Thanksgiving pictures

Hey all,

It was so good to see you at Thanksgiving. Sure wish I could have "talked" with you. I just thought I'd post some pictures that I had. I didn't get many taken, but if anyone else has pictures (mom), please post them. It would be fun to see. And it would be fun for others who weren't able to make it to see as well.

A little football

A little preparation

A little visiting

A little puzzle

A little ripstick. Actually a lot of ripstick - my kids loved it so much they put their money together and bought one.

So what do you think? Do they look a like?

And a little bashfulness. But all in all, we had a good time.

Grandma

Hey guys, this is Holly. My mom asked me to do a quick post since things have been pretty hectic for her lately with Grandma. Hopefully everyone knows the current situation with Grandma in the Rehab Facility. If you are not on the email list, email my mom at kathysevererealtor@yahoo.com so she can keep you up to date along with the rest of us. So these are just a few things mom/grandma have said:

Shelby- Grandma loved seeing you and Korri and Max. Thanks so much for driving out of your way to see her. She said it made her day. Mom wanted me to post the pics for you. It's definitely alarming to see how thin and frail grandma appears to be in those shots.

Gena- Thanks for helping out so much with Grandma. You've really given so much of your time and it's really appreciated.

Bonnie, Jennie, Charlie, Mary, Kevin, James, and whoever else I may have forgot--thanks so much for doing overnighters with Grandma and taking good care of her. Mom said she keeps commenting on how glad she is to see all of her family. She's sorry that she's so sick and can't fully enjoy the visits, but she loves her family and loves to have them around her.

Anyway mom, I hope I covered all the bases with that. Thanks mom for basically taking a huge time out from your life and business to be there for Grandma and for keeping us all informed on her condition. We love you both!!

Grandma-I can't even express how important you are to this family. We're pulling for you and praying for you to regain your strength and start healing.

Also-I wanted to repost mom's earlier email about all the "Did you know's" about Grandma. I thought that was pretty cool, except for the freezing the garbage bit. What's up with that? :)

From Mom/Kathy: "Today in the temple I felt very strongly that her time with us is short. We need to take the opportunity to let Grandma know how much we love her. She is a treasure. I have learned so much about her these last 5 weeks being with her on a daily basis. Did you know that when Grandma was little- about 5 years old- she got hit by a car and it almost cut her ear off. Did you know that Grandma's dad (my grandpa Bird) ran a hamburger stand and she got to sit on the counter and take the money from the customers. Did you know that Grandma use to take the shoes off of the neighbor girl and wear them as her own until the little girl's mother told Grandma's mother and my Grandma Bird made Grandma give them back. Did you know that Grandma hated having shots at school. On shot day she would run away from the school and hide in a ditch and her Dad would always find her and take her back to school kicking and screaming to get her shot. Did you know that Grandma worked as a nurse at the state hospital and she felt it was the hardest work and the most rewarding work she did outside the home. One lady would always rip Grandma's watch off her arm and throw it across the room. Grandma said she was always buying a watch for work and wouldn't spend more than $5.00 for it. Did you know that Grandma talks in her sleep all the time. The only thing I can really understand her say is when she is telling Buddy to stop looking at her food. Did you know Grandma freezes her garbage because it stinks up her garbage can- just so you know- I put a stop to that- good grief- ha ha."
And Finally...Ben and Natalie-will you invite mom to your blog so she and grandma can view it?

Surgery

Grandma,

I'm so sorry to hear that your 2 hour surgery today ended up a 5 hour surgery. I just wanted to let you know that I am thinking of you and hope that you will recover soon. I know that you will be in the hospital for the next seven days and won't be reading this anytime soon, but just wanted you to know that we are thinking of you and love you.

Kerrie

Memories...

EVERYONE needs to do this. It's such a fun idea and grandma will love it!

As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a lot or just a little, anything you remember.
Next, repost these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. So, start thinking hard. Also when you leave a comment, you are tagging yourself, so repost on your own blog so I know who's blog to go and comment on:)
I'm excited to read what everyone has to say!

