Inventors

Today I am feeling grateful for inventors.  Not being gifted with original thought, I am most certainly grateful for those who do have that gift.  There are too many inventions to mention that make my life so much easier and happier.  I often wonder if those inventors know that the gift they have comes from God.  I don't hear or see much evidence that a whole lot of them give God credit for the gifts He has given them.  That is sad.  But I am happy that there have been so many wonderful ideas that have been shared used to benefit mankind, and I am certainly willing to thank my Heavenly Father for those blessings.  In fact, that is now what I am trying to say with this blog.  It's a lot of the little things, as well as the big things, that make life so pleasant.  It would be nice to have original thoughts and to share them with others.  Don't have them.  My gifts are in other areas.  Perhaps that is why I am so impressed with the ideas that lead to good inventions and a better way of life.  Even the little things can be big in importance.  And, sadly, there my thoughts end.

Is Anything More Precious?

I have been trying to decide what small thing I love and write about it.  But I just can't seem to get my grandchildren off my mind.  I recently spent some real quality time with Michael, Charlotte, and Hazel (not all at the same time).  Those days were precious to me because they were spent with such AWESOME little people!  My grandchildren are just the best. No contest. Period.

Being a grandparent is amazing.  I can just enjoy each grandchild for who they are and the joy they give without the stress of parenting responsibilities.  It is a joy that goes far beyond measuring.  And because almost all my grandchildren live so far from me (New York, Indiana, Texas, Nevada), each moment with them is VERY precious to me.  Tomorrow night I go to see my one grandchild that lives near me.  I smile every time I think of her.  I can hardly wait to see her!

Each stage is fun, but I love the infant stage so much because I can just hold them close and love them without them fussing about it.  That is heavenly.  And to my own children I say, "It takes becoming a parent for you to fully understand how much I love you.  It will take becoming a grandparent to realize how much I love your children."

And, to answer my question... NO.  There really is nothing more precious!

SOFT

Having been sick last week and having had trouble sleeping, my soft blankets and pillows felt particularly comfortable to me.  I love down blankets and pillows.  I love the softness of micro fleece anything.  Larry has given me a brown lap blanket and a white robe that are so soft and comfortable.  They make me happy when I wrap up in them to go to sleep. 

I started thinking about other things that are soft and how grateful I am for them.  I love soft water.  It is always a treat to shower with soft water.  Our water is hard so I always appreciate the opportunity to use soft water.  Mom has soft water and it is one of the reasons (of many) that I love going there.

My grandpa Botkin grew lots of flowers in his garden.  I remember how I would stroke the petals of the roses in his garden.  They were soft and had the most beautiful smell.  Roses always make me think of my grandma and grandpa.  There were always bouquets with roses in them in their house.  I would try to stroke the petals carefully so they wouldn't break off the flower.  They always seemed to be softer than other flowers.

Soft ice cream is a fun treat.  I love ice cream period.  But now and then the soft ice cream is nice to have.  Perhaps that is one reason I like frozen yogurt so much.  Right now I am really liking the yogurt from Aspen Leaf.  Larry treats me to one every now and then.   I always get vanilla.  It's my favorite.  Sometimes I put sprinkles of chopped Heath bars on top.   Larry likes to go on Tuesday because it is double punch day.  I think he gets a free one when his card is full.  And I can't forget the goodness of soft chewy cookies.  I like the crunchy kind, too, but mostly if I can dip them into a glass of cold milk.  That is pretty much the only way to eat Oreo cookies and really enjoy them.  Milk just goes so well with cookies, but the chewy ones can stand on their own.

I love the soft glow of firelight.  It is mesmerizing and hypnotic.  I really could sit and watch a flame from the firelight or a candle until it has died.  They are best in the dark, of course.  A soft fireplace fire in the winter is so comforting.  It is one of my happy thoughts.  And it is best when there is a soft snowfall outside.  I love watching big snowflakes fall from the sky and make a soft white blanket on everything outside.  I love the sound of a soft rainfall.  It makes a superb background noise for falling asleep (wrapped in my soft cozy blankets).

Pretty much anything soft is good.  Soft butter, soft avocado, etc.  There are many things I have not mentioned because I would be here all day writing a list.  But I do want to make mention of soft features and words.  Soft eyes are kind eyes.  Love and compassion emanate from them.  Soft features are inviting.  Evil does not live in softness.  Soft words are also kind and used with a soft voice are soothing and healing.  I would like to be known as a soft person.  I have much to change to reach my goal.  And in my world, soft rules!

Sleep

This week I got hit with a bug.  It began on Tuesday and by that night I wasn't feeling very well.  Wednesday was worse.  I felt achy and fevered.  I took pain reliever for it but it didn't seem to do much for me.  That night I could not get comfortable no matter what I did.  My body ached and it was a fairly restless night.  Last night was a different story.  I took some flu medicine along with the ibuprofen and slept really well (in comparison to Wednesday night).  I woke up this morning, still sick, but feeling so happy to have had a good night's sleep.  I was grateful that I had no obligations to get me up and going early.  I could stay in bed as long as I wanted, so I didn't get up until after eight!

