:Family Matters

November 23, 2008

This last election has been an interesting one from many aspects. While I am a registered Republican I try to vote for the person I feel is best qualified to hold the office they are running for regardless of party affiliation. The choice for POTUS this time was horrible in both parties. An old war hero Senator with the annoying habit of saying ‘my friend’ to add emphasis to whatever point he was making as well as voting with the Dem’s when it suited him on the one side. While the other side offered up a man with a snake oil charmer’s ability to sell nothing and make it seem like heaven on earth. A still wet behind the ears junior Senator with no experience in any kind of honest work other than as a community organizer risen from the ranks of knee cap politics straight out of the Communist handbook. The insertion of Sarah Palin as the running mate alongside John McCain energized many of us who were in despair over the choice being offered. I found it rather amusing that while she was attacked for her lack of experience in governance should McCain die in office the same standards used to crucify Governor Palin didn’t seem to have any relevance when applied to the man running for the presidency of the country. Go figure.

At any rate, this mother of five with her no nonsense approach to getting things done has managed to turn the state of Alaska on its ear to the benefit and delight of its citizens. While extremely popular in Alaska the elitists, in the lower 48 states who very much do not want to see someone with common sense and no promises to keep to any except those who like this approach to government were terrified of her and the potential she has to upset the political applecart of many an entrenched politician of both parties. I have never seen anyone as viciously attacked by the mainstream media as she and her family have been in order to discredit her. Be that as it may, it is not what I set out to say, although it does involve Gov. Palin who is once again being excoriated, this time for standing in front of a man who was killing turkeys and letting them bleed out while she was granting pardon to one lucky gobbler allowed go free while the rest of his band of brothers would go on to meet their fate as the center piece of Thanksgiving dinner.

How could her staff allow her to stand in front of such a scene was the question being asked be many in the lower 48 who were appalled that they were unwitting witnesses to turkeys being bled out. “Oh ick, oh yuk” went comment after comment. “I didn’t realize what was required”, said one, “I might have to rethink what I serve this Thanksgiving”. I suspect that the reason no one on Gov. Palin’s staff gave where she was standing a second thought was that in Alaska they still know what it takes to put food on the table. Just shows how far removed and sissified we have become as most of us are clueless as to what it takes to put it there.

Personally, I find it downright scary to think how few people are actually left on farms in this country. Dad was pushing it to try and enter farming when he did in 1953 especially as under financed as he was. Today the capitalization required makes it almost impossible for all but a very few to work the land. All he really had was a dream and the desire to put in the hard work and long hours required to succeed and a wife who was willing to work with him. Growing up as a teenager on the farm I didn’t realize just how hard pressed financially my parents were as we always had plenty of good food to eat—much of it raised by them. Granted, we didn’t have as many ‘things’ as we might have wished for but we always had sufficient for our needs. Mother was extremely thrifty and not afraid to outfit her girls in home made outfits which to give her credit were always well made and attractive. I remember being really startled to hear her say once that they really struggled to stay in the farming business. Every Spring required a trip to the bank to see if they could get a loan to allow them to farm for another year as there was always money needed for the purchase of seed, fertilizer, fuel, equipment and on and on with no assurance that any of this could be paid for if there was a crop failure due to weather not to mention the possibility of injury or illness to man or beast. They protected us from this knowledge as we were growing up wishing to allow us time to enjoy the pursuits of childhood knowing l too well that our own time would come all too quickly when we would have our own burdens to bear in this regard.

Mother always had a flock of chickens which provided eggs as well as delicious fried chicken. But that good meal we enjoyed didn’t just happen—there were a lot of steps involved in between—none of which mother was afraid to tackle. This whole process began with catching a chicken, which was not as easy as you might think, I mean aren’t people a lot bigger than a bird? Well, of course they are, but just because a chicken has a brain about the size of of a pea doesn’t mean that they can’t figure out that when someone is trying to catch them something bad is about to happen which means that once alarmed the whole flock starts flapping around the hen house quickly stirring up a noxious dust composed in large part of chicken and mouse droppings. To avoid this one uses what is known in the trade as a ‘chicken catcher’ which is a sturdy piece of metal wire bent at the end into a U shape just the right size which allows one to sneak up and snag the bird by its leg without alarming it. The captured bird is then held upside down by it’s legs where it wiggles and flops around trying to escape and woe betide the helper who lets go when a well aimed peck lands on a tender spot. . . .

