Life As We've Known It....40th Anniversary Tribute

Wow! We just celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary on Sunday, March 20, 2011! The years have just literally flown by and I'm in shock almost when I see the "40th" in print. Amazing!

We celebrated with all of our children and spouses at a lovely dinner at Biaggi's Italian Restaurant at the Gateway. Thanks guys! It was just so wonderful to have you all there (except Jill & Chris who are vacationing in Florida) to celebrate this mementous occasion with us.

It's been a time to reflect on the years gone by.

Here are some thoughts: Disneyland. Madly in love. First home. Small. Harrison Avenue. Heart-shaped tub. Zions Bank. Finishing College. Marine Corp. Quantico Va. First child. Beautiful daughter, Jill. May 30, 1972. 8 lbs. 2 oz. Joy. Holy labor! 24 hours. Blessings begin! Belleau Wood Apts. Noisy Neighbor. Vietnam. Washington D. C. on 4th of July. National Mall, Nixon, Watergate. War ends. Graduation Basic School. Jacksonville, N. C. First house. Great friends, Pat & Al Harris. Biggest snow storm ever! Grandma Murdock sick. Barstow, Ca. Base Housing. Clark & Anne Burt. Hot. Swimming. Golfing. Supply Officer. Pregnant. Swimming. First son. John Jacob. 7 lbs. 3 oz. Handsome boy. Joy. July 14, 1973. Dad's buddy. Honey-dipped pacifiers. Laundry room. Smart. Imaginative. Toehead. Loved Barstow. Hot. Thrifty Drug Store. 25 cent ice cream cones. McDonald's fish sandwiches. Trips to Anaheim. Grandma Murdock passes away. August 1973. Human Relatins School San Diego. Me & kids alone for four months. Hard. Honorable discharge. Home to Hillcrest Avenue, SLC. 1974. Good to be home. Family grows. Second daughter. Such Happiness. Erin Elizabeth December 20, 1975. 7 lbs. 9 oz. Spunky. Only two hands, three kids. Rio Grande Railroad. Engineer. Roper yard. Engines. Mall trips. Sugarhouse Park. Roscoe. Running. Thorn Birds. Roots. My Turn on Earth. Saturday's Warrior. Moved. 940 East 1500 South. Bountiful, UT. Love. Great neighbors. Many friends. Home forever. Lake Powell. Camping. Cheyenne. Dog pound numerous times. Number two son born. Bradford Johnson. March 30, 1978. Beautiful boy. Blessed. Miracle. Car Accident. Victory Road. Head on @ 75 mph. Car totaled. Lives spared. Great works to do. Lucky. Bounced around in the waves. Bruiser. Scabby forehead. Sings. Star Wars forever. Happy boy. Sweet. Curly brown hair. Building greenhouses. Sea Ray. Skiing. Pineview. Kentucky Fried Chicken. Barnes Family. Holbrook Family. Memories. Pregnant again! Twins!! Sunday, November 2, 1980. Sad day. Happy day. One lived. One did not. Daughters. Julia Ann, 8:02 a.m. 4 lbs. 14 oz. Not alive. Kristina Marie, 8:03 a.m. 4 lbs. 7 oz. Breathing. Beautiful. Small. Elation. Pure joy. C-section. Ouch! Sweet girl. Tiny. Wonderful. Graveside service. Tiny box. Redwood Memorial Estates. Sleep sweet girl. Til we meet agian. Indiana here we come. New adventure. Outside the box. Carmel. Count Fleet Court. Moved in November 2, 1982. Fishers Ward. Bishop. YW President. Five kids. Are we done? Hmmm. We'll see. Humidity!! Green. Fireflies. Little bodies covered in green goo. Bright. Football. Champion players. Boys discover the turf. So much fun. Dance teams. Stars. Tornado watches. Green skies. Indy 500! David Allen. Lots of Friends. Village Farms ponds. Lightening Storms. Brad flying through the air. Almost struck. Westfield Schools. Sassy teenagers. Rough. What? It's a girl!! Our sunshine....Lindsay Suzanne, February 2, 1983! 8 lbs. 8 oz. Amazed at the world. Pure sweetness. Another toehead. Mr. Bluebird on My Shoulders. Forehead stitches. Bravest girl in the world. Fearless. Self-taught swimmer. Uh oh, pool cleared....there's been an accident! Our Lulu. Dandelion sniffer. Yellow nose. Revelation. There's a boy. NO! I'm done!! Body tired. Finances stretched. So many kids. So little time! Job offer. Detroit, Michigan? Why not! Great job! Great pay! Dave, Jill, Jake move January 1989 move. Left behind. Baby due in February. Commute on weekends. Harrison High School. Baby Boy born February 18, 1989. Spencer David. 7 lbs 9 oz.No surprise. Promise fulfilled. Caboose!! Done! Fini! Infinite Joy! Perfect addition. Happy boy! Adorable. Laughter. Silly. Buddy. Companion. Unique. Adored. Thank you for knowing what our family needed. April 1989. Michigan here we come. Interesting. No likey. Boss unethical. Not for us. Sad. How can we move the kids again? Broke news. Back to Utah. Kids supportive. Poor Jill & Jake. High School move. Brave and good. Home to Utah August 1989. Bountiful Blvd. Home. Short Stay. Mueller Park 7th Ward. 1196 East 1850 South. Bountiful. Children raised. Growth. Great adults. Proud parents. Grandparents. What a Joy!! Fulfilling. Full circle. Laughter. Ryan, Kaitlyn, Roxy, Jackson, Julia, Ollie, Ellie, Zeke, Sam, Sydney, Sawyer, Cody, Liam! Our crowning glory! Empty Nesters. March 2011. Just the two of us. We end as we began. Two. So much of life ahead!

The Best 40 years ever!! We've experienced it all and wouldn't change a thing! Thanks for the memories!! We love you all!

Grateful

Bradford Johnson Murdock

1Year Old

Dave & Jo Anne Murdock

Jill Anne Murdock

6weeks old

Quantico, Virginia

Jill and Sydney Today
Brad......Today

I haven't posted for a while. Life has been busy. There are so many things to catch up on that I don't know where to start. I've decided to copy a friends blog and just write about all the things I'm thankful for that have happened in the last three months.

I'm grateful for Bradford J.....he celebrated his 31st birthday on March 30. I love thinking about the kids when they were small on their birthdays. Brad came into the world on a day that was very frightening for us all. It was the day I was due and I was on my way to the Dr. for a checkup. I had just turned off Beck St. onto Victory Road and was starting up the hill when I could see this car barreling down the road....fast and swerving into the oncoming traffic lane. I didn't have a lot of time to think but knew I was going to be hit if I zigged or zagged at the wrong time or in the wrong direction. Things literally went into slow motion as I was thinking through the situation. I was hit head on by a drunk driver who was going 75 mph in the middle of the day!!! I was driving a Ford LTD which I know saved both of our lives. While I was in the emergency room, the investigating police officer came into my exam room and closed the door. He asked Dave and I if we were LDS. We replied yes. He said to us both, "Well, just between you and me, someone was watching out for you today. You should not have survived that crash. You didn't have a seatbelt on and should have been ejected from the vehicle." It truly was a miracle that I walked away with a fuzzy head from being knocked unconscious, a very sore and bruised body along with some stitches in my head from hitting the window. Brad was merely bounced around in the waves! Brad still has many of his characteristics that he had when he was a little guy.....tender hearted, loving, compassionate, athletic, anxious, handsome, smart, giving and so much more. He's our get-to guy...the one everyone calls when they need help and he's there without hesitation to lend a hand. You're a wonderful son, Brad! So glad you're an important part of OUR family!!!

I'm equally grateful for our firstborn...Jill Anne who celebrated her ???? birthday on May 30th (you're welcome that I didn't post your "real" age). We were so excited to become parents all those years ago. I'm amazed at how much I remember about that day.....it was the Monday of Memorial Day Weekend in Washington DC. It was hot and muggy. David was in Basic School Training at Quantico, Virgina. You were three weeks overdue!! Your actual due date was May 9. I was miserable and had been for quite a few months....for some reason my back always hurt and nothing seemed to relieve it. A condition I never had with my other pregnancies. I went to the hospital at abot 11:00 at night. My blood pressure was high and the Dr. on call started injecting me with some meds to bring it down......by 6:30 in the morning I had had 12 injections in my thighs!!! Dr. Olson who came on duty at that time hit the roof! He couldn't believe it! No more shots that day for blood pressure issues. Jill wasn't born until 4:57 pm. The nurse in charge was a battleax....no compassion whatsoever. Very little anesthesia to numb my pain.....no such thing as epidurals then.....you would have thought we lived in the dark ages the way I was treated! In hindsight, we felt very grateful that both Jill and I came through the birth without any side effects. It wasn't a very clean hospital, there were mosquitos everywhere. No air conditioning. Gnats in the sitz baths. I'd have to brush the bugs off the bottoms of my feet before getting into bed. Anyway, in that particular hospital, (Quantico Naval Hospital), the husbands were not allowed in the delivery room. However, Dr. Olson saw what a close and wonderful bond that Dave and I had so he bent the rule and told him to scrub in and get some surgical garb on....he was coming in!! I was so happy and relieved. When Jill was born we were elated to see such a beautiful and healthy 8 lb 2 oz, 21 inch long baby girl. We named her Jill after Dave's first love way back in kindergarten....her name was Jill and he always loved the name after that. So sweet! Jill was a very fast developer. She walked at 9 months. Barely crawled before that and was always on a dead run. She had us wrapped around her little finger from the minute we saw her. Jill, you are a joy and a blessing to our family. We're so grateful you chose to come to our family, too. Love you!!

I'm grateful to have the opportunity to remember all of our fallen soldiers and loved ones on Memorial day. Our little Olive wanted to go to the cemetery so Papa, me, Erin and Ollie went to Redwood Memorial Estates to put flowers on the graves of baby Julia, Grandma & Grandpa Murdock, and Uncle Tim. We've never been good at visiting the grave sites, but I'm really glad we went. It was a good day.

I'm grateful for good times with family. Took the kids to see Thomas the Train in Heber City. What a great time we had.....Thomas, train ride, games, tattoos, balloons, cotton candy, meltdowns!!! HaHa! It doesn't get any better than this!

I love summer! I'm so grateful for this beautiful season of the year. Without it, I would be insane! Literally! No, really, I would. Insane!! Warm days, sunshine, laying in the hammock, gardening, watching flowers grow, digging in the dirt, tomatoes....mmmm, delicious! Birds chirping, summer thunderstorms, cumulus clouds, starry skies, picnics, BBQ's, corn on the cob, the most beautiful sunsets on the planet, lazy days, the color green, longer days, baseball, hot dogs....these are a few of my favorite things!!!

I didn't realize I have so many things to be grateful for.....will finsih later!! Too much on this post already!

The "Bestest" Years of My Life

So, this Saturday is our Anniversary.....39 years of marriage and 40 years of being together! I remember when I was a teenager if someone had said they were married for 39 years I was sure I was talking to a relative of Methusela! It seemed like such a long time to be married....how could they be married that long and still be alive? I look back and think how silly those thoughts were.

I love David for so many reasons. He's gone above and beyond to make sure my life was good. He has kept true to all the promises he made me....every single one! Here is a list of the reasons why I love him and look forward to another 39 together....at least!
He's the hardest working man I have ever known.....no exceptions.

1. He honors his temple covenants.
2. He loves me and our children more than he loves himself.
   He gives me the best cards with the sweetest sentiments written inside.
3. He says he'll sleep downstairs if I complain about his snoring....because he wants me to have a good night sleep even if he won't.
4. He studies and loves the scriptures so he can bless his family with knowledge.
5. He loves everything that I cook even when it's yucky.
6. He's creative.
7. He's humorous.
8. He's cuddly (yes, Spence, I love a puffy dad).
9. He's safety from the world.
10. He's my soulmate.....no one else for me....EVER!
11. He would sacrifice everything for the people he loves.
12. He's an amazing provider.
13. He's the wind beneath my wings and is the reason for my success in life.
14. He's an adorable "Papa".

I could not have asked for a better life partner.

