Happy Father's Day

First off I want to say THANK YOU to all of the fabulous father's in my life.

My DAD! The memories of growing up involve my dad so very much. I was dad's right hand man until my little brother Bruce grew big enough to replace me. I remember fighting the waves on Yellowstone Lake as a storm moved in ever so quickly and we would rush to shore and deposit Mom and Merrilee (to help her) and baby Kelly and little Jill and not so big Bruce - then dad and I would have to cover the boat in the wind and the rain and tie it down a few feet out in the water with long ropes running to different trees on shore so that the boat could ride out the waves without being battered. I remember heading with my dad back into the trees to find where mom and the little ones were waiting out the storm - dad and I would come squelching and dripping into the camp. One time I went back to find mom's tupperware container of home made cookies for us to munch on and we pulled it out of the back of the boat full of water - I remember the giggles as we poured the water out of the cookies and ate the glop as is, cause it was cold and cold wet cookies still taste good when you're hungry.

I remember dad being a quiet soul - mom was the one we faced when we did something wrong and we often got a spat across the bum from her... but when she would say "your father is disappointed in you'...oh how that hurt. I hated to see the sadness I would put in my Father's Eyes.

Dad took us on vacations to Yellowstone and Lake Powell and Bear Lake - so many years of Bear Lake. Everywhere we went all six of us kids would ask questions and it seemed like he had an answer for every one of them.

I admire the man my dad is now, missing my mom so very much after five long lonely years without her but still reaching out to help family and neighbors whenever he can. He struggles with a broken collar bone still but doesn't let that stop him from planting flowers and tomatoes and such. He is constantly fixing something somewhere in the house. He is so cute with Jill and I think it broke his heart when she quit recognizing him.

I remember the joy in my heart as a 15 year old girl kneeling across the alter in the Salt Lake Temple from my father and mother and five siblings as we were sealed for time and for all eternity. What a precious memory that was. I decided that very day I was going to be married in the Salt Lake Temple. And I was - to my wonderful Edward.

The Father of my children - he has loved each and every one of his babies as they have come into the world. We shared to excitement of the first steps of each child, the first words, etc. Most of our years of vacations were going to or from one of the grandparents houses but we had to let them know how special our babies were. Hunting of course played a large part in our vacations through the years - but in turn that left such fun memories of camping by the BIG ROCK behind TV hill - and as his boys got bigger they got to go with their dad hunting.

Together we watched our babies grow from the rolling, crawling and toddling stage to the all out running stage. We watched as they each headed out the door to school and come home proudly with a paper they pasted or cut on, and then, as years went by, the paper would be written words by our babies - words that won them prizes and accolades.

Now our world is much quieter at our house. It stays relatively clean - very few handprints or toys strewn about the room - and we look forward to visits from our kids. It is so fun to see the grandkids grow and develop and it has been such a thrill to watch all five of my children grow into such wonderful special adults.

The other Father's in my life are my three sons and two sons in law- and the love and care they show for their children. and know Kelly is going to be right in the middle of everything his babies do (just watch him with Harley!!! :-) Shawn Dirk Ira Kelly and Glenn - you guys are fantastic fathers...keep up the good work. Love and support your wife and kids - continue to Love God and Honor him. Be honest with your Fellow men. What more can a mom ask?

PS....I cannot close this blog without mentioning my mom - it was five years ago that she died. The pain is still there - buried a little deeper but so easy to pull the scab off and discover that it hurts and I still miss her so much. The anniversary of her death was yesterday, the 20th, but Fathers Day will always be connected to her death. Mom was a person with a heart of gold - she could sting but she raised six wonderful kids and we all know that she loved us till her dying day.

I love you mom and miss you lots.