Tagged!

I guess I have been tagged and am suppose to come up with seven things that people might not know about me and this could be really hard for me....my life is an open book and most people know all there is to know....so let me think,

7. When I was a teenager I sang with a companion named Derek Pelley in coffee houses, which were very popular at the time, the very hippie thing to do. I think at one time I even thought I might be famous some day....

6. I am a qualified cosmetologist...not licensed anymore but qualified all the same.

5. I did the hair for three of my childrens high school musicals...Grease, Carousel, and Showboat.

4. Before I married my husband Alan I was engaged three times.....

3. I was born in North Carolina, but raised in Newfoundland, Canada. If I had been a male, even though I didn't live in the states for very long, I would have been eligible for the draft when I turned 18 during the vietnam war.

2. I am a published author. (To read the article I wrote, click HERE - scroll to the bottom article titled, "Michelle, Is That You?")

1.I didn't get my drivers license till I was 25 and pregnant with my third child....

I tag Shelley M and Angie P

Halloween Memories

When I started this blog I named it my memories because at this stage of my life I figured alot of what I might post would be my memories. Lately I have really been thinking about how fast time flies by. In February Alan will have been with the city of Olympia 10 years and we are in our tenth year of living here....then I was thinking how fast the last almost 40 years have gone by since the birth of my first child( sorry Craig), then 30, then 20 and last the past 10. In 10 years all of my children have left home. Since we have moved here three of them got married.. two of them graduated high school here... one left on a mission ...and started college....9 of my 10 grandchildren have been born...with one due in December. It seems to go by in a blink.

When I was Relief Society president a number of years ago my bishop Mike Ryan had a saying that he used all the time...I don't know if it was his or not...but it went something like this...".Our lives are so busy being caught up in the thick of thin things" I have always remembered that and somehow these days it has more meaning. This past week I have been thinking about past Halloweens with my children....how excited they would be weeks before planning what they would be ....and how sugared up they were for weeks after( I always wanted to dole out the candy till a dentist told me let them eat it all then brush their teeth.....very smart man!) I really am a slow learner by nature....any way I wanted to post some of my memories of this time...but it ended up being frustration because I realized I have misplaced the folder with Craigs childhood pics in it....so after many days I decided to go ahead anyway....( sorry there aren't more pics of you but I will keep looking) although the whole experience really did make me feel like a bad mother....how can you misplace your son's pics....

On the up note it did make me very happy looking at past Halloweens and made me look forward to this years pics......enjoy!

Canadian Thanksgiving

We are some of the many( I am sure )misplaced canadians, who get to celebrate being thankful ( holiday wise) twice a year. The Canadian Thanksgiving is the second monday in October( which by the way has always made more sense to me but whatever) and the American Thanksgiving is the last Thursday in November. So this past week I braved the expense and bought a turkey for my family( turkeys never go on sale here till November). Our family celebrated Thanksgiving on Sunday so we could attend an event at our church. You see there is more than one Canadian related family in our ward(usually one half of a married couple) and a few missionaries that have served in Canada...we even open the event to other wards and Canadian wannabees. We usually have anywhere from 40-60 people show up for a potluck dinner and a little entertainment...ending with the always popular singing of O Canada.

I love going to this event but it always leaves me a little homesick for Canada...although I am the American born part of my marriage,and the reason we ultimately live in Olympia WA.... but I grew up in Canada. Most of my memories are of Canada , I was married there, all my children were born there, ( two of them still live there) with all of Alan's family,( including my childhood friend and now sister in law...Valerie)and my really close friend Cindy is still there.

As much as I know the Lord directed us here to save Alan's life, we know we were suppose to be here without a doubt....I do miss it. I find myself wondering if we will ultimately be back there one day. I guess this year I am remembering our trip to Newfoundland this time last year ( after many many years away...32 for Alan to be exact) and being able to reconnect with my roots and that part of my life and family.

Thanksgiving whether Canadian or American always gives time to reflect on what we truly are thankful for and mine list is very long. I guess first and foremost the gospel of Jesus Christ...as if I had not been introduced to the gospel as a young girl I doubt the rest of what I am thankful for would have occured. It still amazes me to think the Lord extended his tender mercies unto me and that I listened and accepted. Next my husband, who always has loved me for who I am not someone he wanted me to become...and though I think I have mellowed over the years I know I was not always an easy person to live with....for reasons way to long to try to put here. I am grateful the Lord put him in my life. My childen ... who have brought me both incredible joy...and sorrow....but who have been exactly the teachers the Lord needed to send me ...to help me become what He needs me to be.... my daughter and sons in law....who are helping my children become who they need to be. Lastly my grand-children who have my heart....it is said often that we should have our grandchildren first...but no it is meant to be what it is... because grandparents earn their grandchildrens love by raising their parents...lol... They are all young as of yet and I am sure I will worry about them too in the days to come as they spread their wings and learn all about agency...but right now they just love me and I feel that love each and every day....I am thank ful for the things of life like food and a warm home too ...but they seem pale in comparison to the rich love of family....so suffice to say I am feeling very thankful...

This is Alan and I , Austen, Tanner donning our Canadian hockey jerseys to go to our potluck

Canadian Thanksgiving.. ..

We tried to get Gavin in the picture too,,,with his Canadian shirt but we couldn't get him away from his newest obsession with trains....

These are my beautiful children...all be it a few years ago( Shannon is pregnant with Austen) but I don't have many pictures of them all together...so some of them will be happy with this picture and some may not....Just wanted people to see what I am thankful for...

Its Harvest Time Again!

Today was a grey gloomy day....but it was Conference time...and we got comfortable to spend the day in front of the television being taught by the general authorities of the church. Alan had picked our ripe tomatoes on friday and I knew they needed to be taken care of.

So in between sessions I started cutting the vegtables to make salsa...Alan started peeling tomatoes. I must say my canning has cut down dramatically since the kids have been gone from home. Several years ago we came upon a recipe for salsa that we love...but I think the key is growing your own tomatoes....so every year about this time we start making salsa...the only drawback about growing your own tomatoes is you have to do the salsa in batches as the tomatoes ripen.....So we managed to make about a dozen jars this go round. Canning is hard work but I always love the feeling I have when it is done and sitting on my counter...This year I have done peaches , a little jam, pear sauce, now salsa( with more to come) and Iwill be doing beets soon. I have started storing the jars above my cupboards and I look up there with a great feeling of satisfaction. The salsa has become well loved by both alan and my co-workers and friends and it makes great christmas gifts.... so we will probably continue making it for a few years yet....My house smells amazing after it is done...except chelsea always thought it "stunk"

As we watched Conference my heart was touched many times..as it always is. It somehow always seems like they are talking to me personally as I am sure it does to everyone watching. I guess that is how the spirit works. I often find myself thinking "oh this is my favorite talk" till the next speaker and then I think no this is my favorite...I think they are just all my favorites.

I thought about Craig, Emily, Shelley, and Chelsea as they are all there in Salt Lake...knowing they are being spiritually fed...just like I am ....but being right there has something special to it...that is why so many people make there way there this time of year. Right now I just feel grateful...grateful to be where I am,,, grateful to have tomatoes in my garden so I can can salsa...grateful to be able to worship how I want...grateful to be able to see conference on my television....grateful to have a knowledge of the truth....just grateful....