In The Face of Hope for New Life, There Is Loss...

I have been following an amazing story of a young musician out of Salt Lake City, Utah, who is struggling to stay alive while he is waiting for a Heart Transplant. Irony struck this young man's life this past week in the form of the untimely death of his brother, Brian, just outside of Hurricane, Utah. The Cardall family is an amazing family, and have accepted this death with dignity and the strength of their faith. They are pointing no fingers and are placing no blames. We could all learn from their strength. I have posted a link to Paul Cardall's blog so you can also follow his story.

My prayers are with this amazing family at this difficult time in their lives. They are also with Paul as he awaits news that they have a heart for him -- meanwhile, he grows weaker and weaker with ever passing day.

Anniversary Month...

My computer is doing some crazy things, so I don't have access to all of my pictures, so I can't post pictures of all of the happy couples who are celebrating anniversaries this month; but I did want to write a little bit about each couple and congratulate them on yet another year together.

First on the list, celebrating an Anniversary together in Las Vegas, is Rich and Heather Tusko. They celebrated seven wonderful years together yesterday, June First. (You'll let me know, Heather, if I have the number of years correct, won't you? I do get forgetful in my old age!) I have watched this couple together and realize everytime I see them and am in their company what an amazing love they have for each other and for their blended family of 6 beautiful children. God has worked his miracles with these two, and though Heather says "Eight is Enough" I would like to add "Eight is a Blessing!" Being a mother of six myself, I know how my heart swells with each and every one of those beautiful, individual spirits and am so blessed by them. I know Heather and Rich feel the very same way!

Next on the list, are Dean's parents, Bill and Betty Mickelson, who will celebrate their 61st wedding anniversary on June 6th. Theirs is a life that I would love to emulate. They are not only a couple, but a unit that blend so wonderfully well together; and they finish each others thoughts. I love that couple. They have been my second parents for the past 10 years, and I have grown to love them so dearly. They are (amazingly) going to spend their anniversary with us this year, traveling (bravely) from their home in Lakewood (Tacoma), Washington to our home in Lincoln City. Mom is a miracle to us right now, because at Christmas time, she was on her death bed and we were sure we were going to lose her. But prayers and good doctors have given her more years to celebrate her life with us.

On the same day, June 6th, Ken and Kim Messick will celebrate 28 wonderful years together in Southern California. Oh, what a wonderful love story theirs has been. They were High School sweethearts who found each other again after Kenny served his mission in Ohio -- a match made in Heaven survives all kinds of separations! I have so loved to watch their story unfold and the blessings of 4 amazingly beautiful children grace their home and their lives. God will certainly continue to bless this union with many more years together.

I am going to include just a short side note here to mention that on June 7th, I quietly celebrate my own anniversary date. It was a day that I shall never forget and will forever celebrate as the turning point in my life. It is my own anniversary of the day that my eternal sweetheart, Gerry Henderson and I entered the Temple in Los Angeles to be sealed for all eternity. This anniversary marks 51 years since that date. There will be a time when we will mark eternal years -- won't that be glorious?

On June 12th, my brother Darell and his lovely wife Joan will celebrate yet another year together in Utah. This has been a wonderful companionship for both of them and I rejoice that two people found each other when life was so empty for them both. I have forgotten exactly how long it has been, but I think it has been 12 or 13 years together.

A couple of other anniversaries worth mentioning are anniversaries of good friends that Gerry and I used to celebrate with in Southern California -- namely, Lennis and Carrol Clark and Roger and Peggy Berg. Ah! The memories are wonderful and comfortable companions when you are growing old!

Happy Anniversary to all of these amazing and wonderful couples. I pray that your celebrations will renew in your minds and hearts just how blessed you are to have each other and will pour forth all the love that you can possibly muster for each other on this day and always! I love each and every one of you!

She's A Birthday Girl...

Make a Smilebox greeting

She was born on a beautiful spring day in 1964 in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was in a hurry to get here -- arrived 3 days early! I will never forget the day. I had a doctor's appointment and couldn't find a sitter for our other 3 kids, so I dragged them all with me to the doctor's office. It was just a routine weekly checkup! But, we were all in for a surprise. Dr. Day told me that I had already dilated to 4 and I better get over to the hospital right away. His office was right across the street from Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City, so all I had to do was walk across the street.

Of course that was not an easy task, because I had my 3 other children with me! So, I borrowed the doctor's telephone and called a good friend, Barbara Swenson, who lived in Rose Park to see if she could come take the kids, and oh, by the way, could she also find Gerry? He was in Wyoming somewhere on a geology project! She was happy to help and came and picked up Kim, Mark and Debi. She said her husband Ron was still trying to locate Gerry (they worked at the same place -- Gladding McBean/Interpace Brick -- and he had some connections to find his whereabouts.) You have to realize that this was the 60's -- we didn't have cell phones back then! And Gerry was a geologist and was most likely out in the middle of some desert somewhere!

