New Year

Just because we start using a new calendar people call it a new year. Yes, the number of the year goes up one, but what makes it a "new year" besides that? During a calendar period I have many new years. One big obvious one is when a new school year starts, or a birthday comes around. But in reality, it has always been a year since a year ago. Why do we place such importance on January 1 except for the fact that the number of the year goes up? But, like at the beginning of each year, be it a school year, age, or whatever, we use it as a time to look at ways we can improve ourself, or to see where we might have improved during the past year.

I have never been good at setting goals. I have always hated it. I never like to write down what I want to do this year, or what I am working toward. I just see where I am now and what I need to do, and go from there. I've heard all the claims that a goal isn't anything but a wish until you write it down, and all those other sayings, but I just don't get motivated by goal setting. Most likely it is because I have never kept those goals in mind, or they are unreachable for me. I'm not a "check off the list" person. Maybe that is why I don't get anything done!

Don't get me wrong. I do work toward some "end", I just don't get motivated by goals. Give me an assignment and I'll complete it. Give me a chore or job that you want done and I'll do it if I have the talent or means. If it is something I am passionate about, I will work extra hard and put more into my project that most others. But written down goals.....nope.

Some might say, "But you did do some things, so you must have had some goals." Yes, I finished college, but not in the usual time-line, and mostly out of necessity. I did get my masters degree because the way was opened up for me, not because that was on my written list of goals. I got my math endorsement the same way. If someone was willing to pay for it, I went for it!

I am expected to write down goals for school, but it doesn't change the way I teach, or what I put into my job because I have very little control in the outcome. The state sets our goals at raising our classroom goals a certain percentage each year. I totally agree to do my job to teach my students the most I can. But I can't open up their heads and make it stick. I can't control what answers they put on the test. I can't control if they have breakfast the morning of the test, or if they had to listen to their parents fight all night. The only control I have is over my lessons, how I see their learning, and preparing to meet their learning styles and needs. Sometimes that doesn't raise the class score over the score the year before. Some students just come with lower scores as a group, so it is difficult to raise those score that percentage each year. Those goals just don't work for me.

So, as this new calendar year begin, I can only look at myself and see where I am and work to be better myself. I know parts of my life that I need to work to improve. In order to do so, I need to allow myself to forget about my past, to let the old person go and work on the new person. If I want to improve myself, I hope others will let the "former" me go as I work on the "new" me. For each day I improve myself, I have to forget one day of the old me. Maybe I can erase my old self and let the new self into its place. I just hope others will let that happen and encourage me on the way. If not, what good is trying to work on a better me?

I plan on just working to be a better me. I hope others will allow me to work on myself. I've never done 2011 before. It is all new to me. I don't want what I was in 2010 to drag me down and not have a good year this year. I will make it my year. I will do it for me, because I need to. I hope by improving myself others will see an improvement in me as well.

Happy Birthday, Maxwell!

My sweet Maxwell is a year older today. That means he is a big "5"! Max is definitely a "girl catcher". His eyes will grab your heart, and his smile is a melter. He giggles all the time. According to his parents he is all boy and real trouble, but I don't believe them. He is full of vinegar, as my mother-in-law would say, but that just makes him all the more lovable. When he looks up at you through those eyelashes you can't help but let him get away with anything. We don't get to see enough of Max and his sister, Morgan, because they live in Missouri, but we love the time we do get to see him. Maxwell loves his Grandpa Labrum and enjoyed going fishing with him this past summer. He likes to take us to the T-Rex Cafe when we visit them, and Penguin Park. We love you, Max! Have a happy birthday! Hope we can talk with you today on your big fifth birthday!

It's Tough

Yes, that's how this whole day has been. Tough. How many times did I hear my dad say that? Now, after one year, it is still tough. I thought if I waited until later in the day the tears would be gone, but they aren't. In fact, they are more than ever. I haven't done much today, just don't have the ambition or desire. It's just been a tough day. I knew that Julie and Kent had gone shopping, and noticed that Ruanne and Larry were gone. I felt Garth and I were here alone. Just like we were last year on this day. But it did snow today, just last last year. I will be curious to see if it always snows on December 18th.

I am so thankful for parents who raised me to appreciate the little things in life. I don't need a lot of "things" to make me happy. Material things are far down on my list. But I love the little things like memories, talking with kids, hugs from grandchildren, pictures, messages, all those little things that really end up to be the big things. I am thankful for sisters who I can call at any time. I am thankful that we had family experiences that we shared, that bind us together.

I am thankful that I know my parents live on, that they are together, and that they are waiting for us to join them in the far, far distant future. As I stood there in Dad's bedroom just a few minutes after he passed away, I hoped that he was standing with Mom and watching me as I looked at him. I felt that they were both there in the room, but for just a fleeting moment. I wished I could have been there alone so I could have felt their presence better, but there were lots of people there, and lots of confusion, so it didn't last long. But I know they are together, and that makes me happy.

I'm sure Dad would say "It's not tough here! So just get busy and do what you have to be doing there." So that is what I'll do. I'll just keep on doing what I have to do. And I hope he can be proud of all of us.

Santa Claus, Past and Present

Yesterday Tammy told me a comment Kayden made after seeing Santa Claus at a store. It got me to thinking about the difference between Christmas Past and Christmas Present. I don't just mean MY particular Christmases, but Christmas in general. I've seen a difference in children's reaction to the excitement of Christmas during my 25 years of teaching school. And there is a great difference between the excitement of Christmas 50 years ago and now. I know a lot of my thinking has changed because of my age, but I don't see the excitement in kids that I felt when I was younger. And I think it is all because of Santa.

Back in the "olden days", when I was young and walked uphill both ways to school with my pet dinosaur, Christmas was a magical time of year. Back then the little town of Orangeville was decorated with strings of lights across the main street in town. Actually going clear across the street from one side to the other. There might have been one set of lights on each side street leading off main street. I remember a string of lights that rotated position on the road outside our house. Some years it was in front of the Joneses, sometimes in front of our house, and sometimes in front of Albertson's house. As you drove into town I was thrilled to see those lights. It was magical. There weren't any "fancy" ornaments on the power/telephone poles, just the lights across the street. Sometimes a ligh bulb would be knocked out by boys throwing rocks, but they were quickly replaced. Sometime along the years someone said the lights had to come down because they confused the people who were looking at the stop lights? In Orangeville there are no stop lights, so how was it confusing? At any rate, now there are just decorations on the sides of the street. They are nice, but not the same as the lights across the street.

So,to get to Santa. Back in those olden days, we were very lucky if we saw Santa even once during the holiday season. Santa usually came to visit with us at the ward Christmas party. We always had a primary program for the ward Christmas party, where the children were the actors in the first Christmas pageant. The girls were angels with halos in our hair. Some one would get lucky and be asked to play the part of Mary. A doll stood in for the baby Jesus. The boys got the fun parts of the Wise Men, the Shepherds, and Joseph. Everyone else just stood around with their halos and sang. After the program we would meet in the foyers of the church where there was a VERY TALL Christmas tree all decorated with ornaments, lights, and tinsel. There would be a special chair for Santa and we would crowd around to hear what everyone else wanted for Christmas. It was so exciting to finally get to talk with Santa himself and tell him our wishes. That was most likely the only time you saw Santa until the next year.

