sing me a song you learned in Primary...

One of the first songs I remember ever learning in Primary was "Tell me the stories of Jesus." I can vividly recall the feelings I had as I imagined myself at His knees ~ listening to stories He wanted me to know.

Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear; things I would ask him to tell me if he were here; scenes by the wayside, tales of the sea, stories of Jesus, tell them to me.


First let me hear how the children stood round his knee;and I shall fancy his blessing resting on me; words full of kindness, deeds full of grace, all in the lovelight of Jesus' face.


Into the city I'd follow the children's band, waving a branch of the palm tree high in my hand; one of his heralds, ys, I would sing loudest hosannas! Jesus is King!


Tell me, in accents of wonder, how rolled the sea, tossing the boat in a tempst on Galilee! And how the Master, ready and kind, chided the billow, and hushed the wind.

One of my favorite songs was "I hope they call me on a Mission." I sang it over and over and over. I didn't serve a mission before I got married, so I hope that Doug and I will have a chance to serve a mission together when we're all grown up and old.


I hope they call me on a mission when I have grown a foot or two. I hope by then I will be ready to teach and preach and work as missionaries do.


I hope that I can share the gospel with those who want to know the truth. I want to be a missionary and serve and help the Lord while I am in my youth.

Some of my other favorites (straight from the Sing With Me songs for children book)...


Jesus Said Love Everyone Jesus said love every one, treat them kindly too, when your heart is filled with love others will love you.


Give Said the Little Stream Give, said the little stream, giv, oh! give, give, oh! give, Give, said the little stream as it hurried down the hill; I'm small I know, but wherever I go, the fields grow greener still. Singing, singin all the day, give away, Oh! give away. Singing, singing all the day, give, oh! give away.


The Golden Plates The golden plates lay hidden, deep in the mountainside, until God found one faithful, in whom he could confide. A record made by Nephi, a godly man of old, now, in the Book of Mormon, the story is retold.

what was your favorite book when you were my age?

Kindergarten: I can't remember any specific books from Kindergarten. But I do know that I loved the Little Golden Books. I also loved my "Tithing" and "Prayer" books.

2nd grade: I loved reading Tiki Tiki Tembo. I think I checked it out every week from the school library. I still remember the corner where it sat on the shelf.

4th grade: Trixie Belden. I loved that series! I think I had over 30 books in my collection at one time. I loved that I lived in the Hudson River Valley (after I grew up). And I love that my adult friend grew to love the books, too. :)

tell me a memory from 2nd grade...

When I was in 2nd grade (1977/78 ~ Adams Elementary ~ Spokane, WA), I had my turn to be the Spotlight Student. I sat in the hallway for about 5 minutes, while the kids in my class raised their hands and said nice things about me. Over the weekend our teacher, Ms. Bailey, made a big poster that hung at the front of the room.

Some of the things may have read like this:

1. Missy has pretty hair.
2. Missy is kind to animals.
3. Missy is good at Star Wars at recess.
4. Missy is a good friend.
5. Missy is an excellent student.

I don't really know if those things were said, but since we had to say NICE things, what else is there to say? I'll tell you what:

10. Missy is a foxy lady.

That's right ~ a foxy lady! It turned my face very red, and I still get embarassed when I think about how I felt that day. I look at that class picture and wonder which one of those boys thought I was a foxy lady.

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Mrs. Bailey kept a special thing hanging at the front of the room. If we chose to be a tattle-tale, she would pin the 3 foot, crocheted tail to the back of our pants and we would have to wear it around all day. I think that's why I still have no tolerance for tattle-tale'ing.

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We had behavior incentives on our desk. They were construction paper rectangles divided into 6 squares. If we got in trouble for any reason in class (talking to neighbors during silent time, came in late, etc.) we would lose a square (she cut it off or colored it in). Each square represented 5 minutes of recess. On a special day, our whole class would go outside. Those who had lost squares had to wait at the bike rack with Mrs. Bailey until our "punishment" time had ticked off. I lost 5 minutes once, and it was so hard to stand there and watch all of our classmates play while we just stood there!

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My favorite book was Tiki Tiki Tembo and I read it a LOT that year. I'm sure the Librarian wondered why my parents didn't just buy it for me.

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One day our class lined up at the front of the classroom for lunch. I remember Mrs. Bailey looking right at me saying, "We have a special guest joining our class for lunch today. Let's be on our best behavior." Imagine how I felt when the door opened and my MOM was standing there! She came to have lunch with me for my birthday!

do you remember when any of your brothers or sisters were born? What do you remember?

I was too young to remember when Cyndie and Karen were born...(Rexburg, ID ~ March 9, 1972 and June 26, 1973). I've been told that I was happy to have sisters and that I was a good helper.

I vaguely remember when Sheila was born. My parents called from the hospital to tell me that I had another little sister. I told them, "I don't want a sister. I want a brother. Put her back!" (Provo, UT ~ April 24, 1975)

When Lisa was born hospitals didn't allow siblings to visit, so my dad took us and stood us on the lawn of the hospital where we could wave up at my mom and baby Lisa. I don't know if this is an actual memory, or something I've made up, but I then rememer my dad coming back down to us on the lawn and sneaking us into the room so we could see baby Lisa and my mom. (Missoula, MT ~ July 28, 1977)

I was in 3rd grade when Julie was born (the day after Thanksgiving ~ just barely). We had friends over for Thanksgiving dinner. Mom cleaned up the dishes and kitchen and sent us to spend the night with friends. They lived on a mink farm and it was S-T-I-N-K-Y!!! I was glad when they finally called to tell us she'd been born, so I could fall asleep. (November 24, 1978)

Scott was born just before I turned 12. I was so excited to FINALLY have a brother! I promised him I'd teach him to throw a football, play baseball, and dig in the dirt. We called him Colonel Mustard ~ if you've changed a nursing newborn's diaper, you'd understand. Scott was a happy baby with 7 moms (1 real mom and 6 older sisters). (Orem, UT ~ April 9, 1982)

When Vicky was born I was in 8th grade. I had finally gotten over the shock of the fact that my parents were still having kids. When my parents first told us they were going to have another baby I was pretty upset for a while. Then my friend Char helped me get over myself, though, because she was so excited. Her only sister was about 6 years older than she was and she was fascinated by my big family. Vicky was a very happy baby. I don't really remember her crying much. (Spokane, WA ~ June 16, 1984)

did you have a favorite aunt or uncle when you were my age? if so, tell me about her/him...

