52 Questions in 52 Weeks: 4 of 52
Question 4:
What memories do you have of your mother (her name, birth date, birthplace, parents, and so on)?
Eric - My mom is Deanne Troff Call. She was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on November 21 to Arno and Pat. My mom is truly a great lady. She devoted herself to our family. I am grateful she is my mother. I have more memories of her than I could ever record here. I want to share some of my favorites.
My mom is a great example of hard work and determination. While I was young she became a school teacher and went back to school to get her master's degree. This required her to spend a lot of nights in classes. This also meant she had a lot of school work, in addition to teaching and keeping up the house. She found a way to make it work. Her example taught me that if you really want something you have to work for it and be willing to make sacrifices. She made a lot of sacrifices to support our family. I remember she was working on her thesis one day and she needed to go down to BYU to get some research. I vividly remember her making copies of the documents she needed for her research. At the time I was bored and didn't really appreciate how much work it was for her to take care of her kids while working on her thesis. Now that I have attended college I have a much better appreciation for the work she put in. I thought about her many times while I pursued my education, and I knew I had no excuse for not giving my best effort. My mom inspired me to value education.
My mom really valued family time. Pretty much every week growing up I could count on eating pizza and watching a movie with my family on Friday nights. My siblings and I would lay down on the floor (usually with pillows and blankets my mom made for us) and enjoy a movie together. We watched lots of popular Disney movies, Scooby-Doo, and other kids' movies. We also watched movies that I feel are less mainstream, but I love because of my mom, such as the Scarlet Pimpernel, Blackbeard's Ghost, and Wide Awake (one of my mom's favorite movies). It was a simple thing. We either made or bought the pizza and took turns picking movies. Nothing fancy, but the important thing was that we did it together as a family.
My mom always took a lot of pride in her cooking. She made some delicious desserts like baked Alaska, ice cream cake, and amazing pies. It was a tradition in our family to make a dessert on Sunday to share as a family.
My mom created a home. She spent much of my childhood years working to buy a house. She bought a house right when I was going into the 9th grade. She did everything she could to stay close enough to where we had been living so that my siblings and I wouldn't have to switch schools. After we got our house my Mom worked hard to make it into a home. We did lots of home projects as a family - removing trees, getting new carpeting, removing a door, and even tearing out a room in the basement. My mom always wanted to make sure the place we lived reflected who we were. She helped me paint my room gold and decorate it with Lord of the Rings stuff since that is what I was into. She covered a wall of her home with pictures of the savior since she wanted him to remain at the center of our home. The kitchen she decorated with old family pictures and antique kitchen appliances.
There were little things my mom did that I always loved. My mom always read the newspaper, especially the funny paper. I enjoyed reading them after she was done. Every year she would wrap the birthday presents for members of our family with old funny paper. I always loved this tradition.
When I was a junior in high school my mom and my grandparents took my siblings and me to Disneyland. This was my first trip to Disneyland. It was such a fun trip. I especially had a fun time hanging out with my mom. I remember one night my family went back to the hotel kind of early, but my mom and I walked back to the park. I remember riding Space Mountain with her. It was so much fun. That was one of the most fun moments I have ever shared with my mom.
My mom has a testimony of the gospel. When I was younger she was the ward chorister. Every week we would sit in the front row at church so she could keep an eye on us while she was up on the stage. She always made it a priority to go to church and invite the gospel into our home. We would often read scriptures as a family or hold family home evening, and I wasn't always a willing participant, but she encouraged me to participate with the family. I am grateful for the gospel lessons she taught me.
My mom supported and encouraged me through my mission. Every single week she wrote me a letter. I loved those letters and looked forward to receiving them every week. She took care of so much for me at home too. She got me all registered and ready to go back to Snow when I got home. She made sure I had a functional vehicle. And she even came down to Ephraim when I graduated. I am grateful for her support.
Alison - My mom is Debbie Nielson. She is the best. She was born on October 27 to Kent and Aleene Alder in Mt. Pleasant, Utah. My mom was a stay-at-home Mom who always put her kids first, and in fact, she still does. She really does just take care of everyone who comes to her house, whether or not they are part of her family.
Growing up, my Mom always had fun activities for us. We would paint wood blocks, sew, or do other crafts together. She has always had a knack for crafty things. Her favorite craft store was Mac's, so we would go there to buy paint and other supplies she needed. If we were good, she would buy us a Laffy-taffy on the way out of the store. She was never above bribery.
My mom made sure that we were always busy growing up. She drove carpooling for our dance classes, pre-school classes, and piano lessons. When I was in elementary school, my piano teacher would have us come to our lessons during lunch. My mom would pick me up from school, take me to piano lessons, and then get me lunch and drop me back off at school. It was always really fun! She was also really involved with the school when we were growing up. She was the PTA president one year, and the other years she was a committee member. She knew all my teachers, and the kids in my classes as well as their parents. For our birthdays, she would always get Air Heads or Jolly Rancher sticks to take to our classes to help celebrate.
My mom always cooked dinner for the family and we would all eat together. My dad usually got home from work around 6:30, so that was when we ate dinner with everyone. If we had friends over, they would eat with us too. When Eric and I were dating in high school, he ate with my family quite a lot, which was nice. My mom would have a grocery list on her fridge and any of our friends could write what they wanted to eat on it, and she would get it for them. She routinely fed our friends their favorite food. She still does this now that Eric and I are living here. She always buys Lucky Charms because that's my favorite cereal. She's the best. I love eating breakfast with her and Skylee in the morning.
My mom loves London. It's one of her favorite places. When I was in high school, Kristin did a study abroad in London so my Mom and I went to visit her. We stayed in a little hotel in London and hung out with Kristin every day. We visited the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, and saw Wicked. It was a lot of fun to hang out with my mom and sister.
When I was growing up and got sick, my Mom always took care of me. She would let me sit in her bed and watch TV. It almost made being sick fun. This hasn't really changed as I've gotten older. When I'm sick, my Mom still takes care of me. A few years ago I had a really terrible cold and needed to go to the doctor. Eric had to go to work, so he called my Mom. She came and picked me up and took me to the doctor and then went to the grocery store and got me soup and ice cream. Eric had to work late several nights that week so she would bring me dinner and check on me several times throughout the day. Some things never change.
My mom always made sure that we had all the things we needed. I remember redecorating my room several times while I was growing up. This would mean going to Linens N Things or some other store and purchasing items for my room and then rearranging the furniture. Before school started we always hit the Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale to get new clothes for school.
My mom is the best Nana. Skylee loves hanging out with her Nana. She watches Skylee a few days each week and it's always fun for both of them. When Kristin is out of town, my Mom will do Skylee's hair. It's really sweet.
All-in-all, my Mom is easily the most caring, giving person that I've ever met. She loves her family fiercely, and she loves the things that we love. She wants to be involved in our lives. It's rare for me to go a day without getting at least one text from my Mom (usually several), just keeping tabs on everyone. She's the glue that holds us all together!
My mom is a great example of hard work and determination. While I was young she became a school teacher and went back to school to get her master's degree. This required her to spend a lot of nights in classes. This also meant she had a lot of school work, in addition to teaching and keeping up the house. She found a way to make it work. Her example taught me that if you really want something you have to work for it and be willing to make sacrifices. She made a lot of sacrifices to support our family. I remember she was working on her thesis one day and she needed to go down to BYU to get some research. I vividly remember her making copies of the documents she needed for her research. At the time I was bored and didn't really appreciate how much work it was for her to take care of her kids while working on her thesis. Now that I have attended college I have a much better appreciation for the work she put in. I thought about her many times while I pursued my education, and I knew I had no excuse for not giving my best effort. My mom inspired me to value education.
My mom really valued family time. Pretty much every week growing up I could count on eating pizza and watching a movie with my family on Friday nights. My siblings and I would lay down on the floor (usually with pillows and blankets my mom made for us) and enjoy a movie together. We watched lots of popular Disney movies, Scooby-Doo, and other kids' movies. We also watched movies that I feel are less mainstream, but I love because of my mom, such as the Scarlet Pimpernel, Blackbeard's Ghost, and Wide Awake (one of my mom's favorite movies). It was a simple thing. We either made or bought the pizza and took turns picking movies. Nothing fancy, but the important thing was that we did it together as a family.
My mom always took a lot of pride in her cooking. She made some delicious desserts like baked Alaska, ice cream cake, and amazing pies. It was a tradition in our family to make a dessert on Sunday to share as a family.
My mom created a home. She spent much of my childhood years working to buy a house. She bought a house right when I was going into the 9th grade. She did everything she could to stay close enough to where we had been living so that my siblings and I wouldn't have to switch schools. After we got our house my Mom worked hard to make it into a home. We did lots of home projects as a family - removing trees, getting new carpeting, removing a door, and even tearing out a room in the basement. My mom always wanted to make sure the place we lived reflected who we were. She helped me paint my room gold and decorate it with Lord of the Rings stuff since that is what I was into. She covered a wall of her home with pictures of the savior since she wanted him to remain at the center of our home. The kitchen she decorated with old family pictures and antique kitchen appliances.
