So grateful for my family!

I feel so blessed! We just returned from a wonderful trip to Utah where we were able to see our parents, brothers and sisters, nieces, nephews, and last but not least our daughter Anne and son and daughter-in-law, Brad and Michelle! It makes me so happy to be surrounded by family and I always feel a little blue when our time together comes to an end. As we drove from the airport in Cincinnati I became a little teary-eyed as I looked at many familiar Cincinnati landmarks and was reminded of good times with our family...the Reds Stadium, the Waterfront restaurant, Sawyers Point etc. Seeing these different places warmed my heart, but also reminded me that we were driving home with only two of our five children....my heart has a hole in it because we are not all together! Life is like that though and that is why family reunions are so great!



Jane loves to ham it up with her cousin Megan at Grandma and Grandpa's house by getting into the dress up box...we get a lot of good laughs as we listen to them talk in their foreign accents!


We had to get a picture of all the kids together (minus Ben of course who is a little too far away!)


Natalie Lloyd is married to David Bennett! What a great day!


Brad, Michelle, Patrick and Sarah enjoying the wedding reception


Becca, Anne and Jane outside the Provo temple! They are oh so cute!


My beautiful mother with Anne!

Becca with Grandpa Johnson after she received her Patriarchal blessing from him...


We were able to spend some evenings with Grandpa Pearson...the girls have wonderful memories of the swing on the ditch bank so we had to capture it on film with Grandpa!


We had a cold day at Bloomington Lake near Bear Lake, but that didn't stop the brave ones from jumping into the icy water....those on the shore had to rap up in blankets and coats and wonder how in the world anyone could brave the glacier water!




One of our favorite nights of the reunion was going to see the play Juanito Bandito rides again at Pickleville playhouse. Grandpa treated us to the barbecue dinner before the play...yummmm, yummm! It was fabulous to be together with all the people I love the most and to be reminded that I am truly blessed to have an amazing family who never cease to amaze me!

Alive once again!

Miracle of Miracles...I am posting something on my blog after a year of nothing! It's not that I don't think about it! I really do...It's just that I don't sit down and do it and I am bound and determined to be a little bit better about blogging even if it is just something small. In February I was asked to be Stake Young Women's President and since that time life has been busy, busy, busy preparing for our youth conference in June which was a Pioneer Trek. Fortunately I have wonderful counselors as well as a great Young Men's Presidency to work with, but nonetheless it was a lot of work for all of us. We were able to utilize many people in the Stake as Trek Specialists which made our lives so much better...in fact we couldn't have done it without them at all! So after several months of lots of work we embarked on a three day trek at Ceasars Creek State Park where 100 youth and about 35 adults worked together pulling 11 handcarts along hiking trails with many obstacles. It was inspiring to see these youth in their families working together to solve problems and forming lasting friendships along the way. I wasn't a Ma in one of the families,but I did walk along side some of them and observed. I felt the spirit many times as I walked, listened and watched our amazing youth. I felt so blessed to be able to be a part of such a great group of people.










During the evening after we returned from Trek, Becca commented..." I wish I was still at Trek!" I am grateful that she had such a positive experience at Trek and that she wanted more of the same...I call that a successful Youth Conference!

Busy time at the Pearson house!

Well I am sure that if anyone has been looking at my blog...you have given up because I haven't posted anything for the longest time and for that i am sorry! It seems like we have had one thing after another here, but I think we can now take a breather until we have to plan Ben's Eagle Court of Honor which should take place sometime in the next month before he heads back to Provo to go to school! Since I haven't posted anything for about 5 months let me give the highlights...

*At the end of April I was able to fly out to Utah for my nephew Mark's wedding. I was also able to pick Anne up at the airport upon her return from a four month Study Abroad in Israel and that was a great treat. Furthermore I connected with Ben and Brad and Michelle after not seeing them for about three months. While there I put Ben on a plane back to Ohio where he had a grand reunion with the rest of the family! I think in the four days I was in Utah I went back and forth to the airport four different times....what fun!

*The month of May we worked and worked and worked to get our home and yard ready for Brad and Michelle's open house at the end of the month! Since we repoured a front walk as well as a back patio recently, we had a lot of landscaping to do and Steve and I did it together. We planted lots of perennials and annuals as well as some new grass to fill in some of the bare spots. It was well worth all of the effort...we are very pleased with the final results. Hopefully because of the perennials we won't have quite as much planting next year!

*Brad and Michelle arrived on May 24 for a week of fun with the family. Even though we had a lot to do to prepare for the open house we managed to have a lot of fun together. We are so grateful for our family and that we have now increased our number to eight people!

*We had a great time at Brad and Michelle's open house...we are so happy that many of our friends came to celebrate with us. I think Brad and Michelle felt very honored! So many of my wonderful friends helped me so that everything turned out great...I couldn't have done it without them!

*The day after the open house Ben graduated from High School! For him it seemed a little anticlimactic because he graduated early from high school and has already completed one semester at BYU. He walked in the exercises to appease dear old mother and I think it did bring a little closure for him as well. I am so happy we had the whole family together to celebrate his great accomplishment! It is so strange that our three oldest children are now in college and we only have two remaining at home....I feel old!

*Along with both of those celebrations we had Becca's 15th birthday and Ben's 18th birthday that week as well so it was very busy! I can't complain about any of it though because it was all fun and I have so much to feel thankful for!










We have had troubles in our garden...namely rabbits eating our newly planted flowers! There have been several times where I have felt like Elmer Fudd and I have wanted to kill that screwy rabbit! Well Steve decided to set up a trap to catch it and then release it in the woods near our house. As you can see by the picture the only animal we were able to catch was a Sammie dog! I haven't laughed so hard in a long time when I saw her all squished in the cage looking very guilty! She knew she wasn't supposed to be in there, but there was no way she could get out until we released the latch...Good one Sammie!


This is our back patio with the newly planted pots...I will post pictures later so you can see how they've grown...they are so big! I love how they look this year!

CHANGES AT THE PEARSON HOUSE....

What changes are those you might ask? Well the big one that affects all of us is that Steve was released as Bishop of our ward after 7 plus years! What a blessing those years have been to our family. Steve has loved the opportunity to serve the members of our ward so much. Brad was 14 when Steve was called and Jane was only 3...that really put's how long it's been into perspective. I guess we had a relatively young family at the time and now we only have two children living at home full time...WEIRD! The day Steve was released our ward was divided as well which made the day even more sad...We have been in the same ward with some of the same people for 15 years! Now what used to be the Milford Ward is now the Milford Ward and the Little Miami Ward. It will be hard to get used to, but we know it will be ok. We are excited to be able to spend more time with Steve on Sundays and in the evenings...Jane has roped him into playing lots and lots of games with her which makes both him and her very happy. Jane would play games as a family every night if the rest of us would agree to it...Oh to have the life of a ten year old again.

The other big change was my age...I turned another year older and Jane got a hold of the camera and got a few shots of me on that glorious day! Steve made me a great dinner and I was able to talk to lots of friends and family so that made for a very happy birthday! Thanks everyone!

How do you think you would look if you had just been given some extra time?


My cute daughter Jane giving me a kiss after revealing her gift... a great smelling candle!


A promise of softer more beautiful feet thanks to Brad and Michelle's gift...THE PEDEGG!


A very happy birthday girl!


Even sammie wanted to get in on the birthday action, but trying to rip off the ribbon!...She is so tough!

CHRISTMAS....JUMPING FOR JOY!

Is it obvious that we got a new camera that helps us capture action shots! We had so much fun trying new things...especially the jumping...what is it about jumping that is so much fun? Brad and Michelle weren't with us during the jumping moments so we'll have to document that at another time. We stayed in Utah after Brad and Michelle's wedding and let me tell you this was a momentous occasion. We have lived in Ohio for almost 16 years (in March) and this is the first time we have been back to Utah since we moved! So all six of us moved in with Grandma and Grandpa Johnson with all of our junk ( and let me tell you they reminded us often exactly how much junk we actually have) for 2 1/2 weeks! Now that is a lot when you are used to peace and quiet all of the time! They are good to put up with us whenever we come for a visit and we really appreciate it! Since we were there for such a long time we had time to do quite a few different things...

