TROLL BRIDGE

We are creating another fun area in the yard. Last fall we started making a mound of dirt for the 4 wheeler and thought we would continue with it this spring. This spring we had an even better idea. That idea is being put into motion and our troll bridge is getting built and the ramp/sides filled in. Still more to do, but it's taking shape. Anthony took these photos for us. Maybe when it's done we'll get another photo posted of the completed project.

There are 7 of us again!

We went to Provo to pick up Michael and have returned a bit tired and sore, but we are happy to be home and to have Michael with us for a couple months. He loved his freshman college experience and is looking forward to his mission experiences. We will have to say good-bye to him as he enters the MTC on June 17.
The kids stayed home and attended to their daily responsibilities well, so it seems at this point ;). It was good to have Thomas and Dana close by to help them and make sure that things went smoothly and to care for their needs while we were gone. It is a different experience for us to have a married child near by and we are enjoying it. (Wishing all could be closer to us.)
The kids have been doing some yard work, and we will continue with that today, so maybe we can post a fun picture of something in the yard by the end of the day.

Poem

Terry wrote a poem early this morning and I added it to our Easter post (a couple posts earlier). That means you won't know it's there if you only read the newest posts. So, I'm alerting you to let you check it out. It's awesome!

The Funeral Planner

We have certainly had our share of funerals in this area. Our most recent attendance at one such event makes me a bit concerned for myself. Let me first preface with this - I have never really enjoyed attending a funeral. Other people have different attitudes and have shared how they love learning about the plan of salvation and feeling our Heavenly Father's love as they do, they enjoy hearing about the life of the person whom we are "celebrating" and all of their cute stories that are shared. I do enjoy that, but still have a hard time wanting to go - there is still so much sorrow. I was feeling that way again and really not wanting to attend one more funeral, but I love the family and felt a need to attend, so I did.
When we got the program (or whatever that paper is called) I noticed how beautiful it was. I loved that they shared photos of him, his wife, and his children. On the back they listed his posterity. I appreciated it all and thought that I wanted to remember that for when I might have need to design one for a loved one. What an heirloom!
I wondered why we never see any slide show or video presentation while the speakers are telling these fun memories or personal facts. We would love to see photos of the loved one thru the years as the speaker is sharing. It would be so interesting. Maybe I'll check into that sometime in the future if I need to plan a program for a loved one.
Several times while listening to the speakers I was reminded of some fond memories with my father (since at this funeral each of this father's children shared some special personal experiences they remembered about him). It was quite delightful. It was fun to remember some special moments with my father, but it was so awful thinking that someday I might have to remember them for such a sorrowful time as these people were going thru. None-the-less, I have them to remember, and I am grateful for them. And, if needed someday, I will gladly share them. And yet, if I go before my dad does, then who will share them for me? Maybe I'd better share them now, while we are both still living. Maybe that will become another category for my posts - all about my loved ones. I'll consider it for awhile.
Now as I think back on what my feelings were during this occasion, I realized that I had indeed attended too many funerals lately and have become too familiar with them, even to the point of feeling much like a funeral planner, rather than a wedding planner. I enjoy the wedding reception/open house planning that I have to do, but this funeral planning will not be so exciting.
One last thing - for years I have told Terry that I don't need a funeral, just plant me and let me go! But then I realize that I don't have to attend my own funeral anyway, so why should I care? (except I don't want anyone to have to try to come up with something good to say about me.) Maybe he won't get a funeral if he dies first! I don't want to sit thru it and try to hold back the tears, and there is no cry-room in our chapel, so whatever shall I do? This is not a race, but I like that I should go first!
Okay, this post is proof of too many funerals! Ya think!
I suppose that before I end, I should say, with all kidding aside, that I do know that the Lord does bless us and help us thru hard times. I have felt His love and a special peace within as He comforts and directs us in time of need. We are never alone! I am so grateful for that.

ROCKS by Terry

During spring break this year our family needed to pick up the rocks from the field that were left by the potato diggers. On the first day we worked until lunch time and then the wind (or our lack of fortitude) prevented us from working in the afternoon.
Tuesday morning was breezy as well. We went out, picked rocks for a few hours, and didn't return. Our eyes and ears and attitudes were full of sand.
Wednesday we went out again. We had a good start, then it blew lightly, snowed on us, and of course was quite cold. We did persevere long enough to finish the west side of the south circle by the house, then came in. We had some hot chocolate and mused about the foul weather. Some one joked "maybe we shouldn't be picking rocks".
Thursday was a great day! The weather was good and we did get to finish the job. I commented to the boys, "what a great day to pick rocks." Then heard myself, "what a great day to pick rocks" Wow! What?
When difficult things need to be done we can do them. We can do hard things. If we persevere we will conquer. If the Lord blesses us we can even have a great day to pick rocks.