There were little things my mom did that I always loved. My mom always read the newspaper, especially the funny paper. I enjoyed reading them after she was done. Every year she would wrap the birthday presents for members of our family with old funny paper. I always loved this tradition.
When I was a junior in high school my mom and my grandparents took my siblings and me to Disneyland. This was my first trip to Disneyland. It was such a fun trip. I especially had a fun time hanging out with my mom. I remember one night my family went back to the hotel kind of early, but my mom and I walked back to the park. I remember riding Space Mountain with her. It was so much fun. That was one of the most fun moments I have ever shared with my mom.
My mom has a testimony of the gospel. When I was younger she was the ward chorister. Every week we would sit in the front row at church so she could keep an eye on us while she was up on the stage. She always made it a priority to go to church and invite the gospel into our home. We would often read scriptures as a family or hold family home evening, and I wasn't always a willing participant, but she encouraged me to participate with the family. I am grateful for the gospel lessons she taught me.
My mom supported and encouraged me through my mission. Every single week she wrote me a letter. I loved those letters and looked forward to receiving them every week. She took care of so much for me at home too. She got me all registered and ready to go back to Snow when I got home. She made sure I had a functional vehicle. And she even came down to Ephraim when I graduated. I am grateful for her support.
Alison - My mom is Debbie Nielson. She is the best. She was born on October 27 to Kent and Aleene Alder in Mt. Pleasant, Utah. My mom was a stay-at-home Mom who always put her kids first, and in fact, she still does. She really does just take care of everyone who comes to her house, whether or not they are part of her family.
Growing up, my Mom always had fun activities for us. We would paint wood blocks, sew, or do other crafts together. She has always had a knack for crafty things. Her favorite craft store was Mac's, so we would go there to buy paint and other supplies she needed. If we were good, she would buy us a Laffy-taffy on the way out of the store. She was never above bribery.
My mom made sure that we were always busy growing up. She drove carpooling for our dance classes, pre-school classes, and piano lessons. When I was in elementary school, my piano teacher would have us come to our lessons during lunch. My mom would pick me up from school, take me to piano lessons, and then get me lunch and drop me back off at school. It was always really fun! She was also really involved with the school when we were growing up. She was the PTA president one year, and the other years she was a committee member. She knew all my teachers, and the kids in my classes as well as their parents. For our birthdays, she would always get Air Heads or Jolly Rancher sticks to take to our classes to help celebrate.
My mom always cooked dinner for the family and we would all eat together. My dad usually got home from work around 6:30, so that was when we ate dinner with everyone. If we had friends over, they would eat with us too. When Eric and I were dating in high school, he ate with my family quite a lot, which was nice. My mom would have a grocery list on her fridge and any of our friends could write what they wanted to eat on it, and she would get it for them. She routinely fed our friends their favorite food. She still does this now that Eric and I are living here. She always buys Lucky Charms because that's my favorite cereal. She's the best. I love eating breakfast with her and Skylee in the morning.
My mom loves London. It's one of her favorite places. When I was in high school, Kristin did a study abroad in London so my Mom and I went to visit her. We stayed in a little hotel in London and hung out with Kristin every day. We visited the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, and saw Wicked. It was a lot of fun to hang out with my mom and sister.
When I was growing up and got sick, my Mom always took care of me. She would let me sit in her bed and watch TV. It almost made being sick fun. This hasn't really changed as I've gotten older. When I'm sick, my Mom still takes care of me. A few years ago I had a really terrible cold and needed to go to the doctor. Eric had to go to work, so he called my Mom. She came and picked me up and took me to the doctor and then went to the grocery store and got me soup and ice cream. Eric had to work late several nights that week so she would bring me dinner and check on me several times throughout the day. Some things never change.
My mom always made sure that we had all the things we needed. I remember redecorating my room several times while I was growing up. This would mean going to Linens N Things or some other store and purchasing items for my room and then rearranging the furniture. Before school started we always hit the Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale to get new clothes for school.
My mom is the best Nana. Skylee loves hanging out with her Nana. She watches Skylee a few days each week and it's always fun for both of them. When Kristin is out of town, my Mom will do Skylee's hair. It's really sweet.
All-in-all, my Mom is easily the most caring, giving person that I've ever met. She loves her family fiercely, and she loves the things that we love. She wants to be involved in our lives. It's rare for me to go a day without getting at least one text from my Mom (usually several), just keeping tabs on everyone. She's the glue that holds us all together!
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