December fun

December started out very busy for us here.
1. Michelle and Clyde celebrated my birthday with Malawais Chicken Pesto Pasta. David Paxman, Jennifer Hoopes, and Letty came too. Michelle made 'the best brownies ever' and we used the triplets' birthday candles. I'm too old for the real number! Those are mini marshmallows under a yummy frosting.
2. Our ward did the first time ever "night in Bethlehem" and it was great. Very low lighting, cool booths with real mid eastern foods, everyone dressed up, and a very sincere Nativity narrated by the youth. We even had an angel appear.
Michelle and Cisco and I wrapped up in large tablecloths and we fit right in with the long bathrobes etc.
3. Erin helped get the house decorated just in time for my book group.That little linen embroidered cloth is from my Mom's cupboard. I love finding uses for items from my parents lives. I love Amaryllis in Dec. Real or not real?
4. I made one last trip to Aurora Colorado to finish the clean out of my family home. We found a few more interesting items, like this piece of chocolate from Russia. My father must have brought it home to Mom.
We took a photo of the siblings in the empty house. We worked hard! It's a different feeling to see it empty.On my way back to Provo, I witnessed the most gorgeous HUGE orange moon. It was about 5 pm, the moon was just rising in the east, and because Denver only has plains on the east the moon appears to be really large when it is close to the horizon. It was beautiful. My photos don't do it justice.5. The very next evening we held our annual cookie party with the cousins and our friend Kat and Ken Ojuka. Always a good time and this year Julius was a big help!6. No photos of: the party at my office, the play we attended, "The Miracle of Jonathan Toomey" (and saw Emily's aunt!), the most wonderful Musical Celebration of Christmas with the BYU choirs, the Tabernacle Choir concert with Jane Seymore and Nathan Gunn, and more.

7. I finally got out to do some shopping today and found this when I returned to my car in the Dillard's parking lot!
There must have been a whole flock of birds or ducks who decided to dump as they passed over my car. Michelle thought it was the funniest thing ever. The best part is that Clyde made sure we got it washed before Sunday!

Whew! Only a few more days until we see Nicole and Casey and cook, eat, and celebrate some more.

so sweet

I loved this!
I hope it works for you, I can't seem to make it show up as a video.
The Christmas Story

Giving Thanks in Maryland

We had a great time in Maryland visiting KC ,Emily, Alex, Bennett, and Ruby over Thanksgiving. The triplets have changed so much just since we saw them in August! They sing songs, play Ring around the Rosie (Ruby runs as she goes around the circle), run and walk fast, and learn new things so quickly.
They love being tossed "away" and tickled, and grabbed by the fish monster (a fish shaped oven mitt). When Clyde got worn out after tossing them on the couch, he invited them to a 'jumping place' on the couch with the cushions removed. This became a favorite!
Jumping on the couch


The weather was gorgeous, the food was great, and the company was delightful.
We had fun outdoors.

We loved getting up early with the babies and bedtime at 9:30 felt great too! They love a certain CD of classical music and ask for it as soon as they get in the car - "Muthsik? Bum, bum, bum?" and then they sing along to the rhythm. So fun. I cannot get enough of this one and I'm so glad I captured it as we were driving.
The Sing Along song




We miss them already!

Taking it apart

I'm physically and emotionally exhausted. As evidenced by my tears, two (2!) cold sores and raw heart. Just completed the 2nd round ( two 9 hour days) of clean out of my parents’ home. Some things we ran across were so tender and full of love. Letters from mom and dad to each other in the 40’s. Love notes from flowers sent when Dad was away. Letters from a father to a daughter or from a grandmother to a 10 year old girl. They saved everything. Kept every talk, handouts from meetings, tons of stuff they had learned or were interested in over 90+ years. Such darling and handsome people in their early years. It was a little bit freeing to toss so much stuff that had accumulated, yet also felt a bit betraying to toss stuff that embodied the person – lessons, talks, book reviews, church notes, recipes, high school and college notes, teaching class notes. We came across so many items that triggered a memory of earlier family times, or an amazement of something we did not even know (like Dad had been invited to do something for the United Nations! Mom was the freshman secretary at BYU) That he bought his home for $12000 and he made a $7600 down payment!
The home is one deep layer cleaned out – nothing in the kitchen cabinets, all files and drawers and closets empty, furniture spoken for, treasures divided up and packed for transport. Here are the items Dad used to teach himself Russian in the 50's - 60's!