These days, children see Santa everywhere they go. They are smart enough to know that every one can't possibly be Santa. So parents have an extra difficult time explaining all the Santas to their children. I think it takes away from the excitement of seeing that one special Santa. Which one is really the real Santa?

Over the past 10 years we have shared in the excitement of Santa with children. We have been blessed to help children see the excitement of seeing Sanata up close and personal. We have been in attendence at several city parties where Santa has talked with children, and then been with Santa the next day as he talked with the same children again, sometimes more than 2 times during a season. I remember one year a special young boy had been on Santa's knee for two weekends in a row. He turned to his mother and said "That is the real Santa because I saw him last week, too!"

In my growing up years Santa was always the "Real Santa" because I only got to see him once a year. He was too busy to come too often, so one visit was all you got.
Are we taking away the magic of Christmas when Santa is on every street corner, and in every store and bank, and every city party ? I don't mean to be a Scrooge, but I don't think it is as special and exciting for children to even seen Santa any more, not like it was for us back then. Maybe too much is not a good thing. Just wondering.

A Wonderful Home Teacher

I am really going crazy. I wrote this post this morning but didn't look to check it after I posted Publish. I was really surprised to not see it here tonight. It also isn't in the saved drafts either. Just really strange. Can't find it at all. I'm sure I won't be able to do it justice as I did this morning, but I will try. (I found it! I put it on the blog for my father instead of mine. I hope no one thought I was crazy, but then, they all know I am.!)

We have the most amazing home teacher. Brother Law has been our home teacher since we moved into this ward when the boundaries were changed. What a blessing he is in our home. Brother Law is a former stake president, and a patriarch, a retired seminary teacher, and a very humble giant of a man. He has come faithfully for over 20 years. He has serviced three missions during the time he has been our home teacher: Argentina, the Phillippines, and India. He visited us the month he left and the month he returned from each mission. I could probably count on just one hand the number of months he has missed.

He has seen our children grow up and watched with pride as they have gone off to school and continued their lives. He asked about them every time he sees us, but especially wants an accounting of them on his monthly visits. He has cried with us, laughted with us, and worries about us as a family. He is so loving.

He came to our home last night, a bit upset that he came on the last night of the month, but that was not a problem for us. He came alone, very unusual for him but what a blessing it became for us. We visited about each child, talked about Thanksgiving, discussed his up-coming trip for Christmas. Then, as he was getting ready to leave, he said he could feel there was something else he needed to talk with us about. He asked us some more questions, and we talked about some of our concerns about personal problems, things that have bothering us lately. We asked his advice because he lives so close to the spirit, and is such a fatherly figure to us. He cried with us when he saw our anguish, he counciled us, and gave us wonderful advice.

As our conversation slowed down and we prepared to end our monthly visit, he asked his usual question, "Can we have a word of prayer?" Now, we have prayed with him every time he comes, and he is usually the one giving the prayer. We have knelt together as a family with our home teacher all these years. Since Garth and I have both had knee replacement surgery, and Pres. Law's Parkinson's disease has gotten worse, now we sit on the edge of our seats and don't even attempt to kneel. But last night President Law asked us to kneel. I knew I couldn't, but Garth and President Law got on their knees in front of me. We clasped hands together, with his hands on top of ours (and one of my hands hold his down so he wouldn't shake so much). He gave the most beautiful prayer on us as a couple, and on our family. We all three were just sobbing throughout the entire prayer. He promised us some very personal things that I won't repeat here. But such a peaceful feeling came over me. I knew that the problems we are facing would be a learning experience for all of us involved, and that we should humble ourselves to accept the Lords will, allowing others their own free agency, along with the consequences of that free agency. And that through using that free agency, everyone would grow because they will realize what the real important point of life is to follow the Savior and do what the Savior would have us do. It was a very humbling, spiritual experience that I will never forget.

I love President Law and everything he has done for our family. We see him getting more crippled by his disease and sometimes I wonder if it will be the last time he comes to our home. If he can't come here, I know we will go to his home to have our monthly interview with him. We surely do love that man.

He has really made me slow down and think about what I can do to be a better person, what I need to do at this point in my life. He encouraged me to wait, and take time, which is what I will do. I know the Lord will help me to calm my worries, calm my hurting heart, calm my fear, calm my concern, and help me return to the family that I love.

The Seventeen Second Miracle

If I read a book I like, I will try more of their works. That's why I read so many of Jodi Piccoult's book. I was hooked on Plain Truth and then read Nineteen Minutes which I couldn't put down and recommend to any one associated with high schools. A few years ago the book of the Christmas season was The Christmas Jars by Jason Wright. I read it in a few days and really loved it. I can't say I have read all of his books, but when Wednesday Letters came out I purchased it and read it. It was another great book and really had me thinking about my life. I knew that Mr. Wright was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but his books aren't "churchy" books but all about good characters and doing good for and to others. I joined up with his Facebook fans because, well frankly, I like his books.
One day he was giving away some "slightly damaged" books to anyone who would write a review of his book, "The Cross Gardner". I had just finished reading it, so I gladly write the kind review, sent him my link, and he sent me a copy of "Recovering Charles". It was a really good book with the twist at the end that I have grown accustomed to. It is about a man who returns to Louisiana to find his father after Katrina.
"The Cross Gardner" got me wondering about the families whose loved ones are remembered by the small crosses at the side of the road which indicate that someones loved one had died near that spot. The book is about a man who makes it his passion to keep the weeds and bushes trimmed around the crosses on the road. It was a very good book.
"Recovering Charles " made me think about how we might judge people before we even get to know them. Another very good book.
Not too long ago Mr. Wright had a contest on his blog. He had those rubber bracelets in a jar and asked people to estimate how many were actually in the jar. The closest winner got an autographed copy of his newest book "The Seventeen Second Miracle." The time to guess was coming to an end, so I quickly looked over the other posts, decided on a number, and sent in my guess. The next morning he had posted a video showing his daughter counting the bracelets, and the number was exactly MY guess. However, there was another lady with the same guess that had posted before me. I just had not seen it. But the kind man that he is, he send both of us a copy of the book. That makes two autographed books I have received from him for free. Now, that is my kind of an author!
The book is very good, very, very good. I needed it just at this time of my life. It is the story of a man who teaches that everyone can do some good in the world, if we just take 17 seconds out of our time. That is all it takes, 17 seconds to do something good, or something bad. Which do you want it to be that people remember about you? Yes, there are twists at the end, but even if you read the last chapter (like I sometimes do in Jodi Piccoult books) you wouldn't understand the twists unless you read the book. It is a fast, easy read and keeps you wondering what will happen next. And just when you think you have figured it all out, you find out you haven't. But the most important part of the book is that you learn about 17 second miracles and want to do your best to find them in your own life and be that 17 seconds of good in someone else's life.



I got to thinking about a tradition we had in our home when I was growing up. Most of our family decisions took place around the kitchen table. It seems like once we got up from the table we all went our separate ways, but if we sat there we would keep on talking with each other for hours. (It was the same when my children were young, but that is another post.) Dad taught something we all thought had come straight from his home when he was a child, but after digging into the tradition I learned that it was pretty popular at the time, so perhaps it didn't "originate" from the Ware table, but it was practiced there, and Dad taught us all about it.
We were taught to find something good to say about our family members when we learned about TLs. TL stands for "trade last". A family member would say "I have a TL for _____,"(insert another family member's name) which meant they had heard someone say something about that person. They would tell you who and what as soon as you got something nice to give them first. The idea was to go around to your friends and family and get them to say something nice without asking them directly "Do you know something nice about ____?" It had to just come up in conversation, not a forced response. When you finally got something, you could then go to the table with some comment you could trade.
I think focusing on TLs would be similar to 17 Second Miracles. Doing and saying nice things sure do make life more meaningful. In this season of Thanksgiving, look for the good things others do and tell them. So this month, be looking here because I will be posting something I see good in the people I love.

