Dear Children,
The beginning of this week Dad and I filled with projects. It felt so good to engage my mind in a project. For Family Home Evening we tackled the huge job of reorganizing the storage room (and just the food part!). Dad had worked in the hot sun all day and I had unloaded two of the shelving units so we both were low on energy and decided we would give it a good hour and a half. We took out the old brown shelving unit that was in there when Dad built the wall to divide the room to make a summer bedroom for returning college students. So, we realized we had to take the shelves completely apart to get them out. Dad would have just preferred to chop them apart but I had already promised them to the Farb family . . . rats! Our project went late into the night as all projects seem to have a way of doing! The rest of the week I have been working on small portions of putting the room back together. I haven’t tackled building the rolling shelves yet; there is so much to do. In cleaning out one of my boxes I found something I thought I had misplaced (for which I had searched many, many hours). It is the letter signed by President Benson to me about my sealing cancelation. Even without knowing that Dad and I wondered about the sealing of our children, the letter gave us the answers and inspired counsel that we needed. It explained things beautifully and when one of you had a question about it, I wished that I could have found it to read to you his exact wording. Now I am so happy to know where that is.
I also have cleaned out some excess sporting equipment except I did save three large pair of soccer cleats in case anyone wants to get out the soccer nets someday and have a fun family game when you visit. I also found a net that looks like a golfing net. I think it was a Christmas present many years ago from Grandma Maldonado to one of you. Do you remember it and to whom does it belong?
My other projects were researching about pruning some of the bushes and trees in the yard. I worked on the calla lilies (we had a great crop this summer), the blueberries and I pruned the pom pom tree. There is something about pruning that I love; it is very therapeutic to me and it also makes me think of several gospel principles as I am chopping away. I was thinking recently about the currant bush pruning analogy when I was weeding Grandma Bitter’s rose bushes and they just kept attacking me with their sharp thorns leaving me with bruises and bloody cuts (in fact a couple of little thorns are just working themselves out of my hand still). I wondered why the roses didn’t realize that I was helping them by ridding them of the weeds so they could get more nutrients and light that the weeds were robbing from them!!!
Last week, the thought came to me that I wished those in our ward who attended BYU Education Week in August could give a synopsis of some of the things they learned. I had meant to watch some of it on BYU TV but something was going on that week that directed my attention elsewhere. I used to love going over to the church and watching classes there so I felt that I had really missed out. Some day I would love it if Dad and I could be on campus for that together. Then on Sunday, because Nate was here and we went to Beaverton First Ward, I heard that we were having Relief Society Enrichment this week and that was going to be one of the classes, different sisters sharing information from their Education Week classes. Here are a few of ideas I learned from them:
Robin Whitaker, from a class by Rob Line quoted this: Jeffrey R. Holland in the book, “However Long and Hard the Road.” Said, “You can change anything you want to change, and you can do it very fast. Another satanic suckerpunch is that it takes years and years and eons of eternity to repent. That’s just not true. It takes exactly as long to repent as it takes to say, “I’ll change” and mean it. Of course there will be problems to work out and restitutions to make. You may well spend – indeed, you had better spend, the rest of your life proving your repentance by its permanence. But change, growth, renewal, and repentance can come for you as instantaneously as they did for Alma and the sons of Mosiah.”
He also gave this quote from an October 1999 Conference Talk given by L. Tom Perry, “Some Christians carry their religion on their backs. It is a packet of beliefs and practices which they must bear. At times it grows heavy and they would willingly lay it down, but that would mean a break with old traditions, so they shoulder it again. But real Christians do not carry their religion, their religion carries them. It is not weight; it is wings. It lifts them up, it sees them over hard places, it makes the universe seem friendly, life purposeful, hope real, sacrifice worthwhile. It sets them free from fear, futility, discouragement, and sin—the great enslavers of men’s souls. You can know a real Christian, when you see him, by his buoyancy.”
In a class by a Mark Beecher he taught that we should look at our scripture reading as an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with Deity. He also pointed out that the main theme of the Book of Mormon is: Who asks for forgiveness, receives it.
