Several Months ago, a friend lent me a book called
"Embracing Coincidence"
"Transforming your life through Synchronicity" written by Carol Lynn Pearson
What is Syncronicity you may ask, Synchronicity is the name that Carl Jung gave to Meaningful Coincidense's that happen in your life.
I loved this little book, so I Immediately started looking in bookstores to find a copy for myself, I couldn't find one anywhere, If the book stores carried it I obviously was in the wrong place at the wrong time because I couldn't find a copy anywhere. So I started looking on line and I couldn't find it in any of the online bookstores. Not one to discourage easily, (some inconsiderate people might call this stubborness", I decided to look up CAROL LYNN PEARSON on the internet (http://www.clpearson.com/index.htm)
and I struck gold!!!!!!!!. She was selling copies of the book through her website, and at no extra charge, she would autograph the book for you on request.
I had been looking for something meaningful to give my daughters and daughters in law for Mothers Day and I decided to buy them each a copy of the book and have Carol Lynn autograph it for them. I don't know how many of my daughters have actually read the book, I hope if they haven't that they will read it sooner if not later. Todds girlfriend, Natalie, whom I love dearly has been the only one who has mentioned how much she enjoyed and loved the book.
With this said I have decided to share a few Synchronicities that I feel I have personally had in the last few years.
I hope these are synchronicities, they are to me anyway.
The first one is about a year and a half after Dad (Orley Edwin Bills SR.) passed away. He passed away December 28, 2003
On July 16, 2005, Mom went to the Temple to have her endowments taken out. My brother in law Scot Slager stood in as proxy for my Dads endowments and we were going to have Mom and Dad sealed that day along with sealing those of their children who were eligible to be sealed to them at the time, the children to be sealed included just Cheri and myself that day, we still have hope that someday the brothers will be sealed to all of us as well.
As the endowment started I glanced up at the officiator and lo and behold I thought I was looking at my dad, the resemblance was just amazing to me, I was almost in shock, but I thought maybe it was just me and that I just wanted Dad to actually be there with us on this day.
Finally as I watched this officiator almost through the whole session I turned to my sister and asked, does the officiator look familiar to you, Cheri said "Oh Yeah, I think he looks a lot like dad". After the session and the sealings, we were sitting outside the Temple and we were taking some pictures when Mom turned to me and asked, "Do you think your dad will be able to accept all this?"
Cheri and I looked at each other and smiled, We assured Mom that we were certain Dad had already accepted the Temple work and sealings that had been done for him this day.
On a further note and this isn't actually part of the Synchronicity, My brother Randy is working on getting his Temple Recommend reinstated, I hope we will be able to attend a session with him as he is also sealed to Mom and Dad.
Another little Synchronicity happened on June 11th 2009
I went to visit Mom at Manor Care, Mom has Alheimers and is in a care center, I'm not sure she still recognizes me as her daughter :( , and conversations with her are
very hard to understand and follow,........ but I digress.
On this Day it was clear to see that Mom was very agitated, I asked her what was wrong, I wasn't really expecting an answer that I could understand because Mom is usually pretty incoherent, but she said as plain as day, "I've been trying to get in touch with my sister and I can't reach her" Mom has two sisters, Tess and Louise.
Aunt Louise died many years ago and so I thought she was probably talking about Tess,
I tried to question her a little about who she meant but Mom was back to being incoherent, she didn't say any more about her sister, so sadly the conversation on this topic was over
The next morning, I received an email from my Cousin Kathleen Becker, Aunt Tess's daughter, she was informing me that her mother had had a stroke and was lying in a coma. On June 15th Aunt Tess passed away without regaining conciousness. Aunt Tess was 91 years old when she passed away. Mom is 84
I've wondered many times if Mom somehow knew something was wrong with Aunt Tess
and how she could have possibly known if that was so.
This Sunday August 9, 2009 Our Grandaughter Lillian Grace was blest. Lilly was born on June 13th, the day that Our son James and his Fiance Amanda were married.
On the day of the blessing, there were two babies to be blest, Lillian Grace was the first baby to be blest. She was blest by her Grandfather Rob Carter. I haven't heard the name Lillian given to a baby for a long time, BUT When the second baby was blest her middle name was Lillian and her Father kept reffering to her as Lilly, what a coincidence.
That wasnt the only interesting similarity that day though. There was a High Council representative sitting on the stand, as I looked at him I thought he looked a little familiar but couldn't place him as someone I knew. Shortly there after Don leaned over and said, "look at that high councilman sitting on the stand, do you think he looks a bit like my brother Tom"?
Tom passed away 6 years ago on Nov. 23, 2003, and then I realized why this man looked so familiar to me, I could hardly take my eyes off of him after that, He did look amazingly like Tom and there were certain ways he would move or gesture that I would have sworn I was looking at Tom himself. Before the meeting was over I walked back to where my Nephew Jody was sitting and asked him to look at the high Councilman
and tell me if he thought he looked like his dad. Jody said "Oh my gosh he does"
I'm not sure if Jody was just trying to humor me or if he really agreed with us.
Don and I both feel like he looked amazingly like Tom, sad to say, we don't even know his name :(
I'm sure this won't be the end of my Synchronicities, time will tell and if I have anymore I will try to record them here.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
ON Life and Death
Just last week we attended the funeral of a good friend and former co-worker.
RAYMOND C. RAY
In the course of his life, Raymond had been married three times,
His first and longest marriage was to Genial, This marriage produced all of the children that was born to him. I think it was 4 daughters if I remember correctly.
I know that Raymond and Genial were extremely devoted to each other.
After Genial died several years ago, Raymond was incredibly lonely,
He had had several women invite him to go out and do things but he refused every single invitation.
I asked him why? He said to us, you have no idea what you have until you lose it, the loss of companionship is an unbearable loss but Genial made me promise years ago to never try to find someone else and get married again." Sadly I could remember making Don promise the same thing when I was young and incredibly dumb.
I assured him that if Genial could see how lonely and sad he was, she would take those words back in a heart beat. I firmly believe that, and still do.
Raymond courted and married a woman named Birdie, and they ended up getting married, Birdie was very good for Raymond and made him happy and glad to be alive once more.
Sadly after only a short amount of time, Birdie died of cancer, leaving Raymond alone once more.
Raymond met Sandy, a widow herself. She let Raymond know from the beginning that she also had cancer, Raymond asked her to marry him anyway and she accepted, BUT she was also undergoing cancer treatment at the time and wanted to wait until she got better to get married. Sadly Sandy never got better, and she passed away before they could get married. Raymond was a true-blue friend and fiance, He took care of Sandy and even spoke at her funeral when she was gone.
Then Raymond met and married Carolyn. They married a few years ago and were very happy together, She had several children, somRaymonds big and loving heart gave out on him last week and he himself passed away. The thing that really impressed me at his funeral were the tributes that his step children, by this wife, paid to him at the funeral and how grateful they were for the happiness that Raymond had brought back to her life. But I would also say that she also brought much happiness into Raymonds last years.
What a blessing each wife brought into Raymonds life and how much happiness he was able to bring into not only their lives but to their families lives also.
Since that time, I have told Don that if anything happens to me, I would hope that he remembers me and the good times that we had, Wait a year to make any major decisions, and then I would want him to move on with his life and if that included finding another women, he would have my blessing,
BUT he can't take her DANCING, he wouldn't take me dancing and by heck I won't allow him to take someone else dancing, if he tries, I will personally come back for him, he will have a heart attack right there on the dance floor and I'll be there to say "I told you so, did you think I was kidding?"
All joking aside, if any of my children read this blog I want them to know that if their Dad finds someone to marry after I'm dead and gone, It is OK with me, and if she makes their dad happy and she is even halfway decent to them, they better accept and love or at least LIKE her and welcome her to the family, he just can't love her more than he did me though :)
RAYMOND C. RAY
In the course of his life, Raymond had been married three times,
His first and longest marriage was to Genial, This marriage produced all of the children that was born to him. I think it was 4 daughters if I remember correctly.
I know that Raymond and Genial were extremely devoted to each other.
After Genial died several years ago, Raymond was incredibly lonely,
He had had several women invite him to go out and do things but he refused every single invitation.
I asked him why? He said to us, you have no idea what you have until you lose it, the loss of companionship is an unbearable loss but Genial made me promise years ago to never try to find someone else and get married again." Sadly I could remember making Don promise the same thing when I was young and incredibly dumb.
I assured him that if Genial could see how lonely and sad he was, she would take those words back in a heart beat. I firmly believe that, and still do.
Raymond courted and married a woman named Birdie, and they ended up getting married, Birdie was very good for Raymond and made him happy and glad to be alive once more.
Sadly after only a short amount of time, Birdie died of cancer, leaving Raymond alone once more.
Raymond met Sandy, a widow herself. She let Raymond know from the beginning that she also had cancer, Raymond asked her to marry him anyway and she accepted, BUT she was also undergoing cancer treatment at the time and wanted to wait until she got better to get married. Sadly Sandy never got better, and she passed away before they could get married. Raymond was a true-blue friend and fiance, He took care of Sandy and even spoke at her funeral when she was gone.
Then Raymond met and married Carolyn. They married a few years ago and were very happy together, She had several children, somRaymonds big and loving heart gave out on him last week and he himself passed away. The thing that really impressed me at his funeral were the tributes that his step children, by this wife, paid to him at the funeral and how grateful they were for the happiness that Raymond had brought back to her life. But I would also say that she also brought much happiness into Raymonds last years.
What a blessing each wife brought into Raymonds life and how much happiness he was able to bring into not only their lives but to their families lives also.
Since that time, I have told Don that if anything happens to me, I would hope that he remembers me and the good times that we had, Wait a year to make any major decisions, and then I would want him to move on with his life and if that included finding another women, he would have my blessing,
BUT he can't take her DANCING, he wouldn't take me dancing and by heck I won't allow him to take someone else dancing, if he tries, I will personally come back for him, he will have a heart attack right there on the dance floor and I'll be there to say "I told you so, did you think I was kidding?"
All joking aside, if any of my children read this blog I want them to know that if their Dad finds someone to marry after I'm dead and gone, It is OK with me, and if she makes their dad happy and she is even halfway decent to them, they better accept and love or at least LIKE her and welcome her to the family, he just can't love her more than he did me though :)
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Thoughts
I have been doing a bit of thinking and soul searching lately.
I have come to the conclusion that I am very grateful that in this life I have had the opportunity to be a Daughter, sibling, Granddaughter, Wife, Mother, Aunt, Grandmother and a great grandmother. I consider each and every one of these to be a great blessing in my life.
As a mother I wish I had been more patient with my children, realized that they would grow up and leave home eventually. I wish I would have taken the time to enjoy each stage of the life of each child more fully.
I have often felt that it would have been wonderful and insightful, if each child had come with their own instruction manual.
We have five children, James, Jennifer, Todd, Shawn, and Kristi. Each child was raised in the same home with the same parents, same rules, so how is it even possible that each child has turned out to be so individual and different from each other.
Maybe this explains part of it, In church yesterday we learned that we have always existed as intelligences, And It was our Heavenly Father who created spiritual bodies to house each intelligence, and then mortal bodies for us to come and dwell on this earth to gain experience. That might explain why each child as they joined our family had their own distinct personality even at birth.
I heard a saying once that goes something like this, "If you love something, set it Free, If it returns to you, it is yours, if it does't return, it was never yours to begin with."
I have always tried to raise my children to be independant individuals, So as the time came to set each child free, It came as a great shock to me how difficult it was
to let each child go. Luckily each child has returned to us as independant individuals who love their parents, and each child now has a family of their own. What a great blessing that has been, as I really worried that a couple of them would not want to return once they left.
While spending some time with Kristi and her family in April 2009, Kristi asked me to share some memories with Gwen of Kristi when she was growing up. I was stumnped, not to many things came to mind, So I have been doing some thinking and trying to remember experiences with each child, who will now be known in my future posting of each child as,
James: Mr. Independant
Jennifer: The Little Mom
Todd: Our Free Spirit
Shawn: The Rebellious One
Kristi: Our Animal Lover
I may add memories of each child from time to time, so if interested please check
back from time to time.
I have come to the conclusion that I am very grateful that in this life I have had the opportunity to be a Daughter, sibling, Granddaughter, Wife, Mother, Aunt, Grandmother and a great grandmother. I consider each and every one of these to be a great blessing in my life.
As a mother I wish I had been more patient with my children, realized that they would grow up and leave home eventually. I wish I would have taken the time to enjoy each stage of the life of each child more fully.
I have often felt that it would have been wonderful and insightful, if each child had come with their own instruction manual.
We have five children, James, Jennifer, Todd, Shawn, and Kristi. Each child was raised in the same home with the same parents, same rules, so how is it even possible that each child has turned out to be so individual and different from each other.
Maybe this explains part of it, In church yesterday we learned that we have always existed as intelligences, And It was our Heavenly Father who created spiritual bodies to house each intelligence, and then mortal bodies for us to come and dwell on this earth to gain experience. That might explain why each child as they joined our family had their own distinct personality even at birth.
I heard a saying once that goes something like this, "If you love something, set it Free, If it returns to you, it is yours, if it does't return, it was never yours to begin with."
I have always tried to raise my children to be independant individuals, So as the time came to set each child free, It came as a great shock to me how difficult it was
to let each child go. Luckily each child has returned to us as independant individuals who love their parents, and each child now has a family of their own. What a great blessing that has been, as I really worried that a couple of them would not want to return once they left.
While spending some time with Kristi and her family in April 2009, Kristi asked me to share some memories with Gwen of Kristi when she was growing up. I was stumnped, not to many things came to mind, So I have been doing some thinking and trying to remember experiences with each child, who will now be known in my future posting of each child as,
James: Mr. Independant
Jennifer: The Little Mom
Todd: Our Free Spirit
Shawn: The Rebellious One
Kristi: Our Animal Lover
I may add memories of each child from time to time, so if interested please check
back from time to time.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
May 17, 2009 Mom's Birthday
Mom was 17 with only 9 days to her 18th birthday when I was born.
Sunday we celebrated her 84th birthday. We held a Banana Split party
for her at the Nursing Home (Manor Care in So Ogden)
She really enjoyed the ice cream, they say that with the Alzheimers and
Dementia patience the taste for sweets is one of the last tastes to go.
As mom is diabetic, she hasn't been able to enjoy Ice Cream or sweeets as much as she would like to for a very long time, but enjoy it she did this Sunday, several times I would see her at the table trying to dip her hand in the ice cream bucket for a bit more ice cream :)
Mom buzzed all over in her wheel chair, irregardles of people or things that might be in her way. We had to watch out for her and MOVE if she came our way.
I'm not sure that she knows who we all are, but I think we all looked familiar to her, and I think she wanted to have everyone together, at least it seemed that way when Cheri and I visited with her on the tuesday before her birthday, she kept saying something like "we should all be together" Mom always loved to have her family around her. It's very hard to have a conversation with mom, she tries so hard to tell you things but what she says really doesn't make a lot of sense. It's really hard for several of the grandchildren to go and visit with her, it's hard to see her in the shape she is in. It's Very hard for each one of her children too, but as long as she lives I intend to keep visiting, it's really one of the only things I can still do for my mom in this life. And though in this life she may forget who I am and that I'm her daughter, I can still remember who she is and savor some of the memories we have had together.
Happy Birthday to my Mom, Joy Matilda Bentley Bills, May 17th, 2009. I hope we were able to bring a little pleasure into her life on her 84th birthday
Sunday we celebrated her 84th birthday. We held a Banana Split party
for her at the Nursing Home (Manor Care in So Ogden)
She really enjoyed the ice cream, they say that with the Alzheimers and
Dementia patience the taste for sweets is one of the last tastes to go.
As mom is diabetic, she hasn't been able to enjoy Ice Cream or sweeets as much as she would like to for a very long time, but enjoy it she did this Sunday, several times I would see her at the table trying to dip her hand in the ice cream bucket for a bit more ice cream :)
Mom buzzed all over in her wheel chair, irregardles of people or things that might be in her way. We had to watch out for her and MOVE if she came our way.
I'm not sure that she knows who we all are, but I think we all looked familiar to her, and I think she wanted to have everyone together, at least it seemed that way when Cheri and I visited with her on the tuesday before her birthday, she kept saying something like "we should all be together" Mom always loved to have her family around her. It's very hard to have a conversation with mom, she tries so hard to tell you things but what she says really doesn't make a lot of sense. It's really hard for several of the grandchildren to go and visit with her, it's hard to see her in the shape she is in. It's Very hard for each one of her children too, but as long as she lives I intend to keep visiting, it's really one of the only things I can still do for my mom in this life. And though in this life she may forget who I am and that I'm her daughter, I can still remember who she is and savor some of the memories we have had together.
Happy Birthday to my Mom, Joy Matilda Bentley Bills, May 17th, 2009. I hope we were able to bring a little pleasure into her life on her 84th birthday
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
May, 12, 2009 Today is My Dads Birthday
I plan to take some flowers and or a windmill to place on his grave. I constantly think of Dad and what a great man he was, it would be impossible for me to forget him on his birthday, A real day of celebration for his life, and for the life he gave to me. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!!!!!!!
We also have a meeting scheduled with Manor care for mom, where they will inform us of how she is progressing or regressing. Each meeting seems to be a regression report. It is very hard to see Mom like this. But I need to be there for her, even if she no longer recognises me as her daughter.
We also have a meeting scheduled with Manor care for mom, where they will inform us of how she is progressing or regressing. Each meeting seems to be a regression report. It is very hard to see Mom like this. But I need to be there for her, even if she no longer recognises me as her daughter.
Our Trip to Texas to Meet Ivy Jane
At Kristi’s request we went to Texas a few months after Ivy Jane was born
And they waited to bless her until we were able to be there.
Blaine and Gwen met us at the airport and Gwenie ran right up to us to give us a big hug and told us how excited she was to see us again. I couldn’t help but compare this visit to our Minnesota visit, where the first thing Gwen did when I looked at her was cry and she cried until I brought out the Elmo toy I had brought for her. About halfway to their home she started enjoying the toy and stopped crying.
It was fun to see how different Ivy Jane was from Gwen and Ben.
I remember when Gwen was born, she had tons of black hair sticking up all over her head. Here was this tiny baby with a full head of hair. Ivy Jane has just a bit of fuzz on her head and it looks like her hair will have a bit of red in it.
My babys were all born either bald or with just a small fringe of hair like Ivy’s :)
I couldn’t believe how much Ben had grown from the last time we had seen him, which was at Christmas just a few months before. What a sweetheart he is. The next morning at breakfast he asked his mom for a nana (Banana) and when she gave him the nana he hit the tray on his highchair with his arms and yelled Yeah! Yeah!!!!!! And then said Thank you. It was fun to see and hear him do this. When he was here at Christmas he didn’t talk or walk, but this visit he was doing both.
Children grow up to fast.
I remember thinking when my own children were little that they would never grow up, that I would never get to eat a hot meal, I would always have to carry a child on each hip AND a Diaper bag everywhere we went. My grandmother Bentley, who Bentley is named after tried to tell me that I would miss all this one day, to try to enjoy each moment while it was here, I thought she didn’t know what she was talking about, I remember telling my mom how glad I would be when the kids were all grown up and I wouldn’t have to worry any more. I can still hear her laugh as she said to me “Honey, you will never lose any of these worries, these worries will only increase as your children get older, chose friends, marry and have children of there own, as this happens you will have more things and more people to worry about” Sighhhhhhhh, How right she was. But even as right as she was, she didn't mention that your sorrows Joys increase also, but that's life and that is what we were sent her to do, gain experience and knowledge, and that we do and sometimes if we really pay attention we gain a bit of Wisdom in addition. :)
The day of Gwens blessing was a fun day, hectic but fun. We attended all three meetings that day, As Kristi left Relief Society to go to Young Womens, she took Ivy with her, I didn’t really stop and think much of that until I heard Ivy start to cry, I turned around thinking I would go get her, that Kristi must have been bringing her in to me when I saw that Ralphie was holding Ivy and just walking out the door, so I stayed in Relief Society. Little did I know that Ivy’s binkie was lost, and poor Ralphie struggled with Ivy until Relief Society was over. We all went into Sacrament Meeting, Ivy calm once more as the Binkie had now been found. Ivy was actually blest in the dress that her Grandfather Genessy had been blest in, it was a dress that had been made by her great grandmother Genessy and she looked like a little Angel in it. Another thing that really impressed me was that one of Kris and Blaines neighbors showed up for the blessing, this neighbor is not a member of our church but wanted to come and see Ivy blest, she had attened her own church and then came to ours. After the blessing and we returned home Kristi changed Ivy into the dress that she herself had been blest in, that dress had been given to us by Ivy’s Great Great Grandmother Selma Bentley.
So, on the same day Ivy had a Grandmother present there in person, a great Grandmother and a Gr Gr Grandmother there in memory and spirit. Also Ivy wore a beautiful little bow that had been made for her by a neighbor of mine and also A friend of Kristi’s.
In the early evening a group of Kristi and Blaines friends came over for dessert
All in all it was a wonderful, (if hectic) day. A very nice thing that happened was that another friend of Kristi’s actually wrote down the blessing so that Kristi will be able to keep it for Ivy, Where would we be without good friends
After being in cold Utah, it was great to get to Texas where it was warm.
Kristi kept us very busy, each day she had something planned for us to do, I couldn’t help but marvel at how she would pack the kids up, herd us all out to the car, and away we would go. For the first few days that we were there it was quite stormy but even so it was still warm.
I got to taste my first Round Rock donut, they were very good, so good that we stopped there on another day and bought a whole dozen plus a dozen donut holes, I think Gwen ate all the donut holes and still wanted a big donut :)
A few things we did, we went to see a movie with Blaine, “Mall Cop”, it was a fun movie, We ate buttered popcorn, I love buttered popcorn.
We went to the Alamo and the River walk, As we were leaving one of the exhibits at the Alamo we had to get the stroller up about 4 stairs, Blaine and Don were struggling with it because they were steeper than most steps, when a young man, who had very long hair, tattoos and body piercings almost everywhere, he was really a kind of a scary looking dude, stepped up and picked up the back of the stroller helping us to get Ben and the stroller up those stairs.
We told him Thanks and he smiled and said “no problem” then he moved on.
It taught me a great lesson to not be so judgmental about how people look.
That evening we ate at a little place on the River walk “Rita’s on the River” If I remember right, it was Mexican and was actually very good.
Another day We went to a little park and then to a place to eat called the “Shady Grove” They had great onion rings.
We also went to a little Nature Center where they had a fun little sand pile where we, errrrr I mean the kids could dig for dinosaur bones :)
I think that was that day that Ben was stung by a bee, Gwen and I were just going on a train ride when KIris ran up with Ben who had just been stung, the poor little guy was crying and Kris said “Mom Bens been stung by a bee, what should I do?” lets face it, I am not good in emergency situations, especially when someone I love is involved, but I remember learning that you should put a little mud on a bee sting to help draw the venom and sting out, BUT that was in the old days I guess, luckily the woman sitting right in back of me told Kris “:get the rest of the stinger out, go get a little ice and put the ice on his eye to help get the swelling down and help with the pain. Her suggestion certainly made more sense than mine. Bens eye remained very red and swollen through the rest of the day but gratefully the next day his eye was much improved. What a blessing it is for us that there are people around who can remain calm and collected during emergencies.
Kristi took us on a little Hike, to see Mt Bonnell, it wasn’t really supposed to be a
Bad hike, instead of using the stairs to get to the site we chose a little trail that we thought we could push the stroller up to the top, but alas too many rocks, So grandpa and I took turns trying to carry Ben up the trail. Oh my gosh, that cute little kid is build solid and after only a few steps we were breathless, So Kris ended up packing Ivy in her little sling carrier, and Ben on her hip, while Don and I huffed and puffed up the trail, I thought I was going to drown in my own sweat, I still get tired just thinking about it, and this from the girl who used to run up and down the mountains in Bingham Canyon as a young girl. I guess somehow I’ve let myself get a little out of shape!!!
