Day 30 - Month of Gratitude - it's a wrap!

One photo - many blessings!

Grateful for Charlie Graham - grateful to have called him friend.

Grateful for the years of working in YW - guess I still am actually.

Grateful for friends like the Grahams.

Grateful for the gospel and the plan of happiness that assures us that those we loved and lost will be ours once more.

Day 29 - Month of Gratitude

I'm grateful for Shakespeare - and for Ides of March parties.  We haven't had one for a few years now - but the memories are great!

The original Ides party was to celebrate our good friend Ronnie Horton's birthday - and it just caught on from there.

Our kids have noted that high school teachers were always kind of amazed at how much they knew about Julius Caesar!

The version we did was of course abbreviated - but I will never forget the first one Dawn attended after marrying Harry.  After the "performance" she said, "I thought it was much longer."  She had apparently thought we were going to do the entire play!!  I'm impressed that she was willing to got through with it!!

"Beware!!"

That's all I have to say.

Day 28 - Month of Gratitude

I am grateful that we once owned a VW van!  We didn't own it for long - sold it to buy a new piano - and I don't regret that move.  

But it was fun while it lasted.

Everyone should have a VW van at least one time in their lives!

Day 27 - Month of Gratitude

As I scrolled through my photos - which are not organized in any meaningful way - I thought of how I should do a gratitude post of friends - but I'm pretty sure I couldn't stop without writing a book.

Above is Norma - got to know her at SMCNS - and we are still good friends - and life would be a little less brighter without her in my corner.

 

I don't seem to have many photos of my "church" friends - Margaret - we used to chat late at night when our husbands weren't home yet.  She has moved away - and I miss her.

 

Got to know Patte when we went to Grenoble - have stayed in touch over the years.  I wish she was my neighbor!

 

 My BFF from high school days - and my college roomie - and the older we get, the more we value the years we have known each other!

MarDel - in the middle - a friend from church "back in the day" - another "Valley Girl."  We cannot see each other for many years - and immediately connect when we do.

 

Walked in the early a.m. with Shirley and Polly for many years - I love these women!!

 

Anna May and Sandee - 3 of the "Girls of '45" from my Clifton days - the only thing I miss about teaching is seeing my friends each day!

 

3 of my former roomies - love them - they were part of a pivotal part of my life.

 

More "church friends" - Sue and Chris - they still make me smile.

 

Beth - my aide for 17 years!! Miss her every day!

Clifton staff members from a few years ago - loved working with them - stay in touch with some of them.

 

Marcie - made life pretty bearable as the teaching trade got less enjoyable!  And Mario - a janitor is a teacher's best friend!

 

Laurie - a Clifton pal who never disappoints.

As I have typed up these captions, I have thought of dozens more of my friends.

I am truly blessed with wonderful friends.

"I've got plenty to be thankful for!"

Days 24, 25, 26 - Month of Gratitude

Bonny and Harry were not too excited about meeting Santa! Probably why I don't have many kids with Santa photos!

 

Hannah on December 23rd 1990 - when we were gathered with Bonny and Bruce while they opened their wedding gifts.  Hannah said, "Is this Christmas!"

 

The Christmas I was pregnant with Hannah found me prone on the couch for most of the holiday!

 

After Bonny and Bruce's reception, Noah spent the night at Andrew's!

 

The year Eliza took violin lessons, there was a recital at Christmas time.

 

I think this was when we went to see "Cats" as a family - and Bruce came along.  It was at Christmas time too.

I'm thankful that we have the Christmas holiday season - and that it includes weddings and music and birthdays and Messiah Sing-a-longs and family gatherings - and anything else we want to include!!

Days 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23 - Month of Gratitude!

I made the mistake of numbering my gratitude posts - and then missed 5 days!  So I thought I'd get specific and note that I am especially grateful for my 5 sisters.  I love my six brothers, but I don't have the same kind of relationship - probably because they are male - that I do with my sisters.  

And the relationship I have with my sisters is truly special. My mom never had sisters - and felt the lack she always said.  She emphasized - to me anyway - the importance of sisters.  Maybe because of the sisterhood in the church? I don't know - I do know that my sisters and I share special times and truly enjoy being with one another.

And sisters are the best!

As we said goodbye to my mother last June, we were not all together at the same time, but we were there in pairs and trios.  And after her death, we were all together to go and dress her for burial.  To serve our beloved mother one last time - together.  It was a treasured experience.

Let's hear it for sisters!

Day 18 - Month of Gratitude

I am not really an animal person - ask anyone who knows me!  But we have had 4 cats over the years - and I was very fond of 3 of them!  The one shown here is Amado - when Harry taught at the MTC, the elders took in a stray kitten.  When they left, we inherited the cat!  

But he was a great cat - and we loved him.  He disappeared once - and we miraculously got him back.  And then he disappeared again - and we didn't get him back.  We'd had him for 8 years or so, and we truly missed him.

While we still had Amado, Harry got it in his head that Amado needed a playmate - so we went to the Pound and got a kitten.  His name was Baby Kitty - I don't think that was his real name - but that's what I always called him.

He was not beloved at all.  He used the wooden bowl's newspapers as a cat box.  He was not lovable.  We had him for a few years - and we were going away, so we took him over to Alice and Dale's.  Alice said, well, he might run away.  I said no such luck - I'd love to have him run away, but I'm sure he won't.

But you know, he did.  He's probably roaming through the fields of Riverton even now!

 

We then had a wonderful cat we named Elizabeth - the above is not a photo of her - we apparently don't have a photo of her - but we loved Elizabeth - I could tell lots of stories about her.  She died of cat leukemia.  We spent days supporting her in her last efforts to survive.  Bonny and Harry were 6 and 4.  When she died, we had a little funeral and talked about heaven.  In her prayer that night, Bonny said, "And please bless Elizabeth that she will be resurrected tomorrow!"

The above is Cosmo the beloved.  Someone abandoned him on our street.  He was a young kitten.  The lady said, "I think this cat is from your street."  Then she left him.  The kids wanted to keep him - I resisted.  Then Harry F. said, "If you let us keep her, I promise to get my Eagle."  

I agreed.  And he got his Eagle!

 

This looks like a young Cosmo - the wedding presents belonged to Bonny and Bruce.

I am grateful for the cats in our life.  But I am content not to have one now!

Day 17 - Month of Gratitude

I am grateful for the neighborhood we have been privileged to live in for the last 33 years!  We moved in on December 17th, 1983.  We found great neighbors, lovely trees and houses, and some great friends for Phoebe and later Hannah and Eliza.

And Cosmo came to us on this street!

Day 16 - Month of Gratitude

I am grateful for old photos.  Since - and even before - my mom died, my sisters and I have been going through boxes of papers, letters, newspaper clippings, programs, and old photos. The results are really joyful.  We are pretty sure this is a photo of my Grandma Connie with her two oldest children.  It is pretty heartwarming - I didn't know her when she looked like this - it's fun to see the similarities and to see her as a much younger woman than the one I knew.

 

This is my mom as a toddler - so charming!

 

 My dad is the boy in overalls - most of the old photos of my dad have him in overalls.  Charming too.

At first we thought this was my Grandpa Clayton with my grandma - but it's probably pre-mission - when you compare it to mission photos.  And the young lady is just not my grandma.  So was he a ladies' man?  Was he just chatting and someone snapped a photo? Did she send him off and then write a Dear John?

We'll never know.  But we'll enjoy the photos!!

Day 15 - Month of Gratitude

My years at BYU were a wonderful part of my life.  And part of the "wonderfulness" was having some wonderful young women as my roommates.  

 

I am especially thankful that we have stayed in touch - so we are still part of each other's lives.  Having friends that go back more than 50 years is indeed a blessing!

Day 14 - Month of Gratitude

Just came back from VA and Ida's baptism!  Thankful that I got this photo of her in the "Baptism dress" that has gone through the ranks in our family and in our ward even!

And thankful that I have this photo of her mama in the same dress - with the same man!

Thankful for tradition, Terrill-style!

Day 13 - Month of Gratitude

So grateful for this cute girl - shown a few years ago.  She is now almost 20 years old and is a volunteer in Vladavostok, Russia!  

It's not the easiest assignment - but she is doing a cracker-jack job!  We are so proud of her - and love her so much.  

In my family, 9 of the 12 children served missions.  And my parents served as temple missionaries in 1990-91.  My mom was fond of saying that if Harry and I would go on a mission, that 11 of her 12 would have served missions! (Joan and Fred are currently temple missionaries in Chile.)

So it seems right and good to be supporting a granddaughter as a volunteer - and we look forward to many more grandchildren serving!

Day 12 - Month of Gratitude

Grateful for the brief life of our sweet baby Jonah Adam - only 11 days of life for us to share with him.  But he left us a lifetime of memories.  The experiences we had as a family were blessings in disguise - and we are eternally grateful for them - and for the sweet boy who came into our lives to share them.

Day 11 - Month of Gratitude

When Bonny married Bruce, Harry and I said, "He is everything we would have chosen for her!" And it seems like one by one, our children have chosen the best spouse!  What a blessing that is!

Day 10 - Month of Gratitude

21 and counting - so grateful for these wonderful grandkids!  And so grateful that they are so fond of being with one another!!

