Three Little Pigs

Today was a successful day for the Rice Family Hunters. Dee, Ethan, and Nathan each got a javelina!. I was quite surprised...we have a freezer full of elk and deer meat, so now the javelina is on the smoker (easier to store cooked meat than meat on the bone.) Dee was so very happy being able to hunt with two of his sons, and then it made him even happier to come home with Doran and Danyel here...and sweet Doran took painstaking care to clean Dad's black powder pistol for him. It was quite a happy day for Dad. We have some wonderful sons!! (Our daughters are fantastic too, of course!!!)

New Playground Project

We have now embarked on our next backyard adventure: a playground. Now, we are not going to complete it in its entirety until we have grandkids that can play on it regularly, but we started on Papa's dream: a sandbox with a racetrack around it. Dad, Doran and Danyel set up forms on Saturday, and Ethan and Doran came on Monday to help with the huge pour: over 40 bags of cement. Thank goodness Doran borrowed a cement mixer from his work!! It is "Georgia Red", and is now full of sand. Papa is very happy, and hopes that Adam and Grace will like it when they come to visit, maybe in April

Happy Valentine's Day Dinner

As usual, I went rather crazy on Valentine's Day this year. With our budget being so tight, I wasn't going to do much, but I was able to do quite a bit on just a little. I decided that pizza was a good meal for Valentine's Day: safe and simple. Then, I went crazy. I spent quite a while using scissors cutting pepperoni into heart shapes. I used a red tablecloth I got for two bucks last Christmas to set the table, and paper products I had got half off in years past. I decorated with my old hershey hug and kiss guys and some candy scattered about. We had pizza, salad, and heart shaped brownies for dessert. I gave each some gum/candy, and the evening was great fun!

My Sweet Husband!

What is his name? Doran Charles Rice,Jr.

How long have you been married? Almost 28 years!

How long did you date? We dated three times, then went our separate ways. After I finally came to my senses, I broke off an engagement on January 9, called Doran on January 10, we went out on January 15, became engaged on January 21, and married on April 24: a whirlwind romance!!

How old is he? 50

How old are you? 47

Who eats more sweets? We don't eat too many sweets. He thinks Banana Laffy Taffy candies are fruit!

Who said "I love you first"? Dee did, and I did right back.

Who is taller? Dee

Who can sing better? Well, it depends on who you ask. I love to hear him sing...he sings with such heart! I am a better alto than he is, though.

Who is smarter? Most surely, Dee!!!

Who does the laundry? We both do...he dirties it, and I clean it and put it away!!

Who does the dishes? I do, but he always helps clear the table. I love to do the dishes...gets any aggressions out!.

Who pays the bills? We both do. He works three jobs to earn the money, and I make sure all the bills are paid on time, so he doesn't need to worry about it.

His guilty pleasures? He loves to hunt, fish, and go out on his boat. He also loves to work with his hands: he creates beautiful things out of stone, wood, metal, etc. He is quite the craftsman!

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me

Who mows the lawn? Our wonderful son, Nathan.

Besides you, who is his best friend? He has lots of long time friends: Gregg, Cliff, Billy O

Who cooks dinner? I do, but Dee is a fantastic cook! I love his Chinese. He now has mastered sushi (though I am not a fan of sushi)

Who drives? Dee

Who is more stubborn? I guess I am.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me, and I happily kissed him back!

Who asked who out first? He asked me, thanks to many hints.

What was your first date? We went to see "Superman, The Movie".

Who proposed? Dee did. After an evening of me hoping, wondering, and finally feeling silly for thinking, he got down on one knee and said, "Suzzy Kew, will you marry me?"

Who has more siblings? Dee. He has four older sisters, and one younger sister.

Who wears the pants? He does, and I am so glad.

