Playing in the Mud

As we draw near the end of the construction of the sun room, we found ourselves pouring cement yet again. Hot, dirty, and tiring -- and that's the good things about doing cement!

Thanks so much to Justin and Michael who gave up their Saturday to help with this time-consuming job! We now have a wide sidewalk that goes from the back of the garage to the sun room so that we don't have to traipse through the dirt. I'm sure that they could have found more enjoyable ways to spend those many long hours so we really appreciate their efforts. And take a look at our beautiful cement!

Recuperating . . . .

Swelling
Bruises
Ibuprofen
Housebound for the most part
Big clunky black boot!
(No pictures included)

Crocheting and more crocheting and more crocheting
11 Hotpads
3 Burp Bibs

Uncontested control of the remote
18+ episodes of Star Trek
Uncounted # of movies, including 2 wonderful Silent films, one with Charlie Chaplin!

Numerous books of all kinds, shapes and sizes!


"Go Cart" at Smiths!


All-day visit from Glenna (my sister) . . .
Talking about books, movies, family, crafts, summer plans, (and a little gossip) . . . and she even made me dinner!


Cookies from my sister!
(Filled with chocolate covered raisins - ymmmm!)


Going to the Hannah Montana movie at the $ theater with my daughter! :-)


Listening again to the Prophet and a session of April 2009 General Conference!
(Only one more session to go!)


Reading 2nd Nephi
2 Nephi 25:26
And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.


Knowing that "this, too, shall pass!"

Listen to the Still, Small Voice

Since Marian put in a post with a picture of her foot, I decided to put in one with mine! :-)

This may seem like an odd picture for a Sunday thought, but believe me, it is a perfect object lesson. I find myself in this horrible contraption because of a very stupid accident. Kevin and I were returning from the movie the other day and stopped to get gas for the car. I was standing by the pump and decided to throw away my trash. To do so I turned to step OVER the gas hose that was filling my car. I distinctly heard the words "don't step over the hose - it's not safe" but unfortunately, I didn't listen to that still, small voice and tried to step over the hose anyway. My left foot caught the hose and down I went. I banged up my right wrist, knee and leg, which caught my weight when I hit the ground, but the worst is my left foot which caught and twisted in the hose. STUPID!

Kevin got me home and since I couldn't put any weight on my left foot, Ken took me in for x-rays. Fortunately, it wasn't broken but the sprain is pretty bad. I'm definitely multi-colored and the swelling makes my foot and ankle about twice its normal size. Even with the boot and my cane, taking even a few steps is extremely painful. (sigh) The doctor said this could take a very long time to heal which is pretty depressing.

The worst part is that I was prompted to NOT step over the hose but ignored the warning. I've been thinking quite a bit about that since it happened. I know we are promised in the scriptures that we will receive help for even the smallest events in our lives. We just need to strive to draw closer to our Savior and heed those spiritual promptings when they come! This is certainly something I am determined to improve in my life!

In the meantime, I'm to have my foot elevated so its the recliner for me. I'm surrounded by books, the remote and a water bottle. I'm tired of it already. Believe me, sitting around is highly overrated!

Live Long and Prosper

Well, yesterday was the big day! Justin, Kevin and I went to see the new Star Trek movie. As you can see, Kevin made himself a shirt to wear for the occasion. We had a wonderful time and it was a great movie, although Kevin now has a greater appreciation for his father who is usually the person I sit next to at the movies. Kevin was the lucky one who sat by me this time and since I tend to jump at exciting and/or scary moments and grab onto whoever is handy, poor Kevin has a few bruises now! :-)

Pictures At Last!

Many years ago (sorry John) my oldest son completed his Eagle Scout award, and wanting to remember the occasion, we took him to have his picture done in his uniform. As the years have gone by, we've commemorated several other Eagle awards as well as a Young Woman Recognition award by again having pictures done. Slowly a small part of one of my walls filled with pictures. That is until Kevin and Tammy. Now don't misunderstand - they both earned their awards, I just have never had the pictures taken! I could try and list all the many excuses I've used over the past two years for not getting them done, but they would be just that - excuses.

