Worth a Thousand Words

 Some pictures just are . . .

A ship, loaded with returning soldiers, in New York harbor after V-Day in 1945.  Is this not an amazing photo?

Grandpa Gabrielsen

    I am writing a book of stories from my life.  It is called "Grandma's Stories."  Following is one of the stories from that book.

Grandpa Gabrielsen

This is Grandpa Lyman Conrad Gabrielsen, Sr. with my Grandma Erma Debora Adams Gabrielsen.  She died when I was just two -years-old.

This is Grandpa with his second wife, Beena.  I loved Beena.

I had a very fun Grandpa.  Lyman Conrad Gabrielsen, Sr. was his name.  He was a happy, smiley man who always had a twinkle in his eye.  He loved to play with us.  He had certain games that we always played with him.  He would make a coin disappear, then find it in my ear.  He did the grandpa machine (does this all sound familiar?) where he would lie on his back and I would stand at his head.  He would flip me over to his legs. We would giggle and rough house on the floor.  I am told, that he would do this with my older siblings as well and Grandma Gabrielsen would yell in from the kitchen, “Stop working those kids up!” I am sure there were other games as well.  My dad learned his grandpa skills by watching his own dad.

The thing I remember most about my Grandpa Gabrielsen were his stories.  The one he told most often is the following: (I can just picture him and almost hear him telling it with that twinkle in his eye.)

He said he and his friends were at the top of the mountain in Logan canyon.  To get down the mountain, they climbed the highest pine tree.

 

They held on tight to the branch and got it swinging and swinging.  When it was swinging big, they would jump and grab the highest bough of the next tree down the mountain.  That would start it swinging and swinging.  When it was at full swing, they would leap, catching a branch of the next tree down.  In this manner they would make their way down the entire mountain.

He told the story with such detail, that, to this day, I don’t know if it is true or not.  What do you think?  Is it possible?

He also loved to tell a story about his dad.  They would go up and stay in a cabin in Logan canyon.  They would take their food up in coolers and stay for as long as they could.  One day, a fly flew into the milk one of the kids was drinking.  Oh, yuck!  His grandpa fished the fly out and, to their surprise, put the fly in his own milk.  He then drained the glass of milk.  He then refilled his glass and drained that glass- all without saying a word.  It taught them a lesson, though, that they never forgot.

Grandpa also told stories of going up to “Grandpa’s Cave” and spending the night alone as a young teenager.  He talked about how scared he would get in that cave alone.  He told it with such detail, that I would get chills thinking of staying in a cave by myself.  We since have found Grandpa’s Cave.

I loved my Grandpa Lyman Conrad Gabrielsen, Sr.  He died when I was fifteen years old and because of fog, I was unable to fly out of Boise to attend his funeral. 

 

 

 

 

 

Worth a Thousand Words

 . . .Some pictures just are.

I Am a Man

The Prince family has taken up skiing.  Brian grew up skiing and wants his family to enjoy it too.  They went several times this winter.  They wondered how William, age 6 would do.  They found out the kid has no fear.  He loves it.  Brian taught him to put his ski tips together to slow or stop.  He barrels down the mountain with his tips together- like a pizza!

He was doing "green" hills and begged his dad to take him on a "blue" hill- the next step up. " I know I'm ready."  So Brian took him on a blue hill.  He instructed him to go side to side to keep his speed down.  William took off-straight down the mountain with his skis in pizza.  Brian said he had to ski fast to keep up with him.  

On another run, Jaron skied by him.  He could hear him singing at the top of his voice, "I am a man!"  The kid was in heaven- swishing down the mountain and singing his heart out!  I think he has taken to skiing.

 

April Temple Visits

 Well, I can see that now we are ordinance workers that it will be impossible to post all of our temple visits.  But I will continue to post when we got as patrons.  Why? I want my family to know that we are trying to center our lives on the temple.

April 4- St. George temple, Sealings and Initiatory

April 12- Red Cliffs temple, Initiatory and Sealings

April 13- St. George temple, Two Sealing sessions

April 25 Red Cliffs Temple- Endowments

First Flight

 “First Flight” by Norman Rockwell on the cover of “The Saturday Evening Post,” June 4, 1938.

