ONCE I WAS A BABY

I am grateful to have "... been born of goodly parents," 1Nephi 1:1 

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back row; Dad holding Tim, Mom holding baby Linda 

front row; Rex, Gene, Randy

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My mother had 5 kids when the measles came to live at our house.  Look at those red cheeks!
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My mother sings hymns - randomly - snatches here and there. She especially sings them in church - with or without a book - but anywhere, anytime she sings.  She says her mother took her to choir every Sunday.  She told me, this week, that Wilfred once played a prank on her.  He sat on the stairs, behind the kitchen wall, and taped her for a long time.  She would sing a line or two of a song, pause, and when she began again she would sing part of another song or sometimes whistle.  She says when he played it they had many a good laugh.  "I didn't even know I whistled," she says. "My mother was a whistler.  She really could whistle."
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You have heard quotes and sayings from my father. 

He tells me (when I ask), "I learned that from my mother." Interesting that her father was known for recitations.

The family wrote some of the sayings down once.  We counted over 1200 things!  We all could just start quoting his sayings that we had heard.

Families spent time together when ever possible - even extended families and gave each other support and friendship. Many of the Forsyth's came to see my new baby brother, Shane (1956), blessed. I am the toddler (almost 2) on my mother's right knee and he is on her left knee. 
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 Shane's baby blessing fall 1956   Composite photo by Rex

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The 3 pictures below were taken about 1957 in Cardston on the south hill in the front yard of my Forsyth Grandparent's home.
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From back to front, left to right: Randy, Tim, Rex, Gene,

 Linda, Shane - early spring 1957

I think from looking at the this toddler's face that I must have had a bit of personality to spare. I would be not quite 3.

  I also suspect that in this last picture I am kicking Rex because he is getting in the picture too.

There are few pictures of us at these young ages.  There are many times that the pictures that remain are with the Horne family (dad's sister Ruth) as is the case with the horse and kids pictured here.  

 Notice how very blonde we all were - except Rex (who was very dark) and Shane (who was always brown).  We spent a lot of time outdoors in the sun and always got quite bleached out each summer.
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back row: Randy, Mom holding Necia, Rex

front row: Tim (facing left), Shane, Linda, Gene

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Every spring the boys were given a 'crew cut' - shaved bald. And it appears that I got a new baby sister in 1958 - I would be about 3 1/2
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In this Christmas 1958 picture, as a 4 year old, I have a tight hold on my house keeping tools -otherwise one of the boys might get them. That is the little red broom I so naughtily used to mark up the ceiling above my bed with.  The 4 youngest kids slept in a set of bunk beds just off the kitchen.  I was on the top bunk at one end with one of the others at the other end.