Sirens

Sirens were going off about thirty minutes ago. And they caused a knot in my stomach. My oldest child, who recently got her drivers licence has my 2 youngest in the car with her. They are running an errand and getting frosties. So how long will sirens make me feel like this? Will it be the same amount of time I spent gritting my teeth and gripping the door while she learned how to drive? Or will this feeling last until they all leave for college?

Lost Child

I haven't really lost her - but she has pointed out that the blog is definitely missing her presence! So this is for Eliza. I want her to feel loved and not left out! These are some of my favorite pictures of her. Each picture shows a small part of her personality.



Eliza shows her emotions. Her face - cannot hide what she is thinking or feeling. Lucky for us - her gorgeous smile indicates her most often expressed emotion - joy. Eliza laughs easily. If I were to make a soundtrack of my life - it would include her laugh (as well as the sound of her gagging every time she brushes her teeth!)



Eliza Is not afraid of imagination. From the time she was little - Eliza could use her imagination to keep herself entertained for hours! Now that she is older - she uses her imagination to entertain others.



Eliza loves to read. This picture was taken on the day she dared to cut off most of her hair. She was bold to do it. But after it was done -- she went back to her reading. Her favorite gift this year was a kindle. She is usually happiest when she is in the middle of a great book/story. This picture makes me smile.

20 years ago. . .

Twenty years ago this week, Steve and I flew from Utah to Albany, NY so that Steve could meet my parents. At Christmas time, a few months earlier - I had submitted my mission papers -- so my parents were quite concerned when I called the stake president and asked him to hold the papers. Steve was the reason. So they wanted to meet him. Little did they know that he had a ring in his pocket and wanted to propose to me while we were home.

The first night we were there - I fell asleep on the sofa and my parents asked Steve if they could talk to him. ( He claims that he asked to speak to them . . . ) So the three of them gathered in my parents bedroom to have a conversation. He wanted their help in the proposal and they wanted to talk him out of it. They talked about all the education he could complete while I was on a mission. They were concerned about his major in English and stated desire to be a poet. (I don't think he was ever really serious about that career track.) He talked about how much he loved me and his plan to ask me to marry him while we were in the Sacred Grove the next day. They tried - but they couldn't talk him out of it.

And I am so thankful. The next day we drove to Palmyra, NY and toured the sites there. After a visit to the Grandin building and a hike up Hill Cummorah, we went to the Sacred Grove. Snow was falling. We walked out into the trees and Steve pulled out a ring and asked me to marry him. He was afraid that the ring would fall into the snow -- I was nervous about breaking the news to may parents. I had no idea that they knew what was happening. . .

So we were married 6 months later in the Salt Lake City Temple. And life has been good. So good. And my parents love Steve. And I love him more than I did 20 years ago. So much more.

Christmas decorations still up!

This is the last of my Christmas decorations.



The other decorations all came down by January 2nd but I love this door of Christmas cards. I love seeing most of the people I love in one place. I haven't seen many of these people in years! Some, we see only once a year. But I love, love, love them. Usually, I just place the cards in in a basket. But this year the pictures went on the pantry door in our kitchen so we could see them every day. I will miss them but I guess it's time to say goodbye. Until Christmas. . .

P.S. I have handpicked all of my children-in-law off this wall. I'm just now beginning to see why my Mom and her friends used to fantasize about their children marrying each other. I am blessed that we don't believe in arranged marriages. . . but at this point in my life as a mother -- it is sounding like a good idea. I guess I will just have to trust my children - the way my parents did.

Daddy-Daughter Dance

This was Steve's 10th and last Daddy-Daughter dance at the elementary school. Grace was his gorgeous date! Before the dance - we invited some of Grace's friends and their dads over for dinner. It was fun to see all the couples dressed up for the luau theme. These girls are all so blessed to have wonderful dads who show them what a good man is!