Happy Birthday Jill

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JILL!

On October 13, 1981 my life was blessed with a beautiful baby girl! She has blessed my life every day since. We have been a team, and best friends all her life. she is turning 27 this year and I thought I would list the 27 things I love about her!

1. Her Smile, it just makes you happy.

2. Her sense of humor, she really comes up with some funny things to say.

3. Her honesty. She will always tell you the truth.

4. Her great taste in decorating, her house is adorable.

5. Her love of teaching. She has a teaching degree of which I am most proud. She uses that talent to substitute teach, and she has great reputation for being one of the best!

6. Her choice in a husband. She brought George into our lives and he is one of our own now. Our family is forever blessed . So many things we could not do without him.

7. Watching Jill and George be happy together. They are best friends, and I love to watch them love each other. They are great examples to me.

8. Her ability to make a decision and stick with it! She always trusts herself, rarely second guesses herself. This made planning a wedding a wonderful experience.

9. Her love a reading. She always has a book she is reading and she inspires me to try to read more, a daunting task.

10. She is great cook. I wasn't sure when she left home if she would eat, but out of necessity she has become a wonderful cook. I love to eat anything she cooks!

11. Her love for the same kind of shows and movies as me. I miss watching "Gilmore Girls" with her and singing the opening song together. Thanks George for putting up with that, you never bolted from the room when we sang, you are a strong Man.

12. Her Creativity. We have had a lot of fun trying to create things. They eventually turn out, even though we have to go back to the store at least twice for supplies. I love to do projects with her.

13. She is not a chocoholic. I really admire that in her. As a child she really didn't get into chocolate and I never pushed her to, I wish I could be more like that!

14. She loves Dr. Pepper too!

15. She is organized. Heaven knows she has tried to help me be better organized, some of it has rubbed off, although not enough.

16. She loves a Broadway play. One of my favorite memories is going to see Les Mes with her in New York. We both love that play so much we went to see it again in Colorado.

17. She is a good listener. I can bounce most anything off of her and she always helps me make sense of things.

18. Her dedication to her church callings. Even as a young women, she always did her part and more, and did it very well. This makes those who work with her love her for her hard work and dependability. She is an excellent Young Women secretary.

19. She is a great housekeeper! I have never seen her house dirty. She take such pride in her home and it is always clean.

20. She loves to eat out. She is always fun to go to lunch with, and we try to do it often. We don't really care where we go, it is just fun to us.

21. Her love to travel. She loves to see new places. She loves to really see a place when she is there . She went to Italy and France with George and one day I would love to go to Italy with them.

22. She loves living in Colorado and for that I am grateful. Having her five minutes away makes my life rich and full.

23. Her love for children. She is wonderful with them. It is a big part of who she is and one day she will make the best Mother ever!

24. She appreciates her blessings. She recognizes the things she is blessed with and lives to receive all the blessings she should have.

25. Her love for animals. She has had many interesting pets over the years, like a fog when she lived in the dorms at school. And Jack her very large dog who dug holes in the back yard and everyday she would fill them in so her Dad would not get mad. And now Milo.

26. Her testimony of the Gospel. Her dedication to reading the scriptures and following the Prophet. There is much to be admired there.

27 AND FINALLY, BECAUSE SHE IS JILL! MY ONLY DAUGHTER, MY BEST FRIEND AND A PERSON I WOULD MOST LIKE TO BE LIKE. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I LOVE YOU

baking with Grandma

When I was a kid growing up, my Mom used to make us clean and do baking every Saturday. This was not an activity I loved at all. I could not stand to make cookies, I just did not have a patience for it at all. Come to think of it, I didn't have a lot of patience for lots of the things I had to do as a child. We would make cakes and cookies to store in the freezer, so we would have them for the coming week. No store bought goodies for us! I think I volunteered for the cakes most of the time because I really hated dropping the cookies on the baking sheet, it just took to much time. My Mothers love for baking must have rubbed off on me and I spent many hours making the same treats for my kids, but it was still work. Now that I am a Grandma, one a my very favorite activities is baking with Katelyn, and now Cameron. I made an apron for Katelyn and we have been sharing this fun activity since she was old enough to stand on a stool and help. Now little Cameron wants in on the act. He is not really into the measuring and spinning the bowl like Katelyn, but he none the less loves squeezing up on the stool and being part of the whole thing. I guess his official duty at this point is the taster. He loves the whip cream and the frosting. He can't say a lot of words but you definitely know when he needs a reload on the frosting. Cooking with Katelyn is just a joy. She loves to count the cups of sugar and flour and dump all the ingredients in the bowl (she does an excellent job too). The best part is when she shows Daddy the cake we made and loves the big smile on his face. Daddy loves his cake!

I am not sure how to describe what happens to you when you become a grandparent, some kind of transformation happens. The things you were just to busy to enjoy, now bring you so much joy. I love to watch them play, grow and change. I love to watch my children be parents, and see them do so much better job than I ever did. Whatever it is, you just cant beat having them all on your lap. As Grandpa Glade said, "it just doesn't get any better than this" and I have to agree.