The Joys Of Getting Older

Today is Feb. 11, 2007. Fifty years ago today my cute little hubby was born.

He was the 5th child born to Sam and Vivian. And all his older brothers and sisters say he was spoiled rotten growing up as a child.

Well, look at what he got for his 50th birthday. You can tell he is still a spoiled man. He has been asking for a 4 wheeler for several years now. So I finally had to give in. I hope it will keep him quiet for a while now.

The kids and I threw a surprise party for him last night. We had it all planned out. We invited Lola, Ron, Elaine, Morris, Geri, Kayleen, Lora, Rick, Cindy, Steve, Debbie and all of our kids were there. While I took Roger out to dinner to Sizzler the kids were home decorating the house. I"m grateful for their help. Troy had picked up the cake, Shana got the balloons. They had everything set up. Troy had been texting me while we were out to dinner to let me know that everything was set to go. Everyone had arrived. When we walked through the door everyone yelled "Surprise"...He was so excited and unsuspecting. The evening was spent with everyone sharing a memory they had of Roger since they've known him. That was so much fun listening to then and laughing so hard. Shana and I had made a poster with a bunch of different pictures at different ages and we had everyone guess what age Roger was. Jake got the most right out of everyone. He got 6 out of the 13 right. He opened some really fun gifts from everybody. He got a package of depends, old fart cup, a tombstone full of stuff for an old man, nuts, and we gave him a seat with bags for the 4wheeler. We had cake and ice-cream and had fun visiting with everyone.

I can't believe he's the BIG 50!!! He's still a handsome fella and still has a cute butt. (he brags about it all the time). I hope that he can live to enjoy many more happy and healthy years. I know he worries about it but he needs to live each day at a time and enjoy every minute. He is such a great husband and father. He would do anything for our family. He's such a sensitive man and his feelings are right there on the surface when it comes to his kids and grandchildren. I hope that they will appreciate all that he does and cherrish the time they have with him.

These pictures were taken of him at his surprise party and the family one on his birthday today. We love you honey, dad and papa!!! Happy 50th.

My Wonderful Inlaw Kids

I ask myself all the time "how could we have been so lucky to have gotten such wonderful, loving, caring inlaw kids?
Kristi, Kori and Jake have added so much to our family. Each one brings their own fun personalities.
Kristi met Jared when they were in High School. She's the only girl that Jared ever dated so he must have known she was pretty special. She's been a part of our family for quite some time now. Several times she has made a comment to me that has made me feel so special. She has told me that I"m the motherinlaw that she's always wanted. Now what more could I ask for?
She's a wonderful wife and mother to Jared and Mckinley and Gentry. She's so supportive of Jared and can tell she loves him so much. She's also a great hair dresser and does all of our family. She takes great care of us.
Kori met Troy in December of 2005. What a blessing she was in his life.They got married in Sept. of 2006. She's quite spunky and has such a fun personality. She's from California and comes from a great family. She's a dental assistant full time and will be traveling with Troy to Florida when he starts working again. She's got a figure to die for. You can tell she's going to be a great mom and is looking forward to that special calling of "mother".
Jake cast his spell on Shana in August of 2006. Once she laid eyes on him it was all over. He has brought so much love, big smiles, and laughter to Shana and her boys. He has become an instant father to our grandsons and couldn't ask for a better one. It comes so natural to him. He works for Energy Solutions and is such a hard worker. Very talented, loves to dance, (which Shana is so happy about), loves life. He has an awesome smile. He's going through one of lifes most challenging trials and that's his health. We know he's a fighter and will get through this. Heavenly Father wouldn't have sent him to Shana and the boys if it wasn't meant to be.

I just want to say how blessed we are as a family to have these three additions. They're like my own children. I hope that I can be the kind of motherinlaw that they've always wanted and be someone that they can love, trust and have fun with. I love you all!!!!

