Can You Be-eez It?

For my fellow homemakers here is a recipe to make our own laundry detergent. Liquid or powder.

Here is the blog with the recipe.

Made With Love And Glue

Thanks so much Rachel.

The Floyd and Madele Gardner Family Reunion ...

Here is picture of the decade!!!! Yup, this is what Mom and Papa Floyd started low those many years ago and what an incredible bunch we are!!! We have decided to have our F&MG Fam Reunion every two years, so in 2012, this awesome bunch of people (with at least one more for the picture, thanks Gentry and Kristie)will be here in Arizona some where and hopefully longer!! To add to the fam picture is Rex, Ben, Crystal and her family and Sienna!!!! I love this bunch and I am so grateful for all they do for me!!!
WE ARE FAMILY~~~~~I GOT ALL MY FAMILY AND ME~~~~~(sing it Pointer Sisters!!!!!)

Happy 4th of July ~~~~~~~

How blessed we are to live in this awesome country and to have the "God given rights" to choose how and what we want!!!! The Lord has given me so much, more than I deserve and I am so grateful for His unconditional love!!! My family and the Gospel of Jesus Christ are my most beloved gifts!!!!! Take time to thank Him who gave His life for us so we can return to live with our Father in Heaven!!!!! I love you all and know I will always strive to be a better person and example as those to who have inspired me!

The Rowell men .........

Yep, Heather, you hit the nail on the head by saying I use your photogenic talents on my blog!!!! How else am I going to get pictures for my book if I don't use our
girls' abilities!!! I love this picture of Trevor, Cody and Wyatt, it is so typical of the boys and their love of playing around!!! Take more pictures of your new cement driveway and garden and post them!! Also keep up with the blogging!!!! Love you guys!!!!!!!!!

Introducing Dr. Ben Bryan .....

Here he is~here he really is!!!! After, I believe, six and a half years the Bryan family is done with schools and now on to the next stage of the fun filled lives of Benji, Shawna, Theron, Sydney and Choolie!!!! Congratulations to the wonderful "B" family~we love you!!!!!!!

The Graduates !!!

We are so proud of the graduates in the Bryan family!!! Dr. Ben Bryan and Theron Bryan!!! They have both worked extremely hard and we are elated it has paid off!!
We love the Bryan men!!!

Our precious Brynlee's blessing ......

How can you not believe in Heavenly Father's existence when you look at this most precious little girl!!! As her mother has so perfectly quoted, "She has taught us all so much since she has arrived 4 1/2 months ago"! She is one of eight most precious little people who bind our family eternally! Tifani, you are a divinely courageous woman to have subjected your health in bringing these divine spirits into our family. Shawna and Heather, you join your sister in the circle of courageous women and you three have blessed your parents beyond words!!

Memorial Day 2010

May I take a moment and pay tribute to the men and women who have fought, are fighting now and probably will continue to fight for our precious country's freedom! We sometimes take certain "unalienable rights" for granted and once a year we can turn our hectic daily lives to the side and focus on what these great Americans have done to make sure we can go about our businesses freely!
So let us and our families NEVER forget our brothers and sisters who gave their mortal lives to defend rights and preserve our freedom for it wasn't free, it came with a price!!!!!

These are the best of times ............

When the final weekend of the Gila Valley Temple open house was here, Shawna, Theron and Sydney made the trip to go through it!! The cousins had a wonderful time together as is evident by this precious picture!!!! We are extremely grateful for a Temple and an awesome eternal family!

Our Taylor sweethearts ...........

So can I start by saying I would give anything to have a hair "buzz" like Cody and Wyatt's!!! How sweet are these two!! I am so glad Heather you are updating your blog so I can have pictures like this!!! I love being with these two handsome men and miss them and their parents like crazy!!!! A great start to a wonderful summer!!

Doesn't this sound like Shamoms ...

Here is where the Bryan family may be relocating ~~~~ in beautiful Wanatchee, WA!!!
I mean really beautiful and to see for yourself go to Shawna's blog! This is where Ben may be a part of a community health clinic (dealing with the dental) after he gets his dental degree and license. Both Benji and Shawna fell in love with Wanatchee and could see themselves becoming a part of the town's population. It is about 2 hours driving time from Seattle. This Mimi will definitely be taking trips to Washington!!

