A Dusting of the Cobwebs....

welcome to my blog!
...allow me a brief introduction...

In a reacent conversation with my daughter, her questions were why I, and her Dad were so quiet about our lifes? Meaning writing or telling about our own personal historys.

I didn't think there was anything important to write about. As I was just a normal person, getting up in the morning and getting the day started, getting kids off to school, or meeting schedules of the whole family, cleaning house, and landry. Keeping little ones busy, and changing diapers, comming home fixing dinner, helping with homework, putting kids to bed, watch some news, go to bed. And then do it all over again the next day. Then some days was teaching lessons in Primary, RS, MIA, Sundayschool, cub scouts, or helping at schools, ect. Family home evening, Visiting teaching, and even some Home teaching and being the family schaefer. most of the time we had one car, 6 kids, one working husband. Oh yes, the multi years of music lessons, and baseball teams, coaching, and even one major jumproap champion, for one daughter.

We had trials too. some were very hard, just thinking about a single memory of losing our son, brings tears. But we are told that this life is to meet trials, and how we handle them will be for our own eternal growth.

A very wise Stake President, President Alred, once said "We are here to be schooled in the principles of eternity. We will work by the sweat of our brow, to work our way through this life... But remember we are here to be schooled in the principles of eternity."

So, I welcome you to my blog. Please feel free to stay and go as you please, and wander where you wish. And, as always, feel comfortable in sharing those stories that you may feel are just "an every day" thing as well...



Nov 8, 2008

Fall...



I fell today, and it was not a good thing. I saw a black fuzzy jumping spider walking on my vaulted celling. Normally they don't botter me, but since I have moved to Utah the jumping spiders are larger, and more furrier than I have seen before, and they continue to grow. My concern also was for my birds. I didn't want them to get bit or scared.

I tried to reach the spider with my broom. He seeing a broom was after him, let himself down on a web string. Some how I lost my balance and started to fall. I grabbed the rocking chair that was close to me, but it couldn't hold my weight and it toppled with me to the floor. No one could hear me, and I couldn't get up from the floor. It may have been a good thing, because it forced me to sit still for a while. The bad thing is I landed on my left hip and leg. The one I had surgery on just 6 months ago.

I am puzzled as to why I lost my balance so easy...I had no sense of falling till I was in the middle of falling and then it was too late to do anything. I was not standing on anything, just reaching up with a broom, like you would normally do.

As I sat on the floor I watch Mr. Spider crawling all over a wooden kitchen chair that was holding my VCR, and some vidio tapes. Wondering where he was, and how was he going to get off these funny things... He was latter escorted outside by Lynn when he came in from tilling Fall leafs into the garden soil...

This is the third fall I have had since I have lived in Utah. One was while I was showering. The other was while I was sitting on the bathtub side. both were before I had hip surgery. But I don't know why I seem to be losing my sense of balance...

Nov 2, 2008

Halloween...










I Love the fall time of the year. Changes all around me, such as the turning of the leaves from green to orange, red, brown, and yellow. It seems that Mother nature has taken the time to paint fall time beautiful, the last glimpse of radiant color before the beauty of winter times begins.

I Love Halloween, Its the beginning of the Holidays. Mostly filled with beautiful keepsakes displayed within our homes. A time for making our family happy, watching smiling faces. A feeling of warmth and love.

These are some of my decorations for Halloween this year. 2 points for each spider you can find.

This is the first time I have put more than one photo on my blog at a time. I found it interesting that no matter how many times I try to make them perfect, the Computer puts them the way he wants them to go anyway..... I give up... Just enjoy. :)

Update: There are 8 spiders. Your close Mike....

Oct 13, 2008

A New Grandaughter...

This is taken from Mike's Blog, my son-inlaw
Violet Ruth Maughan Oct. 13, 2008
..........................................


Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Then there was Twig........ and we saw that it was good.


