Betty Crockers

Betty would have been proud. On Thursday I gathered with 3 other women, members of our Mom's Group, and cooked 20+ meals for our friend who is expecting her third child. It was her idea to prep as many meals as possible in one day for freezing, an excellent idea for any mother-to-be. She had done all the menu planning and shopping ahead of time and even had the chicken cooked for all the meals calling for chicken.

We brought our aprons, knives and our children and we cooked from 9:30 in the morning to 3:00 in the afternoon - with one quick break for lunch.

As we "clucked" around the kitchen we talked and we laughed. It made me think of the days when gatherings like this were common. Though the days of sewing circles, tea socials and cake of the month clubs are all but gone, yesterday was a good reminder of the bond we have as women. How we can gather in friendship and help each other in times of need. And how enriching it was to experience this camaraderie amongst women, amongst friends.

Sarah, Lisa, Gayle and mother-to-be Cheyenne.

Just a few of the kids watching a DVD while we cooked. The others were playing outside.

Sleep Tight

Eric built Kaleb a headboard for his bed. It is beautifully crafted out of old barn wood from a barn he tore down years ago.

TEN is just the beginning

Ten years ago today I married my love. My wedding was so much fun, everything I could have hoped it to be. We had many, many friends and family there to celebrate with us.

When you have a big family (like I do) and a friend list of 100+ (like Eric did) you're pretty much destined to have a very large wedding. I remember talking about what kind of wedding we wanted and we decided we either had to have a very small and quaint wedding, just inviting immediate family, or have a large wedding and invite everyone. We opted for the later, to the dismay of my parents I'm sure. :)

It's hard to believe that Eric and I met the middle of January 2000, got engaged in March and married on June 3rd, 2000. One might ask what we were thinking. I can look back now and say we weren't thinking! HA We did a lot of things very quickly to get ready for the wedding, but even in haste, everything pulled together well and we pulled off a wedding and reception with 200+ guests. Another great blessing was the weather. When you're having a June 3rd wedding in Montana you just never know what to expect. We LUCKED out and had a beautiful warm, sunny day with temps around 75.

I dug into the photo archives to find some wedding pictures (remember, digital cameras were not in use). How fun it was to look back and remember my wedding day. Here's to many more years.....

Before the wedding

Getting my dress on

Eric and his groomsmen hamming it up

The wedding party

Ryan and Rachael

Till death do us part

My reception pants - part of my "3 piece ensemble" I never wore these pants at the reception because yes, I thought I looked fat in them. Oh boy, if I only knew....

Jitterbugging with my baby, FYI he is an awesome dancer! The reception was so much fun.

My grandparents cutting a rug

Gifts and more gifts

The sunset on our wedding day. What a perfect end to a perfect day!

Memories on Memorial Day

I am one of the lucky ones. I fondly knew three of four of my great-grandparents and all four of my grandparents. Yesterday I visited 5 cemeteries in the beautiful Ruby Valley. I watched my dad, a member of the American Legion, shoot off his gun in honor of the veterans, 3 times at each cemetery. It was chilling and touching, and even tear provoking.

At the Sheridan cemetery I visited my paternal grandparent's graves. I didn't stay there long, but their memory played in my head all day long. I recalled Grandpa Bill sitting in his chair at the kitchen window watching the birds; feeding the crows; his arm tattoo he acquired in the army; his voice as he called my brother, his namesake, "Michael William." I can see Grandma Rene hobbling around the kitchen waiting on everyone hand and foot; pouring orange juice and serving red jello; asking us to help her find the lost key to things we wanted to get into. Her waking us to go "peeper" in the middle of the night; her petticoat; the way she twisted her diamond earings on her ears, her hands.

At Taylor Hill in Alder I visited my maternal great-grandparents graves. I had not been there since my great-grandmother's funeral in 1997. It was an overdue visit. Once again, it wasn't long that I was there, but I thought about them all day. I kept playing in my head the games of casino my brother and I played with Grandma and Grandpa Mag; picking raspberries in their garden; their tulips and peonies; how Grandpa held his cards for everyone to see and was still able to win; sneaking into the deep freeze and looking for Grandma's cookies if the cookie jar was empty; having tea with her; her creamed potatoes, peas and carrots; grandpa sleeping in the chair, his suspenders; his warm smile.

I didn't make it to the Point of Rocks cemetery where my Grandma and Grandpa Red are laid to rest. My Grandma Red was one of a kind. She was wise and funny and old. I remember her laugh, the smell of her house, the ranch we loved to play at, the stories of her big family and tough upbringing; her afghans, pillowcases and doilies; following her from Sheridan to Twin as she drove perfectly (at age 99), her love for God.

Grandpa Red is the only one I didn't have the privilege of knowing - but he did get to know me for a few year. He died in 1979 when I was 3.

Here are a few pictures of my cherished grandparents. They are certainly missed!

Great Grandpa Vic and Great Grandma Martha with me and my brother Mike

Great Grandpa Ralph and Great Grandma Clara with me as a baby

Grandpa Bill and me on my wedding day. He looked so handsome!

Grandma Rene with me and my cousin Trevor

Black & White Beauties

Is Wednesday over yet?

It may be hump day, but I feel like I'm on the uphill side of the hump. Ever read the book Wacky Wednesday? That's pretty much what's happening in my house today.

For starters, everyone in my house got up entirely too early and I'm beginning to wonder if everyone got up on the wrong side of the bed as well? This bleak weather doesn't help. Is Wednesday over yet?

My house is TRASHED. And I mean that. I have no ambition to pick up toys and crumbs or this morning's breakfast. Clean laundry is piled on the couch needing to be folded. Towels were folded and in the basket needing to be put away until a certain 2 year old tore them all out. Remnants of yesterday's cheese and cracker snack remain on the floor. It's gross. Is Wednesday over yet?

I couldn't get the fire going this morning and smoked up the house. Then got irritated that I was building a fire on May 12th. My freshly washed hair smells like smoke and it's bugging me so much I think I'll be on shower number two if time permits. Is Wednesday over yet?

Both my sons are whiny. Kaleb has stripped down to the buff twice already today (and probably counting). He's had 7.3 meltdowns and has said "I want daddy to be home" at least 13 times.

Nothing I do will keep Jaxon happy. Is Wednesday over yet?

I ate 3 pretzels and a yogurt for lunch. I've popped 3 tylenol and 3 advil (not at the same time) because my stiff neck hurts so terribly bad, but I don't feel an ounce better. Is Wednesday over yet?

I'm looking forward to home group tonight to get out of the house and have adult conversation. I'm cooking side dish for dinner but don't have the carrots I need.
T-minus 2.5 hours and daddy will be home! Hopefully he'll have the carrots.

Psalm 5:3

As I sat in the bathtub last night I spoke to God. It was a wonderful time of relaxation and peace, but also a time of much needed conversation with my heavenly father. As I poured out my soul to him, he revealed to me that I need to be more disciplined and spend more time with him in prayer. I was convicted, once again, to spend more time in prayer with Eric and set strong examples for my children. How will they know to pray if they don't see me/us praying. It became more clear than ever that I was doing a disservice to my my marriage, my children and my soul.

Eric and I have never been good at praying as a couple. I can't say there's a reason why we don't. Recently however, we had a conversation about our desire to pray together and how important it is to do so. After discussing our schedules, we came to the conclusion that WE HAD NO TIME TO PRAY, except in the EARLY MORNING.

Those that know me, know that I am an owl rather than a chicken. I don't do mornings, let alone early mornings. If this idea would have been presented to me a month ago I would not have been ready to commit to rising early to pray with my husband. But God really does have mysterious ways. You see, for the past month or so, Jaxon has been waking around 6:30. At first I thought he was just off his schedule. But morning after morning of waking bright eyed and bushy tailed, smiling and laughing and greeting the new day with glee, I realized this WAS his schedule. One can't help taking on the gleeful attitude of a happy baby, even if it is in the six o'clock hour of the morning. Ironically, I have grown to become less grumpy and more happy, and perhaps for the first time in my life, actually ENJOY rolling out of bed at an early hour. This is only one small example of God's perfect planning.

At 6:30am this morning, I rose, grabbed a cup of strong coffee made by my loving husband (I didn't mention that he is a natural early bird) took a few sips, grabbed my bible and retreated for the couch. Right behind me was Eric. We sat, in the still of the morning, held hands, and prayed together. We prayed for our children, for our marriage, for our families. We thanked God for his infinite wisdom, that He is in control of our destiny, our house selling, our next stepping stone in our life that we get so stressed about. We thanked him for the beautiful morning and the purple mountains. What was suppose to be fifteen minutes turned into thirty.

Probably the biggest irony yet is that this particular morning Jaxon decided to catch up on sleep and slept in. God's scheduling brings a smile to my face.

"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayers unto thee, and will look up." Psalm 5:3