When Only A Hundred Hugs and a Kisses Will Do

My children have alwalys been my greatest teachers.  While we adults tend to hide our deepest desires for love and affection, children teach us to to be real - to talk about our fears and find solutions in a big kiss and hug  . . . and sometimes lots of kisses and hugs.

For example, when my son John started kindergarten I took him to his new school several times before the first day and let him try out the playground, meet his teacher and get familiar with the classroom. He knew where to hang his backpack and where to find the boy’s restroom. I followed John’s bus on the first day and went inside with him for a few moments to participate in a few fun activities the teacher had wisely planned. But when all the parents had to go, the look on John’s face was a maternal heartbreaker. When it came time for John to go to school the next day, he was so nervous he paced in circles around me on the kicthen floor while I made his lunch.

“What’s the matter, John?” I asked. “Worried about going to school today?”

“Yes,” he answered with his eyebrows lowered.

“What are you worried about John?” I asked.

John tried to hold back tears by rubbing his eyes with his fists before he blurted, “Mostly Mom – I’m just missing you.”

“Would it help if I kissed your hand? Then every time you starting missing me you could put your hand on your cheek and I’d be there kissing you?”

John thought for a long while, and then seriously replied, “No. That won’t work.”

So I tried again, “Remember when your sister Aubrey had to leave to go to school in Pennsylvania and she was a little scared and sad but she went anyway?” I asked. John nodded. “Remember when Aubrey said that when she gets lonely or sad, she thinks about something happy? What if I put a sucker in your backpack and every time you feel lonely or sad, you start thinking about that sucker?”

John thought for along while then seriously answered, “I don’t know. I’m not sure that will help, Mom.”

“What if I give you a hundred hugs and kisses before you go? Do you think that would work?” I asked again.

John didn’t have to think. He responded immediately, “Yes. That would definitely help, Mom.”

I found a sucker and tucked it away in a secret pocket of his backpack and then we started the hugging and kissing. John carefully counted until we reached a hundred.

The steps on a school bus are like scaling Mount Everest to a small five-year-old. Yet when the time came, John hesitantly braved the heights and found his seat on the bus without me. I waved and blew him kisses while he drove away.

Because John was my ninth child to start school, I knew how precious and fleeting childhood is. I also knew how much courage it takes to be a child, to welcome a child into your life and then let that child go.

I want to be like my children when I grow up. Children can teach us so much more than we can teach them. I believe we will find our way back to God if we allow children to be our guides.

There is Magic in Mushy Apples

A while back I gave my daughter-in-law a bag of just-picked apples from our orchard.  A month or so later she told me she forgot to put them in the refrigerator. 

"They got old and mushy so I had to throw them away." she said.

"Oh," I answered.  "Don't you know there is magic in old mushy apples.  "With a little work, sugar and cinnamon they turn into sweet applesause."

I'm getting older myself.  When I look in the mirror I wonder who that wrinkled woman is looking back at me.

Then I remember my wrinkled apples.  Perhaps the best we have to offer comes when it seems we are past our prime - only good for retirement  But there is still magic in this old heart.  There is a mellow sweetness that only comes with age. Even though I am wrinkled, I still have much to give - to nourish and delight.

Learning To See Each Other Through the Eyes of a Child

Adults have grown accustomed to ignoring each other. When we walk down a sidewalk and see a stranger coming the other way, most of us drop our eyes and say nothing as we pass. If we stand in an elevator with a fellow rider, most of us back into the farthest corner in steely silence avoiding touch, conversation and eye contact. At the check-out in the grocery store, most of us don’t even acknowledge or thank the cashier who is helping us, let alone smile. Babies and small children haven’t learned our cultural taboos or adult self-consciousness. Every week at church they make instant friends with the family sitting behind them by sharing their soggy treats, sticky books and toothless smiles. They wave at people in the grocery store and shout things like, “Hey, you want to see my new underwear?”


Once I was holding my young daughter’s hand while we passed an ill-kept homeless man on the street. He had long greasy hair, dirty clothes, and smelled of body odor, liquor and tobacco. I lowered my eyes and kept my distance, hoping he wouldn’t ask me for a handout. My young daughter, on the other hand, stopped and stood perfectly still, then stared reverently at this man in wide-eye awe.

“Look Mom! It’s Jesus!” she shouted excitedly.

