New Year!

I hope everyone had a very nice holiday season! I found that during the holidays I am much more emotional when recalling memories of the past, I hope you can all understand my silence for the past few weeks.
I am moving on to a trip that caused me great anxiety as a newlywed it was the first Deer Hunt just 2 months after we were married. First I love animals and have never liked the idea of killing animals! But Kris had grown up hunting and both my sons hsve participated in this sport. So in October of 1979 we went hunting!! Now we were not alone Kris' best friend and his wife were coming, kind of like a weekend double date!!!! I thought okay this is going to be fun, until Kris explained that we were staying in his friends camper! Yes camper not a trailer! I was a little prissy to say the least at this time of my life I was not a camper type girl. Yes laugh!! So off we went on our Deer Hunting double date weekend. when we arrived at the location I suddenly realized that we had to use outdoor potty, and it was also like 30 degrees outside. by this point I was in despair complaining to my husband I noticed that he was amused by the situation. So I decided that I would put on my big girl panties and go along with it. We had a great rest of the day we hiked we sat up and played games and visited! it was fun!!! Thenit came time to go to bed I thought that our friends would take the bed above the cab of the truck it was a little more private, and besides I don't like closed in spaces. When it came for lights out Kris said here let me help you up I looked at him with the most terrifying look I'm sure, quietly I say oh are we sleeping up there? Kris nodes his head and tells me his friend has a bad back and they would be sleeping below. So trying to make the best of it up I go and Kris after me so now am I not only in a closed space I am also confined to the upper bunk closest to the end. I was not going to say anything but as the night wore on and there had been no sleeping for me I wake up Kris and explain that I can't sleep, I'm sure he was not happy with me, but what else could I do? So Kris and I did the role over so that Kris was in the closed in space and I could finally breathe!!
As I remember all of these events in my life I laugh because Kris had so much patience with me and my prissiness and he never complained at least not to me. He loved me so unconditionally and with his whole heart and I the same of him. Loving relationships are made up of 2 people loving each other more than themselves and are willing to understand,compromise and listen. No two people are raised exactly alike, making a relationship work takes both people working each day to make the other person happy and if your both working on the same thing your love will grow your family will succeed, and you will have a life time of LOVE!!

Always An Eagle
Strength,Dignity and Grace

First Year Continued!!

So as I have been reminiscing when I write this Blog, I find myself laughing at some of the things that we did that young married couples today have missed out on. When we left each other in the mornings we usually didn't talk to each other again until we got home that evening making getting home fun and exciting now with technology couples talk and tweet and text and facebook each other all the time! I think taking some of the anticipation out of getting home! I do see the benefits of technology! I was thinking about our first Christmas, what a laugh, I was obsessed with finding a perfect tree! I think we went to 5 different tree lots when I finally found the perfect tree! Kris was such a trooper he would have found a tree at the first lot but he loved me and new how important our first Christmas was to me. Funny thing we got my perfect tree home and realized it was to tall! Oh the pain Kris started cutting off the bottom which was beautiful, by the time we got the tree up I realized that maybe I was a little to obsessed with the TREE!!! We had such a great day Kris surprised me with a puppy we named Rocky we had such a fun time,we did have quite the dispute though how to manage the families and split the time between them! WOW now that is difficult especially when you have 2 very close families.(More to come.) Enjoy the memories of those first Christmas's and all those that have followed truly they are the best presents you can get!

Always an Eagle
Dignity,Strength and Grace

The First Year

As I con tinplate the first year of marriage I remember everyone telling me it was going to be so hard, I think the only hard part for us was trying to delegate time between two families!!
Anyway Kris and I were lucky enough to move into a apartment that his Dad owned in Granger Utah. I think our rent was 100.00 per month remember this was in 1979,Kris was a student at the UofU and I was working at the SLC airport, Kris was also working for Bateman Electric his Dad's company. We found married life great! There was one problem I had to be at work at 5:00 am. So at around 8:30 pm I was exhausted Kris usually studied after I went to bed. This soon became a problem I would sometimes be in bed before Kris got home and leave before he was up that meant we would pass in the night!! We finally figured out the schedule at least for a little while. I can't remember or maybe it is selective memory(haha) but We were at my Mom and Dad's and we are all visiting when the subject came up about cooking, and I over heard my husband asking my Mom if I could anything besides spagetti and macaroni and cheese! I of course piped up with I make more than that and then my Father interjected with she can boil water laughter arose in my family!! to my defense I was very active in Highschool I spent alot of time in the dance room the gymnastic room the gym!! ( not to much time in the home economics room) so maybe I needed a little work on my cooking skills!! But no one could complain on my cleaning skills, I was raised with a Mom that taught me great cleaning skills I also even learned to iron and I mean iron everything( hand towels, pillowcases, hankies, underwear,sheets, pants shirts etc.) I am sure there are some of you that experienced the same thing. I can say that after I was married the ironing got smaller and smaller and the once a week ironing became as it was needed! ( to this day I still follow this rule). It is funny because as I grew older I always tried to improve my cooking skills, no one complained but now my children are older they continually remind me that my cooking was not good there have even been times when my children have asked who is cooking! I can honestly say that my cooking has improved. I look back and laugh to think how sweet Kris was about my cooking it wasn't very good! but he always ate what I made and always kissed me and said Thank you!! I miss those moments even now, his tender touch and his gratitude!!
Please remember that these are the things that are important in a relationship! Those little things the touch, the Thank you and the LOVE! those are the things we keep close to our HEART!