I went across the street to check myself in and told them I thought I was in labor, although I hadn't had a single pain. They were skepticle, but because they had an order from my doctor, they checked me in and wheeled me up to the labor area of OB. I was buffed, fluffed and prepped and checked and re-checked and all the time, everyone just kept shaking their heads, because I still didn't have any pains! When I had dilated to 8, they wheeled me into the delivery room where anesthesia was waiting to put in a caudle-spinal -- still I had no pains. Dr. Day arrived, checked me and had to break my water membrane (I never did have it break by itself -- in any of my pregnancies) -- and labor began in earnest! Three pushes later, there was our beautiful baby girl! And where was the dad? Who knew?

It wasn't until they were cleaning me up, that Gerry poked his head into the delivery room to let me know that he had gotten the news and that he was here. He missed it all. But, back in those days, the dads weren't allowed in delivery anyway, so the only part he missed was the pacing and taking me to the hospital. This was the second birth he was late for! He was in Lodi, California, when I went into labor in Santa Monica, California with Mark in 1960. Ah! The life of a geologist!

JerriAnne was a cutie. She looked, we decided, more like the Henderson side of the family than the Davenport side because we all thought she resembled Gerry's little sister, Joyce. We had a hard time getting the right name for her, too. I had picked out "Lisa" for a girl or "Scott Tracy" for a boy, but when we looked at that adorable little bundle of joy, neither one of us could see her as a "Lisa!" So we racked our brains for a new name. It was quite by accident that we stumbled on JerriAnne. I liked that it was after her father, and also, I had had a girl friend in high school named Jerri Anne. So, it was settled and by the time we were ready to check out of the hospital 3 days later, our new little addition had a name!

And for all of these years since that day, JerriAnne has been a joy in my life. She was an easy child to raise. She was always eagar to please and helped me so much in every way. We have struggled together through loss and disappointments and joys and sorrows and have come to a point in our lives when we realize just how much of a gift this beautiful girl-child-woman has been in my life.

I love you, JerriAnne -- have a wonderful, beautiful birthday. My best gift to you is all of my love on this day! ------------- MOM

A Wonderful Musical Night in Italy...

On Saturday evening, May 15th, Lincoln City was treated to an amazing evening of Italian Music and Food!

It was an evening like no other that I have ever participated in -- in my entire life! It was an evening to taste not only some amazing, authentic Italian Cuisine, but also to fill ones senses with a taste of some fun, Italian Music. Our local Community Chorus put on a gala affair in the new Assembly Hall of the local Presbyterian Church. The food was out of this world, catered by an amazing chef, Barbara Beard from the Inn at Spanish Head, who donated all of her time for the event. The menu included a 7-course meal, including some amazing Antipasto (Appetizers) delicacies such as Imported Italian Olives, Marinated Red Peppers, Artichoke Hearts and Toasted Sliced Italian Bread to dip in a wonderful olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip.

The Primo Course included Ragu Tomato sauce with Mushrooms and Sauteed Zuccini over Vermicelli al Dente. More of that delicious bread was also served with this course. All were topped with freshly grated Parmesan Cheese. Next (Course III) was a delicious serving of Sliced Rosemary Roasted Pork Loin in Tomato Sauce. Yumm, was that ever great! Number IV to be served was a wonderful plate of Fresh Garden Vegetales, including Parboiled Asparagus lightly basted with Olive Oil and rolled in Sea Salt and sliced Fresh Eggplant lightly sauteed in Olive Oil.

Our Number V Course consisted of a wonderful Caesar Salad with Homemade Garlic Seasoned Croutons, Fresh Ground Pepper and freshly grated Parmesan Cheese. On to Number VI -- a wonderful Formaggio o Frutti Fresca -- a variety of Sliced Cheeses with Seasonal Fresh fFruit. The cheeses included Smoked Gouda (very delicious and a personal favorite) Cheddar and Dill. The fruit consisted of Strawberries, Pineapple, Red Grapes and Watermelon. And lastly the delicious Spumoni Ice Cream (what Italian meal could be complete without it!) served with Homemade Italian Rolled Cookies. They also served an authentic Espresso Coffee (which I did not sample) with Sugar and Cream. I am told that it was a very strong Italian blend and only a very little sufficed any pallatte.