Grandma Peterson talks about the farm

(I'm going to type this just like she is talking)
When we first went to the farm to see if we wanted to buy it, the house was in easter egg colors. It was still those colors when we left. The fences were broken and the weeds were taller than me. We liked it and decided it would be a fun retreat for weekends to get away from the appliance store in Orem. Needless to say, I didn't realized the amount of hard work it would take to get that place into shape- it took us all summer long. The first summer we planted a beautiful garden next to the house. Grandpa didn't like the way the tomatoes were growing to he decided to give them a little help and the next morning when he got up the tomato plants were dead and the neighbor stopped by and asked what happened. Grandpa gave them a dose of.... (Grandma can't remember but whatever it was, but they didn't grow, they died). Then Grandpa decided he needed chickens and brought 1 or 2 dozen that he raised from eggs under lights from the back porch. He had all types. That must be why the Peterson's have chickens in their backyard (I added that thinking of Tom and Josh). They had brown, green-blue and speckled eggs. Then Grandpa decided he needed to have pigs but first Roger caught a greased pig on the 4th of July, so that was the first pig. Then Grandpa got another one to go with the first pig. When it came time to harvest the pigs- Grandpa spent 2 days trying to force the pigs into the back of the truck. The neighbor came over to help cause Grandpa couldn't get the job done. The neighbor helped by picking up a stick about 5 inches long and tickled the pigs on the back side and the pigs went up into the truck with no problems. Grandma is now laughing. She said Grandpa was surprised at how easy it was. The Davidson girls could have given Grandpa a lesson on that one- right girls? The next thing we did was get a couple of rabbits and they grew and grew and grew until they got all over the neighborhood. (By grew and grew she meant multiplied as rabbits do). Then we had a couple of horses, one's name was Freedom and the other she can't remember the name but the kids enjoyed riding those. Then Grandpa decided he wanted to raise white cows. So he bought 1 from some guy in Pleasant Grove and that cow had twins, but she wouldn't take care of them. So Grandpa had to tie her to a post between 2 fences so she was stuck and tied her legs down so she wouldn't kick the calves, and he decided that was a lot of work. The calves lived so that plan worked. Then after he done that he decided to go get 10 more calves the next spring. Grandma was the one that had to feed them with buckets of milk because Grandpa decided to work at the turkey plant as a meat inspector in Moroni. (So Dad inspected turkeys? Hummmmm I could make a joke- but won't). That was his first civil service job with the gov't. And Grandma raised 2 little baby sheep- named Tami and Sami- one was white and one was black. She raised them on a bottle and the little kids loved to feed them. All she had to do was clap her hands, call their names and they would come on the run. Let's see- what else- let's see- what else...Grandpa bought a bull so he could raise more cows. He had so much trouble with it going over the fence that he sent it to the slaughter house. It was so big it broke down the steel door at the slaughter house. It must of weight 1600 lbs. They ate the bull and it tasted good. (So much for the bull in this story). Roger also had a cow he raised from a calf. He would ride on its back and guide it by it's tail. Good job, Roger. Roger also had a sheep that he raised that had horns and he taught it to bunt a tire and one day it almost bunted Grandpa to the ground. The next day Roger got behind him and Roger got knocked down so they gave it to a neighbor just to get rid of it. We always raised a garden every year and took the veggies home and left some on the lawn with a sign to take what you wanted and the veggies were always gone the next week. The people driving by would take them. The last year we were there we hauled hay until 1:30 in the morning and that's when I said to sell this place. We sold it and that was the end of the farm. We bought the farm for $30,000 and sold it for $65,000 when we sold it. It had 2 shares of water too. So that is the end of this story. A good experience but a lot of work. Oh my gosh! Love Grandma

Oh- the Farm!

