FYI

Just an FYI for everyone trying to get in contact with me. There is a problem with my e-mail server. He finally got part of it fixed tonight and I can now recieve e-mail (crossed fingers here, knock on wood, or what ever else you want to do for luck). However, if you sent me something in the last week and wanted a response and didn't get one, it is because I didn't get the e-mail. If it bounced back, that is why. And if you sent me something today, you will have to resend it because I definately got nothing since last night.

As far as me responding, my outgoing e-mail is not fixed, so I cannot send e-mails. He is going to try to fix it tonight, but see the above finger crossing, knocking on wood ritual statement. I am not holding my breath right now.

And this is for my niece, Shayla, send me details. And anyone else that is not busy, forward me all the discussion that has taken place today regarding the above mentioned niece!
Now don't go thinking things about our discussion, it is just that the last e-mail I got mentioned that she is getting married in June and that was the first (and obviously, frustratingly the last) I had heard about it and I want all the details!

Perfect Pie crust

Perfect Pie Crust

1 cup flour
½ cup shortening

Cut the shortening into the flour until it resembles small peas. (Do not mix with your hands as the heat from them will melt the shortening and cause your crust to be heavy instead of light and flaky)

Add in
½ cup water

Mix together with a fork just until it forms a ball and no flour is left in the bowl.
Roll pie crust out and place in pie tin. Bake as directed for pie.

For a single crust pie shell: place dough in pan, trim edges, prick shell with fork to prevent shrinkage, bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes.

Additional Pastry Tips for Success:
-A pastry blender is a great help to cut in shortening evenly. If you don't own one, purchase one! -Its the "cutting in" of the shortening into tiny lumps that gives pastry its flaky texture.
-Anchor a pastry cloth around a board with tape and use a cloth cover for your rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking. Rub flour into both; this will prevent sticking, yet the flour won't be absorbed by the dough.
-Due to the amount of fat in pastry and crusts, pie plates or pans are not usually greased.
-Nonstick pie pans can cause pastry to shrink excessively when baking one-crust pie shells. Be sure pastry is securely hooked over the edge of a nonstick pan.
-Do not stretch the dough to fit the pie pan, it will shrink from the edge if you do. Make sure to roll it out at least 1-inch larger than the pie pan.
-Do not overwork the dough, less handling makes a more tender and flaky crust.
-For pumpkin and custard pies, brush beaten egg over unbaked pastry shell before filling. This helps prevent the crust from becoming soggy.
-A pair of kitchen scissors makes the best tool to evenly trim the overhanging edge of the pastry before folding under and fluting.
-Brushing the top crust with slightly beaten egg white will give it a glazed look.
-Brushing the top with milk will give a shiny appearance.
-Sprinkling the top crust with granulated or turbinado (raw) sugar will give a delightful sparkling appearance.
-Cutting designs such as apples and leaves out of excess dough and "gluing" them onto the unbaked pastry by moistening the underside of the cut-out, makes another lovely decoration for your "masterpiece".

Easter huntings

We have a cat that is a little bit weird. In fact, he thinks he is not a cat. He acts like a dog a lot of the time. You know those tabs that you pull off of the milk carton to open it? Matt figured out that if you throw one, Scoop will fetch it and bring it back. He loves them to play with. In fact, one day I caught the cat looking in the garbage can. He was moving the trash around until he found the tab that I had just thrown away. He then took it out and laid it on the ground and looked for another one. Just yesterday I found 3 of them hidden behind the couch and this morning one was in my scripture bag! One weird cat.

Here he is playing with a ferris wheel toy.

Here he is attacking the ferris wheel worker guy. This is one of his favorite things to play with, next to milk carton tabs.

Today after church we hid Easter eggs for the kids to find. Scoop decided that he needed in on the action as well, pointing out where the eggs were. The kids weren't really paying attention to that fact until I pointed it out. Here is the evidence:

Brandi looking in the mailbox

Scoop trying to tell her that there is one hidden here.



