EEK, It's almost Here!

My first child Chet, was born a few days late on December 5th. He is a full grown man now with a family of his own. I am just having trouble of having a son that old. He use to wrestle with his Dad on almost a daily basis and I think he could "take him down" now!

I am so proud of Chet and how he has matured with life and all of it's challenges. He loves his wife and children and is a great provider for them. He has come out of his shell with the help of many friends, but especially with Mindy's help. He is the first one to welcome anyone new in the neighborhood, and would drop whatever he is doing to give of himself. He has even been a good sport at Halloween and dressing up with his family and finding a fun party to attend. He is a loyal friend to many, loves to wear shorts year round, ride his 4-wheeler, and go on family trips.
Hope you enjoy your birthday and many more. We are proud of the man you have become and know Heavenly Father is too.

He is Joining the Thirty Club!

Yes he is! Cant believe Jared is in that club as of today. I have very emotional feelings about the day this child was born. His dad was out of town for 12 weeks and poor Grandma Dorothy was staying with me and trying to hang out in the labor room. His heartbeat took a dive and we called in Uncle Keith to calm down me and Dorothy. They rolled me on my side and his heartbeat was better and we went on to a normal delivery, (Jared really has never been normal). I was glad Uncle Keith was there as when Jared came out he was totally white, and they thought he had a heart problem and whisked him away so fast. I didn't get to see him for 8 hours and poor Doyle in Virginia didn't know whether to fly home or stay there. It turns out it just took Jared a few days to pink up, and he was totally fine. He is a wonderful son, husband, and father at this age, we are so happy to have him in our family. He is a man of honor, loyalty, and has such a fun extroverted personality ( I think his in-laws even like having him around too). You are a blessing in our lives and to many others. We love you and wish you the best in your thirty something years!

Last Day of the Fifty's!

Let them eat cake! I started off my birthday celebration a day early at Taggart's. Some of my fun friends showed up to eat cake with me, Heather, Susan, Marlene, Joan, Lois, and Julia. It was so fun having lunch with the ladies, (I am the last of the bunch to turn 60).

I want to share a lyric with you I love written by Carolyn Pearson. She wrote, "Life is for living, for laughing and giving, whether you're happy or not." I think my header on this blog has revealed how I feel about that. For many years I quoted it to my children as they were growing up and I still feel that way.

I will have to edit my profile to I have just turned sixty! As my husband has told me for several months now, "it beats the alternative, being six feet under". I have a family history of not aging well. Quite a few of my relatives have worked hard at not looking older or feeling it too. One of them still thinks they are the world's oldest teenager at age 85.

I recently went to a conference and the speaker told us to follow this quote from Plato "Life Must be Lived as Play!" He had fifty people enter the room in a different way other than just walking in. I chose to yodel as I entered the room, I never have been a quiet person.

About four and a half years ago I had to have a tumor removed off of my right kidney. I was in shock at the thought of having cancer and not being able to live a full life. For eight days I had to wait to have surgery, the biopsy, and then the report from the doctor. I am happy to report the tumor was benign, I was so grateful to be alive. Emily was out on her mission and I was so afraid I would not be able to see her again. Ashley and Eli were so helpful in greeting me at the hospital and staying with me for awhile to get me back on my feet. My husband was the best through it all. I felt and knew my family was praying for me, along with many friends and ward members. I hope I can always serve with a cheerful heart, to my family, my church and friends. So bring on the decade of the sixty year old. I am so blessed to be at this stage in life and hope to be happy and not ornery into my seventies. (Oh, that sounds crazy).

Cinderella Turns 26

Yes, she did!

Our Cinderella child has reached the age of 26, cant believe it. Yes, you are the youngest, and spoiled but in a good way. You are the candle on the family cake, I think that's why you love to make cakes for other people. You are the pleaser, most caring, and have a special light from within. It does show in your countenance and beams to others in your presence. You have brought many people inside and outside of our family great joy. Your friends will always remember you for your loyalty. Happy Birthday Emily Marie and Happy 1st Anniversary. I wish you many happy years in marriage and your upcoming birthdays! Love you lots, Mama Lama

The Middle Child Hits 33!

Happy Birthday Ashley Ann! I have raised you right, you have those Gypsy genes workin it for you. So glad you got away with your little family most of July and are in the sunshine again. You were a delightful middle child to have organized us all (including your mother). Your Aunt Nell use to call you the bannie rooster, you would run your two older brothers around even before you could walk or talk. I think you only weighed 17 pounds on your 1st birthday and you will always be the shortest one in our family. I was so happy to have a girl after two boys, that the day you came home from the hospital I went out shopping and bought you a new bonnet. You also only wore purple or pink, just like Alice loves now.

However, we are so proud of you and the wife, mother, and best friend to many, that you have become. You are also a faithful daughter to your heavenly father and I wish you many earthly and heavenly blessings throughout your life. Go ahead and eat cake!
Love you, Mom

Rain, Rain and Snow go Away!

This is my post for May! Where is the spring weather? We have gone from winter to more winter type weather for all of May. Yes, I am complaining and I am glad to be alive, enough is enough. We planted two rows of veggies in the garden, they are struggling. It's suppose to freeze tonight, so the garden may be lost. We have such a short growing season, that I may be a frequent customer at the farmers market this year! I just want tomatoes with that great earthy taste. Lots of fun with Mother's Day BBQ, baby blessing, and surprise visit from Jake.

It is also Jakes birthday this month. Everyone loves Jake! From the time he could walk and talk he had a friend by his side. Whether it was one of his siblings or a stray. He didnt care where your lived, or what your parents did for a living, if he wanted to play with you he did.

He has always had an open heart and genuine love for his family and friends. He would go without so you could have what you need. Hope you have a super day and we miss and love you.

I Love my Sixty Year Old!

Well it is official, I am sleeping with an old man, but I love it. My husband celebrated his sixtieth birthday on Sunday. He even let us have a party for him. He had a surprise visit from Ashley and Emery who flew in from Oregon on Friday night. Emily picked them up at the airport and they rang the doorbell at 9:30pm and we thought Doyle was going to cry when he answered the door.

We had all of the kids (except Jake, we missed you) over for a baked potato bar and then the extended family for cake and ice cream on Sunday. LeRoy, Jay, Kay, Rex, JoAnn and Brent came to wish their brother a great birthday, he was really pleased to see his siblings come.

The backyard was full of grandchildren playing ball with their parents. Jared and Chet were trying to wrestle each other to the ground several times, you cant take the boy out of the man some days. The newest addition Adalynn was present to meet some of her cousins, aunts, and uncles for the first time.

I have six months to hang on to 59, and hope to have as much fun and be as graceful turning sixty as Doyle was. Just don't call me Madam, that makes me feel really old!

Fishy Lingerie

Well it's been a year since my mother passed away tomorrow. I cant write about her yet, so I decided to do a fun story instead. Doyle and I went to Oregon a few weeks ago for a spring break to visit with Ashley's family. Matt asked Doyle to bring his fishing gear and he would take him out on the Crooked River to fish. We hand carried the fly rod on board and took a large suitcase with his waders, fishing vest, and other equipment that we checked. Doyle also had a leather bag we took on as carry on. You all know the ones we bought in Mexico years ago, they never wear out. Thank goodness security did not go through the bag. We arrived at Ashley's and started unpacking the bags. In the leather bag was all of Doyle's fishing gear, but in one end there was a surprise. It had some of my lingerie packed in there, (at least he is running around with another woman my size) when he goes fishing! He did catch a few fish as well as a scotch blessing from me.

Prim roses in bloom!

Spring has arrived on the dining room table in Oregon.  I went to the farm store to see the baby chicks with the grandchildren and these prim roses, jumped in my cart.  I brought them back to the local dining room found a wooden bowl to display them in.  Well, one thing lead to another, a trip outside for some twigs, and a trip to the ribbon supply and tada!  A new center piece for the table.

Pork Chop, EMT & Bra

Last month my husband and I were enjoying some delicious pork chops which were hand raised in Croyden. They were given to him as a Christmas gift from a fellow driver. He was into his third bite and he began to cough and sputter. He walked over to the kitchen sink and the next thing you know he is giving me the universal choking sign. So I tried to do the Heimlich maneuver on him and he is a pretty tall guy and I am short, so it was hard. I asked him if I should call "911" and he was shaking his head yes. So I called and they ask me to stay on the line and I begin thinking I don't have my bra on. I have got to save my husband, stay on the phone and somehow get my bra on before the EMT's arrive. Well he coughed some more, threw up and dislodged the pork chop. They still wanted to send the EMT's and ambulance to check him out, so I did get off the phone. I got my bra on and a beautiful six foot tall blonde twenty-something female, is the first on the scene, as the only EMT (so much for worrying about the bra). My husband was very pleased to see her and I was too, even if it took thirteen minutes for her to arrive. I am very happy it turned out for the best and he is going to be around to celebrate his 60th birthday soon!

Try Again!

I previously recommitted to doing a monthly post. I missed January 2010, I am blaming it on pneumonia again. On New Years Day I had a relapse of the bacterial bug, this is not how I wanted to start off the new year.

We had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed the holiday and the time off from work. New Years Eve was fun in that we had four grandchildren over for the night while their parents were off to a party. The oldest one fell asleep first and the youngest held on almost until midnight! Jared and Holly came in around 12:30 and slept on their own mattress in the basement with Mallary.

I cant believe we are in a new decade! I remember spending January 1, 2000 at the West cabin in the mountains. We had one snowmobile to transport all of us into Christmas Meadows and really enjoyed the stay in the winter wonderland. I am glad the new millennium started out that way and the world did not implode while we were in the mountains. Time gets faster as you get older and gets even better as grandchildren arrive. We love all of them so much!

Super Bowl 19

What I remember about the Super Bowl held on January 20, 1985. It was the last time I talked to my Dad before he passed away on January 25, 1985. I think of how silly it was that our last conversation was about a football game. Yet, my Dad loved to watch TV and especially football games. He didn't spend a lot of time in person attending games, but he loved TV. He would sit in his recliner chair in the basement of the Rosewood Lane house and his snacks were all lined up. He loved candy, pie, and cookies which he called "non essentials" sometimes. He had a metabolism that made my Mom jealous. He could eat anything, as much as he wanted, and not gain an ounce. Mom use to say he would eat pie and not gain weight and she would just look at a piece and gain a pound!

So in someways I hate Super Bowl Sunday, because it makes me think of what I should have told my Dad on that day, instead of discussing football. I know he knew that I loved him and that is all that really matters after all. We thought we would have more time to discuss things, but that was his last Sunday on earth.

Today would have been his 89th birthday!

It was one of the most watched games in history with 115.9 million viewers. This game also was the first time television commercials ran for a million dollars a minute. Joe Montana was quarterback for San Francisco and Dan Marino for Miami.