The Thinker

    
      My third grandson just turned five years old.  So far he hasn't been too interested in sports.  He likes to think...
about Mario Brothers.  He has learned to ride his bike without training wheels and hopeful parents have signed him up for karate lessons and t-ball.  He is starting to read and likes his Super Kids preschool in his new neighborhood.  He originally began the school year as one of my preschool students where he announced to the class that I wasn't really a teacher, just grandma.  What a great kid!  He paid me the best compliment ever when he told his cousins that he was going to marry me.  I couldn't ask for better than that!  I hope I have done justice to his handsome little face.
     I've heard a lot lately about how our thoughts influence what we are and what we will become.  It takes many, many positive thoughts to undo one negative thought.  My grandson is entitled to childish thoughts--he is a child.  But I am no longer a child and I'm still struggling to be a grown-up.  I think we have truly mastered ourselves when we can control our thoughts.  To have a mind filled with uplifting, pure and positive thoughts--  that would be a great accomplishment.  Since I'm not in that category yet I'm starting to add that to my daily prayers- to think positive is to be positive.




25 hours

"The One"

         This beautiful pastel of the St.George temple was done by the talented son of dear friends of mine.  I love his view of the temple.  He is inviting us once again to look up!  I thank him for allowing me to post it.


     In the middle of each hectic week I am privileged to serve for a few evening hours at the St.George Temple. I have no doubt this building is a sacred place.  Many experiences have assured me of my Heavenly Father's love for me and for all of his children.  It is amazing the many times that events fall into place, little "coincidents" that have a great affect on one person or a small group.  A friend and fellow ordinance worker recently shared an experience.  She had made an error that would cause a problem for several people.  She was devastated and embarrassed. Her first thought was to leave the temple and go home before she could make any more mistakes.  A distinct impression told her she should stay.  As she continued to serve that evening she was overcome with a feeling of comfort.  She began to see, understand, and feel Heavenly Father's love and words with an amazing clarity that she had never experienced before.  It was a night she will never forget.
     When I am serving at the temple I am able to refocus, forget about the world, and remember what is important in the eternal scheme of things.  I feel peace in knowing He loves "the one."

Inspired

Young mother sewing Mary Cassatt

     "When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies?  The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods?  Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses?"                Neil A. Maxwell


     This beautiful portrait of a mother and child was painted by Mary Cassatt.  I've been a fan of hers since college days when I wrote a paper about her for a class called "Women in the Visual Arts".  Mary was born in 1844 in Pennsylvania.  She had unconventional desires for a woman of her day.  It was not unusual for a man to study art abroad, but a young woman of good breeding did not display competitive, professional ambitions.  After much resistance from her parents she left for Paris in 1866.  She studied and copied the masters for years, finally being accepted into the very conventional and juried Paris Salon.  In 1877 she was invited by Edgar Degas to forsake the salon and exhibit with the avante garde impressionists: Manet, Monet, Renoir and Degas.  Though their exhibitions were ridiculed at first, Mary accepted "with joy"  She said, "I took leave of conventional art.  I began to live."  Degas became her mentor and friend.  Her parents and sister eventually came to live with her in Paris.  She never married or had children. When I finally saw one of her paintings in person I actually got tears in my eyes, it was so gorgeous.  Most of her paintings are of women and children.  They are beautiful and inspiring to me.

After the bath by Mary Cassett

     My sister, Ilona, also inspires me.  She has worked long and hard at becoming an artist.  She has been much more dedicated than me.  Her beautiful works of art can be seen on her website:  www.ilonaterry.com
   

 

Leadership

     This steely-eyed pitcher was born the star of two families.  We impatiently waited a few years for his arrival as first-born grandchild.  Our family of adults would lay him on the floor on his blanket, surround him and watch his every movement in complete and loving adoration.  He began the "baby boom" in our family.  Now the leader of twelve (24 with both families) he will preform many "firsts" for our grandchildren.  He was the first to be baptized, he will be the first to receive the priesthood, and we look to him to be first to serve his Savior and Heavenly Father on a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Is that a lot of pressure to lay on one young man's shoulders?  I don't think so.  I know he is up to the challenge.  Whatever he does, he will do it well and we will be proud of him.  "And a little child shall lead them." (Isaiah 11:6)

     I can't fully express the love I feel for each of the little faces that I am drawing as part of my "grandchildren series."  So much spirit and personality is prepackaged in each of their precious bodies.  I once had a dream about my own children.  Their spirits were glowing with incredible light.  What a privilege it is to be a mother and grandmother, to share my values, my faith, and my unconditional love with them.  Whether we are blessed with children of our own or not, women can nurture and influence others for good.