A Family Night Out

As you can see we can sure have some good times!! These pictures were taken at Jared and Troys birthday party. We all met at Fat Cats and had dinner and bowled. We love to get together and do things like this as a family. It brings you much closer. Thank goodness we enjoy each others company. The grandkids love to bowl. They got better scores than their Mimah. It got to be quite the competition between Roger, Jared, Troy and Jake. Troy ended up beating all of them. He bragged about it too. I think all the people at the bowling alley could hear us screaming and HI 5v each other when we got a strike or spare. I love my family so much. I pray we can have lots more fun times like these and make many happy memories for our grandchildren.

My Daughter and Me

Where do I start when it comes to my beautiful daughter? So many things come to my mind. A few words that come to my mind are..beautiful, charitable, giving, wonderful mom, good friend, loves the gospel, good example.

Shana was born on a bitter cold, foggy day on December 21, 1980. In those days doctors rarely did ultrasounds to tell you what the sex of your baby was. So needless to say, Roger and I were so happy when they announced "it's a baby girl". We already had a son so to now have a little girl in our home was more than words can express.

Shana has always been quite the talker. She can carry a converstation on and on about anything. People are drawn to her. She has friends all over the country. I remember when she was growing up, we would go to parents visiting meetings and the first thing the teacher would say was "Shana talks too much.". Well, it was the same year after year. Shana had so many friends growing up. During her Jr. High school days she made a choice to leave some of her best friends and go to a different school because her friends were starting to drink and smoke. She would call me at work crying and telling me that another friend had started. She made the decision all on her own to change Jr. Highs. It ended up being such a good decision for her because she made some wonderful friends. She's always been a great example to me.

Shana has had some difficult times in her short life. During her high school days she contracted Epstein Barr virus and a strep infection in her blood. She was sleeping 16 hrs a day and had such achey joints. She couldn't hardly walk up our stairs. She missed so much school and was struggling to get enough credits to graduate with her class. I will never forget the day she finished her last packet to qualify her for graduation. She came home one hour before graduation with paint all over her face from a class she had and she fell into my arms at the front door and cried. She had finished her last packet!!! I was so proud of her. We hurried and took pictures in front of the house and got down to the Marriott Center so that she could walk with her graduating class. She married at 19 and had two adorable sons. She has turned into the most beautiful, loving, caring mom. I always knew she would be though. She went through a divorce after 5 years of marriage. That was another difficult time for her. To see the pain and sadness she endured. It hurts so much as a parent to see your kids suffer. She went to dental assisting school and passed with flying colors. She landed a good job close to home which was a blessing for her and the boys. During all this time she was dating lots of nice young men but nobody seemed to impress her as much as Jacob Gardner. She was smitten the day she met him. It has been so wonderful to see her smiling, happy and being taken care of by such a wonderful young man. A marriage she had always dreamed of. Today Shana is now helping to take care of her husband while they go through his cancer trial. Together they will grow closer and more loving. I've seen it already. I"m so blessed to have Shana in my life. I hope that we can grow closer and more loving and share many fun times together as mother and daughter. A relationship that I never got to have with my own mom.

My Two Birthday Boys

Januray 26th and January 27th are pretty fun days at our house. We get to celebrate Jared and Troys birthdays. And of course there's never a dull moment as you can tell from the pictures.

Jared was born on January 26, 1977. I have some good and bad memories about being pregnant with Jared. I was so young, just 18. But terribly excited to become a mommy. And he being our first born was a special time for us. I was one of the lucky ones who never seemed to get sick when I got pregnant. I just grew a big nose and a red one at that. I remember hating the way I looked because my sister cut my hair really short and I had this huge nose. I was so embarrassed to go out. After my sister had cut my hair I came home and cried and hid behind the sofa when Roger came home from work. All he could say is "it will grow out honey." Well, it did of course. Jared has been an awesome son. Always taking care of his little sister when he was growing up. He loved sports. He lived and breathed them. We have so many fun memories of traveling around to different cities and him being on all the All Star teams. I miss those days.

Jared served an LDS mission to Eugene, Oregon. There he really became a man and learned lots about the gospel and about life. I was so proud of him. He's now a proud father of two little girls and is a wonderful husband. He loves hunting and fishing and camping which is what he does all summer long.

