ONE ROOM SCHOOL HOUSE

in the mission statement

at ELA,

HISTORY

is strongly emphasized

and is to be integrated

in ever subject matter.

i do not know how the idea was born.

i do not know why 1863 was chosen,
but i am sure
the gettysburg address anniversary
had something to do with it.

january 24, 1863
upon leaving my home
noah took one look at me
with bulging eyes
"you look so old and so real"
(newsflash...in a month
a half century and i am real...)

the moment i put the opticals upon my nose
and laced that last boot,
sternness, somberness and
seriousness encased me in such a way
that i did not know how to act.

 i visited classrooms
and observed with my
picture box.
i was in amazement of the many
individuals that came dressed in character.

students were assigned to a
ONE ROOM SCHOOL HOUSE
alphabetically
accomplishing two purposes
school with siblings
school with a range of ages

no electricity,
just the natural light and lantern
boys seated on one side,

girls on the other
students wrote on slates
with
chalk
there were spelling bees
lessons on cursive
recitations
schoolyard games

teachers were stern
non complying students
stood with their nose to the wall

for the semi full

experience...

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BRIDAL SHOWER

i was invited to attend a BRIDAL SHOWER the theme something for the home my assignment the dining room luckily, i was parntered with my mother she had a dining room i do not she set an elegant table with limoge china i am a work in progress with lovely china inherited from my mother in law next, bring a favorite recipe what? a recipe? a recipe that works? one that tastes good? thankfully chelle came through with RED velvet cake finally, advice for the bride... words of wisdom i believe it is three strikes and you are out i certainly had three strikes, but this isn't baseball dad and noah chauffeured mom and me to saratoga springs  intrinsic beauty surrounded me... a blanket of ice and snow blended in with the white of the sky  the club house was decorated with classic romance as always, it was a thrill to reconnect with friends and cousins  we conversed and played games "you will have 15 children live in a tent work at 7 11 in cedar city, utah" "i am sure that there was jello in 1930..." savored delicious food and refreshment then came the glorious gifts and words of wisdom i presented Xan "a recipe... mmm...i don't cook and when i do it is a disaster the next best thing...  vanilla cinnamon brûlée candle it sounds gourmet smells like the real thing and when someone comes to call 'your home smells amazing what are you making' just wave your hand 'oh it's nothing' " my advice "learn to cook the one thing that has been a constant in my 15 years of marriage is 'a homecooked meal makes me feel loved' from hubby and decide day one the kind of habits you want in your home on a daily basis family prayer dinner at the table who will pay the bills and maintain the car" and then i turned it over to emily post my mother. her finesse and class left listeners better for having attended our gift the RED YOU ARE  SPECIAL PLATE there was a bit of entertainment and help from the men and all of us left with the bride's favorite, a bottle of coke "it's the real thing" just like their love story. best wishes to xan and thomas This free photo slideshow generated with Smilebox

METANIA IN 2014 !!!

new year's eve 

at the groendyke home

is simple.

never out to late night parties,

getting gussied up to welcome 

in the new year.

we prefer

home.

cozy.

rested...

maybe a party hat or two.

this year

mom and dad

planned to celebrate

with grandma garff

on good ol' devonshire circle.

an invitation was extended

and we gladly accepted.

the marriott

had prepared mini reuben, tuna, 

and egg salad sandwiches

cheese and crackers

fruit and veggie platters

wonderful desserts

so it took us two trips

to deliver the goods,

it was well worth it.

grandma's home

looked festive.

we speak a bit louder

and the visits

filled with laughter.

the word of the year

METANIA 

meaning change.

chelle issued a challenge

via phone

"come unto christ and be perfected in him"

dad poured the sparkling cider

and each took a turn toasting in the new year

HAPPY 2014

GIVING GIFTS

christmas is such a magical time of year.

i love the music.

i love the lights.

i love the decorations.

i love the traditions...

and as much fun as it is to receive

a desired gift

or a special surprise...

sometimes

the greatest is the one that you GIVE

and not just any kind of GIVE

but the GIVE you do with thought and heart.

this year

christmas magic came

in GIVING a GIFT

to 

bryan and helena.

these two individuals

are model parents

spiritual giants

well read in the classics

love the beauty of a garden

gourmet meals

and baking bread...

all of which i know nothing about.

as i ventured out in search of a particular GIFT,

nothing particular was left for the taking.

in my peripheal vision,

i saw the ol' dicken's classic

"scrooge"

i know bryan loves dicken's

and i was 100 % positive

he had this tale in his collection...

but my version

of

christmases past present future

was yet to be written.

and so this little gift unfolded...

i printed out famous quotes and linked them
together to form a chain
that shackle scrooge
 if unchanged
CHRISTMAS PACKAGE PAST

CHRISTMAS PACKAGE PRESENT
(a dialogue between rick and myself
was printed and pasted to the gift
in hopes of creating a feeling of being present
in delivering their gift)

CHRISTMAS PACKAGE FUTURE
 
bryan called
and we laughed.

