Why the World Needs Good Fathers

In the last year I have had the wonderful opportunity to visit all of my children. It is so fun to see them in their natural habitat and to watch how they interact with the other wildlife in the vicinity, especially when it's their children. As I watched all of them with the little ones, I was reminded once again how important a good mother and father are to a child. Right now I'll concentrate on the Daddy portion of the family.



In our home it started with a really great father my husband Kevin.........



What a great father he has been to our children. Always putting Myself and the kids before his own needs and wants. A sense of humor, and a quiet nature have made him an ideal dad. It gave our girls an example of the type of man they would marry, and it gave the boys a prototype to follow, and follow his example they all have.



When it comes to Dads, it's hard to beat Jayson. My respect and love of him has grown in direct proportion to the number of kids he has. His kindness and patience with all his children, boggles the mind. When he walks in the door of his home he is surrounded by a group of adoring fans. If ever love was spoken it is here in this home.

Mike, my daughter Alicia's husband is really FUN. When I see him with his boys it makes me wish that I could be little and play around with him the way that they do. His love of his kids just radiates from his face when he's with them, and you can tell that they are secure in the knowledge that they are loved by their father.

Joel, my youngest son has sacrificed much of his time to care for the needs of his children. As a soldier in the army he has spent long hours away from the people that he loves most. I know for a fact that the 15 months that he spent in Iraq were the hardest of his life. Because of the times when he has been gone, the moments
that he does have with his children are more precious to him then to those of us who see our kids every day.


Alex, Megan's husband isn't a dad yet, but I've seen him with babies and his younger siblings. From what I've seen, I have no doubt that he'll be one of the great ones.

The common thread with all these fathers is the unbounded love they have for their kids. What a difference these children will make in the world when they grow up, and in a big part, because of truly great fathers.

Twilight Night

Yes, I went to to see Twilight last night. I went with a group of what seemed like 2000 14 year olds. Just the thought of all the texting possibility in that place was enough to make my head spin. Before the movie began we were shown a few previews that filled all of their hormone-filled teen hearts with lust and desire, and then they brought on the Harry Potter trailer, and all them cheered. I have to say that I pretty much wanted to cheer with them but thought that I might embarrass my date, who just happens to be my husband. I kept wondering if I was the only Grandma there, and I still think that's a possibility. But there are some things you just want to do, and it was worth it. All through the movie the teen girls giggled, and sighed over Edward. I'm just glad that I'm not as silly as those girls. I didn't giggle at all. I only sighed.

I enjoyed the movie. There are a couple of things that I wish they could have done different, but all of those things would have cost more money than the movie makers had to spend on Twilight. Some of the special effects were a bit lame, but I thought that the acting by Robert Pattenson and Kristen Stewart was pretty good. I also really liked Bella's Dad and felt that he nailed the part. I'm hoping that they will make a ton of money on this film so that they can sink more of it into the next one.

Well that's all folks. Have fun at the movies.

The Last Walk

Ten years ago our third son Joel went away to college, leaving a distraught and lonely Megan stuck with two of the most boring humans on earth (Mom and Dad). As the days went by, and Megan was not coming out of the depression, Kevin and I then made a decision to find a friend for her. Around that same time, Megan and I became volunteers at the Humane Society, where we would go every week and help clean out the cat room. As we did this, we would check out the dogs. We looked at several different dogs, but none of them seemed like a good fit, until we saw the little tri-colored beagle. Undersized but enthusiastic, she won our hearts in an instant. Her name was Sara, and in a couple of days she had adopted us. An immediate change came over Megan. Every day when she came home from school I'd send the dog out to great her, and who can resist a happy, tail wagging dog? The first year of having Sara in our house Megan claimed that she still liked cats better then dogs, but after a time her allegiance shifted, and now I'd say she's a hard core dog lover. I'm writing as if this was all about Megan and Sara, but this is really about all of us and Sara.

