Mom

EDITORS NOTE Hi all y’all== Well Mother’s day is done– after last night at Curt and Elise’s home I know that Christina, Wendy, and Jeannie and I lived thru it and had a happy one. W e do hope the rest of you did also.

Seeing our new little Mommy Stef on Sat I’m sure she lived thru Mother’s Day if she lived thru that nice shower. I got to go to it and there was W endy and Rosey and it was sooo fun to sit in the middle of all of Stef’s aunts, cousins, gma, mom- and nieces. and were having such a good time together. They were very generous in the gifts for baby Bret and Stef looked so skinny and cute and relieved and ready for her first real Mother’s Day.

I got home in time to accept an invitation from Bruce and Jeanmarie and Beatrice to go to dinner w/them . Then I sat up late to watch Hello Dolly on tv and then Off to choir at 9:15 then to Church to sing by 11. Home in time to dash over to Curt’s for some great KFC and he cooked a whole cauliflower w/cheese and butter– It was great then some cabbage to go with and some good rice. Elise was able to go over to the Muren’s and that was fun for her.

Then B&J, B&W and Beatrice, Janey, Rosey and Max (David Archeleto– I told him he looks just like him).Dallin came later and Robbie, Christina and darlings came too. Richie, Alex and Carolyn. We had a dessert BSS and lots of fun. Course the big gift was the BEAUTIFUL FAMILY PHOTO that Eliz had finished, of our family reunion. I took the big one down and put the new one up and lt look s sooo beautiful. Thanks thanks thanks– yall will LOVE it too.

Anyway the cards, cookbooks, phone calls, flowers and book certainly let m e know I am loved by m y wonderful family. Thank you y’all for being there for me. Mardette called and asked me to come to dinner too– anyway– it was a great tim e to be w/m y children- grandchildren and greats– even got to see baby Bret on Sat so that was super neat too. He weighs the same as my baby Bret who was 8lbs 4 oz– he was 8 lbs 5oz. So fun.

W ell as Curt asked us to tell abt our mothers– I told them that they had a mother who yelled– infact I repented every night for yelling so much to my kids-- and as I PRAYED mightily one night for help the Lord blessed me the only way He knew would work– and that was to take my voice away from me completely. W hich he did for a whole week- I couldn’t talk above a whisper.

I so appreciated Bret for saying that I may have been a yeller but the kids all knew I LOVED THEM. They also reminded me that Old Yeller got shot in the end. It’s almost time– I reminded them that I yelled out the l’s, 2- and 3– and then I moved in and the last one available got bit by Tony Tiger. And I always explained the reason they were being punished and many times they got to choose their punishm ent– like if they were going to stop arguing or do another week of dishes. W hether they were going to sing for me or Tony. Whether sitting still in church was worth not getting a spanking or not. They got a finger w/each reminder and if they didn’t behave they would get another one. But if they straightened up they could erase the fingers. And the number of spanks. If any of y’all think I dealt w/unusual punishment w/my kids– you try it w/7 kids and see if you can do any better– ok– then let me know how I should have done it. I also was telling them of m y own mom– but I’m fraid I didn’t paint too great a picture. She was truly wonderul– she also had to work w/7 kids who were all full of energy and talents. She tried hard to give us every opportunity she didn’t have– band, choir, guitar(for Kent), accordian,piano , organ, saxophone, tap dancing, vocal, reading lessons, Just abt anything we wanted.

I realized that you kids really do not know your mom and why I did things. But I do hope you know that I gave my life for you and hoped you would turn out good as you are now. I know it is easy to blame it on to Mom– (as I have always told you you could– besides it’s always easier to find someone to blame) Just as your kids will blame you. So go for it.

Anyway when you get as old as me– you won’t blame yourself anymore because they have had a chance to make their own decisions. So you are open to a happy mother’s day– as I had. I can’t even remember all the bad things I did– but I do remember the great FHE’s we had– the long car trips as we sang aall the way to Idaho- all the way to church- prim ary- school etc. It helped to keep the cramped conditions we were always traveling in but I had to get you to Idaho to know who you belonged to and who you called gm a and gpa.

I love ally’all Carry On-Carry On– mom-gma etc