BUNDLE OF JOY

 

April 2, 1977

Jeremy Todd Nichols was born during a "Springtime in the Rockies" blizzard on a Saturday afternoon following a harrowing ride to the hospital in the old 1968 Mustang Fastback--including a stop at the gas station where we happened to meet one of Ross' former colleagues who seemed bent on a friendly visit--before we safely made it to St. Anthony Central hospital in Denver, Colorado, where Jeremy made his entrance into the world.

It's hard to believe it's been 48 years!

Here are a few special moments in his short life before that beautiful summer morning 10 years later when he fell 25 feet from an old Cottonwood tree and died the following day--at St. Anthony Central hospital in Denver where he had been born.

July 18, 1987

(Sorry about the portrait presentation instead of landscape--I tried and tried to rotate it but without success!  The pictures are still great, though, depicting some of his short life.)

195th YEAR OF LOVE, INSTRUCTION, AND WITNESSES OF JESUS CHRIST!

 

195TH ANNUAL GENERAL CONFERENCE

of 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

April 5-6, 2025

When I was reading in the Book of Mormon the other morning, I came to the part of the Nephite history where King Benjamin addresses the people and gives his famous sermon which includes the well-known quote …”when you are in the service of your fellow beings, you are only in the service of your God.” 

King Benjamin had previously sent a proclamation throughout all of the land that the people gather themselves together and go up to the temple to hear the words which he was going to speak to them.  The record says that there were so many people by that time that they couldn’t even be counted.  But go to the temple they did—"all the sons and daughters, and their sons, and their daughters, from the eldest down to the youngest, every family being separate one from another.”

“And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple, that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which King Benjamin should speak unto them….”  Mosiah 2:1-6

Every time I read that passage, it reminds me of General Conference where Church members gather to hear the words of the prophets and their testimonies of Jesus Christ. 

I have shared with you in previous years that when I was younger, I would often go to Salt Lake City on the train with my cousin Lynn to attend Conference.  Then Conference became available on television in my home town, then on satellite broadcasts at the chapel, and now in a variety of platforms that can be received at home on the big screen or on the little six-inch screen of our smart phones!  Wow! Technology has come a long way for the April 2025 General Conference global broadcast which will be next weekend, April 5-6.

But, no matter how most people access General Conference now, it still reminds me of King Bejamin calling the people to gather together to hear his words as they sat in their tents with their families having the doors facing King Benjamin at the temple.

So, we have that same kind of opportunity, as the Book of Mormon Nephites, to listen to Conference in our own homes with our families as we look at our Prophet Russell M. Nelson and the Apostles while they give us instruction from the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. 

 

Here is some info I took from the Church’s website:

“General conference provides an opportunity to receive personal revelation as general Church leaders give counsel and direction from the Lord.  We encourage all to listen to, study, ponder and apply the counsel given,” wrote the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Following the broadcast, the messages will be available in text, audio and video formats on multiple on-demand formats for viewing and studying. The messages will be published in the Gospel Library app, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org and in Church magazines.

Saturday, April 5   

Morning session: 10 a.m. to noon*

Afternoon session: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Evening session: 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 6

Morning session: 10 a.m. to noon

Afternoon session: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

All conference sessions will be streamed live on the broadcasts page of ChurchofJesusChrist.org. You can also watch and listen on the General Conference YouTube channel, the Gospel Stream app, Gospel Library and other radio, television, satellite and digital channels.

 

I’m personally looking forward to this opportunity to find respite from the world for a few hours.  And, I invite you to also find that respite as you tune in however it is most convenient and easiest for you—one talk, one session, or one quote that will touch your heart and lift your life to give you peace.

LET'S DO THIS!

 

Let's Talk About the Weather!

 

I live in Colorado.  A transplant of nearly 60 years from the high windy plateaus of south-central Wyoming where I was born and raised.  

Wyoming was a great place to grow up.  I didn't know any different, except for the places we went on vacation which sometimes seemed nicer than where we lived, but there was always blue sky and sunshine for most of the year in my neck of the woods.  BLUE SKY AND SUNSHINE!  My biggest faves.  However, there was also a constant wind blowing, little semblance of four seasons (we always said there were really only two seasons), and not a lot of trees.  That isn't what a lot of what other people in the world think of as "inviting".