I was the kid that dragged home every stray animal that I came across. All I ever wanted was a dog. With a sister having sever asthma this was not a good idea. That didn't stop me, I persisted until Dad and Mom broke down and gave me a dog for Christmas, and I have to say that I would rank that gift as the best Christmas gift I've ever received. He was a little brown mutt that I named Barney. I loved that dog and he followed me everywhere, sometimes that wasn't so good. If I wanted to go to my best friend, Karen's house, I would have to sneak out of my house and run fast to her house, to get away from Barney. About an hour after I had successfully dodged the dog, he would track me down and be crying at the Swenson's door. I loved the dog anyway, and was devastated when he disappeared. For weeks after he was gone I would search the neighborhood and countryside calling and whistling for him. He never came back.

Along came Megan's dog, Sara. She and I became fast friends and I loved how she was so happy to see me every single time I walked in the door. We spent many hours walking, reading and napping together. If I lay on the sofa she would lay on my feet to keep them warm. Soon after she arrived in our house we discovered that she had a marvelous singing voice, and I loved to hear her bay, (most of the time) at the bunnies, squirrels, and anybody who rang the doorbell. She was smart and easily learned a boat-load of cute tricks that she would perform for anybody that came to the house. She loved the next door neighbor Pauli, and spent time laying next to her on the bed when she was dying of cancer. Every night when Megan went to bed Sara slept next to her like a little sister. When we walked past the bus stop every morning all the girls would want to pet Sara. In other words she was a well loved dog.

You may be wondering why I'm writing this post. Well, today was Sara's last day with us. A couple of months ago we noticed a change in Sara. She was having some problems of which I will not detail here. We kept hoping that it was just a faze and would go away. After some time we realized that it wasn't a faze and we would have some difficult decisions to make. Yesterday I called the vet and made arrangements to have her euthanized. This was a heart wrenching choice to make, and even now I can't stop weeping. This morning we took her on her last walk, fed her, and that was it. When I look back on the ten years she spent with us and the pain at the end, I'd still do it all over again. When I walked in the door from work today, there was no Little Buddy to greet me, and it seems a bit lonely. Here are some of the things that I learned from Sara.

1. Always show friends how happy you are to see them again.

2. Every day is the best day of your life.

3. If you have a tail, wag it a lot.

4. Forgive people for angry, harsh words.

5. If you feel like singing, let loose with all your might.

6. Don't be afraid to show bullies that your not afraid of them.

7. Don't be afraid to back down from a fight if you think you might get hurt.

8. When you itch, scratch.

9. Getting dirty isn't a bad thing.

10. Snuggling is good.

11. If a friend is hurt, give them a kiss.

12. Take long walks as often as you can.

13. If you eat your dinner you'll get a treat.

14. Don't ever turn down a really great meal.

15. Most car rides are great.

16. If you love someone, let them know.

17. If someone pulls your tail, bite back.

18. Cats are a lot scarier then they look.

19. Take every opportunity to chase a bunny.

20. Love without expecting anything in return.


Farewell Little Buddy. I have no doubt that if we meet in heaven, you will greet me with tail wagging, happy face, and dragging Barney behind you.

Kirk

My parents have seven children, I am the middle child. I guess that would make me Four of Seven. For six years I enjoyed the honor of being the youngest child. Perhaps my parents couldn't stand the thought of having another little person after they had dealt with me, or maybe I was so adorable that they wanted time to enjoy every minute of me. This is one of those questions, never to be answered, because it doesn't really matter. The real story follows:

The great day came when I was six years old, my mother gave birth to a baby boy, his name was to be Kirk. When Dad went to the hospital to pick up my brand new baby brother, he asked me if I wanted to go along. Curiosity and excitement to see this new little stranger was voiced in a big "OK". When Mom came out into the car they placed this little bundle in my lap and my first response was "What's wrong with his face?" Years later after the birth of two other sisters, four children of my own, and twelve grandchildren,I now know that babies are toothless, wrinkled little people, and all of those things are perfectly normal. In other words nothing was wrong with his face.

From the very first I thought having a little brother was great. Not only was he a fun and very cute little boy, but he gave me something I had been wanting for a long time, someone to boss around. Kirk was a boy through and through. We have legends of Kirk and his friend Davy. My favorite story is about the time they started a fire in the basement so that they could dance around it. I also remember the day he found a jar of Vaseline and covered himself in it. Another time I was home sick, and I heard my Mom laughing, she carried Kirk into the room where I was. He had fallen into a drawer where we kept flour and was completely covered with it. He looked like Casper. Mom and I had such a great laugh together over that. All of us adored Kirk. His happy disposition, winning smile, and beautiful hair won everybody over.

