What a Woman!

This is a photo of Marsha, my absolutely favorite daughter-in-law. She is energetic, wise, accomplishes her goals, is spiritual, kind and generous. I love the way she mothers our grandchildren with a balance between being strong and firm and also nurturing and understanding. Marrying her was the best gift Chris could have given us. Happy Birthday, Marsha. You have so many good qualities I admire. I am remembering many special times we have had together and all the laughs and shared tears. Thanks for once in a while letting me be a small part of your school papers. Love you lots! Maybe you would like to listen to the song "Miracle" on my playlist. I think it was written about Celine Dion's little baby. On Mothers Day I listened to it and cried. Happy tears.

Thoughts on Jake's Birthday...After the Actual Day

Because of this in between place I am in, I can't post a picture of Jake. They are in this computer, but I don't yet know how to get them from where they are now, into this post. But if you want to see great pictures of him, check out Heather's blog (http://mtgratitude.blogspot.com/) in the post titled "He". My favorite of all her beautiful photos is the one with his nephew because you can feel the strong bond between them. My other in between place has to do with wearing a splint on my left hand. It's still one-handed typing for me, so my entries are shorter lately. But I wanted to tell you, Jake, that I am so glad that you joined our family. It is good to read Heather's blogs and as I talk with her, I realize just how much you give to her. And I am missing our good conversations, too. You have added more goodness than you know to our lives in this family. Happy Birthday, son.

Birthdays and Michelle

One of her siblings' birthday was being celebrated on the evening I took this picture. I posted the photo because seeing Michelle's face, her clear complexion, and dark hair and eyes brings not only the moment back but a lot of memories. People used to ask Art and I the question, "Where did you get this child?" meaning that neither of us had quite the same coloring as Michelle did. Many since then have told me what a beautiful woman she has become, and I agree. Michelle was our first born and the day of her birth created a big shift in my life. I remember being in awe of our baby and more thrilled than I have words to describe. The depth of my emotion astonished me. I also remember how frightened I was. To be so completely responsible for another human being was new to me. So, yes, I was scared. Fortunately, Art was there to listen to my feelings. He comforted and reassured me. Still, I don't think it was easy being daughter to such inexperienced parents. Fortunately, she has survived us and our mistakes as well as other difficulties which have come her way. Michelle is an extraordinary person. This photo only gives a small glimpse into who she is and what she brings to life and to the people around her. Even when she was a baby, she had this same alert, curious way of looking at things. She has been able, from a young age, to be analytical and discerning. She is a cat-lover, resident family expert on many subjects and a sensitive and compassionate woman. Actually I can't begin to describe the qualities I admire and love in her. We've had a lot of adventures together. I always think of her when I open my blog because we share a love of red rocks and petroglyphs. Happy Birthday, Michelle, on this your special day. It is a special day to me, also. P. S. From Dad: I recall when Michelle was very young she would speak the french words she knew. She even would sing the song the little children sang in French in the musical South Pacific. Although she was young, I knew she had a special gift with language. And by the way, Michelle, know you are loved!

It all depends on your perspective...

Last evening we celebrated Stephanie’s birthday as a family. Those who could make it went to Chris and Marsha’s at 7:00. We had the usual cake and ice cream, sang Happy Birthday, blew out the candles, Stephanie choosing to blow them out a few at a time. Her decision made for pretty good photos! There was jumping on the trampoline, playing with the pups, almost full-grown now, sitting around talking, catching up on each others’ lives. It was a pleasant evening, although Alyssa was sick, Tracy had a rehearsal, and Heather and Jake couldn’t make it, either . Low-key, just as I like it. Stephanie and I checked out her latest picture on this blog. We both remembered the night it was taken. Brittany and I talked about books and friends.

And I got one more in a series of photos of Nick from (shall we say) unusual angles. Last night’s was lying on his back with his legs up on the wall by the window. In the one I posted here he was sitting in old furniture, which used to be in our living room, during family home evening. It's really hard to tell that the shoe and the face were both from the same person. But no matter the angle, this is one fine young man. And I am hardly biased at all. Last night, I also got some straight on pictures of him smiling, with a cute haircut from Supercuts. From my perspective, you look great, Nick. And I suspect there are a quite a few younger females who would agree with me!

Kimberly, St. Patrick's Day, and Easter

When I was expecting my third child, the due date was very close to St. Patrick's Day. Because of that, and because we liked the name, if the baby was a girl we planned to give her the middle name of Erin. She was born three days before March 17th but it was close enough. For some reason, we seemed to give birth on Sunday, but Kimberly came on Saturday because the Dr. suggested starting the labor then. After being born, she did not squinch her eyes at the light but opened them and looked around. As they wheeled us to recovery, she was still wide-eyed and alert. This year, Kimberly's birthday (March 14th) has come and gone and St. Patrick's Day as well. For the sake of convenience, she has chosen to have her party on Easter which comes early this year. It seems to me to be an appropriate day to celebrate new life and rebirth together. I am grateful for Kimberly, for her gifts, for her tender heart and for her ability to love. And as I think of it, for many other qualities too numerous to name. Happy Unbirthday, honey.

Tagging Anyone?

Being tagged is not the same in blogger world as it is in graffiti-dom. But it sure can be fun. You get a new suggestion as to what to write about and you get to pass it on. According to Nae I am supposed to tell seven random and/or weird facts about myself. Here goes:

1. I can’t follow all the rules of tagging because I don’t yet know how to make links. I’m still a novice!
2. I can’t leave Moab without visiting the Christian Thrift Store. It is in a dark warehouse building west of town–just off the road that goes to the hospital. (Fortunately, I haven’t needed the services of the hospital.) I found some of my neatest T-shirts there. But they are false advertising. Usually they say something like: "Moab, Utah 5k race 2001 or something. I don’t run anymore and never did do races. But often people think I do.
3. Professional Bull Riding on TV is my latest craze. It is very exciting, dangerous and I get to feel lots of sympathy/admiration for the boys rather than concentrate on my own aches and pains.
4. I learned how to crochet this past year.
5. Many of my favorite books are written for young people. I don’t know what that says about my chronological age vs. my real stage of development.
6. I eat three Spiral Pops after lunch every day.
7. One of my favorite things is to sit back and listen to children play. When they forget you are there, you hear the most interesting and/or funny things.
This is a fun assignment! Anyone else want to give it a try?

A New Year

This photo of Tracy was taken at Chris and Marsha's home. We were celebrating someone's birthday, possibly Nick's.

Today we got together here to celebrate the new year and Tracy's birthday. I like this picture because I believe it shows Tracy's compassion, kindness and his intelligence and interest in the world about him.

He is our second child and first boy. He was a handsome little guy with lots of dark hair (as least in comparison to our other little ones who were born "bald eagles". according to their dad.)

Having birthdays close to Christmas may not have been what Tracy and Alyssa would have chosen. The holiday season becomes a little hectic and maybe they don't quite get their due attention. Can't help it. The days they were born were good days for our family anyway.

Tracy was born a few days past his due date. Many people told us they thought we should try for the first baby of the year. Art definitely wished for a tax deduction. Tracy obliged by being born on December 31st, early enough in the morning so that Art could still go to the performance of "Messiah" in the Tabernacle on Temple Square. We both belonged to the Oratorio Society of Utah. I loved singing so I kept going to rehearsals even though I had no intention of singing for the performance. I had to tell the women who kept track of the rolls several times, that no, I wasn't going to show up "great with child" on Sunday. Blessedly attitudes about pregnancy have changed a great deal since then. Now I don't think it would be as frowned upon to be pregnant and also sing in a choir. As it turned out, Art was in the Tabernacle singing and I was in the hospital with our new baby boy listening to the concert on KSL radio. The words "For unto us a child is born" had very special significance that year.

Each one of our children were exposed to music in-utero since rehearsals began in the fall and were held every week until Christmas time. I'm glad they (and we) had those experiences with Handel's Messiah.