us has to conceive what this great ideal may be to the best of our ability. Bill W.

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. Mother Teresa

What you possess in the world will be found at the day of your death to belong to someone else. But what you are will be yours forever. Henry Van Dyke

Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be. Abraham Lincoln

If you judge people, you have no time to love them. Mother Teresa

If we find nothing of interest where we are, we are likely to find little of lasting interest where we wish to go. Edwin Way Teale

The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness. William Saroyan

Be such a man, and live such a life, that if every man were such as you, and every life a life like yours, this earth would be God’s Paradise. Phillips Brooks

We are each of us angels with only one wing, & we can only fly by embracing one another. Luciano de Crescenzo

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. Cherokee Expression

We should not complain about our own life’s not being a rose garden when we remember who wore the crown of thorns. Neal A. Maxwell

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. Harold Whitman

We are more than what we do, much more than what we accomplish...far more than what we possess. William Arthur Ward

We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey. Steven R. Covey

It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that make happiness. Charles Spurgeon

When you’re having a genuine bad hair day and someone says, “Have a nice day,” simply respond with, “Thanks, but I’ve made other plans!”

Virtue and morality surely must be true principles of God; otherwise, why would we feel so badly when those we love are not virtuous or morally clean? Lori Nelson Bennett

Inspiration comes more as a feeling than as a sound. Elder Boyd K. Packer

It is the grand privilege of every Latter-day Saint...to have the manifestations of the spirit every day of our lives. Pres. Lorenzo Snow

Every man has the privilege to exercise these gifts and these privileges in the conduct of his own affairs; in bringing up his children in the way they should go; in the management of his business, or whatever he does. It is his right to enjoy the spirit of revelation and of inspiration to do the right thing, to be wise and prudent, just and good, in everything that he does. Pres. Harold B. Lee

Because it raises our spirits and helps us resist evil and seek good, the feeling of uplift that is communicated by reading the scriptures or by enjoying wholesome music, art, or literature is a distinct function (as well as a form) of revelation. Dallin H. Oaks


Restraint is one of the most common functions of revelation. It often comes by surprise. Even though we have not asked for revelation or guidance on a particular subject, if we are keeping the commandments of God and living in tune with his Spirit, a restraining force will steer us away from things we should not do. Dallin H. Oaks

A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas...and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation. Prophet Joseph Smith

All of us are entitled to the spirit of prophecy & of revelation in our lives, both for our personal affairs & in our ministry. The prayerful study & pondering of the holy scriptures will do as much , or more than any other single thing, to bring that spirit, the spirit of prophecy and the spirit of revelation, into our lives. Elder Bruce R. McConkie

Conversation Starters

Yesterday I promised that I would give ideas on conversation starters. I’ve been collecting them for years. As a parent, you might want to keep a few basic questions printed on a 3X5 card to enable you to have conversations with your children privately or collectively while in the car, at the dinner table or at bedtime. Here’s a short list to choose from for your 3X5 card:

If you could ask God one question, what would it be?

What was the __________ (choose one: most challenging, funniest, most surprising, most amazing) thing that happened to you today?

Tell me your favorite joke.

What was the nicest thing you did for someone else today? How did it make you feel? What was the nicest thing that someone else did for you today? How did it make you feel?

If you were writing a Blog about your day, what would the title be?

Describe your day in three words.

Describe “the perfect day,” from the time you wake up until you go to bed.

In two minutes, tell me as much about your day as you can.

Teach me one thing that you learned today that you think I don’t know.

If you were the President of the United States, name one thing that you would change about our country immediately.

What do you think the world needs—right now?

If you were given $1000, how would you spend it?

What can I do for you that would make your life better?

If you were on a deserted island for a year and you could choose one thing to have with you, what would you want?

If you could invent something that would make life better, what would it be?

In your opinion, what is the greatest invention ever made?

If you could visit with a person from history, who would it be? Why?

If you could be an Olympian, what sport would you like to participate in?

If you were to loose one of your senses and you could choose which one it was, which sense do you think you would choose? Why? If it had to be sight or hearing, which one?

Why do so many people enjoy going to the Disney parks?

If you could go on a vacation anywhere in the United States, where would you go?

If you could make a movie, what would it be about? What type would it be? (Drama, history, comedy, mystery?)

