I love my family!

This has been a long year.  It has seen some really fun & wonderful things.  It has also seen some not so fun or wonderful things.  In other words, it has been a very normal year, just like everyone else.

For me, the best parts of the year are those that include family.  This year was a really great year for that!  I got to have my whole famly together again.  I got to celebrate my birthday with all of my children & grandchildren!  I haven't been able to say that for well over 10 years!

We were able to take a family picture. 

The first one since our oldest grandchild was a baby!  So this was a really special year for that reason alone!!!

My son & his family

My daughter & her family.

They are all so wonderful.  Even my son-in-law & daughter-in-law are the best ones in the world!    When I am with them, I just want to sit & watch them as they go about their day.  I miss them so much and feel like I am not as much a part of their lives as I would like to be.

All of them are doing well and making things happen in their lives.  All the adults are working to improve their lives and education.  All the children are doing well and growing so fast.  The grandsons who attend school are doing very well.  I think that as they grow, we may have a problem with them being so smart they get bored in school because they are so smart!

It's fun to sit and talk with the kids.  They can tell the most interesting stories and can explain things in the most creative ways.  It seem that I remember that their parents would do that same thing when they were young.

Newest Niece

This is my newest little niece. She is so cute and a big hand full already. Last time I saw her she was crawling so it really surprised me when she walked across the room!
Of course, just like all sweet little hand fulls--she tired herself out. Uncle T got to hold her while she slept. That's always the most fun.

zzz-zzz-ZZZ-ZZZ-ZZZ!!!!!

A Family Portrait

We finally got everyone together after almost 6 years. I should have let the new mother hold the baby, but I didn't even think about it, I was just happy.

I love them all with everything in me.

Another T-ball game- Different Grandson

This is my mean look!

This is my cute look!


Ready to KILL the ball.

I'll get it, no matter where it is!

Spectators

My birthday

Happy birthday to ME (insert song here)

The party.
The party again.

Let's talk.

Yes, I love them!

We arrived.

I am in Utah right now to help my daughter(in-law) with my newest little grandson, M. He is the calmest little one I can remember. Seldom cries. We have to work to get him to open his eyes.

We have found that he is much more alert and awake when his brothers are asleep. He seems to enjoy the quiet times.

He was a little jaundiced, but has improved since we have been here.

I will post pictures when I find the right cable. I brought it, just can't find it right now.

I don’t know what came over me

Sometimes I get an urge to do something silly. My children- especially the girls- have watched my antics & rolled their eyes, sending me the unmistakable message that they really didn’t appreciate my attempts at humor.

When my oldest daughter was a teenager, she started listening to a few songs that were “remakes” of songs I grew up with. As I would drive her & her friends, I just had to sing along with those songs, but I sang them the way I remembered them and not the way the remakes sounded. She hated it. Her friends thought I was a cool mom & funny. At the time, I felt vindicated—I wasn’t embarrassing her, I was just funny.

With the youngest daughter, I have had those same unique urges. I act silly, dance around oddly, speak in a language that hasn’t been invented yet & generally be myself. Her eyes roll, too.

It is worth noting that before these girls were teenagers, they would laugh at my antics. So I have to believe that it is not “ME”, but the fact that they are at that time of life when nothing Mom does is cool. I think hormones play a huge part in the eye roll.

The other night I needed to talk to Dear Daughter about something that she NEVER likes to talk about. So I grabbed a couple of pillows and stuffed them in my clothes and went to speak with her. What did she do?

“Dad, Mom’s trying to act like Nanny McPhee!”

I thought the pillows looked pretty good.

(front & back in case there is any doubt)

How To Sleep- by my niece

I got to have some one-on-one time with my sweet little niece yesterday.
"I want to take a nap now so lay down."

I laid down and she promptly put her little head and body over my shoulders and neck. As soon as she had her head down, she was asleep! I found a pillow and carefully moved her off of me and onto it. She is in the same position she fell asleep--right on her face. Apparently she always sleeps that way.

Enjoy the Ride

A wonderful friend just sent me this little video. Thanks, Robin, for your random email of kindness. I loved it.


http://lshs64.com/enjoytheride.html


Made me feel calm and happy about what I will do today.

Helped me remember what is more important-
people more than things,
life more than rush.

Best of all--It made me smile!

Calling All Cousins

THIS IS FOR THE DESCENDANTS OF RUSSELL & DOROTHY (last name withheld).

One of my sisters and I have taken on the job of trying to gather all of our cousins e-mail addresses, blogs & websites for our mother’s and father’s families. Now this may sound easy, but you have to understand that we are part of a very large family, on both sides. Sometimes it’s even hard to keep track of our own siblings!

We use to have family reunions for each side of the family. But since the grandparents have all died, it has become less and less often that we see each other. We even hardly talk to our aunts & uncles anymore. (No, I am not putting the family names on the blog. But if you think you might be related to me, post a comment and include your email address)

Recently, an uncle died. It was a shock for me to even find out that he had been sick for a while! Talk about a communication gap! It was then that I asked my mother to try and get as many e-mail addresses as possible. That started this whole project. But now I realize just how out of touch we have become.

There have been weddings, divorces, births, deaths, occupations, moves, grandchildren, joys, and sorrows that I have absolutely no knowledge of. And I want to! So maybe I am nosey, maybe it’s just interest. Or maybe these are people I love and care about who I want to keep in contact with!

