LITTLE GIRL

Madison, you are such a silly girl.

I love your stinking guts!

PIONEER DAY

We went to our ward pioneer day picnic.

We didn't stay long.

I think I am slightly psychotic.

It is hard for me to be in large crowds or social functions with my girls.

Especially with people I know.

People will come up and start a conversation with me and then two seconds later I have no idea where these two went.

I start to panic.

I hate it.

They are always seeing a friend or something fun to investigate and I can't calm down and trust that they are fine.

If I can't see them, I can't relax.

Sadly, I am glad that these functions only come around a couple of times of year.

I am glad that I don't have six kids younger than Sierra because then it would be harder and then again so would everything else. ;)

My poor children always get their fun cut short.

TOADS

I pitty all toads that cross my yard this summer.

You will become an instant pet.

You will be hauled around and fought over for at least an hour.

You will be tossed into the swimming pool at least half a dozen times just to see if you can swim.

You will have a home built in the cooler.

The lid will be shut for a half day and a night.

The fact that you survived till morning will testify of your resilance.

Are you toad enough? This guy was!

BEWARE!

MY RAIN BOOTS

Yesterday it poured so much in such a short period of time the roads filled with water and covered the sidewalks.

The girls were so excited. They just kept screaming, "It is a blizzard. Can we please go out in the rain?"

Our storms aren't like Pittsburgh, dancing in the rain isn't an option because of the extremely bad lightning the accompanies every storm.

Sister Kay's cow was killed over the weekend, most likely because of lightning. Sad.

The lightning is mean and aggressive.

After the storm quited down, and things felt safe, I let Madison go stomp around in her rubber rain boots.

She was so happy.

DOWN of the FARM

 We have spent a lot of time down on the farm this summer.

The girls have spent many a lazy morning catching water skippers and toads.
Sierra always spends plenty of time hugging the chickens.
I am pretty sure they don't like. They often peck her but she isn't discouraged.


The turkey pictured below has a story to tell.
I carried him home as a baby in a little box with his brother and sister.
 He looked like a fluffy baby chick.
He grew fast. His brother was an aggressive mean turkey. He would follow me around the farm. The second I would turn my back he would peck my bum. He would also get the other two turkeys to follow us around and scream at us. Madison was terrified. Truthfully, was terrified too.
Then one day this turkey (the nice one) got stung by a wasp.
His entire head blew up and he was frightening looking. We called him fat neck.
 The brother and sister picked on him. We thought he was going to die. We were sad.
After several weeks he came out of it.
The bad turkey was getting meaner and meaner.
Sister Kay had a garage sale.
A nice old couple came and they said they needed a turkey.
Kay let them have the brother.
Thankfully he is gone. The turkey's don't bother us anymore.
I can weed without looking over my shoulder.
Goodbye naughty turkey, you will not be missed.

MY GIRLS

 Sierra the other day asked me, "Mom, why do you feel so happy when do something naughty. Then the minute you are done doing the naughty thing you feel so guilty. Why can't you feel guilty before you do a naughty thing? I laughed. I told her, "I don't know. I have had the same question before."

I asked Madison to draw an M today in church.
She said, "Here is my M."
I said, "No, that is a W."
She said, "Mom it is an upside down M, don't you know?"

AUDREY LYLE

 She is the cutest sillest little girl.

She lives all the way in Texas.

It is too bad for me that she loves her mother so much.

She won't come to me.

It breaks my heart.

I am glad I got to see her and smile at her cute self.

She looks so much like Sierra did at her age.

I think I could steal her and say she was mine and no one would know.

Sometimes I think about it.

I love you cute Audrey.

GRANDPA CRAVEN'S PASSING LAST POST

 Uncle Phillip prayed over the grave.

I think every soul there was touched.

His son Nathan died at around six months of SID's.

Listening to his testimony that life continues beyond the grave was so beautiful.

He talked how it took along time, but his heart has healed from the loss of Nathan.

He now can rejoice in the thought of seeing him again.

He was glad grandpa and him were together.

He asked that Our Father-in-Heaven's spirit would be at the grave site and that all that gathered there would be filled with comfort and peace.

 Then each of his children laid a white rose on his casket and said there final goodbyes.

 Goodbye grandpa.

You will be missed.

I am grateful for the life you lived.

You were the perfect example.

Uncle Curtis said in his talk at your funeral that you were a reverent person.

He defined reverence.

Reverence is profound respect and love for Heavenly Father and his children.

The same definition was shared today in primary by one of the children.

I thought of you and how you embodied that definition.
I said a silent prayer that I too could be a reverent person.
Until we meet again.
Love always,
Your Granddaughter

GRANDPA CRAVEN'S PASSING lV

 I really wanted to title this one loading the casket but it is a little morbid.

However, this was what the pictures are about.

When the funeral ended the family followed the casket out the hearse.

Madison started to cry because the sun was so bright. After being the in the chapel all morning, the sun was gloriously bright.

I kept thinking of how we could bring some humor into the whole situation because I know grandpa would have appreciated it, but I was too solemn to be creative.

I did dare one of my siblings to blow a whistle as loud as they could during the luncheon, but no one did. They may of forgotten or maybe they were too solemn too.

(There is a story about grandpa that goes like this.....

Grandpa was out to eat with some of his children, including my mom and dad.

My Aunt Janice had a rape whistle on her key chain.

Grandpa got a hold of it.

Grandma saw the look in his eye and headed for the door.

Grandpa blew the whistle in the restaurant as loud as he could.

He said, "Everyone get out your raffle tickets we are ready for the drawing."

Grandpa paused and looked around.

There were a lot of confused looks and questioning glances.

A few people were whispering to their neighbors trying to figure why they didn't get a raffle ticket.

Then he said, "Opps! Wrong place!"

Then he walked out of the restaurant.

The whole restaurant burst into laughter.

Mom said the cashier was laughing so hard she couldn't give them their change.)

When we were kids grandpa flew out to Florida to help us move.

My mother was pregnant with twins. She flew to Utah.

The rest of us drove with Dad and Grandpa.

Dad, Grandpa and seven kids. Can you imagine?

Well, as we were driving grandpa said, "Is anyone thirsty, does anyone want some water?

A few of us responded we were.

He filled up a plastic cup with water and tossed it over his shoulder at us.

On the same trip we stopped at the Gateway to the West.

We rode in the elevator up to the top it was a remarkable view.

The walls are glass and slanted. It is very unsettling for anyone who is afraid of heights and even people that aren't.

Grandpa and Dad engaged in a conversation before we got into the elevator.

He said, "Son do you remember a few weeks ago when this elevator crashed to the bottom?"

Dad responded in the affirmative.

He said, "Those poor people inside."

(Of course no elevator crashed.)

The people behind us in line looked at eachother uneasy.

Grandpa was always ready for a good laugh.

He had such a great sense of humor.

He will be missed.

GRANPA CRAVEN's PASSING PART III

 My grandfather's viewing.

I never got close to his body.

He was gone and I knew it and it made me uncomfortable to see his stiff body laying there.

I haven't cried much. I guess it is impart because I was so blessed to have spent so much time with him, so I have no personal regrets. I know he was as close to perfect as a man could be, so he was very prepared to meet his Father-in-Heaven.

He struggled physically over the last year, after suffering a stroke, and he is now free from pain.

There was a lot of rejoicing because we all loved him and we are so proud of his life well lived.

I did start to cry when I saw my little girl crying uncontrollably after the viewing.

I know how empathetic my little girl can be and I figured she was crying because everyone else was.

She told me this on the drive back to Colorado, "Mom, do you know why I was crying at the funeral?" I said, "No." She said, "Because I was thinking about what a neat guy everyone was saying grandpa was and how they were talking about the good times they spent with him. I was thinking how I am going to miss all that. I will never know him like the other people there."

It really stung my heart when she said those words.

I didn't have much to say then but if I could go back I would tell her, "Grandpa still lives because your grandpa is still alive. He is a lot like his father. He is funny and clever and so kind. You will know him because you know his son."

Me and my sister's were asked to sing one of grandpa's favorite songs for the funeral.

Beautiful Savior.

I don't know if we have all sung together in a really long time.

I felt so blessed and honored to sing with them on such a solemn, beautiful occasion.

Grandpa wanted his funeral to last one hour, he said no one was to go over.

I am glad and wonder if maybe impart he made that request because he knew his great-grandchildren would get really fidgety after an hour. My kids were really good during the entire funeral.

In true grandpa style he requested that the speakers at the funeral testify of Christ instead of talking about him.

However, it was really easy to combine the two because grandpa's life truly spoke of Christ.

He loved his Savior and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.