Cheryl's Family Memories

A Secret Santa Came

2011-12-25T16:24:00.000-08:00

This year a "special secret Santa" dropped off a gift for us. We were so surprised to open the box and find a 18" white marble Christus!! It is so beautiful and we were so thrilled. What a wonderful gift to get for Christmas. It will occupy a special place in our home.
So - Dear Secret Santa - whoever you are - THANK YOU from our hearts for such a great gift. We love you!!

The Cutest Santa

2011-12-21T20:25:00.000-08:00

This is the cutest Santa I have ever seen!!!

Early Thanksgiving

2011-11-20T14:20:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving came early for us this year. Shannon and her family came over for a quick weekend so we took advantage and had Thanksgiving. It was great!! We had a fun time together - laughed - ate - played with the baby and enjoyed each other so much.

Tried to get a picture with the grandchildren. By this time, Jimmy was sick of setting for the camera.

So happy these guys could come over. We had so much fun. That Jimmy was so cute and his blue eyes drew me right in. I consider him Grammy's boy and enjoyed every moment I had with him.

Jimmy is surprised at how big and long Dugan is.

Jimmy getting acquainted with Dugan. Being with Grandpa kept him taller than the dog!

Grandpa in heaven. He loves this little guy so much!

Jake's family: Fran, Laura and Trevor. Handsome bunch!

And last of all a family picture. We got some really good shots, but this goofy one is a favorite. We are just an ordinary family. Being goofs!
I love everyone of them and so happy that we could get together for the holiday.
So - come Thanksgiving Day - I will be relaxing, eating leftovers and not stressed over cooking or cleaning up!

Vacation - We Had A Blast!

2011-08-26T22:18:00.000-07:00

The pictures say it all!!
We had such a good time. Jimmy had his first trip to the beach and loved it all.
We love that boy and can't wait to go again soon. He is growing so fast - I hate to miss a moment of it. Thank goodness for skype!

Dying for Vacation - SOON!

2011-07-31T15:53:00.000-07:00

Oh my GOSH!!! Only about 10 more days and we will be fast on our way to hug and love this little guy. I am getting so excited!! We haven't held him since April and it has been too long.

You can see that he really does have hair. Just so light and fine, but it is growing. He takes after his Uncle Jake in that department. Jacob had a head of hair just like Jimmy's.

I have a pile of fun treasures to take to him. You know - Grammy spoiling type things. Every child needs a Grammy that spoils them so. I plan to be most excellent at that job!

Missing Him - Sigh!

2011-07-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh!! I am going thru serious withdrawal for this boy!! I just need some time off work and a few more $$$ and I would be on my way. We do Skype several times a week, but I just want to reach into that computer screen and grab him. Being a Grammy is so wonderful - only down side is that I am several hundred miles away.
My heart is determined to get over there soon - like in 2 to 3 weeks. Can't stand it any longer.
Jimmy, Grammy and Gramps are coming!

My Mom

2011-05-08T14:52:00.000-07:00

Today is Mother's Day. I can't help but have my thoughts drift to my Mom. Oh, how I miss her - yet I feel her near. So in honor of her I am going to share the words of a song that I love. And even though she is not here with me - I know in the expanse of eternity she hears what I am sending her way. You can listen to it on http://www.defordmusic.com. This is written by Sally DeFord. This woman writes some beautiful songs. Anyway - here are the words:

An Angel to Watch Over Me

She watched by my cradle through long sleepless nights,
She taught me to pray as she knelt by my side,
She guarded my childhood, all through the years,
She echoed my laughter, She counted my tears,
In the arms of my mother I came to believe -
that God sent an angel - to watch over me.

She taught me the meaning of courage and faith,
She taught me to live with the Lord as my strength,
She taught me to follow the pathway he marked,
She guided my steps when the journey grew dark,
And I know there were dangers that I could not see,
But God sent an angel to watch over me.

She taught me to serve with a spirit that sings,
She taught me to seek after heavenly things,
And because of her love and her kindness and care,
Because of the place that I hold in her prayers,
And because of her goodness, I still believe -
That God sent an angel to watch over me.

There is nothing else to add. This says it all.
So Mom - know today that you are so loved by me and that I am eternally grateful that I was so lucky to have you for my Mother - for you are indeed "my angel"

My Mother's Day Guest

2011-05-08T14:45:00.001-07:00

Thanks to my cat - I had a guest for mother's day. My cat loves me. But there is a limit. She has brought me birds and occasionally a gopher - BUT A SNAKE - NO WAY!!! I don't do snakes.
This happened last year - we found a snake in the bedroom. This snake this time was found in the family room.
Oh, how I love that cat! ;o( ;o( I am going to have to sit down and talk to her about the rules of the house.

A Great Find!

2011-04-21T21:59:00.000-07:00

I found this hat at Old Navy and knew it was for this guy! It is so cute and we spent a chunk of time taking pictures and laughing. I'm not sure how he felt about it all, but he was a great sport. I love it!!

It reminded me of my Granddaddy. He wore a hat like that. And when I saw the hat I thought of him. It was the greatest buy of our trip!

Another Fun Trip

2011-04-21T21:43:00.000-07:00

We had the best trip over to see our kids. And of course we super enjoyed being with and playing with Jimmy. Cliff got up with him at night and enjoyed the time having him all to himself.

Grandpa & Jimmy - Best Buds.

Grammy, Jimmy in his new hat and Jimmy's dad in the background.

Jimmy with both sets of grandparents.

Already missing this fellow. Can't wait to go back.

Making me Smile

2011-04-11T16:39:00.001-07:00

Babies & More Babies

2011-04-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

My niece had this little gal on Feb. 24th. 7 lbs., 5 ozs. She is so darling. She is just like a granddaughter - SO lucky me. You will see pictures of the other little sweeties of hers also. Love them all!!!

I feel so blessed. In fact, going over to see this little guy in 4 days. Can't wait!!! We just can't get enough of him.
So between these two cuties, how can life be any better?

Oh My!

2011-04-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

This little guy is changing so fast. Having baby withdrawals and so -
We are heading out in a little over a week to spend some days with this cute little face. We have missed him terribly.

The Greatest Weekend!!!

2011-03-23T20:37:00.001-07:00

This last weekend Cliff and I went to visit these wonderful people. Yes, Cliff was finally able to go see our new grandson. We had a blast! We drove over on Thurs. evening and arrived pooped out. But so excited to see Jimmy and give him lots of kisses and hugs.
These two are the greatest Mom & Dad. They are so fun to watch with their little baby. He definitely gets plenty of love and attention.

Cliff & I tried to give Shannon & Ryan a chance to catch up on some sleep. So - we took over baby duty at night. And we are happy to report that we still can do the baby thing. Cliff got up with him most of the time. He loved spending all the time he could with him. And Cliff was so good with him. Those two really bonded. And this picture illustrates some of that. Sacked out together early one morning.

Just hanging together.

Cliff had a special song he kept whistling and singing to Jimmy. And you can tell that Jimmy was enjoying it. Sometimes, they even danced. I loved watching them together.
We took Jimmy on a walk thru the park and the neighborhood. I guess he enjoyed - he slept the whole time. But we had fun pushing that stroller. Saturday it started to rain and rained Sunday. It made for an interesting drive home for a couple of hours.

It was Saint Patricks day when we arrived and I brought with me the cute little St. Paddy's day derby hat. So Cute!! And it is just a fluke that I even got this picture - a smile. They are hard to predict and catch with a camera. Lucky me!

We were sad to leave. And we are still having withdrawals - and can't wait to go again. Or, if we are lucky, they will come over soon to visit Arizona. Either way, we can't wait.
Being Grandparents is truly the greatest. That little guy is really special, but what grandparent doesn't think so.
We feel so blessed!

Ready for that Kiss!

2011-03-06T18:36:00.000-08:00

This little guy is just waiting for that kiss that Grammy and Grandpa are going to give him in less than 2 weeks. We can't wait to go. And by the following picture, he is getting ready for us - for those fun kisses. Can't wait!

And Grandpa is so excited to meet him. I know they will be "best buds".

2 Weeks +

2011-02-21T20:02:00.001-08:00

I just love this little guy! Look at that face!
Missing him terrible. Can't wait to hold him again. Soon baby, soon.

I'm Just Saying - Cute

2011-02-15T18:07:00.001-08:00

Introducing James

2011-02-14T19:38:00.000-08:00

Both Grandma's getting the first picture of our baby - Jimmy.

Of course there are lots more pictures, but this will give all of you a good idea of how wonderful and handsome this little guy is. He did get a good case of jaundice (hence the blue light picture) Ryan called him his little "Avatar" baby. But after 2 days and nights under the blue lights, he is doing great. I was so lucky to spend 10 days with this little family and had a ball.
When I left on Sunday, I was weeping for quite a few miles down the road. I am already planning my next trip out to see him and of course this time, Gramps will be going.
This was the face I had to leave!!

Our Baby Is Here!

2011-02-09T10:16:00.000-08:00

Thurs. Feb. 4th our precious little James was born. He arrived at 6:15 pm weighing in at 7 lbs. & 6 ozs. He was 20 1/4 inches long. Of course, he is perfect in every way. He has Shannon's button nose and looks just like his Daddy! He did come with some hair - light brown, kind of blonde.
I am still over playing Grandma and won't be able to post pictures for a short time. Can't wait for you to see this beautiful baby!
Shannon labored long for him and it was worth it all to get him here, safe and healthy.
It is hard to find the words that really describe how a mother feels when her daughter becomes a mother. It is amazing and wonderful.
I am lucky to be able to spend 10 days with James and his Mom & Dad. And it will be SOOOOOOOO hard to leave on Sunday.

Shower in a Box!!

2011-01-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

This gal could not be here for a shower - so my dear friends got together to give her a "Shower in a Box". It was lots of fun. I actually had the same thing after Jacob was born. We had moved from Wyoming to Arizona and my friends in Wyoming had a "Shower in a Box" for me there and shipped the surprises to me.
As you can tell from the pictures below, the box theme was apparent in the decorations. Boxes everywhere and a Toy Story theme with it.
We had 3 different kinds of soups, salad, and wonderful rolls and goodies.
I loved seeing the wonderful gifts she was given. Have to keep that part a surprise.
April and I will be going over next week to deliver the box of surprises.
I love my dear friends who were so kind to help Shannon get started with her baby. Of course, as the Grandma I already know he will be the cutest and most precious baby. Can't wait!!!

THANK YOU DEAR FRIENDS!! You are the best.

Family Christmas Eve

2011-01-02T17:58:00.001-08:00

There seemed to be nothing missing from this Christmas - only Shannon & Ryan. But as you can see, the tree was loaded and everyone seemed to enjoy.
We had a sub sandwich bar and sparkling cider to drink. YUM!

Overload of ornaments on the tree.

I made poodle skirts for the little girls. They twirled and twirled and loved them. It was fun to do.

This picture was something to get done. I am famous in my family for closing my eyes during pictures. They can snap and snap pictures and most of the time, my eyes will be closed or half closed. My family hates family pictures - I think it's because we have to take so many to get one good one. We have tried every trick there is, but I always have a hard time. To get this picture it took 14 shots. And it wasn't fun for Cliff anymore. It must be something in my head. But finally we got a "OK" shot. I think my best shots are ones that I don't know are coming.

Annual Girls Christmas Lunch

2011-01-02T17:29:00.000-08:00

My Girls: Fran, Laura, Me, April, Lani

This year was another great time with the girls in my family. I had the adult Ornament Luncheon on the 4th of Dec. and the little girls Ornament lunch on the 18th. These two events are my favorite things to do at Christmas. I have a lot of fun planning lunch, preparing and then off to the stores to find "that just special ornament". The girls seem to enjoy. We missed Shannon so much. But her baby is due in Feb. and she does not travel. While we were out at Thanksgiving, I took her shopping for her ornament - but forgot to document with a picture. Great ;o((((
The only challenge I have is finding room on my tree for the new ornaments for the year. They have a $10 limit on ornaments with the rule that there has to be 2 of the same ornaments so mine will match theirs. Some places we go shopping they have sales on ornaments and they gals can get 2 ornaments for their $10. Which means that I have to find room on my overful tree for 14 new ornaments between the adult and little girls.
I don't care. I just smile and move things here and there to cram in another ornament. I am a little concerned about next year. I don't think I can put anymore on my family tree. Oh - I might just have to get another tree. LOL!!! I will worry about that next year.
For the adult girls I made homemade chicken pot pies, with a yummy salad. Chocolate bundt cakes with peppermint ice cream for dessert. We were all so stuff from dinner, that most took their dessert home.
For the little girls we had pizza and veggies with mini carrot cakes and mini brownies. They loved it.
My table decorations this year were trees once again. I did paper cut trees and they turned out beautiful. They don't fold up and proved to be a little challenging to store away for next year. But I did it.
Can't wait until next year to plan and have another fun time with the girls. When we were all finished, I told Cliff that my Christmas was done. All the rest was great, but the girls lunch is the best. LOVE THOSE GIRLS!

It's A Boy!!

2010-09-21T06:06:00.000-07:00

It's a boy!!!! We are so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cliff & I both guessed a girl, but oh how we love little boys. This is so perfect for our family. I think most everyone guessed it would be a boy. Oh well, we never guessed right on our own children.

All is well, Shannon and baby are growing and doing well. Although it seems far away, Feb. will be here before we know it. This picture is the set that Shannon & Ryan like. Looks mighty fine for a little boy.

I was so excited I had to run out and get a few little boy things.

It's a Grandma thing!

Family Reunion

2010-09-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

The first of May we had a family reunion in Wyoming. My sister and 3 brothers had not been together for some time and we planned this 2 day reunion.
Cliff & I traveled to Wyoming and met the rest of the family at my brother - Rusty's. We had a great time, great food and fun remembering and talking about our memories of growing up and catching up on every one's family.
It snowed while we were there - not a lot, but a dusting everyday and much cooler that Arizona. I loved it.
Next is a slide show of pictures I took. We are getting older, but still cute. Love these people!!!

It's A Jungle In Here

2010-09-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

This is growing in my house!! We noticed it a couple of months ago and pulled the plants out of the baseboard. It is amazing how much strength plants have. They have pushed through the sealed baseboard - right up through the caulking. There was no gap or hole in the caulking, but they pushed through anyway. Cliff has tried to kill them off, but they just keep growing. He has inspected outside and inside, but somehow they are growing from under the block outside.
If this keeps up, we might have a forest before we know it.

A Baby!

2010-09-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

Our baby is having a baby! We are so excited. We have to wait until Feb. to actually hold that little one - but time does fly by and I know before I know it, the time will come.
We went to visit Shannon & Ryan for a few days and had a great time. Shopping, eating out and chatting and chatting filled our days. She is doing good and they are excited.
Ryan and Cliff rebuilt part of their fence in the backyard. They did a great job!!!