So my buddy Sam and his wife and kids came down to visit. Well they came for a funarel, but visiting us was a good biproduct. :) They left sunday morning and we went about our regular daily activities. Jen went to cleaning up toys and I went to studing and so forth. Jen was tired and didn't feel up to church so I went and took the worm. Nothing really significant happened on Sunday; until around 11pm. I was asleep and Jen was not. She didn't tell me that she had started contractions. My alarm goes off at around 6am(being extra tired cause Jen was up half the night "cleaning" and keeping busy but hadn't yet told me why) I thought it highly suspicious that she would ask me as I'm going out the door if I have the cell phone and if it's on. I go to class (which I was an hour early for.) and sit and talk to a class mate of mine. He hadn't been able to guess the weight of the unborn yet, so we chatted and I told him I was expecting a call from Jen to go have a baby. Not more than 5 minutes later, Jen called and I laughed and told my friend that I had to go and to tell our teacher that I was at the hospital having a baby.(well not me but my wife) and off we go. We get to the hospital and after about 45min of paper work and check ups. they take us to the "offical" Delivery room. 30 minutes later the man giving out drugs in the form of an epidural shows up. (Jen was in great pain at this point) and after he's done she doesn't feel much diffrent. It was a little late. 15 minutes later the nurse said she could see and feel the head of the baby coming through and so she told the Doc to git in the room. He had been in the hall for a bit just waiting for it to get closer. He had just check Jen like 2 minutes before the nurse said that he needs to get in there! I was a little worried that I would have to put on the catchers mask and go to work. No sooner than the doctor got his gown on and sites down does the head show up and poor Jen almost no drug relief, now has to push the kid out. The doctor tells her 1 good 10 second push and it will all be over. So she does and to the doctors dismay only the head comes out and the sholders just don't. So 2 more big pushes and it was over. We have a twig! Now you might be wondering why we call her "Twig" it's a nic and our first daughter has one it's "worm" cause she wiggled a lot. We couldn't call this one the same thing for obviouse reasons so it became twig. Violet was born Oct. 13th 2008 at 10:06 am (only an hour and a half after getting there) She weighed in at 7lbs 12 oz. Just one more ounce than Sarah was at. She was 19.5 inches long. Mother and Daughter are doing fine and are looking forward to coming home today.

Oct 12, 2008

Its just time...



I had a special time this morning with two of my birds and two of my daughters.
They are all Jenday Conyers. Even though its fast Sunday I still have to eat a little something in order to take my morning meds. So this morning to keep it simple I had made a plain peanut butter sandwich.

I heard some noise coming from the room where the birds were. Holding the sandwich behind me I slowly opened the door to see if they were all right. I found Hermione on the floor, and Kiwi on top of Hermine's cage. I quickly picked up Hermione and returned her to the top of her cage and tried to get Kiwi. How ever Kiwi doesn't like hands, but slowly she allowed me to put her on her cage. By this time Jenny was asking for a little attention. I remembered I was holding a peanut butter sandwich behind my back and thought that maybe they would like a bite. Hand feeding four funny birds is quite a treat...

Hermione, prefers to be on top of her cage, at the back. Will not eat anything she does not know, unless Jenny eats it first.
Jenny, who prefers to be inside the cage, is a little picky about eating something new, and often will move her mouth up and down pretending to you that she has taken a bite of what had been offered to her.

Kiwi, is quite abit like Hermione, likes to be out, little more aggressive, doesn't like hands, and is extremely intelligent. Shy about trying any thing new.
Aussie, Very gentle, Likes to be in the cage more, and likes everything.

So here is four different personality's, and a peanut butter sandwich.
Jenny had eaten a couple of bites, but when she got peanut butter stuck in her beak, most of the time was spent in licking it off.
Harmonia shy, but kept running back and fourth across the top of the cage to get small bites.
Kiwi would take a bite now and then, she didn't know what to make of the sandwich. You could tell she really wanted more, but her eyes got in the way of coming for more.
Aussie ate as much of the sandwich as her beak would hold, and loved it.

I hadn't intended to spend time with them this busy morning, but I am glad that I did. I will have some fun memories to remember....

But doesn't it always seem to happen that way...

Oct 11, 2008

Strange feelings...


Money, Money have I none.... None for Thanksgiving, None for Christmas, or birthdays... No money for at least seven months, and then.. we will see... right now even, no money for food...

But I have a years supply of fading soap for cloths...

Oct 8, 2008

Mirror mirror on the wall...


I look in the mirror and ponder the face that is looking back at me. It seems to have gotten older, alot this year... wrinkles have deepen, and my skin is loosing its elasticity. The gray hair on my head has been covered with dye, and it helps me from feeling older, just a little slower. Age marks have started showing up on my skin, and the ugly black hairs around my mouth and chin are pesky, and wont go away.

My smile is still there, just have to push a few more wrinkles out of the way. My eyes seem bright as ever, just needing glasses to see more clearly...however they seem a little tired lately.

I sit here feeling sorry for myself, when I look out the window and see my neighbors white and black cat, with three legs, just enjoying himself. He is usually playing in our garden in the morning times. He loves being there. Missing one of his front legs slows him down a little, but it doesn't stop him at all...He is quite a cat...

Oct 7, 2008

Not a funny Halloween trick...


Its a scary thing to know you have just received your last paycheck... And the financial bottom of the stock market has just fallen out, where your retirement funds are... and your in your 60's but not 65 yet...

October... this is not a trick or treet for Halloween...

love your kids