Category Archives: My Life Stories!

2018 Highlights!

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This past year has basically slipped by and I haven’t shared much. When I look back on the blog there isn’t much. So here is some highlights:

April-

Our oldest, Riley and his sweet wife, Janet and children were sealed for time and all eternity is the temple. What a blessing. To be in the temple with their little family as they were dressed in white making covenants, and knowing the promises of a forever family are real. It is by far one of the most precious and sacred experiences of my life. I love them, and I’m so proud of them!

A future so bright!!!

Families are Forever!

Our “Bonus Baby’s” baby Willow, turned “1”!!! What a sweet little dolly. We have enjoyed having our sweet grand baby in our lives, and we love her so much! Grand parenthood is the best!

May-

Our grandson Julian had a birthday!! This great kid is always keeping us entertained. He does an excellent job communicating what he thinks and asking us about the world. I sometimes have to steal hugs, but he is a very sweet and fun boy. We love him!

June-

Our family vacationed at Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. It was so fun to be together. The family went swimming in the huge swimming pool while I tended a napping grandbaby. We traveled to a ghost town, sort of, Chesterfield is a town that was founded back in the 1800’s. There has been families, descendants of the founders moving back and fixing up some of the old buildings. There was a super cute General Store. Riley and Brett tubed down the river. We hiked up to a metal effigy of Big Foot that was near our camp ground.

The down side? Allergies.

I enjoy being with family more than anything.

A Living, Breathing, Human Oxymoron.

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Nifty plant outside Olive Garden.

Yes, that’s me. First of all, let me apologize for being MIA for the last almost six months. I’m doing much better. I am feeling “joyful.” Back when I was born, these amazing people, my parents, named me Joy. They said it was because they knew I was special, and because of that I needed a special name. You can read more about that by reading my post entitled Choosing Joy.

For sometime now I have had some trouble. Like my “Most Quoted” said many years ago when I was telling him he needed to do better, he said, “I’m trying really hard at life!”

That’s what I have been doing. Trying really hard at life, and sometimes that takes all you have. I have been appearing like a happy, joyful person, but not feeling like one. That’s what happens when your name is Joy, and you don’t feel joyful. Who I am is not what I am. You know like Civil War, Jumbo Shrimp, living dead, and so on. I am a living, breathing, human oxymoron.

Well at least I have been.

Now, I am feeling better, more joyful, more like my old self. One thing that seems to have helped is watching my food intake and limiting sugar and carbs. I’m so thankful I feel better.

I am ready to do more, to share more.

Life is tough, but it is also joyful, and wonderful. In fact it’s almost exactly great!

    Sunday Best: So Thankful.

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    My darlin and I stayed home from church. We are both sick. I missed being at church.

    I’ve been thinking today of all the many things I’m thankful for,

    my health, and being sick (it reminds me how thankful I am when I’m healthy),

    my sweet family-parents who are saints, siblings I can count on,

    a most wonderful husband,

    children who are responsible and loving,

    sweet grandchildren I am so blessed to be able to see on a regular basis. they fill my heart with so much love. I am thankful for cousins, nieces, nephews, uncles, and aunts. So much awesome family!

    I’m so thankful for a home, for wonderful neighbors, and a community that is full of goodness.

    I’m thankful for freedom to worship God. I am so thankful that I can talk to Father In Heaven. He listens, and is aware of all of us. I know this, and I’m thankful for it.

    Most especially I’m thankful for the Savior whose birth we celebrate this time of year. I believe He is who the scriptures tell us He is, the Son of God-Born to Mary as a sweet tiny baby. He condescended to come to earth, He gave us His gospel, and an example to follow of how to live it. He taught us what to do in challenging times through parables. He healed the sick. He blessed others and asked us to do the same. He atoned for our sins, so we can repent and do better, and have a chance of getting back to Father. Without Him all is lost. With Him, there is hope, there is Grace, there is Love. I am so thankful for Him.

    This year, I know many people who are struggling. They have lost someone they love, or they feel they can’t go on. Our Savior can help them too. He knows all the feelings of a sad heart, and He knows how to heal it. We can trust Him. I’m so thankful we can trust Him to carry us when we struggle.

    I will remember Him this Christmas season. I will remember my blessings, and be thankful.

    Not Very Amusing, Or Is It?

