Sweet Baby Grace

I recently found this little verse I wrote for Katie's shower when she was about to have little Gracie. I had given her an array of cute little baby clothes for all occasions and wanted to present them with a memorable little ditty...(I have an addiction to pink baby clothes!)

Your sweet baby Grace will soon make you smile,
A wardrobe she'll need, she must be in style!
So behold this fun bundle of chic new apparel--
Grace can eat, sleep and poop in...These looks she will wear well.

From AM to PM, from waking to sleeping,
When laughing or crying and rolling or creeping.
Whether sunning or splashing, then playing or eating,
Even crawling or walking and to every church meeting.

A cute fashionista, with pizazz and such flair-
A baby so darling, so fancy, so fair.
Dress up your dolly, but alas, this won't last,
One day she's thirteen--they grow up too fast!!!

And now she's already 9 months old!
Post those pictures quick before she goes to kindergarten!

"Bouquets of Freshly Sharpened Pencils"

With the start of the new school year and as a former teacher myself, I love to see fun ideas for teacher gifts although I really do not have anyone to give them to. In any case, I sent this cute idea to Sarah since Max just started Kindergarten this week ( and his comment was "It was much better than I thought it would be. Best day ever!) and then thought others might be able to use it for something. ( I know not many really look at this --Evan doesn't even read this unless I make him!)

It's a pencil vase for the teacher! Courtesy of Imparting Grace.

http://www.impartinggrace.com/2010/08/easy-gift-for-teacher.html

So cute and easy!



It reminds me of a line from one of my favorite movies. The character is speaking of his love for the season of fall and he says something like "I'd send you a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils." Do you remember the movie?
Give up?



It's from "You've Got Mail"......I could watch that movie over and over again!

So to any who read this, celebrate the fall with a beautiful bouquet in a pencil vase!

By the way, the count of our days with temps 100 degrees or over is 67!
Can you believe it?

Fall seems very far away at this point, even though we do have falling leaves and dying trees from the drought!

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We're Having a Heat Wave!

We have now had our 41st day of temperatures over 100 degrees! It's definitely a record-breaking heat wave. We haven't seen anything like this since temperatures even started being recorded in the late 1800's. Wednesday temps got up to 111 degrees here in Tyler! Can you believe it? It's like we're living in Arizona with the added humidity!

Our grass, flowers and shrubs are all burning up... We're just all thankful for air conditioners and pools and icemakers and our trees shading our back yard. Whew! It's hot, hot, hot!Luckily, we'll have some reprieve as we leave for San Diego shortly. We've been missing those cool mountain temps we felt up in Brighton last month at the family reunion, so maybe we'll get to experience a little cooler sea breezes in sunny California....

The Civil Wars

I saw this duo on Jay Leno and loved this song. "Poison and Wine." It's so full of beautiful harmony and angst... Have you heard of this pair? Their song"Barton and Hollow" is also a great one but a little different flavor. Listen to it..

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Lessons from Mom

As Mother's Day approaches, we are reminded of the many lessons taught to us by our good mothers. Mom has been gone now just over a year, but I wanted to record just some of the many tidbits of wisdom that Roma Kuhre graced us with over the years.

1. Always be polite. Say please and thank you and excuse yourself from the table when you are finished eating.

2. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night shall keep you from attending church. (But possibly a cold or a nasty bout of mumps, measles, or chicken pox could do it.)

3. Practice!!!

4. You will regret not practicing someday. (Very true, don't you agree?)

5. Keep your feet dry on rainy days with red rubber boots (I hated those things, but now they're back in style!)

6. Wear clean underwear. ('nuff said!)

7. Tell the truth always. (This was one of Dad's lessons too. Kathy tells the story that Mom told her to brush her teeth and she went and stood by the bathroom and then returned as if she had brushed and Mom (who knew all things) asked "Did you really brush your teeth?" and Dad said, "Roma, if Kathy said she brushed her teeth then she brushed her teeth....Kathy would never lie." Needless to say, Kathy immediately went to brush her teeth!)

8. Not graduating from college is not an option.

9. Say your prayers every night and....

10. Always carry a prayer in your heart!

11. When singing for others, sing out, look at the audience and smile!

12. When you go to the dentist, don't wear your best clothes or he'll most likely charge you more!

13. Brush your teeth after every meal. (This was mostly Dad's campaign with his famous RTBN battlecry--Rush to Brush Now!)

