Springtime Harvest of Love

Today I walked outside to get the mail and saw quail trailing across my driveway and into the protection of our towering pines. I heard the doves cooing in the locust tree and saw baby robins in a nest. Twenty three years ago my husband and I bought two acres in the country and lovingly planted hundreds of trees, bushes and flowers - and ten beautiful young children. Now all the native birds gather here  . . . so do those ten children so quickly grown and their spouses along with many, many grandchildren. When you plant with love there is always a season of harvest far beyond your dreams. 

Birthday Story for a Six-Year-Old

Logan and the Magic Gum Ball Machine

By

Grandma Baadsgaard

Happy sixth birthday to a very special boy I love very much.

I hope you have a great day.

When Logan unwrapped a gum ball machine for his sixth birthday, he smiled, looked up and said, “Thank you Grandma.”

When their eyes met, his grandma winked at him. Then his grandma did something rather peculiar. She stood up, rubbed her tummy once, hopped up and down twice, then twirled around three times.  

Logan’s eyes popped open. His grandma did not often do those sorts of things. He wondered if she was giving him a secret code. Logan liked having his birthday in April because that is when everything was coming back to life. But even more than he loved spring, Logan loved bubble gum. He especially liked to stuff several pieces of gum into his mouth all at once until his mouth was so full he could barely chew.

Logan usually chewed up all his new gum the first day but this time he had a plan to make his gum last. He decided to eat one colored ball a day.

 On the first morning he picked a red gum ball. All of a sudden Logan felt terrifically grumpy. He stomped into the kitchen and glared at the table.

“Who ate all my favorite cereal?” Logan yelled.

“Wow. Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed?” his mother asked.

Logan crunched his eyebrows and frowned.

“My bed is against the wall. There is no wrong side.”

That whole day Logan was perturbed, annoyed and short tempered. His family was happy when he went to bed that night.

The next day Logan chose a yellow gum ball. All of a sudden Logan felt happy and warm inside. He took a long bath, brushed his teeth without being asked and got dressed for the day.

“Good morning Mom,” Logan said with a big smile at breakfast.

“Why Logan,” his mother said, “I don’t know what has got into you, but I like it.”

All that day Logan cheerfully sang a song while he emptied the trash, fed the bunny and swept the kitchen floor. He read his brother Liam three books, put his baby brother Gideon to sleep and then carefully organized all his toys. He even mated and color coded the socks in his sock drawer.

“Pardon me please,” he said at supper whenever he burped.  

“Thank you for this delicious meal,” Logan said when he finished.

“Logan, I like you better this way,” his older brother Sam said.

The next day Logan decided to eat a blue gum ball. Suddenly he felt sad. The hangnail on his big toe made him cry. When his brother poked him in the side at breakfast, he burst into sobs.

“Logan you’re being a little dramatic,” his father said. “Every little thing is not worth crying over. Buck up kid.”

Pretty soon Logan grew confused about his jumble of days. He just didn’t feel like himself. While he was in bed on the third night, he tried putting all the puzzle pieces together. He thought about how he felt on the day he ate each color . . . yellow - happy, red - mad, blue - sad. Then he remembered his grandma’s strange dance demonstration at his birthday party. Maybe that was the clue.

The next day Logan chose a green ball. He immediately grew two feet. The buttons on his shirt popped off and his long pants became shorts. Logan bumped his head on the door frame. When he walked into the kitchen for breakfast his mother screamed and his baby brother laughed.

Suddenly Logan got a super idea. He rubbed his tummy once, jumped up and down twice and turned around three times. Suddenly Logan shrunk two feet.

“I never know what to expect with you,” his mother said.

“Do it again,” my younger brother Liam laughed.

“Wow,” his sister Sophia said.

“I wish I could do that,” his brother Sam said.

“Well,” Logan answered, “you just need a little magic gum ball machine. And when things get tough, don’t forget your grandma dance.”

I wonder what will happen when I chew my purple ball tomorrow, Logan thought. And orange, that could be interesting.

Prom Night At The Baadsgaard House

This is my son John. I am so impressed with him and the other young men in this group.  They decided they wanted to offer the young women they asked to prom a unique experience where every aspect of the day would be wholesome and fun. The day started bright and early on Saturday as they decorated a cultural hall themselves at a local  church. Then they picked up their dates and spent a few hours providing service at a local food pantry and thrift store.  Next came a three-legged Easter egg hunt. Then they dropped off their dates to give them plenty of time to get ready. Next came pictures  followed by a delicious six course meal. Then they took the girls to their decorated dance site where they had arranged for their own play list of music that was tasteful, fun to dance to . . . and not too loud so they could talk to each other. They danced for 2 1/2 hours and had a great time. Every girl wore a modest dress and every boy treated his date like a princess.     

