Quotes for the week

"I only like the rotini that has spirals that are close together."
Krysta explaining why she couldn't eat the pasta I had made for dinner.

"What is that rice that is whole wheat called?"
Camille trying to remember the name of "brown rice".

Three words

I took my humanities midterm.

Identifying art and sculpture was a breeze:
Equestrian group--parthenon--check.

The section on identifying literature was tough--Homer, Virgil, Aeschylus, Sophocles...
all seemed so similar with few identifying features.
The Apology, The Republic, On the Nature of Things, Genesis, Romans, Poetics...
Who said what and why?
I agonized over each passage
looking for clues,
digging deeper into my brain for forgotten tidbits.
Logically pulling apart phrases and narrowing options.

I started on a fresh passage,
read a few words and curiously, I knew...
It was the Bible.
I questioned myself,
"How could I know? I've only read three words."
"Read more then."
I read the first line.
"Yes, it's the Bible."
"But you haven't read anything that identifies it as a Bible passage."
"Right, but it feels like scripture."
"Just to be sure you better read the whole thing."
I slowly read the passage's five lines ending with "sons of God." In all that we had read only Christians believed mankind were God's children.
Those final three words had intellectually proven it. The answer had to be the Bible.
But in my heart I had known after the first three words.

Sisterhood of the traveling skirt

It lay folded neatly on the bottom of a stack of clothes in my laundry room. It looked so familiar. It is stretchy and forgiving and matches a multitude of colors--reds, browns, blacks, whites, off-whites. Several months ago Amy picked out this skirt. It was too big, and a little short. Alison hadn't gotten around to fixing it so gave it to Camille. Krysta talked me into altering it and giving it back to Amy. So I did, I picked off the waist band and elastic, snipped and sewed and then hemmed--I even changed the thread on my sewing machine AND serger. Then back to Amy it went. One fine August day I picked up Megan for EFY from the Soderquist's. She looked so cute wearing this skirt. Then we drove around the corner and picked up Savannah. One look at Megan and she said,"Hey, I've worn that skirt".
Katrina said it was in a pile of her things and figured it was Staci's so took it to the laundry room. Personally I think it is one of those magical traveling wardrove pieces that fits and looks great on everyone and provides a nice experience for the wearer. I don't know about any of the experiences this skirt has provided but I can vouch for one thing, this skirt has traveled and it didn't care if it went to Idaho or Provo but it was trying to sneak off to BYU.

Flight

I turned and saw a plane careening out of control,
spiraling wing to wing downward
toward the landing strip at the airforce base. The crash was coming.
I knew it.
I held my breath waiting to hear the impact, waiting to see the flames. Seconds later it soared across the sky. Up and out and away.
When my heart started beating again I realized that a group of children had stopped and were watching too.
Jauque knew,"They're practicing for the air show tomorrow."

Later, as I mowed my lawn I almost jumped out of my skin as another jet zoomed overhead...sound trailing speed.

Saturday, all day the sound of the engines and planes coming and going filled the air.
500,000 people flocked to the Base to watch.
Sunday from our balcony we saw the encore performance of the Air Force Thunderbirds.
Six jets, smooth and sleek and perfectly synchronized raced across the sky.
First in a V formation.
Then circling around the valley, separated, yet still perfectly spaced.
Each did a"touch and go" on the runway and flew away again.
It was incredible and surprisingly interesting.

Monday, Camille and I out for a walk, saw an old prop-plane, a small brightly painted plane and two huge helicopters going different directions toward home.
The show is over, the sky empty and the air quiet.

I turned and out on the back porch stood one of our robin fledglings.
Not smooth and sleek like its parents but fuzzy and awkward and unsure.
It glided to the balcony floor and skidded on its tiny feet to a shaky stop.
After a long pause it took a short flight to the handrail, and sat.

The other sibling perching on the edge of the nest, awaited take-off.
Scratching, flapping and performing other pre-flight checks.

Dad robin stood on the fence chirping and instructing the children.

Finally the first bird took off again-a precarious flight to the garden.
I held my breath, worried it would crash.
The landing stuck.
Dad flew over to join it and both started pecking for food. Dad found the first worm and hopped over and tucked it into the fledgling's mouth.
Later the nest was empty.
When the afternoon rain tapered off, I saw one of the small birds come out from under the protection of a hollyhock. It flapped and shook off the rain.
Dad joined it providing sustenance and courage.
This little robin family has been surprisingly interesting and incredible to watch.
Now they are gone, the nest empty and the air quiet.

Making a statement

-something short
-to the point
-welcoming (it is the first thing you see)

a bit unique
suited to us
slightly old fashioned--a classic?

it speaks of endurance:
"I can do hard things"
"with the strength of the Lord I can do all things"

and of progression: becoming, improving,moving forward, looking heavenward
that the best is yet to come

onward and upward...

