HAPPY MOTHERS DAY MOM!!

MOTHERS DAY: The day most mothers wish didn’t exist.

Who has a great mother.... probably most of us...however many of us think that only applies if your taking the continuum of generations backwards or forwards, . I think my mothers is AWESOME, I also think my sisters, daughters and daughters in law are awesome. I also had awesome grandmothers. However I would never attach that same praise to myself and most mothers I know would not think themselves great mothers.

So in honor of a great mother, who is also a great teacher. That would be my mother. Due to the fact that my father was killed when I was 8, I cannot for a fact say that all these lessons so aptly taught to me came from my mother, most likely they were.

Thanks for the great lessons Mom..you are wise, smart, thoughtful, ingenious and the list goes on and on.

Lessons of Life taught by Vivian Merikofer Terry Murdock

That I try and live by every day of my life.

*Buck up!

Stop whining, bend down, take a deep breath, own the problem and make things right. Also means make the best of what Gods has given you, you can learn from the hard things. Dig for that inner strength you need to get through hard things.

*Always take the high road.

In all of life roads we take, especially in our relationships, we CHOOSE if we take offense or not, if we gossip or not, if we keep our word or not. Always take the right (high) road.

*Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth!

In other words be grateful when you are presented with a gift and don’t stop to access it for further value. Be gracious.

*You made your bed now lie in it.

You get what you earn. If you make poor choices, you get the consequences. Take them and live with them and stop whining about it. If you don’t like it change it.

*An honest days work for an honest days pay.

No job is beneath you as long as you do it the best you can. Never steal or cheat your way through any job, it will always catch you.

*Get your education!!!

IF you don't think you need it, every teenager should have a ditch digging job, then she will learn. In Alpine vernacular that means menial hard, back breaking labor for little money.

*”That’s a bit like the pot calling the kettle black.”

Don’t criticize others for things you are guilty of yourself.

*A mans word is all you need.

No contracts needed..just your word. However you will lose peoples trust quickly should you fail to keep your word, and trust is one of the hardest things to earn back.

*You don’t DESERVE anything but the air you breathe and a family who loves

you......everything else you must earn!

Quit being lazy, looking for a short cut or someone or something (Government) to hand things to you. It’s your job to go out there and make for yourself, things that are important to you. Do it with honor!

The most valuable lesson my mother taught me came at the age of 12. It was “Tradition” For most of my friends certain ages were ones to look forward to. 5yrs Yea kindergarten starts or 8yrs I get baptized, best yet 16yrs I get to date, to bad the boys didn't catch onto that one. For our family the magic birthday was 12. Now if you were a boy and LDS that age makes sense and even if you were a girl, it meant leaving Primary and going to Mutual, yes it was called Mutual many years ago. In our family it meant you were an adult and now fully capable of being financially independent of mom and dad. Yes you could continue living at home and eating with the family, mom wasn’t that harsh. It did mean you had to earn any and all money you expected to spend. That meant all expenses related to you. Camp fees, school fees, school supplies, all clothing, (yes even underware), gas, tires, gifts etc.. Mom would continue to buy your glasses if you were so unlucky to need them. When birthdays and Christmas after the age of 12, rolled around our gifts were not frivolous, they were things we needed. Yes we occasionally got things like a transistor radio, alarm clock, and even a LP.

I wasn’t all that thrilled at the age of 12 with this ‘gift” of adult hood. I knew what it meant. I had seen it with my older sisters and brothers. But what this gift of financial independence taught me was to discern between Need and Want. To prioritize my needs and to realize it’s no shame to buy secondhand, to go without the name brands and more clothes than I truly needed. I also learned to work hard, and earning 10 cents an hour babysitting 6 children under the age of 8 for the neighbors was hard work. These were not easy children. Picking berries, apples or other farm type chores were equally hard and at times distasteful and arduous. I learned to take care of what we had and to be grateful for it. Delayed gratification was the norm by the time I left home. Sure there were times I spent un-wisely but overall I learned to be quite self sufficient and stubborn too. Would I change this gift if I could, NEVER, too many awesome things became ingrained into my inner self. Those lessons made me who I am, and really I quite like myself most days. I still think I have a long, long way to become as great a mother as my MOM, but I'm working on it.

