Happy Birthday Marta

Today is July 25, my oldest daughter's birthday and her name is Marta Lee.


She was born on a Sunday afternoon in a Naval Hospital on Whidbey Island, Washington, and she cost a whopping $8.75...  a bargain I must admit....  she weighed 8lbs 5oz and was 21" long.  When the doctor had her weighed and measured his comment was "shes sure a bean pole."


She had blue eyes and light blond hair and was beautiful....  


It was the year 1954 and her Daddy was in the Navy, station at the air base there in Oak Harbor, Washington....  It was during the Korean war...  


We lived in Navy housing which was a one bedroom apartment.  Our row of apartments (5 apartments in the row) were called "Victory Homes" and we lived in the middle one.


I had a small infant crib that had been given to my mother by her sister when I was born, that we brought back to Washington with us, when we returned from our Thanksgiving visit.  Kirk had been busy sanding and repainting this crib for our first baby... So Marta's first bed was the same bed that I, her mother had slept in as a baby too.


In those days you never knew what sex your baby was going to be, before they were born...  Was it a boy or a girl?  You could guess and guess, but only time would tell.   


But you see, I knew with in my heart it would be a sweet little girl and her name would be Marta....


I had a Grandma (my Nannie) who I loved very much and years before when I was around 14, she had asked me if I would do her a favor...  As I loved this Nannie so much, I would do anything for her, so I said "of coarse Nannie, I'll do you a favor, anything" and then she asked me, that when I married and had my first daughter, would I named her Marta, after her Mother.    So, of coarse I promised her I would and so, Marta was Marta long before she came to be.  Then to my surprise and my Nannie's joy, when Marta was born, she was born on the death date of this Great, Great Grandmother.


Marta was wanted and prayed for and the months before her birth were filled with much planning and preparation.  Kirk had bought me a used sewing machine and I was busy sewing and making all the things I would need for this special gift from heaven.


I made about 4 dozen flannel diapers, nightgowns and her little flannel day jackets.  I was busy with my handwork and embroidered sweet little flowers and designs on the front of each one and then crochet edges around them.  I also made about 6 flannel receiving blankets and on these I too crochet edges around them, each in different colors.  I crochet baby booties and even made some baby bibs to match.  I finished with making a white flannel baby quilt and embroidered "the 3 little kitten who lost their mittens" on the front.   



I was so excited about this new baby that every time I finished a new item, I would press it just right, fold it just right and before I put it in the special drawer, I would take everything out and look at it all again.  My sweetheart would tell me, I would have everything all worn out by just looking and touching them before our baby would even have a chance to wear them.  It didn't mater, it just made me feel good to look and see and dream.....


Our little apartment was furnished but I needed a rocking chair, after all, every baby needs to be rocked and so like a good daddy, Kirk went looking for a rocking chair and found a used one that was just my size...  How happy I was..  Everything was set, we were ready, but Marta wasn't.  It took her two extra weeks before she decided to make her appearance.


What excited we felt and what joy it was to be parents to this sweet and beautiful baby girl.  We thank our Heavenly Father each night for this special gift and prayed that we would be good parents and raise her in a pleasing manner to our Heavenly Father.


As I sat in my rocking chair each day rocking my precious baby daughter, I would sing to her, and this is what I would sing..


      Marta Lee, is your name and your not very old,
      just a "week and a day" (this would change each day) but we all love you so---
      Marta Lee, is your name and your not very old,
      just a week and a day, but we all love you so.....


Yes today is my Marta's birthday...  Happy Birthday Marta,  and I will sing to you, your song,
   
    "Marta Lee is your name and we all love you so."


Sweet dreams sweetheart,  I love you...

Mama's Birthday

Today is my Mama's birthday.

She was born June 27, 1911 in Centerfield Utah, 100 years ago.

My Mama has been gone now for almost 5 years and I miss her so.  She was not only my Mama, but my best friend.  I could talk to her about anything.  She helped me with my children, and was with me for many wonderful experiences I had in my life.  We laughed and we cried together, we talked and we shared.  She was my Mama...

