Happy Mother's Day!

It's hard to find the words to say how much I miss my mom.

She left us far too early.

I'm sure that I didn't tell her often enough how very

thankful I was to her.

But, because she was a Mother, she knew.

Here she is, age five, with her favorite flowers - Peonies.

I don't know where this picture is, probably Illinois,

where she grew up. We also had them at our

house in Magna, UT, other places the climate wouldn't

support them. But she loved them.

Mom with her parents Frank and Jessie White, and her brother Larry.

I don't know if this one above is before my parents married?

I believe so, though.

February 1969 - I was age 2 - my parents had been married

not quite 5 years, with 3 kids 3 and under. I don't know how she did it!

Somewhere along the road, my mom started wearing flowers

in her hair. She had a little drawer with all different colors

of silk flowers, and an abundance of bobby pins to put them

in her hair. Mom & Dad came to visit us in Oregon - we moved there

shortly after Brennan was born. I know it was tough for

them for us to be away - but we made some great memories when

they came to visit. Mom's parents left Arizona in April every

year, and went to Canby Oregon with their trailer, and parked

it on the land of some friends. We went to visit them

this particular summer , and stopped at a roadside market

for fruits and Vegetables, and to see goats that climb in the trees!

I could go on and on with stories about my mom. She was

a wonderful woman, who loved Jesus Christ and wanted to

share her testimony with anyone she met. She loved her children

and grandchildren, and read to them whenever she could. She also loved her

heritage - she loved to do family history, and was thrilled to go to

the Netherlands - place of her mother's birth, in 2004.

A year or so ago, I ran into some friends of my parents at a

bookstore, and Elaine said that I reminded her of my mom.

That was one of the greatest compliments I ever received.

I miss her so.

I resemble that remark!

At work today Dawn asked me if I had abandoned my blog.

Um. Didn't mean to.

I'll try harder.

Not to, I mean.

Here's a pic to tide you over...

Mark had a birthday - I made chocolate ganache to put on his cake.
I didn't eat any of it. But everyone else seemed to like it.
He's now in his 40th year! Woo HoO! Love ya honey!

Seriously????

Mark got a new book for his birthday.

called

A MAN, A CAN, A PLAN

No, not that kind of can...

it contains

50 Great Guy Meals even YOU can Make!

The following has to be the most disgusting of the bunch..,

the one at the bottom...

Spaghettio's, 2 eggs + 2 egg whites,

2 Tbsp shredded Parmesan, Milk & garlic powder.

It's like a Spaghettio's Fritatta.

As Tara would say...

Seriously??

And then she was TWELVE!!

Bright and early one April Morning, 12 years ago, Miss Jessica came to our Family.

She was named after two of her Great Grandmothers -

Tjitske Germeraad (Jessica in Dutch)- my grandmother

and

Esta Marcella Webb- Mark's grandmother.

She's wanting to grow up - of course I don't want to let her.

I had to wait until I was 16 to get my ears pierced -

Mom said... if God had wanted holes in your ears,

He would have put them there.

But.. Mark convinced me we shouldn't make her

wait that long..

so... Voila... holes.

Jessica has a beautiful voice - plays the flute, and Grandma Brown teaches her piano.
Her birthday was piano day - so she got to see Nana.

Riding in the front seat for the first time.. on a trip to Sonic!



Our friend Tara stopped by - always good for
a chocolate bar and a hug for the girls!

For a party, Jessica invited some friends to go see

HANNAH MONTANA!!! AAACCCKKK!

(actually enjoyed it...I did!)

Kylan is a cousin, Erin is a neighbor -

these two have a lot in common,

besides the obvious. They also

both love TOMATOES!

Celeste is in Jessica's class at school.

At the theatre, all sugared up.

Came Home and Frosted Cake.

I love you , my Jessica!

How to stay young!

