BRING IT ON

Im not trying to brag ,or get sympathy, I just think this is worthy to talk about! My December's for the last 28 years have gone something like this.... John and I were married Dec. 20 1979 our anniversary! John's birthday Dec. 23rd. Lets have a beautiful baby girl named Nicole Marie on Dec. 17. I was due on the 23rd but the Doc said he would induce on the 17th, I took him up on the offer. The hardest birth I have ever had, no pain killers for me,( I know Im dumb!) I said, "I will have a baby on Christmas day before I ever do that again!" I didnt know I meant it... JINGLE BELLS , Alexis Lizabeth born Dec. 25th. My son in law Mike, born Dec 16th, his beautiful mother gets the credit for her fine work!! I have never wanted my loved one's to feel jipped out on life, I have tried my best to make it special , SO DONT TAKE ME ON A TALK SHOW BECAUSE YOUR SCARRED!!! All kidding aside, to all my kids with December Birthdays Thankyou for making my December's full of love. Im glad your mine, I wouldnt have it any other way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL, I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART!!! LOve infinity xoxo

GOOD THINGS ARE COMING MY WAY

Good things are coming my way! One late night of watching T.V., I came across a motivational speaker. I dont remember his name or much of what he was talking about, but something he said has stuck with me and Im going to try to live by it for the coming year. This is what you do.... You tell yourself many times a day GOOD THINGS ARE COMING MY WAY!!! Anything and everything that comes into your life,you take a look at it and say to yourself "Oh, is this the good thing in my life?" The speaker said we miss alot of great oppertunities in our life because we just dont see them , or we are distracted by depression or sadness or just negetive self talk telling ourselves that nothing good can happen to us. So by looking at everything in a positive way and thinking good things are on the way, we will be sure to see the great oppertunities that will be coming into our life. 2009 will be a year that will have good things for all of us!!

Tis The Season....

Now that we are in the Christmas Season, what does it mean to you? We as mothers have alot on our shoulders! Making Christmas magic for our famlies is hard work! Have you ever rushed to the store on Chrismas Eve because you found that it wasnt fair for every child, it has to be the same amount for everyone! Not only do we worry about our famlies but its neighbor gifts, teacher gifts, friend gifts! I have to admit sometimes I start to get anxiety when the holidays approach. I have had to take a hard look at myself and say Why? I have decided not to be so hard on myself, its not that Im forgetting the true meaning of Christmas, I have worked so hard to teach my children just that! Christmas is a time to show everyone around us how much we love them, its not by the size of the gift or how much we spend but it is to show our love, giving something! So I say of course its natural to feel anxiety and worry alittle on how we can pull of the perfect Christmas! LOVE is hard work, we as women are making memories. We all have to find what works best for us and our famlies. I am ever grateful for the birth of our savior Jesus Christ, the true meaning of Christmas. why we work so hard to feel his spirit while we truly serve our famlies, teachers, neighbors, friends! I love the feeling of giving!!! Love infinity xoxo

TINA, TINA, TINA!

Friday night I went to see TINA TURNER with my sisters, LIZ and Lucille and her husband Randy. This is our second time seeing her in concert we LOVED IT! Proud Mary is our favorite, we really got into that song, Randy was even dancing to that one! Tina,is I think 68 years old, WOW, is all I can say! If only I had her legs, AMAZING! We all had so much fun,Liz surprised us with tickets months ago, and then of course T-shirts at the concert! Liz has the biggest heart of anyone I have ever known! She makes sure that Lucille and I are exposed to some of the fun things the world as to offer! I LOVE YOU SISTERS, WHATS LOVE GOT TO DO, GOT TO DO WITH IT! Im saying it in my SOUL voice, (everything!)

Miracle of Love

Saturday was an amazing day to say the least! At about 7:30 A.M. I arrived to the sight of the carnival. I was in charge of the water and soda booth. I had just gone to Smart and Final to buy the ice needed to get our water and soda chilled for the days event! As I walked up, I felt a different feeling, as I looked around, many people were busy getting their booths ready, putting their final touches where needed for this ever so special event! Everyone I saw there was very busy, but there was a soft quietness about. I quickly knew with out a doubt, I was feeling the spirit! Heavenly Father had helped us all along the way! I know his hand was guiding ours! We were all united in one cause, to help the Nielsons! I know our prayers have been granted, I know that the Nielsons are here on this earth to be missionaries. I know I am a better person because I have witnessed first hand the miracles of love! I am grateful that my children love in a way, that is pleasing to our Heavenly Father. I know, we will get to thank the NIELSONS for letting us love them!

