Sunday New Edition

Hi, Everyone!

We've had a trying 10 days, at least trying for Dad who is having to take
care of me. I twisted my knee (I didn't FALL, though!) trying to adjust
the back swing. I had been having trouble with that knee for about two
weeks, and then when I twisted it, it "POPPED" so loud I couldn't believe
it came from ME. The pain was excruciating...I couldn't even put an
ounce of weight on it. Glenn, this was about an hour after I told you I
was doing very well! I was so encouraged when I talked to you;. I have
been swinging on the backswing and riding my bike, and it gave that knee
quite a bit of relief, so I thought it was getting well.

I didn't want to go to the hospital emergency because I was so afraid
they would tell me I had to have a new knee! I just don't want any more
surgery if I can help it...that's why I was so happy with the progress I
thought I was making with the backswing and the bike. I will see our
family Dr. this week and see if I can at least do some walking in an
effort to try and strengthen it.

Chuck has been doing all the cooking and dishes, all the mowing and most
of the trash gathering. He is a very big help, especially right now.
Gpa/Dad has been working on his new flyin' machine, in between his
wife-babying activities. He's only been up a couple of times this year,
I think! The red tape with the FAA now that they have to have "N"
numbers, is terrific. He has to go to Tooele to get his inspection and
training to finalize his license, and he couldn't do that until he got
his "N" number, so it is taking months to get everything done.

Years ago, I happened to strike up a conversation with a woman in the
Salt Lake Family History Library. Before long, she mentioned that she
lived in Dover, Delaware! I asked her if she was LDS, and she was, so
then I told her that we had been in that branch when we were baptized.
It was so amazing, because I don't usually get involved in conversation
with anyone when I am doing research there. We moved from that branch
the month before she and her family moved IN! She told me she was
writing a history of the Dover Branch and Ward! We knew a lot of the
same people, of course, so it was really fun talking to her. I told her
a couple of our stories from our Dover Days, and she included those in
her history This past week, I received a copy of that history! It was
so fun to read! We found out a lot about what had happened to those we
had been so close to.

One very interesting thing was about the little boy who was trapped under
the garage door and saw and/or heard birdies while he was unconscious.
I'm sure you have all heard that story. Well, he was the son of a couple
in the Dover Ward! We didn't know them, but that was fun to find out.

I'm making all of you a copy of it (at least the 5 of you who were there
with us.) as soon as I can. It is 91 pages long, so it will take a few
days! Or maybe I can scan it. Would Cute PDF take a lengthy document
like that, Glenn? It was sure fun for us!

Connie, Sarah, Jaycee and Callee were here to visit last night while Dad
was at the Temple. I really enjoyed having them....kind of a rare chance
when they get to come!

I was so sorry to miss the two blessings last Sunday. I don't like to
miss that kind of thing in our family! Those babies are all so darling.

Dad and Chuck are home from church, so I'll quit and eat the dinner Chuck
has made for us! We always love to hear how each of you are doing, and
LOVE the stories about your little ones!

Love to all,
Mom

My History

Hi All:

I was sitting here at my computer this afternoon, counting my many blessings and thought of one of the better decisions I have ever made in my life, but before I go into that day I want you all to know that I couldn’t possibly have had any better parents or siblings. I so enjoyed watching and listening to my Mom and Dad interacting with one another; they truly loved and enjoyed their time together. They laughed and joked around much of the time; especially when they would do dishes or other housework together which was practically every day when I was in high school and living at their trailer court. I remember once when they were kidding around and Dad popped Mom from behind with the dish towel; she laughed and grabbed a stick that was holding up the kitchen window by the sink and went after him, he squealed and started back stepping to stay out of her way and fell across the bed across the hall and laid on his back with his legs above his head. She started swatting him with the stick when all of a sudden he got the most startled look on his face and she stopped; it turns out that the stick had a little hail through the end and she had landed a whack with that; of course she was sorry about the whole deal but they both almost collapsed in laughter! They had so... much fun.

