The Last Farewell....

He rode out one evening to that place on the hill, looking out on his fields to the west. A small patch of brown earth still covered with flowers, where his Dear wife now lays in her rest. He thought of the long years they stood side by side, now she stands by the angels in heav'n. He longs to be with her, but for now he must stay, there's more work for him here to be given.

This is a hard farewell. This is our longest good-bye. You had to go and I...I have to stay and wait for my day. Even so, it's a sad farewell. But after my teardrops are dry, we'll rejoice on high again, till then - my Darling - good-bye.

The years pass so slowly, each one harder still. His body now tired and worn. He thinks back on days when he worked and he played, and he prays that he could be reborn. He knows that God's plan was created for man and for learning to follow the Lord. Through the grief and the pain, there seems little to gain, but he patiently carries his load.

I dream it's my last farewell. When will be my final good-bye? The battle's end draws nigh. But we will have won when it's all said and done. Even so, it's our last farewell. So let all your teardrops be dry. The Lord has a place on high for me - yet - it's hard to tell you good-bye.

He gazes around him at the work of his life. His children with families of their own. Their eyes filled with sadness, their hearts set to break. In his quiet eyes, his love clearly shone. Their faces now dimming, but One brighter still - the Love of his life standing near! As his final breath leaves him, he feels sudden strength! Hand in hand now, he walks with his Dear!

This is my last farewell. This is my final good-bye. I'm not afraid to die! My life has been just...in God I will trust! Even so, it's our last farewell. But after the teardrops are dry. We'll all meet again on high - until then - my dear family...Good-bye!

Greener Pastures....

I learned to pray at my Father's knee,
Each night we gathered -- the whole family.
At the close of day, when the work and dinner were through,
We lived by this routine -- on our knees to give thanks is what we do.

We were taught the power of the Priesthood through our prayers,
We witnessed comfort and healing -- the Spirit everywhere.
We were taught in the household of faith, one can be healed,
Both in the heavens and on earth, families can be sealed.

In our home, on the farm...no matter where we are,
Prayer is the answer - heaven is not very far.
Childlike faith in our Savior's gift to mankind,
Through obedience and endurance, eternal life we can find.

Those many years of hearing my Father's strength through his pleas,
Now lends me the same strength as I kneel beside him on bended knee
To plead for him and the blessings he needs,
As I remember his life-long actions of work and kind, loving deeds.

"Bless him, dear Father in Heaven above
That his suffering will be lessened as he feels our devotion and love.
Let him remember those days long ago in the prime of his life,
Surrounded by green pastures, animals, children and his loving wife."

My Dad, David DeLoy Bisel, left this world Friday, Nov. 6th, for far greener pastures (so to speak), to join Mom, his parents and many other loved ones. He is now pain free. My brother and sisters and I spent this day making arrangements and sharing memories of our wonderful Dad with each other. We all agreed how serving and helping him over these past months, have made each one of us better people. Thank you, Dad, for such a special opportunity.

The viewing is Tuesday, Nov. 10th, from 6:00 PM to whatever, at the Woodland Church. Another viewing is Wednesday morning, Nov. 11th at 10:00 AM. The funeral will be at noon. Dad will travel to the cemetery in a horse-drawn hearse and laid to rest right next to Mom. Thanks to so many dear friends and loved ones who have already called or brought food to us. We love you all dearly.

Thriller of a good time!

I love this picture of Noah....it really shows his personality. He was helping me dig beets in the garden and he is such a hard little worker. He is willing to go outside and work right by your side until the work is done. He is really ambitious! Noah had a birthday in October and and you can tell he is another year older -- he has gotten so big and is such a good boy!
Body Motion Dance Company always puts on an excellent "Spooktacular" Event. I swear, my grandchildren have got to be the most dramatic, best little actors in the world! (I wonder where that might come from----the drama and cooking up a show????) I asked them to pose for me with some good Halloween-Spook shots. I think they did quite well for the camera!
Does it get any cuter than this? Notice how big and pretty Ellie is getting? She did just turn 10!
They decided to look like they were scared, Can you tell they are in a spooky place? Good acting skills!
Halloween night brought all sorts of ghouls and spooks! Some of them decided to pay a visit to Dad/Grandpa Great. He was tickeled and enjoyed seeing the Great Grandkids.

The warmth of October.......

You know how there are just some times you love so much because there is such a good feeling that accompanies that time of year? You know how there are so many memories of certain times of year that it just rings a little bell and awakens something inside of you that just brings warmth all over your being? October is just that time of year for me!
First - My little Billie Jo was born in October! Earl and I had been married over three years and had talked about "our baby" for so long. We were so excited to bring a little symbol of our love into this world. Of course, she took her sweet time making her grand entrance, but when she did -- WHAM!!!!! our lives were NEVER the same again! For such a tiny one, her impact was huge! She not only demanded our full-time attention, but wherever we went, she was also capable of garnering the attention of everyone in the room. She has never disappointed us. She is bright, beautiful, talented, charming, caring and ambitious! We love her so much and appreciate her impact on our lives. We are proud of her and her accomplishments and will love her forever! Happy Birthday - Billie Jo - and thank you for being our daughter!
Second - is our little Billie Jo's little Ellie Jo. If we thought we were anxious for Billie Jo, imagine how we anticipated the birth of our first grandchild! Tim and Billie Jo had been married for a few years before Ellie finally came. We were more than ready to begin the "grandma/grandpa" trip. We actually had the opportunity of being included in Ellie's life in a big way, as Billie Jo and I coached drill team and Ellie was an extension of us. Every little coo, every little smile, every little anything was met with such excitement and enthusiasm -- by not only Earl and me, but also every other one of Billie Jo's sibbling! SHE WAS DEFINITELY SPOILED by everyone, but my goodness! Little Ellie Jo has turned into such a beautiful young lady. She is the excitement and the planner of the grandkids. She is definitely in charge and she is a wonderful girl! She is bright, beautiful, talented, charming, caring and ambitious. Happy Birthday - Ellie Jo - and than you for being our granddaughter!
And last but not least - Patrice. My first memory of Patrice was on a bus trip from Park City. She was a gigglie, little cheerleader, talking to her friends about some guy she had a crush on and I thought how cute she was. The next thing I know, she is at my house with that same friend, and again I thought how infectious her smile was and what a happy little girl she was. Over the months and years of having her in my home associating with Allen and my other children, I thought the world of her. I think I worked as hard at "courting" her as Allen did. There was a very sad time that I wondered if they would ever get together, but when Allen confided in me that whenever he looked to the future and pictured his family, Patrice was always the mother of his children, I knew they would get together successfully. I do have to say that Patrice is one of the most patient, loving little mothers I've ever seen. I'm so glad she is a part of our family. She is bright, beautiful, talented, capable and a wonderful wife to my son. Happy Birthday - Patrice - and thank you for being our son's wife, our grandson's mother, and a wonderful daughter!
You three girls -- I love and appreciate you all so very much! Happy, happy birthday!

Happy Birthday....Jack and Chelsea!

We made a quick trip to St. George last Friday night, so we could spend a day with our special girl, Chelsea, to celebrate her birthday! What a wonderful day the day she was born, and what a great day Saturday! We were also celebrating Jack's birthday, which was last Wednesday, so it was double the fun! Max had to go to work early, so the rest of us slept in and then went to McDonald's. I know, I know -- you are saying, "Really? McDonald's?" But, that is what Earl wanted and Jack could play in the playground, so it was all okay. We then made a little trip to WalMart and then home. By that time, Max was home and he and Earl went to play golf at Sand Hollow! Chelsea and Jack and myself went shopping and had a ball! Rob stayed home and explored the air conditioning system. Everyone was happy! We then met up with the guys for dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then headed home. It was a quick trip, but fun, fun, fun! We love our girl and our little Jack and loved spending the day with them to celebrate their special days. Spending time with loved ones is always a pleasure!

I loaded these pictures in the exact opposite order I should have, so the story is backwards, but look one picture down and see Chelsea sitting next to a frog! She kisses him, and wal la!!! He turns into a handsome prince charming and there you have it -- Chelsea and Prince Charming!

