In the Garden

I went to the most upbeat memorial service today. Wally Hyer, an older man from my church, was laid to rest in the cemetery in Kernville. He was such a happy man who lived such a great life. His daughter and son sang "In The Garden," and I really felt inspired by the words:
Verse 1:
I come to the garden alone,
while the dew is still on the roses.
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
the Son of God discloses.
Chorus:
And He walks with me,
and He talks with me,
and He tells me I am His own;
and the joy we share as we tarry there,
none other has ever known.
Verse 2:
He speaks and the sound of His voice,
is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
and the melody that He gave to me
within my heart is ringing.
Chorus
Verse 3:
I’d stay in the garden with Him
though the night around me be falling,
but He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.
Chorus

Love Is in the Air

 

My cousin Timmy married Amanda Harkey-- now Kent-- this weekend in Bakersfield, California. It was hot, but I had nothing to complain about since I wasn't wearing black! Before walking down the aisle, Amanda was dropped off by a fire truck. It was very cute! Congratulations, Tim (you'll always be Timmy to me) and Amanda!

.

CliffNotes is where it's from

We headed to Cedar City, Utah a few weeks ago. We finally attended the Shakespearean Festival and had a wonderful time! We saw four plays in two days: 39 Steps, The Merchant of Venice, Great Expectations, a New Musical, and Macbeth. Alfred Hitchcock's 39 Steps is a funny play that is a blend between Alfred Hitchcock with Monty Python. Some might find it hysterical, but I was not one of them. I am not a huge Monty Python fan. Some people think those movies are hilarious, I just think they're annoying. Sure it can be funny, but not laugh-out-loud funny. The Merchant of Venice was my favorite even though I wasn't as familiar with the storyline as other Shakespeare plays. The only information I had on The Merchant of Venice was because of Stephenie Meyer and Breaking Dawn: the girl saves the day and it has a happy ending. Shakespeare was definitely politically incorrect, funny, smart, and poignant. Great Expectations, a new musical was good. I have to admit that I don't think I read this book in high school like I was supposed to. I remember seeing the two film versions though. Even after watching this musical, I still have questions about the characters. The song "Great Expectations" was probably my favorite out of all the songs. Miss Havasham was great and Pip's voice was awesome! I was a little tired of plays when we watched Macbeth. Since it was raining, we were excited that we were going inside to watch Macbeth. However, when we found out that we were no longer in the front row but in the last row, we were extremely bummed. At intermission, the rain had stopped and everyone proceeded to the amphitheater where we sat in the front row. We called it the spitter section since you could see the spit flying out of the actors'  mouths. On the down side, I jumped at every loud noise uttered on stage. The witches acted like they were having seizures; it was awesome! Lady Macbeth's transformation from adoring wife to psychotic lady was amazing! It was so cool when Macbeth and his wife's hands were covered with blood.

Since we had such a great time this year, we plan on attending the same Shakespearean Festival next year!

Joining the Circus

Today the lunchtime entertainment was performed by the Tucker Family Circus. Each members' faces were painted like clowns. Uniqua (Elle) and Pablo (Kent), struggled with stage fright while Krissy guided them over the high wire-- a blue line of tape on the floor. The next act was juggling. It took a lot of practice. It consisted of balloons and trying to keep them floating for as long as possible. My contribution to the performance was making tickets and purchasing circus music from iTunes. Of course, I was reimbursed with the $.25 admission charge. I love being entertained by my niece and nephew!

A To-Do Weekend

I've cleaned out my closet and made a to-read pile of books and a to-watch pile of movies. The piles contain books and movies that I own and have not read or watched. I have decided that I cannot go to the library until I have read the books. It hasn't worked so far, but I'm still a work in progress. I have read one book in the to-read pile and have started another one. The Kent girls watched Five People You Meet in Heaven. It was just okay. I hear the book is better.

Kent says...

The other day Elle was banging on our table during dinner. Kent said, "knock it off, Elle"

The funniest thing he says is, "where are you?"

Today he yelled, "go away, ELLE!"

The best thing he says: "Love you, Kelly!"

..

Farewell My Beloved

This past weekend we traveled to San Diego to visit with family. We out to dinner and lunch with both sides of our family. Nicole caught up with her friend Sarah-- who made as each a necklace. The greatness of that weekend, however, will forever be overshadowed by the loss of my beloved blanket. Over 26 years ago, my silk blanket was sown for me by my Grandma Kent. It has traveled with me all over the United States, Europe, Caribbean, and The British Isles. My blanket along with my pillow were left at the hotel in San Diego. I hope my blanket brings as much happiness as I have had over the past 26 years with it! 

