The Dog Parade

As you know, yesterday I had an encounter with 

DOGS

They were BARKING at me, almost demanding I abandon my walk in the LIGHT and go home.  If you remember, everything changed when I came to realization that

In light of that, something ODD happened today. 

Keep in mind I am all about parallels in this life.

I believe EVERYTHING happens as a lesson for us to learn.

I guess I've passed that belief on to this kid as I watch him dissect everything that comes his way.  It's most INSPIRING to watch, though sometimes he drives himself insane ... and sometimes the people around him as well.

So anyway, I was walking in the LIGHT today, trying to make my stride look normal and not like I was dancing to the "HAPPY" Pandora and Pharrell were treating me to.  That's kinda hard to do you know.  Don't judge me if you see and I'm two stepping down the sidewalk.  Just keep moving along but feel free to shoot me a ... 

Because 

SMILES ARE POWERFUL YOU KNOW!

Anyway, suddenly I felt I was NOT alone.  I looked back to notice

DOGS

quietly following behind me.

They weren't in chains.

They weren't barking.

They were just following me.

It was like a little parade.

When I turned the corner and headed up my sidewalk, they darted in front of me as if to ESCORT me to the door.

Once we all were there, they turned and left.

Just. Like. That.

I sat in the sun LIGHT on my porch and tried to make sense of it, especially considering what happened yesterday.  For the life of me I could not connect the dots to the parallel story.

The longer I sat there, the more the story refused to unfold.

It is still refusing and yet I know it is there ... the parallel I mean.

I'm hoping you will help a girl out!

Can YOU connect the dots?

Can you see the the parallel story?

Because seriously, I'm kinda OCD this way and I won't be able to sleep until the dots are connected.  You know how hard I am trying to stop hanging out in the DARK and go to sleep, so please...

Barking...

There is a place.

It is VERY SACRED to me.

It is quiet inside,
away from the noise of the World.

It is where I can learn the lessons of Heaven, if I'm willing to listen.

I learned one of those lessons this past Saturday.  As I sat in those quiet rooms, I had the following distinct, impression...

The LIGHT is different 

than the DARKNESS 

for a reason Krista!

STOP hanging out in the 

DARK!

By DARK, I don't mean depression, although the same lessons would apply. This time the DARK was very literally, THE DARK.

I've admitted I have a hard time getting up in the morning but I can stay up all night with no problem at all.  It's when my "super woman" powers kick in!

I love 

SUPER WOMAN!

Super woman running around in the DARK, has always been my pattern and it's worked okay for me but I've been learning in that Sacred Place that there is a better way.

So this morning when my pillow grabbed me and begged me to hold it tight, I thought of the DARK and made a conscious effort to focus on the LIGHT.  I was resistant at first but bravely sat my tired self up.  I put on my comfy but unflattering sweat pants and headed out for a walk in the 

LIGHT.

The sun was shining and Pandora was keeping me company.

I passed my neighbors who were on a walk as well. They smiled at me.

Smiles are powerful you know.

I passed by the Orgill's house.  I admired their green grass and thought how much I admire them.

Then I turned the corner to meet 

THE DOGS.

It was just one at first.

It BARKED at me as if to tell me to GO HOME!  Then another started barking ... and another ... and another!

I almost obeyed their barking commands, due the fact that they scare me a bit, but the LIGHT felt so good!  It encouraged me to continued on.

I was quickly distracted by Pandora and someone singing, "call me ... maybe". It caused me to think about baseball players and the fun they have.  It was AWESOME and I was quickly smiling again!

Maybe 200 steps later, the app on my phone made a loud announcement in my ear informing me that I had walked ONE mile in SEVENTEEN minutes.  

I shook my head and remembered Tami and Jay.  They are incredible and just ran the inspiring Boston Marathon. The thought BARKED in my head that they could easily LAP ME ... not once, not twice, but probably TEN or more times.

