LIFE IS WHAT WE MAKE IT~ALWAYS HAS BEEN ALWAYS WILL BE...

Law of the Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We weredriving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of aparking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on hisbrakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver ofthe other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxidriver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was reallyfriendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruinedyour car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi drivertaught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run aroundfull of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full ofdisappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump itand sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbageand spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks takeover their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,so....Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Have a blessed, garbage-free day!

HOPE

"Hope is both the earliest and the most indispensable virtue inherent in the state of being alive.... If life is to be sustained hope must remain, even where confidence is wounded, trust impaired."~ Erik Erikson (1902-1994)
"Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our overconfidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress."~ Bruce Barton (1886-1967)
"A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love."~ Marie-Henri Beyle (1783-1842)
"The pure, the bright, the beautiful that stirred our hearts in youth,The impulses to wordless prayer,The streams of love and truth,The longing after something lost,The spirit's longing cry,The striving after better hopes-These things can never die."~ Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

"Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our overconfidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress."~ Bruce Barton (1886-1967)
"A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love."~ Marie-Henri Beyle (1783-1842)
"The pure, the bright, the beautifulthat stirred our hearts in youth,The impulses to wordless prayer,The streams of love and truth,The longing after something lost,The spirit's longing cry,The striving after better hopes-These things can never die."~ Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

Beautiful flowers

Well, I tried to capture a little of the out of doors at the Balmforth quarters without exposing ALL of the other stuff. This is out by a pond Joel created. He carved this owl with a chainsaw many years ago.

Flowers he planted that have come up voluntarily this year!

This is part of his corn in his square foot garden. However it incapsulates much more than one square foot. Ha

Here is a more frightening view with a bunch of this's and that's including the ol farmer tractor.

And more of the same. Joel uses whatever is handy for the purpose at hand.

See what I mean? Old pallets,wood, and pvc pipe, oh yeah and tires.

Raspberries!!

More Corn.

More raspberries...

Rubarb. YUMMY!!!

Guess what this is? The compost pile. While I was cleaning the yard off the other day so I could mow. I found a waist high contain of old wet coffee grounds that he has collected for something???

More Rubard. Anyone want strawberry rubarb pie?

This is an upside down tomato grower. I think the tomatoes are confused~they arent doing so well. Oh wait~maybe because there is more rain than sun..

Tools of the trade!

An arbor he built out of this and that!

His mothers favorite flowers.

The quakies are really getting tall..

Oops! Got the same picture twice and I didnt know how to remove it. So you aren't really seeing double.

These flowers we planted about 4 years ago in two or three clumps. They have seeded themselves and are just beautiful this year probably because of the rain. Notice I have been weeding. Also I tried to keep it a tight shot so as not to distract from the flowers. The outer perimeter is very interesting. I would have to show you the cow that is grazing in the front yard due to no interested parties in mowing it. Oh well! Got to love it. At least I have grass. For so many years I didnt. So there you have it. Right as I am complaining I am into gratitude. God bless America~~

Love of America

I love America, I love the chill that runs down my spine when I see the flag and say the pledge of alligence. I love that Moroni was a captain in the Lords army and stands at the pinacle of our temples. I have an even more vested interest in that our son Taylor is training in Missouri now for the troops. I can't even imagine him going to war. My prayer is that he will never have too. And I am so grateful for the great patriots of our country who stand in harms way daily to defend the freedom of this great land!! May we all in the coming weeks have a special prayer in our hearts on behalf of all the troops, and for those who have been killed while defending this great land of America. In God we trust. May Old Glory FOREVER Wave!!

Spring! Whats that?

March 29 and its been a blizzard all day long. Wind a howling and gusting about. Someone on facebook suggested we should get a jump on the holidays and put our lights back up. Maybe not a bad idea!!
Blogging just much not be my thing. I havent written since Thanksgiving and surely alot has happened. Id like to be better at this~I do good to write in my journal....
Brock Michael Balmforth was born on March 21,2009. Joel and I and Amber along with a bunch of other folks got to witness his coming into the world. Jessica and Taylor spent a very long day on the 20th working on getting him here and to no avail. I was so proud of them, they worked well together and it was a sweet experience. Finally 2 am on the 21st Jessica got an epidural which then got her to dialating and so by 8:21 Brock was born. What a little darling he is. He has lots of brown hair and cute little dimples in his cheeks. I held him yesterday and told him he was a week from heaven and if he could talk what he could tell us. I said you probably saw Grandma and pa Balmforth and Grandma Miller and he smiled so big. Im telling you It wasnt gas.
Cody has 4 months and some change before he will be headed home. Its been along time. He sounds so good and I feel like he is ready to start a fresh life with his kids.
My dad and his wife Linda will be home from St George area or rather Warm Springs Nev. They hope to serve a mission there next winter. Linda isnt looking forward to coming home to the weather though. Everyone is anxious to get garden stuff going and then you look outside. Oh well this is Idaho and this snow wont last long. Spring has got to hurry to go out like a lamb.
Conference Sunday. Im looking forward to hear from the brethern. I love the gospel and Im so grateful for the atonement.

SO GRATEFUL...

I have spent the last few minutes viewing a couple of blogs I love. I am so inspired by these beautiful women in my life. It sometimes seems so easy to complain and forget to be grateful in all things. I start to feel ashamed of myself which only leads to more not feeling happy with me. (A destructive thing) I subbed for primary on Sunday and in the opening exercise the counselor told the kids that they needed to always be nice to others and that meant to be nice to themselves too!! I was so happy to hear the children being taught that. I dont really remember that being taught to me. Maybe it was and I dont remember (and maybe these children wont remember either) but I was grateful for me to hear it once again as a child of God. I have so much to be thankful for~and I so love this time of year. Fall as well as the holidays. I love family, mine and my extended. It feels like life is so busy that we dont get to spend much time really sharing with each other and I want my family, all of them to know how deeply I feel for all of them. My parents, my children and their spouses and grandchildren as well as my siblings and there spouses and my nieces and nephews. I love you all so much. I think Heavenly Father must love us all alot. We really do have an awesome family. Not perfect by far, and our share of growth opportunities and perfect in all our inperfections!! I am grateful for the gospel~for the amazing atonement which covers all of those imperfections as we allow ourselves to use it and be grateful for it. I am grateful for FREEDOM, for a land God proclaimed was a good land. For men and women who are willing to go to war to protect her. I am grateful for fabulous friends who prod me along the way. I am grateful to have had a voice that could sing praises in my life. (its kind of sad to see it weaken) When I look around at all the challenges others have I really am grateful for my own. We come from good people who have paved the way. Im challenging myself and anyone who wants to renew themselves to look for things to be grateful for and repent quickly. Be willing to see things a new way so that we can always be winners and everyone else can be too. Enjoy Thanksgiving and the upcoming Holidays. Remember Christ in all of it.

HALLOWEEN GANG AT WORK

These are the gals I work with at the Ribbon Retreat in Shelley Idaho. They all dressed up except me. I had been sick, so at the end of the day I dawned pigtails and crazy ribbon.