Grandma LaRae

Jeff's Mother, LaRae Crosland, passed away on March 14, 2014

She had been suffering with dementia for a long time and was almost always sad and afraid,

so it was an incredible blessing for her.

She passed away suddenly.  

She was residing in a care center and they had showered and dressed her, 

sat her down so they could make her bed.

When they turned around again she was gone.

Amazingly Jeff and I and his sister Kathy were together in a car 

traveling to Fillmore to an uncle's funeral when we received the phone call.

How ironic but how blessed Jeff and Kathy were to be together when they heard the news.

LaRae was a beautiful woman.  

She had incredible skin.  She obviously didn't abuse her face in the sun like most of us do.

Look how cute little Jeff is in this picture.  

Her funeral was wonderful.

Her oldest grandson, Jon spoke 

and her youngest granddaughter, Jessi gave the eulogy.

Jeff gave a talk on Believing that had most people in tears.  He is such a gifted speaker. 

Four of our little granddaughters sang "Families Can be Together Forever".  

It was so neat to have my boys participate in the Priesthood Ordinances.

Ben gave the family prayer and Tyler dedicated the grave.

When our family was all together a month ago, I wondered how long it would be
before all five of our children would be together again. 

We never dreamed it would be so soon and for this reason

but it was great to be together.

Families are wonderful and we are going to be together forever.

 We will miss her, but we know how excited she is be to be with her loved ones again.

It must of been a wonderful reunion for them.

How grateful I am for the Plan of Happiness and to know that this is not the end.

She is just beginning a new stage in her life, reunited with her husband, parents and brother.

California Adventures

I wanted to post a few of my favorite pics from our California trip.  For Christmas this year we gave our children a trip to San Diego.  We included their entrance passes, Condo for 4 nights, and some money to spend while there.  Thankfully everyone made it!!  It was so fun to have all the grandkids together in one place.  They enjoyed each other so much, and this Grandma loved observing and participating with them.  

Ty and Carly decided to come a couple of days early and take their girls to Disneyland and of course we couldn't let them do it alone.  

I forgot how much I love Disneyland!!   

I will always be a child at heart.

Ben and Carrie have passes to Disneyland so Carrie and the kids joined us that afternoon.

Everyone else arrived on Friday and we headed out to Oceanside, which is near San Diego.  That is where our Condo was located.

This was the view from our rooms.  

Saturday morning we loaded up in our cars and headed to Sea World, another favorite place of mine.

The nieces and nephews all love their Uncle Kevin.

On Sunday we did church and then we hit the beach.  

Not an ideal day for the beach, but it was all we had.  We enjoyed the sun and the sand.  

  

After our fun in the sun, we walked out the pier and had dinner at Ruby's.

It might be a little overwhelming for all 19 of us to eat at a restaurant, but the food was great.

Monday was San Diego Zoo day.  I had never been there so it was fun to experience something new.  How exciting to have Koalas and Pandas in your zoo!!

Our last picture of all the kids before Tyler flew home.  

 What an incredible family we have.  We have been so blessed with our in-laws.  Each one has become an integral part of our family.  We love them like our own.  It's amazing how these little grandkids can enter your lives and immediately have a huge place in your heart.  How fun it is that we have so many to love!!

Play Dough

I love playing with New Play-Doh when it is soft and pliable and because I'm a little OCD I love it when the colors are still the colors they were meant to be and not mixed.

My grandchildren love play-doh also and when we are playing together they always want me to make fun animals and objects.  

You know I'm really good at making worms and snakes.   

I can even create a bird nest with eggs.  

If I'm really pushed maybe a sitting bird with a beak sticking out.  (Of course all one color)

The  problem with this is that my son in law is a master with play-doh and he makes panda bears climbing bamboo stocks, with exact detail.  His creations could be sold on E-Bay for a huge profit. 

So most of my grandkids are never really excited to play this with me.

I have been pondering my life lately and sometimes I feel like I have made a worm or snake out of the life that my Heavenly Father has given me.  

Have I accomplished what I have been sent here to do?  

Is my Father In Heaven disappointed in what I have done, or is this what he expected?  

Have I been willing and pliable to let Him do with me what He planned?

I do have this hang up with colors of Play-doh being mixed, so have I unconsciously fought him when he has tried to make a masterpiece?

I need to Let Go and Let Him Guide my Life.  

He is the Master Builder

He knows what I have been sent here to do and accomplish.

He can turn this little worm (I hate snakes so I can't compare me to a snake) into a MasterPiece.

I feel him now mixing those colors.  

The Weekend

Jeff and I did a lot of living, laughing and loving this weekend.  

Another great benefit of being empty nesters!!

On Friday night we went with friends to the Brain Regan Concert.  

 I forgot to take pics so the tickets will have to suffice.  

I love that a lone man can stand on a stage in front of 12,000 people 

and keep them totally enthralled and laughing hysterically 

without using any racial slurs, sexual innuendos or crude bathroom humor.  

He is a master at what he does.  

 Of course we needed to get up Saturday morning and go to breakfast at my new favorite cafe

The Sunshine Cafe in North Salt Lake.

You've just got to love the name of the cafe, but the food is wonderful too.

Don't go if you are in a hurry.  It is an experience-- not an in and out quick meal.

The quality of the picture is not great, but I had to add it because if you look closely

Jeff is smiling.  It doesn't happen often in pictures.

After a little grandbaby holding during the day, we of course had to go to dinner again.

Eating on the weekends is a big chore, you know.  

Dinner at Park Stone with the daughter and her husband of some dear friends who are

serving diligently on a mission in Florida.  

This couple have a son who is going to now spend sometime with Jeff at the farm.

I am married to an amazing man!!

I love him more and more each day.

Sunday, besides attending church, was quite laid back.  

I hate to admit this,

But dinner was a frozen meal from Costco, which was amazingly not bad to eat.

Tough weekend.  

You've got to enjoy the moment while you can!!!

Not all weekends are this easy.

February Birthdays

February is the month that Cody and Lucy celebrate their birthdays.  We had a party for the two of them while we were all together in Oceanside.  There is nothing better than celebrating with cousins!!  Cody had already had his 7th birthday when we were there and Lucy's 5th birthday was going to happen as soon as she got home.
Since we were by the ocean, we decided to have a shark party, complete with shark crafts, shark games and of course lots of shark treats!!

 Before we headed to Oceanside Ty and Carly flew in early to surprise Lucy with a trip to Disneyland for her birthday, so of course we needed to be there to play also.  Ben and Carrie's kids joined us because they are lucky enough to have passes this year.  Cody and Lucy both wore Birthday Badges at Disneyland.  "Happy Birthday" comments were shared with them all day.  It made for a very special day.

Great to be the Grandma

As I spend time visiting with friends my same age who are pursuing advanced degrees, educating children at schools, or going into the business world each day, I wonder what I'm doing with my life.  I often feel bad that I haven't taken the time to pursue a career, but then at times like yesterday I'm so thankful that I get to be home so I can help my children and grandchildren when they are in need.

Yesterday Amy was scheduled to have a nerve block in her neck to help relieve the constant pain that she has been experiencing.  It was all worked out with a babysitter for her little ones and I would go with her to the hospital.  When she woke up in the morning her two year old Callie had spiked a fever and was definitely inflicted with influenza A, which her dad had been diagnosed with a few days earlier.  Knowing she couldn't take her to the babysitter and expose her family to the flu, we regrouped and I brought Callie with us.  Amy had to go in by herself, assuring the hospital that there would be someone to drive her home after the procedure.  Of course, as everything goes with Amy it was more "Invasive" than originally planned and she was in horrible pain when I picked her up a few hours later.  We gathered the other kids from the babysitter and I brought them all to my home.  Within an hour of returning home her 4 month old baby spiked a fever and we now had two with the flu.  I spent the day cuddling sick children, entertaining Blake who was still healthy, and worrying about Amy and the pain she was experiencing.  As I returned them all to their home last night after Luke came home from work, I had to offer a silent prayer that I was so so thankful I could be there for them on this day.  I also had to add that I was grateful that I was just the Grandma instead of the Mom.  I realize I raised 5 wonderful children and we had awful and trying days too,  BUT I admire these young moms more than ever and realize that the plan to have children when you are young is a Heavenly Plan because I couldn't do it anymore.  I love my role as grandma and I enjoy each of these grandkids so much, but how nice to know I can drop them off at the end of the day to the constant care of their parents.

A New Beginning

After a year and a half hiatus I'm ready to blog again.  (My old blog can be found here.)  Since life has changed so drastically in the past year I decided to start fresh with a new name and a new look.  Jessi was married to Stefan Brown in August 2013, so Jeff and I are now EMPTY NESTERS!!  We've waited for this day for a long time and it is different but wonderful.  Amy and Luke had a new baby, finally another boy to add to the pack.  Logan Larsen was born on Oct 11, 2013.  Unfortunately I've missed documenting so much in our lives, but after recently attending a 3 day RootsTech Conference I came to the conclusion that life is not going to get easier or less stressful so I need to leave a record of our lives, my thoughts and rantings, and pics of us even though we are getting older and plumper. 

We just spent a few days as a family in Oceanside, California, which is about 30 miles north of San Diego.  We had a crazy, but good crazy, few days together.  Imagine having 1- seven year old, 3- five year olds, 3-two year olds and a 4 month old baby together for 4 days and it is easy to imagine the craziness.  The amazing thing was how well all the grandkids got along.  I hope they will remember some of the memories made during these few days.  My greatest desire is for my family to be close, to be able to depend on one another, and to enjoy each other.  

The most amazing gift of this trip was that all five of our children were together for the first time in five years.  As I was thinking about this trip I was trying to recall when we were last together and could not even think when it was.  When we got home Carly looked up on her blog (benefit of blogging or recording family history) and discovered that the last time we were all together was in June of 2009 at Lake Powell.  How sad is that.  I'm hoping this never happens again.  I can't even explain the peace I felt to know that all five of them were asleep under one roof with Jeff and I close by once again.  I remember thinking that same thing when they were all living at home. I loved that contented feeling of knowing that my family was all together as I slept at night.  I was incredibly emotional as we all began to go our separate ways at the end of our vacation, really not knowing when we will all be together again.  I guess no matter how old my children are, they will always be my babies.