Day 5 ~ Your Best Friend

Day 4 ~ Tawni aka Puggy

Not really sure why Paul started calling Tawni "Pug", but that's her.. Pug, Puggy, Puglet.

Love my baby sister. She and Mark tried for so long to have their first baby and we were all so worried that she wouldn't be able to have kids. Now she has her hands full with her three little boys and she's a great Mom:) Tawni is a gentle soul and a sweet, loving girl. She was born on Paul's birthday and they've always had a special bond. So glad Mom and Dad decided to have just one more baby!

Day 4 ~ Tara

Tara, Ted and Sally...

Everytime Tara got a new doll, she named her Sally.

We always knew she would be a good Mom:)

When Tara was born, I totally adopted her. I did everything with that gorgeous little blond, blue-eyed baby girl. I even took her on dates with me until she ran away from us one busy Christmas season at a very crowded Temple Square. I love my little sister. I love what a great Mom she is. Nobody in this family is a "step" child. They're all just "the kids" and every decision ever made is for all 7 of them. So, in spite of the fact that she named the nephew of a die-hard Yankees fan "Boston" and she supports the University of Utah Utes, I love Tara with all my heart:)

Day 4- Ted

I guess my parents ran out of people in the family to name their kids after by the 5th one. So my baby brother Robert Ted Callister was named after Mom's obstetrician, Robert Romney and our pediatrician, Ted Evans. lol. Ted's always been so funny. Keeps us all laughing. It's hard to stay mad at him because he ends up making us smile through our gritted teeth. He's got a beautiful little family and I'm so happy for him, Joey, Mikayla and Bowie. My favorite memory of Ted is that he hated going to school. Mom was pregnant every couple of years, so Ted would climb the neighbor's tree after the big kids went to school and there was no way our pregnant Mom could climb the tree and get him down. Not sure how she ever got him down, or IF she did, until school let out that afternoon. Little stinker. She probably couldn't stay mad at him, either!

Day 4 - Steven aka Hig

If you called my Dad's house and asked for Steven, everyone would be looking for Tara's husband. This is Hig. Not sure when it started but it stuck. He has the kindest heart of any of my brothers and sisters. It used to break his heart when Kurt & I or Tami & Dave would argue after we got married. I've never heard him say an unkind thing to or about any of us. We don't see much of him anymore, maybe a couple of times a year. But it's always awesome to see him. Hig has had a lot of heartbreak in his life, losing friends and loved ones to death at young ages, and I think he protects his heart very carefully. He's never been married, although he's had some great women in his life over the years. I don't THINK he has any children, but he'd be a great, loving, compassionate Dad. I love this guy with all my heart and I pray every day for peace and happiness to follow him throughout his life.

Day 4- Paul aka Wog

Although he's 4 years younger than me, Paul has always seemed like my big brother. He has always been strong and determined in everything he does. Mom called him "Pauly Wog" and he ended up as Wog or Woggy, which we still call him today. My favorite thing about Paul and Michelle is that they just don't fit anybody's mold. They create their own path and allow their girls the freedom to do the same. I love that about them:) Paul is so good to me and my children and we all think the world of him. He's a good man. A good father. A great brother. And I love him more every single year.

Day 4- Tami

Today's blog topic is "Your Siblings", but since I have 6 of them, I'll break it down into more than one post. Tami is our Mom. She takes care of us all, even though I'm the oldest. She would do anything for any of us, and if we needed anything, Tami would be out the door before we even got off the phone, ready to take care of whatever the problem is.

She's a GREAT Mom, and nobody better hurt her kids or there WILL be hell to pay!

We call her BaBa because, for some reason, that's what Ashli called her when she was a baby and it stuck. BaBa it is:)

She's a marathon runner, and I'm excited to see her wear her 80's costume in the Provo half-marathon at the end of October. I love this girl. I'm jealous of her most of the time, but I adore her and I'm super proud to call her my little sister!

