Monday Memories: The Rose

The year was 2001. The month, September. There was a crisis in my life. Nothing new. But this crisis was BIG. I had been called to be the Relief Society president of my BYU ward. Problems: I wasn't a student and didn't feel like I was the best one who could relate to these girls; I had never served in leadership in Relief Society before; there were girls who were MUCH more qualified than I to be in this position.

I had actually been extended the call earlier in the summer, but the stress didn't hit until all the girls moved in for fall semester. And the stress really hit. I remember one Sunday in particular: I was a basket case the entire day. That evening I bawled my eyes out. I didn't know many of the guys in the ward, but there was one next door who I had met a few weeks previously (Mike Crockett). I called and asked if he and a roommate could come give me a blessing. That they did. It was the first time I met Matt Bloxham, who became a good friend. After the blessing, they each gave me a hug. I got mascara all over Matt's new Sunday shirt. (Great first impression, eh?)

The stress was still there, unfortunately. (As Pres. Eyring has said, God helps us through the trial, not out of one.) A few days later I received a gorgeous rose at work. The card said something like, "You are wonderful." That's not exactly it, but it made me feel wonderful. There was no name written on the card. I asked around at work and no one claimed to be the sender. My coworker Jewell called the floral shop and asked who sent it. The florist said the sender asked to remain anonymous. My roommates said they didn't send it. Same answer with my counselors and Mike and Matt. I still don't know who sent it.

It hung above my bed that whole school year. I never knew who sent it, but every time I saw it, I remembered that someone was praying for me. And that made all the difference.

President's Day Weekend

I was able to go home this weekend to visit with the family. Bryan's family was there for the weekend, too. We all had a pretty good time. Here are some of the highlights.

Heidi and her cute self. (Not sure why the picture loaded like this.)

All of the grandkids.

Hayden, Wilson, Whitney, Ethan, Sariah, Heidi, Hannah, and Bekah.
Aunt Nicole with Whit, Wils, Hannah, and Heidi.

Whit and Hannah

Hayden (showing some nice bruisage on the face)

Grandma, Ethan, Heidi, Hannah, Whitney, Wilson, and Mike

We had a couple of dinners all together (minus Mike and Bryan, who were skiing.) Tonight Nicole made her yummy snow icecream. The only downside to the whole weekend was the TON of snow we got. Hopefully we can all get out and back to our homes.

Monday Memories: Big Hunk

This is a memory from when I was 4 or 5 (I would guess). My mom took me to one of my first movies at the Hyart in Lovell. All I remember from the movie was a lady who crash landed her plane and sat next to a tree for a long time. The other part of this experience was the Big Hunk candy bar. Before the movie, I had the chance to get some candy. This didn't happen very often so I wanted to be sure I got the most out of it. Thus the Big Hunk...the largest candy bar available. I think I ate the whole thing during the movie. That's A LOT of candy for a 4 or 5 year old. After the movie we went over to my grandma's house. (I think there was family in town and they had gone to the movie with us.) I remember feeling so sick to my stomach when we got there. Too much candy will do that to a person who doesn't eat it regularly. (I'm pretty sure it would happen to anyone who eats a whole Big Hunk in one sitting.) Needless to say, anytime I see a Big Hunk candy bar, I get sick to my stomach. Even thinking about it now brings a queezy feeling. I wish I had been cured of eating all candy. Not so. Just Big Hunks.

I love...

That it's 40 degrees out and I see people wearing
shorts and flip-flops.

But then again, I also see people dressed as if it were 30 below.

Gotta love the mountain west.

Monday Memories: Earliest Memories

My earliest memories go back pretty far...my first year of life. A few years ago I asked my mom if we ever lived in an apartment with a sloped ceiling (and I described the rest of the apartment). She asked me where I had seen a picture of it. I said I remember sitting on the bed and looking around the apartment. She couldn't believe it. She said it was an apartment that we lived in in Provo...when I was under 1 year old. I have no idea how I remember that, but I can still see a picture in my mind.

Another memory was after we'd moved to Lovell and lived in the house I grew up in. I was sitting by the front door, one of those old solid things. I was crying pretty hard and I remember thinking, "I need to remember this." I'm not sure how old I was. I remember my mom comforting me and telling me that 'he' would be back. He was my dad who had gone to work. I've been told numerous times that I was a daddy's girl. Mostly when he was vacuuming. He had to hold me while he vacuumed. My mom recently told me I was also a mommy's girl...I guess it happens when you're the oldest and don't have anyone to play with.

Monday Memories: Courageous Parenting

The other night my brother Bryan and I were talking about courageous parenting (he gave a talk on it recently in church). His idea of courageous parenting is to spank the child and send them to their room. (His thought, not mine. Of course I think he was 'sort of' joking.) It got me to thinking about my parents and some of their courageous parenting from my childhood. Here is one example.

When I was pretty young (I would guess 4 or 5), I was playing with my doll under the kitchen table while my mom was sewing. I remember talking to my doll and pretending that she used the Lord's name in vain. I knew that it was wrong to do so, but I didn't know all the reasons why. My mom heard it immediately and asked me what I had said. I told her and she quickly took me into the bathroom and put a bar of soap into my mouth for about 10 seconds. (I can still taste Dial Gold.) She then told me why it wasn't good to use the Lord's name in vain. She really didn't want to put the soap in my mouth, but she couldn't think of another way to help me understand how precious the Lord's name is. To this day, I have never used it in vain again. I have also avoided using Dial Gold.

Happy birthday, Nicole!

Happy birthday to my sister-in-law Nicole (Feb 5),
one of the 3 best sisters-in-law a girl could ever ask for.

(I couldn't find a picture of her in my files [usually focus on the little ones].)

I think....

It might be time for a new backpack.
(The white parts are the 'filling'.)

One-liners

My bishopric is hilarious. Such a strange combination of men. One is a vet, one used to be a body builder and is now a contractor, not sure what the other one does. We had combined RS and Priesthood on Sunday where each of them got to speak for just a little bit. My bishop had some great one liners.

About dating:

Just do it, okay?

About media (the analogy of putting dog poop in chocolate cake is like trying to justify a little something bad in a movie):

Don't eat dog poop.

Can't wait for the next combined meeting. ;)

Monday Memory: The Tree

Doing this Monday memory thing has got me trying to think of memories from my childhood. One memory that kept popping up this week was when my older boy cousins (Hans, Adrin, Kenneth, Richard, and Eli....Eli was younger, but he hung out with us older ones anyway) and I would climb the tree in Anderson's yard, which was next door to Grandma's house. Every Sunday the family would descend upon her house to get together and have fun. The grandchildren often ended up eating pop cycles. One thing us 'older' cousins would do was climb the tree, make Chinese stars with the pop cycle sticks, and throw them at the younger kids. I think one of us would wait at the bottom of the tree so we could grab all the sticks that had been thrown before the younger kids could get them. (We were so mean.)

I remember thinking I was so cool because the boys would let me climb the tree with them. There wasn't a whole lot of room up there, so they had to be picky with who could climb up with them. I also remember learning how to make the Chinese stars that we threw down. (I think back now and there is no way I would make one of those things with slobber from 5 different people on the sticks....you needed 5 sticks in order to make one. GROSS!)

The tree didn't last much longer through our childhood. Anderson's soon cut down the climb-able part of the tree. (Smart on their part, sad on ours.)

Leftovers

Here are some leftover pictures from my Christmas break. They are just too cute not to post.

Ethan, my little monkey

Kirk enjoying his stash

Whitney and Wilson Christmas morning

Whitney and I the night before I headed back to Logan.
(She's in one of her princess dresses that her Grandma K made for her. She loves them.)

Whitney and Wilson playing dress-up.
(Their dad is going to hate that I posted it 'cause Wilson is in girly clothes. Oh well.)

I had to visit my other brother (who doesn't live in town with the rest of the family) and his gang before heading back as well.

This is Hayden with his gun. It shot little foam planes.
He loved it. (Especially shooting people in the behind.)

The B-ry

It snowed a ton while I was there. Bryan moved the snow from one place and onto my car. It was pretty packed down when I left. Got a few weird glances until I cleaned it off.

Hannah and Hayden being pulled around by B-ry in the FREEZING cold.

The break was WAY too short. I wasn't ready to come back to school. But then I'm hardly ever ready to come back when I could be playing with my nieces and nephews instead. They're too entertaining and cute.

Happy Birthday, B-ry

Today's post is brought to you by the letter "B" (Bryan)
and the number "3" (brother number 3).

Happy birthday, you big hunk!

Memory Monday: Chats with Mom

This last week while I was at home I kind of wasn't feeling well. When I get tired and run down, I usually get emotional. I started crying and asked my mom to tuck me in, which she gladly did. It reminded me of how she used to come and chat with me on my bed all the time. I would usually be reading in bed before falling asleep and she would come in and sit on the edge of my bed to visit. I think those were probably some of the best times because I had one-on-one time with her, which didn't happen often in a household full of other kids. I don't remember anything specific we talked about, but I do remember being happy when she would take time to come and talk with just me. Sometimes the chat would only be for a couple of minutes, kind of a summary of my day. Other times she would sit with me for hours and listen to me whine about my problems and concerns. I think because of these chats, I can honestly say she has always been my best friend. She has never betrayed my confidence about anything that I've told her. (I can't say that about many people.) Mostly I just remember feeling loved because she cared enough to take time out of her busy and chaotic world to make sure I was happy and loved. I have been so blessed to have a great mom. I love you!

Happy Birthday, Little Dude

Happy 2nd Birthday to one of the goofiest guys I know. Love ya!

Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas Eve was spent with family. It's Sariah's birthday so we met for lunch at had sloppy joes, presents, and cake. She turned 9 this year. That evening we met at Mike and Nicole's for dinner, fish pond, a Christmas thought, a visit from Santa, and fun. Here are some pictures from the day.

Sariah opening her fish pond present.
(I'm not sure what she's wearing. She seems to find it every time we are at Mike and Nicole's house.)

Wilson and Sariah looking outside when we heard sleigh bells.

Ethan looking oh-so-cute in his outfit.

Wilson 'fishing' for his present.

Bekah in her Hollywood getup.

Me and Santa

Ethan in his cute bib.

The kids with Santa.

Janet reading a story to Whitney, Sariah, and Bekah, with Klete looking on.