How these special mothers are chosen

It was 33 years ago on March 1st when the nurses at Mesa General Hospital put a beautiful 3lb. 14oz. baby girl in my arms for only a few minutes before putting her in a neonatal incubator and making final preparations for transporting her to Good Samaritan Hospital by ambulance in Phoenix. They told me the neonatal nurses would care for her as they would their own and I could call every 5 minutes 24 hours a day to check on her if I wanted to. Then with her dad following the ambulance, they took her from my arms. I was left by myself for 3 days at MGH and my anguish was beyond anything I had ever known. I often wondered to this day, why I survived that month with my little girl being in Phoenix for 2 weeks then transported to the new Desert Samaritan Hospital (now Banner Desert)for 2 more weeks. In that time we almost lost her but her will to survive was the greatest testament to me of her pure knowledge of her mission on this earth.
Now on February 28th (one day before her mother's birthday)our beautiful 3lb. 14oz baby girl gave birth to her 3lb. 13oz beautiful baby girl and as I watched her having to leave her family in Safford to be with her doctor in Mesa suffering from Preclampsia, I wondered if I could survive the almost identical anguish I felt when I had to leave my daughter for a month to be with her daughter?! Today I went over to see our girl's and Tifani showed me a post on how she and I were possibly chosen to be this special mother. I now understand.


Did you ever wonder how the mothers of premature babies are chosen?

God is hovering over Earth, selecting His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As He observes, He instructs his angels to take notes in a giant ledger.

Beth Armstrong, son. Patron Saint, Peter.

Marjorie Forrest, daughter. Patron Saint, Celia.

Finally, He passes a name to an angel and smiles. “Give her a preemie “

The angel is curious. “Why this one, God? She’s so happy.”

”Exactly,” smiles God. “Could I give a premature baby a mother who knows no laughter? That would be cruel.”

”But does she have the patience?” asks the angel.

”I don’t want her to have too much patience, or she’ll drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she’ll handle it. I watched her today. She has that sense of self and independence so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I’m going to give her has a world of its own. She has to make it live in her world, and that’s not going to be easy.”

”But Lord, I don’t think she even believes in you.”

God smiles. “No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just the right amount of selfishness. “

The angel gasps, “Selfishness?! Is that a virtue?”

God nods. “If she can’t separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn’t know it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says ‘mama’ for the first time, she will be witness to a miracle and know it. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see as ignorance, cruelty and prejudice and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing My work as surely as she is here by My side.”

”And what about her Patron Saint?” asks the angel, his pen poised in the air.

God smiles. “A mirror will suffice.”

Mother's Day 2010

So I thought Mother's Day was going to be a bummer because I woke up on Friday morning with a cold!! Vergene and Tifani left for Tucson and here I sat having a royal pity party. I received a text from Rex stating it would be so much fun to spend Mother's Day weekend with me. Around 2pm Kipp started fussing and the front door opened and in walked a bouquet of Star lilies and Rex and his roommate, Erik!!! Talk about a shock~~~I was thrilled and this weekend turned out to be one of THE best ever!!!!! I got to talk with all of our children and Vergene and I are the most blessed parents on this earth!!! Yes, Mother's Day 2010, the best!!!!!

OMGosh!!!!!!

Can't you just kiss the cheeks off of these two precious faces!! Tifani got to go to Heather's this past weekend and the sisters had a ball!!! I am most grateful for the bond our children have with each other, they are each other's cheerleaders and Vergene and I can't ask for anything better!!! Whatever we did to have these five awesome people along with their incredible spouses and precious children we are so blessed and want them all to know they have made two people eternally happy! To Infinity and Beyond!!!!!!!!!!!

Our Baseball Star ...

Our oldest grandson, Cody Rowell, is now in the minors of the Little League in Taylor Arizona and quite fitting his number is 1 !!!! Cody is a good athlete and tries his best while cheering on his team!! Papa and Mimi are so proud of him and are hoping to make it to Taylor for one of his games!!! GO CODY!!!!

Our 6lbs 9oz Brynlee

Here she is at Easter and believe me she has all of our family giddy!!!! Papa and I have had a one on one with Brynlee the last couple of nights and she has us wrapped around her tiny little finger as does her sisters, brother and cousins!!!!!
Life is so complete for now with the arrival of our Brynlee Dawn!!!!!

