August 2014

August started at our house with Naomi starting her new job selling corn. She did a fantastic job and was very reliable. It was fun to have her share her experiences with us at the end of each day.

Right around the first part of the month we spent a day in Magrath helping a cousin lay sod at their house. It was an absolutely amazing transformation - going from all that dirt to a nice green lawn! We enjoyed a delightful barbecue afterwards and stuck around long enough to help get enough sprinklers going to keep it all wet. Of course the trick is to have lots of sprinklers because once you get the grass wet, you can't walk on it or you risk leaving deep foot sized depressions behind. 

After all that we decided to go for a swim. Our first choice, the Raymond pool was temporarily closed as someone had gotten sick in the pool and it had to be cleaned, so we went out to the park anticipating playing in the water there.

It all started out great. The kids got in the water, they had their toys and were prepared to spend a whole pile of time splashing and keeping cool until Richard got out and discovered a whole pile of tiny black bugs on him. I have no idea what they were, but they filled every fold in his swimming shorts. The more he moved, the more fell off of him. The ants were loving it, because they would grab those tiny bugs and haul them off for a veritable feast I'm sure. When Richard discovered his pockets were also full of bugs, the girls all exited the water rather quickly. Everyone was done swimming!!! You know, we had wondered, when we drove up, why so few people were playing in the water... I guess the bugs scared them off too. The kids traded swimming for playing on the swings and other playground attractions while the adults visited by the water. We really had a nice time and it was hard to leave when the time drew near.

Funny, as we walked down to the beach, we passed a group of would be swimmers leaving the area. I wonder why they didn't warn us of what the water contained. I guess, it is pretty easy to resist sharing information, especially in this age when people communicate more on electronic devices than they do in person, but even still, I think that if the Savior had been there, He would have warned us and then allowed us to make our own decision. I know that, because that is what His prophets have always done, put out the warning and the call to repent, but ultimately we make the final decision as to what we will do.

In August, Breanna earned a cake pop maker. She loves to bake and this little device makes round little cakes that are a bite of sweetness. She likes to dip them in chocolate, or frosting and serves them with a toothpick or if they are not too sticky, then by the handfull.

Of course, one sour experience with swimming didn't rule out swimming for the rest of the month. A while later, Naomi took all the kids out to Sherburn lake to play in the water. It was a beautiful evening and they had a great time playing together. A sibling bonding time. I remember those experiences with my own siblings fondly. I can't even count the number of hours we used to spend every summer swimming in the little irrigation ditch at the end of our driveway or out in the pumping pond behind the house. In fact, we would spend several hours out there in a day! That's how it was for the kids at Sherburn. What a beautiful day!

We even managed to get a little time for work in during the month. Since we had taken down our old fence on the east and replaced it with a 6' fence in the spring, we had a whole pile of fence panels that were still in fairly reasonable shape that we didn't want to throw away. As we thought about it, we decided that they would work very well in the front yard. We dug in the posts and put up new supports to attach them to and then we put a top plate that runs evenly over the top of the fence for a finishing touch.

We finished the west side first and got it all installed and painted. Myles built a new gate to go on that side for easier access from the west alley. He did a fabulous job! It looks amazing! In fact, he even built me a bird house to sit on the corner part of the fence where the level changes. We haven't got it up yet though, but he made it to match our house! ☺ He has gotten to be so handy. Fortunately, he takes after his dad.

At the end of August, before school started again, we decided to celebrate our anniversary - 23 years this time! We spent a number of days camping together in the Crowsnest pass. We hiked up a quadding trail that crested a hill opening up quite a panoramic scene to our view! It was lovely! We could see Crowsnest mountain with yellow hills glimmering below. It was BEAUTIFUL! Behind us, on the other side of the ridge we could see a waterfall. I love the sound of waterfalls. There is something so peaceful and serene about the sound of running water. It reminds me of a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants that describes the voice of the Lord as sounding like rushing waters. What a beautiful description!

Besides setting out on new explorations, we did a fair bit of hiking in the woods. I also love it in the trees. I love the sound of the wind as it touches the tree tops overhead, yet it is so calm and peaceful at their base. I love the lush green vegetation, the shade and the fresh air. I also love the discoveries that we find along the way. On one particular day, we were walking along, and just up ahead we could see some wildlife on the trail. It was a sage grouse family.

The male grouse was doing a cool dance and it wasn't in the least bit afraid of us. He kind of wagged his tail as he strutted and led his hen and chick into the tall grass and off into the trees. That was so COOL! We were within two meters of him as he displayed his feathers. We never saw any bear, but we did see a fawn and a bunny as we continued to hike. 