Happy Birthday, Nicky!

(Chelsie, Todd, and Nicky)

Another October birthday has arrived...My baby-girl is growing up, still.(Thank goodness). Nicky has always been considered our deer-hunting baby because she was born in the middle of the annual deer-hunt. In fact, I had to wait for her dad to come home from a hunting outing before I could go to the hospital. It wasn't a rush, though, because she didn't come until the next day, but he was gone hunting. Nicky is a wonderful daughter and a great aunt to her nieces and nephews. She loves them so much and can't get enough of them. I thought it was really cute when Maxwell called her his "kissie-lips aunt." Her name was one of the first names Tyler learned to say. Lexi, Kayden, and Koy will follow her anywhere, and she simply adores Morgan. We all love you, Nicky. Happy birthday!

Sometimes it seems that a testimony is just something that is recited each month by the same people in fast and testimony meeting. It might be something that other people can have but that seems to be lacking in ourselves. Or we just become so complacent with our believes that we don't notice our own testimony. A testimony can fade if we don't put forth some effort to keep it, which can happen without us even realizing it. When I get "lazy" and "slothful", when I don't take the time to read the scriptures or pray, that strong feeling of testimony fades, so slowly that I don't even realize it. Because I have had hands placed upon my head and given the gift of the Holy Ghost to be my constant companion, I might still feel a prompting that I need to do something to work on my testimony. The Holy Ghost may still be able to prompt me to read or pray just a little bit, to get that testimony come to life again. Just like the tiny spark in a fire that has been allowed to burn out, that when air is blown on it the fire flickers slowly back to life, a testimony can return a small flicker at a time. My responsibility is to feed it the correct fuel to return my testimony to what it once was.

As we grow and learn in the homes of our parents, most of us just mindlessly attend church, read the scriptures because the family does, pray together because the family does, and do all those "right" things because the family does. Hopefully our parents have taught us the essential things that we can base a testimony upon. One of those essential things is that we need a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ for ourselves. There comes a point in every one's life when we must decide for themselves if ourselves if we believe in Jesus Christ or not. In order to know for ourselves we must put in the time, effort, and energy to receive our own testimony. Because we have been blessed with the gift of the Holy Ghost, we are entitled to receive an answer to our prayers on one condition, that we remain worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost. That means that we live our lives, make the decisions that we should, so that a member of the Godhood can give us the witness we need to keep that fire burning. Several times the past few weeks I have heard speakers reinforce that true happiness can only come into our lives when we are living worthy to have the Holy Ghost with us to answer our questions and prompt us to do that which is right.

For some reason I have had this burned into my soul the past few weeks. Here is what the church says about having our own testimonies: (This is taken from lds.org)

"A testimony is a spiritual witness given by the Holy Ghost. The foundation of a testimony is the knowledge that Heavenly Father lives and loves His children; that Jesus Christ lives, that He is the Son of God, and that He carried out the infinite Atonement; that Joseph Smith is the prophet of God who was called to restore the gospel; that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Savior's true Church on the earth; and that the Church is led by a living prophet today. With this foundation, a testimony grows to include all principles of the gospel.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have the sacred opportunity and responsibility to obtain their own testimonies. Having obtained a testimony, each member has a duty to nurture it throughout life. Happiness in this life and throughout eternity depends largely on whether individuals are "valiant in the testimony of Jesus" (D&C 76:79; see also D&C 76:51, 74, 101). Testimony grows through the application of the following principles:

The quest for a testimony begins with a righteous, sincere desire. Speaking to a group of people who did not yet have testimonies of the gospel, Alma taught: "If ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words" (Alma 32:27).

Testimony comes through the quiet influence of the Holy Ghost. The results of a testimony can be miraculous and life changing, but the gift of testimony usually comes as a quiet assurance, without spectacular displays of God's power. Even Alma, who had been visited by an angel and had seen God sitting on His throne, needed to fast and pray so he could receive a testimony through the power of the Holy Ghost (see Alma 5:45–46; 36:8, 22).

Testimony grows gradually through experiences. No one receives a complete testimony all at once. It grows as individuals show willingness to serve in the Church and to study, pray, and learn. It increases as individuals obey God's commandments."

End of quote

As parents, Garth and I tried to teach our children the things that we know to be true. We might not have done a great job of it, and we realize that each of our children need to gain their own testimony. But it is our desire that they life their lives so that they can have the Holy Ghost as their companion to help them find that testimony of their own. We love all of our children and want them with us for eternity. It is our prayer that they all gain their own testimony by reading the scriptures (more than a day or two, or even a week, or month), pray for answers and help in their lives, and make the decisions to live their life so the Holy Ghost can testify to them. Yesterday in Sunday School it was again said that the Holy Ghost cannot testify of things that are NOT true. He cannot testify to un-truths, only to things that are true. So we each need to ask the correct questions to receive answers to things that are true.

I know that Jesus Christ laid down his life for us to have eternal life, and that we each have a responsibility to live so that His gift of the atonement can work for us. I know that there is a way for us to return to live with our Heavenly Father again, which is what He desire most for us. It is His plan. We just have to take the right steps to get there.

Just Thoughts

We have had a few fun-filled weeks. We spent UEA weekend in Salt Lake. We went to the opening assembly and heard Kurt Bester sing a song and talk about his experiences in school. We heard Robert Kirby talk about how he was a class clown. I'm still not sure why these two were the opening inspirational speakers for a bunch of teachers. They are fine, talented people, but it didn't really encourage me to go out there and be a better teacher. But, oh well, it was nice. I then went to a session called "Teaching Multiplication in a Week and Division in a Day". I have been to other presentations by this presenter and always come away with things that are helpful. I will be trying some of her suggestions, but I know they won't have "mastered" the facts in a week. We stayed around and listened to the two men running for governor in the Great State of Utah. They certainly have different approaches and I am still not sure which person I am voting for, although at the time I am leaning more to one than the other. The vendors at UEA were just more of the same. I'm getting tired of walking past row after row of people trying to sell me candles, jewelry, inserts for my shoes, etc. I guess there just isn't much new in education out there that I don't already use, know about, or have passed on because it really doesn't work. After 26 years I'm not sure if UEA meetings are affective for me. I love the time off and need the break it gives me after a stressful school beginning, so I do put it to good use.

We then spent time with the family. We all met up together and went to Chucky Cheese's (which is is a possessive noun?) Even Tyler came with us this year, which I know was hard, but he loved it. The kids played until they dropped, then we ate that pizza. The pizza is ok as long as it is hot, but once it is cold it is terrible. I must say, the Chucky Cheese in Missouri is larger and has more games than the one in Sandy. I used there was a horse for Lexi to ride on. Morgan loved that horse so much. So I guess we are the official Chucky Cheese Grandparents.

We then went back to our hotel for swimming. The kids love the large swimming park and spent a long time there. It was pretty cold, so they kept going to the hot tub to warm up. It was a fun time together.