I remember her coming to my homes and helping me with my decorating.  She would help me paint my walls and help me wallpaper them too. 

I went to her homes and sewed curtains and drapes for her many windows.  I would sew and she would press and then we would hang them together on the windows.

We were a team..

When I was growing up and it was wash day, she would wash the clothes and hang them on the line to dry.  I would go out to the line and take them down and bring them in and together we would fold them.  When it was time to wash the windows for spring cleaning.  She would wash the inside of the windows and I would wash the outside of the windows.  After dinner and time to wash the dishes, she would wash the dishes and I would dry the dishes and put them away.  We were a team...

We took trips together.  The ones that had the most meaning were the ones we took to North Carolina to visit my daughter Marta.  Marta would show us a perfect time by taking us to historical places and special places of interest. We walked all over Washington DC at one visit and she loved every minute of it. 

One such visit was when my granddaughter Cara was getting married.  We spent days preparing for this beautiful wedding.  Making divinity candy, polishing silverware, arranging flowers, sharing, laughing and having such a good time, 4 generations together.  Mother never went to bed early, had to stay up late with the rest of us, fearing she might miss something.  She sure was a trouper.....

After the death of my father, mama seemed to lose the zest of living, she missed him so.  She had depended on Daddy for almost everything, he not only was the love of her life, but he was her rock.

I became her caregiver at this time.  My brother Butch and his wife Diane also helped with Mother's care.  We would take turns fixing her meals and spending the nights. 

I took her shopping, payed her bills, cleaned her home and did her laundry.

It was during this time I started to read to her in the evenings after dinner and the dishes were done.  We read many books together.  It was during this time that she would share special times with me.  It seemed that many of the stories we would read would trigger a memory.  I started to write these things down that she would say.  She started to say she would like to have a record of the books we were reading and so I started to compile them into a book. I would write about the book we were reading and what she would say. I would write her thoughts and her feelings, she enjoyed this very much and seemed to enjoy my writing and my comments.  This became our story time and I titled this "Story Time With Mama."  Every night after dinner she would say to me, "are we going to have our Story Time tonight?" and I would answer, "Yes, Mama, we are going to have our Story Time."

As I would tuck her in bed in the evening, she always would wrap her arms around my neck and give me a kiss, she would tell me that she loved me and thank me for taking such good care of her and them she would say, "Thanks for my stories."  I would reply, "Your welcome, mama, I love you, good night."

Tonight I'm thinking of my mama and I'm missing her.  Yes, she would be 100 years old, but no mater how old your mama is or how old you are, a girl always needs her mama and she always needs to feel that love that only comes from her mama...

Tonight before I go to bed I'm going to read a short story, so close your eyes and it will be our special time, for it will be "Story time with Mama."   night, night mama,  I love you....    and Happy Birthday

Daughter Stranded at Airport

My daughter Marta called this evening and said she was stranded at the Airport in New York City..

You see, she's on her way to Germany to babysit her grandchildren.

Now Marta lives in North Carolina in these United States, so I know your thinking, that's a pretty long trip to go, just to babysit grandchildren.....  but you see-----

Shawna's husband has a job that takes him all over the world.. so Shawna is now a world traveler and her children are very blessed to be able to have this wonderful experience to live in far away places. 

Just imagine the education and the experiences these children are having, learn about different cultures and languages and then to see wonderful and beautiful historical places too.  What a blessing this is in their life...

Sean, Shawna's husband has a business trip to England and he wanted Shawna to accompany him.  He thought she would enjoy some R&R for a few days (they have 5 children) which she agreed.  So grandma was needed.

Plans were made and Marta was excited about this trip. 

I understand Germany is a beautiful country and with lots of history, and my Marta is a world traveler herself, so this experience would not only be a first hand adventure outside the picture book, but the blessing of seeing and loving grandchildren too.

She left early this afternoon with her flight from home, but then her flight was late arriving at New York, so that made her missing her connecting flight to Germany.  The airline had to make other arrangements but after a three hour wait, she could be on her way, but instead of a straight flight, she would have a side trip to Paris, France.   Now that would be fine if it was planned and you could enjoy PARIS, but no, she would be spending more time in a airport waiting for her next flight to take her to Germany.....

She is a world traveler I know, but I don't think she wasn't planning on taking this side trip, especially when she won't be able to see any of the country or any of the sights, just only an airport....  and not knowing the language or reading the signs??

My daughter will be arriving many hours later than planned at her destination, I know she will be tired but she will be greeted with open arms and lots of hugs and kisses....

A few days ago Marta had call to tell me about her conversation with Shawna.  She said, "Mother, Shawna wants me to come for a visit again after Thanksgiving this year.  She said that Christmas time is a beautiful time in Germany and she wants you to come too."

Oh, I would love to go and have that experience and my sweetheart said yes, go and enjoy.. 

I have passport will travel......  Let's make plans....

SUDOKU

It was about 5 years ago that my daughter Marta came for a visit.

One night as we sit in the family room, she pulled out a puzzle book called "SUDOKU."  I asked her about her book and how you worked the puzzle?

She told me that Sudoku is a number placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers.  The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once.  There was a difficulty level in each puzzle from 1 to 5.

I thought, OK, I think I could do that!  So I asked her to show me how it worked. - She tore out a level 1 page, showed me how and I was hooked.

It has been over 5 years now since that night, but every night before I go to bed I have to do my Sudoku puzzle no matter what time it is. 

My day is not complete until my puzzle is done.

My daily paper has this puzzle in it and in the morning I look for it, but it is not worked on until evening.  Sometimes my paper will not have it in for that day and then I feel a loss, my day just doesn't seem complete.  The difficulty level increases from Monday to Sunday with Monday starting out as 1 and Sunday ending with the difficulty of 5.  I'm getting pretty good at it now and I always feel pretty good when I have worked Sunday's puzzle.

I remember my Mother always sitting on the sofa in the evenings, working the Cross Word puzzle in the newspaper while my father had the Sports on TV.  Her comment was, "that it helps to keep her mind alert."

I use to try to work those Cross Word puzzles too, but they were more frustrating that solvable to me.

As the years keep creeping up on me and my mind takes a few minutes sometime to remember a name or two, I'm thinking this Sudoku puzzle might do the same to my brain as the Cross Word puzzles did for my Mother.

I have a puzzle book in my car and also in my Sweetheart's truck and a small one in my purse and when I have to wait in the car or somewhere else for a period of time, I always have something with me that helps invigorates my brain and also helps pass the time.

When my cousin Barb was here for a visit and they borrowed our truck, she was pleased and happy to find that there was a Sudoku puzzle book in the door pocket.  It seems she too is hooked on this game.

Thanks Marta for teaching your Mother a puzzle that not only she enjoys but also exercises her brain, maybe its not too late to teach an old dog a new trick.

Lessons for Sunday Church

Tomorrow is Sunday and this week I'm doing double duty.  I have my regular Sunday School Class. and this week I have been asked to also give the lesson in Relief Society.  So double duty is my call. 

My Sunday Class lesson is on "Freedom to Choose", which I prepared the first part of this week, and my Relief Society's lesson is on "Developing Our Talents", which I just finished preparing.  The good news was the Relief Society's lesson I am giving, I had already given in my Sunday Class sometime ago, so it was mostly prepared, I just had to refine it for the Sisters in our Ward.

I was reading my daughters blog and she had a entry titled "Destiny". 

She wrote "In life there are opportunities to make choices and decisions every day.  Some are as simple as "what shall we eat?"  some are major as in "where shall we live?"

She then quoted Pres. Thomas S. Monson  "Decisions determine destiny"

She goes on to say, "One may not think much about what is eaten every day, but to a dieter that decision is a major thought process each and every meal."

