New and "Improved"

Great story...had to share...The middle-aged woman ends up injured in a car accident.  Paramedics rush her to the hospital.  As she floats in and out of consciousness, she begs God to keep her alive.  He tells her not to worry.  He promises her a long, long life.  It isn't her time to go.  While she's in the hospital recovering from her broken bones, she figures she might as well get a few other things done.  She opts for a tummy tuck, and, oh, why not get the breast augmentation?  She has her eyes lifted and her nose reduced.  She looks and feels like a new woman.  She's so pleased with her new body and young face, she can't wait to show the world.  Minutes after she leaves the hospital for home, a bus rounds the corner, slams into her, and kills her.  When she gets to Heaven, she's furious.  "You said I was going to live a long life.  What happened?"  He studies her face and says, "I didn't recognize you!" 

If we threw all of our problems in a pile, we'd take our own back.  Not because they are easier, but because we own them.  Our lessons.  Our honors.  Our gifts.  Our blessings.  SO grateful for mine.

Too Good to Not Share

--Some thoughts on adversity:  “Life is a series of problems:  Either you are in one now, you’re just coming out of one, or you’re getting ready to go into another one.  The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.  God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy."

Pastor Rick Warren

PS.  I am amending this to say that He wants us Holy AND happy.

"The Year" Rolls into "Years"



My very wise, very older brother sent me a text early yesterday morning that said "For some things we don't need reminders.  Because we can't and don't want to forget.  Thinking of you."  Thanks Z.  This is a perfect description of how I feel.  I want and need to function in all of my roles, but I don't ever want to stop being sad that My Guy is no longer with me in mortality.  I don't think one day has passed without at least a few tears, and I am great with that.  So is Bill.  I know he wants me to be happy, but I also know that he is just fine knowing that the love I feel for him has somehow become perfected, and he is very well missed.  Anything that "takes me back" to the hospital is very hard.  I have been "back to the hospital" since April 12.  Friday and Saturday were especially hard, because whatever the calendar says, Saturday will always be the anniversary for me.  I have even found myself missing my mom.  She adored Bill.  It really would have been so nice to have her through all of this.  I watched her tender care of Craig and Pam when they were struggling with their "tiny cups". She visited with Pam on the phone every day.  It really was one of Mom's finest hours.  I was so proud of her love and concern.  She has been gone three years on the 30th.  Wow, what we have all been through in such a short span of time.  We are so blessed to have each other.  We have the most amazing family ever.  I managed school yesterday very well.  Then I ran myself ragged running all over the county because I had decided that I HAD to buy my plants that day.  Also that I needed something called New Guinea Impatiens.  I had to have them for the courtyard.  I have always wanted them and always forget when I do my planting.   Anyway, I finally found them.  Then the plant I had on Bill's grave was almost dead, so that had to be replaced.  On to the grocery store for dinner food.  We were having spaghetti, and I wanted it to simmer for a long time.  Friends visiting, phone ringing and dinging.  All were great distractions that worked very well.  Family arrived before my return from a quick "sick friend" visit.  We had a wonderful time together.  We ate dinner and thanks to Jeff and Brooke, we discovered something amazing called Ruby Snap cookies.  I wish I had taken a picture before they were devoured!  We missed the family that wasn't there, but it is always good/sad/helpful to be together.  Because the basement is in the biggest mess that ever was, and we now have to venture into the last realm of Bill's things that haven't been gone through, and now have to because the room is going to be carpeted, we ended up sifting through memories.  We found the "long looked after racing suit" that Jeff has been hoping we would find.  We found some more great Ferrari pictures.  It was a very good way to end the evening.  Liz, Josh, and I took Jeff home and found ourselves at the cemetery.  It sometimes seems to me that Bill is everywhere, but there.  I feel him with me every day.  Of course.  He is Bill.  He is going to be involved in whatever is happening in the basement or in any of our lives.  Love you, Babe.


The beautiful roses that were delivered with the exact words that I had been praying I would hear.

The perfect flowers for Bill delivered by a dear friend.





Never too young to get hooked on the phone.

Spencer's Big Day

Congratulations, Spenceroo on making such a great choice to get baptized!  The day was not without temptations to resist that tepid water, but  you kept choosing right.  You are a neat young man, and Papa and I love you so very much.  Thanks for inviting me to share your special day with you and speak about the Holy Ghost.  (Thanks Patty, for my talk...went very well).  Remember Spencer, "Life is Rough, Wear that Helmet!"  I hope you are making sure that your mom doesn't cheat when playing Bananagrams, because we know this is a bad choice!