Our fun weekend .....

Our dear friends, Charlie and Teresa Adair, came from Mesa for the weekend. We met up on Saturday afternoon with lunch at Casa Manana! We drove to Safeway where Teresa and I got fruit platter, cheese and crackers and Verg and Charlie's donation to movie night was a bag of peanut M&Ms! We came back home and watched "The Blind Side" and then talked, ate, talked,ate and talked some more. On Sunday morning we went to pick them up at their hotel and went to Sacrament Meeting and then for a ride to 3-way then around to Duncan. Why, you ask because the wild flowers from all the rains were gorgeous. They left about 4:30. They have been our best friends for about 40 years, well Charlie has been longer than Teresa.
We have each others backs!!! Love 'em loads!!

Seeing Brynlee .....

Seeing Brynlee through the looking-glass!!! On our trip to Mesa, we took the kids to see Brynlee and they were so excited! At one point Brynlee turned her head and looked right up at her nurse as if to say; "And your point"!!! She is so precious and the kids absolutely love her! Sydney made the comment, "she is so cute and her ears are so tiny"!!!!!
They are now home and thank you, Shamoms for the wonderful time together!!!!

Spring Break 2010 .....

The week started with our sweet Cluff grandchildren coming to spend the break with Papa and Mimi!!!! On Thursday, K-Sue, Camalious, Bubba D and Mimi headed to Mesa for our "end-of-Spring-Break Week" follies!!
We met up with Mom and lo and behold here comes Shamoms, T-ron and Syddiddy!! We got settled in the Brogan's gorgeous home (complete with three flights of stairs) and we headed to Chili's then back to the complex and 2 1/2 hours of swimming!! Tifani came by to head the swim and then the Bryans headed to Laveen and the Cluffs and Mimi headed to bed!! The kids were so tired they said they might not watch all the movie and sure enough one by one they kissed me good-night and headed for bed!! NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE THE DAY!!!!
The next day (Friday) we met Nanna and gang at the Phoenix Zoo!! Had a blast as you can only think what Shawna didn't come up with Tifani did and the kids and I walked a few feet ahead of them (not that we were embarrassed)!!!!! We went back to the hospital and waited for Brian to arrive and then we all headed to the Cheesecake Factory!! Brian and Tifani took us home and headed to the hospital to do some "nesting" and the kids and I went to bed.
Saturday the kids went swimming for a couple of hours while Brian, Tifani and Brynlee were discharged and headed for Safford. After the swim we cleaned up Aunt Melissa and Uncle Chris' apartment, packed up and went in locating a Hobby Lobby. The kids were so good as we shopped and headed for Jack in the Box!!! The Renaissance Festival is in full swing and it took us an hour to go 9 1/2 miles!! Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!! The rest of the trip was great and we arrived home to Mom, Dad and our premie miracle!!!!
This Spring Break was one of the best I have ever had. No painting, no weeding, no cleaning out closets or the garage, but one spent with 5 of 7 most wonderful, awesome people!!
Thank you Papa for holding down the fort, I love you so much!! Thanks to C.J. and Amber for coming and hanging out with us this weekend!! Thank you to Kaely, Cambry and Doyle for putting up with Mimi the WHOLE WEEK !!! Thank you to Heavenly Father for loving me so much as to let me be a part of this awesome family!!!

All the way from Heavenly Father ......

How can anyone ever doubt the love Heavenly Father has for each of us, when you see something so small, precious and a miracle in the making!!??? I honestly believe Heavenly Father makes us appreciate the "smallest" details when a dip in the road causes us to be humble and seek His divine help. Brynlee has helped me stop and take stock in what is truly important in my search for heading "home". The love of our Savior is unconditional,constant and committed and I am going to return this love in just that way!!
Thank you Brynlee, for the powerful example you are to Mimi while the short time you have been on this earth! I love you, sweetheart!!!!

So how special is this!!!!

When you have a "one on one" photo and spend some precious time with Pluto, Minnie and Mickey, you have hit Disney paydirt!!!! This is an awesome feat and having a special in with Pluto makes it so fun and special!! I am so grateful for these pictures and Theron and Sydney, hope some day you will really appreciate these special pictures!!!!!

OOOPPPSSS ....