The homeless man gently tilted his head in acknowledgement and smiled back at my little girl. Then he glanced up at me with a glimmer in his eyes. We were both humbled at the reverent way my daughter had seen him. When do we stop seeing the amazing beauty in the people around us? When do we stop being excited about our new underwear? When do we stop calling our friends on the telephone to ask if they can come out and play?

When we learn to see each other through the eyes of a child we will rediscover the infinite beauty and divine worth of each son or daughter of God.

Happy Birthday

My birthday is this week.  As a child I looked forward to presents and attention.  Now I feel the profound need  to thank God for the supernal gift of life. 

Everything I am and everything I do is a gift from my Father in Heaven who daily grants me the ability to see, speak, listen, move, work, love, share, create and pray.

So with the deepest gratitude I say:  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.

Happy Birthday Caleb!

Caleb and the Prince

by

Janene Baadsgaard

alias Granny B.

(this is a special story written for my grandson Caleb on his 6th birthday)


Once there was a rich and powerful king who lay dying. In the quiet moments just before he took his last breath, he saw his life flash before him . . . and shuddered. He called for his son.

“Yes father?” the prince asked.

“Son, I am dying. It is too late for me,” the king said. “But it is not too late for you. Today I meet my Maker and I am terrified.”

“Terrified? Father you have never been afraid,” the prince answered.

“I’ve lived every day of my life in fear. My father left me his kingdom and I was terrified someone might try to take it from me. I could trust no one – not even your mother or brothers and sisters. I’ve forced the villagers to forge my swords, build my castles, amass my army and plunder my treasure so that I could remain king. But I was always painfully alone and afraid. I will not do to you what my father did to me. Denounce my kingdom. Choose a better one.”

“But I know no other way to live,” the prince answered.

“Then you must know this: From this day forward, evil men will desire all you have. You will spend the rest of your life fighting to preserve a kingdom that will ultimately fail you. You will loose your life fighting to save what I have left you. And I have left you only ashes. You will learn to trust no one, even your own wife and children. When you are about to die, you too will be afraid. You must know now that everything I leave you has been bought at the cost of other men’s lives. I took their labor. I took their gold. I took their fair sons. My subjects hate me and they will turn against you.”

“Why do you tell me all this now?” the prince asked. “What am I to do father?”

“Go into the village and find the aged mother of a bed-ridden son,” the king said. “She is my mother and her son, my brother, is the true king.  Long ago I made sure he would never reign.  Together they will teach you all you need to know.”

Then the king cried out in anguish, “Oh God, forgive me. Have mercy on my soul.”

At that moment, the king died and the prince was alone. He was not sad for he feared his father. His mother and brothers and sisters had all been beheaded by the king. He did not know he had a living grandmother and an uncle in the village.

Under the cloak of night the prince left the guarded castle and went to the village. He found the aged mother and her bed-ridden son in a small hut with a warm blazing fire.

When the prince’s grandmother saw him enter her home, she instantly recognized her grandson, smiled and embraced him. The prince had never been embraced and recoiled.

“Don’t be afraid,” his grandmother said. “You are safe here.” Then she invited him into the back room where his uncle rested in a fresh bed of straw. “This is your uncle. His name is Caleb. Though he can not see, hear, speak or move - he has many gifts.”

So the prince sat next to his uncle and waited. His father’s brother could not respond to the prince’s questions. Yet there was something about being in Caleb’s presence that made the prince feel at peace for the first time in his life.

“I have come to learn from you,” the prince said.

Caleb could not speak a word; yet as the prince reached out and touched the hand of his silent uncle, he felt a glimmer of tenderness fill his heart for the first time. Then as the moments turned into hours the prince felt his heart grow lighter and lighter and warmer and warmer.

Many weeks passed. Soon the prince’s grandmother asked him to help Caleb eat. Then she asked him to help his uncle sit up and stretch his muscles. Then she asked the prince to change his uncle’s soiled clothes and bedding. Soon the prince was providing all the care his uncle required.

One day the prince’s grandmother grew ill and could not raise her head from her bed. The prince was afraid. He went to his grandmother’s side in despair.

“Will you care for your uncle after I die?” the prince’s grandmother asked quietly.

“Yes,” the prince answered.