All that Ryan has to do now, is to stain the fence to match the rest of it. It is much more sturdy and should last a long time.

We also enjoyed the beautiful weather. Much cooler than in Arizona. We left home with wind and hot temperatures, fought the wind all the way there, but enjoyed cool temperatures while we were there. It felt like heaven!! We wanted to bring those temps home, and tried, but we failed. We drove home to find it just as hot as when we left.

Baby, Baby Maggie

2010-04-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

We put on a baby shower for my friend Monabeth. My friends helped put on this shower and it turned out great. Monabeth was so excited and thrilled with it all. She got a lot of nice gifts - blankets, outfits, rattles, etc. and a new crib.
She is set for that little girl who will soon be coming.
We had a salad bar with all the trimmings, fresh rolls, pasta salad, cookies, carrot cake, chocolate dipped strawberries & pineapple and cupcakes. No one left hungry. It was yummy!!

I love these women that I worked with: Lynnette, Jean, Bevany, Jenna, Bonnie, Lanell, Jilyn, Ronna. Thanks a bunch girls, you are the best!!! I would do this anytime with you again.

Christmas 2009 - Girl's Party

2010-01-10T18:01:00.000-08:00

I had such a great time preparing and hosting my annual Girl's Lunch & Ornament Party. This is my favorite thing at Christmas!!! I had so much fun planning the food, the table and the gift I gave each of them. I just wanted them to know how much I love them and how much they each mean to me.
I loved using my big jars filled with marshmellows and peppermint candies in the middle of the table with lots of green & red decorations.

This year I made each of the girls a beaded crystal to hang in a sunny window. I love crystals and I love the colors that come from the crystal when the sun shines on them. April helped me get the crystals beaded (we put crystals and beads on the string the crystal hangs from). Hopefully the girls were able to feel my love for them as I explained the reason I chose crystals to give them. I told them that when they saw the different colors coming from the crystal, I hoped it would remind them of how much I love them.

For lunch I had "make your own taco salad" with all the trimmings and sour cream chicken enchiladas. As ususal I had more food than we could eat - so the men of the family pitched in and helped us eat it. Dessert was brownies with peppermint ice cream and fudge sauce. YUM!

This sweetie (Shannon) drove several hours to come and attend the party. Bless her heart. I was so happy she came. It would not have been the same. She and her husband came on Friday night and had to leave Sat. night. I couldn't believe that they would travel so just for my annual party - but I was so happy they did. LOVE THOSE KIDS!

This is Lani & I and her little one. She picked an ornament that was a Santa manger scene. I bought one to match hers to hang on my tree.

April picked an old fashioned metal ornament that had a bird on it. She loves those kinds of ornaments and so do I. In fact, I bought a couple of extra's.

Shannon picked out a cute glass ornament that had a great shade of green on it. It is modern and I loved her choice. In fact, each of the girls picked out 2 different ornaments. Hobby Lobby was one of our stops and they had their ornaments on sale - so with their $10 limit, they each picked out 2 ornaments.

Fran picked out 2 pretty ornaments - pink of course which is great since I love pink myself.

Laura picked out 2 she loved. I love the bell grouping. She had a hard time deciding which I totally understand. There were so many choices! I love her choices.
I also found some ornaments that I fell in love with and had to pick up. But the challenge came when I had to find room on the tree for all the ornaments. I labeled each one with their name and date on it. At the rate I am going I will have to get another tree to hold them all!

The following Saturday I hosted the "Little Girls Lunch & Ornament Party"

I did a snowman theme for the little girls party. My sweet neighbor loaned me her Santa Claus placemats. They are so cute. The napkin is folded and tucked into the top of Santa's head to form the hat. So fun!

For lunch we had pizza and salad with all the trimmings with brownies and peppermint ice cream with fudge sauce.

Me & sweet Kaka! Love this girl.

Me & Monk! This girl is darling!!

These girls had a good time shopping for their 2 ornaments. Hard to choose. But they each picked out cute ornaments and we had a great time!!!

I love this time of the year. And I love my annual Christmas party! It makes my Christmas! And I love these girls in my life! They are my best friends and they probably don't know how much I love them and how much they mean to me. I'm grateful they put up with me! THANKS GIRLS!!!!

35 Year Anniversary!

2009-11-29T18:51:00.000-08:00

It has been way too long since I last posted. All I can say is that life is busy and I have let time get away from me.

Also - my printer/scanner died, and my computer is on it's way out also. That is just what I wanted to have happen. It makes me sad - not sure when we will be able to upgrade or replace the scanner - but will work on it. The computer is going to have to be replaced also.

This Thanksgiving has been a great one. I did not have to cook the whole dinner. I just made pies, rolls and candied yams and went to our son & daughter-in-law (Jake & Fran) to enjoy Thanksgiving together. It was great and we had a good time. Fran is a wonderful cook and we enjoyed the food and especially the company.
There are so many things to be thankful for each day - and I love that we really turn our hearts and thoughts at this time of the year to things we are thankfull for. But there are things I am grateful for each day. My life has been so blessed! I have the most wonderful husband and children, children-in law and grandchildren-in-law we love as our own. I am most grateful for family and family relationships. They are the most important things.
And this year I am once again so very grateful for this guy:

I fell in love with Cliff 35 years ago. The anniversary of our engagement occurred the night before Thanksgiving 35 years ago.
The SMARTEST THING I ever did in my life was agree to marry him. I have been so lucky to have him in my life. He has made me a better person and has always encouraged me to be my best. He has supported me in whatever I have wanted or needed to do and has been my right hand, always there to help me. He listens to me talk and talk and patiently endures all my ramblings (which can be many). He is such a gentleman and I love that. I know I am important to him and he puts me first in all he does. How lucky could I ever be?

Cliff flew to my hometown the day before Thanksgiving in 1974 to spend the holiday with me. He had already asked me to marry him a couple of months earlier, but I was surprised when he surprised me with an engagement ring late that night.

It was hard to go to sleep that night and I got up early to help my Mom get Thanksgiving turkey in the oven and start the cooking. We had a lovely day with my family.
Friday we went to have pictures taken and spent the rest of the weekend just enjoying being together.
I will never forget the sadness and heaviness in my heart when I took him to the airport to fly home Sunday evening. The thought of not being together was heart wrenching. Long distant courtships are not fun :(

It has been a wonderful 35 years. Well, wonderful doesn't really fit. Is there a word out there that expresses "wonderful" times 100,000? I don't know that word - but if there is such a word - that would begin to describe my feelings for this guy.

That engagement evening led to this and I thank God everyday for this most blessed blessing. Somehow - I was put in a situation to meet an angel and be able to keep him for me. THANK YOU Heavenly Father for allowing me a wonderful life!

A Fun Treasure

2009-08-12T19:58:00.000-07:00

This is my grandmother & grandpa Woodcock. They are standing at the table holding their 25th wedding anniversary wedding cake. They lived on a ranch on the Missouri River on the Missouri Breaks in Montana. There was a little column in the paper announcing their anniversary party. It was fun to read and I want to share a little from the article:
"...About 75 guests attended the celebration down on the ranch. A mock wedding was the highlight of the entertainment. Friends portrayed the bride, groom, best man, maid of honor and bridesmaids, the father of the bride, flower girl & ring bearer and the minister. They received many lovely gifts along with money and cards. A delicious lunch was served along with a three tiered wedding cake..."
I thought this sounded so fun. A mock wedding. I'm sure there were a lot of laughs and fun. My grandparents were married on 9-21-1927 in Hector, Minnesota. And 25 years later in 1952 had this fun party.
I found tonight the guest book and newspaper article and other pictures, but my one thrill was finding the following. It is just a sample of the many cards they got, but I love - LOVE old vintage cards. I picked out a few that I fell in love with to add to this post. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. I love the colors that were used and the art work.
I must think of something fun to do with these cards. They have been stored in a box for many years and I think it would be fun to think of someway to display them and enjoy them now. Otherwise, they will sit in a box for another 57 years, buried. I love to enjoy these treasures. Any ideas? I am open for any suggestions.
Please enjoy.
I also found baby announcements at least 54 years old that I will post at another time. They were so fun to find.
I am grateful that my grandmother saved these. She and I both are the kind of girls that save things. Thanks grandma!!! Love ya!!!

He Started Young

2009-08-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

This is my Cliff. Found this picture - I blew it up and put it on my bulletin/picture board in the office. He is wearing his Dad's irrigation boots. Those boots are almost as big as he is. Love the vest. He must have watched his Dad put on these boots many times to do the irrigating.
Cliff today still wears irrigation boots. We irrigate our place every 2 weeks in the summer and about 1 time a month in the winter. He does not wear a vest when he irrigates - he wears his bib overalls. He use to help his Dad here and when we were first married he would wear his Dads boots - but it was hard. You see, Cliff grew and his feet were a lot bigger than his Dads. They finally wore out and Cliff bought his own boots that fit.
I'm sure when he was this young he never thought that he would be wearing boots like that 50 years later.

Back to Sewing

2009-08-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

I love to sew. There was a time when my children were young that I did sew quite a bit. I loved to sew dresses for my girls. And I loved to make matching dresses. It was hard to do that sewing during the day - so I would stay up really late at night and into the morning hours to sew uninterrupted. I loved it. Most of my skills were very basic - but I was happy with the results. And the girls seemed to love them.
Cliff bought me a new sewing machine when we lived in Wyoming. I was so excited to get it and had my Mom come over and help me figure out how to use it. And I did put it to a lot of use.
The last few years I have not been able to do much sewing. Taking care of parents, kids and life has put a stop to that activity except for occasional mending. But I have missed it and have started back on some sewing projects. I have made April a couple of things and have started a quilt top. I set up a sewing area and have enjoyed getting ready to do some sewing. My projects are spread out on the bed in the guest room to constantly remind me to jump in and enjoy myself.

My "old" machine now still works great and it brings back many memories of late night sewing. There is something about being creative that helps relax and calm the soul. When I walk by - it pulls at me to stop - slow down and come and do and refresh my soul.
So - I have decided to set aside an evening each week (if not more) to go in that room and sit down at my "old" friend and enjoy myself. We'll see what happens. What fun!

Camping - A Family Affair

2009-06-28T19:11:00.000-07:00

Saw this picture today and it brought back a lot of memories. This is taken in the Shirley Mountains. I have spent many many days in those mountains camping with my family when I was growing up. I will eventually find some pictures from that time and post them - but for now - I was happy to find this picture. After Cliff & I were married for about 4 years, we moved to Wyoming near my parents and we spent our fair share of time camping in the Shirley's (as we called them). We were fortunate to have a nice camper to stay in which was great when you are camping with little children. We bought that camper about 2 weeks before April was born and took it out about 2 weeks after she was born. Many happy days and hours were spent in that camper.

My Dad made a swing out of a milk crate for the little ones to swing in and here is Shannon pushing April in the swing. Dad always made sure there was fun things for kids to do. We loved those camping trips and missed them when we moved away.

We have not been able to do any camping for a long time. I miss it. Our lives got busy taking care of parents, so our weekends were spent doing other things. We sold our camper and I miss it. I wish we had spent more time taking the kids camping. Jake was born after we were taking care of parents and did not get to do family camping like the girls did. He has been camping, but not like the girls experienced.

There is nothing like being out in nature and enjoying the peace and quiet and the beauties that God has created for us. There is something about being in nature that draws you a little closer to God. It is a good place to ponder and reflect on what is most important. When you leave and head home, you feel refreshed and ready to tackle life again a little more committed to do the important things, the things that really matter.

I am grateful that we did get to camp and enjoy those beauties and spend time together as a family. I don't know how much of that my children remember - they were little - but what memories they have of those times together I hope brings them happiness, for it was a happy time.

Our Sweet Jennilyn

2009-06-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

33 years ago on this coming Thurday, our first daughter was born. Jennilyn was born on 6-25 and passed away on 6-26. She was born at 26 weeks and lived about 30 minutes or so. It was an experience I never would want to live through again and one I would never wish on anyone. It was scary and such a heartbreak!! Cliff was my strength, my testimony in God and His plan gave me courage and comfort, family and friends helped support Cliff & I through difficult times.
Cliff and I went to the cemetery on Sunday. It is good to go and ponder and think about family and God's plan for us. Cliff always cleans the grave stone and I take flowers. I wonder what she thinks of her Mom & Dad.
Time really does heal, lifes experiences and my belief in God and His great plan makes the experience sweet now. I often picture what she must look like and what she might be doing. I'm sure she looks in from time to time on her Mom & Dad. I know she knows how much she is loved and missed - but she sees things differently and with a much clearer perspective. What seems like a long lifetime does not seem that way to her.
I have her little bonnet and handprints and footprints that bring joy to my heart. I did have a lock of her hair in a special locket given to me by her grandmother, but it was stolen - the only physical thing of her I had. Even that loss has healed with time.
What I do have is sweet memories. A great pregnancy, the excitement of feeling her move and kick and hearing her tiny tiny cry when she was born. Those things cannot be taken from me and I cherish them.
A day will come when we will be united again. Her Dad and I have big plans for lots of hugs and kisses. She has 2 sisters and a brother to get to know and many family members to love.
Happy Birthday Jennilyn!!! I love you and I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has such a perfect plan that will allow us our time together.

Catch Up after Technical Difficulties

2009-06-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

The following pictures are backwards in order in the process blooming of my magnolia flowers. I have been so excited for this tree and for theses blooms to come. I still have 1 more blossom to come. The only thing I have been sad about is that the flowers don't last but just a day or a day & a half. I think the heat is a little too much. BUT - I have been so excited to have them and to watch the process. This first picture is the flower after about 1 day.
I can now say that I have had my own magnolia tree and it has bloomed.

I can't wait until next year or whenever the next season of blooms begin. The tree has grown just a little but seems to be very happy where it is.

This is Kitty - up on the roof watching me inspect the magnolia tree. She gets up there from the big mulberry trees in the back yard. Funny girl.

And this is her new sleeping spot. I think she enjoys the cool sink now that the weather is hotter.
I had some technical difficulties that made me shut down the blog for awhile. Happy to report that all is well now and I am up and blogging again. I have been slow in posting and hope to increase that with my family pictures and some family history stories. So many pictures to scan and sort thru. But it is a fun job :)!!!

Where Has the Time Gone?

2009-05-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight marks four years since my Dad passed away here at my home. It hardly seems that much time has passed by. I miss him!!! He didn't like to talk on the phone a bunch - but it was good each week to say hi. And now, I would give anything to here his voice on the other end of the line or sit by him on the front porch and visit.
Dad loved to sit on my front porch.

