Word on the Streets

thoughts on my dad. . .

my dad's birthday is not until november. father's day is not until june. so there is not a special occasion close enough for me to wait to post some thoughts about my dad. i think when you have been thinking a lot about someone like i have my dad recently that its a good idea to let them know sooner than later just in case that opportunity to do so changes. 

my dad is giving. he just "gives and he gives and he gives". 

my dad loves boys. don't get me wrong he has a tender spot in his heart for his girls but he really loves boy things!

my dad has an uncommon amount of common sense. 

my dad has a terrific sense of direction and orientation of where he is.

my dad treats my husband like his own son. he loves my husband beyond what i could have ever imagined! 

my dad is not a tremendously sappy spiritual person on the surface but he has a deep sense of trusting the Lord and relying on Him for things to be guided in his life. 

my dad loves his garage space. he loves to keep things he might need one day.

my dad is creative. he can fix almost anything even with one working arm.

my dad has boundless physical stamina. his energy is more than most 20 year olds.

my dad cares for people who are struggling.

my dad has often treated my friends as if they were his own children. (once he bought a plane ticket for my roommate to come with my to vegas for thanksgiving because she was struggling in her life and he felt she just needed to get a break from utah. he was right too!)

my dad loves fried chicken.

my dad makes the best smoothies and souffles ever.

my dad loves food. period.

my dad wears out his clothing and then will duck tape them together to keep wearing them before he buys new ones.

my dad is comfortable in his own skin.

my dad has the most angelic white soft hair i've ever seen.

my dad's skin tans super fast.

my dad might yell at you when speaking to you but that is only because he is losing his hearing.

my dad always has a number of vehicles. many of those vehicles he has owned or owns he has out on loan to us children. we call it the morgan harris fleet.

my dad saves money.

my dad values hard work.

my dad loves a good deal! he is known to purchase something if it is on sale even if he needs it or not really.

my dad is not flamboyant in the sense most people are. he is a character but not flamboyant.

my dad is his children's biggest cheerleader. he believes in us sometimes more than we do ourselves.

i love my dad. he always helps me work through my problems. he always has good advice. he always treats me as if i matter far more than he does. he is such a good man. i just wanted to get that off my chest while i was thinking about it. and i want to do it not because it is a special occasion but just because he is.

twin day. . .

somedays the boys decide to dress the same and do things the same. it is not often but when they do i think it is hilarious. i've never really dressed them the same and never pushed them to be the same. they are individuals with different talents and abilities but when they play up the fact that they came to earth at the same time and shared that same womb space, it makes me laugh.

free in & out burgers & the library

our local library has a great reading challenge. for every five library books you read you get a free in and out cheeseburger! my boys are on their second helping! i love programs like this and it has saved me for dinner for two nights now two different weeks! one more to go before the program is over!

i am my father's daughter: making international associations. . .

these are true stories. i kid you not. the first is my dad's story.

about a month ago my husband and i took our children to eat at my parent's home in town. we had a big dinner and left for our own home around 7:00pm. after that my dad drove my mom over to the walmart near their house so she could get some ribbon for a church activity the next day. mom went in the store and dad stayed in his car, people watching. he saw a group of chinese men who were trying desperately to catch a taxi cab. they couldn't seem to get a cab and looked like they could use some help so my dad got out of his car and approached them to see if he could help.come to find out they were in town from mainland china on behalf of their company for the electronics convention and didn't speak much english. when my mom was done shopping she returned to the suburban to find dad in the car with 5 chinamen in that back seats of the car! she gave my dad a look as if to say "where did these guys come from?" and dad explained that he and she were going to drive these chinese visitors across town to chinatown where they were trying to get to dinner. so they set out for chinatown. once they got there the men instisted that my parents come in and dine with them on some "traditional" chinese food. even though they were full, true to my dad's nature he cannot pass up an offer of a meal. so they went in and had family style, special order chinese food. the chinese men and my parents carried on conversation and laughs over dishes that are not listed on the menu. my parents loved the food and made notes on what was ordered so they could return sometime later. they took photos with the international visitors and exchanged emails. then they took the men back to their hotel at the end of the evening. my mom called me at about 11:00 pm and said i would never guess where she had been that night. when she said she'd been to china and back i knew it had to be something to do with my father. 