Almost from the very beginning Kirk was an unbelievably driven worker. I can remember that one of Kirk's jobs as a boy was to weed the hill in front of our house. Dad would have him go out, and clear that hillside every so often. Kirk didn't like it, but his thinking was, "the sooner I do it, the sooner it will be over". This was a horrible, hard task and I was glad I didn't have to do it, but Kirk stuck with it until it was done. That's how he does everything.

This week Kirk found out that he has to tackle the biggest hill that he's ever faced. He has been diagnosed with Mantel Cell Lymphoma. Like that hill of weeds, he has decided to give it all he's got. Scores of us are rooting for him. He and his great wife Julie, their daughters Liz, and Amanda, are in all of our prayers. We are praying for a miracle. To my dear brother, Keep on weeding that hill! I love you.

A great laugh

This made me laugh so hard that I thought you should all see it.

Time for Some Campaignin' | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Sisters

The sisters had a great weekend. We threw in a few brothers for a fabulous time.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Scupper, Sink, and Burn Me.

Look you here now all ye land lubers. Now then, If I may make so bold, I'll be telling ya plain, the most auspicious, aye, and preposessen of days will soon be upon ye. I'd warrent a handsome wager that ye scurvy dogs all have a strong knowledge of the momentous nineteenth day of the month of September. Arrgh! International Talk Like a Pirate Day. This is not the time to keep your tongue behind your teeth. No standing off and on, set to work, and open your pretty maws. Man the braces and speak forth, or all the world will know that the blood in your veins is skim milk. What say you to this? Some might say one thing and some another, tis no matter, ere's luck and long life to all of us.

www.talklikeapirate.com

Not as good as it could have been

The dust has settled, and now I've had time to think about the book for a while. I'm disappointed. Since many of you have not yet read the book, I can't really state my reasons. However, as you finish the book, we can talk about it.

These are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise

"These are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise." When I was a young lassie about the age of fourteen, a new science fiction TV program began with those words. I was totally hooked from the first broadcast and quickly became a rabid Star Trek Fanatic (later called a Trekkie) I morned when the show was cancelled after the second season, and celebrated when because of the huge amount of fan protest, and fan mail they brought it back for a short time. Star Trek quickly became a rerun protege making it so all the fans out there could memorize the lines, the name of the ships, the numbers and titles of the shows, and every single detail. I have to admit I'm not quite that dedicated.

So why do I love it so much? I once read an article in the paper that said Star Trek fans and in fact science fiction geeks tend to have a higher IQ then the rest of the world. Do you think that the article could have been written by a fan? Anyway, I choose to believe that it's my high intelligence that makes me prone to love Sci-fi. The other reason is the total out of this world excitement that I get from Science Fiction. To me it is the ultimate escape, where literally anything is possible. Flying faster then the speed of light, universal translators, technology that can send a person to a different place without the use of a vehicle, not to mention the Vulcan Death Grip (which doesn't really exist). What is truly amazing is how much of it has become reality. Every time I answer my flip cell phone, I think of Star Trek. I think that's why I refuse to get a slider. Wow! I love it all.

My favorite character in the whole entire Star Trek saga and it's off-spring, is SPOCK. With a Vulcan father and a Human mother he was constantly trying to be like his father, all the while fighting the humanity of his mother. Woah! I really am a Trek Geek. Who is your favorite character and why?

Special thanks to Tobi the Great for making the music possible and also saving my sanity.

Megan's choice. Seven of Nine

Rachelle likes the name Riker but thinks Star Trek is not for her.

Tobi's choice. Data, the robot that wants to be a man.

I must admit that If it weren't for Spock I'd vote for Victoria's choice. "Q"

Elizabeth thinks it's a toss up with the before mentioned Seven of Nine, and the intellectual Captain Picard. Make it so.

If it hadn't been for the ever heroic, confident, and charismatic Captain Kirk, the Enterprise would never have left the ground, let alone earth. William Shatner's Portrayal of Kirk, was really the force behind the success of the show. He's one of the few actors from the entire franchise that has continued to act his entire life. I believe he won an Emmy last year for Boston Legal. Right on apis.