On Friday we spent the day at Wheeler Farm. We walked around the pond and fed the ducks. We walked through barns, pretended to drive tractors, looked at goats, horses, cows, and all kinds of farm animals. We toured the old Wheeler house, which I thought was a great experience. I love to think of a large family living in all those rooms. Even though the house is large, the rooms are small so in today's world they would have been very crowded. Maybe it was better without so much space to move. It was really interesting to me.

The kids all rode on the horses. By this time my leg was killing me and I was having trouble with walking, so I sat while they road. They then went to the corn maze and picked out a pumpkin at the end. In all, it was a very fun day. We ended with more swimming with Tyler while his parents took in a temple session. He cuddled with me after we changed his clothes, then I put him down to sleep on the bed. In all, it was a very good day.

Garth and I got up early to return to Orangeville for the funeral of my youngest Ware cousin, Thomas. Sadly, funerals are the only things that bring families together, it seems. All the Ware cousins were there except Kerry, Susan, and Wayne. Most of us haven't seen Thomas around the past years because he has lived in Chicago, but we recognize him as a member of our family and wanted to show our love to the rest of the family. Uncle Keith and Aunt Diane are special people who show their love for us every time we see them. You can always count on a special hug and kiss on the cheek from each of them. I am sure it was a very difficult time for both of them.

On Monday we drove back over the mountain to go to a doctor's appointment for Garth. More shots in his back. We got back home in time for me to take back my class after lunch, so it was a quick trip. We drive up again on Tuesday for another round, this time in the afternoon because afternoon lesson plans are easier to prepare and then I don't have to worry about getting back by noon. We will see how it works.

Yesterday we again drove up to Salt Lake for the Ware girl's lunch. We missed the Leeflang girls but had fun with the rest of us. It was good food and good company. Sorry Tammy had to leave to get to work, but it was good talking with her. Then we took Nicky out to IKEA to pick out a small table and chairs for her apartment. She was left to put it together herself, and it sounds like she wasn't very successful yet. Apparently the box has the wrong parts, so she will need to exchange it to get the correct ones. Hopefully she can do that.

In all, it has been some good weekends and I needed that time with my kids.

Happy Birthday to Kayden

Another birthday already! Happy birthday to dear Kayden. We all know Kayden's story, how sick he was and what he has gone through. But he is sure growing up big and strong. I can't believe that he is in kindergarten already. He is a fun-loving active boy who loves anything with a movie character. He has always been content to play with little boys like his "action men" and cars. Because he was tethered to his pump for so much of his early life, he learned to sit and play in a small area right around himself. He would spend so much time playing with his car and lining them all up. He lined up crayons, toys, everything he could reach. He had a most unique crawl or scoot. I remember we were so excited when he finally walked! A great accomplishment after being in that torture-chamber seat-stander-upper for so many hours to strengthen his legs. He has a special love for Grandpa Labrum and will always run to sit on Grandpa lap. If Grandpa is around you will find Kayden. A good habit he developed when he was little. That seemed to be the only place where he found comfort for so long. Really, it just gave Grandpa an excuse to sit down instead of working all the time. We love Kayden and are so proud of him.

Happy birthday to Koy!

Today is Koy's big birthday. He is so excited to be four on this big date 10-10-10. I wonder if he will think that is always the date of his birthday. We love so many things about Koy, but one thing that I love specially is his voice. He has a husky voice that sounds like it has already changed into manhood. It will be interesting to hear what he sounds like in about 15 years. He is certainly all boy. He just plows though everything! He follows everything his big brother does. He is sweet and mellow when he is alone, but full of mischief when with Kayden. Koy is kind, helpful, and loving. He really tries to be good and lets you know he wants to be with you. He is a cutie and we love him. Love you Koy!

I'm Tired

When I get home from school I am so worn out that I just want to rest. Not sleep, just rest. My legs ache, my ankle doesn't bend, I'm just worn out.

The beginning of the school year is so difficult, trying to help students learn that they really can do some work on their own. Third graders still think they should be spoon-fed all the answers, given all the time to play that they wish, and just talk through every lesson. This year is a very, shall I say, active group. They are quite needy and have a difficult time getting along. It all just wears me out. So far this year two boys have brought guns with them to school. OKay, so they were just play plastic guns, but against the rules anyway. Especially when the owner of the gun threatens to shot a mother of a fellow student, or threatened to kill a student at recess. One of the funniest things was one of the "criminals" told me he didn't have a gun. The other boys yelled that he did to. He replied that it was just a toy car. I had him get his bookbag and open it up for me. I went with him out to the hallway where he unzipped the bag. It was very empty, no old school papers (which made me wonder where he work goes because he never brings anything back to school!), but there at the bottom, all alone in that sad, empty bookbag, was a toy gun. Not a car, but a gun. Now, why would you lie to a teacher like that? Needless to say, more trouble for lying than for a toy gun......But really, what will it be in that bookbag in 6 more years? It is scary to think about.

For now, I am tired and just want to rest. But I need to write out the monthly bills, make a sandwich or something to eat while Garth is gone to the local football game. Maybe I will watch the BYU/USU game.....

Oh....By-the-way.....I got a new book in the mail the other day...another free book from Jason Wright. His latest book, "The Seventeen Second Miracle." Won it by estimating how many elastic bracelets were in his pint jar. My answer was 54....right on the nose! I think he is my favorite authors. That makes two free books from him in about 6 months. Now I have a total of 5 books on my bedside table waiting for me to read them. One Tammy gave me by Blaine Yorgensen which I have already started, a Judi Piccoult that I started but was interrupted, the one about the beginning of the church in Russia, the last of the Seekers series I am reading for my third grade class (must read the last book, right?) and something else. I was hoping to read most of them during the summer......Where did summer go anyway? Even with this last long wonderful September, I didn't get much reading done....

I'm tired. I just want to rest.

Happy birthday to our big little man, Tyler!
Tyler has grown so much this year. Last year he was just starting into his special pre-school and this year he is just blossoming. He has learned to speak words and is really getting to be a chatter-box. He says "Everybody clap!" when he wants attention. He loves Mickey Mouse and Aunt Nicky. He loves to have Grandpa Labrum pick him up and turn him up-side-down. He laughs so hard he falls over. He loves Lexi, Kayden, and Koy to come and play with him. He is a great kid and we love him so much.

Belated

It has been hard for me to do much blogging lately. With school starting this past month and all the time spent there, I have been busy. Tonight I am exhausted and feel a sickness coming on. Garth went to the local football game and I chose to stay home and hopefully get feeling a little bit better. I had hopes of watching the game on the local ETV10 but the sound isn't coming across very well and I'm too lazy to find something else to watch, so I thought I would put something else here.

August was a month of reunions and birthdays. The Labrum reunion was really fun. It was at North Ogden at a place called Cold Mountain Springs, or something like that. There were fun fishing holes for the kids to catch fish. Tyler found that it wasn't very hard to catch a fish there. We had a good time visiting with family.
(I tried to upload some pictures here but it just isn't working. Maybe another day and another post.)

