Into each life...

Ezekiel Gerald

Into each life there comes some sunshine! Meet little Ezekiel Gerald Henderson. Born May 2, 2010 to Gerald and Lily in Taos, New Mexico. He weighed in at a whopping 6 lbs 15 oz and was 21 inches long. According to both Gerald and Lily, he looks just like Gerald did when he was a wee one! What do you think?
Gerald Mark


At least, I can see they both have blue eyes! Now, it seems to me that I learned somewhere that blue is a recessive color, so that tells me that Lily must have those recessive genes in her gene pool and Connie must have had them in hers. Very interesting, because both Connie and Lily have brown eyes! At any rate, blue has definitely shown its color in both of these boys.

We welcome this little new one into the family and pray for sunshine, health and that his life will be a happy one.

Thoughts on Mother's Day...

I don't know why I have been blessed with 6 of the most amazing children plus 14 equally amazing grandchildren and (now) 2 sweet little great-grandsons. I can't for the life of me figure out what I did to deserve these blessings. Perhaps it is because God placed an overabundance of love in this crazy heart of mine and He helped me meet each and every challenge that motherhood brings. Yes! He certainly did!
I don't get to see my children or grandchildren often enough to suit me. But this wonderful day of technology has given me numerous ways of communicating with them, as Heather reminded me recently.
Some of the communication is instant, like the telephone; while other forms might take a little longer, like email or texting. And my own personal favorite, even though it takes the longest, is that old fashioned "snail mail" that brings cards and letters directly to my doorstep. There is that little warm feeling that flutters through my heart when I see a letter from one of my kids.

This Mother's Day was wonderful. Each one of my children remembered me in their own special way and their words warmed my heart.
I have so many tender memories of different phases of each one of these kid's lives. They are so special to me.

Remembering my own Mother brings sadness and joy to me. Sadness, because it was on Mother's Day in 2002 that she left this earthly sphere to go and be with Heavenly Father, Jesus and my dad. Joy, because I know that for me she was the best mother a girl could ever hope for. Though I miss her terribly, I know she is in a far better place than we are here on this earth and I know that I will see her again someday.

My mother was an angel. Whenever I consider how blessed I was to have the mother I had, when there are some youngsters today who don't even know who their mother is, or have mothers who are so totally lost that they don't know how to be mothers, I count my blessings!
I think of the mothers of the 2000 Stripling Warriors in the Book of Mormon, who taught their sons to be good people and to love God and fight for a cause. That is the kind of a mother that I hope I have been. That is the kind of mother my own mother was. The strength of my children tells me that perhaps I succeeded in some small measure.
I love you guys! All of you! Thank you for making this Mother's Day special to me!

If only...

If only time could stand still for just a little longer! If only these images could be reality every day. If only the distance that separates us could be shortened by at least 1,000 miles! If only...

I just returned from a 5 day (way too short!) trip to southern Utah to be with my son and his family for the celebration of Marcus's Baptism. I really wanted all of the family to be there, but settled for the few who took the time to travel for the occasion. My brother came from Salt Lake City and it was so wonderful to see him again. Debi traveled from Provo with Randi in tow! I know attending family events isn't one of Randi's favorite things to do, but she was good to her mother and her grandmother and came anyway. Heather came from Las Vegas with little Hailey. Everyone had a wonderful time.

After the baptism, we all gathered at Mark's house for some grilled hamburgers and some fun "play" in their corral with their horses. Little Abbie showed her skills on her horse and took a ride around the barrells. She is only 4-years-old and has already participated in her first rodeo, bringing home a silver buckel. She is going to be just like her mommy. Little Hailey (also 4-years-old) couldn't wait to get up on the horse, and was a natural. We teased Heather that she and Rich were going to have to get Hailey a horse and take it home to their little postage-stamp back yard in suburban Las Vegas! She laughed.

Heather and Hailey were the first to leave. She had to get back to Vegas and her family. Why is it that I always feel a hole in my heart when one of my kids say "good-bye?" I know it isn't forever, but the emptiness just won't go away. Debi and Randi stayed over another night and went to church with us on Sunday.
Debi and Mark took me out to dinner for Mother's Day (because I won't be there on that day). We had a wonderful Italian meal at Olive Garden (my absolute favorite place to go)! After dinner, Debi and Randi had to say their good-bye's and head north to Provo and "snow!" There goes another hole in my heart!
I spent the next two days just fitting into Mark and Terrie's family routines and loving being back in my own backyard again. Whenever I go to St. George, it is like coming home! I love the colors and the deep blue skies and fluffy white clouds. Not to mention the fact that the temperature was in the 80's the last two days that I was there and it is in the 50's on the Oregon coast! I soaked in as much of that wonderful sunshine as I could.
All too soon, Wednesday morning came and it was time for me to leave. Mark and Abbie took me to the airport. It was awfully hard to say good-bye! There came a few more holes in my heart.
If only I could make time stand still! If only I could keep those I love close for hugs every day! If only we didn't always have to come together and then leave all too soon, leaving such big, giant holes in our hearts! If only...