His Hands

They are strong. They lift such heavy things. They tug and pull and squeeze. The treamendous strength that are in those hands are unfathomable. The amount of work that has been done with those hands is limitless. When something new is demanded of those hands the task is met with the ability of a professional.
They are dirty. They are cracked and dry. They are course and unmanicured. There is dirt in cracks that seems to never get washed away. There is dirt under the nails and in the cuticles.
But they are so gentle. Those hands have lifted and held our tiny babies with such tenderness that even smooth hands would have been harsher. Those hands have held mine in difficult times, in times of happiness and sadness. They are injured. Frequently he comes home with cuts, scrapes and sometimes gashes in his hands, yet he never complains about it. He continues to work with those hands never ending. His hands have blessed our family with the divine Priesthood held only by those on the Earth that are worthy and have been given the power by authority through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Many times I think he underestimates the worth of those hands. I think he might think that I wish they were cleaner or I wish that they were smoother. However I don't wish either of those things. His hands are very special to me and I would rather have them cracked and bleeding than smooth and manicured. His hands show just how much love he has for me and for our kids. I love his hands, and I love him. Thank you William for your hands.

Surprise

My Iris bloomed this week. The bulbs were given to me by a friend two years ago. The first year that you plant Iris they don't bloom. So I have been waiting for two years for these blooms. Waiting and thinking,"Oh how beautiful those purple flowers would look next to my fence." Anticipating, and wondering is today the day that the buds will rise up? Is today the day that I get to see those huge purple petals? When the sun comes out hoping that this would be the day that there is enough warmth to make those buds burst open in a purple explosion. Well imagine my surprise when after two long years of waiting, I got a gorgeous yellow flower. I haven't seen yellow Iris before. I was actually quite surprised. However, I was more than excited after the initial shock wore off.
Isn't that like life though. We expect one thing and then get something totally different and I believe that it is even more beautiful than I initially planned.
It was worth the wait. I love my yellow Iris and I love my life in all the little imperfections. Life is more beautiful when we are surprised by the little surprises that Heavenly Father puts in there. If we all got what we wanted and if we were perfect at everything, there would be no reason for faith or hope. Two beautiful virtues that make us human.

STUCK AND UNSTUCK

Well, for the last week or so I have been stuck! Not stuck in a hole, not stuck to a board. No, not stuck like the dinosaurs in a tar pit. I have been mentally stuck in a rut. To be more precise, a bad attitude rut. One that keeps me from getting dressed, showering, or even brushing my teeth. Gross!!!! Well if I could have stayed in bed I would have, but having three small kids tell me that they're hungry gets me up and at least keeps me from making a permanant dent in my mattress or couch cushion.

Why do people get stuck like this? I normally pull myself right out of these episodes with no real repurcussions. But this time around I didn't manage so well. Yes, I cried and I ate more than I was supposed to. I think that with everything that is going on in the world today, I am not alone. A lot of friends of mine seem to be stuck in their own type of rut. What is the deal? Is it the economy.....probably. Is it just the overall feeling in the air......likely. I actually have no idea. I am just throwing this out into the cosmic void.

Things will get better. I will keep telling the voices in my head, "My husband has a job, the kids are safe and healthy, and I am blessed." Maybe one of these times, the voices will listen and I can stop worrying. Life goes on and on and on and on. We always look back and say, "That wasn't so bad." But at the time it always seems so hard. "Don't cry for me Argentina" I will get over this quickly, I have too much to do, and I can't spend my time wallowing in grief and self absorbstion. So for now this is my ranting.

My dream, well, I would so love to be young again, with no problems. Well, no real problems. I would like to be like my kids, so that when I say I am stuck, it quite literally means that I am stuck!!!

Now that this is all out of my system......

I AM OFFICIALLY UNSTUCK

Birthday Wish????

When I was a kid the days on the calendar seemed to go by so slowly. I looked forward to the holidays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, those elusive yet quirky three day weekends, and then there was the Birthday. Having a birthday when you are young was a big deal. A whole year has gone by, a lot happened in that year! In one year I started out adding one digit numbers and by the end of that year I was multiplying two digit numbers. Wow that is a lot in a year!
It is so different when you are older. I am having a hard time remembering how old I am, let alone what day my birthday is. The year went by fast. Nothing significant happened. My hair didn't even change, it only got longer.
I am not too impressed with birthdays anymore. I am judging my progress throughout the year on what my children are accomplishing. I only wish that doing that would slow the calendar down. It doesn't seem to be working.
Sydney asked me what my favorite cartoon was. I told her it was Phineas and Ferb. She then informed me we could have a Phineas and Ferb birthday party for myself. HMMMM maybe.

Why not? I make my kids fun cakes for their birthday maybe I will break down and make myself one this year. Nah. A round chocolate cake will be fine.
Well here we go again, another birthday. Let's see what happens this year. Maybe if I don't blink too often I will be able to catch some of it.
I do have to thank my family for being so nice on my birthday. I have had a nice delivery for my birthday, a ton of strawberries and an angel food cake. YUMM!! Thanks to the Binghams. I will break down and try to enjoy this birthday, it will be a chore, but I think I can do it. Maybe.

Geneology, I am doing it.....

I think that most people wish they came from normal families. But what is a normal family? I believe our families are normal and that our ideas of normal don't exist.
I am trying to track down photos of individuals for a pedigree chart that Sydney is working on for her Faith in God project, and there are actually people in our family that are hiding photographs from the rest of the family with the claim that they belong to them, and no one else can even look at them. What psychos!!! Is it just me or is that the silliest thing ever. The only photo I have of my Dad's mother is her in a casket, closed by the way. How's that for a friendly family? Well, at least I know their names.
I am sure there might be other ways of tracking down those photos. Maybe I can dress as a cat burgler and sneak into her dumpy house, (I wouldn't even have to kick hard to get the door down), and hold her at water gun point, and tell her to hand the photos over or she'll get it between the eyes. She might be afraid of the water. Who knows? Well at least it would be an exciting story to tell my children. "Yes children, your mother was treasure hunting in Nampa Idaho, and she got into a fight for her life to preserve our familiy history." Wow, sounds like that story has been done before. :)