Meet Albert

If you know my family, then you probably know ALBERT! If you havent met Albert then let me tell you a little bit about him! We first met Albert , maybe 12 years ago, he came to our house and wanted to do some yard work. My husband was always willing to give him some work, because he worked hard for the money he needed, well most of the time. His line he always uses is,"Got a couple of bucks?" As the years have gone by he has trimmed alot trees, bushes, and pretty much alot of things we have just not wanted to do. I have prayed for missionary experiences, and pretty much "Allby" as Lexi calls him, Is the only one that ever seems to enter into my life! He is homeless, an alcoholic, very few teeth, hard to understand what hes saying half the time, but for some reason is placed in our life! I have reflected alot about him lately, he is alone on this earth, he has no family and lives to survive each day. I have thought about the lessons he has taught me, and I have come to realize the importance he has been in my life and to my family. I could probably write a book, but here are a few choice examples of why he is apart of my family! One day he came to our house limping, he was in alot of pain, he said he had been hit by a car while riding his bike, now remember he is homeless, he is dirty, he is stinky! John thought he would put him up in a hotel for a few nights to get warm, it was a cold winter at the time, and maybe he could get off his feet for a few days because he rides his bike everywhere! John took him to a hotel , bathed him, yes John said the water was almost black, and helped him get into bed, this was a true act of service, it makes me cry to think of it. Albert came to John many times when he was sick, John gave him blessings. My son in law, Spencer also gave him blessings in spanish, he told Spencer he had alot of power, he could make alot of money with that power, that was another teaching time. Albert called John, brother. He calls me Momma! Oh yes, I took him to the dollar store one time, I told him I would do a little shopping while he did his, pretty soon I hear "Momma, Momma" hes looking for me and yelling for me in the store, I was a little emberassed, we are the same age, I wish I could be called sister or something! Our dog Dusty died, he had to be put down at the vet, this was Lexis beloved dog. We brought him home to bury him, on the way home I thought , oh I hope Alberts at our house, I dont want to bury him. Sure enough, theres Albert, he dug the hole right by Lexis bedroom window, a few days later, he put a saint, a statue over the grave, I guess we're Mormon Catholics! Just the other day, he came by the house to check in, he told me he had been really sick, someone called 911, he went to the hospital, the doctor told him he might have cancer. We talked awhile, I teased him a little, I told him if he dies, he needs to die close to my house, so I can bury him. With my granddaughter Avrey, in my arms I said ok Albert, lets talk about what your going to say to John when you get to the other side. Tell John from me, we need more help, send more angels to us. He said, you already have them, your holding one! My heart was was warm, I didnot expect him to say something so profound, My little Albert is my friend, I give him hugs, dirty and smelly, I know when he sees John, he will say, my brother! Until then, I know hes part of our family, I thank him for his life lessons!

Changing times...

Im excited to be a part of the world right now!! Why is this? Its my personality to worry and fret and wonder how its all going to work out!! The world is in a changing time right now, we don't know how our economy will hold out, who will be the next President of the United States? What about prop 102! So many things to worry about!!! But for some odd reason I feel hope ,I feel strength, I feel miracles in the air! For all the bad around us, all the evil around us, I feel Heavenly Father's hand everywhere! I am proud to stand up for what is right, even if it is not the popular thing to do. As strong as Satan is,our Heavenly Father is stronger! He is giving us many opportunities for deep profound, spiritual growth! I have felt that more then ever lately! Maybe this is what we were saved for the last days to do! Can you believe we are apart of this!

GIRLFRIENDS

You know how sometimes we laugh about something we don't have, and say "Well I didn't stand in the right line in Heaven, when they were handing that out! I was driving down the road the other day , and thought, I think I stood in the right line when they were handing out the blessings for great friends! I'm sorry to those who have struggled with friendships, I think I took yours!! I must have stood in that line a long time because, I got them for myself and then for my daughters!! I have always had good friends, I still have my precious girlfriends from the third grade, we called ourselves LW COOL, LH COOL, KG COOL, MG COOL, PO COOL!!! As you can tell we thought we were "COOL STUFF' !! It doesn't matter how long its been since we have talked, we can always go right back to where we were. Through out my life I have added more and more girl friends and have always been blessed with the very best. Words cannot describe how much I love them! Heavenly Father blessed us with girlfriends because he knew men would not be enough! Not only have I been so so blessed, So has my girls, Its crucial while your raising your children that they only have good influences. Its scary how friends can ruin everything you have worked so hard to teach your children. I have never had to worry about that !! To all who are reading this blog , you are my friends I don't take you for granted , I love you for loving me and for loving my girls!! Love infinity xoxo