We all need to read this one over and over until it becomes part of who we are!
HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Try everything twice. On one woman's tombstone she said she wanted this epitaph:
Tried everything twice...loved it both times!

2. Keep only cheerful friends.?The grouches pull you down.

(keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches)

3. Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever.

Never let the brain get idle.
'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

And if you have a friend who makes you laugh,
spend lots and lots of time with HIM/HER.

6 The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on.

The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves.
LIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love:

Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.
Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health:
If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it.

If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips.

Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country,

but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
I love you, my special friend.

11. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second chance.

Remember! Lost time can never be found.

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

There were some really cute pics that I got in an email with this..

But I don't know how to save them and upload them... bummer!

She's got lots of Glass!

Monday night we went with our friends/neighbors the Haws' to the Desert Botanical Gardens near Phoenix. There is currently a Dale Chihuly exhibit there - the blown glass is spectacular!

The exhibit is there until the end of May, I believe, so if you are local, I'd encourage you to attend if you can, but make reservations, check their website at http://www.dbg.org/ . It's fabulous!

Finally... Miss Mallory!

While we were in computer Limbo... my Miss Mallory had a birthday!!

Eight years ago she came to join our family!

We were all prepared to have her come, when a couple of days before her due date,

we went to the hospital to do the "become familiar with us" tour. Actually, it was

Dr Linnerson reviewing things for the not first time parents, but had been awhile,

or something like that. We left the Banner Desert, pulled out onto Dobson Road to get on the

freeway. While we were waiting, a big ole boat of a car rear ended us. The poor lady felt

so bad.. her mom or grandma or someone was in the hospital, and she was stressed, and

wasn't paying attention.

Of course, with me 9 months pregnant, the firefighters wanted me to get checked out.

I said I was fine, and we went home. I sat in my glider-rocker with my feet up, when

all of a sudden - the baby was doing somersaults! Huge ones! That is not something that

should be happening that late! Needless to say, she turned head up.. not good.

We went to the hospital two days later, and Dr Linnerson was on call for the weekend, so he

tried to do a Version - which involves turning the baby. Grease up the belly, and try to turn

her like a wingnut- crazy! She did turn around to head down, but she never engaged, and the

next day, Feb 24th, I had a c-section, my first. Not very fun.. but it did bring our Mallory.

Her name was not because of anyone, but one that we liked, and because it fit the pattern that

we'd inadvertently started with the other two. It has two consonants in the middle, and is seven letters long. Weird, but it just turned out. Don't know what we'd do without her!

We kind of had a splurge out on her Birthday dinner, we as a family had finished reading the Book of Mormon, between stake conferences, a challenge by our Stake President. We also had Grandpa Michael in town, so we went to Ah-So for Tepanyaki style Japanese dinner! That was YUMMY! Here are a few pictures documenting her day - from waking up - to going to bed

In My Neighborhood...

For awhile I have wanted to take a tour of my neighborhood to show you (out-of-towners) what it is like, and challenge you to do the same.

So, the other night when we walked the dog, I snapped some pics.

There are many of these in our area...

My son wishes he could buy that car...


Who can tell me who's house the flower is in front of?
Bonus points for you!
(those of you who live near me!)


Here is Milo, taking Jessica for a walk!

Please Recycle!!

Wildflower time!

Sweet Mary Lynn, on a walk with

her mom and siblings!

Yep, it's wintertime in Arizona!

My famous neighbor Dane, and cousin Blaine,

who have appeared on the recent season of

The Biggest Loser!

For more pics of Dane, see http://www.fatsassyandmrwonderful.blogspot.com/

So, my challenge to you is to take a walk, take some pics, even if

it is snowing outside, and let me know when you do! I suppose it is a tag,

but I won't name names.. just do it!

Blame it on Facebook!

That's why I have become an even more lame Blogger.

Really.

It's His Fault.

Not mine.

Another first...

Well, I would have to say, a couple of firsts...