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    In our part of the world we have a popular amusement park. It is the closest thing Utah has to Disneyland. It’s called Lagoon!

    We went every year when I was growing up. The park would send discount tickets to our church, and we’d get to go and save a little money. The day was called Stake Lagoon Day.

    Some families had lots of kids, like ours, so getting a discount for admission was a big deal, and it was expensive enough that most families only took their kids once a year. At least I thought that, it might not even be true, I know we only went once a year. Anyway, I loved this event, and looked forward to it for most of the summer. I couldn’t wait to ride the scariest rides. Or see how many times I could go on the fast ones. I have such good memories of summer trips to Lagoon.

    Our family would pile in the car with a picnic and make our way to the park. It was about a half an hour from our house in the car. Once there, we’d put all the needed items for the picnic in the wagon and enter the park. After purchasing our tickets, and going through the gate we’d all walk to the rear of the park where there were many small grassy areas to set up a picnic. Some areas had only grass to put a blanket on and some had picnic tables. We’d always pick what we thought would be the best spot. When we were little, one of our parents took us around to the rides while the other stayed with our food, wagon and blankets. It was a kind of Home-base where we could leave things like prizes or jackets or treats to be looked after by Mom. As we got older the same routine happened except once at the picnic area, Dad would give us instructions for who could go where, always using the buddy system, then send us out into the park for a period of time and telling us to come back to eat at an appointed time. He always left the park for a little trip to go get fried chicken at KFC or the local grocery store. What fun memories!

    I worked there one summer right after high school. It was a fun job, because I could stay after work and ride the rides. I could go on my day off and ride, all at no cost, because I worked there. It was so great!

    Then something happened. I started not feeling very well after I rode the rides. What seemed to be a headachy feeling turned into a queasiness. Oh no, you guessed it. I was getting older, and what I remember happening to my dad, and other older people was now happening to me. One of my favorite summer activities was not going to be fun anymore. Bummer!

    It worked out though.

    Here’s why, by the time I wasn’t enjoying myself much on the rides, I had become a Mama of my own kids. The first time I saw my little boy Riley on

    Bulgy the Whale, tears came to my eyes.
    Source  

    to see his happiness, his complete joy at what he was experiencing was sooo much better to me than the experience of riding the rides myself.

    Being a parent and watching my children experience life, especially the good things in life is the best! It makes me think about Father in Heaven and how He must feel when He watches us enjoying this life experience. What a blessing it is that God has allowed us to experience in some small way what I’m sure makes Him happy, watching His children loving life. When our kids are happy and loving life that gives us the same joy.

    So Emily, my “Bonus Baby” went to Lagoon with Kelsey, my “Dream Come True” recently, and when they were riding on one of the fast rides Emily passed out, and her head whipped around and hit Kelsey in the face. The back of Emily’s head hit Kelsey’s cheek to be exact. Kelsey got a bruise, and Emily got a concussion. They laughed a little right after, but they were both really sore. Emily was sad because she said she doesn’t enjoy the rides like she used to when she was little, or young. It has already changed for her. I told her, “Just wait till your sweet tiny girl is a little bigger, and she can go on Bulgy the Whale.” Then I shared with her the secret about being a parent and watching your children experience true happiness!

    Slower and Steadier…or “Just Keep Swimming” …Some More!

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    Many years ago in the first few years of having a blog, I wrote a post about

    “Slow and Steady.”

    I shared the story of our son encouraging me in a overwhelmed moment to remember the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. He said, “Mom remember, slow and steady wins the race.” Trying to encourage me, he was letting me know that is is better to just move steady in the direction you want to go. Slow and steady progress is better that going so fast that you have to stop and rest because you’ve worn yourself out. Awesome advice!

    I still think about that experience often and I’m grateful for that cute little guy who reminded me. I seem to have been slower and steadier, lately than I like. I am doing my best to

    “just keep swimming”

    like Dory. So much of the things I am accomplishing are taking all I have to give. I haven’t had much energy left to blog, or even share my thoughts much.

    Honestly, I feel like I’ve done the whole blog thing wrong. I don’t have a clue if anyone reads what I write and don’t really know how to make things better. I keep reminding myself, that even if no one reads the blog, my family will someday be glad I wrote some things down. I know I still have things to say, I’m just trying to get back in the swing and start writing.

