Stop the Clock

I could be a GRANDMA in 10 years!

Sammi was doing some marriage-math, out loud. As she was talking, I had this strange feeling come over me. The concept of "time" hit me hard. I suddenly felt my youth flutter away. I looked at Charles with shock darting from my eyes. He felt it, too. How in the world could I be a GRANDMA, in only 10 years? I am so young. I feel so young. I mean . . . GRANDMA?? I know I have some time left, but the way time flies now . . . it does not seem that far away.

Before you know it, I will be knitting in my rocking chair, with grandchildren gathering at my knee.

Time. Slow. Down.

What Sign Would you Hold Up?

I have a special place in my heart for Hilary Weeks and her music.

She was one of my primary teachers in Alaska, and a friend of my older sister, Kary. She used to perform in our ward, even as a teenager, singing and playing the piano. She seems to know how to reach into hearts. It is her gift. I am so glad she shares it. Her music has changed my heart on more than one occasion . . . but that is another story.

I love this video of her new song. If we could all hold up a sign, so that everyone would know what heartbreak we deal with, perhaps we would all be a little less judgemental and a little more kind. We all live with "Heartbreak" but it is how we deal with it that makes us, or breaks us.

We live in a time when people are losing hope and dwelling in sorrow. But it does not have to be that way. We have one shot at this mortal probabtion, we might as well at least TRY and BE happy. Right? Curling up in the fetal position and rocking back and forth does no good -- trust me, I know.

It IS a choice. You do not have to be broken. You can heal. But healing takes action -- not wallowing. Image pulling a pioneer handcart, giving up will not do you (or anyone else) any good . . . moving forward is the only option!

"Keep moving forward!" --Disney

On Sunday our Relief Society teacher said, "Sometimes you just have to take your own hand and say, "Come on, let's do this!" We cannot always rely on someone else to lift us up. Sometimes we have to lift up ourselves and face the world with a sense of purpose and strength. We have within us the power to rise above the sorrow of the world. God is there for us. But WE have to take the first step. We have to do the work.

So . . . what would my heartbreak sign say right now?? (I know it could change at anytime) . . .

Hmmmm . . . Now that it comes to it, I think it is too personal to share! But I will admit to my sorrow being physical.

We all have something we harbor inside of us. We often protect our heartbreak, or sorrow, and cover it up with a "show". Perhaps, instead of hiding from the thing that plagues us, we can OWN it. Claim it. And move on from there.

Claim YOU. Claim WHO YOU ARE. Claim WHAT YOU CAN DO.

Ask God what HE WANTS you to do . . . and do it!

And as a wise man once said, "it will all work out."

Have Faith. Have Hope. And one of the hardest things to do . . . Have Trust. Trust God. Trust yourself. Learn from the Heartbreak . . . then let it go.

Happiness awaits!

I Love the Internet

I clogged my kitchen sink today . . . with too many carrot peelings.

I knew it was risky shoving them down the disposal (I have seen what potato peels can do), but I have never had an issue with our current disposal, I thought it could handle the job. I was wrong.

Normally, I would call Charles and say something like, "Guess what you get to do when you come home?!" That is what I said many years ago, when I clogged the sink with potato skins. I let the taters sit in the clogged sink all day. Nasty. After a long day of work, Charles had to fix the problem. Poor thing.

But now . . . I have the Internet. So immediately after clearing out the sink of the dishes, I went to the computer and Googled "how to unclog a kitchen sink". The instructions were there in simple-form. I followed the instructions (there were two options depending upon where it was clogged) and without a plumber, or help -- I unclogged the disposal. Yea for me! :-)

Like I said, I LOVE the Internet.

Now Charles does not have to face a murky-clogged sink when he gets home. And that makes him a happy-hubby. :-)If you need to fix something, Google-it FIRST! You might be able to do it yourself! I am so proud of me . . . you can be proud of you, too!

Halloween Crafts

A SUPER easy and fun Halloween craft!

My friend, Rachelle, found this great idea on the blog: www.320sycamoreblog.com. Check out the blog for a bunch of fantastic ideas! We made the signs for our own homes and I made some for the ladies I visit teach.

• It only takes about an hour to create and it costs about $2 to make.
• All you need is a wood plaque (pick your size), 97 cents at Wal-Mart
• Spray paint the wood/let dry
• Print off the sign/size to plaque
• Mod Podge the image onto the wood (you can make your own Mod Padge with glue & water -- just google it!)

That is it!

It is super cute and you can be creative and do ANYTHING. I am excited to design my own images! I think it would be a great YW activity . . . you could do YW mottos, quotes, scriptures, images, etc. and it would be super cute! (The image does not do it justice, it is really cute!) There are limitless possibilities for being creative. If you can design it, you can sign it!

We spent a day painting pumpkins . . . 1 dollar pumpkins at the dollar store + paint = FUN!

You could really make them look cute!

I am starting to get the crafty-bug . . . this could be dangerous! :-)

CREATE! It makes you HAPPY! :-)

Fall Photos

In the corn maze . . . we didn't get too lost. :-)

We had a fun weekend . . .

with friends, fall activities, and the primary program. We spent Saturday at the pumpkin patch (which I will post more images of later), we picked-out our pumpkins (which we will carve tonight), and we enjoyed watching the kids (all three of them!) singing with the primary. During the primary program, I especially enjoyed William sticking both fingers up his nose, and flapping his tie at his friends. :-) The Bishop mentioned how much he enjoyed watching William -- and it wasn't because he was standing with his arms down at his sides singing. :-) Ahhhh . . . Sunbeams. They are the best.