this story just is one of many that could be told about my father. he is an incredible people person and he always cheers for the underdog. he has a great ability to put people at ease and make friends with them even in there is a language barrier. i've seen my dad stand among a large group of very black african bushmen in native dress laughing and slapping arms with them. he is really remarkable at relating to people no matter where they live or what their circumstances are. since he has now lived in serbia and africa on lds church missions with my mom i think he is even more keen to offer help to tourists who look like they could use a hand. my dad just has a gentle heart. he is kind--to everyone. he does the right thing and makes this world a good place.

and now for my story. it differs somewhat from my dad's story but it shows so much of what i have become because of his example.

last week i had decided to stay home all day and get some housework done. the weather was windy and not great so i could not even be tempted to take the dog on a walk. after spending morning doing laundry and cleaning by afternoon i decided to give myself a break and run an errand--go to the bank or something insignificant, just something to get out of the house. so i jumped in my car and headed down the hill. my neighborhood is one of many on a large looped street. the street runs a good long distance around. it eventually meets back up with itself at a corner where the street signs say the same street name in both directions. it can be very confusing for people who are not familiar with our area. i mention this because at the bottom of the hill (that corner where the street signs both say the same street name in two different directions) i notice five adults (three women and two men) who looked to be in their 50's-60's. they were confused and looking at a paper they had and then back at the street signs. they were clearly lost. they had a look of distress on their faces and as i pulled closer to the corner i said to myself, "those poor people look terribly lost. i wonder where they could be going or where on earth they came from!" and just as i turned the corner one of the women caught my eye and motioned to me for help. i pulled over and rolled down my window and she asked how to get to vons at anthem village. they were so far from where they wanted to go and i knew i could just drive them over there with no trouble so i offered to take them in my car. we loaded them in my car and introduced ourselves. they all spoke dutch and were from australia, suriname (north of brazil), and holland. they told me that they had just flown in and were renting a house in the area for an extended family reunion. when i found out where the home was that they were renting i showed them how to get from there to the grocery store and explained how they had missed their turn and walked an hour out of their way. the turn they needed was just behind their home. so i drove them to vons (the grocery store) and told them to buy as much as they wanted because i would go do my thing and return to take them home. the weather was yucky and this way they could take many more provisions back to the house rather than carry them home. they were pleased and i was so happy to do it. we commented on how we just felt like we were supposed to meet. it was a unique feeling. i was happy to meet them and they were happy to meet me. i think in life we are just put in each other's paths at times for the benefit of all. 

later that day i was driving to my mom and dad's home which is down near the hotels and i offered to drive part of their group to the hotels on my way. this allowed them to only need one taxi instead of two. i got my children from school and picked up our new friends and went in to downtown. later during that week i was able to take them downtown one more time. they had invited me to use the extra show ticket they had but i had a date with rod so i just drove them downtown so it would be easier for them. on sunday morning three of our new friends came to sunday breakfast at our home before we went to church. our home is just around the corner from where they are staying. we always do waffles on sunday mornings and i invited them to come. three of them were able to come and we had a wonderful meal together. it is such a joy to meet good people from other areas of the world. i was grateful that rod was able to meet them and that we could show them a good time. i know that there is one god and that he is the creator of us all. this makes these people our brothers and sisters and helping them was the right thing to do. i had a good feeling about it. i do not offer my help to just anyone on the street corner but there was something about this group of people that radiated goodness. they had pure hearts. i had the best feeling reaching out to help. if only the world were a little more like that where you could offer your help to just about anyone at all and it would be well received.

photos of my dad and mom and their chinese friends and then photos of the five i found on the corner and their larger group with my family.

