52 Questions -- 2017

1/29:  My greatest achievement will be my kids -- if they are happy and productive and love the gospel and are good and kind and love to serve.  And know I love them.

If I have I have good friends that know I love them and I'e helped them and made a difference to other people.

I also want to have done my best to teach people about Ovarian Cancer -- love Survivors Teaching Students.


2/5/2017.
Grandma (Ada Ray) and Grandpa Wall  (John Edward Wall) were both living in the colonies in Mexico.  Grandma Wall  lived with a family in a neighboring town and they met.  Grandma Wall said she'd only give kisses to her husband.  Grandpa moved to Logan to go to school and Grandma was in SL going to nursing school.  They met again and there were two girls he had been corresponding with -- and he chose Grandma.  They got married in about 1921.

2/5/2017.  My mom -- she was truly my best friend up until the day she died.  My sisters -- would not have survived without them growing up and even more so as an adult.  Natalie Christiansen has been a lifelong friend -- my freshman year roommates Sue, Julie, Anne and Simone -- Val, Becca, Lisa, Kristene and so many more.  My in-laws, my nieces and my hubby and kids!

Cheryl Pope Packer and Natalie Christiansen Bauer.  I still communicate on facebook with Cheryl.  Nat adn I have stayed close all of these years.  Our kids see eachother as cousins and although we don't live in the same state we see each other and text a lot. Her daughter Jacquelyn had a wedding reception in my dads backyard.

Trust -- kindness -- laughter -- walking -- listener!

What were your favorite hobbies and pastimes in your childhood?
I loved to snow ski and in high school every weekend Natalie and I would go on Saturdays.  We had passess to Big Cottonwood Canyon and would ski at Brighton and Solitude.  I played volleyball in High School and loved to play.  When I was little I loved to play cops and robbers with the neighbor kids, Visiting Teaching with Cheryl and Chinese Torture with Scott and his friends.  I played the piano a lot -- didn't love -- but really glad I did now. 

Do you like to dabble in lots of different hobbies? If so, what are they?
I like to cook/bake.  In college I liked to cross stitch.  I love to exercise, snow shoe, hike and bike.  I enjoy planting flowers.  I love musicals.  I love to travel -- Hawaii, NY, DC,  Love our California trips.

I also love my volunteering with Survivors Teaching Students and my YW!

How has your life been enriched by commitment to causes.
The most recent one is my work with Survivor's Teaching Students.  To me it is one of the biggest blessing of cancer.  My survivor friends are amazing.  They give me strength.  They make me feel normal.  They let me know I'm not alone.  They can related to the unrelated parts of me.  To Rose and Debbie (and Brenda) and others that lost the fight to cancer their courage and example inspired me!

And each time I do a presentation I feel like I could be making a small difference.  I feel like there  has been some meaning in what I experienced. I feel like my problems and efforts to share them could prevent others from going through this.!

Who taught you how to work? What would you want your children and grandchildren to learn from your example?
Definitely my mom and dad.  My dad is the hardest worker I know ... at home or at his office and he has a passion for teaching my kids to work.  My mom never quit -- dedicated to her students, to her family, in the yard, in her church callings and everything. They both taught me to do my best and work hard in church callings, school, work and at home. 

I hope my kids will always work hard in everything they do and serve other people as they work.

What are some of your greatest career achievements so far?  

Home and Heart

What was your childhood home like?  We lived in the same home my whole life.  My parents had just built it ... as of 2017 my dad still lives in it.  It was at the end of a cul-de-sac and perfect.  Big backyard and my room was pink, with pink carpet and a cool light.  The backyard had a waterfall and lot of room for a trampoline, playing games, and a big side hill that seemed to steep in the winter with skiing and sledding.   When I was growing up the driveway was gravel and it is a little steep.  It was a lot of fun to back out of ... I'm the only one that didn't back off the edge.  The yard was beautiful and I had my wedding reception there ... and we've had a lot ever since.

What kinds of things did you collect and display in your childhood bedroom?
How many different homes or apartments have you lived in throughout your life?
What do you love most about where you live now?
What are the barest essentials you would need to make any place a home?

Mothers & Motherhood

How has your mother or being a mother enriched your life?
What lessons have you learned from your grandmothers’ life experiences?
What are some of the stories you loved hearing from your mother’s youth? From your grandmothers’ younger days?
What is the best thing about your relationship with your mother or grandmother?
Who are some important mother figures besides your own mother who have been influential in your life?

Fathers & Fatherhood

What did you enjoy doing with your father when you were a child?
What life lessons have you learned from your father?
What are some of the stories you loved hearing from your father’s youth? From your grandfathers’ younger days?
What are some of the signature phrases, quotes, or sayings that remind you of your dad? Of your grandfathers?
Who are some important father figures besides your own father who have been influential in your life?

Events & Milestones

What do you know about the day you were born?
What were the biggest momentous events in your life and how have they changed you as a person?
What decisions have you made that have had a long-lasting positive effect on your life?
How does your family celebrate significant milestones?
What events and milestones are you still anticipating and looking forward to?

Travels & Vacations

What were your most common childhood vacations like—road trips, visits to grandma’s house, camping trips, weekends at the lake or the beach?
Do you have one special vacation spot that you return to again and again?  What do you love about it?
What are all the different modes of transport you’ve used?
What are the most memorable meals or exotic foods you’ve tried on any of your travels?
What destinations are on your vacation wish list?

Education & School

Who was your most beloved teacher? Why?
What are your memories of school lunch?
What subjects did you excel at in school? Which were hardest for you?
What extracurricular activities did you get involved in?
What valuable lessons have you learned from school that have helped you in your life?

Values & Beliefs

If you had to pinpoint three main values that your parents lived by and tried to instill in you, what would they be?
What personal values do you hold most dear?
What values do you feel are most important to pass down to posterity?
What were the faith and religious traditions of your ancestors?

Causes & Convictions

What motto or creed do you live by?
In what ways do you sacrifice your time to volunteer in your community?
How has your life been enriched by your commitment to causes?
Is there someone in your life who has inspired you to care more about community and global issues?
How has your commitment to make the world a better place evolved throughout your life?

Holidays & Traditions

What were some of your favorite holiday traditions in childhood?
Which were your top three favorite holidays when you were a child? Why?
Which of your childhood holiday traditions have you continued into adulthood?
What are the most memorable and treasured gifts you have received in your life?
What different occasions do you celebrate each year?