Alaska - still more to come

I still have one more Alaska post to write . . . someday . . . when this crazy yard of mine settles down.

But in the meantime this is the picture on my computer that I see every day and it makes me smile.

Alex got to spend time at Grandma's while we were away in Alaska and became very good friends with her kitty and Sadie, the puppy.

Obituary for my granny

Kinnie Knowles Seamons Cheney, 83, passed away August 22, 2012, in Logan, Utah. She was born July 25, 1929 in Logan, Utah, the first of two children born to Russell Conrad and Zetta Aller Knowles.

Kinnie attended Logan City schools, graduating from Logan High School in 1947. Following graduation she married Glenn Ellis Seamons of Hyde Park, Utah, in the Salt Lake LDS temple on September 2, 1947. They made their home in Hyde Park and were blessed with five children. Glenn passed away on January 23, 1984 in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the age of 55. Kinnie later married Urban Sterling Cheney on January 8, 1988 in Provo, Utah. They spent many happy years traveling and making their home in Provo for nearly 22 years until he passed away on October 29, 2009.

Kinnie loved life and loved her family first and foremost. She loved to entertain, and was a brilliant cook and hostess. She never missed attending her high school reunions, loved watching horse races, and made time for gathering with close friends in yearly treks to Island Park or on fun shopping trips. She played a wicked game of Pinochle and “May I”, and made every gathering with her a lot of fun for everyone. She was always a great sport in teasing and being teased. She was well known for her canning, and some favorites of family were her peaches, dill pickles, raspberry jam, and chokecherry syrup. She was a very active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Kinnie is survived by her five children, Russell Glenn (Gail) Seamons of Logan, Utah; Sharman K. (Julie) Seamons of Ferron, Utah; Sherwin K. (Jane) Seamons of Mendon, Utah; Taci (Ron) Fernuik of Pampa, Texas; Lisa (Vic) Osmond of Orem, Utah; her brother Russell Conrad II (Lorelei) Knowles of Melbourne Beach, Florida; 30 grandchildren, 51 great-grand-children, and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her spouses Glenn and Sterling, one grandson Adam Glenn Osmond, and one great-granddaughter Addison Seamons. Kinnie was also step-mother to 5 children, 21 step-grandchildren, 7 step-great grandchildren.

Funeral Services will be held Saturday, September 1, 2012 at 12:00 noon at the Cliffside 1st Ward meeting house at 1380 E. 25 N. in Logan, Utah. Viewing will be Friday evening August 31, 2012, from 6-8 p.m. at the Allen-Hall Funeral Home at 1800 N. 400 E. in North Logan, Utah; and again on Saturday September 1st from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at the church prior to the service. Interment will be in the Hyde Park City Cemetery.

Kinnie’s family expresses their deepest appreciation to the many caring Hospice nurses and assistants who helped make her life more comfortable in her last months of life.

TNS

It's here! You know that feeling, the one when you really feel the urge to clean and organize and dejunk. That's where I am. TNS has hit hard like it does every August. I didn't want to come right out and call it The Nesting Syndrome in case you might think I'm announcing something, so for the record I am not having a baby, I just have a whole list of rooms I want to tackle now that the kids are day dreaming away in school and I know those rooms will stay in tact for a little while.

So far I've gone through all the clothes boxes and have taken three black garbage sacks of clothing to the DI, cleaned out the shed, and tackled the guest room. Today I was feeling so motivated I kept moving right along to my office which is entirely in shambles. I've come to the conclusion that too much horizontal space is very bad. I tend to drop stuff wherever there is a clear spot and then piles start to blossom and expand.

In one of those many Mt. Everest-size piles, I came across some thoughts I had written down from somewhere, probably one of the many books or articles I have lingering about.

* * * * *

It's about being attuned enough to notice when your kid's eyes shine so you can make your eyes shine back. --IRIS KRASNOW

I love that! Children can definitely tell if you're listening and if you're excited about what they are telling you.

* * * * * 

I am not only raising my children but also my grandchildren. 
Not sure where this one came from; maybe it was a thought I had. 

* * * * *  

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake. --VICTOR HUGO 
Isn't that a comforting thought, to know that Someone is on duty all night 

* * * * *  

Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them. --JAMES BALDWIN

Amen!

Another year begins

The big kids ready for jr. high:

The little kids ready for elementary (but not Al; he's all mine, all day):

I sent them off with a candy gram wishing them the best this year.

* * * * *

A couple of side notes:

Kiersten landed herself a piano teacher job. She'll be teaching two girls up the street who are really just beginning. Piano teachers are in such high demand; it would be a great job for her if she can keep up with it.

Also, my granny passed away yesterday. I can thank her for my name that has stuck with me for better or for worse. My parents named me Melissa with the intent of calling me such. Grandma Kinnie began calling me Little Miss, and Missy it became much to the chagrin of my mother. She was my last surviving grandparent which makes me really sad as I  realize that the next generation to go will be my parents.

Order in thy house

The scriptures command us to put our houses in order. Something must be out of control in my life if these are the books on my nightstand:

And I'm attending classes like this at BYU Education Week:

And I'm reading articles like this one:
"One Thing Needful" by Patricia Holland

And this one:
"Set in Order Thy House" by Russell M. Nelson

Well, here's the source of that chaos that's practically consumed my life, our life, these past couple of weeks. Our backyard has gone from this:

To this:
Every morning and evening Tyler and I have had the kids out raking, moving dirt, leveling and rarely have they complained. In fact they are the ones I would hear at 6:30am prompting me to get out of bed. There were also evenings where we rewarded ourselves with Maverik icees after putting in some long hard hours. But it was so worth it. Although Tyler's not sure he likes it . . . yet. He kind of misses his dirt and I keep reassuring him that we still have plenty of dirt and plenty of projects.

One thing I've learned from my organization books is that after a big project or activity or major event that you must give yourself time to get back to "normal" which for me might just begin Tuesday when the kids are back in school and we return to some kind of routine at our house.

But for now I love sitting on the deck and taking it all in. It's pretty amazing to see how far we've come in a year and a half. I definitely can feel some semblance of order creeping into my life again.

Wanna see what I discovered underneath my toenail polish?

I'm pretty sure it's from my half marathon 6 weeks ago, and I'm pretty sure you didn't want to see a closeup of it either. I'm surprised it doesn't hurt. My shoes are only 4 years old! Yes, new shoes are on my list.

This yard is also kicking my tail feathers. I'm attempting to maintain the front while working on the back and getting that ready for sod sometime in the next month. Between Tyler and me, we've planted 116 plants/trees in the last 12 months. There are just some evenings when I wonder what the point of showering is when I'm going to get up and do it all over again the next day.

But I LOVE IT! I love coming in after working hard and standing back and seeing something looks different. I love the feel of the dirt on my hands. I love the smell of a freshly cut lawn. I love creating in our yard. I wouldn't give it up for anything.