When I moved to Colorado after I graduated from Brigham Young University, I thought I had come to live in Paradise.  Sure, there is sometimes a freak snowstorm in the early fall or late spring, but for the most part the weather is pretty acceptable.  The snow doesn't last forever.  It usually melts within a day or so.  Plus, there are always plenty of days that reach into the 60's even during the winter months.  And yes, sometimes the wind blows.  But not usually so fierce or chilling as our neighboring state to the north.  No humidity.  No unbearable heat.  No extreme phenomena like earthquakes or tornados.  (Okay, that freakish kind of event has happened now and then, but those are the exceptions, not the rule for regular, every-day life in Colorado.)

April showers bring May flowers is what the familiar verse says.    Not always in Colorado though.  Some years the showers turn out to be a snowstorm that either freezes the buds that managed to pop up their heads or delays them for a few more weeks. Just wait--that riot of blossoms will come....

Luckily, there is a common phrase to cover any disappointment about an unexpected rainstorm or cloudy sky that pops up on the horizon:  "If you don't like the weather, wait a while.  It will change."  And it usually does.

However, after some warm days recently that turned unexpectedly windy and bone-chilling, my daughter sent this little reminder to me about the "seasons" we experience in this beautiful area of the Rocky Mountain West.  I laughed out loud!  Just about sums up the whole topic of this discussion.  

I think it is a pretty fair commentary about the subject of weather as we experience it in Colorado.  Yet after calling Colorado home for nearly six decades--including four temporary short-term residences in Europe and on the East Coast--I'm STILL satisfied with my choice! 

LOVE

 

LOVE...

puts the fun in together; 

the sad in apart; 

the hope in tomorrow; 

the joy in a heart !

Abraham Lincoln

 Today is Abraham Lincoln's birthday.

When I was a little girl in grade school, we celebrated both George Washington's birthday on February 22nd, and Abraham Lincoln's birthday on February 12th.  I remember we learned fun facts about each of these presidents and usually did a craft project which featured something about them.  Though these two days were not school holidays, still they were important occasions in my young life..

Then at some point, the two birthdays got morphed into a generic President's Day which was meant for inclusion of ALL United States presidents, not just the first and the 16th.  I guess singling out those two outstanding leaders looked like an exclusivity instead of the respect each of them deserved--way above and beyond the other presidents.  So, came about President's Day on the third Monday every February.  And oh, what a coincidence--a three-day weekend that spawns a proliferation of sales and bargains and other ways to celebrate!  It has always made me wonder if it's all about the shopping and not the well-earned respect.

But today, I was thinking about just Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865).

I'm not even sure if most people in the country--especially kids and young people--are even aware Lincoln is best known for preserving the Union during the American Civil War and for emancipating the slaves. 

Well known facts include that he was of humble origins, but a self-educated lawyer in frontier Illinois, noted not only for his shrewdness and practical common sense, but also for his invariable fairness and honesty.  In one account of Lincoln's life which I read recently, the author attributed Lincoln's style of leadership as coming from his confidence in "The People" and his belief that all said people are to have equal access to the resources of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as outlined in the Declaration of Independance.

As I was reviewing today some of Lincoln's accomplishments, I decided to reread the Gettysburg Address delivered on November 19, 1863, to dedicate Gettysburg National Cemetery.  This short dedicatory speech reiterates his belief "The People" will carry forward the ideals of freedom which we continue to benefit from today.

Thank you for your confidence in us, President Lincoln, and Happy Birthday! 

HOARDER!

 

My younger daughter sent this to me a couple of weeks ago.  We both laughed because it was so depictive of her own experience every time she comes to visit from Portland.  At some point during each visit, my older daughter takes her down my basement and holding her arms open wide says, "This is what we are facing when Mom dies." Then we all laugh!

She's right, though.  The basement is FULL of boxes--mostly the boxes are all of the figures and findings and undercloths and greenery to enhance the every- other- year display of my beautiful Nativity collection which began in the early 1970's.  And now, over 50 years later, it is a vast amount of "stuff" to support my passion for that ONE WONDERFUL NIGHT!