Our Girls

Happy Late Mother's Day to my amazing girls.  They are wonderful moms to all of our adorable grandchildren.  Kelsey is running all the day long working "down south" and shuttling kids back and forth to school and doing it very well.  Brooke is the queen of baseball this Spring.  Three boys playing this season.  It has to be a record!  Tracie is keeping track of Spencer.  He loves Karate, most of the time, and was very happily baptized this month.  Mariah works and keeps Toryn in preschool and on the slopes!  Jenn has her hands full with her three, planting flowers in the whole neighborhood and managing pets!  Lindsay manages to take a meal to someone almost every night, playgroup, room mom of the year, and all between weekly trips to Disneyworld!  Lisa is enjoying being new mom to her beautiful new doll.  Liz takes good care of  her little munchkins and is getting plenty of practice for the main event.  You get up early, stay up late, fix meals, do homework, clean up after, teach, pray, do laundry, and still find time to care about others.  All in all, we stand in awe of all that you all do, and all that you all are!  We have the most amazing bunch of grand kids ever!!  Your kids have THE MOST AMAZING MOMS EVER!!  We are so grateful for our wonderful family and our many blessings.  We are so blessed to have each other.  Love you all!!

Happy Mother's Day, mom!

Thank you for always singing "Love at Home" to ease the fighting...my kids love that I carry on that tradition...Thank you for all the amazing rolls with our Sunday dinners...Thank you for introducing us to Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, and Doris Day...Thank you for family trips all by yourself, trips to La Jolla, Carmel, Palm Springs, and....RENO...the biggest little city...and a hotel stay none of us will EVER forget!...Thank you for countless late night slumber parties (which includes Love Boat, Matlock, and Magnum P.I.)...Thank you for morning scripture study, as well as dinner scripture study when Bill moved in...Thank you for being a smart republican, and knowing more about politics than anyone I know. I think I've learned to form an opinion AFTER I've discussed the topic with you...Thank you for always running late because it make me neurotic about being on time. Thanks for your love, support, and never failing words of wisdom...I sure love and appreciate you so much, especially on this Mother's Day. I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for sending me to someone that I could look up to and who is the perfect example in every way of who I want to be like. Your strength and positive attitude through your trials in life have had a profound effect on me in ways I don't think I could ever even begin to tell you. Thank you, mom, for not only being the best mom in the world, but also the best friend I could ever ask for. LOVEYOUTONS!!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Thank you mom for:
Bringing me into this life to a warm and safe home.
Trying to teach me to cook.
Teaching me to always try to look my best, wherever I was going.
Loving the sun.
Tending my kids at a time in your life when you should have been relaxing.
Loving to hear every detail of my courtship with Bill, and adoring him.
Having a testimony of the Gospel.
Trying to "save a nickel" for your kids.
Being so brave at the end.
I love you!

Grandma Laura

I have been inspired today by my "East Coast Cousins" to pay tribute to the mothers in my life.  Grandma Zundel has to be at the top of that list.  We visited often, and she personified exactly what a grandmother should be.  As I aspire to be a memorable grandmother, she reminds me of the distance that I have yet to travel.  We were always guests when we arrived.  We had her full attention.  We played cards, we read movie magazines, we knitted, we crocheted (did not accomplish this feat with her, however), we made Barbie clothes extraordinaire, and we prayed.  My parents weren't active in the church til I was in junior high, when my brother went on a mission.  My grandparents prayed on their knees at every breakfast and at every dinner.  This had a huge impact on me.  It is a treasured memory of a feeling that I will never forget.  I had no idea what family prayer was about until then.  Thank you, Grandma Z for that memory.

Grandma was an exceptional candy maker.  At Christmas time she would visit our store (we all worked through the holidays every day and night), and brought a giant platter of homemade treats.  I have made at least 100 batches of divinity trying to emulate her product, without success.  She always had us to dinner on Christmas Eve because my mom was busy doing her shopping with what was left in the store unsold.  It made Christmas so special.  I am so grateful that she lived to see me as a young adult.  I have learned stories about her when Grandpa Z was in the Stake Presidency with Elder Packer.  The story goes that they were having an important visitor from SLC.  The dinner was to be at the Zundel's house, which wasn't very big.  The decision was made to shorten the guest list to accommodate the crowd.  This would have eliminated Elder Packer because he was a clerk or secretary.  Grandma said that "No, he was certainly to be invited".  "No one was to be left out", said Hart's wife.  What a great story.  I believe there is mention of something about it in a book about  President Packer.  I can't remember how it goes, and I am not home to check my sources.  The important thing is, whether it is true or not, it certainly COULD be true.  Anyone that knew her would certainly say, "that sounds just like Laura".  Happy Mother's Day, Grandma, you are one of the best!!

