Kennewick and the Johnathon gap

Johnathon got his mission call! He is in Kennewick, Washington. He is loving his mission. I love that he is loving his mission but not that he is in an area where there are "gunfights" so they try to be in before dark. John got his mission call six days after he turned in his papers. It was amazingly fast. Then he had to wait for a little over three months before he entered the M.T.C on May 28th. Those three months went by so fast and yet so slow. He continued working for the bricklaying company until about April. He got layed off which ended up being a great blessing to me. I was substituting at the library a lot during that time and he was very willing to keep things running at home. He really bonded with Jeremiah and Corban during that time. He drove Sydnee, Caleb, Autumn and Amanda places that they needed to go and ran errands. He kept Corban at home with him on Thursdays when the rest of us went to our home school co-op which made it possible for me to be a more focused teacher. He pretty much became my right hand man. It was a good time and when he left there was a void created that I like to refer to as the "Johnathon gap". I get hit with it on Tuesday nights when I am supposed to be at work but Sydnee, Caleb, and Amanda all have other obligations. Or when I could really use a couple of things at the store but I don't want to go there myself. Or when we all get in the suburban to go somewhere and there is plenty of room. Or when we go to church and we all fit on the bench with room to spare. I especially notice it when we gather together as a family--that head count thing. The numbers are going down and I'm not really sure that I like it. And yet they have to grow up sometime and he is in a good place, doing good things. I can already feel the growth that he is experiencing and that is exciting to watch even if it is from a distance.

The day we took him to the M.T.C was a great day. He was supposed to go in at noon but I called and asked if we could move his time up an hour because Amanda's high school graduation was at 2:00. So we took him in at 11:00 instead.

Samantha couldn't be there that day because she had just started working at Trefoil Ranch as a girl scout counselor. But the rest of us and Grandma Gay were all there.

Really, it was a great day. Johnathon had always planned on a mission and it was just what came next for him. I love this picture of Corban helping John with his suitcase.

That night I was discussing the day's events with Jeremiah. I told him how glad I was that John was in the M.T.C he said, "John is dead." I said that he wasn't dead that he was in the M.T.C. Jeremiah said "No, he is dead" I asked him what in the world he was talking about and he said, "The sea is empty now, but it will fill up again and then the sharks will come back and they will eat John and he will be dead." Oh Jeremiah. He's a thinker. We just have to check in with him very frequently to keep tabs on what he's thinking.

When I have grown a foot or two....

I realize that thousands of moms have sent their sons on missions and it is totally what I would hope he would do at this point in his life but how could it all happen so fast? Johnathon turned his papers into the Stake President on Sunday. President Brewer will be sending them in on the 16th. Now we wait. Tonight Johnathon told me that he could wait to open his letter until whenever Samantha is home after he gets it. It is very good that Johnathon can wait. But I won't be able to. We'll call her on the phone and she can be in on all the action courtesy of Qwest.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. That smile will take him far.

Elder Gay

About Blogging and Blogging Books

I have been composing posts in my head for days and days. I really think that blogging is such a great way to record history. I have not been good about that the past 20 or so years and there are so many events, moments, clever and profound sayings that are lost forever. So I have been feeling resolved to do a better job of writing things down in this form because it serves so many purposes--keeping in touch with people I love, family history, improvement of my pitiful typing and writing skills.....My sister, Sarah (I only have the one), inspired me to start blogging with her fabulous blog Toad, Sue, Roo and Boo Radley. My husband made sure I got my blog started and he helps me whenever I have technical questions which is very often. I also love my friend,
Denice's blog and my friend Jen's blog. Anyway, Sarah's sister-in-law also blogs. Actually, she is the queen of blogging. Yes, I think she really is. On her most recent blog (Feb. 4) she shows her blog book that she just got in the mail. You have GOT to see this. It is history done so well and so cool. Really, check it out and while you are at it just look at some of her other posts. They are incredible. She is very creative, takes great pictures, writes well, and is very consistent in posting and keeping up to date. Me too--starting now. http://gingerandfreckled.blogspot.com/

President Hinckley

My neice, Nicole, aka poppinsko, has created the most incredible tribute to President Hinckley. I don't know how she did it. She just does amazing things without thinking--it just comes naturally. Perhaps it is a family trait. I don't know for sure but you really must watch this video. It will be the best 5 minutes of your day http://poppinsko.blogspot.com/. Oh, and the music is fabulous so be sure you have your speakers turned up or your headphones on.

