Like Father, Like Son

I find it interesting that children are born with certain tendencies.  Some of my children sucked their thumbs when they were little.  Some didn't.  Only one sucked his fingers and his son now does the same thing.  I wonder if that tendency is hereditary or not.  Another son sucked his thumb and his daughter sucks hers.  My twins didn't suck anything and their children don't either.  The one who is breaking the trend is my youngest.  He sucked his thumb but his daughter sucks a pacifier.  Food for thought:)

A Sad Observation

This morning, after reading the paper and some articles in a magazine, I thought, again, about the phenomenon and the tragedy of parents being totally shocked and blown away by the actions of their children.  These are children who have committed horrible crimes, or become terrorist sympathizers or who have committed suicide and their parents never saw it coming.

I have thought about this a lot over the years and feel very sad that our society has become one where the parents can't or won't get to know their children enough to recognize when they need help, serious help.  I understand that there are many single moms out there who are working multiple jobs to support their families and there are multitudes of people who are dealing with their own issues such as addictions, challenging marriages, health issues and many more but it saddens me that so many parents don't recognize the incredible influence they have over their children and how just a few minutes of attention and guidance each day could possibly avert so many tragedies.

I was raised to believe that children are a precious gift to be taught and loved and nurtured and that there was nothing more important I could ever do with my life than to fulfill that sacred calling.  I was blessed to be able to have the time to commit to that calling because my husband agreed that I could accomplish my job best by being at home with the children while they grew up so he worked hard to make that possible.  I realize that not everyone has that kind of support system.  I do, however, believe that all parents could do better at taking their job more seriously, no matter what their circumstances.  I think that they don't understand the impact they can have on their children's lives.  They underestimate their role as a parent.

When I think of one of my children doing something horrific, I can't really process it.  I know them so well.  I have made it my business to know them very well.  When they lived in my home there wasn't a day that would go by that I didn't talk to them and ask them about their lives and get to know their friends and their challenges.  With that kind of attention they didn't have time to slip away from me and become someone who could shock me with their actions.

I think parents are afraid of offending their children or making them uncomfortable by prying too much.  I'm quite sure there are things that each one of my children have done that I don't know about and wouldn't be very happy about but I know their hearts and I stayed close enough to them to be able to steer them back to where they needed to be before things got out of hand.  I wish all parents could realize that their children need them and want to be guided by them even if they may not act like it sometimes.  It is the most important job we will ever have and it doesn't last very long.  We have plenty of time once they are out of our homes to do what we think we want to.  I hope we won't take this responsibility for granted and that we will do our very best with these precious souls that God has entrusted to us.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was AWESOME!  I had so much fun with my Utah crew.  We saw movies, Christmas lights at temple square in Salt Lake, cute boutiques in Bountiful, extended family in Provo and had a beautiful, delicious Thanksgiving dinner. I got to see a sister that I rarely get to see.  We stayed at Tanner and Alana's house most of the time but Hunter, Aleigh, Oaklyn and Savannah came and stayed there with us for part of the time.  We played Wii and Ava beat me most of the time.  (Vannie beat me all of the time).  We watched BYU kill Utah St. I love being with my family.  Even though it was freezing up there we still had a great time.  Family is forever and mine is Forever Moore.

Empathy

Empathy is a wonderful quality to possess but it can be really tough on leaky faucets like me.  Ever since I was a little girl I would "feel" everything way more than most.  When I see people experiencing emotions, I imagine myself feeling what they are feeling and it gets magnified like crazy.  If someone is crying  because they are happy or sad or hurt or any other strong emotion, I can't help but cry with them.  I don't even have to know them.  I just imagine what happened to them happening to me and I burst into tears with them.

I had a rough weekend this last weekend.  My husband and I went to a movie that I'm sure you've never heard of.  It was called "My All American" and I could have swam out of the theater because of the amount of tears I shed.  It was a true story and happened when I was 10 years old and I had never heard of any of the people involved but it could have so easily happened to me that I couldn't stop imagining how everyone involved must have felt.  I was feeling for just about every
character in the movie. It is about a college football player who dies of bone cancer in his sophomore year of college and the people he leaves behind.  I cried for his mom, his dad, his coach, his fiancé and especially for him.  I felt everything they felt and I was dying.  I am the mother of a college football player.  I am married to his father.  I have grown very close to coaches who have grown very close to my children.  I have loved and married a college athlete.  It could have happened to me and I felt that so strongly.

I came home and saw on Facebook that some very close friends in my ward had to part from each other as one of the families moved away for a couple of years.  Looking at the pictures of their children, who are best friends, reminded me of when our family's best friends got moved out of our ward by boundary changes and we were heart broken.  Then that lead to thinking about the mother of that family who was my best friend and how she is in Heaven now and the tears just wouldn't stop flowing.  I was feeling for every one of those young moms  and their children who were now parted from each other for what will feel like a very long time.  They are all young enough to be my children and grandchildren but I felt their pain and sadness as if if were my own.  That's hard.