EASTER

Here is a wonderful Easter poem Terry penned one morning.

The brightness of the morning
Forebode an eerie tone
Something here has happened
The position of the stone.

The sleeping of the soldiers
Certainly wasn't right.
What is it that occurred here
As day broke free from night.

The woman was the first to wonder
And then for herself to know
The resurrected Lord appeared
Himself to her did show.

Mary recognized the voice
Distinct from any other
Touch me not dear child
I've not yet ascended to my Father.

He had a simple task for her
An assignment she could do
Go and tell the others
That that way they'd know too.

The hollowness of the tomb
With no occupant at all
Was the way God had designed it
Redemption from the Fall.

Holes in the rocks can't hold Him
His power too great to save
There fore He has released Himself
The third day from the grave.

The cross is mans invention
With torture and anguish too
Yet thinking only of others
"Forgive them for they know not what they do."

A God with God He's now seated
Rightly upon His thrown
The Lord the Savior paid the price
To make us each His own.

Praise be to God!


We had a wonderful Easter Sunday.

• Our baskets were overflowing with treats and excitement. I am so sorry I didn't get any pictures of the kids coloring eggs or with their baskets. We enjoyed our Sunday morning, sitting together and visiting, talking about the reason we celebrate Easter, the things in our baskets, and just anything else we decided to talk about. Then we got ready for church.
  
• Our hearts were filled with the Spirit as we attended our Sacrament Meeting program. We had inspiring talks and beautiful, touching music. Anthony (and the primary children) got to sing one of my favorite primary songs, "He Sent His Son". Then Chase, Connor, and BrittanyJo got to sing a beautiful, but new to me song, with the young men and young women of the ward. I'm going to have to find that song so I can get the music to it and play it in our home. We felt the Spirit and we add testimony - Jesus Christ is our Savior; He suffered for us so that we might return to our Heavenly Father, and we are blessed in so many ways, as we follow Him and live as He has taught us to live.

• Our tummies were stuffed with good food, which we had in abundance. Leftovers for sure!After Church the house began to fill up as the company began coming - some for dinner, some for visiting. We enjoyed each one of them. Our guests included: Thomas and Dana, Keith and Idris, Ellen, Aunt Carol and Uncle Darwin (Idris' sister and her husband; from Idaho), Aunt Marva and Uncle Lowell (Idris' sister and her husband; from Idaho), and Thayne and Linda (Marva and Lowell's son and his wife; they live in the Quincy area). The great company made the food taste even better (funny how that happens). Then Shawna and Dave, and Troy came to visit for awhile. It really was a nice day, but it was over too soon. BrittanyJo got a couple photos I can share.

• The weeping Cherry tree is beautiful for this special holiday. I did get a photo of that this morning. Doesn't it just look like it's celebrating the special holiday too?

  

Happy Birthday Chase!

Today we celebrate Chase's birthday.

We have let the kids choose what kind of cake they want and Chase has chosen something that is a bit different that a traditional cake. He likes Berry French Toast. It is baked in a cake pan, so it counts. We top it off with vanilla ice cream, so it is delicious.

Many are aware of our family tradition, which is, we have cake and ice cream for breakfast on birthday mornings. We've been doing it for years, and we love it. The choice Chase makes for his cake is actually quite healthy and is a true breakfast meal. I guess milk would be more healthy that ice cream, but at least we don't have a meal and then have the cake and ice cream after it.

SPECIAL NEWS REPORT!

Permission has been granted for me to share this exciting news on the blog. We are going to have a baby - a grandbaby. Don't spread any roomers now! Elaine is not the mom to be, Dana is. This new little bundle of joy will come to Thomas and Dana, sometime in September if all goes well.

What happened?

I have plenty to blog about;

Internet issues of late / withdrawals
Monday after Terry's first chemo treatment of the week we tried to get online, but found we had a problem. The router was not working and we couldn't correct any problem. We noticed that we must have had a power outage sometime during the day because our clocks were blinking. The only thing we can think of is that it must have blown up our aged router. (A side note: I still needed to email Skyler before tomorrow so I called and asked Gregory to do that for me, and he willingly accepted the task. He's so smart - he knew exactly how to get into my account; and I use Outlook Express on my own computer thru our IP, not hotmail or other service readily available thru the internet. THANKS Gregory! I've so much to learn!)
We bought a new router Tuesday, after Terry's treatment, and that night I tried to install it, without success. Oh Bother!
So, Wednesday I called our internet provider and tried to correct the problem, again without success, and waited for someone to come out to help me. I was really wishing for immediate response, but reality did set in.
Today, Thursday, I woke with the realization that I still could not get online and had no appointment made with the IP and ... how could I go on like this?!!!! Then, just in time, we got a call from our IP and he tried some other options to help correct the problem. Today was the lucky day, we are up and running. (I have already read Skyler's email and I can blog again, Terry can check the weather and other farming reports, the kids can do home work and complete cub scout badge requirements - life goes on now :). How did we ever live without it?