Or how about the one hidden in the flower bed

Brandi is not paying attention

Still not paying attention.

This is part of the fairy garden. It will look better once the flowers bloom.

Trevor trying to give hints as well

Scoop counting how many eggs are in the basket

I know where there is another one!

Trying to point out that there is one hiding in the rocks

I told you he was one weird cat.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!

Who am I and where do I belong?

It happened last night. My baby cried about being adopted. She has never ever known another family or way of life. I was the first person to hold her after the doctor. I have always known this day would come, and thought I was prepared. It wrenched my heart out anyway.

I have never been a big fan of not letting your child know that they are adopted, but we could not have hidden it if we wanted to. We are two white parents with 6 biological children and she is bi-racial. No blue eyes and blonde/red hair for her. She knows her birth mom's name and the few sketchy things that are appropriate to tell an 8 year old. She has asked about her skin color and wished that she could have freckles like me.

But last night. She was going through some books and found one of the story books about adoption that I had purchased for her when she was born. She has read the others (or had them read to her) more than once. This one, I don't remember ever reading to her. It is called "She will never, ever stop loving you" and is a story about the birth mother doing everything she could to have a healthy baby and then giving him to his adoptive family. It then talks about how the birth mother gave the child and the family a great gift in letting them be a family and that the birth mother will always love the child even though she is not the mom anymore.

When I was done, there were tears running down my baby's cheeks. We talked about why she was sad. We talked about the things that we knew about her birth mom. We talked about why she was adopted- both from the birth mom's reasons to mine. We talked about all the things she has because she lives with us and that she would not have if she didn't. We talked about how it is ok to feel this way and that she will probably feel this way again. We talked about how, when she is 18, she can find her birth mom if she wants to.

We don't have contact with the birth mom. I know her name and a bit of her background (more than I am willing to share with an 8 year old). I know more than I should. She was born in a hospital that had only had 1 other adoption and when we were registering, the person left the room and left all the documents regarding the birth mom on the desk. I peeked and wrote down. Then after the birth, the insurance sent a document to us that was supposed to go to the adoption agency. Most of the vital information was blacked out, but not all. I made a copy before sending it to the right place. All of this is in a fireproof box to be looked at later.

I send updated pictures of my baby to the agency, who does have contact with birth mom. A couple of years ago, she wrote and wanted a couple more. My baby drew a picture and wrote a small letter. I asked for a picture of her so my baby could see what she looks like. The letter we got back stated that she does not have a camera or money to have a picture taken and a bunch of stuff that a small child of 6 did not need to read. So, I put it away for later.

Last night in all of the talking, my baby asked, "Why when we send her pictures and letters does she never write back?" I reminded her of the letter that she had sent, but she was not happy. She wants to see and to know, but how do you tell an 8 year old that her birth mom has issues (to put it politely)? How do you tell an 8 year old that the brothers and sisters that still live with birth mom are not living a great life? How does an 8 year old reconcile the fact that her birth mom has given birth 6-7 times and all but 2 of those kids live with her? Or that birth mom dropped out of college and now works 3 minimum wage jobs just to pay the rent? In fact, you don't go into all of it, but some of it has to so that she can understand how birth mom came to her decision. It all gets so complicated.

Then we prayed and went to sleep. I was hoping that she would be happier this morning, but when I left for work, there were the sad, silent tears again. And it is breaking my heart.
I knew the day would come, and I know it is just the beginning, but I was not as ready as I thought I would be. And a kiss and a bandaid will not fix this hurt and make it go away- for either of us.

Ice Cream floats

Home Made Ice Cream

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 Cup heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 pound ice cubes

2 1/2 pounds coarse salt

In a large bowl, whisk together heavy cream, milk, sugar and vanilla until well combined. Pour mixture into a 1-quart resealable plastic bag. Squeeze out all the air and seal to close.

