First Day of School

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

My Grandma Rose

My most favorite person in the world passed away today at the age of 93. I'm not sure if there is a person in this world that I love and admire more than my Grandma Rose. I've always looked up to her and hope to be just like her someday. I think each of us have one of those people in our lives. You know....that one person who single handedly transmitted more love, and value, and fullness into your life than any other single person. Well, for me it was her.

 

As I sit here today in reflection of my memories with her, I wanted to capture in my journal, some of the reasons why she has been so important to me throughout my life. I want my children to know who I am modeling my life after. I want them to know who this wonderful woman is and why she meant so much to me.

 

My Grandma loved life to the fullest. She loved her childhood, her teenage years, her college years and she especially loved school. She always talks about how fun it was growing up in her time and she seemed to find the joy in everything she did. One of my all time favorite stories from her youth was when she would sneak out of her college dorm room late at night. Before leaving her room she would tie a string around her roommate's toe and then run the string out the window and down the side of the building to the ground. Once she exited her dormitory the building doors would lock behind her... but not to fear...she thought ahead. When she arrived back home from her evening of fun she just simply gave the string a few tugs to wake up her sleeping roommate who then ran down to open the door and let her in. (My grandma would probably kill me for sharing, but I just love it too much not to.) After college she became a school teacher and taught school in a one room school house. She is practically a genius in my book. She could write poetry on the spot and can give the spelling and definition to any word that ever existed in the English dictionary. My grandma met my grandpa while teaching school. I love the story she tells about walking home to her cottage after school each day and my grandpa, "the bus driver", driving the bus slowly right along side of her offering her a ride. At first she said no thank you, but he was persistent, and she eventually got on.  All of the stories she would tell from these early days of her life made me want to have been born in the 1920's so I could have been by her side (maybe as her best friend) and experience all of those fun times with her.

Along with loving life to the fullest my Grandma Rose has always had such a love for those around her; especially her family. She is a great example of what unconditional love looks likes. Grandma always had time for you. She always wanted to know about your life, how you were doing and what she could do for you. She made you feel like you were the most important person in her life. I love that about her.
More important than giving big gifts to her children and grandchildren was that she gave of herself and she gave of her time. As simple as it may sound one of our favorite things about grandma was that she remembered every single one of our birthdays and anniversaries with a hand written card telling us how much she loved us. This wasn't something she only did with the children and grand children, it continue on with all of their spouses and into the next generation of great grandchildren as well. My kids looked forward to, anticipated, and cherished each card she gave them. They loved how it made them feel to know that she had thought of them on their special day. 

Grandma lived a life full of service and was a great hostess. It seemed like she never sat down, always cooking and serving, making sure everyone had what they needed and that they were happy.

I loved staying the night at Grandma's and receiving her 5 star treatment. She always had fun things for us to do, lots of delicious food for every meal, a freezer full of popsicles, and we could always count on games around the kitchen table late into the night. After the fun was through she would tuck us into the coziest bed with the fluffiest feather pillows I can ever remember. It was only after we had had the time of our lives and were tucked in bed that she would focus on cleaning up after our mess, studying her scriptures, doing a crossword, or taking her own personal time to unwind for the day. Now looking back I'm sure this would have exhausted anyone but she never let us know it; She was a very selfless lady.
Watching Grandma Rose with her 9 children was inspiring, she made it look easy and fun. Her example is probably one of the biggest reasons I've always wanted to raise a large family myself.
I am grateful to have her 9 children, as my aunts and uncles, here to carry out her legacy. I always can feel a piece of her when I am with them.

 

My Grandma is a convert to the church. Her conversion story, testimony and church service have always been inspiring to me. She has held many callings in the church and I know she has touched many lives and brought many people closer to Christ because of her sweet spirit. She taught seminary and was a master of the scriptures. I witnessed her reading them often. My Grandma dedicated many of her years to family history work and was very dedicated to temple service. I remember all of the times when she and grandpa would come to stay with our family in Seattle to do temple work for days at a time; I always loved those visits.

When I was 20 I had the great blessing of being able to live with my grandma after my grandpa's passing. I loved living with my idol and being able to get to know her on a deeper level. I loved our late night chats. I learned things about my grandma that I never knew before that time. She shared with me a myriad of her own personal life's experiences.....a few regrets from past choices, challenging things in her life, and mistakes she had made and learned from, advise she wanted to pass on to this next generation and which she believed would help me in my life. Hearing all of her stories and experiences just made her even more relateable and real to me and I loved her that much more.

While living with her I was proposed to and was engaged to Dan. I loved sharing those exciting times in my life with her. Through the years I have loved sharing these special kinds of events with her... our wedding, and the births, blessings, and baptisms of our babies. I have loved being able to relate with my grandma on matters of motherhood. To have her share stories with me about labor and delivery, "being served iodine by her mother in law", "diapers freezing on the clothes line in the middle of winter" and bathing her babies by the open oven door. I have loved seeing her interact with my children as their great grandmother and wish my kids could have more time with her but I am grateful that she was able to meet and hold each one of my 7 babies, from my first baby Alaina all the way down to my youngest, Brinley. They all know her, love her and have felt her love for each one of them.