The old woman is fully engaged with the experience of flying as she tracks her progress on a flight map. Famed reporter Richard Harding Davis best described the transformation he underwent after experiencing his first flight. “A wonderful thing happened,” he wrote. “I began to understand why young men with apparently everything to make them happy on earth persist in leaving it by means of airplanes.... What lures them is the call of a new world waiting to be conquered, the sense of power, of detachment from everything humdrum, or even human, the thrill that makes all the other sensations stale and vapid, the exhilaration that for the moment makes each one of them a king.”

How times have changed. Commercial flight is now routine and mostly uncomfortable and annoying.

This picture reminds me of my mom and a story she told.  She and my dad were going to fly to Hawaii on vacation.  Her mom told her that she'd better take a lunch.  It would be a long flight.  So she made beef tongue sandwiches, of all things, to take with them.  But while on the flight, they were served a lovely hot meal.  She laughed about that.  My mom was a geography buff and loved to look at maps.  She always wanted to know where we were on a map.  I often think how she would enjoy GPS now.

Samuel is Baptized!

 We flew to Colorado to attend Samuel's baptism.  He was baptized on April 20th at 9 am.  

Samuel's brother Nathan baptized him and his father confirmed him.

I played the piano for the event.  Ken and Samuel's dad, Jared were the speakers.  Kristen, Brielle, Audrey, Samuel, and Lisi sang "Gethsemane."

These pictures were in the church building with testimonies.  Such a great idea:

After the baptism, Kristen and Jared hosted a brunch in their home.

It's always fun to get presents.

The Mackrory family

Plus Grandparents

The whole crew.

Congratulations to Samuel!

Keynote Spring Season 2024

 Our Keynote spring show was entitled "Jesus Loves Me."  It started and ended with that old, classic children's song, a very soulful gospel arrangement.  The songs between showed the ways Jesus shows His love for us.  It was a very nice program, put together and directed by Kim (bottom far left.)  She knows how to put on a show!  We hauled in five mics, stools, props, a harp, and lots of other instruments into every venue.  Kim knows how to make every song "sparkle" by using props, instruments, and lots of solos and ensembles.

 Following are some pictures at one of the assisted living centers where we sang.  It was the performance Ken was able to attend and take pictures:

Unfortunately, one of our members (Jennett) is missing.  She was out with shingles and missed a lot of our spring performances.

Banjo Pickin' Girl.  Jen learned how to play the banjo to do this song.  She is amazing.  She also plays the harp on another song.

My job was to mic the banjo.

We did 11 performances this season but were unable to do our tabernacle performance.  They had to do some renovations to the stairs and canceled all of the April- August performances.  We did do our entire program at a beautiful venue- Spring Gardens on April 17th.  Ken and I left the next day for Colorado to attend Samuel's baptism (post soon to come.)

We are sad that we will be losing two of our members after this season. We have very little turnover in this group.  Marla, bottom left has a new job and will be quitting.  She has been our spring director in the past and has a beautiful voice.  She also adds so much wisdom and spirituality to the group.  I will really miss her.  Even though she is young enough to be my daughter, when I have a challenge or dilemma in my life, I go to Marla for advice.  I trust her judgment.

We also will be losing Debbie (4th from left on the bottom row) Debbie is our Christmas program director and has been in Keynotes longer than anyone else.  She is the one who invited me to join the group back in 1990.   She and her husband have been called on a mission.  I don't know how we can do Keynotes without her!  She has asked me to return as Christmas Keynote director (she and Marla took over when Ken and I went on our mission,) which I will do starting in September.  

Right now, Kim and I are looking for replacements for two irreplaceable people!  It's a tall order.  In our group, we look for good, blending voices, of course, but it's almost more about personality and spirit.  Our group is congenial, cohesive, and spiritual.  We always begin our rehearsals and performances with prayer.  Our purpose is to bring joy to others through music.  We are as much a service organization as a musical one.  Finding women who have those qualities, time, and goals is essential.  We make it a matter of prayer before we invite anyone.  We have been so blessed so far to get wonderful people.  Everyone adds so much.  I love each of these, my dear sisters.

