Mother Prayers

There are few times in our lives when we are more overwhelmed with raw feelings than in our mothering.  That first glimpse of a newborn brings an emotional wave; different in each of us yet very much the same.  We are amazed with the miracle of life.  Then every step along the way we experience a plethora of new feelings as we respond to the growing child and all the experiences that come along the way.  And in all of that we pray - we pray for wisdom, for strength, for patience, for understanding, for unconditional love, for guidance.  A mother's life is full of prayers.

Builders

At school we used to talk about teaching process to the kids.  The product was not always as important as the fact that they had learned a process.  In life we say "Enjoy the journey". Isn't that the same thing?  I feel that way about homes.  Living in a house isn't as much fun as the fixing and creating and decorating.  Lynn and I have had a wonderful time fixing up our little home here in Milford.  The before and after shots are amazing.  But the in-between was a lot of fun!

Missouri

I have been a family historian since the first time a friend took me to the Genealogical Society as it was called back then.  We caught a bus from Provo to Salt Lake City one Saturday morning while we were attending BYU.  I was instantly hooked.  There in the archives of this building with row after row of microfilms I found the evidence of family members I never knew.  The adventure began and an adventure it has been.  I know them now.  I know their names, the places they lived.  I've seen photos and land plats and birth records and cemeteries. I have come to love my ancestors.

Newborn Grandchild

My Kids

I've been working on family history again; a favorite pastime.  This particular week I have been scanning some old slides that I found in my trunk.  I thought I had had them all transferred to digital but there were a few more.  As I scanned, edited and saved these photos it was a step back in time for me.  And I found myself missing my kids.

The Moment

I guess it's just age that does this to me but it seems as though life is flying by.  I keep taking photos trying to hold on but you can't substitute a picture for the real thing.  So I plead with all to savor each moment.  Life is so precious - especially time with our kids.  Don't miss the moments - the little things they say and do.  The funny things they say.  The laughter they bring.  Their wonder at all life affords.  It is the most incredible season of our lives.

Remembering Keith

In  Isaiah 49: 15 it reads:  Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

Women understand that scripture.  Here I am - approaching my seventieth year and still I think about the baby I lost thirty-two years ago . . . 

The Puzzle

I am such a genealogist!  I am smitten with it.  I like every little tidbit that I learn about the people, places, and stories that have all combined to make me who I am today.  We like to think we are self-made but it is not so at all.  I am the product of all those ancestors who preceded me as well as the product of all those who settled America and made her the land she is today.  Just the fact that I had food to eat every day and a roof over my head and a school to attend were all gifts given to me.  I have so much to be grateful for.  And so I hunt around for the clues to the puzzle that is my history.  I also love puzzles: crossword, jig saw, Sudoku, you name it.  So I couldn't resist writing this little poem.