Working Mormon women

I've been involved in the Women's Success Center at UVU for about four years now.  It's been a privilege to serve with an organization that I really feel strongly about.  It's my time now to step down after serving on the board with some amazing women over the years.  Our last fund raising effort was another huge success, thanks in large part to my cousin Janis, who along with her husband Corey and his associated business, were sponsors of the event. Over $300,000 was raised at one luncheon for the educational pursuits of women attending UVU.  Through my tenure, I got to serve with two of my cousins - Rebecca from my dad's side of the family and Janis from my mom's side of the family.  Serving together with them was a lot of fun and I will remember many wonderful shared experiences in mentoring other women and learning and growing together as we worked to advance the achievement and success of women.

Helping women succeed in whatever they want to do is very important to me.  I have seen so many women struggling along in life without the preparation they needed to be successful in supporting themselves and their families and in finding fulfillment and joy in their journeys. Women should have options and plans to succeed in whatever field of study or combination of jobs outside or inside of their homes that they choose to do to contribute to society, their families and their neighborhoods. I'm a believer in preparation, knowing that it leads to success and choice.  Freedom to choose instead of having limited options and low paying jobs.

The Deseret News has been running a series or article about the gender wage gape in Utah.  The articles are fascinating to me. They are well researched and present some interesting statistics and information.

The truth about Utah and the nation's gender pay gap.
Mormon women navigate cultural pressures around work, family and faith.

I have lots of thoughts on this topic and maybe I'll share them later.  What do you think?

Passing the one year mark

April 23, 2016.

It is a day that will forever be engraved in our hearts and minds.  It's the day Jacob Clyde Robertson passed from this mortal existence into the next.  It's been a year of ups and downs for Jordan and their children having to experience holidays, birthdays and just life without him physically with them. That is to be expected.  I'm so proud of Jordan for how she has fought through this last year. There just aren't enough words to adequately express what it is like as a mother watching your daughter go through this excruciating experience over the last three plus years.  It's heartbreaking, but at the same time I've marveled in her strength and courage. I've never been more proud and strengthened at the same time as being overcome with grief. I think any mother hates to see her children suffer, regardless of the circumstances.

Going through a loss like this helps to really see what a person is made of when everything else is stripped away.  When just the raw emotion and core make up of a person remains.  Do they dissolved into the ashes or do they rise again?  Do they become consumed with grief (yes, at times) or do they fight back and hold on to their faith and their trust in God?  Do they become bitter or better?  Jordan has and is becoming better in every way possible.  We pray for her continued healing and for that of the children. We take great comfort in their temple covenants and the sealing power of the temple that transcends the grave.

I know there are worse things in life than Jake's death.  I've watched friends and family go through deep pain and suffering from other major challenges.  Their losses and pain are just as real and I wish them all the healing and comfort that can only come through the Savior's atonement.  Peace in knowing that everything is going to be alright.  Different.  Not the way we wanted.  But alright.

We mourn his loss as well.  Our pain can never come close to their pain, but we feel it and we suffer as well.  Rick and I miss him.  We miss his voice, his laugh, his wink, his good humor, his intelligence, his steadiness, his smile, his thoughts on things, his love for and involvement in BYU football, his goodness, his perspective, his presence in a room, his spiritual knowledge and confidence, what he adds to our family and well, we just miss him.  From head to toe, including heart, soul, personality and mind.  We were all better people by just being around him. That is really true, not some cliche.  He raised the bar in our family associations.
Sometimes I visit the cemetery where he is buried and I think of him.  I thank him.  I pray for him. Oh, how we miss this good man. Tears rolls down my cheeks as I see these pictures and remember the MANY good times we've shared together.

Self-reliance iniatives

I have been involved recently in our stake church group on a committee to help people become more self-reliant. There are so many great community resources and LDS church resources available to people who need help. This program was recently rolled out in our church to help train people HOW to help themselves and their families.  I'm so happy that many people in our neighborhood are enrolled in the 12 week courses and on their way to gaining the skills and know how they need to better care for themselves and their families in the areas of:

Starting and Growing My Business

Personal Finances

Find a Better Job

Education for Better Work

There are Pdf downloads of all of these materials for the courses on the web site and anyone who is interested can access the information and get the help they need.  Ingenious!  I love how proactive our church is in helping people help themselves and become more self-reliant.

