While I WAS Having a Birthday,

 Amy and Calder and friends were doing this:

7 mile hike in and back with the reward of a hot springs....

82! GOOD GRIEF...

Time to Stop Counting: But What a GREAT DAY!  From start to FINISH! 

And it extended beyond.  

Cards, texts, calls, gifts

If you look closely at this picture, you will see - hanging from my pants pocket - the napkin belonging to the restaurant.  BOY< am I embarrassed.  But, they haven't come to get me yet!  

I love these two dear friends; Allison Christensen, Erika Mendenhall; they are a JOY to be with!

I was going to list all the people, but decided instead to just scan one card from Allison....

I really love getting funny cards....but THIS ONE - a KEEPER.  Alison said there aren't' a lot of people she could give this to.  But, it's so funny!

The Epiphany

 Sometimes, you just get whacked over the head with insight.  And, that happened to me a couple of days ago. 

I'm ashamed of this story, but I want to NEVER forget it happened.

Over the last couple of years, I have grown resentful of my parents and their parenting....which in and of itself is so incredibly SELFISH AND STUPID!

But, I parented the way they did. I mean, look how great Kaey, Gavin, Preston turned out.  (I can't add me in there, because I've just been a jerk my entire life.)  Surely they must have done everything right!

What I mean by their parenting is that my mom was a great cook, but she didn't ever say, "Come in and help me or let me show you how to make the best gravy in the world!"  And, I never went in there of my own volition.  She would can peaches for days on end and the only thing I ever did was eat them.  She could sew and boy, did she sew.  But, she never taught me her skills.  I probably would've rejected them anyway, saying Id' never need to learn to sew!

My father was one of the most private people I have ever known.  He literally NEVER talked about his lawyer job, nor about his personal testimony, which I knew he had, but he kept it all to himself.  And, I loved that about him.  BE PRIVATE, I would tell myself.  And, so I was.

They didn't EVER discuss MONEY; that was a taboo subject.  We didn't have family prayer, just a prayer at the evening dinner table.....SO,

When I married, I did all those things...I NEVER taught my kids about finances (too personal and private, it's i impolite to talk about money! or so I thought!), skills like sewing, ironing, shopping, cooking.  How could I?  I SIMPLY DID NOT KNOW HOW!  I never said to one of my kids; let's go clean your room TOGETHER today and I can show you some things about folding your clothes or how to sweep a floor or how to clean off a counter top!  How could I show them what I DID NOT KNOW!  I kept my religion very private - in my heart - where I had a great testimony, but it was much too private to share with anyone, especially my own children.  I didn't kneel down and pray with them each night, as I should have because we had not done so.

One day I got thinking about sending THREE SONS into the mission field knowing NOTHING about cooking, cleaning, mending a shirt, or sewing on a button.  I taught them  NOTHING.  And, I felt ashamed and embarrassed and a little angry toward my parents. (They hadn't taught me, how could I teach my kids?!?!?!?!)  TOTALLY MISPLACED ANGER!

GUILT was overpowering me about my parenting and blaming the WRONG PEOPLE!.  And, the DEVIL was right there in teh middle, egging me on.  A few days ago, I was listening to a talk by the masterful, Jeffrey R Holland.  The talk was given during covid, and I'm not even sure what his topic was, but he mentioned TWO WORDS in that talk; KINDNESS and LOVE.

And, that's when the two-by-four whacked me on the top of my head.  "Loni," the voice said so clearly, "you had the very best things growing up.  YOU had LOVE and KINDNESS in your family - ALL THE TIME!"

How can words describe the feelings I had at that moment. I am not adequately able to do that.

But, at that moment and since that moment, I knew that I had THE GREATEST GIFT possible in a family - love and kindness.  

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for that precious moment in my long, ungrateful life.  I want to always remember those words, "Loni, you had LOVE and KINDNESS!"

A priceless picture of the greatest DAD in the world.  Oh, how I honor and respect that man and my dear mother!

From a Couple of Years Ago....

 but still DELIGHTFUL!

I love these picture, but where is AMY!

From Eleven Years Ago....

 

March Madness is Upon Us!

 Here's my bracket.  Calder and I are having a contest.  

And, here's how I chose:  I looked at the winner in the previous game and the SCORE.  If they scored high and have a higher ranking, I gave them the win.  

I actually know nothing about the teams, so we'll see what happens.  

Here's Calder's bracket:

LUCKY US!

 In November, our family did service for us old folk.  It was so great.  

A variety of services was done; from washing windows to fixing a door hand, putting up grab bars; putting up Christmas decor; so many great things were done.

One thing that was done was COOKING food for us to eat later.  Like frozen lasagne; it was SO GOOD.  

We invited Jenni and Brent to share it with us and, man, was it tasty!

SO SO GOOD!  Jenni said it was the best lasagne she had ever had!

Thank you, family, such kindnesses were shown to us.

Lola TURNS THREE!

 ..but we weren't there to see the fun!  We drove out after the party, but they were off for a birthday lunch!

Here's some pictures from the BIG DAY!

Lola wearing the crown that her grandmother, Jenni, made.  And, with a mouthful of chocolate donut!

More donut.  Notice how Scottie is holding out the princess dress to show it off!??!?!?!?  So FUN!

