Flying solo and trip home

Flying solo presents lots of challenges. No one to talk to on the airplane..that you know. No one to hold a bathroom door shut cause it is broke and the last one open and you really need to go. No one to double check flight times/gates/seats with. It is always uncomfortable too but this time I realized I am thankful for people who make sitting next the the "chunky" chick seem like a cake walk..like the mom with the screaming baby, the family with 8 kids trying to rearrange the whole plane so her kids can sit all together. The loud snorer. I do not seem so bad comparatively to what people could sit by.

My trip home was awesome. Tons of family time extended and immediate. Everything about the funeral was just how it should have been. After the viewing a smaller crowd of Sherwood's' sat around grandma Sherwood's large table and shared Uncle Delwin stories until way too late.

Before the funeral all the family had a intimate meeting to do the same and share feelings, stories, or thought impressions. The funeral itself was super. My older brother quoted 2 of uncle Delwin's favorite poems that he used a lot in talks in the years past. One really touched me especially as I deal with PCOS and all its symptoms and side effects. It touched me a lot at the funeral, reminded me of all the things I DO have that whining is not helpful.

It is called THE WORLD IS MINE

The world is mine

Today on a bus, I saw a lovely girl with silken hair
I envied her, she seemed so gay, and I wished I was so fair
When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the isle
O God, forgive me when I whine
I have two legs, the world is mine

And then I stopped to buy some sweets
The lad who sold them had such charm
I talked with him, he seemed so calm, and if I were late it would do no harm,
And as I left he said to me “I thank you, you have been so kind”
It’s nice to talk with folks like you. You see, I’m blind
O God forgive me when I whine
I have two eyes, the world is mine

Later walking down the street, I saw a child with eyes of blue
He stood and watched the others play; it seemed he knew not what to do
I stopped a moment, then I said, why don’t you join the others dear”
He looked ahead without a word, and then I knew he could not hear
O God forgive me when I whine
I have two ears, the world is mine

With legs to take me where I’ll go
With eyes to see the sunsets glow
With ears to ear what I would know
O God forgive me when I whine
I’m blessed, indeed, the world is mine

Sunday was a great Sacrament meeting where family and friend bore powerful testimonies of the Plan of Salvation and I got to sit with my nephews and nieces. We all ate at the church as a family again and it was super to see everyone and visit with cousins I have not seen in awhile.

Uncle Dewlin always loved family get togethers and the party started when he arrived. His funeral was no different. He brought us all together.Sunday night the snow came and we all got snowed in together at my Uncle Barton's house; we played in the snow like Uncle Delwin would have.We kept saying he gave us the snow it was 12-15 inches deep in places. We have not had that kind of snow in AR in like 10 years. We played games and watched his favorite movies. It was a blessing for us all to have a few extra days together to share and be together.

So many of our sherwood traditions started with him. He had the first 4 wheelers in the family, he had the 1st pool table, he had the fooze ball table, the pool, the first video recording device. When I think of get togethers these are the things I think of. We will all miss him and continue to remember him by enjoying life and taking to for playing and making memories. Come what may and love it!

Plus my momma's birthday was yesterday and 6 of her 7 kids all got to be there for it. We had a great time together. I am so glad I was able to go home and participate. Time is so short and being so far from family is silly--which is the most important thing here--I will be glad to be closer to home. I will miss my Alaska friends and the beauty here a lot though.

New Family Pictures-loss

Yesterday my Uncle Delwin died. Here are a few pictures of him. He loved his grandkids and being silly. He is going to be missed.

I have soooo many memories with him- I am pretty sure I learned to swim in his pool if not I definitly was glad I knew how. He had some blue honda four wheelers and as a kid he was so willing to give all us nephews and nieces ride after ride on them in the "terrace" field. It was so fun to ride with him and 5-6 other kids and just laugh. He laughed as much as we did.

When we lived in Pennsylvania he came to see us several times and that meant a lot to all of us kids. We are all going to miss his fun loving spirit around.

My heart breaks for my cousins Tana, John, Mandy, and thier kids.

We never know when it is our time to go. I wanted to post our new family pictures and just express my love to them.

Wamer weather

It was so nice out today. I did not even feel like I needed a coat when I first stepped out eventually the cold did sink in. The extra sunshine is kicking in and it is so nice to notice it getting darker later and later everyday. It is so encouraging. I took tons of vit D and will continue to do so, I think it made a big difference this winter..not that it is over yet but we are on the down hill slide. YAY!