I know my grandma loved all of her 149 grand and great grandchildren but she seemed to have an extra special place in her heart for us grand daughters. Many years ago, she started a tradition each Christmas Eve of inviting all of us granddaughters over for some special time and special attention. We all loved the Grand daughter Christmas Eve brunch tradition. After our Swedish Pancake meal we would exchange gifts, play games, visit, play the piano and sing for her; which she loved.

 

 My grandma even wrote a poem for us girl's. (Remember how I said she could write poetry on the spot. I wasn't joking. She wrote poems for anything and everything and even upon request, she has a book full of them)

 

My "Girlie" times are a special delight,

When you granddaughters come to stay half the night!

Maybe many, or few, it doesn't matter

We eat and play games, tease and chatter.

The bond this creates will linger on

To bring fond memories long after I'm gone.

Loving granddaughters you've been from the start~

You'll always have a special place in my heart.

What she may or may not have known was that these traditions of bringing us granddaughters together at her house not only allowed us to bond with her but also allowed us cousins to create special bonds with one another that go deeper than the average friendship. I love my cousins and am grateful for my relationships with each one of them. A big thank you to Grandma for making all of this happen. I am grateful to be her granddaughter.

Over the last few years its been hard to watch the aging process chip away at grandma. She lost most of her sight, she needed blood transfusions on a regular basis, she needed oxygen to assist with her breathing and the list could go on. But, despite all of this she kept a positive attitude and a glowing smile and continued to cherish every minute she had with us.

 

 The thing I will definitely miss the most about my Grandma Rose is all of the FUN I had with her. She made me laugh. I loved her witty personality, her playful teasing, her helpful and sometimes funny advice and all of the other "naughty" fun we would have together. She was up for visitors and game night any night of the week. We would stay late into the night playing and having fun. It was guaranteed that at some point during a visit we would find something so funny we would laugh until we cried (or moisture from other parts of our body were released... if ya know what I mean.)

 
I LOVE you Grandma Rose!

Thank you for making me feel so special and loved these last 36 years of my life.  

Christmas Performances

A few of the kids had Christmas concerts this winter. I had them pick their favorite song from each performance, and here they are.

7th grade choir

Hailey’s 4th grade Christmas Choral Performance

Hudson’s Preschool Christmas Program 2011

A few of my favorite things this Christmas Season...

Rolo Cookies (Only 4 ingredients… Super easy)

1 pkg. Rolo's
1 box Devils Food Cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 c. oil
Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs. Take a small ball of dough and form a ball around the rolo. (Only use enough dough to cover the rolo so it can spread through the cookie.)
Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Yields about 3 dozen.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Easy Sequence Christmas Ornaments for kids

Instead of sewing the sequence onto material you just follow a little color coded pattern and pin the sequence into Styrofoam.

Candy Cane Heart Ornaments

We had fun making these and giving them out with a Christmas story to friends, family and neighbors.

Wally’s Christmas Pageant

For years now whenever Christmas pageants are talked about in a certain little town in the Midwest, someone is sure to mention the name of Wallace Purling. Wally's performance in one annual production of the Nativity Play has slipped into the realm of legend. But the old timers who were in the audience that night never tire of recalling exactly what happened.

Wally was nine that year and in the second grade, though he should have been in the fourth. Most people in the town knew that he had difficulty in keeping up. He was big and clumsy, slow in movement and mind. Still, Wally was liked by the other children in his class, all of whom were smaller than he, though the boys had trouble hiding their irritation when Wally would ask to play ball with them or any game, for that matter, in which winning was important.

Most often they'd find a way to keep him out, but Wally would hang around anyway - not sulking, just hoping. He was always a helpful boy, a willing and smiling one, and the natural protector, paradoxically, of the underdog. Sometimes if the older boys chased the younger ones away, it would always be Wally who'd say, "Can't they stay? They're no bother."

Wally fancied the idea of being a shepherd with a flute in the Christmas pageant that year, but the play's director, Miss Lambard, assigned him to a more important role. After all, she reasoned, the Innkeeper did not have too many lines, and Wally's size would make his refusal of lodging to Joseph more forceful.

And so it happened that the usual large, partisan audience gathered for the town's yearly extravaganza of crooks and crèches, of beards, crowns, halos and a whole stageful of squeaky voices. No one on stage or off was more caught up in the magic of the night than Wallace Purling. They said later that he stood in the wings and watched the performance with such fascination that from time to time Miss Lambard had to make sure he did not wander onstage before his cue.

Then came the time when Joseph appeared, slowly, tenderly guiding Mary to the door of the inn. Joseph knocked hard on the wooden door set into the painted backdrop. Wally the Innkeeper was there, waiting.

"What do you want?" Wally said, swinging the door open with a brusque gesture.

"We seek lodging."

"Seek it elsewhere." Wally looked straight ahead, but spoke vigorously. "The inn is filled."

"Sir we have asked everywhere in vain. We have traveled far and we are very weary."

"There is no room in this inn for you." Wally looked properly stern.

