Last Days?????

If you knew you didnt have long to live....

How would you react?

If you're a disillusioned soul, and naturally turn to Twinkies and junk food for solace...

Would your behavior change?

If you had little faith in a Creator or purpose in life....

What would you do next?

This is not THE BUCKET LIST movie!!

This is a 'feel good movie.'

I found it quite thought provoking...and a little insightful and a stimulator of conversation.

Besides that, I like Luke Wilson.

You may want to give it a try.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

"Christopher Robin!" he said in a loud
whisper. "I think the bees suspect
something."
"What sort of thing?"
"I dont know. But something tells me
they are suspicious!"
from: Winnie the Pooh
by: A.A.Milne

SOOOooooo.....Its looking very probable that this cavernous nest of ours is going to quickly become completely devoid of all young life.
Colleges are sending their acceptance letters.
Distant parents are calling for the return of our surrogate son.
High school is just about completed and So. Utah has never really been where the heart of our youngest chick resides.
Even Las Vegas is calling to one of our big chicks and his family!!!??
And suddenly....almost overnight....our cozy, hospitable home will be empty!! All that will be left is a pair of old love birds with a dazed look in their eye with feelings of anxiety about whats going to happen next?!!

Even Zoey will be confused!!
(The only being that may not be phased by all this upheaval....pig-bird, the singing canary, who seems oblivious to any of the going ons around here.)
Anyone else hear the impending echo ringing through our halls??!!!
WHAT I KNOW:
Proof positive, again, that nothing ever stays the same!!

Until the day when God will deign
to reveal the future to man, all
human wisdom is contained in these
two words,- "wait and hope."
from: Count of Monte Cristo
by: Alexandre Dumas

Lynley has been away for a week now. She'll be returning to us tonight sometime. We are looking forward to her arrival. We have missed her smiling, red-headed, beautiful countenance around here. She is good for a laugh, good for a helping hand, good to watch a movie with, good about going to Walmart, shes a really great friend, and an all around great gal!! We love her very much.

She's had a wonderful time visiting home!! If you dont believe me, just visit HERE, to see for yourself. Its probably hard for her to return here, leaving all those delightful loved ones behind. Especially when things seem to be in limbo for her again. I now have 2 college co-eds under our roof, waiting not so patiently for news from the admitting offices!! If things go according to plans, they'll head out soon, for yonder north country, leaving us behind.

SOOOoooo....we'll just enjoy the time we have and watch and wait and see.

WELCOME HOME LYNLEY!! We cant wait to hear all about your goings on and the yummy food your mommy made you!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR DAUGHER-IN-LAW!!

"When I left Queen's my future seemed to

stretch out before me like a straight road.

I thought I could see along it for many a

milestone. Now there is a bend in it. I

dont know what lies around the bend, but

Im going to believe that the best does. It

has a fascination of its own, that bend, Marilla."

from: Anne of Green Gables

by: Lucy Montgomery

Do any of us have a clue what we're getting ourselves into when we marry and start families?!! I'll venture a guess and say.....NO WAY DUDE!!!

Oh how we love 'our' Chelsea and her beautiful little family that she is creating with my 1st born son!!! There arent enough gold stars in a drawer, anywhere, to show my appreciation and the love I feel for this dear lady!!!

So rich in talent, patience, and goodness!!

Happy Birthday Chelsea!! Even if today it means sitting in the bleachers cheering on the soccer team!!

TODAYS PHOTO

"It's a thing I've noticed," the big
man said with laughing scorn, "that
the greater a man's -or boys- ignorance
of the world, the more certain he is that
he sits in the center of that world."
from: Crispin
by: Avi

( 'elder'todd purcell)

I Love this boy!!
I've loved him for years. Ever since he began coming to the house to hang with Joe, and flirt with Anna a bit. Ever since those high school years, when teenagers are brain dead, and clueless.

(I guess its safe to say that he's no longer a boy)

This young man is so personable.

So talented.

And is one of those rare kids who looked you in the eye when talking to you!!

He has sowed some wild oats.

He caused a few pillowcases of his parents to dampen with tears. (few teenagers haven't have they?)

He turns 24 this week!! (Happy Birthday TOdd!!!)

And the very next week will find him in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. He's been called to serve in Tokyo, Japan!! Which happens to also be his place of birth. He spent a great deal of time in Japan as he grew- so he's already fluent in Japanese!! He'll hit the ground running, and will be a marvelous missionary to be sure!!! His 'life' experiences will have taught him well as he approaches the people of Japan about the Savior of the world.

Todd is a much beloved friend, son, brother and community member. We look forward to hearing all about his adventures!!

Go in joy and peace Todd!!!

