Lost and Found

(me and the dogs around thanksgiving at my mom's)

On Dec 28th I let the dogs out side at our place to go potty around 9 pm. They really have only been living with us for about a week.Our private road has only 5 homes on it and is up a hill. Parker likes to go off by himself and twice I found him at the one house below us in their yard. I let them out and Coco came in. Parker did not and I just figured that I'd come get him at the neighbors in a few minutes, but I got busy inside and probably 10 minutes had lapped. I went out and started calling for him. I called and called and called. Then Jason came out to help. We walked on the busy road we live off of, but no Parker. I went out again latter than night and cried asking the Lord that is Parker was alive he'd be returned to us.

But we had a problem- Parker did not have his color and identification on. The jingling of it, wakes Jason up, so we had taken it off. He has been sleeping for 2 days and there was no need to put it back on. We also had seen a coyote go through our yard and 3 coyotes together just 1/2 mile from where we live. There had been so many lost cat signs recently and we had heard stories of people seeing coyotes with dead cats in their mouths walking down the street. I was afraid Parker had been grabbed by one of them and was dead in a cave being eaten by those dog like creatures.
I knew it was that or someone had picked him up and he was nice and warm in a house with a dog lover. The next evening we made signs and I started to post them around our place. We called the Humane Society that is just down the street from us and told them we were looking for a Japanese Chin. We didn't get then all out, but I knew we had to get one to Arrow Wood Animal Hospital. This place had been around for Decades. This place is great because they are open all night for emergencies which I have used once with Coco. We didn't get the flier there till Thursday night. Friday morning we got a call saying that Parker had indeed passed through there and was now in the custody of the County Animal Control. We called, we looked up times to come and get him and there he was in DOG JAIL. We posted bail at $45 and took him home. He has had a few exciting days. I was thinking I was going to have to write a "Ode to Parker" post if he had heard nothing from anyone. All his cute ways and antic's were running through my mind. So here is a few pic's of him. The still photo's don't do his personality justice, but..... Maybe I can explain.

Neice Grace with Parker. When Grace is around Parker is a girl, because he's so cute!
Parker in August with the "cone of shame" after 2 surgeries on his ear! He looked like a pioneer.
At Christmas time with a new teady bear and our matching red snowflake clothes.

Parker loves to hump Coco.
Parker gets so excited when I come home that he stands on his back legs and paws with his front sometimes almost scratching me.
Parker rarely barks, but when he does it's pretty funny sounding.
Parker cansound like a goat.
Parker cries or squeeks.
Parker loves to have his back scratched and his tummy checked out for sores.
Parker has skin issues and almost always has sores on his body.
Parker loves to sleep with me or mom.
Parker just looks up at me when he wants something like food, or outside or attention.
Parker will look, see me on the computer and know I'm not available and so will walk away.
Parker is just a silly dog with 14 teeth missing and an extra long and curved tongue.
Parker will kick your ear if he is really happy with you.
Parker often likes to sleep on his back with his legs up in the air.

Happy New Year!

If you're anything like me, you don't like resolutions. They are dumb and they never work. But there are alternatives to them. Here are a few I've found:

1. Have a scripture or quote for the year that you keep in your head and focus on that during all the good and bad times that will come. Idea from Annette Bowen.

2. Pray for a miracle and then see what happens! Idea from here: http://womeninthescriptures.blogspot.com/2010/12/new-year-miracles.html

3. Pick a word to focus on for the year. Idea from here: http://sherriejohnson.blogspot.com/2010/12/its-word-of-year-time.html

I'm not sure which one I will do. What will you do?

Sept 25th, National Museum Day

Back in September Jason and I went to Tacoma to see the Glass Museum. We got in for free, as it was National Museum Day. To do this every year all you have to do is go to the Smithsonian Web sight and get 2 free tickets that they send to your email and print out. You need to pick what museum you go to. There is a huge list to choose from in any area around the country!

These are some of the pictures outside of the museum.

Across the highway from the museum is this pretty building.

Not sure what this huge thing is!

There is a Very Long walk way outside of these glass creations.
You just can't take enough pictures.

These last pictures of sculptures outside are the coolest. So pretty in the sun!

Inside you can watch glass being made into designs. One of the biggest collections was created by children. They drew pictures from their imaginations and then glass blowers or creators made them. It's all very creative!

Christmas in Seattle

These pictures are from the Seattle Center. Inside one of the buildings, is a large food court and a space for music performances and dancing. It was here, that I danced the polka with friends before I was set apart to be a missionary in 1993. That friend I danced the polka with was my brother-in-law when I came home 18 months latter. At Christmas time they have this darling town up with a a train. I love all the little people doing different things and the buildings that look so authentic. I could of taken so many more pictures.

