January 2010

January 5th I went to LDS Hospital for a right hip replacement. I was nervous. But from the time we entered the hospital everyone was friendly, courteous, helpful and full of confidence. I began to relax. And by the time Lesley and Lilian arrived to give their Dad moral support we were ready for a party. Well, they partied. The first person to visit was a respiratory therapist and this shows my efforts to get my lungs moving.
In about 4 hours they had me up on my feet with the aid of a walker. I had to get physical therapy. Alan of course went with me for moral support for me and hopefully a learning curve for him. (to help me at home). Well, needless to say Alan was in great form. There were some others there who had had knee surgeries and with long broad elastic "reins" were attempting to lift their legs. Of course Alan starts singing, "oh, the Deadwood stage is a'coming on over the hill". It wasn't all fun and games but they did take care of me. Alan was able to stay at nights and it was a comfort to me to see him when I opened my eyes.
Coming home was quite traumatic as the car seat was a long way down. But we made it and I was able to tackle the stairs. I have never used crutches before but they were surprisingly easy to maneuver. And now I am beginning to go on one crutch.

For a few days I felt like I was on a roller coaster as I dealt with reactions to various drugs and taking pills on an empty stomach.
I have had a Physical Therapist visit me at home three times a week to teach me and encourage me in doing exercises. I have also had a home nurse visit twice a week with 24 hour on call service.
On Wednesday I have a follow-up visit scheduled with the surgeon.
Some neighbors brought meals and others came to encourage. Cory took G'pa to a car show while Lilian "tended" G'ma. Jeffrey and Melissa brought me a Jamba Juice :o)
What a great job Alan has done/is doing in taking care of me. He would have done it for me if possible and we have shed a few tears together as I hurt and he hurt for me. But we have also laughed a lot too.
I am grateful for Heavenly Father who has put into the hearts and minds of men to develop these procedures and other procedures to help us here on the earth.

Saturday night we all went to Lilian and Cory's to celebrate Alan's birthday and what a great way to celebrate my "coming out" of the house.

But the Child that is born on the Sabbath Day.....

.... is bonny and blythe and good and happy. Well, I can't use the other word!!!
It seems only a few short years ago that Archie asked me how I felt about my kids turning 30!!!!! now my Grandkids are turning 30 and Archie is the second of our kids to turn 50!!!!!
He was born at home, 36 Trassey Close Belfast, At 4:20am on a Sunday morning. While we waited for the midwife to come it was just Mom and Dad (Lesley was asleep in another room) waiting. All was quiet and dark and we were just waiting....... a very special spiritual moment. He was named Archie after his paternal Grandfather, and does a great job of honoring him. As a baby he "failed" to thrive and was in hospital for several weeks. A good friend Sammy Douglas, fasted for two days before going with Alan to administer to Archie and within two days Archie was home and hasn't looked back. He was always a quiet child not always talking but when he did he would use BIG words and speak clearly. We would look at each other in amazement. He was always quite patient BUT if you teased him enough he would let you know, as in one time when we were living at Uncle Roy's waiting to come to Salt Lake, Keith teased him enough that he formed a fist and said to Keith, "If you don't watch it I'll give you that" He wasn't yet three. He has always been very loving and compassionate. Once I was potty training one of the littler ones and Archie sat on the bathroom floor to keep the child company and said, "don't worry, your Archie is here". He was about six.

In later years he introduced his Dad and I to the National Park in Utah that is named after him !!!!! Well, it would have been if the namers knew him!!!!!
He is a hard worker and is/was welcomed with open arms when LDS hospital was changing it's computer system. He brings a feeling of competency with him. And always with a laugh and a smile.
He served a mission in Auckland, New Zealand. And later when the girls attended Catholic private school was involved in their various activities. The Priests enjoyed his humor.
He is very generous and kind. He is surrounded by women, he has a wife and three daughters, even the dog is a girl. I admire him.
He is very tender-hearted and has a philosophy that when JuLee is happy everyone is happy. Smart man.
He loves the Lord and his neighbor. He goes the extra mile.



Alyssa, Archie, JuLee, Ammanda, and Aubree.
You will have to imagine a lovely yellow lab "Biscuit" at their feet

I enjoy reading Archie's blog. I have learned a lot about him.

