Christmas 2010

We had too good of a Christmas not to share it in some way. It seemed that everyone made some sort of sacrifice to make this event happen and I believe all of us appreciated the opportunity of getting together. People talk about the not so pleasant family gatherings but that is not what we are about. We shouldn't think about "forever families" unless we start that process here on earth and I think we have a pretty good jump on the process! We had a great time and I want to share it mostly in photos but I will add some commentary.

It was a bit foggy buy beauty comes out of trying to find our way. The trees taught us that lesson one morning.

While Heidi spent a few days with the Stephensons, DJ and children spent three days on the mountain with base camp in Hyde Park. It is always a delight to have them around and the ever present discussions with DJ are always appreciated. The sunglasses reminds me of a Joshua comment to his sunglass wearing female ski instructor. It was something like "it looks like you have blue eyes behind those glasses". What a jump that kid has on the guys around him!

Louise has been away from her class since mid-November because of her surgery but that doesn't mean that they have forgotten about her. She was presented with this very nice card by one of her students. Each hand print had a child's name by it.

We all shared in the nicest gift of the year with Steven coming for a most welcome two day visit prior to his deployment. We got him into the living room without Brynn seeing him then took her in for her "big surprise" from Salt Lake. It was a sweet, tender moment that we all shared. Thanks to Steven and Lindsay.

What would Christmas be without treats and fun projects? I made the gingerbread dough and rolled it out for the kids to decorate. Louise supplied the fun stuff (decorations) to liven up the cookies and (next photo) the houses. Some were nice little works of art and others were clusters of candy to be consumed -- it was fun either way they were used.

We so appreciated Tre's direction for the Christmas Eve reminder of the gift of the Savior. He commented that no director has ever worked with any cast with a shorter attention span! Tre knew his Luke 2 very well so the event was reenacted in spite of a few cast substitutions and smiles along the way.

 I also enjoyed the carols that we sung to Lisa's capable assistance on the piano.

I considered each person's presence a gift. My parents are doing remarkably well and their attending the evening was appreciated. Dad brought his traditional Philadelphia cream cheese chip dip to make it an official family event.

We laugh as a family about lining up on Christmas morning to go to our presents. Well it is now going into the next generation. Notice the "Joy" sign on the wall. It is most fitting as I look at the faces of the children.

As I reviewed my many photos of Christmas morning (what a crazy, noisy sixty minutes from 7:00 to 8:00!), I captured the joy of the moment in Janae and her daughter's faces. I also liked the reminder from my Norwegian message just above Megan's head of "God Jul" -- Merry Christmas.

Again -- thanks to all of the family. We missed having the Fords us but thanks to Skype, we were able to visit with them. It was nice to relax and wander in our PJs and Levis.

To our grandchildren, Louise and I sent our love and appreciation. The older ones do such a nice job of helping with the little ones. Thank you for your good examples to your friends, for doing so well in school, and for giving all of us hope in the future as we see that you are grounded in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010

Thanksgiving 2010

Yesterday, Thanksgiving 2010, dawned very cold (-13F) but that did not freeze my thoughts on how very thankful I am for a multitude of blessings. I looked back over some of the photos I have taken this Fall and some express my feelings of thanksgiving.

How more traditional can one get than to be thankful for the work of our hands -- whether it be in the garden, from our orchards, from the office and factory, or from the work in our homes. We had a marvelous apple harvest this year of twenty three bushels of our five varieties. I dried them, had cider made, processed them for pie apples and apple sauce, and gave many away. Our squash also produced a good harvest. I particularly like winter varieties and we now have 125 pounds stored in our basement.

I am thankful for the beauty of our world. The trees in our front yard put on a nice display especially in the morning sun. Once they fell, some were put on our garden and the rest I bagged and gave to a friend that raises goats that help him backpack in the mountains. He said the leaves are a treat especially when then start to decay -- hmm, does that mean ferment?

I am thankful for families. We took a hike with the Stephensons around the temple granite quarry at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. The granite used in the Salt Lake Temple is a wonderful reminder of the solid foundation that families give to our society. May all of us remember that families are certainly forever. We are so thankful for each of our children and their special spouses and families.

