NEW CALLING; SICK BABY

Good morning, alert readers! GOOD NEWS on the Bowler Family front! Our wonderful son-in-love Chris was called to the Bishopric of the Three Fountains Ward last Sunday! It seems that his responsibilities will include working with the youth. GREAT choice!  Denny ordained him as a High Priest, and the Bishop set him apart as Counselor. He will be wonderful!!! He's a little nervous, of course. Who wouldn't be? We are so happy for him!  ;-]

On a completely different note, poor Ali! Last Friday evening, she was all set to go to a party where her blogger friends were going to meet face-to-face! She loves these girls, and was sooo anxious to have a fun night out and finally meet them someplace other than the blogosphere! She dressed in a spiffy outfit, fixed her hair really cute, even SHAVED HER LEGS! Yep, she was ready for a great night out!  Well, Friday morning, Rory had had her doctor's appointment and the nurse gave her FOUR shots, and one oral medication. Poor baby!  Last time she had her shots, Rory wasn't affected at all . . . and we all assumed she'd be fine this time too. Friday is OUR day with Rory, and when she arrived a couple of hours after her appointment, she seemed okay- just a little lethargic. But as the day wore on, she drooped more and more, and fussed almost constantly. We gave a her a good bath (she likes that) and cuddled her as best we could. But even her Papa couldn't coax much a grin out of her- very unusual. By evening, Rory was in distress. Her little body was hot with fever. Her cries became shrieks!  We had never heard anything like that before! And we could tell that these were shrieks of PAIN! Papa and I both did everything we could think of to make her feel better- to no avail.  When she finally THREW UP all over me (not spit up, mind you, THROW UP!), we knew it was time to call her Mama. Ali, all dressed and ready for the long-awaited party, came right over. She knew the minute she walked in the door that she wouldn't be going to the party. Rory had finally fallen asleep on Papa's chest, but she was wheezing, and still hot to the touch. When she woke up just a few minutes later and heard her Mama's voice, she absolutely relaxed and gave her a little smile. Ali took her home, snuggled her up next to her and hummed and sang to her until she went to sleep. She had a little bit of a rough night, but was fine the next day. That baby really needed her Mama! Ali was very disappointed to miss the party (yes, there were tears), but Rory is so much more important to her that she soon forgot all about that, and just loved on her baby girl.

Papa and GG surely wish we could have helped our sweet baby Rory . . .  but this was one time she needed Mama, and only Mama! We hope Ali will have another chance to meet these fun blogger friends. Next time -NO DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT!

Oh, how we love our girls: Krissy, Ali and Rory!!!!!!  And the boys aren't so bad either!!!!!  ;-]

RORY'S NEW 'DO!

So we may or may not have given Rory a mohawk today!!!!!!!!  Ain't she purty????????????

. . . AND RORY GRINNED!

Hi, alert readers! In my report yesterday of Mom’s passing and the attending services, I neglected to mention something cute. Well, OF COURSE, it has to do with Rory!

Denny and I both spoke at the funeral. When I went to the stand and began to speak, Rory looked up and gave a little smile. She recognized my voice, but although Ali tried to show her where I was standing, she evidently couldn’t see that far, and soon lost interest.

HOWEVER, when her PAPA began to speak, Rory’s face split into a big grin! Naturally, she assumed he was speaking just to HER and began to talk back to him – with VOLUME! Ali quickly took her out to the foyer where she continued to smile and talk (loudly) until her Papa was finished. Ali brought her back in, and all was quiet.

Rory and her Papa have a special relationship. We had the same experience with her Mom. First of all, Ali always called Denny “Papa”- guess what she called me???? “Grandmother!”  Yes, “Grandmother!!!!”  . . . sigh . . And when she came over to our house, she would rush past me, calling “Papa! Papa!” until she found him. When he wasn’t home, she would settle with me.

