I Am So Blessed!

While Kimberlee was living at home we would be having a conversation and the words to a song would pop into my head that were related to the topic we were talking about. It would almost always be a country music song. She often made fun of me for comparing my life, or hers, to a country song. Well, guess what....here we go again.

All last summer and fall I could not get a particular song out of my mind. I really felt (and still do) that it applies to me. You may have heard it. It is Martina McBride's "Blessed." These are the words:

I get kissed by the sun each morning,

Put my feet on the hardwood floor.

I get to hear my children laughing

Down the hall through the bedroom door.

Sometimes I sit on my front porch swing,

Just soaking up the day.

I think to myself, I think to myself,

This world is a beautiful place.

(chorus)

I have been blessed.

And I feel like I found my way.

I thank God for all I've been given

At the end of every day.

I have been blessed

With so much more than I deserve,

To be here with the ones who love me,

To love them so much it hurts.

I have been blessed.

Across the crowded room

I know you know what I'm thinking'

By the way I look at you.

And when we're lying in the quiet

And no words need to be said,

I think to myself, I think to myself,

"This love is a beautiful gift."

(chorus)

When I, when I'm singing my kids to sleep,

When I feel you holding me,

I know.....I am so blessed.

And I feel like I've found my way.

I thank God for all I've been given

At the end of every day.

I have been blessed

With so much more than I deserve.

To be here with the ones who love me.

To love them so much it hurts.

I have been blessed.

Anyway, the chorus is probably my favorite part because of the words. I do thank my Heavenly Father every day for all He has blessed me with. For a time, last fall, I was having difficulty falling asleep at night. My mind would get racing with all the things I needed to be doing the next day or upcoming week and I could not relax. One night these words came into my mind so I started thinking of all the things I was blessed with. It didn't take long to relax and fall asleep. That became my habit each night.

Today in Relief Society our lesson was on how much we really mattered to our Heavenly Father, and how important each one of us is to Him. The sweet sister giving the lesson commented on how her life had become somewhat stalemate and how she didn't think she really mattered to the Lord. This last year she has had some profound things happen to her that made her realize how important she was to Heavenly Father and how he had been carrying her thru her life. I thought of that and also of how I get trolling along, so super busy and caught up in my every day things that I forget to continually communicate with Heavenly Father each day. After a time things will get so bad (in my mind) that I do not think I can go on another minute or I just don't know how to handle a certain situation at home and I am reminded...I just need to ask for help. He is always there waiting to help me if I will just ask. And help He does!!! Invariably, things will turn around and be better. Or I am just at peace enough that it helps the situation.

I am just truly blessed! My last blog post here was about our busy year last year. What a year it was! But soooo many blessings! It was a year filled with such wonderful and positive things. Even my mother's passing was such a blessing. She is now free of her earthly body and reunited with her eternal companion and many other loved ones. My brothers and sisters and I had the opportunity to work together to help her just before she passed and to also plan her funeral and spend time together. For me, the time was not long enough. I so enjoyed being in Edward & Kathy's home, (the house I grew up in) visiting with them and getting to go see where Tim and Barb live and visit with them. That visit definitely wasn't long enough! I don't get to do the visiting I would like to very much because Jud keeps me quite busy, but this time was great. I hadn't been up to my hometown of Salmon for a number of years, so going up there was so good. I realized I need to take the kids and go more often. Of course, now it is really only Jud at home. KC is here too, but he is hardly home and will be jumping ship soon. Still, I hope we can make more trips up there and maybe even have the older kids and their spouses tag along to come see the beautiful place I grew up and all there is to enjoy up there!

Just so many blessings! I love where we live here in Blackfoot. I remember when John was transferred over here. I cried. I loved living in Magic Valley, in Rupert. I really didn't want to leave there. And to live in BlackfooT?! Who wants to live there??? I mean, really! But, boy was I ever wrong! We were so blessed to move into a fabulous neighborhood and an even better ward. The friends we have made over the years have been so great! I hope I never have to leave here. Many times I have expressed the desire to live farther out in the country and not so close to town, but now I realize how blessed I am to live close to town, mostly because it is close to the hospital when we have needed to be when Jud has his seizures.