I am a very lucky women!!!

ALWAYS an EAGLE
Dignity,Strenght and Grace

The Day!

Kris and I had a short engagement May to August 17,1979 back that many years it was not uncommon to get a wedding together in that amount of time. Now days Mom's would scream if they only had that amount of time. Our Wedding day was amazing it was a perfect summer day in Utah and went off without a hitch. One of the Happiest days of my life!! As I remember that day it was truly amazing and so were some of the things that happen.
We were married in the morning had a nice luncheon and still had some time until the reception. Well we still had not moved into are apartment so we went back to my parents house and I went upstairs to change my clothes!I had just taken off my dress and my bedroom door opened I hurried and covered myself and there stood Kris he laughed so hard he was like I can look now!! It caught me so off guard it was like he had invaded my space, I was not amused. Later in are married life that was one of his favorite stories to tell.( I later found it funny). We had a fun honeymoon we spent so much time together I was in awe of how wonderful are life together was going to be. I knew the day we married that life was going to be and adventure, Ktis' middle name was adventure!!! I am so excited to share more memories with all of you so you to will know the real Kris!! My Kris.

Always an Eagle
Strength,Dignity and Grace

The Engagement

Our engagement was one of the sweetest days ever! it was not a big lavish engagement it was simple and great. It was May 1979 early in the month we were at my house Kris had come over after work we had dinner and then we were just hanging out, when suddenly Kris jumps up runs upstairs(I thought he had to go to the bathroom) he was gone for about a half hour before he came back. When he came back I was like are you okay? I noticed he had a different look on his face, he knelt down on one knee and asked me to marry him!! Of course I said yes! He had gone upstairs to ask my Mom and Dad if he could marry me. It was a huge surprise and we were very happy!! We decided to wait until the next day before we told The Bateman's.

That was a great day but what we had forgotten was that the Friday before Mother's day we both had dates and they are the kind you can't back out on!! let me explain it was April and during the time we kinda liked each other, and dating other people. Well first I should explain that I was still in HIgh School!! Anyway, it was Prom time and of course I figured I might as well except a date from someone else. Little did I know that Kris had accepted a invitation from a girl to go to Prom also. So here we are engaged and going to Prom with other people. I should explain that Kris was not in High School, his date was in High school. Okay so as Prom approached Kris and I were having mixed emotions whether or not we should go!! So anyway we decided it would not be very nice to ruin others Prom so we went with other people! oh that was not the end!! We had figured that the Prom was so big that we probably would not even see each other, but to are surprise we got there at the exact same time! the problem was was that we had not told our dates that we were engaged! I know it was probably not the right thing but we were really trying to make our dates have a good night. Sadly when we saw each other it made the rest of the night miserable for both of us!!! Should have gone with the gut and canceled the date. The next day Kris and I went and picked out my ring and never to date another person!! Oh happy day.

Thankful

Today I just want to say that I am so grateful for the time I spent with Kris! And how lucky I am to have 3 beautiful children and 4 grandchildren. I feel very blessed to have been married to a man that had a amazing spirit and unconditional love! Thank you all for your kindness and love my family and I are very grateful for all of you.

Always an Eagle
Dignity,Strength,Grace

The Call!

It was May 1979, Kris and I had been dating for about 3 weeks. We had some great dates but there was a couple of times when are dates ran a little late! Well it was one of those long date nights we had gone out, had great fun bowling (we loved to bowl). it was not to late when we returned to my house, so we decided to watch a movie, seems okay but we were 18 and 19 years old! Yes we were young, but when you find that right person age does not matter. Any way back to the story, We had been watching the movie and cuddling on the couch, and sometime during the movie ( must have not been a very exciting movie) because sleep over came both of us. My parents thought that Kris had gone home earlier so what a surprise to them when the phone rang at 2:30 am. You know that when that phone rings at that time of the morning the worst things run through your mind! And my parents are no different but to there surprise it was a sweet voice on the other end wondering if her son was still there. My mom explained that she thought Kris had left earlier that evening but told Mom Bateman that she would check. Much to her surprise she found Kris and I sound asleep! She flipped on all the lights which immediately woke us both! Mom explained that Mom Bateman had called and was extremely worried about where Kris was. So as fast as we could we said our good nights( which took at least 10 minutes ha ha) It was a good night! So the next day we are at The Bateman's and we were called into the living room there sat Lynn and Diane Kris'Parents all the sudden Kris whispers in my ear that we are going to have the talk!! Now everyone in the Bateman family gets the talk. Needless to say I was half way to the door before Kris grabbed my hand and in the living room we went(so scary). After that little incident we had a curfew!! Which we broke a couple of times, but we called to let the parents know. This is just part of our courtship it was so fun .
I know that most of you had experienced something close to this, I founded it amusing that later in life I had the same experience with my own children. Somethings never change!

Always an Eagle
Dignity,Strength,Grace