I'm On the Comeback Trail.

Oh Hi! Blogging much lately? No? Me either! I am the Queen of not blogging! Life gets in the way. But life is good, and the stuff that blogs are made of, so I am on the keyboard again.

Richard and Sherri Ellsworth

Last time I wrote, we had just attended the funeral for my sister Sherri. I dearly loved this girl, my brother's wife. I wish we had lived closer together of the years because when we did get together it was all laughs and fun with her. A few years back she and Richard gave my sister Gena and I these sweet bracelets from her favorite jewelry company, Brighton. They simply say "Sisters" on the band. Richard told us a few weeks ago that one of her favorite things to do, and she looked forward to it every year, was to come to our Sibling Reunion, with our mother and her children and their spouses. He said that she never had that growing up, being an only child, and enjoyed it so much. I am glad that we goofy, boring old Ellsworths brought her some joy! Two summers ago Mom, Gena and I were able to visit Sherri and Richard in their home in July...in Gilbert, Arizona. So when I say IN, I mean INSIDE with A/C! We sat around a lot with Sherri after Mom and Richard had gone to bed and laughed and talked until we really knew better. We had the best visits! We did get out everyday to visit old places we loved, or eat at a favorite restaurant. It was fun to hear Sherri's memories of growing up on the south side of Mesa, on her Dad's thoroughbred horse ranch, and going to (gasp) Mesa High School! I will always treasure that trip.

Every summer for the last 6 years or so we have what I call "the Mother & Child Reunion". We usually get together with my Mom and sibings in either Arvada, CO at Gena's house, or in Bloomfield, NM at Dean's place.

 Here we all are in 2013 after our annual Chinese dinner in Bloomfield, NM. Yes, you can get good Chinese there! It's called "Panda Garden" and I highly recommend it!

Here we are last year, July 2014 inside Panda Garden. It's an old Steak House so the combo of western and Chinese is a bit comical. But the food is amazing!

I know I said I would write about Sherri's funeral in my last post, but you know what? It was sad. I am not in the mood to be sad. I want to remember her with a happy heart today. If you would like to read the emotional story  (and very spiritual) of her passing and the following days, I urge you to click here and read my niece, Jolynn's accounting of her mother's story. It will touch your heart and strengthen your belief (if you believe so) in an after life and our Heavenly Father's love for us. This is a good post as well. You'll love it, I promise!

'til we meet again, sweet sister!

I would like to thank Jolynn for her great spirit and her ability to share her heart on her blog. Our family is all the richer for her being  part of us!

I'm Back!

Hi everyone! After a non-planned break from blogging I am back! I let a few weeks go by after the last post, and then it was easy to blame it on the holidays coming, then the recovery from the holidays, then I was tired...you know all of the excuses. I feel the need to keep my Time Travel Tuesdays going, I miss my Grandma Hamblin's story and I want to finish it! So come back on Tuesday for the next chapter! In the meantime, here are a few photos of life at the Little House on the Corner from recent months.

My adorable Grandson became acclimated to his new home in Minnesota and grew a furry coat to stay warm. He met his new Bishop for the first time at a fall ward gathering where the Bishop let him "drive" his tractor. Lucas now calls his new friend "Farmer Bishop"!

This cool guy got his first job and spends his time wondering why his Mom takes so many photos of him.

Some mornings I wake up to this. You're jealous, I know it!

Remember that dead bush from my last post? My men did, indeed dig it up for me, and Richard turned it into kindling. I love how he works in comfort!

There was pumpkin carving in October. Roxie helped.

Well, OK. Roxie chewed!

It's awesome to have grown children who will clean out their own pumpkins. I am SO over doing that!

For Thanksgiving we hosted Dee's nephew Robert, a good-looking Marine who came up from California to be with us. He's the blond with the Marine hair-cut, naturally! The dark-haired young man is Tyler, Sarah Faria's brother.