He sat there in the winter, spring, summer and fall. He loved to sit outside enjoying nature. We have mocking birds here and they brought back memories of where he grew up in Alabama. They had mocking birds there too. He loved hearing them. We spent many hours sitting on the front porch - sometimes visiting and sometimes just sitting together. I would love to walk outside and sit in the chair next to him. Those days are gone now and all I have left are wonderful memories to go to.
I am so grateful for memories. They are really the only thing we have to really hold on to. Everything thing else might go away, but our memories can stay with us.
I wonder at times what he is doing now. What thoughts he might be having, is he sitting on a beautiful front porch enjoying the beauties of heaven? I know he is happy and would not want to come back here - only to see his children and grandchildren, but I'm sure there are times he gets to peek and see us and what we are doing.
So - Dad, when you get that chance to check in on me, I hope you might find me enjoying some of the beauties you enjoyed here, I hope you find me helping others, living as you taught me to live, I hope you find me being kind and loving to all people, I hope you find me becoming better as you said each generation seems to do, I hope you find me living the gospel better and with a stronger testimony of Jesus Christ, I hope you find me working hard and being honest, and most of all I hope you find me laughing and enjoying life as you did - in the good times and in the hard times.

Two Surprises are Coming!

2009-05-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

At the first of the year I posted this about my new magnolia tree. I love that tree!!!
Well= it has two buds!!! 2 buds.
I was surprised and so excited. The tree is really slow growing and I didn't expect that I would see any buds for several years. What a great surprise. I have taken pictures for several days in a row to mark the progress. I will keep you posted.

All the pictures above are the 1st bud.

This is the new bud I discovered yesterday. This is going to be fun!

A Bloom Coming?

2009-05-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

A while back I did a post on my magnolia tree. I was so excited to get it and this picture is from a couple of days ago. There is a bud on it!!! I am thrilled. I sure hope it opens and I get to enjoy a beautiful magnolia flower.
The tree is still about the same size, but is doing great. It is slow growing - but every time I look at it, I am still thrilled to have it.
I will keep you posted.
If you look on my side bar you will notice a ad for "LittleSisterShop" on Etsy. You might want to check that out. There is some great things on it.

A New Baby!!

2009-05-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to announce the new baby!!! My niece and her husband had a new little boy on April Fool's Day. Bubby!! A perfect little guy. This little guy is like a grandson to me and I just had to go over and snuggle and snuggle him. I didn't want to come home, but finally had to give him back to his parents. But the wonderful feelings and memories of holding little ones came flooding back and you can't help but fall in love instantly with these little ones.

This is Monk, me, Bubby and Kaka a couple of weeks after Easter. They were unable to come over for Easter, so I saved all the eggs and we had a great Easter Egg Hunt. The girls were so cute - love those girls!!! And of course, I get to snuggle Bubby again!!
I just wish I lived around the corner from them so I could snuggle him more often and play with those girls.
When they come I do have a blast!!
I am grateful that God sends such blessings. Children make life more fun and interesting and reminds us of what is really important.
My own children are grown and I am so proud of them. But when I go down memory lane, they are still the little, little ones that I snuggled and loved!! A Mom never forgets those feelings and the joy that a new baby brings to her heart.

Miracle Update

2009-05-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

Just an update on my sister-in-law, Dolores. It has been a little over 2 weeks since her kidney transplant. The Doctors have been so happy with her progress. The kidney started working and is doing great. She is feeling better, more energy and not having to go to dialysis every other day is wonderful.
We are so grateful for the miracle and her recovery. They release her for a few days at a time and they have gone home for a couple of days a few times. This weekend they will probably be going back for more tests.
It is amazing what things come in life and how difficulties can be resolved - or improved. Things weren't that rosy looking for a time, and now she has a new life to look forward to. They tell her that it will take about a year to finally know if the kidney is totally accepted by the the body. So far - things look great!!!

A Miracle Has My Heart Overflowing!

2009-04-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my brother Tom & his wife Dolores and their children taken about 18 years ago.

This is a picture of Tom & Dolores in 2005. These are great people. But my sweet little sister-in-law Dolores has been very ill for a very long time.
She spent her life being a great wife and mother and enjoying life. Then she was diagnosed with diabetes and the trials became fierce. She has been such a trooper thru all she has endured. Finally she had to go on dialysis and life has not been the same for them.
We have prayed and prayed for her and her health. Even with all this, she is a trooper.
I have been amazed at how well she deals with her trials. I'm sure there have been days she had to have been discouraged - but I never saw them.
Theses health issues have affected their family and the activities they love to do. My brother has been there for her and helped her all along the way.
She was put on the transplant list last year and we have been waiting and praying for an opportunity for her to receive a kidney transplant. This month, they have endured quite a roller coaster ride. She was called about 2 weeks ago saying that they had a pancreas & kidney and could they get to Denver right away. Well - there was a blizzard going on in Wyoming. She did get out on a plane and to make a very long story short - it didn't work out and she had to come home. We were so sad!
Her brother had offered to give her one of his kidneys - WOW!! What an unselfish and loving thing to do!!! And yesterday after a "little" roller coaster bump, she received her new kidney in the afternoon.
We have prayed and prayed for this wonderful miracle to occur for her. We were nervous, excited, and on edge with our phones in our hands.
Finally the call came to alert me that the surgery went well, the Dr's were pleased and both Dolores and her brother were doing good.
I cried when I hung up the phone and was so blown away with such gratitude in my heart for the great blessing and miracle our family received.
Now - our Dolores has a chance to enjoy life like she has not known for the last few years. She will be free from dialysis and able to go and do the things they love to do.
I was again thrilled this morning when I got to talk to her on the phone. She sounded great!! And this afternoon again I called to check and she still sounded good. The Dr's are pleased and are watching carefully.
I will forever be grateful that her brother was so willing to share a kidney for her. I will forever be grateful to my Heavenly Father for this miracle. And I am so grateful that we will be able to see Dolores improve and enjoy life.
There are obstacles yet to overcome and many tests yet to have, but for today - a miracle has occurred and I want the whole world to know that I am so grateful and happy for a wonderful gal I love so much.
Dolores - you are the best and so loved. Keep improving and getting better. You have some camping and fishing to do yet.

My In-Law Sisters

2009-04-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

I ran across these pictures the other day and was excited to find them. This is my Cliff with his sisters. Meredith, Linda & Judy. Cliff grew up with sisters and they are great ladies.
In our married life we have only lived by one for just a short while and that was Judy, his oldest sister. It was so fun to get to know her better. She is a great gal. I learned a lot about eating healthy and I learned from her example of service to others. She is always helping others and she has been a great example to me of service.
We have never been able to live close to his other 2 sisters, Linda & Meredith. Linda lives in the valley, but on the other side of town. I have always enjoyed her conversations about plants - she knows alot about them.
And Meredith we see once in awhile when we are traveling north. We always enjoy our visits with them.
All of his sisters are great gals and I am glad to be a part of their family. They have always been so kind and loving to me. A person couldn't ask for better in-laws.
Meredith hosted a Bigler reunion for the Rex & Doris Bigler family. We made a trip to that and had a great time. We need to do that again.
There is nothing like family and to get together is fun. All of our children are grown - some enjoy grandchildren now.
I'm so grateful that I married into such a great family. Even though we don't get to see each other that often and visit, we know we are there for each other and that is comforting. There is nothing like family! Thanks Girls for being my friend!!!
And - oh - you have a great brother. Love him bunches!!!

My First Car

2009-04-12T19:22:00.001-07:00

This is my 1966 Dodge Dart. It is the very first car I ever owned. Right around graduation time, I had been talking with my parents about me getting a car of my own. With me working and going to college I felt that I was ready for one of my own. Mom & Dad had always provided some kind of vehicle for me to use, but I wanted to get one of my own. Dad started looking around and one afternoon when I got home, he told me that he had found me a car. He said we needed to go to the bank and get me a loan. The car cost $550. Wouldn't you love to be able to get a pretty good car now for only $550? I went with my Dad to the bank to talk about a loan. At this point, I don't think I had even seen the car. But I trusted my Dad and away to the bank we went. I was worried about getting the loan, but I should have known better. People knew my Dad and there really wasn't any worries. He co-signed with me and I walked out of the bank with a $550 loan + interest and with a car payment each month of $52. It was a 1 year loan.
I was excited.
So for a year I made my payments on time and eventually owned that car free and clear.
It was a really good car. I didn't have any real trouble with it. I cleaned it all up and put orange shag carpet in the back window to help protect from the sun. Orange!!!
It was such a good experience for me to buy my first car. Being responsible for payments and care of a vehicle helped me in becoming more responsible for myself. That little car took me on trips - to Utah a couple of times, to South Dakota and all over town.
It took me to Manti to be married and took me clear to Arizona as a married woman. It took us back to Wyoming for four years and it was there that I sold the car to some friends for their son when we moved back to Arizona. I loved that little car. In it's later years we had trouble with the carburetor, but in the scheme of life, it wasn't that big of a deal.
I'm glad that my Dad taught me about being happy with what I could afford. It was not a brand new car, but the price, the upkeep and insurance was something that I could afford at the time.

34 Years and Still Going Strong

2009-03-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

The 7th of this month was our 34th wedding anniversary. Time has just flown by - it seems like we have been married just a short time and again forever. No matter how long it is - we are just so happy to be together. Cliff is the best thing that has ever happened in my life. The good Lord was really smiling on me when Cliff & I crossed paths.
The following are some pictures of us - you will be able to see how Father Time is sneaking up on us. But in my eyes - he is still the handsome young man I fell in love with and married. If anything - he is more handsome now than before.

34 Reasons I Love Cliff!!! and in no particular order:

1.) He is my best friend
2.) He loves me back
3.) He makes me feel secure & safe
4.) His voice is a great comfort to my soul. When I feel troubles, it is him I want to hear.
5.) His touch makes my body quiver.
6.) He makes me feel like I am #1.
7.) His smile & dimples melt my heart.
8.) His commitment to the Lord is unbelievable.
9.) He will listen while I ramble on.
10.) He is most handsome.
11.) He is a true family man.
12.) He has no lazy bones at all.
13.) He is totally honest in all things.
14.) He believes in the right.
15.) He accepts me as I am.
16.) He is a funny dancer.
17.) He is a great father.
18.) He has the greatest smell.
19.) He always calls me at lunch.
20.) He always kisses my hand after prayers.
21.) He always remembers me in his prayers.
22.) He looks so cute in bib overalls.
23.) He is such a hard worker.
24.) He sleeps on the edge of the bed without complaint when I take over.
25.) He calls me his “woman”.
26.) He holds me in the morning before he gets up.
27.) He has the best sense of humor.
28.) He makes all my dreams come true.
29.) He supports me in things I would like to do or try.
30.) Encourages me.
31.) He has a great love for others.
32.) He loves children.
33.) He is a great father.
34.) He is my whole world.

Slip Sliding Down the Aisle of Bashas

2009-02-25T20:40:00.000-08:00

I had quite an adventure in Bashas one Sunday morning. I never go shopping on Sunday - but that day I felt the ox was in the mire and I had to run to the store to pick up a birthday surprise for a gal I had in my class at church. I had forgotten to take care of it on Sat. I just couldn't miss giving her a little surprise on her special day.
So - I hurried over to Bashas behind my house and went quickly to get a little treat at the bakery and a flower. I was already dressed for Church and in dress shoes. As I left the back of the store and headed up front - I was hurrying so much that my body got a little ahead of my feet. I tried to catch up, but I could not. I was going to go down. But I still tried to get my feet to catch up with my body.
Well - I went down. I went down hard!!! I actually did a belly flop - landing hard on my stomach. That hurt!! But that wasn't the worse part. As I landed on my stomach I started just sliding down the aisle. My dress was perfect for sliding on the waxed floor. Treat, flower, purse and me just sliding down the aisle. It looked like a great slip and slide journey. When I finally came to a stop, I got myself up, went to pay for my purchases and left as quickly as I could.
I hurt, I was humiliated, embarrassed and I panicked at the idea that the whole adventure had to have been captured on the security video!! I have often wondered what the security people did when they saw that little clip!! The laughter surely would fill the store.
The lesson I learned from this experience: Don't forget to be prepared ahead of time. And don't let your body ever get ahead of your feet!!!

My Dress and A Escalator Does Not Mix!!!

2009-02-25T20:18:00.000-08:00

This is another post on me and clothes.
One day, my sister-in-law, Calla and her daughter Jessica came to visit us. April and I took them to Scottsdale Fashion Square to wander and enjoy the afternoon. We took Jessica to the "Build A Bear" store and I think we had more fun looking at all the options of what to build than she did.
But the funny part of the day happened before we got to that store. We had to go down a floor and got on the escalator. I was leaning on the side turned so I could visit with my family and about half way down I noticed that my dress was pulling funny. I pulled at it to fix it, but that did not help. I looked down and found that the corner of my dress was caught in the corner of the escalator and the thing was gathering up my dress more and more. I started to pull on my dress to get it out, but that did not work. The dress was getting pulled more and more and getting tight around my legs. I started sweating - trying to figure out how the heck I was going to get out of this mess.
I could just see my dress being pulled tighter and tighter and thought: If this continues, this is going to just pull my dress off.
What was I going to do? By that time, Calla noticed my problem. It was beginning to get scary. It was also funny - so between the laughing and the panic - I was in "great shape". Ha Ha
The panic really set in hard and I started getting frantic trying to pull that dress out of the gears of the steps on the escalator. We were getting close to the bottom and I didn't know what was going to happen - but whatever it was - it was not going to be good or pretty.
But,somehow the Lord was smiling on me and at the last second, I was able to jerk the dress free! Saved from a disaster!!! My dress had some small holes and black guck on it, but I was ok - still dressed - and not damaged.
I don't know why me and my clothes have to have issues - but we do. Maybe to give me something to laugh about years later or a funny to story to tell. I do have to say that these clothes stories have gotten a lot of laughs around a table. This particular story could have had a very ugly ending - clothes ripped off - or myself being hurt.
Now when I get on a escalator - no matter what I am wearing - I stand in the middle!!
No more leaning for me.

Denim is TOUGH!!!!

