Wednesday, January 30, 2008
My Baby Girl is ELEVEN!
One more year and we have a daughter in Young Women's! It seems like yesterday that she was born...complete with a squashed, crooked nose, the biggest lips we had ever seen and the deepest dimple in her chin! She has always been a bundle of joy. It has been a blessing to watch her grow and become the loving, responsible, sweet, talented, young lady that she is. We love our Ginger Dee!
Monday, January 28, 2008
You will be greatly missed!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Ginger's Birthday Baking Bash
For Ginger's 11th birthday this year, she decided to copy her cousin Hayley's idea for a party and host a Birthday Baking Bash. And a BASH it was! The girls decorated their own aprons, made homemade ice cream (with help from Don), homemade salsa and 7 layer dip, fruit dip and fruit kabobs, and then their very own concoctions of sundaes. They ate and ate and ate and then ran around the house playing Hyperdash, "Dippity Dippity Dip" and signs. Ginger loved her party and Mom slept great that night! (Click on the picture below for a slideshow of the party.)
Ginger's Party
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Welcome Home!
I flew in from CA on Friday night and since Don and I had passed eachother like strangers in the night (me flying out and him flying in) we hadn't been together as a family for over a week, so Don took us all to the Rainforest Cafe after he picked me up from the airport in Seattle. We had never been there and the kids thought it was very cool. Every half hour there is a thunder and lightning show and all the jungle animals come alive. Ethan didn't like that experience too much the first time around, but thought it was "awesome" once he caught the show on Daddy's lap. We celebrated Ginger's birthday there, too, who shares the same b-day as my mom. It made for a very fun night!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Remembrance Reunion
I was so blessed to be able to fly down to California for a VERY quick visit to attend my grandmother's funeral. To my delight, all 10 of my brothers and sisters were able to be there as well! My mom gave such an inspired, beautiful tribute to her when she spoke at the funeral, making us all laugh and cry and realize just how alike my mother and grandmother are. The funeral was the perfect memorial and celebration of her life and we were all at peace knowing that we would see her again. Here is a shot of all 13 of us. Don't I have the most beautiful family? This picture makes me so happy to look at!
That night, since we were ALL there and my mom's birthday was just 4 days later, we decided to celebrate before many of us had to return home. Yes, if you can believe it, my mom turned 62 years old! Doesn't she look amazing? And don't forget the fact that she had ELEVEN children. It was the perfect ending to that day of remembrance as we celebrated the gift that our grandmother gave us...our mom!
Well, the celebration of life didn't end there. My brother, Trevor, and his wife, Natalie, drove 2 hours to attend the funeral, knowing that their baby could come at any moment. Poor Natalie was sick and coughing and 3 of their 5 children were sick with fevers and the flu! They left for home that evening, arriving home at around 10:00pm. A little after midnight they were awakened by a child throwing up, and Natalie decided it was time to head to the hospital! Not the ideal circumstances to have a new baby, huh? They had the baby at around 6 am that morning and named her Lilia DeVonne, named after my grandmother. We like to think that Grammie brought that precious spirit to them.
Here is a late night shot of a group of us playing games. I don't think I went to bed before 2am either night I was there. Too many people to visit with and too much fun going on. We shared endless stories and memories of Grammie and laughed and cried. It really was a perfect reunion for our family. I only wished my little family could have been with me. I love my family so much!
That night, since we were ALL there and my mom's birthday was just 4 days later, we decided to celebrate before many of us had to return home. Yes, if you can believe it, my mom turned 62 years old! Doesn't she look amazing? And don't forget the fact that she had ELEVEN children. It was the perfect ending to that day of remembrance as we celebrated the gift that our grandmother gave us...our mom!
Well, the celebration of life didn't end there. My brother, Trevor, and his wife, Natalie, drove 2 hours to attend the funeral, knowing that their baby could come at any moment. Poor Natalie was sick and coughing and 3 of their 5 children were sick with fevers and the flu! They left for home that evening, arriving home at around 10:00pm. A little after midnight they were awakened by a child throwing up, and Natalie decided it was time to head to the hospital! Not the ideal circumstances to have a new baby, huh? They had the baby at around 6 am that morning and named her Lilia DeVonne, named after my grandmother. We like to think that Grammie brought that precious spirit to them.