I am thankful for grandchildren. They can learn from me and I have certainly learned from each of them. They are precious and each is a gem that blesses our lives.

I am thankful for our freedoms in our wonderful United States of America. It had an inspired beginning and I trust that the freedoms we so value we be supported by the citizens of our country. Louise is representing the past veterans (wearing Gilbert's navy uniform just prior to going to school to celebrate Veteran's Day) and Steven represents those currently making sure each of us can enjoy our freedom today and in the future.

I went with Erik and Claire to the Hill AFB museum to enjoy the wonderful display of aircraft. The displays of bombers, fighters, and yes, Erik's favorite SR-71 spy plane reminded me of the investment and effort we must make to preserve our freedom.

 I am thankful for our home. It helped us to raise our sweet family and gave them a place to come home to at the end of the day. It continues to protect us from the physical elements (note the drifts on the south eves as a result of the Blizzard of 2010 the night before). I feel it also helped to protect our children from the harmful elements of our society.

I am thankful for my wonderful wife Louise and our eternal relationship. I am determined to call her my "sweetheart" forever. I am thankful for our health -- even when it requires some adjustment as in her hysterectomy just days prior to this photo (reason I only got a photo of her hands as she laid in her "control center" of drinks, food, TV controls, and telephone).

Music from the heart

Louise and I had the privilege last night of attending the Craig Jessop directed American Festival Chorus and Orchestra that featured the choral music of Mack Wilberg (current director of the Tabernacle Choir). It was a delightful experience that featured LDS hymns, Wilberg original compositions, music from past Tabernacle Choir performances, three Christmas carols (they fit in beautifully), the song Homeward Bound, and some American folk hymns ending with Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing. Brother Wilberg directed the last four songs. It was a delightful experience to listen to and feel the music that was sung and played by so many talented people. Three from our ward participated -- two women singers and Lynn Thomas, whom I home teach, played the organ.

I have always found it intriguing how when certain notes are played or sung, a chord of familiarity deep within my chest is touched and an upwelling occurs within me that often leaves tears coursing down my cheeks. I am not sure what triggers that feeling or what that relationship is between certain cords of music and my (or our) spirit, but the feeling is certain and very real.

During the performance of The First Noel, I felt that familiar swelling in my chest when I heard these words:

They (the shepherds) looked up and saw a star

Shining in the East beyond them far

And to the earth it gave great light

And so it continued both day and night

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

Born is the King of Israel

My view of the scene of the birth quickly moved to Christ as an adult teaching the people and performing miracles then it moved to Gethsemane, then Golgotha, and then the Saviour arising that glorious Easter morning.

The Light is still shining on the earth -- both day and night. He is there for you and for me as we take our steps and have our experiences in this mortal world. He will lift us, He will guide us as we open our eyes and our hearts to the King of Israel.

"I'm allergic to bad men"

Kids say the funniest things. We were at Julie's the other day with the kids. Julie mentioned that her granddaughter was allergic to nuts. Megan looked at her and said "I'm allergic to bad men." Good for her! Keep it up little girl and you will save yourself a lot of trouble. I laugh inside every time I think about her comment.

Our neighbor has two free range chickens wandering from their yard on the corner to our lot. We welcome them because we have had a terrible year for grasshoppers and the chickens are efficient hunters. My only problem with them is they do their dust bath in our landscape dirt and it gets all over the sidewalk. Oh well, a small price to pay for reducing the insect population. There is a white and a black bird. The white one is Amy. She will come up to you and stand there while you scratch her between the wings. The kids certainly enjoyed their company. Note the thank you from Amy on Megan's dress (it cleaned out with washing).

Erik thought it was great fun to catch grasshoppers and throw them by Amy. She attacked the hoppers with a vengeance.

As I mentioned, the chickens wander around and we have found that their egg laying habits are a bit on the nomadic side. Erik found these two in our compost pile and yes, they became target practice. Erik was the great hunter in our garden by keeping the grasshopper population under control with Soren's BB gun (thanks Soren).