2009-02-11T10:29:00.000-08:00

Resume editing
No pictures for this post. When something funny happens to me - I usually don't have a camera with me to document the event. So you will have to take my word that this funny event really did happen to me.
It is another clothes story:
Around August here in Arizona I had to go to a Dr. appt. in Gilbert. It was about 3 pm in the afternoon - super hot and sunny. I drove our minivan at that time and decided to park in the farthest parking lot where not many cars were. This particular parking lot was really closer to the building. I had a bunch of papers with me and I grabbed them, my purse, and my keys and stepped out of the car, pushed the lock button and took about 1 step away from the car and came to a HALT! I couldn't go any further. I turned and discovered that the denim tie on my jumper was caught in the door and I could not step any further away from the car. I thought, HECK!! This is going to be difficult. A few weeks earlier, someone had stuffed something in the key hole of the driver’s door and my car key would not go in. Cliff had not been able to get it out, so instead he made me a door unlocker from a broom stick. I would go to the passenger side of the car and use the broom stick to reach across the seat and push the unlock button. It worked ok - but not this day. I knew my key would not work, but I tried and tried again to see if I could just push whatever was in there all the way thru. No luck. Now - with my stress level going up and the heat being over 100F, wearing a heavy denim jumper - I was really getting hot and sweaty.
I next decided that I would just search my purse - that big thing surely had a pair of scissors or a knife. No luck. So I decided that I would just jerk really hard on that denim tie and just pop the knot off the end that was holding me up. I jerked and jerked, pulled and pulled and that tie would not tear. I tried tearing the tie from the jumper - no luck. I was really getting hot and frustrated at this point. What to do????? I looked over at the building and notice there was an upper floor with lots of windows. Maybe I would be so lucky that someone in there would look out the window and see me and come and save me. No luck.
By this time, I had been outside that car for about 15 minutes and I was hot!!!
There was no one around for me to call - no cell phone.
I could just see the paper headlines the next day: "Woman found dead hanging from her car in the heat because of a denim tie!"
Finally I decided that the only thing I could do would be to take off my jumper and go to the other side of the car and unlock the door. I really was going to do that, but decided maybe I shouldn't because I wasn't wearing a slip. That denim jumper was heavy and thick and I didn't need a slip. BUT - if I had had a slip on - that jumper would have been stripped off in a second.
I just knew that a woman in her shirt and "undies" was not a sight to be seen. I probably would have been arrested!!
After another 5 or 10 minutes went by (seemed like eternity), I finally gave up and decided that the jumper would have to go and I would risk exposing myself. I was working up the courage to take it off when I noticed a man walking on the sidewalk next to the parking lot I was in. I hollered out: "Sir, Sir". He looked over at me and I motioned for him to come over. He started walking over and I felt such a sense of relief. When he got close by he could see the dilemma I was in, smiled and I asked him if he would take my car keys and go around and unlock the passenger door, reach across and unlock the driver door. I told him my key would not work in the driver door. He took my key and really did go over and unlocked the door and FREED ME!!! He was a hero!!!! I thanked him and I'm sure he was glad to make his escape. I must have looked scary. Hot, sweaty, relieved, scared, and frantic!!
I was so relieved that I didn't care what the situation looked like - I was so grateful to be free. I knew I would never see that man again.
I composed myself, gathered up my stuff and headed into the Dr. office. As I signed in and set down, I looked around and found that the man who helped me was sitting in the same Dr's office. Oh, how embarrassing!!
We didn't speak or even make eye contact. Thank goodness.
I could just picture that man's conversation at the dinner table that night as he explained to his family how he helped a crazy woman with a tough denim tie!!!

My Slip Slipped!!!

2009-02-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

I am starting a post about some funny issues I have had with clothes.
There are 3 stories to share. I don't have any pictures to put with this story. I just didn't have a camera ready to snapped the wonderful event!! HA! HA! I wanted my daughter to write these stories to submit to Readers Digest – but we didn’t get it done.
So --- for your entertainment, here is story #1: My Slip Slipped

We discovered after our 1st little girl was born prematurely, that I had a little problem carrying my babies. In fact, I lost more babies that I carried to full term. To help me, they stitched me up so I could hold the baby inside. I was not restricted to bed rest – but I was told not to do anything strenuous. Mostly I was encouraged to take it easy – rest and stay off my feet if I could. Because of that I didn’t invest in very many maternity clothes because I didn’t go out much at all. I stayed home and did projects that I could do sitting.
When I was pregnant with our son, Jacob we had to move from Wyoming to Arizona. My dear friend Judy packed up my house for me and Cliff and my sister-in-laws brother drove our belongings and vehicle to AZ. I flew. One guy drove our truck & camper with Shannon and Cliff drove the big U-Haul with April.
When I was real close to delivery I decided that I would venture out and attend church with my family. Cliff and the girls would go for Primary and Sunday school and I went to join them for Sacrament Mtg. I found a half slip that I had had for a very long time that would work with my huge stomach. As I went to put it on, I discovered that it was so old that the elastic on it was crumbly. I thought – Oh Well – I’ll just tuck the slip under my bra and it should hold for that hour. I went to church and waited in the Cultural Hall for the Sunday school class to be over. Cliff and I would then go get the girls from Primary and hurry to our seats.
Now – the horror begins.
As I stood up to walk with Cliff, I felt something strange happening. My “so-called” secure slip had indeed slipped and fell to my feet. You have to understand that the Cultural Hall was the main thru way for people going into the Chapel. Although it wasn’t really busy at the time, it was a matter of seconds before it would be very busy. When I realized what had happened, Cliff also noticed something weird going on. He looked down, took a step back and said: “Wha – What is going on here?” Well, I was horrified!! So embarrassed!!! With me being at the end of the pregnancy, my emotions were at the end. I had worried about getting this baby here safely, I was hot – it was mid August – I was huge and miserable. So – I stepped out of the slip, bent down to pick it up and rushed to the bathroom. – crying. I just wanted to go home. It was so embarrassing. Instead, I put it back on and went to join my family just dying.
If anyone saw what had happened, they at least did not say anything to me about it. BLESS THOSE PEOPLE!!!!
By the time dinner was over I could sort of laugh at the experience.
Over the years I have had a couple of more experiences with clothes working against’t me. And each time I have survived and even laughed at myself. Life brings to us many events that try us and even lets us laugh at ourselves.

Big City Living and A Driving Adventure

2009-01-27T20:22:00.001-08:00

When Cliff and I were married in 1975, we lived in Scottsdale, AZ. I had grown up in Wyoming. My town had about 50,000 people living there and I thought it was a "big city". I had been to big cities before - passing thru or staying a day or two.
But when I married and moved to AZ, I really didn't have any idea what a "big city" was. It was BIG and I felt I would never find my way around this place ever. Cliff took the car when he went to work - so I walked where I wanted to go or waited for him to get home.
The first night we arrived home - Cliff sat me down and gave me some important instructions for "big city" living:
1 - If I didn't call for a repair man - you don't let them in.
2 - If I didn't call for a policeman - you don't let them in.
Now, there were other instructions, but I don't remember them. I was stuck on the first two he gave me. I couldn't believe that I would have to be careful about someone coming to my door. That kind of stuff never happened where I grew up! I felt safe and really never worried about it.
But after the those 2 instructions - I grew nervous. I have lived here about 30+ years now. And I still am very careful. Sadly, sometimes some of those scary things happen.
So - I didn't want anyone to knock on my door and if it was at night, I let Cliff go to the door.
The day came that I needed the car and I would have to take Cliff to work. He worked in Phoenix - around 19th Ave & the freeway. That was a distance from where we lived.
So I received some more instructions on freeway and city driving. He told me to be careful because people get comfortable on the freeway and travel in packs - and when something does happen accidents happen easily when they are all packed together. I was scared to start driving the freeway because I wondered if I would be able to find my way home. The warning about staying out of packs on the freeway also made me nervous. Well - I did take Cliff to work and got home just fine.
After a few times, I decided that I could relax a little and felt confident that I had mastered the freeway.
One afternoon as I went to pick Cliff up, I was on the freeway and traffic was moving along at a good clip. The traffic started to pick up and I was watching in the rear view mirror when I noticed a pack of cars coming up behind me. I stayed at my speed and they soon got past me. Whew!!! Then a car traveled besides me at about the same speed as me. We were moving along when all of a sudden the car in front of us slammed on their brakes and started skidding down the freeway sideways. The truck in front of that car had a 4x4 beam fall off his truck and the car in front of us was trying to avoid hitting it. Well, I slammed on my brakes ( I was on the outside lane) and the car next to me slammed on theirs. So now, all of us were skidding. The car next to me did not want to hit the car in front so he started moving over into my lane. Well - that wasn't suppose to happen, so I started moving a little to my right close to the emergency lane. Well, the car next to me kept coming over and I was getting worried he was going to hit me along with worrying that we would both hit the car in front of us. So I just kept moving over. What freaked me out was that we were coming to an overpass. I had to keep moving over and was now all the way into the emergency lane and the car next to me was still coming over. I just knew he was going to hit me and knock me off the overpass. All of this took place in just a few seconds, but it was all in slow motion and seemed to take forever!!! When we all came to a stop, I was right up next to the barrier on the overpass, the car next to me was right up next to me ( our cars did not touch) and we both stopped before we hit the car in front of us. I was so thankful that we were ok. Then - then - I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a pack of cars coming toward us and they were coming fast. They hadn't quite realized that we had stopped. Cliff's caution about freeway packs came back to haunt me. I just knew they would not be able to stop in time and would hit me and push me through the barrier and I would end up on the pavement below. My life would be over.
I was so scared and just closed my eyes to wait for the impact. I heard screeching brakes all around me. The waiting for the impact was awful. When the screeching stopped I opened my eyes and looked in the mirror and saw cars everywhere, facing every direction. A miracle had happened - no one hit anyone.
We started to move along again, but I could hardly drive because my foot was shaking so bad on the gas pedal. I did make it to pick up Cliff - a little late. AND I DID NOT DRIVE ON THE FREEWAY FOR A VERY LONG TIME. I went through town.
I wish I could write about it in a way that would truly describe how it all happened. I drive on the freeway all the time now, but I am always just a bit nervous - don't want to get caught in a situation like that ever again. Thank goodness the Lord protected a young inexperienced girl.

Things Happen At The Start Of The New Year

2009-01-21T18:39:00.000-08:00

It is now 2009 - the start of a new year. I love beginnings and the chance to accomplish a few things. I am not a big resolution maker because I always set too many goals and then fail to accomplish them all. So - now I just decide a few things that I would like to do and go forward hoping that I will accomplish one. It works much better.
So- this year - I hope to accomplish the following:
1. Family History work. Looking for ancestors and adding to my family tree.
2. Scan family pictures into the computer and label and backup.
3. Scan journals and backup.
4. Do some sewing.
5. Play with my family more.
Not a bad list. I will work on them as I can and be grateful for the chance to accomplish whatever I can.

My brother Rusty came to visit on Friday the 16th of Jan. He brought a friend with him, Russ from Provo. They came to go to the Supercross in Phoenix and they also brought their dirt bikes to do some desert riding. With their cold, cold and snowy weather in Utah & Wyoming - our desert winter was wonderful to them. They loved their rides in the desert and found some beautiful and fun places out there. They rode all day long and got home after dark.

This is Rusty (in helmet) and his friend Russ with their bikes in the desert.

This is Russ with our dog Dugan. I have posted before about our BIG dog. It felt weird to Russ to be looking up at Dugan's face. Dugan was a happy dog - a new friend.

And Russ found a friend of his own in the desert - a tarantula!!! He took it home.

Then April & I were shopping on a Saturday and found my favorite tree - Magnolia - at Home Depot. I have always wanted one so much. I love their flowers and leaves and now I have one of my own.

Cliff and April are planting the tree in the front yard.

Here is the tree a few days later and it still is doing good.

And this is a picture from 2 days ago. Cliff trimmed it up and it is doing great. They say the tree is slow growing here in the desert. The tree love humidity - that's why they do so good in Calif. But they can do good here - just slower. I just hope to see some beautiful flowers on it one day.
It just makes me smile every time I pull away from my house and when I come home to look over and see that tree.

So far into the new year it has been a great one. I am working on the things I wanted to, enjoying family and life.

It Can Be Cold Here

2008-12-28T20:07:00.000-08:00

These pictures I took early am on Saturday the 27th. It froze during the night and when we got up the back pasture had a coating of frost on the grass. The pictures don't do justice to what it looked like - but it was covered with white. Dugan the Dog loved it. He kept going in and out and wandering.
Once the sun came up it didn't last long. But for Arizona desert it was great. Now, it does not compare to other places where the snow can pile up high and temperatures get below freezing - but for the Phoenix area - this is cold and fun to see the frost.
After growing up and living in the cold country (Wyoming) where the snow and cold temperatures are COLD!!! I love living here. I can run out and jump in my car to get to work without having to scrape off the snow and ice and heating up the car before I go, I can leave the house without bundling up in layers and layers of clothes, coats, gloves and boots. And I don't freeze and have a constant red nose and cheeks from the cold temps.
So for me - seeing this frost was winter enough for me. Love it here!!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-28T19:44:00.000-08:00

We had a quiet Christmas this year. Jake & Fran had to work, Shannon & Ryan had to work and could not come over. So --- We were small this year. Missed them, but look forward to having them this coming Christmas.
Jake & Laura came for Christmas Eve dinner but had to leave to get to work and April, Cliff and I went to our traditional movie on Christmas Eve. We saw "The Day the Earth Stood Still". It was pretty good.
By looking at the above pictures you can see I did not get any pictures with "people". Silly, because all pictures should have "people" in them.
All in all it was a great Christmas. Quiet and reflective. The whole reason for the season is gratitude for the great gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The "Little Girl's" Christmas Outing

2008-12-14T19:35:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun with my girl's annual outing, that I decided that I needed to do something for the "little girls" in my life. I consider them my grandchildren and it turned out wonderful.

These pictures were of the table settings. I did a "Santa" theme. The main Santa on the table wiggles and the girls loved watching him move as we listened to fun Christmas music during our lunch. The menu consisted of: Mac n' Cheese, heart shaped hotdogs, cut up veggies, watermelon and strawberry milk.
The table settings were cute. I got each of the girls a little nutcracker. They loved that - their Dad collects nutcrackers.

This is a picture of the desserts. Creme puffs with lemon or chocolate frosting, christmas tree cakes and peanut butter bars.

Here I am with my little sweeties.

Our matching Christmas braclets.

Pictures of the ornaments the girls chose. I bought one to match theirs. They actually got 2 ornaments. The first ones they chose did not have a second so I could match them, so they had to pick another one so I could get one to match. But they loved the first ones - and what can a Grandma do?-- she let them have 2 ornaments.

Of course I found some fun Christmas socks for them. I put them in a toilet paper roll and wrapped them. When they opened them, they just had to wear.

And you can see from this picture, that the socks didn't quite fit my littlest one. So maybe she will be able to wear them next Christmas.

I had so much fun this year on my traditional ornament outing. Starting this year I did a day with the "little girls". That will also become a tradition. I start planning and working on this activity early next year. It has become a highlight of my year.
I love the gals in my family. They bring me a lot of joy and happiness. They are mine and I plan to keep them forever!!!
Thanks girls for letting me have a fun day with all of you!

The Annual Girls Christmas Outing

2008-12-08T20:29:00.001-08:00

This past Saturday was the Bigler girls annual Christmas Lunch and Ornament shopping activity. I started this tradition last year and have been excited all year for this one. Shannon came from CA to be with us and that made my day!