Ok, lets talk about my hair in my wedding picture! This is no ordanary task to get hair like this!! To all my young readers out there I will teach you just how its done. To all my girlfriends out there who did the same doo, I say to you "what were we thinking!"So this is what I did, first I got a perm, its called a stack perm, nothing was permed on the crown of my head, that part of your hair had to be straight. Now that the fullness could be achieved, I then had to blow out the curls with a round brush, this was not easy, this project took at least an hour! Then I would either put hot rollers in or curl with a curling iron. Now, there could not be a part in your hair, the soft little fluffy curls had to go all the way around your head, to frame the face! The time involved was extensive, depending where you were going, how many guys you might see, it could take up to 3 hours of blow drying,curling, and fluffing to achieve this amazing look!!! This famous hair style was called the Farrah Fausett, if you were successful at pulling off "the look"you might be able to snag yourself a good lookin football player,I guess it worked !!I GOT MINE, I MARRIED HIM!!!

The infinity sign is very meaningful to my family! It has become our family symbol or stamp. When John and I were raising our five beautiful daughters, we would play the how much do I love you game. We would go through all the numbers, each of us uping the other until we would get to I LOVE YOU INFINITY! When John passed away, we had to design a head stone for his graveside. I wanted to personalize it, to somehow bring our love for him for all to see! This was a difficult process, its hard to do anything while your grieving let alone create something honorable for the man we loved and adored! It came to me clear one day, the game we use to play with the girls, our love game. That was the finishing touch it needed! So on Johns final resting place, is our love infinity stamp. So we made a vow to eachother this will be the same for all of us, the John Crum family is united in love infinity!!

P.S. the song playing is the frist song John and I ever danced to

We can be celebrities too!

So Lexi and I had a great night of shopping where I think we came the closest to being celebrities or just living a little bit of their special kind of life...We went to FOREVER 21 on Thursday night, it was about 8:40pm, we were on the look out for a Home Coming dress, so I told Lexi run through the store, the mall closes at 9:00 just get what you can and hurry and try on. Going to find a dress for a dance can be grooling at times, if Lex could find a dress she likes at FOREVER 21, Ill kiss her all over her face, the best deals right! So were in the dressing room and 9:00 rolls by their not kicking us out, I thought wow, their not saying anything to us. Pretty soon were the only ones in the store! I asked the girl who was at this time starting to do her closing duties,when do we need to leave? She said, you can stay as long as you want, were going to be here until 11:00,you can leave through the tunnel. Well alright then, I looked at Lex and said lets shop!!So we went through the store, Lexi tried on gobs of stuff, it felt like they closed the store down just for us!! Well, for one night we felt like divas!!!By the way Lexi found more then just the dress she wants to wear, shes my baby, shes worth it!!!

I'm finally learning. . . .

I have been thinking alot lately about all these trails we live with, the Nielsons seem to be the heaviest but somehow the sweetest, but living without Dad has made me learn alot of things, I felt like I wouldnt ever have to be tested on things like faith, love sacrifice because I get it! Those things have always come alitte bit easy for me, but now I see more clear than ever. Its the degree in how we feel, my love for my family is that much deeper,where I didnt think there was a deeper love! I know Heavenly Father gives as much as we can hold and then slowly shows us more. I feel like my sences are hightend I have never felt more sorrow in my life yet, I have never felt more joy! Seeing my daughters become their divine callings as women is indescribable! Getting these Grandbabies is the greatest blessing worth waiting for!Its also the greatest blessing to finally learn from the hardest trials of life!

Well, I have blown my family away with my blog, Lexi keeps laughing at me she cant believe her eyes! As you can see by this picture of Lexi, she is quite the girl, never a dull moment when shes around. So is my blogging friends going to be mostly young moms?! WELL, if thats the case most of my posts will be geared towards you. I might share life experiences of successes and failures; maybe, just maybe, you might learn a little something from GRANDMOMMY CRUM but most of all I write for my girls and my Grand babies. They are my reason for living my pure happiness. They are what make me try hard every day to do my best. They have to be the most amazing people I know. They have all married well, I am very proud of my son in laws they take care of my girls just the way I have dreamed they would. Family is what Im all about, and Im very blessed to be the mom of my GREAT FAMILY!xoxo

Getting started

I have now arrived in the twentyfirst century! And I can find others blogs to read all by myself!! I love my family and am so delighted to be the grandmommy to 5 sweet grandbabies! If you are wondering how I came up with grandmommy, I decided in 7th grade when I heard my girlfriend on the phone, and she said "I love you grandmommy" I then said to myself that will be me! Being a grandmommy is very natural, since I have been dreaming about it since junior high! So hello blogging world here I am!