Celebrating Love

Our dear teacher (I must insert Master Teacher here) and friend,
Dr. Wayne Brickey, passed away April 10. 
To quote from his obituary,"he is now beginning his higher education in the realms of glory."
Roger and I were able to drive up north to his viewing in Orem and meet up with Mindy and Jodie 
(Jeff babysat Mindy's 4 kids and Rick had a stake meeting), and we got to meet some of the Brickey kids, 
hug his wife, Joanne, and tell her we love her.

Brother Brickey is so important to our family.
All of our children and most of their spouses had the privilege of having him as a tour guide to the Holy Land.
He reached each one of them on a personal level during their tour 
to further love Jesus Christ 
and to understand His mission better.
  
In 2010, Roger and I, with all of our kids and spouses, had him and his wonderful wife, Joanne, 
take us on a Church History tour through Missouri. 
Two little nursing babies, Addie and Anderson,  got to come along for the ride!

We traveled with him to Church history sites, learning from him each day, 

then had him come to our motel at night, where we all met to listen to him some more.

It was as if our thirst for his vast wisdom and knowledge could not be quenched.

And we managed to have lots of fun with him along the way!

What a witty, fun spirit he had, and he absolutely adores his cute wife, Joanne!

His many credentials include LDS Institute teacher, degrees in education and philosophy, a Doctorate from BYU in Educational Leadership, a tour director and published in magazines, online publications, LDS Church curriculum, and several books.

But his selfless service, his insight and his true love of God are his best ones.

And his hilarious sense of humor!

It's no wonder that the Stratford girls call themselves 

The Brickettes!

Roger and I got to attend a religion class he taught on Wednesday nights in St. George for five years. 

We went all through each of the standard works with him.

His last words, the whispering efforts of a suffering and sincere soul, were, 

"If I could give you one word of counsel, it would be to pray, pray, pray, pray."

His greatest sermon, a life well lived.

We celebrate you, dear friend.

Easter Sunday was a celebration of the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

We attended an extra-special block of meetings in our branch with two wonderful talks 

and our INSTA-CHOIR sang, "How Great Thou Art."

I led over 50 who sang in the choir.

The spirit was strong, with us feeling our love for our Master.

The only pics we have of Easter, without any little kids and bunnies and baskets, are of our Easter dinner. 

Go figure!

Roger grilled mint-and-garlic-marinated lamb chops 

and we had golden raisin and almond sauteed spinach and baked potatoes.

I made a coconut poke cake, which has coconut cream and sweetened condensed milk 

poured through poked holes in a white cake and topped with coconut-flavored whipped cream and coconut flakes.

To end this post on a lighter note, which is about celebrating love, I am including two pretty pics 
that Roger took this morning while he was golfing with his golf buddies 
he goes with every Monday morning at Sunbrook.
We love God's beauty, which is all around us.

We both celebrate our opportunities we have to learn in our lives, 
our dear family and friends and especially the love we have for our dear Savior.

Tea Party, Twinkle, Twinkle and Treats

We had a quick overnight and half-a -day visit from the Linds last weekend 

because they were on their way to stay with the Youngs for Spring Break. 

One of the first things out of Addie's mouth every time she visits  is, 

"Grandma, can we have a Tea Party?"

On Saturday morning, while Jeff and Mindy went on a long run in training for an upcoming half-marathon, 

we sat down to strawberry orange "tea" and a plate of little goodies.

Cheers!

I think we'll be having another party guest at our teas from now on!

Little Fi is the sweetest cuddler and she calls me Grandma Twinkle because we always pull up,

 Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and other silly songs on youtube and sing along with them.

Under the Treat part of this post,

I made this chocolate tunnel cake with ganache frosting recently,

then shared it with neighbors so we wouldn't eat it all.

Last Sunday was our semi-annual April General Conference,

and we had spring lamb chops with mint jelly 

(I know mint jelly is not sophisticated, but it's the only way to eat lamb chops), 

oven curly fries and asparagus.

I cleaned out my recipe cabinet last week and ran onto Phyllis Hull's old recipe collection 

of flip cards on large rings. 

Phyllis, a dear and long-gone friend of my mom's, actually, of all of us Caldwell Gabrielsens in the day,

was known as a great cook.

She and her sisters (all great cooks) put this collection together, probably in the 1960s.

I read through many of the recipes and found this old-fashioned one for Angel Pie. 

I thought it would be appropriate for General Conference Sunday dinner! ;)

It combines meringue, fresh lemon filling and whipped cream.

Heavenly!

I served it with fresh strawberries.

