Grandma Ila

I feel like I was born into the best family. Grandma Ila was amazing. She made me my treasured care bear blankey. I brought it with me everywhere. When I was 5 I was entering kindergarten. My sister Krista told me that I had to give up my blankey because I was too old. I didn't believe her. What a silly concept! Giving up something I liked because other people didn't have one- not happening! I remember that I lost it at the Hill Cumora Pageant. I remember crying as we drove away. I loved going to visit grandma. She always had stargazer lilies, which are my favorite flower and they will always remind me of her. She had a very pretty rose garden, it was rectangular and there was an area of grass in the middle. There were often butterflies visiting. She really loved gardening. I loved her hugs. She always smelled like vanilla lotion. I get sentimental whenever I smell a garage because she had a huge basement/garage. We skated and played hide and seek and rode bikes and played Nintendo in that basement. Grandpa had a plane down there that he was building.

I loved her food. She made the most delicious slushie and parfait and oatmeal cookies and Christmas confections... then she also had a candy basket that we could pick from- So cool! She had the coolest toys whether you were taking a bath or playing with cousins. For bath toys she had a fisher price boat with little people and a dog and a ball chime that floated & this rubber duck family... I loved bath time. Then she had a toy/laundry room. She had this little kitchen that sits on a table. It had little plates and forks and spoons and cups and pots and pans. It was like 18 inches tall. Then she had 2 little desks, the prettiest dolls, dress up clothes, a fisher price little people town, pull toys and so forth... The older kids got to paint ceramics, I looked forward to doing it when I was older, but the kiln was gone by then. As a teenager I learned a lot about grandma. I went to visit with just grandma for a week while my cousins were on vacation. We played games and talked about lots of things. I remember that she was always complimenting me during games, telling me I was smart and clever. She told stories about our ancestors; she was very good at family history. We went out to lunch and talked about Zora and the gold rush and one of our ancestors owning 1/2 of what is now Anaheim, California? (I think that's right, I don't remember that detail too well though). I admired grandma. She came to visit when mom got her hip surgery. We went to the library and she told me how she loved reading novels. I read a novel while she was visiting because I knew it would impress her. I saw her reading scriptures one night and asked where she was reading, she told me about the story of Job. During that visit she also expressed to mom that she thought I was a little vain, I wasn't offended, just curious about how I came off that way, I get it now of course. My grandma had so much love in her heart it was nie impossible to be offended by her. My son Levi has her eyes, I often think of her when I look at his eyes. I love that she took the time to compile her personal and family history for me. I also enjoy the DVD my cousin made about her and grandpa. I read her stories and I would like so much to be like her. She inspires me to be a better mom, she inspires me to find out more about my family, read good novels, garden, and do everything with love. I loved her sense of humor. "What's the difference between eggs, a drum, and sex?" ->"You can beat eggs & you can beat a drum, but you can't beat sex." I was so pleased that she liked my husband Nate (not that I was worried she wouldn't like him). She told me I picked a good man. This huge feeling of happiness comes over me when I think about that. Whenever I think about how much I love my mom, that love definitely extends to my grandma Ila. My mom is funny and she shows her love in everything she does. She is the best person to have around when you're sick or sad. She has a knack for sympathy and taking care of a person. She would give her children everything she ever had. It's really motivating to me to know that my mom finds no greater joy than her children. In all my good pursuits I know it brings her joy and she's pleased with who I am and who I'm becoming. I love her heart. I admire the effort she puts into everything she does, she works really hard and she has definitely earned her selfless badge. My mom taught me about the gospel in everything she did. It is the best thing ever. I am so grateful that she showed me how much God loves me and how special I am. I rely on that every day. My mom worked hard to be a better and better mom, teaching me along the way. I am so grateful for my mom and all she taught me. I love my grandma Ila. Oh, if I could list the emotions- grateful, honored, humbled, (very) inspired, loved, & maybe a little guilty for having it so good. –{