    One thought that crossed my mind is that next year is the tenth blogiversary. I may just put a big effort in until then and be done. We’ll see. So my goal is to: write, and do better at getting on here consistently.

    Dodge Ball and a Colored TV.

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    We were talking about our childhoods last night when the kids where here for dinner. Of course mine and my Darlin’s was the most troublesome (you know, walking to school up hill both ways, in a blizzard, etc.) But it was fun talking and comparing our experiences.

    One of my most memorable experiences from 6th grade was the day we were playing dodge ball on the playground basketball court. The court was just lines painted on the asphalt and two basket ball standards held up by poles in their proper position. Let me just say, I was very competitive and actually quite athletic. Side note: I won the school pentathlon, taking 1st place of all the girls, and 3rd place in the school, including boys.

    So back to the dodge ball.

    We had a very aggressive game going. I ran to throw the ball at the opposite team and turned to run back to a spot at the back of the court to be safe from the opposite team throwing the ball at me when, ****BONGGG****, I  ran right into the pole holding up the basketball standard. I got it right in the forehead. BAM! I was on the ground. I don’t think it knocked me out, but it definitely knocked me down. All the kids ran over and surrounded me. “Wow” one of the kids said. “You need to go see the nurse!”

    I made my way to the nurses office, and the secretary helped me find a spot to lay down, and put an ice pack on my forehead. A few minutes later one of the boys playing with us when this happened came into the nurses office to check on me. He said, “Are you alright?” I didn’t know, but said, “I think so.” He said, “Man, when i first saw your forehead it looked like a colored TV!’ I’m thinking size? Or color? Either way, I had a huge goose egg on my forehead and a “colorful” story to tell my kids someday.

    Lesson learned. Don’t play dodgeball on a court with poles. Make’s so much sense! 😉

    Worry, and Sadness.

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    I’m so sorry I haven’t written a post for so long. Some people work through their feelings, by sharing them. I usually need time to process.

    My dad had a heart valve replaced in February.

    I consider myself a faithful person, but I know that even people who are faithful and trust in God still have to experience things that are hard. Things that they don’t want to have to go through. I worried and worried about my dad, and how his life, and our lives might change if the surgery didn’t go well. He made it through the surgery and is doing good. I am so grateful for that. Both of my parents are in their 80’s, so their health and well being is on my mind a lot.

    ————————————————————————

    My brother was diagnosed with cancer in December.

    It was a surprise and took it’s toll on my brothers body and was very upsetting and frustrating to our family. What is the diagnosis? What is the prognosis? What is the treatment? Prayers, and fasting, were an ongoing ritual for us. My brother received priesthood blessings and continued to fight, but it was not meant for him to stay.

    He passed away on March 15th.

    Our family is heart broken. He was such a wonderful soul. Such a hard working good man. He left us way to soon. He was 59 years old. He had so much life left to live, so many things left to do, and so much love to share. We will miss him so much.

    I am still so sad. I have a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, of the Plan of Salvation, but this is the part I don’t like. I don’t like it when we have to be separated by death from those we love. I believe with all my heart that we will be with our brother, son, husband dad, and grandpa, Brad someday again. I will just miss him so much until that day. I am so grateful that part of our Heavenly Father’s plan is that we come to earth as part of a family. I feel so blessed to grow up in the family that my brothers are a part of, with our wonderful parents. They are the ones I was supposed to be with while learning some of my life lesson’s. I will always be thankful for that, but I don’t want to be without them for the rest of my life. Now I have lost two of my brothers.

    I am thankful for the opportunity to have this earthly experience. To grow up in a family with wonderful parents. It’s just hard when our family changes because someone has passed on.

    “We cannot fully appreciate joyful reunions later without tearful separations now. The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life.” Russell M Nelson

    Gallery Wall!

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    I put my cute Darlin to work the other day helping me put together this

    wonderful gallery wall! 

    I’ve wanted to do this for a while. I love the things we hung on the wall. Most of them belonged to or represent someone, or something that is important in my life.

    The octagon shaped framed flower picture, on the top left hung in my parents room in the home I grew up in. My mom said it was her mom’s first. It is unique, and reminded me of my mama and daddy, and now my grandma.