There are so many silly memories of doing programs at the reunions when we were little kids. It’s hard to explain the programs to people who have never had their mother dress them up and force them to sing a silly song or do a silly dance. We usually had a theme and so we would dress/sing/dance in keeping with the theme. Some of the themes I remember are Gay 90’s, Hawaiian, Irish, and Pioneer Ancestors. There were lots more, since we had reunions almost every year, but my memory is getting selective at my age.

Since those family reunions, we have added 2 generations or more. Now you can begin to understand the difficulty in trying to track everyone down. It’s not just the cousins we remember, but it includes their children and grandchildren.

Some families lose touch with each other and that’s that. Well, that’s not for me. I love family and want to keep in touch with as many as possible. So here we go. . .

Just more fun stuff

A 2 year old must keep up with the big kids!

S: "Don't take my picture now. I haven't even showered."

Me: "I won't share it with anyone."

OOPS!!

Just tell them it wasn't focused right.

(Is this size better, S?)

"Dad, Look what I can do!"

If you help me remember how to do it.

Proof !!

I got to see all 4 of them.


Don't mess with this lady!

You will loose!
My sweet daughter, and one of her little friends!

Pictures from my trip

These are randomly selected pictures from my trip. I will write about it later.


J is one of my favorite people in the world.
Life is tough for him & his family right now.


Cousins playing & watching TV .
Actually they are just making a mess.


More of the cousins.
The ONE GIRL with the 15 boys that were there.


Serving dinner to the 15 boys, one girl, & 7 adults.
This kitchen is great for that.


Do I look like "Micheal Jordon"? They say I do.

Conversation overheard this same night between two brothers, age 12 & 10, who were watching "Three Amigos!"

After hearing the word 'foreplay' in the movie.
S: What's foreplay?
Me: I'm not sure. Ask your parents.
S continues to ask me what it means. He finally gives up and asks his brother.
S: T what does foreplay mean?
T: Oh, that's when they get on their horses. (referring to the movie)
S: Okay.
I hid my smile and actually did not laugh at their innocence. But it was a close one for me.

I'm happy it wasn't my day

I make a practice of reading the blogs of relatives and friends on a regular basis. You just never know when you will come up with a treasure, a great idea, or a good laugh.

This one is just such a great one, that I have to share it! It makes me grateful for a boring, calm life.

http://thetietjenzoo.blogspot.com/2008/07/my-very-bad-day-must-read.html

Happy Birthday S

I have the best daughter-in-law in the world and

today is her birthday.

Just a few things I love about her:

1. She loves my son and is the best wife I think he could have chosen.
   


2. She is a wonderful mother to my grandsons.
   


3. She enjoys the mischief and mayhem that comes with two little boys and still loves them with all her heart.
   


4. She is the only one I trust completely with my hair.
   


5. She can do things with a blog that I can’t begin to duplicate (and I am trained on computers)!
   


6. I have never heard her raise her voice, for anything.
   


7. She is beautiful and very feminine.
   


8. She loves to cook and make bread and do all the things that go into creating a happy, loving home.
   


9. She supports my son in everything (even when I probably wouldn’t have).
   


10. She has a loving smile that makes you feel like she is smiling just for you.
    


11. She loves Christ and you can tell by her actions that she does everything she can to live as Christ would want her to.
    


12. She is accepting of everything. (Sometime I’ll have to get her to tell me what she really feels!)
    


13. She is the most well-rounded, gospel loving, happiest woman I know.

Happy Birthday S!

We love you greatly and miss you a lot!

Too bad she doesn’t have the best mother-in-law,

or she would be getting a handmade card instead of this blog.

For Mother & Moms

I would love to give someone the credit for this, but I don't know who wrote it. But I love it.

******************************************

MOTHERS and MOMS

This is for the mothers who have sat upall night with sick toddlers in their arms,
wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying,
'It's okay honey, Mommy's here.'
Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted.
This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains
on their blouses and diapers in their purse.
For all the mothers who run carpools andmake cookies and sew Halloween costumes.
And all the mothers who DON'T.
This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers
who took those babies and gave them homes.
This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.
And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars. And that when their kids asked, 'Did you see me, Mom?' they could say, 'Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world,' and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner.

And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.
This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making
babies. And for all the (grand)mothers who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.
This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.

For all the mothers who read 'Goodnight, Moon' twice a night for a year.

And then read it again, 'Just one more time.'
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before
they started school. And for all the motherswho opted for Velcro instead.
This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook

and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls 'Mom?'
in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home

-- or even away at college

-- or have their own families.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them
they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later
asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.
For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed

when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings,

and the mothers of those who did the shooting.
For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful,

and now pray they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good mother anyway?
Is it patience?

Compassion?

Broad hips?

The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?

Or is it in her heart?

Is it the ache she feels when she watches her son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?
The jolt that takes her from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M.

to put her hand on the back of a sleeping baby?
The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when she just wants to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in her home?
Or the need to flee from wherever she is and hug her child when she hears news
of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation...
And for mature mothers learning to let go.
For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.
Single mothers and married mothers.
Mothers with money, mothers without.
This is for you all. For all of us...
Hang in there.

In the end we can only do the best we can.

Tell them every day that we love them.

And pray and never stop being a mother...

'Home is what catches you when you fall - and we all fall.'

Live each day as though it were your last and never forget to say

'I love you.'