Also available is a booklet and information called "My Foundation."  These lessons focus on helping each individual strengthen their own foundation in spiritual and temporal ways.  I bought the booklet for each of the families in our family group and invited them to go over the short lessons and corresponding videos, scriptures and quotes in their own weekly Family Home Evening.  I'm hopeful that these lessons will help ALL of us as a family strengthen our own foundation as we strive together to become stronger in all aspects of our lives.  With all the bombardments and strife around us, strengthening our spiritual and temporal foundations is greatly needed now and in the future.

I also made a presentation a few months ago in our stake priesthood meeting, sharing information about resources in our community that help women, especially single women, get ahead in life.  I'm so grateful to serve in these areas and share information that I am passionate about.  I firmly believe that if people have resources and caring people to help them get ahead in life, that they can improve their circumstances and be happier, healthier and better able to assist others.

 "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" 


Community resources for women:

Women’s success center, UVU

Our mission:  Graduating women and transforming lives.

Scholarships available based on need.  Mentors/counselors are available to assist.

Womensuccesscenter@uvu.edu

www.Uvu.edu/wsc

801-863-3010 or 801-863-5586

Wee Care Center, UVU

Our mission: The Wee Care Center is a licensed childcare facility dedicated to UVU student-parents. The staff serves children from six weeks to twelve years, so students can  attend their classes and study sessions. 

Single parent registration begins July 5th. 

Married parent registration begins July 10th. 

Enrollment is first come, first serve. Priority enrollment is given to single parents, low-income families, and students close to finishing their degree.

www.Uvu.edu/weecare

801-863-7266

People Helping People

Our mission:  People Helping People is dedicated to reducing the number of children living in poverty by teaching low-income women, primarily single mothers, how to earn an adequate income through stable employment that pays a living wage.

www.phputah.org

801-583-5300 or ask for Heidi  Wynn at 801-437-4415

Located on the third floor of the Boy Scouts building in Orem

7/27/2008 - 9 years!!

Happy 9th birthday to my blog!  She turned nine years old on July 27, 2017.  HAPPY DAY OF BIRTH VONNIEROM!

Even though I don't have as much time as I use to, I STILL love to blog and I'm still going to keep going.  I'll admit that I use to blog a lot at work in the early years.  I had a job where I was at a desk for long hours each day and some of those hours involved just being there.  Blogging was a perfect way to fill those hours.  It's kind of crazy now that I am retired, that I don't have time to sit around at a computer anymore.  Who would have thought it?  I'm almost as busy as I ever was, but now I get to structure my day the way I want to.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being retired! Rick keeps saying that I must be the happiest retired person that he knows.  I think I am!

I've given my blog various birthday treats over the years.  She and I aren't big chocolate lovers, so she has received some delicious non-chocolate treats.  2008 was her birth, 2009 she received a birthday cake, 2010 a caramel cheesecake, 2011 a lemon cupcake, 2012 Key Lime pie, 2013 Creme brûlée with fresh fruit, 2014 a rootbeer float, 2015 delicious caramel corn, 2016 grandma's cinnamon rolls and this year.....

Tuh duh......

Home made ice-cream!!

Ever since I can remember, I've made homemade ice cream.  It all started with my Grandma Mayme. She made homemade ice-cream by the freezer full.  She made a special caramel ice-cream that I can still imagine and taste to this day.  She used one of these hand crank models and I'm sure that my Grandpa Ray and my dad churned many a batch of caramel ice-cream treats.

We made ice-cream in our home growing up and having it in the summer was especially delightful. My mom made some great ice-cream.  I still use her recipe and change up the fruit to go with whatever is in season.  I use this type of machine now.  We've burned through many, many motors and just this 4th of July, burned out another one.  Now I have a new machine and I hope it lasts awhile.