These are pictures of the table decorations. April helped me make the trees and we were happy with the end results. The desserts turned out great on the tiered plates. I also made chocolate creme puffs - filled with peppermint ice cream, carmel sauce and whipping creme. Yum! Yum! I also served a yummy Tomato Basil soup (from my dear friend Claudia), small grilled cheese and egg salad sandwiches, salad bar and dessert. We all felt so full, but not too miserable to hit the street shopping.

This is a picture of the Christmas braclets that I made the girls. That was fun and they loved them.

This is my daughter-in-law, Fran. Love that girl!

This is my niece Lani! She is like one of my own. Love her!

This is Shannon, my oldest - Love her!!! She made a trip here just for this day!

This is my April, my right hand - Love her!!!

Lani & Cheryl with the ornament Lani picked - stained glass candy cane.

Fran holding the penguin ornaments for Laura who could not be with us:(

Shannon and me with her candy cane ornament.

April and me with her bird ornament.

Fran and Cheryl with Fran's ornament - it has a lot of pink in it. She loves pink!

These are my special girls. We missed Laura my granddaughter. She wanted to be with us, but could not get away from work.
All in all it was a wonderful day! I was so happy to spend time and do something fun and nice for these special ladies. They are the loves of my life!!! This has become a great tradition. We already have our date for next year. Can't Wait!!

Kitchen Chaos - Cabinets are Done

2008-12-08T19:49:00.000-08:00

I am so excited - the kitchen cabinets are done!!! It has been a long process, but so worth the work and time. My April has been so wonderful - she did all the work. She is amazing and very good at whatever she does. Bless her little heart!

The only thing left to do in the kitchen is to get some new rugs - you can see they are fraying a bit, we will be putting in a new floor - not sure when, but it needs to be done. And I hope to put in some can lights and replace the florescent bulbs.
This job has needed to be done for so long. I love to go in there and see the brightness and the cute knobs and handles. Just love it all!!

Kitty gets an Owie!!!

2008-12-08T19:41:00.000-08:00

We get these awful things at our house. Not as many as we use to - but even 1 is way way too many. This year we had 7 scorpions in our house. AGH!!!!!!!! I can't stand these things. I have been stung a couple of times and let me tell you - it is not a pleasant experience.
Well, Penny kitty found one in the kitchen and of course thought it would be a great thing to play with. Cliff smashed the thing, but Penny decided to dash in and get it anyway. And -- she got stung. She jumped back and licked and shook her paw a few times. And this is what happened:

As you can see - her little paw swelled right up. She didn't fuss about it. I guess she can deal with it better than I ever did.
Maybe, if I am lucky, this coming year I won't get any of them. That would be a wonderful thing!

Grateful for my Suburban

2008-11-28T10:03:00.000-08:00

At this time of the year it is fun and easy to think about things we are grateful for. The list could go on and on - we all have SO MUCH to be thankful for.
Cliff and I had to give a talk in church this last Sunday. I talked about things I was grateful for and this is one of the stories I shared.
My BIG UGLY HEAVY MONSTER SUBURBAN.
I cannot find any pictures of the real suburban, but when I googled - I found these pictures which can give you an idea of what a 1949 Chevy Suburban looks like. When I find some pictures of my real one I will post them.

When I turned 16 years old I was so excited to be able to drive. Where I grew up we had our drivers permit for a year before we got our drivers license. So I felt that I was a seasoned driver by the time I received my driver’s license. I was so hoping to get a neat little car to drive. My parents did not buy me a car, but got a vehicle that became the “kids” car. I was excited to be the 1st to be able to drive.
Dad brought home the vehicle he had gotten for me and when I saw it, I was horrified!!! He had come home with a 1949 Chevy Suburban. IT WAS OLD!!!! IT WAS BIG!!!! IT WAS UGLY!!!!! You started it by turning the key to on and then there was a big knob on the floor board that you pushed with your foot to start it. My Dad reassured me that he would fix it up. I would be picking kids up for early morning seminary and then driving to school. It certainly was big and heavy enough – it would provide safety for me and if I hit anything or anything hit me – I would certainly come out on the better end – but all that didn’t concern me – I was only thinking about how it looked.
He did fix up the inside and used cans of spray paint to paint the outside brown. He put a used straight pipe on the exhaust – that was what he could afford to put on it at that time, so you could definitely hear me coming and going. When he was finished, I had a HUGE, HEAVY, BROWN MONSTER to drive.
I just wanted to wear a paper sack over my head for a month or so when I first started driving it. I was fearful that others would make fun of that beast. But most of them thought it was cool and I soon relaxed and thought my monster was ok. It definitely stood out in any parking lot.
One day it was cold and threatening snow. I begged my Mom that morning to let me please drive the station wagon to school. She thought about it and told me I should take the suburban – it would be safe. I was sad. When school was out and I was headed home the snow had fallen, melted, froze and then became black ice. I had 2 friends with me and as we came over the top of a very steep hill – it was slick with black ice. Being young and inexperienced on black ice, I was in trouble. We started down the steep hill and I started to slide. No matter what I did, I could not stop that monster. I slid into a 2 ton flat bed lumber truck, knocked it out of gear, it rolled down and hit another 2 ton lumber truck, knocked it out of gear and it rolled down and hit a police car. Because the suburban sat up high, it was damaged only on the side of the hood and front passenger fender. Had I been in the station wagon, the flat part of the truck bed would have come thru the windshield. Even the police man could not stand on the road it was so slippery.
I was so grateful for that BIG, UGLY, BROWN, MONSTER vehicle. We were safe. Although I was unhappy for awhile with that vehicle, I was so grateful for it then.
I know my parents looked to the Lord for direction in their decisions and He helped them. They prayed for their children and thanked the Lord for all they had.
I was grateful for my Dad’s wisdom in getting me something safe to drive, I was grateful for my Mom’s wisdom and inspiration to tell me “no” that day and I was grateful for Heavenly Father’s protecting hand over me and my friends in the vehicle. No one was hurt, only vehicles damaged.

But it wasn’t until years later when I had my own children learning to drive that I gained an even greater gratitude for this experience. Looking at this situation from a parent’s point of view – I then realized how much we depend on Heavenly Father’s guidance as we raise our children. And my gratitude for my parent’s decisions meant so much more.

Life is so funny at times. Lessons we learn or think we have learned many times comes back to teach us even more years later. "The Suburban" brings a lot of fun memories back to me now. I would not be ashamed to drive it again. I am so glad that I have this fun memory. But it is not the only story about "The Suburban". There are a couple of more which I will share a little later.
So until then ..... the story stands to be continued.

An Embarrissing Moment

2008-11-09T20:31:00.000-08:00

This is a funny story that has me so frustrated. I had to use this picture instead of the real picture because I can't find the real thing.
Years ago when I got my first job, I was so excited and felt like a grownup. I wanted to get my own checking account. What a big step. My Dad went with me to the bank to set up an account. I think I deposited something like $20 in that account. Wages were not big - especially for a young girl just starting in the working field. But I left that bank so excited. I ordered some cute checks and had my little bank book with me. It was fun to write a check. I had no payments to make, so the money I spent was on little things.
The whole point of this post is that I wrote my Dad a hot check for $3. Three lousy dollars! My Dad saved that check and my Mom gave it to me a few years ago. I came home and put that check in a safe place. If I remember it was a yellow check with BIG red NSF stamped across the front of it. I owed my Dad $3 for something and when he deposited it in the bank it came back to him with NSF. I was so embarrassed!!! I thought I knew how to work a check register and keep track of my money, but apparently I did not. I can't remember how much that bounced check finally cost me. I think it was an extra $5 then.
Dad sat down with me and explained how it all worked. You would think that I would know that. I studied math and knew how to subtract - but somehow I did not get it.
I laugh at that memory now - not then - I was embarrassed. But I love how my Dad handled it and the smile he got on his face whenever he saw that check.
And now, I want that check. I have searched high and low for it and I know it is here someplace. I have waited to post this story for a long time, but decided to go ahead.
It is amazing how grown up we feel at times in our lives - even when we are not as grown up as we think. It was a great learning experience. Math is not my best subject - which that $3 check showed, but I did learn about making mistakes and fixing them and moving on. I was not traumatized and my Dad did not embarrass me about it. I learned to laugh at myself and move on.
Will I ever find that check? I sure hope so - it would be a great story to share with my children.
Oh the great growing up years - they are special.

Kitchen Chaos - A Work in Progress Part 4

2008-10-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

We can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel on this kitchen cabinet redo. April finished all these cabs and took off the last section of lower cabinets this weekend to start on. YEA!!! It is looking so nice and has made a huge difference in the kitchen. With the dark cabinets and no windows in there it was so dark - and now - there is light!!! It is bright and cheery and I love it!!!

These are the knobs I chose. My children all got together and gave me money for my birthday a couple of weeks ago to get my knobs. It took going to 3 different Targets to get them. I still have six left to get. They are a dark green glass - love them!!

The knobs look really nice. I don't have the handles up yet on the drawers. If you look close you will notice a little chunk of the counter top missing. That happened one day when Dugan just went over there and bit a chunk of the counter top off. I couldn't believe it. The counter top was fine until he did that. Needless to say - he was not my favorite anything at that time.

I can't express gratitude enough to April for doing this project. It needed to get done, but I didn't have it in me at the time to tackle a big project - but she did. She has done a great job and I love her for being her and for helping me out. April - you are the greatest!!!
Should have a final picture in a couple of weeks. Then we need to redo the floor and April and I have a idea to redo my back splash. There always seem to be more to do.

Dugan the Dog & Penny Kitty Kitty

2008-10-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

Dugan the Dog and Penny Kitty Kitty are getting acquainted. Dugan still wants to run and chase, but Penny is not that interested. But she is quite interested in being where he is and laying by him. Sometimes Dugan is tired enough he doesn't pay attention, but if he can be in a situation where he is taller than her - then he wants to play. It has been fun to watch them. We watch pretty close. Dugan would never hurt her on purpose, but he does not realize his size. And a push with his paw can be rough. At the same time, she is pretty good at protecting herself.

Here Penny is going to show Dugan about her claws. He won't like that lesson.

Penny is feeling feisty and Dugan is just watching.

Wondering what is passing thru their heads. Are they communicating? Are they calling truce? Are they getting to know each other better? Who knows!!

Penny copying Dugan. He looked comfortable - maybe she could be too.

I think Penny must feel safer laying at his bottom end. Up there by his head can be a bit unnerving with such a big mouth. She can be close, but not close to the mouth.

I think they are going to be great friends. A nose to nose greeting is a good thing.

New Family Addition

2008-10-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday we acquired a new addition to our family. Penny Kitty Kitty. She is a 3 month female and so cute. She has the best personality and really loves to sit in my lap and be totally content. I have had cats before when I was young, but they would never let you love them and hold them in your lap. But Penny Kitty Kitty does.
She has adapted real well at our house and seems to feel comfortable. Some noises freak her out, but she is getting use to the noises that are around here. With no children left at home - it is pretty quiet with just Cliff & I. Dugan can be loud and he is so anxious to get to play with her.

Oh - she can jump and play and loves to. She can play for hours at a time if we could. The longest we have gone is just 1 hour.

Meeting Dugan. Dugan wants to play with her so bad. But he does not realize how strong he is and we are very cautious about it. He might hurt her accidentally. She in turn is not that anxious to be that friendly. She will hiss if he gets too close - but will sit and look at him.

Ok she says, this is enough. Hopefully they will become the best of friends.
Anyway - she is fun and we love having her around.

Fun Projects for a Great Weekend!

2008-10-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

On the 25th of Sept. Shannon came over for a long weekend. I was so excited - I don't get to see her that often. She came over for a friends wedding and to spend time with us having fun. And we did. I am just getting older and can't stay up as late as her and April. I poop out too early. I have to go to bed about 10 - 10:30 pm and those girls can stay up for many more hours having a good time.
The following random pictures are some of the things we did together. We found a couple of projects to do.

We had a great time making these magnets. The supplies were really cheap and we had such a good time searching for small pictures to glue on the back of the half marble. Then glue on the magnet and put them in a cute tin. We made about 217 of them.

We also had a great time covering these letters with scrapbook paper. This project we did not get finished, but we got a good start and will finish on our own. I have to go back and buy some more Christmas paper. The letters we were covering spelled NOEL. I put the paper on sideways on my letter N. So the reindeer were sideways. Not good. Should be a cute addition to our Christmas decorations.
We had a great time and I was sad to see Shannon go on Monday morning. Hopefully, she and Ryan will be over before Thanksgiving. And of course I can always find a long weekend to go over there and play too.

Dad and the Sewing Machine

2008-09-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

A funny story on my Dad. One day as I was getting ready to go somewhere, I didn't have a slip that really fit me. My Dad was unhappy and it was too late to go to the store. Dad was asking Mom about sewing me a slip. Well, Mom sewed most of our clothes, but not slips. She told him it would take a certain kind of fabric. Dad said, anyone can sew a slip. Look - he said, you just get some white fabric, measure around me and sew up the 2 sides and sew a piece of elastic around the top. Easy. Well, Mom said, if it's that easy go ahead and sew one. And he said he would. I have since learned that it takes a little more than that to do it right. Mom's sewing machine was set up in the storage room downstairs and that's where we went. Mom got him some white fabric she had - but it was the wrong kind of fabric.

Dad sat down at this machine after he put the fabric around me to see where to cut it. He made the cut and had Mom thread this machine and he started to sew. And he did. But when I went to put it on - it was a mess and didn't fit. Mom didn't say much, but I'm sure she was chuckling inside. If I remember right, I had a new store bought slip before the week was over. I don't remember what happened at the moment that I needed the slip. Mom probably made some adjustments from one of her slips to get me by.
We have always smiled when we think about the story of Dad sewing. And whenever it was mentioned, he would smile. One thing about Dad, he could dish out a joke and he could take one on himself. That taught us a lot. It was easy for Dad to sew, but he learned and I did too that there are certain steps you have to follow. Using the right fabric and doing a little more than just wrapping the fabric around the model, cutting and sewing.
Bless your heart Dad!!

Air Conditioned Shoes!

2008-09-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

My father-in-law, Rex Bigler was a funny guy. I enjoyed visiting with him and he always had fun stories to tell. He was a quiet guy, but when you were one on one with him, you had the greatest visits.
One day, we were together in the living room and kind of visiting. All of a sudden he wanted to tell me about his air-conditioned shoes. He was telling me all the great aspects of them and how wonderful it was that he found them. They have these holes all over them - kind of like netting. Air can flow right through them which he thgouht was great with the heat in AZ. He had bought a couple of pairs of them. Well, I was trying to picture them in my mind. He went into his room and returned with these shoes shown. Of course when I saw them, I could understand what he meant by "air-conditioned". And I laughed. He smiled and laughed too. He thought that was a great story and it was. In fact, I still have this one shoe and it hangs on my family picture wall next to a picture of him. I will try to post some of his other funny stories. He was so good to me and I miss him!