Carol Stanger went to a great lecturer, Carol Wrigley Wright, on the subject of depression. She taught, “Think differently, act differently, and feel differently.” This teacher has a website with a CD offer from her lectures.
Speaking of the Stangers, Dad and I had a fun weekend in Seaside with them. Of course, they had to be subjected to the infamous “90 minute presentation” in order for the marketing team to give me the weekend on one of the top floors with a great view. They said it
was worth it! The weather was pristine; beautiful blue skies and great temperatures for the coast. We swam, played Skee Ball and Air Hockey in the game room on the corner, walked the shops on Broadway, drove bumper cars and played lots of games in the room until all hours of the morning! We took a page from our fun Christmas trip there with all of you and rented a surrey. Wow; I didn’t realize how nice it was to have all those “young” legs pedaling back then . . . it was a lot of work! One ngiht we took a very late walk along the promenade and saw many groups with fires on the beach. We need to do that next time!
With the weather so clam, Dad and I even sat on the beach and read. It was a very relaxing trip. Dad and I stayed to watch sundown on Sunday afternoon. It was quite nice; we sat on a bench eating clam chowder as the sun dipped into the ocean. On the way home
, a bright harvest moon had already risen; it was a beautiful sight in between the trail of tall trees that lined the highway home. It made the VERY slow ride home (with all the other Portlanders who escaped the weekend heat to the coast) both picturesque and tranquil.
In my beach reading I thoroughly enjoyed the first page of one of the recent Church News editions; it was the regular column of inspirational messages from the prophet. I must embarrassingly admit that, since the death of President Hinckley, I have been a bit reluctant to wholeheartedly dive into absorbing and loving every word from the prophet, President Monson. It is taking me a while to shift that attachment from President Hinckley. Well, when I read these comments I had the same comfortable feeling I had when President Hinckley spoke; it was a great feeling. Here are a few:
“There is no better time in all the world to make important choices than at the beginning of a new semester, and particularly at the beginning of a new year, for we literally become the product of our choices. Our choices determine our destiny.”
“The Spirit must be freed from tethers so strong and feelings never put to rest, so that the lift of life may give buoyancy to the soul. In many families, there are hurt feelings and a reluctance to forgive. It doesn’t really matter what the issue was. It cannot and should not be left to injure. Blame keeps wounds open. Only forgiveness heals. George Herbert an early 17th-century poet, wrote these lines: ‘He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven, for everyone has need of forgiveness.’”
“Each one of you is living a life filled with much to do. I plead with you not to let the important things in life pass you by, planning instead for that illusive and non-existent future day when you’ll have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey – now.”
Aren’t those great?
Adam called my cell phone while Dad and I were at the beach. He was kind enough to call us back to report on Aunt Lynn. Dad and I have been very concerned about her since her heart attack last Sunday. Luckily, she released on Wednesday and she is doing better. She sounded good as we talked after our conversation with Adam. They could not find a clot but saw some damage weakening the left side of her heart. Her doctor expected that she could completely heal which is wonderful news. There is not any change, that I know of, with Kyre’s situation. Klaire is staying with Aunt Angie (with Sunhee and Meeja) until Kyre’s final court dates at the end of this month.
While coming home from the beach I heard the sad call from Rebekah reporting that she went to the hospital because she broke her arm. She has a new bike and unfortunately lost control on Saturday, falling and breaking her arm. That’s two broken bones for poor Rebekah already!
Aubrey called to tell me some great news: they decided to come to BYU’s homecoming game while we will be in Utah also. They booked their flight so they can also stay for Grandma Bitter’s birthday and Bill and Heidi’s Canadian Thanksgiving! I am looking forward to a great gathering.
Adrianne reports a good start to the new school year. She loves her organ class and practicing with twelve other people in the same lab with the twelve organs is not as intimidating as she had thought as they all have earphones on listening to their own work. Her stake had regional conference last Sunday with President Uchtdorf and Packer. Her organ teacher was the organist at the broadcast that was filmed live there at the Marriott Center. I think she enjoys having a kitchen; she has already made ganache with her roommates!