I learned that it is not just about the ‘stuff’ and who gets it. It is an opportunity to nurture and preserve relationships.
I just hope my heart can heal soon from the wide open rawness and tender feelings. Thanks for the memories, Jim and Jennie Carlson.

The cleanout has begun

and here is what I have learned about my parents:
My dad had a comb in every coat pocket and in his tennis bag. He had a lot of coats. Apparently he always had nice hair.
He must have purchased many new handkerchiefs every year - we found SO many in his drawers.
Growing up in the Depression causes you to keep everything that might come in use someday, even if you replaced it with newer and better stuff. Especially if you had a cranny to store it.
Holding on to something simple like a GI issue Gillette razor and boxed blades since 1943 makes it turn into something really old and amazing to look at.
He wrote Mom some very sweet love notes. And she kept them.

My mom wrote out every talk and lesson she gave, word for word. And they were full of good thoughts and lessons.
My mom read and reviewed many books over 50 years for her book club, as evidence by pages and pages of review lecture notes. A bit different than how my book group does things.

My mom was continually learning. There were so many articles clipped out of magazines, good thoughts, notes from lessons, and recipes in every possible form in every possible spot. She loved to cook and think about trying new things. She made a lot (a LOT) of mints and chocolates for many many people - keeping logs of who and how many for each year since the 1970's.

seeing all these old items takes me back to a time long ago when I was a little girl and looking at cool items in our house.

these figurines were so much a part of our growing up memories. Even the many times they were broken!

small world

The world is a very large place, with a lot of people in it. But we are all connected on various levels.
This morning i hopped a plane at the Provo airport bound for Denver.
A nice young girl sat next to me, but I was super tired and I slept a good part of the short flight. We started to talk as we were beginning the descent into Denver.
We talked about our reasons for flying - me to clean out my Dad's house, her to go to a wedding in Houston. I asked if she was a bridesmaid and found out she was the photographer, normally based in Provo. I mentioned that we had just had a wedding and Lindsey Orton had shot the photos.
This girl, Nicole Carmen, had grown up in the same ward as Lindsey and did not even know she was a photographer!
She mentioned she went to Timpview and I said so did my children.
I told her we lived in Indian hills. She asked if I knew the Shumways!
Megan was one of her best friends! I told her Shumways lived through our back yard!
She wondered if she knew any of my children, so we talked about names and ages. None were quite her age, but some sounded familiar.
We found out that her sister Cami Carmen was in the circle of Michelle's friends in high school.

Then she said Camille sounded really familiar and asked me if Camille has a friend, Claudia Slagowski. I said yes!
This girl, Nicole Carmen, was best friends with the little sister of Claudia, named Alicia.
Nicole Carmen, the photographer sitting next to me on the plane, remembers doing things with Camille and Claudia and EVEN coming to our house! She and Alicia were the little tag along sisters and thought Camille and Claudia were super cool.
She even remembered the blue bedroom that Camille had then, and said she loved our house.
She says she has not hung out or seen her first grade buddy for 18 years, but she remembers vividly coming with her to our house!

Small world indeed.

Our true characters

enough said.
We had some fun times.

