DEANNA...YOU STILL "TALK" TOO MUCH

Dear Family and Friends....

Last night I posted "Stories In The Basement". I did not realize it was so long. I am sorry...I just talk too much and make my posts too long I will try to do better. If you do decide to read it, you may want to sit down with a cup of hot chocolate and ten minutes to spare.

Mimi's Thought for the Day: He who talks too much chases away the birds....and friends!

STORIES IN THE BASEMENT

I am a perfectionist...but only in the heart and mind so that makes me a wannabe perfectionist. I am a pack rat...but only when it comes to things of my deceased mother's or my children's drawings when they were little, or old letters, or cross-stitch books and threads, etc. I could go on and on. Someone else seeing it may say, "no..she is truly a pack rat."

Our basement, where our some of our boys' bedrooms were, and also the family room, was all changed after they left home. Ned took one bedroom and had an office. Another bedroom was used for guests. Then the former family room (huge) started looking more like a warehouse of boxes and excess furniture, paint cans, boots, clothes galore, etc....you get the picture. It became a "dumping ground" for things we still wanted but had no room for in the upper main part of the house.

For several years I have told my family I wanted to get it cleaned out. Give away, throw away, take to Senior Citizen center, etc. But just get rid of it. The day finally came when my sweet daughter in-law Tina...the driving force in this project...came over with 23 totes and we went to work. I sat and oohed and awed and got sentimental. She tenderly would just bring me back from "memories" and have me get things in the totes. Bless her heart...she even got her husband Craig and son Derek and my dear husband Ned to work this last Saturday. We worked solid from 10:00 in the morning until 5:00 (except for Ned...he went to Priesthood meeting). We did not even stop for lunch. Tina labeled each tote with: "papers to go through, Family (to go through), Trash, Halloween, Christmas, Valentines, Projects to finish, Genealogy, Senior Citizen Center" and on and on. Why there was even a tote for me with "Keepsakes" on it.

Derek looked around after the room was completely cleaned up and even the carpet taken up and said, "Wow, this room is big. I have only seen it with boxes of things all over." He couldn't believe that there was actually a room. He is excited to know that we are going to put it back into a family room...paint the walls, new carpet, new lighting, game tables for the grandchildren. I am excited too....or will be as soon as I go through all the boxes and totes of papers and "things" and find a home for them. My upper house now looks messy with all the boxes around but that should be impetus for me to get the final weeding out done. Clearing everything out will give the men of the family plenty of room to get the remodeling done and shelves made.

I have so many projects to do after this: Make a cookbook of all Ned's mother's recipes and my mother too. Make something with all the quilt fabric I found. Give the boxes and boxes of beautiful yarn my mother had and give it to the church. Do a life story of my mother and get all the genealogy data done so I can throw away things I don't need to have. Give away many, many books...mainly church books. Do photo/scrapbook albums for my grandparents, my mother and myself. I could go on and on...the list is getting very long. If I start now I should be finished in about 20 years....hmmmm.

I had lots of "people" living in my basement in my boxes: my mother, father, grandparents, other relatives, my children, Ned and myself. Time to let go and let the lives be told and shared through stories, pictures, recipes, quilts, etc., instead of laying in boxes for years.

Share with me your projects for the year. Do you have "stories" that are hidden in your basement, attic, etc. ?

Mimi's Thought for the Day: "Things" are nice, fun, pretty, warm our hearts, especially those "things" left to us by our ancestors: doilies, quilts, pictures, toys, journals, etc. But our ancestors also gave us something more: love, sharing, caring, teachings, testimonies, etc. What do you suppose you will be able to "take" with you one day? What will you "leave" as a legacy for your descendants?

CHAYLA

My Chayla...affectionately called "Chayla-Boo". I want to honor this most beautiful and lovely granddaughter who brings happiness to everyone in our family. She is the daughter of our son Bruce and Jackie. Chayla is the second daughter and she has three sisters.

My first thoughts of when I think of Chayla is of a sweet little girl who had the cutest voice. I can still hear it to this day. She was a little doll. She had the most beautiful blond hair and I loved putting it up in the pink sponge curlers. Later in the day we would brush it out and she had this bouncing hair that glistened. She would run back and forth in their living room to make her long curly hair bounce and she would giggle the whole time. Chayla had such a tender heart that when I would correct her ever so gently on something that was very minor, you would have thought that I was scolding her harshly. Those big beautiful blue eyes of hers would fill with tears and then spill out onto her cheeks. I finally learned that even the slightest disapproval would hurt Chayla so very much.

Today Chayla is all grown up. She is tall and elegant and very stunning. She loves her family and her life. Chayla is an excellent student, plus an outstanding basketball player. She played basketball all through high school and was honored to go to the Washington State Championship games in her junior and senior years. This year she is playing for Big Bend Community College and is playing even better than her high school years. Chayla is easy to please and very appreciative of any blessings that come her way. She is active in the church and has given her parents much joy in the way she lives her life.

I could go on and on about Chayla but I would end up writing a book. She is a choice granddaughter and has always treated me with respect and has always shown love and caring. I know that Heavenly Father is pleased with her. We are just so blessed to have her in our family. She makes each day brighter and chases away the dark clouds with that perfect, gorgeous smile. I am at a loss for words in describing this beautiful young woman. Father has given me another angel to help me through life. What did I do to deserve this most beautiful and charming angel? I thank God for her. HAPPY 19TH BIRTHDAY CHAYLA BOO. I am so thankful for you and completely, totally blessed to have you in my life. You can sit on my lap any time (an inside joke between Chayla, me and others that know our past. lol)

Mimi's Thought for the Day: Children come in all sorts of gift wrapping: tall, short, big, small, dark, light, etc. But one thing we know is that they all came from God and He loves the "gifts" He has given to us to watch over, care for, teach and help lead back home to Him.

MEGAN

I wish you all could know my granddaughter Megan. May I take just a moment and tell you of this angel that walks the earth.

From the moment she was born she has given absolute joy to her parents Julie (my daughter) and Don, and to me and of course her grandfather, other relatives.

Megan is the kind of person that radiates goodness, who emulates Christ in her actions and in her talk. She always looks for opportunities to help others and to make life better for other people. She can communicate with the very young and the very old and all those in between. She has a rare quality of being non-judgemental.

Megan is smart...real smart. Okay, I know I sound like a grandmother, but her grade reports prove her intellect. She has always been a straight A student and with her discipline I expect to see her be given scholarships to prestigious colleges.

What do I like about her most? Oh that would be hard to pinpoint as she does everything so well and so effortless. I can name a few things though and the first thing that comes to my mind her desire to help. She is willing, able and insists on being of use, of wanting to lighten the burdens of others. Another, is her sweetness and her maturity. She is wise, sensible and has her head on straight. I love her hugs...which she always has plenty of. They feel so good.

She is the kind of girl that asks: "May I do that for you? Would you like your feet rubbed? I will clean up the kitchen Mimi, you go sit down and get your legs up. Do you need any help?"

She is gracious, kind, giving, loving, self-motivated, angelic, and full of laughter and happiness.

TODAY IS HER BIRTHDAY....HAPPY 14TH BIRTHDAY TO MY ANGEL MEGAN!!!!!!!!!!!!

We all need a Megan in our lives to remind us of the goodness of God....He has angels live among us. Who is your angel?

Mimi's Thought for the Day:
May you have....
A song in your heart
A smile on your lips
And nothing but joy
At your fingertips.
(An Irish blessing for my Irish lass Megan)

2010...BRING IT ON!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my friends and family. I pray that this year will be a memorable, joyous, peaceful year for all of you. That it will be a year of opportunity, answered prayers, growth and a closer relationship with your friends and loved ones. That it will be a year that you will be able to reach and stretch.
A new beginning has begun. I relish the thought of newness, especially when it comes to new days...new days filled with time that has not happened...has not been lived before. I cannot but help but think of yesterday and what I learned, today what I hope to learn and the future with what I can learn if I but "aim" for it.
Having no goals, no resolving to become better is aiming at nothing. Get out your weapons of success: desire, fortitude, commitment, etc., and aim for that which will draws you closer to being who and what you want to be. Wishing does not make it so. It takes action of mind and of heart and of hands.

What are your aims this year? Don't overload your ammunition..you may get jammed. Take baby steps...one step at a time and you are headed in the right direction.

Just "DO IT"

Mimi's Thought for the Day: "Yesterday is history; tomorrow is a mystery; today is a gift...that is why it is called the present" author unknown