The Shack

I just finished reading this book, it's a good read. I am not going to go into all that much, but it had some concepts that I appreciated. It's about a man who spends the weekend with God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost. His account of it.

One was about judging others, you know in the scriptures it teaches a lot about that subject. I do believe that we will be judged as we have judged others, my own take on it. And in the book there is a powerful lesson on that, a segment that Mack had to face how he treated others.

Another point was our real trust and faith in the Lord. I want to work on that, being closer, having a more personal relationship, in which I feel Him with me always. That would be nice. I believe he is there, but maybe I have limited Him in my life.

Another one was the afterlife, I have perfect belief that we will be with our loved ones, and will have purpose and everlasting life. Not sure about how it was portrayed in the book, but I know it will be Heavenly.

Here is an important one, our choice to choose. He doesn't make us do things and he doesn't prevent us from doing things. We choose, if He stopped all bad, then we would have to lose out on the good. We are here to make of our lives what we will. Some times it's the good, bad and the ugly. Only God knows why and where this is all going. There are reasons for everything. We need to take time to see that.

Another was His healing power, to take away all pain and anguish. What a miracle. What a gift. And we can have that now in our lives.

And then this part was my favorite:

Mack was given a choice, to stay or to go back to his life. He asked, Is what I do back home important? Does it matter? I really don't do much other than working and caring for my family and friends.

He was told, Mack if anything matters then everything matters. Because you are important, everything you do is important. Every time you forgive, the universe changes; every time you reach out and touch a heart or a life, the world changes; with every kindness and service, seen or unseen, my purposes are accomplished and nothing will ever be the same again.

Now I don't know if God really told him that, but it's deep and profound to me. Can you imagine if all mankind could really know of their importance in the universe? What a difference that would make.

Andy's New Digs~LOL

The sign as you enter his neighborhood, Oh my gosh! What a crack up! Andy said his friend drove up to his house going a crazy 10 miles an hour! He told him you gotta take it slow, these people can't get out of the way fast enough. Is this Seinfield or what, Andy is living his favorite show!

Andy and Matt's House
Andy welcomes us

Andy Vacuums, who knew?

The couch I bought them for $50 bucks on Craigslist, it looks dirty there, but isn't.

Andy detects a problem with the water flow, he remembers dad has a remedy for that.

The backyard, he points out the BBQ area

Can't wait for summer, party at Andy and Matt's house, very nice backyard.

Seriously, no I can't be serious, but it is a very cute place, safe, close by, all a mom could want for two young men and their second or third try away from home. I hope it sticks, I hope they have lots of good times and that they will be good room mates to one another. This is for sure going to provide lots of laughs. Can't wait till they try out the recreation stuff. I also need to tell them that there is a community garden that they may be able to get a plot in, which would save on groceries. What a community!

Jessica's Party

Made a wish and blew out the candles, all 20 of them!
I guess they were not too entertained!

The party crowd, look at the kids they love a birthday cake.

GG and Abby

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

p.s. no car.

My Cat and A Song

California dreamin on such a winter's day...la la la. My kitty enjoying the warm weather and sunshine on the top of my van. She was sprawled out until I came with the camera to take a pic. Smart cat, good way to spend an afternoon. I gotta look for a good spot for myself.

My Husband the Super Seller

Barry has discovered Craigslist and has again displayed his super sales skills. We are selling our refrigerator, our buffet, and our piano to get money for new furniture. So far so good, he is getting top dollar, which is 1/2 more than I thought we could get. Remember he is the one who sold my old station wagon for $5000. it was a wreck and 19 yrs old. He sold it to someone who sent it over seas where they thought it was a classic. If he sets a price, there is always someone willing to buy it. I do think that the furniture it worth every penny, by the way, but people just aren't usually willing to pay much for used stuff. So wish me luck, you could be invited over soon for a meal and a seat on my new couch!

One More to Fly the Cuckoo Nest

Yep, five down, one to go. What does that mean? Andy, the baby boy, is moving out (again). No more "nut fest" for him! No but seriously, he and his cousin, Matt, are moving into the retirement community of Hillcrest Homes! LOL!! As Brandon says, it's perfect for Andy, slow paced lifestyle, they will even feed him at the cafeteria for a small cost. I guess there is only a few homes that the complex doesn't own and the boys got one. So they will be surrounded by the elderly. It is in La Verne and only 6 or 7 blocks from home. One small step for Andy - one giant leap for parents. JK! Any way we are glad for him and hope it works out and that Matt will take good care of him and if not, I am just a hop, skip and a jump away.

Ta Ta Andy!

Jessica's Birthday Party

We are having a little family get together on Friday night. She wants her sibs to spend the night. Any of you party animals out there have any good suggestions for some fun games?

I Feel Better

I was in a funk, but worked it out, obviously since I am blogging like crazy again! A little hard work, happy music, rest, prayer, work, grand kids, kids, church, beautiful weather, etc. and I feel better. Hate those rare times, glad they are few and far between.

Look At My Beauty

Jess was featured in this makeup magazine, isn't she lovely? And the make up is fabulous, done by her friend, makeup artist Daven, an up and coming really nice guy.