One day, after Ali had been potty trained, she went into our bathroom at our house in Santa Monica. Papa was outside grilling, and I was in the kitchen with the window open. Chris and Krissy were around somewhere too. I heard a sweet voice through the window, “Papa! Papa!” I answered, “Ali-girl, Papa is outside, I’ll come help you.” “NO! I WANT PAPA!” “He can’t come right now, honey. It’s okay, I can help.” “NOOOOOOOOOO- I WANT PAPA!!!!!” Now the little voice was tinged with desperation, and I knew immediately what was going on. Ali had clearly had an “accident”, and knew that her Papa would not be upset with her. She had him wrapped around her little finger, and knew it. Well, of course I went and got him. We always had an extra set of clothes at our house for her- and he just quietly cleaned her up, changed her clothes, and they came out of the bathroom as though nothing had ever happened. We have laughed over that for years!!!!! ;-]

I imagine something like that might happen with Rory someday. PAPA TO THE RESCUE!  Or her Daddy, Andrew, or “The Baby Whisperer”, her Grandpa Chris. OR her Uncles Nick and Trevor! Rory is WACKO over all the men in the family.   ** sigh **

'TIL WE MEET AGAIN . . . .

Yes, it was a very interesting/unusual/special weekend.  My mother-in-love, Joyce Reading Smith Turley, passed quietly in her sleep during the night of Oct. 15^th – 16^th. Our well-loved stepfather, Frank "Pop" Turley, had a lovely viewing for her friends and family in Holbrook on Friday afternoon. . Her funeral was held last Saturday here in Tempe, AZ. She was buried today in Palos Verdes, CA. Many loving people attended all three events, celebrating the life of this funny, special interesting, talented woman.

Called "GG" (for great-grandma) by both her own children's children and Frank's, Joyce lived a long, grand life. Toward the end of her life, she needed to be cared for in a Home Care Facility, but Pop was with her nearly every day. The only time he missed were the days he needed to go to his home in Holbrook to take care of personal matters and give Patriarchal Blessings. One of Mom's children, Pop's children, or a friend visited her every day that Pop was gone.  She was well-loved and well-cared for.

Mom will long be remembered for her love and abilities with music as well as with people. Her funeral was well-attended. The program was as follows:

OPENING HYMN: "A Moment in Eternity", composed and performed by
         Jody Mull, daughter

INVOCATION: Danny Mull, son-in-law

EULOGY: Sue Smith (ME!),  daughter-in-law

REMARKS: Mike Ferguson, son-in-law

MUSICAL NUMBER: "I Am a Child of God", performed by GG and Pop's

grand- and great-grandchildren, accompanied by Chris Bowler, grandson-  in-law

TALK: Dennis H. Smith, son

REMARKS: Bp. Michael Willson

CLOSING SONG: "I May Not Pass This Way Again", former Songsmiths,

accompanied by Chris Bowler

BENEDICTION: Jiggs LeMieux, son-in-law

It was a lovely funeral- lasting only about an hour and fifteen minutes. Perfect!

A lovely luncheon was held following the funeral. A large crowd stayed to enjoy the food, but mostly to enjoy the fellowship of Mom's family and friends.  We may or may not have gotten a little LOUD, I think!  It seems like the only times we see some of these wonderful people is at a funeral or a reception. Why is that?  We love and enjoy these people! Why don't we get together?   . . . sigh . . .

We have learned from Mom ("GG") that life is unpredictable. She kept saying that she never expected to end up like she did. Who of us does? It's important to truly LIVE our lives, while we can. Let's not waste a single day- not even a tiny minute!

Be WHO we are, WHAT we are- in the best possible way.  THAT is how to honor our parents, our families, our friends and ourselves.

. . . and so,  I say, "Farewell, Joyce/Mom/Grandma/GG . . . 'til we meet again." I love and miss you. 

IT'S TOUGH TO BE A BABY!

FROM RORY:

To my family and world-wide fans,

I have something to say: IT'S TOUGH TO BE A BABY!