Once I'm in emotional meltdown mode it is very hard to stop.  Every little thing that feels sad in my life gets magnified so that I just can't seem to stop crying.  Sunday mornings are tough for me because that is one of the times that I miss my young family the most.  So, Sunday rolled around and apparently I wasn't quite done crying so I just let it all out and the weird thing was that I was still thinking of all of the people that I had already cried for, the movie characters and the ward friends and they just all jumbled up into one really good cry.   After I was finally done and dehydrated I felt much better.  None of those people benefited from my tears for them so I really wish I could get a grip and not have to have sore eyes for two days over people  who don't even know I'm feeling for them, ha ha! So, just so you know, if I know and love you then I am going to be crying for you during all your ups and downs whether you like it or not:)

Contention is of the Devil

I have an inordinately strong aversion to contention.  Of any kind.  Even if I'm not even involved.  It's a physical problem.  I can't stand it if I know people are mad at each other and I have a physical meltdown if I think someone is unhappy with me.  I can't listen to or watch one minute of political debates because they are almost completely made up of people being mean to each other or even just disagreeing with each other.  My stomach starts to ache and I get shaky and weak and I have to leave the room.  I couldn't stand having my children argue or fight with each other and stopped it as soon as it started.  As adults, if I hear them strongly disagreeing with each other, I have to leave the room.  I really can't believe that the Lord sent such a wimp down to this hard world.  I'm pretty sure that's why I don't actively cultivate friends and why I prefer much smaller groups or no one at all.  I'm simply scared of offending someone or seeing them get offended at each other in front of me.  See?  Wimp. I'm sure I've only made it this far because I hang out with people who have been taught and believe that contention is of the Devil and they are trying to be Christ-like in their treatment of others so there are less frequent episodes of contention taking place and much quicker repentance and amends being made.  Everybody just needs to love and appreciate everybody else.  Please!  World Peace:)

Observation

On my walk today I was thinking about my week and what I have planned and I remembered that we are going to a wedding reception this weekend.  Luckily, I didn't have to worry about what I was going to give the happy couple as I have been giving the same thing to everyone for several years.  Having 6 married children and listening to them talk about their weddings I found that they all wanted just one thing for their weddings, money.  They had gotten all kinds of useful stuff at the bridal showers and they discovered that registering was basically a joke as all the husbands just shot the gun at everything in site.  They all got multiple things that they had to take back because either they got more than one of them or they didn't really want them in the first place, they just had to put something on their registry.  They all said that they wanted more cash for their honeymoons and that they enjoyed picking out stuff together after they had settled into their places.  So, I give money to every newly wed couple and know that they will use it however they want and be grateful for it.

I Love You

There has been quite a bit written about people's individual love languages or how they show and receive love.  There are those who like to do things for people and have things done for them.  Some like to give gifts and be given gifts in return.  Others like to give and receive praise for their actions.  Then there are those who like to say and hear "I love you".  It is my opinion that even though you might be dominant in one or the other categories there is no more direct way to express love than to just say it.  I think that everyone appreciates a heartfelt "I love you" once in awhile.  The very best, in my opinion, are the times when a very young child says it to you.  You know that there is no ulterior motive and that they really feel it in their hearts because they are too young to have any deceit involved.  It melts my heart when my grandchildren tell me that they love me.  It's pretty cool when my kids say it too because we aren't around each other very much anymore so when they say it, it feels really real, especially the "out of nowhere", spontaneous ones.  I told myself a long time ago that if I was ever feeling an abundance of love for someone at a certain time, enough for it to be a conscious thought, then I would come right out and say it to them.  I love my family so much that they hear it, spontaneously, from me a lot and even if it's not their primary love language they are pretty good at convincing me that they love me too when they say it back.  You can never go wrong or give the wrong message when you just come out and say those wonderful words so I highly recommend that they become a large part of your vocabulary.  The End.

More Randomness

I am very thankful for creative people who put into words things that are in my heart. I love words that flow and sayings that speak to my heart.  A recent one that really said exactly what I think all the time in a way that I didn't think of but can very much appreciate is:

"Sometimes memories sneak out of my eyes and roll down my cheeks."

I absolutely LOVE this saying.  It is perfectly true while being sweet and creative.  It is exactly what I go through every single day of my life.  I have so many great memories that they tend to overflow down my cheeks every single day.  That doesn't mean I'm sad every day.  It just means that I remember, every single day, the incredible life I've been privileged to live.  So, at this time of Thanksgiving and gratefulness, I am thankful for talented people who are willing to share their words with the rest of us and express, oh so eloquently, the feelings in our hearts.

Traditional works for me

I love reading about celebrities.  I'll admit that I am very starstruck by people who have done anything to make millions of other people know who they are.  I've had a secret desire (as I'm betting most of the world has) to be famous  for something.  I'm way too shy and private to actually want this to be a reality and I would be miserable being in the public eye but I still find it fascinating to read about people who are.  Lately there has been a pile of marriages that have ended because the husband strayed with the nanny.  Not being rich, famous and in a demanding career I can't really relate to a need for a nanny so I hesitate to judge these people for hiring someone else to raise their children but when I read about them I feel very thankful for the good old traditional way of life that I have chosen for myself.  I wouldn't trade places with them for all the fame and fortune in the world.  I honestly feel that I am the richer of the two.  I have a faithful, loving husband and seven children that we adore along with their wives and children.  I was home with them every step of the way.  I was present for everything that happened to them and every phase they went through.  Some may find that tedious and boring but I relished nearly every minute and I have the terrific memories to prove it. I'm perfectly fine with being the stereotypical fifties wife and mother.  I'm perfectly fine with having one faithful husband for my whole life and for the life to come and for having no drama worth writing about with my children.  We love our "boring" lives.  I'll take joy, security and sweet peaceful love over fame and fortune any day but I have to be thankful for these people and their crazy lives because if they all became like me then who would I read about in my magazines? ;)

