Thankful Me

Right on time, March presents, "out like a lamb." High temperatures are predicted to be in the mid-60's, and the snow that fell a week ago has vanished. Flowers continue to brighten yards. I'm thankful for mild spring weather, and I'm thankful for beautiful blossoms. Just last month, I drove to San Diego to attend the temple with a friend of mine. This past week, my friend and her family drove to Utah and stayed with me for a couple of days. We packed a lot of fun into the short time we had, and even managed to attend a session at the Provo Temple. I'm thankful for good friends, and I'm thankful for temples.  Photo: The white Provo Temple stands in front of the Wasatch Mountains. In front of the temple is a round reflecting pool, and in front of the water, John and I stand with our friends, Robert and Cinthia. The day that their family left, the fun continued, because another  friend arrived. We talked, talked, and talked some more, and generally ...

It's been a while since I've joined in the Six Sentence Story link-up, and I've missed it. Much has changed in the past month, and now the SSS is hosted by Denise of Girlie on the Edge . Go over there to read the other participants' stories. This week's prompt: vent. With five children in the family, the laundry pile never seemed to disappear; and with the exception of the incident of the crayon in the dryer or the infamous cell phone baptism-by-immersion (which, incidentally, though honestly a mistake, was a great way to teach the teens to not trust Mom with the laundry and to take the task upon themselves) , washing and drying the clothes remained a constant, humdrum chore.  Was this the third load of the day, or the fourth? Hamper balanced on one hip, she flipped the switches to turn on the light and the exhaust vent fan, and instantly, the room lit up.  "Kids, go get Dad from outside and tell him there is a fire and to come here, now!"  To th...

The flowers and trees read the calendar correctly, and I see evidence all around that spring is here.  1. I'm thankful that the original owners of the house we are renting landscaped so nicely, and we get to enjoy the ever-changing display of flowers and vegetation. Photo: An otherwise bare tree is starting to display beautiful pink blossoms. 2. I'm thankful that previous owners of the house we bought and will be moving into planted some fruit trees.  Photo: "Popcorn" is popping on the apricot tree .  3. I'm thankful that the major remodeling inside the house is done. The stove is hooked up to the gas line. Photo: The stove sits in its place, with counters on either side. 4. I'm thankful the plumbers came and installed the kitchen faucet and dishwasher. Photo: The kitchen faucet takes its place by the corner sink. 5. I'm thankful for the discovery of flower bulbs popping up all over the yard. Photo: The bright blue Glory o...

Since publishing my last Ten Things of Thankful post, I have driven to and from California (thus switching time zones) and turned my clock ahead. As a result, my body still doesn't know what time it really is. The calendar, however, tells me it is time to write about those things for which I am thankful. 1. I'm thankful that John and I ran the Rex Lee 10 K together. The sun shone, the temperature was perfect for running--a bit on the chilly side, but not freezing--and the course wasn't too brutal. I was on the recovery side of a cold, so I didn't do as well as I would have liked, but crossing the finish line felt good.  2. I'm thankful for an uneventful drive to California. Because I left after the race, I decided to split the drive into two days. I stopped in St. George for the evening. 3. I'm thankful for the Meetinghouse Locator function of the lds.org website (found in the "Tools and Support" section of the drop-down menu under "My Accou...

The self-described "wobbly-haired" (curly-haired) girl sits next to her grandma on the plastic office chair. A bunch of cheerful Mylar balloons float in the corner. Behind the desk, a bespectacled middle-aged woman explains which immunizations the four-year-old will be receiving that day. With a sudden dawning of understanding, the child looks up and solemnly declares, "This is not my appointment."  Photo: A profile of a "wobbly-haired" girl, wearing a red dress and gazing off into the distance Oh, my dear child! I'm afraid life will present you with many opportunities to think, "This is not my appointment." Suddenly, my mind floods back over the years to times life happened differently than I had envisioned. "Your baby weighs 2 pounds, 15 ounces." "You lost four units of blood. We gave you a transfusion." "We have a diagnosis." "He's been arrested." "He jumped off the bridge....

I was late to last week's Ten Things of Thankful party, linking up with only 45 minutes to spare four days ago. I'm going to be away from my computer starting later today and through the extent of the link-up time.  (John will be home, though, so the house isn't unattended.) Because of that, I am writing another Ten Things of Thankful post today. This week, I'm thankful: 1. For my upcoming trip to California. Grandchildren, here I come! 2. For the bulbs that are popping up in my yard. We started renting this place in the summer, so the flowers were a nice surprise.  Photo: Yellow crocus bloom in a bed of brown fallen leaves 3. The work on the house we bought continues. The granite went into the kitchen this week. All that is left now in the kitchen is mostly behind-the-scenes work, like connecting the plumbing and some electrical jobs.  Photo: A before and after collage of the kitchen as it was when we bought it, and now with a more open floor plan, ne...

I did something last week that I've never done before--I attended a RootsTech conference. RootsTech 2018 brought together approximately 14,000 attendees to learn and celebrate family history. Gathered in the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah, we spent four days attending classes, listening to fabulous keynote speakers, visiting vendors at an enormous expo, and meeting friends and relatives. Photo: My mom and I pose in front of a sign. Had I framed the photo correctly, "Welcome to Rootstech" would be visible. My mom flew down to attend the conference, and spent a week with me. We not only had a great time at RootsTech, we also managed to watch a couple of movies (The Greatest Showman, Coco), eat Rockwell ice cream and BYU chocolate-covered cinnamon gummy bears (not simultaneously), and inadvertently photo-bomb a video interview with Scott Hamilton.   Thanks to a "Find Relatives at RootsTech" feature of the FamilySearch FamilyTree app, I had a list of ...