That internal BARKING seemed to shout, turn around, go home, give up!  But again, the LIGHT felt so good that I continued on.

Pandora stepped it up to help me and shot in my ears a sappy Prom Theme!!  I recognized it immediately.  It was my nephew, Ryan's prom theme.  The promenade had such a distinctive move in it that every time we heard it, Dillon and I would reenact the dance.  
Fun times here in the nest ... and a return to my smile!

I promenaded past the Jays, not the Boston Marathon Jay mind you. I was happy and smiled at my parents house which was along my path!  

I finally reached the shade of the Baird's house when Pandora treated me to a song from PITCH PERFECT. I laughed as I thought of Tyson coming home from his mission and everyone telling him he had to see the movie Pitch Perfect.   He was game!!

We quickly found a copy and plugged it in the DVD player.  When it ended we turned our attention to Ty to see what he thought.  Shaking his head he said, "Are you serious?  THAT was PITCH Perfect?!  I thought it was going to be a baseball movie!"
Well of course he did!

I loved reliving that memory as I walked along and turned the corner.  I began my uphill climb on that "Quirky" Street.  I was almost home now.  The sun LIGHT still felt good and I thought back to those ...
DOGS

They had BARKED at me!!  They had tried to DISCOURAGE me into turning around and going home. I thought of all the smiles I would have missed had I listened to them and let them SCARE me away.

It was then I realized... 

They didn't have the power to stop me unless I ALLOWED them to do so.

Then I thought back to the impression I had received in the temple...

The LIGHT is different 

than the DARKNESS
 and
after my walk today I realized

DARKNESS is in CHAINS and 

WE ARE NOT!  

Some of you maybe hanging out in a very different kind of DARKNESS than that of the night sky.  If you are there, don't let the barking of this world chase you away from the LIGHT.  

Don't give up my friends. Don't you quit. You KEEP WALKING. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead.

I PROMISE!

The Bird in the Nest

A couple years ago I disturbed  the nest of two birds.

They were happy as they made a comfy nest for themselves and their baby birds.

I watched from the chair I sit in when I decide 

to watch birds from my window.

It's the same chair I use when I watch Chip and JoJo remodel homes on HGTV.  

The chair is very comfy and it even lets me put my feet up.

It's an all around favorite place to sit and to sleep!

I didn't put my feet up or sleep as I watched the two birds.

 I sat quite amazed at how BUSY they stayed working on that nest, that is

UNTIL

I disturbed it.

My actions caused me to cry at the scene

and I get teary now even thinking back on it.

The disturbance was necessary 

but that didn't make it any easier 

as I watched those 2 birds helplessly fly

back and forth

back and forth

back and forth

not knowing what they should do next 

and mostly likely, wondering why their nest had to be disturbed.

As you know, my nest has recently been disturbed.

I've spent much time helplessly flying

back and forth

back and forth

back and forth

trying to figure out what I'm to do next.

In my flying

or sometimes better described as

I've come to learn 

one important truth...

Disturbances of nests 

are necessary

in the GREAT

I'm certainly HAPPY as I hang out with my 

nesting partner.

We like each other's company and we really enjoy going to bed before 10:00!

We haven't done that since our little birds were in Elementary School.

And speaking of our little birds...

they are so happy out in the world SOARING along

that it seems selfish to be sad that they are doing so.

I am truly happy for them!

The problem I am having is figuring out what I am to be doing in my nest right now.

The nest has very little laundry, 

very little need for food prep 

and to be honest, 

it needs very little cleaning.

I'm not complaining about these facts,

I'm just a little ... 

I've been asked over the past week what has caused me to dust off my blog.

The answer stems back to the empty nest.

I have more time to ponder on life,

I have more time to notice things I didn't before,

and quite honestly,

I'm trying to use my quiet life 

to better listen to the spiritual promptings 

that whisper in my ear.

Those promptings enrich my soul 

and feel my nest with warmth. 

They bring a different kind of joy than I've experienced before.

