Janet's Blog

As I look back over fourteen months of blogging, I can say that it has been a very positive experience for me.  At first, I had so much to write about that I had to limit my posts to twice a week.  I really didn't have time for more than that, and I found myself staying up too late at night to finish my writing, so I forced myself to show some restraint.  By now, seventy-five posts later, I've written a lot of the family history that I wanted to record for my children and grandchildren, and I've touched on several topics that are important to me.  Now, I usually limit myself to one post a week during the school year.  Sometimes, I even find myself searching hard for a new topic that interests me enough to make blogging about it worthwhile, and that is interesting for my readers, as well.  I will always welcome suggestions for blog topics. Writing a blog is a risk for me, because I am normally a very private person. I've had to step outside of my comfort zone to share

It's a question that's been asked often.  "What is this world coming to?"  It seems like every generation develops habits or moral values that are berated by earlier generations. I remember asking my Grandma Vawser if she considered herself to be a flapper in the 1920s.  She replied in the affirmative.  I am sure that her parents and older siblings (she was the youngest in a large family) lamented when she shortened her skirts and cut her hair, but I suspect they were more worried about the possibility that her moral values would be compromised by her relationships with her partying peers. I came of age in the early 1970s, another time of great unrest and change throughout the world.  Although I embraced and participated in the "Jesus movement" that emerged during that time, I wasn't really part of the whole hippie movement, which championed world peace, free love, and rampant drug use.  These questionable changes in lifestyle were a worry for many p

We didn't have a yard when I was a girl, since we lived in a hotel, so my family often explored the surrounding countryside on Sunday afternoons, year-round.  When the weather was cold, we drove all over the county, and sometimes into the next county, traversing numerous two tracks and gravel roads.  It wasn't unusual for us to get stuck in the mud or snow when we ventured off the beaten path, so some of us would have to get out to push, while Dad steered the station wagon safely to dryer ground.  In the winter, we usually ended up stopping for supper at a cafe or bar in one of the tiny towns scattered around the county.  It seems to be an unwritten rule that the most out-of-the-way, run-down dives make the juiciest hamburgers. Whenever the temperature rose above freezing, we usually got out to walk.  Sometimes, Dad carried a gun, so he could hunt ducks, or squirrels, or whatever was in season, while the rest of us walked along.  Sometimes, we looked for old glass b

Early in the morning, before the sun was rising, The disciples all were mourning; the women still were crying. Then our Savior arose, arose from the grave; Was dead, then arose, all people to save from their sins. Early in the morning, as the sun was rising, Early in the morning; why was it so surprising When our Savior arose, arose from the dead? Our Savior arose, just as He had said He would rise! Now we sing praise to our God.   We sing praise to the King. We sing praise to our God now.   Together we sing hallelujah!   Forever we sing hallelujah! Early in the morning, as the sun was rising, Early Sunday morning; just as the sun was rising, My Jesus arose, arose from the dead. My Jesus arose, just as He had said He would rise! Now we sing praise to our God.   We sing praise to the King. We sing praise to our God now.   Together we sing hallelujah!   Forever we sing hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah! To Jesus we sing halle

  What a beautiful spring day--the grass is green, the daffodils and tulips are blooming, and even the big trees have leaves.  The lilacs are blooming, too!  What's wrong with this picture?  It's only April first!  True, we often have daffodils blooming by this time of year, and sometimes a few tulips, too.  But the trees shouldn't leaf out for at least three or four more weeks, and lilacs aren't supposed to bloom until Mother's Day, or even Memorial Day! I'm not complaining.  I love warm spring days.  But the temperature today was 88 degrees.  It was too hot to work outside comfortably this afternoon.  I'm concerned about the summer to come.  If the first of April is this hot, what will the weather be like on the first of July? 2011 was a record-breaking year for moisture.  Last spring was cool and rainy.  It was much too wet to even think about planting a garden until the end of May.  Last spring, the kids came in soaking wet from recess everyday