I Love Modern Conveniences!

2008-09-14T15:02:00.000-07:00

There have been so many disasters occurring the last few months. Hurricanes, flooding, fires, earthquakes, plane crashes, train crash and the list could go on. I feel very blessed to be living where I do. The only real problem I have to deal with in nature is the heat! But lots of people have been affected in a negative way by these natural disasters. Lives have been lost, homes destroyed, lives turned upside down. I have often wondered how things would be for me, if I had to pick up and run. I have also wondered how prepared I am to survive if there was no water to drink - no electricity - no food on grocery store shelves. These things are some of the modern conveniences that I enjoy and take for granted everyday. The following pictures and stories are about an earlier time where some of my favorite modern conveniences were not available. I need to plan more ahead and make sure I have for me and my family things to sustain us in the event that we have a interruption in our modern conveniences.

This is a place in the mountains of Oregon that my mother-in-law use to visit in the summer. She loved it here. It was a real treat to go with her grandparents to spend some time. They made toys out of what was available. The gliding horse that she and her sister are sitting on was built to entertain kids. She loved it. And the house they stayed at was a cabin in the woods. No bathroom inside, I'm sure no bathtubs or showers as we know. They had to make a trip out to the outhouse and probably had a bath in a tub filled with heated water. But they loved it and had a blast there and made so many wonderful memories. She use to love telling me about her childhood there. You could tell by her expressions that the pictures in her mind were such happy pictures. I'm sure she would have loved to take all her children and grandchildren there to experience some of what she loved so. She loved nature so. I love to be in the woods and camp - but I love a warm shower and a regular bathroom. We use to camp in a tent and our bathroom was the woods - but as I was married, our camping was a nice camper with warm water, great beds and a port-a-pot inside where it was warm. No bugs, no flies unless you left the door open.

This is a picture of the home on Ash Creek that my father-in-law grew up in. They lived not far from Mt. Graham in Central, AZ. When his parents moved there the valley was so green and the creek had water in it. After a time, it turned to the desert it had been before. It can get very hot there. There have been a few times that we have made the trip up there and visited where this house use to stand. You can only see some of the concrete that was part of the foundation now. You also can see where there was a well and the creek runs thru the property, but it is dry. Like a real desert. The view of Mt. Graham is beautiful and Cliff took me up there one hot summer day. It was like a different world up there. So green, cool, lakes. Just beautiful. My father-in-law use to go up and work on that mountain when he was a young guy. There was a logging company up there. If I had lived there then and had a choice I would have lived up on the mountain. Then I would be dealing with really cold and snow in the winter. It's a trade off. Cold and snow, or heat and dry. He grew up in this house and with no electricity, how hot it must have been! No air conditioning! And cooking for a large family would require a lot of time over the hot stove. Making bread, heating water for laundry, baths would really heat up a place. And no running water - it had to be carried from the well. I am really spoiled with my hot water heater and a sink with a faucet I can turn on and almost instantly get the right temperature water I desire. But they were happy and my father-in-law used to tell of fun times he had there growing up. I know he must have so enjoyed the air conditioning and running water that he enjoyed later on.

This is a picture of my Mom on the ranch on the Missouri River in Montana where she grew up. She is standing in the snow. She also grew up in a time with no running water. They got their water from the river. Saturday night baths were in a tub in the kitchen filled with heated water from the wood burning stove. That water was precious and so several had to use the same water. We would be disgusted by that now. We love our showers and sometimes give little thought to how much water we are using and we stand in that warm water enjoying it. The out house was a ways from the house and in the winter they had a little pot they used in the house so you did not have to go out in the cold snow. The Breaks in Montana could get terribly cold.
The wood burning stove my grandmother cooked on was quite the stove. It kept them warm in the kitchen, but you had to cut wood and keep it in stock. I can only imagine how much wood had to be chopped and stacked by the kitchen door. I'm sure my Mom must have had to haul wood into the house more times than she could count. I know she loved her electric stove while I was growing up. She could just turn the knob and she had instant heat. No wood pile, no waiting for things to heat up.

This is the house my Dad grew up in. He lived in Alabama. They also had to haul water, chop wood, etc. They had a wood burning stove, but they also had the real bad humidity. Winter times got cold and they would heat a rock to put under their covers in their bed at night to keep warm. Dad would laugh as he talked about how in the middle of the night you could hear a big crash as people would push their rock out of their covers and it would fall on the floor. They did that when the rock started to get cold. I love my heater in the house. I dial the temperature to whatever I want to be comfortable and never have to worry about being cold in Winter. If I want, there is always an electric blanket to use also.

Dad use to talk about how wonderful it is to have toilet paper. When he grew up, there was magazines and leaves to use. Sometimes when things were really tough, he said they had to use dry corncobs. I couldn't believe it! I asked Dad how that was and he said you just had to be careful.
I love toilet paper. Using magazines, leaves or dried corncobs sound like a huge inconvenience to me!
The time I live in is wonderful. There are so many things that make my life so good. I don't have to go out in the night to an outhouse, I can wash my clothes in a wonderful machine that does all the work, I have a dryer to dry them for me, my stove turns on with instant heat, I don't have to chop wood, I have a pantry with food and a store close by to shop at, I have air conditioning and heating that makes my home comfortable, a telephone to call family and friends and stay in touch instantly and many more things. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for this great time.
And I will put a lot more work and effort in making sure I have what I need to care for my family in the event we have a disaster.

It's Almost Time

2008-09-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

It's almost time!! I can actually feel a hint of cooler temperatures in the mornings and some after dark. It is that hint that cooler weather really will come soon. By this time of the year - the hot weather is almost more than a person can bear. I do pretty good thru September, but by October the heat is harder to tolerate. The evenings get cooler and the early mornings, but the days can still be hot. And then, something magical happens and Halloween is finally here and usually by then the temperatures are almost perfect. The main part of our summer is almost gone and we are finally on the down hill side. YEA:)
So my post this time is about my new patio Cliff built. It turned out so great and when the temperatures are finally cooled off - this is going to be a great place to sit and enjoy some quiet time together and with family. I can't wait!!! I need to get a table and more chairs or benches to sit on. I will have to protect them until we sit on them from the bird droppings. Our big trees are a great host for the birds and I love to hear them chirp and sing. BUT - their droppings are disgusting!! I can live with it tho'. I will have something to cover the table and chairs until we sit on them. Cliff and I love to sit out when the weather is nice and we are really going to enjoy the new back patio. THANK YOU Cliff for a great job. He is so handy!!

Kitchen Chaos - A Work in Progress Part 3

2008-09-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I posted anything about the kitchen cabinet redo project. April is making great progress and I so appreciate all the hard work she has been doing. As you can tell from the pictures, she has finished all the upper cabinets. Cliff hung back doors yesterday and the only thing left is for me to get the knobs or handles that I want. That might take a bit. I have gone back and forth between the knobs or the handles. I will use both, but had originally thought handles on everything - but now, I think I will go with knobs on the cabinet doors. Who knows what I will decide next week.
This last picture is the start of the bottom cabinets. There are not as many and I can see that we are about half way through. The other great thing about this project is that I am really doing the "BIG" cleanout in the cupboards. It was amazing what stuff was in there that had to go. I am thrilled with amount of space I have to move things around - which opens up more space in the pantry. Love being a little more organized.
A HUGE THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU TO APRIL!!! She has worked hard and is happy to do this. I remember there use to be a time when I was younger and loved to tackle big projects - but I stop and think about it now. I needed her and her willingness to volunteer to do this project. Oh - to be young again! She keeps me a little younger!

No Fear Here :)

2008-09-09T20:53:00.000-07:00

This is the only picture I have of me on a horse. I have blogged somewhere on this blog before about me and horses. Anyway - I love horses, but have a fear of them. I wish I had been more brave when I was younger and developed a great love for them and be able to ride and enjoy them like my Mom did.
She loved to ride! And she wanted to share that love with her children - so I have this one picture of her and I on a horse at the ranch. Can't remember any of it, but I don't have a look of fear on my face. I'm sure I felt very safe with my Mom. Moms have a way of making us feel safe and secure. Maybe if we had been able to spend more time at the ranch and with horses, I would have learned to ride and enjoy like she did.
I am so grateful that my grandmother took this picture. It is a treasure! Maybe if I am lucky - one day I will have a chance to be brave and try to ride. I'll be sure to get a picture if and when it ever happens.

Whine!! Whine!! Whine!!

2008-09-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

Look at these cute little girls. This is my sister Laurie & I. She is my only sister and I love her very much. We look so happy and content together in these pictures. Sisters have to stick together you know!! BUT.........

......there was a time when we were a little older that we had our share of tough times. We shared a room most of the time we were growing up. We each had a short time of having a room to ourselves, but most of my memories are when we shared a room and bed together. I use to accuse her of keeping our room messy and she in turn accused me of keeping the room a mess. I admit - I did have a messy room. To this day we have a difference of opinion on who kept the room in such a sad state of affairs. So - sis - I will admit I did a good job of the sad shape it was in. We had plenty of arguments about that room.
I don't remember ever fighting about sleeping in the same bed. It was just nice to have someone next to you in the dark. I wonder if we laid there and talked about the day and our dreams - but I honestly don't remember. Sis - did we? I sure hope so.
We also had a interesting time together when we had dish assignment after dinner. Neither of us liked to do the dishes and with a family total of 7 there was plenty of dishes, glasses and pots & pans. Oohh! I hated the pots & pans. My sis still gives me a hard time about washing dishes. She said that I always had to leave in the process to run to the bathroom. And I did! But not on purpose!! Even today when I am doing dishes, it is not long before I have to run to the bathroom. There is something about getting my hands wet that gets me everytime. We had plenty of discussions about that when we were growing up and I do feel bad that it happened everytime. I can understand why she would be upset - but it was a real thing and still happens today. So - Sis - when you come to visit and we start the dishes you can be sure that I will be running to the bathroom before we get very far on the job:)!

This sister of mine is a great gal! I know that I always have someone who is there to cheer me on and be my greatest fan. I sure hope she knows I would do the same for her. And sis - if you make a mad dash to the bathroom during our dish cleanup - I will just smile with great understanding.
Thanks for being the greatest!!!!

Oh What Tragedy!

2008-09-04T19:56:00.000-07:00

I love these 2 pictures of my brother Rusty and I. We are the oldest in the family and have had some adventures together.
I wonder what we were thinking as we are looking out from the crib? No telling what it might be - maybe - Can we get out? What's to eat? Why do we have to smile for a picture? Who knows! But we do look happy together.
I could not find tonight any pictures of just the two of us together a little older but here is one of us now:

I remembered a couple of stories about the two of us together that needs to be told:
Story #1:
When we were young - I was probably in 1st grade we had the fun chance to walk down the street about 2 blocks or so to the little corner grocery market. Mom needed to have a bottle of ketchup and I wanted so badly to go and get it myself - especially to show what a big gal I was. After talking to Dad, Mom let me go with Rusty by my side. Since I was the oldest, I felt pretty big and smug about this trip. She gave me money to put in my coat pocket and away we went. It was winter time and there was snow on the ground. Our walk down to the store was uneventful - just talking and walking. Can't remember a thing we talked about. But I do remember feeling pretty big and grownup. We got to the store and picked out the ketchup and paid the man for it. Ketchup came in glass bottles then - no plastic and the man put it carefully in a paper sack for us. We got outside the store and headed home. This was great. Mom would be so proud that we accomplished our assignment so well. We had walked about a block I think and Rusty started to bug me about carrying the sack. I told him no - he might drop it. But he kept bugging me and wanting a turn. And I couldn't turn him down. I gave him the sack and said to be careful and we continued our journey home. Well - guess what? He dropped it on the snowy sidewalk and sure enough that bottle broke. How could this have happened? I was heartsick and so sad. I was worried and afraid that Mom would be so disappointed. I had a feeling that money was tight - and the bottle was broke. So - I sadly picked up the sack with the broken ketchup bottle in it - leaking and dripping and we continued our trip home. We must have looked a sight when we got to the door. I wonder if Mom had a hard time concealing her laughter. Can you imagine 2 kids carrying a broken ketchup bottle and the mess they would be? It was a big one. Ketchup was everywhere. My Dad went back down the street to cleanup any broken glass that might have been there and of course you can imagine the sight of red stains on the snow all the way home. I was heartsick - I felt like I really let Mom down. I also knew that Rusty didn't mean to drop the sack and he felt bad. It was all just a tragic ordeal. I lived through it and he has also and now it is such a funny story. But at the time - it was serious business!! I wonder how many times my parents thought about that adventure and laughed. I would have - not in front of the children - but when alone.
Story #2:
My brother and I attended grade school while we lived on McKinley street. I went kindergarten & part of 1st grade and he went just part of kindergarten. They had a special assembly one afternoon with a magician. We all gathered in the gym and got to watch this great magician do some wonderful tricks. I had never seen a magician and was thrilled at his tricks. During the show he asked for a volunteer from the audience and I raised my hand and WAS PICKED!!! I was thrilled. They lifted me up on the stage and he did a trick with colored hankies. I can't remember the trick other than when it was through I was pulling hankies out of his shirt sleeve that were all tied together. It was great. And for helping I was given a small magic wand. I mean small. I didn't care - it was wonderful for me. Rusty was excited about my magic wand as we walked home. He wanted to hold it and look at it - and so did I. It was a treasure!!
A couple of weeks earlier we had another assembly where they were teaching all the children about "Stranger Danger". They taught us what to do if someone approached us or wanted us to get in their car. It was really scary and made me very nervous. I hadn't thought about any of that kind of stuff before and it made me worry whenever I saw anyone I did not know. It was a good lesson and came in very valuable for my brother and I as we walked home from the magic show. We were excited to tell Mom about the fun time at school that day and admiring the magic wand and was not paying too much attention to what was going on around us. As we were walking up McKinley street I finally noticed that a black car pulled up beside us and the man inside leaned over to the window and said Hi. He said he was a cousin of my Mom's and that she had sent him to pick us up from school. Well - the lessons I learned a couple of weeks earlier kicked in. I was suspicious! Big time suspicious!!! I was scared to death. I didn't know my Mom had a cousin and she didn't say anything about someone else picking us up. Our lessons had told us to run and not get in a car with anyone we did not know. For that matter we were not to get in a car or go with anyone if our Mom did not tell us about it earlier. I told the man no, and we started to walk away, but he kept following us in his car. I was really scared and I knew we could not outrun his car. We were next to a ball park and there were no houses to run to like we had been instructed if we need to. They also had houses that had "helping hands" where a child knew they could run for safety. But we did not have that around us. He stopped his car and started to get out on the passenger side which was close to us. I was so scared. But - help arrived. My Dad and his friend were driving home from work about that time and recognized Rusty and I on the sidewalk and this strange car by us. They pulled up right behind him. When he saw them he jumped in his car and sped away. I was so happy to see my Dad and felt we had really been watched over and protected. What if they had not drove up? Well, hopefully we would have run like crazy.
My brother and I have had adventures - these are just 2, but it is fun to remember them and to realize that whatever comes our way we work through it together. I was so glad he was with me and I wasn't alone. I'm the older child, so I felt protective of him and even though he was younger - I still depended on him - just knowing that someone was with me and together we would figure it all out.
I still feel that way today. I know that if I need help, he will be there to help me and I hope he knows that I would do the same for him.
Tragedies? - could have been! Life taught us some great things but mostly we were taught that we love each other and watch out for each other no matter what

Wagon Rides & Play Time in Alabama

2008-08-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

These pictures are of our journey from Aunt Gayle's house to Uncle Buck's house for the Dolbear reunion. Every June when our family traveled from Wyoming to my Dad's home state of Alabama, they always had a big Dolbear family reunion. It was a fun time. Lots and lots of kids (cousins) to play with. So much good food - you ate until you were almost sick. There is nothing like my families cooking in Alabama. Those gals can cook.
These pictures are of the wagon they pulled us in to Uncle Buck's house. It was great fun and as children we were excited to ride. They probably had to make a few trips to get everyone there.
I don't really remember all that we did at the reunion - just the wagon ride - the food and lots of people. There was not a wagon ride every year - I only remember one time that we did that. But I do remember all the people and all the good food. Lots of people knew who I was - but I couldn't remember who everybody else was.
My Dad had a nickname when he was growing up - Bodick. Don't know where that came from - but everyone there called him Bodick. As a child I thought that was a pretty funny name and it didn't seem to fit the man I knew. But over the years it brings a smile to my face to remember Bodick.
I wish everyone could enjoy the food that my family cooked. You would want to be adopted by us.

This is a picture of the property at my Aunt Gayle's place. Where my parents motor home is parked - we would play for hours and hours. The one game I remember us playing a lot was building houses. We each claimed an area under the pine trees. The ground was completely covered in pine needles. We would take brooms and sweep the pine needles so that the ground became rooms for our "house". The pine needles would form the barrier (or walls) of our house. We would get pretty creative and kept adding rooms. Of course, it wasn't fun if someone messed up your pine needle walls and messed up your house. I can't believe how many hours we played that way. The dirt there is red, so by the end of the day we were very dirty.
In the evening we had to take baths to get cleaned up and that bath water was RED!!!
Another fun thing we got to deal with was chiggers. I didn't like them and was pretty sad if I got them. See this for more info click here

We also ran into stinging nettles. I didn't like going barefoot that much. Stinging nettles are a little plant that grows there. If you step on one, it shoots something into your foot and oh-----it stings. I finally learned a little about watching out for the stinging nettles and tried to avoid them at all costs. They seemed to grow between Aunt Gayle's house and Aunt Gertie's house. It just was in my best interest to wear my flip flops or tennies.
Anyway - these memories are fun and bring a smile to my face. I had a great time on our vacations and grew to love my family there so much.
Isn't it great to look back on family vacations? Those memories can bring a smile on down days and reminds us of the importance of family and time together.

Back Breaking Work!

2008-08-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my Dad behind a plow. When he was growing up he spent many hours plowing fields. And he spent just as much time or more picking cotton. Dad use to tell me that he never wanted to see another cotton field in his life. That is what they planted when he was growing up with his Granddaddy Albert. He told me that he use to suggest to his Granddaddy Albert that they might plant something good - like watermelons, but Granddaddy Albert planted and grew cotton. Dad said it was back breaking work. And he didn't really want to walk behind a plow again, but this picture is proof that he did. On one of the trips to visit he decided to get behind the plow at his Aunt Josephine's house. When he was through he still had the same determination to not plow again. He would tell his children that he would work all week picking cotton and earn a dime for the week. They were too poor to have big equipment that would pick the cotton for them. A depression was going on for pete sake! So he and his sister and his little brother when he was old enough picked cotton by hand. Not only their fields, but would hire out and pick cotton for others too. Then the cotton was loaded on their wagon and they would drive it to sell. Dad said that the wagon was not the most comfortable ride. It was so rough. As hot and humid it is there - I don't know how he stood it. And I'm sure that his asthma really gave him fits.
I never had to work hard like that when I was growing up. I am so grateful!!:). Dad was never afraid to work and he worked hard - that's all he knew.
But looking at this picture - I know I would not want to plow all day long. The dust that would be in your face all day - YUK!!!!
I grew up in a time where I didn't have to do that kind of back breaking work. Although I remember complaining about the chores I had to do - like - clean my room, wash dishes, clean the bathroom, vacuum & dust and in the summer we had to wash walls and do a big cleaning. Mom never made us work all day long - but we thought we were really put upon. I laugh now - compared to what my parents did growing up, I am very spoiled.
I am so thankful for the modern conveniences of this day and age. I think we have a tendency to take for granted the easiness of our work day compared to my parents time. Oh - I can work hard and do, but I am so grateful that my life was not as physically hard as theirs.

Kitchen Chaos - A Work in Progress Part 2

2008-08-17T16:29:00.000-07:00

So this weekend, April was working hard to finish up the cab doors we had taken off and started last weekend. This is a big project - what a gal to do that for me!!!
I finally decided to distress the cabs a little. We did a sample of the glazing - did not like it!! Tried to faux it and did not like that. So we distressed the cabs just a little and I love that. I had found some knobs and handles at Target I like. In the picture they do not really look like they are. They are a green color glass and it looks good. I am trying to decide if I like the knobs on cabinet doors or just put handles on everything. I am thinking about it.
This is quite a project and will take us awhile - but will be great when it is done. The big clean out of the cupboards and drawers is work but needs to be done. I can't believe how much I have already thrown out. YEA!!!!:) More is going in the trash. Some of it is so old that even the thrift stores would not want it. It is amazing what things we keep for way too long.

Snow Happens

2008-08-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

This is a fun and unusual picture. This is my granddaddy's place - "Tollie's Place" just outside Jackson, AL. There is snow there!!!! Dad never talked about it ever snowing there. Jackson is about 70 miles north of Mobile. It is hot and humid, but this particular winter it got cold enough to snow. Not a little skiff, but a bunch of snow. I am sure the children there were pretty excited to see the white stuff. And I wonder how drivers dealt with it. If you never live in it and drive in it a bunch, it can be a bit unnerving. I wonder how many fender benders occurred that day. There is no clue from any history that I have or anything written on the picture of how long this snow lasted. I would assume it was only for a few hours and then melted away. It just doesn't get that cold there.
Here in Phoenix, we rarely get anything that resembles snow. Once in awhile certain areas will get a little dusting - but nothing where I live. And when it does, it is big news just like this event years ago in Jackson must have been the big news event.
For those of us who grew up in and still live in areas where snow is common - no big deal. But it is exciting to those who rarely see it.
I wonder - did Granddaddy have a snow shovel?

Dad's Broken Foot - Part 2

2008-08-14T17:17:00.000-07:00

When I posted about my Dad's broken foot I did not realize that an article had been written about him in the company newspaper. He was a milkman for Cream o' Weber for many years and it was while he was working for them that the foot was broken. He worked thru the night and sometimes I got to go with him. I remember one time going and I had brand new shoes. We hadn't gotten very far in our work when I started fussing about how my foot was hurting. I had a corn on the side of my foot by my little toe. Finally Dad took my shoe off and carved a hole in the side of the shoe where it was rubbing on my corn. So much for my brand new shoes. It did help for the night though - I didn't complain about my foot hurting. Sad to see my new shoes ruined. I think each of us children got to take turns going with him at work. My favorite part was when we stopped at the Red & White Cafe early morning to have hot chocolate and a treat. Loved it!!!

This picture did not turn out as well as I wanted - you can't read what the article says, SO -- I will type it for you:
When a secretary breaks her hand, when a steam shovel operator breaks his arm, when a football player breaks his leg, or when a retail driver breaks his foot, they all have something in common: they're useless. Right? Wrong!
Wrong at least in the case of Jim Dolbare from Casper, Wyoming. It all started as a routine morning for Jim. He had made a few deliveries and was looking forward to a weekend finish trip. Maybe it was thinking about "the big ones" he had become use to catching in Wyoming since he moved there from Alabama in 1953 that caused him not to see a small hole in the ground. As soon as he heard a snap and felt the pain, he knew he had done more than just twist his foot.
All this happened about 2 am. At 5 am he was still delivering milk - but with assistance. The assistance was in the form of a 15 year old boy, his son, Rusty. At 8 am there was a shift change on Jim's truck, Rusty had to go to school, and was promptly replaced by Jim's wife, Carolyn.
For the past month Jim has continued to service his route, complete with cast.....and help. He didn't take the easy way out, but wanted to continue to serve his customers (the same way he has for the past 12 years on the same route).
Our hats off to Jim, his wife and their three children for all pulling together. THANKS!
I didn't realize that this article existed and it was fun to find. I also didn't realize that he had come back for help from Rusty. Dad was a hard worker and I can't think of anything that really slowed him down. He had a family to support and customers to take care of and he did his job well.
I wonder - would I keep going with a broken foot? I don't think so - at least not like he did. I would be whining too much.

Was I Famous?

2008-08-11T21:08:00.001-07:00

I just found this newspaper article that my Mom had put in her remembrance book. I had seen it a couple of times, but did not pay too much attention to it. But tonight I really looked it over. I must be about 4 or 5 years old here. I don't remember one thing about this. And I'm not too sure about what is going on with my mouth. It almost looks like I have something in it (like a small ball or something). Surely that wasn't my smile at that age! I would think that I would have some faint memory of this, but I don't. I really like my "flower hat". I wonder if my Mom made my dress and flower hat. And the other flower, Bobbie, I don't know where he is now. I wonder if he has a copy of this? I do remember the other children in the picture. My -- we have changed over the years.
I wish I could tell you all about this operetta and how we all did - but no memory. Darn!!!
Anyway, I am glad I found this and will hold on to it as a part of my life history.
Aren't we cute? :)!!
Famous - maybe. Made the paper - yes. Don't remember the fame!

Kitchen Chaos - A Work in Progress

2008-08-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

The following pictures are of my kitchen area. The cabinets are as old as the house and have really had their share of abuse over the last 34 years. We wanted to replace them, but right now is not a good time. Cabinets are expensive - so another way to spruce things up had to be devised. April suggested on Friday that we redo the cabinets. We had already redone the cabinets in the bathrooms and hallway about 2 or 3 years ago. It was a big project, but oh how I love them now.
April said she would be happy to get them done. I could not decide if I wanted them just painted, or distressed or glazed. So, we are having one cabinet door glazed tomorrow to see how I like that.
In the meantime, April started on the cabinet frames on Saturday. They had to be Kilzed and then painted. That being worked on, I decided that it was time to clean out those kitchen cabinets and reorganize stuff to fit better and to do a general big throw out. We are going to do little sections at a time. We both work, so our time is limited. Hopefully in a few weeks, it will all be done.

As you can see in the above pictures, April has been working hard. She has been so great to help me out in redoing things that need to be done around here. She has basically painted every room in the house, redid bathroom cabinets and hallway cabinets. She has great ideas and I can't thank her enough for getting this work done. The other week she put on a glitter glaze in the bathroom. April - you are the greatest and I love you so much. Helping me out is wonderful and I thank you so much for all you do!
I will be posting about this work in progress as we go along. When it is done it should look like new. Can't wait!!!

That was Cheap!!!

2008-08-10T21:18:00.000-07:00

I was looking tonight for a piece of paper containing a memory I wanted to blog about and could not find it. I will, but not tonight. Instead I found these 2 pieces of info about my past. It was so fun to find them. It is the bill from the hospital when I was born and the receipt that showed Dad paid in full. I was amazed to see the prices. Mom's room was $9.50 a day and my nursery stay was $1.50 per day. The operating/delivery room was $15.00 and anesthesia was $10.00. My hospital braclet was $1.00. WOW!! Compare to today that was unbelievable. But to my parents in that day - those were steep prices. Wages were a lot different then and what seemed cheap - $100.60 for my delivery and hospital stay is quite different to the thousands of dollars it costs today for the same occurrence.
It was fun to find this and it was refreshing to see how uncomplicated things were then. The hospital bill is one page long. Only a few entries on the page. Hospital bills today are so long and so complicated. Time certainly changes things doesn't it?
I'm glad to find these 2 pieces of information to add to my history. I'm grateful Mom saved it.

Hairdo's - OH MY!!!!

2008-07-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

I am being really brave and courageous with this post. It feels weird to expose yourself - but I laugh every time I think of or see pictures of some of my hairdo's. Most of the funny ones are when I was young. I have basically had the same type of hairdo as an adult. As you glance through the pictures you will see that I had the "high water bangs". My Mom would trim my bangs for me. She would get them wet, hold them down and cut - thus the short short bangs. Bless her heart. I didn't want them that short, but she did the best she knew how. My sis told me that finally Dad asked her not to cut them anymore. I'm sure she felt like I did when Cliff and Jacob let me cut their hair only ONE time. They would rather go to the barber shop. I didn't feel too bad and I know Mom didn't either. I just don't have that haircutting talent and Mom didn't either. We were OK with that and just have laughed about it and that is fun.

About this time in my life I decided that I would style my own hairdo. This one isn't too bad, but some of them - I don't know what I was thinking! I thought it looked cool.

This one had the funny curled bangs. And they weren't even - they were crooked on my forehead. Looks like I just took the curler out and did nothing. But I know I spent time on my styling. The thing about hairdo's in my younger years was that I thought I looked great. I was happy with them and felt good about myself. Looking at them now brings a big smile to my face. I'm glad to have these pictures and I'm glad that I was comfortable with myself.

My Mom would curl our hair with pin curls - with bobbie pins. That is a tight curl and it stays for a long time. You could sleep on those and not puncture holes in your head. Then there was sponge curlers, juice cans we used as curlers. And I thought it was great when the first hot curlers came out. They had pokey things on them to hold the hair and they were hot, but it was a cool way to fix your hair. Then the curling iron - a great invention. What would we do without our curling irons today.

This is the more "windblown" look - it actually reminds me of some hairdo's today.

This is what your hair looks like in the wind when you have sprayed it with "liquid cement" (that's what I like to call my hairspray). It holds your hair really good but when the breeze comes up, it lifts your hair - like a whole section that is sprayed together.

Hairdo's in our lifetime can be interesting things. I think we all have pictures of ourselves with a hairdo that we wondered what we were thinking. We have to experiment and let our creativity flourish as we figure out what is the best for us. I'm grateful that I have finally found the hairdo that I like and is most comfortable for me. It is the "real" me. I do know that I don't put so much stress on myself anymore about my hair. It is a simple style, quick to fix and I'm happy about it.