THANKS MOM for teaching me so well. I won’t consider me to be half the mother you are, but the good part of me I owe to you!

Let the Good Times Roll, part 1

So after a long work filled summer with not really alot of fun time, I was overdue for a little fun. The middle of September found me in Cincinnati Ohio with Doug, Heather and Andrew. They had asked me to come out and help for a couple of weeks while Heather remained on bed rest for this pregnancy. Doug was also to have surgery while I was there also. He did remarkable well and hardly missed a beat. I was delighted to be able to help, spend time with all of them as that rarely happens, especially not just me and them.

Andrew loved going to the park nearly everyday. It was our morning thing to do and I loved it to.

Like most every little boy he loved to watch the big machines building a road at the back of the park. One day it was a bit muddy and they weren't working on it, a perfect time to climb on this one and check it out.

We rode bikes and tried a bit of soccer and baseball. He loves being outside and the 2 weeks I was there the weather was SOOOO nice. While inside we played alot of cars, blocks, lego's and super hero's. SOUND FAMILIAR. Why do I enjoy boy play more than girl play?
We also got lots of cooking time making sweets. His favorite and ours as well Applesauce Brownies YUMMY.
So least you think I spent all my time with Andrew not so, well a little bit not so. I enjoyed working with Doug painting the nursery, I did not take pics because I want Heather to do that. She and Doug have come up with a beautiful and unique design for this room and they should show it off when completed. I enjoyed daytime hours with Heather visiting, cooking and just resting during nap time.

All to soon my time was at the end. I was sad to leave such a great family. Andrew is the sweetest little guy ever. So polite and caring and imaginative. As a mom it was so gratifying to see Doug and Heather be strong, support one another and be such caring parents to Andrew.

I LOVE YOU!!!

Time for FUN

The BACKYARD Whew it is nearly finished..I think the rest of the landscaping projects back here will wait for next summer, but they are small in comparison to this summer

First we refurbished this brick wall, then power washed all fences and gates and re-sealed them.

Next came forming and pouring concrete edging along the north and west fence line. Then Dan had this great idea to built this little curved planter boxes with the leftover blocks we had to plant the new bushes in. He accused me of spraying the other bushes with weed killer but I deny that. They were simply OLD like 50 years old and tired and just went away. So 2 weeks ago we planted the new (Hibiscus bushes) in the nice boxes. They will grow big and tall and wide and block the neighbors ugly back yard. We like them alot.

Then more edging around the back screened in porch
f-

o

The sand box was re-built, moved and pavers placed around it. A cover now keeps the cats out.

Last was the small terracing in the corner that would become the play area.

We finished off by putting mulch everywhere.
In the corner we put rubber mulch to see how we like it.
While there is more to do we are really liking the transformation of this massive big yard is making. One more big surprise to come in a couple of weeks

The Many faces of the Man I LOVE!!

It's been a great 31 Years. You are the best!

The metamorphosis Little Dan to Dan the Man

The best Grandpa and Opa

Thanks for 6 awesome kids

I love You!!!!

The Final Refinish

This project has been on going for about 5 years.

Many years ago my mother gave me this desk and chair that she and dad bought when they were first married, around 1950. Sometime in the 70's she had antiqued it white. I think it was a huge craze at the time for I seem to remember entire bedroom sets through out the house sporting the antique look. By the time I got the desk the antique finish was scratched to pieces and the desk top was quite damaged with heat and water stains, it was an absolute mess. I used it that way for years and finally got the desk refinished a couple of years ago. I ran out of time and told myself that I would do the chair soon. My soon has turned into 4 years. Part of my problem was the chair was structurally unsafe. The one center back piece had been missing for as long as I can remember and several of the doweled joints had broken through. I didn't have the tools or the skills to fix it, I was in a dilemma.

