The Perfect Costume

This may not be for everyone, but if you:

• Own several Rubik's cubes
• Know how to solve the cube in 1 minute 13 seconds
• Already blew your Halloween budget on a giant pumpkin
• Need a costume you can make all by yourself

Then this is the perfect costume!

Whew! I really dodged a bullet this year. After everything that happened with my Mom, Halloween costumes were the last thing on my mind. Fortunately, Evan has CUBES on his mind. I tried watching a youtube video with him once to learn how to solve one, but my eyes just glazed over. Not only is he smart enough to solve the cube, but he came up with a creative costume idea. We spent 86 cents on a square box and $4.99 on paint. We already had electrical tape in the tool box. As a bonus, Evan did his art project for the week. All I had to do was take the pictures!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

More Deja Vu

Eight years ago I was mom to two "big boys" and two "little ones".

Some of our homeschool friends decided to put on The Wizard of Oz.
The big boys went to practice every week while I watched the little ones
and helped with costumes, sets and props.
It was a big project directed by my friend Cathy.

Aaron was cast as one of the farmhands, Hickory
and also played an Ozian later in the show.
Here he is with his friend Michael who played Zeke.

Ryan was twelve at the time and had the title role of
the Wizard himself. He also played a munchkin in the show.

The little ones really enjoyed The Wizard of Oz.
In fact, I snapped a picture of them waiting for the show to start.

Since then, they've had the chance to perform
in a number of different plays.
But never in The Wizard of Oz . . .
until now!

Although I missed most of the practices caring for my mom,
I was able to be there for the final week. Once again I
helped with costumes, sets and props.
Once again, we used lots of glitter.
Once again, my friend Cathy directed the show.
And once again, I have a twelve year old son who played
The Wizard!
Evan also played Professor Marvel (in a gold turban!) and the gatekeeper.
Marianne didn't quite look like herself, but she gave fantastic performances
and Miss Gulch and The Wicked Witch!

And what about those big boys?
This time Ryan was in the audience, with his wife and baby girl.
Aaron will get to watch the video when he's home from college at Thanksgiving.
What a difference eight years makes!

The End of the Line

I come from a long line of strong women,

so I like to think of myself as a strong no-nonsense type of gal!

But these pictures tell a different story.
Apparently, I'm a bit of a softie.

Exhibit A
First, I let this guy buy a giant pumpkin.
55 pounds!
He has plans for an enormous jack-o-lantern.
To be completely honest,
I didn't just let him buy it--I paid for it.
He is my baby after all.

Exhibit B
I let this girl
(pictured here as an Indian with her cute friend
at the YW big sister/little sister costume party)
break into our stash of Halloween candy!
But I have a good excuse . . .

She needed the candy bars to make these cupcakes!
They were gorgeous and delicious, but it's a slippery slope
opening that Halloween candy. You know what happens!


Exhibit C
It's a good thing this little one can't talk yet.
The way she smiles in that adorable
hat her mom made,
I'm afraid I'd give her anything she asked for!

I can't help it!
Who wouldn't be a softie when
you've got this sweetie grinning at you?

I can be strong and soft at the same time, right?!

Time to Celebrate!

As a little girl, I thought I could do anything.
This was mainly due to my father.

I knew he really believed in me.
Over the past weeks, I have heard my Dad brag about me
and although I was slightly embarrassed, it was good to know
that he is still my biggest fan!

This weekend we got to celebrate Dad on his birthday.
We started off with balloons, one for every year of his life!

I made two of Dad's favorites for dinner, so we feasted on meatloaf and spaghetti!

My parents met when Dad was just 14 years old, so this
was his first birthday in many years without his sweetheart.
Of course we missed Mom terribly, but Dad was sure to include
her by telling some of our favorite stories about her.

My parents were married in the St. George temple in 1962
and had receptions in Las Vegas and Salt Lake.
Then they honeymooned by driving to their new home in Minnesota.
My Dad had wonderful memories of a Boy Scout camping trip to Yellowstone,
so he thought it would be fun (and cheap) to camp by Old Faithful.
My Mom was proud to be making dinner for her new husband
and had just gotten out their pork chops when she was rudely interrupted
by a couple of bears. The bears wanted the meat and Mom was scared,
but she wasn't sacrificing their dinner!
She ran away from the bears and finally climbed up
on the picnic table and yelled at them.
Worst of all, several men in a nearby campsite were enjoying the performance.
They sat laughing for several minutes before finally coming over to scare away the bears
by banging on some trash can lids.

