Time for a Road Trip!

Let's take my car!

BYU Women's Conference

Recently I had the opportunity to attend the BYU Women's Conference with my mother and sister. It was great fun to be there together and to feel the spirit and inspiration of the conference. Here are just a few of the notes I took from the various classes:

*We need to count our blessings when things are well and find the blessings when they aren't.

*Look for the blessings the Lord is sending, not the ones we want.

*Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow".

*When adversity strikes, we have a choice to be bitter or better.

*Appreciation that is NOT expressed is not appreciation.

*You can find 'pieces of peace' even during great sorrow.

*We are often the angels for each other.

*Does our family know the center or source of our joy? Do they hear us share the source of our strength?   

That last thought really struck home and I wondered how often I've expressed my gratitude for the strength I receive from my Savior. I do have a testimony of Jesus Christ and know that He lives.

Lots of love to you all!

I'M FINALLY DONE!

I'm finally caught up on printing my photos! It's been a very l-o-n-g drawn out process since I hadn't printed anything since 2008. (sigh . . . yes, I'm a procrastinator) Since I didn't post most of these, here's just a few highlights:

Ken cooking a dutch oven lunch for co-workers - 2011
(He used 8 dutch ovens!)

Watching the Angel Moroni go up on the Brigham City Temple - 2011

Grandma Barker reading with Rebekah - 2011

Kevin NOT swimming on his mission :-)

Tammy & companion
Route 66 at the Wigwam Motel - 2011

(Guess which movie reproduced this motel?)

Keith & Tammy at a 5K in Ogden - 2010

Grandma Barker & Addie watching a photo frame - 2010

The Rexburg Temple - 2010
Devin, Turley, Grandma B, Karen, Linda, Janell & Kevin

Family Party - 2010
Gail, Mike, Ken, Kevin, Keith, John & Delores

Games with John's family - 2009

Hawaii - 2009

Tammy shoveling snow - 2009
(Definitely doesn't look like Winter 2011!)

Me breathing a sigh of relief when I was finally done! :-)

Date Night: The Organ Loft

Last night my husband, Ken, took me on a date to The Organ Loft, a unique theater in Salt Lake City that steps back in time a few nights a month, showing films from the silent era. Last night we saw City Girl, a 1930 film actually thought lost until a few years ago when a work print was found.

Seeing a silent film on the big screen was exciting for me but an added attraction was the incredible Wurlitzer Pipe Organ and the organist who performed live during the show! The pipes surrounded the room with both music and sound effects for the entire film. Great Fun!

Ken is patient with my hobby and even claims he enjoyed the evening. He is certain he is becoming quite adept at reading lips. :-) And surprisingly, he's even agreed to go back and see Rin Tin Tin with me next month. Unless, he says, I want to invite someone else to go! :-)



NOTE: The director of City Girl, F. W. Murnau, is considered one of the greats of the silent era, and was a master of black and white lighting. Although not considered one of his best, it was still a wonderful film with a pretty compelling story. Murnau's 1927 Sunrise is one of my favorites. In fact, Sunrise is listed in the American Film Institute's "100 Greatest Movies of All Times", and in 1929 won the only Academy Award ever given for Best Unique & Artistic Picture.

A "Quiet" Evening :-)

During the last several months, Mom has been staying with me off and on while she did physical therapy. Our evenings have been full and we've enjoyed doing puzzles, watching Murder, She Wrote (one of mom's favorites), reading, word searches, doing family history, discussing the scriptures, etc. She even helped me stuff bears at Christmas time. :-)

The other night, however, was time to reintroduce Mom to her childhood years. :-) Together we watched Rudolph Valentino in Son of the Sheik (1926), which was actually his last film. It has been said Valentino could "make love to you with his eyes", making him a heartthrob of the 20's and of silent film. Although born in 1922, Mom only remembers seeing one silent film, King of Kings about the life of Jesus Christ, in the theater as a child. At the time of Sheik she was only 4 yrs. old, and the first "talkie" was released only a year later in 1927. Although pretty young when the silent film era ended, she does remember hearing others talk about Keaton, Chaplin, Garbo and even Valentino.

I can't say I converted her to my new hobby, but we laughed and talked together as we watched. And according to Mom, one of the best parts: she didn't need her hearing aids! :-)

Humble Pie

The other evening I was watching two of my grand-daughters for a few hours, Lillian age 2 and Abigail age 4. They'd had a great time reading books and playing Barbies but had moved to racing round and round the kitchen island.

Grandma/Me: "I need you to stop being wild and running around."

Abigail (totally confused): "But why can't we be wild?"

The question was asked with such innocence that my sister, Linda, buried her face in her scarf to keep from laughing out loud. Perhaps because I really didn't have much of an answer. :-)

The suggestion they could watch a movie was met with great enthusiasm and Abigail raced off to make her choice, coming back with Disney's Fantasia.

With both girls quietly sitting together on the couch, Linda and I were chatting at the kitchen table. I mentioned the movie they were watching and an upcoming part I remembered.

Me: "It's the part with those creatures that are part horse, part human . . . I don't remember what they are called."

Linda: "Hmmmm. I'm not sure what they are either."

Suddenly a little head (Abigail) popped up over the back of the couch, and with a lilt in her voice she declared with a bright smile: "They're centaurs!!!"

She then returned to her movie, innocently oblivious to the total astonishment on our faces. :-)

Bears, Bears and more Bears! :-)

For several years I've wanted to make a stuffed animal for each of my grandchildren. With the perfect pattern, lots of cuddly material and several bags of stuffing, this last Christmas was the year!

The Bears

Kimberly, Alicia, Megan & Natalie

Adelaide & Ethan

Aaron, Emma, Rebekah & Moriah

Teagen

Lillian & Abigail

How Many is Too Many!

So one of my resolutions for the new year is to clean out at least one cupboard or closet each month. For January I chose my two bathroom linen closets since Mom is staying with me for a little while and I didn't want to disappear for hours. :-) As my trash bag gradually filled with outdated make-up, creams and prescriptions, I ran across a couple of boxes of band aids. Mom thought 2 were quite a few for just two people. Then I found box 3 and 4 and she was quite surprised. Of course, box 5, 6, 7 and 8 left her chuckling in disbelief. While I was sheepishly deciding on a place to store the boxes together, I found box 9 and 10 (bought just a couple of weeks ago I think) and Mom laughed right out loud. She is certain we have band aids for the next decade. She might be right! :-)

PS - In case you are wondering, all 10 boxes are now neatly together in a basket. :-)

Last But Not Least

At the end of each Christmas season, I find myself very anxious to get the holiday decorations back into storage . . . except . . . I usually have a couple of holdouts. :-) Ken asked me last night when I was going to get around to putting the Christmas wreath away; and I finally, reluctantly boxed up the darling nativity Tammy sent us for Christmas. Made from paint chip samples (she called it her Home Depot nativity), it really made me smile. :-)

Lots of love to you all!