In another large bowl mix together ice and salt. Fill a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag 1/3 full with ice mixture. Add bag with cream mixture and continue adding ice and salt mixture until bag is filled; you may not need to use all the ice and salt. Seal to close.

Shake bag about 10 minutes until cream mixture is no longer liquid. let cream mixture rest, covered with ice, another 5 minutes until firm. Serve immediately.

Home Made Root Beer

1 1/2 cups water

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Root Beer Concentrat

1 bottle (1 liter) cold soda water, setzer or club soda

Bring water to boil in medium saucepan. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Add Concentrate; stir until well mixed.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. Slowly pour soda into root beer miture until well blended; serve

makes 6 cups.

Spring Cleaning

So it is getting to be spring. It is still cold and windy, but the sun is shining more often and I don't have to wear the big coat anymore, just a jacket most of the time will suffice. So that means it is time for spring cleaning. With spring cleaning come moving of furniture, mucking out the old and unused and maybe some painting or at least some sprucing up.

With that in mind, I changed my background. I really, really like it. Sharon changed her background and I really liked it. She told me of a site where she got her new background. I was going to go there and get something new, and I probably will for one or more of my other blogs, but this one just called to me for The Dance.

Down at the bottom of my side bar is a credit link that will take you to the place where this background got it's start in life. However, that is not where I got it. My cyber friend, blog friend Kimberly over at Temporary?Insanity does template tweaking and I got this one from there. She did another background for me here.

Now, I need to spend some time re-adding my links and stuff. But that is a good thing, because I am weeding out and de-cluttering the sidebar. And I am going to have to go over to Karlene's with my laptop because even though she has given me great instructons to make my blogroll a drop down menue, my brain just can't seem to get it right.

Just a little note on the interview yesterday- it went great. The princpal took 1 1/2 pages of notes on things I said, I felt good about it. Upside, I was only the 2-3 interview for the position so everyone else has to be compared to me. Downside, I was only the 2-3 interview so... But I like the upside better. He did say that it could be 3 weeks before he lets me know one way or another, though.

First impressions

This week I told my boss that I would not be returning to the school next year. He was kind and gracious, but dissappointed. I guess I am a good employee. That is always good to hear. The letter of reccomendation he wrote is also wonderfu (its always good to have the old ego stoked- eh?) He understands the reason, though, so that is good. Reason? I really did not go to school and get my degrees to end up basically a hall monitor. I miss using my brain and stretching it and working with the students on more than a once in a while basis.

The second reason (well in reality the first, because I would be happy with hall monitor if this wasn't an issue) money. I really, really hate that most of my decisions in life revolve around this, or the lack thereof. But the truth of it is this, if the bank account is not happy, I am stressed. And my bank account is just not happy.

Its not like my boss can pay me more, he has said he gladly would if the district would let him, but you all know how administration is. But want to hear something stupid about that? My 18 yr. old son just got hired by the same district to mow school lawns and will be being paid more than I am!!! That was really the clincher for me.

So, this week a job as a lead secretary in a brand new, not even open to students yet, elementary school. I know, I didn't go to school to be a secretary either, but the $$$ is better, it is a contract position and not hourly and there are benefits. I could transfer Brandi there, thus extending our time together and she is very excited about that prospect. She really misses being able to go to work with me and I miss getting her off the school in the mornings. (thanks for doing that for me Jess)

But for all of that to happen, I have to wow the principal of the new school this afternoon at my interview. That is what I hate the most about changing jobs- the interiew. I am not good at interviewing. How to tell people that I will be the best choice they ever made has never been my strong point. But, I go armed with my resume- that was good enough to get me an interview- and letters of reccomendation, and knowledge gained in the 44 1/2 years of life I have lived. So wish me well as I venture into my not so comfortable zone this afternoon.

Oh, and if that should not work out, I know that there are a couple of openings coming at the jr. high that my kids attend and I have already spoken to that principal about applying. So that interview would not be so scary. I really really hate interviews.

