The Grandparent Chronicles

         A REALLY BAD DAY !       At our senior missionary retreat last October at   Bear Lake, our mission President Ed Kumferman gave a wonderful lesson on happiness. In his lesson he shared a story related to him by his good friend Dr Gary Waddoups. We share his story with permission. Dr. Waddoups is an animal science professor at BYU Idaho and also a practicing vet. One day an imigrant family of parents, children and grandparents, showed up at his clinic with a scruffy white and black dog. Dr. Waddoups said “ you have never seen such an emaciated mess in all your life. He had one   red swollen eye and what looked to be a large dirt clod on his head.His coat was dirty and unkempt, and he was very gaunt.” One small child spoke English, and interpreted for an older woman. “We want you to fix Cholo.” Dr. Waddoups was shocked, “You want him fixed?” “Yes, the old woman said. “He’s broken.” He realized that by “fixed” they ...

  BEST CHRISTMAS EVER !           When you’ve lived as long as we have, you’ve seen a lot of Christmases!  But which  was the “Best Christmas Ever!?” Was it as an excited child with a long list for Santa?   Childhood memories of family gatherings and grandma’s delicious pies? As a teenager when you received the latest cool electronic gizmo? A lonely missionary in a faraway land with very little but memories to warm you? A newlywed with just the two of you together at Christmas time? A parent, enjoying your children’s excitement at this time of year? Or maybe as a grandparent, watching your child as they enjoy seeing their children’s eyes light up as they see on Christmas morning what Santa left for them under the tree? What is it about Christmas? Is it the music? The gifts? The decorations? The treats? The glitter and the glow? or is it all of the above? We’ve experienced Christmases with little and Christmases with ple...

       A THANKFUL HEART                  November 2024 One Thanksgiving while living in Wellsville, Utah, we loaded our little family into our lime green Datsun  and headed over Sardine Pass to grandma’s house. (over the river and through the woods 😊 ) It had been snowing and the farther up Sardine Pass, the more snow packed and slippery the road. We soon discovered that our tires were in no shape for these conditions and we began to slide down the hill. One hundred yards ahead was a slow moving semi-truck which we began sliding right toward. With our car totally out of control, I offered a silent and desperate prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, please stop our car! Suddenly, as if a hand from heaven reached down and grabbed it, our car stopped as it were on a dime! Sitting crosswise in our lane, we watched as just then the on coming semi passed in front of our car only a foot or two away. We pulled our car to the side ...

  DOES MY VOTE MATTER? Franklin D. Roosevelt once said; “Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” As we approach another opportunity to vote, you might seriously wonder, does my vote really matter? Having lived 38 years in a state where my political views were mostly in the minority, I often asked myself that question; but then I remember an experience I had years ago when my vote really did make a difference! I was attending Weber State College and very involved in politics. I also belonged to a fraternity during those college years and through it, made a lot of friends and had a lot of fun. We were just about to elect a new student body president. I was leaning toward candidate “A”. He was popular among my fraternity brothers and many expressed their belief that I should vote for him. Finally, I was able to meet candidate “A”.  As I listened to his comm...

                                  REUNION        PREPARATION     When I was young, I loved our family reunions, I still do! The Wade family reunions in Bountiful, Arizona, Texas, and Duck Creek to name a few. Some of you remember the McAllister gatherings in Arizona and the Johnstun reunions at Como Springs (the purple and gold crepe paper we wrapped around car antennas as we drove up the canyon), the baseball games, genealogy meetings, the food and the fun. The Stone family reunions at Hyrum Park are always memorable! I didn’t appreciate all the planning and preparation that was involved until recently.   Annette and I decided to have a reunion/retreat with the senior missionary friends we made while on our mission in Ukraine. Here’s a partial list of what’s involved: finding and arranging for an adequate place to gather. Locating contact information on al...

  MARY HEATHMAN SMITH-A Monumental life! Annette’s great, great, great grandmother was born January 21,1818 in Winkleigh, Devon, England to Isaac Heathman and Elizabeth Parker, born 5 th in a family of 8 children. Mary studied medicine in England, working under the guidance of some of the most skillful doctors in England at the time and received certificates of graduation in obstetrics and surgery. She practiced medicine in England for many years before immigrating to the United States in 1862. She and husband John Smith had married on April 29,1840. They became converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1850 and in May of 1861, John left for the United States to prepare a way for Mary and their 9 children who would come in August of 1862. Settling in Huntsville, Utah, Mary was the only doctor in the valley and for 30 years, in storm or sunshine, during the bleakest of winter or the darkest of night, she attended to the people of Ogden Valley with a coura...

  A GOD OF 2 ND CHANCES & THE HONORARY CHAPLAIN TO QUEEN ELIZABETH !   He was a scruffy looking guy. My 1 st impression was that he was about to ask me for money, but no, maybe a religious zealot, he did have a large wooden cross around his neck. As our eyes made contact I was drawn to his beaming smile. I had a distinct impression that this was someone I was supposed to talk to, but I was tired, it had been a long drive and I felt justified in my feelings to avoid contact. We had just arrived at our destination in Banff, Canada in the crisp clean mountain air among the majestic Canadian Rockies for a week of exploring and relaxation; that would happen, but I sensed that there was also another purpose for my being here. As the evening progressed, I couldn’t get that man off my mind. I had experienced spiritual promptings in the past and knew that I would get no peace until I resolved to follow them. As I knelt in personal prayer that night I had a conversation with...