AHHHH......

Need I say more about the weeks of work!! It is a beautiful room. The beat now moves outside for yard work!!
I have to tell you Grandma's funny story before I forget. Some of you may not know that Grandma has, for several years, received, almost daily, calls from a collection agency for a Marguerite Kennedy. Being of a generation too polite to be rude, Grandma has always answered the calls and patiently explained that she isn't Marguerite Kennedy. She did tell me that she found out a few years ago, that her birth certificate does have her name misspelled as Margarite Bailey. Recently, these calls have increased to the point of being made three and four times a day and ringing for as long as five minutes, so we took some action and got her on the NoCall database, registered a complaint, and convinced her that it isn't rude to not answer calls from a scam company. Yesterday, she said her phone rang off and on all day long and for several minutes each time. She ignored it for as long as she could. Finally, she picked up the phone and yelled into it, "Why do you keep calling me? I don't know why you keep calling." Just as she was hanging up, she heard a quiet little voice say,"Because....you're my mother...." A little girl had a wrong number. So funny!!

Love to you all from the spoiled lady in her beautiful kitchen!! Mom

'How did it go so fast?' we'll say as we are looking back. And then we'll understand - we held gold dust in our hands" - Tori Amos

THE BEAT GOES ON

Today is Easter Sunday. It's nearly 6am, and I've been staring at the blank page of my blog for a while. I am usually eager to share the events--mundane as they are--of our week, so that family and friends scattered throughout the world will know that we're still alive, still hanging on, and doing our thing. This week, however, our life seems more mundane than usual. There are no real highs or real lows--just a comfortable moving forward with the projects and prospects of feathering our nest and readying it for the visitors who will grace us with their sweet presence throughout the spring and summer.

I am still sewing and decorating; Dad is hammering and painting. We've gone from this:

To this:

To this:

There is still a new counter to be installed on Wednesday and the wall/shelf decorations to be arranged. Some of you will be saddened--hmmm...ha....that the mountain man is no more. He's relegated to guarding the wood pile. Encouraged to know that dad's dog has had a long needed bath, and Molly Bear is not far behind. The refrigerator is doing some rumbling that sounds suspiciously like a death rattle, but....we're moving on--outdoors...to lawn projects and unburdening the gazebo of its winter storage of garden rocks, lawn furniture, and empty flower pots.

We have forgone the chocolate Easter bunnies, baskets, and colored eggs side of Easter this year for the sake of our health and our waistlines. Wait...there were those Cadbury eggs at our class the other night...

However the real reason for the season has not been ignored, and we have been moved and uplifted by a recent Easter message from Jeffrey R. Holland, one of the general authorities of our Church. Elder Holland's is posted many places on the internet. I, however, haven't figured out how to post the video of his talk on my blog, but you can watch/listen to the full text at: http://www.fromthedust.org/2009/04/10/mormon-messages-none-were-with-him-jeffrey-r-holland/ In this world of so much turmoil and chaos, his words were especially relevant and moving. My favorite part is this:

With all the conviction of my soul I testify that He did please His Father perfectly and that a perfect Father did not forsake His Son in that hour. Indeed, it is my personal belief that in all of Christ’s mortal ministry the Father may never have been closer to His Son than in these agonizing final moments of suffering. Nevertheless, that the supreme sacrifice of His Son might be as complete as it was voluntary and solitary, the Father briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of His Spirit, the support of His personal presence. It was required; indeed it was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind—us, all of us—would feel when we did commit such sins. For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone.
But Jesus held on. He pressed on. The goodness in Him allowed faith to triumph even in a state of complete anguish. The trust He lived by told Him in spite of His feelings that divine compassion is never absent, that God is always faithful, that He never flees nor fails us. When the uttermost farthing had then been paid, when Christ’s determination to be faithful was as obvious as it was utterly invincible, finally and mercifully, it was “finished.” Against all odds and with none to help or uphold Him, Jesus of Nazareth, the living Son of the living God, restored physical life where death had held sway and brought joyful, spiritual redemption out of sin, hellish darkness and despair. With faith in the God He knew was there, He could say in triumph, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”
Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said, “I will not leave you comfortless. [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you].”

For all of you whom I love so much, remember that I am one of those family members, friends, companions who was given as your companion for your mortal journey. I don't have much in a material way, but...I have total and absolute faith--unwavering and well-tested. in the existence of God, in His power to hold us in the hollow of His hand and guide us through this frail existence. I can pray for you and with you; I can listen, hold your hand, and give you a swift kick if that's what you need!! I will always be here...lowly servant that I am. All my love, Mom

IT TAKES TWO

After about an hour of pinning 4.5x2.5 rectangles together to make patchwork rows for Ethan's quilt, I decided to give my weary neck a rest and took a break. I went to check on Dad who was happily wrapped in the cocoon of his blanket, dreaming, I'm sure, of how to finish the kitchen project! I had on my mind a lady in my exercise class with whom I have only a nodding acquaintance. She's in my prayers because she recently lost her fiance. He proposed to her and gave her a ring on Monday and died of a sudden heart attack brought on, they say, by the sound of the snapping of a large tree in his front yard. This isn't the first time Gail has received such a loss. Her first husband died a long and lingering death some years ago, and a man who courted her after her husband's death also gave her a ring and then died the next day. One of the exercise ladies said, "I wonder how she can put one foot in front of the other." Indeed. Her plight reminds me how fragile life is. How one needs to enjoy and relish each and every moment with a loved one--especially a spouse. Dad is a popular fellow at the senior citizens' center we sometimes go to. He's always outgoing and friendly, mobile, and still a handsome, vigorous man at 70. (No wonder this guy still makes my heart leap!) He's most often asked, "Do you dance?" "Only with my wife." "Oh," they say glumly as they look over at me. The song lyrics, "It takes two, Babe" often come to my mind when we venture into that lair!

It took two--Thomas and Margaret Olive Bailey Kennedy--to produce this large progeny. Cousin Peggy recently presented Grandma with this prototype of a wall hanging that she's making for her. Blue slips are children and spouses, yellow are grandchildren, green are great-grandchildren, and pink are great-great. Grandma's 101st descendant--Drake Douglas Sturges was born a few days/weeks ago.



It takes two to do kitchen projects. When we're working on projects, there are clearly defined roles. As you can see Dad has the bulk of the work! He's sanded down and painted and worked very hard on a new look. I am in charge of the bling--clearing out the kitchen cabinets, decorating, making the McDonald's runs for sustenance, and staying out of the way.

My job was to line the shelves with shelf liner. Don't you love the sweet little chickens? As you can see, the project didn't go well since I started it while Dad was in The Dalles picking up more supplies. I measured, re-measured, lined up, etc. I even braved standing on the footstool to get the shelf paper on straight!! I would have cussed some too, but I'm trying to be good. To no avail--my results are clearly picture above. Dad came home to the disaster, held one end of the paper while I held the other, and we finished papering the shelves--it took two!

And we have two April birthdays!! Mr. Wyatt turns two on income tax day! He thinks he's three or maybe even four, so don't spoil his illusion. In this picture, he's wearing his "fire coat" made by his Grandma Niehoff. He doesn't take this coat off!!
Birthday girl, Taylor, is a sweetheart. She turns four. Like most little girls, Taylor is a princess and a thinker.

Life is good for us right now. All is well. Grandma is doing quite well, and everyone in the family seems to be truckin' along. We have everything money can't buy!! Love from the home front. Mom

"Grace is God's acceptance of me. Faith is my acceptance of God's acceptance of me. Peace is my acceptance of me." Robert Millett