Dad's Way Of Showing Love

Mary & Bill - ca 1950

Recently I read that parents change a child's diapers an average of 5,475 times. I tried to find another source to back up this statement and saw the figure of 7,000 changes in two years. Which ever number it is - that's a lot of diapers. This brought back a memory about Mom, Dad, and diapers. 

Dad was not one to express his feelings verbally. But he did countless acts of love that showed how much he cared. 

Mom had four children between May 1946 and November 1951. These were the days before disposable diapers. Dad's way of making the unpleasant task of rinsing out diapers a bit more "pleasant" was to channel warm water into the toilet. This way Mom was swishing out the diapers in warm water instead of cold. 

Julia, Tom, Mary, Jan & Susan - 1952

Testimony - Proclaim It & Live It

“The relationship between testimony and appropriate action is emphasized in the Savior’s instruction: ‘That which the Spirit testifies unto you even so I would that ye should do’ (Doctrine &Covenants 46:7). 

Our testimony of gospel truth should be reflected both in our words and in our deeds. And our testimonies are proclaimed and lived most powerfully in our own homes. Spouses, parents, and children should strive to overcome any hesitancy, reluctance, or embarrassment about bearing testimony. We should both create and look for opportunities to bear testimony of gospel truths—and live them.”

                                                                                                                                             David A. Bednar

Tiptoeing Through The Tulips

The Skagit Valley has a tulip festival every April.  Over a thousand acres are planted with millions of bulbs. The colors are absolutely amazing. We took many, many pictures. It was difficult to limit the number of pictures in this post. I'm making the images small so I can include more of them. Click on the images so you can see a larger image and enjoy the color and the beauty. 

We drove about an hour north of here to RoozenGaarde. The company was created by William Roozen who immigrated from Holland in 1947. Starting with five acres, the farm now has more than 1,000 acres of fields, 16 acres of greenhouses, and  is the largest bulb grower in North America. 

About three hundred thousand bulbs are planted in the three acre show garden. 

The displays are amazing. 

  Look at the moss on this fence rail - very common sight in western Washington. 

There were tulips everywhere - even up in this tree!

More about the Roozen family and company here.

Joe's Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Joe and his birthday all day. 

We traveled about an hour north of here to see the tulip fields. 

For dinner we drove to Mercer Island and ate at The Islander. Mercer Island was one of the places we considered living. We like Mercer Island and its downtown area. 

The windows of The Islander overlook downtown Mercer Island. We seriously considered the apartments in both the large buildings in this image.

See more tulips here.

Happy Birthday Joe

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 

JOE

April 24

1934

 1943

early 1960s

1985

1997

2010

April 2012

Click here to read Joe's story about the baby picture.