We loved going to the farm- packing you girls up on a Friday after work jumping in the car and driving to the farm. We went to the farm for years until it was sold but you girls starting going as young as 2- I think. Geniel was packing Kerrie around on her hip at the farm showing her the baby kittens in the barn or the baby rabbits that no one could touch. I have a picture of Geniel helping Kerrie feed a lamb and when Kerrie was to big to pack around then it was Holly's turn to be packed around on Geniel's hip. Grandpa and Grandma sure grew a good garden at the farm. I remember eating dinner one night and Dad said that everything on the table was a product of the farm. Dad always wore those gray blue coveralls and had a hankie hanging out of his back pocket to wipe his face. If he got real tired he'd send one of you kids to the house for a glass of ice water. Grandma taught me how to paint at the farm. We'd sit at the table for hours and paint pictures or tole paint- I loved it. Thanks, Mom, for teaching me how to paint. Grandma still has some of those pictures she painted at the farm and I know all the stuff from the farm is packed in her basement for everyone to dig through after she is gone and ask "Why did she keeps this?" Oh well- just so everyone knows I will NOT be carrying anything out of that basement. Back to the Farm- remember the pond that Grandpa had dug and the roaster that use to chase James around and around the pond as James yelled for Grandpa to come save him. The truth was Grandpa was watching and laughing from a distance- poor James. Oh, the farm always brings back good memories. Thanks girls for bring that up. I'll have Grandma post when she comes over this week. Love you

June 9, 2008 6:05 PM

Mount Pleasant Memories...Top 10

What a great place. I actually drove by there about a year ago...memories came flooding back.

1) Snowball fight with Uncle Roger and Ron with snowmobiles. I was a fearful child holding on for dear life as we chased around the fields. SCARED TO DEATH!
2) Head butted by a HUGE RAM FROM HELL.
3) Grandpa's story of him launching a pitchfork at a rooster. Cock-a-doo-dle-DEAD.
4) Bathroom wallpaper with the old 1920's motif.
5) Riding for hours and hours and hours in the back of the white pick up, tucked away in sleeping bags to stay warm, just to keep asking, "are we there yet?"
6) Taking home Andy the cat! The best and only cat I have loved. He died a tragic death by broken neck thanks to our South Jordan neighbors.
7) Swinging on the tire by the pond. Or was it just a wooden swing?
8) The Hen House. (I now have 4 chickens.)
9) Grandma's good cookin
10) Being bored for hours and hours.

I wish I had more time to spend there. I was in Pennsylvania for much of the time that they owned the farm.

The Farm

Hey Grandma,

Tonight Holly and I were doing a little reminiscing about the farm in Pleasant Grove. Holly vaguely remembers it, but I remembered some things about the place and thought I'd share. I remember the "magic" birds nest above the door. Sometimes Grandpa would lift us up to see the eggs in the nest, and when there weren't eggs, we would always find money in it. He said it was a magic bird's nest. I also remember Grandpa always teasing us at the kitchen table with his pet spider that would come down from the shelf above the table. I can't remember if there really was a pretend spider on the shelf or if he just liked teasing me about one. Do you know? And for some odd reason, I remember your kitchen vinyl chairs and staring at the little round designs on them. I'm thinking that they were blue, is that right? And one of my other memories about that place was pulling out the roll away bed to sleep in front of the tv and Gena and Geniel being so excited to watch Dallas. I was too young to care about the show but was just excited to be watching it with them. Mom, how old would I have been when we visited the farm?

Anyway, I just thought I'd share some of my memories about that place, and was wondering if you would share some of your memories about the farm as well. Thanks, Grandma.

Love, Kerrie

P.S. Also if anyone else has any memories about the farm it would be fun to hear about them.

Severe Family Slideshow

Just thought you would like to see what the Severes have been up to Thanks Holly and Bonnie for the video! Thanks everyone for the pictures!

To Jennie & Jessica

Take a look at these dresses. This is what you're getting. They're on their way. It was fun making them for you and I hope you like them. We'll try to see you soon and meet the new babies. Love you, Grandma.

Also to every one else: Kathy and I are thinking that we want to make all my grandkids contributors to my blog, so you can post pictures or comments to me whenever you want. Let me know what you think of this idea.

Missing Grandma

Hi Grandma, I found this picture today and it made me miss you and also laugh because I think you've tried to show me how to crochet or cross stitch about a million times, but my attention span only lasts ten minutes with stuff like that. However, here is a picture of you and me working on some sort of project and I'm glad I have it. I have lots of memories of you at your kitchen table working on one project or another.
Love you-
Holly

Forgot this cute picture

The newest addition to the Severe Family-

So I ask Grandma.....

So I ask Grandma today if she wants to put something in her blog for everyone to read and she says "No- I don't know what to say. I want to talk to my kids on the phone or have them come and visit me." So to all of you out there in blog land- give Grandma a call. She hasn't been feeling well for the last 3 or 4 weeks. She's had the flu and it's been hard on her. I bet if you gave her a call it would make her feel better.