I am blessed to have really really good kids! And now I am blessed to have two fine sons-in-law. I am blessed to be able to do foster care for the state of Idaho. Especially to be able to care for these sweet little ones who come into our home. We have a sweet little almost 3-year old in our home right now. I hear about the home he came from, and I think of the homes and situations of all the other little ones we've had in our home, and I think how blessed I am to have grown up in the family I had. No home is ever completely perfect, but my home was close. Sometime I will have to blog about my home life growing up. It was great!

And now, I look back at my writings here and think...Life is just great! I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and am blessed to have the knowledge I have of a loving Heavenly Father who helps me every day in all I do. Isn't it awesome? I also am blessed, because of this membership in this church, to be married to my best friend, not just 'until death do us part,' but for all eternity! So cool!

These are just a tiny portion of some of the blessings in my life. What about you? What are some of your blessings? I think, for this year, we should all concentrate mightily on the positive things in our lives. Even when something bad or tragic happens, let's try to find the blessings from it. I learned from my father how good life can be when you concentrate on the positive. I challenge you to do just that.

As my beautiful missionary daughter says..."Have an action-packed day (week, or year!)!"

A Year in Review

I didn't get Christmas cards & letters out this year. I think it was because I was busy getting wedding announcements out and used the postage for that. Instead I have opted to post a year-in-review here on my blog. I must say, it has been a rather eventful year for us.

January--not too much happened this month aside from John doing his traveling for work and also his birthday.

February--another month of travel for John, but also finally received the much anticipated mission call Kim had been waiting for. On the 25th, at 4 p.m. she found out she had been called to the Tennessee Nashville Mission and was asked to report to the Mission Training Center in Provo on May 25th. John and Brittany were on the phones listening as she read the letter. Her Franson Grandparents and her Grandma Tolman were here with us as we opened the letter. Two days later we celebrated Kim's 21st birthday.

March--spent making plans getting ready for the garden, making the new 'hoop house' greenhouse for the garden and also traveling to Utah for the start of several of Brittany's baby showers.

April--another baby shower for Brittany, here in Blackfoot, more getting geared up for the garden and attending the Logan Temple with Kimberlee as she goes for the first time. Our dear friend, Lis, rode down with us and Brittany & Scott and Scott's parents, Richard and Connie, met us there from Salt Lake. We sure do appreciate how supportive Richard and Connie are with all our children and not just Brittany. Kim also had a close friend and her husband travel down from Blackfoot to attend with her. Grandpa & Grandma Franson were also there.

May--starting the countdown to a busy month. Kim gave her 'farewell' talk in church on the 15th. She did fabulous! After church we had a get-together at our house to celebrate Kim's new chapter she was embarking on and to celebrate Mataya's upcoming graduation. We had a wonderful turnout of family and friends and really appreciate all the support they give our family. That was also the last family gathering my mother attended. She was admitted to the hospital 4 days later with an unidentifiable infection.

The 17th was Jud's 8th birthday so, of course, we had to have a party and celebrate that!

On the 24th John, Kim and I headed down to Salt Lake to stay overnight with Scott & Brittany prior to taking Kim to the MTC. Brittany rode down to Provo with us the next day. The drop off was quite funny, actually. All along the street there are pairs of 'Elders' (young men attending the MTC for training prior to serving in their assigned countries or states). These young men are there to help the new missionaries unload their luggage and direct them where they need to go. As we pulled up to the curb and I got out and opened Kim's door, one of the Elders greeted me then saw Kim and said, "Oh. A Sister Missionary." Within seconds there were a half dozen Elders gathering at our car. All were eager to greet her and 'help' her unload her luggage. Once our hugs were given and goodbyes said, John, Britt & I got back in the car and headed out of the parking lot. Brittany kept chattering away, which I was grateful for, but then just stopped talking all together. That is when I lost it and started to cry. 18 months seemed like a really long time at that point.

John & I traveled home that afternoon and the next day I was in Pocatello talking with the Hospice nurse, trying to work out the details of Mom's release from the hospital to go back to her apartment at the assisted living center where she had been living. She was unable to take care of herself, even to the point of feeding herself or sitting up in bed on her own.

