Memorial Day

I wanted to do something different for Memorial Day this year.  Sunday evening, around 10:00 p.m., I texted Jacque at work and asked her if she wanted to drive down to Tucson with me.  I haven't been to Tucson in years.  For some reason, I needed to remember some special people in my life, my Grammy - Faye Payne, my Grampy - Cleone Payne, and my sister, Sheri Sue.  Jacque agreed to go with me and we had a wonderful day.  We met Grammy and Grampy down in Tucson for some wonderful memories and a little clean-up project.

It was touching to watch my Dad clean the grave of his sweet daughter, Sheri Sue.  She was 4 months when she died of SIDS.  How grateful we are for the gospel and the knowledge, hope, and faith that we will see our sister, a daughter once again.  What a wonderful reunion that will be!

 

I think some of my favorite memories of my childhood centered around my Grammy and Grampy.  Things I remember and make me smile:
  *  Sunday dinners at my Grammy and Grampys, and especially doing dishes with the Fuller cousins - who were notoriously wicked towel flippers!
  *  Spending the night at their home on a weekend.  It was such a treat!  Any walking to the convenience store down the street for a hand-picked treat.
  *  Watching fireworks on the top of their home - with fresh watermelon!
  *  Grampy's little refrigerator at the lot where he sold pop-up tents.  It was always filled with goodies, especially GOX cookies!
  *  Christmas Eve spent at their homes with all the cousins, stacked in beds and staying up all night waiting for the appointed hour to see what Santa brought.
  *  Watching the interaction between my Grammy and Grampy - they loved each other - unconditionally!

 

Afterwards, Grampy treated us to a wonderful lunch at Olive Garden and then we took another trip down memory lane.

Favorite memories:

finally getting my own room (the pink extended part - which was the garage)

jumping over palm prawns and INTO the stickers

Crashing through the window playing flip over the couch with LaNae

lots of walks home from the park

selling lemonade

Santa making "home" visits

We visited our home on 13th Street, the old elementary school, the "bumps", and of course, our Grammy and Grampy Payne's old home. As we drove by this house, I couldn't help but think of a line in a favorite country song:
"Won't take nothing but a memory from the house that built me."
This old house only has good memories for me inside, outside, and all around.  I truly feel blessed to have such wonderful childhood memories!

Jacque and I headed on to the mall for some retail therapy and enjoyed spending a few moments with Jon and Darleen Frost before they headed to Oklahoma City for dental school.

It was a wonderful way to remember our loved ones.  One couldn't go through the day without also thinking of all those who have sacrificed lives and family so we can enjoy the freedoms that we do.  We truly live in the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Great Women

May we know them....
I know many great women.  They are my best friends, my sisters and sister-in-laws, and my daughters.  I am blessed to have a mom who has taught me by example how to live as I believe, how to live the way our Savior taught, and how to love unconditionally.  How grateful I am for my mom's influence and love. 

   

Elder Russell M. Ballard said:  "There is nothing in this world as personal, as nurturing, or as life changing as the influence of a righteous woman...A mother-daughter relationship is where a daughter learns how to nurture by being nurtured. She is loved. She is taught and experiences firsthand what it feels like to have someone care about her enough to correct her while continuing to encourage and believe in her at the same time."

Another blessing of mine is the sweet influence and love we have from Brad's mom - our wonderful "Grandma".  Her faith is eloquently described in Elder Jeffrey Holland's words:
"A woman’s abiding trust in God and unfailing devotion to things of the Spirit have always been an anchor when the wind and the waves of life were fiercest.”
That is how I would describe Grandma, or Mom to the few of us blessed enough to call her that!

May we raise them......

I have the honor of being a Mom.  I cannot imagine a more noble calling.  Our children are raised and each night I thank my Heavenly Father for each of my children, individually. 

Sheri Dew said: "As mothers in Israel, we are the Lord’s secret weapon. Our influence comes from a divine endowment that has been in place from the beginning. In the premortal world, when our Father described our role, I wonder if we didn’t stand in wide-eyed wonder that He would bless us with a sacred trust so central to His plan and that He would endow us with gifts so vital to the loving and leading of His children. I wonder if we shouted for joy at least in part because of the ennobling stature He gave us in His kingdom. The world won’t tell you that, but the Spirit will.

We just can’t let the Lord down. And if the day comes when we are the only women on earth who find nobility and divinity in motherhood, so be it. For mother is the word that will define a righteous woman made perfect in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom, a woman who has qualified for eternal increase in posterity, wisdom, joy, and influence."

I cannot take credit for the amazing individuals that each of our children have become.  Not perfect, but wonderful men and women who are striving to live the teachings of our Savior in their very best way.  They love the Lord, they love their family, and I am blessed to be a part of each of their lives.
 

May we be them!

I cannot express how much I love and enjoy being a Mom.  Moments of pure happiness mixed with sleepless nights, long conversations, and many prayers have helped me to become a better person.  I have learned how to pray more earnestly, fast with a broken yet hopeful heart, stretch my faith, and become a more devoted follower of my Savior. I have learned to search the scriptures and the conference talks for answers, to understand the importance of temple worship, and strive to eliminate things in my life that would distance me from the promptings of the Spirit.  I know that Heavenly Father has entrusted me with His children and also given me the opportunity to influence many more of His children through service. 

Aaron - Savannah - Tyler - Jenny - Jacque - Aly - Eric:  On Mother's Day, I wanted my children to know how much I love them and how much I love being a Mom.