"Choice in what to wear reflects our values.  Others see our outward appearance and are either drawn toward us or repelled."

and then she finishes with "As I have thought about it, I agree that decisions do determine our destiny."  "That is major work 24/7"  I too agree with that statement. 

Thanks Marta my love, for this profound insight..  I think I'll share your Blog with my class, if that's OK with you? 

Now for my Relief Society's lesson on Talents..

My handout for this is a "Pencil"  attached to a card that reads,

Our Talents are like pencils:
     1.  You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone's hand 
          (the Lord's)
     2.  You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better
          pencil.
     3.  You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.
     4.  The most important part of you will always be what's inside.
     5.  On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark.  No matter what the conditions, you
          must continue to write.

OK I'm ready.  Freedom to Choose, and Developing Our Talents.

Two great lessons and principles of life.

Time Marches On

My Daughter Marta said to me the other day "Mother you haven't written on your Blog for sometime now, I miss it.."

And so I thought, No, I haven't.  Life just seems to get busy and the time just marches on and away.

Writing a blog is like writing a journal, but a journal is only a good journal if you remember to write in it, and writing is only good if you write your coming and goings and your thoughts and your feelings.

Now having that said, just where should I go from there???

I have a dozen or so things going thought my mind right now that I would like to write about but here it is going on 8 o'clock this Friday night and I need to work on a Sunday lesson for church, so I'll just make a mental note and get back to my "Blog" real soon.

Until then -----

A Week With My Daughter Ann

My Sweetheart and I just arrived home from a week with our daughter Ann. 

Ann is a school teacher, she teaches special students that are visual impaired.  She's a good teacher and loves her work.  I enjoy hearing about her different students and how they are doing.  This year she started a new job in a new school district.  She's teaching high school students, before she has had all ages, kindergartner to high school.  She loves the little ones and enjoys helping in their foundation, but now she is working with young adults with their preparation for the world beyond school.....

We usually go for a visit with Ann during her spring break, but this year she need us early.  They sold their large home and needed to move and as both her and her husband work long hours and with no time off she needed help in moving.

About four years ago, I was a caregiver to my mother.  Because of the situation with my mother, my husband and I decided to sell our home and move in with mother.  We felt it would be easier for all to live with mother and after the time that was needed there, we would build our new home, move and then sell mama's home.

When our home sold and we needed to move, it was very stressful for me.  I did the best I could with the packing but I wasn't home that much, I needed help and my sweet and wonderful daughters knew it and came without me asking.  They decided between themselves to do this and they tell me still today how much fun they had being together and how they talked, laughed and shared.  It makes this Mothers heart feel good knowing that sisters not only love each other, but enjoy being with each other... and too, that they love me..

My oldest daughter Marta was here for 2 weeks and Ann came for 1.  These sister's worked together side by side to finish packing their Mother's home.  What a blessing they were to me..  they have always been a blessing, but during this most stressful time in my life, they truly were a gift..  I don't know what I would have done without them.  When I think of that time and my girls dropping everything, traveling long distance, from different states to help their Mama, my heart skips a beat, my eyes swell up with tears and I get all choked up. How grateful I am for wonderful and special daughters, I hope they know how much their Mama loves them and what a great help they were to me, I could never have made it thought that period of my life if it hadn't been for them.,

Because of the stress that I went though at that time, I knew that my sweet Ann needed help and so we packed our bags and off to Arizona we went...

During the day while Ann and her husband were at work, my sweetheart and I packed her house, and that Saturday with help from ward members and others, we were able to move boxes and belongings to their new abode.

I was able to see and visit with grandchildren and great grandchildren too.  The little ones sang songs to me, gave me hugs and kisses and was a joy.  Tawni and her family traveled an hour and half just for a short visit with us and Dana and her boys brought us dinner along with their visit... It was good to see them and to tell them that this grandma, loves each of them very much.. I appreciated knowing that they wanted to see and visit with me.

I wished I could have stayed longer, but we needed to return home.  I enjoyed the time I was with my sweet Ann and the visit we had.  Working together is sharing time and bonding time....and a time that a mother likes to have more of.

