Stepping forward

The house is quiet!! The kids are all almost in bed. All but one. Gea is purposefully staying up all night at her Senior lockin. She will be home at about 5:30 in the morning. We witnessed Gea move the tassel from one side of the mortar board (cap) to the other signifying commencement and stepping forward into the adult world.

Graduation is an important thing and I really can remember vividly specific things about the graduation of each of my children. Gea joins the ranks as # 7 and has big shoes to fill as she looks to the examples of wonderful brothers and sisters!!

Graduation was held at the high school and even though parking was tight, I thought it was much more personal to have it there rather than in the traditional Hart Auditorium at BYU-I. Aunt Kelly, Grandma C and Ashley and Lindsey came up and Joni Jackson and Lisa, Evelin and Jesse surprised us with a visit. I have to admit that this graduation hits me in the heart and if I'm not careful I get somewhat emotional. She graduated with a good class--8 valedictorians!! and 55 of 88 who earned the honors diploma. That's big! and quite a few hispanics as well. You don't usually see them graduate.

Gea will never understand how she has influenced our lives and family. She is a sweetheart and exemplifies our Savior very well. She has big plans and we plan that she stays strong.

Lists. . .

I was trained to make lists. My mom did detailed lists starting at 5:30 .m. with time limits for each project, ending at 10:00 p.m. or whenever it was that she went to bed and crossed things off as they were done. She was a stay-at-home-mom and was busy. She even scheduled naps!!

I tried that..didn't work. I allowed too many things to creep in=between the lines or I just didn't have enough foresight. So I tried just long daily lists. By the end of the day very little was crossed off the list and needless to say I felt a bit like Shawn who says almost daily "I didn't get anything done!!" And I wonder what he did all day (me, too!!)

My next trial list was to start out the day with a blank sheet and to add things as I accomplished them and cross them off. That gave me a feeling of accomplishment but I still had silent lists in my head of "thousands" of things still now done.


Then I tried on Sunday night making a list for the whole week and try each night to find the things that need to be done the next day. Still, I just don't seem to make it.

Well this last week I have been shooting for a project, and I can downsize it as time permits, that I can actually see getting done. This morning it was cleaning the inside of my van. It was dirty so when I was done it looked dang good. I mopped my filthy tile tonight. I have gone through my music, I have helped Gea start to de-junk her room. There are other boring things but to me have been small milestones. Oh, there are still piles and piles of things I want to do, can do, should do and have to do, but the small have-dones sure feel good as well. Maybe only one or two crossed out things on my lists is good!!

I'll still do lists. It's ingrained in me. I am changing how I look at what actually gets done. It's all good as Jasmine would say.

A missed but not forgotten milestone

Just a PS to my last blog and I can't believed I overlooked this!! Jasmine, number 11 turned 15 on May 9. How can that be?? She is my baby! No wonder I forgot!! What a joy she is!! Life without her would just not be complete.

May is a significant month for me (us) and more things were added. Today Shawn and I celebrated 31 years of marriage and I can't imagine life without him. When we were first married and had our struggles as we tried to mesh our lives, some good friends of our told us that 10 years was the magic time and we needed to aim for 10 years together. Well, we passed that and now 11 kids, 2 son-in-laws, 5 grand children and a whole bucketload of good memories and experiences later we look forward to even more great things. Shawn is a good man and takes good care of us. I don't know of anyone who works harder and teaches values than he does. (But then I might be prejudiced...)

Gea graduates this month, number 7 to graduate; Leona NaThel made her appearance on May 5 one day before her mother and dad's anniversary even though they celebrate a week later that marks the day they were sealed in the temple. Emily called all the way from the Philippines on Mother's day--the 11th. She has been in the mission field for 6 months!! Oh I love technology! It was so good to hear her voice and feel he joy! Jesse, Krista's second son, turns 3 May 21. It seems like just yesterday they brought him home to meet us all!!

Life is so good. I am so grateful for good friends and a wonderful family! And a good place to live and good places that I have lived.

What matters most

I have been following Krista and her wonderful insight to mommy-parenthood. I'm not blind. I know that there are tuff times but looking back you really only remember the good times and memories. So it is important to make lots of them. This last little while is memory time.

To get Emily's e-mails from Philippines EVERY Monday and to see her progress is wonderful. To have been with Krista and her family in the Vernal temple will be a long-time memory; there with Joseph, Spencer and Brigham made an almost complete picture.

We've made and watched memories made with Brigham's friends and rejoiced with each one as they have headed to the future. We have (almost) cried when Brigham took off to the wild-blue Tulsa area with Spencer.

We wait with anticipation as Earl and Sarah await the arrival of "baby Lona". We rejoice in good grades and won (and lost) games, we ooh and aah at pretty dresses and handsome men going off to dances.

All this in just the last little while!!

What happened to MY babies??? Oh, that I could go back and play in puddles, make snow angels, play fox and geese, giggle into the night, have midnight ice cream or hot chocolate. I admit, I missed some special times but I also have great memories of big steps my kids have made in struggles, choices, and triumphs. I am glad to have been a part of the successes.

Yes, life is good and, it only gets better! Most of the time!!