Victor J Nelson

Last week my sister Laura sent all of the siblings a note about our Father. He is ninety years old and is nearing the end of the journey. Because of weakness, he has been falling a lot lately; that mixed with increasing dementia and weight loss have caused his family and care givers great concern. In the note that Laura sent, she mentioned that Dad had been sitting in the lobby of the assisted living center more often then usual, watching people come and go, and singing Edelweiss to them. At first this made me feel pretty sad but then I was reminded of all the times that Dad had sung for me.

When I was a little girl I thought that my Dad was the most handsome, brilliant, and talented Dad in the world. It seemed to me that there wasn't anything out there that my Dad couldn't do. He was always the life of the party and would tell funny and interesting stories. He had a lot of friends and our home was filled with the best kind of love and laughter. He had a large variety of interests and pursued many hobbies with great success. Among some of them were photography, woodwork, and music. Because of my Dad, cultural themes were often a topic of conversation around the dinner table, and I can remember my Dad coming back from Europe after having gone on tour with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and mentioning how moved he had been when he stood in front of an enormous painting by Rembrandt called "Night Watch". His words left me with a burning desire to see for myself. His formal piano instruction lasted only a few months but my Dad could play every song in the hymn book.

His love of music and singing gave him an opportunity to sing in the before mentioned Tabernacle Choir. And sing he did. My Dad had a degree in botany from Utah State University, which I guess made him the perfect man to build homes. That's what he did to feed his ever growing family, but he really lived through music. We always knew when Dad was home from work because he would take a shower every evening and the singing would begin. I think he loved to sing in the shower because his wonderful voice would reverberate off the walls of the shower and sounded better then ever. We could all hear him and it seemed like a normal part of the day to us, it was comforting and sweet.

I don't ever remember my Dad mentioning an interesting football game. He couldn't tell you anything about basketball. He probably knew something about baseball, but I don't remember it. I do remember the singing. As I sat in church I could hear my father’s powerful voice above all the others, maybe it was because I was sitting right next to him, but I don't think so. I remember people turning around to stare at him and feeling a huge sense of pride that my Dad could really sing well. He would often gather all of us around the piano and we would have family sing-a-longs. Most of us know all the songs from "My Picture Book Of Songs". When I became sick, Mom would take care of my physical needs, and then Dad would hold me in his lap, rocking and singing to me. He would let us all know when he thought someone had done a good job of singing in church, and why they weren't so good if they had, in his opinion, failed. I still like songs sung in church to be done a certain way, and yes, it's the way my Dad taught me. He had a couple of blind spots when it came to music. He hated rock-n-roll, Jazz, and only liked a handful of pop artists. OK, he was a music snob. One of the best parts of our Sunday was watching the weekly broadcast of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. There was our wonderful, photogenic, TV star Dad, singing his heart out. One week the choir sang a song with words by William Shakespeare, "Who Is Silvia". He told me that they had sung it just for me. As always, I believed him. "He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again."

I love you Dad.

Tobi's Fan Club

Memorial Day is the day that we honor our fallen soldiers, men and women who have given their lives in defense of this country. I however, want to honor those who are left behind when soldiers go to war, most particularly my daughter-in-law Tobi.

When Tobi's husband (my son) Joel was deployed to Iraq in August of 2006, Tobi and their sweet children, Alec, and Cora were left behind. Not having lived in Texas for a very long period,I'm certain that they felt like strangers in a strange land. Tobi was terrified at the prospect of twelve months as the sole parent and caregiver of two kids living far from her family.

Despite this and the constant worry about a husband living in a war zone, Tobi rose to the occasion. I'm so proud of her for facing those many months, and numerous challenges all by herself. We tried to give her as much support as we could, but when it comes right down to it, she had to do it herself.

I know that she had many long periods of loneliness and depression. She had to deal with all the little things that come with cars, homes, children, far away husbands and poopy cribs. She was a great support for Joel while he was gone and talked with him on the computer almost every day. Sick kids, potty training, care giving are what she did day in, and day out. When the army increased Joel's tour of duty to 15 months I really worried for her. I know that they were both devastated when this happened, but Tobi bucked up and carried on.

