Fathers

Even though Father's Day has passed, I will not forget about fathers, especially mine. I have many fond memories of my dad, and I looked up to him...still do. He was such a good example to me and my siblings while we were growing up, and even more after we were all grown. He is my hero, though he's been gone for 14 years now. I remember sitting by his garden with him and having good discussions, playing music with him (he played harmonica and I played guitar) at home and in the Southern Utah Folklife Festival, singing duets in the car on trips or sitting at home, riding in the back of his blue 3-wheel Cushman scooter, and listening to stories of his experiences when he worked on the trails and tunnel in Zion National Park. He was an inventor, hard worker, carpenter, jack-of-all-trades, spiritual giant, great father, and wonderful grandpa! I learned so much from Dad and I knew I could talk to him about anything. I knew he loved me and didn't judge me. Everyone loved him, too. In my estimation he was perfect! He lived an honest life, and was rich in the ways that counted. He died a month and a half short of being 91. I will always miss his infectious laugh and good natured humor. Someone asked me if it was a relief after he died and I told them, 'No!' Just because he was older means that I had him longer to love and share memories with. If anything, I miss him more because I knew him better!  Happy Father's Day to all the fathers, even if it is a belated one! 

My family

MOTHER

It seems like a good time to write a few words about Mother(s). I am the youngest of six children and so I had lots of opportunities to babysit my nieces and nephews as I was growing up. I earned money babysitting for neighbors and friends, too, back then...a whole 50 cents an hour, and I felt rich!! I kind of got tired of doing it when I reached the age that I wanted to date. I married my sweetheart when I was 19 and had my first child at age 20. It was a frightening, exciting, but wonderful experience--being a Mother! Over the years I have looked back and marvelled at how well my children turned out, what with my being an amateur and all. I always loved being a Mother, even during the challenging, hair-pulling-out times. I still do. I will always be a Mother. But now I am also a Grandmother, and I love that, too. I didn't go to college for a formal education, but I have taken lots of classes along my journey and have learned oh, so many skills! I learned the hard way for some of those skills, through necessity. Overall, I think I did pretty well at being a Mother...if I do say so. My youngest child is going to have a family soon and I'm excited for her to be a mother as well. I had a wonderful teacher and the best Mother in the whole world! She taught me how to be a caring, compassionate, loving person, and hopefully the best Mother I can be. I miss her dearly, but the example she set will always be a reminder of what a Mother should be. Lots of dear memories!! So on this upcoming Mother's Day, I want to wish all the mothers out there a very Happy Mother's Day! Be grateful for this precious gift of being co-creator with a loving Heavenly Father (and Mother) and take care of these special little spirits. They are indeed blessings to us Mothers!

Easter Memories

When I think back on some Easter memories, one that pops out is that my mother made the cutest Easter egg tree that I've ever seen! She blew the eggs out and colored them. I don't know how she did it, but each egg was perfectly cut in half and dyed. She then got a branch (manzanita) and cleaned it up, put it in a container, then proceeded to decorate each egg half. Mom used rickrack, ribbon, lace and bows to fancy each little egg 'basket' to hang on the manzanita tree. She added 'grass' and even put a few jelly beans or candy in each one of the eggs, and tied bows on the branches as well. It was quite the centerpiece! Other memories are of picnics out in the hills, away from city life. The food she packed was so yummy (doesn't everything taste better on a picnic, anyway?) Sometimes we went to the mountains with our basket of goodies, but wherever it was, we enjoyed being together as a family to celebrate Easter. Some of the all-time-favorite food items were: potato salad, deviled eggs, and ham sandwiches. Usually there were pickles, olives, chips and some sort of dessert, too. It all makes me long for those fun times and my mouth is starting to water just thinking about the good food. I have tried to make the holidays special for my own children through the years, enjoying some of the same traditions. One that they will probably remember is the Easter egg hunts. We celebrated the 'bunny' on Saturday, saving Sunday for the real reason we celebrate this holiday. When I was teaching Primary, I found a cute idea and shared it with my class to help them remember the true meaning of Easter--putting a crescent roll around a marshmallow and baking it, symbolizing the tomb of Christ. When the roll is baked, the marshmallow has disappeared--He is not here, but has risen! I hope that we all remember the true meaning and thank our Savior for His infinite Atoning Sacrifice for us and resurrection that makes it possible for us to live again. I know He lives!

I love these majestic beauties...I also had purple irises earlier this year. Exquisite!

Just thinking...

The last few days I have been doing a lot of thinking. It must be that's it's Spring and renewal is in the air...or something like that. I have been reflecting on many things, but one in particular is personal revelation. In our Stake Relief Society, the theme for the year has been Personal Revelation: Scriptures, lamps, and liahonas. It is a time of learning how to receive and recognize personal revelation. Personally, I have had many experiences and cherish them all. Many miracles have come about in my life and the lives of my loved ones through the years, even recently. But it seems like the windows of heaven have opened up wide lately and have been pouring out blessings galore. I have really enjoyed perusing the internet and finding numerous blogs and testimonies of LDS women who share their knowledge and talents with the rest of us. I so appreciate them! General Conference was especially wonderful and personal this April, too! I love the gospel and its truths. I love that we can sit in the comfort of our homes and listen to a prophet's voice and feel the spirit and find peace in their wisdom. I love the knowledge that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are real and that they love each one of us and know us by name. I love that we can, with the click of a mouse, re-listen to the many talks that were given. The music was so beautiful and soothing and spoke to my soul. Visualizing the sound of people singing together in praise to Heavenly Father and wondering what the impact of that was/is, I can barely keep from getting emotional just thinking about that. We live in such a wonderful dispensation--full of hope, miracles, turmoil, trials, and privilege! I feel bad for the many people affected by the disasters throughout the world, but am so grateful that I live in this time when we have the restored gospel on the earth. I love the Savior and I'm so grateful for His love and willingness to die so that we might live! I can be reunited with those loved ones that have passed on and it will be a joyous occasion, let me tell you! There are so many things going through my head that I can't write them all, but I wanted to at least get these few thoughts down...to be continued, I'm sure. :)

Family Reunions

Today my husband and I attended a Family Reunion. It was a very pleasant day for spending time with relatives that we knew and those that we were priviledged to get to know. It turned out to be a simple, well-planned affair that was very nice. Upon arriving, we were greeted and registered by printing our names on a card bearing the specific line of our ancestor's name. We were given a registration packet which we filled out so we could have access to information via email, including pictures taken during the reunion. Then it was on to the lunch of sandwiches & chips, which was provided by those in charge, and supplemented with potluck salads and desserts--very simple, but good food--while visiting with each other. When most were finished eating, it was time for each family to stand and share memories of their ancestor(s) and stories--serious or comical. There was also some business matters discussed regarding fixing up the cemetery, etc. For those of us that wanted to, we got in our cars and drove the short distance to view the old original school house (where a few more memories were shared by those who had attended there), and then up the road to the cemetery. More pictures were taken for genealogy purposes and then we were free to return to the chapel where we first met up to visit more, or head home. It was a day well-spent and left everyone with a renewed resolve to remember our ancestors and do this again in a couple of years. It is our responsibility to keep our families close and to learn about our heritage. If we fail to keep the lines going, they will be lost and slip away. Our parents would be disappointed in us for dropping the ball, and we would miss out on getting to know our roots. It's important to know where we all fit in the big scheme of things--afterall, it's all about Family, isn't it?