    The cute little shelf, is one of three like it that I have. They were my grandpa’s. It used to be  inside the old trolly cars that ran in Salt Lake City many, many years ago. They hung inside the Trolly above the seats upside down from how I have the shelf hung, which would give it a lip or edge to keep the things placed on them from falling off as the trolly traveled around town. I love that it was my grandpa’s, and the story of where it came from.

    The clock is newish, but time and how we spend it, is important and it’s my love language. The family plaque is a reminder of what’s most important. The heart represents the incredible love I have for my life, and family. The key is the key to my heart, and represents the priesthood authority that my husband holds, and the authority that seals us together as a family forever. The S is the first letter of our last name, and also stands for, safety, sacred, serene, share, simplify, spiritual, steadfast, strength, strong, sublime, success, and sweet.

    A copy of “The Living Christ” and “The Family-A Proclamation to the World” are important and inspirational documents that represent what we believe, and was written by the leaders of our church. A copy of the Bible and The Book of Mormon are laying on the cute little trolly shelf. They are both very important books to our family.  

    My darlin and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple which is pictured on the little plaque on the shelf. It was given to us by our son, Riley and his wife, Janet.

    And last of all is the sign that says: Happiness is a choice. No matter what is going on in my life, I can choose to be happy.

    It’s a good reminder!

    And let’s not forget the important picture in the middle. This is our most recent family picture.  Taken in our yard, with my Darlin and I, and some of our grandkids sitting on the bench. The bench that was made out of our old bed frame. Oh, how I love these people!

    What a blessing to go through life with them!

    I love sitting in the family room and looking at this wall. It is perfect to me!

    My Job List!

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    I have in my notes on my phone a list.

    At first I called it: Past Jobs/Past Regrets. 

    I have had many jobs in my life. I didn’t really mean to have many jobs, but it just happened. As my Darlin and I would drive around town here or there, I would say, “I worked there!” He said I needed to make a list. I thought that might be a good idea just for fun. So I did. I started my list with my first job after babysitting as a teenager.

    Let me name a few of my jobs: picking cherries, fast food, summer recreation, t-shirt store, flowers, phone sales, motel, delivery, Fitness instructor, retail, amusement park, selling knifes, photographer assistant, Cosmetology, book store, personal assistant, dentist office, daycare, lunch lady, real estate, and insurance, just to name a few.

    I can’t say I’ve spent a lot of time at each job.

    Some jobs I just tried, to see how things went.

    Sometimes the employer called me to offer me a job, without me even applying. Yes, that happened.

    Sometimes I was in desperate need of a job to help pay bills, and took what I could get.

    Sometimes I wasn’t a good fit for them, sometimes they weren’t a good fit for me.

    I wouldn’t trade any experience I have had. I have learned so much, and all of that experience is part of who I am.

    I ran into two of my friends at the grocery store, and they were asking about my job at the flower shop. I told them how much I love it. How blessed I feel to have it. Somehow my job list came up in the conversation. They said they wanted to see it. I pulled out my phone and showed them the list. They scanned down the list, asking about this job or that. I would tell them about some of my experiences. They said they didn’t even want to go to that many interviews, let alone work at that many jobs. They told me I was brave, motivated and amazing. I loved that. They said, “You need to change the name of your list to: “My Bravery and Experience”, list, which I did.

    My last job on my Bravery and Experience list is my last, best job @ the flower shop!

    I love my job! Sometimes you have to go through some hard, not fun, jobs to get to your last, best job! I’m glad I have “My Bravery and Experience” list, and to have all the bravery and experience to go with it!

    Cousins!

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    This cute little family belongs to my cousin Vickie. They are wonderful!Me and my cousin Vickie are only two months apart in age. Our moms are sisters. We have spent lots of time together our whole lives. Many family parties, sleepovers, and fun. She and I are very different, in many ways, but we love each other.

    Today is her birthday!

    She an a very determined, survivor. She has been through some of the hardest experiences and just keeps going. Maybe she is just stubborn. If she is, she gets it from our grandpa. That’s not a bad thing, sometimes you need to be stubborn to let life know that you can’t be beaten. You might get thrown for a loop, knocked down, but never beaten. She is very loving, a hard worker, widow to her sweetheart, an amazing mom, wonderful nana to sweet grand babies, and has a forever family that is very admirable.

    I hope she continues to have a determined heart and to know that she is very important to me and that I’m so grateful for our friendship and love for a life time.

    HaPpY bIrThDaY!, Vickie!!!

    oxox