There is a good side to this day, Kristi took us to The Whole Foods store in Austin and we had some Gelato. Laugh if you will but when she said we were going to get Gelato I thought we were going to get Jello, I’d never heard of Gelato before. It turns out that it is Ice Cream, and oh boy you should have seen some of the flavors that were offered, I just had to try the Avacado Gelato and by dang if it didn’t taste just like Avacados, but I ended up chosing double dark chocolate instead, I’m no dummy, I want my treats to actually be a treat :)
I couldn’t believe how fun that store was, we went over to the fresh fruit section and sampled all the fruits that they had out to sample, I was going to buy a watermelon for us for a treat that night when Kristi reminded me that Blaine doesn’t like watermelon. I don’t understand how someone can actually dislike watermelon, oh well, I don’t like jalapenos and Blaine seems to love those so I guess we are even.
For Easter I almost didn’t take Kris and Blaine a box of candy, they are such good little dieters, I really didn’t think they would eat it, but some of the best entertainment we had while In Texas was watching them decide who got to eat what candy, and they were trading and negotiating for the candy they each wanted.
While in Texas, we ate out a few times, Kris and Blaine took us to a little place in Austin called the Hula Hut. If you can believe this it is a combination of sorts of Polynisian and Mexican food. It was interesting and I would have loved to try the Avacado thing that was a special on the menu for a different day than we were actually there so they didn’t have any of that, I got pork and pineapple tacos, I mean what can you do to Pork and Pineapple, I thought I was safe, what I didn’t know was that they put red hot peppers into the mix. The best thing I can say about them was……….. My sinus got cleaned out that day along with my tear ducts.
Another interesting thing we did in Austin was go to see Bats fly out at Dusk,
I think they said there was a million bats that would fly out and by August when
All the baby bats were hatched there would be over 2 million bats fling out each evening. These bats live in an underpass of a very busy street, I didn’t believe there could actually be a million bats living there but when they started to fly they just kept coming out from that underpass and there were clouds of bats all over
In the sky. They help to keep the bug population in Austin down. I can’t remember how many pounds of bugs they said each bat would eat, but it was a lot.
Kris told us the theme for Austin City was “Lets Keep Austin Strange”
We saw that logo on T shirts, signs etc. Maybe that’s what made Austin such a fun and interesting place.
One thing we were able to do was offer Kris and Blaine an evening out while we were there. So one of the evenings towards the end of our stay They went out to dinner just the two of them, and then I could hardly wait to hear what fun thing they decided to do after dinner, would you believe they chose to walk through a bookstore??????? THIS from the daughter who would literally drag me by the hand past bookstore when she was younger.
All in all it was a wonderful visit and we have many memories of the places we went and the things we did with Kris, Blaine, Gwen, Ben and Ivy Jane.
One little note, Ivy Jane was named after her Grandpa Genessy, his first name is Ivan, hence she is IVY, The Jane part of her name covers a lot of ancestors too, she has a Grandmother Genessy and a Great Grandmother Bassett named Janice and she has a very beautiful aunt named Janie.
We enjoyed our trip to Texas to meet our newest Granddaughter
Ivy Jane Bassett, and to get reacquainted with Gwenie and Ben
And they waited to bless her until we were able to be there.
Blaine and Gwen met us at the airport and Gwenie ran right up to us to give us a big hug and told us how excited she was to see us again. I couldn’t help but compare this visit to our Minnesota visit, where the first thing Gwen did when I looked at her was cry and she cried until I brought out the Elmo toy I had brought for her. About halfway to their home she started enjoying the toy and stopped crying.
It was fun to see how different Ivy Jane was from Gwen and Ben.
I remember when Gwen was born, she had tons of black hair sticking up all over her head. Here was this tiny baby with a full head of hair. Ivy Jane has just a bit of fuzz on her head and it looks like her hair will have a bit of red in it.
My babys were all born either bald or with just a small fringe of hair like Ivy’s :)
I couldn’t believe how much Ben had grown from the last time we had seen him, which was at Christmas just a few months before. What a sweetheart he is. The next morning at breakfast he asked his mom for a nana (Banana) and when she gave him the nana he hit the tray on his highchair with his arms and yelled Yeah! Yeah!!!!!! And then said Thank you. It was fun to see and hear him do this. When he was here at Christmas he didn’t talk or walk, but this visit he was doing both.
Children grow up to fast.
I remember thinking when my own children were little that they would never grow up, that I would never get to eat a hot meal, I would always have to carry a child on each hip AND a Diaper bag everywhere we went. My grandmother Bentley, who Bentley is named after tried to tell me that I would miss all this one day, to try to enjoy each moment while it was here, I thought she didn’t know what she was talking about, I remember telling my mom how glad I would be when the kids were all grown up and I wouldn’t have to worry any more. I can still hear her laugh as she said to me “Honey, you will never lose any of these worries, these worries will only increase as your children get older, chose friends, marry and have children of there own, as this happens you will have more things and more people to worry about” Sighhhhhhhh, How right she was. But even as right as she was, she didn't mention that your sorrows Joys increase also, but that's life and that is what we were sent her to do, gain experience and knowledge, and that we do and sometimes if we really pay attention we gain a bit of Wisdom in addition. :)
The day of Gwens blessing was a fun day, hectic but fun. We attended all three meetings that day, As Kristi left Relief Society to go to Young Womens, she took Ivy with her, I didn’t really stop and think much of that until I heard Ivy start to cry, I turned around thinking I would go get her, that Kristi must have been bringing her in to me when I saw that Ralphie was holding Ivy and just walking out the door, so I stayed in Relief Society. Little did I know that Ivy’s binkie was lost, and poor Ralphie struggled with Ivy until Relief Society was over. We all went into Sacrament Meeting, Ivy calm once more as the Binkie had now been found. Ivy was actually blest in the dress that her Grandfather Genessy had been blest in, it was a dress that had been made by her great grandmother Genessy and she looked like a little Angel in it. Another thing that really impressed me was that one of Kris and Blaines neighbors showed up for the blessing, this neighbor is not a member of our church but wanted to come and see Ivy blest, she had attened her own church and then came to ours. After the blessing and we returned home Kristi changed Ivy into the dress that she herself had been blest in, that dress had been given to us by Ivy’s Great Great Grandmother Selma Bentley.
So, on the same day Ivy had a Grandmother present there in person, a great Grandmother and a Gr Gr Grandmother there in memory and spirit. Also Ivy wore a beautiful little bow that had been made for her by a neighbor of mine and also A friend of Kristi’s.
