I always LAUGH.....

I always laugh when I see this picture. Can you pick out which of my girls is the Nudie Judie? Sometimes I wish they were always this dedicated about practicing the piano. I have it on good authority they wish they had practiced more too!

Some of my all-time favorites

This is my sister Tanya and I on a red trike.

This has always been one of my favorite pictures. I look cute and I look happy. Someone made the crocheted dresses for us.

This picture is famous for a different reason. You have got to love the FLOWERS. At least we had a couch and wallpaper and curtains!

Somewhere (hopefully) there is a colored picture of us in our famous red dresses. Our mom made the dresses and I can remember her sewing them. They were red organza with small white polka dots. We were really poor back then, but we always had clothes and our mom was always dressed nice.

The Line-up

I call these pictures the line-up. We never did anything but be in a line. Gee, sometimes we were even
"out-of-order". Tanya is the oldest and Vicki is the youngest, so that makes me the middle one.

There were times I thought we were really cute. I do wonder if our mom made these dresses. I know there were some red ones that she did make. It looks like I have a famous saddle oxfords on that day. I think that will be another story to come.

Here we are on a rare Sunday going to the Lutheran church. We never did understand what was going on. Maybe if we went more we might have understood. I do remember this dress.

Our mom joins this line-up. Can you tell by the hair we are in the 60's?? We are standing in front of our 1960 Pontiac. The first car Mr Daniel and I owned!!

6th Folder, 6th Picture

I always have to laugh when I see things said about folders etc. As if I knew what anyone was talking about!! But, now that I have been scanning old pictures, I may know what you are talking about.
My mother is on the right, standing with her sisters Effie and Hazel and her brother, James. My mother was an orphan at age 3, having lost her mother at age 18 months. Effie was barely married and quite young when she took in her 3 orphaned siblings to raise as her own. She went on to have 5 children of her own. Everyone of them is gone now, but I know they are together. It is another story for later, of the reunion my mother had with her parents that she never knew. There were also 2 brothers that died before she was born. Thanks for the memories.

More Temples

Since I talked about Mikayla getting to go to the temple in Redlands. I thought I would find a picture of us at the temple. Besides Mikayla in the picture there is Emily, Shelley, Grandpa and Grandma. It was a beautiful special day in Redlands.

These are special people that came to the temple. (Mikayla, Grandma, Shelley, Emily, Vicki, Marty, Karen, and Leslie) It was a great day for us.

In August Grandpa and Grandma went to the Medford Oregon Temple. A special family became a forever family while they were in the temple and we got to be with them.

To All of Our Grandchildren

Grandma decided to tell all of our grandchildren how much we love the temple. We went to the temple last night and felt the spirit of our Heavenly Father. The temple president talked to us and reminded us once again how important the temple is to our family. It is also special to be able to do work in the temple for people that did not have a chance to go to the temple while they lived here on the earth. We were married almost 40 years ago in the Los Angeles Temple. We are excited to be getting a new temple built in Phoenix. It will be exciting to have a temple closer to us. The temple will be at 51st Ave and Pinnacle Peak Road. It will be a mid-sized temple. We hope to some day be in the temple with our grandchildren. In September we were in the Redlands Temple with Mikayla and we look forward to all of you being in the temple with all of you.

Grandma and Grandpa look very young on our wedding day. We were so excited to get married, but especially to be married in the temple.

This picture is of Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Macdonald on their wedding day in Mesa, Arizona. They were married October 7, 1941 in the Mesa Arizona Temple.
It is important for you to prepare to go to the temple by keeping the commandments and obeying your parents. Your mom and dad love the temple too. They knew it was important to marry a good person in the temple and have a righteous family. They love you very much. Grandma and Grandpa love you too.

Baptism Day in Texas

This is the special family we got to visit this past weekend in Flint, Texas. They grow so fast and some days it makes me so sad that we are missing out on so much of their lives. They are a cute family and so fun to be around. Thanks Melinda and Seth for such a good time.

It is definitely a blessing to see your son baptize his son. Kyle was very excited for this day to come. It was a good way to spend Valentine's Day. We won't have any trouble remembering when Kyle was baptized.

The cute siblings waiting for the service to begin. (Zach, Jessica, and Lizzie)

These are Melinda's parents who came from Colorado for the baptism. I hope the grandchildren realize how lucky they are to have all their grandparents be able to attend their special day. We are so glad the Deters are doing so well. They were in a serious bike/truck accident last May. I was just a tad sunburned....Seth took us all out on the boat on Friday. There was a little sun, but it maybe wind burn instead. He likes to speed around in the boat!! Pop forgot his camera so no fun pictures at Lake Tyler!

My Only Grandma

This is the only Grandmother I ever knew. Frieda Schrack Ritter. She became our grandma in 1963 when her son married our mother. She was a jewel and such a blessing in my life. She was a member of the Seventh-Day-Adventist Church and she lived her religion. She prayed, read her scriptures, kept her Sabbath Day holy, and had great faith. Her Sabbath day was on Saturday and she wouldn't look at the newspaper or read her mail until the sun set.
I remember coming home from school one day and she told me she found something that belonged to me. She had found my contact lens on the kitchen floor. I should add the kitchen floor that was brown linoleum. I do remember being at school and thinking that things looked a little off, but I had NO idea I only had one contact. I always thought that was such a great blessing, since there was no way I could afford to buy another contact. These were the days that contacts cost hundreds of dollars!

