Easter and Beyond

Anticipation can be so delicious.  I have been looking so forward to having family here for Easter.  And it was wonderful.  Every bedroom was full of bodies.  Family bodies.  First came Audrey and Isaiah, then the BYUI gang of 4, then Cliff and Rayne.  I had a dream, as usual, for how our Easter celebration would go.  And, as usual, it didn't go as planned.  But it was lovely.  I found some Easter lyrics for the popular song, Hallelujah.  I printed copies up for everyone and we sang it before we ate our Easter dinner.  Mixed reviews on that one.  Our family sound was not exactly melodic.  We managed to share a gratitude for the Savior and His resurrection and that will have to suffice.

The week was so full of busy-ness that there wasn't much time for blogging.  So I didn't.  As you may imagine, I spent a lot of time preparing meals.  But this time everyone helped.  I loved the bonding over food!  Chase's wife Morgan studied much of the time for her nursing certification.  But we had fun around her.  I love how easily everyone just mixed as we did nothing together and sometimes we found an activity to do together.  It was Morgan's birthday, so Layne bought some air balloon tickets and she, along with others in the family, went ballooning.  That seems to be our special activity as this is the third or forth time we've done this.  Layne, Audrey and I had a great time chasing the balloon in our car and finally finding it, at landing, in a field full of new home construction.

The ballooning gang:  Trena (friend of Morgan's), Morgan, Chase, Isaiah and Allegra.

                                                   Chase having fun mowing the lawn.

                                    Morgan's birthday (Rayne shaped the candles into "21").

While everyone was here we gave a presentation on Porn to the Bishops in the stake, warning them of its prevalence and giving them ideas for helping their members avoid it.  I don't feel like it was wonderful but I do think we made our points clearly.  So that will have to do.


                                         The Adams-Hart gang relaxing in the living room.

                                     The college gang leaving.  Allegra's smile of goodbye.

At one of our Mongolian presentations, Layne sang a crazy song called, "I Am My Own Grandpa."

One of the projects Layne and Isaiah worked on was putting new lights in the living room.  Isaiah is demonstrating the wonder of it all.

By Monday all our company was gone, except Isaiah, who chose to stay with us for a couple of weeks.  Sometimes I worry that it will be boring here with us older guys.  But Isaiah seems to be a pretty easy-going guy.  He is nice to have around because of that.  He doesn't expect to be entertained every minute and seems to be happy and willing to work on the various projects that Layne has on his to do list.  He is quite a capable boy.  His latest passion is driving.  Since he will turn 16 in another week or so, he wants to drive everywhere we go.  So he does.  He's pretty good too.

This next little while will be full of traveling for us.  This coming week we plan to celebrate Isaiah's birthday, and drive to Washington to spend a couple of days with Chris and Jes.  Of course Isaiah will drive.  Next week we will fly to California with him and stay there for a week or so.  I'm excited to be spending so much time with family after a winter without them.

Palm Sunday

Lately we have given two presentations on Mongolia.  I started thinking about how long it has been since we were there.  We have been home for 12 years!  Sometimes it feels a bit alarming that so much time has passed so quickly.  By the time the next 12 years pass I'll be an 80 something.  Amazing!  Sometimes I wish I could make it all stop for awhile.

With Audrey and family here for the week, my mind is racing to think up Easter activities.  It's fun to think about it once again.  I've missed holidays with family.  This whole week will be filled with family stuff.  It should prove to be a wild and busy time.  Grandson Chase and wife Morgan, with a friend, are coming today.  Cliff and Rayne arrive on Thursday.  We'll have a full house!

Isaiah and Allegra fooling around.  The house is definitely not in order these days.  But I don't care!

We are going to speak with the bishops of our stake this coming Thursday about pornography.  Once again we are redoing our presentation.  I hope we can get it right and help them to see the extent of the problem and some inspiration for solutions.  I felt vindicated by General Conference last weekend as every point we try to make was presented there.  It feels like we are on the right track with our feelings of urgency to awaken to the serious dangers of pornography.  I know, this comes up in just about every blog, but it is on my mind almost daily.  It isn't a happy thing to think about and a big part of me will be happy to be removed from this assignment.