Valentines day was the Monday before we left and we had a nice dinner with pie.  She gave us a valentine that she had a student braille Mom and Dad on...  and Kim her husband gave each of us a bouquet of flowers.  We were very tired but it was a nice way to bring to close a week of moving.....  I only hope now Ann can find the things she needs in the boxes her mother packed..   Good  Luck  !!!

DUP Meeting

Yesterday was my DUP Meeting, now I know what you are saying, "What is a DUP Meeting?"  DUP stands for "Daughters of Utah Pioneers."

We meet once a month.  I enjoy these meetings, we have prayers, sing songs, reports, pioneer lessons and then a nice luncheon.

I think why I enjoy these meetings is because my Great Grandmother was a Utah Pioneer.  She joined the LDS church after hearing the missionaries in her native land of Norway.  In 1862 with her sister and after the death of her father, the two sisters decided to make the journey to America and join the Saints in Utah.  After their arrival in the states, they joined a company of saints and walked  to Zion... 

This Great Grandmother is extra special to me, I feel this kindred spirit strongly towards her.  I wish I knew more about her and about her life. She didn't leave any journals that I know of and I only have a short story about her, that my grandmother had written, plus the ones that were published in the DUP books.  So by going to these DUP meetings, I'm learning more about pioneer life, what it was like here in Utah in the 1860's and that tells me something of her life and what life was like for her.

My life has been touched by this Great Grandmother, and it began many years ago. 

When I was about 15 my Nannie asked me if I would do something special for her.  As I loved this grandmother very much I would do anything for her.  She then asked me if I would name my 1st daughter Marta, as a special favor for her.. She then told me that it was her Mothers name.  She told me that in Norway her given name was Marta, but when she arrived in the States immigration wrote down her name as Martha... Of course, I said I would name my 1st daughter after her Mother, my Great Grandmother, so my Marta, was Marta long before she became. 

The second part of this connection comes the day Marta was born.  Now my grandmother was 79 years old when Marta was born and she was very happy about this birth, to say the least.  This new Great Granddaughter, straight from heaven and named after her Mother, became a closer connection when it was realized that she was born on the death date of her namesake.

My connections with this Great Grandmother is also seen in my home.

In my entry hangs a velvet crazy patch quilt picture.  This was hand stitched by this special Great Grandmother and handed down to me by my grandmother.  Also hanging in my home is an old picture frame that belonged to my Grandmother.  She had 4 of these frames.  My mother was given these old frames, years ago when they held pioneer pictures in them.  My mother placed another picture print over the original picture and hung them in her home.  Years later she gave one of these frames to each of us, her children.  Just before her death she told me that behind my picture, in my frame was a picture of one of her grandparents.  I could hardly wait to look behind the picture in my frame to see who was there... and to my joy, it was this special Great Grandmother.....

I'm doing all I can now, going back in Family History, trying to find all I can about these special Great Grandparents, that gave so much for the gospel sake.  Maybe I will be lucky and find someone out there that know something more about this Great Grandmother of mine.

I know the DUP museum in Salt Lake City has a picture on file of  Martha (Marta) Anderson Larsen Sorensen, my Great Grandmother.....  Pioneer History has a beginning and I know my history is woven in it.

Oh, by the way, I have my Nannie's pioneer apron and bonnet that she would wear at special events when she too belonged to DUP...

Phone Call From My Brother

It was just the other night around 8 o'clock that my telephone rang.  I answered it with a cherry  "Hello," and then I heard an familiar voice saying "Hi" this is your brother Kent....Oh Kent, it's been way too long since we have talked.  I have thought of you so often, but the time just seems to get away from me without making that phone call.  

