8 May Birthdays Coming Up!

We have eight birthdays coming up next month and Mother's Day as well. I think there will be lots of family get-togethers soon.

We have such a large family, many months look like this. May's Birthdays: Jake, Ashley, Nicholas, Sherri, Gwyneth, and Kim. Goodness!

It was Heather's birthday on the 19th of this month. I wish I had remembered to call her. Jeri was so good about calling her children early in the morning to with them happy birthday.

Joey teased and told her mother that that was her day to sleep in, but Jeri always said, that she wanted her birthday wish to be the very first one her children heard.

She was much better at this birthday stuff that I am. That would be partly due to the fact that she has four kids and five grandchildren. I think I could do better if I only had a few to remember. I might not be as good about birthday wishes and presents, but I sure am happy to all the children and grandchildren in my life. It's wonderful!

Our Friend Steve

You've heard of Our Friend Flicka, or Our friend Erma? No. Then you are too young!




This post is about our friend Steve. We have a son Steve, and a son-in-law Steve. Lots of Steve's to love in this family. It's almost as bad as our Mike's.

We had a nice visit with Steve on our way home from Phoenix a few weeks ago. He has been so sick, it breaks my heart to see him down.

He was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder a few years ago, and it took an entire year to get him regulated and on the medicine his body needed.

Then the depression started again. He is thanking his Heavenly Father because this episode only lasted 6 months. Can you imagine? I was so shocked when he told me that! I said, "six months.!" And his reply was quicker the second time, "Yes! It was a year last time!"

He has lost a lot of weight and looks too thin to me. He isn't eating very much. Part of the reason is when they put him on the medicine that made him feel well, it also put 20 pounds on him. The weight came off during the depression period, and he doesn't want to gain it back.

I've Been Very Sick!

I have been very sick! A few weeks ago I went to the hospital at 2:30 in the morning, with my heart racing 130 beats per minute. My potassium had fallen to 3.3 and 4 is normal. The low rang is 3.5. At 8:00 A.M. I had been asleep and my heart rate finally returned to normal. It literally woke me up. The doctor and nurse came in at that very minute to see how I felt.

I thought I would go home and resume my normal activities, but at noon when I was released, I realized I was as weak as a kitten. I got home and was taken aback at how difficult it was to do the smallest task.

I went to bed and Mike went to our granddaughter Elyse's first birthday party. I felt badly about missing it, but there was no other choice. I sleep several hours. Of course, I had only had 4 hours of broken sleep all night long.

I really expected to snap back, but it was about two weeks before I started feeling like myself again.

Wheat, milk, soy, corn, and sugars, were the contributing factors in making my heart race.

I had been eating poorly all week long, and that night I had a small piece of a cinnamon roll that our neighbor brought over, as a house warming gift. We had just moved in 5 days prior to this.

The sugar and wheat caused my blood sugar to rise to diabetic levels and drop to hypoglycemic levels, which took the potassium down with it. The normal range for potassium levels is a high of 4 and a low of 3.5. Mine was 3.3. I have been on a potassium supplement ever since.

I went back for a 3 month check up and my potassium level was still low.

Our Children Are Really Good Parents!

Kids make the world-go-round! We feel very blessed to have a large family! There are worries that come with a large family though. We just have that much more to worry about.

Thank Heavens! We have wonderful kids who are great parents and are teaching our grandchildren good principals, and are teaching them to live the gospel. Nothing is more important than that!

What a wonderful compliment to us that are children are good parents. They a better parents to their children than we were to them. And that is the way I like it!

The Monson's David, Chris, and Lydia


The Brown's STeve, Sherri, Quincy and Anna













The Alvord's Jake, Amy, Emily and Ashley

Lisa, JJ, and Leah with Grandma Peggy


I don't have all our kids on this page yet. And I don't have all the kids these couples have. More to come.

Gluten Intolerant

Many of my posts are about foods that heal, that's because I have a bowel disorder, and I can't digest certain foods. Wheat, and in fact, all grains except rice. I can digest some seeds that are ground into flour and used as grains. These exceptions are: Teff, Quinea, Buckwheat, (no it's not wheat. It's a berry.) I can also have Flax Seed.

Thank Heavens for natural food stores. In Ogden, I go to Good Earth. It's a little pricey, but these stores are the only ones where I can find foods to eat like like: cereals. Even Rice Krispy's have corn in them. I can't have corn. And many of the cereals you might find that seem like they should be ok, are not, because there is no much cross-contamination. They use the same areas to process the rice foods as they do wheat, corn, and oats. It's very frustrating.

They also sell rice breads, rolls, waffles, English Muffins etc., I could go on and on, but I am so happy to find foods to eat.

I have even discovered some treats. I buy the Almond Breeze chocolate milk, put one cup of milk and one banana, a few cut up strawberries in a blender, with some ice, and it makes a wonderful shake! You can vanilla if you want.

I am constantly reading and learning had to heal my body with good food and herbs. I always say, "Eat fresh. As close to the earth as possible, with the exception of worms or dirt of course. (Although, I think there might be more nourishment in both of those than most of the foods people put in their mouths.) I also love organic foods.

We need to learn how to cleanse our bodies by using natural foods and herbs, and increasing the
level of health. I did a lemon cleanse a few months ago and felt very well afterward. My niece Heather was just here visiting two days ago and told me that she had done the same lemon cleanse, but she stayed on it for a week. I wasn't able to do it that long. I have blood sugar problems that won't let me have them much maple syrup.

Heather has always had a problem with bloating, and said that after the cleanse she wasn't bloated near as badly as she normally was.

The lemon cleanse is very simple: 8 ounces of water, two tablespoons juice from a fresh lemon, and 1 tablespoon real maple syrup, and 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cayanne pepper.

The lemon and water cleanse your bowel, the pepper cleanses your blood, and the maple syrup keeps your blood sugar from falling. The maple syrup makes my blood sugar rise and then fall.

Don't use the syrup in the stores that are made for pancakes. In fact, I would tell you never to use that syrup. The maple syrup from the natural health food stores tastes great on pancakes.

So for this cleansing recipe use only real maple syrup from a natural health food store. And make sure it is grade B. That sounds funny, because why wouldn't you use grade A. The reason is because grade A is refined. We want it as natural as possible. Grade C is a little too natural for me. It is straight out of the tree, bugs and all.

My Gratitude Journal

Many years ago I was watching Oprah and she told how she kept a gratitude diary, and that it was changing her life. All you have to do is write 5 things a day that you are grateful for.

My five things for the day:

1- I'm very grateful for my wonderful husband Mike.

2- Very grateful for my wonderful children: Kenny, Mike, Cari, Kim, Chris, Stephen, Sherri, Amy Lisa, and Brian.

3- Very grateful for a wonderful mother, Dorothy Code, who was an angel mother to us.

4- Very grateful for wonderful grandparent, John and Frances Linton who converted to the LDS church, as young adults in England, came to America and insprired 10 children to keep the faith.

5- I'm grateful to live in this wonderful land. The good old USA.

There are about a million things in this life that I am grateful for. When I did this years ago, I was amazed that I could think of 5 different things everyday.