Then off to the chopping block which for us was a flat surfaced stump behind the garage where the chicken had it’s head removed with an ax which mother knew how to use and would when dad was not there to help her. This was a fascinating process to watch as the uncooperative chicken had to be kept on the block with one hand while the other brought the ax down quickly, cleanly and accurately with enough force to do the job. Definitely not a task for the faint of heart. After losing its head the chicken didn’t always know it was dead and would run aimlessly around until loss of blood took its toll. How gross you say? (I will spare you the details of what came next for I know that some like my sister Barbara are weak of stomach) And yes, yes it was, but that is what had to be done if we were to have fried chicken. We knew then the price that had to be paid for our meal and weren’t afraid to pay it. What think ye–can we still pay the price?

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November 16, 2008

It is said, by those in the habit of saying such things, that if you own two of anything you have become a collector of that item. If this is so then I am a collector of many things. I have many books on quilting, you know the kind, they tell you how to, or how not to and all the variations in between complete with examples that are so beautiful they knock your eye teeth out when you see them. Actually, I don’t think that would be possible for me as I long ago lost that pair when I had my teeth straightened as a teen ager. But you get the picture of just how enticing these books can be and this helps explain why I have so many of them. I also collect crochet patterns. Simply looking at the beautiful pictures of the finished items is enough to get the old juices flowing with the desire to replicate the item. Sadly, if I started now and did nothing but crochet every minute for the rest of my life I couldn’t begin to produce even a tenth of all I have accumulated—not to mention the fact that I would end up stark raving mad as well—rather like “trying to drink Canada dry”, it can’t be done. I find this one of the hardest concepts to accept as I age which makes me glad that there is all of eternity in front of me to learn and do new things and no, harp playing isn’t one of them although I would like to be able to play the guitar which just might qualify as a substitute don’t you think?

My thoughts have turned to this subject because we are having a “favorite things” night this Wednesday at Relief Society where we have been asked to bring some small item, carefully placed in a brown paper sack, that has meaning to us as an individual that we would be willing to share with the group through some kind of an arrangement that escapes me at the moment but which I will more fully understand after I’ve been there. And yes, I will not be sharing that information with you as I suspect I have already told you more than you care to know but I had to tell you all this so I could then tell you what it was I really started out to say. After thinking deeply about just what I could share from my many collections—some of which I really don’t want to part with even though I have, as I previously mentioned, more than I need but for obvious reasons I don’t think too many will be interested in my crochet patterns and as I’ve already given away my books on Christmas crafts to the D.I. I can’t pass any of them along. Then, Eureka I knew what I could bring! A Teddy Bear!

Bet you didn’t know I collected teddy bears did you. Well, neither did I except here I sit in my sewing room with twenty-five of them keeping me company, but hey who’s counting. Like a lot of things in life, I never intended for this to happen but one thing led to another and then another—need I say more. I even have a little wooden sign that says, “Teddy Bear Collector, orphans welcome” which pretty well sums up how I’ve ended up with so many as most of my little friends have been rescued from the toy bins at thrift stores. Strictly speaking that is not completely true as I have also rescued them from my children and grandchildren who were about to consign their stuffed friends to a similar fate—and you know me Al—I’m a certified rescuer which is no doubt part of the G___/W_________ gene combination that I inherited from my parents as they were rescuers too and as MGH’s ability to trip over a painted line now precludes me from rescuing cats or dogs and age limits my ability to care for children I have had to settle for rescues lower down on the food chain which has turned out to be the afore mentioned teddy bears.

Mother did not like stuffed animals. She thought they were ‘dirty’. I suppose this is because they are often well loved and can become quite ‘grungy’ when carried by a small child through thick or thin and as children are much closer to the ground then grown-ups it only stands to reason that they will come into much more contact with the floor. Let’s face it and be honest here. Little kids are messy. It takes a lot of work to keep them and their surroundings clean. This can be taken care of with baths and mops and determination but a stuffed animal can’t be washed which is why mother must have felt her children were not to have any—she had this thing about germs. At this point in my life I will have to admit that she probably knew what she was doing as, if allowed, stuffed animals seem to have the ability to multiply like Tribbles which, if you remember your Star Trek, was a cuddly little pet that turned into a menace because of it’s rapid breeding that soon threatened to take over all the space they found themselves in. I know this is true because I helped one of my daughter’s downsize the ‘collection’ her children had accumulated which resulted in 4 or 5 large sized garbage bags being sent on to find new homes one of which was mine as I found myself unable to just say no.