Even though I always felt loved I didn’t remember ever hearing my Dad tell me he loved me; men in those days were very reserved. I knew one man who was not reserved and that was my Mothers baby brother Floyd King, he didn’t care what anybody thought as he was big enough to take care of anything or anybody; he used to embarrass me and I’m sure my Dad; if Uncle Floyd had been away from the family for any length of time he would grab you in a bear hug and kiss you on the cheek when he saw you; of course nobody ever said anything as that was just Uncle Floyd and that was the way it was. You need to realize that Uncle Floyd had been a tri-state Golden Glove, heavyweight boxer in his younger years and was afraid of no one. I naturally, as I was growing up, wanted to be like him and even went out for boxing in high school for a short time but they always stopped the fight as soon as I got tagged on the nose since it would bleed rivers of blood; I (thought) knew if they would have let me go, even though bleeding, that I could have whipped every one of those guys. But, as everybody knows, they have silly rules in high school.

When we would go home for a visit after we got into the Air Force, Dad would come up to me stick out his hand for a handshake and give me kind of a halfway hug, which I would return. I decided that wasn’t good enough and thought about it for months before we went home again; I had decided that in one thing I preferred to be more like Uncle Floyd than my Dad.

The next time we went home we drove into the driveway at the trailer court and Dad came out to greet us. He stuck out his hand, I grabbed it and pulled him into me, gave him a kiss on the cheek and said “I love you Dad” He kind of stuttered a bit and said “I love you too son” We both had tears in our eyes and our greetings and goodbyes always included that kiss for the rest of his life and he would initiate it. I still consider that one of the wisest decisions I have ever made.

I determined from that day on to never be lax in letting my boys know that I loved them and to kiss them when departing or returning from anyplace; it was not easy at first due to my upbringing but I am so grateful that I stuck with it. I remember at times when a lot of people were around I still felt a bit nervous about it. But I started early enough with the boys that they thought nothing about it and when I would drop them off at school, or anyplace, they would all give me a kiss even if the whole gang was watching. As wild and rowdy as we all have been, I’m sure, nobody ever thought of any of us as sissy’s.

I want you all to know that I love you and am so grateful that we all are not afraid to show our love and gratitude for one another.

When I think about my Dad and that first time he kissed me and told me he loved me I still get teary. I’m sure he may have done that when I was a baby but I hadn’t remembered. I am also grateful for my Uncle Floyd who was my example of a “He Man” that had a very soft and loving heart.

Then of course we must not forget the girls! They never seemed to believe me that I couldn’t stand little girls, no matter how convincing I tried to be. The time I remember the best is when I came in the back door from an extended trip Ryanne was hugging my leg while I was kissing everybody hello, I looked down at her and said “you know I can’t stand little girls!” She smiled sweetly and said “But I love you Daddy” I was a complete failure with the girls too! I never fooled anybody!!!

Love, Dad…G-PaW

Berlin Wall Era:

Hi All:

They had a special on TV a week so ago and while we were watching it I started telling Mom about the trip I made to Leipzig East Germany in the winter of 1973. We picked up a load of 200 breed hogs in Chicago, for delivery to Leipzig, with a fueling stop in Shannon Ireland. Hogs are a pretty delicate cargo as they don’t sweat so they need to be kept plenty cool. When we stopped in Shannon they had to bring fans and open all the doors to keep the hogs cool enough even though it was winter time; Shannon never gets very cold. We did lose about 15 or so even at that. There was some concern as to how we would pay for the fuel in Leipzig and they thought we would need cash so we took quite a delay in Shannon while they rounded up enough cash. As It turned out when the East Germans found out it was Saturn Airways they gladly accepted our credit card. Saturn had quite a reputation throughout the world. Howard Korth the owner was very honest and always kept his credit rating perfect. As an aside when he bought his first stretched DC-8 and the crew went down to pick it up at the Douglas Factory He paid them cash, something like $8,000,000. Douglas had never had anybody pay cash for an A/C and didn’t even know how to do it so there was a slight delay in getting out of there. A few months later Korth went down to buy the second DC-8 and they treated him like a King! He paid cash for that one also. When we landed in Leipzig it was snowing lightly and was quite cold. As soon as we opened the door they rolled the air stairs up to the door and I opened up; a very large frauleine came on board immediately and made us aware that she was in charge at that point, she would have made at least 2 of me, as far as size is concerned. They off loaded the pigs rapidly. The tower operator came into the cockpit to help in filing the flight plan for us to get out of East Germany. He was a nice young man and spoke English fluently. He was very careful of what he said to us especially when the fraulein was within ear shot. While they were cleaning the aircraft, which was pretty smelly by then, the lady, I’ll call her lady, as she was a female, was worried that somebody might stow away on the airplane and escape from East Germany so with me in tow she stepped over all of the little corrals, about 10 as I remember, to get to the back of the A/C where the lavatory was and make sure nobody had hid in there to escape. She went outside with me and watched as I did my walk around inspection. While walking around with me she noticed that we had 4 belly pits on the A/C where we normally carry the baggage and sometimes some freight. She insisted that I had to open each pit and let one of her police check in there for stowaways. It was so stupid as we had only been on the ground a few minutes and there was no one there that would even have the slightest idea how to open those pits, let alone get up in there without a ladder unnoticed; anyway I opened each, one at a time, and they hoisted a guy in to crawl around and see if anybody was in there; he actually couldn’t go very far as the pits were filled with the seats that we used for passengers. All of our jets were convertibles and it only took about 5 hours to convert from freight to Passenger and vice versa. When she was satisfied she placed a guard at each hatch with a rifle to make sure nobody tried to get in.

What we need to know is how precious freedom is. The people in East Germany were as bad off as those in Russia, and we need to realize that there is actually little, if any, difference between Marxism and Nazism, and I might add progressivism which many are trying to pawn off on this country at the present time; they are all one and the same trying to take away freedom and the Free Enterprise System. I wish all of our family could have the opportunity to visit all of the places I have observed during my many travels. Our freedoms are precious and we must not let those seeking for power to take any of them from us; there has been too much blood shed over the years to preserve them for us. Believe me there has never been a country in the history of the world that has done so much for the worlds millions. We can’t say we are perfect but far better than any previous government experiments. I suspect the only civilization to come close to our accomplishments would have been the Roman Empire in its’ earlier days before they were taken over by Emperors. They took a lot of progress to much of the world at that time, but the greedy for power got in control just like they are trying to do in our country. When the government has more people dependent on them for their living than those who are independent they will have the votes to keep the power hungry in control of the government.

Now to get back to East Germany: They only had the necessities of life with little, or no, luxuries. When I first came down the steps from the aircraft there were probably 20 or so police accompanying the fraulein in charge. As I came down the steps they all started pointing at my shiny black boots; wanting to trade for or buy them from me. That is what made me start noticing how poor they really were; they would have traded everything they had for my boots.

When we got back to Shannon Ireland we laid over while they cleaned the A/C and put the seats back in. We ferried it back to New York and 3 days later we took a load of people down to the Caribbean with 254 passengers. While they were refueling the heat and humidity caused a strange odor to show up in the airplane as they had fumigated it good in NYC to cover the pig odor. I was standing near the door when the next 254 passengers for the return trip to the states. By then we had been sitting on the ground a couple of hours so the odor was pretty strong though not a pig odor; it was more like the odor of some kind of perfume.

The DC-8 we were flying on that trip was one of the ones that Korth paid cash for. The stretched DC-8 is my all time favorite A/C. It was so reliable and you could still fly it with complete electrical and or hydraulic failures; I don’t know of any other large aircraft in history that you could say the same about. It was such a reliable, tough airplane that they spent millions to update it with modern turbo fan engines producing much more power yet using much less fuel.