I was dumbstruck by the towering
power of its geology. The sun now
exposed its multicolored features
sculpted into the most magical
rock kingdom I had ever seen.
from: A Century of Sanctuary
quote by: Robert Redford

I went to Zions Park.
On a cold, blustery Saturday morning.
I was the designated shuttle driver.
5 guests awaited eagerly in the back- anticipating a wondrous experience in our Park!
And I was sure that they'd have it!!
Not one of them were weenies like me.
I like my desert HOT!!
I like my Park experience to be sweaty.
I was 'driven' into the bookstore, the museum and the gift shop, until I felt it had warmed up a tad.
Im spoiled that way. I can pick and choose my experience in the Park. I can return whenever I like.
It was 60 degrees or less outside, and the winds were crazy strong.
There wasnt enough sun to warm my bones.
But eventually I ventured out, and of course was not disappointed!!
Have I mentioned before how much I LOVE Zions!!??

TODAYS PHOTO

SUNDAY MUSINGS

Light....

The sunshine was enchanting: the
branches of the trees had that
gentle tremor of May that seems
to come from the birds' nests
more than from the wind. A hardy
little bird, probably in love,
was desperately singing away in
a tall tree.
from: Les Miserables
by: Victor Hugo

(click on this picture to enjoy the full effect)

(there really are ferns that grow and 'thrive' in Fern Gully)

TODAYS PHOTO

"Then would you read a Sustaining Book,
such as would help and comfort a Wedged
Bear in Great Tightness?"
from: Winnie the Pooh
by: A.A. Milne

Once in a blue moon, or even longer than that; I come across a book-
a treasure. A book to be praised!!! And this time it just happened to already be sitting on my bookshelf gathering dust, for several years now....unread!!
But last weekend I picked it up, dusted if off, found a place in the sun, and began to read. And I didnt put it down until I was through!!!
Its been a long, long, long time since I've found a book that shut me down, and curled me up all cozy on the couch in a spot of sun.
I'll not pretend that its a heady read by any stretch. But I smiled with each page turning. I fondled the book when I was through. Im still carrying it around with me, wishing there was more, and hoping against hope that the next time I rifle through its pages, that more pages will magically appear, or discover that I missed a letter or two. Im keeping it on my nightstand, wishing to gain inspiration by osmosis as I slumber.
Thank you Jean Webster, aka Alice Jane Chandler Webster, for gracing the world with such a fresh, delightful story and beloved heroine!! Im going to track down its sequel- Dear Enemy, and give it a try!!

I think I could walk
through the simmering sand
if I held your hand;
I think I could swim
the skin shivering sea
if you would accompany me.
And run in ragged, windy heights,
climb rugged rocks
and walk on air:
I think I could do anything at all
if you were there.
by:Karla Kuskin

I NEED a home improvement project!!
It seems like its been forever since we've enjoyed the bonding experience that only a substantial project can do.
(planting tomatoes doesn't count!)

I have one in mind.

I dont think it'll cost too much.
But it will be a LOT of work!!
Its also imperative that this project be done.
Its been looming in the recesses of my mind for quite a while now.

And now that the temps are finally rising and little piggies and big naked toes are going to be a dominant feature in my yard....

IT IS TIME!!!

This is how I envision it going.
(we'll ask the 'Builders" opinion later.)

First- I go to the B.L.M. (Bureau of Land Management) and seek their permission to go out in the middle of nowhere-about 45 minutes or less from here- and find the designated location where its permissible to break our backs loading slate from the desert on to a flat-bed trailer (thanks Scott and Mark!) Paying a very nominal fee for the privilege.


Next- we bring the beautiful red slabs of rock home with us, to the back yard, to the back patio.


(Here's where it may seem a bit nebulous for a layman such as myself.....but here it goes...)


I'll have made a trip to the local home improvement store and will have located the best, most powerful super sticky glue/grout that has ever be made. I KNOW THEY MAKE SOME!!
And I will also have found some cushy knee pads.

Then it'll be time for a tall, cold Pepsi.

Then I'll pick a distant corner of the patio and begin laying down hunks of rock in a beautiful, rustic pattern. (cant you see it now?)

I'll then flutter my big blues at my brilliant Builder and know that he can figure out the perfect method for finishing off the edges.

After the super-glue dries-the cracks will be filled in with a color coordinated grout that will look perfect against our blue sky and green grass and aqua-marine pool.

It'll then be time for another ice cold Pepsi.

Undoubtedly we wont get enough sandstone the first time, so we'll take another drive out by Zions way, for another load of desert strata.

And do some more!!!

THEN-



VOILA'

No more kiddies falling and cracking their heads and tail bones after exiting the pool!! No more grown ups-mostly myself- flailing around on our slick wet cement!! No threat of a broken hip!!