I have a busy summer ahead getting ready to start up again the Wednesday after Labor Day.  I will be choosing and ordering music and putting together our Christmas program.  Wish me luck!

Olivetti

 

Olivetti by Allie Millington
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This sweet novel utilizes a writing technique that I love. I first was introduced to this technique when I read “Hitty, Her First Hundred Years” years ago. It was a story told by a chair. I loved the idea that a chair could tell all she hears and sees through the years. Using personification, an object tells the story. Olivetti is a typewriter. She, and Ernest (a boy in the family) takes turns telling the story from their perspective. It is cleverly written with interesting characters who, together, solve a mystery and mend their family with great help from Olivetti who they discover can communicate with them. Who knew a typewriter has feelings? Anyone who has read this book does!

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Escape from Germany

 We rarely go to a movie in the theater, but recently attended this one.  It is intense from start to finish.  It also is very faith-promoting.  We highly recommend this one!

One Good Thing

 

One Good Thing by Alexandra Potter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At first, Liv, the main character, drove me crazy as she made one “bad” decision after another. But, in the end, the bad decisions were made good. This was a delightful book about starting over and developing new friendships in a new environment. I really enjoyed it.

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The Library

 

The Library by Bella Osborne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this sweet story about an unexpected friendship between a teenage boy and a spunky older lady who meet at the local library. Tom really needs a friend and finds just what he needs in Maggie, who takes him in and provides stability and love in his difficult time. Maggie and Tom, along with many others in their little village, work together to save their local library. They also work through personal difficulties together. I could picture the setting in the beautiful English countryside.

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Just Mercy

 

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A winner of many prestigious awards, this book is powerful. Bryan Stevenson writes of his experiences overturning convictions of innocent black inmates on death row. Though he certainly never claims so himself, Mr. Stevenson is a modern-day hero. Against all odds, he commits his life to serving the abandoned, downtrodden, and innocent. I won’t be forgetting this one any time soon!

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Young Valedictorian

 Painted around 1922, this was a Rockwell painting that was never published.  Editors later titled it "Young Valedictorian."  Reminiscent of a Rembrandt painting, the details are exquisite.  

Look What Landed in Our Backyard

 

And then a couple of days later:

What Did the Prophet Ask Us to Do? April, 2024

 What Did the Prophet Ask Us to Do?

I hope you will repeatedly study the messages of this conference throughout the coming months.

"I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house."

This significant promise apples to every dedicated temple today.  I invite you to ponder what the Lord's promise means for you personally.

Consider how your life would be different if priesthood keys had not been restored to the earth.  Without priesthood keys, you could not be endowed with the power of God.  Without priesthood keys, the Church could serve only as a significant teaching and humanitarian organization but not much more.  Without priesthood keys, none of us would have access to essential ordinances and covenants that bind us to our loved ones eternally and allow us eventually to live with God.

Let us rejoice that priesthood keys are once again on the earth!

I invite you to consider carefully the following three statements:

1. The gathering of Israel is evidence that God loves all of His children everywhere.

2. The gospel of Abraham is further evidence that God loves all of His children everywhere.  He invites all to come unto Him-"black and white, bond and free, male and female; . . . all are alike unto God.

3. The sealing power is supernal evidence of how much God loves all of His children everywhere and wants each of them to choose to return home to Him.

I encourage to study that prayer, recorded in Doctrine and Covenants section 109.  That dedicatory prayer, which was received by revelation, teaches that the temple is "a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God."

This list of attributes is much more than a description of a temple.  It is a promise about what will happen to those who serve and worship in the house of the Lord.  They can expect to receive answers to prayer, personal revelation, greater faith, strength, comfort, increased knowledge, and increased power.

Since 2020 . . .

 William recently announced to his mother that he has had a tummy ache since 2020.  That's a long time, William.  A very long time!

William in 2020.  He looks okay to me.

This kid says the darndest things!