14. Be on time.

15. Always wear earrings (that is if you are female!) to look stylish and "finished."

16. Don't mix your food. (I totally disregarded this one since I loved mixing Franco American Spaghetti, cottage cheese, and a lettuce and mayo mixture---kind of like lasagna and salad...go figure!) (We had a missionary who mixes his whole plate of food up-- he even mixes chocolate cake and ice cream into an obliterated mess--so weird and impolite!)

17. A place for everything and everything in its place. A picked up home is a happy home. (But dusting is not essential....)

18. New shoes should be celebrated! (Remember? "Katie has new shoes, pretty new red shoes. Katie has new shoes on today. See them walk. Hear them talk. Katie run along and play!")

19. Visiting teaching is a noble endeavor and banana bread can cure all ills!

20. Vapo rub on your chest can help you breathe when you are sick (but it smells awful!)

21. Words are fun! (Mom was a master at Boggle and crossword puzzles.)

22. Keep your shirt down in back. (Mom never failed to make sure that my shirt was pulled down in back even until the end!)

23. Memorizing a talk is the only proper way to deliver an address when you're under 12.

24. We should be Good Samaritans as Jesus preached. (I loved her flannel board figures of this parable and I still have them.)

25. Gardens and flowers bring joy to your life. Pansies (her favorite flower in Tyler) should be fertilized and protected from nasty snails with Buggeta pellets. Tuberous begonias must have fish emulsion (something else that smelled bad!)

26. Music can bring joy to the soul. Mom was an expert pianist and could play Kamenoi Ostrow by Anton Rubinstein perfectly.

27. The Basic Stance! You know what I'm talking about!

28. When you spot a white horse, lick your forefinger, hit the center of your palm with that finger, and then slap your fist on that spot and you'll have good luck!

29. Be your best at home, at school, at play, at church in everything you do!

30. Life is not usually fair. Sometimes your brother will get a bigger serving than you will....but that's partly why I was chubby as a child since I was always trying to keep up with my brothers!

31. Be nice to others.

What did Mom and Dad teach you? Add on to this list or add other tidbits that your parents taught you. (It's nice to know that we have taught our children something worthwhile!)

And I reserve the right to add to this list when I remember more tidbits of wisdom.



This is one of the few snapshots with Dad also in it. This shows 4 generations with William Dobbie Kuhre (back, left) also in the picture.

Spring really is here!

Daffodowndilly

She wore her yellow sun-bonnet,
She wore her greenest gown;
She turned to the south wind
And curtsied up and down.
She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbour:
"Winter is dead."

- A.A. Milne

This appeared on the Bloom blog recently. Our daffodils are nearly gone (we had two rounds of them as we now have two different varieties), but we loved them so....So happy and chipper as they turn their heads to the sun.....and I love Wordsworth's poem too...we even have a "daffodil reserve" with thousands of flowers here in Tyler which I've never seen, but for now, just imagine such a glorious abundance of daffodils using Wordsworth's imagery.....

I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils

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  Daffodil Candy Cups

  Make daffodils from baking cups and flower cutouts for your Easter or spring table. To use these as place cards, write names on the petals.

  How to Make Daffodil Candy Cups

  I plan to make these cute Daffodil Cups, courtesy of Martha Stewart, for Easter dinner. So cute!
  
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• Happy Spring, Everyone!
  

"This Is the Christ"

Here is another beautiful version of images of a living Christ set to the music "This Is the Christ,"so perfect for this Easter season.

Remembering Mom

Today it's been a year since Mom passed away. Those days of vigil by her bedside that first week in April were precious and dear as we watched her slip away into a new, eternal life. I thought it might be fitting to post a record of that experience here for others who may not have read it before. This account was sent to many of Mom and Dad's relatives, but I'm not sure all the grandchildren have heard it. It was such a faith-promoting experience I felt it should be shared and told and retold for her posterity to encourage their faith and belief in the saving graces of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

"Mom’s final decline started Easter Sunday, April 4 (2010). We spent Easter with Mom, helping her with dinner and giving her an Easter basket with chocolate eggs which she loved. But her nurse noted that Mom was not feeling her best and she ordered a prescription to help her breathe a little better.

