A Talented Neighbor

My neighbor, Cate Stambaugh, invited me to the "Spring Fling" for her children's choir. Wow! In the beginning years of her choir she only had them sing, but she took a great course up at the University of Utah and learned that there is more interest if they get to do more. And the course provided her with ideas on how to accomplish that.

So they get to sing AND dance AND have speaking parts in a mini-broadway production for their spring fling. The scripts are pre-written and this year she used "S-Cool" for the older choir (9-14 yrs) which is about school, studying, and falling in love. For the younger choir (6-8 yrs) she chose "Bugz" and the costumes were so fun. The lead was dressed in black, with a pillow tucked in her back, dirty socks tied around her waist and a pair of shoes dangling from her neck. She was a stink bug, and she was the cutest little thing. There was a "fruit fly" with a colorful wrap around skirt and a bandana with flower and fruit in her hair. The boys were all dressed up in camoflauge with antenna protruding from their helmets and they were all carrying guns, because they were the army ants.

What a grand opportunity for the children to participate in something so fun. She has about 40 students and they were all involved. Lots of them are my neighbors and I loved every minute of seeing them perform.

The winter performance is more structured and they perform in choir robes. This was just plain fun. Next year I'll have to make myself available so I can be a part of the fun instead of just watching. She has the magic that brings out the talent in these kids and it just keeps getting better from year to year.

I Love You Everyday

I had some real quality "grandma time" with Jeffrey Robert this week. Thanks Tricia! I can't begin to tell you the fun we had together and how great it felt to just hold him close. He was a bit shy to begin with, but no tears were shed when I drove off with him and without his mom! We played at the park near our home, went for a long walk (not stroller ride, but walk!) around the block, and played with the neighbors and their toys. He was pretty taken with the Razor scooters. I was surprised when he picked one up, placed one foot on the scooter and started trying to scoot with the other. We stroked dogs, spotted planes in the sky, put pennies in the "bus bank", read stories, sang songs, put puzzles together and more. He even hugged me tight around the neck and let me sing about half a dozen songs to him while in the rocking chair.

When it was time for him to leave Grandpa and I loaded up his new birthday puzzle vehicles, his back pack, and his blanket. As he sat in his car seat ready to go home I gave him his birthday card and told him how much we loved him. He held the card all the way back.

At the end of the card I used a sentiment that I happened on as I read a story by Mitch Albom several years ago. The story was about a son being able to go back and see his mom one more time, seeking her help and guidance, even though she had died. One thing she had always done for him was to write notes of encouragement and counsel. She ended every note with "I love you everyday."

Every note to Jeffrey ends the same way.

Such a Nice Word

We have some of the nicest neighbors in the world. Next door lives the Duncan family, a family of nine. We love having these children in our home because they are so well mannered and pleasant to be around. They come over all the time and we read stories. Yesterday little Abby was on her bicycle with training wheels and she fell right in our front yard on the rocks in the curb! Her training wheels kept coming unbolted and she would tip over. I asked her if Rick could look at her bike and fix it for her. She agreed and so he took it into the garage and tightened the bolts. Later that night the doorbell rang and Abby (who is two) and her older sister Katie (who is six) were there looking for Rick. Abby handed him an envelope and inside was the cutest note,"Thank you for fixing Abby bike" signed Abbey, with two smiley faces. Rick just melted. It made what had been a ho-hum day for him into something special.

Oh, thank you is such a nice word.

How Can It Have Been So Long?

As Mother's Day approaches my mind flashes back to last year and the emotion that surrounded the day. Rick's mother had just passed away (she was a month shy of being 90)and as he was dealing with the funeral arrangements I was boarding a plane to Germany. I was going to "hand deliver" the anniversary gift that Cory was surprising Tricia with. We had joked about not trusting it to the mail, considering the last electronic item we mailed disappeared and it took FOREVER to get the claim processed and the money back! Plus it was Jeffrey's first birthday and Mother's Day all tucked into the time I was going to be there.

It turned out to be such a memorable trip. Not only was the weather incredible but the sites we visited in Germany and Austria were beyond description. We strolled through an open merchandise market in Austria, leaned over a hedge to catch a glimpse of a centuries old cemetery in Bertchesgarten, kinked my neck looking up at the cathedrals in Nuremburg, enjoyed a spur of the moment picnic overlooking a site so "German" that it still plays on Rick's screensaver, and the list goes on and on. It was an experience I knew I wouldn't have the chance to repeat.

Brian and Chris were such a support to Rick during that painful week and it was greatly appreciated. And now a whole year later how all our lives have changed.

I heard a talk given by Teryl Givens at BYU and from his message I took a sentence I found so significant I have it framed in my office. It says, "The choices we make are the purest expression of who we are and what we love." As I reflect on the meaning of those few words I realize how important even my smallest choices are and as I get older I realize that those choices revolve around family and my love for them.

May you choose well.