A Simple SundaySix

I have had a lovely week full of smiles.

We worked in the temple two days again this week instead of one.

I got to spend a few days with my good friend, Sil

I finished the two little dresses I was working on.

I actually got around to doing a mid-week post. (A big effort for me.)

We had dinner with Mindy and Family twice instead of once this week.

I got to keep Austin and extra night and day, Fri. night and Sat.

Etc. Etc.

Smiles smiles smiles

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However, since my Wednesday post was so long....it was a great story.... read it if you haven't yet because it is a sweet story with great advice.... but it is quite long...

I am making this my simple Sunday Six....Mostly pictures...little dialog
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Since I was away from home a lot last week I had much to do when I returned.

I was very busy yesterday and really needed help getting everything done.

My plea for assistance was answered.....by Austin... and thus many smiles were generated.

I think the reasons for smiles are self evident and will need very little explanation.

Austin helped me make friendship bread.

Friendship bread is made from a "starter". (You can see a bag of the starter on the cabinet.)
I had starter that needed to be mixed into bread.
Austin helped me and it is delicious.
If you want the recipe let me know..... Yummy stuff....eating it makes John smile too.
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After making our bread we headed out to the patios.
It was a warm 85 degrees here....

(Upps... I shouldn't tell Jan... she got caught in a blizzard in Colorado ... her flight was cancelled and she missed the wedding she wanted to attend at Kris's house ... sorry.)

I got help hanging clothes....

...And sweeping up the leaves


I got lots of help watering my thirsty plants

My plant bunny badly needs a trim but that will wait until another day.
For yesterday she was happy just getting a drink of water.

and so were the other plants around the patios.
Austin watered me and himself too.... but hey... it was warm... no harm done... but notice he did have three changes of shirts in one day.

Heidi got brushed.

In the warm weather she sheds a lot. She really needed brushing.

Thanks Austin
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Then car got washed...

... and polished...

in time for a lovely drive....
before Austin hurried off to help Grampy with his chores.

Austin helped Grampy mow the grass.

It was a wonderful, busy Saturday...full of smiles

We were pooped at the end of the day... We both crashed before we finished reading our story books....but we were still smiling in our dreams.

As my friend Marlene would say... I hope you have a blessed week ahead.

Love, Grammy Lura

Wednesday Wisdom

BANK ACCOUNT!!!

What are you saving these days?

This is an AWESOME story... my friend sent it to me this week... I think you will enjoy reading it. The advice in it is something we should all remember and incorporate it into our hearts and attitudes.

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly,even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.

His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. "Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind.

I already decided to love it. 'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account.

You withdraw from what you've put in.

So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!

Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still depositing.

'Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

(I will give you the 5 rules he listed and then put in my two cents worth under each rule)

1. Free your heart from hatred.

When I was 7 my father ran off with a teenage girl throwing our life into shambles. We became the scandal of our small New Mexico town and my mom and I were thrown into poverty. From that day on my mom had to work very hard for very little wages. I was left alone much of the time because she could not afford a sitter. I hated my father for doing that to us. I hated seeing my sweet mom work so hard for so little. I hated not having a father to be there for me like most of my friends had. I had a cold spot in my heart that bore down on me with a heavy weight.

My mom wisely told me that I needed to forgive my father. She said that I should feel sorry for him for making bad decisions....she said that it was sad that he was on a path that would only bring him grief and that he was missing the joy of being my father... she said that I should pray for him. She said hating him only added to my grief. She said that I was too good a person to carry hate in my heart.

It took me a long time to be able to take her advice..... in fact I was an adult before I could forgive him..... but I did... and when I did it was such a blessing to me. It was like a great weight was lifted off my shoulders. My mom was so wise and she was right. A loving heart has no room for hate.

2. Free your mind from worries.

Do the best you can and then give your worries to the Lord and trust He will guide your life. God's timing is not the same as our timing. It is sometimes hard for me to be patient and trusting but I know my Heavenly Father loves each of us and He is there for us. I can lay my burdens at His feet and He will take my yolk upon Himself and support me.

3. Live simply.

My son David served his mission for the LDS church in Argentina. My daughter Erin has been going to Ghana Africa for years working with the deaf children there. Both Erin and David have commented about how happy the people are in those countries. People who are poor and have almost nothing compared to our American standards are so happy and content. I think that we can learn a lesson from them. We don't need things to make us happy.

We just need to love the Lord and our fellowmen and live simply within our means to be happy.

4.. Give more.

The best way to overcome our sorrows is to give service to others.

