August 2010

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Margaret Bodily Woodward

My mother, Margaret Bodily Woodward passed away on April 10. She was six weeks shy of being 95 years old. I was happy for her as she can now see, be with dad and have all of her faculties returned to her use.



Sibling: Lyle, Alaine, Joyce, Wayne, Rodger, Arlen, Dell, and Ellis



One of the blessings of a funeral is the connection that takes place with family members who come to pay their respect. It was a great reunion. During the funeral, my brother Ellis shared a message of faith. He quoted a story given by Dieter F. Uchtdorf in April 2008 General Conference.






"In 1979 a large passenger jet with 257 people on board left New Zealand for a sightseeing flight to Antarctica and back. Unknown to the pilots, however, someone had modified the flight coordinates by a mere two degrees. This error placed the aircraft 28 miles (45 km) to the east of where the pilots assumed they were. As they approached Antarctica, the pilots descended to a lower altitude to give the passengers a better look at the landscape. Although both were experienced pilots, neither had made this particular flight before, and they had no way of knowing that the incorrect coordinates had placed them directly in the path of Mount Erebus, an active volcano that rises from the frozen landscape to a height of more than 12,000 feet (3,700 m).
As the pilots flew onward, the white of the snow and ice covering the volcano blended with the white of the clouds above, making it appear as though they were flying over flat ground. By the time the instruments sounded the warning that the ground was rising fast toward them, it was too late. The airplane crashed into the side of the volcano, killing everyone on board.
It was a terrible tragedy brought on by a minor error—a matter of only a few degrees.
... the difference between happiness and misery in individuals, in marriages, and families often comes down to an error of only a few degrees."




I was touched by this account and it made me pledge to correct my course so that it will get me to where I want to be in the eternities.



Brett (front left) was a casket bearer.













Visiting with Aunt Ruth Jemison, Dad's sister who recently turned 97.











Happy 1st Birthday Mason!!

We are not always able to celebrate birthdays with our grandchildren and when we can it is a special treat. Mason shared his birthday with his mother, Allison's college graduation. So it was quite the celebration!



Mason blowing out the candle - or looking at it!



The happy birthday boy...




with birthday gifts.







Trying birthday cake...








A refreshing bath in the sink to clean up all of the crumbs.

Congratulations to Allison the College Graduate

Congratulations to Allison who graduated from Brigham Young University Idaho on April 8. It was great to be there and share in her day. Graduating was a goal that Allison had and held to when it would have been easier to quit. A quote by Theodore Roosevelt comes to mind:
"...The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without err, and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."



Graduation was held in the new BYU-I Center.







Big screens on the side helped bring the front of the room closer.



Allison and Mason



Mason, Allison and Brayden



Alaine, Scott, Mason, Allison, and Brayden



In between Commencement and Allison's convocation, we


reconnected with Reese and Irma, from our Grouse Creek days.


We hadn't seen them sinced we moved away 26 years ago.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Weston's Baptism

With grateful hearts, we were able to attend Weston's baptism on March 27 in Lemhi, Idaho. It was great to be apart of such a big day for him. Weston and Wes

Mackenzie, Weston and Katie
Weston with his Primary teacher on the left and the Primary President on the right
Grandpa and Grandma Mackay, Weston, Grandma and Grandpa Astle
Weston and his family

Snow Art

Winter has gone on a little too long this year. However, I often entertain my self by looking for 'snow art', creations made by mother nature using the wind and other resources at her disposal. A few weeks ago, we had a pretty good wind and snow storm blow through and this was what was left on the north side if my deck. I love the loops formed at the bottom as it began to melt.


We traveled to Lemhi through a storm and this was in the wheel wells of the truck.


We found these creations last Thanksgiving time as we looked for our Christmas tree near Ovando.



Technology is for Grandmas!!

I am by no means a 'computer geek' and can do only a few things, by comparison, but it makes being a grandma a little easier. As life would have it, our children live far enough away that we can't visit them very often but through technology we can stay better connected. Below are a few examples.
Allison sent this picture of Mason as he became high centered under a chair going after his pacifier.

We visit with Allen, Jenny, Ethan and Spencer quite often on 'Skype' and thoroughly enjoy their visits.

Mackenzie and Weston played basketball this winter. Grandpa was able to visit one day and see them play but Grandma was in school. So they shared a few pictures and a movie.


Brett and Jinni shared a fun picture of Ashlnn and Brynlee after they had been to Lowe's and came home with construction aprons and hats.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Announcing an Addition to our Family!!


Welcome Maizy!!


We are looking forward to the adoption of NT'seliseng (pronounced E - see - d- sang) Maizy to the Brett Mackay family. She was born June 23, 2010 in Lesotho, a land locked country in South Africa. Her mother passed away the day after she was born and her grandmother took care of her for about two months. This was difficult for the grandmother as she is blind. A neighbor took her to the orphanage. She was matched with Brett and Jinni in December 2010. During the winter, Maizy came down with pneumonia and she was hospitalized for a time. After getting out of the hospital, she was placed in foster care with a missionary there who helped nurse her back to health. It is not known at this time exactly when Maizy will be united with her family as the pace of the situation seems to be very slow in this third world country.


Recently, Jinni was able to spend some time with Amber in New York City and was able to meet some other families who are working with the same adoption agency. One family had their adopted child with them. She met a co-worker of Amber's who had worked in the Peace Corp in Lesotho and a women native to the country who was familiar with the area that Maizy is from. She also taught Jinni how to pronounce her African name. It was definitely a highlight of her trip as she was strengthened by getting to meet and learn from these new friends.