Tweezers: Part 2

So, after days of searching with no luck, and after days of watching the hair on our faces grow. . . I decided to gather the family for a prayer to find the tweezers. (Hey, don't laugh . . . they are not cheap tweezers and we needed them!) I had Daniel say the prayer and then the family set out for the hunt. We were all in on it. I was determined that they must be in the house SOMEWHERE!

We looked and searched in drawers, under beds, in closets, etc, etc. And then I recalled an event from long ago . . . Charles had dropped his wedding ring while sitting on the couch, and the couch swallowed it. I had found his wedding ring by ripping the back of the couch fabric off and reaching into the depths of the couch-structure.

So, I flipped the couch upside-down, I ripped off the fabric once again and found: two sets of fingernail clippers, 3 toy cars, a bunch of socks, some Cheerios, missing game pieces, candy, some money and . . . THE TWEEZERS!!! HOORAY! I was SO excited to see them! I screamed like I had just won the lottery. WOHOO!!!

Prayers ARE answered. My kids know it. Don't forget to pray!

Tweezers, please!

OK . . . so why is it that the tweezers are ALWAYS missing?! I put them in the same drawer every time, but they are never there?! Normally, with a little searching -- I can find them. But this time . . . I cannot find them anywhere! I believe William is the culprit (this time). But when I ask him where he has put them, he says with a mischievous-smile, "I dunno?"

We have looked and looked and searched on hands and knees. No luck.

You see, if I am looking for the tweezers -- it means: I NEED the tweezers! Mama is gonna have a mono-brow and a beard! (OK, maybe not THAT bad, but I sure hate the feeling of those stray eye-brow/chin-hairs!) Tweezers have become an essential tool in our prep in front of the bathroom mirror. It is necessary to tweeze. It is like pulling weeds in the garden. Necessary!

Funny thing is, I can remember one year I got my mother special tweezers for a birthday present -- because hers were also, always missing. (Yes, it was me who always took them.) Funny how what goes around comes around. Actually, it is not so funny!

Mother, I am sorry. I really am. I should have never taken your tweezers. It was not a nice thing to do. I never realized how important they were to you. I understand now. Forgive me, please.

Oh tweezers . . . where are you???!!!

Table Rock

After almost 4 years of living in Boise, we FINALLY decided to walk up to Table Rock. One of the great things about living in SE Boise is that you are so close to everything. We are just steps away from the river, the foothills, great walking/biking trails, parks, Charles' office, and downtown. We looked EVERYWHERE when we first knew we were moving to Boise . . . and South East is the place for us.

Last night, on a whim, Charles said, "Let's go walk up to Table Rock!". He was excited. I was hesitant, because it was Sunday and I thought it would be too much of a "work-out" rather than a "nature-walk". Well . . . I must admit, after getting to the top -- it was probably a little much for a Sunday. I think I went over the "sweating limit" for Sabbath day activities. BUT it was beautiful and we DID enjoy the beauties of God's creations, together as a family.

I was particularly surprised by 3 year old William making it all the way to the top. He needed some help from Daddy to go down. We took the less traveled path and the trail was SUPER narrow (the trail we were on was about 1/4 the width of the one in the picture above) and it was close to the edge. (I was panicked half the time -- William was a little TOO confident.) But he did it and he LOVED it. It was a beautiful night! The view from the top was worth the climb. Now that we know what it is like, I am sure we will do it more often! It is only 5 minutes from home!

P.S. I did not take my camera, so I had to use pictures from on-line.

Wee Granny Honored

Daniel went to the Priesthood session of Conference with Charles. It is always a special thing they do together. After they got back Daniel was excited to tell me that one of the speakers talked about Mary Murray Murdoch (Wee Granny)!!

I was excited that Wee Granny's story was shared, but I was also excited that Daniel knew that it was his great, great, great, great, great grandmother! It made him feel special.

When I was growing up I always knew I had "pioneer ancestry" but it was not until a few years ago that I came to understand how special it really is. The history of the church is MY family history. It is part of me.

Though certainly a bit diluted by now -- the same blood flows through my veins as Wee Granny. She is PART of ME. I love and adore her. I am so grateful for her faith and example. I look forward to meeting her one day and giving her a big hug. (It will be a big hug from me since she was SO tiny!)

