Mission Call

Last Sunday was ward conference and I sang in the choir and sat on the stand.  After the meeting I shook the hand of our stake president as I was exiting.  I know Pres. Anderson well as he was the stake counselor that we worked with extensively on the YSA conference we did 1-1/2 yrs ago.  He held onto my hand for a bit to slow me down and told me how much he enjoyed interviewing Connor for his mission.  "He is prepared in a way that I wish all of our young men would be.  What a great spirit he has about him!" he said.  I had to agree.  I related how he was on a club team for mens volleyball during high school (a long time love of our family).  During the first 2 years they played on Tues. and Thurs. nights which worked out well with Weds. mutual.  However in the third year when he had moved up to the top team, mutual was changed to Tues. night.  Connor's response was that he would just have to drop off the team.  I explained that different family members had missed a season of mutual during school sports and that his church leaders would understand (he was the first assistant to the bishop at the time).   His response?  "Mom, they didn't care if they were at mutual, but I do."  Lesson:  Don't argue with your kids when they want to serve in the church.   Yesterday the call came in the mail.  I sent out the text to family members: "Mission call has landed.  See you for dinner tonight."  I prepared Mexican food and everyone arrived just as the last dish was ready.  I expected Connor to open it upon arrival, but he insisted that we eat first to allow time for a few friends to gather for the opening.  We cleaned up the meal, got our cell phones ready, each calling the assigned family member, and held the cell phones close to Connor as he read, "Elder Wood... you have been called to serve... in the Boston, MA mission... reporting to the MTC on May 9.  To be honest, I was surprised.  English.  That isn't even a foreign language.  Connor is smart.  Then it hit me:  Boston- home to over 50 colleges.  The educational elite.  I was just there in Oct. and love the history of our country and the New England flair.  Connor was excited and Craig whipped out his laptop to look up facts about Boston, Massachusetts (I am NOT smart:  had to look up how to spell that), and Connecticut.  I expect this will be a tough mission, but this kid is ready for tough.  I am proud to be his mom.

What does Dad/Dave do all day?

I was recently hired as a professional photographer (just kidding, I took these shots for free for Dave's new updated website).  His staff was trying to work on their patients while I was suggesting shots that the web guys had on a list.  They obliged me in between the "real" stuff.  So here is a sampling of what my main man does all day:

 This is the hardest work Dave ever does: NOTHING.  He had shoulder surgery the week before Christmas and had to do very little for a whole week.  Let's just say that retirement is going to be a challenge for him.  The guy has to have constant activity or he starts going a little nutty, so below we see him a week later full steam ahead.

 This is Chester, the cat.  He lives at the hospital and pet store, but posed here as a Hollywood extra.

 

 Here are the other women in his life.

No school today!

At 6am the alarm rings.  I vaguely remember that there is no school today and I begin to calculate:  subtract 1/2 hour for breakfast time and scripture study with Gabe.  I hit the snooze button on the alarm.  No sleeping beyond that though.  I am committed to loose 8 pounds before we head off to Spain in March,  which means the treadmill awaits.  Drats.  I roll out of bed, check the weather through the window, and include my gratitude in personal prayer for a few snow flurries (accompanied by Highland's famous intense wind).  We are in a bit of a draught so we are asking for moisture in our prayers, both privately and publicly.  With that said, I have to have a smile on my face for cold snowy days.... who would have thought?  A quick breakfast and 3 miles later I open the BOM, read about the interpretation of the vision, indulge in some of Joseph Allen's "Geography of the Book of Mormon", and then begin the days work. David has years of tapes and a new machine that converts tapes to MP3's onto the computer.  It works great, except that each tape has to play at regular speed.  Do the math.  We are talking about hours, days, weeks, of listening to, flipping over, labeling in itunes,  you get the picture.  Time to begin.  I hit a glitch.  One set (that is 4 tapes, both sides) doesn't work.  Start over.  Still doesn't work.  Hugh!!  I set it aside with a silent curse and move onto the next set. I am a woman, so I multitask at the same time.  Three loads of laundry while I work on Grant and Brittany's wedding picture book (a few years late, but oh well).  Time to wake the boys.  Connor showed up unexpectedly last night, so I rouse both sons.  They do a few chores, I cut Connor's hair,  then at 11am Gabe announces that he and his friends want to have breakfast.  Can I host it here and make omelets or crepes?  Hmmm,  I am not David.  I suggest french toast.  Noon:  his friends arrive in PJs and pitch in with the cooking.

Dane Douglas (best friend to Gabe and pseudo son of ours) was suppose to spend the night.  I remember that his dad woke me up at 1:00 am to check where he was.  I get up to see if he has landed in our beds.  "No" I tell his frustrated dad. 

Me: Dane, where were you last night?

Dane:  I fell asleep at a girl's house.  I know I am so bad.

Me:  We will talk later SON, but for now you are on the cleanup crew, step into my office before you leave this house.

Dane:  Busted. 

Kids: Zach, why aren't you in PJs?

Zach:  I sleep in the rough.

Scarface:  Gabe went to a bonfire on Saturday night with his friends.  He woke David and I at midnight and announced he had burned his face.  Hope the vitamin E does the job...