In the early evening a group of Kristi and Blaines friends came over for dessert
All in all it was a wonderful, (if hectic) day. A very nice thing that happened was that another friend of Kristi’s actually wrote down the blessing so that Kristi will be able to keep it for Ivy, Where would we be without good friends
After being in cold Utah, it was great to get to Texas where it was warm.
Kristi kept us very busy, each day she had something planned for us to do, I couldn’t help but marvel at how she would pack the kids up, herd us all out to the car, and away we would go. For the first few days that we were there it was quite stormy but even so it was still warm.
I got to taste my first Round Rock donut, they were very good, so good that we stopped there on another day and bought a whole dozen plus a dozen donut holes, I think Gwen ate all the donut holes and still wanted a big donut :)
A few things we did, we went to see a movie with Blaine, “Mall Cop”, it was a fun movie, We ate buttered popcorn, I love buttered popcorn.
We went to the Alamo and the River walk, As we were leaving one of the exhibits at the Alamo we had to get the stroller up about 4 stairs, Blaine and Don were struggling with it because they were steeper than most steps, when a young man, who had very long hair, tattoos and body piercings almost everywhere, he was really a kind of a scary looking dude, stepped up and picked up the back of the stroller helping us to get Ben and the stroller up those stairs.
We told him Thanks and he smiled and said “no problem” then he moved on.
It taught me a great lesson to not be so judgmental about how people look.
That evening we ate at a little place on the River walk “Rita’s on the River” If I remember right, it was Mexican and was actually very good.
Another day We went to a little park and then to a place to eat called the “Shady Grove” They had great onion rings.
We also went to a little Nature Center where they had a fun little sand pile where we, errrrr I mean the kids could dig for dinosaur bones :)
I think that was that day that Ben was stung by a bee, Gwen and I were just going on a train ride when KIris ran up with Ben who had just been stung, the poor little guy was crying and Kris said “Mom Bens been stung by a bee, what should I do?” lets face it, I am not good in emergency situations, especially when someone I love is involved, but I remember learning that you should put a little mud on a bee sting to help draw the venom and sting out, BUT that was in the old days I guess, luckily the woman sitting right in back of me told Kris “:get the rest of the stinger out, go get a little ice and put the ice on his eye to help get the swelling down and help with the pain. Her suggestion certainly made more sense than mine. Bens eye remained very red and swollen through the rest of the day but gratefully the next day his eye was much improved. What a blessing it is for us that there are people around who can remain calm and collected during emergencies.
Kristi took us on a little Hike, to see Mt Bonnell, it wasn’t really supposed to be a
Bad hike, instead of using the stairs to get to the site we chose a little trail that we thought we could push the stroller up to the top, but alas too many rocks, So grandpa and I took turns trying to carry Ben up the trail. Oh my gosh, that cute little kid is build solid and after only a few steps we were breathless, So Kris ended up packing Ivy in her little sling carrier, and Ben on her hip, while Don and I huffed and puffed up the trail, I thought I was going to drown in my own sweat, I still get tired just thinking about it, and this from the girl who used to run up and down the mountains in Bingham Canyon as a young girl. I guess somehow I’ve let myself get a little out of shape!!!
There is a good side to this day, Kristi took us to The Whole Foods store in Austin and we had some Gelato. Laugh if you will but when she said we were going to get Gelato I thought we were going to get Jello, I’d never heard of Gelato before. It turns out that it is Ice Cream, and oh boy you should have seen some of the flavors that were offered, I just had to try the Avacado Gelato and by dang if it didn’t taste just like Avacados, but I ended up chosing double dark chocolate instead, I’m no dummy, I want my treats to actually be a treat :)
I couldn’t believe how fun that store was, we went over to the fresh fruit section and sampled all the fruits that they had out to sample, I was going to buy a watermelon for us for a treat that night when Kristi reminded me that Blaine doesn’t like watermelon. I don’t understand how someone can actually dislike watermelon, oh well, I don’t like jalapenos and Blaine seems to love those so I guess we are even.
For Easter I almost didn’t take Kris and Blaine a box of candy, they are such good little dieters, I really didn’t think they would eat it, but some of the best entertainment we had while In Texas was watching them decide who got to eat what candy, and they were trading and negotiating for the candy they each wanted.
While in Texas, we ate out a few times, Kris and Blaine took us to a little place in Austin called the Hula Hut. If you can believe this it is a combination of sorts of Polynisian and Mexican food. It was interesting and I would have loved to try the Avacado thing that was a special on the menu for a different day than we were actually there so they didn’t have any of that, I got pork and pineapple tacos, I mean what can you do to Pork and Pineapple, I thought I was safe, what I didn’t know was that they put red hot peppers into the mix. The best thing I can say about them was……….. My sinus got cleaned out that day along with my tear ducts.
Another interesting thing we did in Austin was go to see Bats fly out at Dusk,
I think they said there was a million bats that would fly out and by August when
All the baby bats were hatched there would be over 2 million bats fling out each evening. These bats live in an underpass of a very busy street, I didn’t believe there could actually be a million bats living there but when they started to fly they just kept coming out from that underpass and there were clouds of bats all over
In the sky. They help to keep the bug population in Austin down. I can’t remember how many pounds of bugs they said each bat would eat, but it was a lot.
Kris told us the theme for Austin City was “Lets Keep Austin Strange”
We saw that logo on T shirts, signs etc. Maybe that’s what made Austin such a fun and interesting place.
One thing we were able to do was offer Kris and Blaine an evening out while we were there. So one of the evenings towards the end of our stay They went out to dinner just the two of them, and then I could hardly wait to hear what fun thing they decided to do after dinner, would you believe they chose to walk through a bookstore??????? THIS from the daughter who would literally drag me by the hand past bookstore when she was younger.
All in all it was a wonderful visit and we have many memories of the places we went and the things we did with Kris, Blaine, Gwen, Ben and Ivy Jane.
One little note, Ivy Jane was named after her Grandpa Genessy, his first name is Ivan, hence she is IVY, The Jane part of her name covers a lot of ancestors too, she has a Grandmother Genessy and a Great Grandmother Bassett named Janice and she has a very beautiful aunt named Janie.
