One more thing...

Even though Niko passed his 2 1/2 mark and Sam is almost 13 months instead of a year, I wanted to get their pictures done. We've been trying to squeeze it in before we left... one more thing to get done, but it was very much worth it! I've always thought it was fun to have pics of us with our boys, so we made it a family shoot. Amber and Dustin make such a great team. This is one of the best family shots. Picture this: on the other side of the camera, Amber is snapping shots, while Dustin is making a wallet come to life. He bounced it and threw it and "missed" catching it in such a funny way that we were all laughing. You can see by our expressions - he's a funny guy! Thanks so much, Fife's! I'll post more from the shoot later.

Anxious to learn...

You may already know that we've been putting off potty training until after our trip (we leave tomorrow). Niko has shown many signs that he is ready, from pulling off his diaper constantly to actually peeing in his potty a few times. The other day, his cousin Ollie was visiting. Ollie, having been potty trained since about 18 months, demonstrated exactly how it is to be done. I was in the other room for a minute and came upon them together in the bathroom. I couldn't resist snapping a shot of this teaching moment. Thanks, Ollie!!


We'll see if we can post some pics while traveling. If not, you'll hear from us after June 2nd. Have a great couple of weeks, everyone!

Keeping Niko Busy

On Monday the 12th, Chris and I went over to the house of a family in our ward. Their daughter's boyfriend had been called to serve a mission to Madagascar. We had a lovely dinner and then spent about an hour talking about Mada and all its wonders. In passing, as we were about to wrap up, they mentioned that he would be serving in Reunion. It's also part of the mission, but may as well be on the other side of the world for how different it is from Mada. We gathered everyone in again for "Fireside #2" and Chris gave them the low down on Reunion from a missionary perspective. All I could add was that it was incredible and my favorite place on earth. :) It was a nice evening, but quite long for the boys. To keep Niko busy, I caved and let him play with our digital camera. Niko found almost immediately that he much preferred to have the lens face him rather than who he was pointing the camera at. He spent about a half hour walking up to people and saying, "Un, deux, tree" and snapping a picture of himself. 117 pictures later, the battery died. Here are my favorites.

You just gotta love this kid!

The Host

I don't want to ruin it for anyone who is going to read it, so I'll just say that The Host by Stephenie Meyer was just as engaging as the Twilight series was. I loved it. And once I got into it, I realized how cool the dust jacket is. :) Thanks, Stephenie, for another great one! Thumbs up from me.

Discovery Gateway last Friday

Last Friday, the 9th, we enjoyed another fun afternoon with Ollie, Baz, and Tata Ang at the Discovery Gateway. It was the first time we got to do a class, so Ang let me take Ollie and Niko in for a story (If You Give a Moose a Muffin) and then Ang and I joined our boys for a muffin treat. Baz and Sam enjoyed it, too. :)





This contraption was pretty cool. You take different sizes and shapes of paper and see how or if the fan at the bottom can blow it to the top. Really cool!

Molly and Hannah

My hubby sent this incredible story to several family members yesterday. I really cried. It was so special I'm not sure I could recap it to anyone without crying again. I hope you can take a minute to read it and count your blessings.

Read the story here or click on the picture

Hannah Forrester, right, with Molly - the little girl who gave her a reason to fight her cancer

Daffodil Principle

This was a forward from my mother. What will you start today that will grow and flourish and become breathtaking, little by little? Enjoy!

The Daffodil Principle

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over.''

I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. "I will come next Tuesday",

I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked

into Carolyn's house, I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted

my grandchildren.

"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world

except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"

My daughter smiled calmly and said, " We drive in this all the time, Mother."

"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.
"But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "Please turn around."

"It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes , we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the

church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, "Daffodil Garden."

W e got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down th e path. Then, as we turned a corner,

I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.





It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its

surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep

orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety

was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were

five acres of flowers.

"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn.

"Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept

A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline.

The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read.

The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain."

The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more

than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop.

Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived.

One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle

her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.