Oh Holy Night

At first glance it will seem that this post is about Collin Raye, a singer who ranks in my top 10 right along with John Denver, the Carpenters, Dan Fogelberg, Barry Manilow, Josh Groban, Paul Simon, Julie Andrews, Mika, Olivia Newton John, James Taylor, Secret Garden, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. (Yes, that is more than ten.) It might seem that I am obsessed with him but I'm not. He does have an incredible voice and he sings beautiful songs. I like country music but even if I didn't I believe that Collin Raye transcends the genre. He is just a gifted performer and I thing that he is universally appealing. That being said let me move on to the main point of this post which actually took place last December.

My daughter, Samantha, attends college at Southern Utah University in Cedar City. I love that she goes to school there. I think that it is a great school. She gets to have the living-away-from-home experience but she is close enough that we can have her home for holidays and special events (unless she opts to go home with one of her roommates instead.) She started attending there last August. She is in the orchestra. In about October of last year she called to tell me that Collin Raye was going to do a concert there and that the orchestra would get to play backup for a couple of his songs.

Oh. My. Gosh.

I immediately called my brother who I thought loved Collin Raye as much as I do (it turns out that he doesn't) and started talking up the roadtrip that we would take. That didn't work out. I appealed to my husband for what I assured him would be the trip of a lifetime but to no avail. As the day of the concert approached and I had no takers for a fabulous, fun-filled roadtrip with me to see Collin Raye and Samantha in concert I truly tried to convince myself that it would be okay to miss it. I decided that it was much more mature to sit this one out. It wasn't economical to make the trip not to mention the time away blah, blah, blah.....The day of the concert dawned clear and sunny. A perfect day for a drive. About noon I just knew that if I missed that concert I would regret it for the rest of my life. Really. No, REALLY. So, I convinced my mom to let me use her car (much cheaper on gas than our suburban) made sure all of my other children were situated, told my husband that I absolutely HAD to go to this concert (which was not a surprise to him) and headed for Cedar City. I got there shortly before the concert started. What a great night. The concert was absolutely fantabulous. This is the prettiest version of Oh Holy Night you will ever hear. It will probably be the worst sound quality you've ever heard and the visual quality isn't too great either but I am not the technical one in the family so I just did the best that I could. Don't get freaked out by the fact that this is an 8 minute movie because you don't need to watch the whole thing. I have taken the time to point out the highlights (the you-can't-miss-this-part sections, so to speak.)

1:00-"Sweet hymns of joy" This was Samantha's favorite part because the strings are playing this absolutely, incredible, harmony part. I know that their is a musical term for it and I am going to ask my friend Leslie, the violist (at the library) what it is . I could listen to this part over and over. Oh yeah, I already have.
2:05-The piano guy just goes nuts. He is amazing and I think that he was truly having a wonderful time. 2:40-2:54 Collin Raye proves that he can still sing. 3:30- Collin Raye acknowledges the SUU symphony orchestra (That's my girl!) 3:45 The stage lights come up and you can sort of see the orchestra director, drummer and the pianist better. Samantha is not visible at any point. Even if I had had a better camera she was almost behind the conducter.

At this point you have seen the most important part but if you are still interested he sings "Love Me" as an encore. Another great song although not one of my absolute favorites. I do need to point out here that the orchestra played back up on almost every single song. They were amazing. Samantha tends to either understate or overstate things so it is very important to pin her down on what she really means (i.e. "I failed my Spanish test" translates into "I got a B" when you pin her down.)

After the concert I was able to purchase T-shirts, which I hadn't ever done at a concert before. (I bought shoelaces at the Barry Manilow concert I attended in 1983 and drinks or something at the Dan Fogleberg concert in 1985ish and that is the extent of my concert going except when I worked custodial at BYU and heard parts of the Billy Joel concert in between cleaning the bathrooms.) Then I had the chance to visit with Samantha for a little while before I headed for home; just me and Collin Raye singing at the top of our lungs all the way home. I was hoarse the next day.

Now, you may think that that was the main point of this blog post but it wasn't. The main point is that I trusted my instincts when I went to that concert and I am glad that I did. To quote the words of a Collin Raye song:

If I were you I'd promise to live life for all it's worth. Take all that you've been given and leave your mark upon this earth. Trust your heart to show you everything you'll ever need.

