Mom's obituary

My mother's obituary.

Laugh When You Feel Like Crying

I was challenged to provide a spiritual thought the other night for a meeting I had to attend at church. I chose the following from the book Small and Simple Things by Marjorie Pay Hinckley:

Elder Neal A. Maxwell once said, "We are here in mortality, and the only way to go is through; there isn't any any around!" (Ensign, May 1998, 9). I would add, the only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;

Weep, and you weep alone;

For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,

But has trouble enough of its own.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, "Solitude," st. 1

Hinckley, M.P. (2003). Small and simple things (p. 126). Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book

I am trying to remember this as I face the reality that my mother's days on earth are few and only God in Heaven knows how long she has here with us. Trying to remember the happy times and the realization that life on earth is but a moment in the scope of eternity. Love you mom!

Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime?

1. Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you fish in a stream, or lazily dream on the banks as the clouds go by?

Is that what you do? So do I!

2. Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you swim in a pool, to keep yourself cool, or swing in a tree up high?

Is that what you do? So do I!

3. O, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you march in parades, or drink lemonades, or count all the stars in the sky?

Is that what you do? So do I!

Words and music: Dorothy S. Anderson b. 1927

(C) 1964 by Dorothy S. Anderson

Now that grad school is finished for the summer, we've been trying to make the most of this week before we travel off to Ohio. We had hoped to spend as much time in the pool as possible but thunderstorms moving through the area have limited that. The kids don't seem to mind all the mindless TV watching but I do worry about their eyeballs falling out.

We are travelling up to Ohio/West Virginia to see my mom while she is in the hospital at WVU. You can get the updates on a blog we set up for her updates at hopeformargie.blogspot.com. My aunt and uncle in Danville have graciously offered to hold summer camp for the kids so they can get to know their cousins for a few days. I am grateful for this because my mom is in ICU and the children would not be able to go into visit her, nor do I want them to see her in her current condition. Prayers would be greatly appreciated.

So it's been almost a year...

Life sure has gotten crazy and I seem to have forgotten that I have this blog. We have been up to a whole lot of stuff in the last 11 1/2 months since I last posted and because life is soooooo crazy, well, blogging hasn't been a priority. I am going to try and change that.

As part of a course requirement for my master's degree I have to keep a blog where I can reflect upon the weekly reading assignments. That blog can be found at firstandmost.blogspot.com. I decided this would be a great opportunity to start blogging here again as well. So my goal is to blog at least once a week here just to let my one reader that I am alive. It will also be an opportunity for my to practice my writing and to continue the record of our family adventures of country living (in which I never thought I would enjoy, but I do). So here is my first attempt. This post will serve as a quick (and I mean quick) catch up from the last year.

Shawn - Shawn is getting closer to his retirement, he is now only a year away. We are sorting out what we need to so that he can prepare for the transition to civilian life. At church he serves as the ward executive secretary.

Karen - I am in my third semester (of five) of graduate school studying elementary education. With the economy the way it is, there do not seem to be many music teaching positions open so I felt it would be a good opportunity to become more marketable. Also, while living overseas, I committed the cardinal sin of an educator... I. LET. MY. LICENSE. EXPIRE! So I really didn't have much of a choice; if I want to work as a teacher, I need more education. I am also serving as secretary in the Relief Society presidency at church.

Natalie - Natalie is in the 2nd grade and she loves to read. This year she has read Little House in the Big Woods, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and numerous other books that I can't even remember. She also loves to read scriptures to the Bishop at church because he gives her candy. We are helping her prepare for her baptism this summer when she turns 8.

Robbie - We've had an up and down year with Robbie. He started out the school year behind in reading and fine motor skills and he was having behavior problems at home and at school. This spring he was diagnosed with ADHD and we made the difficult decision to have him take medication. We are happy to report that he is now a star pupil and no longer needs reading intervention and is a whiz kid in math!

Clayton - What can I say about Clay, he just turned 2! He is into everything and has tons of energy. He commands the house, but his cuteness and ability to love is what makes it all worth it.