Fear not

Lately I've been listening to April General Conference on CD as I drive to work and around town. The talks are just about the right length for an errand. But the gem I did not expect was the songs from the conference meetings. So far they have been such wonderful inspiring arrangements that I find myself hitting replay on the songs over and over! Truly uplifting. The words and arrangement to "How Firm a Foundation" have been especially poignant to me today because of some trials in my life.
I found this quote about the verses:
A powerful feature of the text is that the last five verses are written as if they are being spoken by Jesus himself to His faithful followers; a poetic summary of the reassurance one finds throughout scripture. The final declaration reassures repeatedly that Jesus will “never, no never, no never forsake” us.

the entire set of verses:

1. How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say than to you he hath said,
Who unto the Savior, who unto the Savior,
Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?

2. In ev’ry condition—in sickness, in health,
In poverty’s vale or abounding in wealth,
At home or abroad, on the land or the sea—
As thy days may demand, as thy days may demand,
As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be.

3. Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

4. When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o’erflow,
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee, and sanctify to thee,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

5. When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, thy dross to consume,
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

6. E’en down to old age, all my people shall prove
My sov’reign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And then, when gray hair shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs shall they still, like lambs shall they still,
Like lambs shall they still in my bosom be borne.

7. The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, I’ll never, no never,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!

And the new ending of the song goes like this:
Men's voices - "Fear not, I am with thee...
Pause,
Women's voices very slow - "Fear not, I am with thee"

stunning.
This ending certainly caught my heart listening and thinking and being strengthened by the message.
I'll be buying CDs of conference again, to be sure I can hear the wonderful songs!

23 Days

A lot has happened in the last 23 days.
My father E. James Carlson passed away.
A funeral in Aurora, Colorado.
A memorial service and burial in Logan, Ut.
Nicole and Casey moved to Ft. Collins, Colorado.
KC and Emily brought the triplets to Utah for a 10 day visit.
Camille married Tyler.

Can a heart be so broken apart and yet so full?
I'm grateful for prayer, love of family, and the hand of the Lord in my life.
It's been a glorious ride.

remembering Dad

Just came across this post again from a sister in Denver who had an experience in the temple with my father in 2009. He was so determined to do temple work. Now that he is gone this means so much to me to have this story.

How Great Shall Be Your Joy

Kristy September 11th, 2009

Bro. Carlson came in late.

There were about eight of us in attendance. I was sitting on the far side of the sealing room with a few others who had come to work in the temple on Wednesday, and the sealer was in the middle of speaking when the door opened slightly to indicate that there was someone else who wanted to come in when the time was appropriate. So we waited, the sealer concluded his remarks, and then the door opened to reveal the face of another temple worker who poked his head in and asked, “I have a gentleman here who would like to do a sealing, do you have room for him?” “Absolutely!” the sealer replied, and the door was pushed further open to allow our new patron easy access.

He didn’t appear right away, but after a brief pause I saw his stooped frame emerge from around the corner. His cane was grasped in his right hand, and it vibrated under his shaky grip. But little by little he made his way inside, inching closer to the front of the room where the sealer asked his name.

“Bro. Carlson,” he replied.

“Very good Brother Carlson, thank you for coming today. We’re happy to have you.”

It’s hard to describe what happened to me next, because I no longer felt like a patron here to do the work for other people. I felt like a privileged bystander who happened to be in the right place at the right time, as if I was walking the very streets of Bethlehem and happened to pass by the stable after the baby Jesus was born and got to peek in without anyone noticing. In Bro. Carlson left hand he was clutching a piece of paper. On it were the names of a family with two daughters. As he came face to face with the sealer he lifted his head, which appeared to be a gargantuan effort, and handed him the paper, wrinkled from a diligent effort to hold on to it. “I’d like to seal this family today,” he announced, to which the sealer promised we would do shortly. Minutes later I kneeled at the altar with Bro. Carlsen as a proxy daughter, and as I put my hand on his he lifted his head to look at me, smiled, then returned his gaze to the front of the room. By the time we finished his shoulders were shaking from over exertion and it took two gentlemen to help him up. The sealer asked if he would like to stay for the rest of the time, but he said, “Well, I’ve got some other things to do today so I suppose I should go.” And just like that, Bro. Carlson shuffled out of the room.