20 hours

LIfe Happens

Confession: I didn't reach my goal of 10 hours last week.  I was feeling kind of blue and with a little upheaval at work, It took me three days from the time I finished my last drawing until I put a new piece of paper on my easel.  I will correct that problem, from now on one will go up as one comes down.  Another obstacle--I began to feel a little sheepish about the whole blogging thing.  Putting my thoughts and dreams out there for anyone to read is a little unsettling.  But whatever else a blog is, It is therapeutic and  motivating to me.  It helps to put my thoughts into words and makes my goal seem more real.  As I told some friends, a goal shared has BIGGER teeth. So I apologize if any of this sharing seems vain, I am doing it mainly for myself and possibly my posterity may gain something from it in years to come. At least they will know what grandma was thinking.  I'll try to share something uplifting along with my disappointments.  
     In a recent LDS Living magazine, Julie B. Beck (LDS General Relief Society President) was interviewed.  I marched as a Dixie College Rebelette one year with Julie.  I'm sure she doesn't remember me, but she was quite a spectacular girl, even back then.  In the article, Sister Beck was quoted, "Nobody can have everything, and you especially can't have it all at once...There's an opportunity cost to everything."  How do we know if our choices are correct? "First, 'Am I aligned behind the Lord's plan for me'? Is what I'm doing moving me toward eternal life or am I just enjoying my time in Babylon."..."How do I feel? Is the Spirit confirming my choices?...I've learned that the world teaches us that we can have the dream now.  They express the dream as what Adam and Eve had in the garden--you don't have to work for anything and everything is peaceful and happy.  That's really where the adversary still is.  But we chose to have a mortal experience to prepare for the real dream, and that dream is eternal life. Eve was willing to go through a long, hard mortal experience in order to work toward the promise of the dream--I don't think most women realize that.  They're trying to make it be the dream now.  We don't get that here.  What we get here is the experience."
   I've probably lived about two thirds of my mortal life.  I made the choice to have faith and family.  They are my most important assets and my greatest joy.  Wanting to develop the artistic ability I have is just one of my hopes for the future.  I would also like to serve an LDS mission with my husband. I would like to have the means to provide for our old age.  I want to stay connected to and continue to enjoy my family.  And I want to continue serving in the Church. 
   Life happens, but the most important things seem to be in place.  I am blessed and I am happy. 

The Drawing Room

"I have an idea," I told my husband.  "What?," eyes rolling--actually he was very supportive, he likes ideas that don't cost anything.  He even offered his expert interior design advice, "You can't do all that and keep four chairs in here."  So down went one chair and a small buffet, up came my IKEA drafting table and in went my easel.  My front living room has been transformed into my art studio.  It is the best room in the house.  It has two walls of big windows, North light, and a beautiful view of Pine Valley Mountain and the red rock hills beneath it.   We'll call it "the drawing room".  At first I thought we'd need to install a french door to enclose the space and keep  little fingers out.  But why would I want to keep them out?  Now I have a space to share my goals with my grandchildren. Their usual art space is the kitchen island, mine in a bedroom corner, the new space will be so much better.  Of course, I think all of my grandchildren are budding artists.  What child isn't when given encouragement, materials, space to work, and NOT a steady diet of coloring book pages?  I had a great time buying them beautiful art supplies with the understanding that they will take care of them, return them neatly to the assigned drawer and clean up after themselves.  All we need now are some reference pictures to inspire them. From the above photo you can see it is already a hit!  I overheard my little granddaughter ask her big sister, "Is grandma an artist?"  I didn't hear her sister's reply but I answered, "I'm trying to be."

Turning Hearts

Malachai 4:6  And he (Elijah) shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."


     This is a familiar scripture that I feel very passionately about.  During my "Golden Grandma" years (2004-2009) I was able to accomplish something I had wanted to do for a very long time.  I am a descendant of Mormon pioneers.  They joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in their European homelands.  Sometimes choosing faith over family, they left their homes to join the Saints in America and be led by a modern-day prophet. I feel especially close to one great-grandfather because he wrote of his experiences.  He left a great legacy of testimony and faith for his posterity.  For years I wanted to make his story into a children's picture book, hoping my grandchildren could be uplifted by his experiences and testimony.  I just didn't know how I could illustrate it, (this was during my artistic "dark ages").  I started praying daily about it and eventually I received inspiration--cut the pictures from scrapbook paper to look like an appliqued quilt.  I went to work and completed the book with the help of my daughter.  There are many more family stories I want to tell through picture books.  Now I wait until my summer vacation to work on these projects.  Last summer was devoted to a book for the Santa Clara Historical Society.  To celebrate the sesquicentennial year of the Swiss pioneers coming to settle Santa Clara, I wanted to write a history for children.  A beautiful quilt was being made for the same occasion by several local women.  Photographs of the quilt blocks were used for the illustrations and with the writing and editing help of Cindy Nicholls and other English teacher friends, the book was finished in time for the 2011 Swiss Days Celebration.