Snack foods

We are doing snack foods in 4-H today. We will have 6 different kitchens, and each of them will do a different snack food. I am going to post 2 of them today as they go great together.

Mango Salsa:
2 cups strawberries, hulled and finely diced
2 ripe mangos, peeled and finely diced
2 kiwis, peeled and finely diced
2 limes

• Hull strawberries
• Finely dice strawberries, mango and kiwi
• Zest lime to measure 2 tsp. zest
• Juice limes to measure 2 TBSP juice
• In a mixing bowl, combine lime zest, juice, strawberries, mango and kiwi; stir gently
• Serve with Cinnamon tortilla chips.

Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

Flour tortillas

1 TBSP granulated sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400* F Lightly sprinkle water on tortillas. In a small mixing bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over tortillas. Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges; place in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Remove to cooling rack to cool completely. Serve with Mango Salsa

Update

Here is what happened with my sister's surgery this morning. The words are taken from my other sister's blog.

This morning, after they put her under, the surgeon did another echo. It was concluded that she didn't need the surgery after all. Well, she'll still need the replacement at some point, just not today. However, they aren't sure why she isn't feeling well, so she was scheduled for more tests once she woke up.As for now, she'll be back home tonight without the battle wounds she expected. We just need to adjust ours prayers a little to help her through this and help her doctors to figure out why, if not her heart, she isn't feeling well.

Mending a broken heart

Sharon and Sammy Dec. 2006

This is my sister with my other sister's little boy. She is in the hospital, as we speak, having open heart surgery. I am so happy that we are blessed to live in a time and place that has the medical technology that we have. I was thinking this morning about all the advances that have come about just in her short lifetime. When she wakes up sore and in pain, it will be wonderful. Wonderful that the doctors are able to repair her broken heart.

So if you have a moment today, stop and pray for the doctors, the nurses, the technitions. Then say a prayer for her husband and three beautiful children. Then pray for a speedy and uncomplicated recovery for her.

Udate- I just got an e-mail from my mom saying that at about 10 this morning, they were waking my sister up and sending her to see the cardiologist. So far that is all we know- surgery was not completed as scheduled. We still need and appreciate your prayers for all involved.

Week 1 results

Here is the breakdown of the way to earn point in our Biggest Loser contest at school:

• Weight loss (2 pts./pound)
• Cardio Exercise (1 pt/30 minutes)
• Weight Lifting (1 pt/20 minutes toning)
• 5 servings fruits and veggies (1 pt/day)
• No caffeine (1 pt/day)
• No sugar, which we have defined as no dessert type foods or going to the vending machine (1 pt/day)
• Daily vitamin (1 pt/day)
• Good night's rest (1 pt/8hrs/night)

So there are 49 points possible/week without any weight loss. We total our point and report them on the following Monday. I reported my points this morning. 55 points so far. So, I must be doing something right. Now to just be able to keep up the momentum. I am going to be like the little engine;

I know I can, I know I can, I know I can.....

Clementine

I am going to review two books today Clementine and Talented Clementine by Sara Pennypacker

Brandi read Clemetine at school and fell in love with it and had to check it out from our library. She then started reading it to me and I fell just as in love with darling Clementine.

From School Library JournalStarred Review. Grade 2-4–Clementine, a not-so-common third grader, knows her way around the principal's office as well as she does the art-supply closet. Daily rituals take on a different view when seen from her eyes. She's constantly being told that she needs to pay attention, but to her mind she is paying attention and making astute observations. Whether looking out the window during the Pledge of Allegiance at the janitor locked in an embrace with the lunch lady or dealing with a pesky pigeon problem at her apartment building, her concentration is always focused. Clementine goes to great lengths to be friends with fourth-grade neighbor, Margaret, but more times than not, both girls end up in trouble. Humorous scenarios tumble together, blending picturesque dialogue with a fresh perspective as only the unique Clementine can offer. When the protagonist pleads to skip school because of a self-inflicted haircut fiasco, she tries to convince her mom that she must have caught arthritis from old Mrs. Jacobi or has possibly come down with the heartbreak of sore irises. Frazee's engaging pen-and-ink drawings capture the energy and fresh-faced expressions of the irrepressible heroine. And even though she confesses that I do not think fathers should be comedians, her parents are portrayed as being fairly cool. A delightful addition to any beginning chapter-book collection.–Cheryl Ashton, Amherst Public Library, OH Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the back of the book:

"We'll go through my talents alphabetically." said Margaret. She went to a shelf and pulled down her accordion. She looked at myhands and then she looked at the keys. She put the accordion back. "Fingerpirnts," she said.

Then she handed me her baton. Which I dropped.

"Baton twirling's out."

"How about your clarinet?" I asked.

Margaret shook her head. "Spit."

"D is for dramatic acting class," she told me. "Pretend you've just heard some surprising news."

I clapped my hands to the sidesof my face and made my mouth a capital O.

"Dramatic acting's out, too," Margaret decided.

Clementine is so cute and so funny, you can't help but love her. I love the way Ms. Pennypacker captured the nuance of someone trying so very hard to pay attention. Well, Clementine is paying attention, just not to what the grownups want her to pay attention to. And Clementine is great at coming up with ideas for solutions. Her dad calls it seeing things from a differnt point of view.

There is a spot in both books where I cried. That is called being empathetic, as Clementine would say.

In the first book it happened when Clementine overheard her mother tell her father, "We only need one." This happened right after Clementine was thinking about the fact that in her family she was the child that is considered "The Hard One" and her brother is N-O-T, not. The confusion in her mind just broke my heart.

In the second book, it came during the talent show when Clementine just wanted to know what it felt like to be clapped for. Even though as a grownup, I could tell what was going to happen, again, my heart felt for this little 8 year old that wanted to belong. Maybe because I was her when I was 8.

Anyway, I loved, no I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED these two books. I haven't laughed so much as I did when read these books in a very long time. I want to know Clementine for real. We have a couple of kids at the jr. high that Clementine reminded me of, as I was reading.

I also see that there is a third book, Clementine's Letter, coming out in April. Let me tell you, I can hardly wait, as I will be purchasing all three books for our home library. That way I can read them whenever I want a full outloud laugh.

Here is Brandi reading the first two pages of "Talented Clementine". She is also reading a couple of pages from chapter 5 where Clementine explains how to make it look as if you have washed your hands when at a friends house. She also explains how to make homemade tap shoes.

Rules of the West

Those of you that read Candace's blog have already seen this, but I am hoping you will forgive me, it was to good to pass up.

Rules of Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming and the Wild West are as follows:
This applies to other parts of the country as well. You know who you are.

1. Pull your pants up. You look like an idiot.

2. Turn your cap straight, your head ain't crooked.

3. Let's get this straight: it's called a "gravel road." I drive a pickup truck because I want to. No matter how slow you drive, you're gonna get dust on your Lexus and maybe a rock chip in the windshield. Drive it or get out of the way.

4. They are cattle. That's why they smell bad to you. They smell like money to us. Get over it. Don't like it? I-80 goes east and west, I-15 goes north and south. Pick one.

5. So you have a $60,000.00 car. We're not impressed. We have $250,000 combines that are driven only 3 weeks a year.

6. Every person in the Wild West waves. It's called being friendly. Try to understand the concept.

7. If that cell phone rings while a bunch of geese/pheasants/ducks/doves are comin' in during the hunts, we WILL shoot it outa your hand. You better hope you don't have it up to your ear at the time.

8. Yeah. We eat trout, salmon, deer, and elk. You really want sushi and caviar you can get them at the bait store on the corner.

9. The "Opener" refers to the first day of deer season. It's a religious holiday held the closest Saturday to the first of November.

10. We open doors for women. That's applied to all women, regardless of age or looks!! (except maybe Billary)

11 No, there's no "vegetarian special" on the menu. Order steak, or you can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the 2 pounds of ham, turkey, & bacon.

