I'm a little behind

on some of our activities.  A couple of weeks ago we went to our friend, Brent's, surprise birthday party. We saw so many of our friends from high school that we haven't seen in a long time.  I'm truly grateful for good friends.

Here are a few of them.

It was a wonderful

Thanksgiving day.  We went up to Charlene and Greg's and had dinner at a beautiful table with delicious food and loving company.  We went around the table to express what we are grateful for, and of course family was a part of every one's list.  Tyson's was the three F's.  Food, Family, and Football.

 

 

A day of gratitude.

I am so very blessed.   A wonderful family, past and present.  Good friends who bless my life.  A beautiful world and place to live.  The promise that all this will also be ours in eternity.  Great memories and more to come.

And 6 pumpkin rolls and 5 pies in the making, all while watching 2 Hallmark movies.

It has been beautiful weather

the last few days.  In fact it was so nice that Gary wasn't sure if he should put up the Christmas lights. He said it's just not the same if you aren't freezing.  But he decided he would, just for me.

Isn't he having fun?

 I've been finding excuses not to go to yoga lately, but today I went.  Of course I felt much better during and after.  Sometimes my mind is so busy, even during yoga, that I have a hard time quieting it down.  So I decided to read an inspirational though to focus on.  I chose it from a book with wisdom for each day of the year. November 26 was actually perfect for me today.

"Be grateful.  Every day is a new canvas--a new opportunity . . . Choice blessings await those who live in thanksgiving daily . . . Don't wait to start.  Open your eyes, open your hearts, and open your arms."

As I was stretching and doing all the movements, I literally was opening my arms and it felt that I was symbolically painting a canvas with wide strokes.  I love the idea that each day is a new start.  A chance to make a beautiful picture.

I also feel very grateful for my body and all it can do.  We have had so many neighbors who have had scheduled or emergency hip or knee surgeries.  They have all had complications and are facing more surgeries or procedures.  Each time I have heard of their troubles, it makes me reflect on what a blessing it is to have a body that works for you.  

  

When

I read articles or see the news about the devastation, the losses, and the struggles to survive natural disasters (the latest in the Philippines), I feel heartsick.  It is hard to imagine the daily sights, sounds, and smells that survivors are experiencing every day.

Sometimes when I pray and ask for help or blessings, I feel the need to acknowledge that what I'm praying for is insignificant or trite compared to what so many others are experiencing or needing in their lives. Yet, I know that God wants us to pray and express what is in our hearts, and that He cares about what we feel and and those we love.  

So how do we reconcile the inconsistencies or disparities of life?   I don't really know.  But, I do know that we always need to feel and express gratitude for the good things and pray for comfort and blessings through difficult times.  And then act upon those things that we can do to make a difference.   Even if all we can do is pray.   Yet, even that seems inadequate.   So I don't really have an answer.  Just faith.  

Natalie is

A sweetheart. She came and decorated the sun room. I wanted a head start for my club party on the 5th.  

I'm coming in just

under the wire of 12 a.m.

It's be a busy day, starting with making a large pot of soup for our Relief Society Super Saturday event. It was really fun, and the committee had put so much work into making kits for about 6 different projects.  I signed up for two of them.  I felt like a klutz trying to bead a pearl necklace with knots in between each pearl.  I actually only got about 5 pearls on one necklace, but I think I've got the concept now.

Somehow I have a feeling they won't be given to the girls as gifts this year.

Another fun day

of football.  It was a see-saw battle and could have gone either way.  But Timpview ended up winning 33 to 28 to win the state title in our bracket.      

Cracks are how the light gets in . . .

I was telling Gary about this article in the BYU magazine, and as a math teacher, he knew about the term "iterative"  It's a new term to me, but the comparisons to life resonate with me for several reasons (and my favorite scripture is 2 Tim.1:7).    I wanted to keep a record of this article so I could read it from time to time when I'm feeling bogged down.    

THAT'S HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN

By Tyler J. Jarvis (BS ’89, MS ’90)

Some of the most powerful methods for solving hard mathematical problems are what we call iterative methods. You start with an approximate answer—sometimes just a random guess—but you use that guess to generate a new, slightly better answer. Then you take that new answer and apply the method again and again until you get as close as you need to the correct answer. In many settings iterative methods are both the fastest and most robust ways to solve problems.

Iteration is a powerful tool in our lives as well. We repeat these three steps over and over again.

