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!

Time Travel Tuesdays~A Temple, A Prophet, & Poncho Villa?

A wonderful blessing has occurred for members of my church in the Gilbert, AZ area. A beautiful new temple has been completed and dedicated to the work of the Lord. There has only been one temple in the area for just over 80 years. This will make temple attendance easier for many and relieve some strain on the old temple in Mesa.

The old temple in Mesa...it takes me back, all of this talk of temples and youth cultural celebrations and hosting the prophet. In 1975 the Mesa Arizona Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was closed for renovation and a new addition. I was 17 years old, in my senior year of high school, and very excited about everything that was planned for the re-opening and re-dedication of our temple.

The 1975 construction on the Mesa Temple added much needed locker rooms, laundry, office and lobby space. It was a busy temple as it served much of the southwest as well as Mexico and even farther south into Central and South America. The Sao Paulo, Brazil Temple was under construction but not yet complete. The Mexico City temple wasn't even announced until the following year. I remember many times groups of  Church members from Central and South America would come to Mesa by the busload. They would be taken to the Tri-Stake Center (or Inter-Stake Center as it was officially called). This building is located at 830 E. 2nd Ave. and only about a block south-east of the temple by Ellsworth Park. There they could shower, change, and  were fed by by local Relief Society sisters. They were then taken to the temple where they received their own Endowments, were sealed as couples and as families, attended as many sessions as they could in their allotted time in Mesa. It was usually only a few days then they boarded their buses and returned home. Many of them were never able to attend the temple again in their lives. The Relief Society always gathered donations of new underclothes, and new and used clothing and shoes for these Saints, most of whom were to poor to buy nice enough clothing for temple attendance. It was a labor of love.

Needing more space in the Mesa Temple, President Spencer W. Kimball authorized the construction.
There was great excitement in Mesa when the time neared that the refurbishing was complete. The Prophet was coming to Mesa, along with the rest of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Members of the Seventy, Regional Representatives, and Auxiliary Presidencies were also coming. Temple dedications were extremely rare back in those days. On the evening before the re-dedication of the temple they were all to be hosted at a dinner. It was announced that my church building, the current Lazona Ward building on the corner of Lazona and East University Ave. was to be used. The gym was as large as a Stake Center's and we had a huge kitchen. It was  the largest of the centrally located buildings in Mesa I suppose. All I know is that our ward's youth were chosen to be the servers that night and we were all thrilled! In the week leading up to the event we gathered to clean the building inside and out. My assigned task with others from my age group was to wash exterior windows. We used vinegar and newspapers and I just remember my hands turning black from the ink! We worried that we had done all of that work and our guests would probably not even notice. We were reminded that we should always put forth our very best efforts for the Lord and His servants. It didn't matter whether any of the brethren saw our windows or not. We would know that we had presented our building in its best possible light. The evening did turn out to be very lovely. I had the honor of serving the table where Apostle Mark E. Peterson sat. At the head table in the overflow space, the First Presidency each took a few moments and spoke to us and the guests of the importance of temple work and their feelings on this occasion. President Kimball was an Arizona boy and we were all so proud to claim him.

There was a funny and special memory shared by President Marion G. Romney who had a connection to Arizona as he was raised in Colonia Juarez, Mexico. He told us his memories of being a four year old boy at the time when legendary outlaw Poncho Villa was on a rampage, raiding the Mormon Colonies. He and his siblings were thrown into the back of the family's covered wagon and told to stay back away from the opening of the cover as the family literally fled for their lives. He told us that he was a naughty boy and took a peek through the wagon cover as they were  being bounced and thrown about in the back of the wagon. He saw Poncho Villa himself leading the raid on horseback, guns blazing! I think I realized for the first time how awesome our older generation was with their connection to the Old West and Pioneer days. My own grandparents were just that age.

Before the dinner began all of the youth were given "the talk" about not bothering the Prophet. If we were not chosen to serve that table we needed to stay away. We were not to go up to any of the Brethren of Sisters there and interrupt their evening. The ward members had been told to stay away as well. Soon the word went around the cultural hall like wildfire that the Prophet's car had arrived. My heart was pounding in my chest. I wanted to meet him and shake his hand so badly! They had parked on the west side of the building so I walked over to that foyer, just to peek out of the cultural hall doors and see him and the others come in. I saw, against or organizers' wishes, Primary children in their Sunday best all lined up politely, their mothers behind them, waving to President Kimball. I also saw some our youth outside.  Not many, but tears filled my eyes as I thought I might never be this near a Prophet of God again. One of my Laurel class teachers took me by the hand and said, "Marianne, you go out there and be near the prophet. Don't you miss this chance! Don't you worry about what those bossy ladies said!" I will be forever grateful to her! I went outside and stood back on the sidewalk. I just wanted to see him go by, that was all. I will never forget his smile and kindness as he left his escorts and shook hands with each Primary child, some of whom were my nieces and nephews. He greeted them sweetly and asked the boys if they were saving money for their missions. Then he glanced up and saw me and a few other youth. He came straight for us. I will never forget the warm spirit that flowed through me as I grasped his extended hand. He smiled at me and I said something like"nice to meet you." He was so short I recall placing my left hand on his shoulder as we shook hands and I was looking down into his eyes! That warm spirit has stayed with me all of these years whenever I see or hear one of our prophets speak. I know they are called of God to lead His church on Earth today.