12. When we fill out a table, there are three main dishes: meats, vegetables, and breads. We use three spices: salt, pepper, and ketchup! Oh, yeah.... We don't care what you folks in Cincinnati call that stuff you eat... IT AIN'T REAL CHILI!!

13. You bring "Coke" into my house, it better be brown, wet, and served over ice. You bring "Mary Jane" into my house, she better be cute, know how to shoot, drive a truck, and have long hair.

14. College and High School Football is as important here as the Lakers and the Knicks, and a dang site more fun to watch.

15. Yeah, we have golf courses. But don't hit the water hazards -- it spooks the fish.

16. Colleges? We have them all over. We have State Colleges, Universities, and Vo-techs. They come outta there with an education plus a love for God and country, and they still wave at everybody when they come home for the holidays.

17. We have more folks in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines than all of you put together, so don't mess with us. If you do, you'll get whipped by the best.

18. Turn down that blasted car stereo! That thumpity-thump crap ain't music, anyway. We don't want to hear it anymore than we want to see your boxers! Refer back to #1!

Spring is coming

Remember these pictures? They were taken 1 month ago- Feb 4, 2008.

The next pictures were taken Sunday afternoon. It has been bitter cold and windy, but there is hope for brighter, warmer days, as you can see.

The pond still has a bit of ice, but it is thawing. It was frozen solid 1 week ago. Matthew is going to help me re-set it into the ground, rock the waterfall, re-route the water to a pump to come out above the waterfall, and re-do the founain.

A sproutling in the fairy garden.

Tulips!!

And even more tulips. And can you see the crocus poking their little red heads out of their winter bedding?

Dessert Pizza

1 Pkg (18 oz) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
4 cups assorted fresh fruit such as sliced strawberries, kiwi, banbnas, or peaches, blueberries or raspberries

Preheat oven to 350* F. For rust, shape cookie dough into a ball. Place dough in center of baking pan. Flatten slightly with palm of hand. Using slightly floured roller, roll out dough to 12 inch ircle aout 1/4 inch thick.

Bake 18-20 minutes. Carefully loosen cookie from pan.

For topping, combine cream cheese and sugar in mixing bowl. Mix well. Spread mixture evenly over top of cookie. Slice strawberries, peeled kiwi or bananas. Arrange fruit over cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate. Cut and serve.

Biggest Loser Challenge

My school is having a Biggest Loser Challenge. Those of us interested signed up and we were divided into teams to help each other and cheer each other on. We are awarded points for pounds lost, but this is about getting healthy as much as it is about losing weight. Because of that, we are also awarded points for getting 8 hrs of sleep, not having caffiene or sugar, for eating fruits and veggies, for drinking enough water, for taking vitamins, and getting enough sleep and exercising. Total 10 points/day.

I signed up because I would like to lose the weight that I have gained in the last 2 years. I also want to lose it because my medical conditions are not so painful the less weight I have. But I do have a bit of a struggle, these same conditions make it difficult to exercises so I need the motivation of being accountable to someone besides myself. Also, the medicine I take causes weight gain- another reason to just give up exercising- you know, kind of like- "I can't help it, its the meds".

I am still not comfortable saying the number outloud. I will tell you that I would like to lose 30 lbs. My goal, though, for this challenge is 15 lbs because I think that 30 by the time the challenge is over is a bit unrealistic.

So here is my "before" picture. I will post updates and updated pictures as we go along.
Oh, did I mention that there are going to be prizes?

And thus the righetous are called home

This is just a little side note on my life. Since the week of Jan 1, 2008 I have only had 2 weeks pass by that I have not had a funeral to either attend or acknowledge. This week is proving to make up for those 2. I already told you that my friend and neighbor, Kyle Carlisle died Friday.
When the kids came home from church yesterday, they told me that Brother Ray Young passed away on Saturday night. When you open today's paper to the obit page, these two great men from my ward are side by side. That touched my heart in a surprising way this morning. Their funerals will also be just one day apart.

