Every Girl Needs Her Mom

Hi. My mom went back to Utah today.

I'm sad.

It's amazing, that at the ripe old age of 35, I still love, depend on, and miss my mom so much.

I loved her being here in my home.

I loved her seeing my family.

I loved her looking at Gabrielle and loving her almost as much as I do.

I loved (and hated) seeing tears in her eyes when she rocked Gabby to sleep.

I loved the way she danced with Macie.

I loved the way she calms me down when I'm stressed.

I love the constant unconditional love she gives me.

I loved the way she reminds me to live in the moment.

She's been gone for 5 hours and I already miss her.

Mom, thanks for all your help and love this weekend. It was wonderful to spend Oct. 16 with you, 2 years in a row!

Side note: Sorry for the old picture, we have neglected to take one together in a while!

A Kettle of Lilacs

I wanted to show everyone my moms latest work. This is our family cookbook. "A Kettle of Lilacs" named after my grandma Palmers favorite flower. Mom wrote the first version of the cookbook in 2001. Let me tell you how that book came to be.

My grandma Ruby Palmer was a great lady. The things she taught me both when she was trying to, and not, will forever stick with me. She was such a wonderful loving grandma, and a really good cook!

Grandma had several notebooks, loose papers and a specific green spiral notebook that I remember, to hold all her recipes. Most of the recipes had been used for years, and were family favorites.

During the last couple of years of her life she lost her sight. This was particularly hard because of her love of cooking. It was one of the ways she showed us love.

My cousin Heidi took all of her recipes a few months before her death. Heidi was going back home to California, and was going to type all of them up on her computer, to make sure we all had them.

My grandma died the end of Oct. 1996. My grandpa, (her spouse of 55 years) went to spend Christmas with my aunt Judy and her family in California. This was great for grandpa to get out of the house for the holiday.

Christmas Eve, my aunt Judy's home burned down. Gladly, everyone made it out safely. So many of the family's priceless possessions though, including all the recipes were gone. It was so traumatic for all of them.

In 1997 Heidi was engaged to be married. My mom wanted to give her something she would remember. She wanted to get as many of those recipes together as she could and make a book for her. She called all of my grandmas old friends from Utah and Idaho. She talked to all the family to see who had which recipes. She ended up with quite a few, and then decided to add other favorite recipes of our other family members as well. The book was fabulous, and Heidi loved her gift. We ALL loved her gift!

It was so great having all our family favorites in one book. She decided to update the book last Spring. It was a lot of work, but the new version is beautiful, and even more dear to our hearts than the old one. On each of the divider pages is an old picture of my grandma, grandpa or both. They made a handsome couple!



As the family has grown, more recipes have been included. I love the book because I've had almost everything in it before, and it's not weird food. Those of you who watch the FoodNetwork like me, know what I mean. I love trying new things, but sometimes you just want something a little more normal.

Thanks mom for doing all the hard work, so we can just look in one spot for that "special" recipe.
If anyone is interested in a book, let me know. I'll give ya a deal!

Mother's Day

May 11, 2008
Well technically, this was my first (real) Mother's Day. I was with Macie last year, but I don't usually refer to myself as her mom. She has a mom, so sometimes I think I'm just the lady that takes care of her and loves her. It's still weird to think of myself as a mom. Sometimes I look at Gabby and have to remember actually giving birth to her to believe she's mine! I'm so grateful for my 2 girls! What an adventure these last two years have been. I've learned a lot about quite a few things, but especially motherhood. WOW! It's wonderful and terrifying at the same time. It can be tiring and exhilarating in the same hour. I feel like I always appreciated my mom, but now I do on a different level. You just never stop working. Even when you physically stop, your mind keeps thinking about what you've got to do or should be doing now. I'm not sure how moms continue to stand up at the end of the day. I guess those are the times when your children say or do something amazing... or not. When they say something that touches your heart, or smile in just that way that only they can. Then you realize that the Lord has given you a gift that you will work tirelessly, until you cannot move or speak any longer, to make them into their best selves. We are blessed to be moms.....