Step 1. Admit and Accept Imperfection  --  if we really want a good answer to many of these hard problems in a reasonable amount of time, we must make do with an approximation and admit some chance of error. I am something of a perfectionist, so this is difficult for me.

But if I am willing to accept an answer that is only close to the perfect one—as soon as I give up on perfection—something amazing happens. We can get a very good approximate solution to the Traveling Salesman Problem not just quickly, but blazingly, astoundingly fast. This approximate solution is not perfect, but it is very good.

Similarly, in our own lives, to avoid being paralyzed by perfection we must admit and accept imperfection. This requires honesty and humility. We can’t try to cover up our ignorance or our mistakes. We must admit them and learn from them.

Step 2. Work Hard to Get Your Best Approximation   Accepting imperfection transforms many important mathematical and computational problems from being unsolvable in the lifetime of the universe to being solvable now on current, actual computers, but the solutions still require deep thought and hard work.

In the same way, admitting and accepting imperfection allows us to find imperfect but workable solutions to our personal and spiritual problems—but these solutions still require deep thought and hard work.

Step 3. Act on Your Best Approximation  It is not enough just to find an approximate answer to the problem. We must also act on that approximate, imperfect answer.  That might scare you. It often scares me. But we cannot let our fear of imperfection, our fear of making a mistake, prevent us from acting.

As Paul told Timothy, “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7).

That’s How the Light Gets In

Let me conclude with the chorus of Leonard Cohen’s song “Anthem.” Cohen may not have meant this verse exactly the way I interpret it, but for me it captures very well the idea I am trying to express:

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack in everything

That’s how the light gets in.

Our bells are cracked. But let’s ring those bells that still can ring. Stop worrying about your failure to achieve perfection—perfection is not possible in this life. Instead embrace the light and healing power of Christ that come in through our cracks and imperfections. There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.

How do you fill

a big, deep, inaccessible pantry and make it user friendly and less likely to become messy?

Step 1:  Pull almost everything out

 Step 2:  Decide if you REALLY want to pull everything out.

Step 3:  Pull a little more out and make an

even larger mess in the kitchen.

Step 4:  Look around and decide that you are

really going to have to contemplate this problem

for a while.  Hopefully I'll find a solution 

before Gary comes home and thinks his

wife has totally lost it this time.

If anyone has any suggestions for steps 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, please let me know.  It's obvious I could use the help.  

Rotating shelf . . .

I took Halloween down a few weeks ago.

and switched over to Thanksgiving.

 

I'm grateful for home

movies.  Misty said Marshall's two favorite things to watch are the "Grandma Ashton go get Candy Movie" and the "Grandma Ashton not candy movie."   Sometimes he watches them several times a day.  So, though we don't see him often, he remembers us well.

The "Candy movie" is the one Tiffany put together from 2 Christmas's ago when they were all here.  The "Not Candy" movie is the one Misty put together from our Orlando trip last year.  

Misty's only concern is that when they come here this Christmas, that Marshall will expect an exact replica of what is in the movie.  Right down to us singing Happy Birthday to Gary and him blowing out candles on cinnamon rolls shaped into a 58.  

But, hey, I'm sure Gary wouldn't mind us shaving a couple of years off  his age.  For that matter, neither would I, since this year is the big 6-0 for both of us.   We'll do whatever it takes to keep our grandchildren happy.

Besides probably being

Upside down, what else is new?

I haven't stepped outside

the house today. I started organizing, and I'm still organizing, and I will probably always be be organizing.  I wonder if you have things to organize in Heaven, or if disorganization only exists in Hell?   Deep thoughts here.  

I did open the door to get the paper, and this is what I found.  I think our paper boy must have some creative juices flowing.   Very cute.  

These are some

of the projects my creative friends cooked up for us to make.

Here we are

Again at the semi-final game for Timpview football.    It's always fun sitting in the press box.

Just saying . . .

How much I appreciate my marriage.  Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to have a husband that loves me, that comes home and wants to have me by his side.   Just saying . . .

On a beautiful fall day

at 2 pm.

On a beautiful fall day at 4:30 pm

A very ragged, and not so beautiful,
me after spending 2 1/2 hours pulling it up.

My part is done.
I'm off to the shower.

Gary said he will happily clean up.

(Especially since he hired our neighbor to

trim the front bushes)