Here is a late night shot of a group of us playing games. I don't think I went to bed before 2am either night I was there. Too many people to visit with and too much fun going on. We shared endless stories and memories of Grammie and laughed and cried. It really was a perfect reunion for our family. I only wished my little family could have been with me. I love my family so much!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Until we meet again...
Last Friday night, my sweet grandmother, Ferris DeVonne Clarke, passed away. She is my mother’s mother and the most darling grandma in the world. To us, she was known as “Grammie”. Grammie was 87 years old and had been a widow for the past five years. She was so lonely without my grampa, Richard Conrad Clarke, and often expressed how she was “ready to go” and just wanted to be with her husband. They were the cutest couple—always holding hands, sitting close, color-coordinating his tie with her dress—so in love. They actually eloped when my grammie was just seventeen years old and were later sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. What a blessing it is to know that they are together again, sealed forever! Grampa always called her “wife” or some other term of endearment like “my darling, my love”. When my mom called to tell me that she had passed, she said that she just knew that Grampa had come to get her on her way to her bedroom and that she didn’t hesitate to go with him.
We were so blessed to always live near our grandparents, so we celebrated many a Thanksgiving and Christmas at their home. Grammie and Grampa would go to the beach with us and always gave birthday cards, with a crisp five dollar bill inside, complete with Grammie’s swirly, fancy writing expressing their love for us. Every time we visited she would show us her incredible collection of dolls, which were arranged to perfection all over her living room. She always had a glass bowl of butterscotch candies on her table for us to enjoy. Her little dogs, Cupcake and Corky would climb all over us. She would pick roses for us to take home, let us watch her hummingbirds feed on her back patio and look at her doll house that Grampa had built for her. Sometimes she would let us climb on her bed and watch a movie in her room, which was covered with Grampa’s collection of teddy bears. Her walls were literally covered with framed pictures of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. It has been a wonderful thing to bring my own children to Grammie’s house and let them experience what I did as a child. They really adored and loved their great grandmother. I wish they could have known her as I did.
For the past 3 years, she has been under the care of my mom and what a blessing that has been to both my mother and grandmother. My mom has been the perfect caretaker and tried her hardest to make Grammie feel "at home" even though all she wanted to do was return to the "home" where she is now, in the arms of her loving husband. I haven't seen her as much as I would have liked over the past few years, but am grateful for the times I was able to visit with her and see her smile and hear her talk about Grampa.
Grammie was a very classy, fashionable, fancy woman who liked her perfumes and pearls and heels. I will always remember her that way, but more importantly I will remember that she was a diligent, faithful and elect lady who had a testimony of the gospel and loved the Savior and her family. She is the woman who gave me my mother and taught her the gospel so she could teach me. I will always be grateful to her for that gift. I love you, Grammie, and will miss you, but know that I will see you again!
This is her with my baby brother, Derek. I love her smile in this picture.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Ginger, "The Entertainer"
Ginger has been practicing and practicing her piano. She has definitely surpassed my abilities and has a real talent for music. She wanted to share this song with all of you, especially all of her Zierenberg aunts and uncles who remember the player piano and this little song...
"The Entertainer" 1/7/08
She wanted to say sorry about the one, BIG, wrong note and apologize for the horrible sound that comes through on the digital camera!
"The Entertainer" 1/7/08
She wanted to say sorry about the one, BIG, wrong note and apologize for the horrible sound that comes through on the digital camera!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Ringing in the New Year!
This year for New Year's Eve our Stake rented out the entire YMCA. We were a little skeptical about how much fun it would be, especially with trying to keep an eye on 5 children. But, as you can tell by the pictures, there was so much to do and we all had a really great time. The pool was open for the first 2 hours of the night...
There was a game room filled with pool tables, ping pong tables, fusball tables, etc. Then another room with tables piled high with all sorts of family games.
Each family was asked to bring a snack and a 6-pack of soda to share so there was tons of food the whole night.
We rang in the New year at 11:00pm (midnight for Salt Lake City) for those families who wanted to get their kids home. I thought that was VERY smart!
Continues on next post...
There was a game room filled with pool tables, ping pong tables, fusball tables, etc. Then another room with tables piled high with all sorts of family games.
Each family was asked to bring a snack and a 6-pack of soda to share so there was tons of food the whole night.
We rang in the New year at 11:00pm (midnight for Salt Lake City) for those families who wanted to get their kids home. I thought that was VERY smart!
Continues on next post...
The Dance Floor (New Year's Eve continued...)
There was a dance floor upstairs for all the youth, and then a dance floor for the adults, which quickly became the family dance floor...
We really had such an enjoyable evening. They also had basketball courts, volleyball nets set up, raquet ball available, and every other indoor sport. It had it all! We left the YMCA at about 11:30 and headed straight to our friend's house to try out their new Wii. It was the perfect way to end the night, which lasted until after 1:00am, and everyone stayed awake, except for Ethan who crashed the second he sat in his carseat at 11:30. The following morning I woke up at 9:30am and EVERYONE was still asleep. Thank goodness. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
We really had such an enjoyable evening. They also had basketball courts, volleyball nets set up, raquet ball available, and every other indoor sport. It had it all! We left the YMCA at about 11:30 and headed straight to our friend's house to try out their new Wii. It was the perfect way to end the night, which lasted until after 1:00am, and everyone stayed awake, except for Ethan who crashed the second he sat in his carseat at 11:30. The following morning I woke up at 9:30am and EVERYONE was still asleep. Thank goodness. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Babysitter Appreciation Day
We have entered the WONDERFUL world of built-in babysitters! I can't even express how fantastic and freeing it has been since Ginger and Gillian have started babysitting for us. Ginger is only 10 and Gillian is 9, but they are 2 of the most responsible girls you will ever come across, especially when they work together. Not only do they do an amazing job keeping the peace and getting the 3 little ones to bed, but we come home to an immaculate home as well (their father has trained them well). They only started babysitting in the spring of 2007, but it was perfect timing for us with Don's new calling as Bishop. It became a NECESSITY for us to have a weekly (or bi-weekly) date and you just can't do that when you have to pay a sitter every time. So, since it was the end of their first year as babysitters, we decided they deserved a special outing with Mom and Dad. We got a sitter (the best in town, besides my girls) for the 3 youngest and took them for a nice lunch at The Victorian Rose Tea Room and then to see Enchanted, which was a darling movie. We really had a great time with our grown-up girls!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Christmas morning
The week before Christmas was a bit rocky with Ethan's accident and the flu spreading like wildfire through our house, but by Christmas Day, we were overall healthy and well! Don did wake up to get Davis some cough medicine at 3:30am Christmas morning and heading back to his room, he heard, "Dad, I can't go back to sleep!" That would be Gillian. That girl could hardly handle the day before, even the week before Christmas, she was so excited for Santa to come! She is our 9 1/2 year old and Santa's biggest supporter! Well she was right, he came...
I don't know what the rules are in your house, but in our house, nobody goes downstairs until EVERYONE wakes up, AND you DO NOT wake up the baby (who is now a 3 year old)! So, Gillian woke up at 5:30, then woke Ginger, Davis & Ryan up at 7:30. We heard some whispering at about 8:00 (I know, we are so mean) and decided to wake Ethan up and head downstairs! It was a wonderful morning. Slow and sweet and just perfect. The entire day was perfect, too. Early afternoon it started to snow, and by late afternoon it was a picturesque "white Christmas", which brought even more of a sweet, peaceful feeling into our home. We stayed in our pj's until late afternoon, just playing with the kids, helping them put all their new gadgets together and trying every game out. It was a very, Merry Christmas!
PS If any of you are surprised that our 3 year old got a scooter, you would be amazed to watch that boy in action. This summer as a 2 1/2 year old, he spent his days cruising around on the other kid's scooters. It is a crack up to watch, because he is so fast!
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