Here's to great women . . .

May we know them

May we be them

May we raise them.

As soon as the doctor announced "It's a girl!" in the dimly lit ultra sound room, Steve and I began thinking of names for our sweet baby. We tossed around Olivia and Brooklyn, and the kids were dying for an Elizabeth. Knowing that this baby was our last, we wanted to choose a name full of meaning, hopefully a name that would help our daughter connect with positive role models and strong characteristics. For baby Mia, we chose Miriam Caroline, after three great women.  

Miriam Bentley Milne

From the moment I met Steve and his family sixteen years ago, I began hearing about his Grandma Milne. Grandma Milne was truly the center of the Milne family. She was devoted entirely to her children and grandchildren, her siblings and parents. I heard stories about Miriam caring for her baby sister, Maude, as if she were her own, since her mother's health was not good. I heard about her spending months sewing her sister's entire trousseau when she learned of her sister's engagement so that she would have a collection of nice clothing and house linens to begin her new home. Miriam spent summers in her backyard with her children and grandchildren, enjoying the family pool on almost a daily basis. While the children swam, she brought out gallons of homemade ice cream that she had mixing in the kitchen. She invited the entire family to their cabin or for holidays in St. George. Christmas at Grandma Milne's was magical, with an elegant dinner, a nutcracker waiting at each table setting, and a visit from Santa. It was an event that the family looked forward to all year. Miriam had an unshakable faith in Jesus Christ and the power of prayer, so strong that it was almost tangible to those close to her. She devoted her life to following the gospel and sacrificing wholeheartedly for each calling she received, from visiting teacher to being on the Board of the General Relief Society.  How lucky we are to have such an outstanding woman for whom to name our sweet baby.  

 Carol Crandall Spendlove

My earliest memories of my Grandma Carol are of her throwing family parties for her grandchildren. She always was wearing the latest fashions. I remember her baking individual sized pizzas at a granddaughter sleepover, in Gogo boots, a mini skirt and a beehive hairdo. She planned trips for the family to the cabin, Canyonlands and Jackson Hole and always invited us to bring our bikes and stay a few days in Dugway, where we could ride to the ice cream store down the street or the park around the corner. It wasn't only her family who felt at home with Grandma. Grandma opened her doors and her heart to everyone who came her way, including her children's friends and her neighbors in each new spot Grandpa and Grandma settled. It's no wonder that Grandma was the ward activities planner everywhere she went! Grandma is visionary and determined. She and Grandpa came from humble beginnings, but Grandma knew of Grandpa's potential. Grandma supported Grandpa as an undergraduate at BYU. When asked what her husband was doing in school, her response was always, "working on his Ph.D.", which was true , but he just had to earn his undergraduate and master's degree first! When her children were grown, Grandma became a realtor and soon bought several apartment buildings to run. Eventually she wrote a book on how to successfully be a landlord. Into her eighties, Grandma continues to write for the Church History Museum and stay active in various ways. Grandma Carol is a survivor. Her life hasn't always been easy but Grandma didn't let that hold her back. She has put aside her troubles and created a success story for herself, her husband and for her children. I have always felt blessed to have Grandma Carol as an example for myself and now for my children.

Caroline Romney Eyring

Several years ago, my mother gave me my matriarchal line in photos. Each time I look at the women from whom I have come, my gaze stops on Caroline Romney Eyring. I truly look forward to meeting this woman. Great Grandma Caroline is my Grandma Rose's mother. Despite having only an 8th grade education and living in humble circumstances, she was able to turn out one success story after another in her children. Recently, while reading my grandmother's life story, I came across a description of her mother:

I remember mother as a tremendously dynamic individual, the kind of person that makes the world go round. She wasn't, however, the most comfortable person to be around, because she felt that others, too, should be up and doing. There wasn't a lazy hair in her head and she tolerated no laziness in others, particularly her children. . . Mother did wonders with her love and affection. Though she had eight very individualistic children, she always had plenty of love to go round, and somehow she succeeded in making each one of us feel that we were extra special and the one most loved. . . Mother had the kind of faith and outlook on the world that I consider admirable. Her faith was so strong that I believe it could literally move mountains, yet it was so practical and genuine that even her most skeptical children could accept her way of thinking. . . I would be happy to be counted just one half as successful as Mother.

I believe that it was these characteristics that allowed Caroline to raise eight outstanding children, including Henry Eyring and Camilla Kimball. Grandma Caroline is one of the maternal figures who I have always admired most. Hopefully Mia will also look to Grandma Caroline as an example and source of strength.

I have always felt so grateful for two families full of great men and women by which to raise my children. My children have many examples of faith, love, service, determination, optimism and purpose by which to live their lives.