Having fun at the Wax Museum and Junior High Drama Production

The people around my house have been having fun pretending to be someone else lately.

Alisa as Cleopatra, Josh at Albert Einstein and John as the Beast!

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Spring is Here!

There are daffodils blooming on the south side of my house.

No matter what happens during the day, I just can't quit smiling.

I even danced while I was cleaning the house today. 

Have you ever seen a flower that brought more sunshine!

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Color Day In Spanish Fork

Just in case you were wondering why there were thousands of extra people walking around Spanish Fork covered in brightly colored dye this past weekend. . . An estimated 80,000 people turned out for the Festival of Colors at the Hari Krisna Lotus Temple in Spanish Fork this past weekend. The Festival of Colors, also known as Holi, is a Hindu two day festival. This festival has several legends associated with it. Thousands of people gathered on the hill of the Krishna temple between Spanish Fork and Salem, Utah. They threw brightly colored powder on each other, chanted and danced to live music. Holi, the largest Indian festival, is held on the first weekend of spring to celebrate the beginning of the season.

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The Tender Kindness of Friends

A few days after their son Caleb died, my daughter April and her husband Dallan opened the door to an unexpected visitor. Tom Holme and his wife stopped by to bring a gift. They said that Dallan's co-workers and friends in the BYU Athletic Department had been talking. They didn't think flowers would mean too much to Caleb's grieving brothers. So they tried to think of something that would give the boys something to look forward to. Their gift . . . a trip to Disneyland. With all the expenses of the funeral, April and Dallan knew a family vacation was out of the question for a long time. When April called and told me, she cried.
Just before the trip Caleb's younger brother asked his parents if Caleb could get resurrected so that he could come with them. Caleb was not resurrected but he was with them. I'm sure of that.
Thank you BYU Athletic Department.
And don't forget to "WINK!"
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When We Plant Sunshine

Happy Birthday Sammy.

Here is a story I wrote just for you.

I love you so very much.

Sammy’s Garden of Miracles

by

Grandma Baadsgaard

When Sammy woke up one morning, sunlight streamed into his room like sheets of honey. Sammy opened his mouth into a big yawn and felt the shimmering rays tickle his tongue.

“Sunlight is sweet as honey,” Sammy thought smacking his lips. “I will capture one ray of sunshine and plant it in my garden.”

So Sammy held his lips tightly together until he reached a warm spot of earth in his backyard. Then he leaned down close to the brown sod and listened.

He heard the earth people under the warm ground and they were humming, “Sammy is here. Something wonderful is about to begin.”

Sammy smiled for he heard many unseen friends. Then Sammy brushed away the earth and made a tiny hole with his cupped hand. Next he parted his lips ever so slightly. Out came the ray of sunshine so quickly he had to immediately blow the shimmering wave into the rich brown earth before it flew away. Then he gently patted the dirt over the warm place creating a small mound.

Sammy was a wise boy who knew that the earth was full of wonders. Each day Sammy returned to his mound of earth and dreamed a new dream.

Each day Sammy said, “There is magic in sunshine if you plant it just so and never stop believing something magical will grow.”

Then one day something happened that made Sammy feel sad inside. His cousin Caleb died. On the evening after Caleb’s funeral, Sammy was looking out the window into his back yard. He watched as the blue dark faded into black. Just then he saw something shining on his mound of earth. Sammy ran outside to take a look. It was a moonbeam streaming down from the sky in the black night. Sammy looked up.

“Caleb?” Sammy asked as his face was bathed in moonlight. “Can you see me?”

Suddenly the tiny moonbeam filled all the dark space all around him. Then Sammy’s mother walked through the back door and knelt beside him.

“Will I ever see Caleb again?” Sammy asked his mother.

“Every person has a shiny spirit inside their body,” his mother said. “That spirit is what makes our body dance and sing and play. Caleb’s spirit is not inside his body right now but it will be again someday. We won’t be able to see him until we die, but he will keep sending us sunshine every time we open our hearts and let his warm inside.”

Sammy wiped his tears then took his mother’s hand. Then they slowly walked back toward the house.

“I miss Caleb,” Sammy said.

“Me too,” his mother answered.

When Sammy woke up the next morning all the dark was gone. Sunshine was streaming into this room like rays of honey once again. Sammy felt the shimmering light tickle his tongue. Then he remembered the ray of sunshine he planted in his back yard. He jumped from his bed and raced to the back door. As he swung the door wide open, Sammy wondered for a moment if he were dreaming. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Sammy’s entire back yard was filled with bright and shining yellow daffodils and tulips swaying gently in the morning breeze.

“There is magic in sunshine if you plant it just so and never stop believing,” Sammy whispered, “something magical will grow.”

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Sister Love - Fine Art for the Soul

When I was raising my daughter Arianne, I don't remember a time when she didn't have a pad of paper and a drawing pencil in her hand. Running through life was not enough for her . . . she wanted to stop, savor, relish and re-create the rich details of the beauty she quietly observed around her.

Now Arianne is a mother of four young children and she spends her days home schooling and creating with her children.