Which, I might add, I didn't think was possible

because I REALLY like those baby birds of mine 

and the kind of joy they bring!!

But the new JOY is good 

and the emotions are quite unexpected at times.

I spend much time praying how to handle both.

One day in my praying and pondering I had the distinct impression to dust off this blog.

So here I am.

I'm not sure exactly why I'm here.

Most of the time when I sit down I don't know what my fingers will type,

 but feel free to follow along

as this old bird 

figures out what she's doing in this 

empty nest!

Pure HEAVEN

I have a super hard time getting up in the morning.

To those who know me, this news comes as no surprise!

I naturally seem to be a night owl.

If you ever need anything at 2:00 AM

I'm your gal!

My boys often ask why I do laundry in the 

middle of the night.

I have no good answer except the fact that my eyes won't close.

So this morning I was in my usual comma when I was awoken by a

ROARING MOTOR!

As I startled awake, I realized I was very cold!

Quite honestly these days I go from hot to cold in a 

"FLASH"

So if you see me sitting out on my porch in a snow storm just know I am 

"flashing".  

It's a hard-knock life!

WOW!  That was a TMI tangent!!

Back to the cold ...

I looked around and realized I had no covers on,

which Jeff claims I throw off and on

ALL NIGHT LONG!

It's a pain to "flash"!

I pulled the covers over my shivering self and

as I did, the sound of that roaring motor pierced my ears again.

Then a SMILE crossed my lips in anticipation of what was to come.

From awesome experience I knew the *Lifeguard would soon be standing by my bed offering me a glass of 

PURE HEAVEN!

Unlike myself, the Lifeguard can get his eyes to open in the mornings.

Sometimes on Saturday, when he's up all alone he will use the appliances in the kitchen.

When there were four of us he would use the oven and present us all with hot blueberry muffins while we were still cozy in our beds.

Since our nest is now empty, the menu has changed to the glass of 

PURE HEAVEN.

This morning that called for the blender and it's roaring motor.

PURE HEAVEN 

entered my life at the tender age of eight.

We were living in Wendover.

What?  You didn't know I ever left Grantsville?

I did ... although it was short-lived.

While there, I went to 4-H once a week with little 

monogrammed 

recipe cards my mom had presented to me on my birthday.

I tasted PURE HEAVEN for the first time there

and carefully wrote down the recipe in my 8 year old handwriting so I would never forget it.

The Lifeguard still pulls out that little monogrammed card on Saturday mornings when he uses the appliances.

PURE HEAVEN

is a standard on Christmas morning with the Johnson Family.

It was a grave mistake for my mom to add it to the menu!

I don't think she realized she would eventually be feeding well over 35 people when she made the decision.

She stands at the counter all morning and blends batch after batch after batch.  Everyone will drink it until she stops making it, which someone has to usually force her to do.

Sorry about that Mom ... but THANKS!

The ingredients are things I'm sure you already have on hand.

We don't do recipes with weird ingredients like ... 

 red WINE vinegar!

What's up with that any way?

Does it really have WINE in it?

Is it against the Word of Wisdom?

We just avoid it because we don't know and 

our recipes aren't fancy enough to ever call for it anyway.

Sorry, that was another tangent!

So get out your normal ingredients and in the morning stand over the beds of the ones you love and wake them up with a little bit of 

PURE HEAVEN!

What great way to start a HEAVENLY Sabbath Day!

Recipe Clarification:

 Cans of orange juice were smaller in 1978 so by "a can", it's like HALF of a 12 oz. frozen concentrate and you do put it in FROZEN.  The Lifeguard uses an ice cream scoop to get out half.  I just get a big ole knife and cut the can in half.  We put the other half back in the freezer for next Saturday!

Who in the heck is the 

*LIFEGUARD?

Click HERE if you don't know.

Oh!!  And he's speaking in Church tomorrow.  If you don't have anywhere to go feel free to join us!