They called us in on Monday, April 5^th to let us know that she was declining rapidly and we began our 4 day vigil. Mom nearly slept the whole time, but she did recognize me and John as we said good-bye that first day. One of the caregivers had an interesting story to tell us. Throughout her 2 ½ years in Memory Care, Mom would often mention Ada and Ida, Elizabeth and Armada, and one time the nurse there told me she had a long conversation one night with her father, Moses. Then a caregiver told me that Sunday before she fell asleep that last week, she called out for Cal (as if she had seen him!). She also insisted that Ada and Ida were in the bathroom and the caregiver humored her by checking the room to see if they were there. Mom again insisted that her sisters were there. We can only think that the veil was very thin at that time and that her sisters and Dad were there waiting for her to pass to the other side as Mom was not known to hallucinate as some patients do and did not often mention Cal.

We kept a vigil there day and night, taking turns (Evan was a saint to stay with her at night so we could get sleep). John came and then had to go home, and then Kathy and David came to stay by her side along with us. She slept fairly soundly until breathing got more difficult. Then on Thursday, at 5:43 Mom’s eyes popped open wide and it truly looked as if she were looking beyond any of us into eternity, literally, and then her breathing slowed and eventually stopped for good. It truly was a spiritual experience to watch her pass into eternity. It was so bittersweet for us; it was hard to see her go, but we knew that my dad was welcoming her into his arms and Mom was free from all her earthly ailments.

We are so grateful for goodly parents who taught us the gospel of Jesus Christ which gives us hope in the reality of the resurrection and the Atonement of our Savior. If we had any doubts of the afterlife before, those doubts were totally dispelled with the scene we witnessed as Mom passed over into eternity. It was very clear that her soul was on a journey to a very real place. We knew that. We were so grateful to be able to witness her passing.

We have a great heritage, it is clear. Many of our ancestors on both sides sacrificed much for us to be able even to be alive and to be members of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for their sacrifices and for their consistent faith."

Mom was the consummate 1950's stay-at-home mom who, along with Dad, provided a loving, neat and comfortable home for us, doing all those motherly things that moms should do like making our sack lunches, walking us up the hill to Kensington Hilltop School, coercing us into piano lessons (I regret not keeping it up just as she said I would, but I am now practicing again and can play hymns and children's songs to accompany others--my little homage to Mom!), teaching us to sing fun old-timey songs, encouraging good manners, promoting good study habits, offering fun activities during holidays, vacations and just everyday, and most importantly, fostering within us faith and hope in our Savior Jesus Christ by having us attend church and primary and youth activities. I will be forever grateful for the happy childhood that I had, nurtured by two kind, intelligent, loving parents who wanted to see their children live and grow to be faithful, successful individuals who could somehow contribute positively to this confusing world. Hopefully, they accomplished that goal.

In the song, "How Will They Know?" the true test of parents' teachings comes when those children have to teach their own children:

"How will they live when they at last are grown?

What will they give to children of their own?

Will they reflect the values we have shown?"

I am so grateful for parents who taught kindness, good morals, compassion, and faith in Jesus Christ. We were blessed to have Calvin and Roma Kuhre as our parents and grandparents. We pay tribute to their lives and their good works in teaching us to love and help others. May we look forward to a happy reunion with our good parents in the eternities that await us in the not-too-distant future.

Tribute to a Faithful Friend

Last week, our sweet dog, Sadie passed away. What a gentle, loving little doggie she was! She was a Chow Chow/ Golden Retriever mix and she was ours for all of eleven years (that’s at least 77 in human years).

A faithful companion for all those years, Sadie was the perfect dog for our family. As Katie used to say, “She’s blonde, so easy-going and always happy, even with a smile on her face—just like us!” Even Mom loved her when she came to live with us, and would often say as we were eating dinner and she looked out the window, "There goes "Katie", running!" (I must admit Evan and I have both misspoken "Katie" for Sadie at times--they do sound alike and, by the way, Katie did name Sadie, so she can only blame herself!) She loved her life in the country, sunning herself on our deck or lawn and chasing the occasional squirrel up a tree. She never caught one to my knowledge, unless you count that one we found expired on the front lawn when Kathy came to stay with Mom one time, but that can never be substantiated without eye witnesses. Sadie would often catch birds in her younger years and leave them as a love offering on our back porch door mat. Such a thoughtful dog.