Birthday Story for a Four-Year-Old

Andrew and Fred

by

Grandma Baadsgaard

Here is a story I wrote just for you Andrew.

Have a Happy 4th birthday.

I love you forever.

Once there was a boy named Andrew who had a best friend named Fred.  Fred was stuffed frog with green and black spots and a bright yellow belly and toes. Fred’s plastic eyes looked like green marbles.  Fred was soft so Andrew could snuggle with him in bed or put him on his lap at dinner time.

Fred went everywhere Andrew went so he got a little ruffled and muffled and one of his eyes fell off. When Fred got a hole in his side and his stuffing fell out, Andrew gathered the white stuff in handfuls and brought it to his mother.

“His soft fell out,” Andrew said with a frown.

“Now let me see this,” his mother said. “I think I can fix Fred in a wink.”

Before long Fred was fixed and Andrew took him outside to play. He sat Fred on the grass while he dug holes in the sand box around the swing set in their back yard. That is when the neighbor’s dog ran through Andrew’s yard, grabbed Fred in his teeth and took off running for the field next to their home.

“Fred!” Andrew screamed casing after the dog.

Andrew saw the neighbor’s dog dig a hole, plop Fred inside and then cover the hole with dirt.  Andrew waited until the neighbor’s dog left, then sneaked up to that small mound of dirt.  Andrew dug the dirt away with his hands and there was brown and muddy Fred with his head almost ripped off. Andrew picked up Fred and ran to his house.

“Fred’s broken,” Andrew screamed as he raced into the kitchen.

Andrew’s mother looked at Fred and shook her head.

“I don’t think I can fix him this time,” his mother said. “Maybe we should throw Fred away and buy another frog for you.”

“No,” Andrew said frowning. “Fred is my friend. If you won’t fix him, I don’t care. I still want him.”

Andrew’s mother took Fred and did her best to sew him back together but most of Fred’s stuffing was gone and his eye was nowhere to be seen. So she gave him a bath and dried him in the sun.

The next day Fred was flat, missing an eye and still a little stained from all the mud, but Andrew did not care. He took Fred in his arms and hugged him like nothing had ever happened.

No one told Andrew this but he just knew . . . when you are a real friend, you never leave each other - no . . . matter . . . what. 

John Baadsgaard is Temple-Square-Performances Piano Soloist

John Baadsgaard played a piano solo for the "Come Let Us Sing" concert on Temple Square.
This is John on stage next to the piano after the performance sponsored by the General Young men's Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

An article about the concert appeared in the Church News. 

Click this link to read the full article:

John also sang with the choir and accompanied them for two of their songs.

This was an amazing concert by some of the finest young men in Utah.

Happy 10th Birthday Samuel Cope

Sammy’s Silence

By

Grandma Baadsgaard

Happy 10^th birthday Sammy.

Here is a story I wrote just for you.

I love you so very much.

           

Sammy liked his family’s new piano. His younger brothers and sister did not play rowdy or make too much noise in the piano room so it was quiet in there – quiet and warm. Sunshine streaming through the window from the afternoon sun made light and shadow designs on the rug in this room. Whenever Sammy was feeling sad or happy, he walked into the piano room. Then he slid under the keyboard and quietly sat on the bench. Later, he would practice the songs his piano teacher assigned; but for now, this was his sad or happy time.

            Sammy placed his fingers on the keys and closed his eyes. He listened quietly to the silence all around him. Then he played one note with his right hand and then another. Sammy listened carefully to the silence between the notes and sighed.

Next he placed his left hand on the keyboard. Then he played one note with his left hand and then another. Finally, Sammy played with both of his hands together, stopping and starting over and over again - sometimes using quick notes and other times using slow notes. If he was sad, a melancholy song flowed from Sam’s fingers. If he was happy, a quick lively song flowed from his fingers.

Sammy breathed deeply as he played. The music moved through his body like the rising ocean on the shoreline. There was a certain cadence to the sounds of the incoming tide. Sometimes an unexpected flurry of notes, like a huge wave, would crash on the keyboard and startle him with surprise. Sammy giggled and he smiled.