A Special Poem

This week Marilyn Hyer, a lady from church, gave Nicole and I glass jars of nuts for our birthdays. She also wrote us this poem:

Two of our Father's precious pearls,

Came to earth to be with us,

With never a complaint or fuss,

Always cheerful with smiles so dear

Even if your hearts may fear.

Your life has not been an easy one,

But loving parents have made it fun.

Our Father has a purpose in this,

And promises you a future bliss

As you endure it well.

And only time will tell -

Of mansions he has prepared for you,

As you continue to remain true.

 

She is very kind, thoughtful lady!

Eclipse

Since I was in bed with a stiff neck, I took the opportunity to re-watch Twilight on Wednesday and New Moon on Thursday in preparation for watching Eclipse on Friday. Ten Twi-hards joined us for lunch at Rosa's on Friday, July 9th. The Kent girls had our usual meals, but had a new atmosphere. Tami told me that Kristen Stewart plays a character in a The Cake Eaters who has Friedreich's Ataxia. Apparently, it was on HBO. I thought she did not know what she was talking about, but she was correct. I'll have to see it! Angela, Yvette, and some others joined us for 1:30 showing at the Maya theater. The theater was packed! We sat at the bottom with everyone else. Boo-hoo. This movie was probably the best out of the Twilight movies, however I still think the first one was the best as far as transitions go. My favorite part was the tent scene. Of course, the books are always better!

Eclipse Fever

I'm ready for Friday already! A group of the cool Twi-hards are getting together for lunch and movie on Friday. It comes out on Wednesday, but not everyone in our group can come then. Friday works best for me anyway!

Father's Day!

I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and earthly father. Today is Father's Day. I had the privilege of giving a talk in Sacrament meeting this morning. Here is some of it...

“My dad is a work in progress and we always keep him on his toes with more challenges. The proclamation to the family describes the role of a father as one who presides “over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.” At a young age, my father knew he wanted an occupation that would enable him to provide for his family, serve in his church callings, and have enough time to spend with his family. He did not want his wife to have to work because he hoped his children would be blessed with a full time mother. He made sacrifices to get through school, working odd jobs and taking off two years to go on a mission. He valued our education, taught us to do our best, and be respectful to teachers. He also showed us the importance of education by sacrificing his time and energy while traveling to many different destinations of historical value, attending plays, and tutoring me. He even took a couple of college classes with Joe so he could finish his Bachelor’s Degree: 20 years later from BYU.

My father is a very loving, caring, patient man. He would do anything for any of his kids. He makes us great Saturday morning breakfasts. He keeps all our wheelchairs in working order no matter how many times Nicole drives off a cliff or down stairs. He even drove all the way to Provo with a replacement chair after one of Nicole’s accidents. No matter how many times I wake up in a grumpy mood he tries to kid me out of it. On workdays he always comes home and eats lunch with us. With four girls with blond hair, he learned to braid and curl hair.

Neal A. Maxwell said "a father who truly loves his children, and who is truly striving, for instance, to become a better man, sends off all kinds of messages, in a variety of ways, that let them know he loves them and that he is a serious disciple of Jesus Christ. Then his children can more easily forgive him the tactical errors, because his basic message is intact: he believes in God and he cares for his family. On the other hand, for the father who is not serious in his discipleship, no number of compensatory techniques or humanistic sentiments can ever compensate for the failure of that father to teach the truth by precept and by example." My dad has shown me through his actions that he understands Christ’s selflessness. My dad’s selfless nature takes me back to memories of Mammoth Mountain on Sesome Street where my dad taught me how to ski. I don’t know how many times he skied down the hill backwards until I could somewhat ski by myself. Another example of his selflessness was when I asked my father: “If you could ask God any question, what would it be?” Now I thought he would ask his question about the Old Testament that he always ponders, but I found out that he would ask for his children to be healed.

My dad is very entertaining with his off-the-wall sense of humor. Over the years, he has woken us up with “Earthquake, earthquake” while shaking our beds. He rewrites all kinds of songs with his own lyrics like when he changed the Addams Family theme song into the Wheelchair family song. His sense of humor helps lighten tense moments and helps us learn to laugh at ourselves.