It was a cold February day in the year 2000 when Katie called from Seminary at 7 am in the morning and begged me to permit Chris and her to have a “cute little puppy,” who she said the missionaries had rescued but who would be “put down” if a home couldn’t be found for her immediately. A likely story! I was home, deathly sick in bed with some unknown ailment and could not even fathom taking care of a new little puppy dog. So I said emphatically, “No!” No sooner had I hung up the phone when I heard the garage door open (it should take 15 minutes to drive home from the church) and a few little yelps and squeals and Chris emerged from the garage with a cute little ball of fur. “Mom, isn’t she cute?” he said (Chris does not ever use that word and usually really dislikes it!) “She won’t be any trouble. I’ll just leave her in the garage until we get home today.” And then he took off for school. So begins our little love affair with our Sadie. (Later I found out that Chris had long since left the church and had also called Evan for permission which was given without my knowledge!)

And she really wasn’t any trouble. Somehow, the missionaries had already potty-trained her (thank-goodness!) and Evan always joked that she was one dog who never, ever pooped (we never saw any evidence of that in our yard). Soon, Evan taught her to sit and beg and even to roll over and she was such entertainment for us, yet she loved being independent as well. Often we would find her sleeping in the sun on her back with all four legs in the air. Sadie was such an active little thing as a puppy and really loved being in the country with the aforementioned birds and squirrels and other neighbor dogs. For a period, we would find strange chewed up items in our yard like ski goggles, boots and the like, never knowing from where she had stolen them. Later, we developed a ritual. After we had driven into the garage, Sadie would follow us into the house, wait at the door for her treat, and then obediently go outside. Evan soon came to say that the only female in the Nielsen household who faithfully greeted him at the door after a long, hard day’s work, had four legs and a cute, curly tail!

Those first few years, it was like Sadie had to have a partner in crime, and she and Sassy, the neighbor’s Chocolate Lab, could be seen playing and frolicking and chasing brown delivery trucks, which, sad to say, became Sassy’s undoing. Sassy was hit on one such chasing episode by the UPS man who never even stopped (the neighbors never knew if he didn’t know what he had done or was just down right heartless). Sadie was so lonely for a time until John Wayne came to live next door. John Wayne was a Sheep dog who was very jumpy, but always nice to me, I suppose because I gave him treats right alongside Sadie. He and Sadie went through a period when they would tear up all the newspapers in the neighbors’ yards (including our own) and I would sheepishly go out and clean it up. I never talked to the neighbors about it (Yes, I am a coward…) but it didn’t take long before both driveways were graced with those little newspaper holders on a post. Good solution. Then, John Wayne went through a period of biting incidents—yes, one of those UPS men got their just desserts by him (we never knew if it was the same one who had run over Sassy) and two other people I was actually eyewitness to (my seminary supervisor, bitten on the calf as he walked right beside me—I surmise that I was somehow being protected?.....and another neighbor as she was walking toward Evan and me one day on our walk.) But after these incidents, John Wayne was banished to his back yard and we hardly ever saw him anymore. Sadie was lonely once again. She still loved a good walk and there were many times, even recently as she got stiffer and more arthritic, where she came running, happily, as I clapped and anxiously began our daily walk around the neighborhood. The neighbors across the street got a Dalmatian puppy that has boundless energy, but Sadie in her old age had lost much patience for such antics. She would just bark, a little annoyed at all the activity, and keep lying in the sun.

So here’s to our sweet, faithful Sadie. I have never seen the movie “All Dogs Go to Heaven,” but now I am a true believer. Never was there a more loyal, sweet, lovable, faithful friend. As we buried her in the woods she so loved to romp and roam in, we said a prayer of thanks for all those good years of love and companionship Sadie brought us. As a child, I was raised with highly independent cats, so I never felt the loyalty of a sweet and faithful dog. Now I understand the deep sorrow felt as one says goodbye to a beloved dog. I must admit I shed not a few tears for our sweet Sadie and I will still be shedding a few more as I remember her happy demeanor and the years of joy she brought us.

Who knew?

Now the news is that carbs can actually help you lose weight! They have to be high resistant starch carbs (look that up on Wikipedia), but studies show that the right kind of carbs can really help with weight reduction.

Read this article:

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/8-reasons-carbs-help-you-lose-weight-2442968/



I'm off to rethink this crazy Atkins stuff (I have lost 4 lbs. but it is painful!)