I have always been pleased that the U.S. doesn’t make a big deal about all of the good we do in the world but unfortunately, since they don’t make a lot of hullabaloo about our exploits our own young people aren’t aware of half of the things we have done for the citizens of the world. I know, because I was involved in many rescue and humanitarian missions. The U.S. military was always the first on the scene of earthquake, flood, and hurricane disasters world wide, and yet even many in our own country talk negatively about our contributions to humanity: how quickly the world forgets about World Wars 1 and 2 when Europe and much a Asia were spared from being conquered by the Evil Axis.

I wish all of our posterity could have the opportunity of visiting almost any part of the world, outside of the U.S. and Canada, other that the tourist areas. You would all be amazed at the difference that Freedom has made in the standard of livings. Paris, London, Amsterdam….any of the civilized countries of the world are very poor when you get away from the tourist attractions. Well I guess I’ll make this it, for now.

I love you all so….much! I just want you all to be grateful for the privilege you have inherited by being citizens of this country! It has it’s faults but we should be doing our best to correct them and must be careful in who we elect as our Representatives and Senators etc. there are far too many people in this country who don’t realize that freedom and the free enterprise system is why we are where we are today and if we allow our leadership to continue on this progressive and socialist road all of these advantages will disappear quickly. Socialism has never led any group to a higher standard of living except for the ruling class; a close case in point is Cuba, right here at our doorstep. Where FREEDOM wanes, so does the standard of living. As previously noted in this epistle East Germany was virtually enslaved until that wall came down and the free enterprise system was reinstated to some degree.

I LOVE YOU ALL G-PaW.

Happy Father's Day!

I hope this day is special for all of you..-- fathers now or to be! We
sure do have some men in this family who are skilled fathers, and who are
striving to become more so as life goes on. Thanks to all of you who
have diligently taught our grandchildren! Taking care of their hearts
and souls is your quest, and I am so thankful.

Thanks, too, to those who have taken on the extra joys and challenges of
loving the children of others and caring for them as lovingly as any of
their other children! What a blessing you have been to us and to those
children.

Love,
Mom/Gma

Adventures with Grandparents, 1944 and 1945

I know a lot of you, and maybe all of you, have heard my story about the runaway horse when I was 9. I don't believe that I have recorded it by written word, however, so thought I'd do that. Ryanne created a blog for Gpa and I, and Sarah has been putting all of our stories and letters in that blog. Since we don't seem to be doing so well at getting our life history down in story form, we have decided we can just use that blog, and keep adding stories.

June 1944
My folks took me to Udall, Kansas, where my Paternal grandparents lived, and I stayed there for two weeks by myself. I loved to be on the farm! I remember shucking corn, watching rabbits (wild ones) and walking what seemed like a far away area where the silo was, and right by the silo was the wheat "crib" that held the crop for that year. In the top room of the crib, Grandpa Clodfelter would let us cousins play in the stored wheat. What fun! In that hot Kansas sun, it felt so good to climb up into the cool wheat. The shade of the building with it's huge open sides to let any available breeze pass through so that the wheat could dry out - gave heavenly relief as we buried ourselves to the neck in the wheat kernels, wiggling our toes and trying to make "wheat angels"! (They didn't work, though!)

The silo itself was constructed of reddish, homemade bricks that my Grandfather made in 1914, when my Dad was 3 years old. I have pieces of that silo, along with a picture of it, in our entryway and I have attached a picture. My Grandparents rarely went anywhere in their car. They loved working on their farm and taking care of their animals. It was not convenient for them to go anywhere, anyway, as my Grandpa's right arm was severed about halfway up his forearm by a engine powered corn husker, when my Dad was 9 years old. He had a hook on his arm, and although he could drive just fine, I don't think he felt really comfortable in that operation! But their friends who lived a few miles away, had horses that they had invited me to ride while I was there, and so we got in the old Model A Ford and drove to pay them a visit.

