Visitor

Isn't he a cute visitor to our bird feeder?  I like the little bit of seed hanging from his beak.

I'm not a qualified bird watcher but I think he is an American Goldfinch.  Or is it a she? Now to get the cute little hummingbirds on film!

FC Barcelona - Triple

This has been quite a year for those of us who are loyal fans of Football Club Barcelona. (which is all our family except for one who remains a die hard Real Madrid fan...he was a gracious looser this year)  Barcelona won the Spanish Football league, the King's Cup and the European Champion's League crown.  That is sort of like winning three super bowls in one year! They are the first team in Spanish history to win all three! Some commentators are saying they are the best club team in history. Of course everyone in Barcelona says this but some of the British sportscasters are saying the same. 

It is hard to explain  just what football/soccer means to people in Europe. I read that soccer is like a religion in Spain only more serious.  I am telling you the truth when I say that it was easier & took less  time to get George permission to work in Spain than to get our 10 year old permission to play soccer with a youth club in Spain.  We had to get a 'release' from the US Soccer Association before he could play.  How crazy is that?

The day of the Champion's League final against Manchester United I went to lunch with a friend and we happened to choose a restaurant that had the game on a big screen TV.  I tried not to watch but my eyes just kept going to the screen.  Before they even brought our drinks, my friend insisted that we change places so that I couldn't watch TV.  She said I wasn't going to be any fun if my attention always went to the TV!  My boys texted me when Barca scored though! The final score was 2-0 Barca!

As I left for lunch I went downstairs to tell the boys goodbye just before the game started.  They both had on their FC Barcelona Jerseys, banners were strung around the room, Catalan flags were flying, the jerseys they weren't wearing were carefully placed on the couch as if they were other friends watching.....they were ready for the game!

The only thing that could have made this season better was being in Barcelona! 

Football club Barcelona - més que un club - more than a club!!!!!

Healthy M&Ms!

Today in our Young Women class the teacher brought this for a treat

Strawberry & Peanut Butter M&M's!!!  Those have to be healthy right?  After all there is fruit - strawberries and protein - peanut butter.  

They tasted like chocolate covered peanut butter sandwiches!  That is my kind of lunch!

Spring is sprung!

The snow is off the mountains & the flowers are planted on my deck.  The illusive little hummingbirds are back but so far have evaded my stealthy attempts to get their pictures.  I haven't given up yet though!


It is really, finally, truly spring here.  Poor George is over in eastern Idaho officiating at the Idaho State Soccer tournament in 40 - 50 degree rainy weather.  Maybe he should have stayed home and done yard work with me!!!

And this is fun because....????????

Pictures to strike fear in a mother's heart!

He certainly didn't get his daredevil tendencies from me or from his Dad!

Yet another amazing Young Woman!

We have two YW who are graduating from High School this year and they are both amazing.  As you can see Ruth is absolutely beautiful on the outside but that doesn't even begin to really tell you who Ruth is. 

 She is even more beautiful on the inside.  Several times she has talked to me about YW who she is worried about, girls who don't feel like they fit in or have any friends.  She is genuinely concerned and wants to help them.  She makes friends with the younger girls and they adore her and want to be like her.  Ruth truly shows compassion and charity in her daily life. She also has been a fantastic Laurel President. She is going to make an impact on her college ward and in her dorm.  I love you Ruth!

And I should mention that Ruth always looks stylish and put together....even after a week at Girl's Camp!

Another Amazingly talented Young Woman!

 Last night I went to an Art Show to see some of the talent of one of my Young Women who is graduating from High School in a couple of weeks.  She is one of those girls who can do almost anything. She draws and paints and does wood burning and knits and is learning ceramics.  I admire all her artistic talents but she also hunts and fishes.   You should see the huge bear skin on the wall of her room.  And yes, she shot it! 

 She is also one of the hardest workers I have ever been around.  When you ask Kelsey to do something you KNOW that it will be done and will be done well.  She was a fantastic Laurel Class President....in fact I think she kept me on track!  We'll miss her in Young Women but know she is going to be a great addition to her college.  Good luck Kelsey!  

And my personal favorite.........I love the horses.  Kelsey is also an accomplished horse woman.  Her feelings for horses are readily apparent when you look at this painting!

Space Bags

I have always wondered how the "space bags" that I see advertised on TV would work.  You know, you stuff them with all your blankets, quilts and out of season clothes and suck the air out of them with your vacuum cleaner so that you can store them in a smaller space.  Costco had a coupon on a box of the bags so I tried them.  It was fun to watch them magically shrink to small sizes.  Now I wonder how wrinkled the clothes and quilts will be when I take them out.  Was the reduction in size worth it?  What do you think?