We enjoyed our trip to Texas to meet our newest Granddaughter
Ivy Jane Bassett, and to get reacquainted with Gwenie and Ben
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
A Visit with My Mom, Joy Bills
I had decided I would visit Mom yesterday, April 7, 2009, and that I would get there in enough time to take her for a manicure, they do manicures each Tuesday Morning. I almost made it in time, but alas driving alone on the new Legacy Highway for only the second time by myself I took the wrong exit. I took the North Ogden exit instead of the South Ogden exit, and sadly spent the next 30 minutes trying to find my way to Manor Care,
where Mom is a patient, needless to say we missed the manicure time.
Mom was laying down when I got there and lately that is where I find her, no matter what time I try to visit, she is laying on her bed. I know she has been up and dressed for the day, I know that she has had her breakfast
but is now back on her bed, I'm pretty sure it is by her own request that she is there. I know Mom is very frustrated and depressed, on top of that, she isn't able to communicate with us even though she tries, much of what she says doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Occasionally I can get a drift of what she is trying to talk about, but on this particular visit I had no clue.
Dementia and Alzheimers are very cruel diseases, they rob you of your loved one before death, so when they do pass on, you have actually lost them twice. To add insult to injury It also robs the person carrying the disease of their memories so it's like a double whammy and a sad situation no matter how you look at it.
I'm not sure my Mom knows that I am one of her daughters, and for the very first time as I visited her yesterday, As I was leaving, when I hugged her and told her I loved her, she didn't reply that she loved me too.
When I returned home I realized that I had missed a play that my grandaughter
Ashley Bushman was doing at her school, all in all it wasn't a very good day.
where Mom is a patient, needless to say we missed the manicure time.
Mom was laying down when I got there and lately that is where I find her, no matter what time I try to visit, she is laying on her bed. I know she has been up and dressed for the day, I know that she has had her breakfast
but is now back on her bed, I'm pretty sure it is by her own request that she is there. I know Mom is very frustrated and depressed, on top of that, she isn't able to communicate with us even though she tries, much of what she says doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Occasionally I can get a drift of what she is trying to talk about, but on this particular visit I had no clue.
Dementia and Alzheimers are very cruel diseases, they rob you of your loved one before death, so when they do pass on, you have actually lost them twice. To add insult to injury It also robs the person carrying the disease of their memories so it's like a double whammy and a sad situation no matter how you look at it.
I'm not sure my Mom knows that I am one of her daughters, and for the very first time as I visited her yesterday, As I was leaving, when I hugged her and told her I loved her, she didn't reply that she loved me too.
When I returned home I realized that I had missed a play that my grandaughter
Ashley Bushman was doing at her school, all in all it wasn't a very good day.
Monday, April 6, 2009
A little more on Gratitude
I have decided that a real key to happiness is in finding
gratitude in our everyday life.
Don feels like Giving Greeting cards for any occassion is a waste of money, for many years now, and originally just to be funny, I have given hin an envelope with the cost of a card enclosed for special occassions. Instead of an envelope with money This year I have decided to give him a little notebook, that I will write things in from time to time on special occassions. It will contain little thoughts on why I am grateful that he is my lifes partner and Eternal companion.
Our Anniversary is May 4th and here are a few of my entries into his notebook so far.
Happy Anniversary to the man who has been patient enough to be my husband for 47 years, I love you!
March 20th, Thank you for bringing me a cherry limeade to work on this day,
it was a stressful day and this was a day brightener.
March 25-27th. We were in Wendover with some friends this day and you loaned me some money after I lost all of mine, and THEN you didn't make me pay you back :)
March 28th. We went to visit Mom today, We took her for a ride, and to Wendys for lunch and a treat. You paid for our lunch, which Mom didn't eat and then took us for a ride up the mountains. Mom enjoyed the ride tremendously. And even though you had a meeting to attend that evening you didn't rush us at all. Thank you for a lovely day.
gratitude in our everyday life.
Don feels like Giving Greeting cards for any occassion is a waste of money, for many years now, and originally just to be funny, I have given hin an envelope with the cost of a card enclosed for special occassions. Instead of an envelope with money This year I have decided to give him a little notebook, that I will write things in from time to time on special occassions. It will contain little thoughts on why I am grateful that he is my lifes partner and Eternal companion.
Our Anniversary is May 4th and here are a few of my entries into his notebook so far.
Happy Anniversary to the man who has been patient enough to be my husband for 47 years, I love you!
March 20th, Thank you for bringing me a cherry limeade to work on this day,
it was a stressful day and this was a day brightener.
March 25-27th. We were in Wendover with some friends this day and you loaned me some money after I lost all of mine, and THEN you didn't make me pay you back :)
March 28th. We went to visit Mom today, We took her for a ride, and to Wendys for lunch and a treat. You paid for our lunch, which Mom didn't eat and then took us for a ride up the mountains. Mom enjoyed the ride tremendously. And even though you had a meeting to attend that evening you didn't rush us at all. Thank you for a lovely day.
A Few Memories
I’m so grateful for the great parents I have,
Father: Orley Edwin Bills Sr. Dad has Passed away
Mother: Joy Matilda Bentley Bills, Mother is presently living at the Manor Care Nursing Facility
My parents worked hard all of their lives to provide for the needs of their family, including their children, brothers and sisters, and their parents.
Growing up we didn’t have a lot. Financially we would have been considered poor. But we always had a home to live in, Food to eat and clothes to wear.
Our food was always very good as my mother was an excellent cook, she could even make Liver taste good, and I hate liver
What I didn’t know until I got much older was that we were so rich in other ways, I wish I would have realized it sooner.
Dad loved doing things with his kids, We never went on a vacation that I can remember, but we did go to the park a lot and up the canyon for picnics,
drives in the mountains, day fishing excursions, and as a young girl of about 8 or 9 I can remember going jack rabbit hunting with my dad, as he would shoot the rabbits I would go get them and carry all of them by their long hairy ears, when we got back to the car, he threw all the rabbits away,
I was upset but dad explained to me what a pest the jack rabbits were, and how they destroyed farmers crops and that they were not good for eating.
He said we were actually helping farmers by killing these pests.
Another time Dad and I went fishing, He had previously broken his ankle and was in a walking cast, He helped me get my hook baited and then he went off a ways down the river to do his own fishing. I had no sooner cast my hook into the river when I felt a tug on my line, I yelled for dad and he came hobbling as fast as he could to help me. We got my line reeled in and what I thought had been a fish was actually my shoe, I had taken my shoes Con’t Jan
off and was going barefoot. I guess when I cast my line in the hook got caught in my show and I cast shoe worm and all into the river.
