true compassion

This is my grandson, Gage and my Aunt Joyce.

Aunt Joyce is in a memory care facility. She has Alzheimer's.

It is my privilege to visit her when I'm in that state ... and she has wonderful family who visit with her every day. Aunt Joyce was always our super-crazy-fun-adventurous-aunt. It seemed she had a different color hair every time we'd visit (back in the day when you didn't do that) She made me laugh. And WOW could she sing! When I was a kid she seemed like a secret-agent-spy.

This was Gage's first visit to see Aunt Joyce and her neighbors in the facility. Here's what I loved about that visit:

Aunt Joyce's eyes always light up for a split second when I show up. But when I brought Gage, she was more lucid for a longer time. She remembered Gage's name, she smiled. A lot. She was sad when we left. Gage conversed with Aunt Joyce and the others. (He's 1 1/2) They talked jibberish, he talked jibberish and they all enjoyed it. It seemed there was not a moment of anyone being uncomfortable when Gage was visiting. It didn't matter that their words didin't make sense, their souls communed. I want to be more like Gage.

I love you Aunt Joyce.

Magical Water

A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.

~Henry David Thoreau

When you put your hand in a flowing stream, you touch the last that has gone before and the first of what is still to come.

Leonardo da Vinci

Water heals.

So for me, if I can't get out on the water,

I try to find a place to see the water - even if just in an aquarium.

Have a lovely Thursday.

in the mood for ... check it out

In the mood to laugh?

Cheeseboy at TheBlogOCheese

is your ticket ... and don't stop just with today's post - he'll keep you laughing as long as you keep reading.

Want to commiserate and/or be joyous with other mommies?

Motherhood Uncensored

is the site for you. The comments are often as interesting as the post.

Needing a little pick-me-up?

Get motivated at

The Positivity Blog ...

This blog will keep you soaring and I guarantee you'll be back for more!

With millions of blogs out there, sometimes it's a bit too time-consuming to surf around looking for one that's "just right" for your mood. I hope this helps.

And now, not a blog, but a website:

Want to truly be inspired? Meet David Osmond and hear some original music that will strike a chord deep down inside of you. His album, Reflected, is currently only available from his website - sometimes the best things have to be searched for. I'll save you the search and send you to meet this amazing young man and hear his story... the music is a bonus.

"So now I've got to live like it's the last day of my life

Live for the things that make it right

Live for the ones that make me free

Open up your heart and you will see

Live to be proud I made the day

Somebody else to make a way

I've got to live, you've got to live

Like it's the last day of your life"

(David Osmond, "Last Day")

love at home

"Roses bloom beneath our feet ... all the earth's a garden sweet ...

... making life a bliss complete ...

when there's love at home"

(LDS Hymn # 294)

lazy summer ...

ok, fine .. it's really only spring break. But oh! how I love the freedom of barefeet on the grass, lazy talks under a tree, and the feel of a slight breeze when the sun is beating down.

Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world.

~Ada Louise Huxtable

what would YOU do?

Hey everyone!

My daughter was telling me, today, about a friend of hers in college who won $4,000. Neat story how that happened, but here's the thing that amazed me:

Her friend first took $1000 and gave it to her best friend who was starting a band.

The second thing she did was call up my daughter and say, "Let's go to Wingers." Brooke's response was: "I don't want you to spend your money on us eating out." Her friend: "We're not eating." Her friend then walked in to Wingers, found a waiter, gave him $1000 and asked him to let everyone in the restaurant know that their meal was paid for. She then instructed him to use it all day to pay patrons' food bills.

I don't know what happened with the other $2000 - I think she may have put it toward the next semester's tuition, but isn't this just amazing?!?

I want to be that kind of person.

the r house shares

Many of you are already big fans of the r house. But for those of you who aren't, let me introduce you to Lindsey.

Multi-talented Lindsey not only manages the successful adoption blog, the r house, but she and her business partners have an amazing etsy shop, she hosts monthly service projects that meet the needs of individuals in need (this month: blankets for birthmothers),

Lindsey is a big BYU sports fan (an entire wall in her house is devoted to the latest event!)

she and her friend are Sassy Scoops gals - that is, they review local businesses, and most importantly:

Lindsey is a fun-loving, devoted wife and mother of two gorgeous little guys.

I dropped in on Lindsey last week and she told me of a Silver Strand in her life she'd like to share with you:

Using Lindsey as an inspiration, let's all work this week to find Silver Strands in every part of our lives!

walking

I had a glorious weekend! How about you? One highlight: Walk MS.

Thousands showed up for the 5k at Las Vegas's Town Square, and get this: our Vegas group there raised over $64,000 !!! In this group of thousands it was so fun to run into some friends we didn't even know were going to be there! (hi Julie, Lonny & family)

My kids and I started out at a comfortable pace but soon decided to make it a morning of exercise. With a sprint at the end, it was a great start to the morning. A 5k is fun, but a 5k with a cause is invigorating and energizing!

The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth.

Chinese Proverb

Gage Examines a Bug

I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity.

~Eleanor Roosevelt

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.”

Albert Einstein