A special lady

Virginia Harm Oliver

Virginia Harm Oliver, 76, passed away Friday, May 7, 2010, at home surrounded by her family. Virginia was born July 5, 1933 to Virgil and Marie Harm in Elwood, NE. At age 2, she and her family moved to Idaho and settled in Meridian where Virginia graduated from Meridian High, and met the love of her life, Kenneth Oliver. They were married September 16, 1950 and settled in Kuna where they raised their four children. Many memories were made as a family during that marriage, including camping trips with family and great friends, the Kerns'. Fourth of July picnics at the Oliver's were an annual event that everyone looked forward to. Virginia worked at Mercy Medical Center as a Ward Clerk and also at Capitol Care Center. She was also a substitute teacher for the Kuna Schools. Virginia was a wonderful, caring person who will be truly missed. Her heart was full of love, especially for children. She was called Grandma by many. Virginia was preceded in death by her parents and a grandson. She leaves behind her husband of 59 years Kenneth, her four children, Mike (Debbie) of Utah, Pat (Darla) of Meridian, Cherie Dill (Greg) of Melba, Kelly of Kuna; 12 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren. She also leaves behind her sister Glenrose Ewing, brother Gordon Harm (Sandy), sisters-in-law Faye Oliver and Ellen Fretz, as well as many special nieces and nephews and their children, and her Live, Laugh and Lunch Wednesday bunch. We love you Mom and will miss you terribly. The family would like to give a special thanks to Hearts for Hospice, especially Maria, and Myrna for their love and support Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday May 14, 2010 at the Kuna United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers you may make a contribution to the Kuna United Methodist Church.


Read more: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/idahostatesman/obituary.aspx?n=virginia-oliver&pid=142656886#ixzz0npaMAqOz

My Aunt Ginny passed away last week. Aunt Ginny is my Grandma's sister. She was a very special lady to me because anytime I came to Boise, I would pick up my Grandma Ewing and we would go visit her and Uncle Kenny. Sometimes when we would visit her we would go to lunch or drive around Kuna or Meridian and she and Grandma would tell about their childhood and different buildings around town that they had memories at. I also remember as a child going over to her house for 4th of July celebrations. It was always fun to get together on my Dad's side...we seemed to do that a lot and I loved it. My Dad's birthday and her birthday are the same so I remember celebrating that as well. Aunt Ginny was the only Aunt that my Dad really got to know so that was special that they shared their day together. When I was a kid, Aunt Ginny frequently came to the cabin with a lot of Dad's side and our family. Aunt Ginny was a very special lady. She will be remembered by me for how much she cared about me and my life. She would remember what we talked about in previous conversations and see how life was going. She also really doted on my two girls. When I showed Brooklyn and Kenzie the picture of Aunt Ginny they remembered her and asked when we were going to visit her again. Aunt Ginny left a lasting impression on them as well because they knew she cared about them. Aunt Ginny and Uncle Kenny are special people. They would have been married 60 years in September. They were and are an example to me on how to make a marriage work. I know Aunt Ginny is in a better place now and I believe I will see her again. Aunt Ginny, you are loved and will be missed.

Happy Mother's Day

Mother PrayerDear Lord,
today we pray for mothers--
our own mothers, and mothers everywhere,
who have made such a major contribution
to the good qualities we have,
sometimes through genetics,
more often through great effort and patient instruction,
and who have done their best
to gently polish away our rough edges.
Lord, please bless our mothers
for the endless hours of time they spent
and the boundless energy they invested in us.
Bless our mothers for their sacrifices on our behalf
as they often gave up or deferred their own dreams
so that we could have ours.
Bless our mothers for always being there for us,
for being the person we know we can turn to
when we need comfort, encouragement, or just a hug.
Bless our mothers for making a home for us
where we could feel safe, where we felt we belonged.
Most of all, Lord,
bless our mothers for their unconditional love,
for loving us no matter what,
and for frequently showing love
in ways that make us feel valued and cherished.
Lord, please bless our mothers mightily.
Strengthen them, soothe them,
wrap them in Your infinite love
and shower them with blessings
too numerous to count, too magnificent to describe.
We love them, admire them, respect them,
and we wish that You would give them back
many times the good they gave to us.
In Jesus' name we pray; Amen.

By Joanna Fuchs

Happy Mother's Day to the sweet mother in my life, to the mothers that have impacted my life for the better and to the future moms...you know who you are. You are loved.

Holy Moly! Lots of them!

Cute Kenzie


Sweet Brooklyn

Some cute Brooklyn and Kenzie isms:

Last week I went to Boise with the girls. While we were there we were outside playing in the yard. Well, Brooklyn found a ton of roley poley's (sp?). She came over to me to show me what they were and said, "Look Mom, Holy Moley's!" What a funny kid.

We have had a lot of storms lately. The girls call it Lightning McQueen and "Thundirt".