*recuperated from the wedding

*enjoyed many different snow storms...it was so beautiful. I was so happy to miss the rainy Christmas season in Ohio

* went sledding down a reaaaally steep hill ( ask Becca how her tailbone feels..hopefully it is healed by now, but she was hobbling around for a few days

*attended the annual Pearson family Christmas party...some asked us who we were and what we were doing at their family party! (just kidding!)

*attended the annual Johnson family party and were glad that the girls planned an impromptu song for the program so we weren't scratched out of Grandma and Grandpa's will

*Enjoyed getting to know Michelle's family while eating a Russian specialty...Borsche

*Movie for 50 cents...yes only 50 cents because we went on monday to the dollar theater and it was half price... you really can't beat that! Grandma was glad she was treating that day!

*Wackee six game night!

*Skiied at Brighton without any casualties except Michelle's bruises (only her 2nd time skiing...what a good sport!)

*tried to work off all of the Christmas food by working out at the Sports mall...what fun!

*ate ourselves silly at Cracker Barrel...an annual Steve Pearson family tradition ( we felt like we were in Ohio when we walked in the doors since they all look alike inside!)

*connected with Kathleen's cousins at the annual Wood family gathering...lots of laughs!

*laughed a lot, ate a lot and played a lot!




JUMP!



JUMP!



JUMP!



CHRISTMAS MORNING ON THE STEPS....ANTICIPATION

ANNE AND HER COUSINS PLAYING THE PART OF THE SHEPHERDS...ACTUALLY ANNE IS JUST GETTING READY TO GO TO JERUSALEM!

BRAD AND MICHELLE CAME FOR OUR FAMILY DINNER WHILE THEY WERE ON THEIR HONEYMOON...GOOD SPORTS HUH?!


ENJOYING THE NEW FALLEN SNOW...WE JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT...ESPECIALLY JANE...WE OHIOANS MISS LOTS OF SNOW!

A wonderful wedding!

Wow can it really be that this 47 year old lady is now a mother-in law? Unbelievable! Whether I want to believe it not though it is true and I have many pictures to prove it in case my old mind fails me! December 20 was and absolutely wonderful day...in fact there is probably not anything I would change other than the 10 degree weather during pictures outside the temple. We at least had coats on for that, but poor Michelle had nothing. She said she wasn't that cold... that's a newlywed statement for you! After our part of the pictures was finished we walked across the street to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building where the lunch was held and thawed our feet, our hands and everything else! In spite of the snowy weather we had a large group join us for the lunch and it was so much fun. Brad and Michelle asked the parents to say a few words and I worried that I would just cry my way through it, but I surprised myself and did better (as far as the tears go) than I thought I would! Brad's best friend, Dan Talbert, gave the perfect toast as he officially handed off the best friend title to Michelle and made all of us laugh hysterically while doing so. Dan has been such a great friend to Brad for so many years...we love that guy! Becca sang a beautiful song... The Prayer, and Grandpa Johnson gave some newlywed advice as only Grandpa can do with a few of his many jokes! Steve did a great job as did Robert and Nally (Michelle's parents). We ended the lunch by having a slideshow of Brad and Michelle and I was so happy with how it turned out. My friend Becky Stansbury helped me put it together and it was great! It seemed surreal having a son get married, but it was a perfect and unforgettable day for sure. We couldn't be happier with Michelle as our daughter in law...she and Brad are perfect together...they really compliment each other which is what you want in a marriage.

The reception that night was held at the Red Butte Gardens and it was so beautiful! It sits up on a hill and you have a perfect view of the Salt Lake Valley. We had votive candles along the window sills and tall candles on many of the tables along with amazing floral centerpieces. We saw so many of our friends from the Salt Lake area and that was so much fun! We haven't lived in Salt Lake for almost 16 years and yet we still had many friends who came which we were so grateful for. Michelle and her mom chose great food... a crepe dessert bar, a hot chocolate bar, sandwiches, cheeses, crackers, meats etc. We of course didn't have time to enjoy the food, but I think all of the guests did and that's what is important! We loved getting to know Michelle's family better as well and felt so happy that Brad is getting such a great family to be a part of. I know how much he loves them already!

Well I have definitely rambled on way too long...but it was an exciting day for sure and I had to write about it! Enjoy the pictures!