On a serious note, although Max is definitely handsome and charming and a great father, this is Jack's frog towel that matches his bathroom decor. I thought it was so cute to find a frog that matched everything in his bathroom, he just had to have it for his birthday!

Here are the two girls -- after a day of shopping, looking a little tired, but definitely happy as girls can be after a spree!

Grandpa and Jack both have to have on their hats if they are to play together. Jack loves Grandpa and Grandpa loves Jack!

Jack is definitely one of the smartest little boys ever! He is just so darned cute and coordinated and smart and on, and on, and on....what more can a Grandma say! We do love these two and were so lucky to get to spend time with them to celebrate their most important days!

The Woodland "Chokecherry Fall Fest"

For the first time ever, Woodland had a "town" celebration. We named it "Woodland Chokecherry Fall Fest" and it was a wonderful celebration! There were many who volunteered and helped to make the day a real celebration. It all began with a 5K run, which Rick's brother won. Both Luke and Noah ran about 1 mile of it before Orion Bishop picked them up and brought them to the finish line. We had a small boutique, where I sold -- you guessed it -- chokecherry jelly! It was a huge hit. Olivia sold really cute aprons and cute Beau Dee and Amanda Anderson had a booth. The Fudge Fairy was there in all her decadence, a scrapbooking lady, Bethany Mitchell with designer bags made from reburbished gunnysacks, the watch lady and Liz Edmunds with her cookbook. People bought tickets and could make a scarecrow (kits were put together by Debbie Mollus and Trudy); paint a pumpkin (Monica Saxton; made a prairie doll (Jann and Elizabeth); a petting zoo and candle making (Wendy Johnson); or take a horse and wagon ride up and down Woodland with none other than Paula Beasley as a tour guide giving historical facts. Jeff and Amy Hawkins furnished the horses and wagons. So much work was done by so many wonderful people -- the day was great. Dana and Stacy Dewey, Matt Atkinson, and John and Louise Moon did the cooking for the meal with Rod Maxfield and his friend entertaining us. We had an open mike for cowboy poetry and Jennie Phillips, Sherm Smoot, myself, Rob, Earl and Rod all participated. It's great to live in Woodland and have wonderful friends and neighbors!












Last weekend we went to Mill Hollow for a family outing. Rick and Olivia did Dutch Oven and it YUMMY! Grandpa helped the kids create a trap for the chipmunks and they were thrilled! A hike around the lake was enjoyed by the kids and Dads. What a beautiful world!

TheFruits of the Harvest...

What a wonderful Labor Day weekend! It all started off with a bang when Max, Chelsea and Jack arrived on Friday night. Billie Jo had a big, ole' dinner prepared and the family got together at the Butikofer house. The guys all worked at the Gunnersons painting and accomplishing so much work. I arrived shortly after 9:30 from Dad's and was able to have a nice chat with Billie Jo and Chelsea. When Max came back to the Butikofer's, he looked like a Halloween ghost character -- with white hair, white eyebrows and eyelashes. They really got lots of work accomplished, however! Saturday morning, Chelsea and I went to Salt Lake to pick up Giselle and Rajko from the airport. We had lunch together and visited and had a great time. By late Saturday night, Olivia put a halt to the painting because they actually had begun the "real" painting and she said it was the wrong color! Therefore, Sunday was a rest and Monday, we all got to celebrate at Francis Frontier Days. Tim and Billie Jo were over the booths and children's games -- they were excellent! Noah and Luke rode sheep and we all had lots of fun! The boys preparing for their wild sheep ride at Francis Frontier Days

Allen water proofing his basement--progress has begun!
Evan tightrope walking at his new house with the help of Grandpa
Rajko being farm boy on Allen's old John Deere -- isn't he cute farm boy?
Elijah has the tractor thing under control and is happy as can be!
Evan is headed for the peas -- his favorite garden produce -- yuck to the zucchini!
The kids have waited a long time for the trees to be big enough to climb. CAREFUL Mia! You're pretty high!
Jack couldn't find Grandpa and the "big tractor." so this will have to do!
It isn't hard for Tess to just look beautiful no matter what she is doing! Where on earth is a picture of Ellie? I think she runs to fast to be caught by Grandma's lens! Maybe next time!