And there's my nephew Michael and his wife Sarah, with their sweet baby Nathan.

I love his adorable face!! I wish my sister could see her Grandbabies more often.

Dee and Robert took in a BYU basketball game. Don't you love those 1970's gold seats in the Marriott Center?

Miss Britt and her Provo Google Fiber team earned a trip to Google HQ and had a wonderful time!

 It's a Wonderland kind of place to work!

I taught myself a new skill in December. I learned to paper-piece quilt from You Tube and made a Christmas gift for Sarah, our Canadian daughter (!).

It's a little table runner. I had so much fun doing it and I already have my next project ready to go!

I was thrilled mid-December to get this photo text from Diana! It meant my kids were closer to getting here for the holidays! Sarah flew to Minneapolis and spent a few days with Diana, Nick, and Lucas. Then they all flew here to be with us!

Santa-Dee always wears his Cougar Santa hat all through December. It lives on our bedpost so he can wear it to swim practice some mornings.

Poor Rox was -ahem- in a ladie's way in December and we tried out these Velcro undies to keep her tidy! They worked, but she was not thrilled.

 We bought a little Christmas train this year and showed it to Lucas on Skype. He was excited to get here and play with Pa and the choo-choo!

I had a nice village all set up and the boy had fun putting Santa in the chimneys. I new it wouldn't last long, but I enjoyed it for a week or so before he got here!

We soon cleared the way for the men to have room to run the railroad. They had a blast! Notice the dinosaur in Pa's hand? It produced giggles from Lucas by chasing the train!

 I love how snugly this boy is. He melts my heart!

Christmas Eve day was fun. We all went to the Provo Rec Center and had a swimming party. What else would this family do?

Louie and Britt kept the fire stoked and had us all feeling toasty! I spy Roxie chewing her Greenie bone!

I'll share a few more photos later. I know you are on overload right now! I've got to jump into my Tardis and get some Time Travel going! See you next time!

Sharing the Love

I have some talented children! Artists, scholars, scientists, athletes, people persons. They would laugh at me and tell me I am ridiculous. I am their Mom. I can talk about them. This week I have enjoyed one of Diana's talents. She can write a fun story! I have several writers in the group. It has always been fun to go through their things from school years gone by and find the stories they wrote. Diana was particularly dramatic. They always bring a smile to my face. This week she wrote four stories on her blog. They were the real life love stories of hers and Nick's grandparents. She wrote them in the style of  fun little romance novels and states
 ~"I would like to add a little disclaimer to all my wonderful family members who might read these and say "that's not how it happened!" I want to emphasize that these are creative works of fiction based on the stories I have heard my grandparents tell. I do not use any of their names in the actual stories for that reason, and out of respect for how they might feel about this. My stories are not meant to 100% accurately reflect what actually happened (e.g. if I get the season wrong or describe a location inaccurately) but rather to capture the essence and feelings of these wonderful people. With this in mind, please be kind in your estimation of the veracity of my stories. XOXO"

If you would like some sweet, quick reads click these links:
 George & Helen

 Ken & Sharon   

 Bob & Felicia

 



Hannalore & Gunther

 Here are Nick and Diana with their amazing group of Grandparents.

 Lucas is a blessed boy to have seven living great-grandparents! My Dad is dearly missed but we feel him around us all of the time.

Each of these four couples has a sweet, fun, often amazing love story.

 Have fun reading! 

(And to Diana...Good job Honey!)

A New Look

I was bored...time for a change!
Sometimes you just have to mix it up a bit. The address of this blog remains the same but I have changed the title. I felt that "The Little House on the Corner" was a phrase I was using more and more often so I renamed my blog. I hope to be a bit more diligent in posting and share with you some of the fun things I have made lately. Tomorrow I am posting one of the cutest Valentines I have ever put together!

Watch for a few more changes as soon as I can corral my webmasters (Rachel & Britt) into helping me!