The Santa Clause

My husband and I just got done watching "The Santa Clause" for the millionth time and I can't believe how much I love that movie.  It is truly magical for me.  The North Pole and the sleigh and all the wonderful Christmasy things in it just make my heart sing.  The feelings that I get while watching that movie are indescribable.  I feel like an innocent child bursting with joy and excitement in anticipation of Christmas.  All the fuzzy warm feelings that come with the Christmas season just wash over me and make me smile and cry at the same time.  I always feel an overwhelming amount of love for my fellow man during this special time.  I feel light hearted and super happy.  I love everything about Christmas, the traditions, the music, the decorations, the movies and especially Santa Claus and all he represents.  I love my Savior so much and during the celebration of His birth I am filled with charity and love and unselfishness and the symbols of those things are all things Christmas to me.  I will always believe.

Nicknames

Coming back to my random things to be thankful for I was thinking of nicknames.  My family is one of the best for coming up with nicknames for each other and I love how they make me feel.  If you give someone a nickname then it means you know them fairly well and are comfortable enough around them to call them something other than their given name.  I love when each of my kids and even my husband call me by their pet name.  I love being MIL (mother in law) to my DIL's and all sorts of fun names to my 9 grandchildren.  It gives me a feeling of belonging to a loving group of people.  Totally random, I know but that's what popped into my head:)

America

I was raised by very good parents to love, honor, respect and revere my country.  Today is Veteran's Day.  I just finished the latest installment of Rush Limbaugh's children's book series about early America.  Even though it is geared towards children it is a wonderfully simple way to learn about the birth of our great country.  Reading about the writing of the Star Spangled Banner had me in tears.  Tonight my young women's group is going over to a retirement community to talk to real life veterans and hear their stories and give them thank you notes, flags and treats.  I can't wait!  I get weepy every time I hear the Star Spangled Banner.  I have no idea what I did in the pre-existence to deserve being born into this incredible country but I will be thankful every day of my life for such a blessing.  God bless America!

A Tale of Two Families

The vast majority of people have two families, the one they came from and the one they created.  While growing up we can be very close to our siblings and parents and develop multitudes of great memories.  However, once we get married and have our own children it's very easy to focus only on them and neglect those other family ties.  This is exactly what I have done for many, many years.  I have given nearly all of my time and heart to my husband and children and therefore my ties with my parents and siblings have become very weak.  Now that almost all of my children have their own "other families" I find myself yearning to be part of my "other family" again.  Nobody knows you like your birth family.  Nobody saw you grow up and develop like they did.  Nobody has the same childhood memories as they do.  I got to thinking that it would be a real shame if my children gave up on each other and focused only on the families they are creating.  And I would really hate to see them treat me the way that I have been treating my mom for a long time.  Nothing horrendous, just not really staying in touch.

There needs to be a balance and I am going to try to fix mine.

Changes

Those who know me well know that my husband and I "created" our house through a series of remodels.  It started out as a normal sized, simple home that barely fit our family and through many years and hours of back breaking labor became a much larger and much different looking home that fit our much larger family.  In short, I love my home.  I have spent countless hours decorating it and enjoying it.  The majority of our family memories took place in this home.

Recently, however, I have realized that the source of light and happiness is no longer contained in this "place".  It has spread out to Arizona and Utah and La Habra and though I still live in a lovely and very comfortable home it doesn't really feel like home anymore.  For the first time, ever, I have entertained thoughts of living somewhere else, closer to the source.  At times I feel traitorous to the sight of so many memories and at other times I feel a sense of freedom at the thought of starting over somewhere else.

I had a very close family growing up and we lived in a magical place that brought me great happiness.  We took our family back to that house many times to let them feel of the love and closeness of Grandma and Grandpa and told them of my childhood memories.  When my parents decided to sell and move to Utah I thought my heart would break.  I couldn't imagine not going back to that house anymore and I certainly couldn't imagine anyone else living in "our" house.  We have spent many more years going to Grandma's house in Utah than we ever did going to the house in Bennett Valley so now my kids know the Utah house as the extended family house.  I don't miss the Bennett Valley house at all anymore.  I realize that it isn't the house at all.  It's the people in it.

If we ever do sell this house and move then I know my children will mourn greatly because we made the best memories ever here but I know that they will eventually realize, as I have, that it isn't the house at all that brings all the joy and happiness.  It's the people in it.  We are now "Grandma and Grandpa" and wherever we are will be the "family" house.