The Olsen reunion was held in Orangeville. It has been a long-time tradition to get together for my Grandmother Olsen's birthday, which is August 28th. It was good to visit with the family for a happier occasion. Since the reunion last year, three of the family have passed away. One family member had passed away just before the last reunion, and then the three during the fall and winter. What a difficult year this one has been for all of our families. It was really good to visit and reacquaint. Thefirst picture is of the three Olsen siblings; Royce, Barbara, and Nell. The second picture is the only picture I have of the Olsen reunion so far. Thanks to Kent and Julie for cooking the great turkey and everyone else for all the rest of the great food.

This is Grandma Olsen.

And I can't forget that the first birthday of the month was my sister, Ruanne. Here is a picture of her when she was only a few months old.
I need to write a letter to my nephew to celebrate his birthday, but that will maybe be tomorrow or Sunday. I wrote about Nancy's birthday, and we celebrated Grandma's birthday. The other birthday was my mom's. When I am feeling low, like tonight, I get too teary and then make myself worse, so I will just post some pictures I have of her 19th birthday which was celebrated in Biloxi, Mississippi where they lived while Dad was in the Air Force. They moved there right after they were married. They were married in June, so they had not been married long when this picture was taken. Happy birthday, Mom.

Happy Birthday Nancy

I was going to get a nice post written last night but I got distracted with personal things that are happening here, so this will just have to suffice for now.
Happy birthday to you, my daughter, Nancy. I hope you can have a little bit of a relaxing day today. You are a great daughter to your parents, wife to your husband, mother to Tyler, sister to your siblings, and friend to all. Remember when you said you were going to be a comedian? You always kept us wondering what you were going to say next and you sure came up with some silly things. Have a great day!

Labrum Family Reunion

On Saturday we went to the Labrum Family Reunion in North Ogden. We had a great time with family that we haven't seen for a while. It was nice to visit and catch up on what the kids are doing. We ate lots of food and had lots of fun fishing in the little ponds, if you can call it fishing. It was really just hooking some fish. The fish are from their own hatchery, with many fish in small ponds just waiting for a chance to get out. You didn't need to bait a hook to entice them to come, just throw out a little bit of bait and they came swimming right over. Tyler had fun because all he had to do was splash the hook up and down and he would catch a fish. Maxwell would have loved it because he wouldn't have had to wait a long time between each fish. Here are a few picture of our fun.

Another Happy Year

August 19, 1977. What a great, wonderful day. The day we got married in the Ogden LDS Temple for time and all eternity. We finally met each other on June 19, 1977 and decided on that day that we would get married. On the weekend of July 4th, we drove to Pete's Hole in a bad rain storm no less, up the very dangerous White Dugway. Garth met my parents and family, along with all the relatives who were camping. To everyones utter shock, we announced that we were going to get married. Everyone immediately pulled out their calendars and told us which days we couldn't get married. It was narrowed down to just before school started. If I knew then what I know now about starting school close to my anniversary, I would have just gotten married the next weekend instead of two months later!
The next day we drove to Lewiston to be with his family for the rest of the holiday and made the big announcement there. After all of that, I was busy finishing up my 22 credit hours of college and getting plans made for the wedding. I was so busy I don't remember anything except Mom making my wedding dress.

I am sure everyone thought we were crazy because we really hadn't known each other. I suppose you really can't count the 22 months of writing while he was on his mission. We only wrote, didn't meet until he got home. We did exchange a few cassette tapes, but what do you say to someone you have never met? Perhaps we were crazy in love, but hey, it has lasted 33 years! That should say something.

I can honestly say that Garth is my best friend, and I have lots of special friends so that says how special he is to me. I would rather be with him than anyone else. I don't like to do things without him. I could, but I don't like to. We are an "item" as my Grandmother Olsen would say. I love him with all my heart. He spoils me by doing everything, and I mean everything. He does laundry, dishes, windows, lawns, garbage, cooking, cleaning, .... everything. And in return, he gets my deepest love. He is a great father to our children, and our grandchildren think he is the greatest!

You have made my life so wonderful. Thank you for 33 years of total bliss. I love you! You are the man at the end of my rainbow!

School Starts

This time of year has always been a very busy time. We have several family birthdays coming up, our anniversary, and the beginning of school. So there may be several posts in the next few weeks, which will really be a change because lately there hasn't been much to write about.

I think most people's lives revolve around the traditional school year and vacation times. Even though I grew up in the home of an educator, school starting was important because we were actually going to school, not just because our dad started working in his usual place.

Mom would spend hours making all of our clothes. We were lucky that she was such a great seamstress and could make such beautiful clothes. I think making clothes was a necessity because we really didn't have anywhere to get clothes. Back in those "olden-days" girls always wore dresses to school. It wasn't until I was in high school that we were "allowed" to wear nice slack pants to school. I remember one year it was so cold in the mornings that we wore pants under our dresses on the bus, and took them off when we got to junior high. Anyway, Mom made lots of dresses for us. When I got older it became my job to do the hemming on all those clothes. I would spend hours pinning them up and hand-stitching the hems in. I didn't know you could do hemming on the sewing machine. Mom insisted on a hand-stitched hem. Then I would press all of them. I don't think I had a store bought dress until I got my formal for junior prom.

Our first "beginning of school" activity, outside of fabric shopping, was the annual mutton fry picnic for all the high school teachers. I think they had the faculty meeting in the morning, then we traveled to the mountains for a big family picnic. I remember going to Old Folks Flat up Huntington Canyon and jumping around on the big rocks as the men fried the mutton and scones. I remember eating corn on the cob there. A few years we were in Indian Creek, but I remember being older then. The high school faculty was a very fun group who enjoyed getting together. I meet my friends Natale Johanson and Peggy Jorgensen there and we always had lots of fun.

On the first day of school we would pose for the traditional photo shoot. This picture must have been when Ruanne was in high school and I was still in junior high because Ruanne is in contact lenses and I still have glasses. (We weren't allowed to get contacts until we were starting high school.) And we were still in dresses. Look at that early 70's flipped up hair-do with bangs! You can't see my skirt here, but it was gold with big pleats. I am sure I have gold knee-hi's on as well. What wonderful fashion.

Now school is starting again. I am looking forward to a new class full of new challenges and lots of fun. I am excited for my grandchildren starting school again. I love that they are excited to learn new things and that they are good students. I love hearing about what they are learning and look forward to those phone calls full of excitement about their fun in school.

PS. I just looked closer at the photo. Notice the clippers sitting on the window sill. That was their traditional place! If we didn't put them back there we would never have found them again. Such a silly place to put clippers, but you always knew where to go to get them. What a funny memory.

July in the Mountains

This is several weeks late, but I thought I would take a minute this morning and post another great memory. In my younger days, our family would spend the July 4th holiday in our beautiful mountains. As I look back, there were many different places we camped during that time. I remember being in the pretty meadows jut before Grassy Lake. We were there with the Lukes, Rasmussens, Olsens, Huntingtons, and Peacocks, as well as others, I believe. There was a big group. Maybe it was a ward outing. I remember the adults playing softball together and the kids just playing around. I remember Dad taking some in the yellow truck to go get snow in the higher elevation, then they would return and we made homemade ice-cream.
I also remember being at Blue Lake with many of the same people, including the Curtises. We would walk down to the lake to go fishing, or just watch others as they fished. I remember the spring that bubbled up near our campsites. We had a big pot-luck dinner one night.
Most of us remember the times at Indian Creek with Olsens, Peacocks, Wares, Huntingtons, Curtises. I am sure there were others depending on the year. We would celebrate with our own parade around the loop. We decorated up bikes with weeds and wildflowers. This went on for many years. Happy memories.