Dad and I are enjoying a beautiful summery September and all the benefits in our garden that comes with the sunshine! I love you, Love, Mom
The beginning of this week Dad and I filled with projects. It felt so good to engage my mind in a project. For Family Home Evening we tackled the huge job of reorganizing the storage room (and just the food part!). Dad had worked in the hot sun all day and I had unloaded two of the shelving units so we both were low on energy and decided we would give it a good hour and a half. We took out the old brown shelving unit that was in there when Dad built the wall to divide the room to make a summer bedroom for returning college students. So, we realized we had to take the shelves completely apart to get them out. Dad would have just preferred to chop them apart but I had already promised them to the Farb family . . . rats! Our project went late into the night as all projects seem to have a way of doing! The rest of the week I have been working on small portions of putting the room back together. I haven’t tackled building the rolling shelves yet; there is so much to do. In cleaning out one of my boxes I found something I thought I had misplaced (for which I had searched many, many hours). It is the letter signed by President Benson to me about my sealing cancelation. Even without knowing that Dad and I wondered about the sealing of our children, the letter gave us the answers and inspired counsel that we needed. It explained things beautifully and when one of you had a question about it, I wished that I could have found it to read to you his exact wording. Now I am so happy to know where that is.
I also have cleaned out some excess sporting equipment except I did save three large pair of soccer cleats in case anyone wants to get out the soccer nets someday and have a fun family game when you visit. I also found a net that looks like a golfing net. I think it was a Christmas present many years ago from Grandma Maldonado to one of you. Do you remember it and to whom does it belong?
My other projects were researching about pruning some of the bushes and trees in the yard. I worked on the calla lilies (we had a great crop this summer), the blueberries and I pruned the pom pom tree. There is something about pruning that I love; it is very therapeutic to me and it also makes me think of several gospel principles as I am chopping away. I was thinking recently about the currant bush pruning analogy when I was weeding Grandma Bitter’s rose bushes and they just kept attacking me with their sharp thorns leaving me with bruises and bloody cuts (in fact a couple of little thorns are just working themselves out of my hand still). I wondered why the roses didn’t realize that I was helping them by ridding them of the weeds so they could get more nutrients and light that the weeds were robbing from them!!!
Last week, the thought came to me that I wished those in our ward who attended BYU Education Week in August could give a synopsis of some of the things they learned. I had meant to watch some of it on BYU TV but something was going on that week that directed my attention elsewhere. I used to love going over to the church and watching classes there so I felt that I had really missed out. Some day I would love it if Dad and I could be on campus for that together. Then on Sunday, because Nate was here and we went to Beaverton First Ward, I heard that we were having Relief Society Enrichment this week and that was going to be one of the classes, different sisters sharing information from their Education Week classes. Here are a few of ideas I learned from them:
Robin Whitaker, from a class by Rob Line quoted this: Jeffrey R. Holland in the book, “However Long and Hard the Road.” Said, “You can change anything you want to change, and you can do it very fast. Another satanic suckerpunch is that it takes years and years and eons of eternity to repent. That’s just not true. It takes exactly as long to repent as it takes to say, “I’ll change” and mean it. Of course there will be problems to work out and restitutions to make. You may well spend – indeed, you had better spend, the rest of your life proving your repentance by its permanence. But change, growth, renewal, and repentance can come for you as instantaneously as they did for Alma and the sons of Mosiah.”
He also gave this quote from an October 1999 Conference Talk given by L. Tom Perry, “Some Christians carry their religion on their backs. It is a packet of beliefs and practices which they must bear. At times it grows heavy and they would willingly lay it down, but that would mean a break with old traditions, so they shoulder it again. But real Christians do not carry their religion, their religion carries them. It is not weight; it is wings. It lifts them up, it sees them over hard places, it makes the universe seem friendly, life purposeful, hope real, sacrifice worthwhile. It sets them free from fear, futility, discouragement, and sin—the great enslavers of men’s souls. You can know a real Christian, when you see him, by his buoyancy.”
In a class by a Mark Beecher he taught that we should look at our scripture reading as an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with Deity. He also pointed out that the main theme of the Book of Mormon is: Who asks for forgiveness, receives it.Carol Stanger went to a great lecturer, Carol Wrigley Wright, on the subject of depression. She taught, “Think differently, act differently, and feel differently.” This teacher has a website with a CD offer from her lectures.