Now he was ready to play the songs his piano teacher assigned. Sammy thought about these songs in a different way. He knew that the person who created these songs often felt sad or happy just like him. As he played these songs, he tried to imagine what the composer was feeling when they composed the song. Sometimes he studied about the lives of composers so he could guess better. Sometimes unsettled or invigorating feelings came to Sammy when he played other composer’s songs. Yet, when he played their music, he felt they understood each other.

When Sammy was through playing the piano, he slid from the bench and turned around. That is when he often bowed to an invisible audience. Sometimes he clapped for himself and for all the composers who knew the secrets of happy and sad notes . . . and the elegant sound of silence. Often Sammy heard uproarious and grateful applause. That is when Sam played his most exquisite encore.

When Sammy went outside, the music did not stop. He heard melodies and rhythm everywhere . . .  in the song of a lonely bird sitting on the bare limb of a willow tree . . .  in the sudden gusts of wind whipping around the corners of his house just outside his bedroom window . . . and in the tapping of his mother’s knife on the cutting board preparing supper.

Oh, and then there were the enchanted times when Sammy climbed a hill where he could see so far and wide. He raised his arm and magic baton to usher into being the fleeting song of childhood - where only those who still have delight and whimsy deep inside can hear the intangible opus and tenuous offerings of life.  

John Michael Baadsgaard is Piano Soloist at Temple Square

I am so proud of my son John. 

He sang with a men's choir, accompanied several of their musical numbers and also performed an amazing solo: Andante and Rondo capriccioso OP 14 by Felix Mendelssohn at an amazing concert sponsored by the General Young Men's Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 

This is the interior of the Assembly Hall.

This concert was a Temple Square Performance held in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square on March 15th 2014. 

This is the beautiful exterior of the Assembly Hall.

Janene Baadsgaard - Speaker at BYU Office Professionals Conference

I will be speaking at the Office Professionals Conference at BYU on Friday March 14th from 10-11 in the Varsity Theater. 

The topic I'll be speaking on is "How To Give Your Friends, Co-workers and Family the Gift of a More Positive You".

Birthday Poem For a Three-Year-Old

Tessa’s  Three

By

Grandma Baadsgaard

I love you my sweet little Tessa dear

Tessa is three so shout hooray!

For this little girl is on her way

She likes to jump and skip and shout

Sometimes she wears her mommy out

Tessa lives in Florida where green alligators bite

But she thinks those scary guys are just alright

If they come too close, she moves her finger and toes

And just to be safe, she checks her cute little nose

When it gets light she says, “Turn the dark on!”

When it gets dark, she says, “Bring on the dawn!”

For Tessa is a magic girl with stardust in her eyes

Who finds flower fairies that are just her size.

When Daddy says, “Sit down and eat your soup.”

Tessa says “Father dear, I don’t give a hoot.”

“But I will put spaghetti in my hair

And dance down the hall in my rather bare.”

“I will chomp on my food and hiccup and burp

And if you give me soup, I’ll be sure to slurp

Both of Tessa’s parents roll their eyes

Because they know who she really is inside

So Mommy says, “Tessa let’s do snuggles.”

And Daddy adds to that, “Let’s do cuddles.”

Then Tessa races into her parent’s arms

And soon it is all kisses and hugs in a swarm.

For when you’re three you have wings to soar

And before you know it you’re turning four.

Poem For A Two Year Old Birthday

Lily’s Two Today

by

Grandma Baadsgaard

Happy 2^nd birthday Lily. I love you oh so much.

There is a girl named Lily

Who has a million dollar smile

And if you are very lucky

She’ll walk with you a while

For when she takes your hand

She always whispers, “Come.”

And when she sees the candy jar

She always asks for, “Some?”

So now she’s turning two

That’s so much older than one

But don’t you turn around

For Lily is on the run

She has two sparkly shoes

That shimmer when she walks

And she has two radiant eyes

That glimmer when she talks

When Lily is the boss

She points and says, “Away!”

So we all stop and we obey

For Lily has the final say

My Lily is a happy girl

With lots of hugs and kisses

And when she has to go back home

                           Her Grandma sure does miss her

BYU Women's Conference Photo With My Daughter

We are both not sure how this happened
but my daughter April and I have our picture on the web site
 and promotional material for the 2014 BYU Women's Conference.
http://ce.byu.edu/cw/womensconference/

FOR EVERY MOTHER by Janene Baadsgaard book club discussion

Marilyn Laursen asked me to speak to her book group in Provo, Utah yesterday. I have to admit, speaking to a group of women who love to read is one of my favorite invitations. Each woman had purchased a copy of my book "For Every Mother" and wanted to talk about it. Some of the women in the Grandview Book Club shared favorite parts of my book while others asked me questions about my family or about writing. Still others shared their life experience, ideas and wisdom.