I have never been close enough again, to a President of the Church to shake his hand. I have been in many firesides, BYU and Ricks College devotionals, and Regional Conferences where the prophet was in attendance and spoke, but I will forever cherish that beautiful moment in April of 1975 when I was touched by our prophet and felt the spirit of the Lord confirm to me the truthfulness f the Gospel of Jesus Christ

The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, April 15, 1975. L-R President Spencer W. Kimball, 1st Counselor N. Eldon Tanner, 2nd Counselor Marion G. Romney. They are standing outside of the Mesa AZ Temple  on the southwest side to show the two new additions behind them.

Here is an old postcard from the 1930's It show the original entrance on the east side.

 Here is the same views from the mid-1950's

Here is an aerial view showing what the south side of the temple looked like before the addition in '75 which took up all of the lawn and gardens in the foreground of the photo.

This is a view of the new lobby or foyer addition on the east.

 And here it is today. How I love this temple.

 It is where many generations of my family have been sealed together for time and all eternity!

A Rabbit and Busy-ness

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook this is not news but I am so happy to tell you that my dear Brittany has an amazing new job!
In January she began working as the Events Manager/Organizer for Google Fiber in Provo! She was growing restless at her old job after having done the same events over and over for four years. She yearned for new adventure and dare I say, more $$? The people at the offices in Provo have been amazing to her and she is enjoying it very much. Change is good but often hard. She's nervous abut getting it right, of course and wants them to like her. I know she will do a great job for them. They just had their big kick-off week and everything went so well. In case you don't know what Google Fiber is you can check out this link. I wish we had it in our end of the valley! Provo is only the 2nd test city in the nation and Miss B is honored to be part of something so great in it's beginning stages! We are pretty proud of her and how hard she works at whatever she is doing!

 I love their cute bunny logo! It certainly is fast fiber-optic service!

Along with her new job, Brittany was in need of a new place to live, closer in to downtown Provo. She found a great place and two very nice roommates! This means I got my sewing/guest room back!! I have been kept busy moving all of my sewing, scrap-booking, and crafting things downstairs. I am working on the mess, trying to organize and I'll show you some before and afters sometime soon. I have managed to get a few orders done amongst the chaos! Here are the latest aprons hot off the sewing table. They were a custom order for Melissa, Rachel's friend who is giving them to her Mom and mother-in-law. Sweet girl! These are the first aprons I have made that I did not choose the fabric for. Didn't she choose some pretty prints?

I hope those Moms use them and love them!

I have also finished a crocheted dolly for a friend in Washington. She wanted brown braids and a blue dress. Didn't this little gal turn out so cute?

I also had a bit of fun with the whole fox craze going on right now! I looked at a photo and made up my own pattern for this guy. What DOES the fox say, anyway?

That's what I have been up to. How about you?

Moving On

This is a strange season for me. My youngest child, my only son is finishing his public school days. This journey began for me in August of 1985 when our oldest, Sarah skipped off to her first day of kindergarten. If I did my math correctly that is 23 years of having children in public school. That's a long time folks! It's a lot of lunch boxes, brown bags, spiral notebooks, new pencils, backpacks, etc...! I feel the passage time in my body. I no longer spring out of bed, ready to do an assembly line of ponytails and ribbons, getting myself and three little girls ready for a day at school. Richard wakes up at least an hour before me. He makes his own lunches and patiently waits for his old mother to hobble down the stairs, bleary-eyed and groggy.
I love him! He is so much like his father in the way he treats me. He is kind and patient. He compliments me and always asks how I am feeling.

I looked all through my external hard drive for these photos and couldn't find them. I got out the old scrap books and took pictures of pictures, which is why they are blurry!

 

Here is Richard with his Mom (me!) the day he first met his teacher for Kindergarten
He was so proud of his Star Wars backpack and loved the huge Darth Maul band Aide on his scraped-up knee!

This is Richard after he came homeon his first day of Kindergarten in August of 2000.

If I could go back 13 years and whisper in my own ear I would tell myself to be the same kind of mother I had always been but to be brave. The ride was going to be rough and painful. While Richard has brought great joy to our lives, he has faced challenges that have given all of us sorrow too. I don't really want to focus on that but just recognize that it is a reality. He has struggled mightily, more than anyone but his Dad and I will ever know. We work with him daily, trying not to cross the line of taking over and doing it all for him. We pray for him daily, that the discouragements of the past will be replaced by a desire to achieve and continue on in his learning. He has two classes to finish through Electronic High School before he will receive his diploma. He is still working to complete some assignments at Lone Peak in order to receive credit. There will be no cap and gown, but there will be a great sigh of relief and a sense of accomplishment on all of our parts.

A few weeks ago, in meeting with one of Richard's counselors Dee was told, "just do it for him. He is so intelligent, he knows his stuff and he will be fine".  Dee offered to help Richard complete some pointless, tedious assignments that he had been putting off. Richard would have no part of that. "That would be lying Dad. I need to do it myself." Did I mention that I LOVE him?

