John's Eagle Court of Honor Photos

John standing at a table displaying his many accomplishments

Good fun to add to the fun

Program table

John at the table displaying his eagle award

John receiving the award from his scout leader

John's Eagle nest with all his brothers and brothers-in-laws there to support him

John thanking family and scout leaders and choosing his father Ross as his mentor

Scouting takes a young boy and helps him grow into a man. As I've watched all my sons receive their Eagle award I am so grateful to  the people who care enough to help young men along the road to manhood.
Congratulations John and a big thank you to everyone involved in scouting.
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Alisa Receives $1,000 scholarship and wins PTA Reflections Contest

This is a picture of my twelve-year-old daughter Alisa receiving a $1,000 scholarship from the president of Zion's Bank. She won a book mark design contest. She also just won 1st place in the PTA reflections contest for her photograph and a musical composition. Congratulations Alisa!

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Sophia and the Gold Stone

Happy Birthday Sophia
Here is a story I wrote just for you.
Sophia and the Gold Stone

By

Grandma Baadsgaard

            One day Sophia was digging in her back yard with a hand shovel when she uncovered a gold stone. She picked it up and rubbed her fingers over the smooth surface. Then she ran into the house and yelled for her mom.

            “I found gold!” Sophia said holding up the gone stone for her mother to see. We’re rich. Now you don’t have to worry about money anymore.”

            Sophia’s mother took the stone and turned it over in her hand several times.

            “I think this is just a rock that got painted with gold spray paint honey,” her mother said. “It’s pretty but definitely not our ticket to riches.”

            Sophia’s smile turned into a frown.

            “How do you know for sure Mom?” Sophia said. “Maybe you don’t know everything.”

            Sophia’s mother thought about what her daughter said as she watched her walk away looking deflated. Then she suddenly remembered the iron pyrite she found when she was just a little girl. All the adults in her life told her it wasn’t worth anything. Back then Sophia’s mother didn’t think adults knew everything so she’d saved that shiny piece of metal in her jewelry box just in case they were wrong.

            Sophia’s mother walked into her bedroom and opened her chest-of-drawers. There in the back corner was her old jewelry box. She lifted the lid and looked inside. The iron pyrite was still shiny after all these years. Sophia mother took a deep breath and sighed. Then she went looking for her daughter. She found Sophia sprawled on her bed with the gold stone clutched tightly in her fingers.

            “I might be wrong,” Sophia’s mother said. “Adults don’t know everything you know. Sometimes we need children to teach us.”

            “No, you’re right,” Sophia said. “It is just a spray painted rock.”

            “You never know,” her mother answered. “Maybe we both forgot about magic and miracles.”

            Sophia smiled and took another look at her gold stone.

            The next day was Sophia’s Irish dancing class. Sophia was always too nervous to dance by herself in front of the other children in her class. Then she had an idea. She grabbed her gold stone and tucked it in her dance bag.

            When she pulled up in front of the dance studio, Sophia was nervous and her hands were sweaty. She knew her teacher was going to ask her to perform her solo and she was scared. Sophia took her mother’s hand and they walked into the studio together. Sophia changed into her dance shoes. Then she reached down into her bag and rubbed her fingers on her gold stone, closed her eyes and thought these words in her mind.

 Gold stones are lucky if you rub them just so

Then the scareds fly away and you just start to glow

            “It’s your turn now,” Sophia dance teacher said.

            Sophia took a deep breath and stepped lightly into the middle of the dance floor. Then she gracefully raised her arms, pointed her toes and began. She had never danced with such confidence. All the children cheered.

            “Wow!” her teacher said when Sophia was finished. “What happened to you today?”

            “Just a little magic,” Sophia answered.

            After class Sophia walked out the door with a big smile on her face. She reached down into her bag and rubbed her fingers on the gold stone.

 Gold stones are lucky if you rub them just so

Then the scareds fly away and you just start to glow

             “Hey, I have to give a talk in church this Sunday,” Sophia mother said. “Think you could let me borrow that gold stone of yours?”

            “Sure,” Sophia answered. “You’ll be great Mom.”

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When Someone Loves You They Always Come Back

Happy Birthday Bradley

Here is a story I wrote just for you.

WHEN SOMEONE LOVES YOU

THEY ALWAYS COME BACK

by

Grandma Baadsgaard

 

 

When Bradley was just about to leave for the first day of school, his little sister Isabella cried. Bradley understood.