Another one of our cool discoveries was an old cabin in the woods. It's not very big and mostly rotted, but there was still an old bed spring there leaning up against one of the part-walls.

Of course there is always the inspiring scenery that comes into view as you hike along a trail. I LOVE how the scenery changes as the light increases or diminishes. The same mountain can take on several different looks.

What a glorious way to finish out a summer month... in the mountains with your best friend. We had really beautiful weather and we got to see some new areas that we have never before explored. What made that even better was discovering them together. At one point we hiked up a nearly vertical hill. The trail even started disappearing and I was beginning to wonder if we would become lost. However, I knew that all we had to do was go back down and we would easily pick up the trail we had left behind, BUT, if we hadn't scaled that hill, the glorious panorama of the valley would not have been opened to our view. It was worth the hard work and effort that it took to get up to the top! In fact, I can't wait to take the kids on that same hike next year!

I feel so blessed to live so close to such grand and majestic mountains! There is so much to feel and experience there. I love being there, and after I leave, I always look forward to my next visit. We sure had a great summer!

Changes and Finishes

Well almost every year we do an inside house project. This fall we didn't get to do a full project in the house because we were so busy doing other worthwhile things (like weddings). Around the end of November, I suggested that we get the basement ceiling done. It has been 16 years and we have had a hard time deciding exactly what we wanted to do with it. We decided to put drywall up and get it painted. We also redid the walls. I had hoped that we could have it finished in time for Christmas but it took a few days longer than that.

 First we had to clean everything out from the ceiling. You know the trim, the pipes and whatever else had been tucked up there out-of-the-way. It was very dusty but sure made a difference to have that stuff moved. We primed the walls and prepared to repaint. Part of that preparation included filling some of the dings and dents that have accumulated over the years.

The new paint looked wonderful. In fact, the first wall that we painted used up one part can of blue paint that I have been storing for a number of years. Using up old paint has its hazards though. I found a second can of paint and shook it, and then opened it. I was working over a painters blanket and to my puzzlement, I discovered a pool of paint growing underneath the paint can. It turns out that the paint can had cracked and was leaking. This can also was put to use in the basement as our project continued.

Next we started putting up sheets of drywall on the ceiling. Chad had a fair bit of help. Brandon helped a little and Myles helped. As for me I wasn't much help because I haven't build up the strength in my left shoulder yet enough to hold up a sheet of drywall. I did try but I couldn't do it for long enough.

The changes were subtle and slow but they were making a big difference. The first thing we noticed was how the light began to fill the room differently.

The room was quite a mess throughout the process, mostly because all the furniture had to be pushed into the center of the room to get at the walls. As each wall was finished the furniture had to be moved from position to position so we could get at the different parts of the ceiling. We tried to keep the room as clear as possible. A lot of the furniture was moved into the spare bedroom to be out-of-the-way.

We decided that if we were going to do this room we are going to do it up right. That meant that we also finished the area over the deep-freeze in the back corner and around the back door. It looks so good all finished up, painted and fresh.

As the project progressed I painted the walls and Chad and Myles worked on the ceiling. They installed new track lighting into the room which we thoroughly enjoy. That new lighting adds a wonderful feel to the room that makes it cozy yet bright. The colors I chose for the walls is a pale blue and the ceiling is a light taupe. I didn't want the room to be too dark being in the basement. I love having light colors brighten and freshen the space.

We decided we needed to have access to the center portion of the ceiling and so we put in a track ceiling in that area. I wanted the color to match the rest of the ceiling and so rather than buying ceiling panels, we cut quarter inch hard board and painted it. It went in very nicely and matches the room beautifully. 

This is a panoramic picture facing the north wall. It shows the progress to that point. The drywall portion of the ceiling is painted. The new lighting is on. And the walls are all painted. The furniture still needs to be put back in place though.

Here's me doing a little more painting on the other end of the room. As the ceiling progressed the girls and I mopped, swept and then move furniture back into place. This opened up the room a little more and cleared out the center area but it also allowed us to achieve I finished feeling. It is wonderful having everyone involved in a project, working together and feeling good about the things that they are doing.

And there you have it the room finished, and mostly put back together again. We even used some trim that had previously been stored in the ceiling and used it to finish around some of the unfinished doorways and windows in the basement. I think we also finished off about 3 gallons of paint that we have been storing for an indefinite number of years.