 

sunday's bike ride. . .

on saturday rod and the boys cleaned our garage. well they cleaned and organized it. it looks so nice!!! then on sunday we all took to the bikes. i had been in the house most of the week recuperating and i was happy to go on an easy bike ride with my family again. it was fun to shoot from my hip and get some of these funny faces! i love biking in our neighborhood. it is one of the reasons we live in this area of town. there are so many bike paths that are off the roads and wide enough for our family of four. i love the boys helmets too. the metallic coating lets me see my own reflection. morgan of course chose the red helmet and jack is the black. and all three boys and the dog cooperated for a picture! is it a little too much to take my tripod on a bike ride so i can get in a shot like this? possibly a little too much!

rod's 40th birthday

rod had a great birthday this year! lunch with the guys at work and me at sushi then cake at the office and then a wonderful dinner out with friends at roy's made him one happy 40 year old!

favorite rooms of the house my father built. . .

the other day we had a wonderful brisket beef dinner at my parent's home. it was yummy as always! we've had a few briskets come out of that kitchen over the years. my dad is in his element in his kitchen. he built the home back in the early 1970's. he and my mom created a great floor plan on their own and some of the details they put in the home are things i love about it. the kitchen island is one big slab of butcher block. it has been cut on for over 30 years now. when my parents leave this home, i know my dad will miss his butcher block. i'm certain he will be finding a way to put in a similar feature in any newer home to which they move. big windows is another feature of the home i love. these huge windows let in wonderful light and provide a view to the huge backyard where we used to play for hours with the neighbor children. some of the rooms in my parent's home are just beautiful to photograph. i even love the mood of the library. i found my mom on her computer in there. i was so glad i had my camera with me that day to capture some of the charm of the home my father built.

raising boys is like raising bear cubs. . .

my mom used to tease that her twin boys were like little bear cubs. ya know how little bear cubs rumble and tumble each other. now that i have my own twin boys i would agree with her. my boys wrestle like little bear cubs. they must poke and cajole each other. they get the very best laughs doing so. it makes me so happy to hear when they are "playing cubs". they are genuinely happy and love each other. and when rod joins in with them it ramps up the wrestle fun a few notches. someday soon i expect these two boys will over power rod. he will be pinned to the ground and each one of his boys will be bigger and stronger than he thinks they ever could be. but for now, i am enjoying the innocence of my two little bear cubs. 

grandpa's garage boys. . .

on saturday we went over to help out my parent's at their home. the boys helped grandpa in the garage to make a worktable. they loved helping with the power tools and then were on their own with saws and hammers and nails. each boy created a toy of his own. morgan made a gun and jack made a spying box that you look through to spy on people. they loved the freedom of the garage!

reading, jack's future profession is to work for morgan and morgan's happy disposition. . .

as of late i have noticed that jack will often have a book in his hands. he has taken to reading as i hoped he would. he loves it. if i ask him to take a time out and do some reading he welcomes it. he finds his book and jumps on the couch and is quiet for about twenty minutes. he takes a book with us in the car most of the time. i know he reads well when he reads for me but i'm noticing that some of the books he chooses to read might be above his reading level. i'm actually fine with that. i think he can catch the words he knows and skip over or ask me the words he does not yet know. he never seems to be frustrated with those more difficult books. so as long as he is happy trying to read i marvel at how often he does it. it makes me thrilled. i think one of the best things one can do for their mind is read. 

morgan is also reading more lately. he likes to read out loud to me. i love when he cuddles up next to me on the couch after school and points his finger at the words as he works his way through the text. he is coming along and is happy to have cracked the difficulty he had in the beginning. his passion is drawing and writing. he says that he is going to be the author of books when he grows up and he also will illustrate. he is going to build an office large enough to have jack in an adjoining office to work for him. jack will sell his books. they both think this arrangement will work out perfectly for their future families. i love that plan! i have to laugh at how detailed they have it in their minds as well. they really are so connected intrinsically that it will be interesting to see what they do choose as courses of study and professions.

morgan has a very happy disposition most of the time. he is my peace-maker. he settles problems well. the other day i was dragging out of bed before school. i was the slow one. i just couldn't get myself together very promptly. morgan had woken up early and gotten dressed and ready for school. then he went downstairs and set the table for breakfast and had the cereal boxes out that he thought we each would like as well as a bowl and spoons for each person. he then called upstairs to jack and me, "breakfast is ready." i could hardly believe what a mature child he was just then. it did something to me. it made me beyond happy to know how capable he is. it made me see just a hint of what he was learning from rod's example. he made that morning so easy for me and for jack. he was helpful in most every way that he could be. it was as if he woke up and was determined to serve to his best ability that day. that morning was so unique that i just had to write it down so one day he will know that i made a huge impression on me. i hope it is a sign of things to come! i loved him all the more that morning.

photos: jack reading on the couch, morgan reading to me, and the many faces of my little morgan.