Christmas Visit

I went to Shaunalei and Michelle's homes on Christmas morning and took a couple of pictures of happy (and tired) kids. I'm sorry I missed taking a shot of Daniel. He was on the floor enjoying his big toy truck and playing gas station. I got a kick out of the Andersen kids following their strings of yarn to find their "big" presents. I even got in on the action with Ashleigh after we had to undo all the yarn she had wrapped around her wrist when it became too hard to fit through some narrow places. I hope everyone had a wonderful time this Christmas!

Richard's Graduation

I was glad that Kirsten and her kids were willing to let me tag along on their stay in Salt Lake so I could go to the graduation, too. I had a great time and was so proud of Richard.

It's early A.M. and there on the hearth are our shoes getting warm so they'll snuggle our feet.

When I see out my window the sky's getting pink, I run out the door and into the street.

The lens on my camera fogs up from the cold; I'm grateful the sky is not full of sleet.

I dash to the churchyard; the darkening pink makes the silhouette limbs a sunrise "complete."

My toes are all nippy, my nose has turned red, but this morning's glow has been such a treat!

Richfield Visit

Hi! That's me waving hello from the top of a weathered red rock to the west of Richfield. In spite of having to come home a bit early because of my "swimming" head (thanks, Jorgen, for getting me back safely), I had a great time visiting at Kirsten's while Jenae was in town from California. Some of us had an early morning walk in the ravine and Kirsten knew how to set the self-timer so we all could be in the shot. Julie and her kids and Jennifer came to play games with Jenae and her kids and her friend Ryan and his wife and Kirsten and Rebecca and Michelle and her family and Tom and his family and (whew! You get the picture! The house was pretty crowded. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures while everyone was there.) Julie had a good time doing hula hoops on Spencer's WI(Is that how you spell it?)and it gave the rest a good laugh. There was lots of laughter and good food, too. Isn't it great to have friends and family?!

Skies

Don't

you

love

a

lively

sky

where

tattered

bits

of clouds

rush

by

and

frantic

dancing

leaves

leap

high?

A feast

for heart

and soul

and eye.

Halloween

Strange creatures showed up at our house on Friday night. They were our only trick or treaters as we participated in the Trunk or Treat at the church earlier. I took my decorated wheelbarrow over and won a prize. Lorraine Steffens wanted to take a picture that included the contents of the wheelbarrow, so I bent down but unfortunately lost my footing and fell right over on my side and rolled onto my back with my feet in the air. It was hilarious. No harm done, not even a bruise. Just a lot of laughter.

A Sunrise to Savor

Nearing November

My feet move, scuff, through crunchy gold--






through rusty-orange, bright, bold--












through brilliant yellow,















richest red--










as old October paths I tread.

Glorious beauty--

fading
fast.


I
cannot
make
my
autumn
last.

There are some mornings when getting out of bed early brings great returns. This sunrise was one of those. I feel privileged when I see such moments of glory.

Sunshine Scripture 12

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Romans 15:13

Be fully supplied, filled completely, teeming with hope—for you can do amazing things when you are full of joy and peace. Hope that whispers to your heart from the Holy Ghost can bring you all you need. Believe. It's that simple. Let your hope abound.

A Lovely Week

This has been a week of beauty with many moments of joy.
Don and I went to Kelly's Grove up the canyon and sat by the stream enjoying the perfect temperature, the soft sound of the water rolling over the rocks, and the shimmer of sunlight behind the golden autumn leaves. It was a delight, indeed. Don tried out the swings and we both laughed at the funny-shaped little pine tree.
I was able to have fun reading with Jessika and Micah, and then have additional fun playing with Peter and Ashleigh.
This week I was contacted by Melissa, my young friend and organizer of the writing group at BYU who helped me greatly with my Grig novel. I was so happy to find that the group are still meeting, and I am going to join them again. Hurrah! I can hardly wait until Wednesday.
I was blessed that Erik was willing to help out when my computer went kaput for a time. He backed up all my systems, got a mouse to work that refused to do anything when I tried to connect it, took care of checking all the systems and making my start up time shorter. In short, he was generous and restored my peace of mind so I can connect with so many of my family members. Thanks, Erik!
Also, I got the chance to help a little with Michelle's move and enjoyed walking with Daniel around a large section of blocks just after the sun had gone down and before the dark of night was complete. I forgot my camera, so I didn't get pictures, but I think the twin home they are renting now is really nice!
To top off a great week, we watched general conference and I was uplifted and made joyous again listening to the talks. What goodness and kindness. I am rejuvenated. (Oh, and it has rained softly for two days now. Just what we needed!) Life is good; thank you, God.

Sunshine Scripture 11

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
James 1:17

A perfect gift. What would it be like? Gifts are always exciting— wrapped in bright paper— full of expectations of delight. But a perfect gift, from the Father of lights, would be beyond our imagination. All that is good and right and uplifting comes to us as a gift from our Father. He has the perfect gift for you. Open it.

Ashleigh and Peter and I walked this afternoon to see what beautiful things we could find. We found tiny flowers that looked like sego lilies, and hollyhocks that were twice as tall as Ashleigh, and thistle heads and cattails by the old mill pond. It was a lovely day, but the things I found to be the most beautiful and amazing were the two little grandchildren I was with.