That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time, often just one baby-step at a time and

learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small

increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world …

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. " What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful

goal thirty five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? "Just think

what I might have been able to achieve!"

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.

She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of

celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting.....

Until your car or home is paid off
Until you get a new car or home
Until your kids leave the house
Until you go back to school
Until you finish school
Until you clean the house
Until you organize the garage
Until you clean off your desk
Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you gain 10 lbs.
Until you get married
Until you get a divorce
Until you have kids
Until the kids go to school
Until you retire
Until summer
Until spring
Until winter
Until fall
Until you die...

There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
So work like you don't need money. Love like you've never been hurt, and dance like no one's watching.

If you want to brighten someone's day, pass this on to someone special. I just did!

Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day!

Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.



The Daffodil Principle

Love At Home

At our most recent visit to my Grandparents' house, Grandma Clawson shared with us a fourth verse to the hymn, "Love At Home." Wish it were still in the hymn book!

Jesus, show thy mercy mine,

Then there's love at home;

Sweetly whisper, "I am thine,"

Then there's love at home.

Source of love, thy cheering light

Far exceeds the sun so bright--

Can dispel the gloom of night;

Then there's love at home.

Quote of the Day - Have it?

Integrity is not a ninety percent thing…not a ninety-five percent thing. Either you have it, or you don’t.
~Peter Scotese~

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Clawson! Grandma's birthday was Sunday, May 4th. I neglected to call her before bedtime, so I hope she can forgive me. All of us siblings were able to converge and have the incredible Dustin snap a couple pics for us. Mom and Aria were able to give the pics to her with a sign on her birthday morning. Good lookin' fam, if I do say so myself! ;)

Buffalo Duathlon

Chris and I had a great time participating in the Buffalo Duathlon on Antelope Island this past Saturday. We did the Sprint distance of about 12.5 miles bike, 5k run. Chris and President Sabins, our Stake President, participated last year, which was their first year. This year, attendance was up as well as enthusiasm. :) Chris placed second in his division (Sprint-Male 25-29). President Sabins is the reining champion in his Sprint-Male division. It was a great learning experience for me. I came in 5th in my division and 8th on overall females (I'll have to double check on the total # of females, but I think I fell right in the middle). I'm looking forward to really pushing myself in the next race.

First Hair Cut and First Facing Forward

It was way past time for Sam to have his first haircut, at least over his ears. I can't believe how grown up he looks already!

Sam loved his first ride in the car in his forward-facing car seat. :)

"Yeah!"

Josh and Health

A high school classmate of mine, Josh Nahum, died more than a year ago due to complications from a skydiving injury. This article was recently posted on CNN with his picture about avoiding infections in a hospital or doctor's office. Good tips to remember!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/05/01/ep.avoiding.infection/index.html

Le Chauteau Pelissie (the Pelissie Castle)

When I was five years old, my parents designed and built a castle bunk bed. It has a twin bed upper bunk with a play area underneath, and a crib size toddler bed on the side with a tunnel underneath that as well. All of us kids have slept in it and played in it over the years. Now that Aria, the youngest child, is 11 years old, the castle bed has graduated to the next generation. We finally were able to get it assembled during my parents' visit this trip. It has now made the boys' room a lot smaller, but we think it's worth it. It's such a cool bed! (Yes, I know I'm biased.) Please come and see for yourselves!

Michael

We could barely get Niko to stop for a picture.
He loved going round and round through the tunnel!

Tic Toc

When I was in seventh or eighth grade, I made a clock in technology class. I learned how to router the edges of the finish pieces, sand, stain, and glue each piece, assemble the clock, and my favorite one: sandblast a design. I remember it took me at least a week after tracing the design on contact paper to use an exacto knife and cut away all the lines that made up the silhouette of a girl reading and a cat sitting in a window. My mom has kept it in our house in NY since I left home. I liked it so much, when they were ready to get rid of it, I had them bring it with them. Unfortunately, neither the glass nor the clock made it in one piece. I just wanted to take a picture of what was left of it. Good memories. :)