Happy Birthday son, and many more. We love you .

P.S. Take another look at Lesley's family friday on Archie and everyone's comments.

A GIRL!!!!!!

WHAT JOY!!!!
After three boys we were excited to have another girl. Lesley couldn't believe she had a sister!!!! She was born on the day before Thanksgiving and named Lilian after my Mother. So, being so excited to have a girl how do I explain my leaving her all alone when just a few weeks old in the laundromat? I can't. And, being so excited to have a girl how do I explain leaving her behind at the Church when she was 4 years old? I can't. I am just grateful I missed her and went back, and that a neighbor recognized we had left her behind and brought her home.
She was hospitalized for several weeks, starting at New Year's of 1967, first with pneumonia and then other unspecified conditions. What a worry! It took about 6 weeks but finally she came home to stay.
We all delighted in our baby girl. Even in the cause of photography when her Dad took away her easter egg and caused her to cry. It made good video but......... and then when we took her to the beach for the first time when she was 18 months she didn't like the sand so would stay on the blanket. Suited me, we didn't have to chase after her :o)
Nowadays she loves the beach and all that it entails, and she loves Disneyland.


She is the loving and devoted Mother of 5 boys, and has served in all capacities of Cub scouting. She has earned the right to be happy that her boys have out grown that program. She has been a diligent supporter of her Taylor as he has been involved in marching band and music. Now she is into missions and marriages as her eldest boy got married.

Although born in Bountiful, Utah she is proud of her British heritage and has visited England a couple of times and knows her way around like a native, or even better than some. :o) On one of her trips she saw the Queen or should I say the Queen got to see her.

She is the Queen of scrapbooking and got all of us involved in blogging. She has a nice big home and is always generous in sharing her home for family parties etc.
She makes fabulous sugar cookies and takes time to decorate them.
She has developed (no pun intended) a talent for photography and is generous in sharing her talent.
She has several friends who love to party with her and enjoy the ridiculous.
She is very patient.

She is devoted to the Lord and fulfills all callings as they are extended to her. She is teaching her boys to honor their Priesthood and women. She is someone I look up to and respect.

We love you Lilian, always have, always will. Happy Birthday Sweetheart and many more.

Lilian and her favorite people at one of her favorite places

He Could be President of the United States of America!!!!!!!!

....because he was born in Utah on September 12 1963. And because we had emigrated to Utah in October of 1962 I refer to him as "our first born in the wilderness" :o) Alan several times wished he had been born in Britain and this qualifying to be President, was his consolation prize.
He was born in Bountiful, Utah on a Thursday. And according to the rhyme Thursday's child has far to go. And he has travelled far. He and Tara went to Northern Ireland last year
He is the only one who has moved out of State, Nevada, Arizona and California. And much as I prefer my kids to stay close to home he has nevertheless given us lots of opportunities to explore other places. He went to the Philippines on his mission (I wanted him to go to Britain, but then VicVic would not be part of our family) and has travelled back there three more times. In High School he was the only one of the children who participated in so many school programs. He represented Viewmont in running, golf, swim team, band and was very talented in Radio and TV. He created a video that was used in the "U" journalism program, and when he went to an interview there the teacher showed him this video and said this was the standard they were looking for. Alan told him he made the demo. :o) He also graduated from the University of Utah. He worked at Channel 4 before his mission and at Channel 5 after his mission. He works in the TV industry and is a TV News anchor in Chico, CA. He is very adventuresome and when he moves into a new area he is quick to become acquainted with the roads. He has climbed the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge, and loves the ocean.
He has had adversity in his life but is the better man for it. He is loving and kind and loves to be with his siblings. He loves the Lord, he loves his parents, oh, and he loves Dick's bread

His family is important to him. He is Marivic's number one fan. They love each other and their children.
He is a good man and we love him. Happy Birthday son, and many more

Miss Tippy Toes

Lesley was born on July 10th 1958 at the Royal Maternity Hospital, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After much desire and heartbreak. I thought I would NEVER have a baby and look at us now. :o)
She started walking on the day after Mother's Day in 1959 and always walked on her tip toes, hence the name. People would say,"she is walking on her tip toes!" "She walks on her tip toes she is going to be a ballerina!" She was always a good baby and slept through the night from she was 2 months old. She went with us to the London Temple dedication and was sealed to us there in September 1958.
We were learning a new hymn in Sunday school #44 but we put our own words to it.
Beautiful Lesley built above
Beautiful Lesley that we love.
Beautiful teeth so pearly white
Beautiful eyes so big and bright
She who was born on the 10th of July
She is the apple of our eye.
Lesley, Lesley, Beautiful Lesley
Lovely Lesley, Lesley Marsden that we love.

Grandma Ditty, to the day she died (1981) always called her Lesley Ann.

When she was 3 1/2 years old and we still lived in Belfast, she took off one day with her doll pram and crossed a local field to visit my friend. There were always a LOT of seagulls in that field and they must have flown near her and I credit this situation to her dislike of birds to this day. She used to do shopping for me in Belfast. About a block from our home was a "strip mall". I would write a note with money and put it in one hand and tell her which shop to go to, and in the other hand was another note and money for another shop and she would come home with the "messages".(Our terminology in Belfast for errands)I am amazed that we allowed her to do that but that was what children did.
She missed her Daddy when he came to Salt Lake in 1962 and the first words she said to him when they met 4 months later was, "Do you want to keep me?"
She was thrilled after three brothers to get a baby sister. When her Daddy went to her third grade class to tell her, the class applauded. She was in Mrs Baty's class at West Bountiful.
She was really pleased when her niece Alyssa was born on her (Lesley's) 32nd birthday.
She has a beautiful singing voice that she has shared for years. And continues to seek opportunities to develop that talent.
She has always been an obedient and loving person. A faithful wife, a devoted Mother, a loving daughter, a caring sister, a friendly aunt, and an attentive friend. She works hard and is devoted to serving the Lord. She has not missed an opportunity to serve in the temple at least once a month for the past 12 years. She is determined to serve where and when called and to help build the kingdom. She has had much adversity in her life but comes through with her beautiful smile intact. She is a builder. A builder in our family, reference her blog and her "Family Fridays"

She is what her Dad and I call AN ELECT LADY.



Happy Birthday Sweetheart, and many more.
(she won't see this blog till later today, she's at Girl's Camp)

Timothy....on this date in history....1961

.... was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland at 9:45pm on a Saturday night.
He was born at home. No panic, that is what we planned. The midwife visited me at home throughout my pregnancy and the doctor came to the house when he was called but Timothy arrived before he did. That was the British National Health system. (Lady Diana Spencer was born the same day)He was always a pleasant baby except for the evening he cried and cried in his crib, when his Dad went to check on him he found him hanging by his neck because the cord in his pj's had caught on the rail. Before his 1st birthday the decision was made to emigrate to Utah. Alan came first and as we waited to come I would not encourage Timothy to walk because I wanted his Daddy to be there. He was just 15 months old when we left Belfast and arrived in Utah.


He was the first of our children to graduate from University and he later passed his CPA exam and does his siblings taxes for them, also ours.
He served his mission in Brazil so is the only one of our children to speak a foreign language. While he was on his mission he taught the Brazilian children/people to do "Pay the Rent" which was something he learned at home but the Portuguese makes it a lot more fun. Plus he embellishes it SOOOOO much. Also, a very important part of family birthday celebrations is to have Tim sing the birthday song in Portuguese. He keeps up his language skills by reading the Book of Mormon and praying in Portuguese.
He is a very smart man, he lives just 5 minutes from his workplace so doesn't have to commute !!!!!!!
When he was in Primary he sang with a Primary choir in the Tabernacle, and quite a few years later gave a prayer at a priesthood meeting in the Tabernacle.
He is a righteous man, loves the Lord and serves diligently in all of his callings.
He is a good Dad and is looking forward to his first grandchild, a girl, coming in August. He loves his wife and takes care of her. He is a good brother and friend and has always been a hard conscientious worker, even as a boy when doing his chores.
It is wonderful to focus on a particular child. So many things and experiences come to mind. And we are grateful for this child, young man, man, son.
We love you son,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND MANY MORE.

What's So Special about June 25th....

....it's half past Christmas.