Thank you for the "Bestest" Years of My Life, David!

I Love You!

Daylight Savings!

I love daylight savings! Spring forward.....I don't even mind the lost hour of sleep! I've heard so many people say they don't like it. I can't exactly figure out why. First of all, it means spring is around the corner (1 week away....officially....according to the calender).

I realize mother nature may have other ideas but at least there is hope!). Secondly, and even better yet, it means summer is around the corner beyond spring (can you see me doing backflips?) Gardening, sunshine, warmth, higher seratonin levels, the sound of kids playing outside, BBQ, Brandon and Jacob climbing the apricot tree, long days, laying in the hammock reading a book, hummingbirds hovering around the feeder, swim parties, dance parties. I could go on and on......I really like Spring but I LOVE LOVE LOVE summer!!!! Daylight savings is just the beginning of a new hope for me......WooHoo!

Don't forget to spring forward this Saturday at midnight!

Mustache March?

So, I have this outrageously fun friend Melinda. I follow her blog on a regular basis and am always amazed at her positive outlook on life, events, and people. The great thing about Melinda is that she is the same in real life as she is sitting in her home, on her computer, blogging. She posted something a couple of days ago that I thought was so funny. It's about Mustache March. It could also be spelled moustache. Well, I thought it was something that her family had thought of and was doing just to get a laugh (they don't mind if they are a spectacle or that people laugh at them. In fact, I think they thrive on it). Ha!

Well, today while I was at lunch with Brad, he started to chuckle as he was looking at his iphone. Of course, being the nosey person that I am, I asked what he was laughing at. He said, "What is up with Mustache March?" One of his friends also had posted something about Mustache March! Now I'm curious. I had never heard of it before and here two times in as many days, I was hearing about Mustache March! It was then that I remembered that I had a picture of a couple of adorable little girls taken a few weeks ago by their equally adorable mom.........yep, you guessed it, SPORTING MUSTACHES! Then I found this on the internet.....surprised to see that it's a real celebration! Oh my, what next!

About Moustache March
Moustache March is a month long celebration of the most glorious facial hair known to man. The moustache isn't as commonly accepted as it once was but we feel that at least one month per year should be devoted to it.

Oh, I get it now! It's a celebration of facial hair! Celebrated by thousands and thousands of men (and a few special women) around the world who have a true respect for the most elegant of all facial hair types! An excuse to be macho and unkissable! An excuse to be unkept (unless you're Tom Selleck and then it's hubba hubba). An excuse to have it your way.....just this once!

Okay Men.....here's your chance to have a legitimate excuse to grow a mustache.....thick, thin, scraggly, handle-barred, over the lip, tickly or ugly. However it comes in, we'll accept it! May the best Mustache win......just remember, on March 31st it's outta here!!!

LOVE YOU

I just wanted to tell you all how awesome of a Mom I have!!! She's my best friend and confidant. She always knows what to say to make me feel better in any situation. She's just awesome!

I love her to pieces and am SO happy I was sent to this family!!

I Love You Mom!

-From Lu Lu

Winter, Winter, Go Away!!!

I don't like saying this, but I HATE winter!! I don't think I like anything about it. I start getting anxiety about it starting in October and then I stress over it until the threat of no more snow and cold temperatures are gone. I don't like being cold. I don't like having to wear so many layers of cumbersome clothes, I don't like being cooped up in the house day in and day out. I don't like looking at all the doggy doodoo that is deposited on my patio and driveway because I have a dog who can't find any grass to do his duty on.....it's like a land mine out there! Of course, I could clean it up, but have you ever tried cleaning up doo that has been covered in snow or been rained on.....not an easy task.....messy. Will wait until it dries out and then I'll use the heavy duty doodoo scraper to pry it off the concrete...Sigh. Winter is dark and grey, uninviting. Where has Mr. Sun been hiding? I think he has only reared his beautiful bright face a handful of times for months now. BooHoo! I don't like that the deer have been devouring my euonymous bush again this winter....I don't know how many more beatings it can take before it gives up the ghost! Ho Hum. I am so excited about Spring.....even temperatures in the mid to upper 50's will have me jumping for joy. Spring come soon! I've missed you so!