Backgrounds

I'm done trying to find a cute border for this blog. The past few times I have been back here I keep getting messages that the border I have chosen will no longer be available. The new choices here on blogger make my life too frustrate. As my kids know, I hate to make decisions about little, insignificant things. Or even big things for that matter. If I have too many choices I can't choose. Especially if it doesn't make a difference on which you choose. Who cares if the background is blue or red! As long as it is green that is all that matters :) But what shade of green? What color should the words be? I can't decide what I like best! I just can't make those decisions. So, for today, this is what I choose. If I have more time another day, I might choose something else. Now I have to choose to get up and do some badly needed cleaning!

A Good Month

We are coming to the end of a very good month as far as our time with our grandchildren. Barrett, Chantel, and their kids have been here in Utah during July. We were able to have the kids here for a weekend a few weeks ago. We had a great time playing in the pool and fishing together. Morgan and Max seemed to enjoy their time with us, especially the fishing. It was great to have some time with them. When Sunday came we took them up to Salt Lake where we met up with Barrett, Chantel, Nicky, Nancy, Dallas, Tyler, and Tammy's kids for a picnic at Murray City park. Grandpa and I went to the playground with the kids while the adults stayed and visited. I am sure we had the most fun.

This past weekend was Orangeville's 24th of July celebration. We had the Gale children here until Tammy was able to leave from work and come on Friday night. She wanted to run in the 5K so she was here for that. Nicky came on Friday during the day. The Browns came on Friday and spent the weekend camping and fishing. Nicky and I took the kids to the pool on Friday and they had a great time. We all went to the park Friday evening for the lamb fry and got our years supply of lamb. It was great fun and good food. We went to the Wilson's in the late evening to visit and roast marshmallows and enjoyed our time with them.

On Saturday we enjoyed the city parade and races, then we headed to the mountain for more fishing. We got 10 very large fish in 2 hours and had a great time. We were at the camp with the Browns for a few more marshmallows and tin-foil dinners. We all slept really well that night.

Sunday morning the Gales left early, and Nicky followed. We decided to go up and bring the trailer home before church, since church is so late in the day. That way we could enjoy going to church and having the afternoon without worrying about getting the trailer back home later. It worked out really well. The Browns got off and we got ready for church. In all, it was a nice weekend.

We did miss having Barrett and his family around more, but we understand that he was working and she was spending time with her family in northern Utah. It is very difficult to be spread out across the state, and the circumstances were just the way they were, so we totally understand.

I am afraid I might have offended some of my children by making some suggestions to them. I wish I had the "right" as a parent to suggest some things to my kids without them taking offense, but I guess it isn't possible. I realize adult children have the right to make their own decisions, and I'm not against that at all. But the job of parenting never stops so when parents make suggestions they should be taken as a gift, say thank-you and decided what you want to do with it, but don't hold it against your parent for the suggestion. I didn't ask for a "follow-up" on the suggestion, didn't ask "Did you do it or not". So, please don't be upset and think "You apparently didn't ask her/him to do that for us/me because they didn't, so why should I/me do it for her/him?" Just as we told our kids when they were young, (and like I hear my grown children tell their own children)be nice anyway. Just because your sister or brother hits you first, you shouldn't hit them back. Yes, we understand you might feel that way, but it is still wrong. Be nice anyway. Don't hit any way. Share. Try to be nice. Don't speak mean words. Be forgiving. Do your part. How did you feel when it happened to you? Be the better person. Be the one to stop first.

It doesn't change with age. As parents, we still have the responsibility to be parents. Children still have the responsibility to listen. But they also have the right to make their own decisions. Hopefully, that will include forgiving parents for their errors in parenting adults. Please forgive me if you think I was wrong in any request. And, yes, I did ask the others for the same thing as we asked you. It was their choice if they wanted to do as we requested. Don't blame me if others choices were to not follow our request or suggestion.

If the above paragraphs are confusing t you, you most likely don't fit in the situation. If you understand, you have probably walked in our shoes for a while. Hopefully, we can all practice understanding and forgiveness. I know I am still learning, and I hope to become better.

Missing background

Apparently the background I had chosen for my blog is no longer available. I just did a hurry-up new one. I don't like it yet, but I don't have time to work on it. Just leave it for another day.

Where is Summer Going?

I can't believe that summer is flying by so quickly. I haven't been able to accomplish half of what I wanted to, but I don't know what I have been doing instead. This week I had three days of Core Academy workshops at the high school. They are always informative and a great way to get 3 days of professional development, but did I learn anything new? I don't think so. It was just reviews and different ways to introduce the same things. I've always been open to new ideas and ways to teach, but this year was really just more of the same. I hope they start getting something new....but when I am teaching the same thing for 25 years, unless there is a big change in the core I don't know what else could be new. But I am always open to new ideas. I don't want to do the same thing the same way every year. Each year I am challenged to meet the needs of the individual students, but the curriculum is basically the same.
On Monday we had a day to work on teacher websites. I helped the teachers learn more about the district websites and how to set theirs up. I don't know if they will be using them, but it is something I like to have up and going for each year. Now I am looking at a day for third-grade teachers, then testing my students for the new year, setting up my room and before you know it, school will be starting.

I am showing this picture because it is the only one I can find that shows the park with the old grandstand. It wasn't really so "grand", really quite rickety. But in my younger years I spend so many hours walking back and forth, up the back, playing on these seats. We would play like we were in beauty pageants and practice our pageant waves while we walked across the top seat, stepped down to the next seat and back across, all the way down to the bottom, then hurried around behind and climbed back up to the top again. In the back you had to climb up the slanted boards and pull yourself up to get back to the top, then climb over the top board and start all over again. I don't know why we thought that was so fun, but we spent many hours on hot summer days there at the park playing. At first the "ballfield" you see in this picture was a rodeo ground with the chutes and pens on the other end. We would climb through those spaces, up the logs, and all around as well. We were really quite active kids back in those days. You don't see kids out climbing around today. This space is now being changed again. Orangeville is getting a skate park for all those kids who like to ride their skateboards. It will be nice for them and they will now have a space where they can create memories of their childhoods.

I realize I need to post pictures of our trip to Missouri and our time with our grandchildren. But for now, I need to get busy so I can get something done before we are off again.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Barrett. Isn't he a cute little boy? He was the long-awaited-for first boy born in the Rue Ware family. He was a very good little baby, slept well as far as I can remember. He enjoyed things like falling asleep in ant beds, flushing wash rags down the toilet, milking cows, wandering around in the corrals between the cows legs, all kinds of little boy things. Later in life he took up golfing and was quite good, as far as I know. He has always been a very good student, one of those naturally smart kids who just seem to get it. He is following his dream to become a doctor, now starting his third-year residency at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. His very first diagnosis was when he was young (little-league football age). He had been having pains in his lower leg, so we took him to Dr. Heiner who x-rayed it. Dr. Heiner always brings in the x-rays for the patient to view, so when the x-ray technician put up the film and left, Barrett looked at it very closely and pointed out a dark spot on the bone. He said "That is a tumor, but it will be alright." Dr. Heiner walked in, looked at the picture, and said "That is a tumor, but it will be alright." Talk about self-diagnosis! We went back for several months to keep watch on the "tumor" but it never grew and eventually faded away. I don't know if he remembers that experience, but his parents knew he would make a great doctor someday. He is a great father and son and we love him lots. Happy birthday.