Five little ducks went out to play!

Spring has arrived when the baby ducks appear in the ponds in our neighborhood.  Moma duck was pretty wary of me and quickly ushered her brood into the pond.  They change from these obedient little yellow puff balls into gangly "I want to swim where I want to swim"  teenage ducks in a matter of days!

Mother's Day!

Sunday was my first Mother's Day without my mother.  All day I thought about blogging but just never felt like actually sitting down at the computer and doing it.  Today I feel like sharing a few things about my mother that I admire and that I'll miss.

First of all my mother always had time for me.  When I was little she spent hours and hours on the floor playing with me & the little cowboys and Indians, animals and soldiers that I loved.  She put nail polish dots on one set of army guys so that I could have opposing armies.   I remember making up elaborate stories for these little figures and sharing them with her & I remember that she listened and asked questions.  A few years ago I asked her what kind of little child I had been and her one word answer was 'busy'.  Maybe these times with the little plastic figures were my calm quiet time.

When I cleaned out her attic guess what I found?  A box filled with all those great little plastic toys.  Maybe I can play with them with my grandchildren some day!

My Mother was always active.  She walked and rode her bike and mowed her lawn and raked leaves and picked up pecans & then shelled them, swept her garage, pulled weeds, made candy, read, followed college basketball, did embroidery & crewel work and I could go on and on......  Until she was about 80 I never remember her just sitting down and doing nothing.  She didn't like house work too much but she did it anyway.  She said that her hip hurt when she pushed a vacuum cleaner but not when she pushed a lawn mower!

We didn't really make my 88 year old mother shovel snow last Christmas.  It was just a photo op!

My mother was dedicated to her church and served faithfully in many different positions.  For most of my growing up years she typed and printed  the church bulletin.  Of course this was way before computers so she typed on mimeograph paper and then ran the bulletins off by hand.   She was treasurer of her church and spent sleepless nights worrying about the church budget.  My mother was a great example of serving where ever you are needed.

Her church was the First Presbyterian Church in Lonoke, Arkansas which was founded by our ancestors the Witherspoons.  My great grandparents were the first couple married there.  My parents were married there too, on Christmas Day in 1948. I developed a strong faith in Jesus Christ while attending this church.

My mother adored her grandchildren.  I could post hundreds of pictures of her with my four children.  Even though I was an only child, she adapted quickly to a more chaotic household when she visited and I think she thoroughly enjoyed it.  Mary and Matt each got to visit her several times by themselves.  By the time Johnny & Scott were old enough for solo visits she thought she was too old to have them by herself so she invited me to bring them one at time for some quality grandma time.  She arranged pony rides, let them rent whatever movies they wanted, shopped for whatever they wanted, arranged play dates with friends with pools, let them eat as much junk as they wanted and had a seemingly endless supply of quarters for the video arcade.  She set up a little office in one corner of her living room for Mary and outfitted it with an old phone & adding machine and every kind of paper, notepad & envelope you could imagine.  Mary was in heaven!  Another favorite memory of the kids is eating watermelon in bed with grandma.  I don't know why that made such an impression on them but it surely did!

My mother valued family.  My grandfather died when my mother was 12 years old and she and her brother, sister, and mother moved in with her maternal grandparents.  Her Dad's siblings (I think there were 11 of them) sent money every month to help provide for Moma & her siblings.  My mother often reminded me that this was during the depression and no one had any money so taking on 4 extra mouths to feed was a sacrifice and sending money each month was a sacrifice but she always said, "that is what families do."  I have heard stories since of things that she has done for family members that would also be called sacrifices.  She was a wonderful example.  

Here she is with her brother and sister.  My mother is the one in the plaid shirt.  Don't you love the glasses?

Thinking about her these last days had made me realize how much she influenced my life.  I know that I'll never really be without her because she is such a part of me.

What did you do this weekend?

I scaled mighty peaks.........

Went down twisty slides.........

Helped change a 6 year old from this........

to this......

And was rewarded with this.......

Remembered the pure joy of fruit snacks and boxes of juice at the park.......

Witnessed the love of a little sister for her big brother.........

All of this fun because my friends asked me to help take care of their children while they went out of town for the weekend!  And I was even very flattered when a a young mom at the park asked me how old 'my' children were!  Wow, did she really think I had a 3 year old?