As I look back on those months it seems obvious to me that a loving Heavenly Father kept his eye on Joel and Tobi. For that I will aways be grateful.

Tobi is one in a million. She would give you the shirt off her back if she thought that you needed it. She is lots of fun and extremely bright. She is also very beautiful with the most amazing eyes. In other words, I'm Tobi's #1 fan ( I suspect her Mom might not agree with that) and she's something very special to me.

Thanks Tobi, I love you

A few of my favorite things.....

Raindrops on roses and
Whiskers on kittens
Here are my grandkids,
Better then mittens.

Last summer we took Riley and Kaiya to the zoo. When my brother saw this picture, he wanted to know who the weirdo in the hat was. Crazy Granny of course. I kinda look like I'm in pain. I think I scared the tiger in the background too.







This is one of the greatest strollers in the world. Rachelle takes the babies out every day for a walk. This was my lucky day, I got to go with her. People are amazed.





How about that, a grandma who can make balloon swords.





Miss Cora gives me lots of love.






Blowing bubbles is great. Especially if you have Alec to help you out.






Five for the price of five. Ohhhh I love those babies.





The kids are in the sunlight and I'm in the shade, just as it should be.





Andrew and Easter eggs, Just don't turn your back on him.





Doesn't Trevor look great in red?

Well, these are just a few of my favorite things. I haven't even started on Star Trek yet.

About Rock Trolls

My niece Audry asked me the question "What is a Rock Troll?"

Last summer Kevin and I went to Amarillo, Texas to pick up our grand kids, Kaiya and Riley.

We had this great plan to play movies for the kids on our portable DVD player. When we were all settled in the car and ready for the seven hour journey to Denver, we inserted the first DVD, and nothing happened. Much to our dismay the player was broken. Faced with seven hours of children in a confined area ,we resorted to imagination. We started telling them stories. Let me tell you, we came up with some good ones. The very best was Rock Trolls. In case you haven't noticed, rocks are one of the things that you can find in every state and every nation on the earth. In fact, they're even floating in space. What you may not know is that they are really Rock Trolls. Many Rock Trolls spend hours, days, and even years in hibernation. They are actually very shy and only come out when there's a full moon and then they dance by the light of moon under the stars. This mostly happens in the land of enchantment, which would be New Mexico. (yes, we drove through a part of New Mexico and saw a lot of Rock Trolls) The story goes on and on, in fact seven hours. Some of the Rock Trolls are famous. I included pictures of a couple of our favorites.




Can you see the eye of a large Rock Troll?

If you check out this web site you can see more, absolutely amazing Rock Trolls.

http://www.needlesports.com/rockfaces/rockfaces.htm

The other Cowboy

I guess that most of you don't know that I married a real life cowboy. To prove this to you here is his picture. He's very cute and full of spunk. He looks just the same as he did then, and hasn't changed a bit. Well, the horse is gone, he's a little taller and a wee bit older, but I love him just the same. Ride em cowboy.

New arrival

I'm happy to announce the arrival of a new member of our family. His Name is Alexander Shafer, he has red hair and blue eyes (we think, but not positive) . His birth into our family happened on March 21st 2008 at about 12:00 PM. He was our second tallest delivery (Mike being the tallest) at about 5 foot Nine inches, He delivered himself at the emergency entrance to the temple at the scheduled time. And I'm happy to say that it was a painless delivery. He has all ten fingers and all ten toes and came with a bonus bachelor's degree. He's a cutie, and already sleeps through the night and eats solids. He also looks great in blue. We are so pleased to welcome him into our family.

The Final Frontier

Tobi from the planet Killeen which has a harsh environment and very few humans, came to wittness the marriage of fellow alien Megan of Parker (a much kinder planet). She has restored my faith in humanity by making my blog look ohhhh so cooooool. Live long and prosper. I'm just trying to get through this wedding week.. See you on the other side of Vulcon.

The Annual Sylvia Awards

As I was talking with my sis the other day (that would be V for Victorious). We started disgusting, oops I mean discussing the Academy Awards. That's the show on TV that ended the writers strike and lets the worlds most famous (or would that be infamous) megalomaniacs flaunt themselves before their adoring fans. They choose among themselves the best and brightest ( the ones with the most clout or points obtained from who knows where) to receive awards. You know all this already so I won't assault your intelligence any further. The point is, that they choose, and then tell the world that this is the best they have to offer. I beg to differ. So here for the first time ever, I present the first annual (the theme from Star Wars plays) Sylvia Awards! I know what your thinking... who cares? That however, sounds kind of like a personal problem; so here it goes anyway.


