Two AWESOME parents! - Julie

 As I started thinking back on memories of you both one memory  after another just started popping into my head! I was having so many that I started thinking I needed to write them down so I wouldn't forget. Just thinking about all these fun and happy times brought tears to my eyes! It made me miss you both so much! I had an amazing childhood and I know I owe it all to the both of you. Looking back now I see how hard and how much you worked to make life happy for all of us. You truly are amazing parents and I feel so blessed and privileged to have been raised by you! Thank you for all you have done for me!! It has always been such a comfort knowing that I had two parents that loved each other and who loved me. Thank you for always taking time for me, even when life was so busy!! It is still such a comfort just to call and hear both of your voices over the phone. All my worries just wash away! You both know just what to say to make me feel at peace. Heavenly Father couldn't have blessed all of us with better parents!!
  Now on to these memories. I'm going to have to narrow them down and do a few posts to get them all in. This post has to do with memories of  Dad and Mom together. I remember when I was about 14 or 15 Dad and Mom told me that they wanted to take just me out to dinner. I was so surprised!  I couldn't wait because I was going to spend time with them just by myself! Well, that and I was going to get to go out to dinner! Anyway, we drove to this little whole in the wall Mexican Restaurant  in down town Phoenix. It was so hidden and  I remember thinking "How do Dad and Mom find these places?"  The Restaurant was so cute and the food was AMAZING but the thing I remember most was how Dad and Mom made me feel that night. I felt so loved and so special to each of them! I remember Dad telling our waiter how proud he was of me. I really felt like I was worth something! That night I felt so lucky to have such awesome parents!
  Another memory I have is of Dad and Mom bringing back Dilly Bars form DQ after their date nights. I always looked forward to them walking though the door with that brown bag and pulling out tons of Dilly Bars in all different flavors! Butterscotch, Chocolate, and Strawberry!! It was something that was so simple but yet brought me so much happiness. This is something that I want to do for my kids.
   I also loved waiting on Christmas morning to hear if Dad and Mom were awake and if they were getting ready to play that Christmas music for us! They always knew just how to make Christmas magical for us. I will never forget one Christmas when they decided to sing Christmas Carols themselves instead of playing a CD. I can still hear their voices in my head and see them standing there when we opened the door. Mom in her green robe and big smiles on there faces! Dad was singing so loud and it made me so happy! Being a part of this family with these amazing parents really is the best!

The Night Before Leaving - Amy Lynn

My Dear Mother,
The memory that I wish to share with you is not one that I'm sure I have spoken of before.  It is not an in depth memory but one that arouses deep feelings.
The night before leaving for my mission you and I sat on the couch by one another.  I remember you were either gently rubbing my back or stroking my hair.   (You know that affection was always a hard thing for me to receive) yet on this particular night it filled me with such deep feelings.  I could feel your sadness in knowing that in a few short hours I would be in a place, and shortly after a country, far from home and far from you.
My face was turned away from you, which at the time I was glad because my eyes began to fill with tears, and the thought came, "I am really going to miss my mother!". Thankfully times of separation are never for good.
Mom, you have always been a pure source of Joy and Peace and Comfort in my life.  Heavenly Father has given you the gift to always be cheerful and make those around you feel important and cheerful too.  I am so grateful to have a Mother with that WONDERFUL gift.  I needed that! Thank you for your strength Mom in the face of adversity.  Nurturing eight children could never be an easy thing and yet you made it seem so natural and exactly what you desired to be doing.  You are AMAZING!  How you always had time for me I will never know.  You are the best role model for me and any mother.  I love you dearly!!  I hope we'll be together soon!:)
Merry Christmas!

Southwest Memories - Amy Lynn

Some of my fondest memories of you Dad always seem to revolve around the Southwest nature.  We both share a great love for the Southwest.  I remember on one occasion when we lived out in La Luz you took a couple of us kids out on an "Expedition" through one of the canyons hidden in the desert floor between La Luz and Alamogordo.  That was so fun!  I felt like a real explorer.  It amazed me how this canyon could be hidden from everyday view.  I had no idea it was out there but you did.  Dad you always seemed so knowledgeable of nature (one of my favorite subjects) and made those expeditions so interesting.
I remember on one occasion walking through our neighborhood, there by Dixie and Pete, a neighborhood I had walked through many times and not taken much notice of, and you explaining what all the different types of trees were and information regarding their flowers and suddenly our neighborhood contained something so much more than I had realized.
I loved Sunday drives, staring out the window, admiring the beauty outside, and listening to you spout off some form of information about the place we were seeing. Often times our excursions seemed to take us to High Rolls and on to Cloudcroft and the surrounding areas.  Those memories always seem to be associated with Light and Peace for me.
When I think of the smell of Creosote it takes me back to an evening, standing with you, out in the front yard of the Pence's house, at sunset, just after a rainfall, that beautiful smell filling the air and looking with awe at a sky filled with hues of green and orange and red that I had never seen before.  AMAZING!!
The Southwest reminds me of you Dad and I think that is why I love it so much.  It's attributes represent what you are to me.  A place where I feel at home and safe. A place that evokes awe and admiration.  A place where I first felt my testimony take root.  A place where I see and know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live.
Thank you Dad for giving me these beautiful and profound memories.  I hold them close to my heart as I do you.  I love you and long to be near you!  I hope one day my children can have similar experiences with you.:)
Feliz Navidad!  