“Each time you willingly and joyfully take care of someone who can not take care of themselves you bring great light into this dark world. Each time you learn to love someone deeply an angel places one shining stone upon another in a higher kingdom you can not see. But you will go there some day. I go there now with great peace and anticipation. I will be there to greet you when you come home.”

“Aren’t you afraid?” the prince asked.

“No,” his grandmother answered. “Because of the love I have for Caleb I have felt the love of God. I know that God has prepared a grander kingdom for me with a blazing fire of warmth. There I will never be alone, afraid or sick again.”

Then as the prince embraced his grandmother, she took her last breath and relaxed into a smile with her eyes opened toward heaven. The prince wept until he could weep no more. Then he went to his uncle’s room and knelt by his side.

“Your mother is dead,” the prince said.

Next he picked up his uncle and brought him to his grandmother. The prince saw Caleb’s face soften into a radiant smile as he looked upon his mother. The prince held his uncle in his arms as they both went outside and looked up into the star-lit sky.

“She will be waiting for us when it is our turn,” the prince said as he stroked his uncle’s brow. Don’t be afraid. I’m here. I will never leave you. I will care for you. I love you Caleb.”

In the days that followed the prince opened his father’s treasure hoard and returned the riches to the villagers. He dispersed the army and sent the fair sons back to their mothers. He turned the dark castle into a loving home where he cared for Caleb and all the other sick or orphaned children in his valley.

When the people from the village were troubled, sick, or in despair they would come to the castle and sit with Caleb for a spell. Though no words were spoken, Caleb would fill their soul with light and hope. Then they could go back into the dark world with the warmth of his love burning brightly inside them.

Soon the prince married and had children of his own. He and his wife brought more and more children into their home and never turned any one away. No evil men desired the prince’s kingdom because they saw no gold or power to seize or destroy.

On the day Caleb was taking his last breath, the prince was at his side. When Caleb stopped breathing, the prince felt the room grow lighter and brighter until it appeared as the noon day sun. He saw a gleaming castle on a hill in the distance and his grandmother reaching out to her son. Caleb arose from his bed for the first time and ran into her arms.

“Someday I will be with you,” the prince said as the light slowly faded in the room. “Then we will all be home at last in each other’s love.”

I Have A New Book Coming Out in March!

I'm so happy to annouce that I have a new book coming out in March!



For Every Mother is a humorous and heart-warming book for all mothers at every age and stage of life.

Here's a peek at the front and back cover.

An Angel Among Us

Something happened that truly took my breath away this Christmas season.  Ever since my children were little we have acted out the Nativity story on Christmas Eve.  As our children have grown older, married and had children of their own we've always had a new baby to play the part of baby Jesus and our cast of characters is now filled with our children and grandchildren.  This year I pulled out two halos and sets of wings from our dress-up box and handed them to my son-in-law Dallan and my grandson Caleb.  Next I helped Mary, Joseph and all the shepards and wisemen to put on their robes.  Then I began reading the story from the Bible.  Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus entered on cue and soon the shephards made their appearance.  When it came time for the angels to say their part my son in law Dallan held Caleb high up in the air and spoke these words in a full deep rich male voice . . . "Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." 

The voice appeared to be coming from my grandson's mouth and we all caught our breath and looked up at him.  You see Caleb was born without a brain and has not been able to speak a word to us in the six years we have been blessed to have him with us.  Even though Caleb is not able to use his body like we can, we KNOW that the spirit inside his body is well and whole.  We KNOW that he is a beloved son of God . . . a true angel among us. 

"And suddenly there was with the angel a  multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." 

My Forest

When my husband and I moved into our present home twenty years ago, I told him I'd always dreamed of living by a forest.  We bought two acres along with this home but most of it was in pasture. 

We live in Utah where pine trees only grow in the mountains.  So if you want pine trees you have to plant them and carefully tend and water them because we don't get much rainfall.

My husband listened to my dream and found a way to make it come true.  One day he brought home a small box filled with what looked like small sticks.  He told me he was going to plant me a forest.  I didn't really believe those sticks were trees.  I thought he was teasing me.  But he carefully planted them and enlisted our children to help him keep them watered with buckets of water hand carried to each tree for a very long time. 

Now when I look out my kitchen window each day  - I see my forest . . . and I think about my husband taking care of those trees for twenty years just for me.  Every day I walk outside to my forest and breathe in the fresh pine scented air and think about how much my husband loves me.

