A very special mother on Mother's Day

May day, Mother's day!

Mother's Day mother-daughter date at Temple Square (tulips in bloom!)

Wedding parties in front of the Salt Lake Temple

Jenn was doing it too, but she stood up to take the picture

Happy Mother's Day

I am having a quiet day at home today.  I have great kids who are very supportive and fun!  Life is never dull around here.  I'm also very blessed to have wonderful grandchildren.

Read a good article about moms by Sheri Dew here, including why they aren't in the movies more.

Mother's Day Lunch

A few of my favorite mothers.  This was our view from The Garden.

Me, Aubrey  (youngest daughter)

Aubrey, Me, Jenn (oldest daughter), Natalie (middle daughter)

Nice lunch

They hate it when I take their pictures but they were good sports.

Right after this my camera battery died.  The girls had theirs so we did get a few.  I may post more later.

Blessings today

The girls treated me to dinner for Mother's Day Saturday (early so they can also visit with their other mothers on Sunday. They brought flowers, new photos of the grandchildren and love! Steve O mowed my lawn - very helpful since I'm still recovering and it really needed it! Some of us were able to enjoy an evening visiting and with their busy lives I realize it is hard to sacrifice Saturday time. I do appreciate it. I love them all and only wish they all could have been here together. I miss the children and grandchildren who are away, but of course it is nothing like the pain Jon has to endure, missing his own children. I miss my "daughter-in-law mothers" as well!

I have much to be thankful for. Max is still struggling and it pains us to see him in such distress. I appreciate the prayers that have been offered in our behalf and it puts things in perspective. To see a tiny baby suffer makes other troubles seem insignificant for sure.

Timely scripture: D&C 122

Happy Mother's Day!

A rousing game of Trivial Pursuit after dinner on Mother's Day

To all the moms, moms-to-be, "just-like-moms," wish or hope to be moms, birth moms, grandmas, great-grandmas, etc. etc. etc. May this be a beautiful day. Remember you are loved by your family, your ancestors who are beyond the veil and most especially, by God.

I am privileged to be the mom to six great kids and grandma to 16, going on 17. Unfortunately when they were all here in March, rain kept us from updating our family photo when they all came for dinner at my place. It was pretty chaotic and crowded with no place large enough to line everyone up. In this case more is better; just not in photographs!

I got an early Mother's Day gift from Aubrey and Steve on Saturday. It was Aubrey's idea but Steve's brawn. He came and helped me clean the garage. I currently have lots of stuff in there - some of it is stored stuff that belongs to kids. We need to eliminate some more of the excess, but before he left, Steve O made sure I could park my car inside again. This was a great, selfless gift.

I also got lots done in my yard. Still much to do, but I made a huge dent in the spring chores. My lawn looks nice and I even edged it. Emma and Josh helped me plant the tomato plants. Now I need to buy a few more plants for the garden, finish weeding the flower beds (I got about 50% done), and put in the annuals.

Today, Krista and Justin are hosting a Mother's Day dinner so it eased my Saturday, not having to worry about much tomorrow. And it's nice to have Sunday to rest and catch up, visit family. We will miss Chris, Kiyomi and their kids. I know why the Lord had to assign a "day of rest" - some of us wouldn't know when to quit.

Mother of the Year speaks out on decency.

The new Utah Mother of the Year, Karmel Larsen, is on a quest for decency. She said, ""How I define 'decency' is promoting anything that promotes strong family values or speaking out against profanity, violence, indecency, pornography. Anything in the media that pulls down society's values is what I want to speak out against." I can't think of many agendas that would have a greater impact on families and society. Read more about her here.

I get the title, Mom, because of these people...

Thinking Women of the Bible for Mothers Day

Lynn Arave, Deseret News cited the King James Bible and Reader's Digest in this alphabetical list of some of the great women of the Bible (who were mentioned by name). I often referred to "Mrs. Noah" because I'm sure this long-held tradition of attaching a married woman to her husband - even more recently when a woman was married she was referred to as "Mrs. [husband's first name, husband's last name]. So the fact most of the women were not named is not surprising.

However, it also gives great significance to those who are named - they were really something to be called by their actual name, to be revered and followed. In our church we are of the belief that Eve (whose name was significant, as recorded in the Bible, meaning "Mother of All Living") actually fulfilled her fore-ordained role when she partook of the fruit and her sin was actually a transgression, necessary to fulfill God's plan for His children.

Deborah: Her tale of charismatic leadership is told twice, once in Judges Chapter 4 in prose and again in the next chapter in "The Song of Deborah."

How this remarkable woman rose to become the only female judge of Israel — and even a war leader of some 10,000 soldiers — isn't clear

Elizabeth: As the wife of Zechariah the priest, she was advanced in years with no children when an angel told her she would miraculously give birth to a son — John the Baptist (Luke Chapter 1.) Her story parallels the stories of other aging women who gave birth to prominent leaders, including the mother of Samuel the prophet.

Esther: The wife of King Ahasuerus has an entire Old Testament book named after her. She was Jewish and was said to be very beautiful. At great risk to herself, she declared her lineage after a decree to put all Jews to death was announced, and she was able to reverse the ruling.

Eve: As the first woman and mother, she was the wife of Adam and played a leading role in the history of the world. Though some Christian faiths may think of her as the devil's gateway, others consider her a noble Christian.