Friday, the 27th, was spent in preparation of Mataya's High School graduation that evening. It was a really nice evening. She got all graduated and spent the night at the school at her 'all night party.'

June--The last few days of May and the beginning of June were spent on the phone a lot talking with the Hospice nurse and family keeping updated on Mom's condition. The first weekend she was back home from the hospital she rallied and did very well. We thought she was on the mend. By tuesday of the next week she quit feeding herself and pretty much quit eating all together. By that weekend she couldn't be left alone so my sister, Jane, brother, Edward, took time from their busy lives to come stay with her 24 hours. I was able to go down a couple of times to relieve them so they could go home to take care of things there. Finally, on the 9th she gave up the fight and returned home to Heavenly Father. During the time Jane & Edward stayed with her and the rest of us came to visit her there were some precious moments we were able to experience and share with her.

We had Mom's funeral in Salmon on the 17th. We left Jud in Rigby with Grandma & Grandpa Franson. We knew it would be too hard for him to understand all that was going on and it would just be too much stimulation for him with all the events that had been unfolding up to this point. He did fabulous with Grandpa & Grandma and we were able to relax and enjoy our time in Salmon.

After all this, we were on the wait for our first grandchild to make his appearance. Finally, on the 23rd he decided it was time and Stockton Heinz Sawatzki made his appearance in this big, wide world. Brittany did great through the entire labor and delivery process. I think Scott even made it through with minimal stress. :)

June is the month of mine & Scott's birthdays and Brittany & Scott's anniversary.

July--another month filled with activities. The weaken of the 4th started off with Judson's baptism on saturday. He's such a funny kid. It was so great to see him be so excited for his baptism. We were unsure of how much he understood about it all but so happy to see that he knew this was part of what he needs to do and to be so excited about it. After the baptism, before he & John got out of the font, he turned to the crowd, gave a big grin and two thumbs up.

On the 4th we had a barbecue with some of the Franson cousins. Then, later that week we celebrated KC's 17th birthday on the 8th. On the 9th John, Taya, Judson and I went over to Raft River and Burley for the annual Tolman Family Reunion. There is a family in Raft River that has turned their yard into a big play area with two giant slip-n-slide water slides, a mud/volleyball pit, a couple of pavilions, a huge zip line and a candy cannon made from an air compressor. We were there for about 3 1/2 hours and not one time had to worry about where Jud was or if he was getting into trouble or mischief. He LOVED the water slides and spent the entire time running up to the top, sliding down, and going back up again. We could hardly get him to stop long enough to eat.

This month Mataya moved down to Salt Lake to live with Brittany & Scott so she could babysit Stockton for Brittany when she had to go back to work. We also attended our Corbett Family Reunion in Riverton and had Stockton's baby blessing in church the next day.

August--we hosted the John & Kathy Franson family reunion here at our house on saturday the 13th. That was a fun time having family here and letting the cousins just run around and play.

The rest of the month was spent enjoying the garden and getting ready for school to start. It is also the month of Brittany's birthday and John & I celebrated our 24th anniversary. We also make another trip to Salt Lake to help Mataya move into her apartment for school.

September--started off the month with the Eastern Idaho State Fair and Mataya's birthday. Brittany, Scott & Stockton came up for the weekend and Mataya and her new boyfriend, Kaleb also came up from Salt Lake. Mataya was getting ready to start school at the LDS Business College.

I decided to enter some things in the fair this year and got 2 blue ribbons and one red. I made a crocheted baby blessing outfit with the dress, bonnet and booties, plus a little girl's sundress & hat and another little girl's dress with a white pinafore over top. That was pretty fun to see those ribbons on what I had done. Made me start thinking of what I can do for next year.

After the fair it is time to concentrate on all the canning and cleaning up of the garden. That is quite a chore in itself.

October--I think the most exciting thing that happened this month was Mataya getting engaged to Kaleb Klingler. We have been so happy for her that she has found such a wonderful young man who loves her and treats her so well. They are so perfect for each other and very cute together.

KC has managed to keep quite busy with school and work. He is on the Student Body Student Council at school and works at a local restaurant. If he isn't working he is busy going to the ball games.

We also did really well with our pumpkin patch and had a lot of fun letting people come and wander through and pick their own pumpkins for Halloween.

November--worked on wedding preparations, dress shopping and the start of bridal showers. We also enjoyed Thanksgiving Dinner at our house with John & I, Mataya, KC, Jud and Grandpa & Grandma Franson.

December--More bridal showers and wedding preparations, along with Christmas shopping. John, Jud and I went up to the hills to find a Christmas tree and had such a fun time. It was good to let Jud play in the snow. Wish we could get some here so he could have more fun in the white stuff. He sure does love playing in it.

Christmas was great. We had Mataya & Kaleb here with us. Jud was so excited he hardly slept all night long. Finally at 5:30 KC came up and asked if we could get up because he didn't think he & Taya could keep Jud down there any longer. By 6 a.m. all the gifts were opened. We went to church that morning, then came home and cooked dinner and waited for Kimberlee to call so we could Skype with her. Oh it was so fun to get to see her and talk to her. She is doing so good and looked awesome. How grateful we are that she chose to serve a mission and teach people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have seen so many blessings come to our family because of her service. She is such a beautiful young woman, trying so hard to do what is right. We are quite proud of her.

Mataya and Kaleb were married on the 29th in the Salt Lake Temple. The night before we attended the Jordan River Temple with her for her first time going to the temple. Both days were just wonderful and beautiful. Their wedding was so awesome! We had such great support from our family and Kaleb's family. The reception that night was very well attended. It was a steady line of guests greeting the bride and groom for almost 2 hours.

Now we are looking forward to 2012 and all the fun and blessings it will bring. John & I are already thinking ahead to the yard and garden and what we are going to do. We had such success with our first greenhouse that we are going to build another. One we will fill with tomatoes again and the other we hope to fill with watermelons. Our watermelons did well and were sooooo yummy. We hope to figure out to grow a bumper crop so we can sell them and share the goodness with others. We are also excited to keep the pumpkin patch going again this year with maybe some more improvements to make it a little more fun for people to come pick out pumpkins.

Happy New Year Everyone!!! Make it a year full of purpose and service and positivity.

Picnic Anyone?

I have a hard time throwing things away if I think I have a purpose for them. I have saved all our jeans that have worn out over the years with the intent of making jeans quilts with them. I think I have only ever gotten one made. Just recently I came up with the idea of making picnic blankets. I found a shop that sells heavier canvas-type fabric at a super good price (some of it is only $3 a yard for 54"wide fabric). These sew up really quickly and because of the heaviness of the jean blocks and the material for the back there is no need to put a batting in the middle. So far in the last 3 weeks or so I have made 3 of them. I have been giving them as wedding presents but am entertaining the idea of possibly selling some. I still have 4 plastic tote tubs full of jeans! Gotta use them up! When I thought of starting the first one, it was before Kim left for her mission. She gave me the idea of putting the bandana fabric on the blocks to make them look like patches. I didn't do it on the first blanket I made but have on the next two and quite like the look it gives.

I think we all could use a picnic blanket and take time out from our busy lives to just go enjoy a lunch hour or afternoon outside relaxing a little bit. How long has it been since we have done that?

Finally finished!

I love finished projects! Sometimes it takes me a while to finish something I have started because I either get bored from working on it so much or I get distracted with other things that take precedence over the current project. I started this log cabin quilt almost exactly 3 years ago. I wanted to use up scraps of material I had. Like a dummy who hasn't made one of these quilts before, I just started cutting out strips without much thought of how wide they really needed to be cut. As I started sewing them up I realized what I had done. By then I was determined to keep going because I don't like throwing things away. Once I finished the top I then had to find a back for it. That took a while until I found the material I liked. Once that was done I could send it over to my friend, Shanda, in Boise. She does machine quilting. She did this one and the one below for me. I just finished binding them and am so excited with the finished results. Because of the narrowness of the strips on this one, after it was sewn up I figured there are just over 6,800 pieces of material in it. Crazy huh!!!


