What You CAN Take With You

My father-in-law bore his testimony at church today and told about an experience he had last week. On Thursday, he served as the look out on the Gardiner bridge, keeping an eye on the water, watching for Luke Sanburg's body. While he was standing watch, and older woman came over and asked his name, then hugged him and said, "Brother Melin, thank you so much for being here. I'm Luke's Grandmother." As the were talking, she asked him to come over and talk to Luke's younger brother, Ben, who was over at the side of the bridge and had just learned that his brother was almost certainly dead.

So dad went over to talk to Ben. Ben asked, "Is my brother really dead?" and Dad answered, "Yes, he is." Ben cried a little bit more and they talked and Dad asked him some questions about himself. He asked, "What is your most favorite thing to do , Ben?" and Ben said, "To play with Luke." Well, of course that was like a stab to the heart and dad choked up and said, "Ben, I promise you that if you keep doing the things that you know are right, you will get to play with Luke again. You are going to hold the priesthood soon, and if you stay worthy of the priesthood and live a good life, you will play with Luke again."

Then Dad expressed his gratitude for knowing that our relationships are eternal and gratitude for the Savior who made them so. I echo the sentiment. I suppose it's one of my favorite doctrines--to know that Christ made it possible for us, as we repent and do our best in life, to gain intelligence and build relationships that will last forever. It reminded me of that song--

"It's hard to say goodbye and let go
And it's hard to see it end
When the memories we have made
will never happen again
But it's harder for time
to ever erase
the together times we've shared
So when we're apart, remember
All the love we've shared together
And for all that love
Thank the Lord above
who showed us the way
That we can be
Together Forever someday."

Relationships give life meaning and the best ones can and should be eternal. Time spent building or improving or enjoying a relationship is an investment; we should never count time spent enjoying our loved ones as wasted. So what if we didn't get everything on our to-do lists checked off? Our checklists--the ones with the priorities that really matter--should always have "strengthen a relationship" and "learn something new" and "do something good" at the top. It's the people, not the chores or the programs or the accomplishments, that matter.

Ouch! I just hurt my ankle stepping off my soapbox. I hope you get what I was trying to share, even if it's not what you believe.

Good Luck, Leafy!

Fly Away Home

On Monday, June 20th, Addie caught a Ladybug and we made it a home in a jar. She gave it some leaves and branches to climb on and named it Leafy. The next day, we looked up lots of information about Ladybugs on the internet and found out how to feed and water them (we soaked a raisin in water for 15 mintues, then cut it in half and gave it a drop of water from a dropper every other day). The following Friday, we went to story time at the Library and all the the books and songs were about Ladybugs! One of the books was the poem, "Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home." So Addie got it in her head that (a) Ladybugs could fly and (b) they have homes that they might like to return to. So on Monday, June 27th, we set Leafy the Ladybug free. Addie opened the jar and it crawled out on her finger for a minute, and then it FLEW! She hollered, "Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home!" Her mind is wonderful and I am sometimes amazed at what she remembers. I hope I can remember and re-tell her this good story from time to time.

Heidi is learning to use a spoon, so we let her try eating her own ice cream--uhhhhh, something bad happened. 

The sweetest looking monster you'll ever see! 

Yesterday was the Livingston Round up Parade, which also doubles as our Independence Day celebration as a town (and family). It's a mdahouse, but it's a beautiful thing. Here's a picture of my cute Addie waving her flag at the parade...God Bless America!

Tyler, Caden, Addie, & Carter are all geared up to collect flying candy at the parade...that's what Addie's little purses (Carter is holding one) were for. 

Tyler, Cadyn, Addie & Carter ooo and ahhh at the parade. 

One float passed out popsicles and Addie was sad about spilling hers all over her shirt (that's the shirt she picked out after the ballet). 

Heidi and Daddy enjoying the parade. 

Back-to-back: we had a hard time getting the girls in the same frame!