While we are on the subject I never have understood why stuffed animals can’t be run through the washing machine—especially if they are made and stuffed with washable materials. My own policy concerning the ‘germ’ thing is to toss them in with the wash and throw out any that don’t survive which is so far zero. I must admit I was lucky with a stuffed rabbit that was designed to sit upright on its own steam which let its legs dangle over the edge of whatever it is sitting on and as I thought this quite charming I took it home and ‘cleaned’ it up. A year or so later it became Kendra’s favorite toy to carry around. The love and attention that she showered on it proved it’s undoing as the stitching came loose and grains of rice were to be found where ever she and rabbit had been because that is what it was stuffed with and which I had not noticed when I washed it. Why the rice didn’t expand and burst the poor toy is something I still haven’t figured out. And some say that miracles don’t happen any more. Hah! (I still wonder what it would have done to my washing machine—it is the stuff nightmares are made of.)
By the way, just so you will know I have not gone completely bonkers, I now limit my collecting to bears that have movable joints.
Now, the biggest problem facing me is just which one can I bear to part with!

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November 9, 2008

This past week has been filled with sorrow for one of our ward families as they experienced the birth and death of a much wanted baby all in a week’s time.

I had followed M___’s pregnancy with great interest not only because she is the daughter of my visiting teacher partner of many years, E_____ I_____, but also because she was an ‘older’ mother just as I had been when I carried my last child. I could relate easily to many of the problems she was experiencing because I had been there done that as well.

M___ and her husband N__ had long wanted to welcome another child into their home but it seemed that it was not to be so they began to take the requisite steps to become a foster parent family hoping to adopt a child placed in their care. About this time M___ found out she was pregnant and so her energy was turned into getting this little spirit she carried safely to term.

It was not to be as she experienced one problem after another until finally at 37 weeks gestation she convinced her doctor that the baby needed to come now because of concerns she had about the baby not moving as much and just a general sense of unease that that all was not well. Fortunately he listened to her and had some tests done which showed that the amniotic fluid level was at a 3, he had previously told her that if it got to 5 they would need to induce labor immediately, so with that discovery they proceeded to get the baby delivered as quickly as possible. When the baby was born it was discovered that she was a Trisomy 13 baby, which is a genetic defect similar to Trisomy 21, better known as Down’s Syndrome, which simply means that there are more chromosomes than needed which results in abnormalities . Most babies born with Trisomy 13 die before their first birthday.

S_______ E_____, the name E_____ was in honor of her grandmother and was to be a surprise, revealed when the baby was blessed, had so many challenges that the local hospital wasn’t equipped to handle that she was immediately Life Flighted to Primary Children’s in Salt Lake City where the specialized help that she needed could be found. There they worked desperately to keep her alive succeeding after much effort in getting her oxygen level stabilized which was but the first step of many. If they were successful with the most basic issues she would need to have heart surgery immediately and that was but the beginning of the serious problems this little girl faced. M___ and N__, watching the struggle their little daughter was having to stay alive, and knowing that while she was being kept from death by the heroic work of the medical team, began to understand that in order to keep her with them just a little longer, she would need the most extreme kinds of intervention in order to achieve this. This led them to ask, “What is the point of doing all this when all we are doing is prolonging her suffering?” As their understanding of S_______’s condition deepened they asked that the life support systems be turned off. For the rest of her short life she was held close to their hearts until she slipped away.

How does one grieve for a little one so long and eagerly awaited? With arm’s now empty and hearts aching M___ and N__ put their own sorrows aside to comfort M__ and T______ whose sobbing at the funeral was the only sound heard in the quiet chapel as they tried to grasp why their little sister now lay so still in a small white box hidden away from their sight. “Mama, what will we do with the crib? The clothes?” they had asked earlier. “We will find a family that can use them” was her gentle reply.

