Love you Aunt Betty!

Aunt Belva, Momtella, Aunt Betty 12/11

Today, my Aunt Betty Jackson left this side of the veil and went to be with her dear husband, whom she has lived without for 40 years.  She has looked forward to this day for about as I long as I can remember.  Every time a family member would pass on, she would wish she could have traded them places.  Now she is with her true love.  I am so happy for her...but I will miss that beautiful smile and her wonderful laugh.

Thanks for being part of my life!  Love and hugs!

Jackson Reunion

Grandpa Jackson's 117th Birthday!  Every year we hold the Jackson reunion as near to his birthday as possible.  The Bailey's sponsored it this year at Jerusalem.

Brett was sporting his hairy face.

Riker loved chewing on the corn cob!  Mmmmm (that's what he said!)

Two cute kids! (Sam & Lily)

There was kissing and stuff!

Lots of good food and even more flies!

Cute Girls!

Rod and his girl!

Jeff and J.L.

It was great to see everyone!

Sorry!

Sorry about the lack of posts!  Since they put me in Young Women's I have no time to blog!  Not that we've had nothing to blog about...We've had campouts and trips I would like to share...but I have just a few more hours to get ready for Girls Camp, after a fun weekend at the cabin at Strawberry reservoir and some great 4 wheeling trips with my boys and Caitlin...then a river trip with the Sweets!  Let's just say it's time to feel the joy again...of having my family around me and loving being together.  Hopefully, things will slow down a bit so I can fill you in!

Zack's Wedding!

April 27th, Zack added another person to our family!  Formerly, Caitlin Hall, now Caitlin Holladay!  She's a sweetie and most important, the boys all love her! 

I love Zack's face in this pic!  It's like he's saying:  Look what I found!  A Wife!

As soon as they came out, all of Caitlin's sisters swarmed Zack! 

Cait has 4 sisters and Zack has 4 brothers! 

...so of course, the boys had to give the welcome hug to Caitlin!

Here's the group that made it to the temple.

I like this one of the guys with Cait.

Just can't stop smiling! :)

Two awesome guys!

The wedding line up.

Then he left me without even saying goodbye!

Then, after almost missing the boat because he forgot his Birth Certificate, they finally made it on their honeymoon on a short Mexico cruise!

Zack and Caitlin to be Married!

I'm slow, I know, but this has been a very busy few months!  Zack (oldest) got engaged to Caitlin Hall in January, and they will be wed this Friday!  She's a sweetie and we love her...especially Spencer and Mike like her (which is saying alot!)! 

My head is spinning and I may have forgotten or had no idea how to get your address to send invites to some of you...so please forgive me.  We also ran out of envelopes so some were sent a little late.  If you didn't get an invitation and want to come to the reception, leave a message and I will get you the information!

Mike decided to strike out on his own a couple of weeks ago...not quite finished with school yet, but he is trying to finish.  He is one stubborn boy!  As far as I know, he is doing ok.  I heard he was going to prom next Saturday.

I'm having a little separation anxiety...did not expect Mike to leave this soon.  It's exciting to see Zack moving on to the next step in his life...fun to see him learn about budgeting and what it really costs to live on your own without any subsidies.

Grandma Holladay moved back in with us the end of March.  She is enjoying not having to climb the stairs several times a day.  We have been down visiting her daughter, Joyce a couple times because she broke her arm and dislocated her shoulder riding on a Segway and hit a curb.  We got her a new hearing aid and she can communicate so much better!  When we got her for a month in February, we had to write on a dry erase board to communicate! 

I got the bathroom painted and put up some wainscot and painted Spencer's old room and put up some trim.  It's a yellow color and the guys don't like it...but it's my room and I like it very much! 

I was put in as Young Women's first counselor...whole new world for me!  I'm trying to get to know 13 beautiful young women!  They are amazing!  Tomorrow I am going to see a play that one of them is in! 

Well, that's all for now...I need to make a list for my sweet friends who are helping me in the kitchen on Friday.

Who'd a thought...

Once there was a forest of gold and red

With leaves brilliantly gleaming through the day.

But once the night’s moon rose its glaring head,

Darkness settled in, with no room for day.

Long branches creaked as howling winds rushed through.
Trees danced across the floor with silent sounds.
And life went on, though darkness knew not who.
Yet shadows searched, though light could not be found.
With mourning, darkness hung its weary head.
Imploring for the light to enter in.
It begged its inner hunger to be fed,
For mornings light to help the day begin.
Once again the brilliant light shimmers through,
And red and golden leaves begin anew.

by J. Spencer Holladay (age 14)

Spencer wrote this while I was at the caucas meeting.  It was an English assignment. 
He got an A!

Update--Wow a whole month went by!

I should really update this blog!

Ok...here's a tidbit of updates...

Zack is getting married on April 27th...this year...as far as I know!  We love Caitlin and are looking forward to having her as the newest Mrs. Holladay!  They will probably live in Orem, Utah while they both finish school.

Zack is working for Wasatch Electric, not taking any classes this semester, but will get right back into it next semester.  He is staying with Caitlin's grandparents during the week because they live so close to his work and his work is so far from home...currently.  Caitlin and I miss him very much!

John is going to college to become an EMT/Fireman.  I believe he wants to fly helicopters with one hand and take care of patients with the other!  His best friend, Austin, is taking the classes with him and Austin is getting married in May.

Mike is still working a Kohlers and he is trying to make up some classes so that he can graduate this year.  He likes a girl who just moved to Payson.  (45 minutes drive).  He decided to see if the van would make a good 4 wheeler and got it stuck in the mud.  Had to call a tow truck to get it out.  Insurance paid the first $75...Mike gets to pay the rest!

Spencer...still in school, following his father's footsteps...as far as the computer!

Grandma Holladay is staying with us this month!  We are getting used to each other again!  She is on oxygen and her health has deteriorated since she left last year...but I can still get her to smile!  I think she has been depressed for a while...probably because she can't hear a thing anymore!  It's gotta be frustrating not to be able to communicate like you used to!  I have to keep a white board handy so I can talk to her.  We will be seeing about getting her fixed up tomorrow...poor thing!

No trips or anything planned in the near future (except the wedding!).  I just like staying home right now...and that's ok.

I still work out and play racquetball, still go to the temple and my friend, Leslie, has been coming over and organizing my cupboards and closets (sooo awesome!).  She did my pantry (found some lost treasures in there!), most of my kitchen cupboards and tackled the disaster of a storage closet I have downstairs!  She told me I would have empty shelves when she was finished.  I didn't believe her...but I do!  She has a hyper adrenaline currently and she is organizing my house for therapy!  (SCORE!!)  I told her I hope she makes it though my entire house before they find a cure!

We are all good here.  How about you?

Lessons learned.

As I have reflected back on this past year, I have realized that I have learned many lessons.  I will mention just 12.

1.  "How are you?"... Doesn't mean you need to reflect on how you are...but it means they care about you.
2.  "I'm sorry"...also means "I care"...not:  feel sorry for yourself.
3.  Just because they don't talk to you about what you're going through...doesn't mean they don't care.  Most of the time it means they don't know what to say.
4.  What God has in store for you is very rarely what you had in mind.  Trust Him!
5.  You will never know how it really feels until you go through it yourself...But Christ knows how you feel.
6.  Tender Mercies come in the most unusual and surprising packages.
7.  No matter how much you love your own children...God loves them more!
8.  Sometimes, Faith and Trust in God is not the easy road...just the best road.
9.  Just because things didn't turn out the way you hoped, doesn't mean they didn't turn out the way they were suppose to.
10.  You will not be spared experiences that you consider a waste of time when they don't bring the desired outcome.  To all things there is a purpose.
11.  There is so much more to your life than just you!
12.  When you live through heart break, don't forget to look up or beyond yourself to see the sweet love and peace that goes with it.

Rose Buds!

I have my racquetball/gym buddies (I call them Rose Buds) over for breakfast occasionally...but always for Christmas.  It used to only be racquetball, but since I started lifting weights in March I've made many more friends at the gym (cuz I'm so shy!).

This is Barbie and Skipper (Barbie is on the right) haha, or I call them Peggy and Cheryl (Peggy is on the left).  These ladies are the most fit mom's I've ever seen.  They run everyday and they lift weights on Tuesday and Thursday.  I taught them the game of racquetball and got them so sore they could hardly walk...and they promised to kick my butt in abs this week!  They basically came and cooked all the food, plus they brought homemade muffins...that were a little too fabulous!  They also bought me a pink work out shirt because that is the color they always wear...so now I can be on their team!  They're keepers!

This is Leon and Jim.  Leon is the one trying to build a bridge across Utah Lake and Jim is an animator and has done work for Disney and other animated movies.  We all played racquetball this morning at 7 and then came over to my house for breakfast.  A few people I didn't catch pics of before they left were an older couple, Lloyd and Linda Laycock and Doug and Julie Ahlstrom.  Doug is an attorney for Draper City and had to go to work. 

The older guy in blue is Dave.  He has trophies at home for racquetball tournements he has won.  He is fun to play.  With the guitar is my good friend, Wendy.  We have played racquetball and done breakfast for about 3 years now and this was the first time I have heard her play.  She lives just west of me and teaches guitar lessons.  She is awesome!

This is our friend...other Doug.  He got hit in the leg with a racquetball a few months ago and developed a blood clot all up and down his leg (WASN'T ME!!!).  He was hospitalized a couple of times and took weeks to recover.  He has to wear long pants to play now and wears something on his leg to protect him from getting bruised again.  He still plays pretty awesome!  He has a shirt that says: Yes Dear is my indian name.

Dave (my Dave) was playing hooky from work to be here so I can't post a picture of him.  A bunch of other people couldn't make it because they had to work or went on vacation...stuff like that...but they are all awesome!

This is the tale end of Wendy's beautiful song.  (Sorry, that's all I got!)

This is how we rock it at my parties!

This video is my friend Ed and Wendy hittin the strings.  Ed plays in a band...several bands.  I think most of his boys play in a band with him and he's got a band in California.  I think most everyone of my racquetball buddies have a beautiful voice...cept Dave H....but somebody has to play the part of the audience!  Good job Dave!  Oh, if you're Dave's boss and you're reading this...Dave is really at work working hard(ly)!

We had a great time!  Good food, Good friends, great memories!

Zack's MS!

Zack has an official MS (Main Squeeze)!  Her name is Caitlin and we all love her...even Mike!  I don't mind not being his best girl anymore...I'll always be his favorite mom!  Caitlin is the oldest of 5 girls!  She loves music and plays the piano really well!  They met at work and attend the same college!

It's so different having girls in the house!  My first clue is the giggling!  Spence hasn't brought any girls home yet (Thank goodness!) but the other boys bring them...(thank goodness!)!