Now for questions to put in your Conversation Jar. Let’s start with the humorous conversation starters that I have been saving. Perhaps you can come up with more humorous ones as well and maybe even find some that younger children will enjoy. Consider printing these conversations starters with humor on green paper (or color of your choice), then when the family seems to need humor, someone can be instructed to pull out a “green” slip of paper for that evening’s conversation around the dinner table. Here’s the humorous list:

Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety-one?    

If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea...does that mean that one out of five enjoys it?

Why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren't they just stale bread to begin with?

If people from Poland are called Poles, then why aren't people from Holland called Holes?

If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist, but a person who drives a racecar is not called a racist?

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?
If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, then doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked and dry cleaners depressed?

If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?

What hair color do they put on the driver's licenses of  bald men?

Do Lipton Tea employees take 'coffee breaks?

I thought about how mothers feed their babies with tiny little spoons and forks, so I wondered what do Chinese mothers use. Toothpicks?

Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are we supposed to do, write to them? Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen can look for them while they deliver the mail?

Is it true that you never really learn to swear until you learn to drive?

If a cow laughed, would milk come out of her nose?

Whatever happened to Preparations A through G?

As income tax time  approaches, did you ever notice: When you put the two words 'The' and 'IRS' together, it spells... 'THEIRS'?

Now copy and paste these ideas into your word processor. I make 3 columns with mine (you get more to a page that way), and print them, cut them up a put them in a cute little jar or box. Start your fun conversations tonight. (Even older couples can use the stimulation for conversations.) I’ll include more conversation starters tomorrow. Until then, enjoy dinner at your home!

Shall We Gather 'Round the Dinner Table?

I'll never forget while eating lunch with Michelle at Primary Children's Hospital I observed a little girl about Sophie's age (at that time Sophie was almost two), sitting quietly across from her mother, using a fork and eating her lunch. She didn't stand on her chair or get off of it over and over for that matter. She ate well and her mother would talk to her in a quiet, calm way. I was struck with the thought, "This little girl's family sits together as a family and eats their dinner together on a regular basis." Intrigued, I asked the mother if they did indeed eat often together as a family. The mother's eyes brightened as she said, "Yes, this is very important to me for my family." Michelle and I then had a lovely chat with this fine mother.

Now, with time to think about this important subject, "Eating together as a Family," I would like to share some ideas of why it is important and also things that can be done as we gather as a family around the table.

Dinnertime is often the only time a family has to be together. I think one would agree that it is important that at least once a day all members of the family sit down together and relax and find out what everybody's day has been like. Also, a little bit of effort put into making each meal special goes a long way toward health and contentment. As families get older, there will be times when a family member is absent. If we make dinnertime together a priority, however, we will have more times being together than not.

There is so much that can be done around the table. Here are a few ideas with no particular order of importance: 1) Have Culture or Ethnic nights. Let family members choose what they want to learn about. Plan assignments such as who will find recipes fitting the culture, who will prepare them, someone to find interesting facts about a culture, someone to find music from that culture to be listened to while eating, perhaps an after dinner craft related to the culture could be made. Be creative and enthused. This could become a favorite monthly event. 2) At some time during the day (preferably when the family is gathered for morning scriptures and prayer), have family members express their wish for "today." Write it down (So you might consider having a scribe). Then, at dinnertime, allow each family member time to share how or if their wish came to pass. The scribe could record a little bit of this and it could become a family journal about things learned and experienced. What a treasure this would be! 3)Have a "Scripture of the Week." Memorization could be rewarded. Values could be applied. Just think, 52 scriptures could be internalized in a year's time. Again, a record could be kept of which scriptures have been treasured. 4) Make a conversation jar and keep it as part of the centerpiece at your dinner table.(I'll give you a good start for this jar in my next blog.) Each night you could have someone pull out a question to be discussed by the entire family. Be sure to encourage "all" to participate. Keep a sense of humor (to me this is the most important rule) and never allow criticism or derogatory comments to be added by others while someone else is focusing on the question. (Manners are thus learned at the dinner table.) 5)Play different types of music during your meals and allow family members the time to discuss what the music does for their moods and the level of enjoyment the music allows them while eating their food. 6)Discuss important "news events" of the day. 7) Learn about a different value each week. Share experiences that you have learned about that value each evening.

Well, I am sure you can see the value of gathering 'round the dinner table. Don't just say, "I'll work on it." Remember and do it. The benefits will be great and you surely won't have any regrets.

