It is time...

So I have had a ton of things to keep my mind busy the past few months. I feel like I may be able to finally update my blog. Then I need to go catch up in my journal!

I feel so blessed to have the knowledge I do as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Knowing that we can be united with loved ones again after we die, and knowing that families can be forever, has an incredibly deeper meaning to our family.
I am so thankful for the many blessings we have received. The Lord blesses us with so many experiences throughout this life that we don't relize we need. We were blessed with incredible moments as we spent time together as a family during the last 3 years. There are so many precious memories that I will forever cherish. I have grown extremely close to my Dad and I am so blessed and grateful I was able to be there for him and for my family.
My life has been forever changed as I watched my Mom, her strength, faith, love, patience, endurance, fear, humbleness, and many more great qualities, change and shape her to be the person she became. Her example is forever imprinted in my mind and heart.

Her dear husband, my Dad, was so patient and exemplified Christlike love for his sweetheart. How hard it was for him. I know he grew leaps and bounds into a great man and RN. My mom knew he loved her! I was so lucky to witness both of their trust and faith in our Savior's plan. How hard it is to admit that this was his plan. I wish it could have turned out differently.

I never thought that the day would come and here it has been just over 4 months now. Loosing someone I love, has had an amazing impact. I can't explain exactly how I am feeling.

I feel very blessed to have a supporting husband. I know it was hard for him to have me an emotional mess and gone alot. I am grateful to him for his example and his shoulder to cry on.

My siblings and their spouses are amazing and my niece and nephew, and the ones soon to be. I'm thankful that we were able to spend so much time together. I hope they know I love them.

I love my Mom's family we are so lucky to have them in our lives. Their love and support was perfect. We had some rocky times, but I know it was how it should have been.

I am amazed at the unselfish love of the wonderful people in our community. My mom touched alot of lives and those lives have definitely touched ours.

I miss my Mom. Everyday I think about her. I know she was tired. She put up a fight. I am so happy for her, for where she is. What a great reunion that must have been. I feel sorry for us. I feel bad for her grandkids. She will watch over them, I know. I hope TJ remembers the good memories and great fun he had with his Grandma. I am excited for that glorious day when we'll be with her again.

I am very grateful for the love and prayers from all of you. I know we were comforted through the prayers of all of you and are still. Please not take anything for granted. Life is short. Unexpected things happen. It is time to tell and show those you love that you love them.

Happy 90th Birthday!

My Grandma celebrated her 90th birthday in January and I just got some pictures from my aunt of the great party we had for her! She is so unique, loving and tells the best stories. She grew up in England (still has her accent) and she was a spoiled little girl. She did have it rough through her teens and twenties when the world war II was going on there. She's a great example to all of us. We love you Grandma!

grandma on far left

young and dazzling

are we?

mom and her twin doreen

my sweet niece tatum and her mommy

TJ playing with my cousin's kids and their new puppy

Journals

Some people say that their blog is kind of like a journal. Yeah. Somewhat for me. My journal has a few months where I was pretty good to write, then I would go months without writing anything. So goes this blog. Sorry.

I am blessed!

I can't believe time is going by so fast. I don't want it to be winter.

I am a wimp.. it is freeeezzzzing here!

Last night we had an enjoyable evening with the ball team and their families at the baseball banquet. Good food, memories of the past 10 years, and lots of tears.

I can't believe that era is over. Now on to basketball season.

We had a great Halloween. TJ was so excited to be Iron Man this year. He got his costume sometime in the middle of the month and of course wanted to wear it all the time. He got to wear it to school, but without the mask, so we painted his face. The primary had a party after school and then we went to Gma Chappell's and Gma Peterson's to trick-o-treat. We then headed to Hanksville for the weekend. They have an awesome carnival! It is so fun every year. We decided that my Mom needed to dress up and go. Everyone was pleased to see her. She was ready to go home pretty quick after being worn out and towns people kept giving her hugs and crying with her.

Like my hat? It won me 3rd place in the adult costume contest!

The coolest thing... on Sunday we were outside helping David with a project and it was rainy and then the sun came out for a few and there were two rainbows. Yeah yeah real cool, but the one rainbow was no ordinary rainbow! It had red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple then green and purple again! We decided it was for my mom. Her favorite colors are purple and green, her bedroom is those colors and they signify life and cancer survivor. It was cool.

I don't, but I do have much to say about what this last month has been like. I greatly appreciate your thoughts and prayers for our family. I know that a lot of good has come to pass in the last 2 years. It's sometimes hard to recognize the good though when times are very taxing and tough.

I do think of all of you and wish I had all the time in the world to be able to call or visit each of you and see what is going on in your lives. What awesome family and friends I have, especially a loving and understanding husband. I am blessed!

So here's a quick update on what's up in our lives. Ted is very involved in his assistant coaching position at WHS baseball right now. The team has their state quarter final game on this Tues and then the state semi and final on Fri and Sat. They are ranked #1 and will have a winning streak that is the 2nd longest in any Utah baseball team history if they take state. One other stat is they are 72 wins and 5 losses right now from freshman to seniors. Lance and Tyce are Seniors! Crazy. They are pretty excited for this week.
TJ is loving Kindergarten. His favorite things are the Smart Board and his friends. He has grown so much and is very independent. He loves his Grandmas and Grandpas and spending time with them is something he enjoyes very much. Grandma Johnson has got him hooked on Game Show Network. They lay in her bed to watch and eat popcicles.
I have been busier than ever, so it feels. I think I just keep getting myself into more and more. This last month has been kind of emotional. We have found a different route to trying to get pregnant. We have found out more in one day, than we have in the last 5 years of going to fertility specialists and such. So maybe, hopefully we will have good news in a few months.
And my Mom's battle with ovarian cancer is becoming very tough. She was diagnosed in Aug of 06 and she finished treatments in Jan or Feb, and was in remission (or so we thought) for about a year. Her cancer spread to her brain and she was treated in Jan and Feb of this year... well it has come back again and is very aggressive. This last month has been challenging. