May 8, 2011 Mother's Day

My precious mother passed from this life three years ago, on Mother's Day, May 11, 2008. If she could have chosen, I know she would not have gone home to her maker on that particular day. I'm sure it was a happy day for her, but she wouldn't want me, or any of her family to be feeling bad every Mother's Day. SO, I am trying to be happy, and I am remembering many happy times in my life. This is one of my favorite pictures of my mother. I was five years old when this photo was taken, and I remember it like it was yesterday. We had lived in this house for two years. I put up a picture of it just a couple of posts back. I lived there for another 17 years until I married. That's my rocking horse on the porch. I love that she is holding one of our puppies, because that was what she was often doing. She loved the dogs that she raised. She hand wrote every pedigree, with the champions in red. When they were sold, every puppy went home with pages of handwritten instructions about their care. She included personality traits and special likes that each puppy had. She wrote hints for helping him/her to sleep through the night. She cried over every one when they left for their new homes. Her love for all of God's creatures continued to her final breath. This dress she is wearing, was white, with shades of green foilage. I wish I could be a little girl again and run to her arms, feel her hugs, hear her bedtime stories, pray with her, and have her tuck me in.

This is the last photo that was taken of mom. It was only days before she died. She insisted on going to her Great-granddaughter, Livvy's, birthday party. She is sitting in a wheel chair, something she didn't like, and waited to the last minute to use. My sons carried her in her chair up into the living room where this was taken. She was giggling all the way up! When I look at THIS photo, I long to be the older me, who took her to doctor appointments, kept her company in her room each evening, picked up her medications, and helped her with all of her communication with everyone by signing for her, (she lost her hearing at age 54). I made greeting cards for her to send to her many friends, did her washing , curled her hair, took her on outings, cried with her, hugged her, cooked for her, prayed with her, and tucked HER in at night! Our roles reversed, especially those last 6 months. I LOVED doing the things for her that she had done for me, when I was young. This is as it should be. I can hardly wait to see her again. I LOVE you mom. Happy Mother's Day!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

I am ten years old in this picture. I love those freckles! I have a story about this dress. My mother made all of my clothing...beautiful things. Always original. She never followed a pattern for anything. I could draw her what I wanted and pick out the fabrics and she would work her magic on them and turn out something beautiful just for me. For some reason, I wanted a dress from the store. This dress is the first one I remember getting from a store. I loved the color, the velvet belt and the rhinestones on the collar and down the front. The seams itched me so bad that I came to appreciate the home made clothes! A photographer came to the house and took a few pictures of my brother and I in our living room. He had a backdrop, and seated us on the piano bench. My hair was past my waist. I did have a little natural curl, but mom rolled it up in those metal rollers, and dried it with the vacuum cleaner!!! That's right...she laid the canister vacuum on it's side on the couch and I sat on the floor. It had an opening on the bottom that was about 1 1/2 ins across where hot air blew out the bottom. So it became a makeshift hair dryer.

April 28, 2011 flashback 45 years

Here we are 45 years ago today...just married.

At the reception center that evening with our parents.

Here is the line...I still like the rainbow colors

April 25

Thursday the 28th, is our wedding anniversary. We were married on a Thursday. It's been 45 years. The time went by so fast.......it doesn't seem possible. We were so young and hopeful on this day. It was a beautiful spring day, warm and still. The blossoms were out. This photo was taken at the Reception center ..... "The Crestwood Villa". We had a live band and dancing going on. Lots of guests came, and I remember my face actually hurt from smiling so much.

April 17 2011 Changing up the blog!

I have decided to take my personal blog in a new direction. I will be posting on Sundays...mostly old photos with a little story or facts from my life. This is the home that I grew up in, in Murray Utah. My parents bought this house when I was three years old. I still remember when they first looked at it, and I wanted them to buy it because there was a table downstairs with a little airplane sitting on it!!! I lived here until I married at 22 years of age. My parents sold the home in 1978 when they moved to St George for my mother's health problems. I had five children at that time, and I felt like the world would end with my mom moving 300 miles away. This house didn't look like much when my parents bought it... but mom landscaped it and cared for it, and it was beautiful inside and out. Not so today... I can hardly stand to drive past it now. It looks so bad. But...this is how it is in my memory. Stay tuned for childhood stories that happened here.

"I LOVE HIM TOO"

Today, our three year old granddaughter , Rory, was playing at our house for a little while. I still have a few things propped up against the wood stove, waiting for me to put them back up. One is a special gift that my nephew, Derek, made for me when my mother passed away. My mother was deaf, and she always signed the well known "I Love You" to everyone. The gift from my nephew, is a sketch of the Savior's hand, signing "I Love You". The wound from the nail in His palm is visible. I love this because it says SOOO MUCH that is not seen. I noticed Rory kneeling by this sketch, and doing the I love you sign herself...comparing her own hand to the Savior's. I grabbed my camera quickly, and got this shot that I will always treasure.

We talked about how Jesus loves us, and died for us, and that we love him too.

"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."

Isaiah 49:16

January 2, 2011

Sunday...My favorite day of the week. I am glad that we are back to the 9:00 - 12:00 meeting block. There is enough time in the day now to do all those Sunday things. I called my brother, our daughter, Heidi , and two friends who I needed to chat with and catch up with. I worked on my photography blog, and wrote in my journal. Our son, Brian, came to visit. Ralph and I watched an old movie on TV. It is one we went to when we were first dating. I enjoyed all of our meetings today very much . Our course of study for the year is the NEW TESTAMENT, which I especially love.

I have made some goals for the new year. I will not be listing all of them here. Some are on-going, others are new, but I believe they are possible to accomplish, and by sticking to my course, they will enable me to have a good year and feel like I accomplished something good in a year from now when I look back on 2011.

In my photo you can see some things that are really important to my goals. I'm doing some long overdue Family history. I want to learn Lightroom, I started a new journal, which always feels good, and I have a new planner. I can't function without a planner. Life seems to get busier and busier, and my planner keeps it all under control.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL......