My best little buddies!

Jenny with her boys, trying to catch up with me and the girls in Dumbo.
Love those Orange Swings in California Disney.
They are one of our most favorite rides. To bad Paytie is still to short.

My beautiful girl and her baby!

Posing Paytie, I sure love that darling girl.

I cherish every minute that I get to spend with my kids and their children. I am so grateful that the little ones love being with me and always want to spend time at our house. Being a mommy is the thing that brought me the most joy, and now as a Grandma, the joy continues. I don't know what I'd do if they ever have to move far away from us.

This is so true!

Thought for Today

"Mothers believe we are responsible for our children from the womb to the grave. We are connected by the longing to protect them after they leave our bodies, so the impetus for making this planet safe for them lies with us. Mark my words: It's the soccer moms who will change the world."—
Kyra Sedgwick, from O, The Oprah Magazine July 2008

Oprah was interesting today. It really made me reflect on my path in life and the wonderful joy being a mother has given me.

As life goes on, even when our children are grown, you never stop being their mom. You want to shelter and protect them from pain, emotionally and physically, but alas you have to step back and let them muddle through, stepping in only as needed to love and support. Believe me, as our children age and mature your love only grows stronger. You begin to get a small understanding of how our Father in Heaven loves and supports us as we try to make our way back to Him.

Surprise, I've been published!

A few weeks ago my sister Laurie in Utah called me from Costco. She was so excited because she was looking at a new Cookbook that was for sale, and she found a recipe by me in there! I didn't even remember submitting one. But after she reminded me about an email invitation for entries to a LDS worldwide ward cookbook a few years ago, I vaguely remembered sending one in. Then I remembered that they had said that if they used your recipe you would get a copy of the book for free. I wasn't expecting it to be done as nicely as it has been and I'm excited to try some recipes.I recieved a copy in the mail a few weeks after it was for sale in Utah. Of course I couldn't wait to see if I truely was going to get one for free. So I had my Mother-in-law pick one up for me when she went to Utah.
Really I don't use recipe books that much but I have a lot of them in my kitchen. I love looking at them for new ideas. Honestly I'm the type of cook that just cooks to my liking. It's very hard for me to exactly repeat a recipe a second time. It is always a challange when someone asks me for a recipe of something I have made because I just don't use recipes, and if I start out using one, I don't stick to it.
They are in the process of collecting recipes for a second volume, so look into it if you have something terrific to share.