CHRISTMAS EVE

so not the CHRISTMAS EVE

i envisioned.

i am a product of a splendid

CHRISTMAS EVE tradition...

a progressive dinner

beginning at the home of my upbringing.

an evening so memorable,

that many a personal essays have been written on the event.
a night so exciting that it almost
overshadowed
christmas day.

i have always hoped that i would pattern

(i am 100% sure that rick would hope so too)

my CHRISTMAS EVE

after that of my childhood.

i have the christmas dishes.

i have the recipes.
i even have an adorable apron with frills.

i have a love for celebrating the most magical event

in all the history of mankind...

the birth of my savior.

so what happened?

i happened.

i am just not the domestic goddesss i think i am.

i also learned a few things:

i do not recommend waiting until

 CHRISTMAS EVE

to do christmas shopping.

it may mean that your guests arrive before you do.

they did.

i do recommend proper planning

and then adhering to the plan.

as i reflect,

food items had been purchased previous to  

CHRISTMAS EVE.

serving pieces were ready and placed jus so.

mother knew just what needed to be marinated

and for how long...

which dish was placed in the oven

in order to be warm and on the table before

the welcome and blessing on the spread of
delicious, lip smacking

hors d' oeurves.

it was just as much science

orchestrated with a bit of magic

as it was an act of cooking prowess.

our

appetizers

became

aftertizers...

"pick it up on the way home

live by default" type of items.

i delivered gifts while rick unloaded bags of groceries.

my one true success

took affect before sleeping eyes

opened...

the table was beautiful

true to form,

 mom and dad

made me feel like what transpired

 was an  A+++ 

top of the notch job,

but i knew better.

did i need to pull out the old family photos

from scrapbook's past?

had they forgotten what it was supposed to look like?

there was no christmas story from the bible,

yet i remembered the reason for the season

in a childlike nativity

that featured the prominent characters

and noah's handmade woodbox

for a stable.

there was no

 "it's a wonderful life..."

movie with tinkling of bells

and angels receiving wings.

rather, noah given charge

 selected

"the lone ranger"

the only thing resembling 

CHRISTMAS EVE pasts

was a new pair of pj's for noah.

 though his grandparents

were CRIMSON RED 

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH graduates,

they rejoiced at noah

posing

in BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

 COUGAR BLUE

it was a humble, simple CHRISTMAS EVE

with the very people i love the most

and maybe,

  just maybe,
 it played out

according to how someone else 

envisioned it to be...

MERRY CHRISTMAS PRIMARY CHILDREN

december lessons

focused on the savior

 we remembered him

and celebrated his birth.

the first sunday,

each child received a CANDY CANE

i held it up as the letter "J"

"J" is for jesus,

a name

i will hold dear.

jesus is the author of"JOY".

 in the word "JOY"

"J" stands for jesus

"O" for others

"Y" then yourself.

true "JOY"

is the outcome

as we put jesus first

and others before ourselves.

of course,

we turned the letter "J"

into the shepherd's staff.

jesus is our shepherd.

he will guide us back to  our

father in heaven

and gather us when we our lost.

the second sunday,

each child was given

JINGLE BELLS

and 

chocolate bells with this reminder:

that the shepherd knows his sheep

each, with a bell placed around the neck

is safely guided back to the fold

our shepherd,

the savior,

knows us by name.

the third sunday,

i brought CUPCAKES and a nice table cloth.

we had a birthday party for jesus.

we made presents for him

and sang happy birthday to him.

we looked at pictures and talked about

the life and miracles of

this special person in our life.

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OH CHRISTMAS TREE

oh christmas tree

OH CHRISTMAS TREE

where are you?

with thanksgiving at the tail end of november,

christmas happened upon us before

i could wrap my mind around it.

we talked of selecting a tree numerous times...

finally,

december 14, 2013

we forced ourselves to brave the bitter temperatures.

it would be rushed

as we hoped to make

the

country christmas that the ward was hosting.

Home Teach and Visit Teach Friends 

Primary Friends

three OH CHRISTMAS TREE lots later...

(they were sparse and picked over)

one had picked us.

in my home and childhood,

i remember my dad putting lights upon the tree,

a task i have never fancied !

rick lounged on the couch

"this is christmas magic right here"

of course it is magic for him

he is not tangled in pine needles and sap

the lights had almost reached completion,

when the top half of the lights

darkened

"UUUUgggghhhhh"

i start again.

alas

a beautiful OH CHRISTMAS TREE to behold.

tradition: rick places grandma t's picture on the branch

noah places the star atop the tree

ta duh !!!

ta dupe.

i will pick up a new star on monday.

oh christmas tree

OH CHRISTMAS TREE