A new face!

Hello,

Okay Diana - here they are. I wanted to wait until this was totally done but Diana has wanted to be part of the process even being away from home. I guess Mom and Dad can't get enough....all of you, if there is one thing that all of our children can learn from their life with us is that we are always under construction both internally and externally, striving to improve our lives.

We have slowly but surely done that over the years. We are on the road and we are facing the right direction. :)In doing that we have made a ton of mistakes. We have learned it isn't over until it's over. It is because of the Savior that there is always hope. Hope does float.

This is exciting. The old siding and roof totally ripped off. What a mess that was. Nails, boards, tools everywhere. Flowers and plants crushed, grass dying from being under the wood. It poured an awful lot and there were many delays. It is coming together and here are some pictures of the work in progress. The front is not done yet because of all the delays with the window order. We are getting a new window for the front entrance way area.

Our new roof. :) Yeah.

The siding torn off and preparing for the new siding to go on.

We also put foam board on the back of the house to protect us against the cold winds.

It's a lot of work - changing things for the better, but oh so worth it when you arrive at the end result! Do you remember how we put that paint brush at the end of the pole at right angles and hung over the roof to paint - what a riot...such peace that we will never have to do that again but how creative we were.

The greatest joy has been so far to hear Dad's reaction of joy and peace. He always lived in apartments. We have a home.....it is so much more than a building.

It really looks and will look beautiful when we are done.
Any ideas for the deck color?

We have a lot of trash everywhere in the yard and the gardens are going to be redone in the Fall when everything and everyone is gone.

A lot of celebration everyone.... Whenever you come home for a visit you will never be asked to help paint the home! :) Do you remember the paint fight you had in the front yard when we did it the first time. Oh my goodness the memories. I miss all of you. May God Bless you with making your homes the sanctuary from life's storms they need to be.

Happy Birthday Mom & Andrea!

In my office I have a violin hanging...there is a story that accompanies that violin. My mom played violin and when she was older she bought this copy of a Stradivarius violin. When my mom was in her 80's she needed quadruple by-pass surgery. I was there to help her out. Some friends of mine came to help her out and around the same time her violin, disappeared. My mom is a strong lady and tried really hard not to believe the worst. She had such a generous nature and had been taken advantage of so many times, it just seemed like it had happened again.

It was a very stressful time. My friends knew they had not taken the violin, but it could not be found. We searched everywhere. My mom was so blessed because of their help that she did not pursue it but the ache in her heart was always there. A very painful time for us all. It was a real mystery to us. A couple of years went by and my mom was cleaning in her storage area and she found it...She called me on the phone and told me. I knew that truth would come out even if it had to be in the next life. Truth won out, names were cleared. (Girls, yours is just taking longer) She had put it away to protect it. She had the strength to admit it.

It hangs on my wall as a reminder that truth will prevail. Of my mom, a special lady, who let nothing stop her from learning how to do anything (including building walls) she needed to do to be successful. She stood up against evil in high places and used laws to set boundaries and protect herself. I have thanked Heavenly Father many times for the strength he gave her. She is the one who told me her mother told her to stay close to God, no matter what. It was she who led me to personal prayer. She was the example of keeping committments to God. She reached out and helped more people than I can count.

She exemplified what President Kimballs said.. "If the Lord was meek and lowly and humble then to become humble one must do what HE did in boldly denouncing evil, bravely advancing righteous works, courageously meeting every problem, become Master of himself and the situations about him and being near oblivious to personal credit." (1963 Univ speech)

The Touch of the Master's Hand

"Twas battered and scared, and the auctioneer

Thought it scarcely worth his while

To waste much time on the old violin,

But he held it up with a smile.

"What am I bidden, good folks?" he cried,

"Who'll start bidding for me?

A dollar, a dollar - now who'll make it two

Two dollars, and who'll make it three?

Three dollars once, three dollars twice,

Going for three "...but no!

From the room far back a gray-haired man

Came forward and picked up the bow;

Then wiping the dust from the old violin,

And tightening up the strings,

He played a melody, pure and sweet,

As sweet as an angel sings.

The music ceased and the auctioneer

With a voice that was quiet and low,

Said: "What am I bidden for the Old violin?"

And he held it up with the bow;

"A thousand dollars - and who'll make it two?

Two thousand and who'll make it three?

Three thousand once, three thousand twice

And going- and gone," said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried,

"We do not quite understand -

What changed its worth?" The man replied:

"The touch of the master's hand."

And many a man with life out of tune,

And battered and torn with sin,

Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd.

Much like the old violin.

A "mess of pottage" a glass of wine,

A game and he travels on

He's going once and going twice -

He's going and almost gone!

But the Master comes and the foolish crowd,

Never can quite understand,

The worth of a soul, and the change that's wrought

By the touch of the Master's hand

Myra Welch

Happy Birthday Andrea!

"To be a righteous woman is a glorious thing in any age. To be a righteous woman during the winding up scenes on this earth, before the second coming of our Savior, is an especially noble calling.

The righteous woman's strength and influence today can be tenfold what it might be in more tranquil times...

Other institutions in society may falter and even fail, but the righteous woman can help save the home which may be the last and only sanctuary some mortals know in the midst of storm and strife.

(Spencer W. Kimball)

No man is an island!

Wow a point was driven home to Rich and I when one morning last week we woke up to find this massive amount of seaweed on our shore. We were totally shocked. We have lived here over 20 years and this has never happened in this amount before. We made some inquiries and we were told that someone did some work on the other side of the lake and it stirred and broke all the seaweed up and floated into our shore. :) Whoever did it doesn't even know how he impacted us... My children who are reading this are going to say whew! I am glad we are not at home....I remember those days when the daily chore was to rake the seaweed and pull the grass out of the sand... We would maybe have one to two at the most wheelbarrows full. Clearly this is much more than that. I decided to tackle it for just one hour and the two mounds are my wonderful accomplishments. As a treat I am going blueberry picking! :)

Seeing this sunset made any seaweed picking worth it! :)