I know from experience that when I have had the greatest reasons to grieve comfort came when I was able to reach out to others in their need. Service is a blessing to the receiver and the giver. A while after our baby died my mom told me to wipe my tears and look for others who needed love and help. It was great advice. It gave me my life back.... and I started smiling again.

5. Expect less.

When we concentrate on what we can give, instead of what we can get, we are much happier people.

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I think these 5 rules are good advice. I am glad my friend sent them to me I will try to follow them.

I am happy today....

I got to have a video call with my sweet Argentine friend Luis.

My son David met Luis while he was on his mission to Argentina.

Luis came as a boy of 17 to visit us in the states and stayed with us for a while.

We love him and I was so happy to get to speak to him face to face. His blog is in Spanish but if you go to it you can click on a link on his sidebar for the English version. Go visit him. He is serving as a full time missionary for his church. He is not of my faith but he has great insight to share with you.

I also got to visit my friend Sil this week and instance message with Marie.

I am blessed.... and I have decided to be happy today.

I wish you a happy day too.

Love, Lura

This week's reasons to smile

Dear Blog Friends,

Perhaps you've noticed that I haven't been doing much blogging lately. Part of the reason is my computer is being difficult and is barely creeping along. I hope that my clever son-in-law, Patrick will be able to fix it the next time we get together....but that may not be for a while. The other reason is I've hit a blogger's block. After reading several blogs of late that have been so touching and heart rendering about the loss of loved ones , serious accidents, illnesses, etc I have felt that anything I have to blog about is trite or frivolous and not very note worthy.

I was discussing this with the Queen of Blog, Marie this week.

I asked her how she can post every day?

She said that "I write because I can't not write".

I have thought a lot about that.

Marie writes because she sees little miracles happening every day and beauty all around her. She works at a hard and difficult job but she finds the joy in it.

She looks for the goodness in her life and can't wait to share it with us in blogland.

My life is also filled with good things.

My cup runnith over with blessings.

My family and friends including you, my blog friends, fill my life with joy and love.

How can I not write about such blessings!!!

Writing about my simple life and doings can not compare with other blogs I read,

but it is my life and I am grateful for it.

I will continue to post about my little world even if it may seem to you to be uneventful.

Writing about these things is my way of sharing my smiles with you and thanking my Heavenly Father for the blessings He gives me each day.

Leprechauns and Rainbows make me smile.

Leprechauns came to my house again this year. They have been dropping by in March for as long as I can remember and doing Leprechaunish mischief. They didn't do as many silly things this year as they used to do when our children were small but they still had fun. They took my dough out of the breadmaker and marbled it with green food coloring. Then they hid it in the oven and let it rise way over the pan until it looked like a giant mushroom. I thought it was still in the bread maker and was surprised when I found a green and white mushroom loaf in my oven. They also turned our applesauce and lemonade green. (They used to turn our milk and pancakes green but when the kids left John told them not to continue with that mischief any more.)

They took down the valentine decorations and put up Shamrocks on our holiday tree.

Then they painted us a rainbow. It filled the sky as we drove to church this morning. They didn't remember to leave a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow but I felt rich just looking at the sky. We need rain so badly in our drought ridden area. What a blessing to get a little rain to water our parched land.

St. Patrick's Day Dinner makes me smile.

The Leprechauns also did a really nice job of setting the table for our St. Pat's dinner.

We had the traditional corn beef and cabbage etc., etc.

We usually only can find corn beef in our markets in March so we only have it once a year..... but when we do.... we really enjoy it..... first as dinner and then in sandwiches (on mushroom bread with green spots.
Yum Yum!!!

Of course it wouldn't be any fun to have St. Patrick's Day dinner without sweet family to share it with.
My family has been putting up with the Leprechauns coming for years and always smile at the silly things they do.

Sewing for my grandchildren makes me smile.

(Warning.... don't look at this Loni if you want to be surprised.)




It always makes me happy that I can take some material and a pattern and with a little work and time, turn it into a pretty dress my grand-daughters can wear and enjoy.



I like being creative with piping, lace, sequins and pearls.

I guess that sewing is one of the few talents I have.


Lonica's 10th birthday is coming up.

I have always called her my Honey Bunny and made her Birthday/Easter dresses
since she is my Easter girl.

She picked out this pattern and the fabric when they were visiting at Christmas.

I am excited to send it to her. I know she will like it.
I will make more for the other girls as time allows.

I know that they are growing fast..... The time is coming that they will not want homemade dresses made by Grammy.... but for now they do....
and that makes me smile.

Louann makes me smile.

Louann has been cutting and styling my hair for over 20 years.
She can take my wild thick mop of hair and tame it.