“I know you’ll miss me Izzy,” he said. “But don’t worry. I always come back.”

Izzy wiped her eyes and wrapped her arms around Bradley’s neck. She waved from the front room window as she watched him walk to the bus stop with his friend.

Izzy played with her toys and ate lunch. She asked her mother when Bradley was coming home 367 times.

“Don’t worry,” Izzy’s mother said. “Brad will always come back.”

Izzy wasn’t sure. She watched the clock all day waiting. Then Izzy saw a big yellow bus. She asked her mother if she could go to the bus stop. Her mother took her by the hand and they walked to the bus stop together.

When Bradley stepped off the bus, Izzy ran over to him and hugged him so tight he almost fell over. Izzy always gave gigantic, enormous hugs. That was one thing Brad liked most about his new sister – her hugs and the way she smiled. Bradley liked having a mom, dad and a little sister. While Izzy was hugging him, he remembered the court hearing when the nice lady judge said that he was officially adopted by his mom and dad. Then he remembered the same lady judge a while later when his little sister was officially adopted too. The judge gave them a soft teddy bear and a candy bar. His parents told the judge they felt like they won the lottery. Everybody smiled and hugged and took pictures. Bradley told the judge he was happy to have a real family.

Then one day Bradley found out that his grandpa in Texas died. His mother and father would have to spend a week traveling there to arrange for the funeral. Bradley worried. He liked sleeping in his own bed. The next day, he was staying with his aunt and sleeping on an air mattress.

“Don’t worry,” Bradley said to Izzy when she had a hard time going to sleep. “Mommy and Daddy will come back.”

It was a long week, first he stayed at one aunt’s house, then another and for the last few days, he stayed with his Utah grandma and grandpa. Sometimes he worried that something bad would happen to his mommy and daddy and they would die like his Texas grandpa.

“When people die, do they ever come back?” Bradley asked his Utah grandma.

“When people die, their spirit leaves their body and their body gets buried in the ground. Their spirit is still alive. They can’t come back into their body for a while. But there will be a time when their spirit and body come back together and we can see them. When someone loves you, they always come back.”

On the day when his parents were expected home, his Utah grandpa and grandma drove Bradley and Izzy back over to their house. Bradley thought his daddy and mommy would be there to greet him but they weren’t. Bradley worried.

Grandma saw the worried look on Bradley face.

“Don’t worry Brad,” they will be here any minute.”

Bradley waited and waited. He looked down the street and waited some more. Then he saw his parent’s car come around the corner. When Bradley’s mom and dad climbed out of the car, Bradley ran over and gave them an enormous hug.

“What is the matter?” his mother asked when she saw a tear in Bradley’s eye.

“Nothing,” Bradley answered. “I’m just happy you’re home.”

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Last Few Days of Autumn Splendor at the Cabin with the Moody boys - my grandsons

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Love That Will Not Die

There is with the change of season 

a bit of melancholy

- a longing to hold fast

to what must inevitably pass.

Yet there remains a element

of stillness 

then peace.

For what we long to hold close

is what we have loved.

And even though all things must pass away - 

our love remains -

the emptiness

is filled

with

memory

and

love

that will not die.

                                                                                      Janene Baadsgaard

 

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The Magic of a Moment with Alisa Baadsgaard

My daughter Alisa.

 

My twelve-year-old daughter Alisa is a wonderful artist

who sees beauty and wonder everywhere.

Sometimes she captures the moment with her camera,

sometimes with a song she composes

and other times with a drawing.

She recently won the statewide "Make Your Mark" Bookmark Design Contest

that came with a $1,000 UESP college savings certificate.

This is Alisa's Book Mark Design

 

Alisa also recently took this picture that I love.

This is what she said about it. . .

 

"I took this picture of my four-year-old niece

while we were blowing bubbles in our backyard.

I chose to use bubbles as my subject because

 they are so magical and only last a moment.

The bubble represents one moment in time.

The things we enjoy most don't last.

You have to catch and enjoy each fleeting moment before it is gone.

The tiny hands represent the beauty and magic of childhood.

For children grow up and soon they're grown.

When I printed this picture,

I was surprised to see that the bubble looked as though it could be a fragile earth,

suspended in black space.

We live out our lives on this delicate orb.

Our very existence is a magical moment in time." 

