Everlasting Gobstopper

The Everlasting Gobstopper is a gobstopper (jaw breaker/hard candy) that not only can never be finished, but never even gets smaller. It is implied that they may also be indestructible.

That's how I feel about these cheeks!  Just want to mug on them forever and never go away!

Before The June Gloom Begins....

...more spring cleaning.

Patio umbrella UP.

Patio chairs washed, and bbq's cleaned.

Oh! And we planted a lime and a lemon tree! The dwarf variety. Very excited about this. We pulled out some of the jasmine that was completely overgrown and spaced them along the fence by the Steele's. We use so many limes and lemons, guess it was time to grow our own.

 After researching and asking a lot of questions, we decided on a Eureka Lemon dwarf tree.

It will grow about 2-3 more feet and then we will keep it at that height.

Bearss Lime.

It is seedless!

Same here.  A couple more feet and then keep it there.

  We had a dwarf lemon bush when I was growing up in Torrance.  The thought of it brings back lots of fond memories.  Hope to make our own memories now.  Picking and making summer lemonade with the grandkids will be one of the first on my list!

Kids Say The Darndest Things!

{Ring, ring.}

Hello?

Hi GammaCindy!

Hi John.  How are you?

I good.

I have my bath and my train jammies.

Oh, I like your train jammies!

I know.

What else are you doing?

I have my blanket on the couch.  I'm going to sleep in the 'famine' room!

The family room?

Yes, the 'famine' room!

Kids say the darndest things.

Leaving For Morro Bay

Christine left this mornig for Morro Bay with her Marine Ecology class.

It is the big field trip they go on at the end of the year to put everything they have been learning in class to practical use.

 A very foggy, cold, misty Memorial Day morning.

 With Karley.

 With Gillian.

With Brittany.

They camp in tents and have to prepare all their meals.

It should be quite the adventure.

Jammin' --Part 1

The family that works   'jams' together, gets Jam.

 Got the berries on Saturday.

The best deal I know, other than to grow them yourself.  But strawberries are tricky to grow.  The conditions have to be 'just right'.  Warm, dry, moist. 

If you go to the main Pumpkin City stand between 5:30 and 5:45pm, all the vendors return the unsold fruit.  They go through the berries that are too ripe or not pretty enough to sell the next day and either throw them away or give them to a shelter.  They will sell them for jamming berries if you show up.  A flat is regularly $40.  I dickered and got them for $15.

We got them washed and stemmed on Saturday and made 42 pints of jam today.

We are good for another year.

Toast, rolls and biscuits, PB&J's, crepes, ice cream......yum!

Memorial Day

Adrianne and I spent most of the afternoon making jam.

More on that later.

Duff and I put our Seafood Pasta Salad together. 

Then we.....

 Got out the White Mountain and soon we had the most delicious vanilla ice cream. 

The family had decided to try a departure from the usual holiday burgers and hot dogs.  I had watched the Pioneer Woman show the week before and she had done a really good spicy pulled pork.  We went with that.  It takes 6 hours so I had to get it going early.  The house was fragrant with that and the jam.  The aromas put us in a food coma.  Haha!

The Peterson's invited us over to eat and swim.

Patti and I finished the sides in the kitchen and Duff manned the grill.

The guys had the basketball game on and we cheered our hearts out for Boston.

Ainsley had her first swim in the hot tub!

All in all, a nice day.

Future Generation

Lesson all done.

Waiting our turn to go to Sharing Time.

Dang, I love this cute class.

Sometimes I wish I was 'back in the trenches'.

Today's children are so smart.  They have good families and you can see how they are being taught at home.

As I look at my own children and now grandchildren, I see with different eyes the valiancy that is the future generations.  

Best Buddies Prom

Christine attended the Prom for the Best Buddies group.

She had a really good time.

It was held at the high school in Villa Park and all the chapters from south Orange County came. She even drove herself and the chapter president from our school on the freeway to Anaheim!  Good job navigating those California freeways and all the transitions you had to make.

 The group from our school.