More on the pumpkin patch and the primary program, later! For now, let's just do pictures!

A family shot at the farm. It was a warm day!

Pictures with Pumpkins on Primary Program Day.

Daniel now . . . age 8

Daniel 4 years ago . . . age 4

William now . . . age 4

William 4 years ago . . . age 6 months

Silly-William

He has always been silly. :-) (And extremely cute, too!)

Sammi now . . . age 10

Sammi 4 years ago . . . age 6

They grow . . .

Too Fast!

Sammi and Mommy

Mommy and the boys

Love these kiddos!

I LOVE this time of year, it is SO beautiful!

I am so grateful for my family. They are everything to me.

For Grandma . . .

Sammi Sunshine -- 5th Grade

Dan the Man -- Third Grade

Silly Willy -- Preschool with Mom

Sammi started playing basketball on the school team . . . it is super cute to watch! It is her first experience with playing on a team, and it is pretty entertaining. She is one of the shortest members of their team, which really surprised me. I thought Sammi was getting super tall -- but she is a shrimp. For now. She will grow and then she will be dangerous. ;-) wink!

She is awesome at defense and annoys the crud out of whoever she is guarding. We just need to work on getting that ball in her hands . . . that is the fun stuff! The girls are all so cute. (Notice the size difference in the teams! We got pummeled by the Grizzlys!)

Trying to get a good picture in the gym is rough . . . Erin, any luck??? If so, send me anything you got! PLEASE!

You can tell her head is in the game . . . or on her friend's nails. :-)

Good times !

Quality Education

I was going through Daniel's school binder and I found one of his "Accelerated Reader" progress reports. The students get to choose a book to read and then they take a computer-quiz to test their comprehension of the book.

Daniel's book of choice (and I am NOT making this up!):

Captain Underpants . . . Booger Boy, Part 2 . . . Nostril Nuggets.

Yeah, I know.

Wow.

I am proud to say that he got a 10/10 on his commprehension of Nostril Nuggets.

It is so nice to know that my children are getting a quality education.

It may be that classics like Tom Sawyer are banned from school libraries, but we can rest assured that our children are being taught from the very best literature of our day. These books will shape the minds of the generation to come.

Thanks, Captain Underpants . . . the future is in good hands.

71 years

Today is my Dad's birthday. He is 71 years old!

He is the most fantastic father ever.

I have come to love and admire him, even more, as time goes by.

My Dad

"The Little Cowboy"

Ready to play!

Grandma Lindquist and young Ed (my dad) in the driveway on J Street in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Grandpa Lindquist, my dad, and his baby brother Kent

A youthful Ed (my dad) and his brother Kent

My dad is an educator and has been involved in teaching -- in some form -- all his life.

Kent and my Dad in front of their J street home

Dad's graduation from college. A first for his family.

Though my dad is often thought of as "studious and wise" -- in reality, he is just ready to have some fun! (It is the cowboy in him.) :-)

I am guessing he is talking to someone "important" on the phone . . .

A handsome young man and a view of J street in the 1960's

Ahhh . . . young love.

Mom and Dad, before they were married.

Notice my mother brought "color" into my dad's life. :-)

Another view of J street in 1980

Dad holding my sister Beth, and me (the baby).

A family photo . . . My parents had a 10 year gap between children, so it often looked like the older siblings were the younger siblings parents. :-)

My mom, Dad, Kary, Amy (sister-in-law), Bob

John, Beth, Mari, and baby nephew Kevin.

A more recent family photo . . .

The "little cowboy's" children all grew-up and all 5 were married in the temple.

The "little cowboy" is now known as "grandpa".

The "young love" couple 40+ years later. You can see how much my dad loves my mother . . .

More proof that Dad just wants to have fun . . . :-)

Stanley, Idaho

This image is the epitome of dad . . . it is the look on his face. (Look closely.)

He just discovered something that looks fun, now he wants to try it, and he wants everyone else to come and enjoy it, too.

And so . . . he bought tickets for everyone to ride! And we all enjoyed it -- A LOT!!

We cruised around downtown San Diego, in style, singing Christmas Carols. :-) It was magic -- thanks to my dad.

My dad likes to tell jokes/be silly . . . you can tell my mom thinks he's funny. :-)

(Mom -- you look hot in this picture.)

Still deeply in love, the little cowboy and his girl are serving a mission in New Brunswick, Canada

Ahhhh . . . Dad.

I sure love you. We all do.

You are a rock of a man, and yet -- you are a great, big, sweetheart. You always want to make others happy. I was thinking the other day, about how you always brought home flowers for mom, pretty much weekly. It seemed so normal to me -- but now I realize how special it was.

Thank you for loving mom the way you do. You will always be remembered for your kindness and generosity. I will always remember how much you love mom. It means a lot to me. Thank you.

You are the best. Truly. Thank you for being my dad.

The "Little Cowboy"

All grown-up and still ready to play!

We love you! Happy Birthday Dad!