The Gangsta Rap Video

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It delights me that I am able to post the Papa Day Rap on my blog.

I am going to nominate Meredith to be the U.S. citizen of the year for helping me!

The Gangsta's Rap

I am asked the question "when is Daddy going to be home" about 30 times a day. Cozette asks the most, but Kayleigh and Everett never go a day without asking this question too. 

The happiest time of the day is when Brad arrives home from work. 

Daddy is cool. 

He is never mean. 

He spends time with us.

He is so nice. 

He teaches us.

He makes everything more fun.

He works so hard.

He loves us so much.

He always makes time for us.

We just love being with him.

Daddy is so funny.

These are only a few reasons why we love Brad so much!

One little gangsta practically has his pants on the ground! 

This year, Kayleigh and Everett surprised Papa with a gangsta rap! 

Papa Day Rap

'Yo Papa you've always been the best

Compared to the rest!

Taking us to the ice cream parlor,

giving us five dolla'!

You're the best story teller I know,

You always put on a great show.

when we go camping, you take your big bed,

You make me hit my head.

You always tell the best jokes,

I laugh so hard I almost choke. 

When we're with you the fun never ends

that's because you're a true friend.

Happy Father's Day!

Curly or Straight?

One of Kayleigh's favorite things to do is straightening hair with her flat iron. Her cousin, Mary-Faith, has been Kayleigh's most faithful and agreeable subject. We always ooh and ahh at Mary-faith's perfectly straight hair when Kayleigh is finished. The first time Kayleigh straightened her hair, I was quite amused at Barbara's reaction.

Her eyes just about popped out of her head.

Mary-Faith was striking with her hair a few inches longer, but she also looked a few years older.

This can be very shocking to a parent.

Kayleigh's latest subject was Cozette. Last night, Kayleigh announced that she was going to straighten Cozette's hair, and before I could answer, they were off to Kayleigh's bathroom.

Here is the result of them playing beauty parlor:

When Kayleigh was done, she and Cozette waltzed into my bedroom.

Cozette screamed with excitement, "Look, Mommy!" with a pacifier hanging from her mouth.

My eyes popped out of my head.

It seemed like I was looking at a 14 year old with a pacifier in her mouth.

I did not like it one bit!

I like curly better!

For now.

Dear Provo

Dear Provo,

My memory of you had faded. I had forgotten how beautiful your mountains are. Enjoying a cool weekend without humidity was an unexpected treat. Riding bicycles at night wearing jackets over Memorial Day weekend is a phenomena I had never experienced before. It delighted my children to count your LDS chapels. We counted at least 40 from the interstate as we traveled back and forth to Salt Lake City. We even noticed that in some places chapels were located across the street from each other. We stopped counting eventually. What was even more spectacular was the vision of your beautiful temples from the interstate.  

I finally went back to BYU. I started laughing when I revisited Stadium Terrace. I lived in apartment #2 for a year. I thought that place has stood still in time, because it had not changed since 1989. The only change was the jacuzzi area was filled with concrete. That area is now a bike rack. I wonder how many students have swam in that courtyard pool over the last 21 years?

My children loved BYU campus. They are already planning to attend your great university. Everett has the dream of playing baseball there. Kayleigh said she can totally see herself on that campus!

Brad fell in love with Cafe Rio. I was introduced to it last month when I was in Arizona. Brad has mentioned several times since we've been home that he "sure could go for some Cafe Rio!" 

There were so many wonderful activities and places for us to go. Hiking the "Y" was not easy. I never attempted it when I was a student. Even Kayleigh and Everett said it was difficult. Brad thought it was easy. He even carried Cozette on his back the entire time. We enjoyed eating ice cream at The Creamery. The Brick Oven was a family hit. All of the cousins loved eating there. My personal favorite was eating treats at Kneaders. Their raspberry bread pudding with vanilla gold smothered on top was out of this world.

The most special part of our visit was attending your beautiful temple. I did the work for a beloved great aunt.  In 1990, I had the opportunity to attend the temple when I was a missionary at the MTC. It was wonderful to be back.

I must be honest and admit that I was freezing here. We were not prepared for the cold weather. 70 degrees in Utah is not the same at 70 degrees in Georgia with all of the humidity.

These cousins love each other. 

Barbara and Mary-faith had not arrived yet.

The kids enjoyed the balloon hats at the Brick Oven. The last time I was at The Brick Oven was in 1990. My date mentioned to me that Donny Osmond was sitting across the room. I told him that it was not Donny, because the man I was seeing was not as good looking at Donny Osmond. My date went and got his autograph to prove it was indeed Donny Osmond! 

The famous Stadium Terrace.

Everett at his future stadium!

Future BYU students.

Cousin Co-eds holding hands.

Brad, Bill, and Shirley posing with Brigham Young!

The kids loved rolling down this very steep hill. I'm sure many students have done this over the years. It was a surprise to see the new underground library extension.

We finally made it to the "Y". I'm afraid of heights. I was worried that Everett would not be fearful enough. After we sat down, we witnessed a young boy tumbling about 10 feet down the face of the mountain. He was literally doing rolls. His brother was trying to catch him. Finally, he  caught himself. Truthfully, it was quite upsetting. We were very thankful that the boy was not hurt.

Kneader's Bakery

It took about 10 minutes to decide what I was going to indulge myself with!

Kayleigh is gazing at Edward who obviously has a crush on her.

Everett is trying to have a serious vampire face!

A view of Provo from the Y.

We know there was much more to do.

We simply ran out of time.

Thank you for being such a gracious host.

I hope to see you again soon.

Love,

The Wedding

We traveled to Utah last week for the wedding of my niece. It was a pleasure to witness the sealing of Rebekah Dawn Simpson to Tyler Clark. She was married for time and eternity in the Bountiful, Temple. The sealing was especially meaningful to our family because my father-in-law, Bill, officiated the ceremony. It was very emotional witnessing a grandfather seal his granddaughter to her sweetheart. His words to Rebekah were tender and sweet. Three of them stand out in my mind.  

Time is fleeting.

I could not help but remember when I was the bride. Rebekah was only about seven years old. She was tall and lanky, full of life, and I loved her instantly. She has grown into a beautiful young woman.  I found myself thinking that time has indeed slipped away.

I thought of my own daughters.

Kayleigh's turn will come too quickly. I joked with my sister-in-law, Barbara, that when Cozette gets married we will be old women, and I sure hoped that we wouldn't be using canes by then!

Cozette was a flower girl at the reception.

My favorite part of the reception happened quite by accident. Rebekah started dancing with her father. I stood up to take some pictures, and as I turned to sit back down, I noticed Rebekah's brother Scott looking at her. His lip quivered with emotion, and he had tears come to his eyes. It was a beautiful sight to see a brother lovingly gaze at his sister. I told Scott that I would remember that special moment for the rest of my life. He expressed to me how much he loves Rebekah.

Outside the Bountiful Temple.

Kayleigh and Everett with Caroline. Tyler surprised Rebekah at the reception by singing a love song to her. Everett came up to me afterward and said, "I'm not singing at my wedding reception!" I assured him that he did not have to sing if he did not want to!

Cozette, Kayleigh, and cousin Caroline.

Everyone knows about "Caroline Style." She likes converse, pirate vests, jeans, Uggs, and anything else casual. I like to think of Caroline as Scout in To Kill a Mocking Bird. They even make some of the same facial expressions. This lovely dress was not exactly "Caroline Style," but she was a trooper and wore it beautifully!

I won't go into detail how B-A-D Cozette was part of the time!
I think this picture expresses it best.

True love.

Rebekah's and Tyler's wedding is a memorable experience that we will always cherish.

I took about 277 pictures of our trip to Utah.

More posts to come!  

Words of Love

The tradition in our family is to create our Mother's Day cards. I can't remember how long I have been doing this for my Mom. She has been the recipient of some clever cards over the years. I have written everything from the ABC's of motherhood,  motherhood top 10, to Mother's Day cheers and chants. My stick figure people have also been a favorite.

Now, I get to enjoy the pleasure of receiving these special gifts from my children.

Thank you, Kayleigh Bug, for still calling me Mommy. The greatest compliment I could ever receive is that I am an excellent dessert chef. You are my favorite person to party with.

And thank you for always eating dessert with me!

When I was doing the laundry a few days ago, I noticed a folded piece of paper in the pocket of Everett's shorts. I opened it up and noticed some writing on it.  

I saw three words: Mother's Day Poem.

I quickly put that paper away, so I could not see the rest.

As I read Everett's thoughtful words to me this morning, I started crying. This is such a sweet and thought provoking poem from an 11 year boy. I did not know that Everett was a poet.

Today at church, the children made Mother's Day cards. The children pasted a flower on a piece of card stock and each petal had a different question to answer about their Moms. One of the sentences that he had to complete was "I love it when you..."

Everett's answer was classic.

Yell at the umpires!

Thanks to Kayleigh Bug, I even received a card from Cozette.
Cozette has been saying Happy Mother's Day to me for the last two days.

This year I decided to write my Mom a letter in the format of a poem. Sometimes, when I call her, I will greet her as Penny, and sometimes I call her Golda, her given name.

This is what transpired this year:

Dear Golda,

I think it's time I told ya,

Just how much I love ya!

You are an artist elite painting with hues of red and golda,

Your art is truly a sight to beholda.

When I was little, you kissed my scrapes, cuts, and wounds,

It meant so much to hear your kind voice say,

"Come and let me hold ya!"

When those teenage years arrived,

your advice rang true in my ears,

"Be good, be kind, be true, is what I have always told ya!"

Now, I am a mother, and I am getting quite olda,

Thank you for helping when there are base boards that need dusting,

and laundry to be folda.

Now Golda, your life is one of service to your children,

it must have been foretolda,

May you be the recipient of many blessings,

Even a hundredfolda!

I wish I had on film my Mom reading this nonsense out loud. It was a really funny.  

Happy Mother's Day to my dear mother-in-law. Shirley has been a true friend to me since my very first date with Brad. The very thought of her brings happiness to my heart.

Happy Mother's Day.

The Bogeyman

It has been one week since I had eye surgery. My recovery has been delightfully easy. No bruising. No swelling. No visible scarring. In fact, at a first glance, you would never know I recently had eye surgery.

This is a blessing I had not expected.

In the past, I have experienced the extreme opposite.

Last Monday, I was filled with fear and dread. I was so afraid even though I have been through this eight times. It has been seven years since my last surgery, and the unknown of each surgery can be daunting.

We decided as a family that Brad should not take off time from our business to drive me to the hospital. It's a blessing having parents live closely, so we can make convenient decisions like this. Mommom took precious care of Cozette. The night before surgery Cozette repeated over and over that she was going to Mommom's the next day to eat birthday cake.  I am not sure where she came up with this.

Papa was my designated driver and caregiver at the hospital. I wish everyone could experience the pleasure of his company. When we arrived at Emory, I filled out the necessary paper work and the receptionist handed my Dad a pager and gave us instructions.

"The first time it vibrates, she averted her eyes towards me, you are to report to the last door on the left.  The second time, means your daughter will be ready for you to come back to visit before surgery, and the third time it vibrates means that she is in recovery and ready to see you."

Dad and I took our seats in the waiting area. We talked about everything. He was in the middle of  telling me that he was going to try and visit my Mom's cousin who was also at Emory when the pager went off.

As I got up to leave, I looked to my Dad for comfort.

"Everything is going to be just fine," he assured me as he rubbed my back.

I was shaking on the inside.

After they prepped me for surgery, it was a relief to see him again. We spoke to the anesthesiologist, and to Dr. Beck. The nurse kept coming in to administer eye drops. Dad was calmly talking to me the entire time. He finally looked at his watch to inform me that there was only about 15 minutes before surgery. This unnerved me so much, that I could no longer hold back my tears.

Dad came to my bedside and patted my arm as I started expressing all of my fears and concerns.  He quietly listened as I cried and rambled. I am not sure why I was so upset. Brad had given me a blessing of healing and comfort. I knew that I was being watched over yet, I was still afraid.

I have reflected on Dad's words of comfort all week.

""  Jeannie, you have angels with you. They are watching over you. I know this to be true. Have faith. Do not fear. What you are feeling is normal and even expected, but do not fear. What you are going through right now is no different than being afraid of the bogeyman in the dark. It is when you turn the lights on you discover there's nothing there to fear. There's nothing to be afraid of. "  

The bogeyman.

I laid in that hospital bed and the thought of the bogeyman struck me funny. I did not laugh though. A certain calmness and peace came over me. I looked up at Dad and told him that his words were exactly what I needed to hear.

I was no longer afraid.

It was a good thing too because within minutes they came to get me.

Not the bogeyman.

The nurses.

It was time for surgery.


I sincerely hope that Brad and I will be able to comfort and bless the lives of our children in their adulthood, as our parents continue to bless ours.