Day 3

The blog topic for today is "Your Parents" so I'm re-posting an old post about my Mom. But I better add something about my Dad, too!!!

My Dad never forgets a birthday, anniversary or Valentine's Day.. He never fails to send a card to me, Kurt and the kids, complete with one of his ink stamps in the bottom corner by his signature. He sends facebook hearts, hugs and smiles every day. He's very talented. He can fix anything and we never had to call anyone from a plumber to a building contractor when I was growing up. He built the addition to our home, sewed a 3-piece suit and has rebuilt countless vehicles from the engine to the paint job. He is an amazing woodworker, and I love the gifts he creates for me.

When people tell me "You remind me of your Mom", I know it's just my physical appearance. Noone ever really stops and tells me "You remind me of your Mom because..." Here's what I'd like to hear...

Becky Callister was a passionate person. She loved, laughed, cried all with the same intensity. I inherited that from her. Tami inherited that from her. We do nothing halfway. When I'm mad, I'm not just a little upset... I'm MAD!! When I like a Christmas gift, I don't just smile and say "Thank you". I jump up and squeal and scream and act like it's the most amazing gift I've ever received.

Becky Callister was an avid sports fan. If we couldn't find her at Grandma's house, we'd check the ball park. She donated countless hours to Bobby Sox and Little League. She used to ump games and they'd give her one hamburger from the snack bar for every game she umped. So she'd stand there behind home plate on a Saturday, game after game, in the hot sun, until she got a hamburger for each of us kids.

All of Becky's kids have spent more than one summer vacation at softball or baseball tournaments with our own kids.

When I see Tami, Tara, Paul and Ted at ball games with their kids, weekend after weekend all summer, I remember Mom and Grandma Becca doing the same thing.

When we were younger, before cable TV and the Turner networks, you either liked the Dodgers or the Yankees, because they were the only teams you ever saw play on TV. So, Mom was a Yankees fan, Grandma Becca was a Yankees fan, I married a Yankees fan and gave birth to three little Yankees fans.

Even Tara and Tawni's kids are getting old enough to play ball now.

Zack bought Logan his first baseball bat for his birthday this year. Mom would be so proud:)

My Mom was always too busy taking care of other people to take care of herself. I don't think I ever saw her wearing makeup. When she'd need to get her hair done, she'd have Judy Ault cut it short and perm it so it was low maintenance. She was just too busy to worry about hair and makeup when there were places to go, people to see and kids to watch at ball games or spelling bees. Until she got sick, I don't remember seeing my Mom actually sleeping. Sometimes she'd doze off in a chair, but she was always up before me and in bed sometime after I went to sleep.

My Mom taught me my first Primary song- "The Golden Plates"- and taught me that Families can be together forever. She got me hooked on Saturday's Warrior and I have those songs on my iPod today.

She taught me that the greatest gift God ever gave her was her children. Because of her love for us all, I couldn't wait to be a Mom myself someday.

She had a laundry basket full of unmatched socks. Yup, I do, too. I know I should throw them away, but I keep thinking the mate will turn up somewhere.

She had a hard time letting go of me. I moved up to Weber State to start college, and she showed up two days later to "check on me". I was SO mad!! Man, I'd like to have that day back. I get it now. It's hard to let go of your daughter. I inherited that from my Mom.





My Mom passed away 22 years ago. I still miss her so much sometimes. I know she'd have been an awesome Grandma, and she would have loved my husband. She'd be proud of all of her kids and grandkids and I like to believe our babies will get to meet her someday.

Day 2

FIRST LOVE...

So the blog topic for today is "Your First Love".

No doubt about it, my first love was Shaun Cassidy. This very album cover.

I glued pictures of him (from Tiger Beat magazine) to my unfinished bedroom ceiling.

Cori Naylor and I used to pray at night that we'd dream about him when we fell asleep.

Apparently my First Love turned 52 years old last week...