And by far the biggest Treat of all - 

watching the Saturday and Sunday sessions of LDS April, 2017 General Conference .

Filled to capacity crowd in the Conference Center

President Thomas S. Monson, 1st Counselor Henry B Eyring on his right and 2nd Counselor Dieter F. Uchtdorf on his left

Apostles greeting each other

President Uchtdorf and Apostle Neil L Andersen sharing a laugh

Each six months, I get my batteries charged when I listen to the marvelous talks in General Conference.
I look forward to it so much.
I chose some of my favorite quotes from the conference.
All of the complete talks are available on line at lds.org.

 

I look forward to reading and studying the talks because they are so packed with good info and inspiration.
Now, if I can just incorporate what I learn into being better!

March Madness!

Who doesn't love to eat corned beef and cabbage (well, at least once a year) 

and watch national college basketball teams compete against each other?

March brings the opportunity to do both with St. Patrick's Day and NCAA March Madness.

When the first round of the NCAA Tournament is held in SLC, Rick gets tickets and takes his son, Josh.

Josh is serving a LDS mission in Hong Kong, so guess who Rick invited to go with him for the 2017 tourney.

We drove up north the day before and I got to hang out with Jodie and the girls and Blake 

while Roger and Rick got to see four games in the Vivant Arena.

They saw Gonzaga play S. Dakota State . . . 

. . . Northwestern (first time ever in the NCAA tourney and they had lots of loud-cheering fans)

 vs. Vanderbilt (what a close exciting game!) . . . 

. . . St. Mary's play VCU . . . 

. . . and Arizona play North Dakota.

The excitement, the noise of the bands and the fans and the high level of competitive play 

made it such a fun day for Roger and Rick.

We also got to have lunch with Mindy, Jeff, Charlie and Fiona the next day before we drove home 

at a great new place called, Slap Fish. Yum!

And Mindy took us through the beautiful home in Alpine they are going to buy and remodel.

She has watched lots of HGTV, notably Fixer Upper, and has excellent designing sense 

and she is so excited to tackle a big project.

Because we would be driving home on St. Patrick's Day, 

I bought a corned beef to prepare for our dinner 

the Sunday before we went up north, 

and I put it in the crockpot. 

But as I was leaving church, an old USU friend who has moved into our branch, Steve Whitmer, 

with his wife, Viki, invited Roger and I over to their home for Sunday dinner. 

They had also invited another couple, Mike and Charmaine Anderson,  

and they served barbecued ribs, asparagus quiche, among other tasty dishes. 

We enjoyed delicious food and pleasant conversation on their patio 

overlooking the scenic waterway of the Sunbrook Golf Course.

Sooo, we still had a large, cooked corned beef and decided to invite Mike and Kathy Cranny over on Monday night for an early St. Patty's Day dinner and share it with us. 

They are also old USU friends who still live in Oakley, Idaho, and have a second home down the street 

and were in St. George for a few days.

In March, we also took a quick day trip to Vegas to return a defective new toaster we had bought at Primm 

and to use some great coupons soon to expire at Mon Ami Gabi.

Because it was almost free with the coupons, we ordered their shellfish platter for a delicious lunch.

Okay, back to our trip up north for the NCAA tourney, Sadie had some time off at BYU 

and she and Abby (Katie couldn't go) drove to our home in St. George on Thursday 

and Rog and I returned on Friday. 

Saturday morning we fixed a big breakfast of waffles, bacon and strawberries, 

then they headed out to hike in Snow Canyon, then go to the new Tonaquint Park .

 I made up a big batch of my tuna salad for lunch, then they went swimming at the Sunbrook pool. 

That night we drove them to Mesquite to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Los Lupes. 

We joke that the best Mexican restaurant in St. George is in Mesquite!

It was such fun hanging out with these cute granddaughters!

Sadie said that one of the best parts of their little road trip was getting to drive her dad's car! 

She drives a beater at BYU, unsafe for a long trip on the freeway.

Thus far, March has only brought Madness in a very happy way!

We made it to March!

Hey, it's been a long winter!

Even Sunny St. George has had more wintery weather days than usual.

Things are looking up - March Madness and St. Paddy's Day are around the corner . . .

. . . and beautiful things are happening everywhere!

Last night Roger and I received two musical recordings from our two grandkids in Hong Kong, 

where they are both sharing their musical talents 

 their pure goodness 

and their testimonies of Christ.

