DEE

I liked her immediately. She was feisty, fun-loving, spunky, gutsy and outspoken - a woman very much in charge. We met when we were both serving missions at the family history center.

As we got to know each other, RAH and I learned Dee's story, and what a story it is:

She had 3 young daughters, was a stay-at-home mom, very much in love with her husband, but he went on a lot of business trips. One day, while unpacking his suitcase, which he had left on their bed, she came across a bundle of love letters. It seems his "business" trips had included a lot more than just business.

Dee confronted her husband, who denied it at first. As always, the truth will out.

Ugly, bitter divorce followed.

She was left a single mom; little skills, no job..you know the story.

But, as I mentioned, she was spunky, feisty and determined. She moved in with her parents, paid them rent, and bought the food, and got a job at BYU. Eventually, she had saved enough money to move into a small home, which, over the years, she maintained, beautified, and earned money off a basement rental.

She saved money, putting it into a savings account on a regular basis. Her dad - a faithful church goer - asked her to co-sign a loan with him. He promised that he would repay her and and that he would automatically deposit the money in her savings account each month (this is long before on-line banking appeared on the scene.)

Dee had promised her daughters a trip to Disneyland for the summer, and she was going to use her savings, which supposedly her father was replenishing.

You guessed it...her father had not put one cent back into the account! When she went to withdraw the money, the teller said there was NO MONEY in the account. Heartbreak for three young girls. And, bitterness for one mother.

The bitterness was palpable and directed against men. She left the church for one year. Then realized that was not what she wanted. She prayed to MOTHER IN HEAVEN because of her bitterness towards men - which now had extended to her own father.

The bitterness also included her male bosses at BYU, who took all the credit for work she had actually done.

A few years passed. She met a man at an LDS Singles Dance. Suave, handsome, smooth talking, and active in the church, he said.

No, please don't tell me....yes, he swindled her out of all her savings. He was smooth talking, as I said. Somehow, he convinced her to invest HER money, and it was gone before she even knew what had really happened to it, and to her.

Following the death of her parents, her brother cheated the siblings out of a large portion of the family inheritance.....

Now, at this point in time, Dee has recouped, recovered somewhat, and is remarried to an awesome, awesome guy.....I think DB is just the greatest; fun, articulate, interesting, pleasant.

But, there is still a portion of her that doesn't totally trust men.

Sometimes our life experiences shape our reality...her reality over the years became - men are not trustworthy.

My experience has been the opposite.

I am grateful for the men in my life who have led lives of nobleness; they've not let me down. Thank you, dad, RAH, and Hubert.

The New Bishop

He was one of the very first persons to welcome us when we went to church that first Sunday in the LV 4th ward three years ago. When we told him our names, he said, "Where are you from?"

"Rexburg."

"Were you a bishop in the college 7th ward?" he asked RAH.

a yes...

"You were my bishop!" he said excitedly.

RAH didn't remember him, but an instant connection was made to a really good, gentle man and his marvelous family.

And, on Sunday, when his name was called as the new bishop of the LV 4th ward, it was total role reversal.

Now, he's the bishop of his former bishop.

And, that's just the great way it works in our church.

The Challenge

It starts early in the morning.

It ends late in the evening.

It's meals, snacks, meals, snacks, meals and snacks.

It's games, coloring, reading, homework, fights, disagreements, lost shoes, noise, running around the home, lost homework, tripping over a shoe left in the doorway, crying, screaming, temper tantrums, shoving, hugs kisses, picnics in the park, laughing at silly knock-knock jokes, sneaking in a trip to the bathroom to catch a breath, story time, wiping up spilt milk (juice, spaghetti, soup, macaroni and cheese, yogurt, applesauce), strapping them into car seats, scurrying around to get out the door to get someplace, laughing, intervening in squabbles, teaching, singing,changing clothes or diapers, testing patience.

It's just a day in the life of a parent of young children and toddlers.

And, it seems it will never end.

Then - poof; they're gone and you are left standing in an empty home; wondering how the time - which once seemed forever - vanished so rapidly....almost while you weren't even noticing it.

Parenthood; the great all-consuming challenge....

And, then comes Grandparenthood; the routine starts all over, only this time around, you are better prepared knowing it all ends very quickly and all too soon.

So, this time around, you smile more, laugh more, enjoy more, and hold on to every minute.

Favorite Picture Day - Father and sons

Justin, Jeremy, Jordan, Allen
Let's get Jeremy out of Afghanistan and Jordan back to the West.

IF I WERE A RICH woMAN.....

I'd buy basketsful of these to spread around the neighborhood...

ring the doorbell, then run!

Honestly, don't they just make your heart sing!

Weight, Weight, Don't Tell Me!

The picture, which I had never seen before, absolutely stunned me! The woman on the back row was ginormous, looked like she could play football in the NFL. The woman on the front row was big also. Oh, it was scary because the picture was my dad's great grandmother, and his grandmother!

Which also meant they were related to MOI!

The yellowed, aging newspaper article stated: " They are the LARGEST - in height and width - family in the state of Idaho. Each one weighs well over 2oo pounds." Oh, this was scary because this family was my mother's grandfather and her father.

Which also meant they were related to MOI!

Now, I ask you, seriously, with ancestors like that - what - with those genes in my body - chance do I have to look like I did when I was 13; tall and gangly? Answer -I have no chance.


But, it also seems hopeless because I've seen weight loss failures in so many people around me:

So, again I say, why even try?

Where's that left-over pizza?

Winner - Kindergarten Spelling Bee

Winning word: UNDER
Hey, Lucy, pretty awesome, I must say.

See you at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 8 years.