Whoa... it's been a while

Sorry it's been so long! This one comes from Raven-

"Rachel B. has got to be one of the loveliest people I know. Always a friend, she has served me in countless ways. One in particular that comes to mind was her willingness to tend my toddler for 3 hours one day so that I could chaperone my daughter's school field trip. I asked her last-minute, she has three children of her own (one still a baby), and 3 hours is a long time. But she was quick to say "yes" and seemed eager to help. What a relief that was for me! Especially since I dread trying to find babysitters and this was so last minute. This willingness to help goes beyond my own children, though. Can I tell you how many times Rachel has substituted in our ward's primary? No I can't--there are just too many times. Whether it's as a pianist, a chorister, or a teacher, she is one of those women that we know we can count on and turn to in a pinch. It's people like Rachel that make me so grateful to live in this neighborhood! Thank you, Rachel!"

I agree! Rachel B. is one of my favorite people. She single-handedly made sure I got the one thing I wanted for my new baby- a car seat cover. That sounds dumb, but seriously, it was so nice of her to a)remember that I was longing for one, and b)make sure I got the exact one I wanted. She is so considerate of the people around her, and she will do anything to help. We love you!

Email your good gossip to cassmaster(at)gmail(dot)com!

The Boy Whisperer

Sorry guys, I NEED to catch up on my good gossip! I'm sure there's plenty out there- email me if you know some good stories!

This one comes from me...

The other day, a bunch of us moms were out at the playground with all our kids, and little Jesse got stung by a bee. Poor little guy. You could tell it was hurting him, and he was screaming, but from the looks of it, he didn't want to go home to get it fixed- he was having too much fun at the park. Rachel was doing her best to calm him, but when he wouldn't go home, she was kind of stuck.

Enter Michelle W. She runs home, comes back out with a little first aid kit (something that I don't have- shame on me), and starts talking to Jesse. She says it's her 'special box' that helps little boys when they're hurt. Man, that kid quieted right down. He started listening to everything she said, sat down while they put some sting stuff on him and whatnot, and was just peachy after just a few minutes.

Have you ever seen a better boy-mom? She's stinking awesome. She came to the rescue yet again. She does that a lot...

Thanks, Michelle! You are not allowed to move. Ever. :)

I'm the worst person on the planet...

This story comes from me, but it needs a little back story.

Last Sunday, Liza asked me how I was doing, I said good, etc, and she said that if I ever needed a place for Lexi and Lanie to go, to just call her. Sometimes it's easier when your kid has a friend over to play with, you know? So I said I would, and we left.

Wednesday, I was slightly stressed because I had in-laws coming into town and I needed to get the house ready. I remembered that Liza offered for my kids to play at her house, and I promptly gave her a call. She said that she was pretty busy that day, they were about to go for pictures, and that maybe tommorow would work for a playdate.

The next day, upon reading her facebook status, I figure out that her brother got married on Wednesday! That's the pictures they were talking about! I probably called her on the worst possible day, and instead of just telling me 'no way', she actually offered the very next day for a playdate. How stinking nice is that?!

Wait, there's more. The next morning she calls and says that she forgot that her family was doing a birthday party for her grandpa, so they wouldn't be home for a playdate. BUT, she said that she'd be more than happy to take Lexi with her to play with Nan at her mom's house. Are you kidding me? She has all this family stuff going on, but she's still more than willing to take Lexi with her? SO NICE.

And do you know what I did? I took her up on her offer. And Lexi had a blast at Liza's mom's house. And I got stuff done around the house. I'm terrible, and I should have said no. But I didn't, and I'm kinda glad I didn't. Lexi had so much fun, and I learned how great of a person Liza is. I mean, I already knew, but holy moley. She's so genuinely nice and caring about everyone she's meets. Liza always makes primary as smooth as possible on Sunday, and I think that's because she sincerely cares about every single child in that room. That's charity at work, people.

Liza, you're seriously the best. Thank you so much!

So many nice people to choose from...

I have been out of town, and I haven't gotten any good gossip from people lately. I'm sure that doesn't mean that service isn't being rendered, it just means I haven't heard it. :)

Anyway, this comes from me, about Rachel B.

The backdrop is June, and Rachel has JUST had her new baby girl. Like, a week ago. Maybe a week and a half. We had recently been to Rachel's house, pre-new-baby, for some ice cream cake and chatting. Brandon LOVED the cake, and father's day was coming up, and I wanted to make the dessert for him.

So, like any other person with no shame, I called her up and left a voicemail asking for the recipe. Days after having a baby. Without offering or giving any service myself. For some reason, I really regret that. I should've brought FOOD or something.

Anywho, she calls back, while she was running errands, and recites the recipe from memory for me, so that I could make a father's day dessert for Brandon. I just thought that was so nice of her. I'm sure the last thing on her mind was helping me. But she did it all the same.

Part 2- kind of... Rachel had made cookies for ward choir one Sunday, and after choir realized that she didn't hand them out. Did I mention that this was also post-baby? Do we all know how scatterbrained we are after having a new baby? Anyway, she went to everyone's house that came to choir that day and dropped off a cookie for each of us. Did I also mention that I live on the 3rd floor? And these cookies were good. You know, those homemade oreo ones? SOOOO good. I thought that was going above and beyond her calling and showing gratitude for us who came to choir.

Long story short? Go to ward choir. You'll get some awesome treats. :)

We love you, Rachel! Don't move, okay? :) And I still owe you food of some kind...

Email me your good gossip at cassmaster(at)gmail(dot)com!

Another goodie

This comes from my friend Janae, who always knows what to say...

"Today I am not writing about one person but to all the great people in
this community. There are just so many people that give of their time
and talents to make this a better community, a better city, and a
better ward.

I see the way people forgive and forget, the way they accept, the way
people are trying to be good. It is inspiring and humbling to live in
such a neighborhood.

Though we all have our faults I am grateful for neighbors who can look
past them, for those who try to lift. There is so much good here that
it gets me choked up just thinking about it.

Thank you Gateway and Pleasant Springs neighbors for being you."

Janae, you are also a great example of this! We truly live in a great neighborhood.

P.S. Be sure to say hi to your elderly neighbors! You never know when they are feeling blue or left out.

Email me your good gossip at cassmaster(at)gmail(dot)com!

ANOTHER service-oriented person

This again comes from me-

Carrie B. is probably one of the nicest people on the planet. I know I say that a lot, but seriously. Seriously! She never has a mean word to say about anyone.

She did SO much to make the pioneer primary activity so fun for the kids. Did you guys see all those wagons? Carrie did them. My girls LOVED them! I'm sure she did so much more than that, but I don't know the details. Those wagons were so fun for the kids to play in, and to make a 'trek' outside. So cute!

And, to go along with yesterday's post, she ALSO volunteered to take care of kids in the 'ward choir nursery' along with Sheryl. So, she spent two hours working with kids in primary, and then she stayed an additional hour to help take care of kids so the parents could sing.

Carrie is so helpful, kind, and LOVING. She's always willing to lend a helping hand. Did I mention that she's such a good mommy? She's a great example to me on how to be loving to my kids. We love you!

Email me your good gossip at cassmaster(at)gmail(dot)com!

The definition of nice

This comes from me, because I thought, this girl is so thoughtful!

Sheryl O. is always taking care of babies. Does she have any of her own? No. She just always has one in her hands to help take the load off of his/her mother.

On Sunday I saw her taking care of little McKay, Erica's little boy, during church. Erica was subbing in primary, and I'm assuming Sheryl volunteered to take her baby so she wouldn't have to worry about him in primary. She was holding him all through relief society, and she even changed his diaper. Talk about service! haha. :)

THEN, she helped take care of kids in the 'ward choir nursery.' In case you didn't know, in order for mommies and daddies to participate in ward choir, there is now a ward choir nursery for the kiddies to play in during rehearsal. Sheryl volunteered to stay AFTER church for an hour to take care of all the kids so their parents could sing.

Again, she is the nicest person on the planet. How many of you agree with me? And she's smart and funny, and so fun to talk to.

We love you, Sheryl!

Email me your good gossip at cassmaster(at)gmail(dot)com!

Have we not done this girl yet?!

This comes from my friend Michelle, again. She's really good at recognizing service...

"Wendy G is amazing! I have loads of scrapbook stuff that she has given me, which I have used on so many occasions. Most recently for Coby's birthday party.
She lent me her serger to turn the boys' pants into shorts for summer. They look fantastic and I saved SO much time.
Despite having a whole bagful of clothes, I had very little that DJ could wear. Never fear-the clothing fairy appeared in the form of Wendy. Now, DJ looks so cool in his Ironman shirt and I chuckle when he is wearing his HULK shirt and gets angry.
And she lets me borrow books from their library. What a wonderful friend!"

Gosh, I couldn't agree more. Despite being superwoman, Wendy is so thoughtful, kind, and always willing to help. If you even mention the need for help, she will go above and beyond the call of duty. Last year, I wanted to make a scrapbook of pictures for someone who was moving out of the ward. I asked Wendy to make the scrapbook, since I am terrible at things like that. I told her I would pay for supplies. When she was finished, not only did it look INCREDIBLE, but she wouldn't take any money. She said she's trying to get rid of her supplies anyway. How nice is that?

AND, when I had to make a Christmas scrapbook page for my family, and mine would NOT print off in time, Wendy saved the day and made gorgeous scrapbook pages that I passed of as my own to my family. :) She is AMAZING. Did you know that she's also colorblind??? Have you seen her scrapbooking? Just amazing.

We love you Wendy!! Never move, okay? :)

Email me your good gossip at cassmaster(at)gmail(dot)com!

You gotta love surrogate grandpa's...

This is my last one from Michelle, and again, the text is really small. Oh well...

"I love swimming. Kai, Coby, and Liam love swimming!! DJ loves the bathtub and tries to crawl in every chance he gets, but he does NOT like the pool, unless he is clinging to me. No fun! So I am grateful that the boys are still able to get their swimming fix because "Grandpa Randy" K. is willing to watch them while Randy swims. Thank you!"

That is so nice, Randy! My goodness, that is such a big help. I know that when I need to go quick and even just be gone for a few minutes, it's so nice for someone else to watch my kiddos at the pool so I don't have to take the kids with me. That is so nice to let the kids play at the pool and watch them.

Thank you Randy, for just being who you are. You are such and kind and generous person. We love you!

Email me your good gossip at cassmaster(at)gmail(dot)com!

Teaching Awesomeness, there, I said it.

This post might be a little selfish of me, because I already did a post about this person. But frankly there's only so many people in the community, and I'm gonna do it anyway...

Brittany S. has been teaching the Babes in Arms class at church for a while now, and I love her lessons. Here's the reason why I love them- 1) you can tell she loves the gospel. It just emanates from her. You can feel her testimony. And 2) You can also tell that she has prepared so much for her lessons. The spirit is so strong in her class, and it's because she has put so much thought and prayer into each and every lesson she teaches. I always walk away from her class uplifted and enriched.

Brittany got a new calling, and she gave her last lesson on Sunday. Now the Young Women get to bask in her teaching awesomeness.

We will miss you, Brittany! But we know you will do great in your new calling.

Email me your good gossip at cassmaster(at)gmail(dot)com!

Has gardening taken over your life, like me?

This comes from Michelle. And I don't know why the font is so small. I can't fix it...

"I know nothing about gardening. So I appreciate any help and tips I can get.

• build a mound up and around my potatoes. ~I had no idea I was supposed to do that, thanks Liza B.
• an action hoe is the best way to weed your plot ~ I was able to weed 8 lines with the action hoe in the time it took me to do two lines with an ordinary hoe. Thanks Rachel C for letting me borrow it.
• if you have an end cap on the end of your line you can take it off to use the line as a hose to water your plot instead of hauling watering cans ~ Mandi T, my arms thank you!
• you can fix a gushing hole in your line with a candy wrapper and twine. ~ Thanks Rob for stopping the impending flood. "

Do you know how helpful people are at the garden? Seriously. That place is like a little service heaven. Ryan J. helped us weed the other night, and believe me, it was a big job. It's kind of the new hang out place. Thank you so much to all who help out so much over there!

Email me your good gossip at cassmaster(at)gmail(dot)com!

Adopted Grandparents

This one comes from me...

So, I'm trying not to use last names on this here blog, but sometimes it's impossible. I think just this once I will...

The Pitzaks (sp?) are just about the nicest couple you could ever meet. They are so kind of good with kids. They are an older couple with grandkids of their own, and they know just how to have fun with the little kiddos.

This past Saturday we were at the pool, and the Pitzaks were there as well. The girls had a blast in the pool with them! Randy was throwing Lexi in the air, and Lanie was swimming to him. It was like having grandparents for our kids to play with. They were so nice to be willing to play all afternoon with them. And that meant that I could relax a little and watch them swim in the pool.

Thank you, Bro. and Sis. Pitzak! We are so lucky to have you with us!

Email me your good gossip at cassmaster(at)gmail(dot)com.

This makes me feel so good inside...

This comes from my friend Michelle...

"This is a two fold shout out.

Inspired by this blog, Raven H. offered no-strings-attached babysitting for one of her neighbors. The first to comment on her facebook status got the babysitting. Brekke F. commented first for ME. Isn't that awesome!? How wonderful to be thinking of me and giving something that she could use for herself.

Raven watched my oldest three while I shopped with just DJ. I never thought that as an adult, I would look forward to going to the grocery store. It was heaven!! I was able to get my shopping done (in half the time), unload it all, and have a snack before retrieving my kiddos, who had a blast playing Mythbusters. Thank you Brekke & Raven!"

Aw, what nice neighbors! And I'm so glad this blog had a bit of an impact. Need we mention that Raven has 3 kiddos of her own, including a newborn? That was so nice of her! And Brekke, you are so kind and considerate to take the offer for someone else instead of using it yourself. Wow, I'm seriously impressed!

Email me your good gossip at cassmaster(at)gmail(dot)com!

Complex of FIRE

This one comes from me...

A lot of us participated in what we called a 'complex of fire' on Friday night. A bunch of us from the complex got together to watch fireworks. First of all, it was AWESOME! The best fireworks show that you would ever expect in our little complex. But I was also thinking about the silent helpers throughout the night.

1. Rachel B. brought out a tablecloth to put all the little goodies on. I thought that was so helpful! I think she also brought out a pitcher of water...

2. Dave B., Dan C., Nick B., and JT W. (is that all of them?) helped with the fireworks all night to make sure they were lit, and that we were all entertained.

3. All of the above mentioned's wives LET their husbands do that so we could enjoy the fireworks. That means that they were alone taking care of their kiddos so their hubbies could light our fireworks for us.

4. And just to add a little, Dan C. cleaned up the firework debris afterward. That was a pretty big task and it was so helpful!

Thank you to everyone that made the complex of fire such a blast this year!

Email me your good gossip at cassmaster(at)gmail(dot)com!

Answer to prayer

Sorry guys, I guess life just happened this week, and I've been away from the blogging scene. Here's our latest gossip from Michelle. She actually said she felt silly giving me this gossip because it's small, but it was so helpful to her. Are you kidding?! Small acts of service are the best!

"DJ had a melt down during Relief Society. Usually, when he gets this way (every Sunday) one of us will take him home for his nap, but Jake is out of town and I didn't want to pull Coby or Liam from their class. I was at a bit of a loss, just wait it out or take him home then come back?

Fortunately, Renae V. came out and asked "Is there anything I can do to help?" Yes!! She brought my boys home from church, so I could take DJ home to nap. He fell asleep almost immediately. What a relief! Her help was exactly what I needed at that moment. "

I'm sure Renae felt some kind of prompting to ask Michelle if she needed help. And it's exactly what she needed. We are so glad that her family is still in the ward! And in the community. Thank you, Renae!

Email me your good gossip at cassmaster(at)gmail(dot)com!

"Magnifying" her calling would be an understatement

I've run out of good gossip from you guys, so this one comes from me.

Our community is good at having babies. We have a TON of babies in this ward. Do you know who is a sort of unsung hero in our community when it comes to taking care of these families? Marta. She has never shirked her responsibility of compassionate service leader in our ward. She always makes the phone calls that gets people dinners. Not just for having babies either. She is awesome at making sure people are taken care of when they need it most.

The thing is, you can't be that good at your calling if you don't genuinely care for and love the people you are serving. Marta is one of the nicest, most compassionate people I know.

We love you Marta!

Email me your good gossip at cassmaster(at)gmail(dot)com!

And mom of the year goes to...

This is kind of a companion post to yesterday's from Jill...

"Candace H. is a great example to me. I've always watched her from a distance and been impressed. I now consider her one of my great friends as well. What amazes me is her calmness. I watch her on Sunday and during the week with her boys. Having a husband working, in school, and in a high demand calling she is forced to fly solo many times. Yet you never hear her complain. Never see her frazzled or yelling or pulling her hair out. If only I could be more like Candace! She's always has a welcoming smile for everyone that goes by. She continues to amaze me in her willingness to serve. She's been a great friend to me.

Both girls are amazing. Despite their 3 children (which the thought of just terrifies me!) They are always willing to help those around them. They always have more kids with them than just their own. And they do it with a smile. I love these two girls and am so grateful to know them and have them living in our community. They are always willing to help out. If ever I am stressed or need a break I know I can count on them. I'm not the best at taking them up on their offers, but it is nice to know that they are there when I need them. They really are true friends. Thanks girls, I love you both!"

Candace, you amaze me on so many levels. Seriously. You are the best, most patient mom ever. If only we could be more like you... We love you!

The massage queen!

This comes from my friend Jill, so awesome...

"Erica G. is one of my closest friends. She and I have been friends since we first moved in, 3+ years ago, and were paired up as visiting teaching companions. She is one of those friends you know you can always count on. She will drop anything to help anyone in need. I love that whenever I just need to get out and spend time with a girl friend I can count on her. I can't tell you how many times I've called her last minute and said "lets go." She's sweet, funny, and always up for a good time. She's one of the best listeners ever. And always understanding, no matter how irrational my stories may get! She's a great person and a great friend!"

Erica is one of those silent service types. She is always flying under the radar, doing the nicest things for people in need. She's so nice and friendly to all who meet her. AND she gives awesome massages. We love you, Erica!

Do you know a nicer couple? Seriously?!

The last one from Janae, though I had a lot of fun reading all these...

"Blake and Mandi Taylor are my next door neighbors. One of the best things I love to do with them is sit on the porch and talk. It is a blessing to go sit outside and just be in good company. What a release. Blake takes my trash out and thanks to Mandi everyone has plots at the garden. That has been a lot of work and she has done an excellent job."

Mandi is one of my favorite people on the planet. She is so NICE. Just genuinely nice and kind-hearted. I just came up with the perfect phrase- without guile. That's her. And Blake is just the same. And so good with kids too. They were made for each other! AND, Mandi is the best photographer too.

Can I live close to you guys forever? Please? :)

The Youngest good gossip yet...

Again from Janae...

"I want to spotlight my daughter Cozette. During the last week she has really stepped up and has been helping me with my chores instead of choosing to go out and play. I love her for that."

Wow, can I borrow her? :) She sounds like an awesome kid. So helpful. Let's hope she stays that way!