Tammy's Father # 1

I wanted to say a few words about the fathers in my life on Father's Day. First of all I wouldn't be here without my father, Ralph Barr. Even though he wasn't in my life much I spent most of my childhood idolizing him and wanting to spend more time with him. Since I didn't know him all that well, I think I idolized the father image of him in my head. I know that he loved me but he made decisions that made it so that we didn't see him much or get to know him that well.

Here is a photo of my father, mother and me. I'm sure that my parents had the same dreams that we all have when we hold our precious children in our arms. I am sad though that they didn't back them up with actions. Parents are so important in the shaping of children.

I do love my father but am sad that I didn't get to spend my childhood with him as I wanted to in my imagination. I also realize that I would have been a different person if I had. Who knows? More on this in the next post.

I love the song by John Mayer "Fathers Be Good To Your Daughters." I think the words to the song say it all:
I know a girl She puts the color inside of my world

She's just like a maze Where all of the walls all continually change

And I've done all I can To stand on her steps with my heart in my hands

Now I'm starting to see Maybe it's got nothing to do with me
Fathers be good to your daughters Daughters will love like you do Girls become lovers who turn into mothers So mothers be good to your daughters too
Oh, you see that skin? It's the same she's been standing in

Since the day she saw him walking away

Now she's left Cleaning up the mess he made
Fathers be good to your daughters Daughters will love like you do Girls become lovers who turn into mothers So mothers be good to your daughters too
Boys, you can break You'll find out how much they can take

Boys will be strong And boys soldier on

But boys would be gone without warmth from

A woman's good, good heart On behalf of every man

Looking out for every girl You are the god and the weight of her world
So fathers be good to your daughters Daughters will love like you do Girls become lovers who turn into mothers So mothers be good to your daughters, too So mothers be good to your daughters, too So mothers be good to your daughters, too

Tammy's Father # 2

My second father was my grandfather, John (Chris) Sorensen. He and grandma took us in on and off throughout our childhood. Finally when I was 11 they gained legal guardianship of us and we lived with them most of the time. They changed their lifestyle to raise my sister, Jerri, and I as they prepared to retire. All of their children were out of the house and yet they started over with us. My sister and I were pretty easy but we were teenagers and hormonal.

I remember the security I felt at night when I would hear them in their room talking each night. They made decisions together and then would let us know what THEY had decided. They were together on pretty much everything. Nothing could straighten us up more than to see disappointment in my grandfathers blue eyes. My grandparents didn't argue in front of us, they took their discussions to their room.

My Grandfather loved to travel so we would pick him up after work on Friday's and we would travel to visit family, go fishing, or sightsee on weekends. Grandpa loved to take the back roads and stop at every Dair Freeze for an ice cream cone. We also stopped at all Historical markers to read and enjoy history. My Grandfather taught me to explore and enjoy life. We have family movies that we all love because Grandpa would always do a little hula or dance when the camera was turned on him. I remember that my Grandpa loved to people watch. When we went to the mall he would just sit on the fountain and watch people go by. There was nowhere more soothing than sitting next to Grandpa while he watched people, nature shows, boxing, sports or even fishing. He loved to fish and taught us the fine art. He knew how to make us feel special. He taught us how to clean fish - and boy were we good - and made us think that this was a coveted skill and job. It wasn't until we got around other fishermen that we figured out that it wasn't quite their favorite job. We didn't care, we felt special because of Grandpa. Grandpa Sorensen is the one person that I consider my "Father." He did what it took, made the sacrafices and spent time to help mold my sister and I. Because of him and Grandma, I believed in a good marriage, learned how a woman should be treated and trusted that their were other god men in the world. He was responsible, loving, mischievious and fun. Thank you Grandpa for teaching me. You are a huge reasosn that I have become who I am today. You and Grandma molded, trained and loved me into all of the good things that I have become. I thank Heavenly Father every day for both of you.

