Thankful

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. Family, yummy food, and 3 days that all felt like Saturday. Plus, I got to see New Moon, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it.

There has been much to be thankful for this year, including Melvin's new position, finishing his Master's program, and the birth of our newest cutie, Maren, just to name a few. These past few weeks I have been particularly grateful for grandmas.

Carving pumpkins with Grandma Alaska

My mom came to stay with us at the end of October and I couldn't be more thankful for her help. She stocked my freezer full of delicious food, played with my kids when I didn't have the energy, and stayed here with Audrey, Dallin, and Sterling for two days while Melvin and I were at the hospital. It is always such a blessing for us to have her here and a relief to know that our kids are being taken care of while we're gone. The kids loved spending time with Grandma Alaska and wished she could have stayed longer. (I do, too!)

The munchkins with Grandma Beach

Melvin's mom has been a big help as well. She took Dallin and Sterling for a couple of days and they had a great time at her house. Last week Audrey went to spend a few days with Grandma Beach and she had a great time also. They were all too busy having fun to miss Mom and Dad at home and it was a nice break for me. Everybody is ready for another visit, except for maybe Grandma herself!

Alta Jane and Audrey Jane

I also have to include my grandma. My mom's mother, A. Jane Hall, passed away on November 18th. I'm thankful to have had such a wonderful grandmother. The last time I talked to her was the day Maren was born. At that point she was already pretty ill, so we said our goodbyes in a way, but I wish I could have been able to see her one last time. My sister posted a few of her memories of Grandma on her blog; I'm taking the liberty to copy some of them. And adding a few of my own.

* Grandma had an accent that never failed to make us laugh. She could not say fish or dish "correctly" for anything. It always came out "feesh" or "deesh". I think there was probably a "warsh cloth" in there too.

* Whenever we went to visit (which wasn't often enough), we would sit out on her back patio talking, laughing, telling stories. Grandma always had a glass of iced tea.

* She had quite a few collections of knick-knacks. Cuckoo clocks, bells, Native American dolls, suncatchers...the cuckoo clocks were always our favorites as kids. (Grandpa had a number of really fun coin banks. Their house was full of things that were hard to keep from touching.)

* Shannon remembers Grandma's fingernails always being painted. I don't so much, but I do remember her always wearing jewelry, a lot of it turquoise.

* I remember Grandma's cookie jar. It was always full of cookies when we were there, just as a cookie jar should be. My favorite was her Angel cookies, which are sort of like a snickerdoodle. Even when I visited Grandma a few years back with Audrey and Dallin in tow, her cookie jar was full. Of Oreos. Audrey still talks about eating Oreos at Grandma Hall's.

* Grandma would not let me brush my hair in her living room. She did not want strands of hair on her floor or couch.

* There was always a bar of Caress soap in the bathroom. To this day, the smell of that soap reminds me of Grandma's house.

* Grandma was always very generous. She never missed sending me a birthday card while growing up. And she always tried to give me something when we visited. Gifts for the kids, a pair of strappy high heels that hurt her feet (which are still the fanciest pair of shoes I own)...Dallin loved birds when he was really tiny and was fascinated by a wooden one hanging on her patio. She would have sent it home with us if we had allowed.

* One of my funniest memories about Grandma was that she absolutely NEVER spelled my name correctly, no matter how boldly I signed my name or how many times I underlined it when writing to her. It never offended me, though, because she also spelled Mom's name wrong. If she couldn't get her own daughter's name spelled right, there was just no hope for it.

* Shannon also mentioned how supportive Grandma was of all of us, including in matters of religion. In her words: "My mother is the only member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in her family, but that never stopped my grandmother from letting, and sometimes reminding, us to say a prayer before meals. I am so grateful that she supported my mother's conversion to the church and supported her temple marriage...it has made a profound difference in my life."

My last visit with Grandma Hall - October 2006

On Friday, my children and I attended a baptismal service for an older lady. Her grandchildren, all in their early 20s or so, gave the talks, said the prayers, and performed the baptism. As I sat there listening to these young people express their love for their grandmother and their support of her decision to be baptized, my thoughts turned to Grandma Hall. She can't smoke anymore, so maybe there's nothing holding her back any longer. I hope that next Thanksgiving I can participate in her baptism.

So while I have much to be thankful for, this year I am particularly grateful for the wonderful women in my life. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said "the best mothers get promoted to grandmother." These women are all deserving of the promotion. I'm thankful for their influence on my life, the life of my husband, and the life of my children.