Each life that touches our for good.....

Our daughter Beth reminded us this week of the good each person we come in contact with can offer...

AND...

In turn the good we can offer them through service.

Service is a magical word...

It can take a broken heart and mend it...

It can take an angry heart and fill it will Charity...

It can bring us closer to our Savior then any thing else we can do.

Our children are so service oriented.

They teach us so much from their everyday living...

We are so grateful for that gift that they share.

This has been a full week of feeling the lives of our loved ones touching ours....

Monday...

Ben saw that there were undesirable birds building a nest on the end of the house...

He literally risked his life getting up on the roof...

in shoes that didn't grip...

To knock that next down.

I think I have mentioned before that he is my hero.

Steve brought his spray jug...

The one that turns him into the...

TERMINATOR!

He sprayed for all insects and creepy crawly things that invade our domain.

He has been here in the home with us...

leaving his family in Pocatello...

to work on the farm and support his family.

At the same time...

He is always bailing Stan and I out of trouble...

Especially with our electronics.

Little Ross got the vision and when I asked him to help me push the wheel barrow up the hill...

He did that and pulled me with it.

He then was my shadow.

It made him feel so good to help...

He wanted to continue...

Service is magical.

He even helped Stan (Grandpa) move this two ton bear up on the second terrace.

He loves his pal Max...

Bear Ross Max...

(Ross calls him Honey bear)

Dani on River...

This has taken about 4 years of her persistence and love...

BUT...

Now she can ride River and River respects her...

These two lives have touched each other for Good.

Here are three lives that touched our lives for good....

 We headed South Thursday afternoon and this was our first stop....

 Cedar Fort Cemetery...

 Stan is putting stakes with hooks in the pots and ground...

There was predicted strong winds, (That really happened).

We didn't want the flowers to end up down the country somewhere.

This man, Brent Berry, takes care of the area around our kids graves...

 He has Berry relatives all around...

He laid the sod around the graves...

He waters and cuts the grass...

His comment was...

'It is the least I can do for these kids.'

The lives of the living he touches as they come to visit the resting spot of their loved ones can not be numbered.

He has to be one of my relatives...

On my mothers side of the family...

Her great Grandfather Daniel Allen married Louisa Berry.

Just kiddy corner from the kids graves there is a David Allen Berry.

Talking to Brent those are his grandparents...

His parents are just behind our kid's graves.

These are the Berry graves just across the road from our kids.

Brent has laid sod and is watering it to get it to set.

Talk about a life that not only touches ours for good but many in and around that cemetery.

There have been many people doing good things in this cemetery...

 This is Robert Cook who has built this bulletin board with the help of friends.

He is posting histories of all who have ever lived in Cedar Fort.

He is also putting up a map of the cemetery.

Since this cemetery is just there each family is responsible for its care and up keep.

There are so many good citizens who are caring for this cemetery.

I am not sure who is responsible for the monument to the soldiers from that area who have died in protecting our country.

It is a beautiful simple tribute.

There has been a lot of service go into this cemetery even since we were there in February.

 Where there were weeds...

 There is grass...

 Even where there isn't sod...

 Someone has taken it upon themselves to mow that as well..

Service is magical....

 

From there we went on to Richfield...

Friday morning we met up with Bryant and Edna Washburn.

My mothers brother and only living person in his immediate family...

Here is a couple that epitomize the word...

Service.

They have given so much to the community and surrounding areas.

They just finished a  Book--three part series of WWII veterans from Richfield and surrounding areas.

They put ALL their blood sweat and tears (and money) into it...

They received nothing monetarily in return...

BUT...

They have received so much from those who were recipients of this project.

Rocks are Bryant's 'hobby'.

They have a little business B&E Rocks and museum.

He has been all over the country showing selling and purchasing rocks.

He has rocks from all over the world.

Not only rocks...

Petrified wood...

Dinosaur bones dung teeth etc.

Meteorites...

Crystals...

Trading beads from Africa...

Carvings from Indonesia.

He and Edna have so much...

So when a teacher asked if they would take his class on a tour around their place...

They got hooked...

That started 30 years of service that reaches into three generations.

They would take hundreds of middle school students...

Then second graders around their place each spring.

Edna had perfected her part in taking them around the museum in their garage.

The moment they all anticipated was the black lights on the rocks that glowed read and green  in the light.

Then Bryant would take them to the shop and show them how he cut and polished the rocks.

They had bags for each child filled with rocks with colored dots stuck to them...

with a corresponding card with the color dots saying what that rock was.

The children could always chose a rock from Bryant's rock pile...

Then as they were finishing up he would say to them...

"Okay, now we have shown and shared with you a lot...

Would you do something for us?"

The children would always respond to that positively.

He would then say...

"What I want you to do is to go home and give your parents a BIG hug...

Then tell them...

You love them."

(They haven't had any children of their own, not by choice. The boy they adopted died very young)

When they retired...

The school district honored them.

Then when they built this new elementary...

They put these display cupboards up and down the entrance hallway.

Bryant and Edna...

Took their BEST...

And donated it to the school

for this display.

We are talking hundreds of thousands of dollars donated in rocks and artifacts.

 

 They even built a small room with black lights to display their 'special rocks'.

They have been honored by different organizations for all the community service..

and donations that they so freely give.

There was a mother and her two children living in a motel.

When they found out her plight...

(not her own doing)

They have hired her and her children to come and help them out.

That is what they do.

 This petrified log has been in their front yard for maybe 30 years...

 Last year when it was so wet this little cactus started to grow...

(Little fuzzy things in the center)

It is putting out two more branches this year.

