Visiting, eating and enjoying Father's Day with Pa.

Maddie and her funny faces!

Maren and her Ragnar completion! Way to go Maren!!

Jeff and his new toy - taking Annie for a ride

Grandchildren and adults at play

Brock was especially happy when Andrew came to play.

Playing at Gam's on Saturday morning!

Look at the eyes on that baby! Is he gorgeous enough?
Brock checking to make sure he is in the picture and figuring out who everyone else is.


Boston and Bella. Boston stands up and throws the ball. He has perfect balance but refuses to take any steps. He won't even let you hold his hands and walk him.

Brock helping Pa fill the bird feeder. Brock was so excited when he later saw the birds at the bird feeder. He sat outside very quietly until some birds came to eat.

Sleeping grandchildren

If you look very closely you might discover Taylor's cute face
Nothing much more precious than sleeping babies!

I got to tend the two little ones on Saturday. Greg had to work and Jaden had baseball and Taylor was sleeping the morning peacefully away. I went out to Maren's at 7:30 and got Brock and Boston and brought them to my house for the day.

Oquirrh Temple

The entrance to the temple faces West. What a gorgeous view from the front doors!
Walking up to the front entrance from the side. Almost reminded me of the pictures I've seen of Solomon's Temple. Just something about the pillars and the stone work.

What a blessing it is to live in a valley dotted with temples. The Jordan River Temple was closed for cleaning and I REFUSE to go down town for many reasons:

Traffic

Parking

Can't find my car!

Forget to get tokens

Don't love live sessions

Very busy temple

So with that in mind, my option was to find another temple. One doesn't need to look too far in the Salt Lake Valley to find a temple that is fairly close. I had never been to the Oquirrh Temple so chose to go out there. It was a beautiful experience and I count my blessings that my mother joined the church and raised her children with gospel principles and beliefs. With the passing of Donald, I needed some alone time and what better place to be than in the temple to get your thoughts in line and your prayers answered. How grateful I am for my testimony that families are forever. I know that there will come a time when Mother, Annette, Donald and Buster and I will meet and embrace again. Parting is always sad but the understanding of 'forever' brings peace.

Pool is open!

Neal took these two pictures this morning.

Seriously, do you think Bella needs human contact?

Projects are coming along and getting finished

This was a project for Tucker. He wanted me to make him a camping pillow with specific instructions. One, that he wanted to have an inflatable pillow inside the pillow that he could blow up and then let the air out so he could roll the whole thing up to fit into his camping sack. I needed the help of my 911 sewing friend Sally to figure out a couple of things. Between the two of us, I think we accomplished this task masterfully. Hope Tucker is happy with it.

I you look on the lower left corner you can see the plastic air intake and outtake poking through the button hole. How clever is that?!

Above are pillow cases that Susan asked me to make for her friend for a Christmas present. A fairly easy project and glad to put those in the mail to her.

For some reason, I always seem to end up with extra fun little projects that I have such satisfaction when I've finally completed them and can pass them on to their rightful owners. I'm glad Susan and Tucker have such faith in me that I can do what they ask of me.

A special 'thank you' note from thoughtful Abby

A Busy Saturday

Abby came in with her Mother on Friday to do their Costco shopping and Abby asked if she could stay over night. I told her that I had a ton of things to do, but she was willing to tag along. We went to visit Bobby Mack who was Jeff's 3rd grade teacher and Lynda Ann's 3rd grade teacher. When we walked in the room, Bobby looked at Abby and said, "She has to be Lynda's daughter. She looks just like her!" We had a nice visit. Bobby is doing much better and hopes to be able to go home withing a couple of weeks.

Abby talked Pa into going swimming with her after we ran all our errands. They were the only ones in the pool. Perfect day for swimming.

Abby took this picture of Neal and I with Bella. Fun to actually be able to enjoy being on the patio for a change.

I'm in the red plaid jacket and Donald is sitting next to me.

My brother, Donald Dale Ross, passed away Saturday evening of June 4, 2011. Donald was 14 years my senior. I've always loved being the baby of the family but now I'm realizing that there is one down side. Older siblings usually go before younger ones. As of this date, I've lost two brother and one sister. That leaves Nita, who is 87 years old and Lila Mae who is 80 this year.

The Dash
I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning to the end.
He noted that first came the date of her birth and spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth...
And now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own; the cars .... the house... the cash.
What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard ... are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left. (You could be at "dash mid-range")
If we could just slow down enough to consider what's true and real,
And always try to understand the way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger, and show appreciation more,
And love the people in our lives like we've never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile...
Remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy's being read with your life's actions to rehash...
Would you be proud of the things they say about how you spend your dash??

Another 'feel good' moment.

I don't post this to brag. That is certainly not my intent. But maybe this will remind those who may read my journal/blog and myself as well, that 'thank you' notes or any note of kindness or recognition are so important to us all. I thought this note was especially needed for me and very timely. I want to record it so that in times of discouragement or question, I can refer to this note reminding me that through the gospel we all have the potential of touching one persons life even in the smallest way.





"Dear Sister Maxfield, I will never look at a paintbrush the same way again! That object lesson was masterfully crafted and taught. I am always touched by your profound lessons. Thank you so much for raising our sights and helping us know how better to communicate with and appreciate each other and work together as a team, both by your example and your words."

June 1st and a new posting of my stitching progress

This counted cross stitch is actually going much faster than the other one I did. It isn't quite as big nor detailed. It is nice to do something with a little less volume and colors.