Tonight, as I made dinner, this is what our family room looked like:
(Yes, Mark is taking a little pre-dinner snooze.) Thankfully, the living room still looked like this:
I should have completed the series by taking a picture of Daniel and Richard in the garage replacing the car’s brake pads.
The title of that picture would have been,
We love Grandma Ruth.
First memory of her: walking toward the hospital with her when my brother Joe was sick (I was 5).
Favorite dish she makes: tamale pie
Favorite Grandma Ruth object: her sketches from her childhood
Happy memories: Curling her hair one day, trip to Hearst Castle, faithful letters and cards all my life, sorting out boxes of the past, dressing up in heirloom clothing in her living room, working on recipes, special talks about important things.
Favorite decorations in her home: pictures of grandchildren and soft watercolors.
Shirt furnished by Dad; Head scarf furnished by Aunt Care; Nails by Mom; Poster painted by Paige.
Today after church I stood outside the building, apparently looking listless. The boys were playing in the bushes and Paige was in a meeting. Someone yelled from their car window, “Are you a widow this week?”
And I shrugged my shoulders. I hadn’t told many that Richard was gone. But I’m no good at hiding things. I was anxious to get home to see if he had made it back safely.
He noticed my clean house and my new haircut (Love him!) right away.
I missed him. The above are the creatures he “shot”… with a camera.
More on the hunting trip later.
Today Timothy, Mark and I played math games. We pulled out the flash cards, dominoes, matching games, geoshapes, dice, and of course,
Whenever I pull out my collection of buttons, I smile because they were given to me by my mother-in-law during my first month teaching Paige at home.
My mother-in-law sorted buttons of all shapes and colors and put them in little containers with color-coordinated lids; some lids were hand-painted to match the buttons inside. “They will be helpful in Math,” she said. She bundled everything up in a package and mailed them to me.
That package meant so much to me because it said without words, “I support you in your decision.”
Since that time, we have had many generous donations to our school from family and friends. But these buttons were the first.
And 9 year later, the buttons and that quiet support are still treasured.
Trying to come up with a caption for this picture. Yes, I have better things I could be doing. Here are some options:
Hang up the phone, put down your tools and get some rest. That’s what I say. And if your belly happens to be showing, all the better.
That old shag carpet looks like the latest thing!
I just realized I never bought my children a toy box/little bed.
Notice that I haven’t forgotten to use sheets on my little bed.
I remember those sheets every now and then. Sheets were softer in the 70’s… and busier.
If this were a reality show, it would be called Little A in the Little B.
I am thinking big thoughts in this picture.
My name is Angie (hi, Angie) and I am a recovering thumb sucker. (Applause). I’ve been on the wagon for 27 years.
I’ve made the move to a king sized bed and I’m never going back.
Alas, the poor princess couldn’t sleep. Not only was there a pea under the mattress, but a hundred tinker toys, hot wheel cars, little green army men and plastic animals jabbing her in the back.
(Sigh.) Now if I could just get rid of the paparazzi I could get some sleep.
This is the mesmerized look of someone studying the glitter dots on a popcorn ceiling, hoping to find constellations.
*The End*
Is this my strangest post ever? Probably.
Here is some writing from the Ross kids. The Saga has writing from many children, but I’m just spotlighting my own children in this post, thank you. Some of the art will look familiar to you. Daniel and Timothy have been studying about Egypt. It brings back good memories of my own Egyptmania when I was in 6th grade.
[book id='7' /]
I wish to say that I side with Elder Jeffery R. Holland, an Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as to the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. On Judgment Day when the books are opened, I want it recorded that I stand with Joseph Smith. Because the Book of Mormon is true and it has changed my life. I hope all my friends will read it and learn for themselves.
Here are two of my favorite talks from the weekend General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (each is an ordained Apostle, and special witness of Jesus Christ):
Elder Jeffery R. HollandAnd some of my favorite music:
I love showing the world to my children. I love having time to sit in the exhibits at the desert museum so they can work on sketches. I love these little memories from our last trip to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. In other words, I love how they show the world to me.
