Spring Fever

It was 75F today.  We had a nice cool breeze to accompany it and after school the kids and I went on a bike ride to the park.  Dash tagged along too.  He's a quick learner, running next to me as I rode my bike (he was on a leash).  The kids had a wonderful time and we were so happy to be blessed with a little heat wave in January.  The weather man is calling for snow on Monday. 

Erin was posing for all of her pictures and showing off big time.  I was afraid she was going to hurt herself or fall.  She tends to do that.

Jack was pretending to be in jail.  I remember doing that when I was a kid.

Dash was on high alert the whole time.  He about had a heart attack when we walked down to the water. There were ducks and geese everywhere.

Luke was showing off his new shoes to a random playground kid.  He has been showing them to everyone.

I love the vivid blue in contrast to the orange. It was so pretty today!

Now that they were able to get out of the house and not bother each other, they played so well together.  As winter drags on, so does our patience with each other.

I love watching the Canadian Geese fly.  They hang around OKC in the winter.  They're fun to watch.

Our housing area is on the upper right of this picture, but we are further back.  We come fishing (catch & release) here when it's warm.

I love my baby!

Love him too, he's getting so big!

The Happiest Place on Earth

It just dawned on me that I haven't blogged about our day at Disneyland.  While in California we worked very hard going through my Mother's things (and all of her parents/grandparents things). It was wonderful spending so much time with family and going through old pictures and memorabilia, but we took a day to just relax.  I've been there a million times, living so close and all, so it brought back a lot of memories of my Mother going there.  I was sad on the inside most of the day, but stayed happy on the outside for the children.  They had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back.

We went with my sister and her family.  It was nice having 4 adults.  We were able to go on rides with our spouses that we normally wouldn't be able to do unless the kids were teenagers.  Howard and I are so used to parenting without the help of extended family, it was a wonderful treat.

Tea Cups...my old age has lowered my tolerance for spinning rides.  I made sure I rode with Luke so I would be in the "slow" cup.

There were hardly any lines that day.  We went on a Tuesday, it was awesome!  I think back on waiting in line for hours on end in my younger days.  No.Thank.You!  

My FAVORITE picture all day.  Lovin' Luke's fist bumps!

My 2nd Favorite picture.  My niece, Nadia, is a couple weeks older than Jack.  She is precious!

One of the few pictures of me.

Enjoying Toon Town

In line for Pirates of the Caribbean.  I think it's weird that they added Jack Sparrow to it.  Now the new generation will think the movie came first...not the ride.  What a shame.  We tried to make dinner reservations in the restaurant inside the ride, but it was booked.  Next time we'll be sure to make reservations when the park opens.

Another favorite.

Don't ask me why Luke is raising his hand, I don't know why.

 On our way into Small World.  It was well done, but a disappointment for a longtime fan hesitant of change. They changed the song and decorated it for Christmas on the inside.  I was surprised and a little sad.  (BIL-Levi was kind enough to share a picture...see I'm on the far right.)

Outside of Small World...beautiful lights!

Still Learning

I finally learned how to add post dividers to my blog.  I'm slow at this! Glad to have it done so I can go to bed.  Looking forward to adding more recipes to my recipe box and also adding a project page at the top of the blog tomorrow.  This is some fun stuff!

Happy Birthday Howie!

Howie turned 9 years old this morning!  Crazy how fast it goes by.  Only 9 more and he'll be 18.  WOW!  We opened presents at 6am (gift cards, and a Wii game aren't good picture moments). Since today was such a normal day, I tried to make it special.  I took Burger King to school for Howie and Erin's lunch.  Their school has an awesome eating area for parents and children. It's called the "Cub Cafe", since their mascot is the Saber cub.  I think Luke and Jack had the most fun eating lunch at school today.

It's Erin's half birthday today...they are exactly 18 months apart to the day. 

I love his silly face!

Brotherly love.

Howie requested a white cake for his birthday, but I think white cake is gross, so I suggested Angel Food cake, since it is also white.  He happily agreed.  I was relieved!  At the last minute I googled a frosting for it and whipped it up.  It was SOOOOOO amazing!  We were literally spooning it into our mouths.  Although it's one of those things where you can have too much of a good thing.  Several of us got tummy aches (including myself). It's similar to divinity, but slightly different.  If you love divinity this frosting is for you, but if you don't like divinity then stear clear of this.

Just in case you didn't know, Howie is 9 years old. Howie insisted that I take this picture.  I like it!

Luke ate ALL of his cake, and was saving some for later on his face.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Janice Marie Simmons was born on January 15, 1951 in Iowa to parents Lorne and Charlotte Simmons. She had an older brother, Rick, who cared for her deeply. At the age of 12 she and her family moved to Riverside, CA to make a fresh start since her parents had divorced and remarried each other.  After several years it didn't work out and they divorced a second time. 

 1951 about 6 months old

1953
With her father and brother.
Jan was a spit fire when she was little.  She would stand up to her Dad when he did something that she didn't like.

She once shared with me a funny story...
When she was a little girl she thought black babies were so much luckier than white babies.  Black babies got to drink chocolate breast milk, but all the white babies got was plain white breast milk.

Ted's grad night, 1968. High School Sweethearts.

While in high school, Jan worked at Kentucky Fried Chicken.

She also started smoking at the age of 16. She once told me a story about going out in the unofficial smoking area and taking a smoking break with the teachers at Ramona. Times sure have changed!

1969

Senior Class Picture

It snowed in Riverside during her senior year, and she ditched school that day.  She said if it ever snowed while we were in school we could skip that day too.  It didn't snow again in Riverside for another 40 years...2009. (At least not that I'm aware of.)

1972 Jan with first husband and pregnant with her first daughter Lori.

She was married on Feb 14, 1971. 

Jan and Lori, about 1977

Jan and Lisa early 1980

June 21, 1980

Married the boy next door...literally.

She met my father while she was living with her mother after her first divorce and my Dad moved in next door. She moved in with him, had my sister Lisa, got married, and then had me in 1981. She told me that she purposefully waited to marry my father until after she had Lisa to prove that she married my Dad because she wanted to, not because she had to. They divorced in 1985 and we moved next door into Grandma's house until 1987 when she  reconnected with her high school sweetheart, Ted.  We moved out of Grandma's house and into a rented house with Ted. That same year she became pregnant, but later miscarried.  On May 7, 1988 they were married on a mountain top.  We were all so happy, Ted was a keeper!  That same month we moved into the house she would live in the rest of her life.  In December 1988 she had my brother Jody. During this time, she worked for the Riverside County Welfare department, but because they wouldn't give her more than 6 weeks maternity leave, she decided to quit her job and open a home day care business.  She successfully operated it in her home for the next 20 years, until she was physically unable to care for the children anymore.

Halloween 1989

She loved listening to oldies music.  She would call in to the local radio station (KRTH 101.1) so much that she won several thousand dollars in cash prizes in her life.  She was a devoted fan!

Lori's HS graduation, June 1990

Jan is holding her only boy, Jody. She always said that if she would have had a boy first, she would have stopped having babies.  She loved Jody very much, but I guess he was a lot harder than her three girls. 

early 1990s

Jan is on the left holding Jody, and my beloved Grandma is on the far right.  She passed in 1996.

Also pictured is myself, Godmother Linda, and sisters Lisa & Teresa.  My mom and Grandma had such a close relationship.  They talked every day and were best friends and they always lived in the same zip code...92504.  My mother cared for her mother the last months of her life.  The last full day they shared together was Mother's day 1996.  Grandma passed away the next morning.  My mom was by her side, reading to her and loving her on that very special Mother's day.  

In late 2002, she was diagnosed with COPD. She finally quite smoking after 35 years, cold turkey.  It took its toll on her body and she was forced to wear an oxygen tube for the rest of her life.  We were all so proud of her that she was able to beat the addiction.  We were blessed to have her for another 8 years.

May 2005

Grandma Jan with Erin and Howie

May 2009, this was our last visit with her alive and active. We were planning on going out in March of this year to visit her, but that obviously got bumped up sooner.

May 2009

Out to dinner in Riverside, CA at her favorite restaurant, Ancho's.

As a child and as an adult, everyone told me how much alike I am with my mom.  I look like her and I act like her.  Honestly, I didn't like hearing that.  I fought it. I wanted to be my own person.  As a teenager I found my mom to be quite annoying.  Now that I am older and she is gone, all those "annoying" qualities are now endearing.  We are both stubborn and it makes me sad that we didn't have a closer relationship. We had a good relationship, but it wasn't as close as she had with her mother, and that saddens me.  Now I must move on and work on my relationship with my own daughter.  I will cherish the good times I had with her, appreciate her annoying endearing qualities, and not take people in my life for granted. She was a very good woman, but sometimes it was hard for me to see that.  

Thank you for allowing me to honor my Mother on her 60th birthday. Every year on her children's birthday she would sing the Happy Birthday song.  It didn't matter if we were living in the house or in Japan.  She sang it!  Now, we will sing to her today to celebrate her life.

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday dear Mom,

Happy birthday to you!

I love you!

Saying Good-Bye

Make sure your speakers are on.

This was taken from my journal...

My mom passed away last night at 10:59pm on December 29, 2010. She was 59 years old. Her birthday was in two weeks. She was taken off of life support around 10:15pm and slowly faded away peacefully. She was medicated to ease any possible discomfort. Ted and Jody held her right hand, while Lisa and I held her left. Lori would occasionally hold her hand as well, but would frequently caress her foot and leg area, or move up to her head and stroke her hair. Linda also was there by her side touching Mom's hand. We kissed her forehead, gave her gentle hugs, and generally tried to keep close physical contact with her as she slipped away. Her heart was strong, but as the oxygen left her body, she noticeably changed color and lost significant body heat. She went from her pale, but alive self, to an ashen yellow color. Her nail beds turned purple and when we finally were able to let go and walk away, her forehead was cold as we gave her one final kiss goodbye. Her hand was still warm when we left because of our body heat. Howard and I were the last to leave her side, it was very difficult to walk away. In all we had Ted Elliott, Jody Elliott, Lori Rich, Lisa Ozanich, myself, Linda Cayton (her best friend), Tony Elliott (whom I might add, offered up a wonderful prayer that provided much comfort over my Mother.), Howard Parkes, Levi Ozanich, Keith Elliott, and  Elena (Jody's girlfriend).

The Funeral

January 6, 2011 was a beautiful day for a funeral. It was well attended and much easier emotionally for me than the night she passed away.  If anyone would like me to email a picture of my mother in her casket, I have them.  Out of respect for those wishing to remember her alive, I will not show those publicly.

Her final wishes were to be buried with a satin pillow and a blanket to keep her warm.  We honored that.

Lisa, Ted, and Tina.  Ted is the best Dad in the world.  He married my mom when I was 7. 

My 22 year old brother, Jody.

Some of the grand kids. (l-r) Nadia, Jackie, Erin, Howie, Luke (in Howard's arms asleep), and Jack (not shown) is sleeping on the pew next to Howard.  

Jody and Lisa

Ted saying his last goodbye.

Closing the casket.

Funeral services were held in the chapel on the same grounds as the cemetery, so we walked behind the hearse. It was very peaceful.

A view of Mt. Baldy in the background.

She was laid to rest next to her mother, Charlotte.

My mother's children. 

Lori, Lisa, Jody, and Tina

(It's a bad idea to have two cameras going at the same time!)

During the week prior to her funeral we all cleaned the house and went through many things.  I came across a poem that my Mother had written about her Mother.  I read it at the funeral.

Mother looks so frail & weak

It's about her health that I speak.

The day will come that she will go

But in the meantime, I worry so.

Her speech is slow and her mind's not quick.

I wish she weren't so very sick.

We want her to stay

For Which we do pray.

As God will decide

And he'll be on her side.

My sister Lori also asked that this scripture be read, and so the Pastor read it for us.

Proverbs 31:10-31

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.