I know that my dad cares for me, wants me to succeed, and be the best person I can be. His faith in me helps inspire me to work hard. In 1974, James E. Faust relayed a story of a father of six children, who had the sole responsibility for raising the family. This story reminded me of my dad who cares about me as a child and friend. The man’s youngest child was in diapers. One night the father came home from work, faced with the problems of being both father and mother and felt unusually burdened with his responsibilities. One of his little girls, laid a rock on his dresser, which she had painted at school. On the flat portion of the rock she had written, “Happiness is having a dad who cares.”

I love my dad very much and appreciate all the sacrifices he has made and is making on behalf of me and my siblings. I would like to express my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for his example that my Dad is trying to follow, his forgiveness and his plan that enables us to return to live with him again. “

Remaining positive

I am now officially 26 years old. It felt just like every other day. Nothing too exciting, except I received this funny card in the mail. Wendy turned it into a birthday card, since it was the only card that could make her laugh. Her birthday cards have become something of a tradition. They are always very funny! When I turned 21, she gave me a card with nuns on the front. The inside said something like "the nuns will be busy praying for you on your birthday." It sucks getting older sometimes. I just finished The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. My reply to Nicole's question regarding my liking of the book was "Holy cow, they remained so positive when life was horrible!" The book encouraged me to remain positive even when you are having a "no-good-very-bad-day." The book also encouraged me to pray for everything (even the bad stuff), trust in the Lord, study the Scriptures, stand true to your values, and to forgive everyone.

Two years ago today...

I found this in a letter from two years ago:

"Well, the Kent household has been busy! Krissy had a baby boy that weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz. That is a normal size baby, but he is tiny! His name is Kent Keith Tucker. He is guaranteed to be good-looking since his name is Kent! I was there for the delivery. At first I thought it was going to be a disgusting, traumatic experience but it wasn’t at all! It may sound corny, but it was the most amazing experience! It was a little weird when Krissy put her legs up, but I got over that pretty quick. It wasn’t at all like it is portrayed in movies. Of course, Krissy was doped up... But the best line, came from Krissy when her doctor said, “OK Krissy, one more push and he will be out.” Krissy replied, “Seriously?” I got  a little teary-eyed when Kent cried for the first time, which was also pretty  much the last time he cried.

I know that little Kent was not too long ago in the premortal existence with our Father in Heaven. And I know that if I faithful and keep His commandments during my mortal existence, that no blessing will be denied in the hereafter!"

Happy birthday, Kent! You have brought so much joy into my life and will forever make me smile!

The Date is officially over!

Last fall I went to a Stake Activity where I spoke about who I would like to "sit down in heaven" with. My choice was Jane Austen. I talked about reading her novels, visiting her homeland, and finding my own Mr. Darcy. Many women liked my selection, sought me out, and discussed their favorite Jane Austen novel. One such lady explained she was a high school drama teacher whose students were going to    perform Pride and Prejudice during the spring. I gave her my e-mail address so she could contact me with further details. To my delight, she was at a spring Stake Activity and allowed me to purchase some tickets of Pride and Prejudice! The play was on Friday at eight o'clock in Bakersfield. Girls with the last name Kent, watched high school students pretend to be from the 1800's, dance minuets, and write long-winded letters to each other. Imagine sitting downwind from an agricultural farm while hearing beautiful phrases such as "in vain I have struggled, it will not do. I must tell you how ardently I admire and love you... All these things I am willing to put aside and ask you to end my agony." Having no idea the performance was to be held outdoors, we did not prepare for the chilly weather. I wore a dress since I considered to be a "date night". Despite the cold weather, gusts of wind that disturbed the sound system, foul smell, and the Harley-Davidson revving up its engine on the street, I wore a huge smile during the performance! Mrs. Bennet stole the show! She was hilarious! "Have you no consideration for my poor nerves?" Mr. Bennet replies, "You mistake me, my dear. I have the utmost respect for your nerves. They've been my constant companion these twenty years." A few minutes before intermission, Nicole whispered to Jenny as she shivered, "Can't Kelly just go home and watch the movie?" Needless to say, we left at intermission. Just as we drove through our driveway, I vomited my entire chicken dinner. My date was officially over!