Meet Sammy- the newest member in the Severe Family

Meet Sammy- She's the newest member in our family. Sofie, being the princess around here, hasn't exactly welcomed her with wet kisses but they are getting use to each other. If Sofie would have known what was in store for her the day we got Sammy I wonder if she would have been sleeping so soundly. But Sammy is a sweetie and I'm sure we'll spoil her too. So girls- don't you think this new addition to our family is great!?

We're all getting settled in....

We're all getting settled in. At least our first night was a success. Sofie being the only child wasn't going to share her special pillow but once Sammy got comfy in her new blanket everyone was happy.

Ava Meets Sammy!

What little girls doesn't just fall to pieces for a new puppy! Ava had so much fun this afternoon playing with Sammy. I think Grandpa was a nervous wreak because he didn't want Sammy to get hurt. It all turned out good.

Twilight Quiz

So I finished Twilight, Eclipse, and New Moon. I know these books are all the rage. I started reading a few pages and wasn't sure if I liked reading about vampires, but pretty soon I was thinking about it more and more and just had to keep on reading! I had to laugh to myself thinking, "What is this 80-year-old grandma doing reading about teenagers and vampires?" Oh my gosh. But I liked all the books, although Holly tells me they're making a movie of Twilight. I'm not sure if I would like to see the movie or not, but maybe I would if all my granddaughters came down and went to a girl's movie with me.

I took this quiz and it looks like I'm the most like Jacob, whatever that means.

http://www.quizilla.com/users/twilightnexus/quizzes/Which%20Twilight%20novel%20character%20are%20you

Well I hope all my grandkids are doing well. Right now I'm visiting with some of my granddaugthers and they're making me update my blog. I just got my hair done today by Bonnie and it looks good...because Bonnie is an amazing hair dresser (she just told me to say that).
I've been crocheting on another baby dress. I just made one for Jennie and then I'm making two for Josh and Jessica's twins. And so if someone else is going to have a girl in this family, they better tell me fast!

Love you all,
Grandma

I've Been Tagged

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 Years Ago (Feb. 1998): I was in pain. I had my knees operated on in early spring of 1999, but during '98, that was painful for me. I was living in Orem and Bill was sick and had a slight stroke. He was out in the backyard when that happened and I was out shopping with Kathy. Geniel was working over in the Peppermint Palace-at the Candy Factory. We had Chow, our big fat Alaskan Chow, and we had Bibs who disappeared when I moved to Idaho. After the knee surgery, Bill was still sick but my knees felt better.

5 Things on my To-Do List today: The day is over, so I'll tell you what I did today:
1. I woke up and went to work crocheting on my baby dress. I made a mistake and had to pull seven rows out to fix it and that's when I said, "That's it, I quit", and I went to see Kathy.
2. Went to the grocery store and bought Valentines for the neighbor kids.
3. I sat and watched Kathy, Holly, and Gena bowl on the Wii. And I tried it myself, and I didn't do too bad.
4. Then I had to come home and take care of my pets, give them their food, take them out to do their duty.
5. Then I started back on the dress and almost got the front part of my dress done. This dress is for one of the twins. Now I took time out from watching SuperNanny to update my blog.

Snacks I enjoy:
1. Crab Salad.
2. Trail Peanutbutter Bars
3. SAM'S Club Flavored Water
4. Anything I can get my hands on--cookies, potato chips, marshmellows, apples, candy.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Share it with my kids.
2. Share it with my grandkids.
3. Share it with my great grandkids.
4. Because I probably wouldn't be able to spend it all myself.
5. Give some to R.A.H. on behalf of Geniel.
6. Other than that, having that much money would scare me.
7. Buy a lot of yarn and make lap rests for the senior citizens in the rest home. I like to do that because they like receiving those.
8. Give money to the food kitchens for the homeless.
9. Anything that would be good to give to somebody else that needed it.

3 of my bad habits:
1. Eating candy. If I've got it around, I can't leave it alone.
2. Crocheting instead of cleaning my house.
3. I procrastinate cleaning out the cat litter.