Troy was born on January 27th, 1983. Exactly 5 years and 1 day after Jared was born. I had gone to the OB doctor on Jareds birthday and he checked me and told me I had at least another week or so. I wasn't due until Feb. 3rd anyway. Well, I went home and during Jareds birthday party started having labor pains. I fooled the doctor I guess because he was quite surprised to see me when he came to the hospital to deliver Troy. I remember when I found out I was pregnant with him. My very first thought and instinct was "I need to call my mom and tell her." But then remembered she had passed away. But my thoughts then turned to "mom and dad are taking care of our little one right now and will be sending him to us soon." That was such a consoluation for me. Knowing he was safe in my mom and dads arms. Troy was always a little rambuncious one. Always into sports, hunting, fishing. He loves doing these things with his dad and brother. Growing up Troy got good grades and had lots of friends. He always gave us a run for our money. Troy played basketball for Orem High School. Was a great team member. I miss those days too. Screaming and yelling at the refs because they made a bad call. Troy served a mission to the Quito, Ecuador mission. He learned to love the Ecuadorean people and to speak spanish. That was hard as a mom to see your son go off to a foreign country.

Troy is now a husband and is looking forward to being a daddy. He'll be just like his big brother when it comes to loving children.

I just want to say how proud I am of my two boys. They're a lot of fun to be around and I love them so much. Happy Birthday Jared and Troy!!!

Christmas by ourselves now

Well, it's hard to admit but the family traditions have gone wayside. The kids are all grown and married now and have their own little families. Troy and Kori spent their first Christmas in California with her family. Jared and Kristi were with her family this year and Jake and Shana were at their place since he just had gotten out of the hospital from having surgery.
Dad and I woke up Christmas morning kinda lonely. He always makes them fun and special though. As always I made our traditional breakfast and put it in the oven before he and I started opening our gifts. One by one we each opened one. He got me the IPOD I wanted. I was so thrilled about that. I also got some wonderful pots and pans, some nice perfume, pajamas and other odds and ends. I got him a sander, golf bag, cologne, clothes, odds and ends for the trailer. All in all we got a lot of nice things. But the morning is so quiet without our little ones to share in the joys of Christmas. It was hard waiting to see what the kids got from Santa. We drove down early and went to Shanas and Jakes to see what they got. We took our Christmas breakfast down with us to share with them. It's always so yummy. Oh the joy of seeing the little kids eyes when they're showing you what they got for Christmas. After spending time with them we went to Jared and Kristi's. Each of the kids got lots of toys and were spoiled. I have a hard time every single year trying to control the spending for them. I know I do a lot but I also know there are things they need and I want to get them for them. Things are so expensive now days and you don't get much anymore so I feel I have to spend, spend, spend. But it's out of the love in my heart for each one. I hope that each Christmas will bring the spirit of Christ into our homes. That we can always give with our heart. I love each one of my family members so much.
Merry Christmas to all!!

Our Two Little FuFu's

Roger and I have added two new additions to our family. We got Rocky in October and Tink the end of December. What fun they've been for our grandkids. They're the first thing they yell for and go to when they come over. It's funny how little animals can bring so much joy to your life. From the time Roger and I moved into our home in 1978 we have had a dog. We started with Zack our German Shorthair. He used to give the kids sled rides. He was a great companion for Roger when he went pheasant hunting. We had Sissy, Ginny, Ellie, Sadie, Sunny, Ted, Keesha, Paizley..wow that's a lot of dogs. Probably more than that but I can't remember all of them. And now little Rocky Balboa and TinkerBell..We swore after Ted died that we wouldn't get anymore dogs but here we are. Being around dogs can be very theraputic. They're very forgiving, loving, happy to see you when you come home and can lift your spirits when you're down. I always tell Tink and Rocky how lucky they are to have ended up in our home because they're showered with so much love. Our love for animals has rubbed off on our kids too. Shana would take in every stray animal if she could. Jared has his hunting dog, Taffy. Troy will some day have a dog when he gets a home. "I love you Tink and Rocky"