E_____, who spoke at the funeral service told us that after the baby died the family received permission to bring her home to C____ C___ for burial. They wrapped her in soft blankets and then placed her carefully into her car seat for the sad ride home. When they arrived back in C____ C___ late Sunday evening M__, who is six, carefully carried her sister into the house and down to her grandparents bedroom where she then told her grandmother, “I knew you would want to hold my sister so I have brought her to you.” E_____ went on to say what a precious time that was for her as a grandmother.

The announcement of the baby’s condition was made at church earlier that morning. I had previously asked E_____ if she thought M___ would mind if I crocheted a little bonnet and booties for the baby (at this time they were not expecting any problems) and she told me that she thought M___ would be delighted. I had barely begun on this project thinking that I had plenty of time to get it completed as the baby’s due date was several weeks away. That changed when I heard the sad news. I sat there for the rest of the meeting debating if I should return home and get started on trying to finish my project because I knew I had at least another 4 or 5 hours of work left to do and I had the strongest impression that the bonnet and booties needed to be there for the baby when the family arrived home from the hospital. Let me add here that I have rarely missed a day of church in my life so this was not an easy choice as I look forward to attending my Sabbath day meetings and the habit is so deeply ingrained that I was having a very difficult time making it. Nevertheless, I found myself slipping out of the chapel and hurrying home immediately after Sacrament meeting. (MGH was taking care of his responsibilities in the SUU Third University Stake which is made up of young single adults. This is a calling that he greatly enjoys but means that we rarely are at church together.)

I was successful in getting my project completed and took it over to I____l’s that evening. E_____ told me that when N__, who is originally from C______, came into the front room and saw them he started to cry because, he said, “it was just what his grandmother would have done for S_______ had she been alive to do so”. (His grandmother, who he was very close to, died several years ago.) I was humbled to learn that it had such meaning for a man whose spirit needed comfort during this trying time. Earlier E_____ had said it seemed a shame that they would be hidden away and not be where they could be seen and admired. I looked at it differently comforted by the thought that this little soul, who would see so little of this earth’s beauty, would be laid to rest, her lovely white dress was a gift from her Aunt Rebecca, clothed in love and beauty.

What a comfort it is to know that she is waiting on the other side of the veil for the arrival of her family who will have the privilege of raising her there.

S_______ E_____ P_____

October 30, 2008——–November 2, 2008

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September 7, 2008

‘So many books—so little time’ could be the story of my life. I don’t remember just when it was that I realized that I couldn’t begin to read all the books I wanted even if I read every minute that I could, as if my eyes would let me at this stage in my life. MGH blames his bad knees on kicking a football so much in his youth and I suppose I could blame my failing eyesight on reading so much when I was younger. There wasn’t much to do by way of entertainment on the farm when I was growing up except read. Town was seven miles away and required ‘wheels’ to get there as if the family car was ever mine to commandeer when ever I wished.

Mother was not overly anxious for her daughters to get their driver’s license to begin with even though she got hers as soon as possible in those long ago days before driver’s ed classes were deemed the ‘true and only way’ to learn to drive. She got her practice time behind the wheel of a car driving a couple who were ‘courting’ and didn’t care where she drove as long as it was away from town and she ignored what was going on in the back seat. This arrangement allowed her to learn what she needed as far as driving a car was concerned—what else she might have learned is best left unasked. Needless to say, she got all the time she needed to master her driving skills on obscure desert roads outside Casa Grande, Arizona where she lived as a teenager. Come to think of it mother did all kinds of things that she wouldn’t dream of allowing her daughters to do at a similar age such as taking off with some of her college girl friends and driving cross country to New York. I know that doesn’t seem like much in this day and age but at the time it was really quite daring as young women just did not do that kind of thing. I hadn’t thought of it until just now but I guess that put them in the fore front of what was to become a mighty stream of women who broke the barriers that had always kept them ‘home’ and out of the market place unless they were widowed or single and then the options were teaching or nursing if they were lucky enough to have the education to allow them these choices.’

I can remember Miss Grace Randell, who taught home economics in the high school my sisters and I attended telling about her schooling. She was probably encouraging us to get training of some kind before we married and became wives and mothers which was the expectation of society for the women of our day. At any rate she told us that it had not been easy for her to attend college, that she had two dresses to wear and she would come home from classes and wash the dress she had been wearing by hand in her wash basin then hang it to dry before ironing which allowed her to always have a clean dress to wear each day. Can you imagine doing that in today’s world? We have so much in the way of material things that we become quite petulant when we desire something and can’t immediately be satisfied. Our closets are stuffed and yet we never have ‘anything’ to wear. What spoiled ninny’s we have become.