"Please good innkeeper, this is my wife Mary. She is heavy with child and needs a place to rest. Surely you must have some small corner for her. She is so tired."

Now for the first time, the Innkeeper relaxed his stiff stance and looked down at Mary. With that, there was a long pause, long enough to make the audience a bit tense with embarrassment.

"No! Be gone!" the prompter whispered from the wings.

"No!" Wally repeated automatically. "Be gone!"

Joseph sadly placed his arm around Mary, and Mary laid her head upon her husband's shoulder and the two of them started to move away. The Innkeeper did not return inside the inn, however. Wally stood there in the doorway watching the forlorn couple. His mouth was open, his brow creased with concern, and his eyes filling unmistakably with tears.

And suddenly this Christmas pageant became different from all others.

"Don't go Joseph," Wally called out. "Bring Mary back." And Wallace Purling's face grew into a bright smile. "You can have my room."

Some people in town thought that the pageant had been ruined. Yet there were other- many, many others- who considered it the most Christmas of all Christmas pageants that they had ever seen.

Baby Love

December 5th-Christmas Cards Sent

Sorry if you didn’t get yours in the mail, I had about 10 sent back to me. Looks like I may need to update my address book.

December 2nd- Holiday Craft Exchange

Christmas came early, after exchanging holiday crafts with a group of girlfriends tonight.

I started decorating right when I got home tonight. Thanks for all of the cute stuff this year.

I haven't blogged in 4 months. I'm soooo behind and here's the reason why...

... I had a baby!

After several pregnancy related health problems and a week on bed rest I ended up having to be induced at 37 weeks.

Grayson Briggs was born on August 26th....

...and it's been a whirlwind of craziness ever since.

It's been 4 1/2 years since we've had a little newborn in our home so all of the kids were super excited to get to the hospital and check him out.

And of course, Dan is one proud papa.

Here are a few of my favorite pics from Gray's first week home.

Of course having a new baby does not mean life will stand still for you while you get adjusted. Nope, not even a little bit. While I was in the hospital I remembered thinking I feel great, I'm doing pretty good. I found myself walking the halls doing laps, with the baby, out of boredom, ready to get outside and back to the real world. But one quick trip to Target on my way home, after being discharged, proved that I wasn't as ready for the "real world" as I thought I was. I stood in Target while everyone zipped and raced by me. The outside world felt so fast paced. I felt slow, sick, tired and out of place. Definitely not back to my 100% like I thought I was.

When I arrived home my kids were on the same fast track as the people in Target. They were very excited for school to start and couldn't wait to go school shopping and have our special back to school dinner, they tried to bring several neighbors into my bedroom while I was nursing and much much more. After a few tears from yours truly Dan announced to the kids, "Mom is getting some time off and everything would have to be postponed for a few weeks." It all just felt a little sad to me for a few days :( We'll just call this my "Adjustment Period".

August 31st Back to School...

and since no back to school outfits were purchased and no back to school pictures were actually taken of the kids this year we'll just use these beautiful pics Jenne took instead :)

Alaina- 7th Grader (even though she looks like a junior)

Playing Volleyball and trying out for choir this year.

Ky -6th Grader

Playing basketball and LOVES to read.

Hailey -4th Grader

Playing soccer and a HUGE help with the baby.

Kase -2nd Grader

Playing soccer and a big time people person. He has a TON of friends.

Hudson our little preschooler.

He loves school and is always making our family laugh.

Jenne also took newborn pics of the baby at 11 days old.

A couple weeks after school started I felt like I was back in the swing of things...

We had our fancy "Back to School Dinner" and introduced our family's theme for the year.

"Our home is a Heaven on Earth".

I returned back to being a "soccer mom" I guess you could say.

2 kids in soccer, 1 kid in Volleyball and 4 kids taking piano lessons. Oh boy!?!

And my daily life always includes these guys.

Which is always entertaining!

September 22nd- We had a quick b-day party for "Dan the Man" and bought him cool presents like underwear and socks :)

October and November were pretty much a blur. Dan was going to school, working 15hrs a day, servicing all of his lawncare customers, getting 800 sprinkler blowouts done and running his other businesses. Then homework on top of that. So pretty much I was a single mom of 6 for a while but here are the highlights.

Sunday, October 9th- Grayson's baby blessing.

October 14th- Preschool pumpkin patch trip with Hudson.

October 30th- Family over for dinner and pumpkin carving.

October 31st- Halloween/Trick or Treating

November 3rd-Alaina's first choir performance. (Top center)

November 17th- Breaking Dawn Event

November 24th- Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. We hung out with family, ate turkey, took the family to a movie and Dan spent an hour or so watching football with his eye's closed ;)

(A well deserved nap I'd say, with how busy he's been lately)

November 25th- Grayson is 3 months now and super smiley :)

November 26th- A trip to the Kelly's for a Thanksgiving get together in Ritzville.

That super fun trip wraps up November.

And since this is the longest blog post known to man I think I'll stop here for tonight. I'm feeling pretty good about getting caught up on 3 months worth of blogging. I'll save the month of December for tomorrow night and then in January I think my New Years resolution may need to be something about staying on top of my blog.