So, while hundreds of young people are marching into the Marriot Center on Thursday in full ceremony, my son and I are going out for ice cream. We will come home and get back to work on the EHS classes. He will finish. He will go on and be a wonderful, good man.

Last Sunday Richard received his Seminary Recognition certificate for completing four years of LDS Seminary. I cried through the whole evening. Where has the time gone? I am so proud of my son and his love of the Gospel of Christ and his love of the Church. This certificate is very important to me. I wanted to take a picture of him as he shook the Stake President's hand. It was the nearest thing I'd get to a graduation photo but can you do that in the chapel? I resisted. This is what we got instead...

I love you Buddy!

The Usual Suspects

I'm rounding them up! It seems that nothing much happens from day to day at the Little House, but if I take a look at the last year or so we have seen tremendous changes. So here are the usual suspects and the change they have committed!

 The Master of the House made a major life change leaving the world of public school teaching and trying something he has wanted to do for a very long time. He is now an assistant coach for the BYU Swim Team. They are a great group of young people and his life has been so blessed. He misses his kids at Lone Peak High but he is so much more relaxed and less stressed. 

We actually see him before dinner now too! Bonus!

(back row, far left)
Best of all though, he became a Grandfather! The Cutest Coach was named after his grandfather Deward Holden and he is going by "Pa" which is what the family called the original Deward.

Graduate Student Profile

Loose, Sarah M. B.A. and M.A. Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
sarah.loose@utoronto.ca
Field: Late Medieval/Early Modern Europe, Italy
Supervisor: Nick Terpstra
Thesis Topic: L'Ospedale Santa Maria della Scala, Siena
Sarah is currently finishing her sixth year. Her dissertation will focuses on the role that L'Ospedale Santa Maria della Scala and public charity (particularly the allocation of food) played in Siena's relationships with its outlying territories in the 15th and 16th centuries.

(I swiped her Grad Student profile from the internet. I made a couple of changes

 because the only one I could find was a few years old!)

She is nearly done folks! That's a HUGE change from feeling like it will never end. She is looking for jobs and doesn't know where the future will take her. One thing we know for sure...she is amazing!
She recently got a nice break when she flew to San Diego to make a presentation at a historian's conference. The best part was taking some extra days and spending time with these her sister's family.

 Oh! Another change! She became Auntie Sarah this year too!

Event Manager accused of smashingly fun and successful events. 

Also accused of growing restless. Change is in the air, people. That's all I am saying.

Other changes include new roommates (us) after her old ones decided to move on to new places of abode, and the best one of all...She became Auntie Britt to her little Lukey Lou!

 Accused of blossoming and becoming a mother...what a change! 

This young lady has been through perhaps the biggest physical changes of all, 

unless we accuse her son himself!

She also went from working full-time to being a stay-at-home Mom  

which is a huge adjustment that she has met with grace and joy.

 I am so proud of her!

 

This man stands accused of pretty big change too. He went from being employed to not,

 and from living in Utah to living in sunny SoCal.

He went from part-time office work to full-time graduate student,

and most importantly...he turned into the most loving father!

One year down at USC San Diego, one more to go, and then what change will there be?

This girl went from being a Snow College Badger and artist in residence

 to living at home and working to get out of here again! 

Her latest adventure is a new job at the Fitness Center. 

She holds the keys folks! 

She is the night manager and shuts the place down.

 Don't you DARE be one of the patrons who takes their sweet time

 in the locker rooms after closing time!

She Loves being an aunt to this sweet little baby too! How cool will it be for Lucas to have little cartoons of himself drawn by his Auntie Rachel!

 

Our in-house Master Sword holder stands accused of great growth, physically and emotionally.

 Take for example this photo from just a year ago:

w

...and just a few months ago!

Notice he's taller than Sarah there, in December...and if I could get him to stand up straight you'd really see it!
Sarah and I are both 5'8" and he is even taller now.
I look way up into his eyes now.
Kinda makes me blue!
My BABY!

He loves his little nephew and I have loved watching him grow confident around a little baby.
He has become such a good young man. He is always so willing to go Home teaching with his Dad and has taken the lead in recent months in making the appointments and preparing the message. He made a huge change this school year in completely switching over from American Fork High to Lone Peak High. Sadly, it was the year his father no longer worked there, but Dee's colleagues have taken Richard under their wings ad helped him have a great experience. He actually likes going to school now and is on track to graduate on time...fingers crossed!


Our final suspect not only has had tremendous change in just the past 7 months,
 but won't stop changing!
5 lbs. 6 oz
on Sept. 1, 2012

 Down in the 4 lb. range and five weeks in the NICU.

His first Easter in March, and 15 lbs!

 Meeting a butterfly in his sunny new California home!

Me? Have I done any changing this year? Why, yes I have! I know I shared this photo before, but I love being a grandmother! Such joy I cannot describe as I have felt watching Lucas come into this world and watching my daughter become such a great Mom!

Oh, and I am working out again. I have lost 20 pounds since last year.
CHANGE!