Thursday, September 16, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Cape Breton Tear Jerker
My friend Myrna said to me on facebook, "go to my blog and see some pictures of Cape Breton and that will really make you cry for home." So I did. I watched this video and, yes I did cry, and want to get into the car and drive straight to where my heart lives. So what could I do but to snag it from her blog and put it on my blog also. Now I can watch it and cry everyday. What is it about Cape Breton Island? Once it gets into your heart and under your skin, it's there forever! And every time I drive home, it doesn't matter what part of Cape Breton Island I am on, it is HOME! As soon as I see the Causeway, I am HOME! There is a deep, strong heritage there and definitely a Welcome Mat for all. I absolutely love who I am and where I came from. I thank my Heavenly Father for giving me such a special and permanent ground for my heritage and who I am. I've often heard that "pictures don't do a place justice" but...what can I say. Cape Breton is not just a place, it's a state of mind, an inner peace. Maybe you have to be a Cape Bretoner to get it. This video is true to the core. I LOVE CAPE BRETON!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Bryant Turns 25 - February 24, 2010
A cake for Bryant and what else would it be....the Boston Red Sox. Made by his sweet wife Elisha, but Bryant says he made the "B".
Elisha's niece...her ONLY interest was the cat!
Bryant with Grandma Joyce and mother-in-law Geri. (Isn't that the coolest thing, he has 2 Grandmothers named Joyce. And here's another thing, this Grandma Joyce has a son named Gordon...so does the other!
Parker, Elisha's nephew couldn't wait to get into the "B" cake. He is very proud of his blue tongue.
Bryant and his good friend, Nolan.
Attempting to get a good picture of Bryant & Elisha. Nolan steps in...
Jake steps in...
And finally...thank you for your patience!
Bryant and Andrew (best buds and brothers).
Andrew and Nolan cutting the cake. Is there something wrong with this picture?
Hmmmm, we must always be joking around...
Bryant and Charlene ("Big Sister")
Bryant and neighbor Nick. Howdy neighbor! (Nick just had to have his picture taken too).
Bryant and Tricia - sweet little sister.
And then there's Jake. What is it with the Jake's in our family??? No problem here for Bryant, but...
Jake looks constipated! Hold on JAKE!!!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Bryant & Elisha's Wedding, Oct. 8, 2009
I need to step back in time for a moment, but not too far back. Since I am behind in posting, I thought I'd better get some wedding pictures on here. The day turned out beautiful for October and we couldn't have asked for anything better. Everyone was happy and this wedding was a blessing to both families. Welcome Elisha, our new daughter-in-law, into our family. We love you and hope that you feel as much a part of this family as we want you to be.
Just coming out of the temple, Elisha hugging her Mom.
Jake congratulating the groom.
Is that not the best look of relief on Bryant's face?
Families and friends.
The Brown Family - growing in numbers.
Bryant & Elisha with Bryant's Grandma & Grandpa Brown.
Ooo, la, la!
I LOVE this picture!
The wedding cake was gorgeous!
This is the quilt I made for Bryant & Elisha. I think it turned out pretty good!
The table centerpieces were beautiful.
Bryant, ever hungry, needed to eat before the reception got underway.
Handsome groom and groomsmen!
Spencer, all gussied up.
Just coming out of the temple, Elisha hugging her Mom.
Jake congratulating the groom.
Is that not the best look of relief on Bryant's face?
Families and friends.
The Brown Family - growing in numbers.
Bryant & Elisha with Bryant's Grandma & Grandpa Brown.
Ooo, la, la!
I LOVE this picture!
The wedding cake was gorgeous!
This is the quilt I made for Bryant & Elisha. I think it turned out pretty good!
The table centerpieces were beautiful.
Bryant, ever hungry, needed to eat before the reception got underway.
Handsome groom and groomsmen!
Spencer, all gussied up.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Thinking about Memories
Isn't thinking a wonderful thing? I find myself doing just that quite a bit lately. If I let myself, my thoughts wander to things of the past, memories almost forgotten. I also find myself in the present, thinking about ways to make memories for my loved ones. And then, just to keep myself from getting bored, I will allow my thinking to jump to the future, of dreams and hopes, always looking forward.
