Joni's 32nd birthday and Tom's 57th

32 years ago on the 20th of July I was blessed with my very first baby and she was a beautiful little girl. I was up early to take Tom to work and then I had about a million things to do. Go to the store, pay bills, Dr's appointment and Tom's birthday. I did everything I needed to up until the Dr's apt but after visiting the Dr I went to pick up Tom because the Dr said I was in labor and was going to have the baby that night. We went to the hospital around 4 o'clock, Dr Rasmussen came around 5:40 to break my water and then we waited for our little baby to make its way into the world. Tom was with me the whole time in the labor room helping me along and then around 8:30 it was time for me to deliver. Tom got ready to go in and then at 8:48 pm July 20th Joni came into the world. Tom and I were both so pleased and I was so happy to have our little girl. She weighed 7 lbs 11.5 oz and was 20 3/4 in tall. Tom got to hold her for awhile and then they put her on my tummy so I could see her. She looked so beautiful. The nurse kept saying she is going to have black hair and I was so pleased that she had Tom's hair and not mine! I went to the recovery room for about an hour, Joni to the nursery and Tom to call friends and relatives.l We all got to together again around 10:30 pm and we fed Joni for the first time. Tom went home around 11:30 and then I tried to sleep which I didn't do all night. I was too excited I guess. The next day Tom, Joni and I all got better acquainted and I got to see what a good baby she was. She hardly ever cried. We came home from the hospital today. On our way we stopped off at Sears and bought a mattress for our crib which Tom held on to all the way home ( on the roof of our car). Our first day at home has been a success. Everything seems to be going well and the people in our ward have been a help. It is so fun to see Tom and Joni together. You can just see how proud Tom is and it makes me feel so happy. Tom has been doing the housework and I am just taking it easy. l I am heading off to bed now because I am real tired but a happy mother and wife. ( Journal entry July 21st 1978)

Happy Birthday Smart Cookie. You are a wonderful daughter and I am lucky to be your mom.

4th of July

Tom and I were invited over to our friends house for the 4th. We had a potluck and then later that night we watched the fireworks over Hayden Lake.

It was beautiful and I somehow forget that I live in such close proximity to lakes and mountains. Such beauty and the weather is absolutely terrific right now.

We were sitting out back tonight and commenting on how nice it is not to have those nasty mosquitoes.

We are anxious to see the family later this month.

Good week.

GPS questions

My kids gave me a Tom Tom GPS for Mother's Day. A few days ago I used it for the first time. I don't understand how it works but it sure is fun.

Blog Comments

I have decided to review all comments before they are posted. That way I can get rid of any inappropriate comments.

34 Years Together Happy Fathers Day

It seems most people want to know how married couples met. It can be a mystery at times to think that two people that never really knew each other before can commit to being married to each other forever. Well for posterity sake I thought I would write about our story and share it with my blog followers.

Part of it will be from my journal and part will be from my memories of that time 34 years ago.

In 1976 I would often go to SLC to visit my friend T who was in the SL nursing program. She was instrumental in getting us together. This is how it came about.

1. I saw Tom for the first time in the U of U Institute church parking lot. My friend T pointed him out to me from a distance. I must admit I liked his tallness, dark hair and smile. She told me he had recently returned from a mission which I later found out was 5 months previous.

2. The first time I met him he was with his cute friend S T and they were helping a girl move in to the apartment where my friend T lived in SLC. This time I really liked his smile and dark curly hair but he was with another girl so that was fine with me. I was not the pushy type in any way.

3. A few weeks later he came over to T's apartment to drop off Valentines for all the girls living there. I was just visiting so I wasn't a recipient of a card but I did get to meet him. That was it for that encounter. This time I liked his thoughtfulness.

4. Later that same night of the Valentine delivery he came over to the apartment to play "Dictionary" with me, T and Steve. It was a fun game and we still remember one of the words that we had to define that night. ripophogy which means the eating of filth. Crazy that we still remember that word.

5. The next day he asked me to a Doobie Brothers concert which I said yes to. It really was a concert at a local church. The U of U college symphony was playing. Later that night we went for a walk through the local graveyard and he showed me where some of his relatives were buried. I remember there was snow on the ground and it was cold outside. We went into a local laundry room to get warm.

6. I asked him to a girls choice dance at my school. He traveled the 50 miles to see me and then went back home. We also drove to Bridal Veil Falls that night. That should have been a forewarning of things to come.

7. Tom asked me to see a Janice Ian contest so once again I made the trek up to SLC by hitching a ride from someone on the ride board.

8. And so it continued until he asked me to marry him on May 18th. We were married on July 28th after knowing each other for only 5 months. Call us crazy but it has worked.

We have had our adventures and our trials right from the start. Within a few months of our getting married I was fired from my job and we had a fire in our apartment. The fires continued through the years consisting of joys and hardshipsthat intertwined our lives.

Now after all these years we still enjoy our simple bonfires in the backyard and the flame continues.

Isn't She Beautiful

We had 4 wonderful days with our only granddaughter baby M. She is in the stranger danger stage but managed to warm up to us just before she headed home. She loves her mommy and daddy. She was the first one to try out my refurbished high chair that we purchased at a thrift store in California. It was great because she sat with all the grown ups at the big table.

Brothers

Gotta share the pic of the brothers. They are so cute.