Just show up

Ready for another mantra? I have loved reading yours and thinking about them. Thank you for sharing.

This one comes from a few years ago. A young man spoke in our stake conference. He was totally blind. He was so positive and inspirational. He asked, "Did you go the welfare orchard to pick peaches when your ward was assigned? If you didn't, then on that day I was better at picking peaches than you, because I showed up." Good point. Even if you're totally blind you're better than I was that day! He went on to explain that that is his motto (or mantra): Just show up! Sometimes I think we're afraid to show up. What will be expected of us? Are we equal to the challenge? I know I feel that way whether it's picking peaches, or later canning them at the cannery, or going to a Relief Society meeting alone, or helping someone move or comforting someone who is mourning, or sitting with someone who is ill- so their caregiver can have a break, , or, or. . . It's scary. Can I do it? Will I know what to say? But, if we can just show up- almost always it works out just fine. And usually it becomes a very sweet and even joyful experience. So, there's another mantra for you to consider:  Just show up!

My Favorite Things: Cutco Knife

If you cook, you know what a good knife means to you.  Your world revolves around a good knife!  At least it feels that way sometimes.  I'm always searching for the perfect knife.  Several years ago, we were discussing knives with friends and they said they liked their Cutco knives.  They had purchased them from an acquaintance trying to eek out a living- so it was kind of a charity purchase- but they had been pleasantly surprised with them.  So Ken checked into it and found how he could order some online and surprised me at Christmas with three: a small paring knife, a large bread knife and this medium sized serrated knife. (That man knows the way to a girl's heart!) This medium sized one is my favorite.  It's still sharp three years later and really "cuts it" with me.  In fact, if I can't find it, I kind of panic.  My Cutco knife:  one of my favorite things!

Special Pioneers

I looked out the window and what did I see?  Well, that too, but I also saw the park behind our house full of people in pioneer garb with handcarts.  It was the special needs mutual in our area on their own pioneer trek.  I ran and got my camera and photographed them as the trek trail went right behind our house. It was so fun to watch.
 It made me reflect on the special needs mutual and what a great thing it is.  It started a few years ago with our stake acting as host to all of the St. George area.  It's split twice and now there are three very large groups who meet every Thursday evening.  Youth in the stake are called to serve as mentors, so each special needs participant has a special friend that will be there each week and enjoy the activities with them.  It's kind of a coveted calling.  The youth who do it, love it.  Everyone has a great time at special needs mutual.  I'm glad I got to witness these pioneers to remind me of what life is really all about!

Freak the Mighty

Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For our online family bookclub, we read and discussed this sweet little book this month. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's about an unlikely friendship between two misfit boys. Each fills needs in the other. It’s a page turner with many themes, including: literacy, death, bullying, judging others, handicaps, and friendship.
This book was well-written and easy to read. I was so glad to read that many junior high school English classes use this book as required and encouraged reading. It's a great book for kids to read. They’ll learn about being a true friend, about the importance of literacy- reading and writing, how to not judge or be cruel to others and that there is a reason people act the way they act- Don't judge, and maybe most important of all how to lift and build others to their potential! I think this also would be a great read aloud for families.


View all my reviews

Our online bookclub:

Thanks for the Memories, Pete!

Pat and Pete Baum moved in across the street 23 years ago. We bonded almost immediately with this friendly, outgoing man and his kind, gracious wife.   You may remember a post I did when Pat passed away a few years ago and we celebrated her life with a neighborhood barbecue.  Pete has been a lonely widower since.  He's recently decided he needs to move back to California to be nearer his family.  He's been like a surrogate grandpa to our kids and a good friend to us.  Even the older grandkids call him Grandpa Pete.  Some things we'll miss:  Whenever we're out of town, we don't even have to ask, Pete takes in our newspapers for us.  Every week he wheels our garbage can up our driveway on garbage day.  We've had Thanksgiving dinners together and barbecues with homemade ice cream, enjoyed fireworks together,  and many talks out on the front lawn or bench.  He has brought a baby gift over for every grandchild to celebrate their birth.  This has been especially touching since Pat's passing, as he goes to the store and chooses it himself.  Though not a member of our church, he attended all of our daughter's baptisms and Kristen's missionary farewell and homecoming.  He used to go to most of Kristen's ball games when she was in high school- often traveling to the out of town ones with us.  We had many good chats on those trips. Pete loved my parents.  He loved that my Dad called Mom "Pete" and dubbed himself "the other Pete." Pete and Pat really feel like a part of our family.  

Last weekend, we held a traditional neighborhood barbecue to say farewell.  Here's some pictures from that:

Pete and neighbor, Sharon 

 The beautiful Sonju girls

 The barbecue kings: Travis and Bishop Sonju

Maci holding the Robertson's new baby girl, Inga

I got busy eating the delicious food and visiting, and didn't get more group shots.  There was a good crowd there.

Thanks for the memories, Pete!  We'll miss you!  

Just Keep Swimming

I just keep hearing new phrases that could be adopted as mantras. When you're looking for them; they're everywhere. I'm always pulling out my notebook and jotting a new one down-- from talks or lessons at church- just things people say in comments in classes at church, on T.V., in movies, . . .. Mantras are everywhere! I've got blogging fodder for months to come!