I had never been on a horse before, but had always dreamed of riding. Of course, my in this dream, everything went perfectly smooth and I was in complete control. Reality presented me with a bit different picture! The owner of the farm brought out a young horse, one that he thought sure was gentle and calm, and I eagerly hopped right up into the saddle. They showed me how to hold the reins and how to get the horse to turn, etc., and off we went, down the long driveway to the West and then turned North on the dirt road. In just a few yards, we passed a place where the bushes were thin and I could see the barn by looking to my right, to the East. What I didn't realize was that Mr. Gentleness could also see that barn, which was his HOME where his MOMMY was!

Suddenly, he bolted to the right, crossed the deep ditch that ran between the road and the farm. He had decided to go back home! I hung on to the saddle horn with all my might, and was able to remain in the saddle as he continued toward the barn. I never saw the heavy wire clothesline ahead. A heavy winter quilt had been hanging on it for several days to air out for summer storage, stretching the wire into a sagging, choking danger. As I continued to glue my hands to the saddle horn, the wire caught me just under my chin! Everything went black, and I don't remember anything until I woke up on the ground several minutes later, with my sweet Grandpa bending over me, crying. When I looked up at him, I thought I was deaf because I couldn't hear his words. HE had thought I was dead; hence the tears. Later he told me that I had broken the wire with my neck (it was obviously the Lord that did that, not my neck!) He said I had stayed on the horse even when unconscious for about 10 yards, then my hands relaxed and I fell to the ground, and the horse continued on to the barn door. As I fell, his back leg kicked me in the forehead.

There were many signs that 1944 was not my time to leave this earth! If the wire had not broken in the center of the line, where it made contact with my neck, it would have broken at the end, in which case it would have whipped around my neck two or three times, probably decapitating me. The kick from the horse could have been fatal by itself! Also, it was a blessing that I had fallen off when I did, as the barn door that beckoned the pony to his home, had the top half closed. It would have struck a hard blow to my torso and face at the same time, knocking me off the rear
of the horse, if I had gone that far.

The ride to the "doctor" is clear in my memory, which means I was fully conscious as soon as I woke up. My grandparents couldn't afford the gas to ride to Wichita, where a licensed Dr. lived, so instead we went to the local midwife. She had no suturing materials, so she couldn't give me the stitches I needed. She simply filled my gaping neck wound with Iodine, the cure-all of the times. Iodine burns badly, especially when it is in an open wound! It was the most painful part of the whole ordeal! However, I do not even have a scar now, which is truly amazing!

On the way to the midwife's home, I pleaded with Grandpa and Grandma to NOT tell my parents, as I knew it would worry them! I guess I thought it would be all healed up and invisible by the end of my two week stay!

More than a year later, in 1945, I once again spent two weeks with my Grandparents. By now they had moved into town, Udall, Kansas, which was the nearest town to their farm.

My grandparents were Methodist, and lived just across the street from their church building. Grandpa was the janitor there, and on Wednesday nights, after prayer meeting, he could always be found putting the chairs away and cleaning the building for the weekend services. On August 14, 1945 was V-J day, the end of WWII. Grandpa and Grandma and I were sitting in their living room, reading scriptures as we did every evening, when we heard that news on the radio. Grandpa pulled on his shoes, told me to come along with him, and we quickly went into the church building and clear up the stairs to the tower! Grandpa started to pull the long rope that was connected to the bell in the tower, then he stopped, picked me up high and told me to pull the rope! I got to be the first one in Udall, Kansas, to ring the bell for the wonderful news that the war was over! I had no idea then, of course, what a momentous occasion that was! I just knew everyone was ecstatic!

I remember many things about my grandparents on both sides, but these two years were the most adventurous stories of my childhood!

Love, Mom/Gma

The Wedding Business

Memorial Day

Dearest Families:

Hope you all enjoyed a great Memorial Day! Connie, I didn't get you called to tell you we couldn't be at your barbecue because we were going out of town, to Craig. Thanks so much for inviting us, though!