When Arianne's nephew Caleb died a few weeks ago, her heart longed to help her sister April at such a tender time . . . so she took out her camera and her oil paints. She spent hours taking photos and creating a stunning and emotional hard bound book with images of Caleb's final dressing at the mortuary, funeral and burial to give her sister. Then she dusted off her old oil paints and brushed the final strokes on her latest masterpiece . . . an oil painting of Caleb.

This painting of Caleb is the first thing April sees when she wakes up in the morning and the last thing she sees when she goes to sleep.

Sister love is fine art for the soul. Pin It

March River Walk

For family night tonight

we took a walk. 

One of our favorite places for walking

is along the Spanish Fork River trail near our home. 

Here there is 

quiet

water falling over rocks

wind rushing dry leaves across the path 

creaking trunks of aging trees

 sudden song of meadow-lark

deer grazing in the fields. 

Here winter is melting away 

yet in the mountains nearby, 

snow and ice hold fast.

In our hope

we know warm is coming.

Spring is around the next bend,

just out of sight.

Cold and ice will leave our quiet pastures

our towering mountains.

The grip of death 

can not hold fast for long.

Then all that was lost - will return to living.  

These beautiful pictures were taken by my daughter Arianne who continues our family tradition as she takes walks with her own young family now.

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Happy Birthday Tessa!

Happy Birthday Tessa.

I love you and miss you very much.

This is a poem I wrote just for you on your one-year-old birthday

Tessa Van Dressa and Poodalee Pie

By

Grandma Baadsgaard

Tessa Van Dressa and Poodalee Pie

Smiles at her Momma as she walks by.

She sings to her Granny who calls on the phone

Then squeals with delight when Daddy comes home.

When Mommy is cooking Tessa makes pan lid pie

Pounds on the sides and breathes a big sigh.

Then when she hears, “Who made this big mess?”

Tessa Van Dressa can’t even guess.

For messes are magic when you’re just turning one

And Tessa is shiny like the noon day sun.

She sings when she’s happy and cries when she’s sad

And makes even rainy days seem not so bad.

Our Tessa Van Dressa is one year new.

Our family adores her and who even knew

That Tessa doesn’t care what we do or say

She just wants to know if we’re ready to play.

Tessa is a treasure we all savor today

For soon she’ll be grown and move far away.

We know babies are diamonds and rubies and more

Lucky the family with a baby in store.

Before you are ready the newness is done

Walking and talking now has begun.

We take down tiny linens and fold them away

For a new change of season is at bay.

Our Tessa Van Dressa will always be loved

More than the oceans or the sky above

More than sands on the great ocean floor

More than forever and a little bit more.

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Dallan Moody's Devotional Address

My son-in-law Dallan Moody gave an amazing and heartfelt speech today that I consider a masterpiece. If you'd like to listen to Dallan Moody's Devotional Address click here.­


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John Is The Beast

My son John is playing the part of the beast in Spanish Fork's Diamond Fork Junior High's production of "Beauty and the Beast this week.  Performances are March 7-10th (Wed-Sat) at 7:30. You can buy tickets at the door. I can't wait to see you perform John. I'm so proud of you. Good luck.  Pin It

Celebrating Ashley

I am a mother bear. I would give my life to save my child. I will not back away from anything if I think I can spare my child from pain. But I have learned that protecting my child from pain is not always possible or perhaps even desireable.  

When my daughter Ashley told me she wanted to have an un-medicated birth, I supported her 100% . Yet deep inside, I knew what an unmedicated birth felt like because I've been there and done that many times before. Because this was Ashley's first child, I knew she didn't know.  My initial instinct was to spare her that pain.

Ashley did not make this decision casually.  Natural childbirth was Ashley's choice after careful study, planning and prayer. Yet even the most careful planning does not always prepare us for harsh realities. So my wise daughter looked ahead and planned for the moment when she'd desperately want to give up, change her mind, and find another way around but not through the pain. When turning back was no longer an option, Ashley knew she would need others to renew her courage, encourage her to push through the pain and live.

"This is your window," I told her right before I knew the hard pains would hit, when there would be no turning back.

"I can do this." Ashley said.

When those hard pains hit, Ashley was surrounded with those who loved her - those who would help her see that joy was almost hers to own - right there, just out of her reach, after she took a deep breath and pushed through.

Then it was my turn to be brave, my turn to encourage when all I wanted to do was comfort - my turn to say, "You can do this."
And she did.

Now as she faces those early difficult days after giving birth with the exhaustion only new motherhood brings, she knows she can do hard things.

"If I can give birth without so much as an aspirin, I can do this," Ashley whispers in the darkness.

So God allows us to choose pain so that we can experience joy. When we face our biggest fears we are free at last to discover deep inner strength - a reservoir of courage we did not know was there.

But God knows, God cares and God always surrounds us with those who love us - both seen and unseen - to tell us when we most want to give up. . .
"You can do this.
Don't give up.
Joy is coming.
You're not alone.
You're almost there."
    
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Dallan Moody Is Speaking at the BYU Devotional

My son-in-law Dallan Moody will be speaking at the BYU Devotional on March 6th at 11:00 AM in the Marriot Center on BYU campus in Provo Utah. Dallan is without a doubt one of the most amazing men I've ever known. Devotionals are open to the public and they are also broadcast live on channel 11. This will be a speech you won't want to miss. I'll be sitting on the front row "winking" Dallan. I love you.  MOM

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