As usual, I have gotten way off topic and now must make a course correction to put me back where I thought it was I wanted to go when I first began this letter which was how I realized that there is no way I will ever be able to do all the things I want to do—well at least not in this life which is why I came to the reluctant decision the other day that I needed to sort through my pattern books and donate the ones that I was least likely to ever use to the local thrift store where hopefully they will find good homes and be loved and cared for by those who will be as thrilled by their content as I was and still am for that matter–but I tell myself better me now than my daughters when I am gone and besides I need the room for all the new stuff.

Now, having explained all that, here is what I really wanted to share with you. I came across two letters that touched me deeply. Not so much because of the content but more because it was a physical reminder that my parents once were here and now were speaking to me ‘as voices from the dust’. I thought you might enjoy them as well.

October 6

Dear Joanne & family,

We were really happy to hear from you. I’ve been trying for a week to get a letter to each of you & also a pkg. Now time is running out as it is almost 11:00 & the P.O. Closes at noon. This will have to be a quicky.

Darlene is to send Barbara’s first mission letters on to you. It might be interesting to see if she continues with this tremendous burst of enthusiasm. Please return them with your next letter.

I can’t give you much low down on the cows. I just can’t keep up with it.

It has rained & rained and I imagine the bean hay is a lost cause.

School keeps me very busy. I have a delightful group to work with this year.

Of course, you know I’m Primary Pres. This year. We are holding Primary after school on Tues. Wed is Relief Society. I’m a Counselor to Elaine. Etc, etc.

Hope Sylvia is over her cold by now. Let me know how the dress fits. Daddy didn’t think it looked big enough.

Can’t get caught up on the ironing since vacation. Have to have the car worked on today which will keep me from getting it done.

Kathy & Felina are the best of friends. Felina is on pasture across the road now.

Daddy is considering adding 5 head of cows to the herd. We would like to get registered Jerseys but they are hard to find. I don’t know what he will end up buying.

We enjoy your letters. Write again soon.

Love,
Mother
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
At Home
March 28, 1966

Dear Joanne, DeVon & family,

Have been wondering how Onawa in general & the Andrus family in particular survived the blizzard. Another one of those little experiences that you can look forward to telling your grandchildren about.

We had very little of the big storm here so are very smug about it all. I certainly feel for any of the dairy men in those areas without electricity for two days. Something like that would just about make a bean farmer out of me.

Did have some very disconcerting news from your Uncle Lynn & Aunt Addie. Johnny was killed in a gun accident. They didn’t seem to be too sure of just how it had happened. He was by himself when it took place. I tried to make arrangements to make it out to the funeral but didn’t make it. Sometimes the dairy business can be aggravatingly confining. And speaking of the dairy business that little Jersey-Angus hybrid that the boys raised had twin calves awhile back. They were only about the size of a couple of Jackrabbits but the little brown things brot $37.50 apiece when they were 4 days old. Makes one think a black Angus bull might not be a bad investment.

Enjoyed your last News bulletin. Tell the gang this grandpa really missed their personal accounts of life happenings.

Love to all of you
Grandpa Gano

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September 14, 2008

We have a lovely sister in our ward family who joined the church about two years ago. She was almost immediately called to teach in Relief Society which has been both a blessing and a bane to her as it requires her to study the lesson material intensely in order to master as well as gain an understanding of principles that are, in many cases, new to her—that’s the blessing part. We know she agonizes how best to present the material because she often mentions how many sleepless nights she has spent reviewing and then undoing all her previous work with the longest/hardest night being the night before her lesson.–that’s the bane.

The last lesson she taught was on Joseph S______ teachings of our existence before and after we stepped out of eternity into time where we are allowed to learn by our own experience in this mortal vale that choices have consequences and that these choices will affect our happiness not only here but in the life to come. She struggled with the concepts in the lesson and how she could teach an idea that was so completely new to her and finally, after much prayer, decided that she would ask four sisters from the class to comment on the scripture they were given as if they had died and were allowed to write a letter home telling of what they knew now that they were on the other side. I was asked to write a letter and this is my reply.

“D&C 14:7 And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.