Uncle Doug was my favorite Uncle. He is only 12 years older than I am and I think I felt close to him because he was so young. I remember taking a road trip with him about the time I was in Kindergarten. I don't know where we went or how long we were gone. But I think I remember a VW bug driving through the night.

Aunt Denise was my favorite Aunt. I am not quite sure why, but I always think of Aunt Denise when I see Carol Burnett. Aunt Denise had a big house (relative to how small I was at the time, of course) on the hill in Centerville. They put in a swimming pool and hot tub. When I was 11, my mom was away for the summer, and we spent the weekend (maybe longer, I don't remember) with Aunt Denise's family. One morning in particular we got up with the sun and jumped into the pool right away...Aunt Denise got us out for breakfast (which we ate poolside) and then got right back into the water. At lunch we also ate at the poolside. And dinner, too. As it was getting dark (and a bit chilly, we thought), we would jump into the pool and then get into the hot tub and then jump back into the "cold" pool. We must have done it for about an hour. I was supposed to babysit (with her neighbor who was my age) the little kids. I vaguely remember the adults leaving. But my stronger memory is being worried that my aunt was trying to give me a bath. I was hot and cold all at the same time and I just wanted my mom to take care of me. Turns out I had heat stroke...my shoulders had 2nd degree burns, and the blisters started forming right away. For about a week it was very painful to wear shirts. I slathered myself in aloe vera gel. The blisters were quite large and I remember some of them had water inside of them; I could wiggle my shoulders and hear the water sloshing inside of them.

I also have very strong memories of Uncle Alan and Aunt Jonna from when I was 4 or 5. We all lived in Provo. I wrote their phone number inside of our "Sing With Me" hymn book and I liked to call them. I remember the house they lived in had big, wide steps. There was a fireplace inside the living room, and I think the stairs going upstairs were just inside the front door. The kitchen was at the back of the house. There was a huge tree in their front yard. I believe the house was a "craftsman" style (very popular in Provo). Aunt Jonna has always been happy and kind. Uncle Alan was always funny, and I always thought he reminded me of Steve Martin.

When I was 4-1/2 Santa Claus came to our trailer home on Christmas Eve. I don't so much remember the visit. But after he walked out of the front door I remember going to the window and watching him drive away in Uncle Alan's old blue pick up truck. I asked WHY he was driving Uncle Alan's truck and my dad said, "Oh there are a lot of trucks that look like Uncle Alan's." And I answered, "Not a lot of them have brooms sticking up on them!" Uncle Alan always had a broom that stood up behind the driver...there was a hole (by design or flaw I don't know) in the body of the truck bed that held it in place. It was a very curious evening for me, for sure...

This does not mean that I don't love my other Aunts and Uncles! These are just memories from a child's mind...

what is someting you enjoy doing today that you enjoyed as a child?

I love reading. I think I have always enjoyed it. In 7th grade I even read a book every night. I was at the school library every day, pouring over the shelves hoping to find a good book to read that night. One of my favorite series was "Trixie Belden" ~ I daydreamed about being asked to play Trixie in a series of after-school specials. Trixie had short, sandy brown, curly hair and freckles across her nose. I think I started reading her books in 3rd or 4th grade...I would beg my mom to take me to KMart to buy new ones. I don't know what happened to my vast collection (I had over 30 of them at one point). Other favorite books I remember: Tiki Tiki Tembo, Judy Blume books, the Outsiders, mysteries, Tawny Scrawny Lion, Saggy Baggy Elephant, Poky Little Puppy, The Monster at the End of this Book, and others...

I don't read as much as I would like to now, because if I have a good book to read, all else will fall to the wayside...


I also still love to play softball and volleyball. I didn't get to play on community or club teams when I was growing up. But in 8th grade I started playing softball and volleyball at school and I loved them. I played all the way through High School (except for volleyball my sophomore year ~ I didn't want to do bench-blasts during the conditioning week). I even earned my varsity letter in both sports. I don't remember anyone being cut from the softball team, so I guess that's how I kept my spot. And in Volleyball, my coach pulled me aside and told me he probably should cut me because my skills were not really as good as they should have been ~ but he thought that I had a great attitude so he was keeping me on the team. I played (as he promised) just enough time to earn my Varsity Letter.

tell me something you love about your dad.

I love that my dad is funny. His sense of humor is something that I've always enjoyed...as I've gotten older I've realized that he's a bit corny...but still funny.

I love that my dad has always loved me. Despite the fact that there have been times when we have differences of opinion, I always know that he loves me.

I love that my dad raised me in the Church. I always thought he was "smart" about the gospel because he was called to be the Gospel Doctrine teacher at one point...

I love that my friends always liked my dad.

I love that he cooked Sunday dinner for us. That is a tradition I wish we had in our family.

I love that he can recall strange details about my life that I can't recall. Tonight, for example, he described in detail an apartment we lived in when I was about a year old. It was an old church and we lived in the basement.

I love that he brought us souvenirs (even if it was airline silverware and a bag of peanuts) when he traveled for work. It meant that he was thinking about us even though he wasn't with us.