Happy Father's Day

To all the wonderful Fathers in our lives, have a nice day. Relax.....don't do any work you don't need to. Besides Fathers Day it is the Sabbath, so honor the Father of us all and go to church as well. That is all I can say today. Oh, and I have to give the Relief Society lesson today, of all days, which is on the life of Christ. One of the best quotes in the lesson says that Christ did what He did because he wanted to honor his Father. That is what we should do, as well.

The Flood

Dad always said that people remember things differently, and I know that is true. But this is my memory....
The Great Flood of Orangeville happened on the last day of school when I was in 5th grade. Anyway, that is what sticks in my memory because the next year on the last day of school, Uncle Jim...(Principal Peacock) showed us his home movie of the great flood. The entire school took their chairs up to lunchroom to watch the movie, along with other movies. I remember him asking who remembered that day the previous year. We didn't have the lunchroom until I was in sixth grade, so the flood had to be when I was in fifth grade. That's the way it is in my memory.

It had rained all day long, really rained. Back then, we had ditched, the canal, and the one-lane bridge. I remember walking home in the pouring rain and getting drenched to the skin. I remember sitting on the red stool watching out the kitchen window as the water rushed down the road. The jeep was outside at the end of the sidewalk and the water was up to the middle of the wheels. Dad was running in and out, driving away and then coming home, for whatever reason. I know there were a few times he grabbed the shovel and went up to the canal on the corner, where the canal crossed under main street. I suppose they were trying to close down the gate that let the water into the ditches.

The canal ran along from the corner on Main Street behind Uncle Bruce's house and to the corner by the elementary ball field. There was only a small dirt road along that block east of the school, with the open canal right where the middle of the road is now. There was a foot bridge that went from across the bridge over to Aunt Lorene's house, no handrails or guard rails. The canal was flooded over and the foot bridge was underwater. Sometime during the afternoon we got in our car and drove over to Aunt Lorene's house. I remember seeing the water coming down the road in front of the school and across the canal. I wondered how the water went OVER the water in the canal! The water was moving really fast down the road and fields there, right into George and Ann Bell's basement windows.

I remember people saying that the canal above town had broken and the water was all rushing east through town. My kids might remember how the rain rushes off the clay hills up the canyon...well that is what was happening, but it was all over town. Cottonwood Creek was so full, with trees and muddy water rushing so fast. The water came clean up to our backyard, in the middle of all the apple and plum trees. There was a time Mom worried about the water coming up to the house.

I remember the water had washed over the road at the Mill Dam, and for several months we couldn't get across, until a new road was built. I don't remember if the dam there broke, or if it was always broken. It seems like another chunk of it was broken off.

You can see from the picture above that the water had been higher than in the picture. Look on the step on the left. It has dirt and debris that was left from the higher water. The walking path on the other side of the bridge was probably just touching the water. I hated to walk across that on a good day, let alone during a flood!

It was certainly a flood to remember. I don't think a "last day of school" goes by that I don't think about that flood. I am sure everyone has lots of stories they could tell about The Great Flood of Orangeville.

Happy Birthday Morgan

My sweet Morgan is turning 6 years old today! What a sweetheart she is. She loves animals, horses especially, although she has never had a horse, except for Buttercup, which is almost a real horse. She is very cute and very smart, and very funny. She recently was giving her parents a difficult time by arguing with her younger brother in the backseat of the car. I guess it was quite a fight. Her dad tried to get her to think about what she was doing by asking "What would you do if Jesus were here with you." To which she replied, "I would rather sit by Jesus than by Maxwell!" She always comes up with random things that catch you off-guard. She is such a sweetheart and we love her so much! Happy birthday, Morgan!

Our New Neighbors

We filled a bird feeder with bird seeds and put it out on the deck. We tried the same thing last year and didn't see many new birds. This year is a different story. Using my new camera, a small point and shoot thing that fits in my purse, I was able to zoom in pretty good on these birds. I think I will try it with my "old" Canon Rebel to see if they are a bit more clear, but this is okay for just a quick snapshot. Our deck is now littered with seed shells. It is fun to watch the birds sit there and crack the seeds. They eat, then fly off the trees in the back yard. At one time I counted 15 birds sitting in the trees just waiting their turn at the feeder. Yesterday we were gone for the day, and when we came home the feeder was empty. Garth filled it up the and chatter began. You could almost imagine the birds telling each other "Dinner's on!" They came and ate the whole feeder-full again. We have a few hummingbirds, too. I don't know if the other birds are scaring them away, or if they just haven't returned yet, but there aren't too many of them. I think we might find a new place for the seed-feeder because they are really making a mess of the deck, and may be keeping the hummingbirds away. I don't want to lose these beautiful golden, and salmon colored birds. They are so fun to watch.

Happy Birthday, Tammy

May 9th was on a Tuesday the day my first baby was born. A beautiful little girl who stole her Daddy's heart, and her mom's. What a precious little sweetheart. I know that every parent knows what emotions come from every birth, how love just fills the room. They show you that love multiplies, never divides. Each child brings so much love right along with them.
Back in the "olden days" you had to wait until the birth to find out if that baby was a girl or boy. Everyone was sure that the Ware family would eventually get that boy, but again, a girl. Amazingly, no one was disappointed because girls are so special. We were just so excited to have you in our family.
We loved you so much then, and we still do. You have been so strong-willed from the very beginning. You would never sleep. I think you were 7 before you slept through the night, up many hours. Dad learned to sleep in a recliner with you on his chest. You climbed the bookcasees so many times, showing us that no obstacle would get in your way. Keep climbing....we know you will reach your goal.
Congratulations on the grades you got this quarter. The next few years will go past any way, and you might as well be working toward this goal during that time. We are proud of you!
Have a great birthday! Thanks for being our sweet baby. We love you!

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to my special best friend! Even on his birthday he is doing something for someone else. This morning he took off with one of the high school teachers to drive students up to UVU for a car mechanics competition.

That is one of the things I love so much about Garth. He is always helping others. He will never let need go without being there to help someone. Others needs always come before his. But he never neglects his family or puts himself first.

He is such a hard worker. He just can't sit still and do nothing. (Except on a late Sunday afternoon.) His drive keeps him working many jobs. He works his second job just because he can't be home at 1:00 pm and do nothing, and they needed some help. So it filled two needs in his life.

He send me flowers, and leaves me notes which I cherish. He has been there for me during these trying times this past year. Right now he meets me every morning down at the therapy office while I get my legs wrapped up. He understands how difficult it is for me when I can't get around like I want to. He lets me keep the light on late at night while I do my sewing projects or read in bed, even though he gets up at 3:30 am to go to work. He wakes up before his alarm so he can turn it off before it wakes me up.

He is loved by all his grandchildren. I even think his own kids love him a bit :) His joy is apparent when he is with his grandkids. He would do anything for them. I don't even mind it when I am talking with the kids and they say, "Hello, Grandma. Can I talk with Grandpa?" They love him as much as he loves them. He is a fun grandpa and nothing makes him happier than to be fishing with his grandkids, or spending time at the park, or just walking down the street with them.

It means so much to him to see his own children attending church and making the right decisions to keep close to the Lord. He loves the good life they are all living, all the right choices they are making.

Garth is a wonderful man. I love you, dear.

Happy Birthday, Alexis!