Recently I became determined to remedy the situation. John loaned me one of his scout shirts (Kevin outgrew his) and I spent the other night sewing on Kevin's awards for the picture. Since Tammy is now working at Kiddie Kandids, I made an appointment for her to take Kevin's picture and made her agree to go to work ready for her picture to be taken, as well. Kevin even agreed to shave for me! :-) And believe it or not - my picture wall is finally complete. I know that for several of my kids, the time when they actually earned these awards is long past but I'm so proud of their efforts then and now.

Tamara LeeAnn Rimington
Young Women Recognition











Kevin Lee Rimington
Eagle Scout








On a side note: Kevin told me that if I didn't include this part of the story, he would find a way to do it. As we were leaving for the photo, I made a last minute decision to take Ken's car. Mine was clean and I didn't want to plaster the front with the bugs by Willard Bay. :-) Ken's car definitely has a much smoother acceleration and as Kevin and I laughed and talked, I apparently was going too fast. You guessed it! I got pulled over a couple of miles from home. The officer asked where I was headed and I mentioned Kevin's picture. He looked in the car and asked where we were getting the picture done and then walked back to his car with my license and registration. I sighed and told Kevin that unfortunately I was too old to "bat my eyes" and get out of any ticket. When the officer came back, he gave Kevin a small salute and then gave me a warning to slow down. No ticket! So the moral of the story: if you're going to speed, have a sharp looking young man in an Eagle uniform in the car with you! :-)

Half Way There

Today I was able to finish listening to another session of conference. Although all of the talks for the Saturday morning session were wonderful, I was especially struck by the words of Elder Henry B. Eyring who spoke about adversity:

"With all the differences in our lives, we have at least one challenge in common. We all must deal with adversity. There may be periods, sometimes long ones, when our lives seem to flow with little difficulty. But it is in the nature of our being human that comfort gives way to distress, periods of good health come to an end, and misfortunes arrive. Particularly when the comfortable times have gone on for a while, the arrival of suffering or the loss of material security can bring fear and sometimes even anger. . . .

It will comfort us when we must wait in distress for the Savior’s promised relief that He knows, from experience, how to heal and help us. The Book of Mormon gives us the certain assurance of His power to comfort. And faith in that power will give us patience as we pray and work and wait for help. He could have known how to succor us simply by revelation, but He chose to learn by His own personal experience."

It definitely brings a sense of peace to know that our Savior will always be there through any difficulties that we might have.

Lots of love to you all!

A Virtuous Woman!

My mother and me!

I'd like to take a moment on this Mother's Day to say how grateful I am for my mother. She has truly been an example to me and I feel privileged to be her daughter. Through the years no matter what has been going on in my life, there has always been the knowledge that she loved me and that has been a continual source of strength.

From the time I was very young (and that was a long time ago!) she has always encouraged and supported my various activities. She has been present through countless concerts, performances, etc. both for myself and for my children. She has always been willing to listen and was genuinely interested in hearing about even the smallest details of even the smallest events in my life. She's cheered with me during times of great joy, laughed with me during those inevitable funny moments, cried with me during times of sorrow and comforted me when I was afraid. I can't imagine my life without her. She has loved me through thick and thin, teaching me what it truly means to be a mother.

But most of all, she's taught me what it means to be a Daughter of God, not just from the receiving end, but from the giving side as she tries to follow His commandments and to honorably live as Heavenly Father would want her to. She loves Him and she's not afraid for you to know it. I love you, Mom! Happy Mother's Day!

Space . . . The Final Frontier!

In honor of the opening day for the new Star Trek movie, I thought I'd share one of my favorite cartoons!

Justin and I were going to brave the crowds and go to the first showing but unfortunately he's still away on business so we're going next week. If you would like to join us, Spock ears or a Trek insignia is required! :-)

Salad Surprise

Sunday was our monthly family dinner. Although I love having everyone together, I usually get a little stressed and so my main goal is to have the meal be simple, both in the preparing and clean-up. This last Sunday I was making one last stir of a very large pasta salad when a small piece of tomato caught my eye and I let out a loud Oh No! In spite of my best efforts, I had failed to remove the sticker from a tomato and it was obvious that even though I was looking at the major piece, two other pieces were buried somewhere in the salad! And who were the winning family members, you ask? I secretly hoped no one would notice, but Dana and Emma ended up being the lucky recipients of the missing pieces. Actually, I can think of worse things to find! :-)

One Down - Three to Go!

Well, I'm one conference session "done" with my goal! I finished the afternoon Saturday session this morning. I was going to list a favorite talk but I don't think I could choose one so here's a few highlights:

Elder M. Russell Ballard: When you are willing to listen and learn, some of life’s most meaningful teachings come from those who have gone before you. . . . This is God’s plan: father and mother, grandfather and grandmother teaching their children; children learning from them and then becoming a more righteous generation through their own personal experiences and opportunities.

Elder Quentin L. Cook: This mortal life can constitute a difficult journey, but the destination is truly glorious. Christ expressed this to His disciples: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

Elder Kevin W. Pearson: True faith must be centered in Jesus Christ. “Faith is a principle of action and of power” (Bible Dictionary, 670). It requires us to do, not merely to believe. Faith is a spiritual gift from God that comes through the Holy Ghost.

Elder Rafael E. Pino: Living the gospel does not mean that we will everlastingly escape adversity. Rather, it means that we will be prepared to face and endure adversity more confidently.

Elder Richard G. Scott: Each member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is blessed to live in a time when the Lord has inspired His prophets to provide significantly increased accessibility to the holy temples. With careful planning and some sacrifice, the majority of the members of the Church can receive the ordinances of the temple for themselves and for their ancestors and be blessed by the covenants made therein.

Elder Russell M. Nelson: When should we pray? Whenever we desire! Alma taught, “Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, . . . and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.”

Lots of love to you all!

Good Times & Good Company!

The last few days have been great fun! Mom and Linda came up on Wednesday to stay a few days. We've talked, laughed and yes, even cried a little. We've covered a variety of topics from family to books to health to computers to spiritual things to vacations and then back again!

Thursday we went out to the firing of one of Ken's rocket motors. Turley and Casey came down from Idaho to join us for the firing and we caravaned out to the site. Unfortunately, shortly before the appointed time of 1:00 pm, one of the computers went down and the firing was delayed! Since we had some extra time, we drove down the road to the Rocket Garden at the main building for ATK. Outside of their main offices are displays of various rockets and boosters manufactured at that site. It's pretty impressive. When we returned to the test site, we discovered the test had been delayed yet again. Surprisingly, we found plenty to talk about and the time went by pretty quickly.

Firing time turned out to be 5:27 pm. As always, the test was more than impressive and the force and firing thrust of the motor was incredible. Since light travels faster than sound, you can always see the rocket plume for about a minute before the sound hits. The sound is forceful enough to rattle windows as well as the ground you are standing on. I'd forgotten to warn Linda about the sound delay and when it hit, I'm afraid she jumped and gave a little scream! Since the rest of us had seen one before, we were prepared and couldn't help chuckling, as did a few of those that were standing nearby. :-)

We finished the evening with games and this morning we jumped into computer lessons. Linda wanted to learn how to post pictures in her blog. You'll have to check out her new grandbaby as well as the motor firing. She's now an expert at adding pictures! :-) (see Linda's post)

They left with promises to come again and its been pretty quiet since they drove away. Just in case anyone else needs a getaway, the beds are free. Come visit!

Turley, Mom, Linda and myself at the Rocket Garden.

The Shuttle Booster is the big long one in the background!