We had a good time with Lois and Gale for about 2 ½ days. Uncle Gale has a memory that absolutely amazed us! He doesn’t listen well to what Lois says (like most husbands!)……but then, he can’t HEAR well at all, so that’s not surprising! He told Army stories for about two hours to Dad, and they were very interesting, very detailed! He could remember every name of the full names of people he worked with and even was slightly acquainted with during his time in the Army. He had a fantastic scrapbook about 2 ½ inches thick and each one seemed to bring up a great story!

We stopped in GJ and took Aunt Maxine out to lunch because she couldn't make it up to Craig. It was good to see her and she seems really healthy and doing well. Ben couldn't be with us.

I have to tell you a Jackson story! Jack and Natalie brought Jackson over last week in the evening while Jack got a massage from Chuck. I wanted to hold him, and he readily came to me, then laid his little head on my chest/shoulder and just stayed still for the longest time! Jack was amazed! He said he NEVER does that with anyone! Soon there was a noise in the foyer, by the organ, that he needed to investigate, so he sat up and leaned toward the noise. I tried to help him by lifting him closer to the door where he could see better. He immediately threw himself back against my chest and melded into me again! Again, he didn’t move for a long time! Everytime he thought he was going to lose his place there, he melted into me again! It was so darling, and absolutely and completely won my heart, of course! He stayed on my lap most of the rest of the time they were here.

Now a Gabriel story. Ryanne had all six kids in the car and as they rode, two of them started arguing and not talking very nice to each other. She said “Hey, is that the way we talk to each other?” One of them said something like, “well, I guess it is!”

Ryanne immediately replied “Not MY kids!”

Gabe quickly blurted out “You have KIDS?" and then in a very disgusted voice.."Why, you two timer!!” His humor is just so very different! Of course, that ended all tension in the car and everyone laughed together!

Another time, when Ryanne was just finished doing her one-day-a-week literature class at the little Christian school where her kids go and Gabe was with her, a married couple came in the school to inspect things and see if they wanted to have their kids go there. As they opened the door and peeked in to be sure they weren’t interrupting anything, Ry said, “Come on in!” And Gabe assured them, “Yeah, it’s OK. She doesn’t have a gun!” Ry could have died, but it was funny, nevertheless! When we stopped by their one day we saw a barefooted Gabe at the top of their city lamp pole at the corner of their yard. It is a black, slick pole. When he got down, I said, “Gabe how do you get up there?” He said, “I just lick my hands and then wipe them on my feet so they will stick better!” I told Ryanne about what he said, and she assured me she could have gone the rest of her life with having that visualization! He’s such a character!

Congratulations to our Brennen John! A mission call to Dallas Texas! I told him he will absolutely love the people and of course, they will love him! They are so friendly, or at least they were when we were there. It's a good thing, because the weather is NOT so friendly!! Has anyone heard from CJ? I am writing him an email today, wrote to JJ last week. JJ wrote a really nice letter on emaill, too.

This coming Monday and Wednesday will find our Jack and Mary another year older. Happy Birthday, you two! Ronnie just had a birthday, and Nikki, Shane Ford, Alaina, Kemarie and Rebecca all follow closely. Of course, if we go into the GREAT grandchildren, I probably don't have them all listed on my b.d. calendar. I do know Audrey Hart and Hyrum Wheeler and Tyler Hart all have their special days this month. I'm sure there are others this month. Everyone have a great celebration!

Aunt Maxine will be 86 on the 1st of July, same as Glenn's birthday. I really have a hard time thinking of her as being that old! Aunt Lois will turn 85 in November. All of your Dad/Gpa's and my generation is right up there in the top 3/4 of the century mark! Incredible.

We hope you will all come to the breakfast at DATC on the 3rd of July (Sat.) and tell them you are with the Whickers, 'cause Gpa is paying for all of us. Thanks, Gramps!

Glenn, we are praying for you as you approach this operation. I surely do hope that this ends at least most of the pain for you.

Love, Mom/Gma

We love you all

Noisy Joy

Dearest Families:

Yesterday was a supercalifragilistic day, following a great weekend.

