Meet My...

...Father-In-Law...

Duane Hiatt

Interesting Fact #1: Duane and his wife Diane brought 15 hilarious and thoughtful people into the world.  After Diane passed away from ovarian cancer, Duane and his 15 kids relied on their faith that the family is central to the Lord's plan and that He had a plan for each one of them.  A year later an equally faith-filled woman named Sharon came into their lives and together the 17 of them continued onward into the world.  Now, nearly 25 years later 17 has grown to 87 with 15 spouses, 54 grandchildren, and the oldest grandchild's fiance joining the family this year.

Interesting Fact #2:  There is a fairly short song every LDS Primary child knows called, "Follow the Prophet," (9 verses is short for a kid's song, right?).  Asked to write the song only weeks after Diane had passed away, the song holds special meaning to our family and Duane continues to share the message portrayed in the song whenever he has the opportunity.   

Interesting Fact #3  Duane is the only rock star I know.  Really!  In the days of Elvis and the Beetles he performed in a band called  "The Three D's." Touring across the United States, Canada, and Asia in a time when the face of music was changing, they found increasing success by keeping a clean image and entertaining without lowering their moral standards.  Their music is particularly refreshing today when #1 hits too often are denigrating and evocatively offensive.  Covering both religious and secular subjects and songs, each album has distinct character.  My personal favorite album is Rhyme, Rhythm, and Reason-Great Poetry Set to Music.

My father-in-law has lived a full life and earned the right to sit and rest, but that's not who he is.  He continues guiding the people around him with big ideas and entertaining delivery.  The Three D's message is as essential and applicable as it was when three young family men first took it out on the road and that is the reason I'm sharing this part of my life with you!

For your last chance at an early entry in my A Blogtastic Extravaganza giveaway, leave a comment here telling me something from this post that has peaked your curiosity!

Bring On Spring

 A few weeks ago I broke my resolve to save money by suppressing all travel desires.  With 24-hour's notice and an invitation from family to join them in the Grand Canyon, I hastily packed my bags, loaded bewildered kids in the car, and hit the open road.  It was the perfect way to welcome spring and summer adventure back from hibernation.

Apparently a little too perfect because now my imagination has gotten the best of me.  With extended family trips already scheduled to San Diego in the summer and Iowa in the winter most people's vacation budget would be full.  I guess it's all in your priorities.  My home is humble and my kids wear hand-me-down clothes and that's fine for me.  Its what makes the going possible.

So what else is on the itinerary?  Well....

~An unexpected additional trip to Iowa and Kansas next week.  Fact is, I miss my family.  And my boys miss playing with grandpa's antique toy trucks. So we're going.  Simple as that.

A July wedding in the Washington D.C. LDS temple that I'd love to go to, but probably will be the first item on the chopping block when reality sets in. 

Relaxing weekends at a "secret" beach-side camping spot

~Hiking in the Utah  mountain canyons.

~Lots of sun and fun at our local waterpark

~Parades and city festivals until we can't bear to take one more piece of free candy or cheap advertisement

~Meeting my sister half-way between here and there for a random weekend meet-up (hint, hint, Beth)

The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta with side trips to

 White Sands National Monument

and the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

   And if I'm lucky, an incomprehensible number of things I haven't dreamed up yet!

What have you dared to dream into your summer travel adventures?

My Reflection

My grandfather passed away 10 or 12 years ago after a long period of heart ailments. I was a teenager then-at an age where I wasn't included in the adult conversation but still indirectly aware of all that was going on. Intimate communication has not been abundant within my family and the difficulty my father had with that momentous occasion in his life caused the lack of conversation to be all the more apparent. I remember Grandpa Aalbers being a source of humor and joy in my life. He was a hard worker and a joker. My memories begin well after he had sold his farm, but he and my grandma still had sheep and chickens and row upon row of home-grown vegetables. I can remember feeding the baby sheep out of a glass bottle with a black rubber nipple and watching the sheep run up the shoot to be loaded on the truck and taken to auction. I also can remember the stench of the chicken coop, dozens of cats swarming over my feet to reach their food, and picking strawberries in the field across the street. My most frequent memories of my grandfather, though, are of him teasing my sisters by calling them the wrong name and laughing as he sat in his recliner. He always had pink bubble gum in a cardboard cigar box in the sun room and it was a special treat when he took it off the shelf and opened up the lid. We used to crawl in the sprawling vinyl backseat of his car and he and Grandma would take us for soft-serve ice cream. He didn't go to church, but he always drove Grandma there and often came to visit us while he waited-always bringing with him a selection of the week's freshest garden crop. It is common to hear someone remark, "he was a humble man," after the passing of a loved one. I do not know if my grandfather was humble. When he died I wasn't yet to an age when humility meant anything to me. I don't know if he was an intelligent man or a wise man. I just know that he was my grandpa. Tonight as I ponder the loss of the beloved President Gordon B. Hinckley, prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I ask myself why the "old men" that lead our church are able to inspire me. I have heard criticism from people outside of the church that the high leadership is too old and too male to understand and guide people as we move into this new century. Only now as I'm typing away on my keyboard am I beginning to understand why they mean so much to me. The elders and apostles of the Mormon church are each in their own right educated and accomplished individuals. They've come to their position as church leaders from all facets of business and industry-medicine, law, agriculture, aviation, education...the list is long (the same can be said for the many women in church leadership roles). They are smart men with a desire to share their knowledge. They are humble men who show no hesitation in displaying their flaws and what they were brought to learn from those flaws. Each season at our church General Conference we are counseled of the dangers of our day and admonished to do what is necessary to find ourselves outside of the destruction. Our leaders are disciplinarians, even when it is not in their nature to be so. Also, they wear their faith on their sleeves. I have heard it recounted time and time again that to meet these great leaders in person is to feel the Lord's countenance shining. They are mortal men aspiring to live the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they are succeeding. I am in a different place in my life as I enter my thirties than I was at the passing of my grandfather in my mid-teens. My grandpa was a good man and had a hand in shaping my childhood. I now look towards these wise and reverent men for hope and guidance in the ways which I should go. I'm just now beginning to realize these men remind me of my grandfather; they are hardworking and personable and often show a great sense of humor. My ability to be inspired and affected through their words and actions comes from a feeling that, like a loving grandfather, they want the best for me and are willing to share all the attributes I've listed to make the path my path easier.