This project was actually started to use up some of the resources we have acquired that have been sitting idle in our home taking up space and needing stored. It felt so good to work together to use these resources to beautify our home. The thing that I love about these kinds of projects the most though is the excitement I feel coming from everyone as we work together with a common goal in mind. When we accomplish that goal there are many happy faces and smiles and laughter that fill our home. I can't help but think that this is much like what it will be like when we return to live with her Father in Heaven. Of course this experience is much smaller in scale to that of  what it would be like in heaven, but our common goal as a family is to live such that we can return to live with our Father in Heaven. As we work together, encourage one another, extending love and compassion and understanding, and do all those things that good families do the day will come when we will gather around our Father in Heaven with many smiles and laughter filling our faces and hearts. I love the little glimpses I get of heaven through the things that we do here in our family. We are so blessed.

Good, Better or Best

A couple of weeks ago, our ward held an adult fireside in which our old Stake President and his wife came to talk to us about marriage. Now marriage is a topic that is close to my heart because I treasure mine so highly. I know without doubt, that a good marriage can bring a great deal of joy and fulfillment into one's life. I have always felt that I had a good marriage, and it gets better every year, so I really appreciated what they presented to us that night.

The first thing they told us was that in order to appreciate marriage you have to know what it is for, why it is important. One who does not  understand the importance of marriage will likely never enter into it, or if they do, they may treat it as a temporary situation. As for me, I always wanted to be married so it never crossed my mind to live any other way.

Then they talked about the quality of our marriages. The thing that sticks out in my mind the most was a visual presentation that our Stake President's wife gave. First she showed us a cupcake.

She told us how good of a dessert a cupcake makes. It's tasty, doesn't take a lot of time to prepare, it looks nice, it's relatively inexpensive and if you use a mix it only takes 4 ingredients to make! In fact, if you were given a cupcake you might think that you have a pretty good dessert option. Then she told us of a dessert that their family loves even more than cupcakes. A chocolate torte...

 She told us of the time and care that went into the preparation of this dessert. She talked about how she had to plan ahead when she wanted to serve it. It required specific items on the shopping list and extra time for preparation. She told us about how they savored the dessert when they ate it and how eating it with ice cream or whipped cream made it even better! Then she told us of how this represented marriage.

With the cupcake you have a pretty good dessert. It doesn't take a lot of effort or expense. It is quick and easy to make, looks nice, and is enjoyable. It is easy to believe, if you have a marriage like a cupcake, that you have a great marriage. However, with the torte, which requires more effort, time and energy, the overall dessert experience is more satisfying. It involves more of your senses. A marriage can be like a torte. In fact, if you have a cupcake marriage, you may not have been aware that it could be better, richer, more satisfying and filled with contentment and peace! To have a torte quality marriage it takes more time and energy. It takes selflessness, love, service, thoughtfulness, kindness and forgiveness. It takes a weekly date night - time spent together, just the two of you. It may even take a little sacrifice. But it is worth every investment as it yields a rich palette of flavor and enjoyment.

I have been so blessed to have a torte quality marriage. It seems that the flavors and textures are constantly getting more delightful and rich. I know that marriage is a blessing to all those who invest themselves in it. I have seen marriages at all levels, and so many in today's world are less than even cupcake quality. Don't settle for a spoonful of sugar when you can have a cupcake, and don't settle for a cupcake when you can have a torte, and don't settle for a plain old torte when layers of love and experience together can add richness and flavor such that you could never dream of it's equal. Being married is such a joy. I look forward to eternity with my best friend, my greatest support, my love, my cheering section, my helpmeet, ... my husband.

The Trees

This fall I had the privilege of helping Chad with the last roof job of the season. Myles had just put his neck out and was unable to assist and with the kids in school anyway, I volunteered for the job. The job was located quite a ways south of where we lived, and the area was quite remote and peaceful. As many farms do, this one had a healthy row of strong trees to the west for a windbreak. I love trees, so when I was waiting for the next assignment I would often observe the trees.

I noticed that while they were all pretty close to the same height, none of them were the same. It intrigued me to think about it. After all, they were all close enough together to have experienced the same winds, storms, and changes in weather. No tree was ugly, they were all tall and strong, but each had developed differently.

Often, we are like trees. Especially when you consider families. We grow up with the same teachings, parents, siblings, and basic environment and yet each family member will learn and remember different things from similar experiences. That doesn't mean that one is more correct or better than the other. Instead, like the trees, each is tall, strong and beautiful. Each develops strengths that help to withstand the winds of adversity that life always guarantees, and yet, when family members stand together, the winds of adversity are diminished in their strength in much the same way as trees create a wind block for the farmhouse we worked on.

In addition to the marvelous trees, we had a lovely view of the Sweet Grass hills just south of the border. Having injured my arm only the previous month, it wasn't easy doing a roofing job. In fact I wasn't allowed to do much... my good husband made sure of that. However, I am so grateful for the opportunity it gave me to enjoy the area, the beauty and the peace that nature always offers me.