Then into my thoughts came the name of Curtis. Curtis is my little (tall) brother. He is a master of wood and so I asked him if he could help my little chair to a new life. He agreed, I was thankful. Little did I know how thankful I would really feel until some 9 months later. A year ago I took it over to him and when I got it back in this May not only had he fixed the joints, he had completely taken the chair apart, tightened and re-dowels all joints, custom made a back piece and then stripped it to the bare wood. It was beautiful with out any stain. With all the yard landscaping and such I just didn't have a minute to finish this chair until this week. So now stain, varnish and new upholstery on the seat the chair is as beautiful as it was the day Mom and dad bought it.

THANKS Curtis

you are the best and I will love sitting in this chair every time I sit down to sew,

and that is quite often.

So you may be asking why would I want this chair at all, why not throw it away? So unless you are 5 foot tall or shorter you will not understand the sheer ecstatic joy one feels, to sit in a chair with your back touching the back, it a true upright posture, no slumping here and your feet, both of them flat on the ground, no toe touching. That is why I wanted this chair saved IT FITS ME!! plus its a memory of dad who died nearly 47 years ago. I am grateful that mom and dad felt inclined to purchase a quality piece of furniture when things were tight financially for them. I am sure they had no idea they would have a short daughter who would fit this chair "just right"
I sound like the baby bear in Goldilocks and the 3 bears story. Maybe that is why I always related to the little bear and his chair.

It's Been 13 Years

The last time this garage had a major cleaning Rachel was 6, that is a scarry thought huh.. I put in on my list for the summer and we finally got to it. I believe it was James who organized the last cleaning for a merit badge on Family Life. (Boys, I am counting on you to correct me if I am wrong.) He got his Eagle when he was almost 14 so that has been 13 years. After doing yard work in the hot sun we were ready for some work not in direct sunlight, but it was still very hot. Our kids will realize what a change this is. Yes Dad was willing to rid himself of lots of "baggage"

First pulled everything out of the garage that wasn't on the top tier of shelf's. Man did we have tons of stuff. What you see is after half of it was put away. It took 3 long days to sort, organize and put away.

Before.........and........After
We recycled everything we could, which entailed many trips to various recycling centers with the last load to go to Boulder next week with Dan. I couldn't find any place closer that would take all the scrap metal we had.

The middle section of the upper tier of shelving. Everything in its place and ohhh so nicely labeled

The junk closet cleaned and labeled and things removed forever

Stacy dreamed up this "Sports Center" where we organized everything to do with Sports. Peyton loved putting the baskets on the shelves. We recycled the shelves from when James made them,(another merit badge project for his room) Then Stacy found a piece of peg board that we finished putting misc things on. This was a good move.

One of many dirt piles

OK boys remember all the wood stashed on the side wall of the garage. Well a day on Craigs list and it is all gone. Yippee. Dan admitted he wasn't very attached to it anymore.

This is Stacy's proudest part of her organizing efforts. She took scrap lumber and cut it to size and made shelves for all the boots. We refer to it as a "Ski Rental Closet" We give cheap rates to family members.

The clean and organised work bench and tool boxes.
The following is a list of the funny things we found in the garage while cleaning.

*3 trays (like you buy starter plants in) filled with small plastic cups, filled with dirt and dead plants. Each cup was clearly labeled a-1,a-2 etc.... If my memory serves me right, this was Alans science project in about 6th grade. Now that was a long time ago. Boy did we get a chuckle with that one.
*A small woven basket with a handle with a 12 inch piece of rotted rope in it.
*Old sprinkler setup , the manual one
* All the old fixtures from the kitchen and bathrooms.

I can't tell you how many times we just shook our heads in dis-belief of the things we came accross.

Lesson Learned: NEVER wait 13 years to clean the garage
Stacy decided in these kinds of projects a cordless drill is your best friend and you don't have to be a afraid of it.

The way I see it if Stacy can't find a job teaching she could hire out as a professional organizer.

The breezeway is equally cleaned and organized. My goal on Friday was to stay clean for 3 days, but Stacy manipulated me into cleaning the breezeway by noon. Oh well now it is done and you don't hurt yourself trying to get through. LIFE IS GOOD