PLUS

I'll have a little more of the desert in my own backyard!!!

Come on Babe! Lets give it a try!!
Its my heart desire and.....

what else will we do with our empty nest this summer!!!!????

TODAYS PHOTOS

This flower, Platero, will live only
a few days, but the memory of it will
be eternal. Its life will be like a
day in your springtime, like a spring-
time in my life.
from: Platero and I
by: Juan Ramon Jimenez

I dare anyone to say that our desert, or any desert is boring!!!

Anasazi Ridge Hike

Our ancestors, the hisat'sinom, left their mark

upon the land through their rock art, settlements,

pottery shards, and sacred sites; they are buried

in the canyons and plateaus....

Their spirit voices silently echo through the

canyons, while the soft canyon breezes whisper

to remind us of the sacredness of the land.

quote by: Wilfred Numkena, Hopi

from: Heart of the Desert Wild

We dont know what the people we call Anasazi called themselves since we do not know their language(s). Although there are currently 6 languages spoken by their descendants in the remaining pueblos-Towa, Tewa, Tiwa, Keres, Hopi, and Suni-each language has its own word for these past peoples.
From about 2,000 to 800 yrs ago, the Fremont and Virgin Anaszi cultures occupied this area together, followed later by the Kayenta Anaszi and then the Southern Paiute.

We clever hiking guides try to make up wild, entertaining stories about what we think these Rock Art pictures mean.....

We really havent a clue!!

I'd love to hear any theories you may have.....

Why dont you tell me a tale!!!

Once again, Im just cognisant of how lucky I am that such striking art can be found in my own back yard as I get coral dust between my toes.

I've been here almost eleven years...and I dont remember ever seeing this little white beauty of a wildflower before!!

TODAYS PHOTO

The 6th birthday celebration in April...goes to......

Every time he parts his hair he sees how

good-looking he is. He doesnt care. He

says the only thing that counts with a

man is to be big, strong, and well educated.

from: Laddie

by: Gene Stratton-Porter

I think most would agree, Mark is the 'looker' in the family!! But handsome or not, hes another Stephenson man that is sweeter and 'groovyer' beyond most of the men walking the planet. He may be strong and big and smart, but he's even more kind, and generous, and knows whats important in life, PLUS he has a twinkle in his eyes that even Santa would be envious of!! We love, love you Mark!!


We wish you a very, very happy birthday!!!

And Tomorrow Brings Yet Another Birthday!!!

Children arent coloring books. We

dont get to fill them in with our

favorite colors.

from: The Kite Runner

by: Khaled Hosseini

Who would want to fill in Jake with anything but who he is!!!?? Has a little boy ever brought so much joy and fulfillment as dear Jake? We all love you so, Jake!! You are growing up so quickly and so splendidly!!! How blessed we are to know you and love you!!!

Have fun blowing out all those birthday candles!!!

TODAYS PHOTO

Today has brought us more joyous news!!!

Robby and Chelsea and L are going to welcome an ity bity female species into their home in a few short months!! Thats right, our 3rd grandchild is going to be a girl!! How excited are we?! VERY!!!!
Congratulations Rob and Chelsea!!

BRING ON THE PINK!!!
(image via flickr)

"Let me be something every minute of
every hour of my life. Let me be gay;
let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me
be warm. Let me be hungry...have too much
to eat. Let me be truthful; let me be a
liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin.
Only let me be something every blessed
minute. And when I sleep, let me dream
all the time so that not one little
piece of living is ever lost."
from: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
by: Betty Smith

How is it that the birthday girl was found at the sink!?

.....AND THERE WAS CAKE TOO!!!!

TODAYS PHOTO

MOM'S HAVING A BIRTHDAY!!

"You have rightly chosen," said God,

"for in my garden of Paradise this little

bird shall sing for evermore, and in my

city of gold the Happy Prince shall praise me."

from: The Happy Prince

by: Oscar Wilde

(i love this pic of my mom!!)

We have the 'happy prince,' who, bit by bit gave away all the precious parts of himself, in order to serve others....
We have the beautiful Rainbow Fish who peels off one shiny scale at a time to help others to be happy.....

We have my mom, who daily finds ways and means to give of herself, quietly, steadily, and generously, whether at home with busy hands, or at the Temple, or at the Humanitarian Center; and who know where or how else she spreads sunshine!!??? We just know that she does!!!
I dont need a prince standing in a lonely village square, sacrificing all that he is for the the benefit of others...I have my own mother , who never wants to slow down, to follow and learn by example!!
I love mom madly and am so grateful to her for all that she has taught me-and for all that she has tolerated because of me!!
We look forward to celebrating together this weekend!!
Party at my house!!!!