It didn't hurt that she always had See's chocolate or

German chocolates to share. She was a wonderful cook. (Yummy meat loaf, gravy, German potato salad and cheesecake.) She did not have an easy life. She lived in Germany and had a German boyfriend. She was forced to come to the United States and marry an older man. She had one son and one daughter. Her husband died in 1933 and she was a widow for more than 50 years. In 1956 her only daughter died of cancer. She was only 39 and left four little children. Later in life she traveled back to Germany and was able to meet the former boyfriend. We asked her how it was and she answered "Oh he was so old". Probably the same age she was. Because of her I have collected several German pyramids and other German things. I love my German choir people and the shaved curly trees. All those things remind me of Grandma and the love she had for me and my sister Vicki. I do know we will see her again someday.

Special People

These special people made a HUGE difference in my life. This is my Aunt Hazel Cotner and her brand-new husband Thomas Sanborn. It is a long story and I hope I can tell it so you can understand why I feel they are so special. In 1938, my aunt was engaged to a young man who was working in California. He was trying to earn enough money so they could be married. In the meantime, young Tom Sanborn goes to Oklahoma to do some fishing! He sees my Aunt Hazel and decides she is the one for him. He tells her he is not leaving until she marries him. This goes on for several days. My aunt finally says she will marry him. They knew each other for 5 days before they married. Aunt Hazel said she didn't even know his last name until she saw the marriage certificate!
Hazel's grandmother Martin had died about 6 days before this. Hazel said when she was trying to decide what to do, a voice told her to marry Tom. I like to think it was her grandmother whispering to her.
Aunt Hazel and Uncle Tom moved to Redlands, California where Uncle Tom was raised. About 2 years after they were married, the LDS sister missionaries found them and they were baptized members of the LDS church. In 1962 I was taught by the missionaries in the Sanborn home. My Uncle Tom baptized me a member of the Church. They introduced the church to me at a time when I really needed it in my life. I will be eternally grateful for what they did for me.
I also need to add they were married about 46 years before my uncle passed away from cancer.

Scanning Pictures

I have been scanning pictures onto the computer. I have done several hundred and too bad I still have 1.2 million to go! There are many good memories, but there are a few sad ones too. I am sure I will be blogging some of my favorites as time goes on.

Family Pictures Through the Ages

I am thinking this was taken in about 1986. One of my children will have to correct me. Another fund-raiser at the church.

This was taken at Dillards. Who even remembers that Dillards had a photo studio? I am thinking Dillards was called Diamonds back whenever.

This was taken in Sept. 1980. I laughed because Jill is now wearing what Amy wears in the next picture. Gotta love those hand-me-downs.

This was taken a few months before Emily was born. (March 1980) Again, another fund-raiser at the church.

What A Difference A Year Makes

As you can see this picture was taken on Thanksgiving Day 2006 in Wyoming, by our son-in-law David. That was the first time going out in public with no wig or scarf. I remember going to get my hair cut and the woman wanted to know why I wore my bangs too short. Duh!

Well, now we come to Thanksgiving Day, 2007 in Michigan, another picture taken by David our son-in-law. My doctor wanted me to lose some weight and I finally joined Weight Watchers. I had lots of success....but the hardest part is keeping it off. I decided cruises don't help any. I am somewhere between these two pictures and really not happy about it. But, I keep trying to get the extra weight off. :(

Happy Birthday Amy

Actually Amy's birthday is on Feb 7th. But, Saturday's can be hectic so I am doing this early. (I still don't have this blogging thing down, but I will keep trying. Nothing is in the order I wanted. Every time I think I have it together I am surprised.)
Amy is a special person. She came into the world with the cord wrapped around her neck twice. There were a few other things too. She has always been full of life. She could crawl before she could sit up. She could see no purpose to sitting.
She was a good student and is a good leader today. She is a good little mother and wife. She sets a good example for others. She has created a lovely home and I miss her decorating abilities.
So I just wanted to tell you Happy Birthday and I love you.
(There are 2 sets of pictures to follow)

More Happy Birthday, Amy

This was taken in Colorado when we gathered for Jessica's baptism. Just more good friends being together.

Amy teaches her family the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She has a wonderful little family of four girls and of course a wonderful husband too.

I am not sure she will appreciate this picture. But, I think it is impressive. This was taken about 2 weeks before she delivered her twin girls. I think she looks great.

See those crying girls!!! She is an excellent mother. If anyone could handle twins it is Amy. So, my hats off to you Amy. I love you.

Happy Birthday to Amy

Amy goes out of her way to be at family gatherings. We are at her cousin Lane's wedding in Sacramento. Oct.17, 2008

Happy occasions make happy memories. Kate's baptism on Sept. 27, 2008

Amy goes out of her way to make the occasion perfect. The day was wonderful.

This was in March of '07 at Grandpa Macdonald's 90th birthday party. This is me with my best friends. The girls have always been good friends to each other. I received a compliment from my brother-in-law Evan, he said 'your girls really like each other." They really helped their mother out that day in the kitchen.

When the Big C enters my life

I looked happy here! I guess I didn't realize what was coming and how I would look and feel. This picture was taken Jan, 1, 2006

Mr Daniel gave me a buzz. My hair was coming out by the hand fulls. I remember thinking I looked like a werewolf in the shower. I tried to wash my hair and my hands and arms were covered in hair. A few days later he took shaving cream and a razor and got the rest of it off. This was the first time he had used our clippers. I didn't understand why he couldn't get me bald since I had given him several bald spots when I cut his hair. :) Picture taken about Jan 28.

This was about 4 weeks after radiation ended and about 12 weeks after finishing 6 months of chemotherapy. Picture taken Sept. 27, 2006

This is brand-new Miss Ellie. I told Amy I could be an adult body in the house, but that was about all I could do at that time.