She must have known her chances of making it to Zion were slim . . . but she went anyway. She left behind a legacy of faith that remains today. Following our family line back to Wee Granny, every generation of her posterity has been true and faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ -- that she willingly sacrificed her very life for. That is a miracle in and of itself. She did NOT die in vain. She has been an example for us all to keep our "faces towards Zion."

This Mari loves that Mary! :-)

I thought family might like to view this, since the ladies did not get a chance to see it. You can watch the whole thing or scroll over to 8:20 time.

Head-over-Heels

The following true story is regarding the three subjects in this picture . . .

Sammi, William, and a Swing.

(Just ignore the Harry Potter costumes -- they are irrelevant.)

The weather was so beautiful last night -- so we geared-up and headed out on a family bike ride. We took over the trails with our motley-crew and tried to dodge others in our way. I only got honked at once (and not for why I used to get honked at!) -- I considered myself lucky. We made our way to a near-by park and we stopped for a little play-time. Everyone was enjoying themselves, it was a lovely evening . . . just lovely.

Everyone was smiling and happy. I love smiles and happy.

Charles and I were chatting away, as the kids explored the playground. Sammi (who loves to swing), called us over to come and watch her. She wanted to show us how high she could fly. We watched and enjoyed her squealing and delight. She can go REALLY high!

William (who was swinging right next to Sammi), was also cheesed about being at the park -- on the swings. He was trying to pump his legs to get going . . . not much luck. Meanwhile, Sammi kept going higher and higher . . . above the trees . . . to the clouds . . . outer-space.

Charles and I watched.

Then, in a tiny split-second . . . William hopped off his swing. He toddled his way RIGHT behind head-in-the-clouds-Sammi and her soaring-swing.

There were literally seconds (or less) to respond as Charles and I watched Sammi straight up in the sky and William standing right underneath where she would come flying down. No time. Too fast. We could do nothing -- but watch.

WHAM-O!!! Sammi's almost-teen-back sledge-hammered right into William's 3-year-old-front. He went flying. Literally. He went head-over-heels. (I had only seen this in movies, but it REALLY happened!) His feet flipped over his head and he landed on his front.

A moment of silence. A moment of horror. Then he SCREAMED!!!!!

While I freaked-out on the inside, I scooped him up, and checked for damage. (I was sure there would be blood, broken bones -- something.) I held him, tried to sooth him. I kept looking for blood.

Sammi was horrified. Not to mention she hurt, too. (She said it felt like she had hit a rock.) She walked away, so sad. "I 'm sorry, I am sorry!" she kept saying.

I kept searching William's body. There was no blood? I was shocked. No scrape, no bruise. No nothing.

We went back to our bikes so we could be on our way home, a little less immortal-feeling. Then William let out a piercing scream, "WAHHHHHHH!!!!!"" he freaked. "What is the matter, William? What hurts!?" I asked. I was worried there was something internally wrong, something we could not see . . .

There was something "internally wrong" that I could not see . . .

"NO!!!!!" he wailed. "I WANT TO SWING!!!" he shouted. He slithered out of my arms and ran full-speed back to the swing-set and got on. As cheesed as can be . . . he swung.

(No, my three year old did not draw this, I did. ;-))

What did you expect??? He is Daniel's brother, after all. ;-)

Feeding the Birds -- with Nan

We went to visit Nan in Heber. She is moving pretty slow, and her neck was sore -- but she was determined to pretend like she was just fine. She took the kids out to feed the birds. (This video is for my mom, and family.) If you ever need a pick-me-up -- go see Nan! She always has something lovely to say to make you feel happy. I love my NAN!

Tabernacle Treat

We went on a little tour of temple square and we found ourselves inside the Tabernacle. I LOVE going inside that building. So much history. You can just feel the spirits of the past in that large room. You can sit and imagine the faces of those who once stood at the pulpit, and you can hear the silent echos of voices that filled the room with faithful song. Staring at the grandiose pipe-organ is a special experience. I just love it in that room . . . you can smell the history.

We had a special treat while we were there. It was empty at first, but then a man came walking down from behind the organ. I said out loud to Charles, "Oh, please let him play! Please let him play!" And play he did! I was so happy. ("Happy" is a pretty pathetic word to describe how glorious I felt!) I captured a little bit of his performance, just for us!

The sound shook the whole room. It was AWESOME!!!!