Merry Christmas from the Baadsgaards

 HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE BAADSGAARD FAMILY

 


Baadsgaard Christmas Nativity Program cast members

our angels . . . Caleb and April

Amy Graduates from BYU!!!!!

My daughter Amy just graduated from BYU with a degree in Special Education.  Though she will wait until April to walk at a graduation ceremony I want to congratulate her now.  Way to go Amy!!!

Amy is expecting her first child, a little girl, in March.  She is a fine harpist and a gentle, kind loving soul.  I am so blessed to have her for my daughter.

I love you Amy.

SNOW



My husband Ross trying to dig out so he can go to work.

Our back yard

Our patio table.

Our front yard pine tree

Alisa playing.

My daughter Alisa has been hoping and praying for snow on Christmas.  She got her wish.  School was cancelled today because we got SO MUCH SNOW! This is Utah where we know what to do with snow, where we never cancel school because of snow.  Alisa says grownups just don't know how to appreciate snow.  She's right.  Today I'm going to go outside without a shovel or broom and PLAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MITCHELL!!!!!

Mitchell’s Magnificent Mitten Rescue Mission

by

Granny B

(This is a special story written for my grandson Mitchell on his fourth birthday)


“Why is my laundry basket always missing?” Mitchell’s mother wondered as she walked from the laundry room into the kitchen. Then she picked up the mop and started cleaning the floor.

Mitchell was sitting at the kitchen table smooshing his red play dough into cannon balls with his cousin Emma.

“Mitchell do you know where my laundry basket is?” his mother asked.

Mitchell rolled his eyes.

“Yes Mom,” he answered. “But I need it. I’ll give it back after we save Mittens from the swamp dragon.”

Then Mitchell ran to the dress-up chest, pulled out his two plastic swords and gave one to Emma his cousin.

“The dragon took Mittens and we have to get him back,” Mitchell said as he dashed from the room and down the hall.

Mitchell’s mother knew Mittens was his favorite stuffed animal.

“Good luck Sir Mitchell the Brave and Emma the Lion Heart,” his mother said as they both rounded the corner and dashed into his bedroom. She followed close behind and peeked around the corner.

“Watch out for the swamp,” Mitchell whispered to Emma. “Climb in this magic ship.”

Mitchell and Emma climbed into the laundry basket and rowed across the swamp with their swords. Then suddenly Mitchell screamed and Emma covered her eyes. There on the evil mountain was the dastardly dragon ready to eat them.

“Emma!” Mitchell yelled as he fought the dragon with his sword, “open your eyes and row this way. Mittens is trapped behind the doors of doom. We have to save him.”

Emma opened her eyes, bared her teeth and growled.

“Yeah! The dragon is dead!” Mitchell yelled. “Now we just have to get through the doors of doom.”

Mitchell and Emma jumped from their ship and stood before the closet doors.

“The doors won’t open!” Mitchell yelled.

“They’re stuck,” Emma answered. “What should we do?”

“I remember now,” Mitchell said, “the doors only open if you know the magic words.”

Just then Mitchell’s Mom leaped into the room.

“I know the magic words,” she yelled. “Follow me!”

Mitchell’s mother stood before the doors of doom holding her mop handle like a chalice.

“We are the fellowship of love,” she yelled. “Doors of doom, awaken to the light!”

Then Queen mother reached forth her hand and the doors of doom opened wide. Mitchell dashed inside, grabbed Mittens from the cliff of no return then jumped back into the ship. He waved for Queen Mother and Cousin Emma the Lion Heart to join him. When they safely reached the Bed of Benevolence, Mitchell carefully tucked Mittens under the covers. Then he placed his gleaming sword and red cannon balls under his bed.

“You never know when you might have to slay another dragon,” Mitchell said as his mother reached for her laundry basket.

“Yes,” his mother answered. “Even now I leave to slay the molten mountain of mounting mess beyond these doors. Farewell good prince and princess. We shall meet again.”

LDS Living Article Dec 2010

Life is so Fragile

Daniel Cope

My daughter and son-in-law's nephew died this week.  SIDS

Baby Daniel was only a few months old.  My heart breaks for his parents and older sisters.  There are no words that adequately express my heartfelt sorrow for their loss.