Interspersed through the evening were carefully selected musical numbers -- some whimisical -- some serious Italian Opera performed by our very own Opera trained tenor and conductor, Dr. Robert Herman; or beautifully performed by our beautiful Colorosa Soprano, Nancy McCall. The Chorus sang some wonderful Italian songs and everyone was treated by a miriad of solo, duet, and quartet numbers. All were accompanied by our own talented Paul Beard and/or Dr. Nita Arant. Dean and I performed with a quartet doing a comical rendition of the "Quartet from Rigoletto!" Dean sang two different solo numbers, one accompanied by Dr. Arant and Billy Mickelson on the Cello; and together we sent our guests home with "The Prayer" (as performed by Josh Groban and Charlotte Church several years ago). Billy also joined us in this number. I am working on getting a video/DVD made of the performance, and will get copies for everyone.

Dean's brass quintet played some wonderful Italian music, including some selections from the Italian composer, Henry Mancini! Loved it all!

All in all, we had a fun time, and the audience enjoyed every minute of the 3 hour program. It was a lot of work and all of the proceeds went to help put food on the shelves of our local Care and Share. All of our time and energies were donated. Our local High School provided a wonderful staff of students to do the serving -- and they did an awesome job -- very professional. Their "tips" went entirely to the High School Choral Group. We look forward to our next concert in the spring! It will be interesting to see what Dr. Herman comes up with that might top this one.

Watch out Utah/Nevada -- Billy's coming!

Billy begins his "dela project" tour Monday, May 25, 2009, starting in Ashland, Oregon. This is going to be a 6 week tour, encompasing Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. If you want to listen to a snip-it of the music, go to his website, "thirdseven.com" and check out the dela project music.

He will be in Provo, May 29th at the Guru Cafe at 8 pm; then on to St. George on the 31st, appearing at "The One and Only" (sorry, it's a bar -- in St. George?). From there, he goes to Las Vegas, appearing at the Vegas "It's A Grind" on Sahara on June 1st. From there he goes to Arizona -- Yuma and Tucson -- sorry, Jacki, no Phoenix!

We hope and pray he will be safe and the trip will be worth his while. He works so hard on his music. Next week, when I get a dvd put together of the concert we did last Saturday night of our Italian Dinner Theater, I will post that information.

Give a rousing round of applause for our one and only Billy!

Mother's Day Plus One!

I don't know about the rest of you, but Mother's Day always brings a flood of tears my way. First, because I have 6 of the most precious children on the planet who always manage to say just the right thing to make me cry; and second, as I remember my own sweet mother who gave me life and taught me to be the best person that I know how to be and thoughtful of others -- as much by her example as by her actual teaching methods. And I remember that it was on Mother's Day seven years ago, that a loving father sent the angels to bring his daughter home. I shall never forget that day, either.
And so, with mop in hand, I shed my grateful tears and gives thanks for all that my Father in Heaven has blessed me with. Motherhood, the ultimate partnership with God, has been by far my greatest blessing. And I sat down and composed a little poem about blessings. It's not great, but it is from the heart. I call it "The Counting House."

There are treasures in my counting house, not silver, not gold, not diamonds.
The doors are never locked, the light is always on, and the treasures eternally multiply.

The treasures are my blessings -- I count them every day.
Their worth to me is endless, and undeserved, I say.
The shelves are spilling over with blessings great and small.
Though sometimes overwhelming, I take my time, and count them all.

There's sunshine after a rainy day, and rain to bless the earth.
There's mountains tall and oceans deep, and these bless me with all their worth.
There's health and strength and a good, sharp mind.
There's a roof overhead and a nice warm bed, and greater riches to find.

There's a mother to teach me and a father to strengthen me;
There's a brother to test me and two sisters to love.
There's a husband to love me, friends to cheer me, co-workers to guide me,
And children -- ah, yes, there are children -- my treasures from above.

My count is far from over, for blessings never end;
But to list them all would fill a book,
So I shall just continue counting forever in my head.

I pray everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day and were as blessed as I was.

A New Book to Recommend...

I know, I know... I'm stuck on "kids" books! I loved this one. Dean and I saw the movie about 6 months ago, and I just had to read the book. As with every book that has been made into a movie, the book is always better. And this is the case here, too. Sometimes Hollywood just takes too many liberties when they make a book into a movie and they can change endings, etc., etc., etc. (I hope if my book ever gets made into a movie, they never change the ending!)

I love that it is a book within a book! There are some amazing quotes that I would like to share here, like "The world was a terrible place, cruel, pitiless, dark as a bad dream. Not a good place to live in. Only in books could you find pity, comfort, happiness -- and love. Books loved anyone who opened them, they gave you security and friendship and didn't ask anything in return; they never went away, never, not even when you treated them badly. Love truth, beauty, wisdom, and consolation against death." Oh! What wonderful words. I am one who loves to get lost in a book and this one certainly led me on its wonderful adventure minute by minute.

"Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke is a delightful adventure book primarily for children, but who says only children can read it? One day, I would like to read the two sequals that make up the trilogy. That is for another day, however.