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.