I need a new one of these. (The pitcher not the angelic-faced child.)

I came home tonight as Paul was finishing telling the kids stories about when he was a kid. As we tucked Benjamin in he recounted one of them: When Paul had to go potty and didn't want to walk to the bathroom he conveniently relieved himself in his bedroom vent. It went unnoticed until the weather turned cold and they turned on the furnace. That smell blew through every register in the house.

Not ten minutes later Paul and I were in the kitchen. He picked up the pitcher to make some orange juice and noticed some liquid at the bottom. As he dumped it out (in my sink!) he caught a wiff, brought it to me and commanded I smell it. That same smell running through the vents years ago in Paul's house filled my nostrils.

I will be shopping for a new pitcher this week. It will be funded in part by Benjamin's b-day money.

The power of pondering.

I love funerals. I have never gone to one without feeling a great desire to be a better person. And today was no exception.

My friend Debbie Dunn's husband passed away after a fight with cancer. Before we left for Utah we visited them and Debbie confided he probably wouldn't be there when we got back. So on that last visit I took the opportunity to tell him how his kindness blessed our family.

Ever since we moved in the ward (and before!) we've had to be careful with money. I loved resale shops 'til I discovered garage sales were even cheaper. (You know you're cheap when you balk at thrift store prices.) Then I took it a step further and started being on the look-out for treasures on large trash pick-up day. I just knew one day I would get in a accident because I was too busy surveying someone's trash. Everything we brought in the house (edibles excluded) was at least once removed from new. Oh, except undies. Paul assured me we could afford new undies for the kids (I have been known to accept hand-me-downs from people we know, though.) So one Christmas the Dunns gave us a Wal-Mart gift card so each of the kids could pick out something they really wanted of their own choosing. I wondered what toy or game each would choose. But none of them picked toys. They each wanted to pick out their first pair of brand-new shoes. All of my kids thought they'd won a contest! And each Christmas, even after he got sick, they continued to remember our family.

I also remember being impressed with his patience. When Debbie and I served together in Young Womens there were times I asked her for rides to various church activities. Many times he came, too, and I always felt flustered at first. I had to buckle in car seats and then get the kids buckled in one by one. I was worried that he was annoyed with the whole process (and the un-doing of it on the way home). But he never showed anything but patience and interest in the kids. On one ride he brought a book and read it backwards (much to their confusion). He also taught them that a cow says quack and a duck says moo (more confusion). He put me at ease and had us all laughing.

He also tutored Paul back in the day when he was trying to get his math out of the way to apply for graduate school (teaching someone who hadn't taken a math class for over fifteen years couldn't have been easy). He made pack meetings fun for all the kids, not just the Scouts: games and chocolate for everyone! His incentive for recruiting a new Scout was a pocketknife, which Isaac earned and still treasures. They thought to call us as soon as they heard about President Hinckley's passing. And the companionship I saw between he and Debbie is something special and hope to nurture in my marriage: he would say something to make her giggle and when she did, it put a smile on his face.

So at the funeral today they focused on celebrating his life. As we heard about how he treated his children, his work ethic, his faith, his accomplishments etc., I could feel of his goodness. And I thought about the reality of what the speaker taught: life is the time to prepare to meet God. I felt a renewed desire to keep that perspective when I feel like it doesn't really matter.

And while I'm here I can celebrate the lives of those around me. My life is full of people doing good, being good. Why wait for someone's funeral to recognize and celebrate someone's goodness? I can home with new eyes for seeing my children and new ears to hear their sweet words (Even their tattling/blaming/whining/arguing didn't phase me today). Celebrate their childhood!

Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you. That's what happened to me today and I sat long enough to ponder. And feel. And know.

Our family will miss you, Brother Dunn. God bless you in your continued journey.

For the Davis kids, "birthday" translates into eating all you want of your favorite treat...Benjamin picks rainbow sherbet every time.

I believe in conserving energy. My energy. Instead of putting effort into getting Elizabeth to take a nap, I usually just tell her to go find something to eat. If the timing's right, she'll be out before 1. she asks for seconds, or 2. the self serve bag/box is empty. That cute little trick doesn't miss a beat; as soon as she wakes, she picks up where she left off with another handful.

We needed just a few more weeks of summer, but we'll get it in weather only. We're all excited to try walking this year to and from school. I thought it would be a good way to unwind after seven hours of conforming to school rules.

Getting ready for school went smoothly after Benjamin gave up trying to wear his ragged camo shorts. He takes to heart Pres. Hinckley's counsel: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

Leah got her wish: Isaac's previous teacher and owner/operater of Nguyen World's Classroom Store. Start saving those box tops, will you?

Although his face doesn't show it, he's been hoping to be in Ms. Buse's class all summer. If she gets Isaac to sing Enya like she has with previous students I'll know she posesses magical powers.

A few more White Sands pics. I spy 5 people.

Next stop: White Sands, NM. We stopped at the visitors' center and picked up a cherry red saucer and some wax to make it fly. As we drove to the dunes I was convinced it was snow: the roads had been plowed and the color was the same as snow. The high temperture made it impossible, though. It's steeper than it looks and on the way back to the car I couldn't find our car among all the dunes.

It's steeper than it looks and on the way back to the car I got lost among all the dunes. We didn't stay as long as we wanted because the heat. Elizabeth started breathing short breaths like she was dehydrated. Going as sunset or sundown would be better.

Elizabeth looking back at her other "friend" so she could be holding both of her friends hands.

Leah giving Elizabeth a head start on a race.