She has become my dear friend.
She is a wonderful person.... she is my personal therapist.
I love Louann.
Whether I am happy or sad I always feel better after a visit to Louann.
Doesn't just looking at her sweet face make you smile?
(My only worry is she is talking about retiring..... then who will tame my mop???)

Little League and EJ make me smile.

Well it is baseball season again.
Unfortunately, EJ got traded by the Angels.

However, he was the first draft pick of the White Sox.

He and his team are ready to knock-m-out of the park.

Don't they look so cute in their uniforms!!! (Even though I like the Angel's uniform
from last year better.... shhh... don't tell EJ.


Here is he up at bat. He is a slugger.

He got a base run and drove 2 boys in for a score.

Last week in his first game is got a homer.

Way to do EJ!!!! You make your grammy smile.

He just got me to post these pictures on his blog.

He would love it if you would go to his blog, Baseball Kid and say hi. Thanks

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I am thankful that I have these things to smile about.

I never take them for granted.

Life is fragile.... it can change in the blink of an eye.

Each day is a precious gift from God.

Let us all notice, appreciate and give thanks for the many reasons we have to smile.

Love, Grammy Lura

My Six Reasons to Smile & One Reason to Frown

It seems that I hardly have time to turn around before it is Sunday again and time for my Sunday Six reasons to smile.... but before I list them I have a blog friend who is really sad. I told you about Plaid last week. Her last post is called "Isolated". She is heavy with grief from the loss of two of her wee babies.... she doesn't understand why God didn't step in and help the doctors save them.... she doen't understand why she hasn't had more support from real friends or blog friends. Please.... Please take a minute to go to her blog and give her love..... like several of you did last week. She really needs it and that would make me smile.

This is my Sunday Six for this week:

I like Sundays. Sundays make me smile.

I like going to church and recharging my spiritual batteries.

I like singing the hymns.

I like partaking of the sacrament and renewing the covenants I made when I was baptized.

I like meeting with my church friends.... they are like a second family to me.

I like having dinner with my daughter Mindy and her family every Sunday.

I like writing my blog and thinking of the things I've smiled about during the week.

I like reading your blogs and getting comments from you.

I like Sundays. They make me smile.

Being retired with my John makes me smile.

When my friends learned that John and I were both retiring at the same time some of them warned me that I would probably be bored to death and John would drive me crazy being under foot all day long.

Boy were they wrong!!!

Retirement is like living in a fairy tale.

It is like a dream come true....

and we are far from bored.... in fact we are so busy that I don't know how we ever managed to fit teaching careers into our schedules.

John and I are having so much fun.

We get up when we want.... After years of getting up before dawn and being to school by 7:25a.m. ...we turned off the alarm clock and wake up around 8:30a.m. or even later!!!

Every time I look at the clock I smile....for the first time ever, my time is my own....

I am no longer ruled by the bell and I love it.

It is wonderful being able to travel any time we want.

We love visiting with family and friends.

We don't have the income that we used to but we have freedom that we have never had before.

It is great. Freedom makes me smile.

Our Prius makes me smile.

Glen Beck is always making fun of Prius owners.

I just smile..... because I love our Prius.

I love the keyless entry and ignition.

I love the GPS.

I love the back up camera and leather seats.

I love the 6 CD stereo system.

I love getting 44 or more miles per gallon. I love our Prius!

Reading to my grandchildren makes me smile

I take Austin to the library each week and he picks out books for us to read together.
We also take the Friend Magazine which is put out by our church.
It is full of good stories that teach about morals, values, family and Jesus.

As you can see from this picture, my grandchildren are always excited and enthralled when I read to them and eagerly absorb every word. (hee hee)

Celebrating with Austin for his Birthday makes me smile.

We just had a small family party for Austin's birthday....
but he could not have been more please.

Being an avid Thomas the Tank Engine fan, Mindy knew that making him a Thomas cake would make him happy.

I mentioned last week about how thankful we are to live close to Mindy and her family.
We adore all of our grandchildren.
We wish we lived close to all of them..... but since we can't do that.... we really appreciate having this sweet family close to us.

Austin was delighted with each gift and we were delighted being there with him.

Luckily we had Grampy there to get the toys out of the boxes.

It took forever to get the toys out of the packaging.

Oh well, that did not make me smile but having John there to open them did.

Now....after all of that smiling.... this is what I am frowning about.

My computer has gone haywire.

I loaded a web cam and it's drivers on it yesterday.

It worked great until I tried to use it today.

It took me 22 minutes to log on and go to Oak Cottage to visit Marie this morning.

