Father's Day 2013

 Wow. Has it really been 2 years since I've seen Alan? Yes, why, yes it has.

 We missed this little redhead! It's been 3 years since we've seen her... over half of her little life!

 Me and my handsome brothers

 Look at all those cute grandkids! Grandma and Grandpa are pretty cute, too!

 Alan gets a kiss...

 Emma is totally grossed out. 

 They're happy now. What a cute family!

 The family! (Missing Alexia, Lexie, my step-kids and grandbabies) Hi David!

Grandpa played ball when mom was too tired. I'm lucky to have a great dad! 

The family take 2! (David taking the pic this time) 

Can't wait to see Allison again!

"There is genuine concern over the diminishing role of the father in the home. His influence is fading. Presiding responsibilities formerly assumed are left either to the mother or to agencies outside the home. This diminishing role is at the root of a multitude of our problems. Numerous things go awry when the scriptural family organization is upset!

The father is the patriarch in the home. This means that the father is the presiding authority. This does not mean that he should be dictatorial. Modern scriptures set forth qualifications for all who preside:

'No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned. …' (D&C 121:41.)"

-A. Theodore Tuttle

Real- life yoga for moms

Hi, I'm Greta, and I LOVE yoga. Of the many different exercise classes I've participated in over the years, yoga is the keeper. With the benefits including flexibility, strength, balance, and, most importantly, inner peace, you can't go wrong. And the great thing is, no special equipment is needed! I can do it all using my own body. A yoga mat is nice to have, and I've been using the same two mats for the past 10 years.

I've led a yoga class at my church for several years now. I've gained so much more than I thought possible. One of the bonuses has been having great friends to do yoga with. Here's my friend, Tani, making her way into half- moon pose.

What do you do when you have little kids and no one to babysit while you exercise? Bring them with you! Having my kids with me during yoga has been a unique experience. It's unlike any yoga class I've ever been to. I've learned much patience, and how to tune out the outer chaos and tune into the inner peace. Here are my friend Sidney and I are focusing on our squats, while my son, Noah, provides some entertainment. :)

Complete Surrender! Amidst the goldfish crackers, toys, and scattered belongings, there is still calm. Final relaxation, or corpse pose, can get a bit tricky at times, but I've found that it is the ultimate time to relax and enjoy regardless of the noise around me. The best is when I have a kid or two come and snuggle with me during final relaxion. That's vastly more rewarding than any health club yoga experience.

If you're a mom to your own kids or others, join us! Or, bring your spouse for Saturday morning Couples Anti- Nursing home yoga. :)  Namaste.


(Photos taken by Emmy Ward, age 7, with Sidney's camera.)

"And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." -Mark 4:39

Moon flowers

One of the most exciting events of the summer happened when my friend Sally gave us a handful of moon flowers from her front yard. (Called "moon" flowers because they bloom by the light of the moon.) It was 9:00 at night and she told us to watch them and that they would open soon. So, we got home, put them in a vase, and waited.

Here they are, all curled up and beginning to open. The anticipation is killing us!

 The flowers took about 30 min to each individually open. Moon flowers are some of the most amazingly fragrant flowers I have ever encountered.

Still open and beautiful the next day! Fragrance was gone, though.

Aaah, the little things in life. I've got to get some starts for our yard!

"All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all. Each little flower that opens, each little bird that sings, He made their glowing colors, He made their tiny wings." -Children's Songbook pg 231

"Boy, you've sure got your hands full!"

While grocery shopping over the weekend, I had two different old women offer, at different times, to help me with my children. One was so old she was shaking! And I thought my kids were behaving quite well. I did think it was very kind of them to ask. Then, yesterday, at Deseret Book, as I was walking out with the kids, a lady remarked, "Boy, you sure have your hands full!" Not an unfamiliar comment. I guess I do have my hands full, but I'm pretty used to it by now. I love being a mom, and I love my kids!

"The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work. Please know that it is worth it- then, now, and forever." -Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

It's Fall... I mean Winter!

Yay! Fall is finally here!

Playing in the leaves in bare feet is AWESOME!

Woo-hoo! Jump and twirl and enjoy!

A WEEK LATER...

"Look, Mom, SNOW!"

Our cat has turned into Camo-kitty!

Bundled up and out the door even before breakfast!

Just chillin', eatin' some snow. Yum!

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven"

Ecclesiastes 3:1

We love Halloween!

Emmy and her best friend, Sam, getting ready to trick-or-treat. Cute!

Adam got a full face paint at a salon for his trick-or-treat!

So did the girls! (So did Noah, for that matter, but he's a little camera shy.)

Finding their favorite baby-sitter at the ward trunk-or-treat!

David was slightly jealous of the Dog- the- bounty- hunter and his wife costumes.

I thought his costume was pretty snazzy, though.

And he picked up a pretty cool chick at the trunk-or treat!

For the love of marigolds

This year, I fell in love with marigolds. I have planted them in years past, but they have never done very well. This year I kept dead-heading any flowers that didn't look so happy and well, the results have been amazing!

Not only are they gorgeous, but I have fallen in love with their fragrance. The colorful flowers are thought to lift the spirits and encourage cheerfulness.

The dried flowers also have amazing medicinal properties. They can be used as anti-inflammatory, to relieve muscle spasms, as an astringent, to prevent hemorrhaging, to heal wounds, as an antiseptic, to detoxify and as a mild estrogenic. I have been saving my dead-headed marigolds to make a cream for cuts and scrapes.

Bugs are not attracted to marigolds, in fact, they act as a repellent. I was hoping the marigolds would act as a deterrent for hungry grasshoppers gnawing on my ornamental grasses, but not so in this pot. Of course, they didn't bother the marigolds themselves. Next year I'm going to try planting marigolds all around the borders of my garden area to keep out pests.

I planted them this year because I got a flat on sale at a great price. What I discovered was a treasure- added joy to a meaningful life.

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever."

Isaiah 40:8