What is your favorite thing about him? Wow! There are so very many things! The most wonderful thing is that I can completely trust him. I never ever have to take a second thought that he is trying his hardest to do everything the Lord wants him to. He would never do anything to purposely hurt me. He also is very determined. He lets nothing stop him! He sees something and works hard to get it, whether it is a college education, a rock fireplace, or granite countertops. He can make anything, if you just give him the chance. He loves his family with all his heart. He would do absolutely do anything for his children and their happiness. He is just the best, and I love him with all of my heart!

Tag: Everyone who wants to brag about their husbands (or wives)!!!

The Story of a Song

It was such a special opportunity I had to watch the funeral services of our dear prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley. I have received, via email, so many dear remembrances of our prophet. Yesterday, though, was an email that I will not soon forget. During the funeral, a song was sung by the Tabernacle Choir that President Hinckley had written. It was beautiful, though I was surprised that I had not heard of it before. Then, the story...

Here is a copy, as shared by Janice Kapp Perry:

"About two months before my niece Kathy Blacker died, on January 11, 2008, she found a three-verse poem by President Hinckley among her files. Although she was resigned to dying, she had some fears about the dying process and his words greatly comforted her—especially the second verse which described exactly what she was feeling. She wrote to Pres. Hinckley ’s office to ask permission to have the poem printed on her funeral program, and she received a very nice letter from his secretary, Don H. Staheli, saying that President Hinckley gave his permission for her to do so. The letter also conveyed some very comforting words from Pres. Hinckley which were helpful to helpful to Kathy in her final weeks, and he said he would remember Kathy in his prayers.

Then Kathy suggested that I write and ask permission to give the poem a hymn setting. I did so, and Brother Staheli conveyed President Hinckley’s permission for me to write the hymn. After offering some heartfelt prayers that I might be able to write appropriate music for his profoundly beautiful and moving text, I wrote the hymn setting and sent a copy to President Hinckley’s office for approval at the end of December. I received no immediate response.

Kathy passed away January 11 and after her funeral I sent a copy of her funeral program to President Hinckley’s office so he could see how nicely his poem was displayed along side my brother Gary Kapp’s painting of Christ. When I heard President Hinckley had passed away last Sunday night I was feeling a little sad to think I hadn’t received a letter with his official approval. But the very next day after his passing, the hoped-for letter arrived with his approval, his permission for me to publish it in a future volume of my series Inspirational New Hymns for Choir and Home, and leaving it to my discretion as to whether to submit it to the Church Music Division. The timing was so unusual and I was extremely grateful to receive the letter as a tender mercy in my life.

Then on Monday afternoon Craig Jessop, Tabernacle Choir Director, heard about the hymn and had his office call me to obtain a copy of the hymn for consideration for President Hinckley’s funeral. On Tuesday, while traveling in California , I learned that the hymn would be performed by The Tabernacle Choir at President Hinckley’s funeral on Saturday. Having seen the great comfort this hymn brought to my niece who died just two weeks before President Hinckley passed away, my great desire is for people throughout the world to have a free copy of these magnificent words of President Hinckley to comfort them in times of the loss of loved ones.

This is just one more way his influence could be felt down through time.
--Janice Kapp Perry

You, too, can get a copy of this beautiful song. Simply send an email to PrimeRec@aol.com, and put in the subject line "funeral hymn". You can print it and share it with anyone.

Happy Birthday Kaity!

Today, we celebrated the 17th Birthday of our sweet Kaity. She has had quite a year! She started out being a newly diagnosed type 1 diabetic. We were crazy about eating, shots, etc. We took special food to everything! The hospital told us she would be sickly and would probably miss school. However, our Kaity would not be stopped. She took control of her life. She took extra classes, she worked hard. She is now a straight A honor student, number one in both the Junior and Senior Classes at school, is graduating one year early, and is ready to go off to college. She has taken control of her health. She eats what she wants...she even had her favorite decadent 7 pound chocolate cake at Costco for her birthday. She is AMAZING!! What a stupendous seventeen year old wonder!!!