Generational Love

I've been touched recently by a couple of things relating to my grandparents. I've been blessed with wonderful grandparents -- I have many happy memories from my childhood of spending time with both sets of grandparents. I often wish that my own children could interact their grandparents as much as I was able to interact with mine, but unfortunately distance has made things like weekly get-togethers not very feasible.

I only have one grandparent remaining alive -- my dad's mother. However, I have so many wonderful memories of them all that it often seems like they are not that far away.

As children, we all think that our grandparents have always looked like we know them -- older and wrinkled with graying hair. So I love to see pictures of my grandparents in their dating years and as young married couples. I try to imagine them with their young families since that is where I'm at in my life now. And, being a romantic at heart, I love to hear and read about their love stories.

The other day I pulled out some old pictures and came across some pictures of my mother's parents that I hadn't realized I had. I think someone gave them to me several years ago after my grandpa's funeral. My grandma died when I was a teenager -- my first loss of a grandparent.

Included in the pile were two pictures of them in their youth:

On the back of the picture of my grandpa was this handwritten note. It just made me smile.

This is a busy world, and we have cares and responsibilities. My responsibilities are not many, but -- after I come into the room after a hard day of tracting and visiting, after a day of meetings -- your picture is here, to remind me of the sweetness and contentment that was mine while I was with you. Honestly, Erma, it brings back that sweetness of yours, which swallows up all those cares and troubles, and fills my heart with contentment again. - You do mean a lot to me, Erma, and I love you. --Melvin

It appears that this was written while my grandpa was serving his mission (German-Austrian Mission, 1928-1930). I love the sincerity of this little note and I know that my grandparents cultivated a deep love for one another. Here they are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary with their family in 1982 (can you spot me?):

And as a little side note, I was struck while looking at these photos how much my mom looks like her mother -- especially her eyes.

My sister-in-law pointed out to me once (after meeting my mom) that she thought Hayley also had my mom's eyes -- what do you think?

My dad's parents also enjoyed a deep, abiding love. Their courtship tells of my grandpa building a little boat to take my grandma out riding in.

They, too, served each other faithfully for over 50 years of marriage.

This is a family reunion picture from 1977 -- and the family kept growing!

My grandpa suffered some stroke-related health issues for the last several years of his life. My grandma was his tireless companion and caretaker as much as she was able to. Their love for each other and their family remained as strong as ever.

My grandpa passed away in 2003. A few weeks ago, in the monthly family newsletter that my grandparents started over 30 years ago, my grandma wrote this message:

LOVE is the "theme" of "Valentine Month", and because I "feel" so much LOVE being passed along in our family, I would like to remind you that Grandpa--(even after more than fourteen years of being blind and paralyzed, and being confined to his bed or wheelchair) really loved all you dear, precious family-members, and was doing everything in his power to help you FEEL that love, and to let you know that he wanted you to pass it to others. When he reached those last few months and weeks of his life, I think he never missed a day of singing "Love at Home". He didn’t have a beautiful singing voice, and he sometimes got "mixed up" with which words or line came next, but he sang that song with all his heart every day--often many times each day--and I often joined in singing it with him. It was such a blessing to recognize all that love emanating from his "helpless" body, and it made me know that he was diligently treasuring his precious family, and was not feeling depressed or deprived. He knew, with all his loving heart, that you (our family) were what really mattered. . . . and so that is the short message that I’d like to pass along in this month that emphasizes LOVE -- Keep his message alive in your hearts! (And, would you please, if you possibly can, get your family together, and sing "Love at Home" at least once this month, in memory of his favorite song--and because there isn’t anything that would make him happier.

Her message brought tears to my eyes in remembering my grandpa and being reminded about the importance of our families -- and love at home.

I am so thankful for a wonderful heritage. What a blessing it has been in my life!

There is beauty all around

When there’s love at home;

There is joy in ev’ry sound

When there’s love at home.

Peace and plenty here abide,

Smiling sweet on ev’ry side.

Time doth softly, sweetly glide

When there’s love at home.

Love at home, love at home;

Time doth softly, sweetly glide

When there’s love at home.

In the cottage there is joy

When there’s love at home;

Hate and envy ne’er annoy

When there’s love at home.

Roses bloom beneath our feet;

All the earth’s a garden sweet,

Making life a bliss complete

When there’s love at home.

Love at home, love at home;

Making life a bliss complete

When there’s love at home.

Kindly heaven smiles above

When there’s love at home;

All the world is filled with love

When there’s love at home.

Sweeter sings the brooklet by;

Brighter beams the azure sky.

Oh, there’s One who smiles on high

When there’s love at home.

Love at home, love at home;

Oh, there’s One who smiles on high

When there’s love at home.

