Marching On

My how time flies when your head is stuck in jet lag.

Add daylight savings time and you have one messed up woman.

These are the things I have a foggie recollection of happening:

My Connor celebrated his 9th birthday

My parents celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary

We celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary

We picked out some pretty flowers in remembrance of our sweet baby Caroline

My Denim will celebrate his 3rd birthday this week

My brother celebrated his birthday

and my husband's niece, Taegan decided to get baptized

Life is good and if you don't slow down you might miss some of the best parts

Dorothy May

Today is the anniversary of my Mother in law's birthday. She was born January 18, 1924. She lived her entire life in the state of Utah and most of it within a few miles of Ogden. She ventured out a few times for TDY and to come visit her children as they moved around, but mostly she was a stay close to home kind of girl.

She spent most of her life in the single lane, though her few years of marriage gave her a son and daughter that she adored. Her children gave her 9 grand children and before she passed away her great grand children numbered 18.

She bought a cute little house up on 3rd street where she lived for more than 45 years. She loved her little house and kept it neat, tidy and updated. She loved to go uptown to shop and she had the same hairdresser that she visited weekly for over 30 years.

Mom was passionate about some things and passive about others and you never knew when the passion might come out. She had closets full of clothes and enjoyed jewelry and shoes. She loved food as long as it was not chicken, and a snack of cheese, nuts or candy was always welcome.

My husband and I were with her most of the last month of her life. It was good to share those quiet moments. She had been my mother in law since I was 18, we shared our lives for 35 years. I loved her very much and I miss her. I hope she thought I took good care of her grand children and was a good wife to her son.

Dorothy May Butcher was a mother and grandmother filled with love for her family. Happy Birthday Mom.

Happy Mother's Day

Today is the day we honor mothers.

I have a wonderful mother. We grew up together--you see she was 17 when she married my dad and 18 when I was born. Now we are both grandmothers. At the moment we both have 14 grandchildren. Mom does have 18 great grandchildren, with more on the way. She does her best to keep up with all of them.

My mom is amazing. She can create and do things that are so beautiful. She is never idle, if she sits for a few minutes in front of the TV she also has her hands busy crocheting, knitting, cross stitching, tatting--you name it, she does it. She is a little bit of a lady at just 5' but she knows how to get her point across just fine. She is clever and resourceful. Mom calls every week to keep me abreast of my family that lives so far from me and I enjoy our visits very much. I love to laugh with my mother. The most important thing she ever taught me was how to be a good wife. She is an amazing wife to my father, kind and patient.

A few years ago I was given a partial quilt square that David's grandmother had made. I wanted to make a wall hanging out of it for my mother in law. My mom helped me come up with a sweet phrase to express my sentiments, she helped do the cross stitch, my dad made the frame. Now the piece of art hangs in my home. It says:

Praise God for Mother's gentle hand
and love we cannot understand
Praise Him who sent us from above
the blessing of a mothers love

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers in my life, my own mom and the mothers of my grandchildren. You are all amazing and I love each of you. Happy Mother's day to those who nurture children, young and old.

SNOW

I received an email from my friend Shelley Burnette and she had this thought by her signature

Smile More, Pray More, Complain Less

It is snowing today. We live in a area where snow is rare--except this year. My mother in law HATED the snow (maybe because she was single, had to go to work and lived where it snowed regularly--maybe history makes a difference in your perspective?). One year she was visiting us when a rare snow storm came up. She was so angry, but we were so happy with the prospect of a day off and time to go and play with the children in a new and fun way.

It really, truly is your own choice in a given situation whether to smile or complain. Quite often I find that prayer is just the tool needed to change my attitude. Thank you Shelley for today's living instructions:

Smile More, Pray More, Complain Less