Faith

Recently my church came out with some adjustments and clarification to our handbook of instructions for church leaders in response to some new legal arrangements in our country.  I admit that when I first heard it I was confused and didn't completely understand why it had to happen.  Luckily, my faith, the thing that I am most thankful for in the world did not waver in the least.  There are so many things that I don't fully understand about the plan of salvation and the deeper meanings of things pertaining to the gospel.  But, luckily, I don't need to.  Nothing that happens from here on out could ever shake my faith that Joseph Smith actually saw God and Jesus Christ in that grove and that through him, the Lord's church was restored here on the earth.  Modern day prophets are called of God and they tell us what He needs us to know, just like the prophets in ancient times relayed His message to the people of that time. I believe that with everything in me.  The sad things that are happening in our world today are brought on by our choices, not by God.  He loves us more than anything in the world and wants only to bless us and see us happy so I have to believe that everything He instructs His prophet to do is in the best interests of his beloved sons and daughters here on earth.  It doesn't matter at all if I don't fully understand the instructions because I fully understand the love of God for his children and that is enough for me.

Football

I am thankful for football.  I am thankful for the season that it comes in because it is my favorite season.  I am thankful that it is something that I share with my whole family.  I love sitting down and watching games with my husband and kids whether we are in the same room or just on our phones commenting about it to each other.  I have seen so many games in my life since my father and brothers loved it and now my whole family loves it that I know more than I thought about the actual game and the players.  When I am in the presence of men who are talking about football I understand them and can contribute to the conversation reasonably intelligently and it feels good.  Football is a symbol of fall, family and fun to me and I love it.  Especially the Cougars and the Raiders;)

The Holy Ghost

The next thing I thought of that I am very thankful for is the influence and guidance of the Holy Ghost.  He has been my closest friend for my whole life.  He never leaves me.  He doesn't speak in a "still, small voice" to me.  He yells at me when I need it and he makes sure I hear him at all important junctures in my life.  He has never steered me wrong.  There have been countless times where he has put words in my mouth or thoughts in my head at the very moment that I need them.  He has testified to me since I was little that what I believe to be true really is true.  The peace and serenity that he brings to my life is immeasurable.

Random things to be thankful for

I taught a lesson a couple of weeks ago to my young women in church about gratitude and asked them to write down some things they were thankful for that were not the first things that came to their head.  Pretty much everyone is thankful for their family and other obvious things.  I wanted them to think outside the box and realize that the things they have to be thankful for are infinite.  So, I thought I would take my own challenge and highlight a few things that I am thankful for throughout this month that aren't the basic, Primary answers.

The first thing that came to mind as I was walking today was that I am thankful for this little town that I get to live in that I had never even heard of before I moved here.  While attending BYU my husband and I used to visit my sister who was married to a Marine at the time and living in Oceanside.  We really loved the area and when it came time to graduate we were lucky enough to get a job in the same area.  My sister found some brand new apartments in my little town which was close to her so we moved here.  We loved it so much that we bought a home here and have been here ever since.

We are from northern California but almost all of my cousins live in the Los Angeles area or down here in San Diego County.  I have been envious of my cousins for my whole life.  They were sooo COOL!  Whenever we would come and visit them I thought they were the luckiest people in the world to live down here.  I wanted to be from Southern California so bad.

I am not a big city girl so Los Angeles would not be the place for me.  Even San Diego is too big and busy for me.  My little town is perfect.  When we moved here it was much smaller and had lots of fields and big, open spaces.  Since it grew up gradually I haven't really minded it getting bigger and bigger.  All of my friends have the same "cow town" mentality that we've had for years so it still feels rural and country-ish even though it's really not anymore.  I randomly think about the fact that 3 of our 7 children were born here and all of them were raised here and it makes me so happy that they can say they are from the area that I always wanted to be from.  So in this month where we are focusing on being thankful, I'm very thankful for San Marcos, CA.

Skylights?

When we did our remodel a few years back we put skylights in our kitchen to give us more light.  I LOVE them.  Just a few months ago I got the bright idea to use them as photo galleries.  We opened up our house quite a bit so their aren't many walls to display pictures.  My family just keeps growing and I have more people to display so I made good use of my extra wall space on the ceiling.  I love how it looks.  So much cozier.

Tayson Everett

Another little miracle that happened this year is that Jensen and Tracy had their first baby.  I keep thinking that I am going to run out of love to give so many people but it never happens.  I always find more when another person enters our family either by marriage or birth.  This little guy is adorable and I love him with all of my heart.  He and his mom and dad are coming to live with us in February for a year or so while his daddy finishes chiropractic school.  I can't wait!

He is super ticklish and giggles whenever I put my nose in his neck or cheek.  Have you ever seen anything so pure or sweet in your life?  So much natural joy.  Welcome to the family, Mr. T.  You are very loved.