Martha: The sister of Lazarus and Mary, she became a devout Christian follower, as recorded in the Bible's Gospels.

Mary: The mother of Jesus, through a virgin birth, is revered throughout Christianity as a pure and chosen woman. Indeed, Roman Catholics believe she was taken into heaven after her death and their rosary and some major annual feasts are centered around her. In the Catholic Church there is an ongoing campaign among the "Maryists" to have her declared the fourth member of the Godhead.

Mary Magdalene: She is the most prominent woman who accompanied Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem. She was also present at Christ's crucifixion and met the resurrected Lord at his tomb.

Miriam: This sister of Moses and Aaron was the first biblical woman given the title of prophetess (Exodus 15:20). Perhaps prideful, she later rebelled against her brothers and was afflicted with leprosy. Much later in the Old Testament, she is described as an equal of her brothers (Micah 6:4).

Ruth: This is another woman with an entire book of scripture named after her. As the great-grandmother of King David, she was described as a gentle heroine. Ruth 1:16 tells of her steadfast conversion to Christianity. Her mother-in-law, Naomi, is also reverred as a matriarch who was wise, hard-working and devout.

Sarah: This wife of Abraham is mentioned in Genesis. At age 91, she gave birth to Isaac, and the Apostle Peter mentioned Sarah as a model wife (1 Peter 3:6).

References: King James Bible and "Who's Who in the Bible," by Reader's Digest.

It is good to remember these women and to use them as examples of strength, goodness, and spirituality when we teach our children. We don't have to be men to be equal to them. We are equal by our very nature; but we have separate (thank goodness!) roles and responsibilities. I like the term, Biblical Womanhood, often used in protestant churches in describing the kind of women God wants us to be. In our church we only expand this to include other great women in scriptures such as The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. If we weret to coin such a term it would be Women of Scripture or Women of God. There is no doubt that God has great love for all women and has protected them. We believe we also have a Mother in Heaven (how can you have a father without a mother?) and the reason no name is given is because She is to be reverenced and Her name will not be used in vain.

Mother's Day & May Celebration

Emma & Jasmine (Cakes created by their mothers, Jennifer and Kiyomi)
Had a nice day with most of my kids. Nat and her family were with the other side of their family today but we saw them yesterday. We miss Aubrey and her family who can't be with us yet. We hope it won't be too much longer and that her husband (Steve O) can complete his Army service without having to go to Iraq or other middle east areas. They have their fingers crossed and are counting the days.

We celebrated Emma and Jasmine's sixth birthdays - they are two weeks apart in age. We also evaluated everyone's DISC results and it was very interesting.... turns out the Miller guys really are a lot the same. No wonder they are dangerous when together as a group! Of course they can also be very productive together - synergy.

For Mother's Day, Jennifer got a hilarious card from Noah. He gave her a vase he had decorated with a flower pencil bouquet. The card had a butterfly drawn on the inside, Pokemon on the outside and it said, "Happy Mother's Day Mom! Love, Noah" on the main part. Surrounding that is "You smell like feet!" and "Look, it's Christmas" and on the inside, "You love me and I love McDonald's." What more could a mother want?

WOW!

You'd have to see to believe what we accomplished today. My kids and grandkids blew me away with everything they did to help me on this yard. The secondary water isn't working (probably cut a line during recent construction in the area) but besides Steve moving a ton of dirt and building the boxes for my raised vegetable garden, they trimmed, clipped, weeded, raked, cleaned, organized, emptied the garage and bleached the floor. We had Aubrey & Steve's dog staying out there during Christmas vacation when they visited and there was a lingering odor. They also worked really hard on a flower bed to make it nicer for the annuals we plan to put in and Justin & Krista gave me a gift certificate for the flowers! Now the place is really shaping up.

I'm very happy with the Mother's Day gift they gave me and there's nothing I would rather have them do for me. Thanks!!!

It was also Ashlie and Olivia's piano recital today. Thursday I watched Alex play T-ball! What a hoot. It's actually coach pitch and he does hit the ball - then he grins from ear to ear as he runs to first. It's a busy weekend for sure.
Ashlie
Olivia
Duet
Of course I didn't have my camera at the T-ball game - I went straight from work. I'll add one next time.

Best Mother's Day Gift

Today some of my kids and grandkids are coming to help me on my yard and garage. This kind of service is the best gift! Steve came yesterday and has been helping me too. We're building a couple of raised garden beds. We'll see how I do with that this summer. I must admit I hate weeding but I like a few fresh veggies.

Also, I bought a used bike yesterday and had to travel to pick it up so Steve and I drove around the old Saltair building. I'm a bit out of practice for sure. I've never even ridden a bike with hand brakes and the only bike I've actually owned is the one I bought with savings stamps (and help from my Grandpa) when I was in the first grade. I know, I know.... time to get up to speed.

First Vacation of 2007

I'm off to Moab/Arches, etc. for the weekend. Four of my children, their spouses, and eight grandchildren are coming with me (along with one friend). Chris and family decided to stay home, citing too much to do in preparation for going to Japan, etc. so I am disappointed about that but it will be a fun Mother's Day weekend. It's a lot of work getting ready, camping, etc. but I think it's just what we need right now. So Happy Mother's Day to anyone out there who does any mothering!