I wanted to share this experience because a couple of things were reinforced to me that afternoon. One, our honest efforts, however small they appear to be, are acceptable and even joyously received by our Heavenly Father for “by small and simple things are great things brought pass”. And two, “…if it so be that you should labor all your days…and bring save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father.”

Bro. Carlson, dare I predict that you are headed for immeasurable joy.

tender mercy in the Nursery, sort of

Warning, this might be a bit graphic - be warned.

Setting: Last hour of Nursery, leaving the "story room" and moving across the hall to the toy Nursery.
time: 3:45 pm
Children: 13 ( 4 visitors)
Adults: 3 nursery leaders, Clyde (who I grabbed as another helper), and Brother Tanner who just arrived very late with his shy son.

What: we had just gotten all (most?) of the children to hang on to the yellow rope, which helps us get the group from one room to the other.

Who: One new Nursery leader, picks up her 17 month old daughter

slight exclamation --'Oh no, she's leaking everywhere!"

I looked at the daughter in her mothers arms and see POOP coming out around her diaper area.

and THEN I looked down and see a HUGE messy poop drop right in the middle of the doorway!!
OH NO!

Most of the children had passed into the toy room at that moment - TENDER MERCY-
Brother Tanner following us in saw it and said, "I'll go get something to clean it up"
I tossed a handful of napkins on it and was able to close the door! - TENDER MERCY-

Time: 3:50 pm, church lets out in 10 minutes.

We are now down to myself and one other nursery helper, who came the last hour as back up. She quickly found the clorox wipes and met Brother Tanner in the hall and they cleaned it all up with water and clorox wipes.
And they found a spot in the 'story room' and more down the hall! Got it cleaned up right before the meetings ended and people spilled out into the hall- TENDER MERCY-

I was in the room alone with about 10 children while the cleaning up proceeded, outside our door!

I brought out the crackers again, read a book to anyone who would listen and gave a big sigh of relief when the last child was picked up.

No one stepped in it - miracle!
cleaned up before anyone noticed - miracle!

It could have been so much worse!!
Never in my life have I had such an experience...

Sorry for the graphic post. I warned you.

It's a treat

to visit KC and Emily and Alex and Bennett and Ruby.
The triplets are so full of energy, and so fun to hug, tickle, chase, and watch.
We loved our 4 days there.

Buckles are very interesting and yes they can buckle up!

We took them to the park, since we had 3 adults for 3 toddlers. They also loved just running in the open.

Alex

Ruby

Bennett

Ruby loves to climb on everything and she is good at getting down.

Super toddlers! These capes were worn by KC and Camille when they were about 2 - 5 years old.

Ruby loves getting dressed up and carrying the perfect purse from Nicole.

They were thrilled to be allowed to eat a sandwich at the table instead of in the booster seats.

And doesn't everyone love to eat a sandwich with your foot on the table too?

The Robinson crew. Emily is entertaining them by showing videos of themselves on her camera. They were very polite and did not grab the camera! They loved laughing at the videos.

I loved Bennett's 'Sawrrwee' at the slightest bump. Loved it when Ruby said 'Hi Bit' to Bennett and then she walked over to Alex and hugged him.
I loved it when they came to me and Clyde with their arms up, wanting to be held or tossed onto the couch.
A favorite moment was when Alex got this thoughtful look on his face when Clyde was laying on the floor. Alex then walked over to him and said, '1, 2, away?' He remembered that game of being tossed from when Clyde visited in May.
KC and Emily are full of patience, love, and perseverance. And very skilled at functioning on little sleep.
It was a great 4 days, and I'm missing them already.

Who ever thought

that a swampy area on the Potomac river could transform into such a nice beautiful new resort and place to visit?
I went to a conference at the Gaylord National resort in National Harbor, Maryland. It's just a mile or two south of the DC border, just across the river from Alexandria.
The views were wonderful.
Water show at night.
Fun sculpture on the beach.
I'd go back anytime.