Shall we gather 'round the table?

In my mind, I've been wondering if families have lost an important opportunity to gather and enjoy one another on a regular basis because they no longer have sit-down meals together? Oh, they might eat together--in front of the television. (I know we do this far too often!) But, something is lost when a family fails to enjoy time together around the dinner table. Can you think of some benefits of eating at least one meal together as a family? Think about it and I will, too. Later, I will share some of my ideas on the benefits of togetherness at the table. Until then, enjoy the
following amazing little recipe that I think any fine cook would want to have for her family. The suggested variations make it fun. Enjoy!

Anytime Drop-in Biscuits

2 c flour
3 T sugar
4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2/3 c shortening
1 large egg
1 c milk

Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening. Mix egg and milk, then add to flour-shortening mixture, and stir just till moist. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls on greased baking sheet. Bake at 425 F for 10-12 minutes. For Breakfast: Make a well in top of unbaked biscuit and fill with teaspoon of fruit preserves. For lunch: Add 1/2 c of grated cheese to dry ingredients. For dinner: Add 1/2 c currants and 1/4 c chopped walnuts. OR: Make them pure and simple and eat with butter, gravy, honey, or absolutely no topping at all!

Kids DO SAY the dardest things!

I just need to share this: Last night Shaun and Brooke came to visit. It had been a very enjoyable evening and I enjoyed every minute right up to the time they were packing up to go home. Macee began singing her "abc's" in a jumbled fashion saying "w, x, z," and "q, r, s," and then back to "a, b, c," and then "do you want to p?" Brooke and I began to laugh, of course. Oh, the innocence of a child!

Earlier, dear little Macee had come to me and asked me to rock her. Of course, I couldn't refuse. Sadly it didn't last long. She spied a child's wooden chair and asked if she could get it and set it next to me. She sat down and then looked at me seriously and said, "Gaamaa, I hold you now." I parroted her request and she affirmed that she wanted to hold me. So being the good grandma that I am(ha! ha!), I complied. She was so pleased to think that she could hold grandma.

Sweet blessings from Heaven

I told Rachael that I should write a new blog but was at a loss at what I could write about. Without hesitation, Rachael said write about your 13th grandchild. What a good idea! Why didn't I think about that? Could it be because I'm so dizzy that it's hard to think?

Well, anyway, Xzander Richard Bennett was born yesterday. He is my 13th grandchild. He shares his birthday with his great Aunt Janine. What a special day. I think he looks just like his brothers. There are those that agree. I guess I should say I am thankful for cell phones, and texting, (modern tech.)because I would otherwise be unable to see this sweet baby until pictures are developed and sent by mail. I am thankful for the miracle of phones, too. If you can't be near loved ones, phones and computers make it so much more bearable.

Grandchildren are the light of each day. I find joy just thinking about them. They grow all too quickly (just like my children did), and I find there is not enough time for them or me to do all that I would like to do with them. I hope there are grandchildren (that are wee) in heaven when we no longer have to deal with the aging process or time--just enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!

The Old Fisherman

This morning I took the opportunity to turn on some Christmas music and then re-type a story that I had received as a girl. The words of the story were badly faded and I wanted to capture them before they were lost forever. With the Christmas music reverently playing in the background, I thought as I typed the story, "This would make a perfect Christmas story! It portrays all of the elements of what Christ tried to teach us while he walked upon the earth: to love one another, to give our best, to have gratitude for the good and the bad, have compassion, and endure to the end." At first I thought I would save the story for "next year as a gift to loved ones and friends." But then the thought came, "No, share it now." So, here it is. Turn on some lovely, reverent Christmas music and bask in the true spirit of Christmas Charity:

The Old Fisherman

Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to outpatients at the clinic.

One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door, I opened it to see a truly awful looking old man.

“Why, he’s hardly taller than my eight-year old,” I thought as I stared at the stooped, shriveled body. But, the appalling thing was his face—lopsided from swelling; red and raw.

Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, “Good evening, I’ve come to see if you’ve a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the Eastern shore, and there’s no bus ‘till morning.”

He told me he’d been hunting for a room since noon but with no success. “I guess it’s my face. I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments….”

For a moment I hesitated but his next words convinced me, “I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning.”

I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch and talk for a few minutes. It didn’t take long to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body.

He told me that he fished for a living to support his daughter, her five children, and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from back injuries. He didn’t tell it by way of complaint; every other sentence was prefaced with a thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going.