The girls have been learning their prophets. They still struggle with probably 3 of them, but for the most part, know them all by faces. This is how they pronounce some of them:
Kenzie: Brigham Yummmm
Kenzie: Woodford Woonruff
Kenzie: "Gordon B. Pinkley, B is for Brooklyn"
Kenzie: Yoseph Smiff
Brooklyn: Joseph Smiff
Brooklyn: "President Thomas Monson, just like Daddy"
Kenzie: Thomas Monsaid
Kenzie: Hower double ew Hunter
Brooklyn: S Ra Taffy Benson
Kenzie: serra Bensaid
Brooklyn: Spencer W. Kimbald

Last night as I was driving with the girls in the car I mentioned to myself (because the driver ahead of me couldn't hear it) that the car in front of me was going slow. Brooklyn asked me if the driver was rude. I said no. The she asked me if the car cut me off. I said no. Then I asked her where she learned that. Well, she told me the whole story about what happened. Yesterday Tom took the girls with him to Blast Off while I did some grocery shopping. According to Brooklyn Daddy was driving and a car was rude and cut him off. He honked his horn and said the driver was a rude driver. I called Tom to get the scoop and that is really what happened. Brooklyn is too darn observant! We laughed about it and vowed to watch what we say in the car. Mind you, no explicates have left our mouths, but I'm sure a few "stupid driver", or "come on buddy, go the speed limit" have crossed our mouths. And now, "rude driver". hmmmm. We need to work on that.

We read the scriptures every night as a family before the girls go to bed. Well, about a month ago we were reading about how Lehi had a dream and there was a pillar of fire. Every night before we read Brooklyn asks if there will be fire in the story tonight. We usually tell her no and then she says, "good. I don't like fires".

When Brooklyn wants something and knows she can't have it she says, "I love you soooo much. I want to give you hugs and kisses" I feel loved. When Kenzie wants something she uses reverse psychology. "Mommy, I don't want any cookies with milk. I don't like them." Then if we tell her she can have some she says thank you. But if we tell her that is good that she doesn't like them and can't have any she just repeats what she said and goes on her way. I think it is so funny how the girls try and get their way.

We have been trying to teach the girls manners and respect. Well, since I am an English nerd, it bugs me when people ask "Can I ......" The proper English is "May I....." So, when the girls want something we are trying to teach them to say May I before it. This is usually how it goes...
Brooklyn: "Mommy, May I want to play outside?" or "May I will you play with me? Can't win 'em all right?! :)

Brooklyn and Kenzie have new middle names. They love them and giggle when we tell them to other people: Brooklyn Sillygoose Hall and Kenzie Goofball Hall. I think they are fitting.

There are a ton of other cute stories, but I can't remember them right now. If you know of any, will you put them in the comment section and I will post them later?

Thoughts...

I don't know where to begin. I am not writing this for you to feel bad for us, but rather, to reflect on what I have learned. I guess I will just say it...I posted about 5 months ago that Brooklyn's birthmom was pregnant again and that she was having a girl. She told us she was going to place the baby with us. We went to Dr. appointments, painted the baby's room, etc. etc. I was so excited! Well, she kept her baby and I totally understand why...a mother's love is strong. We still love her and feel so much gratitude towards her for giving us Brooklyn to raise, but it still doesn't make it any easier. It honestly feels like someone died. Tom and I really struggled the first week after the baby was born. We had constant pits in our stomachs and we weren't sleeping very well. It was miserable. Then we decided we would fast, pray, go to the temple, and get a blessing for comfort. It worked. Of course it worked. There was finally a light at the end of the tunnel. I feel so blessed to have the love of my Savior in my life. I also feel blessed to have great people in my life. Through this tough time I've really learned who I can count on and who truly cares. I feel blessed to come from a family who is supportive and lets me know they are thinking of me and that they care. We still have tough times throughout the day, but we know that there is always a reason why things happen. I recall back to when we got Brooklyn. We prayed to have a baby for almost 3 years. Then we were inspired to put our papers in for adoption. Within days from Brooklyn being born, we found out we were pregnant! We have had problems getting pregnant again this time and after many visits to the doctor we know that Brooklyn and Kenzie both are little miracles. The Lord knows the desires of our hearts. I've learned that things happen in the Lord's time, not mine. I look back at some of life's experiences and I know they wouldn't have happened without a little patience on my part. So, here I am. I want another baby so badly, but I also feel so blessed to have our two little miracles. Things happen for a reason. Tom and I are optimistic. We feel at peace that everything will be ok and that we will be taken care of. We know there is another little girl out there and hopefully a little boy too! Don't worry about us...we will be fine.

Pictures from my phone...Part 5

Done! I didn't realize I had as many pictures as I did. How fun. I loved remembering back. It sure didn't seem that long ago.

Pictures from my phone...Part 4

This was in front of Walmart where we bought Snickers. ohhh
My marathon!







One more post...for sure! But it will be a long one. I love going down memory lane...