5 places I have lived:
1. Orem, UT for 50 years.
2. Born and raised in Springville, UT
3. We had a farm down in Mount Pleasant, UT for 15 years that we used as a retreat to get away from business.
4. Daegu, Korea
5. Wildflickin, Germany on an Army Post.

5 jobs I have had:
1. We had Bill's Appliance Sales & Service for 16 years.
2. I worked in a Geriatric Rest Home for 2-3 years in Orem.
3. I worked at the State Hospital in Provo for 6 1/2 years before Geniel was born. I was a Phsychiatric Practical Nurse.
4. Before that, I worked at a sewing factory in Provo. When I first got married, I did embroidery work on slips with sewing machines.
5. Before that, I worked Sutton's Cafe as a waitress and hated it. I didn't work very long, maybe six months.
6 And just before I got married, I worked at the Utah Poultry Plant handling eggs. I handled them to check for cracks and blood spots, then I put them in cases and took them to the stores.
7. Then before that I worked in my dad's grocery store cleaning and filling the shelves with food, and I was very young then.
8. Before that I babysat for 10 cents an hour!

5 things people don't know about me:
1. I sewed all my kids clothes when they were born and raised until they got out of high school. I sewed my own clothes, Bill's sports jackets to wear to work, Kathy and Geniel's dresses, and the boys shirts. Tom said he was glad to graduate high school so he could have a new white shirt. I think Kathy got her first bought coat when she graduated Junior High.
2. When I was a little girl, I used to take down the neighbor girl--tackle her down, take off her shoes, and go on home. Her mom would call my mom and tell her to have me bring her shoes back. I only did this a few times, but it was one of those things I remember doing because I really liked her shoes. (I did have shoes of my own)
3. I used to swim down the irrigation ditch for six blocks in Springville. I was young, maybe 6, 7, or 8.
4. In the wintertime, my dad used to put me and my brother Richard on a sleigh hooked to our dog and let our dog take us for a little ride about a mile down the road to my grandpa's house. My grandpa would always meet us at the gate.
5. I used to play the piano and hated it. I took lessons from when I was 8 to 15. Now I couldn't even play a thing.
6. I eloped when I got married. We drove 30 miles away to Heber to get married. We did this because Bill was home on leave from the Army for two days. Nobody knew we did this until we got back home.
7. One year, Bill bought me a wristwatch when we could least afford it. It was a good watch and he suprised me. I still have it.
8. I lost my diamond out of my ring and went without a ring for 17 years, and then one day we went up to the jewelry store to get Bill's watch fixed and he saw this ring and I liked it. I just said, "Ooo, I like that", and he bought it. I asked him why he bought it and he said, "Because you've been wihtout a ring for 17 years and this has got 17 diamonds in it". He wasn't very romantic, but once in a while he surprised me.


Okay, now I tag Jessica (so they will update their blog), Natalie, Kyle, Shelby, and Mary. Although I love all my grandkids.

Grandma Turns 80!

Grandma turns 80 years old on Jan. 24th so give her a call and wish her "Happy Birthday". She has been filling her days crocheting a table cloth for Cathy since hers is worn out and she is excited to start crocheting 3 baby outfits for 3 little girls that will be joining the big clan that started with her and Grandpa. Just so you know, Grandma got sick right after Christmas with a terrible cold but is now on the mend. She made a visit to the doctor for some meds and she is doing good. Too bad you didn't know she was sick sooner so she could describe to you how runny her nose was. It made me laugh and gag at the same time. She decorated her house so cute for Christmas and Kevin helped her put up lights in her yard. The yard looked festive when she remembered to turn on the lights. I think I saw her lights on once and I turned them on. When the weather is warmer I'll clean up the lights and we'll do it again next year. Grandma is looking forward for her birthday. She is planning a lunch with her girlfriends. They go to lunch together often and she really has fun. Remind me to tell you about the time she went to lunch with her friend and ended up in a bar. Better yet, have her tell you.

Oh Babies!

Got a picture of Grandma with your baby? Let's post it!

Buddy, Jenks and Sofie

Grandma has a couple of loafers that live with her- Buddy and Jenks. She acts like they annoy her but really she dotes on them all the time. She loves Sofie too!