Last night Bess wrote the caption she was given at the top of her paper and drew this picture. We about died laughing! I love this sweet girl! We are so excited to play it together at the reunion!
Friday, June 8, 2012
Scribblish
Last night Bess wrote the caption she was given at the top of her paper and drew this picture. We about died laughing! I love this sweet girl! We are so excited to play it together at the reunion!
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Remembering the JFK Assassination
We all have sentinel moments in our lives that stand out. We remember precisely how we found out, where we were, and how we felt. The images and feelings sink deep.
One ordinary school day in November 1963, I heard a light knock on our classroom door. Our principal, entered the room, his face betrayed his personal grief and his heavy responsibilities.
He moved to the front of the room, took a breath, and shared with us the tragic news of the death of our president at the hands of an unknown assassin in Dallas. The class responded with shock and with some audible sobs.
Our principal said that the bus drivers had been notified to report to the school in an hour to take the students home. Those who walked to school were free to leave immediately. I did.
A half hour later, I walked into our living room, the lights out and the shades drawn. The darkness stands out in my mind today, almost fifty years later.
My mom sat in the dark room, rocking in her chair, and crying openly. Her heart was broken. She loved President Kennedy.
A lifelong Democrat, Mom had enjoyed the nation's enthusiasm of the handsome young president who had engaged the nation's young in the political process. The optimistic air of new hope and change had captivated the press, and therefore, the nation.
For three days we watched accounts on television of the assassination and retrospectives on Kennedy's life. We even saw his killer take a bullet to his belly. That was the first death I had ever witnessed live. We watched the funeral procession where Kennedy's three-year-old son, John John, saluted his father's coffin as it passed in the horse drawn hearse.
In the months ahead, the nation grieved more deeply when revelations surfaced about the sordid life and corrupt politics of the president. Turns out, his political maneuverings seemed as totalitarian and oppressive as those of his rival Fidel Castro.
As I sit in seat 1A on my flight to Chicago, and then on to St. Cloud, trying to type through tears collected on my glasses, I realize the tears aren't for the tragic death I and my country experienced so long ago. I weep for my mom. Her idealism was taken from her by someone masquerading as a great man. She hasn't fully recovered.
I pray my children and grandchildren can be spared such grief.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
As Bad as Mamaw Justis
I underestimated my grandmother, Wilma Justis. It wasn't that I didn't respect her. In fact, I always admired how she could focus all of her concern and energy on others. It was just that she seemed unhealthy and physically weak. I was wrong.
I guess I was fooled by how she ate a funny diet due to digestion problems. She seemed to go to Doctor Frank's office weekly.
But I learned that she had hidden inner strength. Immediately after she delivered her fourth child, the doctor said, "Oh, here's anther one." She delivered twins that day.
Of my four grandparents, I thought, because of her health concerns, she'd probably pass away first. Wrong again. She survived my grandfather by thirty years, reaching age 97.
But where she especially excelled was in her deep concern for her family. She worried. When one of us suffered, she suffered.
My uncle Richie expressed it best:
"We have a saying at our house, 'You're getting as bad as Mamaw Justis.' All of Mamaw's children and grandchildren will relate to this story.
"She is always concerned that we're working too hard, not getting enough rest, not eating right, and especially not warm enough. Her first act when she greets us is to hug us, and check our ears, arms, and legs, and ask if we are warm enough.
"One cold day, my daughter Janell was going out to play, and Gwen was dressing her. She put on plenty of socks, undershirt, sweatshirt, coat, gloves, cap, and boots. Janell could hardly move, and she said, 'Mom, you're getting as bad as Mamaw Justis.'
"So whenever someone shows extra concern for another, we use this phrase. Wouldn't this be a fantastic world if everyone was as bad as Mamaw Justis?"
Papaw/Dad/David - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I guess I was fooled by how she ate a funny diet due to digestion problems. She seemed to go to Doctor Frank's office weekly.
But I learned that she had hidden inner strength. Immediately after she delivered her fourth child, the doctor said, "Oh, here's anther one." She delivered twins that day.
Of my four grandparents, I thought, because of her health concerns, she'd probably pass away first. Wrong again. She survived my grandfather by thirty years, reaching age 97.
But where she especially excelled was in her deep concern for her family. She worried. When one of us suffered, she suffered.
My uncle Richie expressed it best:
"We have a saying at our house, 'You're getting as bad as Mamaw Justis.' All of Mamaw's children and grandchildren will relate to this story.