Contemplating their tragedy has given me the opportunity to gaze a little longer into the faces of my loved ones, to hug a little tighter, express my affection more often and to renew my appreciation for the precious gift of life.

We never know how much time we have with those we love.  Life is fleeting . . . fragile.

Yet all nature reassures me of life after death.  Even though we are in the midst of winter right now, I know spring will come again.  The Ressurrection is real.  Because of Jesus Chirst we will all live again.  I know that even though Daniel died this week, he is yet alive in another place where we can not go  . . . just yet. 

But for now . . . it is right to grieve.  Even Jesus Christ wept when he heard the news that his friend Lazarus had died.

Tyler and Jackie I am so sorry.   

Happy Birthday Matthew

Matthew Didn’t Doubt It

by

Granny B (alias Grandma Baadsgaard)

(this a special story written for my grandson Matthew on his ninth birthday)

After Matthew moved into his new home, he walked outside and went exploring. His new home was in a subdivision with several empty lots. The lot two doors down had a large pile of sand that was Matthew’s favorite place to dig for treasure.

One day Matthew dug up a rotting piece of wood. He could tell that the wood was once painted gold. He ran inside and showed this find to his mother.

“I think this came from a pirate ship filled with treasure,” Matthew said.

“We don’t live by an ocean,” his mother replied. “So I doubt that.”

But Matthew didn’t doubt it. He went back the next day and found several rusty nails and a broken piece of green glass. Soon he had a large collection of pirate ship relics. He hid them in a shoe box under his bed.

One day Matthew went to the sand pile and found enormous trucks and back hoes digging a large hole. One of the construction workers told him to get out of the way. Matthew walked back to his house and watched from a distance as the construction crew created a huge hole, filled it with cement and began framing a new house.

Several months later Matthew found out a boy named John was living in the new house built over his favorite digging place. He walked to John’s house, knocked on the door and asked if he could play. Then Matthew took John to his house and showed him his collection of pirate ship relics. He told his new friend that he everything in the box used to be in a sand pile right under his friend’s new house. John was impressed. That afternoon Matthew and John decided to wear a neckerchief over their head, a patch over one eye and duel with plastic swords until they were exhausted. Then they drew pictures of pirate ships.

“Maybe someday we’ll dig a tunnel under your house and find buried treasure,” Matthew said.

“How about right now,” John answered.

But when Matthew and his friend started digging a hole in his friend’s back yard his mother ran out of the house and told them to stop.

“We think that there is an old pirate ship buried under your house,” Matthew said.

“We don’t live by an ocean,” John’s mother replied. “So I doubt that. No more digging in my new landscaping.”

Before long winter arrived and covered both of their yards with several feet of snow. But that didn’t stop Matthew and John. They formed a secret pirate club and asked their friend Caleb to join them. They had black pirate hats, eye patches and red scarves. They practiced sword dueling techniques and continued drawing pictures of pirate ships. They checked out books from the library on ship building. But what they really wanted most of all was a treasure map.

Whenever their mothers asked them to clean their rooms they answered, “Aye Mates!”

Late one night while Matthew, John and Caleb were sleeping many dark figures dressed in black met in the lot between the John and Mathew’s home. Soon snow and ice was flying.

The next day Matthew walked out his front door and ran to the sidewalk in front of his home. Something sparkly caught his eye. He turned to the right. There it was - larger than life, grander than any dream - the most magnificent pirate ship he had ever seen. The sails were made of sheets of ice and the ship’s mast gleamed like diamonds.

Matthew saw John running toward him flinging his arms wildly.

“Look Matthew!” John said. “It’s a pirate ship!”

They both ran back into their homes and dragged their families out to see the pirate ship made of ice. Before long every neighbor was standing on the sidewalk saying, “Ohhh . . . Ahhh.”

Next a reporter arrived from the town newspaper. Then a large camera crew from the big city television station pulled up and took out their large microphones.

Matthew heard his mother being interviewed for the six o’clock news.

“Well my boy Matthew always told me that he thought a pirate ship was buried here but I told him we don’t live by an ocean so I doubt it. But Matthew, he never doubted. I guess you never know what will happen if you can imagine, dream and never give up hope.”

Then she winked at her son as he quickly grabbed his sword and ran toward the ship. Matthew and John made the six o’clock news. Television viewers spied them sliding down the gang plank on the ice and snow pirate ship made yelling “Shiver me timbers!”