   Jimmy B. Parker, a supervisor of genealogical materials for the LDS Church said," Imagine the impact it would have on the lives of our family members if we taught them the great gospel principals...from personal family experiences, using them as a second witness to the same truths found in the standard works (scriptures). Imagine also the many times these sacred family records could be used in family home evenings and other teaching situations to personalize the gospel truths."
  
   I believe in the importance of "Turning Hearts!"  This is another goal I pray I can accomplish.

Confidence part two

Mountain Rescue by Minerva Teichert

     I can't quite leave this topic without adding that I believe each of us need to find our confidence because we are sons and daughters of God. He created us, He loves us.  If we understand that fact we should be confident in ourselves.  Not the overbearing, self-important kind of confidence, but confident in our relationship with Him and His son, Jesus Christ.  Confident in our abilities to serve Him and our fellow man.  Confident in the talents  He has blessed us with and our desire to develop those talents and use them for good in this world and the next, (we can take our knowledge and talents with us!)
     One of my artistic idols is Minerva Teichert.  She is a great example of confidence and using her talents for good.  Born and raised in remote Idaho, This young LDS girl somehow made her way to the Art Institute of Chicago, and later the Art Students' League in New York City where she received a first-class art education.  She was encouraged by one of her professors to paint her "great Mormon story".  That is exactly what she did.  She returned home, married a rancher, raised a family and physically worked hard.  The part I love best was how she continued to paint.  She attached huge mural canvases on her living room wall.  Between cooking, cleaning and the many chores a ranch wife would have to complete, she would slip into that room and add a few strokes to her painting.  Then after her children were in bed she would devote more time to her painting- many times working far into the night. She painted scenes from the Bible, Book of Mormon, and the great LDS Pioneer trek across the plains. During the depression years she found an agent in Salt Lake City and her fame grew, allowing her to help out financially at their struggling ranch.  She became the first woman artist to paint a mural for an LDS temple.  Even though enthusiasm for her work faded, she never lost her confidence. When a grandchild asked her if she was famous she said, "No, but I will be someday."   I absolutely love her work.  She died in 1976.


Information about Minerva Teichert was found in the Winter 2008 BYU Magazine,"Painting the Mormon Story" by Peter B. Gardner




   

Confidence

This handsome young man is confident and determined.  He loves sports and he practices--he practices for hours!  When his older brother is working on his skills, this one is right there by his side wanting to bat just one more time.  He spends a lot of time shooting baskets, kicking or catching a ball. And have I mentioned his smile and his light blue eyes?  This guy has it all--especially a grandma who adores him.  I could learn a lot from his determination to improve his talents and abilities.
     I have an amazing group of friends.  Their talents range from floral, graphic and interior design, expert quilters, scrapbookers, super grandmas, gardeners, polished party hostesses, school teachers, counselors, youth speaker, the list goes on and on. A few of us were having a "heart to heart" and discovered that we were all a bit intimidated and envious of the others' talents and felt that our own abilities just didn't make the grade.  We all vowed to stop having such negative thoughts and rejoice in all of our unique talents.  Easier said than done.  I still find myself falling into that pit of self doubt. I think that is one of the reasons for my 9,000 hour goal.  I want to develop my own talents and just be the best I can be.  Even if I'm still trying to figure it out at 80!
    I recently picked up a magazine called "Where Women Create".  I liked Jo Packman's editorial on confidence.  She wrote,"...It is always interesting to me, that regardless of how unaccomplished or accomplished we each may be, we can be overly confident and absolutely fearless in various situations and in others we are meek, timid, and uncertain...In one interview right before [Katie Couric's] big night as the first solo female anchor of a weekday evening news program, she said, 'There is nothing more beautiful than confidence.'...So perhaps the key is just working to be more confident.  That's it, isn't it...but oh... how fragile and fleeting is true confidence?...What makes you confident and why are we so so easily convinced by no one but ourselves, to lose our confidence that we were just in control of just moments ago? I work diligently, every day, to keep my confidence intact and some days I am so much better at it than others"


    Only 8,990 hours to go!