Sunday, the chapel in Farmington was absolutely packed for C.J.'s farewell. Dad/Gpa and I counted around 60 from our family, and then there were all the Lindsey's besides many, many friends. C.J. gave such a great talk; we were all very uplifted by it. He will make such a great missionary! This morning, Rachael, Colten, Jacci, Buddy and his Rachel, and Bradley, the boys' cousin, all took him to the MTC and I hear that it was quite a tear-jerker when they parted! I know that C.J. is very excited for his mission, but this is his first time away from home, so it will be difficult in that way, at least for awhile. Let's flood him with letters....I'll send the address as soon as I get it.

Glenn, Pam, Katie and Lyndsey came on Saturday and we had a wonderful visit with them. RJ and David came to share that time for awhile Sat. night. Then Jami and James and their two little gals came on Sunday, and Alison. Perris couldn't make it. Connie and all of her children and grandchildren (except Mary, who only came to the farewell, and Richie, Jessica and Sierra) came over after the farewell, so we had quite a houseful! Rachael also came for awhile...we were so glad she was able to make it on such a busy day for her. It was a lot of noisy joy!

Yesterday (Wednesday) Spencer, Christopher and Colten all needed some assistance with their cars, so we got to see them all in one day! Grandpa enjoyed working with them all, and I enjoyed just visiting. Colten got a massage from Chuck while he was here and loved that, of course! Spencer was here too early for a massage. Spence brought us some brownies that he had made, and they were delicious. Very chocolaty (chocolatey? -- I know, there's no such word.) We missed seeing Jacci and Jessica. One more month (or less) and we'll get to meet little Brooklyn Ann Campbell!

In the evening, Jack, Natalie and Jackson came over for awhile. Jackson is just so cute that Jack can hardly stand it! (Natalie too, I'm sure, but she just doesn't say as much!) When I held him, he laid his head on my chest and just stayed there, calm and content! I thought it was because he was still sleepy from his nap in the car, but whenever I would move him a bit, he would glue himself right back to me and never let me separate us for at least half an hour! Jack says he never does that....lays so quietly and calmly and cuddly for so long! Natalie says he likes her Mom to cuddle with him, too, but not for that long! I was quite honored, as you might guess!! What an adorable 7 month old! I told them they have to come at least once a week now, because he is nearing the age where he may be a little afraid of strangers, so I want him to continue being familiar with who I am! He also sat on Grandpa's knee (Grandpa's usual baby-holding position) for quite a while, completely content and mellow!

Rea Jo and Anna came, too. I helped Anna a bit with a song she wants to play for her class today and RJ also "accepted" a massage!

So thanks, everyone for sharing your time and love with us.

Chuck is doing well in his school, learning a lot. He loves to have the practice of doing the actual massages, so please come on over if you would like one. Rebecca will be here in June for about a week. She'll get to experience a Kaysville 4th of July. Maybe some others will get to be with us, too. Fred and Penny, we hope you will come! I think Richie and his family will be here, right? WHICH REMINDS ME: Don't forget that Grandpa pays for all of you at the Kaysville breakfast. If you don't see us there in line, just tell them you are with the Whickers, as we will have already paid........assuming you won't be too early! We usually get there around 8:30 or 9:00. Call us if you aren't sure what the status is when you get there.

I believe Rachael Maria is planning to be here for the 4th, also. We'll all get to meet their new baby girl, too! It will be a great summer, and FULL of new babies! We are praying for all of you Mommies who will be experiencing that this year...........oh, and next year, too! (I won't tell you who that is, as she may want to tell you herself).

Love you all oodles!
Mom/Gma

To Those Who Are or Will Be MOMS!

(You guys can read this, too!)

Do you all realize how many very, very good mothers we have in our family alone??!! How thankful I am for all of you!

In was so impressed with the talk that "someone" gave at General Conference....I was almost asleep, and don't remember the person who said it....but I think it might have been Pres. Monson.....and he said that the women in the church are to lead, not to be led by other women of the world. For some reason that really struck me. And it brought the memory of a story I thought I'd share, in honor of those women in our family who are leading by example and obedience. This story has to do more with confidence than leading, but there is a link between the two, I think.

