2012

2012 Was a journey to enjoy.  Kelson came home in October from serving a great mission in the Cebu Philippine mission and went right to work for Governor Herbert's campaign.  It is so great to have him home!

Brigham City has a new temple and it is so great to just drive down the street to go to the House of the Lord. 

Rick puts in a lot of time working for L-3 and it has been such a blessing for our family.  He got a new shed this year to put his gardening stuff in and that probably has been the highlight of his gardening year! 

We sold our house on Shamrock and we redecorated our house.  We re-did the kitchen and dining room and living room.  It looks great and I love working in the kitchen now! 

I quit working at Valpak after 8 years.  It was time.  I now work part time for the county doing Business Expansion and Retention.  I have also won a contract to be a trainier for the state of Utah.  I love it! It is fun and I am meeting really great people.

Ryan moved to Draper and then decided to go back to school, so he starts school in Texas Jan 11, 2013.  It is a great move for him and we are excited for him.  We do miss him a lot.

Crystal and Tim are expecting baby number 3 and she should come any day.  Tim finished grad school and has gotten a promotion at work.  We are really proud of both of them.  They are really striving to raise a good family in the gospel.  We love that they live so close! Time is teaching primary and Crystal works in activity days.  Mason  and Brielle are the light of our lives!


Miles and Betsey are in Brigham City as well.  Miles is going to USU and should graduate in December of 2013.  Betsey is an accountant in town and is patiently providing for their family as Miles goes through school. We love having them around to make us play!  They are teaching teen Sunday School.  Perfect place for them!

Emily and Brady bought their first home!  It is a condo in Woods Cross, Utah.  It is in a really nice area.  Emily took a Philosophy class that gave her a real thirst for learning and she is excited about going to school and learning all she can.  She is a recruiter for a temp agency in N. Salt Lake and serves as a scout leader in her ward. Brady is getting his graduate degree and finishing their basement.  He is one busy boy!

Kelson starts school at USU tomorrow.  He is nervous and excited and of course came down with a horrible cold to get him going.  He is a business major.  Being home is a mixed bag for him, but he is getting in the hang of things pretty good.

This is just a snap shot of our year.  I think what this year taught the most is how much we love and rely on one another.  I am so grateful to my kids for staying close, overlooking faults and helping each other out.  I love and appreciate their kind hearts and their desires to do what is right. 

We are looking forward to 2013 with hope and trust that we can create love and unity in our family and among our friends and community.

Crystal, Sarah, Emily and Brielle

Kelson on Skype

Mother's day is always bitter sweet for me.  I think about my great kids and how beautiful and great they have turned out; accentuated by guilt for all the things I didn't do that I should have.  I wonder if that is normal.  Is that something that comes with the job description? 

I got to briefly talk to my son, Kelson, who has five months left in the Philippines.  It was so nice to see his face, hear his voice and watch his laugh.  I only wish I had more time to visit with him, however I will when he gets home.

Here is a brief over view about some of the things I love about my children.

Ryan is peace.  He is comforting, thoughtful and interesting. He loves his family and would do anything for his brothers and sisters. He is talented, smart, and has a great future.

Crystal is a great mom.  She is patient and so fun to hang out with!  She plays with her kids.  She is also great with her granny and brings so much happiness to my mom.

Tim loves his family first!  He provides for them and is so accepting of people.  He has a huge heart and is a hard worker. He is so good at his job and business ventures.

Miles is kind,patient, loving, and good.  He adores his wife and is great with his nephews and nieces.  He has a great sense of humor and will be a good provider for his family

Betsey is open enough to be my friend, unlike many daughter in laws.  I truly love her.  She is smart in ways no one else is in our family.  She is a great cook!

Emily is artistic, kind hearted, sensitive, thoughtful and sharp.  She is great with the downtrodden she works with and is empathic to their trials.  She is truly gifted artistically.

Brady has the best smile anywhere!  It lights up the room.  I love how expressive his eyes are.  He is so good to us and loves Emily.  He is great at his job and with people.

Kelson is dedicated to his mission.  He works very hard, it totally focused and loves his family!  He has the best laugh, a practical mind and is so fun to be with.

That is just a small part of what I love about my children, and because they are who they are, being a mother is the greatest thing I have ever done on this earth, other than marrying Rick!

Thanks for coming to our house kids!

2nd Anniversary, new puppy!

You can find this picture on Emily's blog too, but I like it so much I had to post it on the family blog.  Such a cute little family!

Early morning walk

I walk with 2 amazing women in the morning.  They have changed from friends to sisters.  I really love them. We have walked through deaths, marriages, sickness, romances and heart break. They lift me up and make me a better person. 

We try to change up our walks, so everyday we hit a different section of our small town.  We have weeded, wandered through empty houses, investigated the cemetery and watched the steeple go up on the temple. 

 Our Husbands humor us, and are entertained with the crazy things we do and talk about.

Yesterday the mail man told me that we should walk by the temple around 7am to see it when the sun first hits the valley.  He said angel Moroni is amazing and the temple just glows. 

So this morning with cameras in hand with ended our walk at the temple. It is so beautiful and we feel so blessed to have this wonderful gift given to our community.  We are excited to go in and to have our children/ grandchildren hopefully sealed there. 

This morning was a gift.  I spent it with good friends, in a beautiful little town, and ended it with our hearts filled with the blessings of eternity.