At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children’s room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch. He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking for a great favor, he said, “Could I please come back and stay the next time I have to have a treatment? I won’t put you out a bit...I can sleep fine in a chair.” He paused a moment and then added, “Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don’t seem to mind.”

I told him he was welcome to come again. And on his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen. He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so they would be nice and fresh. I know his bus left at four a.m. and wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this.

In the years he came to stay overnight with us, there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden.

Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these, and how little money he had, made the gifts doubly precious.

When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a comment our next door neighbor made after he left that first morning, “Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away. You can lose roomers by putting up such people.”

And maybe we did, once or twice, but oh! If they only could have know him perhaps their illnesses would have been easier to bear. I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.

Recently I was visiting a friend who has a greenhouse. As she showed me her flowers we came to the most beautiful of all; a golden chrysanthemum, bursting with blooms. But to my great surprise it was growing in an old, dented, rusty bucket. I thought to myself, if this were my plant I’d put it in the loveliest container I had. My friend changed my mind.

“I ran short on pots,” she explained, “And knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn’t mind starting in this old pail. It’s just for a little while, ‘till I can put it out in the garden.”

She must have wondered why I laughed so delightedly, but I was imagining just such a scene in heaven. “Here’s an especially beautiful one,” God might have said when he came to the soul of the fisherman. “He won’t mind starting in the small body.”

But that’s behind now, long ago, and in God’s garden how tall this lovely soul must stand.

Author Unknown

In spite of the sadness (very deep) of losing my dad this past month, and in spite of my mother having an accident just 9 days after dad's death, may I just say that this has been a beautiful Fall. I am learning so much. I have felt the influence of a loving Father in Heaven as he has allowed me to learn more about my Dad and his goodness. I have been reassured that I am blessed to be the one to spend so much time with my mother as she recovers and tries to settle Dad's affairs. Of course, by myself I would not have chosen to have my schedule changed every day, but I realize that I am experiencing things that I will never have the opportunity to learn from again. In quiet moments I have felt sweet assurances that all is well and that if I move forward in faith, everything (absolutely everything) will work out if I will just trust in the Lord and pray for His will to be done. I am content to wait upon the Lord and in my waiting I am enjoying glorious views of orange and red Alpine mountains with low clouds and snow capped vistas. I don't remember apples being juicier and crisper, nor do I remember greener tomato vines with big, luscious tomatoes.

I am blessed to be a new Grandma for the 12th time. Little Jaxton arrived on Sept. 24 and I think he's as cute as any baby ever born. He brings peace, too. I ask, "Why am I so blessed?"

When the children gather here with their little ones and show love and affection to "Gampa" or "new gammaw" (my mother) I feel as if my heart will burst with joy because of the love that is felt. Alas, isn't that what it's all about? Love? Love of God; Love of our neighbors; Love one another! Conference conveyed this message--Just love one another. It's easy for me to understand and do right now. It is good--it is the best!!!! God bless us--everyone!!!

Obituray of my father...

Bruce Richard Nelson

1929 ~ 2009

Bruce Richard Nelson, 80, died peacefully while surrounded by loved ones on Monday, September 14, 2009 in Provo, Utah. Bruce was born May 22, 1929, the only child of Allen Richard and Ruby Johnson Nelson. Bruce is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 62 years, Earlene R Van Wagoner, 4 children, Allen Tommy, Salt Lake; Lyle Richard (Sherrie) American Fork; Lori (Jeffrey) Bennett, Alpine; Kari (Kurt) Schwendiman, Moscow, Idaho; 20 grandchildren. Bruce had a special relationship with each of his grandchildren. Each can tell of special times with Bruce and Earlene.

Bruce was an active member of the LDS Church, and served a mission with his wife in Omaha, Nebraska. He retired from Geneva Steel after 38 years of service.

The family wishes to express their love and gratitude to all who have shown love and compassion to Bruce during his years of battling illnesses. He loved you all and he felt his life was rich because you were "his friends."

Funeral services will be held Friday, September 18, 2009 at 11 am in the Anderson & Sons Mortuary Chapel, 49 E 100 N, American Fork. Visitations will be Thursday evening from 6 to 8 pm and Friday 9:30 to 10:45 am at the mortuary. Burial, Alpine City Cemetery. Online condolences may be sent at andersonmortuary.com