The seeds for that cactus had to be in there for a lot of years before it started to germinate.  

 Their shop out back with noting but rocks all around.

 Just the back porch display...

this is only a fraction of what is theirs.

Last week there was a Birthday party for him...

There were 250 + people there.

I wanted to come this weekend so we could spend time with them...

  We took them to dinner for his 90th birthday.

The server brought him a huge piece of cake and ice cream with a candle on top...

We went to church with them on Sunday...

What a wonderful ward.

A family were the speakers.

the little eight year old girl...

Donated her hair to a friend in school...

who had cancer...

This prompted the PTA to raise money for her care.

(a little life that touched others for good)

The father a recovering alcoholic...

Told his story...

We were in tears...

The ward members that 'touched his life for good'...

is what gave him the strength to turn around.

The Mother told of a harrowing adventure on the snake river...

they rode tubes down it with the water high and the rapids fierce.

Despite prompting that they shouldn't do it...

she and her nieces and their children went anyway.

Miraculously she and her niece in two different incidents...

Were saved from whirl pools and currents...

By their nephew who saved their life...

She bore testimony of a loving Heavenly Father who spared them even when they didn't heed the warning.

After that Bryant, who can never be in anyone's debt...

Had to take us and their neighbors who help out a lot to dinner...

Yes it was Sunday...

BUT...

You don't tell Bryant no.

 the Anderson's:

Dave Dana Eron Trevor and Connor.

Such a wonderful family...

They are over to help Bryant and Edna a lot.

 Edna and Bryant

He knows everyone.

He was over visiting with people in the restaurant.

Once we were nourished...

We went with the Anderson...

Bryant and Edna...

And the family they are helping...

to the Richfield Cemetery...

They have enough relatives between them to decorate the whole cemetery!

 They have six huge plastic bins full of flowers to set out...

 Edna is in the chair, Bryant is keeping everyone hopping...

 He grabbed my arm and said...

'come with me'

We had plastic flowers.

the boys had some as well.

 His mother's grave...

Grace Louisa Allen Washburn Smoot

 This was also a beautiful cemetery...

 flags blowing in the wind and colorful flowers everywhere.

Stan and I took Flowers to my dad's grave...

 Melvin J Ward

 sister Margaret....

 sister Dorothy

 Parents, my grandparents Velein and Alfred Ward.

 The graves with Grandma and Grandpa in the front

Dorothy's ashes set in the corner of their plot

then Margaret and Melvin's....

 My cousin Susan must have put up the flag on dad's grave earlier that day...

she has done this for the family for years...

I hope I can help out a little more.

(she is another life that touches a lot of people for good)

In between Friday when we were with Bryant and Edna and again Sunday...

We went to St George....

I have another uncle who lives there...

He is my father's brother Bob.

Bob has diabetes...

He now has a hole in an upper ventricle of his heart.

Louise also with a lot of health problems...

cares for him night and day.

He is so happy and positive.

I am so glad I had Stan with me.

Louise loves to visit...

so I usually don't get to visit Bob.

BUT...

Stan being the man he is...

Took charge and visited with Bob...

I found out he is a Korean WarVeteran.

I didn't know that...

He was able to tell us about his days in Korea...

He was in charge of communications...

He said that if you have seen Mash on TV...

That is how they communicated.

He climbed 60 foot poles to keep the lines tight and working.

He had some interesting tales.

What a wonderful couple.

Their son Larry was there fixing their plumbing.

Larry is a spitting image of my younger brother Jim.

Our four hour visit with them went so quickly.

We were tiring them out.

Louise fell asleep in her chair.

We went from there to the St George Temple...

What a wonderful place to be.

We then went to the wedding reception of Elisabeth Behling and Michael Talbot

We met her in the Twin Falls temple.

She was a missionary...

We were ushers.

I found out she was from Huntsville AL where Sarah and Chad's family are...

I emailed her mother to let her know what a wonderful daughter and missionary Sister Behling was.

We got to know each other and are now good friends.

 Elisabeth and Michael...

Sorry about the blurr...

 Larry and Marie Behling...

Wonderful parents.

 Mischief by the siblings...

This family is amazing...

They are certainly counted among those who touch others lives for good.

Sunday after decorating the graves we went to Mary's home...

Nathan was ordained a Priest.

He is such a good boy.

We are very proud of him.

Mary's Home...

Didn't get pictures of Nathan Megan Jeran Joie and Gabby...

On the way to Richfield and back and home we had snow rain and wind...

 A beautiful pass I-70 goes over from the Sevier Valley to where I-15 is on the other side of the mountains.

Leaving St George...

Dixie College has their name on the red rocks.

 The life giving storm that left snow on the mountains all up and down the Wasatch Mountains...

Also left a wonderful freshness...

 and beauty to our own Black Pine Mountain...

This is a blessing that will allow us to have a crop this year...

On the way home we stopped in Brigham City...

 This is the Brigham City Temple under construction...

 due to open this late summer or fall.

 It looks a lot like the Logan temple...

Richfield is where I was born...

I love it...

 

  Sunset in Richfield....

 (These are the quotes Beth sent to us)

Joseph B. Wirthlin: 

Sometimes the greatest love is not found in the dramatic scenes that poets and writers immortalize. Often, the greatest manifestations of love are the simple acts of kindness and caring we extend to those we meet along the path of life.

Thomas S. Monson: 

He who gives money gives some, 

he who gives time gives more, 

and he who gives of himself

 gives all. 

One day each of us will run out of tomorrows. 

Let us not put off what is important.