My sister Debbie came and stayed at my Dad's house for two weeks, from July 3- July 19. My sisters and I had a big task ahead of us: going through and organizing 65 years worth of my Mother's things. We went through books, crafts, floral arranging stuff, Halloween, Easter, Valentines and some Christmas decoration, pictures, genealogy, our baby clothes, personal items, etc., etc. My Mom and Dad have a big house and plenty of storage space and so not much was thrown away over the years. Also, we had some of my Grandparents things since they had moved out and lived there the last years of their lives. We split up a few things that my Dad did not want, mostly craft stuff. Most of the stuff we organized in bins. The rest was either thrown away, or given to Deseret Industries. It was both healing and sad as we remembered and re-lived precious memories. We found lots of letters, cards, and pictures that we laughed and cried over. We felt very close to our Mother during this time, even though it is extremely hard to give or throw anything away.
Mike and Jack Purser
From June 13-21 we went to Disneyland and to San Diego. My whole family (including my Mom) had planned this vacation back in January/February. My Mom and Dad had really wanted us to all go together as a family and they were excited to see their Grandkids at Disneyland. As you know, my Mom passed away in March. Our family decided we would still go on vacation (that's what my Mom would of wanted us to do). It was sad without her there, but we still had fun. In honor of my Mom, we all bought Mickey Ear hats with our names on them, including one for my Mom, and we had our picture taken with them on. We held up the hat with my Mom's name on it, so it was like she was with us in the picture. It meant a lot to us since she had been so excited for this vacation with her family.