It was great fun having the children at our home for three days. I know the head of maintenance at the Casco ice cream factory by Richmond so we went there on a tour. We watched the Cascos being made as well as the Fat Boys (I eat less of those because of that name). We did enjoy a Christmas variety Casco (peppermint candy in the chocolate covering) as they came off of the production line. The ice cream forming process is automated but the Cascos are hand dipped eight at a time and then are packaged.

Who knows -- maybe the factory tour hats are being converted for bee catching. The cage in Erik's hand contained the Monarch caterpillar that we found out in Benson when we were on our way home from the ice cream factory.

I stopped on my way home from swimming early Tuesday morning to gather some wheat stalks that had been missed during harvest. At breakfast, I asked the kids what was in their bread. They said flour and I said where did that come from? Wheat was their answer. This old farm boy wants to make sure his city slicker grandchildren know a few things about farming. They rubbed the heads of wheat between their hands to harvest it. We later planted a few seeds in cups and then ground the remaining seeds in our mill. We took it home to show their folks.

We made puzzles, played in the back yard, visited my folks, went fishing, rode bikes, got the mail, picked our Gala apples, and just generally had fun.

Megan enjoys playing by herself. I took this video in one of those moments.

No stay at Grandma's is complete without going to her school room. Erik and Claire were very good helpers all one afternoon. Claire even wrote about the broccoli bunny -- a story that Louise tells every time that we have broccoli with their family.

Alaska 2010

I have wanted to go to Alaska for a long time and when Steven was assigned there, I knew it was THE TIME. The arrangements were made, the day arrived, and we were off to Vancouver where Louise and I would be on the cruise for seven days, with Steven and Lindsay and girls for five days, then Steven and I would fish for the final week.

We were delighted with the Island Princess. It had a wow factor from the glass elevators in the atrium to the art work at each set of stairs. The 900+ foot long liner held 1975 passengers and 900 crew members. We got our walking in with 2.8 laps on the prominade deck = one mile. We toured the galley and learned that we had 130 cooks at our disposal preparing each day 1200 lb poultry, 250 gal soup, 4200 pastries, 2000 lbs fresh fruit and all kinds of other delicious food. We enjoyed the nightly entertainment, the opportunity to meet new people, and the outstanding scenery.

We enjoyed being together for seven days. Things were at a leasurely pace but I found it took me about three days to internally slow down -- get rid of the schedules and just relax was the theme for me. The Alaska cruise is not one to get a tan by the pool. I swam in the inside pool but the weather was nice but cool. When we were near the glaciers, it required a good coat and hat but the beauty made up for the inconvience of a coat.

Our land fall locations were Ketichakan, Juneau, and Skagway. We saw some spawning salmon in Ketichakan and wandered around town. There were five cruise ships in town that day so there was potential for plenty of people (like 10,000!). In Juneau we took a local tour bus to the Mendenhall Glacier. The deep blue color of the interior ice is a result of the oxygen being pressed out of the ice and it then reflecting the blue. It is beautiful. We also walked to the state capitol building.

Skagway has a colorful history due to the 1898 gold rush. The outlaw Soapy Smith and his gang ran the town for a while until the hero Frank Reid shot Soapy -- unfortunately Frank also died as a result of the shoot out. It is now more peaceful but the history of the gold miners lives on. The Mounties would not let a miner into Canada unless he had 1000 pounds of supplies with him and there was only one way to get the supplies up to the border (20 miles? away up the mountain) and that was on his back 60 pounds at a time. The trail (photo below) was packed with those seeking their fortune (note the end of the train at the left of the photo). If someone got out of line, it might take 2-3 hours before he was let back due to the mass of humanity pressing to the gold fields. How inhumane! A narrow gauge railroad took us to the Canadian border. It was a fun and senic ride.

