Party Time in Our Town!!

This week was Arcelia's birthday, so we thought we'd have her and little Arcelia over for dinner on Sunday afternoon.

Singing Happy Birthday was fun for all.

Baby Harry was loving my fleece hoodie - wanted to take it home with him! (It's cold here btw!!)

Not sure what was going on here - maybe a song or something??

Isla loves the baby doll. Dawn said her first word was "baby!"

Eve was hunting for a "Heart and Soul" partner!!

Dawn made the main dish - stuffed chicken breasts - and the lemon bundt cake!! (I made a green and a fruit salad - and set the table!!)

We have plenty of photographers on staff!

Harry the Dad thought we should have a pinata - so we did. It was chilly out but the participants were oblivious to the cold!!

Tetherball was its usual popular self! Grandma Terrill came, and Harry F. even got there in time for dessert, so that was a treat. Best wishes to Arcelia for a great year ahead.

And this was left after Christmas - any claimants??

Snow - it mostly looks pretty!

We are having a storm here in SoCal. According to all the reports it's going to be rainy and cold with snow at 1,000 feet - maybe even 500 feet in some areas.

Phoebe - skiing somewhere in SoCal I believe - late 80's.

I am happy to be inside - and happy that I have nowhere I have to be! But it made me think about snow and cold - and how glad I am not to live in it anymore.

10th East, Salt Lake City, 1972.

Not that I've even lived in it recently, but I do have enough snow memories to know that I don't want to live in it again.

Brian Head - early 90's maybe? Phoebe, Noah and Dad.

It's fun to play in.

Salt Lake City - Douglas Street in 1969.

And it makes for nice photographs.

Bonny and the blue Dodge truck - 10th East in Salt Lake City - 1972.

And it's fun to reminisce about the old days and snow gear - especially Bonny in her red-riding hood coat.

White Oak Avenue - Granada Hills CA - January 9, 1949.

Believe it or not, my snow memories actually go way back - to January 9, 1949, when it snowed for 3 days in Granada Hills. This is a shot of White Oak Avenue - a few blocks from where I grew up. My dad drove us all there to play in the snow. It snowed again in GH in 1967 and 1989, but it was brief - lasted less than a day. Apparently the snowfall of '49 was quite a production.

I mostly remember coming home with snowballs in our hands - and wondering what happened to them!! (I was 4 1/2 after all!!)

Thanks goodness for new forced air heating, well-planned heating ducts, a cozy fireplace, a comfy couch, and a great book!!

But I guess I'd better put some buckets around the family room - rainstorms seem to wake up weak spots in the family room roof!

"Baby it's cold outside!"

Henry sent this to Dad tonight!!

We are expecting a storm - with predictions of snow at 500 feet - which would put it in our back yard.

We'll keep you posted - and take photos.

Sure hope it doesn't kill all the popcorn that's popping on our apricot tree!!

Happy Birthday Sue!!

Today is Sue's birthday!! I don't seem to have photos of Sue that don't have Charlie in them. But I'm pretty sure he's wishing her a happy day too!

From a New Beginnings sometime in the late 90's - with Emily. If those aren't trademark smiles we all know and love, I'll eat my hat!

It has been my distinct pleasure to have worked in Young Women with all the Graham girls - including Sue!! (And I have enjoyed associating with the boys in the family too.)

Sue is a great friend. She knows just how to smile, say hi, and give you a hug in a way that can "make your day!" And she remembers what's going on in your life!

Here's to a great day to a great friend!! May it be a great year also!

Happy Birthday Ry!!

Happy Birthday to our wonderful friend Ry Nebeker - shown here in a previously unpublished photograph.

The year was probably 1963 or 4, since I believe it was a pre-mission photo. The location was the infamous "Hole" where Harry and Ry and others lived in penury. But they were happy - and when they all talk about it, they make it sound positively desirable!

Here's Ry two years ago. In their lovely beachside home in Oregon. And I will tell you that it's a positively desirable setting.

Here's to a happy day and a great year ahead for a wonderful friend!!

Happy Birthday Esme'!

Esme' is moving into her last year of a single digit age. How exciting is that??

I love Esme'. My favorite Esme' story is from the year Bonny and the girls evacuated to our house because of the fires. The girls all carried in large, white boxes that were their "treasure boxes," so named because they had been told to put in "things that money can't buy." They held the boxes in their laps - because the rest of the car was pretty full.

When Esme' got to our house, I asked her if her box contained her American Girl doll and accessories. Her reply, "Oh no, you can buy those with money." What she did have in her box was all her work from kindergarten - she had just started school that year - paintings, pictures, papers. Things that money can't buy!!

You just gotta love a kid who knows what's important - right from the start!!

Happy Day Esme' - and a happy year ahead too!

Happy Day to David!!

David has a way of not letting me take pictures of him. He either moves suddenly, turns his back, or makes some crazy face.







At least I know now it's not just me - he does the same thing for Kelly!! (Or maybe it's just the confluence of the wind, his glasses, and the way he wears his hair!!)

In spite of his refusal to pose for anything but group or family photos, we love David - and we are certainly glad that Phoebe and David had the good sense to choose each other!!

Have a great day - and a great year ahead David!!

Warm and Cozy

Sometimes I wish I had a cat to curl up and sleep on top of my feet, at the end of the bed.

But it would have to be Cosmo!!

Some thoughts on "Heart Day!!"

Over 10 years ago, I was released after serving 4 years as Young Women President in our ward. It was a bittersweet ending - I was ready for a change, but I loved the young women in our ward and it was a little difficult to let go.

With Dawn's new calling and with conversations with Bonny about her adventures as YW president in her ward, I have found myself thinking more about those years.