Jenni said it was so hard to get her to slow down for a picture.  HAHAHAH...That donut is important to her.

Here's a picture of the three Fisher girls/cousins......from Janessa...

I don't know what that scold on Lola is about, but those three little girls love to be together.  There's still another great granddaughter and a great grandson in these two families.  

Once a Year....

 women who had or now live in Rexburg gather together....it's so amazing to be with these remarkable women.  So faithful, so talented, so GOOD!  And, so FUN!

Jean Brown in the front row is 100 YEARS OLD.  And, so incredibly sharp!  

Many have/had cancer, knee replacements, health issues, but here they are smiling away.  I'm so grateful I get to go to this event once a year.  How much longer will it last?  Who knows?  But, it's fun while it lasts. 

 

I wore my Ricks t--shirt for this particular group gathering.  I thought it very fitting.

Friends and Sunset; Equals a Perfect Sabbath Evening.

 What better way to spend a Sunday evening than going for a walk with Susie, Tom, and Ulla?  

It was perfect.  And, I'm very grateful for their friendship and the beautiful world that God created.

This Makes Me Smile....

 My Grandparents GEE on their 60th wedding anniversary:

Honestly, does this look like the faces of happily married people.  This makes me sad.  Was grandpa really that unhappy?   Why are they so stone-faced?

But, I'm grateful for those two people; they raised an incredible son, my father, so I can't judge their expressions.  They were amazing parents to five high-achieving sons.

Here's a picture of Allen and me on our 60th anniversary - we were having such a grand time; just the two of us, with thousands of other people,  in Disney World.  But, maybe our situation was different.  Different times, different people.  

We, too, have five amazing children.  They are wonderful, in spite of us bumbling along.  And, I'm so grateful for the blessing of having such grand children.

  

The Monday, Wednesday, Friday Group

 

The Gang of FOUR....who make it lots more fun to go to the gym.

Freddy, concert to the church and ex Marine; Marty, the fisherman who loves to proudly show his latest catches: Bishop Ron, whose wife just died recently so he's not Bishop Ron any more.  He's also an ex Marine, convert to the church and just the greatest guy around.  And, in the long-sleeved blue shirt is Rod, widower, but not for long; he's getting married soon, even tho he vowed never to marry again.  every Friday he brings teh BEST home-made chocolate chip cookies EVER.  He makes about six dozen a week to share.  

Chatting with these guys makes going to the gym a delight.  

Just two seconds was all it took....

 for the car to flip over.  The lady driving was in a quiet neighborhood, glanced down at her phone, and flipped over after hitting a parked truck.  In an hour, it was all cleaned up and everything was back to normal on our street.  But, not for that lady, whose life changed in an instant.  She's okay.  THANKFULLY!

EVERY YEAR..

 ...Kristi, Bobby, and Jordan host a HOT CHICKEN WINGS party to see who can eat the hottest of the hot sauces.

Here's a picture of the winners;  Kristi and Bobby gave an incentive this year...to all the people who made it to the end, they got a HAT!  HAHAHHA.  I'd forgo the hat!

But, here they are.  SPICE MASTER generals.  Crazy people.  But, fun times.

You've Got to Taste the Bitter

 to appreciate the sweet!

The BITTER - but Jennis confident that little BLAIRE FISHER (6 months) will be fine under the care of the children's hospital in Lehi, Utah.  

In the meantime, here are her two older sisters under the ever watchful eye of Grand ma Hackworth.  

Her's me trying on some Easter finery with Sheryl Sullivan.  This makes me want an Easter hat!

I love it; it's adorable.

Made Me Smile

 This is Jordan's signature when he emails others.  It's so funny.  And clever.  And real.  

It's good to have a doctor who is not pompous.

It's Been a Month of....

 fun and family and food and friends:

Bri and Jackson on Valentine's Day......

Jaxon fell on the concrete and got his front tooth knocked out.  

It's always so fun to have Bill and Donna come to stay with us.  This time they introduced us to some wonderful delightful friends.  Dan and Margaret and Lue, who is truly one of the most remarkable women I have ever met.  She went on a mission with her husband to the Easter Islands.  She had fish and rice for 18 months; no water, no electricity.  The couple who came after them lasted only two months.  What a lady  of grit and faith.  I loved meeting these wonderful people.

Allen surprised with me with this lovely Cyclamen...but can I keep it alive for more than one week?

Jenni had us over for dinner - what a meal and decor.

Wonderful salad.  Jenni made that flower arrangement.  I forgot to take a picture of the meal.  It was spare ribs and funeral potatoes.    With the strawberries for dessert.  JUST DELICIOUS.

Card from Jenni by the plate....

From our wonderful RS president; it included an immune drink, lotion, face mask, and chocolate.

Justin texted this picture.  It made me so very happy.  They had invited Oscar over for dinner.  Of course, that just made this heart happy.  I LOVE THESE GOOD FUN PEOPLE.  

Cutest Great Grandkids Celebrate a Birthday!

 

Evan is so much like his dad.  I often call him Sean.  He's so smart and he loves LEGOS!

Blowing out NINE candles; how fast they grow!

And, now about that Asa Fisher?  If he isn't just the cutest little three year old, or is he two?  Two, I guess....

He just makes me smile.  

Happy birthday you Fisher kids.  You are so blessed to have wonderful parents.