happy anniversary mer!

want a story? here's a great one...
mer and i have been together for 10 years now, 8 of them married.... it all began when we were 15... well, really before that, when joe (my brother) and jaclyn (mer's sister), began dating. we started checking each other out then, always asking about each other. then, in 1996 j&j got married... what a day... i have filmed evidence of merrill checking out my butt! each of us still asking about the other one...
fast-forward 2 years...
the end of our senior year, i am engaged but don't want to be... merrill is asking joe if he thinks mer can break-up the engagement... yup... i find out now that nobody really wanted me to marry the goof...
i don't want to marry him.
jacks invites me to lake powell to help cook and take care of little sisters (then little... what happened katie-buddie and kitty-cat?!?) and clear my head, figure out how i'm gonna do this...
needless to say, i left my engagement ring at home... i didn't want to lose it ;)...
magic happens on boats at lake powell!
i came home and broke it off.
october of the next year, we were engaged...
we were married april 5th 2000 in the salt lake temple... it was an awesome day!
and here we are, still a-goin'!
he was and still is the answer to my prayers...
some pics wouldn't load in my slide show (you're not the only one jacks...)at j&j's house, right after lake powell...
me and mer at aunt peg's... grandpa thought we looked so cute... this was right before we got engaged, that's what we were talking about...ken and ______ wedding... (it's best if we not talk about _____...) engaged! october 15, 1999... g&g wallace's house...
and this last one is when we blessed lynn...

Love you Grandma!!!

Grandma passed-away peacefully last night around quarter of twelve.
I'm so glad we were there with her yesterday!
Conference will be such a great comfort today...

Grandma...

Grandma...
She hasn't been doing well all week, I just found out yesterday. Mom has been so busy taking care of her and Grandpa, the emotion too, has taken a toll, I hadn't been able to talk to her. While I was un-loading the dishwasher yesterday, I got the prompting to call mom. Since I have been trying to be more vigilant in obeying these promptings, I did it. She was at Grandpa & Grandma's. She was emotional, I could tell, and she told me that she wanted to talk to me so bad, that there had been so much going on.
She said she had something to tell me.
She had just changed Grandma.
That was the shocker.
Grandma is doing poorly enough to need diapers. Hospice came in to asses her, she has a bladder infection and infection in her lungs. They are helping the bladder infection, not the pneumonia. They categorize that as "failure to thrive". So I knew there wasn't much time.
I got the call this morning that the Hospice nurse came, said to call all family, her time is drawing near.
We got out there as fast as we could. She seems so much different than just a week ago. She looks different. Her breathing is labored. She opened her eyes to see the girls, but could not speak. She squeezed my hand.
She'll be gone soon.
I am thankful.
I am thankful that it should go fast.
I am thankful that it will be the end of pain for her, for Grandpa, for Mom too.
I am thankful for all of my memories of her, with her.
I am thankful for all that she has taught me.
I am thankful that I have had time to prepare me, and my girls.
I am thankful that I have been able to teach my girls about Heavenly Father's Plan.
I am thankful that we had time with her.
I am thankful that I could say, "goodbye"... well, more like, "see ya later!" and to tell her I love her.
I am thankful to know that it is not the end.
I felt peace there, sadness that she'll be gone, sadness for my Grandpa, but peace. There was such a good spirit. I felt sad for my cousins who have stepped away from the Gospel, they were in mourning. They have forgotten what they have been taught. Maybe this will be good for them.
I am thankful for my testimony.
Grandpa seemed so sad. He isn't grasping the reality. He still prays that she'll get feeling better. As we were leaving, he asked, "You're going already?" (we had been there for a couple of hours, the girls needed to eat...) I promised him that we would be back, a lot. He said, "You'd better." Ashley can always make him smile, he loves holding Peyton.
Things I get to have and my girls get to have, because of what Grandma taught me:
- How to quilt.
- How to cross-stitch.
- How to crochet.
- Knitting.
- MANY fun games, the "gum" game. Every kid loves this.
- Scrapbooking.
- Monkey Bread.
- How to sew.
- How to make my pie crusts pretty.
I have so many memories... Sleep-overs with my cousins Brandy and Bonnie. Grandma scaring us half-to-death when we were up giggling and telling ghost stories. Her "Pepto Bismol pink" lipstick kisses. Going to see movies at the Cinedome when she worked there. Treats in the breadbox. Top Ramen, and the monster in the bottom of my cup (it was my reflection). Grossing her out with the noodles, we pretended they were boogers, long boogers. Quilting with her. Binding my first quilt with her while my brothers shoveled snow off of their roof. I have a vest she knitted me. I have all of my "Strawberry Shortcake and friends" dolls that she crocheted me. Her story told every year around the Thanksgiving table. Christmas Day at her house. Her home made Christmas gifts for us. Lunches at "The Tiffin Room". Climbing trees in their back yard. Every time she held my girls for the first time...
I talked to mom a little while ago, just before I sat down to put my memories here... my mom and her brothers and sisters, are singing to her. If she likes it, she squeezes a hand. Her breathing is labored now.
I love you Grandma.

