BVN Symphonic Sounds are remarkable

Second song performed





More Magical Music

The Easter Bunny visits our house!

One is never too old to hunt for Easter candy! Hunter was a great sport while searching all over the house for eggs and was willing to get the ones hidden in high spots for Jessie and Carson.

 We really missed Brandon on his FIRST Easter away from the family. Taking family pictures after church is just not the same.

 Although it rained all weekend, we managed to snap this outside picture during a dry spell.

Jessica is wearing a dress given to her by her 12-year-old cousin, Katherine Lentz, who lives in California.

When Jessica was born, Katherine and her Mom visited Kansas and Katherine wore this dress for Easter--2005!

My Aunt Sharon and Uncle Lynn, my father's only sister, are living in Missouri for one year and serving an LDS church service mission. They will work on genealogy projects at a MidContinent Library in Missouri. They joined us for dinner at Mom and Dad's house. It was oh so delicious and filling. My Mom is the best cook!

"His Hands"

his hands

tools of creation

stronger than nations

power without end

and yet through them we find our truest friend

his hands

sermons of kindness

healing men's blindness

halting years of pain

children waiting to be held again

Easter 2004

Easter 2011

The Power of Women Therapy!

They Teach It at Stanford

A recent Stanford lecture was on the mind-body connection - the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman,

whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends.

At first everyone laughed, but he was serious.

 Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality “girlfriend time" helps us to create more serotonin - a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being. Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. They rarely sit down with a buddy and talk about how they feel about certain things or how their personal lives are going. Jobs? Yes. Sports? Yes. Cars? Yes. Fishing, hunting, golf? Yes. But their feelings? Rarely.

Women do it all of the time. We share from our souls with our sisters/mothers, and evidently that is very good for our health. He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym.

There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged—not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking!

So every time you hang out to schmooze with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health! We are indeed very, very lucky. Sooooo let's toast to our friendship with our girlfriends. Evidently it's very good for our health."

A visit from the Hansens

Micah and Cecily Hansen have been life-long friends of our children. They moved to Abu Dabi last summer, however, these two teens got to come home for their Spring Break! Hunter was elated to see his friend and spend some quality time with him to catch up!

Sophomore band concerts are always something to look forward to. I love seeing Hunter in his tux--he looks so handsome!

Hunter went on a double date with Natalie Larson and Will Cockriel and his date to see a movie and eat ice cream. It was Hunter's FIRST date. Although I encourage him to date, he has not taken me up on my suggestion, however he enjoys hanging out in groups!

My missionary posse!

Chris Manning  •  Darci and Pat Evans  •  Heidi Fackrell  •  Diane Fackrell  •  Mary Ellen Naylor  •  Betty Lewis  •  (not pictured-Leanne Hansen x 2!!!!!•  Susan Ying)

Several of my friends who attend our church are sharing the experience of sending their sons and daughters on proselyting missions. Because our contact with them is limited to letters and phone calls twice a year, gathering together and "missing" our sons is easier knowing other Mom's are surviving. 

With each passing holiday, we yearn to share the event with these fabulous young men and connect with the work they are completing in their respected missions. Putting together "Easter" packages for 16 mormon missionaries brought a joy to our hearts and will certainly bring happiness to these ambassadors of faith! 

Kansas City Temple progress

Wanting to become an expert...

For an embarrassingly undetermined amount of time, I have stockpiled water-tight tin cans of wheat in my basement. My rationalization was that if the Bishop family was desperate enough to need the "flour," the boys would be the ones grinding the wheat (with ROCKS!)

I resolved to grind the wheat using the convenience of electricity. I relied on the advice of friend's before purchasing this:

WHEAT GRINDER--

I set a goal for myself to use this handy device. I did not give myself a deadline. It sat on my counter for ONE month...............in its' shipping box!

Then I opened the box and read the instructions. It sat ANOTHER month.

Then I tried to watch the DVD and it did not work.

ONE more month!
Finally, I plugged it in.......it was LOUD......but it worked like magic. After one hour of grinding, I had 18 cups of wheat!   (I felt like the Little Red Hen)


and I was ready to make BREAD!


Also in my circle of friends, are bread-making experts and I sought out a recipe from one which particularly gets my taste's buds blooming!


I copied and pasted the recipe in my google docs recipe file:

And it sat for ANOTHER month!

You would be WRONG if you thought this grouping of ingredients sat on my counter for 1 month! I can only take so much and it stops at clutter in my kitchen!

..and after asking my expert friend, this yeast finally turned out. (this is my THIRD attempt--the first two were disastrous because I killed the yeast with HOT water)!

Take a look at this "doubled" dough! The experts DO NOT LIE!

...and finally, the finished product!

Relying on the advice of other's who have experience and tools for success often leads us to quicker success in our own goals, even though it takes us "months" of seeking, gathering, and contemplating the goal!


Now, it is time to EAT!

"if a man does not work, let him not eat."

...sure hope someone in my family reads this.....