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!

50th Celebration

Our family celebrated Mom and Dad....aka...Grammy and Grampy's 50th Wedding anniversary this past weekend. 

It was such a wonderful night.  Mom and Dad didn't want too much of a fuss, so we obliged them this request.  We didn't hire a band or rent out any fancy/schmancy facility and we didn't invited 1000 people.  We did invite our family and their closest friends and business associates and we had enough food for all to enjoy.

We highlighted the night with a slide show of 50 years to togetherness.  This was a lot of fun to put together!  As I scanned image after image of my parents and our family growing up, I was flooded with all sorts of memories.  It was definitely a blast from the past!

(Yes, that is me!)

Our family up in Yosemite...a long time ago!!

(ALL the grandkids!)

The evening was a success and I think we all enjoyed seeing so many family and friends from our past.  We also played a fun game where we learned that Grammy and Grampy still remember with fondness their courtship days.  We each expressed our love to these wonderful people in a notebook that is as unique as each individual cousin and family. 

For me, it was a night to remember.  I loved seeing all the people come and give my parents a huge hug and express the respect they felt.  I enjoyed opening up our home for such a wonderful celebration.  I couldn't have done it without my family....all the behind the scene work that goes un-noticed.  It was worth the effort.  Watching my parents enjoy such an evening was a treasure to me.

They are great examples and are going to be hard to follow in their footsteps.  We will try!!

50 years and counting

Today marks the 50th anniversary of my parents' wedding.  That deserves a special blog.  We are celebrating this special day family style next week.  But we gave them one present early, while Pam was here.

I found some quotes from conference that describe my parent's marriage.  They have always strived to make their family happy, watching over their girls and now their families with love and devotion.  Dallin Oaks said: 
"A good marriage does not require a perfect man or a perfect woman. It only requires a man and a woman committed to strive together toward perfection." 
These two people are not quite perfect.  But they love their family, and each other.  A very long time ago, this wonderful couple met, fell in love, and started an eternal marriage.

(right after Dad/Grampy got off his mission in 1961)

They were quite the dancers back then....

Still dancing...and enjoying each other!

In the last LDS conference, Richard G. Scott spoke on the eternal blessings of marriage.  When I think of my mom and dad, these words resonate within my heart:

"The temple sealing has greater meaning as life unfolds. It will help you draw ever closer together and find greater joy and fulfillment in mortality.....You have times when you are extremely happy, times of testing, and times of trial, but the Lord guides you through all of those growth experiences together."

My parents have had all these types of experiences.  Through everything, their faith has held strong, their example has been a light to others, and always, always...their family has felt their unconditional love.  They are two of my favorite people in the whole world and today, I want them to know how much I love them!!

Happy 50th Anniversary!

Mom and Dad..aka..Grammy and Grampy