Letter to a daughter,

The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians (1st C.13:11)

When I was a child, I spake as a child,
I understood as a child, I thought as a child:
but when I became a man, I put away
childish things. For now we see through a
glass, darkly; but then face to face: now
I know in part; but then shall I know even
as I am known.

In this life you see through the glass darkly. Your memory of what went before, is gone as is your knowledge of what comes next. You will live by faith trusting in the tender mercy of a kind, wise Heavenly Father that if you do all that is asked of you, even though the baby takes his oatmeal and dumps it over himself and his surroundings while you were helping his sister tie her shoes and cleaning him up so you could get her to the bus stop on time didn’t happen and you ended up having to drive her to school and when you got home the oatmeal you hadn’t taken time to wipe up because you wanted to get her to school on time had dried and this was the day you had hoped to prepare a really good family home evening lesson but instead you spent it scrubbing and that was just the beginning of your day. And so will go the minutes, hours, days, years of your life filled with challenges large and small that will try you sometimes to the point where you seriously wonder if you can make it through another day.

But take heart and be of good cheer. Because of your knowledge of the Gospel, as contained in the Holy Scriptures and as taught by his Prophets and Apostles you will build a foundation of spiritual truths that will allow you to withstand all that life, with its curve balls, can throw at you. As you keep his commandments, as you are steadfast in the choices you make through good times as well as hard you will find that your ability to withstand temptations as well as do much good in the world will increase. If you continue on this path until you are called Home you will be greeted with, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Matt. 25:21.)

What is the joy of the Lord? It is the gift of Eternal life where you will dwell with Him forever growing in your ability to do, gaining ever more knowledge as you and your husband to whom you have been sealed through Priesthood power press onward in your goal to be like Him.

Will it be worth the price you must pay? Yes, oh yes, more than you can ever imagine or dream of now.

Please know that I love you and eagerly await your return Home.

You are in my prayers always.

Mom

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November 2, 2008

Today is PBA’s birthday. What a joy and delight he has been in our lives. Oh, I will admit there have been a moment or two when we butted heads over this and that but viewed in the larger scheme of things it is a privilege to call him son.

I know I am beginning to sound like a broken record about this age thing but I find myself much ‘exercised of mind’ as I try to reconcile what I feel inside of me with what I see when I look in a mirror these days—and they are not the same. How quickly the years have passed from my girlhood to being a great-grandmother.

SGA brought his little girls up for a visit last week which is fun for me and I hope beginning to be, as well, for them. We played hide and seek with their favorite place being under the dining room table with its vinyl covering hanging down a good eight inches that gives the illusion of concealment—well at least it does if you are four and two years old. There they sit, still as can be, tingling with anticipation as Grandma stops counting and begins the search talking quite loudly to make sure they can hear. “I wonder where those two have gotten to. They are not down the hall. They are not in the bathtub. They are not hiding in the corner beside the couch. Where, oh where can they be?” After a minute of grandma futilely searching in this manner the excitement becomes more than they can bear and they give them selves away with their giggles and if this isn’t enough to bring me to them they will call out, “Here we are grandma, under the table!”

Of course a visit to grandma’s wouldn’t be complete without a BATH! This is okay with me as it is almost time for bed. They are staying the night and this will be a good way to get them out of their play clothes and into their ‘jammies’. In the hall bathroom there is a blue plastic bucket which, at one time, was used for scrubbing floors but has now been relegated to holding all the bath toys these little girls like to play with which include among other things, a yellow rubber ducky, a boat, a bottle to collect water in and tip it out as the child watches in fascination the water streaming out and over all and sundry in the tub. Oscar the Grouch of Sesame Street fame is there as well complete with garbage can and a small yellow rag to clean him up. Oh the fun to be had in a tub of warm water. . .

Finished they find themselves wrapped in big towels where they then head for the front room and clean clothes. A______ can dress herself and does a good job of finding the right place for arms and legs to fit through—not always the easiest thing to do for the very young or the very old while grandma quickly gets E___ diapered and clothed as well. With the lights turned low it is time to watch a video and so we do that for awhile and then we read stories and then grandma tells them the story of Goldilocks which puts A______ asleep. This leaves little E___ but by now she is willing to lay quietly and eventually falls asleep herself which is how their dad found them when he returns from his band practice. LET’S HEAR IT FOR GRANDMA! — she can still do it!

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