Our Brynlee has decided to wait out the time she should still be in Mom's tummy. She didn't pass her first carseat test and she has been having at least two bradies a night so she will be staying at Banner Gateway. Tifani has been doing a remarkable job and she feels okay with Brynlee doing the premie-thing while in the hospital. But on the "wonderful note", Leelee is now 4lbs and 4ozs and is averaging about 50cc of milk per feeding !!!!
We miss them both but know the doctors and nurses are doing an awesome job for our girls! This is our patience test and our faith building challenge so we are up to the task and put this in Heavenly Father's hands.

She finally did it!!!!!

Yes, Brynlee Dawn is 4lbs 1oz!!! She beat the odds but did have a Bradie incident which means she will be more than likely be coming home with a monitor. She is in "big girl" clothes now and she is up to 50 ccs. of milk. Her dad got to go to Mesa this weekend to be with her and Mom and her sisters and brother are with Uncle Justin and Aunt Becky at the dunes until Monday night and the plan is for Mimi, Kaely, Cambry and Doyle to leave on Tuesday (16th) to Laveen and have some fun with Theron, Sydney and Naana! We are hoping maybe within the week, Leelee and Mom can come home!!
We are so grateful to Heavenly Father for bringing Brynlee to good health and she will have quite the support system around her!!
We love you, Brynlee and Tifani!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our sweet girls ......

I have to believe this is a playback of 33 years ago!!!! I can imagine myself looking into the eyes of our precious premie and here is our precious premie looking into the eyes of her precious premie!!!!! I love this picture of Tifani Dawn and Brynlee Dawn!!! A phone call today announced Brynlee is at her birth weight. She is going to be weened from her bubble so she is progressing tremendously!! Again those eyes are going to fulfill quite alot in Heavenly Father's work!!! She is born into an awesome family and her support group will be there to help whenever they are needed!!!! Her parents, sisters and brother, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and great grandparents will be her greatest strengths. I, for one, am so grateful to our Heavenly Father for giving us this very special bundle!!!!

She is on the move ......

We got a phone call from Tifani this morning and when she took a bottle of her milk into feed Brynlee her nurse told Tifani, Brynlee weighed 3lbs. 12ozs!!!!!!!! One ounce shy of her birth weight! Oh what joy is this Mimi feeling since that faithful phone call! It is the power of the priesthood and Leelee's will to survive. She is just like her mom! I am very confident the Lord has a great mission for Leelee and her siblings. I still marvel at the outcome of so many of this family's challenges when as a mortal, I let my faith slip for a little while. My Heavenly Father knows my heart and now it is times like this when I feel almost a shame of even letting myself get to that point! Thank you to all the family members and friends who have prayed for Brynlee and her family. Day before yesterday, Leelee weighed 3lbs. 9ozs!
So you go Tif with your wonderful milk!! We are looking forward to the day when our girls get to come home!! It will be a bittersweet time because of leaving those awesome nurses and doctors at Mesa Banner Gateway!!! Take lots of pictures Tif so Brynlee can see it does take an army to raise a child!!! I love you all!!!!

Four decades later ...

This is a picture of Vergene and his high school football coach, Reed Peterson, at Uncle Jay's funeral. Coach Peterson was genuinely glad to see Verg. Vergene was the offensive center and defensive tackle for the mighty Mesa High football team. It never seems to surprise me how people are affected by the gentle, noble soul of my eternal companion. I am so grateful to be his wife and love him more every day.

Here she is ......

