Starla's friend Dave

This is a picture of Starla's friend Dave. He spent a few days helping us move. (Dave is on the right) The guy on the left is a recruiter that he has been talking to lately.

Still Moving...

We're still moving. Every night, we fall into bed tired.

I played the organ today in Sacrament meeting and even my fingers hurt from so much carrying & packing of stuff. Too much stuff can truely be a burden.

Yesterday was Valentines Day and we had plans to go to an Adult Stake Dinner/Dance. We had fallen behind on our packing the truck goals & so we decided to work later & celebrate Valentines Day at home. Starla was out with Dave. Heather was babysitting. We had the place to ourselves. That seems to be happening more & more these days as Starla & Heather get busier with other activities.

Quiet can be good. :)

Tomorrow morning, I drive to Oregon with the truck. Tuesday, I ride the train back to Washington, and finish cleaning out the house. It's mid-winter break in Washington.

The Tree House

We are still working on getting our computers & electronic gear

organized in the new space. This photo is a close

approximation to the height of our new home. Think desiduous

instead of palm trees, and put a few more condos around it

and it's about right.

No extra charge for the exercise regime that comes with the rental.

Downsizing to an apartment

For those of you who don't already know, we are in the middle of a move. Many things have inspired this course of action. The winter cold weather is the most motivating at the present time. A few months after we moved into our 5 bedroom house in Newcastle, we nick named it The Igloo. It's white and feels like an ice box. When the fire is lit and all heaters running full bore on a cold night, it still takes about 3 hours to adequately heat the house, and then it's time for bed.

So, our new home is a step up, or rather 44 steps up. We call it the tree house because it's a green two story (2 bedroom,2 bath) condo. Our main floor, with kitchen, living room, master bedroom & balcony is 44 steps up from where we park our car. It has a great view of Lake Washington

When it rains it pours

We have been so busy living life, there has been very little time to record it, even on a blog.

When the emotional content is great, my tendency is to remain silent. I just feel, cry & take long walks, cry, work, pray, teach children to sing & dance to music, cry, pack boxes, hug my sweetheart, meditate, pray, call/text my kids, cry, hug my children and cry some more. I try to be careful where & when I allow myself to be tearful, not everyone understands or can tolerate intense emotion. I don't want to make others uncomfortable around me.

A month ago, just after winter break, we received news from Jesse & Aleina that they were loosing their precious baby, my granddaughter. I needed to be there. I postponed a grade school concert (that had already been delayed from before Christmas because of snowy weather) and made arrangements to drive to Portland. When I woke up that Thursday morning, I discovered that the Seattle area was an island, all roads leaving in any direction were closed due to flooding. I cried. All flights out were booked that day, but I was able to get a flight to Portland at 6 am the next morning. I was grateful to be able to travel. Jesse & his father-in-law picked me up at the airport. We traveled to the hospital where Aleina was waiting with her mom, in labor with little Layla. We spent the day waiting for the birth of this sweet little girl that we knew would not live. After she was born and they took her away to clean her up, we cried together. They brought her back wrapped in a little pink rosebud quilt, like a precious flower that didn't quite bloom. When I held her, she was so tiny, so limp, so incredibly present in my heart.

The circumstances of her birth were far from ideal, yet, even while I held her and marveled at her tiny, still, features, I felt at peace. The pain could not remove the peace. A curious, intense mix of grief and pain, rather like a wound that is being well cared for. ..

This little child was so perfect when she was born that all she needed on this earth was a body. Heavenly Father took her back to him. We cry for those of us who are left behind. "Let us live together in love so that we weep for the loss of them that die." We didn't have a chance to get to know Layla here. But I know that we all existed and associated as brothers and sisters before we ever came here. I also know that we will enjoy that privilege again when we die, only without the blinders we experience now. We will see things more clearly, as they truly are. I look forward to holding this grandchild again when I pass from this life. The older I get, the longer the list gets of those I want to hug & hold again. Death will eventually come as a welcome friend, not an unknown stranger.

Last Sunday, we traveled to Oregon to be present at the blessing of my nephew Tom Smith's little newborn, Carma Letha Smith. My husband Tom was invited to be in the circle while she was blessed. My niece Heidi's baby daughter Katherine was also blessed that day. Little Carma was less than two weeks old. She was named after Tom's mother Carma, who passed away last May. She was also named for her maternal grandmother, Letha, who had previously passed away. As I held that precious little girl, tears flowed down my cheeks. My husband Tom loaned me his handkerchief. I sat on the front row with other family members in church and silently wept. I wept for joy, this is my nephew's first child. He has traveled a hard road. I wept in remembrance of my sister, this child bears her name. I wept for what might have been, my recently lost grandchild. I wept full of joy & hope because of a knowledge of the resurrection and the atonement. I wept for happiness for the privilege of associating with friends and family in that holy place. I tried to contain the tears, but they poured down my cheeks and would not stop. My nose was red & my eyes were wet & puffy.

I'm grateful to be sealed to my parents, and that they are sealed to theirs. I'm grateful that my children are sealed to me and look forward to this unending chain continuing with my children and grandchildren so that future generations will be bound together in love by the power of the Holy Priesthood. Little else matters but to love and serve each other with all our hearts.

As I read and listened to Aleina's blog this evening, my heart was filled, and tears poured down my cheeks like rain. I pray that her wounded heart would be bound up and that she will find increased hope and peace every time the dressing is changed. I pray for my son's heart to heal as well, and that these young parents will grow even closer together during this time of loss.

There have been many other changes, but they will have to wait for another day.

Snowed in December 2008

This is a pile of...? a byproduct of an 8 day snow in. Notice the colors & patterns...

This is our back yard as seen from the living room window. Just past the yard is the point of no return on Hachtel Hill. It's where novice drivers discover & experience the natural laws governing gravity & inertia. We're too old to be novice drivers anymore, so we avoid the excitement & stay home keeping ourselves buzy with other activities...

Heather decided to design her own quilt.

This quilt was made for my younger brother Paul. He lives in a group home. Notice the bear & canoe blocks in the bottom right hand corner.

In the top right center, you'll notice a pillow case with the bear & canoe pattern. You may also notice the feet in the foreground, and that there is light coming through the window.

Bears have been known to hibernate in the winter.


Heather's quilt sewn & on her bed. It's an intricate design representing many things that are important to her.

(Return to the pile on top)

Being snowed in has definately slowed me down in some respects, but it has freed me in others. It's been a blessing to have sufficient time at home to sew quilts for my loved ones. Sewing for my family nourishes my soul and helps me to feel grounded.

I so appreciate being snowed in with electricity this year!

(Two years ago, we were without electricity for 8 days.)

Christmas Eve

My name is Sandi, and I have finally begun a blog.

This is Christmas Eve, and I have alternately enjoyed the limitations of the snow storm and been frustrated by them throughout the last several days. My life has been altered by the weather for a week now. I have been able to sew more this last week than I have in more than a year. As I have worked on these creations, I also have found that there are certain items I need, and cannot get them as easily. i.e., it took 90 minutes to put chains on the van this morning and then we drove at 15 miles/hour.

I just finished two more quilts for children who live far away. They won't be mailed until Friday. Now, we get to clean up & relax and enjoy the company of the family who is here. This includes my husband Tom and our two teenaged daughters, Starla & Heather, who are still at home. Drops of oil in my lamp...