Who Slows Down for a Broken Foot?

2008-07-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

This is my Dad taking a nap on my bed. He had broken his foot while working and finally Mom convinced him to go to the Dr. And sure enough it was broken. My Dad was not one to go to Dr's. He was a milkman and worked at night. One night he stepped out of his truck and felt the snap and pain. But my Dad - he just kept right on working. I don't think he thought he had broke it. Maybe just a bad sprain. He was a hard worker and no matter what - he always just kept going. He finished his work and when he finally got home - his foot hurt pretty bad and was swollen. After his trip to the Doc he came home with a cast. We laugh when we think about this story, because that cast drove my Dad CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!! It was hot - he couldn't scratch is foot or ankle. The cast was almost up to his knee. It was awkward, made doing his work harder and try taking a bath or shower with that thing on. It is hard to described how crazy that thing made him. He got out a coat hanger and twisted it so he could stick it down the cast to scratch his leg. He drilled a hole in the back of the cast by his heel to let air flow in - it was hot and sticky. One day he came back in and he had cut the cast down to mid calf. A couple of days later it was down below his calf. He cut the cast to create more room around his toes and the hole in the back by the heel got bigger.

My Mom caught him sitting in this motor home he created cutting that cast down more and more. Poor Mom!! She wanted his foot to heal properly - but she finally realized that if that cast stayed on his foot more than 3 to 4 weeks - it would be a miracle. Sure enough - it never lasted the 6 weeks it was suppose to stay on. And he didn't think he needed to go back to the Doc to get it off - he just cut the thing off himself.
I can still remember Dad getting caught in the motor home cutting on that cast. He would look up from his cutting work and just grin. His foot healed ok. He never had any lasting effect from the break that I can remember. I learned and saw again that there was not much that ever slowed Dad down. He did eventually get severe Rheumatoid Arthritis that did slow him down, but never stopped him. He was an amazing worker and man. And a great example of his motto: "When the going gets tough, it's just right for me!"

Finger Lickin' Good

2008-07-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

Look at these cute cousins! Shannon and Melissa. They were my parents 1st grandchildren. Shannon was born in April and Melissa in December. These pictures were taken in 1979. Shannon was born on my Dad's birthday and Melissa just 5 days from my Mom's birthday.
These girls had a few things in common:
Both oldest child in their family.
Both girls.
Both had curl in their hair.
Both had the Dolbare "crooked finger".
Both were finger suckers.

What was so funny is that they both sucked their index finger turned upside down. I could never figure out how that could be comfortable. It did put a lot of pressure on their top front teeth. The only difference was that Shannon used her left hand and Melissa used her right hand. Funny girls! None of our other children did that - only these two. It was fun to find these pictures of them. The last picture is of them laying on Grandma & Grandpa's bed in the motor home. Whenever they laid down, were bored or upset, in the finger went.
It is interesting that 2 girls came to the Dolbare/Bigler family with a funny quirk that was the same - except with opposite hands. I wonder if such a weird "tradition" will ever pass on. Someday - could their children do something strange like this. I find it funny that they each picked the same finger (index) and turned it the same way.
As they grew older and we lived miles apart, they have always had a good time together. Whenever vacations brought them together it was fun to watch them. They don't get to see each other much now. Hopefully someday, we will all be able to meet in one spot and renew those feelings and fun times again. I'm sure they will each be able to sit and talk and catch up like they had never been separated.

Weekend in California

2008-07-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

April & I had a 3 day weekend starting on the 18th. So we decided to hit the road and go and play with Shannon in CA for the weekend. It is amazing how much stuff still has to be loaded in the car before we hit the road. We left about 2:45 pm on Thurs. afternoon. Weather was clear and we actually got out of Phoenix before the big rush hour traffic hit. YEA!!! Just a few shots of the scenery and traffic as we traveled west. Lots & Lots of trucks on the road. Crossing the Colorado River California Gas!!! WOW!! I actually paid $4.89 on the way home and $4.85 on the way. I think gas prices are too high, but I will take Az. gas price over CA. Scenery in CA just about like Arizona. Hot - Hot - Hot!!!!! And it still looks like desert. Windmills outside Palm Springs. I love to watch them. The wind was really blowing and they were moving along. It is amazing to look over all the hillsides and see them everywhere. It is cool that wind power electricity can be done. More of that should be set up. Beautiful CA sunset. Lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. We loved it!! Off for the day shopping. The girls can walk faster than me. I am slower - but that's ok. They stick pretty close to me and will slow down and wait on me. Love them girls. They were shooting a movie here. I only got the shot from across the street. They must have made the same shot a ton of times. Everytime we walked by we heard the same: "action" & then "Ohhh" (which must be a part of the film). Lots of film people around and lots of trucks with so much equipment. Kind of fun to see. The girls shopping at one of our favorite places to go: "The Paper Rabbit". April with Shannon & Ryan's cat Mattie. Shannon & April with Gidget the dog. That dog is funny.
My favorite - a Magnolia Tree. I want one of these in my yard. I am just not sure how it would do in Arizona. Everytime I go to CA, I have to drive by and see these trees. My favorite flower - Magnolia flower. I am going to have to investigate and see if a Magnolia tree can grow here. Shannon has a fig tree outside her kitchen window and if you look close you will see a squirrel holding a fig in his mouth. We watched him eat some of it, but when I got closer to try to get a picture he got nervous and started to run up the tree limb. If you look hard you can see him. On the way home we ran into rain 2 different times. It cooled the temperature down and was refreshing. We don't see much rain in AZ. All in all we had a great time. It was so much cooler there. I would get up each morning and go out back and sit in Shannons yard and enjoy the cool temperatures. Reading and talking on the phone. It was so relaxing. I wanted to bring all the good weather back. During the day in got into the high 80's, but cools down at night.
We also enjoyed a great barbeque at Ryan's sisters house (Tiffany). Her husband Tom grilled salmon and steak and we had some great Greek food that was so yummy. It was so fun. Just wished we could have stayed longer and visited longer.
It was sad to leave, but I am grateful that we live close enough to visit. It does not take all day to get there and deciding at the last minute to go is much easier. I especially loved spending the weekend with my girls. They are everything to me. I plan to do this again - hopefully to visit a little longer.

Can You See A Difference? I Can Sort Of

2008-07-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

It is a lot of fun to look back on photos and see the differences in whoever is photographed. I had fun the last couple of days thinking about the pictures of Cliff & I together and seeing the differences. Do you see a difference? Well I sort of do - I can see that we have aged, that our hair is different (getting some gray:), weight has been put on and taken off. I can tell by our faces that life and life experiences have given us a little more wisdom and knowledge than when we first met. I can see some wrinkles that were not there before. But --- I still see the bright eyes - I still see the dreams of the future - I see happiness despite life's traumas and dramas - I see joy - I see contentment - I see peace.
Life has thrown a lot of things at us. But together we have met those challenges so far and have arrived at the other side still intact - still full of dreams of our future - still happy and content - still feeling joy. But in a different way now. We have learned a few things along the way. We have learned that experiences can knock you for a loop, that faith can be tested to your very core, fears can overwhelm & sometimes paralyze, dreams change, hope in the future changes and changes for the better.
We have learned to accept change, love each other more, love others more, families are all important - relationships bring joy. We have combined the dreams and plans that we started with back in 1975 and with what we have gained along the way to create a wonderful life now. Still with challenges, traumas and dramas - but looking at dealing with them in a different way with love still intact and increased, with strong faith in God, less fear, greater love for our families and others and a determination to continue on our life's journey fully expecting to arrive on the other side still intact. I thank God everyday for each other. We have been so blessed. Cliff has been my strength and I hope I have been to him. The love we started out with felt like it could never get better, but through life together we have realized that the love we have for each other now is....hmm....everything. It is more than I ever thought possible and I thank God for it.
Life - it is good! And we are grateful to be in the middle of it.
One other thing I learned - you can never take enough pictures of yourselves together. I still have some boxes of pictures to go through and hope to find more of us together. That would be my advice to any young couple starting out - take lots & lots of pictures of yourselves together. AND - love life and enjoy the journey!

1974

1975

1975

1990's

2004

2005

2005

2006

2007

2007

2007

2007

I'm Goin' to Lick You!

2008-07-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my Mom, her Dad, (my Grandpa Woodcock) and her brother, Bill. When I look back and think of my memories when I was growing up, this is one of the pictures that I think of. My Uncle Bill was quite a guy. No one just like him and I loved him very much.

These 2 pictures are of my Mom & her brother (Uncle Bill). And this is how I remember him. He was a fun uncle. I became acquainted with him when I was born and he has held a special place in my heart. Although years have passed and I grew up and moved away, I have always had a sweet feeling for him. He was the fastest runner I have ever seen! That man was so fast and quick - something he got from his Dad, (my Grandpa Woodcock). You could never get away from him, he could catch you. I have vague memories of me and my siblings and his own children (my cousins) running and screaming to get away, but he could catch you. I was amazed. And he would play with you. If we were out in the yard, he would play with us.
One of the unique things about him was he would say: "When I catch you, I'm going to lick you!" And he was not kidding! If he caught you - he did LICK YOU!!! GROSS!!!!!!!!! Can you imagine someone licking you on the cheek and neck?? SICK!!!!!!!!! There was no way we wanted to get caught, but somehow, most of the time he would catch you and then you got the "licking". I could not imagine why anyone would want to lick someone else - but he did. It kind of became his trade mark. I did not want to get licked!!! But I had my share of licks before I was grown. And anytime he and his family would visit or we went to visit I was always happy to see him despite the possible "licking". As I got older that didn't happen too much, but he was remembered for licking and I didn't want to take a chance.
The funny thing is that when I started to raise my own children I remembered that "licking" and found myself without even thinking - threatening my own children with a "licking" if I caught them. GROSS!!!!!! How could I??????? But I did and I would smile to myself as I thought of my Uncle Bill. He would be so proud.
My children thought it was gross and some of my nieces and nephews thought so if they were here visiting. It became a useful threat when they were slow to do things I had asked them.
A family tradition? In a way yes.
The other day we were talking about the "licking". I look back on that experience and it brings a lot of smiles and fun memories. Now I can't imagine "licking" and I look back on that and laugh. He did it just in fun and I did the same. It's funny what things you pick up from your family. I told my children the story about my Uncle Bill. He was a good man and knew how to have fun. I know his family miss him very much and I do to. I think if he was here visiting with me we both would laugh and think fondly of the memories of those days. Thank God for family and the memories that stay in our hearts forever. I know when I meet up with him again on the other side I just might say: "Uncle Bill - do you think you could catch me? but don't lick me!!!!

4th of July Memory

2008-07-06T20:29:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure how old I am in this picture. Maybe 11 or 12 years old. I am sitting on the chair in our living room with my cousin David sitting by me. This is a 4th of July memory I have never forgotten. The basic memory of being hurt and how, but the rest of the holiday I have no memory of. Maybe the trauma of it all wiped out all other memories of the day.
My cousins from Montana came to visit. My Mom's brother, Uncle Bill and Aunt Joan with their children. We always had a good time together. And when we get together now, we still have a great time together. Anyway, my brothers were shooting off pop bottle rockets in the backyard and having a great time. They used pop bottles to shoot off the rockets and we all had a fun time watching them shoot off. Well- I always thought it was my brothers and boy cousins who had shot off a bunch of rockets and one of the pop bottles broke and no one cleaned it up. I was running around in the grass and both my feet came across the broken pop bottles. Suddenly I was in terrible pain in both feet and couldn't walk on them. To our horror, I had run into the pieces of broken pop bottle. It sliced up both feet pretty good. We didn't go to the Dr's., but Mom cleaned up the wounds carefully and wrapped my feet up with some white cloth bandages. It was so painful. And I couldn't walk on them.
My sister said that she and my cousin Linda got in trouble for the incident. I don't remember them shooting off the rockets - I always thought it was one of my brothers. She doesn't really remember doing it, but somehow, she remembers getting in trouble for it. Who knows???? And does it really matter who shot the rocket off and didn't clean up the broken glass? NO!!!!!!!!!! It was just an accident. But oh - oh- oh, my feet were hurt. It's funny that now I can't remember anything much else about it. I don't remember how long it took for the wounds to heal up or how I walked - must have been on my heels.
Every year at the 4th of July - I remember that my feet got cut up with a broken pop bottle in the grass. That's it - that's all I remember. And I don't like anyone shooting off any fireworks with glass items. Leave the fireworks to the professionals.
I'm glad there are more important things to remember and be grateful for. I love this country and am proud to be an American. God has truly blessed all of us. Those men who fought for our freedoms we owe so much to. They are great men and left us with a wonderful place to live and standards and guidelines that lead to our happiness. So - HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!

The 2 previous pictures are of my siblings and our cousins - girls and boys. These pictures bring back many memories. We would go to Montana to visit them and they came to Wyoming to visit us. And even the 4th of July memory with my cousins brings a smile to my face. Life - you never know how incidents in our life create memories that can bring happiness to your heart even though it might be an owie. Love these people!!

Family Heirlooms

2008-07-03T20:03:00.000-07:00

I think everybody has certain family heirlooms that they cherish. I have a lot of them and will eventually post about them. Today I have a happy spot in my heart about some special apples and a table.
The following pictures show a set of ceramic apples. The lids come off. My sister sent these to me a few weeks ago and I love them. They belonged to my Grandma Woodcock. Now they sit in my kitchen and every time I look at them, I get a smile on my face. :)

If you look on the shelf on the following picture you will see one of the ceramic apples. My grandmother had them in her home and I am thrilled to have them in mine. My grandmother was quite a collector. She collected salt & pepper shakers. The salt & pepper shakers on the shelf I have now. I actually only had the salt shaker and my Mom found the pepper shaker to match a few years ago and sent it to me. This kitchen of my grandmothers was neat. She was a great cook and many wonderful meals came from that kitchen and that wood burning cook stove.

The next 2 pictures show the linoleum flooring at the ranch house and the old wood table that sat in the kitchen. You can't really see the table that well, but if you pay attention and look closely you will notice that the table has the same linoleum on the top as the floor has. Many games, homework, dinners and projects were done on that table. So many memories. My Mom inherited that table and I remember that we had linoleum on the table top too. Sometimes Dad had to put on a new piece. Wish I had that table now. It was a heirloom. I think my brother has it now.

It is great to have family heirlooms. Heirlooms can be many things - not just things. Memories, pictures and traditions are some. I think most of my heirlooms are in the form of memories and pictures. But the physical heirlooms are priceless and are a visable proof of a special loved one and life lived.
Everytime I see my ceramic apples I can't help but think of my special grandmother. She was quite a lady and I want to let the world know how much I love her and thank her for the wisdom, heritage and love I have always felt from her. I thank her for the apples and the reminder they are to me of her.