During the winter months when it isn't practical to be outside freezing ice-cream, I use this delightful table top variety.  It only makes enough for about 6-8 people, but guests love it when I bust out some freshly made ice-cream.  I keep the container in the freezer and it is ready to go at a moments notice and freezes up in about 15 minutes.  I've added a crushed up candy bar, fresh fruit, chocolate syrup or just had it plain with a good vanilla flavor.

The recipe I use the most is this one:
Fruit Ice-cream
(can use raspberries, strawberries or peaches)
2 1/2 cup sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
4 cups ground up fruit (we like the fruit blended in the blender so that there aren't big chunks of fruit)

Mix these ingredients and let stand for an hour or so
then add to the ice-cream freezer the blended fruit and sugar mixture and
1 pint cream
1 quart half and half
1 can evaporated milk
It makes about 4 quarts and can be doubled if you have a large ice cream freezer.

We also like this recipe for 3 fruit ice-cream.  It is very refreshing in the summertime:
2 cups water
3 cups sugar (dissolve sugar in water and boil for three minutes.  Cool completely)

4 oranges juiced
1 lemon juiced
3 large bananas, mashed
1 pint cream
1 quart half and half
1 can evaporated milk

Enjoy birthday girl!

Activities in June/July

The amazing crater at the Homestead resort in Midway, UT.

The crater at the Homestead is a wonder.
 It is the first time we soaked in it.
 Rick's mom even went with us and we had an
 enjoyable hour soaking in the warm mineral water. 

Everyone wears a life jacket and it's nice
 to just float and let the jacket do the work.

We enjoyed a family reunion with Rick's family
 at his uncle and aunt's beautiful home in Midway.  

The kids always have a great time with G. Ricky.

Hot tub soaking and

swimming were favorite activities.

Lizzie's well loved blanky went from this to...

this in no time.  Thank goodness!

We attended the children's parade as part of
 the Provo Freedom festival and the kids loved it.

Fancy snow cones with the Ada, Lauren and Ellie.

Another Stadium of Fire was a success.
  This is about the 25th one we've attended over the years.
 It's our tradition!
 We LOVE Stadium of Fire and this year
did not disappoint!

Will watching the sky divers come in.

The skydivers always bring a huge American flag.
Then two huge jets fly over.
It's the best part of the evening for me and I always tear up.
I love the patriotic theme each year
and the way we celebrate the land that I love.

The line up this year.  So good!

The fireworks are always. The. Best.  Period.

Oh man, a huge lump in the throat every year.

Another successful landing. 

Another amazing skydiving show.

What a funny, clean comedy entertainer.  Loved him.

Our group for the parade.
This year we invited one of Andy's Mongolian companions
 and his family to join us.  This is their first 4th of July in the
states and we wanted to show them how it's done.
 Rick claims we OWN the 4th of July.
 I don't disagree!

We enjoyed a visit from Syd and Adam and their family,
some of Jordan and Jake's good friends from AZ,
 nephew JRE and his wife Bronwen,
niece Kate and her fiancee Ty,
R's brother Westin and wife Rachel and their kiddos
and our crew.  A fun group!!

Love my husband! He ran the 10k that morning
with R and Westin.  He's still got it.

Pool time to ourselves with the Mongolians
who didn't know how to swim.
We got them swimming suits to try it out!
Baby Ermoon loved it and I think they did too!
What sweet people!

Lizzie had a very successful lemonade stand and made some $$

Jordan asked me to make a covering for their chaise lounge.
  It was harder than it looks, but the final product turned out great.
 The pillows shown are not the ones she kept.
  We covered some pillow forms she had with much cuter fabric.

The sunflowers in my back yard are going crazy!

Grandma Ricky takes the kids on an adventure
 every Saturday.  This time they went and bought
the new football shirts for everyone.
  BYU brainwashing is serious business around here.

Cute little pals.

These cousins love each other!

Grandpa's alma mater. 

A pack of cousins hangin with Cosmo at the Bookstore.