Papa's Carrots

Dear Charlie and Ella,

My maternal grandfather, Grant Symmons Anderson or Papa as we called him, had an amazing green thumb. He used to grow all kinds of flowers and vegetables in his yard. He even had an old Beta video camera that he used to take footage of his garden and make us kids watch it. We all hated it, but the thought of him narrating the video of his roses makes me laugh now.

When Uncle Sherman, Auntie Jani, and I were very little, we used to love to go to his house on Browning(?) Street in Point Loma. One of our favorite things to do at his house was to go in the backyard and pick a carrot out of his garden. He would tell us which ones were ready to be picked, and we would slowly pull them out and pretend like we were Bugs Bunny saying, "Aaa, what's up doc?" as we ate them. At his funeral in 2010, my father told the following story. He said that there were times when Papa did not have any carrots in his garden for us to pick. He knew that we loved to pick them so much that he used to go to the grocery store and buy carrots with the tops still on, bury them in the garden, and then let us pull them out. After my dad had said that, I remembered the times where the carrots would come out a little more easily than usual. I remembered that sometimes the carrots were giant and straight and other times they were skinny and curvy with little root "hairs" on them. Either way they were delicious! Yum, I can almost taste the sweetness of those fresh picked (and store bought) carrots now. It warms my heart to think that Papa would go to all that trouble just to make us kids happy, and it's funny that I didn't know he did that until after he passed away.

Although Papa died before either of you were born, I want you to know about your ancestors. They are the roots of this family, and you have been blessed with strong roots who have nourished our family with love and knowledge. I hope to continue to share stories with you about your family members so that when we are all united again someday, you will feel as though you know them already.

Love,
Mom

Mother's Day 2012

Dear Charlie and Ella,

This is my second Mother's Day being a mom, and I want you to know that I LOVE being a mom.  I know that sometimes I freak out and lose my patience with you, but I love you so much.  Here are some of my favorite parts of being a mom to you:

Extra snuggles and kisses at bedtime (or anytime for that matter)

The way you look at me and smile

Watching you two play together and make eachother laugh

Ticklish spots

Getting to be there to watch you learn and grow

Listening to Ella growl every time she sees a lion

The funny look Charlie gets on his face when I feed him something new

Saying family prayers with you

Watching you play with your Dad, and the look on his face when he is playing with you

Taking you for walks to the park

Ella taking Charlie's hand and pulling him (with my help) into the play room to play with her

Reading books to you

Listening to Ella yell at the ants outside our house

But my favorite part of being your mom is getting the chance to love you more than I thought possible

I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father for entrusting you to me, and I hope that when I see him again I can look him in the eyes and know that I did the best job I could.

I also want to let you know how happy I am to have such a wonderful husband who is an amazing dad as well.  He made my Mother's Day special this year by installing a new knob on my shower.  I had been complaining about the knob on my shower since we moved into this house in 2006, and he was so sweet to listen and do something for me that he knew I would appreciate.  He also knew that I wanted a good night's rest, which hasn't happened in a looong time, so he slept on the floor in the hallway outside your rooms so that he would hear you wake up and take care of you while I slept.  On top of all that, he also made sish ka-bobs and fried rice from scratch for me for dinner tonight.  For dessert, he made homemade vanilla bean gelato.  It was so yummy!  I hope some day you are as lucky as I am to find a spouse who will make you feel special, not just on the holidays, but everyday.

Call me cheesy, but I love my family.  Happy Mother's Day to me!

Love,

Mother

Your First Easter

Dear Charlie,

This year was a special Easter not only because it was your first, but also because your Nana and Papa came from San Diego to share it with you.  Your Nana brought you an Easter bucket with these great toys in them.  I looked all over for Easter baby toys, and I couldn't find anything, but your Nana managed to get the best toys.  She put a soft rattle with a chick on it that you loved to chew on.  She also found this cool plastic egg that had a button that makes the eggs light up and spin around.  If ever you are sad or angry, all I have to do is light up the egg, and you immediately calm down and become mezmorized by it.

This is the rattle your Nana gave you.

I got you an Easter bucket and had your name put on it.  I filled it with some little baby snacks that you just became old enough to try.

Your Nana also gave you that cute little outfit to wear.

I can't wait until next Easter when you are old enough to participate in all of the festivities.

I want to share with you the real reason that we have Easter. Easter is a time to remember the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior. He lived his life as an example to us so that we could know how to live our lives. He suffered in a way that I will never understand so that we could repent of our sins and return to live with our Father in Heaven. I know that our Savior was resurrected and that he lives today. He lives and loves you. I hope that you will grow to have a relationship with him so that you will be grateful for all of the things he has done for you. I know that my Savior loves me, and I love him too. My love for you helps me to understand the love that my Father in Heaven has for me.

Sincerely,
Mom