Best Musical Score goes to .............. Hairspray

Let's face it, that was a really fun movie, it made you smile the whole time you were watching . The girl who played the lead, Tracy Turnblad, was so happy that you wanted to bottle some of it up to take home with you. If a movie makes you want to sing along, it must be the best. Kind of like another winner "The Sound of Music". It's hard to believe that a movie like The Sound of Music could ever have received one of those OTHER awards. It wouldn't in this day and age.


Best Choreography goes to......................Stardust

You know that scene where the dead brother is sword fighting with the hero. I thought that was great, how did they do it? It was also extremely funny in a dark and weird way.


Best Screenplay Adaption from a book (have you noticed that almost all the screenplays are from books these days) goes to..........Bourne Ultimatum

If any of you have ever read Robert Ludlum's books, and I don't like to speak ill of the dearly departed, but good grief they were often boring and long. I thought they did a great job of moving the story along and making the fans long for more. It helps when you have an action star who can actually act.


Best Actress goes to........Amy Adams

How can anyone resist a princess who is so happy and clueless. She can sing rats and bugs into doing the dirty work and make darling clothing from anything at hand. You've got to love that.


Best supporting actress............John Travolta

Talk about getting in touch with his feminine side. I thought he was great as a woman and I think he should make it permanent (just joking John).


Best actor............Matt Damon

Is anybody else out there metaphorically holding their breath to find out what happens next to Jason Bourne?


Best supporting actor..............What's his name? You know, the guy who plays Severus Snape in Harry Potter. Oh yea..............Alan Rickman

He is so oily and creepy that you want to wash your hair after watching him.

On a side note, I thought that Daniel Radcliffe's acting was almost good in The Order of the Phoenix.


Now the best movie of 2007...................Stardust

Fun, weird, reality based, oops, I meant non-reality based. It had romance, action, good, evil, and a lot of dead brothers. In short, everything you'd ever want in a movie sans Jimmy Stewart.




Here I am presenting the Sylvia Award to Matt Damon

Well, that's it for the Sylvia Awards until next year (if I like any of them, and so far it's not looking too good).

Lots of beautiful grandkids

Kevin and I were lucky enough to spend last Christmas with our sons and their wonderful families. Did I mention that I'm a grandma? It was so fun to see so many of our grand kids all at once. We had a blast at Joel and Tobi's with Alec and Cora. We were able to give the mom and dad a break and tend the two kids a couple of nights. Wow! did we ever have fun. We chased those two around the house for a couple of hours and hugged them nearly to pieces. Unfortunately they were so wound up, that they had a hard time sleeping. The next night that we had them, we wound them up again but then wound them down by having them help us vacuum the house. They slept lots better that night. It was so great to see Tobi with her man once again, and having Joel home from Iraq was the best.

We also spent several days with Jayson and Rachelle. For those of you who don't know me, I have quintuplets grand kids. Riley and Kaiya are Jayson and Rachelle's two older children and then they have Rustin, Ryder,Kassidy, Kaydence, and Kyndall. It was so fun. We've loved Riley and Kaiya for years and the quints have been a bonus I would never have imagined. one thing I've learned from getting kids-in-law and grand kids is that there is no limit to how much a persons love can expand. We loved every minute that we could spend with Jayson's family.

We held the babies every minute that we could and played games and told Rock Troll stories to the older kids. Jayson and Rachelle are among the truly amazing humans on this earth. You can't help feeling somewhat humbled by their CAN DO attitude.

Here we are with the Quints

I can't wait to return to Texas and see all nine of those grand kids once again.

dancingranny

Hello out there,
I just stumbled across this whole blog thing. I don't even know how to post a picture yet. You may wonder about the title of this blog. Well, your not alone, I'm wondering as well. It will all be made clear when I've had some sleep and can figure this out. However, I must warn you that I haven't really slept well in the last fifteen years so it may not happen soon. Ta Ta