Yay for sunshine.

wedded bliss smedded bliss

So in the past month 3 couples have gotten engaged and on face book several friends are celebrating 9 or 10 years of wedded bliss to their "bff's"; whatever that means. I have only had a few really good guy friend and so hearing "married to my best friend" my mind envisions them with some girl. YUCKO

I know I am being bitter and a bit jealous or resentful but enough already! Then someone else on FB was saying how hard it was to have a snow day with a kid in the house always calling out "mommy" I would gladly trade places; to hear a sweet little voice ascribe that title to me.

I am looking at what I don't have instead of what I do (which is a lot!!) but somedays it-the things I don't have and want - seem to get smacked in my face one too many times and then it eeeks its way down to my heart and crumbles it.

Haiku

My 7th graders wrote this with me in our world geo class on Friday. I will post a pic of the picture we were using to write this

golden long brick bridge
emperors big white palace
blue sky tiny moon

I will also post pic of my 6th graders prohibition posters they made.

Happy Birthday DAD!!

I just wanted to give a shout out to him. He has brought so many wonderful experiences into my life. I get my adventurous side from him. He loves to go to new places and watch people to get a feel for a place. On family vacations, I would stay up late at night with him while he was driving and look at the maps of where we had been and where we were going.

So many times I have been teaching about a place and I can teach about it so much better because he has taken us there. Like when we were talking about immigration in the early 1900’s. How the immigrants passed by the Statue of Liberty. I was able to show them pictures of me as a little girl there and as an adult. It was so fun and the kids loved it too and had tons of questions. Especially teaching here in Alaska where few of the kids have been “outside” it has been wonderful to show them pictures of the country.

The Alamo is another place I have got to teach about where I have been. Again it is because of my dad that I was able to go there and spend Spring Break in San Antonio. It was amazing; all because he had to drop off a car in Laredo, Texas.

He is so giving and wants everyone to love what he loves; weather it is music or traveling or eating. He wants to share it with us. I am grateful for that too. That makes me so much more willing to give and share. Material things have never been important to him he is always willing to give monetarily to others who are in need.

He has taken us to lots of places. There are only 7 states I have not been to with him. A short list of my favorite places Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, The Avenue of the Giants, and Niagara Falls.

He has also provided us with a great example of entrepreneur skills. He has always found work or made work. He has a lot of faith in risking things to get what he wants. He can build anything. I am confident of that. By owning land and farming he gave us that wonderful experience of hard farm work.

He has never let failure or set back get him down. He is a great example to me for going after things I want and that you only get one chance to live so why not drive through Death Valley, or get that ring that you really want, or spend an extra hour stopping by to see people you care about. He loves my mom which is one of the best things he has given or shown us. He loves the gospel and spent a lot of time trying to impart his spiritual wisdom to us. He is quirky and “John McKinney” in everyway but that is how we like him and we wouldn’t know what to do without him.

I hope he has a great day today! I love you dad. I know we have many more experience to have together. Some suggestions lets cross the Atlantic on a Mediterranean cruise or do a train tour of Europe.

latest adventure--back to school

Yup I am taking on online sped masters class. I am Phoenix! --ha It started today. I hope that all goes well. I need to take it to keep working at my school. I am keeping all my doors open for next year.

I haven't yet decided where I will end up next year but I am pretty sure it will not be here in AK. I love it here: the beauty ,the institute, the friends, the people, my job -as trying as it can be sometimes, the snow, the cooler weather, the sunshine in the summer, the wildlife, the town and all it offers, Alaska native art,....if I could slide Alaska into the Gulf of Mexico where cartographers usually put it and then it would be easy to get home to see those precious little nieces and nephews of mine. I am looking at Memphis, St. Louis, Fayettville. We shall see.

Been a busy week. Yesterday I fed the missionaries yummy fajitas and taught FHE on the Christlike attribute of knowledge, went to the Lusac Library to pick up an old Disney Revolutionary War film called the Swamp Fox. I swear I ran all day long. It was good though.

Saturday night I took my Papakristo (my friend and colleague daughters) girls to see the Fantastic Mr. Fox, it was pretty funny. Those girls keep me cracked up. The youngest is 3 and in the theatre she finished her popcorn and yells really loud Ms. Katie I finished my "Cock-corn I want more cockcorn" I busted up laughing. She is so funny. She will make a song out of anything.