The pork chops were safe and dinner was served,
but Mom never recommended camping on your honeymoon!

~~~~~~~~
After plenty of stories and gifts, it was time for birthday cake.
The boys made sure that Grandpa had a huge flame to blow out!

Evan was impressed (and a little disappointed) that Grandpa
blew out the candles so quickly!


Dad reminded us all that he is getting a little older.
He says he is celebrating his 54th birthday this year.
And I must apologize for my mistake.
I guess I need to work on my math skills.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Dad!

Becoming Glorious

At my Mom's funeral service, each of my siblings spoke about a Christ-like quality that our mother exemplified. My youngest brother David discussed gratitude. He even included my favorite scripture about gratitude:

And he who receiveth all things with thankfullness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more. D & C 78:19

I have a hard time receiving ALL things with thankfullness, but I'm working on it. Sometimes I don't like to be on the receiving end. I'd rather be the one doing the giving. Other times, I receive trials or experiences that are tough and I don't feel especially grateful. Thank goodness there are plenty of things that are easy to receive with thankfullness.

Delicious food brought to my doorstep!

Gorgeous flowers!

Friends who bring balloons and
children who can't wait to hold them.


Beautiful babies like my newest niece Brooke!


And finally,
a daughter who takes lovely photos so that I have something to post on my blog!

What have you received with thankfulness?

Getting Ready . . .

for Halloween.


My kids say I'm a natural and don't need any more practice.

Thankful on Tuesday

Today I am thankful because:

• We read the story of Alma the Younger for family scripture study
• I went to Costco for the first time since August
• My Dad went back to work for the first time
• I got a massage for a pinched nerve/sore muscle
• Two wonderful sisters in my stake made it possible for me to get the massage
• I started reading Consciousness Beyond Life on my Kindle
  
• I received some lovely cards in the mail
• My sister-in-law Denise called to check on me
  
• I read a sweet email from my sister-in-law Susan
• The Lord blessed me with a wonderful mother

Celebration of Life

We are blessed to have some wonderful photographers in our family. Thanks to them, I know we got some wonderful pictures of the funeral. My cousin Kristin is a professional photog and she made a lovely post about my mom on her blog. Click Here to see her beautiful pictures.

If you would like to read the talk I gave in tribute to my mom Click Here.

In Case You Were Wondering . . .

. . .This is what the world's cutest baby looks like!

Beautiful Brianne at her Great-Grandma's celebration of life.

Really Home

Today my mom went home. She passed away peacefully early this morning. Funeral services will be held on Friday, October 8th at 11:00 AM at 24820 Las Brisas Rd. in Murrieta.

Home

On Wednesday we brought my mom home for hospice. To clarify, we didn't actually bring her home; she rode in a medical transport van. I came along for the ride and I was glad I did because the van was driven by a 20 year old. :) It was funny because at first the radio was on a rap station. I didn't mind since the volume was down fairly low. After about 10 minutes the guys up front started whispering and then changed the radio to an oldies station. I'm not sure if it was for me or for my mom, but I did like it better than the rap music.

To clarify further, hospice doesn't mean that someone (other than us) is there to care for my mom. It just means that a nurse comes by once or twice a week. They did prescribe several medications that have definitely made my mom more comfortable. They also gave us a thick binder that they said was full of important information. I looked through the entire thing and except for the phone number on the front, I couldn't find anything useful. I did get a kick out of the "home health" page that had helpful suggestions such as "each person should have their own toothbrush." Even more ridiculous was the page on "how to recognize when the patient has passed away." Seriously?! I hope no one needs instructions to figure that one out.

All that aside, we have all been grateful that Mom is home. It has been more peaceful for her and much less stressful on the rest of us. The hospital is a difficult place to sleep, rest or find any peace.

We were able to watch General Conference together as a family and spend time with Mom. We know that our time together is very short and are grateful for these moments.

This photo was taken in May, and I never would have imagined I had just a few short months left with my Mom.

Are you making the most of moments with your family? We never know how much time we have together, do we?