The Crystal Gift

    Twenty seven years ago I was blessed with a great gift.  Actually the gift came before.  During my pregnancy with Crystal my hair was thick and beautiful, my skin was clear, I was in a good mood for most of the time.  A really peaceful pregnancy. The best was yet to come!
   Crystal has been a blessing in my life.  She is beautiful inside and out.  She has the talent of brightening up a room, making everyone feel comfortable and being a true friend.  She takes time to reach out to her Granny and is one of the best mom's I have ever seen.  In my eyes she is practically perfect!
   Rick and I feel so blessed to be her parents.  Happy Birthday honey!

Sold House

Sold house on Shamrock.  Very relieved.

Angel Moroni

Outside the Brigham City temple when angel Moroni went up!

Re-decorated in winter 2012

Easter

Tim and his shadow, Mason. Sweet boys!

Our little Buttercup!

Our sweet Brielle!

San Diego summer 2011

Rick with the camel!

Sheep down 6th East. Love it!

Bear lake Pizza! Yumm!

Annual Bear Lake Trip before Brielle

May 6, 2012
So much has changed from the last post.  I am re-dedicating myself to being a blogging Nana! We have two grand kids now, Mason and Brielle.  They are the light of our lives.  I was fortunate enough to be at the birth of Brielle, and she will always hold a special place in my heart.  Actually, my heart is big enough for a special place for all of them!
 It would take me years to catch up so I am not going to try.  I will just hit the highlights.
Ryan is graduated from Weber State and is trying to figure out the rest of his life.  he is the most generous man , always coming home to help old mom and dad on the weekends!
Crystal and Tim live in Perry with Mason and Brielle.  They have a beautiful home now, however the plan is to flip it. Tim graduated with his masters in procurement last month! 
Miles and Betsey live in Brigham City and Miles is going to school and Betsey is putting him through.  She is a champion!
Emily and Brady live in Woods Cross and they just bought their first home, a condo, and a cute little puppy, Dexter.  Both working hard and Brady starts his masters program this fall or next fall. 
Kelson is serving in the Cebu, Philippines mission.  He is a great missionary and we are so proud of him.  He will be home in October.
Rick is the best man ever.  He works at L- 3 and comes home to just me.  It has been an adjustment learning to be empty nesters, but we really enjoy each others company so it is great!  We also are excited to have Kelson home again!

Summer 2009

This has been a pretty crazy summer! We have a new grandbaby, our first. Mason was born to Crystal and Tim on July 12, 2009. As you can see he is darling! Miles and Emily moved home for the summer to earn money for school. Kelson is also working and we are all trying to carve out time for family. We did get to go to Midway for a few days and it was just what the doctor ordered. A few days hanging out in a pool in a beautiful place with people you love does the trick!

On Saturday we took the family to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. I missed the memo about dress so we were about the only ones in casual clothing. Why does that happen so much to me, could it be that I need to pay more attention when people talk? I think this is also a gift that I have bestowed on several of my children.

Oh well. We had a nice day. I love to be in the temple, especially with my family! Emily took Brady and Miles took his girlfriend, Betsy. Good times.

Upcoming Grandmahood!

I am going to be a grandma. I have known for months, but today it really hit me and I cried. Once upon a time there was a beautiful little baby in my own arms and now she is going to be a mom. It is surreal. I have flash backs of this happy little person running through the yard, pretending to be a wolf, a princess, a dog. There is a picture burned in my memory of her playing in the leaves in the fall and rejoicing in the freedom of it all. I see the teen with all of the regular teenage angst, but with a head full of common sense that to me seemed unusual for her age. Her chatter brought me so much joy, the memories will comfort me when I am old.

Now when we talk she has the same fears I did, " What if I don't love my baby?" "Will I be a good Mom?" Typical and timeless fears of motherhood but more poignant when expressed by a daughter you love. I know she will be a great Mom and Tim a great father. Will I be a good grandma? Will I be someone my grandchildren can turn to when they have had it with Mom and Dad? Will I be an example of a life well lived so they have some tradition of success to follow?

My emotions are bundle of contradictions! I am thrilled, sad that life is passing so quickly, nervous about his health and well being, but excited to bounce a new life on my knee! My baby will be grown, but a new little life will bring the youthful joy into our home again.

We are blessed.

Proactive is the best!

Today I am grateful for the concept of being proactive instead of reactive! As Steven Covey says, I believe in creating the "Win, Win!" It is easy to find all of the reasons things can't be done, Too Busy, Stressed, Overwhelmed, don't have the Education, habit, whatever. But I like to think about the possibilities that one can succeed, and there is a way to create a win, that we can find solutions.
I have a friend that is a young man and he is tremendously busy, but he always seems to find a way to meet with friends and succeed in his religion, and his career. This year I am hoping for him to hit the million $ mark. His life philosophy is that he envisions his day succeeding and visualizes himself where he wants to be and then goes out and creates it. He is one of the busiest people I know, but he has never said that he can't see me because he doesn't have time.
This morning I have thought a lot about that saying, why do we say it, and why do we think it? As I have pondered this I have thought about the times I have said it and why. Sometimes it is because I am feeling overwhelmed with life, it is not really about time. Sometimes I have used it as a badge of pride, I wanted people to see me as a person of worth because I must be, to be so busy. Regretfully, I have also said it to get out of doing something that I really didn't want to do. It is a handy excuse, but looking back I see that rarely is it true.
For sure we can't do everything at once, but as we schedule, we can plan ahead and have time for almost anything worthwhile. It may be a year out, but we can make the time. I think in our world we just get too impatient, and we are proud.
I also have recognized that I have wasted a lot of time. I have read dumb books, watched stupid TV shows, and slept longer than is needful. Somethings also just need said "No" too, and other things, like reading to a child or listening to the teen, need the priority.
My goal for today is instead of saying, "I don't have time." I am going to say, "Let's see what we can create!" Look for the "WIN!"