Time Change

I don't really get the whole time change thing and why some states do it and others don't but I know that I love having dinner in the dark.  Fall is my favorite time of year and when the time changes and I am eating my dinner in a cozy dark house I am in Heaven.  It was a lot more fun when the kids were home because our table was a lot fuller but I still enjoy having night be night and not daytime until 9:00.  I love having time to curl up by a fire and watch T.V. or read.  I don't really feel like doing that when it's still light outside and by the time it gets dark there is not much time left to enjoy the indoors before I go to bed.  As a completely random thought - my Raiders won again today!  We are 4-3 now and I couldn't be happier!  We're coming back! Time change and a winning record?  Doesn't get any better than that:)

The Brute Squad

Anybody who knows my boys knows that they are the sweetest, kindest boys in the world and would never hurt a fly, except for when that fly's name is mentioned in the same sentence as their sister.  I have gotten the greatest kick out of watching Savannah enter the world of dating and boys and watching her brothers' reactions to this new phase.  We have a running family text going all the time and if I accidentally mention a boy's name in connection with Savannah then the phones light up!  The comments make me laugh out loud. They start making battle plans involving weapons and mayhem.  They mercilessly ridicule this poor soul that they have never laid eyes on.   I pity the boy who actually wants my daughter's hand in marriage.  He better be made of pretty stern stuff.  In their eyes he has to be able to beat them in something sports related or at least keep up with them, be the perfect gentleman and priesthood holder, get all their humor and, above all, worship their sister.  Fortunately, this is what Savannah is looking for also.  Good luck, gentlemen:)

Girls vs. Boys

I'm pretty sure that most of you know that I have 6 boys and 1 girl, in that order.  I loved being a boy mom.  I never wanted a girl.  Boys have nearly 0 drama and get over things instantly.  They are fun and crazy and I never worried about offending them because they just had so much confidence and didn't take anything personally the way that girls do.  Then we had our girl and I worried a little that things were going to be much harder.  I kept waiting for them to get harder and they never did.  I don't know if it was because she lived with wolves, I mean boys, her whole life or if she was just born that way but she has been the most boy-like girl without being the least bit masculine that I have ever seen.  She has all the easy going qualities of the boys while not sacrificing any of the softness and sweetness of a girl.  Now that we are all adults I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am for her.  I realize that the wonderful things about the boys are really not so wonderful now that we are adults and I really want to talk to them and be a part of their lives.  Boys don't do small talk.  They don't care about stuff that I care about.  They have somebody else to talk to now.  I cherish going through college with Vannie.  She is hilarious.  She texts me and calls me about the littlest things and I love it!  Every word a boy says to her or even a look or any little detail is never too unimportant for her to share with me.  I share these with my husband and (except when a boy is involved) he just looks at me like, who cares?  Girls and boys are so different and it makes life wonderful.  What would we do without either one?

Traditions

When my kids were young I never really thought about the details of their weddings and what I might give them for this special event, probably because they were all boys for the longest time and I knew that they wouldn't care about that kind of thing.  Then Alana entered our lives and she was a girl! Suddenly I'm the mother of the groom at a bridal shower and I have no idea what to give this new girl in our family. The boys have always been happy with a new pair of basketball shorts or a t-shirt for every special occasion.  I was pretty sure that wasn't going to fly in this situation.  Thus, the wedding traditions were born out of sheer desperation.  I got the idea to have a necklace engraved with the words "Forever Moore".  Alana is not a cryer, never has been, but when she opened my gift and cried right in front of all her friends I knew that I had hit on a winner.  The effect on the other girls wasn't quite as dramatic because they all knew it was coming but I hope they like them and know that they were given in love.  I happen to not have very many crafty talents but I do know how to crochet a little so I took it upon myself to make each couple an afghan for their home.  I knew this was something that they couldn't buy and that it was homemade with lots of love so this also became a tradition.  I love seeing these blankets in their homes.  Many years ago in my ward there was a homemaking night dedicated to Family Home Evening.  Everyone knows I am all about FHE and credit it for much of my family's success so when they offered binders with organized lessons and pictures and scriptures, I thought ahead to my 7 children as adults and parents and had the foresight (a rare occasion) to buy one for each of them.  I stored them in my hope chest and when they each got married I gave them one.  Last year, for Christmas, Pat and I got all the married kids a picture of the San Diego Temple with their wedding date and the words "Forever Moore" on them.  So, when Brandon and Ashleigh got married this year that became part of their wedding packet.  Savannah will get one when she gets married.  I loved having these traditions evolve and am sad that I only have one more child to do them for but luckily I have started a couple of grandchildren traditions that can go on for much longer:)  When the kids have a baby then the mom gets a heart necklace at her baby shower and when the baby is born then she gets a birthstone charm to put on her necklace to match her baby's birth month.  She also gets a baby afghan (that really is my only crafty talent so I use it any time I can:))  I have a matching necklace with all of my grandchildren's charms on it.  I'm going to have to get another one because they are just getting started and mine is almost full.  I love that they can look forward to the gifts I'm going to give them because of the traditions we have started.  I love my family with all of my heart and I hope that they can feel some of that love through the personal gifts that I have given them as they enter into these new phases of their lives.