"She is always concerned that we're working too hard, not getting enough rest, not eating right, and especially not warm enough. Her first act when she greets us is to hug us, and check our ears, arms, and legs, and ask if we are warm enough.
"One cold day, my daughter Janell was going out to play, and Gwen was dressing her. She put on plenty of socks, undershirt, sweatshirt, coat, gloves, cap, and boots. Janell could hardly move, and she said, 'Mom, you're getting as bad as Mamaw Justis.'
"So whenever someone shows extra concern for another, we use this phrase. Wouldn't this be a fantastic world if everyone was as bad as Mamaw Justis?"
Papaw/Dad/David - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Celestial Math
It seems impossible, but we all want to return to Heavenly Father, pure and clean. We want to inherit all he has offered us--everything he has. Grasping the concept doesn't come easy. Nor does the follow through.
What makes it especially difficult is the conflict between the expectations and our performance. The Lord said,
"For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;" D&C 1:31
That sounds a lot like perfection. Seems like I won't qualify because I sin every day.
What's an old guy like me to do?
There's Hope for Every One of Us
Jesus shares his perfection with us
Say that as I approach the sacrament this Sunday I had committed 50 sins. Well, since I spent several hours in my rental cars this week, fighting traffic in some large cities, I'd better make it 750 sins.
Some of my sins have greater magnitude than others, so maybe I need to add a multiplier to the more grevious ones. Let's rate my week a minus 1500.
If God cannot look upon my sins with the least degree of allowance, I'm in trouble. My -1500 disqualifies me from his presence and from the companionship of his Spirit.
But the Savior shares his perfection with me. His goodness and perfection are infinite and eternal.
So, let's do the math: -1500 + infinity = infinity.
His atoning sacrifice lifts us to his status. That is his mission, and I suppose it's his greatest desire. And so our debts are covered by the Savior's divinity.
Another Way of Looking at It
Some people live with optimism and positive energy. When we associate with such people, their attitudes lift our own. Their positives can counteract our negatives.
We do have hope. We can regain our standing before God, no matter how negative our actions. We just need to accept his offer to add his infinite perfection to our imperfections.
Do the math!
Papaw/Dad/David - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
What makes it especially difficult is the conflict between the expectations and our performance. The Lord said,
"For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;" D&C 1:31
That sounds a lot like perfection. Seems like I won't qualify because I sin every day.
What's an old guy like me to do?
There's Hope for Every One of Us
Jesus shares his perfection with us
Say that as I approach the sacrament this Sunday I had committed 50 sins. Well, since I spent several hours in my rental cars this week, fighting traffic in some large cities, I'd better make it 750 sins.
Some of my sins have greater magnitude than others, so maybe I need to add a multiplier to the more grevious ones. Let's rate my week a minus 1500.
If God cannot look upon my sins with the least degree of allowance, I'm in trouble. My -1500 disqualifies me from his presence and from the companionship of his Spirit.
But the Savior shares his perfection with me. His goodness and perfection are infinite and eternal.
So, let's do the math: -1500 + infinity = infinity.
His atoning sacrifice lifts us to his status. That is his mission, and I suppose it's his greatest desire. And so our debts are covered by the Savior's divinity.
Another Way of Looking at It
Some people live with optimism and positive energy. When we associate with such people, their attitudes lift our own. Their positives can counteract our negatives.
We do have hope. We can regain our standing before God, no matter how negative our actions. We just need to accept his offer to add his infinite perfection to our imperfections.
Do the math!
Papaw/Dad/David - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Omaha Eppley Field
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Papaw Justis & the Cart
Papaw Justis & the Cart
Most of my favorite Saturdays were when my cousin Jay visited. He lived a hour away, so they didn't visit as often as I wanted.
Jay and I won many wars with the World War II combat tactics we learned from movies and television. We played lots of basketball and baseball, and numerous variations of one-ups-man-ship. Our competitive spirit was always in play.
Jay liked car racing. He loved the Indy 500 and attended every year (at least that's how I remember it). I didn't care for it, but I was a gracious host, so when he wanted to build a cart to ride down Papaw Justis' hilly road, I agreed. Besides, I have always liked speed.
We found some old baby buggy wheels (predecessor of today's strollers), nailed them to a two by four plank of wood, and began to ride it down the road. It broke in about ten yards under my lanky, fifty pounds.
Papaw saw our plight, laughed at us, then went to work in the little workshop he made from an old fruit and vegetable trailer. By the way, his whole family of seven had lived in that trailer during the depression.