Utter Perfection

Yesterday we had a splendid day in Bakersfield! We had our usual meal at Rosa's, a little Italian restaurant. Our standard meal entails: four waters, two chicken parmesans with two cups of minestrone soup for my mother and I. My dad orders a bowl of soup and shares with us. We adore their minestrone soup! Nicole tries a variety of their dishes. This week she chose a chicken pesto something or another. The only thing I know is she always tries new stuff at Rosa's and only enjoys mushrooms when at Rosa's. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to the stadium seating theater, and sat in a private screening room while we watched Letters to Juliet. It was just okay! Cute, but very predictable! About halfway through the movie, we had to stop talking to one another because a lady and her baby joined us in the private screening room. We decided they put the mother and daughter in our private screening room because they were making too much noise in the theater. The one-year-old child was screaming and coo-ing. The best part of the movie was the scenery! In 2006 we went on a trip throughout Italy. Our trip to Italy was utterly perfect!! Some of the spots we visited included Shakespeare's characters' homes. The area below Juliet's balcony is tiny! I remember it being very crowded. I don't remember any letters on the wall though. This movie brought back many memories of locations such as, Verona, Siena, and Tuscany.

You can read and see some of these places at

http://www.kentfamilytimes.com/Articles/verona.html

http://www.kentfamilytimes.com/Articles/siena.html

http://www.kentfamilytimes.com/Articles/tus.html

Foreshadowing Picture

 

This picture was taken of me in March of 1987. I was only three years old at the time. This picture foreshadows my future. It indicates that I be a Twi-hard, since I have already bitten into an apple, have trouble keeping my eyes open in pictures, and that I will wear high-waters!

I need to correct my mistake from Mother's Day. I wrote, "They [Kent and Elle (Krissy)] gave me lotion from Bath and Body Works. It's scent is warm vanilla sugar and almost makes me want to lick myself because it smells so good!" After reading this, Krissy informed me that the "lotion" was in fact hand soap. After two days of wearing the "lotion" and after Krissy's gentle reminder, I washed my arms. Luckily, I did not lick myself!

Happy Mother's Day!

Sacrament is always great on Mother's Day! The youth bore their testimonies and said thank you to their moms for all they do. In between Sacrament and Gospel Doctrine Class, the youth passed out bookmarks and Hershey bars! The bookmarks say, "Righteous women have changed the course of history and will continue to do so, and their influence will spread and grow exponentially throughout the eternities."-Julie B. Beck (she currently serves as a Relief Society Gen. President.) I felt honored to receive one even though I am not a mother. According to Kent and Elle (Krissy), I am a great aunt who is almost like a mommy. They gave me lotion from Bath and Body Works. It's scent is warm vanilla sugar and almost makes me want to lick myself because it smells so good!

My mom's choice for a family Mother's Day dinner was halibut, rice pilaf, and salad (for those who eat salad). Dylan and Krissy were in charge of cooking. We all enjoyed Dylan's tartar sauce. We each shared a memory of our mother's. My dad remembered my grandma putting comet into a pot of spaghetti instead of Parmesan cheese since they both have green containers. My memory was of reading James and the Giant Peach by Ronald Dahl. Before and after my spinal fusion, she read this book to me. I don't remember the plot of this book, but I do remember falling in and out of consciousness as she read. Many times I woke up and would ask "Why did you stop reading?" She would patiently start reading once again. You are great; I love you, Mom!

Elle says...

She says the cutest things... sometimes!

 

 

I frequently use the phrase "knock it off". Elle has picked it up. I don't know if this is good or bad. Sometimes she says, "knock it off, Krissy" or "knock it off, everybody". She is very concerned with boo-boos. I had an open-womb on my knuckle. She asked how that happened. I replied that I ran into the wall. Her reply was "knock it off, wall".

I love telling Elle she is my favorite niece! She secretly whispered in my ear the other day "you're my niece".

Many years ago, I saved my favorite childhood doll for my future niece. Elle plays with it when she's at my house. Her name varies from Punchro, Killjoy, to Pepsidiet.

I asked her to sing a song for me. She replies as she taps her finger to her chin, "Umm, let me think... no!”

Crabby Carpinteria

The first half-day of our California trip was spent in Carpinteria. We have spent many summers camping at Carpinteria State Beach with family and friends. We ate at The Palms, where only adults are allowed to eat-- not really. I will always remember The Palms as an adults only restaurant. The younger kids had to stay at the campground and make macaroni and cheese while the adults lived it up, eating crab and steak. The crab was incredible! After dinner we walked around and went to the movies. It is always great to see a movie at night! We saw The Back-up Plan, which is aptly named. I thought Jennifer Lopez was the back-up actress because no one else would play the part. The whole thing was contrived and had moments of forced laughter. Don't misunderstand me, it was entertaining, had some moments of genuine laughter, and the main actor was definitely cute!

"Let your light so shine..."