I want to share:

A Mandarin-speaking friend of our granddaughter, Sydney, attended a baptism 
where our grandson, Josh (Elder Stratford), played a piano solo, How Great Thou Art. 
She had met Josh and knew he was Syd's cousin so she recorded it, unbeknownst to Josh, 
and forwarded it to Syd. 
She then forwarded it in a text to us. 
It made us so happy to hear him play again!
It is in two parts.

Then, right below that is Sydney singing a solo at the Asia Women's Conference. 
She is accompanied by a pianist and a cellist from interior China and Singapore.
Roger and I felt tears of joy as we listened to each.

Yes, things are definitely looking up!

Four Great Visits Up North

Roger's sister, Chyrrl, and her husband, Glynn, have long looked forward to serving an LDS mission 

and were thrilled when they got a call to serve in historic Nauvoo, Illinois.

Glynn will be a teamster with the horses 

and Chyrrl will rotate as a guide in the restored homes and Visitors' Center.

They will perform at night in the stage presentations in full pioneer dress.

They are so excited, well, except for Glynn not being too thrilled about the singing and dancing part 

that he will have to do in the shows!

Before heading to the MTC, they spoke in Sacrament meeting in their ward on February 26.

Of course, Roger and I wanted to see them before they go and hear them speak, 

so we headed up north on Thursday morning to a winter wonderland.

Because we were up north, it was a good chance to spend a little time with Patty and Hal, 

so we stayed overnight with them in their beautiful home in Elkridge. 

Patty prepared the yummiest homemade soup and sandwich supper, and we visited the night away. 

Next day, she prepared a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and English muffins, 

we visited some more, then we ate at one of their favorite bakery/sandwich spots for lunch 

before we headed further north.

We surely do love those two and treasure the time when we can be together!

The only pic we took is this one of the pillow arrangement on our bed, 

which is what we routinely do whenever we stay with someone so that 

when we change the sheets and make the bed, 

we will do it right!

Luckily, the roads cooperated on our northward trek. The mountains looked beautiful!

When we arrived in Ogden, Roger dropped me off at Jessica's to get my hair done, 

then Roger and Grandma picked me up after and we took her for a salad and a slice at Pizzaria, 

which has the best pizza in town. 

We love staying with Roger's mom; she always makes us feel so welcome!

  We stayed up late catching up on the news of all of Roger's relatives. 

Grandma is amazing how at 92 she can keep track of all of those names 

(over 90 great-grandkids and a couple of great-greats) 

and what's going on with them!

On Saturday we had lunch at her favorite place, Chuck A Rama, ran some errands 

and spent a pleasant afternoon and evening reading and visiting.
Such a cute mother and son!

 Chyrrl and Glynn came over and we, with Mindy's help on the phone and her tech savvy, 

helped Chyrrl set up a website where she can blog about their mission. 

Oh, and I have to mention there was a lot of cheering and shouting when we watched BYU's basketball team 

beat Gonzaga, ranked #1 in the country!

The "farewell" in Sacrament meeting the next morning at 9 was bursting with friends, neighbors and family 

who heard lovely violin music (played by grandchildren and accompanied by their daughter, Sheila) 

and heartfelt talks by Chyrrl and Glynn.

The delicious meal after church fed throngs of well-wishers,

 including Chyrrl's work force and doctors at the hospital 

where she worked for over 50 years, 

their inner-city mission missionary friends they served with, 

and their many relatives and friends.

We loved visiting with family and seeing some old friends.

Roger and I then headed to Salt Lake to Rick's home where Jodie prepared an amazing meal for us 

and Mindy, Jeff and kids, who drove up from Highland.

 I have to say here that Jodie is such a good chef 

who makes the most delicious orange rolls and the most amazing homemade chocolate cake!

We got to chat and catch up with the Linds, and after they left, 

we had a Family Home Evening 

with Rick and Jodie's wonderful family and then stayed up talking with Rick and Jodie.

What an amazing and heart-warming Sunday it was!

Again, the only pic we have of this special day is of the pillows on our bed! (Sigh!)

One last super visit was with our dear friend, Karleen, who met us for lunch at Market Street Grill in SLC.

We had had a lunch date at Christmastime when we were up north, 

but it got cancelled 

because Karleen came down with the flu. 

So we had lots of catching up to do! 

We exchanged our Christmas gifts 

and she gave me a lovely necklace for my birthday.

We drove home through a blizzard and a near white out, but were grateful we made it home safely. 

As we reviewed our wonderful visits on the long drive home. we surmised 

that we are very lucky indeed to be blessed with such loving family and friends! 

AND in our next loved-ones home visits, we will take pics besides of the pillows!