Before I started really delving into mantras, if someone had asked what my mantra was, I'd have said one of two. I'll save the other for later, but one of them is "Just Keep Swimming," of course, adopted from that delightful movie,"Finding Nemo." That little phrase helps me so much to keep going when I'm tired and discouraged. It's so what I need. Whether I'm trying to get the dishes done, or the laundry, or write a script, or finish a list of errands, or am actually swimming (I do that!), I find myself repeating this to myself. Life is hard. We have to go through hard things sometimes. Those around us go through hard times, too. This is a great little phrase to share with someone who's struggling. It gets me through the tired, tough times. There's a lot of power in just keeping at something. Just keep keeping on! Oh wait, that would be another possible mantra! But it's all the same message. Just don't give up. Keep at it, and pretty soon it's done and you win! I find repeating to myself,"just keep swimming"very motivational.

Morris Spring Break

It's tradition that Joan and whoever she can gather up come for their spring break every spring. She drives down from Boise, arriving on Monday afternoon, then on Wednesday, goes and gets Tom at the airport and this year, brought Devin's Sarah and her two darling daughters back with her for the rest of the week. We shopped all day on Tuesday and talked each other into buying stuff we don't need. It's tradition. On Wednesday, she came to my Keynote rehearsal with me (that also is tradition) and then we went power shopping at a cute quilt store that was madly closing out their stuff to close their doors (sad.) We grabbed a few things at 40% off. We then met Pam (yep, tradition!) for a delicious lunch at a new Italian place that Pam knew about. The chef is an ex- Princess cruise chef and the food was delicious!

On Saturday, between sessions we had a fun, but windy picnic out at one of our awesome neighborhood parks. I did terrible at getting pictures, but the kids had a great time on the unique playground toys.

During the priesthood session, we went to our beautiful city center park. We rode the carousel and played in the rocky stream water play place. The kids had so much fun.

I have two share to Eva- isms from their visit. When they first arrived, I think she was a bit scared of Ken and I. That was Thursday. On Friday, Ken was late getting home for work and we were already around the table, eating dinner. Ken came in and Eva said, "Why's that guy here again?" We all cracked up. On Saturday, when we went to park at the carousel, Joan pulled into a parking spot. From the back Eva popped up with, "This is a lovely parking spot." So cute.

By the end, both girls warmed up to Ken. On Sunday morning before they left, he was holding both of them on his lap. Thanks all for visiting! It was very fun. And thank you, Sarah for the BYU fudge. It was so yummy. If you're going to the BYU bookstore soon, people, may I suggest the Heath fudge? (Sorry, there just wasn't time to get a picture of that before it disappeared) It is so good. Happy Spring!

My Favorite Things- Lindor Truffles

It's been awhile since I posted one of Ken's favorite things. Among his very favorite treats are Lindor truffles. He loves them. Especially the white chocolate ones with the white chocolate filling. They were originally Swiss chocolate, but now are made in New Hampshire. If I want to give my husband a special treat (Christmas, birthday, most recently- Easter) I know just what to get him: white chocolate Lindor Truffles- because they are one of his favorite things!

Grandkid Firsts

Though our grandchildren live far away, we've been so blessed to be with them for a few of their "firsts." We were all in Hawaii in 2008 when Nathan first learned to crawl.

We were visiting the Mackrorys in Provo for Brielle's birthday in November of 2008 when Nathan took his first steps.

I was visiting the Camerons in Ohio in the summer of 2011 when Caleb took his first steps.

And Jacob took his first steps when everyone was here at Christmas.

Thanks, guys for saving some of your "firsts" for when your grandparents can celebrate them, too!

Mother/Daughter Book Club via Google Hangout

We've always had a very close family, but it's a challenge to stay that way when all three daughters live so far away. They are all very busy mamas too. We are SO grateful for email, skype, phones, and old-fashioned snail mail that keeps us connected. Michelle came up with another great idea that we just started last month. We meet once a month on Google Hangout and have a bookclub. We all read the same book and then discuss it together. We had our first meeting on March 27th. It just so happened that Joan was here visiting, so she joined our discussion. We decided to start with reading the histories my Dad wrote. We also read the recently discovered hand-written history of my grandmother, Libby Fox Peterson- my mother's mother, which my sister Joan transcribed and sent to all of us.

My Dad's histories are a compilation of several histories that he wrote. Actually, he was a Dr. and used to voice recording. So he spoke his histories into an old-fashioned cassette tape recorder and then, either Patty or I transcribed them. He did his own history, his parents, and all four of his grandparents over a period of a few years. It bothered my mother that she didn't write her life history. When she was very ill with cancer, she tried to write, but just didn't have the strength. My Dad asked if he could help. So, he interviewed her, writing notes. He promised her he would complete her history for her. My sister Patty wrote: "For the first year after her death, Dad could not bring himself to work on her history. It was simply too painful to recall such tender memories. Into the second year after her death he began the process of making notes and recording his memories mixed with the notes he took when he interviewed her." He finished the first draft of that history early in the summer of 2003. Patty transcribed it that summer and gave it to Dad to review. He made some corrections and changes and in early September, 2003, she finished the final draft of that history. He said, "I feel so relieve to have this history finally finished. I can now read novels and other books I have set aside until I finished Dorothy's history." He died on October 19 of that year. When he finished that history, I think he felt his life's work was done.

A few months after he passed away, my sisters and I got together and compiled this book containing all of his histories. We added pictures and made copies for ourselves and all of our children.

It was so fun to discuss the details of the lives of my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents with my daughters and sister. It was fun to hear their perspective and to see what to me was common knowledge be so new and interesting to them. The book also contains the Life Sketches of my parents, given at their funerals: Mom's by my brother John and Dad's by Tom Morris. They are both so well-written and moving. It was a joy to read them again.

I am grateful for the miracle of technology (and for Brian who understands how to USE that technology and get us set up!) that allows us to hold a book club that spans the United States and brings us together in one more way.