FACETIME! - Tim

It’s been such a blessing this past year to have the technological means to be able to see and converse with Mom and Dad even though the distance between us is so great. Since Dad and I both have iPads we’ve been able to “see” each other almost every Sunday evening. Those evenings have become some of our greatest memories of sharing hours of deep discussion and times of simple family fun. I am forever greatful that even though we live far apart Alice still recognizes her Grandma and Grandpa Glemsers’ faces and voices. Alice especially loves it when Grandpa sings silly songs to her and gives her kisses. I’m thankful for parents who take the time to really communicate with their children and share their love, inspiration, and knowledge with us. That probably doesn’t happen as much in other families. I hope we never take that for granted. We are truly a strong family and I am grateful for the wise words and guidance from Mom and Dad! We love you so much and hope that we’ll have many, many more Facetime evenings together!

Merry Christmas!!

Life at the beach - Ryan

  Hey Grandma and Grandpa! This is kind of my first time blogging since I haven't blogged for a LONG time. There is one thing I have to say before I share my memories: My brothers are not going to know WHAT THE HECK you have to do to post something. :)
  Anyway, one of my memories was when we went to Oregon. It was really fun.We went to the beach, the lighthouse, and your house is really cool. Bye the way, thanks for that book you gave me. It made stuff inside your body look like amusement park rides. At the beach, we found starfish and Tyler found many, MANY seashells. We also went to that restaurant for pizza and ice cream. Yummy.
   I don't really remember anything else we did but going to Oregon was the best thing we did with Grandma and Grandpa.

Everything is ok! - Laurel

     One memory I have of when Dad brought me a lot of comfort was the day I got in my first car accident. I had been driving Sarah's car home from a church activity and it was raining. I remember coming down the street and seeing a car ahead of me with their break lights on waiting to turn left. I started to slow down, but then I saw the other car's break lights turn off. I assumed the person had taken their foot off the break and was preceding to turn left, so I kept on going. When I realized the car in front of me was still not moving, I tried to stop, but was unable to quick enough because of the rain. I ran right into the back of the other car.

     I remember being so scared and not really sure of what just happened. Within a few minutes, a cop was there. I'm sure it was Heavenly Father's doing because the cop was Chelsea's Dad, the little girl that Mom used to babysit. When I saw it was him, I just started crying. He tried to comfort me and called Mom for me, but I remember being so scared to tell Dad! He was going to be so mad at me!

     Mom got there and we talked with Chelsea's Dad and the other driver about insurance and such, and then Mom suggested we drive down to Dad's work to tell him what happened. Oh man was I nervous! We pulled up to EZTV and Dad came out. To my surprise, he was smiling! He walked right over to me, and before saying anything he gave me a hug! I started bawling and Dad kept telling me, "It's ok. Everything is ok." 

     Dad, your reaction to the situation that day brought me so much comfort when I truly needed it! Thank you for being there for me when I really needed you! :)

My Mum! - Laurel

     One of my favorite memories of when Mom made me truly happy was the day she surprised me with a mum for homecoming! I was in 8th grade and I was an office aid that year for 1st period. As we all remember, mums were "the thing" to wear for homecoming. All the "cool and popular" kids wore them, and of course, I HAD to have one! I'm sure I begged and begged Mom to buy me one, but they were expensive and Mom wouldn't give in.
     On homecoming morning, I remember the office at the school was really busy. Lots of mums were being dropped off for students. One of my responsibilities as an aid was to deliver the things that came in to the students they belonged to. Well, needless to say, I was very envious of every mum that was being delivered. I still really wanted one!
      When one mum in particular was being carried in by a delivery man, I remember thinking, "WOW! I wonder who's AWESOME mum that is?" The delivery man set it on the counter and handed me the paper saying who to deliver it to. "For Laurel Glemser, Love Mom!" I could not believe it! Mom bought me a mum!!! And not just any mum...one of the BEST ones I had seen all morning! I don't think I cried back then like I do now, but I remember being so surprised and happy and could not wait to get home that day and thank Mom for what she had done! It made my day for sure! I LOVED that mum! It hung on my wall next to Sarah's for many, many years!
     Thank you, Mom, for making me so very happy that day!!!! :)