May the glorious dawn of Easter morn
And all that it imparts,
Bring hope anew to everyone
And love to troubled hearts!

May the glory of our risen Lord,
Shine so the world may find
True brotherhood, with prayer and faith,
For peace to all mankind!

May the beauty of this glad springtime
Bring a radiant joy and cheer-
And Easter's story told again,
Bring our Saviour very near!

-Lelah Kinney Ayers

I stayed home sick today............from church.  I laid in bed, so dizzy I didn't get up for awhile.  I eventually made it to the couch and that's where I stayed all day.  I did wander out to the pond and cuddled up in a blanket to get some fresh air.  It was beautiful, but a bit "nippy".  I hope I'm all better by tomorrow.  Being sick is never much fun.  I did read the newspaper and watched a DVD. 

I perused some blogs which is always fun, especially when you "don't need to!" 

My computer is acting weird.
The dog is sleeping on the floor
The dishwasher is washing.
Doyle is talking to his mom on the phone.
The day is over..........

  Daniel came to spend the night last night with his big brother Jonathan.  While Jonathan and Paca were exploring the life of the pond (there isn't any yet), and then hiding out in the attic, Daniel and I got to play.  He tried out the little "car" he can ride, and had fun playing with the lemons and banging on things with a plastic yellow drumstick.. They came over after the Art Show Opening at Feat of Clay Gallery (in Aztec) where we all were for our friend's art opening.  I went over to the show after working all day at the thrift store and I wasn't really too enthused about going.  I'm glad I did though because I re-acquainted myself with an old friend of mine, Janet Grenawalt.  Janet's son, Jonce and Peter were good friends 24 years ago (in Preschool).  Anyway.........we got caught up and she is making and selling mosaics in Feat of Clay and on Etsy here:  http://thisfromthat.etsy.com

The boys weren't going to spend the night, but Pete and Heather's car broke down.  They are in a church softball league and had two games last night, one at 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.  They ended up spending the night and Doyle and Pete are working on the van today.  They are replacing the fuel pump. Jonathan was pretty excited to wake up at our house and have breakfast with us. Here's a picture of the guys working on the van.............I thank God all the time that Doyle knows how to work on things............and Peter is learning from a good teacher.

A brisk walk this morning took us up "the loop".  From the top of "the loop" we have a gorgeous view of the La Plata Mountains, all covered in snow.  We've had an unusually (of should I say normal) amount of snow this winter, and we are thankful, as it means we won't have to worry about having enough water to irrigate this summer.  Some summers we are on rationing, I doubt we will be this year.  Some homes that are along the river may have to worry about flooding though this spring.  If the snow melts slowly, it won't be a problem, but if it gets warm really quickly and stays warm, flooding could be an issue.

Our dog, Sia, loves to go on walks, all you have to do is say the word, "walk" and she's so happy she can't stand it.  She loves her treats too, and Doyle is usually the designated "treat" giver.   Sia is our "pound" dog and she has many "issues".  She is very sweet, but likes to be our "one and only" pet...........she would never hurt another animal or person, but she makes it known that she is or should be the "most important" in the family!

Jonathan and Paca are getting ready for an afternoon of fun.  One of the benefits of our Company is getting to ride four-wheelers once in awhile for fun.  Doyle puts our gas detectors on these for a company in the area and when we have them sitting in our yard, well, Jonathan and Paca get to go on a ride.............down to the pond or "up the loop".  Today after a dinner of Sloppy Joes on homemade hambuger rolls, chips, homemade  pickles and homemade pinto beans.........fresh lemonade that Beth brought from "just picked" lemons in Phoenix......Jonathan was ready for fun!  Everyone else was pretty much just tired, as Robert moved up from  Phoenix yesterday with the help of his Dad.  Robert is Beth and Paul's oldest son (he's 24), and will be looking for a job.  He said he was ready to get out of the city, he didn't think he could look at one more "Walgreen's on every corner!  He is excited to start his "new adventure" and we are happy he is here. 

Pete and Heather left the two little guys and went to practice softball, or is it baseball?  Anyway, our church got a team together and soon we will have fun going to ball games.  In the meantime, we are the designated "babysitters" so they don't have to drag the boys to practice...........we didn't argue much at all!  Daniel is sleeping in the guest room where he has his own little crib and Paca and Jonathan are now in the back yard, doing "boy" things. Daniel is our little "charmer", here he is before he takes a nap..........