Brian, Tifani and Brynlee

The plan of our Heavenly Father is a greater testimony to me when tiny miracles entered our lives. Here is our newest "tiny" miracle, Brynlee Dawn Cluff! Her journey began on February 21st when her family was on an outing to Mesa. Her mother had a doctor's appt. on the 19th and was told she had high blood pressure but not to worry since she had toxemia. A trip to see the Broadway musical "Mary Poppins" and a movie and some shopping brought the Cluff family home on Sunday (28th). We got a phone call from Tifani asking if she could come over and use her dad's blood pressure cuff since she wasn't feeling quite right. The result: 164/108!! A call to Sue McNamara (a PA in our ward) ended with us taking her to Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center to the OB dept. and them keeping her over-night. The next morning came with a severe storm and a decision to have Tif flown to Banner Gateway and Dr. Huish. A learjet was called from Sky Harbor since all helicopters were grounded and ambulances were backed up and would take to long since Mesa was a 2 1/2 hr trip. So off flew Tif from Safford Airport and 27 mins, yes, you read right, 27 mins later she landed at Sky Harbor and an ambulance waiting to transport her to Mesa Banner Gateway and Dr. Huish! Tests were taken and a high risk pregnancy specialist, Dr. Miller, was called in and decided she now had preclampsia. Tif was placed in an isolation room on the OB floor and the week began. Now with this going on we had lost Uncle Jay and his funeral was on 24th (Verg's 1st anniversary of his heart attack). Family came from all over and Vergene was asked to give the life story. It went really well and family got to see Tifani which helped her stay positive. On Friday the 26th I get a call from Stacey Harmon (Brian's cousin) saying she had been dilating and was at a good 4 so I called Brian and we left for Mesa. We arrived at 1:30 am and in Tif's room was her support group: Shawna, Melissa, Chris (Melissa's husband)and Stacey. It was 7 weeks early and things were progressing and Dr. Huish arrived and told Tif her body was done since the lab work came back with high blood pressure and low platelet count, so our Brylee began her earthly mission with Dr. Huish breaking Tif's water. After about 6 contractions Tif looked at me and said she was having A LOT of pressure and dilated to a 6 Krista (Tif's nurse) checked and Brynlee was coming fast. Dr. Huish came in and started to get dress and was hurried by Krista announcing the "head is here". Tif was moved to her back and after her legs were placed in the stirrups and gush of blood and Brynlee came "shooting out". The cameras were rolling and we had a 3lbs. 13ozs 17 inches long "miracle" born at 3:53 am on February 27, 2010! I must say it was a flashback for me when almost 33 years ago, Tif came into the world a "tiny miracle" herself. 3lbs. 14ozs. 17 inches long! The Lord knows our hearts and He prepares the way for us to grow and learn and find strength in His example. So with our tiny miracle here we are sure the road will be filled with highs and lows but we have each other and our love for this restored gospel. I thank my Savior each day for the strength to keep going and for this incredible family unit.
Families can be forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The best things in life are ............

From left to right:Doyle, Kaely, Wyatt
Second row: Cambry, Cody, Theron
Third row: Sydney

Okay, so have you ever seen a grander bunch of chilens in your life!! We have so much fun when they are all together and Papa and Mimi's house is the happenin' place to be!! The ocassion for this little get-together was Cambry's 8th birthday and baptism and Cody's 9th birthday!!! I have told these precious ones they are NOT allowed to grow while they are at Mimi's house so I've decided they need to come see us alot more so the "growing-up" will "slow down" a bit. Yah right, WHATEVER!!!!! Papa and Mimi love the grandchildren with all our hearts!!!!!

Toad turns 8 and is baptised !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The gorgeous blonde standing to the right of her mother is now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! Yes, on the 13th of Febuary (her birthday), Cambry Christi Cluff entered the waters of baptism and though we missed Rex, C.J. and Amber, it went really well. Her grandmothers gave the talks, her grandfathers gave the prayers, Aunt Flo played the piano and sister Kaely lead the music. She was baptised by her dad and comfirmed by her grandfathers, uncles and Bishop Hackett!! She wore a beautiful white dress and Tifani told Brian the next white dress will be expensive so start savin' kids for that one!!!!

Trip to Silver City .....

Yesterday we went to Silver City to see C.J. and Amber. They have taken on a new challenge as RA (Residence Asst.). Free housing and if they still are doing this for the summer they will have their classes paid for by the Housing Department. It is mostly C.J. and with school and football he will be very busy! We took Harley with us and he did really well, just a slight bout with car sickness but he played and roamed in the snow so on the way home he SLEPT!!! We are so proud of the "get er done" attitude of Cheej and Ber and as a part of the Gardner siblings the legacy continues. We have so many blessings with all "nine" of our children. Thank you for being such awesome examples to each other and Dad and I!!

Have you ever seen a cuter face (except on Kipp)?! Well our newest member of the family is fitting in and the meeting between father and son is progressing. Harley is certainly learning the boundaries of "not in my space" real well!!!! He is very smart and is so much fun to have around!!! His first trip will be to Laveen and Theron's birthday party so we will see how he travels, either he will be great or not so great but either way he will get use to going on visits to see the family!!!!!!!
I'll let you know how it goes!!!!