Here is a picture of Grandpa & Grandma Sorensen with Ryan on his blessing day. They look a bit serious, they were both a bit shy around groups of people but not shy at all around family and friends. They were very happy and lots of fun. My children knew their Great-Grandparents and Great-Great-Grandparents. My Great-Grandfather Hixson was a wonderful example to me as well. I loved how he would sit on the couch and hold Grandma Hixson's hand. As she got older her eyesight was waning and she couldn't see to do the things she needed or loved to do. My Grandma Hixson loved to do dishes (I know this is strange and I didn't inherit this anomoly) but she couldn't see the dirt still on them with her eyesight so Grandpa would put Grandma to bed and then quietly go out and redo the dishes so that she would never know. To me that was one of the greatest examples of love that I have always remembered. I always wanted to marry someone like my two Grandfathers and thanks to Bob I have.

Tammy's lifestyle goal for this year!

I know that I have made this goal before but this year is the year! I am losing
weight and working on better health. I refuse to go into 50 this year and stay feeling this way. I know that losing weight will help all the health problems that I have and so I am changing things. I started my new weight loss plan (Nutrisystem) today. I got tired of seeing all the commercials with Marie Osmond and seeing how fabulous she looked! I had to do something so that I wouldn't hate her everytime I saw her on TV! I'm the same age as her brother Donny and I look ancient next to both of them! Not acceptable. I don't have a problem with turning 50. I have a problem with turning 50 and being so out of shape. I want to enjoy life and Bob and I want to enjoy it together. He can't very well enjoy it if I'm always sick!


I'm definately ready, I have a great nutrition plan, I have a treadmill and beautiful mountains and neighborhood to walk in and I have a personal trainer (the Wii Fit). How can I lose...I mean how can I not lose! I have 90 lbs. to lose. I don't have to do it all this year but I intend to do most of it!

Great Parents!

Bob & Betty (Erin's Parents)

I feel so blessed to have such great parents of the girls that my boys love. We always have a great time with Bob and Betty. We have shared so many meals, pictures, a wedding, and great conversation. It is comforting to know that when my boys aren't spending the holidays with their parents they are with some great families who love them.

Jeanette's Parents

I met Jeanette's parents on this trip and they are great! Mary and I have already decided that we would have a really great time on a cruise together. Sean has nothing but good to say about Jeanette's Dad so I know what kind of guy he is. I look forward to spending more time with them and making some more fun memories.

Visiting Colorado

Erin & Nathan

One of the things I love so much about Erin is that she loves Nathan so much and Nathan feels the same about her. They take good care of each other and are very protective of each other. They seem to bring out the best in each other. I was able to stay with them and had a lot of fun playing Wii (One day I will score higher than Erin on Big Brain Academy), trying some new resturants and hanging out. It was really fun watching Nathan doing Yoga with Wii Fit (His hands kept touching the ceiling so I don't know how good his balance really is). I always have so much fun when I come. I miss them so much throughout the year and really look forward to my visits. I wish we lived closer though so that we could see each other more often

Jeanette, Sean and Tammy

I was so excited to go to Colorado and visit and meet Jeanette for the first time. She is so fun and beautiful! What I love the most though is that she and Sean seem so good together. We laughed a lot and I am looking forward to getting to know Jeanette better. I really miss not being around Sean, we do have some good talks on the phone though but it isn't the same as being together in person.

Going For A Walk

Avery, Madisen and Christy getting ready for a walk

I went to visit Ryan, Christy and the girls and was available to take pictures of the girls taking a walk together. Madisen loved the stroller and played in it for days in the house. Avery was happy to be outside. Christy was happy to be able to get outside and walk with both girls. What beautiful faces! I had so much fun.

Dylan and Tammy

At Jason & Jessica's wedding we were able to get together with family and friends. I love this picture because Dylan has grown so much and is such a sweet boy. We don't get to see him as much as we would like but it sure was fun to play before the wedding started. Dylan was a big help preparing for the wedding (we picked up a lot of beans). Infact, we both got in trouble for running around too much and had to sit in time out!