Lacrosse Swimming

Now that the season is over, but they still need to hold practice, this is how the lacrosse team finishes their conditioning.

Looks very refreshing to me and the perfect way to cool down.

Morning In Newport Temple

Even though I didn't take this picture, it is exactly how the temple looked this morning.

So close to the beach and the fog surrounding it.

Duff and I went to the temple today.

I knew we should go, but there was so much to do.......

Everything changed once I was inside.

It does that to your soul.

We were reminded of sacred things that sharpen the perspective.

Brother Griffeth officiated.  He married Josh and Meredith and Natalie and Robert.  It was good to catch up with him in the sealing room.

He spoke to us couples before we began.  I learned some things from his details that I hadn't thought of in quite that way before.

It was a very good morning, and the rest of the day came together in the way it was supposed to.

56 Birthday

Today is my birthday.

I am 56 years old.

It has been a very nice day.

I've had lots of calls, texts, gifts, and cards from my family and friends.

Duff made me my favorite birthday cake:  German Chocolate.

The kids came over to sing and have ice cream and cake.

We had an old fashioned brisket for dinner.

Patti and Tyler brought flowers.  Nate and Alex brought flowers over too.  Renee brought me some candy.  Lisa K. sent me a beautiful card and bookmark.  Kim K. brought cookies.  The kids added to my new 'tupperware' supplies for leftovers and food care. 

All in all, a very nice day!

Thanks, everyone for your love.

You're the best.

Bye For Now and Good Luck Nate!

Shaun and Nathan have been friends for 18 years.

Through thick and thin, their friendship has been more like brothers.

That is a GOOD friend.  And now they are all grown up and going out in the world.

Nate has graduated and he and his wife, Alex, are heading to Chicago for a job.  That's a long ways away.  And Shaun is heading to Malibu for law school.

Sniff, sniff....

 1994.

Goofy guys.

 2008.

Same place on the front porch.

 2012.

Same place on the front porch.

Have to say, I had my tears when we hugged goodbye.

I never knew when I woke up in the morning--especially during the summers--if Nate would have slept over somewhere in my house.  Oh, the vacations.  Oh, the pranks.  Like another son.  Love that guy!

GOOD LUCK, NATE AND ALEX.

THE DUFFY'S LOVE YOU!

Christine YW Medallion

Christine received her Young Women Medallion today.

Our Sacrament Meeting program was about the Young Women organization and the Personal Progress Program and focused on the girls receiving their Medallions this year.

Christine gave a very good talk about the values Knowledge and Choice and Accountability.  Then the YW PresidenT, Sister Koelliker, and the Bishop, Larry Gregson, presented the Medallion to the girls.  There were six this year.

After the meeting Christine came down from the stand and wanted Duff to put her necklace on her.  It was touching to watch that sweet moment.

 The program from the fireside that evening, her Medallion, and the YW value ribbon scripture marker. 
The fireside was really nice.  All the Young Men who received their Duty to God award and all the Young Women who received their Medallion in the stake were introduced and walked across the stand to be congratulated by the Stake Presidency, then were seated in the front center pews.  The speakers remarks were timely and thought provoking.  President Peter Vidmar was the concluding speaker.  Being an Olympian, he has a lot of experiences that correlate to gospel principles and doctrine.

The jist of his talk was to always choose and do the right thing for the sake of it being RIGHT.

He had story after story and statistic after statistic of olympians who lost out on the gold medal because unbeknownst to the rest of the world, they actually helped their competitors tweak and do small things to improve right before their scheduled event.  Then reminded us that in God's plan for his children, there are no gold, silver, or bronze medals.  We can all win this mortal life event and return to Him if we live and follow the commandments.

What an inspiring message!

 Her Personal Progress Book.

Her goal from Integrity.

She applied and interviewed for a position in the Best Buddies organization at school.

It is not a guaranteed 'in'.  It is a series of interviews and evaluations to determine how well an applicant would do mentoring a physically and mentally challenged student.