Beth:  Sorry about Gabe's face.  I was just waving the hot screwer around, and....

Back to work for me.

A Boy and His Statue

I have two statues that sit on the front porch.  A boy and a girl on either side.  McCoy likes the boy.  These were taken in the fall one day while we were headed out to take a walk.  He was fascinated for a long time, having a conversation with his new found playmate.

 

Famous People who are Regular People

Many years ago I spent a weekend in Carmel and visited the many art galleries near the beach.  In a little garden on one of the street corner blocks were some intriguing life size statues of children playing a baseball game.  I was drawn to them and their childlike playfulness.  One of the galleries displayed more work of Dennis Smith, the artist.  Too expensive for my pocketbook, I admired them as a spectator.  

Speed the clock up several years to my first church meeting in my new ward in Highland, UT.  I still remember sitting in gospel doctrine class where the teacher called on a man named Dennis Smith, who drew a parallel to the topic and his artwork.  I asked the person next to me if he was a painter and the reply was, "Yes, but he is famous for his statues"  I couldn't believe it!  THE Dennis Smith was in my ward!  Several months later I arranged to bring dessert to Dennis and Veloy for FHE while he let my children and I tour his art studio.  I was so excited to see the original wax models of some of the statues I had admired for many years.  Later, when I had married Dave,  I came to find out that Dennis had studied in Spain when Dave's dad, Ray, was the mission president there.  Ray bought one of Dennis' small statues to help fund the young and starving artist.  

Below is a statue a few blocks from here in the Highland City Cemetery

 Included in our ward boundaries is a development of about 80 homes built in a treed gully where Bull River (creek) runs.  It was started years ago by several young up and coming artists who raised their families in an ideal setting.  Over the years, artistic people have been drawn to this neighborhood and we have several talented people who continue to move in not knowing that their neighbors are also artists.    

Here are some of the varied styles of my dear friends:

Sally Poet is one of the best gospel doctrine teachers I have ever had.  She heads up a ladies study group that meets at my house on Thurs. mornings, but her real talent is as a painter.  She paints religious art in a modern way.  Some of her paintings have been displayed in the Church Museum in SLC.  Check out Sally's Art on her blog

   Gary Smith has painted several murals in our temples, including Nauvoo and Samoa, and he is finishing the new Brigham City temple (which he will let us take a sneak peak at in February).  When  Dave had back surgery last year we spent a week in AZ and visited galleries in Scottsdale.  I didn't know he was a featured artist there, and man was I blown away by the price tag on his paintings.  Check out  Gary's Art.  Last Christmas when I was the activities chairman in the ward, I gathered all the religious paintings from our famous artists, with Gary's art most prolific.  He got his friend, James C. Christensen to loan us some originals as well.  David built a lighting system to show off the art.  We dimmed the cultural hall, set up formal dining tables, invited the chamber choir from Lone Peak High School to sing, and served a nice dinner in our art museum.  After setting up all day, Dave and I ran home to dress in our fancy duds when he remembered that we had left the building unlocked with a million dollars of art on the walls.  We hurried back.  

Judy and Gary Smith stand by one of my favorite paintings of Christ.  He painted this with a knife, applying dabs of color in the impressionists style. Gary Smith and Dennis Smith were next door neighbors for years, and Judy was the model for Dennis' Monument to Women statues in Nauvoo of the mother dancing in a circle with her children.

This is a picture of a photograph of Joseph Smith (the only photo to exist of him) which was recently discovered in the archives of the RLDS (Community of Christ) church.  The FBI did an analysis and determined it was the prophet by a 98% accuracy. It is believed to have been taken shortly after he escaped from Liberty Jail.  Gary was commissioned by the church to paint from this photo, and here are his 2 paintings:

Onion Fields near Sacramento

Below:  Country themes popular in Scottsale

Chelsea James is my visiting teaching partner.  She is an identical twin and an avid mountain biker.  A few months ago she took Connor and Gabe into the back country to investigate some great trails. She said they were really good and she actually had a hard time keeping up - come to find out she was pregnant... with twins.  Here she is in her home displaying some of her artwork that is featured in an artshow at a museum in Los Angeles Chelsea's Art.  She paints landscapes for prestigious Dolby Chadwick Gallery in San Francisco, but Gary says he loves her sinks. 

Christmas Time

What happens when you put 16 people in one house, give them several days to play, stay up too late, eat too much, laugh too hard, mess up nap schedules, and share lives?  Good times happen, that's what.

Grandpa and Nana B enjoy Trudy for awhile

  

Nothing says Christmas like Temple Square

 You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours....

 Three Man and a Baby

We rented a walleyball/raquetball court at Noah's for the day and 

tried to wear off a few calories.

 Luke had a close encounter with a tree branch that left him with a Harry Potter mark on the forehead.  Och!

 Christmas Eve Santa dropped off new PJs for everyone.

 Luke helps with Omelets Christmas morning right after 9am church.

Brunch is over, Heidi and Trevor have returned from calling her missionary brother, and the presents await.

 And I got another Cannon L lens - telephoto.  As you can see I am having way too much fun to put it down and let someone else take the shots.  Life is good.