April's Headband Makin' Fools...

i finished the headbands!!!
mer was the photog. ash wasn't too cooperative... this one is pretty cute of her.
the pattern is by heather bailey, super simple... i use cotton/poly fabric, fun buttons cause i am a scrapbooker, have to embellish!
i found it on elizabeth kartchner's blog, love her!
other than that, it's been a fun day, i got a nap :)...
but i still have laundry to fold :(...
that's what i get for listening to my sweet hubby, putting off laundry to have a much deserved float last night, with a coconut cupcake...
happy birthday christie!!!

Here's the "DL"...

What a weekend!!! Had the funeral on Saturday... The primary kids did so well, although I have never heard "I am a Child of God", sound so sad. Randy did a great job! It was amazing how he got through that feat. All-in-all it was a very emotional day. It definitely gets you thinking about priorities. I was already having a hard time, then, when I went to leave the church, I could hear the bagpipes playing for him up on the hill... they always get me. Maybe it's the Scot in me... There have been so many blessings because of the events that took place one week ago.
I have decided that I want to be a scriptorian ( when I finally grow up...). My mom is so knowledgeable in the scriptures. I could call her anytime this last week with any question, and she knew the answer. I want to be just like her. I bought a little notebook, Peyton Green of course, and that will be my special place to write down what I learn. I want to be able to help my kids one day too. I should school myself better.
Yesterday was such a beautiful day. All went well getting ready for church. Got there a little early too!!! Ash went to her class and stayed there!!! Lynn read the scripture, no problem. It did help that I bribed them both with gum.
The blessing was awesome. Merrill always does such a good job. I prayed the night before and even that morning to have my mind calmed, to have questions that I have had about Peyton answered. Those prayers... He always answers them!
I missed Grandpa & Grandma Wallace. Grandma keeps getting worse, and when she is better, it is never as good as the time before she got bad. Grandpa didn't want to leave her side. I did make coconut cupcakes just for him... I sent some home with mom. I heard he was so happy to get them. I love my Grandpa!
Sophie lost a tooth last night. Lynn was a little freaked out. She now doesn't want to lose any teeth... Today, I spent the day doing laundry, making some headbands, with Brooke's help in cutting and turning pieces, sorry for the raw fingers! I don't have Lynn and Ashley's finished, and I still have buttons to sew on them, but here's Peyton's... Brooke also took some good pics of Pey in her blessing dress. I tried last night, she would do nothing but cry. I did get her all posed and cute, then Ash had to jump at her, get in her face (or "bace" as Ash would say it,) and scare her... that darn kid (Ashley, that is...)!

Flashback Friday...

This weekend marks 8 years since Mer and I went through the temple for the first time.
What an experience! I was quite emotional (see red nose and blood-shot eyes...), for many reasons, but to have everything that I had been taught my whole life, fit together and make sense, it was awesome! The things we learn there give so much more clarity to Heavenly Father's plan for us. There is peace there. What a blessing it is, to have such a sacred and holy place to go to feel the Spirit. To learn...
Covenants that we made, promises that are given to us if we keep those covenants, testify that He loves us.
All that we learned that day was just a preparation for our marriage that took place within the week. Everything we learned, made our sealing make so much more sense.
To have our families there with us, was so neat. It didn't feel complete though. We still had younger siblings that weren't there. We had parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, brothers-in-law, and sisters-in-law.... (do Joe and Jaclyn count for two on that?) So many more there in spirit, I'm sure...
What an awesome memory!
What's even cooler, I learn more every time I go back...

Busy, busy, busy...

I've been keeping busy. It helps. But I think it is causing poor Peyton some trauma. She still isn't asleep!
I am trying to focus on the fun, the positive.
This morning I got the girls up. Lynn had pre-school, and right after I dropped her off, I intended to run more errands...
I couldn't get Ash out of bed. So I got her her daily breakfast of Fruit Loops and chocolate milk. She came into the kitchen and sat in front of the heater vent to get warm. I told the girls to sit down and eat. Ash responded with, "Mom, I'm done with my gum."
I said, "What???"
Ash: "I'm done with my gum." Chewing.
I couldn't believe that after I got their teeth all brushed last night, she somehow got gum, and kept it in her mouth all night.
She does want a haircut though....