Annual Entertainment

In my church there is one Sunday that everyone looks forward to the most every year, the infamous Primary Program.  This is where the little children, ages 3-11, sing and say their little parts and generally give us the greatest show on earth.  There is always a fun surprise or two as only little children can produce.  Since I haven't had an 11 year old for a very long time and since I only have 2 grandchildren who are old enough to participate in this activity and since said grandchildren don't live anywhere near me I have not had the opportunity to see anyone with my last name in this program for quite some time.  Well, last week I just happened to be in Arizona helping with my newest grandson when, lo and behold, that Sunday was the Primary Program!  I was so excited to see Landon perform.  We practiced his little one line part with him all week but he never once said it right.  He would ad lib and come up with ridiculous sayings every time.  We started to realize that we really had no idea what would come out of his mouth come Sunday morning.  I've never had a child like that before.  My kids were all very shy and quiet and petrified of their speaking parts.  They memorized them perfectly and in perfect monotones as only their dad can do they shakily delivered them right on cue, (except for Hunter who is so shy that he just hung his head and wouldn't say a word).  When the day came I was super excited to see the next generation in action and sure enough, he didn't disappoint.  He wiggled and fidgeted through all the songs, not singing a note until his favorite one came up.  He chewed on his tie and sat on his teacher's lap and stretched his arms above his head numerous times.  He, physically, looked so much like his dad at that age that it was spooky.  When it came time for his speaking part he yelled (yes, yelled) into the microphone a line that we had not previously practiced, ever.  After regaining our hearing, his mom and I just looked at each other, smiled and shook our heads.  That's our boy.  Another greatest show on earth in the books:)

Payback

There's nothing more gratifying than seeing your hard work pay off.  I spent the week in Arizona helping my son and his wife with their new baby.  It was wonderful watching them interact with each other and with their two other children.  It was obvious that they were teaching their children the very same values that we taught our children.  My son is a great dad and he is even better at many things than his own dad was and he is a pretty great dad.  One day the two older kids and I were playing with the nerf dart guns I had bought them and we discovered that Chloe (who is 2) had lost hers and she was very distraught.  We looked everywhere and couldn't find it so Landon (5) said that we needed to pray to Heavenly Father so he could help us find it.  I got all warm and fuzzy inside knowing that these little children already had the foundation of faith that would carry them through life.  I was so proud of my son and his wife for instilling that faith in them.  Landon prayed and not 10 seconds later I nearly stepped on Chloe's gun which was sitting right on the kitchen rug and blended in with the colors so completely that we initially couldn't see it.  We said a prayer of gratitude and continued playing but my prayer of gratitude will be in my heart forever for these precious souls and their valiant parents who are fighting the good fight for the only thing that matters.

Disneyland

"The Happiest Place on Earth".  Truer words were never spoken.  One of the best things we have done in the past couple of years is get season passes to Disneyland.  There is no place on earth quite like it.  Even though we have been several times now, it never gets old.  We love going with grandkids and kids as they come into town and we loved introducing our Australian exchange student to it but we really love just going by ourselves for a couple of hours and doing things that we would never have done if we only had one day to do everything.  We live about 1 hour from Disneyland so we can just wake up when we want, beat all commuter traffic, go there for just a few hours and then come home whenever we want.  When our exchange student was buying his nieces some Mickey ears for souvenirs it dawned on me that those little girls will probably never get to see the real thing because they live so far away and it made me sad for them but really grateful that I get to go whenever I want.  It really never gets old.  I get the same tingling in my tummy when I know I get to go on my favorite ride, Pirates of the Caribbean and see all the Disney princesses and feel the feeling that is distinctly Disneyland. Christmas is my favorite because they decorate so beautifully and they have fireworks and snow and it is truly magical.   You can't help but be happy when you are there.

Fun little DIY project part 2

This is totally not my idea but I can't remember where I saw it so I don't know who to give credit to but I've had enough comments on it to make it warrant an appearance on the blog:)This is my "Treasure Wall".  It displays my greatest treasures.  In the beginning, it featured all of the kids prom pictures and senior pictures with a couple of other fun shots included.  Then it progressed to their wedding pictures and now it features their family pictures with a new update each Christmas.  That is all I ever ask them for for Christmas is a new family picture.  I love this wall.  All I did was hang a decorative curtain rod and then tie pretty pieces of ribbon in different lengths and hand the pictures from them.  Since my family is quite large I had to attach a few of the pictures to the actual wall without ribbons but it looks O.K. so I'm happy.  Display your greatest treasures and look at them often.  Great way to brighten your day:)

Fun little DIY part 1

I think we are born with a large part of our personalities.  I was born cheap.  I have a terrible time spending money and especially on anything the least bit expensive.  Luckily, my husband values nice things a little more so we don't actually live in a cardboard box but I am always trying to cut corners and spend as little as possible.  I hate ceiling fans because they are not pretty.  We don't have air conditioning in our house so we desperately need ceiling fans but they are still ugly and do not, in any way, go with my decor.  So... I devised a cheap (very cheap) way to make them look a little more Victorian or antiquey .  I wanted them to look like an old Victorian chandelier so I took some scrap fabric I had laying around and wrapped it around the top and bottom of the fan base.  I hot glued the fabric in place and pinned it together.  Then I took some ribbon and tied it in the middle.  After adding some fringe and little stones that cost nearly nothing (all hot glued) I had a little less offensive ceiling fan that I could live with.  Voile'!

Reunion!

