Better With Age

Some things get better with age; cheese, wine, (or so I've been told) paintings, and my Mom, Cleo.

We celebrated my Mother's 90th birthday, and what a celebration we had!  Even though I was accused of thinking this party was a wedding reception, we decorated the cultural hall in the church and filled it with people.

These people came with hugs, 

well wishes,

memories,

smiles,

songs,

and love, to honor this beautiful, gracious lady.

Mother and her younger sisters. 

Some people were OK having their picture taken.

 Others were not.

(I wonder what my Dad was trying to tell me.)

Happy Birthday, Mom!  We love you!

This was taken at the end of the day.  Half of my kids were gone. 

A Clear View of Forever

It's hard to believe that it has been a year since we held this sweet baby, kissed his soft, chubby cheeks, and had our heart melt when he smiled. 

Grady, we love you and miss you every day. 

Sue Anderson, a talented and gifted writer, wrote this poem for her friend.  When Grady passed away, she sent it to me. It brought comfort to us at the time and it expresses my feelings and beliefs.  Thank you, Sue.

A Clear View of Forever 

©2012 Susan Noyes Anderson

Grady, you came into this world

and made the living sweet.

Right from the start, you owned each heart.

Your smile was bliss, complete.

You rushed to earth…greeted us early…

left us far too soon.

In dark of night, you took your light

and slipped beyond the moon.

A loving Father called you home.

We bow to His command;

yet, though we know where you have flown,

it’s hard to understand.

Our empty arms are aching, and

we yearn to see your face.

Draw near us, please, in memories

that time cannot erase.

Remind us with each star that shines

that you shine brightly, too.

As our eyes watch the sunrise,

stir our souls to rise with you.

Watch over us, that we might feel

the brush of angel wings.

Let your laugh float on every note

the song of comfort sings.

You taught us more of heaven

than we ever hoped to learn;

and should our grief spar with belief,

through you, our hearts will turn.

Because of you, we’ll lift our heads

and stand a little higher.

To live God’s plan the best we can

is need now, not desire.

Your sacred gift to us is this:

a clear view of forever. 

The path to you glows straight and true.

One day, we’ll be together.

In that great day, these empty arms

will reach no more in vain.

God’s work fulfilled, our longing stilled,

we’ll hold you once again.

What started as a small project...

Have you ever started a project that turned out to be BIGGER than you thought it would? 

Last January, Andy and I went to a food storage class.  The presenter talked about her food storage room where she has everything organized.  Andy and I decided that we need to get our food storage, that was located in several different areas throughout the house and garage, organized into one room.  Since we are now "empty-nesters" we have the space to do it.  Andy drew up plans, got out his trusty tools, and with some great ideas in his head, set out to accomplish the task of organizing the food storage.

Let me show you what has been done.

One remodeled bathroom  

This needed to be done so the room on the other side of the bathroom could be better utilized since the original bathroom was oddly shaped. It's a good thing we did this.  As we were tearing out the shower, we discovered horrible, black mold! YUK! This house was built in 1972.  We've lived in it for 10 years. It's time to get things done! Andy completely gutted this room and rebuilt it. He even tiled the huge shower.  I hung up the towel and put the scale on the floor. 

Laundry room moved to the furnace room.  

This needed to be done because our new storage room is in the old laundry room. 

Andy put in a new window, sheet rocked and insulated the walls, made the folding table, covered the floor, etc.  I put the plants in the window and the fabric softener sheets on the dryer! :)

Office 

This is the room outside the bathroom.  Andy made the book shelves and the almost finished desk. He has done a beautiful job on every project he tackled.  I helped load the books in the book shelves.

You're probably wondering about the food storage room.  Well, we're working toward that.  Our food storage is still in several areas of the house and garage but it will be heavenly when "we" get it done!  Andy has discovered a new love...woodworking.  He has acquired a few new "tools" along the way that has made his projects go much more smoothly.

We'll eventually get to the reason we started this project but, until then, has anyone seen that #10 can of pinto beans?

Who helps write your story? Story@Home Giveaway (closed)

Everyone has a story to tell. What is your story?  Who knows your story?  How do you present your story?

My story began (or is it begins) many, many years ago.  These four women helped to shape it.

Our winner is Sandra Ricks!  Congratulations!

This is my Grandma Travis in the year, 1916, on the day she graduated from high school. I remember her as a hard-working, patient woman who loved her family.  I spent many days at her home, playing in the back yard with cousins, eating dill beans and other home-canned goods, and watching her sew beautiful quilts.

My Great-Grandma Olsen came to the United States from Switzerland when she was 7 years old. As an adult, she stood at 4'11", (obviously I didn't inherit her stature genes) and she would yodel at the family reunions, even when she was in her 90s! How I wish I could read her story and learn more about her conversion to a church that brought her and her family to America.

My Grandma Hansen, daughter to Grandma Olsen, was an elect lady who raised 10 children with dignity and grace.  She loved flowers and had two huge lilac trees and a garden full of irises in her back yard.  She baked some of the best breads, cakes, pies, and anything else that could come out of an oven.

My own dear Mother, Cleo, has been my biggest support and influence over the years.  She is an example of love, patience, understanding, encouragement, selflessness, wisdom and cooking skills. She has some great stories from her childhood days.  She will be celebrating her 90th birthday next month and I am so blessed to have her in my life.

