Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Declarations from Dad


It’s Alphabe-Thursday and today we’re talkin’ about the Delightful letter D? And....

‘Dis Daughter Decided to Draw from Discussions with a Dear Departed Dad

Today would have been my Dad’s 94th birthday. He passed away in 1998, so I won’t have the pleasure of celebrating it with him as I might were he here. Nonetheless, it’s a prefect opportunity to share some thoughts about this wonderful man whose influence I feel in my life Daily. So, here are some “Declarations” from Dad.

Don’t Doubt, Denigrate or Deny the Divine, a.k.a. Devotions Define Decorations... My Dad wasn’t a religious person, at least not in the strict sense of the word. However, he had his beliefs that ran deep and he was true to them.  It being the holiday season, decorations always come to mind for me. As a child growing up in a Jewish family, I often felt slighted because my non-Jewish friends (oh, did I mention? That would be ALL my friends!!) had beautifully decorated homes with lights and Christmas trees and such. When my brothers and I asked why we couldn’t do the same, we were told in no uncertain terms that it made no sense for us to have Christmas decorations since we didn’t celebrate Christmas.  Not even a Hanukkah bush was allowed.

When I moved out and became an independent adult, I went hog wild on Christmas decorations of every kind…but the fascination didn’t last long. Now, having come full circle and having converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, if I do decorate, I pretty much limit it to showing my devotion to the one whose birth we actually do celebrate.



Do things that make a Difference. My Dad didn’t often say “leave this world a better place than you found it.” He didn’t have to; the way he lived his life and expected us to do the same shouted this unspoken Declaration loud and clear.

Some other Declarations from Dad that need no explanation:
Dare to Dream
Don’t Deceive
Drink of life 'cuz it's simply Delicious
Don’t Doubt yourself or your Decisions
Don't Dilly Dally Because Desire along with Doing Drives Destiny and there is a Declining # of Days left in this life...

…and many other things… Happy 94th, Dad. Love and miss you! 


Hop on over to Mrs. Jenny’s place to see what other folks are Doing with that Dastardly D

Jett Planes

Get ready! If it's anything like last year, there may be lots of images like this. 



On a day like today, the thing to do is....

...look out the window, notice the delicate beauty of each snow flake, be glad that you're warm and dry...

...and then find an indoor project to work on ... something fun like these airplane wall hangings for Jett's nursery. 




Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Sunny Delight

Perhaps it wasn't the most prolific day for me, photographically speaking, but it's not the only measuring stick by which to judge a day, now is it?  The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the temperature got up to around 40 and we went for a walk in the "neighborhood".



The hubs never passes up a chance to soak up a little sun. 

And the dogs never pass up a chance to go for a run...

What an amazing place to live...the skies dazzle us regularly. 




Monday, November 28, 2011

Ooh Baby, I've Got Eyes for You!

This little man is all of three days old today. Pretty much every time I've seen him, he's been looking just like this....eyes closed, relaxed and in dream land. 

But today, finally, I got to see him with his eyes open, even if only for a minute. I guess there's no big rush...plenty of time ahead to see those dreamy eyes.


Oh, Grandma, I'm sleepy. Can you get that thing outta my face?





He's quite the cutie, don't you think?



Speaking of eyes, here's Albert letting Thump know that he only has eyes for him, too!


Sunday, November 27, 2011

A Day of Rest

Who said that Sunday was a day of rest? Hmmm, not this Sunday and not most Sundays around our house. A day of rest from the cares of the world, yes, but a day of rest? No, not so much. 

One lesson and one talk later, ahhhh, finally, time to relax. 
Time to breathe in the crisp fresh air. 

Time to take the dogs for that walk that we didn't get around to yesterday. 




Time to notice two hornet nests in one tree. 




Time to watch a lone beaver splashing around in an icy pool.

Time to notice the beauty of the trees.





Time to listen to the rushing stream.


And, after all the Thanksgiving food and fanfare, time to laugh about the ones that got away! 


Saturday, November 26, 2011

The List

Saturday. Busy day. Better make a to-do list.

Work on baby's quilt. Check.





Prepare lesson for tomorrow. Check
Take trip down canyon. Check


 
















Visit new grand baby (and take lots of photos, of course!). Check.


















Visit Granny. Check.



Get groceries. Check

Work on talk for tomorrow. Check.



Take dogs for walk. No time. (Frowny face)

Manage stress of too many things to do. Eat comfort food. Check

Would you like fries with that?* Double check! A large order please!


*Yes, it's Saturday Centus time again...check out who's ordering fries this Thanksgiving weekend over at Mrs. Jenny's house.

And actually, I'll take THIS small fry over any order of french fries!!