The glaciers in Glacier Bay and Prince William Sound were astounding! We were able to see some calving of the glacier (ice breaking off into the water), seals on ice flows, puffins, sea otters, and hump back whales. The glacier photo immediately below is one mile wide and 250 feet tall. The glaciers install an awe of the beauty that is all around us each day. It trully was a special opportunity. We were very fortunate with the weather. All of our landfall locations were met with good weather even though Ketichakan only has 25 non-rainy days a year.

As we sailed into Prince William Sound and looked toward the mountains, the clouds parted and stayed that way for the two hours we were there. As we left, the clouds gathered over the mountains. Almost like a Disney experience ......

It was such a delight to be with Steve and Lindsay and their sweet girls. The main reason we travel is to be with our family and it was well worth it. We took hikes around the neighborhood (keeping an eye out for bear and moose), played dolls with the big sister, and helped the little sister learn to crawl forward (she got it together about ten days after we left). Lindsay and Steve made our trip a very enjoyable visit.

We enjoyed seeing Elmendorf AFB. It was while we were there that we learned about Steve's deployment. Our hand of love goes out to sweet Lindsay and we will support her in any way that is needed while he is gone.

Louise left after about five days to get back to get ready for school. She missed a visit by Mortimer (see below). He was very entertaining and left us laughing in tears.

The Alaskians watch the Fireweed flower very carefully. The blooms work their way up the plant until their reach the top. They know that not long after it tops out the terminal dust (snow) is on its way.

I wanted to walk on a glacier so Steve, Louise, Brynn, and I headed off for the Matanuska Glacier about two hours NE of their home. We were down the road about fifteen minutes when Steve said -- look! IT was Mt. McKinley shimmering in the distance. Google Earth indicates it was 125 miles from our location. The weather was kind to us again.

Matanuska Glacier was a fun experience. We had to hike 0.5 mile --at least -- to get on the glacier. Brynn was a trooper and walked the whole way without a complaint. We had fun walking on, tasting (Louise and Steve), and photographing (about a zillion photos) the glacier. I really liked the reflecting light off the backside of the spires onto the glacier.

Fishing week finally arrived. Monday found us on the Kenai and Quartz Creek having the time of our life. Steve got a Dolly Varden trout on his second cast and it kept going that way for the rest of the day. We figure we caught >60 trout as we worked our way through the spawning red salmon on their way up the river. It was a day that we will long remember. Tuesday was our halibut day where we caught our limit of four but we had to fight waves (no seasickness) and a 27 foot tide (2nd highest in the world). The halibut, by the way, sure taste good. Wednesday and Thursday were silver salmon days up beyond Willow (NW of their home) in the Montana River. It was a great adventure.

We had a great time on our trip. The experiences were fun, the scenery absolutely beautiful, and the family interactions memorable. We are so thankful for our lovely family. They are what life is all about.

Birds of a feather

A recent visit to a "city" farm was to give the kids a break away from the regular cycle of things. I feel it accomplished that and more. The find of the day was certainly the poor water snake that happened to be out when an inquisitive boy came by. Does he look like he is enjoying the moment -- Erik, not the snake!
It (the snake) was so close but did she really want to touch it? I'm not sure but Claire finally got up enough courage to reach out and touch someone, er, thing.

We were constantly in the company of birds (more on that later) but we also got to see some sheep, pigs, and certainly horses. The two older ones headed off to play in the tree house but Miss Cowgirl had to see the horses with grandpa. As you can see, Mr. Ed (a former TV show about a talking horse for you less cultured readers) had some things to visit with his little pal about down here on the farm.

We had a fun time and are thankful for those that have established "city farms" to make it easy to see the animals.

It wasn't until I was reviewing the photos of the outing that I noticed the beauty and diversity of the birds on the farm. They were just the usual geese, ducks, chickens that you see on a farm but they weren't just usual. I invite you to take a minute to pause at each of the following photos and look at the beautiful animals that God has created. Their form is varied, the colors run from somewhat plain to vivid. However, even on the "plain" ones, look at the colors around the eyes, etc. The pallet of variety is a beautiful sight to behold. Now, as you go out today, look out into the world around you. Enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells and thank Him for the experience.