Saturday, October 11, 2008

Where have I been?

I have been having a busy couple of weeks with seeing family and it has all been amazing.
We went to visit Mike's aunt in oroville ,ca,we went to Mesa to visit my family and then on the way home from Mesa I picked up Mike's mom in Havasu for a few funfilled days with us in good ol Bakersfield.
I love to go and visit my family, it is therapy for me.I know I talk to them daily, but it not the same as being there.We have so much fun,even doing nothing.We have a hard time getting started sometimes and we sit around saying "what do you want to do?" we do this for hours until sometimes it's to late to do anyhting.But.I love it!
I want my family to know how special they are to me,
Mom, I only hope to be the mother you are to me.You are my best friend and I am amazed of all you do.From the moment you wake up in the moring till it is time for bed ,you are constantly doing something and most of the time it is for others.You are selfless and truly Christ like. I love you and am so blessed to be your daughter.

Lindsay, being the oldest,I have always looked up to you. I think what ever you say is golden.I often think when I am here at home,"what would Linds do?"You have a knack for decorating, that I only wish I had an ounce of,you are patient and loving and so forgiving.That night we went for Indian food and you were finding some info on India for Liv to learn about,I was so impressed by that and truly I don't think I would ever think to do something so fun.I want to be able to do things like this for my kids when they get older, you are always doing something fun and I admire that so much.

Niki, you are truly an inspiration!there are times when you could be defeated with all that you have to go through with your diabetes,and never have you let it become you,it is part of you not all of you or it is not what defines you and you are truly overcoming it.You are confident and beautiful.Your beautiful long hair is stunning and your fashion sense is something I do not have.I wish you could teach me.Your testimony helps mine grow and I love to hear you bear it,I become stronger from you words.

Alli, oh little Alli, don't you feel like we are kinda the same.I know we joke a lot about us being the middle children.(mom,don't get mad we are joking)I feel like we are the same somtimes.We have the same kind of humor,and we think the same about things.You are beautiful, you have such a cute little body and I can't believe how good you look after just having a baby,it's sickening.Easton is so lucky to have you,you are so cute to him,always kissing him and singing to him.Your voice is like angels and I have always thought this.It is soothing and so sweet.I love to talk with you and to be your friend.I would do anything for you.You are always so funny,and this is a talent! it is contagious and I just love being with you.

Lexi,sexy Lexi! This is true, you are amazingly beautiful.amazingly talented.Anything you set your mind to, you do and you suceed far beyond what is possible.I know I already told you this,but I tear up when I see you perform.It is the strangest thing,my eyes well up with tears and I get goose bumps.I am so proud of and I stand in awe of how hard you work and how you are so good.Academically,physically ,vocally ,spiritually.you are the best.You are stunning,the man you are going to marry is lucky ,you are the greatest.I learn so much from you.I haven't met many people who have such dedication, I mean you cheer all day and then later you still go running,please rub off on me,be my personal trainer. I love you and I want you to know I am hear for you always.

As I sit here and write this,I am filled with tears.I am overflowing with love for my family and I am greatful for being a a part of something so wonderful.Love you Family xoxoxox
Here are some pics from our travels. When I post pictures they only show up as words on my page I am writing on ,so it is hard for me to add coments on each picture.Anyone know how to fix this?







14 comments:

Grandmommy Crum said...

wow my mandi i dont think people get much better then you. this is lex by the way! but i think it is time to share a little something about mandi. you are amazing at all you do. i dont think i have ever met someone so sincere and caring in my life. you remind me so much of mom its kind of crazy. i always get so excited when you come..i tell all my friends "my sister comes today!" you are so patient and your kids couldnt be more blessed. its hard to have you away from us but i look up to you in more ways then you realize. i love who you are and how you try to bring out the best in me. i feel like you always tell us how amazing we are yet you never get to hear how great you really are! i love you so much and i am proud to call you mine!! come back to me soon! i need my family!! lovelove infinity+1! lex

Grandmommy Crum said...

My Dear Sweeet Mandi.... your are my sweet, tender girl!! When you were a little girl you were ever so tender, caring about everyones feelings, crying because you thought someone might be mad at you! As your mother I could not be more proud of you!!! Your ability to make friends where ever you live, is truly a talent! The way you love your children warms my heart, your testimony is strong, you stand in holy places, Your love for me means everything to me!! I long for the visits for you to come home to us! You are a loving supportive sister to all your sisters, they love you with all their hearts!! My life would not be complete without you! I cherish every part of you! I made you!!! Thankyou Mike for letting me enjoy your beautiful family, I know it is a sacrifice on your part to let them go. I thank my Heavenly Father for you everyday. I cant wait to live with you forever and ever!! I love you infinity+2

Alexa Mae said...

I was so glad i got to see you when you were in town. You look gorgeous, as always and Rocco is a little stud. I was sad i didnt get to see presley, she looks so dang cute!! But the chaos & insanity i was causing, i decided i had better leave before things got any worse. i loved seeing you for that 30 minutes though.
and yes, i had the same problem a couple weeks ago with the pics being in font. i thought what the heck...then a couple post later i realized that at the top of the posting when your writing i was in the Edit Html and not the Compose....try that. its annoying, right??

Lindsay Jones said...

Mandi I love you, and you know I mean that with all my heart. I miss you so much and I am so sad that you are not here. I can't wait until you come back, I love your babies too! It was sort of weird for things to be such a slower pace this visit! But it is just nice to be able to sit around and let the kids fight, as long as we are together. You are beautiful, your tender loving spirit radiates thru you, and anyone that knows you and is blessed to be loved by you is lucky because you are so kind, are caring. You are so patient and that is a true gift. I love you!

