Where have

the years gone?

I've been cleaning out the "deep" (yes again) and trying to get the downstairs bedroom made into a real-live decorated guest room.    As I came across our old family pictures, I remembered how Gary's sister, Margie, had covered a wall in their family room with family pictures taken through the years.  Since she has 10 children, you can imagine that wall was pretty impressive. 

So, I decided to do the same in the guest room.  As we've looked at them, Gary and I just keep shaking our heads and saying, "Where have all the years gone?"   Just writing that bring tears to my eyes. 

These pictures don't really show the pictures too well,

but you can get the idea. 

On January 30

1916, my mother, Charlet Hall Anderson, was born in a home right in the middle of the Bingham Copper Mine.  My Grandfather, Edward Owen Hall, was a Foreman there, and they lived in a little company home built for the workers.  Here is a picture of Bingham Canyon, circa 1916, the year Mom was born.   Mom told stories of how they would get a warning bell that there was going to be some blasting, and everyone would take cover.  She wasn't very old when her family moved to Springville.   

When mom died 18 months after Dad, it felt like all the wind had gone out of us. When Dad died, we felt such loss, but we also felt the responsibility of making sure Mom was Ok. But after Mom died we just felt lost.  I can so clearly see us sitting at Mom and dad's kitchen table deciding what to put on the front of her funeral program.  We mentioned some scriptures or poems, but none of them seemed right for Mom.  

Some time after Dad had died, I had read an article where the writer said she had been at a funeral where a son got up to speak about his father, but was so overcome with emotion, that all he could say was "He loved us."  When I mentioned that article to the family and said how touched I had been by it, everyone piped in almost simultaneously, "that's Mom."  Let's put "She Loved Us" on the the front cover.  Mom was not a scriptural or flowery person, but one thing we all knew was that "She Loved Us."  That could have been Mom's banner.   I planned to scan in the funeral program, but it's way too late.  I'll do it tomorrow.

I miss Mom.  I miss her laugh and her interest in all things family, particularly her grandchildren.  I can often picture how Mom would react to my grandchildren,  I know she would "get a kick" out of some of the things they do.   Who knows, she's probably getting a few "kicks out of them" even though she's not here. 

She would be so happy that we have stayed close as a family and continue to get together and enjoy every-one's company.  And, I have no doubt she would have come back to haunt us if we every had any problems with the splitting up and dividing of the estate.  She warned us that there better not be any problems or we would be in trouble.  I don't know if that is why everyone bent over backwards to be fair and thoughtful, but I've never felt as much love and respect for my family as I did at that time.   I feel very blessed.

Happy Birthday, Mom.

My Banner

During our relationships class for the last two weeks, we've kind of gotten into the idea of  "banners."   Something like Captain Moroni's title of liberty, which he fastened on the end of a pole, and which said,  "In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children."

Basically our banner would be what holds us up, or even what we can fall back on, when faced with a tough situation.   I've thought about it a lot and been unsure whether it should represent something that we are, or something that we want to be.  But last week when I was feeling my all too common anxiety about my all-or- nothing tendencies, I read this talk  Being Temperate in all Things  from the October General Conference.  It hit me right square in the eyes, and I knew that this is what I want on my banner.

TEMPERANCE

A few quotes from the talk:  "When the Apostle Paul described certain fruits of the Spirit in his Epistle to the Galatians, he talked of 'love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] temperance.'"  "Being temperate is to use moderation in all things or to exercise self-control." 

So to me, that word "temperance" mixed in with all the other gifts listed sounds so peaceful.   Sometimes I think to myself, "I don't know how to live."  By that I mean that I don't know how to just "be" because I'm so task oriented.   I'm task oriented to the point that when there's not a "task," I do nothing.   I want to "enjoy the journey," and all the stops and twists along the way.  Not always fretting about the destination or the completion.

I don't know if temperance is really

something that should be on a banner. 

But it is a gift I really want. 

Now, if anyone has a checklist for a fast track to temperance,

please let me know. 

7 years ago

today, a very special boy was born. 

His name is ASHTON!

We're so proud to have Ashton as our grandson.

We're also glad he is named Ashton,

since we had no boys to carry on the family name.

Ashton is

Adorable in every way
Sweet and kind
Honest in his expressions
Tender hearted
Oh my goodness, good at video games!
Never far from our thoughts and minds.

 We Love you Ashton!

We send you funny faces

and HUGS!

We miss you!

It was so sweet

today.  Misty said Harrison came to her yesterday and told her he wanted to sing a song he had been practicing.  He then proceeded to sing, "I Am a Child of God." He didn't want to go to bed because he wanted to keep singing it again and again.  Finally Misty said that he should go to bed and he could call us and sing it when he woke up.  Well, she talked him out of calling at 5:30 our time.  But when he did call at about nine, I was still asleep (I really shouldn't acknowledge that).  So when I called him back, he sang me a beautiful and perfect rendition of  "I am a Child of God," replete with just the right amount of Missouri twang.  Tonight he did the same for Gary.  I wish I had a recording of it, it was so cute.  I also hope he always remembers and believes the meaning of the words he's singing.

I am a child of God.

And He has sent me here.

Has given me an earthly home

With Parents kind and dear.

Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,

help me find the Way.

Teach me all that I must do

to live with Him some day.

When we first added on

the sunroom in 1993, the first event we held in there was Thanksgiving dinner.  I was so excited to finally use the room and I had the tables all set with candles and chocolate turkey favors.  What I didn't realize was that, in the winter months anyway, the sun beats through the top windows so intensely that it literally melts candles (and chocolate turkeys). 

For a few years we had some paper blinds we put up in the winter, but they rotted in the sun.  So, this is my makeshift window covering for a few months.  I decided to make them last week after I had a meeting at the house.  The sunroom was so hot with the sun beating in on us (even though it was freezing outside), that we could hardly sit in there.    So I got this fabric and put it between two spring rods, one at the top and one at the bottom.  Not ideal, but it will do for now (though I can already see that it needs some width adjustments so it will hang more smoothly).

So, that is one "project" I can (kind of) check off my list.

Gary said I should take pictures of myself putting them up, but since I'm the poster of this blog, I vetoed that.  There is no way I'm going to put a picture of myself with a full rear view anywhere.   

I do have some pride.

This

is what Gary did this morning.