(the compassonate service leader just called me to bring food for Brother Young's funeral and she is feeling overwhelmed by the number of funerals)

Awwww, cute

On a tree stump dressed like Daddy

The whole family last fall






My sweet daughter-in-law brought these over for me this afternoon.(except for the family picture. That has been sitting on my mantle since Christmas) Isn't he just the sweetest little boy in the world? I simply cannot believe that his birthday is in just a few short weeks! The time has simply flown by.


Oh, and mom, she brought some for me to send to you. I'll get those in the mail.

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Ethan has been learning to play some hymns on the piano. Now, he did have a few piano lessons, but then we could not afford them anymore and all his music lessons came in the form of band at the jr. high school (thanks Mr. Mott, you are the best thing that ever happened to the music program).

One of his favorite hymns to play is, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing". It is also one of my favorite hymns to sing. The tune is one that stays in your head and pops up when you least expect it. It is calming and beautiful. I also love the words. Poems and songs written in previous centuries seem to have so much more depth of meaning to them. They sometimes present their concept in such a way as to convey so much more than surface value- if you are willing to pay attention and sometimes dig for it. Eloquence is the best word I can come up up with to describe it.


Take for instance the second verse of "Come Thou Fount" (Fount in and of itself is one such word):

...Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.


What does that mean, Here I raise my Ebenezer?
What does it mean to raise up some guy. Well, I had to do some digging to figure this out.

Now, (and I know this will shock some of you) I found out that I do not know my scriptures as well as I should. I figured that it was some figure in the bible but I did not know who he was or any story about him. Since I do not have my scriptures here at work, I did a simple internet search and this is what I found-


Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, "Thus far the LORD has helped us." So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel; the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. The towns that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites. (1 Samuel 7:12-14 NRSV)

The word "Ebenezer" comes from Hebrew and is actually two words pronounced together: Even Haazer. Written in Hebrew it looks like this:
It is usually transliterated as a proper name by dropping the definite article (Ha) from the Hebrew word for "place" (Ezer) and putting it together with the Hebrew word for "stone" (Even) to create: "Ebenezer." The etymological roots of the word, thus defined, should demonstrate that an "Ebenezer" is, literally, a "Stone of Help."


In 1 Samuel 4:1-11 and 5:1, the Ebenezer is strangely identified with a particular site, about four miles south of Gilgal, where the Israelites were twice defeated by the Philistines and the Ark of the Covenant was stolen. These battles took place, however, before the site was actually named Ebenezer. It was like someone saying that Dinosaurs once lived in Dallas county -- they did, but not when this area was called "Dallas." Likewise, the two battles mentioned in 1 Samuel 4 and 5 took place at Ebenezer, but some time before it was so-named.The site wasn’t named Ebenezer until after the Israelites finally defeated the Philistines, and took back the Ark of the Covenant. To commemorate the victorious battle, Samuel set up a marker-stone, named it "Stone of Help," and thereby the site became identified with the stone and with the place where God’s miraculous help aided them in their victory over the Philistines. The stone, standing up-right, was called "Ebenezer," and the site naturally took on that name as well.Literally speaking, an Ebenezer is a "stone of help," or a reminder of God’s Real, Holy Presence and Divine aid. Spiritually and theologically speaking, an Ebenezer can be nearly anything that reminds us of God’s presence and help: the Bible, the Sacramental Elements, a cross, a picture, a fellow believer, a hymn – those things which serve as reminders of God’s love, God’s Real Presence, and God’s assistance are "Ebenezers." (http://www.revneal.org/Writings/whatsan.htm)

Thus we see that to raise an Ebenezer is to raise a marker of the Lord's great help to us in our time of need.

Now let us turn our attention to the third verse:

O to grace how great a debtor Daily I'm constrained to be. Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love Here's my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.