1. I am expected to be cute ALL of the time!  I've been told that I am a natural "beauty". Even strangers come up to my adults and mention how cute I am. I get more compliments when I am smiling and happy than when I am tired, fussy, hungry or sporting a dirty diaper (I REALLY don't like a dirty diaper- and I let my adults know, immediately!). So I try hard to be adorable at all times. My Papa and GG, who are my very FAVORITE people in the whole world –ahem!-, tell me I am beautiful even when I occasionally have a rough day. I believe them because they are the most "experienced" of all of my adults. Being permanently cute is hard work!  But I do my very best.  And my adults tell me I am doing a good job. They press their lips on my cheeks and make weird sounds. My adult they call "Grandma" seems to do this the most. And the one they call "Grandpa" is also called "The Baby Whisperer". I don't understand what that is all about, but he tells me I am gorgeous, and I have no reason not to believe him.  My two most familiar adults, called "Mommy" and "Daddy" hug me the most! I'm glad they think I am cute; I depend on them for most of my food and cuddling. My adult called "Daddy" lets me chew on his nose!  I have two other adults. I think they are called "Uncles".  They both love me very much. One feeds me, rocks me and even changes me. The other one says he will enjoy me more when I can walk and talk. They both smile at me, hug me and make me feel special. I have a WHOLE GROUP of other adults too. I think they are called "Mills".  Hey! Isn't that my last name? I LOVE the adults in my life!

2. My parent adults want me to sleep through the night –EVERY night! Now, really, isn't that asking a LOT from a baby? Sometimes I just want to PLAY!  And sometimes I am HUNGRY!  It's tough to have to wait and wait for my adults to figure out just what it is that I want.

3. At my Papa and GG's house on Thursday, I tried and tried to tell them I was soooo tired and just wanted to be snuggled up in my blanket and rocked to sleep. But they just didn't get it! I told them and told them- over and over. GG even called me a "Cranky Pants", which I didn't appreciate, but my Papa defended me and changed my diaper! YES! My biggest male adult changed my diaper! Finally, my GG decided to wrap me up in my froggy blanky and rocked me. I went right to sleep!  It took them long enough!  . . . sigh . . .

4. I do NOT like sherbet!  My adult Papa loves sherbet and got permission from my parent adults to give me a tiny, tiny taste. Papa put a bit of freezing cold, tart something in my mouth, and I let him know right away that it wasn't my favorite. I pulled my lips in and screwed my eyes up tight, and I guess I spit a little. I don't know what was so funny, but both of my older adults started to laugh. But they haven't given me any since then, so maybe they figured it out!

5. No one wants me to fill my diaper right after my bath. Don't they understand that a nice warm bath relaxes me and makes everything easier? Besides, I really enjoy the attention I get when someone admires the quality and quantity of my work.

 6. It's hard to me to be cute and cheery when my adult is trying to stuff my arms and head into an outfit that is just too small! I do my BEST to explain what is wrong, but they just don't get it!  My adults Papa and GG seem to have the MOST trouble getting my cute clothes on me. I think my GG might have gotten a little frustrated because she said, "Rory! We're on your side! Help us out!"  I tried to flail my arm into the sleeve she was holding, but that just seemed to make things worse!

7. Sometimes I am expected to wait a few minutes to eat!  When my tummy is empty, I tell my adults in the only way I know how- but they STILL take a few minutes to get that bottle into my mouth!  It's tough to wait for them.  . . . sigh . . .   And THEN, about halfway through my meal, my adult removes the bottle, puts me on a shoulder and pats me on the back!  When I produce a very unladylike belch, my adult is happy, and I get my bottle back. But sometimes it takes me a minute, and my adult will not give me back my bottle until that burp is heard. My adult encourages me, "Come on, Rory! Come on!" Do they think I can control my burps?  Come on, I'm still hungry!!!!!!

8. My Papa and GG (who love me soooo much!) gave me TWO jumpers! One is for their house and one is for my house!  Every time my adult puts me in a jumper, I am expected to giggle, jump, giggle, hop, giggle, and skip. Oh, I'm also expected to GIGGLE!  You know, believe it or not, I don't always feel like giggling. Sometimes I just want to sit there and play with the zebra toy attached to the strap! But my adults keep urging me, "Jump, Rory! Jump!" . . . sigh . . .

All in all, life is great. My adults feed me, love me and play with me. But a LOT is expected of me, and I sometimes get tired. I wish I could explain things to my adults. I think they would like that. AND . . . then I could tell them HOW TOUGH IT IS TO BE A BABY!