Ten years ago I became a Grandma to the sweetest girl! Happy birthday to our Alexis Maree. She laughs at me, and helps me with everything I need. She has patience with her old granny, and always puts her head on my shoulder. She is a sweetheart and we love her so much. I can't believe she is getting so tall. She is such a big helper and such a great student. She is the student every teacher dreams of having in class. Happy birthday, sweetie! We love you! (I don't have a picture of Lexi on this computer or I would put one up on this post. I will look for one to add later.)

Four Girls, Mom, and a Bathroom

Living with four daughters must have been quite an experience for our dad. I am sure that is one of the reasons why he lost his hair so early in life. We weren't too far along in our development (notice I didn't say "too old") when a bathroom was added in the basement, along with two more bedrooms. However, the main bathroom was still upstairs. As you can see by this picture, most of our primping was done with everyone trying to fit into the bathroom. I'm not sure why Dad took a picture of this. He probably just wanted to capture this wonderful moment so we would never forget it.

This picture had to be taken during the 1973-74 school year because I am wearing that "PepClub" uniform we had that year. Yes, back in those days we had a pep club that wore uniforms and we all sat together in the student section and cheered loudly together. We had organized hand motions and everything. We were the loud-mouths in school. I was known as the loudest yeller in the school. This year I was even given an award from the cheerleaders for being the best pepper in school.

Now, just look at me back there in the corner....short gray jumper, long-sleeved gold turtle-necked sweater, and I even look a little bit tall compared to my sisters! Of course, Linda and Julie are still in their infancy, but hey, I am tall!

But this isn't about me....What I want you to notice is the RED bathroom. If you could see the floor you would see RED SHAG carpet, red and black....In a bathroom? What was Mom thinking? And pink walls. The white draped lights were very popular then.....We really thought our bathroom as pretty. Is it any wonder why I can't decorate now? Not complaining, Mom, but really red shag carpet in a bathroom? At least the toilet was private behind the red screen-window. (Point of interest here: See that white thing in Ruanne's hair? That is a "steam roller". Do girls even know what rollers are these days, let alone a steam-roller? Oh, the burned fingers, but better than sleeping on brush rollers all night.)

Another thing, can you imagine four girls in a bathroom at one time? I say this because we really did have two bathrooms to share. Fast-forward 20 years and you come to the house my children grew up in. (I know, grammatically incorrect, but....) We only have ONE bathroom. Yes, ONE for all six of us. That is why I got the habit of waking up at 4:30 before school. Someone had to start early and it was always me. And we lived through it. And we survived. There were several times when we refinanced our house to get money to put in another bathroom downstairs, but the money then was used for other emergencies. Bathrooms are just not my priority, until I need one. We survived with one bathroom. I know it would be great to have another one downstairs when we have family come in. And we would really like to get one. But for some reason, other things become a priority. Besides, why would I want to clean two bathrooms? I don't like cleaning the one I have now. Maybe some day we will have another one. Maybe, maybe not. My children will always be able to say "You don't have it as bad as I did growing up. We only had ONE bathroom."

Happy Birthday, Josh

A quick Happy Birthday to my son-in-law, Josh. We hope you have a great day today. It seems like each year just rushes past faster and faster.....Maybe we will see you this weekend.

Another Look back

Here is another blast from the past. This picture shows the four girls. Why were we always known as the four girls? Because that is what we were. It must be Christmas time because we are holding the "dip and drape dolls" that Mom made for us one Christmas. Back in the "olden days" Relief Society kept Mom busy with projects she made for us. This was one popular project back then. The dolls are formed over a soda bottle body with special muslin fabric that was dipped in a solution kind of like modge-podge and draped and shaped over the body. The faces are painted on a large ball that was covered with the same fabric. The hair is like a fake fur that was curled and pinned into place, then the hats were molded from the fabric and placed on top of the hair and head. After drying, the entire project is then hand painted. I am sure each individual doll took several hours to do. I am also susre they were each done at the same time, all the dipping and molding done at the same time, then painted individually by hair. Mom was always a perfectionist at her crafts so they were done perfectly.

I'm not sure exactly what year this is, but since I am in contacts it had to be at last my sophmore year in high school, so at least Christmas of 1971. We are a nice looking family of girls, don't you think? I remember that outfit I am wearing. It was always one of my most favorite, also one of the first that wasn't made by Mom. That isn't what made it my most favorite, I just really like the outfit. For some reason I really liked the high turtle-necked sweaters. The layered look was really in style then, and I loved this little sweater over the red one. It was a shorter vest, called a bolero. The pants that went with the outfit were gray, wide-legged, high-waisted really neat pants. Because of the high-waist I felt so much taller. My hair was also naturally wavy. I had to use steam rollers to take out some of the waves. I don't think I look too bad in this picture. Too bad I didn't stay looking that way.

The rest of my sisters also look really great. I think this is one of the few pictures when we aren't all lined up according to age and standing straight and tall. It is nice to see a natural pose now and then. Anyway, a memory of clothes, hair-styles, and Christmas gifts.

Happy "Special-Age" Birthday

Happy birthday to my sweet daughter-in-law, Chantel. Thanks for putting up with us these past years, and for making life great for my son. You deserve a medal for all that. I hope you have a great day. Take a break and do something for yourself.

In a few days it will be my "baby" sister's birthday.I always thought her birthday was in the spring, but not so this year. However, I hear it might be almost spring weather on that day, but we will have to wait and see. I'm not counting on it, but would love to be surprised.

I was looking through my pictures to pick on to write a memory about, and with her birthday coming up I thought I would post this picture. Yes, this is Julie with Kristi and Tammy on her lap. Tammy is the bald one, Kristi is the one with the white hair. Julie is the old one. Yes, she is getting older than she was in that picture. I love her large glasses and the not-too-happy look on her face.

The outfit Tammy is wearing is still in my cedar chest. It was corduroy pants that my mom made for her. It has large pockets along the bottom of the shirt that Tammy used to fill with cookie crumbs. It looks a lot like the clown outfit I later made for her.

So, Julie, I won't say any more about how old you are getting, because you are still younger than me. Have a happy birthday in a few days anyway!

With Easter just next Sunday, I am remembering all the fun times we had as an Olsen family. Easter was always spent out on the desert enjoying all the warmth of the sun. However, you will notice in this picture that we are tossing Easter eggs in Joe's Valley. It was the year of 1976. I remember it well because I had just gotten out of the hospital with a terrible infection in an "unmentionable" place which required lots of IVs and was not a very pleasant experience. The infection came on after a long bus trip with our Ogden Institute Choir group, so I remember the year. Easter came early, the end of March, and with snow still on the ground we decided to ride up to the mountains instead of the desert. Why would the mountains be better than the desert? There was still snow on the mountain as well? I think we were all crazy! But here is the one picture of Easter in the mountains.



That is me in the plaid jacket tossing an egg. I think Steve is there, and Aunt Barbara. Mom is standing right behind my arm. I wish I could get these pictures to come up larger. I'll have to work on that for another time.

Here is the traditional Easter in the desert. That's my cousin James, my sister Linda, and my mom, who is hiding behind James. They are standing by our white station wagon, the one with the backward facing seat. We would spread out all the food on the tail gates and eat all day, with a break to roll those Easter eggs. We had all the food we could possibly eat with a lot of sand thrown in for good luck. Easter was always great fun.