More Dallas Pics

I got some more pictures from my friend from our weekend in Dallas with the boys. Since she had a few that I didn't, I thought I'd share a couple quickly here (and also since this is my journal of sorts).

Here we are at the fancy restaurant:

And getting ready for Moms vs. Boys in laser tag (I think the moms won!):

Fun times!

My Big Sister

I have to do a special post today in honor of my favorite big sister's 40th birthday! (Shh... don't tell!)

I am so lucky to have three great sisters and two awesome brothers. Since I'm the second oldest, I only have one older sibling -- but I couldn't ask for a better one. Sandra is my fabulous big sister and also one of my greatest friends. And she's turning 40 today! (I have to rub it in because she's always older than me! But she knows I'm not that far behind.)

Sandra is 18 months older than me and we have always been the best of friends.

(I wish I lived closer to my mom and could raid her pictures for some of the cute pictures of us together when we were growing up, but this is all I've got.)

Sandra and I were a year apart in school and shared a lot of the same interests. We played Barbies together, played piano duets together, played in the orchestra together (violin and cello) and shared a room for many years. She was my best confidante -- I could always talk to her about anything and everything.

She shared her clothes with me, shared her friends with me, shared her knowledge with me, and shared her love with me!

We were roommates at BYU until she left on her mission. I remember several girls being surprised that sisters would want to be roommates, but we had such a fabulous time together!

I got married a couple of months before she came home from her mission. (I think she's forgiven me for that by now!)

We don't live near each other or talk as much as we used to (thank goodness for e-mail), but I still feel as close to her as ever.



She inspires me. She is kind, friendly, generous, talented, compassionate and all-around wonderful! I love you, sis! Have the best birthday ever!

A Weekend in Dallas

I'm a little late in getting this posted, but better late than never!

A couple of weekends ago, McKay and I had the opportunity to go with some wonderful friends for a great "Mother-Son" trip to Dallas. McKay's friend Jacob in our ward has to see a specialist in Dallas occasionally for his psoriasis. His mom, Eliza, likes to let him invite a friend or two to make something fun out of the trip. For this trip, Jacob invited McKay and also two brothers (Ben and Jacob R.). The moms got invited too and we had a fabulous time!


Jacob's appointment was Friday afternoon, so we pulled the boys out of school on Friday and left early that morning for our 6-hour drive to Dallas. The boys watched Star Wars movies and the moms had fun chatting!

When we got to Dallas, we went straight to a restaurant called Truluck's for lunch. It was a pretty fancy-shmancy place! Jacob's mom had won a gift certificate for this restaurant and wanted to use it before it expired. We felt slightly out of place initially with our jeans and our four boys (they didn't even have kid's menus), but it ended up working out great. The restaurant wasn't crowded (we ate after the main lunch hour) and our waitress was fantastic. We turned it into an etiquette lesson for the boys! I think they were the most impressed with the mouthwash dispenser in the restroom.

Then we checked in at our hotel -- two adjoining rooms. Jacob and his mom went to the doctor, Emily and her boys went down to the exercise room and McKay and I hung out and read and played a couple of games. That night we ordered pizza in and had fun playing some card games.



Saturday morning was the "fun" part of the trip! We ended up taking the boys to a place called Adventure Land, where they had lots of fun stuff like...

Miniature golf...


Laser tag...


Arcade games...


And go-karts...


They had a Saturday morning special that included unlimited miniature golf and laser tag, plus a bunch of game tokens, so we did that. They even had some little miniature golf "tournaments" going on every hour. We did a couple of them. And I even won a prize! The one I did was to see who could get the ball to land in a checkerboard pattern drawn in chalk on the green (without bouncing off the back wall). I was one of 4 people who managed to get any kind of score. I won a free soda from the snack bar! Woo hoo!


The go-karts weren't included in the special price, but we let the boys do one go-kart ride before we left. McKay loved that (and begged to do more, of course)!


We had lunch and then hit the road home, arriving back later Saturday night. (And the drive home is always longer than the drive there!)

The best part of the trip was getting to spend some one-on-one time with McKay.




The second best part was spending time with friends -- both watching McKay interact with friends and getting to know my friends better. Thanks, Eliza and Emily, for a wonderful weekend!

Be My Valentine

Eighteen years ago I received a special valentine. It was rather large, as valentines go, shaped like a heart, and completely homemade (the envelope too!). The message on the inside said this:

I have a question that has been on my mind for a long time and I decided this card was the best way to ask: Will You..."

And then there was a "Lift Here" flap.