Years ago at an Education Week, a professor of child development explained that the call as Nursery Leader was the best calling in the church. He explained that it was because you saw growth every week. And his argument has merit - you see growth in Primary, but not every week. And you see growth in Young Women, but it's usually years later when you see the young women you worked with becoming wives and mothers and leaders themselves. And we won't mention how long it might take to see growth when you work in Relief Society!!

And I have opportunities all the time to see the young women I lead and how they have moved forward in their lives - not the least being 3 of our daughters, with whom I had the great pleasure to participate together in Young Women! It is very gratifying to see how most of them have moved forward in their lives and in their gospel service.

When I was released, the Young Women "heart attacked" me - and it was a sweet moment to see the hearts all over our lawn.

I wonder what the neighbors thought??

Thinking back on old days, old times!

Found this shot of Kaye - really the quintessential Kaye I remember so well. Thought I'd post it.

Kaye is holding a glass of water!!

It was from Phoebe and Chad's 1995 high school graduation. I was thinking about how Chad was so at home at our house. How he'd come over after church and just start making himself a sandwich. I'm glad he felt so at home. In fact, I'm usually glad when folks feel at home that way!

I know that Chad and his family are still in regular touch with Phoebe - like any good brother and sister!! And we enjoy seeing him when he pops into Monrovia now and then.

Good friends, good times, good memories!

"When such a friend from us departs, . . ."

Learned via Facebook and Phoebe that our good friend Kaye Burdette passed away today. This was indeed sad news. She had been in ill health for a very long time - and seemed to handle it with grace and aplomb. I think when that happens, we forget about the ill health and think that it won't make a difference, that the person we love will just always be there.

Bonny's briday shower - November 1990 - in the photo - Kaye, Sue C., Margaret M. and part of Phoebe is showing. Kaye was always put together perfectly!!

I worked closely with Kaye in Relief Society, Chad and Phoebe were in the same age group, and Dad served as counselor with Bishop Burdette. We had lots of connections. After they moved to Utah, we did visit them one time - while Chad was on his mission.

Kaye and I went together to Women's Conference one year. There's nothing quite like a road trip to cement your relationship with a friend!!

Even though we had not been in contact for many years, I just assumed that Kaye would always be there to at least send a Christmas card to! We truly need to treasure our friends - and the here and now.

To finish the song I started, "we hold forever in our hearts, a sweet and hallowed memory, bringing us nearer Lord to thee."

Goodbye, sweet friend.

"California Dreamin' on Such a Winter's Day . . ."

I am so enjoying the pictures Kelly took in December.

Makes me want to make a photo album or something!

Saturday Night At the Movies

Dad and I enjoyed wrapping ourselves in a blanket and watching Donna's copy of Secratariat. It was a little bit of a "blast from the past" with the fashion and hairdos.

It was a "feel good" kind of movie. The horse did a great job. The actors did a good job too. But whoever wrote the screenplay needs some coaching - at least in the dialogue department.

But it's always entertaining to watch a winner!

Wedding Bells Are Ringing!!

Today was a lovely and very well attended shower for Mandy! Sue Cornwall gave it - and there was a BIG crowd. Thus I didn't get a lot of photos because it was hard to move around discreetly! But I tried to get some of the "old" faces you might want to see.

For example, Jan and Lindsay Moreland - looking like they hadn't aged at all!!

Mandy and her mom - enjoying the gift opening - lots of lovely gifts - Diane was saying maybe she and Rick would have to rent a trailer to get them all up to Utah!!

Big sister Heather came too!

And of course Erin was there.

I told Mandy I was representing the Terrill women - Dawn had dropped off a gift but couldn't stay - one of her cool "wedding cakes" made with fluted baking dishes. And I made her an apron, so she's covered!!



With Dawn going into Young Women, I found myself thinking back to the days when we are all together in YW - good memories!!

Remembering Grandpa Terrill - aka "Pop"

Today is Ground Hog's Day. And it's Grandpa Terrill's birthday. This year he will have been gone for 20 years. And you look at this photo and it seems like he is frozen in time - great old photos have a way of doing that.

We all have Grandpa Terrill memories - I recall all the times he came up to Utah to go hunting with Harry. He'd be at our house - and he was the most gracious and affable guest. One time he complimented me on the meal I had prepared. I didn't think it was all that great, but he said, "At least it's original. I hate the predictability of packaged or restaurant food."

Another time he gave me a charming little children's plate and cup - they were china - he said they'd been a gift from a client who was congratulating him on his new granddaughter. The cup still sits on the bathroom sink in Bonny's house.


One of my favorite photos is of him holding Hannah when she was a baby. She had casts on her legs. He wasn't famous for holding babies or tending them, but he held her the whole time we were at a family Easter egg hunt at a park. And she didn't fuss or wiggle or squirm. I think they were soulmates for that little span of time.



And those sad days at the end, when he was confused and upset. But he called our house and always knew who I was. One time he called and asked for Harry. And he said, "He's a fine man you know." Obviously part of the memory was still intact.

The photo below is from the last hunting trip he took - with your Dad and Jim.


Think about your Grandpa Terrill - and share a memory if you have one!


And maybe give Grandma a call!

Happy Day to the Friends and Relations!

February 1st gets the month going - 2 birthdays for the Terrill family to celebrate!! First off, our good friend Greg has a birthday today!! Happy Day to you Greg!!

And of course, the Cousin Karls has his big day on the first also!!

Not sure how "politically correct" this shot is - it's from 1996 btw - but those two boys are pretty dang cute!

Have a great day you guys - and a great year ahead!