Kristy Treible said...

let's talk about how great Mandi is.... Your sisters are so lucky to have you as their sister and I am lucky to have you as a friend. You are a great listener and always there for anyone. You are a great mom and always out and about doing something fun with your kids every time I talk to you. They are so lucky to have you. You are so much fun to be around and everyone is always so excited when you come to tow!:) Love you lots!!

Hayley said...

What a nice post- and what nice comments! Sounds like we ALL LOVE MANDI! You've touched a lot of lives (including mine)with the charity your have for everyone you meet. Your post makes me miss my sisters too. And yes, it is hard being away from home- but makes it SSOSOOO good when you finally get to see them! I'm jealous- but so glad you got to have a nice trip home to good ol' AZ!

teasha said...

Just reading all the love you have for your family made me cry! What a great relationship you women have. It makes me miss my family. I love that you write to each specific sibling, I really need to do that and tell them why they are special to me. You are a great person Mandi and always fun to be around, so stay home for a while will ya! :-)

☂niki. said...

oh mandi, our lives just wouldn't be complete without you! you are truly the biggest tender-heart i know! thank you for your sweet, sweet words. they mean so much to me.
i'm kinda bummed you beat me tho. alli and i discovered a few weeks ago that we were both planning on doing a post about our mom and sisters. pretty much to the same effect that you just did. we decided that since we both were planning it, we would do it on the same day. well, looks like you beat us to it!

i love you so much. you are so Christ-like. you share so many of the same attributes as the savior, and to me, there couldn't be any greater of a quality to have. you are patient and loving. sympathetic, but more importantly, empathetic. you are wise and insightful. i know i can always get well-thought-out, unbiased advice from you and for that i am truly grateful. thank you for being an older sister and friend that i can truly look up to you! love you infinityxoxo

Alli said...

Oh mandi, you are the greatest! I walked into moms house and niki asked if I had read your post, She said you beat us to our idea we had. I guess its true what they say, great minds think alike!!! I love you so much I could never truely show you. When you come in town it is better than that feeling you get for christmas! I wish sometimes we could all just live in the same house together and just hang out everyday! I really don't think we could ever get sick of eachother. Thank you so much for your sweet words. You always know how to make me feel so good. You are so amazing. You always think about others before yourself and always are trying to do some kind of service. You are one of the greatest moms I know and I want to be just like you! I do really feel like we are the same. You always make me feel so funny, I know that when you are around I am not the only one to laugh at myself. I agree with all the things my sisters have said and mom. You are the best of the best. They don't come any better than you! I love you to the sky and back times infinity!!! I dont know what I would do without you! You are always there for me, and I know that you genuinely care! Thanks for being such a great older sister to me and someone that I can look up to! I can't tell you enough that you are so great and I love you!!
P.S. you make dang cute babies and I love them so much!

Tara said...

Thank goodness for sisters! You are all so amazing! The kids look so grown up in these pictures! I can't believe it!

Anniebanannie said...

Oh, your family sounds so great. Thanks for the reminder of how wonderful families are and how important it is to be close. You're awesome Mandi!

Brian and Brianna said...

Oh what would we do without our sisters! I love each of mine so much and they each have wonderfully different qualities that make them so great! I love your sisters too I'd have to say you got some good ones :)

Suz said...

Okay... So I'm tearing up here. Mandi, I need you to write me love notes. They are the best! Lucky family. So, quick note to ya'll... My Nate absolutely LOVES your dad. Infact, your dad used to tell him that they undoubtably knew each other from the pre-existance. He would take him to lunch and cheer him up all the time. Nate is the only one in his immediate family who lives in town. Everyone else is in Utah. So for him, Mr. John was his buddy and his brotha (from anotha motha~ sorry.) We have a super soft spot engraved into our hearts, (which is more like a large hole since he stepped forward into the eternities)for your dad and his AMAZING family. Nate will forever consider you his ~ even if you don't want him because your dad took him in~ and me... by default. You don't have to invite us for Thanksgiving dinner, but you should definately know that I think you're spectacular and that you are all extra loving and have some killer Johnica attributes within you. Impressive and Kind, and beautiful and funny and I am in love with your love notes to each other. Pardon me if I stare next time I see you since I will be thinking about how fabulous you all are. And the little Crum offspring... they are something to sing about! I have betrothed my sons and wish there was one for my sweet Bailey. Maybe El Rocco or Easton (although Bailey could babysit him) won't mind older women! Ali, I'm still laughen' every time I think of your birthing story... Laughing hard! And Mandi, I lived away from my family for the first 5 years of my marriage~ I learned a lot (good and bad) missed home like crazy and cried evey time I hugged my mom good bye. I loved being with mi amore, but my heart was still hung with my family. I feel your pain. Wish I could ease it. Home truely is where your heart is. Someday.... Someday will come.

Barbie said...

This was such a moving post. I cannot dry my eyes. You and your family have been the best neighbors I have ever had in my entire life. I hope my kids grow up to love and respect each other the way you guys do. I also hope they want to be near me,too. I have to say how much we still miss our "papa john". Sometimes I come downstairs and I think he will be sitting on the sofa talking to Orson. He taught us so much about Christlike love and service. Now I watch you girls carry on as the beautiful women you have grown into. I, too come from a family of all girls, and we don't all live close. I miss them. You will receive many great blessings during your time away from your loved ones. I totally believe that. I had some amazing experiences when we lived in San Francisco, far away from all our family. I wish I had taken more time to talk with you as you were growing up, but alas, it pains me to think I am almost old enough to be your mother. My favorite time of day is anytime I drive by and see the Crum girls on the grass. It warms my heart. You are beautiful inside and out and I am grateful Heavenly Father put you in my life. I love you!