But, there are also boxes of other things, too.  School memorabilia, mostly, that belongs to my children.  Some of those saved items I have taken to THEIR homes, but the kids I go to visit on a plane still have boxes down there because it's more than carry-on luggage.  

And there are boxes of pillows and blankets left over from the years people actually stayed at our house when they came to visit rather than stay at a hotel like they do now.  I get that--I do the same when I go to visit them!

Oh, and treasures I brought back from our wonderful years that we lived in Sweden and West Berlin Germany.  

And there are boxes of kids' books and brand new supplies of crayons and pencils and tablets and journals and anything else that I kept around for those visits when I had planned fun adventures during their visits--the Nichols Family Olympics, Summer Safari, Summer Splash, The Grands Go Hawaiian, and all the other events I hatched for their entertainment--you get the picture.

Plus, there are the small items I have purchased here and there to have on hand when I want to give a little gift to a friend or a neighbor who is ill or down or just needs a friend.  That all takes space, too.

Not to mention all my United Airlines uniforms that can't be given away--in the interest of security so no unauthorized person can impersonate a flight attendant because it is against the law.  They are still down there, too.  Apparently, I am supposed to destroy them but haven't done that yet either.

But when my husband told me I was a HOARDER just a few days before I received that telling cartoon, I protested to the max.  NOOOO!  I'm not a hoarder.  I don't save stacks of newspapers and magazines and containers, etc. that pile up all over the place.

And to prove him wrong, I went to the dictionary to show him the definition of a hoarder--those people on TV shows that have rotting food and lost pets in the mess all around them.

But I was chastised to find that one of the definitions of a hoarder was "having a difficult time letting go of items that have a sentimental attachment."  Uhoh, that IS me to a certain extent.  

Okay, organizing the basement and having a huge garage sale was at the top of my list when I retired in 2000.  But, five days after I retired, I accepted a position teaching religious education to high school students.  My plans got put on hold.  When I was finished with that assignment, I was tapped to be the secretary of the very large women's organization in my Church.  That is still an on-going--and very demanding--responsibility.

So, the picture boxes, the recipe files/books, and my desire to select letters from my vast correspondence for a second edition of the book I self-published 15 years ago all got put on hold--and are still there.  ON HOLD!

But, I have scaled down my intent to do everything at once by concentrating on more doable chunks because I know I do not have the time, and let's face it, the stamina to work tirelessly for eight to 12 hours a day on projects that require a lot of physical output.  Now, I have small tasks that are not only doable but still give me the satisfaction I am getting a foot in the door to my desired final outcome.

One box a week to the thrift store.  On Tuesday.  Without fail.  It's working!

This week I chose candles.  I haven't used them in years to burn as a room aromizer or even to use in decorating.  Easy for me to give away.  No sentimentality there.  So, for the past several days I have systematically gone through Christmas boxes labeled with candles as part of the contents, kitchen shelves, and any other nook and cranny I just happened to see a lone candle.  And off they went to the thrift store.  Brand new.  Maybe someone will enjoy having some delicious scent for a long soak in the tub for a spa-like atmosphere.  Maybe some other use...I don't know.   But after I threw away the ones that I HAD burned--even a little--there were still two small boxes to share with someone else. 

Of course, I had to treat myself for accomplishing my doable goal.  That was part of the incentive, too.  Since today was Taco Tuesday, I indulged on the way home then peeked once more into the tidy 3 shelf cupboard I had relieved of its candle burden.  Looking good!

I'm hoping my husband isn't expecting a Mary Poppins experience where the results are done with a few magical words and gestures.  This is still REAL LIFE, you know!

Patting myself on the back...I am off to a pretty good start.  Four weeks.  forty-eight weeks to go.

Then there shouldn't be anything left that has to be "unhoarded".

HAHAHA!

HAPPY NEW YEAR--2025

 Because I was a flight attendant for several years, my nephew's wife shared this with me for her New Year greeting today.  It is a clever take on the pre-flight procedures presented at the beginning of the safety information for passengers as the plane takes off.  See what you think of the suggestions presented in this unique way.  

Oh, and by the way, Happy New Year!