July 8, 2012
Today was my nephew, Kevin’s
mission homecoming. He is my ex-husband’s sister’s son. I love the Compton
family and refuse to stop being part of it. : ) My husband, Keith has known
four of the brothers and lots of my nieces and nephews also for a decade and a
half so he is comfortable around them. In a way, he has simply married into the
Compton family, as much as into the Holmes family. My mother-in-law, Mary
Compton’s maiden name was Chandler. When I got engaged to Keith, one of my
ex-husband’s sisters said, “I want to
be a Chandler!” But I digress.
I hear a lot
of people speak in church. It’s been my observation that only a small
percentage of people in general are good speakers (20%) and of those, perhaps
half or one-fourth have the gift of speech. Kevin has the gift; it runs in the
family. He reminded me of some of his uncles and cousins up there. Telling you
about it will not do justice but I want him to know how thankful I was that my
three youngest, Nathan, Joy, and Sam were listening. They needed to hear what
he was saying and I am thankful that he was willing to open his mouth. A lot of
the time, Kevin and the audience were smiling as he spoke; he has an engaging
way of telling funny stories. But a few times, he made a serious, earnest face,
an expression I never saw when he was younger, as he spoke. I hope Nathan
soaked in the feeling and that it will help him. I’m so thankful for extended
family and how we are able to help each other at various times when needed.
July 25, 2012
Some of you might be interested
in our gluten-free experiment. I have three kids who get stomach aches from
gluten and do much better if they stay off of it. So for the last two months, I’ve
run rice, oats, and quinoa through my wheat grinder and made lemon squares,
brownies, pumpkin pie (so good that Richard asked if he could pay me to make it
for him) and other things. I’ve lost a couple of pounds, Keith has lost about 6
lbs. and a few of his health issues have cleared up. He had psoriasis for over 20 years and it's gone now. When I have more time, I
will put some recipes on. According to my genotype, rice isn’t that great for
me either so I’ve been eating millet and quinoa for cereal with raspberries,
cream, and almonds. Oh, the deprivation! The sacrifices I make! J Richard has been eating
gluten-free for about 4 months and looks completely different like he did 5
years ago when he got married. It’s an amazing transformation. Maybe he or
AesaLina will post before and after pics??
We get about 6 eggs a day
now—pullet-sized eggs, and we eat from our garden daily (lettuce, zucchini,
mint, basil, tomatoes and cucumbers.) Keith gets all the credit for that. I ask
him about once a week, “Who would have thought that I would be so happy with
you?” He was so quiet all those years ago in the Lebanon Ward that I didn’t
know anything about him. I would say most people don’t know the real Keith.
We went to the temple last
week and I was admiring the flower beds, trying to get a few ideas for my own
yard. Keith indulged my chatter with “mm hmms” and an occasional nod of his
head. As we walked away, he said, “Did you see all the perlite in the soil?”
World class flower beds and he’s looking at the dirt?? That’s my man.
I am mired in Cost
Accounting and studying for a test. The term ends in 2 ½ weeks and there’s a
lot to cover in that time so the pressure is beginning to bear on me. I am in
the last few miles of the marathon and I am getting close to the finish line.
Can’t wait. Better get to work.