I just got the news on Facebook that my high school class will be holding our (mumble, mumble, um... er...ahhh) reunion next year.  Nobody really needs to know that I'm celebrating being out of high school longer than most of you have been alive.  I have a feeling that this particular reunion will be the most fun.  In the first few reunions everyone is still so worried about their weight and looks and profession and everything shallow and not important about themselves.  Basically, high school days all over again.  This one, however, feels like it will be different.  I got very excited at the thought of seeing people that I wasn't really all that good of friends with way back when because, let's face it, Mormons don't really do what everyone else does in high school so I didn't really have much in common with the rest of my classmates.  I was the principal's daughter so I was pretty well known but our weekends were spent very differently, ha ha!  Now, I think we all have much more in common and therefore will have a great time at this party.  We have put aside the angst about the looks because, really, there isn't much we an do about them at our age.  Of course there will be lots of pounds lost between now and then and everyone will still try to put their best self forward but we all don't really care that much anymore about dumb things like that.  It won't really matter what everyone did for a living because we are getting close to not doing it anymore.  We will all be sharing pictures of our children and grandchildren and reminiscing about all the fun times we had as Vikings at Montgomery High School way back when.  We will become much closer than we were in high school because the competition will be gone and we will all realize that we have much more in common than we once thought.  We have all made it through the majority of our life and can just enjoy each other as friends and fellow warriors that have made it this far. As an added bonus, my dear husband went to my high school also and so knows a lot of my friends and will feel very comfortable there.  We will win, again, for most kids and probably for most grandkids this time, and I will accept my award proudly and enjoy being with my fellow Vikings one more time because, at our age, it could be the last time for a lot of us.  I can't wait to see you all!  We are the V-I-K-I-N-G-S of MHS!

He's Here!

Grandchild #9 - Jackson Rocket Moore!  8 lbs. and 19.5 inches.  Perfect in every way.  So happy for Logan and Michelle.  Can't wait to meet him next week:)

Technology

I used to be a major technophobe.  I could barely work a computer and I didn't see the need for cellphones and all the gadgets and gizmos that everyone was wasting their money on.  Then my kids grew up and moved away.  Now, I think Facebook, Instagram, snapchat and texting are the greatest inventions that mankind has ever come up with! I can carry on a conversation with my whole family via group text wherever they are in the world! We can rip apart football teams as if we were sitting right next to each other on the couch and we can celebrate every good thing that happens in our family right when it happens. Pictures of my grandchildren pop up all the time and I get to experience college life with my daughter practically right as she's living it.  When used correctly and not to excess these inventions can bring families closer than they have ever been and I couldn't be happier to be considered a techie!  (My kids would die laughing at the thought of me referring to myself as a techie, ha ha!  I still can't even turn on the T.V. by myself).

Grandma X 9

My ninth grandchild is making his way into this world as I type these words and his imminent appearance has got me thinking about things like life, family and grandparenting.

Life is such a miracle!  As each of my own children and now my grandchildren have made their way to this earth I can't help but marvel at the miracle of the human body and soul.  This little boy who is struggling to push his way out into this marvelous world has been loved since the moment we all knew he was in his mommy's tummy.  We have been speculating as to what he would look like and what fun personality he will contribute to our ever expanding family.  He is real to us and has been since we knew he was coming.  There are so many things that babies learn inside the womb that I had no idea about until we were blessed with sweet baby Rylie who came way too early to learn lots of those things and is now trying to learn them on the outside which, apparently is much harder and takes much longer than doing it the natural way.  The natural way is perfect and not an accident or a haphazard jumble of events.  God made spirits and bodies and they are perfect and wonderful and miraculous.  I can't wait to meet my next best buddy:)

As we all gather around our phones awaiting the news of our new arrival I also marvel at the miracle of family.  I love the people who share my last name so much that I know I didn't just know them in this life.  I'm sure I knew and loved them before because our bond is so strong and so sweet that it must be celestial.  I have no idea how it works but I'm sure that the Moore family was destined to be made up of the 22 people that currently make up who we are.  Family is forever and in our case, Forever Moore.

Lastly, I'd like to touch on the miracle of "Grandparenthood".  This is such a different love from the love of a parent to a child.  There is definitely a sense of knowing each other before this life.  None of my grandchildren live close to me and it always amazes me that no matter how much time passes between their visits the bond between those babies and me is instant.  Even when they are too little to know or remember who I am, they come right to me and aren't afraid at all.  When they should be clinging to their moms because a "stranger" is slobbering all over them, they come right to me and snuggle me.  They KNOW how much I love them.  They can sense it and they feel the bond of family, I'm sure of it.  To me, there is nothing stronger than the bond of family and I love mine with everything in me.  I thank the Lord daily for giving me these people to spend the rest of eternity with.

Family Favorites

I may or may not have shared these desserts on here before but since I am of a certain age I can't remember so I am either doing it again or doing it for the first time :)  These are a couple of our family favorite desserts and they are both super easy so I am sharing them with you.

The first doesn't have a name so you can name it whatever you want.  The ingredients are:

Ritz crackers
Peanut Butter
Dark chocolate dipping chocolates

All you do is put peanut butter between two Ritz crackers and then dunk the whole thing in melted dipping chocolate and let it sit for a couple of minutes until it's dry.  You can do this with any combination of cracker or cookie (Oreos would be good) but the combination of the salt in the cracker, the peanut butter and the chocolate is out of this world!  Makes a ton and is super fast and easy.

The second is called the Homemade Oreo.  The ingredients for this one are:

2 boxes of Devils Food cake
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups of shortening
favorite flavor of frosting

Mix up the first 3 ingredients and then roll them in small balls and bake on a cookie sheet for 8 minutes at 350 degrees.  Let cool and then put two cookies together with your favorite frosting in between.