He said he just received an email from my daughter Marta, I guess she is so excited that her  Mama is writing a blog, that she emailed her siblings, her children and other family members, telling them that there's a new blogger out in cyberspace that they should check out.  So he did, and to his surprise it was his sister....Now you must know, my brother is a Computer wiz, he does this for a living, working for large companies, writing their program, solving their computer problems and now his sister is in cyberspace doing more than just emailing.  I'm sure he was thinking WHAT IS GOING ON????/

It was good to hear his voice and we talked about "what was going on" in our lives, and now that the holiday season is upon us we should get together.  He lives some distance from me in another state, and so plans would have to be made to make this happen.

Kent's a good brother and I love him very much.  He's my youngest brother.  You see, I was fourteen when he was born.  When Mother told us children (there was three of us then) that she was going to have a baby, we were all so excited.  We all felt that Dad and her planned this new addition because my siblings and I wanted a baby in our family.  Little to our knowledge that wasn't so, but she let us believe it was true.

The joy and excitement we all felt when Kent was born.  My younger brother and sister went to stay with my Aunt Sissie, while Mama was in the hospital, but I stayed home.  I remember Daddy taking me to the hospital one night to see Mama and my new little brother.  I felt so special to be the first one to see him, I could hardly wait for the day Daddy would bring Mama and our new baby home.

I would hurry home from school each day so I could hold him and help take care of him.  If he was fussy when Mama was fixing dinner, she would give him to me and I would sit in the front room, in the old upholster rocking chair and rock him and sing to him.

He was such a happy baby and a pretty one too, (if I dare say that) he had beautiful blue eyes and lots of dark hair and such a sweet smile.  He seemed to enjoy all the fussing we his siblings showered upon him, and it wasn't long until we all started to call him "Kentie" to this day our sister still calls him that and to our Mother he was always her "Kentie."

I was married when Kent was only three and my Marta was born just before Kent was five.  He was excited at the news that he was now an Uncle, but his friends would tell him he wasn't, because he was too young to be an Uncle, but Kent would insist he was an Uncle and he was.....

It was good talking to you brother dear, I love you and I'll talk to you again real soon, in the meantime, maybe you will see this in cyberspace and know I was thinking of you.

Welcome To My World

My oldest daughter Marta came home for a visit just recently, now I say "Home" and that's because that's where her Mom and Dad live, not the home she was raised in, but home is home where love and memories are felt and seen. 

I have two rooms that are Guest Rooms in my new home, one is the Red Room and the other is the Blue Room.  My guest have their choice in which room they would like to stay.  My husband calls the Red Room the Hot Room and the Blue Room the Cool Room, I'm not sure why he says that, but we smile and have a little laugh and a tight squeeze.  I love the Victorian Style with a nostalgia flair and my home has this feeling.

I told my daughter she could stay in the room she wished.  She looked them both over and then chose the Red Room.  After a few days she told me how much she was enjoying this room, she said it was because she had her family all around her, you see, I have vaulted ceilings in my home and in my Guest Rooms I have a shelf  running around, above the windows, of the three walls and on the shelf I have pictures and keepsakes. The pictures in the red room are of her children and her grandchildren, she felt loved, she was wrapped with warm, cozy and happy feelings, it just felt good to her.

We had a wonderful visit, went many places, saw many things, did lots of visiting with family and lots of talking and sharing.  She said to me "Mom, you need to do a Blog."  A Blog?  What is a Blog????   She told me she has been doing a Blog, in fact, she has been doing it for over a year and all her children are doing one too.  You need to do one, she said.  It's like writing a journal, just talking to yourself.  You can write about your memories, your dreams or just your thoughts and your feelings. It's fun.  She pulled up her "Blog" and I started to read. It was fun, to read how she felt about things, about events, about life and about what makes her happy.  OK, Sweetheart, your Mama doesn't know that  much about this ole PC, so you'll have to set me up and teach me a few things, and then we see what we can do and maybe your Mama will have a Blog too.

So here it is.  "Life's Peaceful Moments"  This will be my Blog.  My daughter Marta has gotten me started and my talented and artistic granddaughter Cara has done all the art work, I hope you like it, I know I do, in fact I love it, love it, love it, thank you Cara.....Sooo... Welcome to my World......