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The Gift of a Brother

Emily with baby brother Daniel.

 One of the greatest gifts a parent can give a child is the gift of a brother or a sister. These are the people you grow up with, the people who know you best, the people who are always there for you. Friends come and go like the leaf in the wind. A brother or a sister is yours forever.



Andrew finally has a brother!

Libby with baby brother Daniel.

Sandy with baby brother Daniel.

Jordan and Karen Baadsgaard family in the hospital after Daniel is born.

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Daniel Rayne Baadsgaard is Born Today!

My newest grandchild Daniel Rayne was born today. He weighed 8 lbs 3 oz.
I can't wait to hold him in my arms.
His middle name is a combination of his two grandfathers - Ross and Thayne.

Mother and baby are doing well.

This is the fifth child for my son Jordan and his wonderful wife Karen.
Congratulations!

There is nothing more important than the birth of a brand new person. There is no greater miracle. I applaud every mother and father that is willing to welcome a new child into their heart and home. Pin It

Autumn's Invitation To Pause

Autumn invites us to wander - to see natural beauty in both the great and the small.

Fall days are alternately large, grand and stunning - then small, quiet and still.

Splendor is in found in grand mountain landscapes or in a single crimson jewel.

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Poem For A Two-Year-Old

When You’re Two

By Granny B

Happy Birthday Rylan!

I can’t believe you’re two.

Here is a poem I wrote just for you.

 

 I’m so tired said mother to her son

All day long you keep me on the run

I’m so tired said boy to his mom

There’s so much food to make into bombs.

 

Boy smiles and mother sighs

Sometimes they both don’t see eye-to-eye

For little boys and moms have so much work

That sometimes they both go berserk

 

Yet it takes a mother to show the way

Before boy becomes a man someday.

 

So for now . . .

 

Boys have holes to dig

And shoes to fill are way too big

Boys have rocks to huck

And goose-egg lack of luck

Boys have trucks to propel

And lots of screams to exhale

Boys have hills and beds to romp

And lots of bugs to stomp

 

And when the day is done

And two sleepy heads can’t run

Moms and boys still give lots of hugs

For that’s what love is really made of

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The Last Rose of Summer by Thomas Moore

This morning I walked our garden,
gathering the last of our harvest before the frost.
That's when I saw her . . . the last rose of summer.
These words with the traditional melody filled my mind
with longing and with song.

'Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rose bud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
or give sigh for sigh.

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one,
To pine on the stem,
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go sleep thou with them;
Thus kindly I scatter
Thy leaves o'er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie, scentless and dead.

So soon may I follow,
When friendships decay,
And from loves shining circle
the gems drop away,
When true hearts lie withered,
And fond ones are flown,
Oh,who would inhabit
this bleak world so alone.

'Tis the last rose of summer,
Left a bloomin alone.
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Autumn Musings

We watch them leave home in autumn.

 

At the curtain waving good-bye.

We are the ones breathing a sigh.

 

As trees lose their leaves

in the brisk mountain air-

limbs become sullen, dark, and bare.

 

Then flowing like honey to the valley floor,

the season reappears and gives us more.

 

 

Crimson, copper and gold all about,

as if to say good-bye with a majestic shout.

Each day is fleeting like a leaf on the wind-

yet as one season passes, another begins.

 

Like wind through the forest or small grains of sand,

the boy we once knew has become a man.

Now our little girl, once covered in lace,

becomes a new mother and takes our place.

 

Cycle of living, season of song, embraces and whispers,

 

"Life goes on."

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Spanish Fork Pioneer Cemetery Now Complete

We just put the finishing touches on the restored Pioneer Cemetery in Spanish Fork, Utah. We have erected a granite marker with all the names of those buried here and also eight story boards that tell you a little bit about the first settlers to this area and the people who are buried here.
For more information and a picture of me in the Provo Daily Herald check here.

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Utah Mountains in the Fall + Family = Love

I thought the autumn colors were going to be muted this fall because of the drought. I was wrong. My family went camping in Spanish Fork Canyon this past weekend with our children and grandchildren. We enjoyed picnics, 4-wheeler rides, campfires, marshmallows, tents, long talks and games.

I listened to a family life expert once who said that the one common activity of healthy, happy families was camping. Now I know why. When you are away from modern technology and surround yourself with the beauties of nature and family, it takes your breath away.

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