Friday is "egg day" at our house.  We meet Rachel, our "egg lady" and we usually pick up 7 dozen eggs.  Between four families they last a week.  Rachel's  "girls"  lay beautiful eggs, don't they?  They are brown, green and white.  Today we got one and a half dozen "pullet" size eggs.  I have decided they are the ones that Jonathan and I will color for Easter.  They were already put into the refrigerator, but they are the tiniest little things. I can get a refund for them if I want (the girls just didn't have their normal ones today), but I don't mind getting little ones once in awhile.

I worked at the thrift store today.  Our store is closed for a few weeks as we move into our new building.  We love it, it's big, airy, bright and warm.  We have literally frozen in the old building the last few years, so being warm is something we can't quite imagine.  We also have a washer and dryer, so no more taking home clothes to wash.  Today I shared my Irish cake with Barbara and Betty and they pronounced it "delicious."  They started talking about when they got married so I asked them to bring in their wedding pictures, to which Barbara asked me "which one?"    She's been married three times; once to an alcoholic, then to a  guy who decided he liked her cousin better than her and then she met the third one who was the "charm."  She's been married to Dave for about 34 years.  She has a grandson who is 35 years old and I told her I couldn't believe it.  She looks quite young.........but she assured me she was 75 years old.  I enjoy working with these older ladies and appreciate them so much!  (They work way harder than most people half their age, and put everyone else to shame.)  Barbara was raised on a ranch and we started talking about being glamorous........she said that was never a problem for her working and growing up on a ranch! 

It's cold, windy and supposed to rain or snow today............umm...........yes it must be spring!

  Yesterday my sister and her husband,  Paul celebrated 26 years of wedded bliss.............with dinner at our house.  (I think they are still going to go out to a nice restaurant soon to celebrate also!).  It was also St. Patrick's Day, and so I made a delicious Tea cake from Eipcurious.  I had lunch with my friend Jill earlier in the day and she made a delicious Broccoli soup, green salad and this wonderful tea cake, called Irish Currant and Raisin Cake.  Well, I only had raisins, so that's all I used...no currants.  Here is the link for the cake.  I also made a wonderful roast chicken and I got the recipe from the Epicurious site too.  So here goes.......http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Irish-Currant-and-Raisin-Cake-107263.......the chicken,..http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/My-Favorite-Simple-Roast-Chicken-231348  and the roasted sweet potatoes..http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Thyme-Roasted-Sweet-Potatoes-233085And so there you go.............we all decided it was a great dinner.

Jill also got me started on the 365 Project.  Here is the link to my site.  I hope I can keep up with it.  It sounded like lots of fun.  Jill started awhile ago...  Here is the link. http://365project.org/bunniej/365

We have daffodils poking their little heads out of the dirt..............and Doyle is planting peas this afternoon.....I think it's Spring!

  The following excerpt is taken from a book I'm reading...........and is very apropos considering the discussion I had yesterday with my daughter-in-law Heather when they were over for Sunday afternoon....

"There is a grand and lively debate flourishing throughout the land, lamenting the tragic decline in our morality and values.  Where in our political life - everyone cries in anguish-have our traditionally held values of honesty, courage, and integrity gone?  Where in our civic life are the fundamental qualities of respect, deliberation, and wisdom?  Where, in our personal lives, are the codes of individual responsibility and accountability, civility and compassion?   

All these "lost" values are human qualities that require time.  Honesty, courage, kindness, civility, wisdom, compassion- these can only be nourished in the soil of time and attention, and need experience and practice to come to harvest.  These are not commodities that can be bought, sold, or invested.  They cannot be manufactured, advertised, or marketed.  Our core human values, the deepest and best of who we are, require the nourishment of time and care, if we are to grow and flourish. 

But we have traded our time for money.  In fact, the catechism is quite specific:  "Time is money."  Our entire civilization is confirmed in the fundamental 'value'.  When presented with a choice between time and money, it is best to trade up, to trade lesser-valued time for greater-valued money.  It is seen as the prudent, superior and necessary act.

In this atmosphere, what happens to the time, care, and attention absolutely required for cultivating our essential human values?  They are traded away, desperately, enthusiastically, in the catheral of the free and unrestricted marketplace.

The point is not that money is bad.  Money allows us to participate in the national marketplae and to purchase all the basic goods and services we cannot provide for ourselves.  But how much time should we trade for it?  How do we decide when we have too much time and not enough money, and when do we know we have too much money and not enough time?

People who have a lot of money and no time, we call 'rich'.  And people who have a great deal of time but no money, we call 'poor'.  A 'successful' life is one in which one is always terribly busy, working hard, accomplishing great thiings, and making a great deal of money.  The profoundly rich are put on the covers of magazines...............their opulent life-styles are held up to the public eye as the model, the dream.............

In the 1950's the national dialogue was preoccupied with very different concerns.  Articles in magazines agonized over the perplexing dilemma looming ahead;  What were we going to do with all our leisure time?  Experts confidently predicted that -thanks to automation and the near-miraculous labor-saving devices-we would all be working thirty-hour weeks, perhaps even twenty-hour weeks, and that we would be overwhelmed by the sheer weight of so much leisure time.

What happened?  Essentially, we traded away all that nascent leisure time in exchange for more work and greater pay, so that we could afford to buy more and more products..............We spend twice as much for a larger house, and fill it with twice as many appliances, cars, clothes, and televisions.

When we are not using our time to get money, we are using time to spend money.  Shopping has become a primary use of leisure time.  And how about summer vacations?  Gone are the lazy, languid weeks of summer, the hot days and long, warm nights, sitting on the porch, walking in the park, maybe putting together a pickup game of baseball, or simple picnic.  Instead we buy ourselves a new and improved totally great summer-with boats, Jet Skis, Rollerblades, mountain bikes, rafting trips, six flags over whatever, all timed to never stop, not even for an instant.  It seems almost pathetic, now, to suggest that we could ever have had a good summer by doing pretty much nothing at all.

When we are tired from overwork, when we work fifty or sixty hours a week, how can we participate in family and civic life?  (How about church life?)  Good citizenship requires time to listen to the fears and dreams of our neighbors, to care for our poor and hungry, to build and run good, wholesome schools and hospitals...........In the end we cannot pay others to run a democracy for us.

Maybe we should expand our definition of wealth to include those things that grow only in time-time to walk in the park, time to take a nap,m time to play with children, to read a good book, to dance, to put our hands in the garden, to cook playful meals with friends, to paint, to sing, to meditate, to keep a journal. 

The Sabbath is a revolutionary invitation to consider that the fruits of our labor may be found in the restful and unhurried harvest of time.  In time, we can taste the sweetness of peace, serenity, well-being, and delight.  The truth must be told, with all the money in the world, and no time, we have nothing at all."

(mostly taken from the book "Sabbath:" page 97-101 on "Time" by Wayne Muller)

 Henri Nouwen is one of my favorite authors, he almost makes me want to become a Catholic!  I read out of a devotional almost every morning, called "Bread for the Journey".  A couple of days ago there was this post.....

"Children are their parents guests.  They come into the space that has been created for them, stay for a while - fifteen, twenty, or twenty-five years - and leave again to create their own space.  Although parents speak about "our son" and "our daughter", their children are not their property.  In many ways children are strangers.  Parents have to come to know them, discover their strengths and their weaknesses, and guide them to maturity, allowing them to make their own decisions.

The greatest gift parents can give their children is their love for each other.  Through that love they create an anxiety-free place for their children to grow, encouraging them to develop confidence in themselves and find their freedom to choose their own ways in life."

Reading back over this I am struck by the phrase, "an anxiety-free place for children to grow."  What better way to raise a child than to make their home as anxiety free as possible.  There were a lot of things in my childhood that made me anxious, but being in my little home with my mother and father and siblings, I don't believe I ever felt anxious......it was a safe haven for me, and I wish that for every child growing up.  There should be one place in this world where they can be safe, anxious free, where love is freely given.........and that place should be "home."

I have always loved clouds and something I used to love to do when I was little was just look at the clouds and daydream.  So it was extra special when on Sunday afternoon, Heather asked Jonathan to tell me what he said he wanted to get for me (and Paca of course!) while they were driving here from church for dinner.

He came over to the chair where I was sitting and told me "clouds", Nalli, "I wanted to give you clouds!"

Ah........ there is nothing more special than a three year old wanting to give his Nalli a special gift of clouds............nothing!