The picture below I did not take, but I wanted you all to see the tree on top of the Space Needle.

The Christmas Space Needle and the moon. A picture that I did take. It costs 18 dollars for adults to ride up the elevator to see the 360 degree view, unless you areagoing to the rotating restaurant, then the ride is free and you get to go to the observation deck. Jason and I had dinner up there last Saturday night. Our landlord always gives us 100$ each Christmas. This time it was in the form of two 50 dollar gift cards to the restaurant up there. We had see food everything- appetizers, soup and king crab legs. I'd never done this before and it was nice to do this with Jason. On one "side" of the needle they had fake snow outside. We didn't know it was fake at first until the waitress told us. It looked so cool, eating, looking out at the city lit up and seeing snow.

At the restaurant they have a photographer come around the take a complimentary digital photo that you can have emailed to you and/or bought down stairs. We'll I had it mailed to me, but don't think I ever got it.

The carousel at the Seattle Center

Definitely a room with a view!

My Primary Class

My primary kids in the primary nativity. All the other kids got to be angles singing. They too wore costumes. From left to right: Ethan (not one of my kids, but Hunter's brother), Ethan, Hunter, Zeke, Samantha, Ryan and Cameron. We studied the Old Testament this year and we were in the scriptures reading every Sunday. I never got burned out, because they could read!

100 Names of Jesus Christ

on second thought

My last post was about there being 3 paths in religion. I suppose you could add a forth of atheism, but then that's not really a path at all as it goes in so many directions.

I went to the temple today and realized what I'd already known all along, that there are really only 2 paths. The path the Father set out or the path of the philosophies of men/ideas of the world mingled with scripture. It's really either God or Satan that you tie yourself to.

Picture it like this: I circle in the middle- that's you. I line drawn out on either side. One side goes to a circle that says God, the other goes to a circle that says Satan.

This image is not mine, but in one of the institute manuals, but can't seem to find anything like it on Google.

3 paths, 1 choice

I have a friend who was raised LDS by a very good family- Very Good! She always had trouble staying on the straight and narrow path. She wasn't much worried about it, she just wanted to have fun. She tried drugs in high school, went to Ricks College, to BYU. She lives in England now doing good things for the world (but good things are not enough) and is a vegetarian and a Buddhist. She recently got married and I was invited to her cocktail attire reception at a hotel, where no gifts were being excepted, just money for her organization. I didn't go. I couldn't go and pretend to be happy for her. She has denied the Savior, completely kicked him to the curb, left him with empty outstretched arms.

Moroni 10:6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.

The following quotes are from a talk called The First Vision and Religious Tolerance by Joseph Fielding McConkie. You can read the entire article here:
http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/witness-restoration-essays-honor-robert-j-matthews/9-first-vision-and-religious-tolerance

It is philosophically impossible to reject truth without accepting error, to shut out the light without being immersed in darkness, to reject true teachers without cleaving to false ones, to reject the true Christ and his prophets with out giving allegiance to those who follow another Master.

Good conduct without the ordinances of the gospel will neither redeem nor exalt mankind; covenants and the ordinances are essential. We are required to teach doctrines, even the unpopular ones.

Yield on this doctrine, and you cannot justify the Restoration. The doctrine is true; it is logical. The opposite it not.... I find it so interesting that those who condemn us, reject the parallel path philosophy themselves when it comes to non-Christ religions. For if they do not, they have no reason to accept the Lord as our Redeemer or regard the Atonement as essential.. (mark 16:16) While the converging path idea is very appealing, it really is not reasonable.

Do you realize that the notion that all churches are equal presupposes that the true church of Jesus Christ actually does not exist anywhere?

.......It is to liken the plan of salvation to a lottery.

If any man or woman professes a belief in Christ we say, "so much to the good" they are at least on the road leading to gospel enlightenment. As my father noted, "It is better to be a partial Christian than a non-Christian. It is better to believe some of the doctrines of Christ rather than none at all. One truth paves the way for another, and we all need to advance in knowledge and understanding."

The 3 paths are:
1. The true church of Jesus Christ is the only chuurch that can give salvation.
2. Any Christian church is OK as long as it preaches Christ.
3. You don't need a savior at all. Thus Buddhist, Muslims, etc are except able because they preach living a good life.

Karen has chosen the non-christian path. Often I have heard it said - 'you can leave the church, but you can't leave the church alone'. That would apply to those who then persecute the church.