When we were in the Air Force and had not yet begun studying the gospel, I was invited to join the NCO Wives Club. I've never been a "joiner", but for some reason I decided to give this a try. So, I went to the first meeting. I was 23 years old, pregnant with my fifth child. Everyone there was dressed very nicely in fashionable clothes and beautiful hair styles. I probably wasn't as strange looking as I felt, but my clothes were at least 6 years old, because I know I had not purchased any new clothes until quite awhile after we were married (when I was 17). Being pregnant with my fifth child seemed to cause quite a stir among several women, and I didn't feel anything positive from them! I felt frumpy, out of style and completely unknowledgeable compared with the conversation that they shared with each other.

Well, you can guess that I decided I probably didn't fit in there! I lacked confidence anywhere at that time, and only felt worse in this group.

We began studying with the missionaries shortly thereafter. I think you all probably already know that it took us a long time....four months of very intense studying and praying. -- before we were baptized.. Your Dad/Gpa was converted long before I was. I had to prove everything by prayer AND the New Testament, since I wasn't sure about the Book Of Mormon yet. (That's another story, though!) Everything was definitely there, in the New Testament, but it did take a lot of studying.

Anyway, by the time that we were baptized, I guess I knew more of what my life's purpose was and who I was. I didn't realize that I had really changed in my feelings about myself that much until I went to my second meeting of the NCO Wives Club......(don't ask, I cannot imagine why I went to the second meeting!) It had been several months, and I think they were still trying to recruit me. The surprise was that all the time I was there this time, I had NO feelings of inadequacy, frumpiness, unstylishness or lack of intelligence! But my eyes were now open and it was clear to me now that the things these women talked about, that I didn't know anything about - were mostly very shallow and not much worth learning! I didn't feel "above" them in any way, but I was just surprised that I hadn't been aware of this before! Without casting any shadow on them, I have to say that they were still, without realizing it, women of the world. I had no interest in spending time with them when my time was such a rare treasure, in which I could study and read and learn! I wished that I could share the gospel with them, but I was way too young and shy and as yet unprepared to do that.

Thank you, all of you, who are so valiant in your leadership! Your role as mothers, friends, wives and sisters and daughters will have much more lasting value than you can realize now.

Love, Mom/Gma

What Legacy?

Someone in our family, some years ago, wrote this and I found it in myold Word Perfect files. It gives food for thought! Maybe it willinspire us to write legacy-worthy thoughts in our journals????Love, Gma

I had a philosophy professor who was the quintessential eccentricphilosopher. His disheveled appearance was highlighted by a well-worntweed sport coat and poor-fitting thick glasses, which often rested onthe tip of his nose. Every now and the, as most philosophy professors do,he would go off on one of those esoteric and existential "what's themeaning of life" discussions. Many of those discussions went nowhere, butthere were a few that really hit home. This was one of them:"Respond to the following questions by a show of hands," my professorinstructed. "How many of you can tell me something about your parents?"Everyone's hand went up.

"How many of you can tell me something about your grandparents?" Aboutthree-fourths of the class raised their hands.

"How many of you can tell me something about your great-grandparents?"Two out of sixty students raised their hands.

"Look around the room," he said. "In just two short generations hardlyany of us even know who our own great-grandparents were. Oh sure, maybewe have an old, tattered photograph tucked away in a musty cigar box orknow the classic family story about how one of them walked 5 miles toschool barefoot. But how many of us really know who they were, what theythought, what they were proud of, what they were afraid of, or what theydreamed about? Think about that. Within three generations our ancestorsare all but forgotten. Will this happen to you?

"Here's a better question. Look ahead three generations. You are longgone. Instead of you sitting in this room, now it's yourgreat-grandchildren. What will they have to say about you? Will they knowabout you? Or will you be forgotten, too? "Is your life going to be a warning or an example?

"What legacy will you have? The choice is yours. Class dismissed."Nobody rose from their seat for a good five minutes.