Barry's Best Xmas Present Ever!

Barry thought it was solar powered, but the boys found a little light on it and the fun was about to begin!

Barry loves it, wanted one since he was a kid.

Look at the smirks on their faces, they have a good specimen apparently!

Brandon gets a sample of blood. I must admit, it was interesting to look at, lots of tiny red circles of varying colors.

Oh boy, they love this one. It must be really gross. Do little boys ever grow up?

Patti got Barry this microscope set for Christmas a couple of years ago and the kids got it out and had a blast. Some pretty unseemly stuff was checked out in high def! Boogies, spit, hair (shaft), and even a sample of blood.

So this was the first present, given by Patti, that Barry didn't even ask for the receipt to exchange it. It seems to be a hit with the whole family.

So if you are having a party and want it to be a hit, go ahead and ask to borrow it, but you'll have to provide your own samples!

A Day With Kadence

A day well spent! She is a love.

Attitude Adjustment

I haven't blogged because I need an attitude adjustment. Hopefully I will get one soon. Going to work on things that usually help me. I will check back in as soon as I get my new, improved attitude.
See you soon.

A Place of Peace Amongst Chaos

I went to the temple last night and just loved being there. Why don't I go more often? I know for some it is a great sacrifice and often they have to travel far and at great cost, and for some they may not even be able to attend a temple because it may still be forbidden in their country.

I am committing to go routinely this year, not hit and miss, it is such a great blessing to be able to take yourself out of the "world", to be able to completely submerse yourself in spirituality, peace, knowledge, and awe at the beauty that is to be held inside the temple.

http://www.lds.org/temples/purpose/0,11298,1897-1,00.html

This and That

Ethan and Andy riding the airplane swing. I got this for Andy and Jess for Xmas when they were 2-3 years old. It has lost most of the original equipment it came with, i.e. propeller, back fin, and handle bar. It is termite and weather rotted, worn smooth from many a bottom (including mine!), and has been painted and repainted by some G-kids. I must make a pattern soon before it completely wears out . In the mean time it's still a good time for these boys.

Ethan has just recently mastered the plane, it's a fine balancing act. As the kids grow the feet are able to go between the wings and the bottom can scoot back a little. He loves it when I push him and he crashes into a pole, the refrigerator (still on my patio from the redo), or me. We both let out a scream and crack up.

Flying High

Ethan likes my dinosaurs and was playing with them when I watched him on Monday. What's funny about this picture is the purple passey hanging on the dino tail. He's all boy, yet a little bit not so big. He's in the in between stage. I like this stage, it's fun.

We picked lemons and oranges. He looked for the grapes and apricots and I had to explain that they come in a different season and that we have that to look forward to. We ate some as we picked and then he had fun building a castle (large pile) with them and knocking it over.

His castle tower in the bowl. We have lots of lemons and not so many oranges, but enough for our family and boy are they good. I am going to try a recipe for lemon curd and orange marmalade this week. I love being in my kitchen. I am going to have a garden for sure this year and have my boys make some raised beds and an extra one for the G-kids to plant in. I really loved gardening with my kids and seeing them enjoy nature and how things grow. I will be canning the stuff too.

He is so cute that all the messes he made didn't really matter.

My first batch of chocolate chip cookies. My oven baked them to perfection. I need to buy two more cookie sheets so I can whip out a double batch in 15 minutes!

And yes, I did have help. Look at my face as he pours the flour over backwards from the bowl. We just brushed in back where it belonged. It was a little hectic doing it as I held Abby, but she was a good girl and took a couple of long naps. He was introduced to eating the dough by his aunt Jess and loved it just as much as she does.

A Little Bit of Harley

I love this little guy, he is sweet and becoming a better family member each day, wish I could say the same for Lily. The more we love him, well if you know Lily, you how she is treating Harley.

Showing off a fluffy, fluffy body.

I have no clue what this is, but Aaron won't like it.

This was after his bath and a major brush out.

He looks like a little rag doll

A wet little shrimp of a thing, but it takes two to do this job!

2 Bros, A Bro-in Law (almost), and a Helper

I missed Aaron when I came to take pics, but this is the partial crew.

Never underestimate these boys. They come up with an idea and it's done! Usually, it will be Dustin, with a big, no HUGE, idea. He then presents it to the rest of the clan and sucks everyone in, or nearly everyone, and it's done. I am so impressed with what they can do, I am making a list and am next in line for some work to be done at my house, but right now the project is a new deck for Gramma Pat. Of course, it is being built to last, her great, great grand kids will sun themselves on this deck, as the foundation will stand till the end of the world. It could support a sky scrapper. Who knew these guys had the knowledge to do this kind of work. Must have been all the Legos we put together when they were kids.

I am really proud of their hard work, their generosity, and their time spent to help Gramma, as we all love to spend time at her house and will surely enjoy this new deck while swimming this coming summer.

Big kudos to Aaron who is always ready and willing to help us out. He is such a hard working boy, glad to call him one of my boys.

Mr. Martinez, thank you as well, you can consider yourself "worked" this weekend. We appreciate all you have done around the house too, both you and your sweet wife. You're like family.