Her buddy is Laura.  She is a sweet girl who not only has her above challenges, but comes from a really difficult home situation.  Laura contacts Christine at all times of the day and night. Christine has made sure she is where she is supposed to be for school things, and when Laura was in the hospital, Chris took care of things with that too, giving love and support that she wouldn't otherwise have had.

 With her friend, Karley, who also received her medallion tonight.

(Karley's mom and I grew up in the same ward in Torrance.  And Pam married my next door neighbor, Randy.)

Had to have the silly picture......

The stake put together a nice video presentation of all the recipients at the end.  Here are Christine's progression photos.  And she started off the video...

CONGRATULATIONS, CHRISTINE!

THIS IS A WONDERFUL ACCOMPLISHMENT.  MANY YEARS OF HARD WORK.

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

Christine's Talk on Medallion Sunday

Here is the talk Christine gave for the Sacrament Program when receiving her YW Medallion.  She was asked to speak on the values of Knoweldge and Choice and Accountability.

                       Talk: Knowledge and Choice & Accountability

          Good afternoon Brothers and Sisters. For those of you that don't know me my name is Christine Duffy. Today I have been asked to talk about two young women values: Knowledge and Choice & Accountability.

          Knowledge is an opportunity that everyone in the world has. In D&C section 88 verse 118 it reads, "And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith."

          I have learned that there are two kinds of knowledge. The first kind of knowledge is earthly knowledge. We gain this kind of knowledge by going to school and studying the skills that will help us be successful in life like math, English, science, and many other subjects. This knowledge gives us a base that we need to help us pick a career and make life more meaningful and rewarding. However, another way that we all gain knowledge is by coming to church and attending all of our meetings, studying the scriptures, praying, and receiving revelations from the Holy Ghost.

          Knowledge that we learn at school can be hard to gain. You have to go to school, listen to your teachers as they teach you the lesson. Ask questions if you don't understand it. Then you have to go home and do the homework, study it and be prepared for the test that you have to take at the end of the unit.

**[handwritten: go to back of page----->]  For this project I learned how to play lacrosse.  I started in 8th grade.  Being a junior in high school right now, and playing on my high school team, I've learned not only the rules of the game but also how to deal with a lot of different personalities and to sometimes just stay quiet for the sake of the team.** wing it--

          Spiritual Knowledge is just as hard to gain. You need to read and study the scriptures daily. Pray to Heavenly Father and ask for guidance and also repent in order to become worthy to live with him again. You also need to go to all of your church meetings and actively participate.

          In D&C section 9 verses 7-9 it reads," Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me."

          Having an understanding of knowledge helps us to make correct choices in life. A scripture that we  read for the value Choice and Accountability is Joshua 24:15 which says, "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

          My ten hour project for this value was going to my sister Natalie and her husband Robert's house over spring break. Because they are both lawyers, my grandparents take care of their two and a half year old son John. Since I was staying at my sister's, I decided to watch my nephew. The very first day, he decided to go and play on the stools, even though he isn't allowed to. After taking him off the stools multiple times and telling him not to do it again, I turned my back to change the channel on the TV from Peep And The Big Wide World to Caillou, he got back on a stool and fell off of it onto the floor and bit the inside of his cheek. Well, it started to bleed.

          So now I had a screaming two year old with blood coming out of his mouth and the whole time I'm yelling at myself for not watching him more carefully and that when my sister gets home tonight she is going to kill me. John would not stop screaming and that screaming got worse as I tried to wipe off the blood and get an ice cube on the cut to stop the bleeding. Luckily, I won because I  am stronger than he is and he finally calmed down after 45 minutes.

          I realized as I was getting him to calm to down, that it was my fault because I didn't watch him carefully and that I was going to be accountable when my sister got home. Luckily she didn't kill me. Two year olds do those kind of things.

          We all have agency, the ability to choose right and wrong. It is your choice to cheat on a test, wear the immodest dress to homecoming, formal or prom, use bad language, obey the word of wisdom, be virtuous and to follow the standards that we have in the For Strength of Youth. Fortunately, we can repent from the wrong decisions that we make.

          I loved doing Personal Progress and I am grateful for what it taught me in all of the eight values I studied. And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.