Now I'll admit that at the time the thought did cross my mind that this just might be a marriage proposal. I had been dating Brian for several months and things were starting to get more serious between us. We had been introduced on a blind date at the beginning of November through some mutual friends at BYU. We had seen each other frequently since that first date -- I think we saw each other or talked on the phone just about every day (this was long before the days of e-mail or text messaging!). I think Brian's usually perfect grades suffered that semester. Brian had overcome some of his shyness and had finally kissed me a few weeks earlier, just before his 23rd birthday. I had even gone with him up to Logan to meet his family one weekend. He was planning to meet mine over Easter break.

So I wondered at the question on the card and my heart rate picked up a beat or two, but it was a much simpler question instead: "Will You... Be My Valentine?"

And my answer? Yes, of course. The marriage proposal came just over a month later on Temple Square. My answer then was the same. Then came my graduation in April, followed by an extremely long summer apart until our wedding on August 2, 1991 in the Los Angeles Temple.


I love this man with all my heart. Yes, Brian, I will be your valentine. And you will always be mine. Happy Valentine's Day!

Bear Scout

McKay was finally awarded his Bear Cub Scout award last week. He earned it last fall before his birthday in November, but we missed the November Pack Meeting due to travel and the December Pack Meeting due to sickness. So we finally made it to the January Pack Meeting!

You'll notice McKay's Cub Scout shirt is getting a little tight. Now that he is a Webelos scout, he can wear the tan scout shirt. So I bought him one (and made sure to get a really big size for him to grow into), but I made him wear his blue shirt for his Bear award. (However, we forgot to wear his Bear neckerchief...) He can't wait to "upgrade" the shirt!

Way to go, McKay!

Branching Out

If you know McKay very well, you know he's a pretty curious kid. Likes learning about how stuff works, why things are the way they are, etc. You also might know he's a little sensitive to certain things -- doesn't like anything scary or suspenseful. So it's been no surprise to me in the past few years that he tends to pick up non-fiction books. History, science, biographies. There was a time when I had to practically beg him to read fiction.

(Once, he was assigned to read a mystery for school. We picked a Hardy Boys book because we thought that would be fairly tame. He got near the end where the story got pretty suspensful and he practically refused to pick it up again. I had to coax pretty hard for him to finish the book and do his assignment. And once he got through it and knew it had a happy ending, he said he liked it okay. I've learned that if he knows a little about the ending -- whether it's a book or a movie -- he can get through the suspense better.)

This year, I think he's finally discovering the world of fiction. Not that he never read fiction before -- but it was a very slim minority of what he read. But now, I can't even remember the last non-fiction book I've seen him reading. It's great to see him branch out and overcome some of his insecurities a bit. (Now I've just got to keep getting some of that non-fiction in him too!)

His latest "obsession" is a series called the Underland Chronicles (by Suzanne Collins). The first book is Gregor the Overlander. He checked it out from the school library because he said he saw it on the shelf and remembered a friend last year had read it. There are 5 books in the series and he's devoured the first two. I checked out the 3rd for him today and when he got home from school, he hurried through his homework (a first!) so he could start reading. I made him put it down for bedtime but he was already over halfway done. He made some comment like, "I thought it was going to be scary, but it's not!" I'd better hurry and request the next two -- he'll be asking for them soon!

It's funny because it seems like every time he reads a book, he tells me it was the "best book ever" and is his new favorite. He's done that with several Andrew Clements books. It makes me happy to see him get so excited about books and reading.

And I have to admit, McKay's not the only one who has branched out recently. I myself have rediscovered reading "for fun" the last several months. It's been a long, long time since I have allowed myself time for reading. And now that I've started, I can't seem to stop. My list of books to read "next" keeps growing! I'm still struggling a bit with that elusive balance of making the time for reading while not ignoring things in my life (like dishes or laundry or even dinner...). Maybe someday I'll figure it out. I think I just need to keep the books out of my kitchen, because if it's sitting on the counter, I'm bound to pick it up and start reading there in the middle of the kitchen and before I know it my day is half gone. I'm almost embarrassed to admit how much of my reading is done standing (yes, standing!) at the kitchen counter.

So here's to books and stories and imaginations and libraries and kids who read!

Winter in Texas

We've enjoyed having more of a winter season since living here in Amarillo -- a few small snow storms have come through. We still have lots of pleasant days of milder weather, but it's not hot and humid like Houston. And of course, we don't have the snow like many parts of the country, but it's exciting for us!

Last week, we had a storm system come through with a bit of snow that just coated everything so pretty! So I bundled up and got out the camera to try to capture some of it.

(I loved how all the individual blades of grass were coated with a layer of snow/ice -- hard to see in thie picture!)

Of course, this was also during the time that one of our two heaters was not working (we were without it for about 3 weeks!). We had a space heater in the kid's bedroom and just wore lots of layers in the house in the meantime. But now it's hopefully fixed -- we'll see how much more winter we get!