As a young wife and mother I really began to appreciate my own mother,
I understood then how much she actually loved me, she had loved me enough to actually set down rules that she expected me to obey, grounded me when I didn’t obey them, and all at once I began to understand what a great teacher and example she had always been to me. And I began to understand why there had to be rules and punishments. I feel I have become the person I am today because of my mother.
Whenever I got discouraged while raising my own children, mom would sometimes show up and take me out to breakfast or lunch and just get me away from it all for a short time. In times of Illness my mom always knew just what to do, I was constantly calling her for advise or a recipe, it was helpful sometimes just to hear her voice, then it seemed like all would be well in my world for a little bit.
I can remember getting sassy with mom one time and thinking I could just run away from her to escape punishment, I sadly found out that my Mom could run faster than I could.
Father: Orley Edwin Bills Sr. Dad has Passed away
Mother: Joy Matilda Bentley Bills, Mother is presently living at the Manor Care Nursing Facility
My parents worked hard all of their lives to provide for the needs of their family, including their children, brothers and sisters, and their parents.
Growing up we didn’t have a lot. Financially we would have been considered poor. But we always had a home to live in, Food to eat and clothes to wear.
Our food was always very good as my mother was an excellent cook, she could even make Liver taste good, and I hate liver
What I didn’t know until I got much older was that we were so rich in other ways, I wish I would have realized it sooner.
Dad loved doing things with his kids, We never went on a vacation that I can remember, but we did go to the park a lot and up the canyon for picnics,
drives in the mountains, day fishing excursions, and as a young girl of about 8 or 9 I can remember going jack rabbit hunting with my dad, as he would shoot the rabbits I would go get them and carry all of them by their long hairy ears, when we got back to the car, he threw all the rabbits away,
I was upset but dad explained to me what a pest the jack rabbits were, and how they destroyed farmers crops and that they were not good for eating.
He said we were actually helping farmers by killing these pests.
Another time Dad and I went fishing, He had previously broken his ankle and was in a walking cast, He helped me get my hook baited and then he went off a ways down the river to do his own fishing. I had no sooner cast my hook into the river when I felt a tug on my line, I yelled for dad and he came hobbling as fast as he could to help me. We got my line reeled in and what I thought had been a fish was actually my shoe, I had taken my shoes Con’t Jan
off and was going barefoot. I guess when I cast my line in the hook got caught in my show and I cast shoe worm and all into the river.
As a young wife and mother I really began to appreciate my own mother,
I understood then how much she actually loved me, she had loved me enough to actually set down rules that she expected me to obey, grounded me when I didn’t obey them, and all at once I began to understand what a great teacher and example she had always been to me. And I began to understand why there had to be rules and punishments. I feel I have become the person I am today because of my mother.
Whenever I got discouraged while raising my own children, mom would sometimes show up and take me out to breakfast or lunch and just get me away from it all for a short time. In times of Illness my mom always knew just what to do, I was constantly calling her for advise or a recipe, it was helpful sometimes just to hear her voice, then it seemed like all would be well in my world for a little bit.
I can remember getting sassy with mom one time and thinking I could just run away from her to escape punishment, I sadly found out that my Mom could run faster than I could.
A Few Things to Know about me
1. I grew up in Midvale Utah, My Parents are Orley Edwin Bills and Joy Bentley Bills
2. I have 2 Brothers, Orley Jr., Randy and One sister, Cheri there is 17 years difference in age between my sister and myself, I’m the oldest, and she’s the youngest
3. I have 5 children, from oldest to youngest they are
James Don, Jennifer Lynne (Bushman), Todd Allen, Shawn Micheal, and Kristi Dawn (Bassett)
4. 17 grandchildren with One more due in June
5. I have 2 great-grandchildren, Hayden Luke Bushman, And Jassalyn Genessy with a third on the way
6. I have red hair that is slowly turning Gray and lots of Freckles
7. I have two grandsons serving in the armed services
Nathan – Army, presently in Iraq
Joshua – Navy, Presently at boot camp in Chicago
8. I’ve been married for 47 years to the same wonderful man, Ivan Don Genessy
9. I love to travel
10. I belong to the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)
11. I love to read, mostly science Fiction and Fantasy, sometimes my scriptures
12. I love going to Plays, I particularly enjoy funny plays or Musicals
13. My nickname, given to me by my grandfather is “Butch” Don’s nickname is also “Butch”
14. I love the Bristish comedy appeared on PBS, “Are You Being Served” Other Favorites are “The Red Green” Show, Keeping Up Appearances and “Red Dwarf”
15. I love to play on my computer, and have met many online buddies
16. I graduated from Jordan High School in 1961
17. I have many friends BUT My Best Friend is My husband. Don
2. I have 2 Brothers, Orley Jr., Randy and One sister, Cheri there is 17 years difference in age between my sister and myself, I’m the oldest, and she’s the youngest
3. I have 5 children, from oldest to youngest they are
James Don, Jennifer Lynne (Bushman), Todd Allen, Shawn Micheal, and Kristi Dawn (Bassett)
4. 17 grandchildren with One more due in June
5. I have 2 great-grandchildren, Hayden Luke Bushman, And Jassalyn Genessy with a third on the way
6. I have red hair that is slowly turning Gray and lots of Freckles
7. I have two grandsons serving in the armed services
Nathan – Army, presently in Iraq
Joshua – Navy, Presently at boot camp in Chicago
8. I’ve been married for 47 years to the same wonderful man, Ivan Don Genessy
9. I love to travel
10. I belong to the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)
11. I love to read, mostly science Fiction and Fantasy, sometimes my scriptures
12. I love going to Plays, I particularly enjoy funny plays or Musicals
13. My nickname, given to me by my grandfather is “Butch” Don’s nickname is also “Butch”
14. I love the Bristish comedy appeared on PBS, “Are You Being Served” Other Favorites are “The Red Green” Show, Keeping Up Appearances and “Red Dwarf”
15. I love to play on my computer, and have met many online buddies
16. I graduated from Jordan High School in 1961
17. I have many friends BUT My Best Friend is My husband. Don
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