I'm working on it.

Happy Birthday to Gerry

None of these pictures of Gerry are very good. Some
are too dark, or his eyes are closed, or he is not the
central focus of the photo but they'll have to do for now

because they are the only ones I have on my computer and

I am tired so I am going to bed. Goodnight!

My brother's birthday was October 21st. In honor of that I wanted to write my most spectacular post ever but I didn't. Instead I came up against the worst case of blogger's block ever. I have been trying to get this written for TWO months. You see, I thought it would be cool to copy my brother-in-law's idea. Tom created a quiz in honor of his brother's birthday last year. The quiz was about shared family, literary, music, and artistic experiences that they had had. It was 19 questions and had quotes from Tolkien, Tolstoy, Taylor (James), family members, etc. I thought that would be a great way to pay tribute to my brother so I tried to come up with some quotes like Tom's. That is when the writer's block hit. At first I thought that the reason I couldn't come up with a quiz like Tom's was because we didn't have any quotes that Gerry would recognize and that made me think that our family didn't have any shared experiences. Finally I have realized that the problem was that I was trying to make my quiz like Tom's when in fact the Tippetts family culture is quite different (and vastly more intellectual) than the Skousen family culture. So the problem wasn't the idea of a quiz it was the questions I was trying to come up with.

Here goes:

1) "I know nothing, NOTHING!" (German accent)

2) "Love. Love will keep us together.

Think of me babe whenever

some sweet-talkin'girl comes along...."

3) Use your head.

4) "He loaded some bags

And some old empty sacks

On a ramshackle sleigh

And he hitched up old Max."

5) western, westerner, westerners

heroine, heroines, heroin,

6) I'm not dead yet. (english accent)

7) "Wanna know why I carry this tape recorder? To tape things. See, I'm an idea man, Chuck. I got ideas coming at me all day... I couldn't even fight 'em off if I wanted. Wait a second... hold the phone! Hold the phone!"

8) "Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale..."

9) 963-8303

10) It's the chance of lifetime in a lifetime of chance

and it's high time you joined in the dance...

11) Smile every mile for wherever you roam...

12) The name of the brand of ice cream Mom used to buy most often.

13) "you are not a kid. Goats have kids..."

14) He's got the action, he's got the motion....

15) "Get out of my way kid"

16) The best place in the world (or Provo, Utah) to play tag/hide and go seek.

17) Name three different types of competition in a swimming pool.

(Only one has an official name the other two we made up.)

18) A show that you watched and worshiped to such an extent that it apparently entered into our poor little sister's subconcious mind so deeply that it affected her later in life.

19) Mom's favorite joke.

20) "To find the truth you've got to read between the lines...."

21) "Don't save the best for last because if you do your brother may end up eating your sweet and sour shrimp. Especially if he has a very charismatic personality and can talk you into doing just about anything he wants you to do."

Good luck with the quiz Gerry and Happy Belated Birthday. You are a prince among men.

Fiddlin'

For the past several years Samantha, Johnathon, and Amanda have been involved in a fiddle group with the High School. Last year the group really spent a lot of time playing together at a lot of venues outside of the high school. After Johnathon graduated in May we thought that his participation in the fiddle group would end but they played several times during the summer and then Mr. Tsugawa the orchestra teacher who started the fiddle group asked Johnathon and Spencer to return to play in one more concert with the group. So I recorded this Wednesday night. Johnathon has a mandolin solo. Amanda is playing the electric bass. Sorry it isn't a better recording but the solo comes through pretty well and if you listen for the bass you can hear it too. I love this group. They are fantastic.

This is the mandolin that was Johnathon's great Granddaddy Baxter's. It has been so cool to watch him learn to play it. I have been so amazed by his abilities and by how much he enjoys it. He has also taught himself how to play the guitar and the penny whistle. His ultimate goal is to learn to play the bagpipes.

Okay, I decided I needed to add one more song. This is from a performance this summer at the Springville Art Museum. In this one, Back up and Push, they sing and Amanda Lynn plays the Mandolin along with Johnathon. Amanda is on the far left and she has an incredible voice. I am her mother and very biased but she really does have an incredible voice. Enjoy!

I wish I had a good video from the year that all three of my big kids were in this group together. I'm on the look out for one.