Sunday, August 22, 2010

Gerrit's Poems







Here are a few poems that Gerrit wrote at EFY...

A Change

I feel a change
Within my heart.
I do not know
How it did start.

There is a change
In who I am.
To be better
I know I can.

It's a good change,
One of the best.
It comforts me
And helps me rest.

"I wrote this on the second to last day of EFY when I noticed that something had changed inside of me."

The Spirit

I feel my heart beat
Deep inside.
My happy limits
Are defied.

The Spirit's here
Deep within.
And I know God
Can forgive all sin.

I am filled
With so much joy.
And I know this
None can destroy.

"I wrote this at EFY Nauvoo 2010 during testimony meeting. The poem explains the rest."

EFY 2010







Gerrit had the opportunity to speak in church today about his experience at EFY - Nauvoo. He had a fabulous time and grew tremendously spiritually. What a blessing to have programs such as this that help strengthen our children's testimonies and love of the Lord and the Savior.

Perky Thoughts on a Sunday Afternoon








Perky Thoughts on a Sunday Afternoon...


The darkness seeps in...it slinks and it slithers
Staining my mind like a beet's scarlet stain.
It darkens the truest and brightest of motives
Like storm clouds do swallow the sun in the rain.

Left unattended, the torrent is raging
Drowning the remnants of joy's hopeful sails
But just as the last of it threatens to vanish
Light pierces through and seeks to avail.

-- Donna van Uitert 2:00 p.m.
August 22, 2010


(that being said...I'm just fine and dandy...irritable and a little ill tempered from a short night's sleep and unfinished thoughts about enjoying the journey no matter what mile marker I seem to be at...but still...fine and dandy...so no worries, my comrades...no worries!)

On a happy note, Kev and I had a great time with friends, Marli and Jeff Shelledy, at Rocky Mountain Raceway last night. We've never been out there for the car races before, and were lucky to be with Jeff, a veritable expert on the ins and outs of track etiquette. We kept him busy asking questions...what a sport! It was windy, and a tad bit filthy, but entertaining (especially the girl with the cuts all over her jeans, tattoos and both cheeks and breasties threatening to jump out at any moment...eek. She opened up her non-supportive bra and stuffed her dollar bills into the side of her ample bosom, leaving Kev to remark, "Well, that should be a safe spot for it, 'cause nobody'll be wanting to reach in there to get it...")

Happy Sabbath and here's to the last few days of freedom...school starts on Thursday. Signing out...

Saturday, August 14, 2010

When Sleep Will Not Come



You know what happens when I brag to all of my friends on facebook about how I am now getting to bed before eleven p.m.? Yep...I can't sleep. Don't you just love it when old Murphy comes along to kick ya in the rear with that stinkin' law of his? Ugh.

Volleyball shoes. Volleyball shoes are the culprit. Perusing the internet for volleyball shoes for my daughter, who just made the Freshmen team for Mountain Crest High School in Hyrum, Utah. Didn't I just read, only a few days ago, that if one has trouble sleeping, or falling asleep, NOT to spend time on the computer before retiring to bed? Now, what happens if that "one" has a splendid case of ADHD...ooh...the possibilities are limitless. Volleyball shoes turned into cowboy boots for moi, which then morphed into spiky high heels to die for, followed by lace up to the knee Converse All-Stars for the teenagers in my brood. It's like a creeping vine on the front of the house...cute and frisky as it grows, adding a little greenery to the otherwise lacking appearance of a brick facade, only to turn into Cousin It by year's end, suffocating the windows and doors and all you hold sacred and holy! I do have to state, however, that I only LOOKED. I did not purchase. All is not lost.

Then came Netflix. Donna's overactive mind had just got started and what's a girl to do, after all? I watched "Julie & Julia", a completely splendid film about a girl who had a striking resemblence to...me, myself and I...not physically, per say...just in that erratic, slipshod, immediate gratification seeking kind of way. Watching "Julie & Julia" brought my mind about to my blog, which I have not posted on for over six months. SIX MONTHS! Wow. Where did the time go and why don't I remember it being more fun, since everyone says, "time flies when you're having fun"? For me, it just flew...a la carte...hold the fun. Okay, that's not completely true. I dabbled with a bit of fun in these last six months, but just a dab...truly. Here's hoping to a stellar four months that I have left in this year. Gotta make up for these last six, you see.

This is when I did the unthinkable. I looked out the window. (Reminds me of a Primary song I used to love...except there was NO popcorn popping on the apricot tree.) Lo and behold, the chicken coop doors were wide open with the brooding light on. There couldn't be a more clear invitation to every skunk, fox, and racoon in Beaver Dam than that. To top it off, the chickens were alive and well and carrying on quite a conversation. I am a worry wart. On goes the sweatshirt. On goes my daughter's slip on shoes (sorry about the poop, Ness). Out goes Donna at 2:35 a.m. to secure our little feathered friends and to take a good look at the chicken coop that has NOT been cleaned, the laying boxes that have NOT been refilled with clean hay, and the empty food tray, which is no doubt what the little critters were yapping about in the first place. Time to have a talk with a neglectful child or two. I didn't count the hens, but the roost was full of 'em, so I suppose all is well that ends well...except for me...who can't sleep.

Which brings me back around to the blog. It's been so long that I even forgot my password. Sheesh Lou-eesh. I should be flogged. Perhaps all IS well that ends well, though, because here I am writing again, with a little help from a facebook friend who suggested I get my rear in gear (thank you Tracy) and a little kick in the pants from a pair of volleyball shoes!