The word fetter is another word that is just not used. I know I have read it in books and understood it in context, but I wanted to understand more fully so that I could understand this verse better.

Again to the dictionary:

fetter \FET-uhr\, noun:1. A chain or shackle for the feet; a bond; a shackle.2. Anything that confines or restrains; a restraint.

Wow, either definition is powerful. So do I want my wandering heart to learn and practice restraint? Yes. Or perhaps do I want it bound to the Lord and His ways? Again, yes. And how wonderful that the goodness of the Lord will do that for us if we let it. If we will turn ourselves and our hearts over to Him.

Here is the definition from Wikipedia:

Fetters, shackles, footcuffs or leg irons are a kind of physical restraint used on the feet or ankles to allow walking but prevent running and kicking. The term "fetter" shares a root with the word "foot".
In humans, typically only prisoners will wear shackles. A shackled animal is typically either a dangerous animal or one prone to escape.
Metaphorically, a fetter may be anything that restricts or restrains in any way, hence the word "unfettered".

Now, how powerful is that? ... to allow walking but prevent running and kicking. The Lord knows that if we are allowed to "run with our heart" as it were, we are liable to run straight into danger. However, if we walk with Him, then we have to be slow and thinking in what we do. We won't rush headlong into something that will take us away from Him.

This brings me to the last word from this song that I want to talk about- Fount.

It seems that when someone asks to sing this song (and let me say here, that I am sad that this song is no longer in our hymn book) the name they say is: "Come thou FONT of every blessing"

A font is a receptical for liquid, usually baptismal waters. A font has a limited capacity. There is only so much that it can hold.

Now how about a Fount? Websters tells us that it is a Fountain or a source. I think of my fountain in my pond. My pond is sort of a font- it holds a limited amount of liquid- about60 gallons. However my fountain moves that water over and over and over, unlimited in the amount of gallons it can put back into the pond.

Think about that. The Lord as a source or fountain of unlimited, ever giving supply of blessings if we will recognize that He is our stone of help and allow our wandering hearts to be bound to him.

The Power of Words

I love reading other Sunday blogs. There are those with Silent Scripture Studies (I would link, but there are so many of them. Follow the webring links and you can find them). There are those that have pictures. There are those that discuss different gospel principles or Family Home Evening ideas, or... you get the idea.

The other day I was listening to a song and some of the words struck me. Some I didn't know what they meant and had to do some research. There were others that the combination struck a chord in my soul. So I came home with the desire to do a song discussion on Sunday's whenever a particular song struck me. This has turned out not to be as easy as I thought. I have a post that I have been working on for a week now. The more I delve into the song, the more I want to share and the post keeps getting longer and longer. I am almost ready to turn it into a multi-post about this one song.

I am going to go back to it now and see what I can do. Today it, along with my scripture study, is going to have to serve as my worship. I am missing my meetings because of physical pain and I cannot sit on the hard chairs and still be able to walk afterwards. I will be glad when this winter weather leaves. My physical body has become so sensitive to every little change in the weather, it is so frustrating. That, and I have been up most of the last week all night with one sick child or another.

A few good men

This is turning out to be a year of saddness for me. It just seems to go on and on. Here is where my faith in the Lord and my knowledge that there is a place prepared for us becomes a lifeline, a wonderful thing to hold to. Another ward member and good friend died. His name is Kyle Carlisle.

Now those of you that know me well, know that I don't believe that there are very many good men in the world. However, I do believe that there are a few. Kyle was one of those few.

He was my home teacher for a little while. He was a councelor in our Bishopric. He was scout leader to my boys. In fact Matthew said last night, after we had heard the news, "He was the best scout leader ever. He got us 4-wheeler certified, he took us places and did the coolest things with us. I'm gonna miss him."

I'm gonna miss his smile, his truck driving down the street and a wave from him when it does. I'm gonna even miss his big dog loping down the street.

The world is short of good men by one today and Heaven is all the richer.