Speaking of the Stangers, Dad and I had a fun weekend in Seaside with them. Of course, they had to be subjected to the infamous “90 minute presentation” in order for the marketing team to give me the weekend on one of the top floors with a great view. They said it
was worth it! The weather was pristine; beautiful blue skies and great temperatures for the coast. We swam, played Skee Ball and Air Hockey in the game room on the corner, walked the shops on Broadway, drove bumper cars and played lots of games in the room until all hours of the morning! We took a page from our fun Christmas trip there with all of you and rented a surrey. Wow; I didn’t realize how nice it was to have all those “young” legs pedaling back then . . . it was a lot of work! One ngiht we took a very late walk along the promenade and saw many groups with fires on the beach. We need to do that next time!With the weather so clam, Dad and I even sat on the beach and read. It was a very relaxing trip. Dad and I stayed to watch sundown on Sunday afternoon. It was quite nice; we sat on a bench eating clam chowder as the sun dipped into the ocean. On the way home
, a bright harvest moon had already risen; it was a beautiful sight in between the trail of tall trees that lined the highway home. It made the VERY slow ride home (with all the other Portlanders who escaped the weekend heat to the coast) both picturesque and tranquil.In my beach reading I thoroughly enjoyed the first page of one of the recent Church News editions; it was the regular column of inspirational messages from the prophet. I must embarrassingly admit that, since the death of President Hinckley, I have been a bit reluctant to wholeheartedly dive into absorbing and loving every word from the prophet, President Monson. It is taking me a while to shift that attachment from President Hinckley. Well, when I read these comments I had the same comfortable feeling I had when President Hinckley spoke; it was a great feeling. Here are a few:
“There is no better time in all the world to make important choices than at the beginning of a new semester, and particularly at the beginning of a new year, for we literally become the product of our choices. Our choices determine our destiny.”
“The Spirit must be freed from tethers so strong and feelings never put to rest, so that the lift of life may give buoyancy to the soul. In many families, there are hurt feelings and a reluctance to forgive. It doesn’t really matter what the issue was. It cannot and should not be left to injure. Blame keeps wounds open. Only forgiveness heals. George Herbert an early 17th-century poet, wrote these lines: ‘He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven, for everyone has need of forgiveness.’”
“Each one of you is living a life filled with much to do. I plead with you not to let the important things in life pass you by, planning instead for that illusive and non-existent future day when you’ll have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey – now.”
Aren’t those great?
Adam called my cell phone while Dad and I were at the beach. He was kind enough to call us back to report on Aunt Lynn. Dad and I have been very concerned about her since her heart attack last Sunday. Luckily, she released on Wednesday and she is doing better. She sounded good as we talked after our conversation with Adam. They could not find a clot but saw some damage weakening the left side of her heart. Her doctor expected that she could completely heal which is wonderful news. There is not any change, that I know of, with Kyre’s situation. Klaire is staying with Aunt Angie (with Sunhee and Meeja) until Kyre’s final court dates at the end of this month.
While coming home from the beach I heard the sad call from Rebekah reporting that she went to the hospital because she broke her arm. She has a new bike and unfortunately lost control on Saturday, falling and breaking her arm. That’s two broken bones for poor Rebekah already!
Aubrey called to tell me some great news: they decided to come to BYU’s homecoming game while we will be in Utah also. They booked their flight so they can also stay for Grandma Bitter’s birthday and Bill and Heidi’s Canadian Thanksgiving! I am looking forward to a great gathering.
Adrianne reports a good start to the new school year. She loves her organ class and practicing with twelve other people in the same lab with the twelve organs is not as intimidating as she had thought as they all have earphones on listening to their own work. Her stake had regional conference last Sunday with President Uchtdorf and Packer. Her organ teacher was the organist at the broadcast that was filmed live there at the Marriott Center. I think she enjoys having a kitchen; she has already made ganache with her roommates!
Dad and I are enjoying a beautiful summery September and all the benefits in our garden that comes with the sunshine! I love you, Love, Mom
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