11:00 at the Stake Center by the High School

A NICE Legacy...

Today I drove down a street called Quirk in my little hometown.

It's kind of a "quirky" name when you think about it,

which I haven't until this second and now I'm kind of smiling over it.

I was driving on my way to spend some time with a 5 year old so his dad could go to an appointment.

  He was happy to see me because I brought him a "tweet".  I was happy to see him because he calls me "Aunt Trista" and that makes me smile.

As I pulled out of my driveway I noticed the house to my left.  The man who has lived there all these years isn't there anymore. It feels kind of lonely without him.

Then a little bit up the road I saw Betty's house.  She used to grow daffodils all over her front lawn.  It was always a fun sight.  She's not there anymore but the fact that she still keeps a can in her driveway for the high school kids to put their garbage in makes me smile.

I continued to drive and to my left I saw where Leah and Toni lived for many years.  Across the street was where Ann used to walk in her front door. Before I got to the stop sign I saw where Betty Lou and Bob raised their family.  Their house used to have pink trim.  It doesn't anymore.

As I turned onto Main Street, still in pursuit of that 5 year old, my heart missed those old Grantsville faces.  Each one knew me by name and each one always made me smile.

I finally got to the house of the 5 year old, by "finally" I mean 2 minutes after I left my house.  Interesting how much you can ponder in 2 minutes.  The 5 year old talked to me non-stop for an hour until it was time for me to leave.

I climbed into my car, still feeling warm and fuzzy with thoughts of my earlier 2 minute drive down Quirk. It didn't take much for me to convince myself to take the long way home and think about those before me who used to drive these little town streets.  So I pulled out of Deseret Circle and headed for a trip down ...

I past by Grandpa Johnny and Grandma Bernadine's place on Main.  They weren't really my grandparents by birth but they laid claim to everyone in town and we all laid claim to them.  We loved them and they loved us.  Our tennis courts are named after them.

I thought of Verl.  He was a gem!!  He used to golf with Jeff's dad.  When it became to hard for Dick to golf, Verl would bring him delicious treats from his garden and stay for nice visit.  They loved each other and will forever!

On a side-note... golf or no golf, Dick still can smooch his sweetheart!

I thought of Mr. Callister.  He will forever go by that name to me, although most people knew him as Gary.  He was my 5th grade teacher.  I remember one day my mom put a bun in my hair because I was running late for school.  Oh how I hated buns back then.  I went to the desk of Mr. Callister to explain my tardy and as I walking away he told me how pretty I looked.  I didn't turn back to look at him because there were tears in my eyes. He loved his students and knew the things they needed to hear.

As I turned onto the street where I live, I passed by Joe's house and his daughter JoAnn's. Then down a bit from there was the place Barbara used to live. A little beyond that was the home of my beloved neighbor Lorraine.  She lived there when Dillon was only 3 years old.  He called her "Duane", kind of like I get called "Aunt Trista" sometimes.  Oh she loved Dillon and he loved her ... and they both loved her kitties!

I pulled into my garage thinking of my grandparents and also Jeff's.  My memory brought the faces of Tom, Fern, Brad, Ron, Bernice, Ray, Bob, Nada, Vearis, Kim, Bev, Kate, Robin, Becky, Marsha, Berkley, Faye, Florence, Morley, Donny, Marjie, Relva, Cleo,  Phyllis, Lucy, Don Ed, Joyce, Barbara, Clyde, Don, Elaine, Richard, Don and the many others who lived here long before I. My pondering caused me realize all these people, and many more, represent all that is good in this small hometown of mine.

Those people have been in my heart all day and I've wondered what made them so iconic.  Then it hit me!  It was because I never saw a single one of them that they weren't ...

I hope I will be remembered someday when someone drives down Durfee Street.  I hope they'll remember that Jeff and Krista raised their family there.  Most of all, I hope as they think of us, they'll smile and say we were always NICE!

That would be a pretty awesome 

LEGACY!