I hope to be able to emulate these four wonderful women in my life.  I hope that my own children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will know who I am and, through my story, gain an appreciation and understanding of themselves and their ancestors. 

You're probably wondering where I'm going with this...wonder no more.  I'm inviting you to one of the most amazing, fun, inspirational and informative conferences I've ever been to! Story@Home

I had the opportunity to attend this conference last year.  It was so fun!  I learned so much and was inspired to keep my journal and write my story.  Even though I stopped blogging shortly after the conference, (for reasons not associated with the conference :)), I have written my thoughts, activities and feelings almost daily. 

Story@Home will be held in conjunction with the RootsTech family history and technology conference in Salt Lake City, March 21-23, 2013.  If you're ready to become better at storytelling, or to learn how to do family history, this is an event you don't want to miss.  Tickets for the event are still available for just $79.00.

"No matter how you tell your stories – through your family history, at your child’s bedside, on your blog, or from a stage – your stories matter. Join us for Story@Home March 21-23, 2013, and experience a conference that will change the way you see your stories and the world, and help you connect in new ways with those you cherish most."

OK, are you ready for some exciting news?  I am able to give away one ticket to the full event. Just leave a comment below and your name will be entered in the drawing. 

Good luck!

Breaking the Ice

Hi!  My name is Connie.  I split Blogsville and became MIA without a goodbye, au revoir, or adios. I've been trying to figure out how to come back but my writer's block gets the best of me.

Do I go running in to the blog room with stories of alien abductions and African safaris?  

Do I drive up in a fancy car, head thrown back, acting as if I own the world?

Do I have a huge giveaway...

...Or a recipe of seaweed and kelp?

I think I'll just start by sitting back quietly and finding out what has been going on in your lives.  I'll be back here a little more often.  

In the meantime, I need to find the recipe for this delicious looking concoction!

Then and Now

As we posed for this picture, twenty years ago, we thought our family was "complete." Little did we know, we will never be complete.  Our family is constantly growing; we're adding, subtracting, and multiplying. (I should have been a math major)

As each year goes by and we enjoy new additions to our family (whether the additions be big or small) we experience lessons of love, joy, sorrow, laughter, tolerance, tears, and hope. 

Our "completeness" will take all eternity because we will keep changing and growing (more facial hair) and learning...

...and becoming more crazy!  

I love my family!

Bitter Sweet

It has been two months since Grady left us.

This beautiful head stone (a generous gift to his parents) is now in place.

It used to be, after holding Grady for a while, our arms would ache because he was so big!

Now our arms ache to hold him.

Soon, Grady, soon.

Mother's Day is Party Time!

Ahhh, Mother's Day! 

 I love that day!  

I have a wonderful Mother who deserves honor and praise!  We took Mom and Dad out to McGrath's Fish House for dinner Saturday night.  
I'm impressed with my parents' color coordinating outfits.

Me, Andy, Sister Nancy, Steve, Mom, Dad, Cherrie, Brother Gerald

Sunday evening ALL my children (except 2 sons-in-law) and my grandchildren met at Candice and Andy's home for dinner, visiting, gift giving, and a scary pinata! (If you could see the face of that Cinderella, you'd understand the scary part)

If you really want to have some party fun, include a pinata filled with goodies; a group of children hitting the pinata with a stick...

...and a half-naked, bearded man using his kicking skills to break through the pinata! 

I didn't know he had removed his shirt until he got in the camera range!

Thanks, David, for the shock and the fun!

My daughter, Camille, featured mothers every day last week on her blog.  I was featured yesterday. You can go here to read it.  You'll be able to pick out David in our Christmas picture on the blog. 

Ahhh, Mother's Day!

I hope you all had a wonderful day!

Healthy Habits Competition

Who's up to a Healthy Habits Challenge?  

I know I AM!  My daughter, Jill, is hosting this competition.  Go here and check out the fun!  You'll be glad you did! It starts Monday!

We know how important it is to eat healthy, exercise, get enough sleep, drink enough water and have good mental and emotional health.  Sometimes we just get too busy and don't think about taking care of ourselves.  Well, here's the opportunity to be healthy AND join with a group of people AND report our successes AND earn points AND earn prizes!  Want in?  (You know you do)  Check out this site for the rules. 


The last one to 50 points is a couch potato!

Things Worth Tending

I have an elderly friend who grows beautiful African Violets. She told me that African Violets take a lot of tending.  They need the right soil, light, temperature and humidity.  They must have the right amount of water, fertilizer and lots of TLC.  However, she insists that all the tending is worth having beautiful blooms on the plants. 

We have had this African Violet plant for years!  It had flowers when we got it. The flowers eventually died and the plant was neglected. We decided to tend to it with the TLC it needed.   We were excited to find blooms on the plant once again. 

There are things worth tending. 

I need to tend to my relationship with my family. It requires time and effort and lots of TLC but it's well worth it!

(This picture was taken 3 years ago.  We have since added 7 more people to this group)

My relationship with my Heavenly Father needs tending.  Thankfully he's forgiving and understanding.  (We're now in Proverbs!)

Tending to relationships with friends is a blessing and a must, even though many days my friends are just thoughts and not actions.

So now I'm wondering about this blog. 

 Is it worth tending? 

The past couple of weeks this little space on my computer has been sorely neglected, thus neglecting all of you! 

If I own it, I should take care of it. 

I'll try to do better.