Spring Break
It started with a sick child, continued with picking rocks and finding bombs (or whatever they are called) that I previously blogged about, mourned the loss of a loved one and attended his funeral (Charlie Bridges, our sister-in-law's father), traveled to Longview to see my parents and traveled home again.
Honestly, I have a list of things I would like to have done, like gardening, shopping, my hair, the whole family needs hair cuts, etc. There's always tomorrow, right! I needed a two week spring break!!!

Visiting family
Our trip to Longview was great. We knew we would miss a couple siblings and their families, but we didn't want to try to postpone the trip, because when we do that we never get there. So, we missed some, but enjoyed others. It was worth it! We visited and ate and watched general conference. We spent so much time with conference and making meals (and of course eating them) that we didn't have a lot of time to visit, so Saturday night Terry and I stayed up visiting with my parents until 2:00am; and we still felt like visiting, but knew that we would have a big day ahead with more conference and then driving home, and we needed to be awake for both of those.

My dad started a neat tradition of taking his sons and grandsons (his mail descendants who hold the priesthood and attend that meeting) out for icecream after the Saturday night Priesthood session, so our family (those who fit that category) were all able to go with my dad and my brother (Brian) for that special treat. So FUN! Anthony looks forward to being able to go with them in a year and a half. I didn't get enough photos during our visit (again!).

Conference
I always enjoy conference. I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing those two days. It is top priority. During those meetings the Spirit is strong, and my heart is warmed. I feel uplifted and edified and feel encouraged to do better and be a better me. I look forward to the Ensign/Conference edition so I can re-read all the messages and enjoy them again and again. I thought about re-capping some of the favorite messages, but they were all so good and I couldn't choose just one or two, so I'll skip the mile long list of wonderful and inspiring things I learned. I love this Gospel! Great blessings come to us as we strive to improve and to live the Gospel. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and for our Savior, Jesus Christ. I am grateful for their teachings and for the Spirit they send to comfort and direct us.

One year older

We celebrated Connor's birthday Saturday with the traditional cake and icecream, but with a new twist - we were at his Grandma and Grandpa Rodeback's home in Longview.

Chemo
Terry's treatments started again this week and the mid-line went in almost perfectly this time! Treatments are going just fine!

All in the family!
Wednesday was filled with fun surprises -
1. We were driving thru the big city of Royal City and saw a PUD truck pull over to read a meter just ahead, and noticed that the driver of the truck was my brother, Thaoe. We honked and waved! No visit, but still fun. Thaoe lives in ML, so we should see him more often than we do. Side note: we think that the passenger was maybe Jeff Spencer. Could that be right?
2. I went into Maurice's after Terry's treatment, for a quick look, since BrittanyJo is in need of more clothes, and I saw my niece, Amber (Thaoe's daughter) and her daughter, Adyson. I didn't know they were in ML for a quick visit, but was pleasantly surprised. And, I got to give her a hug, and see her baby - Adyson is so adorable!!!
3. We decided to shop at Safeway because they had a sale on their ham, and yes, we want one for Easter. We checked out and began walking to the door, and we saw my nephew, Tristan (Thaoe's son). I got to give him a hug too! I hurried so that the people he was helping didn't have to wait for us to expound on our adventures of late. We didn't know he worked at Safeway, actually we thought he was going to be at college somewhere else. Obviously we must not visit enough with this family. We will repent!
4. We missed Crystal (Thaoe's daughter) and her family, cause they live in Spokane (last we heard) and they were not here to visit (that we are aware of), and we missed Estella (Thaoe's wife). She works at the PUD office and we thought about stopping in to say hi because we had seen three of the five of them that very day, but we had deadlines to keep and kids waiting on us, so we were pulled home. Next time maybe we'll see her.

Spring is here - Easter is coming

The wind has been blowing, so spring must be here. In this photo you'll see proof of the wind that's been blowing because of the tumble weeds that have accumulated. I know I should have cleaned it before the photo was taken, but I have to hurry and get ready for another chemo trip. The beauty in the photo is the daffodils in bloom, and I'm enjoying each one. There is so much beauty in the world around us!
Easter Greetings to all! Jesus is the reason for this season too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CONNOR!

He is 15 years old today. Can that be right? WOW!

He is so lucky - he gets to celebrate this special day with his Grandpa and Grandma Rodeback in Longview.

He is anxious to get his driving permit. Maybe we can go do that Tuesday.
(Pictures will come in the next post, cause we aren't home as this is posted)