My Daddy

This week, and for the rest of my life, I will honor an amazing man, my father...John David Fraser. What a gift my father in Heaven gave me when he let me come to the Fraser family. My Dad had so much knowledge that he wanted to share with me, sometimes it was a bit overwhelming.

I remember when I was about 9 and I wanted to know how a camera worked. My Dad was an expert on this! He attended BYU, went to Art School in Los Angles and then studies at Cal State Fullerton. He worked with photographer Todd Walker, designed and ran a photography lab at CBS and created his own Advertising Agency out of our home. Just to name few of his accomplishments in photography. However instead of asking my Dad how it worked, I went to my Mom. I remember her laughing at me and asking me, "Why don't you ask your Daddy?" I replied, "I just want the simple answer and I know that he is going to go on forever." I remember her suppressing her laughter as she placed her hand over her mouth. She then walked into the living room and whispered into my Dad's ear. He looked at me through the top half of his glasses and beckoned me over. As I sheepishly walked over and sat on the couch he said to me, "Tell me what you want to know". He lovingly and simply taught me about a camera..I caught the fire.

Being the youngest of 4 I remember being the only kid left at home. My Mom and Dad still insisted on Family Home Evening and Scripture study. With no siblings left at home to distract me, I created my own distractions and spent some of our time together under the coffee table, trying not to be interested. However to this day I can remember the sound of my Mom and Dad reading the scriptures to me and hearing the love they had for these sacred books conveyed in their voices.

I remember seeing his face as I walked out the right side of the room in the MTC and hoping to see his 18 months later. And then the excitement when I stepped of the plane and seeing the joy on his face that I was home.

Dancing at my wedding and him pointing out all the people that came to celebrate with us. Him flying up to Washington to only turn around and drive back to California so that he could be there with me when the boys were born and Matt was serving our Country. The joy I saw as he was one of the first to see the boys come into the world!

This past month he called me often at 8am our time (since the rest of the world was still sleeping). He told me of the books that he was reading and the people that he talked to and made them smile. But his greatest joy was telling me of sharing the gospel and giving copies of the Book of Mormon to even the crankest nurses.

One of my favorite memories is when I was about 7 and not wanting to go to bed. I tried the "water trick" often enough. Finally my Dad took me into his arms and pulled me into his lap. He sat in his chair watching TV cradling me in his arms. I remember placing my ear on his chest and listening to his heart pounding and his steady breathing moving my head gently back and forth. As I listened I tried to pattern my breathing after his. Right then nothing else mattered.

What a great plan our Father in Heaven has given us that he allows us come to families. To know that the knowledge of the older must be passed on to the younger. How grateful I am for the knowledge of the plan and for the knowledge that we are an eternal family.

President Spencer W. Kimball shared that he wanted to wear out his body in the service of the Lord. I have not seen a better example of this than my wonderful Daddy, and I hope to follow his example.

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In memory of John David Fraser May 14, 1933 - May 7, 2010

Three

Maybe it is because my baby went from this ...

12 pounds 6 ounces

To this...

A three-year-old

How did my baby get to this point? He started out big so it should be no surprise, but it has been. He is very comical, has killer dimples and is quite spoiled. Since Christmas he has been asking for the same thing for his birthday..."Wall-E" (Oh yeah and a Mummy from the MET). Jack is our Pixar kid, between Toy Story and Wall-E he is a happy camper. So since he got Buzz for Christmas, Wall-e just seemed the next step.

Nana wanted to give him a gift that would fit in with the rest of his collection, his favorite cowboy toy, Woody. Woody arrived several days before the event so we wrapped it up and left it on the rug the night before.

Not my brightest ideas. I was woken up by Jack pushing the now unwrapped Woody box in my face asking me to open it. So much for the big photo opt.

Wall-E came several weeks after the fact so I had the upper hand. The Disney box arrived and Matt came home from school early. We gathered around the box and made guesses as to what was inside. Nothing prepared Jack for the biggest shock of his three years.

The toy was a hit...with all of us! He comes complete with remote and says all of our favorite lines. He even looks for Eve and calls her name. I am not quite sure what can top this gift...maybe I better look into buying that Mummy.