The Kent girls attended one of the best Stake Relief Society Activities on Saturday, April 24th! Ladies from the Bakersfield East Stake presented a variety of talents for a Relief Society talent show from 10 AM to 1 PM. Women from our ward shared their writings, scrapbooks, vinyl lettering, spinning, and musical talents. Tables were provided to display scrapbooks and other things. Other talents shared from women in the Stake were cake decorating, dressmaking, singing, painting on china plates, dance choreography, & harp playing. After chatting and viewing the many tables of talents, we watched women perform some talents. The food was amazing! The appetizers were available before the talent show. The main course was had after the talent show!

Daniel Dynamite

Tonight was Kern Valley Ward Talent Show hosted by my dad. The Kent/Tucker family were highly involved in creating a memorable ward activity. Daniel Minor a.k.a. Daniel Dynamite dressed up like Napoleon Dynamite and danced exactly like the character during the Pedro election scene. It was hilarious! He is my new hero. He is normally so shy, but he sure can dance! Elle sang the first verse of "My Heavenly Father Loves Me". The first part you could not hear, but she ended it nicely! Krissy surprised me and sang a different version of "My Favorite Things". I saw it done by Hilary Weeks on YouTube and thought it be great for the talent show!

My Favorite Things:

“when I don't constantly nag at my children

they just do their chores likes sweeping in the kitchen

when they put toilet paper back on the role it feels like I've witnessed a small miracle

Here are a few of my favorite things...

bedtime and naptime and bedtime and naptime and bedtime and naptime and bedtime and naptime. Did I mention it's nice it when the kids go to sleep?

These are a few of my favorite things

when the kids fight

when my husband's late

when I'm feeling sad

I open the freezer, pull out the ice cream, and then I don't feel so bad"

Krissy did great. She made sure to tell me that I owed her!

Perfect Arizona

Well, it was just the right temperature for a weekend in Arizona--80 degrees! We, those who we still have Kent for their last name, flew to Phoenix for friends, food, family, shopping, and a wedding. My cousin Phil (my mom's nephew) married a funny girl named Francesca. Her flowers were absolutely beautiful!

Movie Roundup

The beginning of the year I am always sick, therefore my voice recognition program does not work well enough for me. A frustrated Kelly does not make a pleasant Kelly! I decided to summarize some of the movies I've watched so far this year...

How to Train Your Dragon

This is my first "late night" movie of 2010! I went with Krissy and her children to the Wolford Heights theater on free popcorn night. When Krissy told me the name of the film, I thought it sounded like it was X-rated. Krissy assured me it was rated PG. I thought there were unnecessary political parallels, but my sisters did not see my crazy political commentary. Elle and Kent were fun to watch during the movie. Kent would did this "cute" little whine whenever he had to share MY soda! According to Elle, the movie was only "a little scary."

Dear John

Dear John has two combinations that are impossible not to enjoy, a Nicholas Sparks' storyline and Channing Tatum! The book is better, but the movie has Tatum. The Kent girls were the only ones in the theater besides one older lady (I'll call her Bertha). Since we were the only ones there, Bertha felt so emotionally connected to the movie that she would say things like "this is just like the story of my son", "I used to have that same wallpaper", or "after all these years, she hasn't gained any weight. After the movie was over, my dad arrived to pick us up. Of course, he was fake sobbing when he came into the theater. Later my mom ran into Bertha who asked, "Who was that heartless man?"

500 Days of Summer

Narrator: "This is a story of boy meets girl. But you should know up front, this is not a love story."

I wanted to see this movie in the theater, but I don't think it ever came to Bakersfield. It was very cute, funny, and original. I highly recommend it! Best line: "Darling... I don't know how to tell you this, but... there's a Chinese family in our bathroom".

Leap Year

Amy Adams is always adorable! My mom and I liked this chick flick. There were moments boredom, but over all it was good.

4th Annual “Race 4 Results"

Yesterday friends and family participate in the annual

FARA “Race 4 Results" 5K/10k. We wore t-shirts that said: "I’m walking for Joe Kent".  I am grateful for all of the participants, but especially for those who travel far distances to offer support, a smile, and laugh!

We got Annie!

Elle attended her first Bakersfield Music Theatre a performance at the Harvey Auditorium! She was very well behaved for a three-year-old. She loves watching Annie while she gets into things in my bedroom. (I always remind her that she is not allowed to play with my miniature statue of Edward!) She loves to re-watch the "Let's Go to the Movies " scene. "Rewind it, Kelly!" I was disappointed that they did not sing that song. It was replaced by "N.Y.C.", which I had never heard. The lady who played Mrs. Hannigan was very funny! The girl who played Annie was a 'screecher'. I think she forgot she wore a microphone!