I love how sleep is so rejuvenating to the body and the spirit.  There never seems to be enough time in the day to accomplish all I would like to get done, and I look forward to a time when I won't need to sleep, but having a mortal body makes sleep necessary.  There are many health articles about the need for sleep and the effects that lack of sleep has on the body.  I certainly notice a difference on the nights I work.  I get up three to five times a night with Afton.  She is usually up for about twenty minutes at a time.  It makes the nights a little rough.  Then I am sluggish the following day.  I sure look forward to the rest of the week when I don't get up with her.

Now my challenge is going to bed at a proper time.  Why is that so hard?  It shouldn't be.  The focus should be on the enjoyment of sleep.  Even thinking about sleeping makes me happy.  Sleep is magical.  :)

Confessions and Sight

I hardly know where to start.  In fact, I've tried several times to start writing again, but always "chicken out".  I confess that I have a wee bit of a problem.  I hate to make mistakes and always want everything to be perfect.  I had a hard time in school turning in work that was less than perfect and it caused a great deal of stress and anxiety.  My grades reflected my imperfections and it was a hard fact to face.  I am not clever.  I don't write well.  My thoughts are unorganized.  And I'm very boring.  That said, I am going to forget trying to write about my journey in genealogy (which has almost come to a standstill) and focus on things that touch my heart.  I want to express more gratitude for my blessings and things that bring me joy. 

I don't want to just make a gratitude list.  That is too general.  My whole life has been too general.  I don't notice detail or specifics.  It is hard for me to see beyond the surface of anything.  Memorizing facts and information was easy for me.  I could easily answer multiple choice questions and fill-in-the-blank, but froze on the essay questions.  Don't ask me thought provoking questions.  That requires too much brain activity.  That's painful.  It is time...way beyond time... to start noticing what is beyond the surface.

Now my blog is just going to be me trying to express what I see and feel and try to start seeing what I have missed all these years.  And I will start with being able to see.  I had an eye exam on Monday.  It is the first one in years and nothing has been in focus. (Here is a good place to wax philosophical).  It so happens that both my distance and close vision need a big adjustment.  New glasses are on order and will be here this month.  I so look forward to being able to see clearly again.  The good news to me is that my eyes are healthy.  I work for a lady that has macular degeneration and is unable to do just about anything.  Noticing what life is like for her now has helped me more than ever to appreciate the gift of sight.  I love that my eyes can see.  They are marvelous organs.

Boring Update

HI'm feeling pressured to update my blog.  No one is pressuring me, but since I began this blog I feel a sense of responsibility for keeping it going...even when I don't feel like I have anything to say.

But the first two weeks of this month were great.  I had a visit from Jari and the girls as well as Daniel and his family.  Jari flew into Boise on the 2nd with Charlotte and Hazel.  Daniel and Jessica drove to Boise with William and Weston and got here on the 7th.  I loved having them all here and the house felt so empty when they were all gone.  How I wish all my family lived closer so I could see them all more often.  Financial security will never be part of my life and I won't have the ability to go see my family when they are scattered all across the country, but it is a tremendous comfort to know that they all have strong testimonies of the gospel.  I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Sunday, Shannon Nickolas (YW president) asked if I would teach a class on family history or some such thing.  I will be gone the week she wanted me to do it so we changed the date for the following week.  It will be August 14th.  Shannon knew I went to the Roots Magic Convention and thought I could give the girls some tips or something.  I need to find out exactly what she wants me to teach.  I was excited about her asking me to teach the class because I have really slacked in my efforts to do anything concerning genealogy.  This will, hopefully, get me started again.  Yesterday I was looking for dad's birth certificate.  Lorrie wants to borrow it and I can't find it.  I should have filed it as soon as I got home with it.  The thought of doing that pricked my mind a few times, but I ignored it and now I can't find it when I want it.  ALWAYS heed promptings that come to mind!  I seriously need to organize what I've done and what needs to be done.  And, I should start to go through the writings that we found from Grandma Mildred.  Help.  I need my kids nearby so they can help me.  I feel overwhelmed.  Concentrate, Diane.  One bite at a time.

Stopping for Wisdom Teeth

Writing a blog is tedious.  I much prefer to write in a journal.  Guess I'm just old school.  I've read blogs that other people have posted and they are fun to read.  I don't have the talent for writing enjoyable reading material.

Sheighla has finally got all of her wisdom teeth removed.  Greg Davis, in his never-ending kindness, said he would do it for us.  He did it to help us in our financial situation.  He knows our needs.  It didn't turn out as he expected and the first trip was a ten-and-a-half hour marathon that was traumatic for everyone involved. Sheighla's face was swollen to the point that it didn't even look like her. It was that way for three days before it started to subside.  Yesterday Greg removed the last half of the last tooth.  That took two hours.  The teeth were very bony and impacted.  An oral surgeon would have charged us a fortune to have it done.  For the most part, we are all recovered.  Sheighla still has the normal healing and that will probably take about six months.  Now she just has some swelling from yesterday's procedure.

So what did we do last week?  Sheighla spent the first three days on the couch and, in sympathy, I watched movies and programs with her.  I was pretty much worthless as far as doing anything productive.  I wish I was able to conclude with something profound from the experience, but my cognitive powers are considerably lacking.

What IS exciting is the fact that Sheighla is one step closer to getting her missionary papers completed!