Ups and Downs

Hi friends, this is Betty. It has been one of those up and down days. It was up when I drove to get Omega 3 feed for my 12 chickens. I got a few other things for them as well, like oyster shell calcium and grit to clean their gullets. Ha Ha, that strikes me funny! But kind of down tonight when I could not remember how long ago Bob Had his stroke. Was it three years ago or Four years ago? Lets see. I think Monique's family moved here in the summer of , oh goodness , I think a year and a half ago, so it was 2010? My brain just could not wrap around the fact that Bob has been in this hospital bed for almost 4 years. But yes, Tom and Natalie lived here for two years after Bob's stroke, and then Mo and David came. The day was up again when I taped a few stones to be soldered into my project. Playing the piano was nice, but I struggle to play well enough for our Ward choir. We have extremely patient choir leaders! I loved taking Whit out to see the cows with Jacob, our choir director, Hiedi Whipples' adorable little boy. Sometimes my mind seems whirley, and I just want it to be clear. Sometimes I am just fine. Love you all.

This is "the first day of the rest of my life". The picture you see is the first step of a joint project my son, Chris, and I are undertaking. Chris, this is the sort of typical, frilly, feminine type of smocking that I normally do. I am not sure that this is what you want, but I need to give you a starting point. So, you can tell me"this is good, just what I want" or "yuk, way too childish and pink!" I did it in pink cause I had this fabric and it was sitting by my machine when I got the glass piece to practice on. I have lots of other ideas, but I needed to start somewhere and get feedback from you. I am so excited to do a project with Chris. I think of him as being amazingly creative, an artist, so it makes me giddy to think that I can do something creative with him, me, the homemaker, the mom, the caregiver. Do I really feel up to this? Well I may not be"up" to it, but I am over the top excited about trying. Thank you for suggesting that we try!

Blessings come in many sizes and shapes. Some are giant size, like our lives, our spouses, our health. Some are tiny like our babies, butterflies, chocolate candy. Some are intangible, like kindness from others, and a spiritual awakening. Some are breathtaking like a rainbow or a mountain meadow. Some are just everyday things like having a clean house or enjoying a hobby. One is a special day in the life of a wee one, just come from Heaven to sojourn on earth. In my church we introduce these new little ones with a formal"Blessing" pronounced most often by Dad in front of the Congregation. A name is given as well as a blessing pronounced under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. The tiny little cherub receiving this blessing is not required to wear anything in particular, but it is often family tradition for baby to wear a white dress or romper to represent the purity of these little ones in the eyes of God. When my youngest daughter was four years old, I learned a sewing technique called smocking. Aw come on, you remember, all those cute little Polly Flinders dresses, so cute, and so expensive! Anyway smocking led to Heirloom Sewing which led to Christening gowns and rompers. Which leads to another blessing for me. I have lots of hours to fill as I stay with my husband who is pretty much bed bound with a severe stroke. When my fingers get itchie for something to do, I pick up my smocking and work on a dress or other smocking project. I also had the chance to help my oldest daughter make a Christening gown for her firstborn. Yes, blessings come in all sizes, I think maybe the ones I like best come in size Newborn. Thank you.

You Can Come Home

It is said that" you can't go home", meaning that when you do go home, things will be different and it won't seem like home. As the mom of all grown up children, I want to say "you can come home, PLEASE." No, things will not be the same as when you grew up. The house will be older. The grass will not seem as green. The trees may not even seem as large. The garden where you worked hours on end may have shrunk to postage stamp size. All of the many interesting places you used to play will now seem silly or dangerous, or at best boring. Your favorite foods may not taste as good. You've had better chicken soup at the grocery store. The bisquits are better at KFC. Old man Jacobs, down the street is dead now, and your best friend across town has become an accountant with no sense of humor. The corner grocery has been replaced by a Super Selllmart, and they sure won't let you get your own dill pickle out of the wooden barrel in the meat cooler with a pair of tongs. You will not be a child anymore, you may even have to follow around a little cherub of your own. You won't feel the same carefree self you used to be.

But from the inside out, you will be the finest sight in the world. You will be more beautiful, or handsome, and smarter than you have ever been. Your spouse will be the nicest person ever, and your children will be the cutest little creatures that ever lived. And even though YOU get tired and bored and annoyed with your parents for being so old fashioned and slow, YOUR PARENT will wish you had more time to spend with them. So ok, home will now be where you live with your little family. But, to the folks who gave you your beginnings, you will always be the son, or daughter that grew up in the old house, with the run down yard, and the dangerous play places. You will always be the laughter and the tears that filled the kitchen where grandma's chicken soup was made, and the owner of the "ouwies" and the" triumphs" that demanded every waking hour of attention of that mom and dad who love you so much. So do come home, please, over and over again. No, things will not be the same. But as you share your childhood memories with you own little family, things might be as comfy as an old quilt.

Bennet in the Whitman's Den

This is the most recent picture that was taken with my camera. Two adorable little grandsons are caged because they were both a little tired or bored or in need of a new something to do. We thought it might be interesting to put them together and see what happened. Yeah, they just pretty much ignored one another. We should have added one sippy cup to see what kind of response we got then. These are both active, charming, engaging baby boys, but they do not perform on demand. At this time they just needed a little down time. Don't we all from time to time? Aren't you glad they don't make adult pack and plays (we used to call them play pens)?

SURPRISE!

This post is just to acquaint myself with my new computer and the program. I may have uploaded a picture to go with this, but all I saw were numbers, so the picture will be a total surprise to me
Today has been a pretty quiet, just go through the routine, kind of a day. I am trying to sort out alot of really important things right now, like income source, and learning new stuff, so don't really count this as a blog, it is more of a "I need to know how to figure out some things on my own" post. Thank you for your indulgence.

New Mac

Good evening. Have I ever mentioned my puppy, Mac? He is not really a puppy anymore, but a 6 year old white standard poodle. Well, technically he is apricot, because of a little color on his front knees, but when he is clean he is about as white as my laundry. We bought him a few years ago, after my husband's first stroke. We needed him to take us for walks...And he did! We used to walk a couple of miles most everyday. It was a terrible shock to his system when Bob had his last stroke and couldn't do that any more. He used to give us little gifts just to prove how much he loved missing his walks. We have worked that out.

Well a couple of day sago I got a new Mac. No, it is not a cute little poodle. It is a cute little computer. My big mac was getting old, especially by tech standards. My daughter and son in law bought me a new printer for Christmas. My computer was so out dated the it could not support the printer. So now I am learning how to use a cute little 13 inch lap variety that allows me to sit in our room with Bob while I do my computer work. We are truly blessed to have such technology to help us out. And I will get this thing figured out. I promise.