Just in time for the holidays!  Enjoy:)

Football Funeral

This past spring my son got released from the BYU football team and I think it will come as a shock to some that the predominant feeling I had was....relief.  I had feelings of sorrow for him and the loss of his dream but overall I just felt overwhelming relief that he would never have to suffer an injury like I've seen in every single game I've ever watched.  I had a feeling throughout the whole last season, which was his first season, that I should appreciate every moment that he was on the team and I can honestly say that I did.  We went to every home game and a few firesides and all of the Cougar Walks and the pregame festivities.  We were there when he got to actually play in Lavell Edwards Stadium and feel the thrill of watching him run out onto the field with the rest of the team at every home game.  I absolutely loved every minute of it and felt like we had been with him for an entire 4 year career so when they released him I didn't feel like we had missed out on anything.  I still felt bad for him because his dream of playing and even going on to the next level had come to an abrupt end but when he decided to stay at BYU and not pursue a couple of other schools that showed interest in having him play, I knew that he was done and that his heart had actually switched teams to his wife and daughter.  He now works as an assistant recruiter for the team which is a little bittersweet for him.  He is helping to welcome kids to come and play in his spot and while he loves still being connected to football and getting all the perks that working for the school provides, I'm sure he still dreams of playing starting quarterback for the Cougars on a regular basis.  I will be forever grateful for the experience we got to have of being parents to a BYU quarterback but I'm also very relieved that he was able to walk away from the game in one piece and to be able to enjoy his life in full health.  I'm super proud of you, Hunter, and will always be your biggest fan.  GO COUGARS!!

Funny Blessings

Since officially becoming an empty-nester in August I have been praying for opportunities to serve and make good use of my time.  I have no desire to get a full-time job because I travel to see my kids too much and I don't like having a super rigid schedule every day but I find myself having a ton of spare time and wanted something worthwhile to fill it.  So.... the Lord, in all his wisdom, called me to be the Young Women President in my ward.  This is possibly the busiest calling a woman can have in a ward and I've already done it before, in this ward.  Nobody in their right mind would actually want this calling because it is so time consuming.  And yet, I am thanking the Lord every single day for knowing me and for letting me serve in this capacity at this time in my life.  The women I picked to serve with me were the same girls I taught 15 years ago when I had this calling before.  I am, by far, the oldest person in the program except for my Laurel Advisor who is just a few years younger than me.  Every other leader could be my daughter and I am LOVING serving with them.  They are so energetic and creative and just downright good!  I also LOVE the girls that we are serving.  They are extremely diverse and cute and fun and I look forward to being with them all the time!  Most people would think I was crazy for being so grateful for such a hard calling but this is exactly what I need in my life right now and I know God knows that.  He works in mysterious ways and I'm so thankful that He does.  Bring on TOV YW Pres. 2.0!  I'm ready!!!

Talia

This little doll is 2 today!  She is the third daughter of my son, Tanner, and his wife, Alana.  She is hilarious and adorable and I love her to pieces.  Happy Birthday, sweet Talia:)

Ante

24 years ago a 17 year old boy from Australia came to stay with us for a couple of weeks as an exchange student.  We had never met him and knew nothing about him but he quickly found a place in our hearts and we all loved him.  He came back to visit us 10 years later for a few days and we had a couple more kids who also grew to love him.  14 years after that (a couple of weeks ago) he came back to visit again and it was wonderful!  He has grown into a smart, kind, handsome man and we love him even more.  We were able to take him to Disneyland, on a tour of the Midway in San Diego, to all of our favorite eating places, the Mormon Battalion Visitors Center and Old Town and then up to Las Vegas and Utah.  He had never been to any of these places before and had an absolute blast!  He got to go to the buffet at the Bellagio in Vegas, the Conference Center, temple and Mormon Museum in Salt Lake and then to a BYU home game where he got to go down on the field with the players before the game.  He brought us gifts and we gave him gifts but the greatest gift he got while he was here was when he went up to Seattle for a weekend to see a Seahawks game and met the love of his life!  He went on one date with her and just "knew" so he extended his trip by a couple of weeks and is now trying to figure out how to get over here permanently so he can be with her.  Best. Love. Story. Ever! Since he's like a son to me I can't tell you how happy I am that he has finally found someone he can spend the rest of his life with.  Selfishly, I am also thrilled that he will be in Seattle and not Australia so we can see him a lot more often than every decade or so. Ante, you have made our lives richer by being in them.  G'day, mate!!

Miracle!

No, the miracle isn't that I'm finally posting on this thing again, ha ha!  The miracle is that my eldest son finally broke down and got married!  He's the last of the six boys to do it and we couldn't be happier for him.  He married a saint named Ashleigh who we all love to death.  We all, (Ashleigh included) have been waiting for about 7 years for our dear boy to open his eyes and see her as his eternal companion instead of just a cool family friend.  Ashleigh is a very easy going and smart young lady who has a great job and loads of friends.  All of that doesn't really matter though because she loves my son and that's all I care about:)  The wedding was wonderful and they are as happy as can be living up on the hill right above us.  I've had a VERY good experience when it comes to marriage so I am super happy that all of my boys are enjoying this wonderful institution now. Welcome to the family, Shlee!  You are finally "Forever Moore"!