A few days later, Papaw showed me his creation--a beautiful, three-foot-wide cart. It weighed about fifty pounds. The plywood frame was an inch thick. He created a steering mechanism with a turnable front axle and a rope. The heavy steel axles supported ball-bearing wheels that turned without any resistance. It was a work of art!
And it flew!
The curvy and hilly road only supported three homes: Papaw's, ours, and my uncle and aunt's (Kenny and Jane). The light traffic made it fairly safe for riding the blazingly fast cart.
I'm thinking the road stretched about a hundred yards. It started with a very steep 180 degree turn, straightened and flattened out for a few yards, then dropped elevation as it merged onto the more-traveled gravel road at the bottom of the hill.
I'm alive today because we had a high grass shoulder that allowed us to avoid approaching cars.
Jay and I rode that cart for years. It never showed any wear.
We dressed it up with paint and STP decals, but the glossy paint made it hard to keep from sliding off. Of course, that added to the danger and the enjoyment.
Papaw's cart for us brought hundreds of hours of fun to Jay and me. But now, knowing what I know, it brought him lots of joy too. He'd watch us ride and laughed. He clearly enjoyed watching us channel some of our energy down his curvy road. We even coaxed him to ride it a couple of times.
Thank you Papaw. I miss you.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Calder - by Julie
I decided I needed to write about my sweet Calder-boy today. :)
Calder has always been such a sweet, funny boy. He's very observant and thoughtful and has a gift for remembering peoples' names and faces. If we see someone he recognizes he'll say, "There's (so & so). They go to my school," and the kid usually looks at him like, "Who are you and how do you know my name?"
He also loves to change his name. When he was three he insisted his name was Scooter David (or various forms of it) then for years was just Calder again. I remember Leah went through a stage of insisting on being called names like "Robin Hood" or "Peter Pan" and would not answer unless you called her by the name she prefered at the moment. I loved it and found it so sweet and endearing. So when Calder started then stopped, I missed it. But lately he has taken to wanting to be called various names again. :) It changes often, sometimes weekly, daily, even hourly. Lately he has been known as "Hulk", "Mr. Strong", "Six" (that's how old he is), "Jet", "Wolverine", "Finn McMissile". One of his classmates even addressed her valentine for him, "to Hulk". :) I love it!
I had to scan some of his worksheets with his name on them to have it recorded
forever. As you can see, he likes to embellish just the regular
Calder, as well. :)
Today on the way home from school he asked if he could go to a friend's house (because she had cookies) and Bess said no because we don't know her mom and don't even know what she looks like. Calder said in response, "I can't tell you what she looks like, because it's a bad word and it starts with an "f "." As you can probably guess, he's had experience saying this "f" word far too loudly and obviously, embarrassing the person and mortifying his mother.
But he's also an honest complimentor/sweet talker. He often compliments me on what I'm wearing and many times at church he has raved about what someone is wearing. One day he went around showing everyone his friend Addalyn saying, "Look at her dress! Doesn't she look beautiful?" Her mom told me Addalyn often would chose what to wear based on whether or not Calder would think it was pretty. :) One Sunday when he saw our chorister (his Sunbeam teacher), he gasped and pointing at her, whispered to me, "Oh Mom! Look at Sister Hayes! Doesn't she look beautiful with that feather in her hair?" And today there was a note from his teacher that simply said, "Such a sweet child!" Apparently he told a girl in his class her hair looked pretty and it impressed his teacher. :) I love this boy!
We have a little friend named Grace who is so sweet and extremely well-behaved. Bess and Calder have both randomly commented to me about how good Grace is, and you know it's extraordinary when kids notice it. So a couple of weeks ago after church, Calder said to me, "I decided I'm not going to be bad anymore because of Grace." Then in his prayers that night he kept saying, "Thank you that I changed my mind." And for the past 2+ weeks as he and Max have been playing, I'll hear them start to complain or argue or something, then one of them will gasp and say, "Oh yeah! Remember, the rules?" meaning "remember we've decided to be good like Grace". It has been so sweet to see them want to be like her! I've made sure we've also talked about whose example Grace is following. :) I am just so tickled about all of this. It's so sweet! On Sunday I made sure I told her mom and thanked her for her sweet daughter. By the way, Calder has already asked her dad if he can marry Grace. It's all set. :)
One time I was at the store with her and her mom and I grabbed a bag of Andes mints and when they said they had never had them before, I opened the bag right there in the aisle to share. Sweet Grace gaped, mouth open at me, then looked at her mom. I quickly explained that I was still going to be paying for them, but I could see this didn't comfort her any. I tried to save myself by saying I often did this so we wouldn't be so hungry and want to buy everything, but I could see the damage was done. I'm already tainted in my future daughter-in-law's eyes. ;) Hopefully Calder does better than me and remains untainted in her eyes.