Erma Bombeck

I was reminded of Erma Bombeck in my new favorite book the other day.  I was sad at the thought that someone that had been such a ray of sunshine in my life, when I was a young mom, would be unknown by our daughters.  She had so many wise and witty things to say about life.  She was what we call "An American Humorist".  She wrote 4,000 newspaper columns that we read in 900 papers.  She wrote about "the ordinary suburban housewife".  She published 15 books.  The two that I remember best were "The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank" and "If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What am I Doing in the Pits?"  She was diagnosed at a young age with kidney disease and also endured breast cancer.  She passed away at the young age of 69 from complications due to a kidney transplant.  At the end of her life she penned a list of her regrets. 
IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER,
I would have gone to bed when I was sick, instead of pretending the world would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage. 
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a  summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed. 
I wouldn't have worried about grass stains from sitting on the lawn.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the chance in life to assist God in a miracle.  When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later, go get washed up for dinner."  More "I love yous", and more "I'm sorrys".
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute of it...look at it and really see it...try it on...live it...and never give it back.  STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!!

Great advice, Erma.  I am working on my list.

Great Quotes by E.B.
"Insanity is hereditary. You can catch it from your kids."

"My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first one being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint."

"There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child."

"If a man watches three football games in a row, he should be declared legally dead."

"Mothers-in-law who wear a black armband to the wedding are expendable."

"The only reason I would take up jogging is so I could hear heavy breathing again."

"Ironed Sheets are a health hazard."

"Laughter rises out of tragedy, when you need it the most, and rewards you for your courage."

"Dreams have only one owner at a time. That's why dreamers are lonely."

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'"

"In general, my children refused to eat anything that hadn't danced on TV."

"When humor goes, there goes civilization."

"Seize the moment. Think of all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved off the dessert cart."

"Never loan your car to anyone to whom you've given birth."

"The grass is always greener over the septic tank."

"A child needs your love more when he deserves it least."

"There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt."

"It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else."

"If you can laugh at it, you can live with it."

"I told you I was sick." (She requested this to be her epitaph.)

The Basement

We have had a lot of fun getting the basement ready for Liz and Josh. A lot of fun and probably, too many memories. When Bill and I got married, he kept telling the girls that he was going to get the bathroom finished downstairs. We took a long time to finish the bathroom in the basement. There were many reasons. One big one, aside from financial, was that Bill didn't want the girls to watch TV down there and make out with their boyfriends. He had heard in a meeting that kids with dates should not be in their parents basement unsupervised. Anyway, he did finally get the bathroom finished. I think Liz was the only one left home when it happened. Jenn and Fam got to enjoy it for a while when they did their time with us. In our new "redo" we decided to tile the whole bathroom floor instead of just part of it. When they tore the carpet up, they uncovered the long forgotten Bill "heart" mk. Some of it got covered up again before I got a picture, but I think you get the idea. You can see the "Bill" clearly and the top of the heart. Thanks, Babe. You're the best!

A Couple of Strays

I found a couple of stray cats the other day.  Their name tags said that their names are Christian and Leopold.  Cute names.  Cute cats.  I am not a big fan of cats, but these two were just irresistible.  They are of the orange variety.  I am not sure what the technical name for the "orange variety" is, but I am sure there is one.  I thought maybe I could keep them for chew toys for Maddie.  Sometimes she gets bored with me.  I am not fond of exercising her.  The cats were OK with this, but then they let me know that they had owners, and "said" owners were part of the package.  Did I mention that Liz and Josh are the owners?  Yes, I now have cats.   Cats AND boarders.  Liz and Josh spent their first night last night.  In honor of their arrival we decided to at long last finish the basement.  That would be the part of the basement that Bill was painting as recently as 14 months ago.  He's thrilled that we are finally getting it done.  I am thrilled.  It looks beautiful.  Liz and Josh are thrilled.  Josh can go to school full time and work part time.  Right now their stuff is everywhere, except in the basement.  Their arrival preceded the carpet by two nights.  But tomorrow they will get to "set up shop".  I am grateful that I have been brave about being alone these many nights.  I am grateful that I am not alone now.  I am grateful that I can help them out a bit.  I am grateful that I no longer have to pay someone to mow my lawn.  Hey, no rent=free lawn care!  Great blessings all around.