On a happier note, it is Easter time.  I seems to me that this is as important as Christmas, maybe even more so.  But we seem to make less of it.  This week I'm hoping to help our family here remember each day as Christ experienced it, beginning with Palm Sunday, today.  I'm so glad to know about Christ and all that He accomplished, for me and for you.

                                                      Spring from our front porch.

Worms

Layne and I have spent the weekend comfortably at home, in grubbies, watching General Conference.  I love Conference.  Several of my recent concerns were addressed:  pornography (of course) and personal change ("That's Just the Way I Am"--which was the topic I spoke on at our Women's Stake Conference).  I loved the information shared on those two topics and so many others.  As usual, many of the speakers used stories to illustrate principles.  So here is one from our own driveway.  Since the arrival of the spring rains, many of the worms that inhabit our lawn escaped the wet by wiggling their way onto our driveway, and sidewalks, where they dry out and die.  Once dry they cannot easily be swept away, by the way.  So dead worms decorate the concrete for as far as the eye can see.

                                             Worms, so close to safety, yet so far away.

This morning, after an overnight rain, the worms, dead and alive, were nice and juicy and easy to sweep.  So I did, all the while telling them how foolish they were to be there.  So here's my illustration:  often, when confronted with a challenge or some other type of trouble, we seek help in the wrong places and wind up worse off than we were before.  Sometimes lots worse off, like the worms.  They cannot know that their driveway destiny is death because they don't have the sense or perspective to think and look ahead.  But we do.  Sometimes that is what we need to do to make better choices; think:  what will be the eventual outcome of the decisions I am making right now.  So there you go.  I suppose, if we think about it, there are examples of good and bad choices all around us.  Even in nature.

Speaking of that, it has snowed since I returned home last week.  But spring is still making a showing.  I know I mention nature a lot since being here but it is so very loud with its announcements.  Spring brings an explosion of color and plants appearing where no sign of them existed during all of the winter.  It is magical.

                                                               Spring is showing.

    Bulbs Layne planted last fall are making themselves known.  Pretty magical stuff.

Audrey and Isaiah are coming for a visit this Thursday.  The rest of the family will follow soon after.  I'm excited to have family in my personal space again.  I miss it.
 

Home

Two weeks seemed like a long time to be in Draper, Utah and away from home.  But it passed quickly.  I suppose that is because I enjoyed it.  I even got in a bit of shopping and found some great bargains.  Getting something new is fun in and of itself, but if there is a bargain to be had in acquiring it, a special pleasure emerges.  That special pleasure accompanied me as I found the wallet purse I've been looking for, on sale.  So I bought a few of them.  For the future you know.  And that led me to another place where I found some very expensive shoes for a mere $17.  How can I pass that up?  There were other purchases too and I loved every one of them.  I'm so grateful for the blessing of being able to buy things that are not necessary but desirable.

                                             Maryanne and me, at her house in Draper.

My time with Bob and Maryanne was sweet.  We even fit in a connection with their children, as one of the grandchildren, Tyler, was ordained a Priest by his father, my nephew, Brent.  It is such a blessing to see our extended family doing well and keeping the faith.  I often feel grateful that those we are closest to are such noble souls.

                                  Our red car in the Berrett driveway, covered in snow!

On Monday morning, with snow covering the car, Noni (my traveling friend) and I started for home.  It was  lovely, rainless day, inserted between rainy and snowy ones.  The drive was perfect.  One tank of gas and 6 hours found us turning into our familiar neighborhood.  I was so happy to be home and to see Layne again.  While I was gone he has some issues with dizziness and light-headedness.  He's decided that he probably has a tendency toward diabetes.  So he read up on it and has changed his eating habits to see if it made a difference.  So he is snacking now 5 times a day and told me that he only wants to eat whole grains, more fruits and vegies and less desserts.  Wow. For my sugar-loving man these are big changes!  He even made a doctor's appointment to see if his conclusions are correct.  You may think this is not a big deal, but Layne really avoids seeing doctors.  So I was extra happy to hear that he took this most amazing step.  I'm anxious to know the cause of these new symptoms.

It is a rainy day; a good time to sit in front of the fire and cozy up.  Through the drizzle I can see the new fruit trees Layne has planted in the back yard.  The grass is almost all green now.  In spite of the dampness, spring is definitely on its way.


                                               A happy welcome home from Layne.