Remembering Mom - 2011

January 19, 2011 – Today is my mother’s birthday. I have been thinking about her a lot over the past few days. I marvel at how hard she worked in and out of the home. She was always cooking something for Dad or for us kids. She loved to make bread, cinnamon rolls, donuts, cookies and no bake cookies. She would make huge batches every time she made goodies. I loved hot home-made bread with butter and honey. My favorite goodie was cinnamon rolls with raisins.

She made blankets for everybody. Every one of her kids and grandkids have a blanket of one kind or another that she made for them. She helped dad in the garden and did all the bottling in the fall. She always bottled peaches, raspberries, apricots, and pears. She made all kinds of jam from her garden as well as grape juice from their grape vines. She would make huckleberry and raspberry jam and that was my favorite. She also made huckleberry topping for ice cream, one of my favorite things in this world! The huckleberry topping at Artic Circle doesn’t even come close.

Mom would always stop what she was doing when DeAnne and I brought our family over to visit. She would make dad turn off the TV so we could talk, even if he was in the middle of a ballgame.

Mom taught us a lot about the gospel by her example. She served in the Primary and the Relief Society and loved every minute of it. She was very nervous about her mission to the Utah State Prison, but when she was released she had a love for the people she met there.

One of the best things I remember about mom is that she was always with me whenever I had important events in my life. She was with me when I went to the doctor for my pre-school exam. She was at my baptism, and at all the church meetings. She helped me prepare talks for church. She was with me when I was set apart as missionary by Bruce R. McConkie. She was at school when I was inducted into the National Honor Society and she was there at the meeting when I was attending the Utah State Sterling Scholar Ceremony. Dad did not attend most of those things, I’m not sure why, but I could always count on Mom!

Mom and dad always opened their house for our friends and us to have parties and get-togethers. Mom would make treats and bring them to us and our friends while we were playing Rook and other games. We had a large, good group of friends in the Granger 13th Ward and Mom and Dad always made them feel welcome. Sometime there would be over 20 of us and sometimes, as we got older, we would stay up until midnight or latter. I don’t remember Mom complaining about us even one time.

Mom loved the great outdoors and did all the cooking for us when we went camping. She loved going back to Idaho to visit with her brothers and sisters. She loved to camp and picnic with them and to pick wild huckleberries with them in the forest. She also enjoyed going to our condo in the winter time at Island Park Village. She did a little snowmobiling with dad and sleigh riding with our kids. She enjoyed being with our kids inside the condo as well. I have some great memories with her. She was a great mother!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!