Grandma & Me

Since this week we celebrate Mother's Day, I've been thinking about how this will be the first Mother's Day since my mom has passed away. I've been pondering about the special women in my life besides my mom. The first one would have to be my maternal grandmother, Grandma Cassie. I feel blessed because not all grandchildren get to live close to their grandma. We didn't always live in the same town, but soon after my grandfather died when I was about eight years old, my grandmother moved to our town, Lancaster, California. She lived there with her older sister my "Aunt Pearl" for awhile. I loved going and spending the night with them. We would bake cookies and watch Lawrence Welk and the Doris Day Show on TV. Later, Grandma moved near the high school and I can remember walking to her apartment during lunch time and she'd have a bacon and tomato sandwich waiting for me. It was my favorite. She loved to serve. As she got older and she would think about death, I can remember telling her, "Grandma, I don't want you to ever die, I need you. Don't talk about dying." Years later when she had a stroke and had broke her hip a couple of times and really couldn't get around anymore, Grandma had one last special gift for me. It was when we had lost our infant son, Steven and I was grieving a lot. The veil was very thin with my Grandma and most of the family knew that it was getting near for her time to pass on. I can remember going to my grandmother's bedside. In our conversation, it seemed like she had been hanging on to those words from when I was younger..."I don't want you to die..." I can remember telling her how much I loved her and even with all the knowledge of knowing that my baby had gone to a safe place, I knew I would feel better knowing that this wonderful woman that I cared for so very much would be there with him...Well, within a few weeks from that time, Grandma Cassie passed away. I love that woman. She was so good to me.

"You give me a kiss,

You give me a hug,

You smile when you see me too.

I wish every child

in the whole wide world,

had a grandmother

just like you."
~Nonie Nelson Sorensen

(Link: More about Grandma Cassie)

Potato Cheese Soup

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 5 cups diced potatoes(about 6)
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 tsp. salt
• dash of pepper
• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 quart milk
• 15 oz. Cheez Whiz
• Directions: Boil potatoes, celery and onion in chicken broth for 10 minutes or until tender. In another pan, mix melted butter with flour. Add milk and cook until thickened. Add sauce to vegetables, then add cheese. Heat until warm.

Dance with me

Jessica & Kellee
Jessica's first church dance.
"Mormon Prom"

Round, Round, the Roller Coasters

Everyone that knows me knows I can't do roller coasters...I'm talking about those BIG ones. So when my husband's cousin Jeanette asked if we wanted to spend a day with them at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, I was hesitant. Somehow I had gotten out of taking Angie and Jake to any big roller coaster amusement parks when they were young. Usually they just went with their schoolmates or friends had invited them on their own. I've been feeling a little guilty with Jessica and Carson though because the only amusement park they've been to is Disneyland which isn't really considered a park with the mega roller coasters. So, to Williamsburg we went. Some how I thought that one of my kids would have inherited my genes and their stomachs would feel a little too uneasy, but no chance. They were literally running from roller coaster to roller coaster. It was really a blast to see how much fun they were having. They even caught me at a weak moment and I went on ride with them...never again. What was I thinking???

"We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson