I FINISHED IT.....THOUGH NOT ON TIME!

Well I thought I would read the last chapter in the Book of Mormon during church on Sunday for Mothers Day. I did but today I discovered the challenge finished on Saturday. Oh Well so much for being on time.

Thanks to all my family for making Mother's Day special. Dinner was enjoyed by all and it was fun to have everyone come and visit. Thanks for the pj's, they are wonderful, and the CD's I am really enjoying. I keep thinking that I will bring my flowers to work so I can enjoy them all day, but I keep forgetting to bring them.

I LOVE MY FAMILY

Just Putting This Out There.....

In our Relief Society Board Meeting on Sunday morning, we came up with a great plan to go along with our next Enrichment Night. Our lesson on Sunday was Dallen Oaks talk: Good, Better and Best, from October Conference, with a challenge to make better use of all of our time.

We have asked anyone who wants to to accept the challenge of going on a Media Fast, to do it for ONE Week. May 10-17, and see what that does for your family. So no TV, No Talk Radio, No Computers, except for work or Homework. You may listen to good music. We also asked the sisters to try and have a sit down dinner each night with the entire family also.

There are a few who have accepted the challenge and I know for our family it will be difficult. We may have to break it to watch some baseball games together as a family. So there it's out there for all to partake of. Lets all at least consider it and see what happens.

Cancer Walk

We are a happy family




This is Dad walking on the Track....



This is Dad DREAMING of years gone by!



Dad and Tawny before walking, Were not sure what Stacy is thinking about.




Darcy the ring leader of the fire builders....will she ever grow up.




We were privileged to participate in the East Valley Cancer Walk on Saturday April 12, out at Red Mountain High School in East Mesa. Ben and Stacy's Football team the "Hornets" are the driving force behind the event for us. It is a very emotional and exciting program. The Walk starts at noon, and their is someone on the track at all times walking until 9:00 Sunday morning. Thank you for letting us be a part of your group, and Ben I hope you got enough food to last you through the night.

They have the survivors recognized as well as those who are walking to help raise money. Last year we didn't stay for the candlelight Ceremony, but this year we did. With all the Luminaries around the track and everyone in the stadium carrying a candle, it was a very moving ceremony. Lots of tears we shed by all. During the lighting ceremony they light the survivors candles first and then they turn around and light someone else's who in turn lights someone else's. As we were lighting the candles for others, I noticed Marly coming through the crowd and several people tried to light her candle, she would tell them no, I want my grandma to light my candle. Thanks Marly you made me feel special.

We had to quit the walk early and sit down for a while, so we made our own Campfire of sorts, till we started to set the grass on fire, and decided that that wasn't to good an idea in the middle of the field.

As we were walking to our car after the ceremony, Bill told me that until 2 years ago when Stacy and Ben started this with their group and asked him to come and join in the survivor walk, he had never really thought of himself as a Cancer Survivor.

It was fun to be there with all our kids who made it out to the Stadium, we so enjoy being with our kids and it doesn't really matter where we are or what we are doing, it is just fun to be together.

Esse: We Really Do Love Him

Well Yesterday when I found out that Esse, Donny and Deanna's dog was lost for a while, like Deanna found out, I also felt really bad. I will never forgive him and what he did all over my front room, while they lived here, but I did feel bad knowing that he was lost. So now he is back home. Just shows you that your kids always come back home, again and again.

Easter Pageant

It's Easter Pageant Week at the Arizona Temple. They are celebrating the 70Th Anniversary of the pageant. How privileged are we to be able to go each year. It always brings back many happy memories of the first Easter Program that I was a part of. In 1967, the Easter Pageant consisted of a Choir on risers, with a small stage in front of us where they had different scenes enacted, in tableau's, while the choir sang. The audience was seated on folding chairs around the reflecting pool. It started at 5:30 in the morning, and was called the Easter Sunrise Service. MY HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED!!!

Last night we were able to attend with all my children and their children, (except Allison and her family, because of the new baby). We met up with Scott and Susan and their family and her mom and younger sister, and.......a family they had invited to view the pageant. Way to go Scott and Susan!!! Matt's Mom, Elma even braved the cold to attend.

We had the usual pageant dinner, pizza and pop, and lots of snacks. Brittany related to me some of her memories of when she was 4 years old and what she remembers about being in the Pageant. Not much sacred stuff there.