He also loves to change his name. When he was three he insisted his name was Scooter David (or various forms of it) then for years was just Calder again. I remember Leah went through a stage of insisting on being called names like "Robin Hood" or "Peter Pan" and would not answer unless you called her by the name she prefered at the moment. I loved it and found it so sweet and endearing. So when Calder started then stopped, I missed it. But lately he has taken to wanting to be called various names again. :) It changes often, sometimes weekly, daily, even hourly. Lately he has been known as "Hulk", "Mr. Strong", "Six" (that's how old he is), "Jet", "Wolverine", "Finn McMissile". One of his classmates even addressed her valentine for him, "to Hulk". :) I love it!
Today on the way home from school he asked if he could go to a friend's house (because she had cookies) and Bess said no because we don't know her mom and don't even know what she looks like. Calder said in response, "I can't tell you what she looks like, because it's a bad word and it starts with an "f "." As you can probably guess, he's had experience saying this "f" word far too loudly and obviously, embarrassing the person and mortifying his mother.
One time I was at the store with her and her mom and I grabbed a bag of Andes mints and when they said they had never had them before, I opened the bag right there in the aisle to share. Sweet Grace gaped, mouth open at me, then looked at her mom. I quickly explained that I was still going to be paying for them, but I could see this didn't comfort her any. I tried to save myself by saying I often did this so we wouldn't be so hungry and want to buy everything, but I could see the damage was done. I'm already tainted in my future daughter-in-law's eyes. ;) Hopefully Calder does better than me and remains untainted in her eyes.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Our sweet Atticus - by Julie
We have really been enjoying this sweet little Atticus so much lately. Not that we weren't before, of course; he has just been so exceptionally cute as of late, jabbering away, learning to say new words this past week that I thought we needed to get some video of his cuteness and share it with all of you. I'm excited for you all to meet him this summer. He is 16+ months old but he doesn't look it; he's bald so it makes him look younger and he isn't talking much (the other kids had a pretty extensive vocabulary by this age). He's following his older siblings' examples and is already getting a little sassy and he is SO busy and cute!
There's a number of things he has done that none of our other kids have done and I wanted to keep track of the ones I can remember.
- at maybe 10 or 11 months old, he pulled open the oven door.
- he is constantly on the table -- like, standing and walking on, not just climbing up
- he empties out drawers - clothes, pencil/junk drawer, dish cloths, and if he can, climbs inside
- he can peel a mandarin orange completely by himself
- he waves his little hand in the air while he's nursing :)
- one day he got a bucket, pushed it over to the cupboard, climbed up, reached a banana, climbed down, took it over to his high chair, climbed up in it, peeled the banana and ate it all by himself.
- he frequently climbs into the dryer, full or empty, and tries to close the door
- he whips my glasses off and chucks them behind him (he chipped them the other day)
- he climbs the bunk-bed ladders (at 16 mon.!! The other day I heard him crying out in distress and went in the bedroom to find him dangling off the top bunk hanging on for dear life. He had climbed up and was trying to get down the other side. Crazy child!!)
I know there's more, but that's all I can think of right now. As you can see, he keeps me busy. I think the Lord knew what He was doing sending him last. :) He is such a sweet, funny, busy boy and such a joy to our family.
There's a number of things he has done that none of our other kids have done and I wanted to keep track of the ones I can remember.
- at maybe 10 or 11 months old, he pulled open the oven door.
- he is constantly on the table -- like, standing and walking on, not just climbing up
- he empties out drawers - clothes, pencil/junk drawer, dish cloths, and if he can, climbs inside
- he can peel a mandarin orange completely by himself
- he waves his little hand in the air while he's nursing :)
- one day he got a bucket, pushed it over to the cupboard, climbed up, reached a banana, climbed down, took it over to his high chair, climbed up in it, peeled the banana and ate it all by himself.
- he frequently climbs into the dryer, full or empty, and tries to close the door
- he whips my glasses off and chucks them behind him (he chipped them the other day)
- he climbs the bunk-bed ladders (at 16 mon.!! The other day I heard him crying out in distress and went in the bedroom to find him dangling off the top bunk hanging on for dear life. He had climbed up and was trying to get down the other side. Crazy child!!)
I know there's more, but that's all I can think of right now. As you can see, he keeps me busy. I think the Lord knew what He was doing sending him last. :) He is such a sweet, funny, busy boy and such a joy to our family.
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