I think a goatee and a pair of shades would probably help at this point!

Day 1

INTRODUCTION

Yeah... this picture provides a pretty good introduction to me!

What? Why? When? Where? How?

My full name is Tina Rebecca Allred, which I LOVE because I'm the 7th generation of "Rebeccas" in my family. First born daughters are given the name of Rebecca, and my daughter, Ashli Rebecca Allred Brown is the 8th:)

I'm.. ok... 42 years old!!! I simply cannot keep saying I'm 29 since Ashli is now 20.

I've been married to Kurt for 21 years and we have three A.MAY.ZING children, one AWE.SOME son-in-law and a great dog. You'll hear more about them in the 30 days ahead, I'm sure.

I've been unemployed for 7 months and I've gained a whole new respect for people who struggle to find work. It's always been easy for me in the past. I'm sure there's a lesson from God in there somewhere... Fortunately, I have a husband who works hard to take care of us and we're getting by in these tough times.

So there's the short version intro...

It's nearly midnight and I'm waiting for my 16 year old son to come home so I can go to sleep! I never did wait up for Ashli and Zack, though.. just had them wake me when they got here. I'm sure there's a lesson in there somewhere too!

The 30 Day List

My cute little cousins are doing this 30 day thing on their blogs and I like it, so I think I'll join them!
Day 1 - Introduction
Day 2 - Your First Love
Day 3 - Your Parents
Day 4 - Your Siblings
Day 5 -Your Best Friend
Day 6 - Your Husband/Boyfriend
Day 7 -Your definition on Love
Day 8 - A moment
Day 9 - Your Beliefs
Day 10 - What you Wore Today
Day 11 -What you Ate Today
Day 12 - What's in Your Bag?
Day 13 - This Week
Day 14 -An Embarrassing Moment
Day 15 - Your Dreams
Day 16 - Your First Kiss
Day 17 - Your Favorite Memory
Day 18 - Your Favorite Birthday
Day 19 - Something you Regret
Day 20 - This Month
Day 21 - Something that upsets you
Day 22 - Something that makes you feel better
Day 23 - Something that makes you cry
Day 24- Something that makes you angry
Day 25 - A First
Day 26 - Your Fears
Day 27 - Your Favorite Place
Day 28 - Something that you Miss
Day 29 - Your Aspirations
Day 30 - One Last Moment

I'm Torn...

I'm having a tough week... the suicide of the gay Rutgers University student really broke my heart. Life is hard enough when you're 18-25 years old.. Heck, life is hard enough when you're 1-100 years old-without the absolute trauma this kid went through. I know I'm getting old and I sound like our grandparents here, but the kid shouldn't have been having sex with anyone, male or female, so I'm setting that aside. Sex should be, if not in marriage, at the very least in some sort of committed monogamous relationship. It shouldn't be with one person tonight and a different person tomorrow and so on. BUT.... he shouldn't have died for it. He shouldn't have been so publicly humiliated and I would like to see those who filmed him be charged with murder. I would.

And then as I settled in for the weekend to enjoy messages from our church leaders at General Conference, I heard Elder Boyd K Packer's talk and I just didn't get a warm fuzzy feeling as I listened to him. I can't help but think Christ would want to show love for ALL of us if he were here. I have no idea how I feel about gay marriage. I know how I feel about gay PEOPLE.. I LOVE them! Most of my gay friends are amazing people.. loving, kind, super TALENTED. (Why is that? They seem to have more talent than the entire heterosexual world put together.) Many of them are in committed relationships, raising children in a loving home. So, I'm conflicted. Am I the only Latter Day Saint who isn't 100% on board with this issue? I've never felt this way before. I was raised to believe that "whether by My own voice or by the voice of My servants, it is the same", so I'm really struggling with this. I absolutely believe that the family is essential. We all need to be committed to family living and I hate to see marriages crumbling all around me. But.... not every family has a Mom and a Dad. I really need some enlightenment here.