Joseph Smith told his story at the peril of his life. We tell it at the peril of social acceptance; surely we can stand that tall.

Many in the Christian world are anxious to draw a circle and exclude us, we choose to draw a very large and inclusive circle. We will pray with any man who is willing to do so. Our bookstores do not contain anti-anybody literature, we do not attack those of other faiths in our missionary lesson plans, nor do we do so in our church services or in any class sponsored by the church. We do not give out warnings against those of other faiths nor do we ever forbid our membership from listening to or talking to anyone they desire.

As to our enemies, we did not choose them, they have chosen us. We have always had them and we always will. Where we cannot befriend then we choose to live above them.

Last Time

Thanksgiving Day 2010

This is my Mom and Dad's house. They lived here twice with a 12 year stint in Minnesota where I was born. I lived here from 10 to 19, then while I was going to school to get a teaching certificate for about 2 years, then from 2006 to 2009. It's gone through a lot of changes. It used to be a 2 color house, with a maroon on the bottom and a mustard yellow on the top. The protruding window to the left my dad made. It was the garage, but with 5 kids there before I was born he made it into a very long family room. When we moved there when I was a kid dad took the basement and made a whole apartment out of it with 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom and living room. Another improvement was the deck. I had 2 brothers getting married with in 2 weeks of each other and dad decided we'd have the open house at our house- which we never did, but nonetheless dad built a deck from the dinning room. He took out the window- put it down stairs in the living room there, and then put in a sliding glass door. We recently put new railings up on the deck. Mom's planning on selling it and moving to Boise Idaho area. I was hoping for a Holiday with all of us there to tell the old house good bye. It didn't happen.

From the Left around the table= Ruth Rose Davis, Mom, Jason Mason, Becky Rose Mason, Spencer Perkins, Ryan Perkins, Caleb Perkins, Grace Perkins, Emily Perkins, Sarah Rose Perkins and Blake taking the picture. In the picture below you can see Blake Perkins. 3 of the 7 kids were there and 5 of the 26 grand kids were there. Mom also has 5 great grand kids with 2 more on the way.

Most of us are out west now. I just have one sister, the oldest Beth in North Carolina. I've been emotional 2 in the past few weeks about my family. I feel like I'm loosing them. I wonder if we'll ever have another reunion. So many have seemed to have already gone their own way and don't seem to care all that much. I guess that's the way of things. As some one who has no children it's a big deal though. I've spent my youth and single adult years visiting with these siblings and their families. Relationships are different and often strained and I don't like it. While it looks like we are all happy to be together and I'm sure If I wanted to come visit I'd be welcomed in each of their homes, it feels like closeness is gone.

This is the last thanksgiving at
15032 SE 44th St Bellevue WA 98006

It's Turkey Time!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Do You Have Room?

Elder Neal A. Maxwell: “Each of us is an inn-keeper who decides if there is room for Jesus!”

On a day where tears come on and off due to family drama and feelings of loss, this video reminds me what it's really all about.

Random News!

Dogs meet Cat

Parker met the cat on Saturday. His response was just to get face to face and smell and then turn his head as if no big deal. The cat was not afraid at all.

Coco met the cat today through a screen door. Coco started to growl, cat tried to get away but I was holding him. Coco stood statue still and was waiting for an opportunity to jump on him. Jason had him by the leash and dragged him away and the cat ran into the house further.

Domesticated Me

Back in my single days I would never cook. If I did I was trying to impress someone. When my family got together and the girls would be helping in the kitchen I would be some where else. Not that I was trying to avoid helping, some times I would and some times they would ask. There are 5 daughters in the family. I was normally playing with the kids or on the computer gathering knowledge. I always told myself that when the time was right and I had to, I'd do it. When I had a husband, when I had kids I'd cook and you know what? I was right! I cook a lot! I do simple things, but I still do it! I come home and the first thing is "what to cook, change the laundry, clean the house." While I'd like to just go on line and read, read, read or write, write, write, I do not. I take care of the house first. To everything there is a season.

TV at our House

We don't pay for cable, but a few months ago, we paid for high tech bunny ears. We get a few channels, but they come and go. It seems it stays during commercials and leave during the shows and the most important part of the shows. We also get the crappy channels. Channels that have adult cartoons like "The Family Guy", or Two and a half Men", or "How I met your mother". It's all really just bad, B rated, sex focused TV. I hate that it's in our house. My visiting teachers say cable is the same. But as Jason reminded me we could get Animal Planet, PBS, History Channel, and the like. I'd be all about educational stuff, but for now we suffer along and are thankful for the news and "House". Every night we try and read at least one chapter in The Book of Mormon and then watch a short Church History video. That is a good thing!

Parker Update

Parker's tail healed fine thank goodness. We are glad we didn't spend 300 dollars. Nothing that they said might happen (like the tail dying or him trying to chew it off, or an infection) has happened. He's still our happy little doggy that I call my baby, although he's anything put a puppy. (this picture taken before the healing)

Barber School

Jason started Barber School after Labor Day weekend. He drives Tuesday through Saturday up to Everett. His instructors tell him he's very good and he is really enjoying it. He thinks about hair, notices hair and has even cut the missionaries and others hair on his own outside of school. He's excited about his new profession.

Snoqualmie Valley, Mackinzie and Cole.

This is Mackinzie. She just turned 6 and is in kindergarten. I get to work with her 4 days a week. When she was in her mommy's tummy her family learned that she only had 1/2 a heart. At 6 months of age she had a heart transplant and continued to develop normally, but about a month after she turned 4 she got sick and on the way home from Seattle Children's Hospital she stopped breathing. Her mom stopped the car and did CPR, but her brain was with out oxygen for so long that she became as if she had drowned. She is tube fed and has a nurse every night monitoring her. She used to take about 48 meds. I do things for Kenzie like stretch out her arms and legs to put on her orthotic's. She has a bag of them- 3 different ones for her hands alone. She needs to be put in a stander at least an hour a day to stretch out. She coughs to get the flem out of her stomach and throat and has a suction machine in the car and by her bed. She wears a humidifier on her face every night.

Kenzie's family consists of her mom Elaine who is a great cook with a fun personality, Ethan who is 9 with red hair, John the dad and Cole the gentle giant Malamute. I walk Cole first thing every time I come so he gets his exercise and stops whining. People are often leary at first by how big he is, but he really is the most sweetest dog. He whines every time he sees another 4 legged friend wanting to see him. We started out with very short walks, but have progressed to quite long ones around the golf course they live around.

Mackenzie's has thick beautiful dark curly hair and lots of cute hair accessorizes and clothes. Like most of my child clients she dresses better than me. These pictures do not do her justice. She really is a darling little girl. Kenzie gets lots of therapy- occupational, physical, feeding and her parents took her to the Dominican Republic twice for stem cell injections. Stem cell therapy is not FDA approved in the US yet. The cells are brought from Europe to the DR. The family has a lot of hope for her as she has made improvements already.

The family lives in the Eagles Nest a small gated community and this is the view just before going through the gates where I walk Cole and get more than a 180 degree view. I'm just amazed at the beauty every time I come. It's so beautiful, these pictures don't do it justice. Of course Snoqualmie Falls is just down the main road.

Right before the gate.

Mount Si or "Twin Peaks"

Turbulance anyone? What should we do?

What do you suppose pilots do when they encounter turbulence? A student pilot may think that increasing speed is a good strategy because it will get them through the turbulence faster. But that may be the wrong thing to do. Professional pilots understand that there is an optimum turbulence penetration speed that will minimize the negative effects of turbulence. And most of the time that would mean to reduce your speed. The same principle applies also to speed bumps on a road.

Therefore, it is good advice to slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions.

(President Uchtdorf, "Of Things That Matter Most")

The Cat With Out A Name

Every day we keep calling the cat Kitty and usually some other name like buttons, or mitten, or peanut. Even though he still has no official name we just love him. He's a snuggler and LOVES to sleep by us, to have his paws on our face, to fall at our feet when we come home or sit on the toilet so we can pet him.

Hanging with the family!

A pen, a pencil, a straw, socks, ties on clothes, clothes were getting on- anything is a toy to Kitty.

Kitty loves Jason! He always likes to sleep on his warm parts!

He LOVES water and is addicted to watching the toilet flush. He'll also get in the tub and just sit there. One time he almost got in with me, sitting on the ledge, pawing at the bubbles, leaning over the edge and trying to get the courage to get in. We are working on toilet training him because he will walk around the toilet ledge, come running when we flush and stand up to look over when the water goes down. It's also cheaper than buying cat litter. Yesterday after flushing, Jason put some toilet paper in and kitty kept trying to get it out with his paws! He knows what's going to happen to that thing. We are really enjoying having him in our family.

He has met Parker in the van. They got nose to nose and sniffed. Parker could care less. Coco and Kitty met through a glass door. Coco tried to get him and Kitty ran away.
We will work on that one.