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.

Life is Crazy . . .How does it go so fast?

It's already been a whole year since Adam joined our family, yesterday was his first birthday. We are always dissappointed about the miles between Greg and Jess and the rest of our family, and having to miss out on being with them as these milestones happen and as they grow and change is sad. So we have to rely on sweet Jess to always be up-dating their blog and sending us pictures.

Just look what a whole year can do! Adam is so cute and we wish we were able to be around him more. Sorry to have missed your first birthday sweet baby. Have mommy and daddy bring you down here and we'll all go to Disneyland, again!

Now that you can see over Dumbo's head I'm sure you'll enjoy it more.

Our First Baby!

This picture was taken March 13th, 1975 when we brought Jenny home from the hospital. We were so pleased to be parents with a darling new baby girl!

Gene and I have been parents for a long time now, it was Jenn's 34th birthday yesterday. She continues to bring so much pride and joy to us; her earthly parents, and has from the day she was born.

There are several dates that become and remain special to us through the years as they pass. Every birthday of each of our children (and each of our grandchildren) brings tender feelings and moments of deep reflection to me. It always brings memories of the day of their birth, and of their baby years. Oh, the time goes way to fast!

I am so grateful for the blessing of each child that our Heavenly Father blessed us with.

Happy birthday my sweet girl, I love each and every day that we still get to spend together! I love you!

More old photos

March 13th, 1975

Brand new Parents

Gene was so excited to be a daddy! He had wanted a girl, but hadn't told me that. He even gets the credit for giving her her name. There was no arguing with him.

She had to be his Jennifer Lynn

After about 6 months Jenny became a "happy baby" maybe it just took me that long to get the hang of it myself.

During Gene's "softball years" this is one way Jenny and I spent a few evenings each week.

August 2, 1975

Dave and Karie Bourne's wedding day

That dress was a problem for a nursing Mommy and her baby!

This one was taken Nov. 15th, 1975 on Gene's 2 6th birthday, he looks so young. Jenny was so sad when daddy blew out his birthday candles.

New Layout

This is Jenny. Here is a layout I did recently of my parents with Kylie on her baptism day. My mom made her dress and Kylie was pleased as punch with it. I was too. Look how beautiful she looked.

The real reason I'm here though isn't to show off my page. My mom asked me to come on here and update her look. Check it out and leave her some feedback about HER new layout. I hope you like it and I know she hopes so too.

If you are reading this in Google Reader, then come over here and look! I think you will be glad you did!

The Perfect So-Cal day!

We are among many Southern California residents who have annual Disney passes, and today was a beautiful day, a perfect day for Disneyland! It was about 80 degrees and we met Kevin, Brandi and their kids there and then Julie and Dustin met us too. Saturday is not the best day to go to Disneyland but it is the best day for the bread winners in the family. The best thing about having passes, as anyone who has one will tell you, is that it affords a whole different experience than when you don't have one. If you can only get on 3 or 4 rides because of the lines it's O.K., if the park is crowded and hot it's O.K. because you can just go home and then go again when ever you want to. I'm sure I go more times every year with our grandkids since I have my pass, than I did the whole time when our children were growing up. We were there and in the park by 10:30 and home by 3:30 and don't feel shorted at all. We'll be going again soon, probably even next week with the Stockards.

Why I Do The Things I Do

I am starting to understand why Grandmas are the way we are. We cater to our grand kids in a way that we didn't quite have the patience for with our children. I have this cabinet in my kitchen, that when we put it in, was intended for the storage of potatoes and onions. That ended up just being a mess,

so now I have a much better use for it.

As the grand kids came along and spent a lot of time with us, we started adding baby locks on our cupboards so they wouldn't get into them. You know, kinda baby-proofing, but I felt bad keeping them out of everything, thus stifling their inquisitiveness. I wanted them in the kitchen with me too. So now I keep my Tupperware and other storage lids in there. It is very frustrating when you are trying to find the right lid for a certain container. But I love it when they find the special little play spot I have reserved in my kitchen especially for them. They love it and it keeps them busy too. Isn't Adam darling?
My grown-up kids and kitchen helpers think I'm crazy not to be more organized, but I bet that when they become as wise as me, they will have a special little spot for their grandbabies too.

Am I Really a Blogger?

So . . . . my favorite blogs quickly become my less favorite blogs when they aren't updated very often. You know, we all have our favorite ones, but when they aren't updated very often it's disappointing. Well, here I am only about 2 months into my blogging and I'm guilty of that very thing myself. I guess it's because I always feel that I need to have a picture to add to the interest. My pictures on my computer are kind of a mess, they need some serious organizing. And then there's the question of what to share and how to make it interesting. I love blogging and keeping up with my people this way, but I'm just a rookie.