This "quiver full" is a wonderful blessing for Harry and me!

Day 9 - Month of Gratitude

In addition to my own wonderful parents, I am grateful for Harry's parents.  From the get go, they welcomed me into the family circle.  They taught Harry well - he is a good son - probably because they were good parents.

Harry's dad has been gone over 25 years - and Helen is still with us.  The years have brought profound changes.  But Harry, like others, can say "I was born of goodly parents."

Day 8 - Month of Gratitude

Noah had the special perk of being born to "old" parents!! More times than not, his dad was mistaken for his grandfather!  It was the 6th time to do parent participation nursery school, the 6th time for kindergarten, the 6th time for just about everything I had done with the other 5!

But Noah was patient and pretty laid back and we had a pretty good run! One thing I will say about Noah, you couldn't ask for a kinder, more loving person!

It is great to see Noah with his little son - he wants him to like all the same books, and toys, and songs!!  And he shares all that with Keesa too - he's a great dad.

We recently saw Noah in concert with the Citrus Jazz Ensemble - and he did a great job. He is certainly persistent - a sterling quality indeed.

And I love that Noah loves to go to the Nursery School Carnival each year!

Day 7 of the Month of Gratitude

Can't believe it took so long to find a photo of just me and Hannah - maybe that's what happens when you are the 5th child!!

28 months after Eliza was born, Hannah Rebekah joined our family.  And we were so happy to welcome her.  Once again Dad just wanted one name, but I held out for a middle name.  Finally he said "Okay, as long as the spelling of Rebekah is the biblical spelling!"

Hannah was many things the others had not been - a climber for one thing.  And she insisted on flipping her binky over, so she eventually had to give up the orthodontic version for the regular kind.  She had to wear casts for the first six months to straighten out her feet.  But she learned to crawl and walk anyway - and the Dr. Brown splint she had to wear at night didn't keep her from being a champion sleeper.  Her head hit the pillow and she was out!

Hannah was a spunky little girl.  And she was not easily deterred from her mission.  When she kept asking me for help on her Science Fair project, she finally said, "Can I just use anything I can find in the garage?"  She has maintained this can-do attitude - and has lots of successes to show for it!

Hannah is a woman of many talents - and she continues to amaze us with her accomplishments!! Maybe that's what happens when your name is a palindrome!!

Day 6 of the Month of Gratitude

Eliza was also a child who was long-awaited.  After Phoebe, we thought that perhaps another baby would come right along, just like Harry did after Bonny.  But it didn't happen.  We had moved to California, and I hadn't found a doctor.  I just hoped and prayed.  And finally thought, well, 3 children is not a bad-sized family - maybe this is it.  I thought about going back to school, or maybe going to work.

Once again, prayers were answered in the affirmative, and 6 years after Phoebe was born, another little girl came to our family - Eliza Marie.  We famously tell the story about how her dad wanted to call her "Anna Magdalena" after  Bach's wife - and the Anna Magdalena Notebooks.  

Right after she was born, I said the delivery nurse, "She looks like an Eliza doesn't she, not like an Anna Magdalena?"  The wise nurse agreed with me - and I got to choose the name - I wanted Eliza Roxy after Eliza Roxy Snow, but Harry wasn't in favor of that - thought it would be "too something" so we agreed on Marie.

Funny story, when Eliza graduated from high school, she wrote her name as Eliza Roxy on the card they read as you walk across the stage. We were sitting by the Cornwalls in the stands and Sue said, "I thought her name was Eliza Marie?"  I said, "It is.  But right now I guess it's not!"

I believe the original Eliza - that is, Eliza R. Snow, would be proud of Eliza and her spunky spirit!!

Day 5 of the Month of Gratitude

Phoebe - whose name means "light" was indeed an answer to prayers - and fasting!

I tell the story often - but it bears repeating:  Bonny and Harry kept asking for a little brother or sister, but it just wasn't happening.  The doctor was a little dismissive - probably thinking we had one of each, why did we want more.  We had a Family Home Evening with our children and told them that maybe we need to fast and pray for  the blessing of a new baby in our home.

Prior to this, Bonny had told some people in the ward that we were having a baby.  I think she thought that if she told people, I would make good on it!  So after we had fasted and prayed - and I had found out that I was indeed pregnant once more, we told the children.  They were thrilled - and Bonny wanted to know if she could tell everyone.  We said, sure, go ahead.  Well, she did - and no one believed her!!

Phoebe was a bright light in our home - and still is.  We are fond of noting that Phoebe will often say, although not in so many words, "Well, I'm here - the party can begin!" And she brings joy and happiness and fun with her.

Her middle name Elizabeth means "gift of God" - and she is indeed a gift from God to our family.