     These women have been meeting for 40 years. FORTY YEARS! Isn't that awesome. They have seen each other through child rearing, times of trouble, joy and great loss. I loved being with them. Those who read always share a love of learning and a love for life.

     My first book was inspired by a woman that spoke to me privately after I spoke to her book club.
     "Janene," she said, "I cut all your columns out of the newspaper and put them in my scrap book. I put that scrapbook at the side of my bed and every night I read one. They always make me laugh or cry and I always feel better about life. Then I can relax and go to sleep."
    This kind woman gave me the encouragement I needed to write my first book. (So she wouldn't have to do so much cutting and pasting). I have a great love for book clubs and the women I meet there. Thank you for inviting me Marilyn. You are so blessed to have such a warm and loving group of friends and I was so grateful to meet them yesterday.

Birthday Story for a Six Year Old

Emma’s Magic Closet

by

Grandma Baadsgaard

Happy sixth birthday my Emma dear.

I love you so very much.

                On a cold snowy day in February Emma stared out her frosted window wishing it was summer.

          “I don’t have anything to do,” Emma sighed to herself. Her mother was talking on the phone.  Her younger sister was down for a nap.

          The afternoon was looking rather long and gloomy. Emma walked over to her closet and opened the door hoping to find something interesting to do. Then she grabbed the metal pole in her closet where her dresses were hanging and dangled there for a while pretending to be a monkey.

“Eee-Eee-Eee,” Emma screeched scratching her armpit.

While still holding the metal bar, she decided to walk up the back wall of her closet in her bare feet until she was hanging upside down. Everything in her bedroom suddenly looked more interesting this way because the floor became the ceiling and the ceiling became the floor. Emma thought about having a tea party with her dolls on the ceiling. The light-fixture would make a perfect glass table.

          Then all of a sudden Emma flipped over the closet pole and tumbled to the floor. She stood up, dusted herself off and turned around. Even though the scene outside her frosted window was the same, everything in Emma’s room looked shiny and bright. Her stuffed bear Koda and her giant white tiger were marching across the floor toward her toy box like soldiers. Her sheet and bed-spread were pulling themselves up and tucking neatly around the corners of her bed. Her dolls twirled pirouettes in the middle of the room then dived into the toy box. Her favorite picture books flew up onto her bookshelf and lined up in a neat row.

          Emma rubbed her eyes. When she opened her eyes again she saw her dance costume flying through the air and wrapping around a hanger in the closet. The crayons scattered around the floor marched into the canyon box and her dirty socks flew into the hamper in the corner.

          “Wow!” Emma whispered as her used candy wrappers flew into her garbage can and her play make-up rolled into her vanity drawer.

          Just then her mother poked her head around the corner of her bedroom door. She looked as though she was going to say something but instead her mouth dropped open. She looked slowly around the room and smiled.

          “Why Emma,” I was just going to tell you to clean up your room and look at this. You’ve already done it. How in the world did you do this so fast?”

          “I don’t know,” Emma answered. “It just happened Mom.”

          “Magic?” her mother asked.

          Emma threw up her hands, thought for a while, scratched her head and scrunched her nose.

“I guess so.

“I could use a little magic in the kitchen,” Emma’s mother lamented.

“Just pretend you’re a monkey, grab the pole in your closet, walk up the back wall with your bare feet and flip over on your head,” Emma said.

Emma raised one arm and scratched her armpit.

“Eee-Eee-Eee,” Emma screeched.

“You little monkey,” her mother answered.

Emma’s mother raised her arm and scratched her armpit too.

“Eee-Eee-Eee,” Emma’s mother screeched.

Then the two little monkeys marched into the kitchen on the look-out for a little more magic.Pin It

Happy Blessing Day Griffen

My new grandson Griffen was blessed today.
Here he is with his Grandpa Baadsgaard

Here is Griffen with his father Kyle

Here is Griffen with his mother Aubrey.

Speaking To The Amazing Women In Spanish Fork, Utah

This is a picture of the two Stake Relief Society Presidencies and the presenters.

I loved meeting with a wonderful women in the Palmyra Stake and the Maple Mountain Stake in Spanish Fork, Utah today. As I spoke to this large group amazing women and looked into their beautiful faces I was overcome with the love of God for each individual sister. The theme of the Women's Conference was "RUN YOUR OWN RACE - Discipleship is not a competition".