Easter Colors

Easter is such a wonderful time of year. Being here in New York I have been able to see what spring is all about and really appreciate the newness of life. What a wonderful way to celebrate life with smiling faces and bright colors.

Easter morning was a busy for our family. Nana and Katie came to visit, it was Conference Sunday. To let off a little steam we enjoyed our beautiful weather and went for a walk in our neighborhood.

Claire was pretty in pink wearing a dress that Mommy just finish the night before.



Lance is such a handsome devil in his green shirt and khaki pants


Jack is just as cute as can be in his blue polo. He was not a happy camper at the time however.


After our walk we went home to make fresh rolls

Some of us got into it a little more than others

Most of all we made great memories and spent time together.

It was an amazing day to spend with family and to celebrate the atonement of Jesus Christ. It was wonderful to remind our kids what Easter is all about. Seeing the newness of life up close and personal reminds me that because of a single act , we will all be new again.

DC Three (days that is)

Saturday the amazing weather continued. So we packed up our 7 kids (our 3 and Keller's 4) and were off to the Smithsonian. What I learned from from watching "Night at the Museum; battle..." (where would I be without that movie) is that the Smithsonian is actually several museums that line The Mall between the Capital and the Washington Monument. To keep the kids interest we decided to go to the Air and Space Museum first.

There was a bit of a line to get into the museum so to entertain the kids we had them look in the windows to help get their wiggles out. It did make them a little excited to see all of the airplanes and rockets that were just on the other side of the glass wall.

We were so excited about the museum that we missed photo ops. But as the kids ran on the grass of The Mall and ate Mickey D's ice cream I caught them being kids. They played duck duck goose, freeze tag and hide and seek. Mallory was so cute peaking around the tree.

Paco...I mean Jack was having fun finding sticks and then throwing them at the big kids as they ran by while playing tag.

Ayla was such a sweet Princess as she picked flowers and blades of grass.

We caught a picture of the Kellers in front of the Capital. The large crowd in back of the Kellers is the protesters protesting National Health. Part of History! (Did I mention it was a very sunny day?!)

Then we caught a family picture of us.

Ah, the blessings of living on the East Coast and being able to experience history 4 hours from our home. It was a great weekend and we did not want to leave. But Sunday afternoon we packed up our little family and went back to our big city. It was wonderful to cross the George Washington bridge and see to our right the bright lights of our humble home.

Walking throught History

On Friday April volunteered to watch our kids while Matt and I toured DC. So for the day she has a 6 year old, a 5 year old, two 4 year olds, a 2 year old, a one year old and a 5 month old...crazy! But thanks to her we had some much needed hand holding and less stroller pushing.

Our sights were set on the Capital. The weather was beautiful and we had a long way to walk but with amazing sights along the way we enjoyed every minute. The sheer size of the Capital took my breath away.

As we took a tour inside the Capital it was wonderful to learn of the history behind the craftsmanship. I learned that this amazing dome was being worked on during the civil war. Abraham Lincoln thought that it was important that the Capitol Building was finished to show the people that he believed their was going to still be a Union after the feuding.

This is the painting on the inside of the rotunda. Hand painted to show George Washington in heaven looking down on what this country has become.

All around the walls are the most beautiful windows with carved molding. Our tour guide told us that if you took the Statue of Liberty off of her base, there would still be 30 feet above her head as she stood in the rotunda. The guide told us about all the beautiful, historic pieces and how one man tried to steal a piece of one of the paintings. The things people would do to have a piece of history. He was tackled and the painting restored.

This plak was under a statue in front of the National Archives. The statue portrayed a woman holding a child high on her shoulder. It was a great reminder that if we teach our children correct principles it will effect future generations to come.

It was an amazing day. We bought hot dogs from a cart and enjoyed a picnic on the lawn. The line to get into the National Archives was a mile long, so we enjoyed a walk down the National Lawn. We then went to Georgetown and walked through the charming little streets. After dinner we enjoyed a cupcake from Georgetown Cupcakes. Perfect ending to a perfect date.

April survived the day and we stayed up until 1am giggling.