But last nights memory will be from Tawny. She was sitting on my lap when the 10 virgins came out to dance. I told her maybe when she gets older she could be in that dance. She turned and looked at me and said, "No Grandma, I dance HIP-HOP." So much for her chance as a dancer.

She also had a conversation with Brittany that went something like this. " I came to the pageant so I could see what Jesus really looked like." Then Brittany broke it to her that that was not the real Jesus, only an actor playing Jesus, just like on Christmas Eve when the kids dress up to portray Mary and Jesus. She replied "like when I was an angel, only I was the only angel dressed up in Yellow." Yes that's right Tawny, you are our favorite Yellow angel. It was quite a revelation to her that this was not the Real Jesus, as she had been expecting.

What Are You Missing?

"We live in the marvelous age of the information highway. The amount of information sent by e-mail, fax, cellular phones, and other means is phenomenal. In fact, there is a glut of messages. The volume is so vast that it is easy to miss a vital message. Serious consequences result whenever we miss important messages, especially if these messages are from God." James E. Faust

OK....So after my last blog this ones really for Me, and those of you who know who you are.

Sometimes Our Prayers Don't get past the ceiling!

Ok....Sometimes our prayers get a little out of control. That's the way that it has been forever at our Home. Most of them are good, you know reverent ,respectful, then there are those, where you are just grateful that Heavenly Father has a wonderful sense of humor, cuz you can only laugh. To make a long story short, and maybe it is one of those that you just had to be there to enjoy.

Dad and I, Melissa and Brittany, were all sitting on our bed,late one night, when dad says,lets have prayer, Will you girls join us. So we all crowded around the bench at the foot of the bed. Bill calls on Melissa to pray. I am kneeling down,and I feel myself drift off for a minute. Meanwhile Melissa is going about the business of saying a very nice prayer. After the Amen is said, Bill sits upon the bench. I am still kneeling down. I Could hear them still talking,and someone asked me a question, to which I raised up and started talking about nothing that they had asked me. So they all started to LAUGH at ME. We quickly cleared out the room and I was dead to the world in a short time. That was one good night.

The next night,the girls were in the room again, and again it was time for prayer. This time Dad asks Brittany to pray. Now Brittany is at one end of the bench, I am at the other, and Bill and Melissa are in between. The room is quiet, Brittany starts, I am being very reverent and I go to place my head on top of my hand, I realized that would not be such a good thing,so I let out a small muffled laugh, Melissa hears me so she starts, We were able to get control very quickly, and didn't have a problem after that. Meanwhile Bill has decided he can't look at either of us, so he refrains, cuz he knows that he would start if he looked up. During all this time I actually am listening to what Brittany is saying, and realize that something is wrong with her, her usually excellent quality of prayer, had been replaced with a quick get it over with and lets be done. After the last Amen, Brittany said I had to get it over with because I knew you guys were down there laughing, and I knew I was going to start. So I hope that we are not the only family that has some problems while we pray, or we are in for it when we finally get to the other side, and have to pay for all our non reverent attitudes.

This wouldn't have seemed so bad, but, I had just been exercising on my ball laying on my back. Lost my balance and while trying desperately to hold on to something to catch my fall, rolled over and landed on my back hitting my toes on the wall under the window, jamming my right thumb on the floor in Front of me. After I stopped falling and was laying there.It was very quiet in the room. Finally someone said"Are you OK." To which I replied, "Yes, I think so," Then they all started to laugh, and laugh,and laugh. I am glad that as their mother I can give them such happiness.

We had just been to a funeral for a dear friend Ann Rogers. All her 5 children spoke and gave remembrances of their mom. She was even accused of forgetting some of the many bad things that her kids had done, and wondering why her grand kids are now following in their parents footsteps. Makes me wonder what all my children will say about me at my funeral. I may be happy that I won't have to be there.

Now that I have gone on and on, And I'm sure your wondering why you are reading this, I am sitting here thinking WHY AM I WRITING THIS.

When all is said and done I want any and all who read this to know for certain, that I love my children and their spouses, and all my beautiful grand kids, and of course I love my husband, and he loves me, or at least puts up with me. I know he could probably have done better, but they got me, and I sure hope they know how much I love them. Even if they have to laugh, I'm glad I give them such enjoyment.