Tonight it won't even do that. It won't let me visit anyone!!!!

It will eventually bring up my google reader but it won't scroll down or let me click on any of your blogs to read or comment.

I am sad. I want to visit your blogs and say hello.

I hope we can figure out what is wrong and fix it soon.

Do any of you have suggestions for fixing it?

Other than my lap top being difficult tonight, I have had many things to smile about and I am thankful.

My life is rich and full. I am grateful for these and the many other blessings that the Lord has given me.

I hope that you have a happy and blessed week ahead and I hope I can visit you soon.

Love, Lura

Sunday Six

Here it is time for my Sunday Six reasons to smile.
Even though my heart was heavy at times this week and I shed a tear or two, I also have had lots to smile about.

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My heart went out to the Gledhills as I knew they were saying "goodnight" to Gracie and having her funeral. Tears flowed as I thought of them all week.

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My heart was touched when my daughter Lynell noticed a comment left on Gracie's blog by Plaid, a mother who has lost two of her wee babes.

This grieving mother has not had the great outpouring of support that the Gledhills have had. My tears flowed for her as well. I hope that you will visit her blog and give her some bloggy love.

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I was also saddened by the grief of my daughter, Erin who lost a dear 85 year old neighbor and friend this week. Karma was a second grandmother to Erin.

Patrick and Erin loved this sweet lady. When ever Patrick got flowers for Erin he always got a second bouquet for Karma. Karma was just fine at church last Sunday. She always sat with Erin and Patrick. She got sick on Monday and died on Wed. morning. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her even though they are glad that she is back with her dear husband again in heaven.

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Death is always hard for us mortals to deal with. It is so hard to say goodbye. However even when death touches our lives we have reasons to smile.

1. We can smile because we know that Jesus took our sins upon Himself and died for us. In doing so, He made it possible for us to repent and be forgiven and return to live with our Heavenly Father again.

We can smile because we know life is eternal and families can be together forever.

What a blessing this knowledge is.... what a comfort to those who grieve.
This is the best reason of all for us to smile.

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2. Pansies make me smile We have had lovely Spring weather all week so...

I thought that it was a good time to plant Pansies.
I do this every Spring.

I put them in pots all around in our patios.
Now I ask you.... How can anyone look at a Pansy and not smile???


Seeing their sweet little faces nodding in the breeze is such a delight.
Pansies are certainly smile makers in my book.
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3. School talent shows make me smile.

Saturday we attended an elementary school talent show.
It started and ended with an all cast musical number.

They were darling.

Each act was precious even if some had more talent than others.

Can you find our Claire and EJ in the picture above?
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4. Claire and EJ make me smile.

They were the cutest....most talented kids in the talent show.

(Of course I am not one bit biased.... no...no... not me!)

Our 7 year old Claire Bear brought the house down when she sang her rendition of

"My Dress has Always Been My Strongest Suit"

Aunt Lynell choreographed and taught Claire the dance moves to go with the song.

Mindy, Ernie and her voice teacher helped her work on the vocals.

She was adorable and did a great job!!!!

Our quiet, shy, 9 year old EJ really surprised us by auditioning and being in the talent show.

He played a lovely piano piece and didn't miss a note.

He also sang and danced in the opening and closing numbers like a pro.

Way to go EJ!

The talent show was held in the high school auditorium where Ernie teaches and directs the bands. Austin is familiar with the stage and ran up after the show to show us his dance moves....such talent...heehee
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5. Living close to these grandchildren makes me smile.

We only live close to 3 of our soon to be 12 grandchildren.

We miss being near David's and Lynell's children more than we can say.

However it is wonderful having Mindy's children close by and sharing their every activity with them. We attend every recital, church or school program, church talk, game or party.

What a blessing that is for us.... what wonderful smile makers indeed!!!
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6. Community programs make me smile.

Every Monday I take Austin to our local library for story, song and craft time.

It is so much fun.

Here they are dancing to "If You're Happy and you Know It"
After the class we always check out books and a "Thomas and Friends" DVD.

We come home, have lunch, read the books and watch Thomas the tank engine while we rest.

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We have fun going to the library every week.

Just thinking of it makes me smile.... and Austin too.
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I also am smiling because I got to chat with my sweet friend Marie from Oak Cottage this week.

We are like two peas in a pod.

I am thankful for IMs, phones, blogs and email that can bring us together

over the many miles we live apart.

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I also smile when I hear from you dear blog friends.

Thank you for visiting me and leaving your nice comments.

I love keeping in touch with you.

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I hope that all of you had lots to smile about last week.... and will in the week to come as well.

Love, Grammy Lura