When my thoughts wander to the past, the first things that come to mind are family and friends. I don't remember, nor do I care to think about material things. Always people. That's me, I guess I'm just a people kind of person. Although, my thoughts do bring me to blueberries, and the Atlantic ocean, and roller skating, and shopping (there is always shopping in every thought). But even each of these brings a memory of someone dear.
Shopping - with my grandmother, affectionately known to everyone as Ma Gillard. How she loved to go to "the K-mart" on Friday nights! Before I left to pursue my own life, I spent a lot of time "shopping" with Ma. I can't ever remember her buying anything, but it was the highlight of her week to climb into my little Mustang Cobra and head to Sydney on Friday night. How many teenagers spend that kind of Friday night time with their grandma? Well...I wouldn't trade those moments for the entire world and so, I think about her often.
Blueberries - what can I say? It's almost a way of life in the summertime. But then there was the time that I had picked an entire roaster full (I used a roaster because I thought it would be easy to carry). It wasn't. I set it down and went to investigate a beautiful bush of berries that had just caught my eye. When I turned back, there was Pops, our loyal dog, eating the berries from the roaster. How he loved blueberries. But he liked them best when someone picked them for him.
The Atlantic ocean - I remember spending many, many moments standing on the cliff, just staring out over the Atlantic. My most vivid memory however, is the day I took my grandfather, Da Gillard to the hospital. As we pulled away from his house, he asked me to please stop the car for a minute. He got out of the car, and stood as close to the cliff as possible. He very carefully scanned the horizon of the Atlantic from his home, a scene I'm sure he wanted to impress into his memory forever. After a few minutes, he got back into the car and said, "I'm ready to go now." Da never came home again after that. When I have the opportunity to gaze out over the Atlantic, whenever I am home, I am brought back to that moment in time, and I can feel my grandfather standing beside me.
So many other memories also. I feel the need to start writing them down, to keep a journal of them. So this is my promise to myself, and to my children so that they will know who I was, who I am, and hopefully who I have yet to become.
When my thoughts wander to the past, the first things that come to mind are family and friends. I don't remember, nor do I care to think about material things. Always people. That's me, I guess I'm just a people kind of person. Although, my thoughts do bring me to blueberries, and the Atlantic ocean, and roller skating, and shopping (there is always shopping in every thought). But even each of these brings a memory of someone dear.
Shopping - with my grandmother, affectionately known to everyone as Ma Gillard. How she loved to go to "the K-mart" on Friday nights! Before I left to pursue my own life, I spent a lot of time "shopping" with Ma. I can't ever remember her buying anything, but it was the highlight of her week to climb into my little Mustang Cobra and head to Sydney on Friday night. How many teenagers spend that kind of Friday night time with their grandma? Well...I wouldn't trade those moments for the entire world and so, I think about her often.
Blueberries - what can I say? It's almost a way of life in the summertime. But then there was the time that I had picked an entire roaster full (I used a roaster because I thought it would be easy to carry). It wasn't. I set it down and went to investigate a beautiful bush of berries that had just caught my eye. When I turned back, there was Pops, our loyal dog, eating the berries from the roaster. How he loved blueberries. But he liked them best when someone picked them for him.
The Atlantic ocean - I remember spending many, many moments standing on the cliff, just staring out over the Atlantic. My most vivid memory however, is the day I took my grandfather, Da Gillard to the hospital. As we pulled away from his house, he asked me to please stop the car for a minute. He got out of the car, and stood as close to the cliff as possible. He very carefully scanned the horizon of the Atlantic from his home, a scene I'm sure he wanted to impress into his memory forever. After a few minutes, he got back into the car and said, "I'm ready to go now." Da never came home again after that. When I have the opportunity to gaze out over the Atlantic, whenever I am home, I am brought back to that moment in time, and I can feel my grandfather standing beside me.
So many other memories also. I feel the need to start writing them down, to keep a journal of them. So this is my promise to myself, and to my children so that they will know who I was, who I am, and hopefully who I have yet to become.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
25 Things About My Family...
Ok, so I saw this on Charlene's blog "25 Things About Me" and I thought this might be fun to do! But then as I started to think about it, I probably won't be able to think about "25 Things About Me". But I can definitely think about "25 Things About My Family". So I decided to change it up a bit. So here goes.
1. Our family consists of my husband and myself, four wonderful children, and two married in-law children.
2. We have a cat named Topaz, who thinks we all exist to please him.
3. We have a dog named Sammy, a black lab who we were told would be out of the puppy stage within 3 years. Going on six years, NOT HAPPENING!
4. My husband, Spencer is the best lighting designer in Utah!!! In fact, not just Utah but everywhere.
5. My daughter Charlene, married 5 1/2 years, is quite a crafter.
6. My son Bryant, married 3 months, wants to be a school teacher and will be great!
7. My son Andrew, 16 and learning to drive, AHHHHHH - can NEVER find anything to eat in the house ???? Go figure.
8. My daughter Tricia, 13 1/2 - loves loves loves to write and wants to be an author.
9. We love to spend time together as a family.
10. When a new movie comes on scene, we all MUST go together (as long as it's acceptable for all ages.)
11. Christmas is our favorite time of year and we MUST keep to our traditions - NO MATTER WHAT!
12. We all love the Gospel and work very hard to keep it foremost in our lives.
13. We love our friends and try to make them feel like they are an important part of our family.
14. We have an extended family member named Jake, who either adopted us or we adopted him. No matter, he's as important as the rest (along with his sweet wife Chante and baby Xan).
15. We love music and as a result, have a few musicians in the family.
16. The owners of one violin, one piano, two saxophones, a few guitars, a set of drums.
17. We lived in Massachusetts for 3 years (when Charlene & Bryant were young).
18. We lived in New Jersey for 9 years (where Andrew & Tricia were born).
19. We bought an old farmhouse in West Jordan, Utah and are enjoying its "personality".
20. I was born and raised on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and am very proud of it.
21. Spencer was born in Pendleton, Oregon but raised in Utah.
22. Although we spend a lot of time with the daily routines of life, we always remember to say "I love you" and "You are important to us" to our children
23. We have tried to teach our children that the true mark of a disciple of Christ is how kind you treat others.
24. Sunday dinners and summer bbq's are the best.
25. WE LOVE OUR FAMILY MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD!
2. We have a cat named Topaz, who thinks we all exist to please him.
3. We have a dog named Sammy, a black lab who we were told would be out of the puppy stage within 3 years. Going on six years, NOT HAPPENING!
4. My husband, Spencer is the best lighting designer in Utah!!! In fact, not just Utah but everywhere.
5. My daughter Charlene, married 5 1/2 years, is quite a crafter.
6. My son Bryant, married 3 months, wants to be a school teacher and will be great!
7. My son Andrew, 16 and learning to drive, AHHHHHH - can NEVER find anything to eat in the house ???? Go figure.
8. My daughter Tricia, 13 1/2 - loves loves loves to write and wants to be an author.
9. We love to spend time together as a family.
10. When a new movie comes on scene, we all MUST go together (as long as it's acceptable for all ages.)
11. Christmas is our favorite time of year and we MUST keep to our traditions - NO MATTER WHAT!
12. We all love the Gospel and work very hard to keep it foremost in our lives.
13. We love our friends and try to make them feel like they are an important part of our family.
14. We have an extended family member named Jake, who either adopted us or we adopted him. No matter, he's as important as the rest (along with his sweet wife Chante and baby Xan).
15. We love music and as a result, have a few musicians in the family.
16. The owners of one violin, one piano, two saxophones, a few guitars, a set of drums.
17. We lived in Massachusetts for 3 years (when Charlene & Bryant were young).
18. We lived in New Jersey for 9 years (where Andrew & Tricia were born).
19. We bought an old farmhouse in West Jordan, Utah and are enjoying its "personality".
20. I was born and raised on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and am very proud of it.
21. Spencer was born in Pendleton, Oregon but raised in Utah.
22. Although we spend a lot of time with the daily routines of life, we always remember to say "I love you" and "You are important to us" to our children
23. We have tried to teach our children that the true mark of a disciple of Christ is how kind you treat others.
24. Sunday dinners and summer bbq's are the best.
25. WE LOVE OUR FAMILY MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD!
Procrastination!
So here it is, the end of January 2010 and I decided to take a look at my blog. According to my blog, I'm still in the Fall of 2009. I think I'd better get my act together and get posting....
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