Happy Mother's Day

She was 15 when she met this handsome friend of her brother's named Dave Smylie when he stopped by to show Uncle Jim his new bike. They played cards and got to know each other and Dave fancied her. Dave was 21, it was his birthday! They began dating and then Dave realized she was only 15 and nearly died, but he went on seeing her and eventually they married when she was just short of her 18th birthday and the rest is history as they say!!!!!

Here are some of my fond thoughts on this Mother's Day...

• 24 years old she meets the missionaries, cannot stop smoking and has a special blessing just prior to going into the waters of baptism and never felt the urge to smoke again, some faith that!
• 29 year old, she is the mother of 5 children and with her Dave takes off on an adventure to Australia that turned into a life time of generous living. Nothing doubting huh?
• 30 years of age, is a good story... She is living with Dave in one room of another family home, (The dear Patrick family from Whyalla) but wanted a home for her kids and Dave so she sees an old home on Darling Terrace. Says she to the Housing Trust man, "Sir, can I rent that house on Darling Terrace?" Says he, "No it is condemed!" Says She "If we clean it up and keep the yard up can we live there just until you get the houses on Norrie Avenue finished"... Now you notice she did not put a date on that, just when he had the houses "finished". Smart woman...It was another 2 years before he had the houses on Norrie Avenue ready for migrant families and so we lived at 5 Darling Terrace for 2 years. The Whyalla Hotel was across the road and because there was no hot water in the house. An outside toilet we had, but no shower or bath inside the house. The hotel owner allowed us to go across the street to the hotel for a bath every Saturday night so that on Sunday we could all look good for Church, Dad was Branch President. We washed on other days in a large galvanized tub in the kitchen. But we were a family, together, living and learning the principles of the gospel.
• And the stories continued... until in 1964 she gave birth to the last of her biological children, (Mrs Sharon (Smylie) Scarlet to be) and helped Dave take her and the family and all the other Whyalla branch members who would travel with them to the Temple in New Zealand where she was sealed to her David and 7 children for time and all eternity.

Well says you..."Is that the end of the story?".... "No", says I, but we do not have time to go into all the things that make up her life. But suffice to say that if there was one word that describes your Granny, it is the word

GENEROUS...

She had no sooner come home from the Temple with "all those children" when she opened her home to a wee five year old David Zajkovic Smylie and I might add, continued to open her home to those in need until she was in her 68th year when she was still fostering children who had no homes to go to.

She is your original pioneer, a lover of books and good learning, clean living and generous giving. She will fight you when she thinks she is right but will be the first one there if you should need her help, and she still dances each morning and talks to her David in the quiet of the morning.

Happy Mother's Day Mum and thank you for all the love, I only hope I am half as well thought of in my lifetime. God bless you so many miles away! Love and kisses xoxoxx Dinah