This is the wording of a cartoon in the Deseret News
on June 25th 1971.
It is also the day our youngest, David was born!!!!
So to us of course June 25th is always special.
He named himself as the "golden child" when he was in his 20's. But at the age of 14 he became an "only" child when the last of his siblings got married. When someone in school expressed envy at his "aloneness" David explained it took him 14 years to get there.
As a teenager he was quite laid back, never wanting anything bad enough to have to work for it. But generally got it anyway. Because his Mom thought he should have it.
We lost him one time when he was 5 years old and after scouring the neighborhood and enlisting much help we found him asleep under the bed. His sister tells of the time he wanted to be carried when they were on a walk and she refused because he was to big to be carried. He sat down on the ground and she walked off and left him. He just sat there until she gave in and had to walk quite aways back to get him.
In High school he got involved in the theater and has provided much enjoyment for lots of people in his performances at Rogers Memorial Theater. And never ending joy and laughter for his family as he creates special songs every Christmas of a family nature. He has no competition as "Joseph....." and he can show whoever how to sing "Music of the Night", much to the delight of Margie.
We always have fun when David is around. He is a good man. He loves his wife, he loves his kids, he loves his siblings, he loves his Mom and Dad and he loves the Lord, and we love him. So much talent, so many stories, not enough time.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SON
and many more.

I only have one sister....

....... Jean. She is older than me by 13 years, today is the anniversary of her birth. So going on the premise if I remember her and tell others about her she will always live. :o)

She was beautiful and happy, she would go dancing with our brother Jack and had a lovely alto singing voice. She always seemed to have a lot of boyfriends. I remember meeting one of them by accident in downtown Belfast and he took me to lunch. An unforgetable experience for this 10 year old. When she would go out on a date if she received a box of chocolates she always saved a few for me. Well maybe I had to give Brian one but..............

During the war she worked in England and came home on a visit, or maybe she came home to stay, either way, we shared a bed and one night June was there and Jean told us about all the fun she had in London and what she had eaten and we were punching her while she was talking about strawberries and cream and knickerbocker glories. Desserts that to this wartime child were only words. And the three of us lay and giggled and had a good laugh.

I finally had a Knickerbocker Glory when I visited Belfast for her funeral.

She was 26 years old when she got married and I was a bridesmaid. Brian and I used to love and go visit her in her first apartment. Her kitchen was a closet (about the size of Lilian's main floor bathroom) but what delicious food came out of that "closet".

This picture of her with our Mother was taken about 6 months before our Mother passed away in March 1953, just 10 days before Jean's first baby was born.

After I got married she would come all the way across Belfast to visit, it was about an hour's journey and involved several buses. Billy worked in a banana warehouse and she always brought bananas, when Alan got home from work and saw the bananas he always knew Jean was here. :o)

Until we came to the States I never had to buy bananas and when I got here it was a difficult purchase for me. :o).

She came to Utah to visit us several times, and it was fun to have her. I returned to Belfast a few times to see her.

This is one of the last pictures I have of the two of us together.

She passed away in April 1995. I miss her. I have not been to Belfast since.

A New Day

I am now a liberated woman. We had pizza for our birthday dinner :o). Alan had invited the "children" for cake and ice-cream at 6pm, but that is an awkward time as no one had a chance to eat sooooooooo I said why don't we order pizza. Pizza is not our favorite food. But........ we ordered all sorts of pizza and everyone was pleased. I may do this again, NO WORK that is why I am liberated. And the clean-up was a snap. Earlier in the day we drove to Morgan for a hamburger and Raspberry shake at Steph's. 70 miles for a hamburger. As Alan and I are fond of commenting "only in America" Only half the family were here, but that is still a crowd. One son is in So. Cal. on vacation. Another is in England with his son on a graduation trip to watch soccer. And another son lives in California so was not able to make it. But I heard from them and that was wonderful.The cake was my Alan's favorite , white with raspberry filling and real whipped cream. He never forgets the "Irish" connection so there were shamrocks on it. :o)

Someone asked me one time

"when is your birthday?"

I answered "August 22nd"

"What year?"

"Every year!"

The cream frosting was good. But don't worry, I nibbled in a corner next to the dish :o)