So when I got ready to make this one I was much more wise and planned ahead before I started cutting. I wanted to make this for a very dear friend for her wedding. I knew these were her favorite colors so I went to work. I absolutely love the colors in this one and how it turned out! In a way I cannot wait to make another one! But...I have too many other things I want and need to get done first. I am just thrilled that they turned out as nice as they did!

Finally at peace

My mother, Elizabeth (Beth) Corbett Tolman passed away June 9, 2011. She is finally free from all the pain and suffering her body was inflicted with. I have to say, it was a relief to know she doesn't have to endure the hardships of diabetes, congestive heart failure, and 'old age' that her mortal body went through. Also, to know that she is now reunited with the love of her life, Rex, her Celestial Missionary son, Mike, her parents, Ed & Maud Corbett, her grandson, Caleb, and great granddaughter, Zoey. What a reunion that must have been! I know how much she loved these people so to be able to be with them again must be wonderful!



























The Paulbearers: Six of her handsome grandsons. From l to r--Mike Forsgren, KC Franson, Malachi Tolman, Seth Batz, Jonathon Forsgren, and Weaton Forsgren. She wanted to have one grandson from each of her childrens' family but Tim's son, Andrew, was unable to make it. How she loved her grandchildren, especially her grandsons!

Finally her mortal body is layed to rest along side her beloved Rex...

and next to her son, Mike....

not far from her parents.

I really do like funerals in the fact that they are more like reunions for us. We get to see family members and friends that we rarely get to otherwise. These are two of my beautiful nieces, Rachel and Josie.

Josie and Rachel with cousins, sisters Jeralynn and Nancy.

Edward's children, Gideon, Tiffany, Josh and Malachi.

The 5 of us together. I love how all our eyes nearly squint shut when we are smiling.

Hair Flowers

Pretty much everyone that knows me knows I like to make things. I love to crochet anything from doilies to baby blessing gowns to afghans. I sew (I do custom sewing). I love making quilts and baby blankets, burp rags, most anything baby. I make stick horses. You name it I like to do it. I had 3 girls and loved making all kinds of hair bows and things for their hair. These hair flowers are the latest of many things I like to do. I have started selling them & had someone ask me if I had a web site. No...I'm not that smart, but I can post them here on my blog. So here you go. Most the flowers here are $5. There are a few smaller ones that are $3 and $4. Specify which one you want and I will let you know for sure the price. I also make headbands that the flowers can clip to. If I can find the color of flower you want I will custom make one.

I don't have many white ones pictured because I ran out of flowers. I will have more done up this week.

I also am always keeping my eyes peeled for black flowers because I get several requests for them, so if anyone sees any in their shopping excursions let me know.

You can either comment here on my blog or email me at lfranson@q.com for any questions or requests. Thank you!

Our Distinguished Dude

Last year the Junior Miss committee decided to add a fundraiser to the program. They started the 'Junior Mr.' here at Blackfoot High School. This year the title, 'Junior Miss', has been changed to 'Distinguished Young Woman' so they changed the fundraiser to 'Distinguished Dude.' The boys do essentially the same things as the girls...have an opening number, introduce themselves, do a fitness number, a talent, and the 'strut', which is self-expression for the girls. KC did not say anything about doing it this year. In fact, I didn't hear anything about it until I got a phone call one evening while KC was at work. It was his best friend, Matt, calling on a Monday night (the program was set for that Thursday) asking if KC would want to do this. They had 2 or 3 boys drop out because of the state BPA competition so they needed to fill their spots. KC practiced three times with them, did a talent with Matt and another friend, Layne, and strutted his stuff. What did he get for his efforts? 2nd runner up to the Distinguished Dude, out of 17 boys. Plus he one the 'Strut' competition. Pretty good I'd say! This is a picture of some of the boys. Third from the left is KC's friend, Matt, fourth from the left is Colton, who one the title of Distinguished Dude, next to him is Layne, then KC on the far right. All 3 of the boys winning the title or runner's up are in our ward. Pretty good huh? Way to go KC! These next two pictures were last fall during Homecoming Week. KC was one of the cheerleaders for the Junior Powder Puff team. Not so sure about the 'distinguished' look here. :)

Go KC!