Success

To laugh often and love much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the approval of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;

To find the best in others;

To give of one’s self;

To leave the world a bit better,

whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;

To have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived…This is to have succeeded.

I went to the Stansbury High School graduation today, where my nephews

Maveric and Aaron got their diplomas.

And my nephew Colton was there, too!!!

It was SUCH a GREAT day!!!

The principal quoted the above work by Emerson in his remarks,

and I LOVED it:)

Had a blast at the "afterparty" at Tara's house

These weekends with my sisters are good for my soul:)

Stronger

I just spent a couple days with my sisters.

Tami said I seem a little bit stronger every time she sees me:)

Tara said I'm beautiful.

And Tawni was doing my nails when I got a text that made my day.

I have hope for the future.

I keep getting stronger.

Seeing my family helps.

Those texts help:)

I'll be OK.

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 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.

Happy Birthday Zack and Landen

Happy Birthday Zack and Landen!

Wow... Zack will be 17 in two days. When Ashli was a baby, our friends Dave and Monica had a gorgeous baby boy named Travis. He had dark hair and dark eyes, and we thought "We want one of those!" 9 months and one week after Travis was born, we had our own little dark haired baby boy. Zack was born four hours after we got to the hospital. My brother Ted and my sister Tami were there with us. My sisters Tawni and Tara were tending Ashli for us at our house in Salt Lake. When Kurt went down to the nursery to get Zack, his little bed was surrounded by doctors. They wouldn't tell Kurt anything, but the look on his face when he came back to my hospital room is something I'll never forget. I knew immediately something was wrong. Zack was rushed to Primary Childrens' Medical Center on a Life Flight chopper. They wheeled him into my room before they left and I got to touch his hand through the incubator he was in. It would be a week before I would hold my baby again. Kurt's sister Stephanie met him at Primary Childrens' and my sister Tami stayed with me at Pioneer Valley Hospital for the 12 hours they made me stay. When they wheeled me out to her car, with a diaper bag on my lap instead of a baby, it was so awful. Zack was eventually diagnosed with idiopathic cardiopulmonary hypertension, which basically meant that he had high pressure in his heart and lungs for unknown reasons. They kept him in the Newborn ICU for 21 days and basically just treated his symptoms, since they couldn't find a cause for it. Kurt and I spent every single day by his side. Our family, friends from Grantsville and friends from Salt Lake were wonderful. Dixie took Ashli down to Spring City and made her a bunch of new clothes. Ken fed her spaghettios and mashed potatoes and they spoiled her rotten. Teri came to the hospital every day, and always brought something for Ashli or medical supplies for us to use when we eventually got Zack home. It was such a roller coaster. The doctors told us on three different occasions that we could take Zack home the next day, so we'd arrive at the hospital with his clothes, car seat and baby quilts, and they'd have decided he needed to stay longer. We met some amazing people that we'll never forget during our time. Bill and Kristy were waiting for a heart for their son Colby and we saw the helicopter land outside Zack's window when it arrived. They really do carry them in Igloo coolers! Kurt looked forward to the "Hospitality Cart" daily, and he and Bill bought basketball cards by the dozens from the gift shop. Troy, Bill and Kurt gave Zack a blessing before his heart cath and even Uncle Matt came to the hospital the day of the procedure. Grandma Becca had the whole family fast and pray for little Zack that morning, and all went well, so we finally got to take him home on March 1. He was on oxygen for six months at home, but we took him everywhere with his little oxygen tank. He went to the zoo, to ball games, just everywhere we went. Ashli adored him and called him her "biddy budder". He brought something very special to our family. Every day when we arrived at Primary Childrens, it seemed like one of the preemies or RSV babies had died during the night. We were grateful for every day that Zack was screaming and mad at the world. And, boy, was he mad! He'd had IV's in every vein you can imagine and has a cowlick where they finally had to place his first IV in his head. From the beginning, you knew Zack was in the room. And still do! He can't stand silence. From the first day of his life, he was surrouned by beeps and buzzers and nurses talking all around him, so he makes sure there's always background noise in our house now. We are still grateful every day that Zack is here. And we can't believe it's been 17 years since he was born. We are so blessed to have this amazing son. He's funny, gorgeous, he has integrity and a heart of gold. He'll spend his last dollar to get someone else a drink at 7-11 and we just love being around him.

And the day after Zack's birthday will be my nephew Landen's. Tawni tried SO long to have her babies. We all knew she'd be an amazing Mom, and it was heartbreaking when it just didn't happen for her and Mark for so many years. When Logan was born, it was a miracle and we were so thrilled. He was an adorable baby (even though he looked just like his Dad!) And it was amazing that Landen came along so soon after Logan. They were worth the wait and we love them both so much.

Happy Birthday to Colton and Jordan on the 1st, Aunt Suzie on the 4th, Mom who would have been 61 on the 7th, Zack on the 8th, Landen on the 9th, Kurt on the 14th, Ted and Joey's as yet unborn son on the 19th, Paul and Tawni on the 26th.