Lost and found-revised

Found: 1 bag of catfood (unopened)
8 lb purple bag in Macey's sack
chicken and rice variety

Where: In garage on steps leading into our house

Please contact us (or meow loudly at our door) to claim lost item.

If you have any information leading to the reconciliation of this item with its owner we would appreciate it.
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Here's what happened:
The Soderquist boys helped with a scout food drive but missed the connection with the food bank truck. Katrina volunteered to take the bags of food up to Weber State's Institute food drive the following Monday. Troy helped her unload all the bags of groceries but they didn't think pet food was being accepted so they left it in Katrina's car. Months(?) passed, weeks passed. We took Katrina back to Idaho. One day Bruce decided that he was going to drive our little teenager car to work. He quickly unloaded some of Katrina's things. Without investigating he assumed something heavy in a Macey's sack belonged in the house so he set the bag on the porch by the door. No wonder I was so confused.

Gratitude 3

I realized today that my mouth didn't hurt and I am so grateful for my dentist. His name is Bruce Murdock and he's in American Fork. I accidentally scheduled an appointment with him, thinking he was my neighbor's dentist in 1990. For the years we lived in Bountiful we went to someone else but I liked Dr Murdock so much that I looked him up again in 1996 when we moved back to Utah County.

As he works on you he says things like, "This is looking good", "Wow, this is going so smoothly", and "You let me know if you feel anything because I want you comfortable". Two weeks ago I started with an awful toothache, it came on quickly and within a couple of days I could hardly sleep. Just to be whiny I'm going to add that my entire jaw throbbed and a big sore lump developed in my cheek. I called his office and they had the day off, the next day they couldn't get me in and told me to call the next day. A couple of hours later the office staff called and said they'd mentioned to Dr. Murdock that I was really hurting so he wanted them to call in prescriptions for pain and an antibiotic for me. I was amazed. I have never dealt with a doctor that thought about you unless you were in front of them. I was able to get in the next day and have the work done.

It took a while to heal and for the antibiotics to work but after 2 weeks of hurting, I am jaw-pain free. I feel so grateful to my dentist and it feels so good to feel good. As much as pain and hard times are just, well... hard. It does make me appreciate the easier good times.

Gratitude 2

I am grateful for the seminary program. Camille brought home a test that she had done for her seminary class this week and let me see it. I was so impressed by the nature of the test and also by Camille's answers. A significant part of the test was relooking up scriptures they had studied in class and asking what it meant and especially what it meant as it applied to them. The teacher had made happy positive comments about her answers on the test and had also stuck a sticky note on the front expressing his gratitude for her and her example to others and her participation in class. I was especially proud of Camille when I read that she had made the 30 day club (read her scriptures for 30 days straight) for 3 months.

I feel so grateful that my children have had this opportunity. It comes at a time in their teenage years when they haven't wanted to hear my suggestions anymore and I am grateful to have other adults encouraging and teaching them. All three of my girls started a daily scripture reading habit in 9th grade because it was an assignment in seminary and the older two were able to continue on because it was a habit and hopefully because they had a testimony of its importance. I wish I had been able to be as consistant at such a young age.

Gratitude 1

Tricia came home from school last week and told me a little about her day. The teacher went around the room and had each child tell the class something they were thankful for. Many of the boys were grateful for their computer, the TV, or games systems. She thought those were kind of lame answers. I asked her what she had said. She said she was thankful to be at home this Thanksgiving and have dinner with her family. ( Her goal last year after having surgery was to be home by Thanksgiving. It was only 6 days after her surgery and it turned out she was still too sick. Bruce and the rest of the girls came up in the evening. They had pie day without us and had made dinner by themselves and then had brought us plates of food. They also made all of us Indian headbands to wear as we ate. They were cute and happy and made the day so special. But it was still disapointing to Tricia not to have been home for 4 months, to have wanted to go before Thanksgiving and then not having it happen.) I thought it was such a sweet thing for her to say and asked what her teacher's response was. She thought it was sweet too.

I know I'm the target market but...

I can't help liking Sarah Palin. I think she's smart and strong and I like her style. I like that she is 44 and doesn't dress like a 20 year old. She feels real. I like that she began with the PTA and moved along from there. I heard a talk radio personality say today that the democratics have tried to define who the women are in the country with people like Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin scares them because so many women identify with her instead. Maybe it's a cleverly crafted plot but if so I have fallen for it. I have never had more than a passing interest in politics but last night I listened to her whole speech. I laughed at the jokes and cried when she talked about being a friend in Washington to those with special needs children. The silliest thing though is that Tuesday when I went to get my hair cut I asked my neice to show me how to do my hair like Sarah's. I reserve the right to change my mind on the subject but for now try not to laugh at me if next time you see me I'm wearing glasses and have my hair in an up-do.