This picture cracks me up... it is most likely during my 5th grade year - or the summer before. My sister, Laura, in the high chair, was born just after I turned 10, so it can't be much after that. My brother Matthew is behind me, and our Indian Placement girl, Maurita, is with us. She came from the Navajo Reservation to live with us during the school year - for a better education. I think she came for 2 years, and then we had another girl, Sarah.

Anyway... This was my first instrument.. so to speak. My parents bought the flute - I'm not sure how they paid for it - money was pretty tight all those growing up up years - but they did it. I still have it! I played the flute thru Jr High school, and I think only my Soph year in HS. Some friends convinced me to try out for concert choir in 9th grade - and I made it - and I haven't stopped singing. I learned to love harmonizing - now I'm trying to teach my girls how to do it!

Music took me lots of places - in 9th grade we travelled from Vernal to Durango Colorado - an awesome trip! With my new obsession with facebook - I have seen the names of some of the gals on that trip with me - I will never forget that trip! In High school, we had a band trip to Disneyland, in addition to festivals around the state of Wyoming. My biggest trip was when I was selected for All-Northwest choir (ID, MT, WY, OR, WA, AK, and UT maybe) and travelled to Portland Oregon. In college I was also able to be part of the Wyoming State Choir that travelled to NYC and performed in Lincoln Center.

All in all - I'm a firm believer in the arts in schools - it is sad that many programs are being cut due to budget shortfalls.

Anyway... on to the 2nd first that is documented in this photo...

My first Fashion FAUX PAS!! LOL!!

Yes, I am wearing orange plaid polyester shorts, and a nautical print shirt - both made by my mom. I'm sure that I didn't go out of the house in that getup, at least I don't think that I did...

My mom made quite alot of our clothes back then.. many of them the stretch polyester that was prevalent in the 70's. One year we had individual pictures, and we mostly match in our polyester shirts - same material, which had been purchased on sale, for sure.

Anyway, that's a brief look into my life as a 10 year old in the 70's - at least I was smiling, and it goes to show how STRAIGHT my hair was back then, not curly like it is today!

How does the saying go?

Whatever you were doing at midnight on New Years Eve, you'll be doing all year long?

Well, I did kiss my husband then,

but we were in the midst of a rousing game of Phase 10!

This was the continuation of a game we started with the kids on Sunday!

Mark insisted we finish it - and we didn't get to bed until after TWO!

Mallory was even a trooper and stayed up!

Needless to say, my internal time clock won't let me sleep later than about 7:30!

So, I've been scanning in photos from college all morning!

However, I commit to playing more games with my family this year!

And, just for posterity's sake,

and to embarrass my teenager,

here are some pics of us last night!

Mallory had a wreck on her bike earlier in the day,

so she has quite the fat lip! Poor kid!

Saying goodbye to one friend, and hello to another!

I'll give the sad news first!

About a hundred years ago,

well, maybe less than 40 and more than 30,

my mom did an activity at the women's Homemaking

Meeting in our church. She traced pictures for everyone

family from a Peanuts coloring book, and then

they were sent off to be put onto plates!
Here is mine!

For those of you who know me now,

my hair has not always been curly- it was straight as a stick!

Hence the joke!

But yesterday brought the end of an era...It was

dropped on the floor and split! I was sad because I

have had it for so long - actually I guess my mom kept it for so long,

and then gave it back to me several years ago- I still have my dad's plate too!

Who knows how many meals I've had on that plate?

So long, farewell, good friend!

And to my new friend!

Well, not exactly a new friend, but an

old friend/boyfriend from college

(I'm not sure if he considered himself that, but I did!)

My friends convinced me to finally start a facebook page,

and I've been able to reconnect with him -

I think I blogged about him once !

( I'll have to see what I wrote about him before I give him my blog address..)

Anyway, I am SOOOO glad I got on Facebook to connect

with him, he was a major part of my life, and has been absent

from it for 18-19 years! So

Yeay for Facebook!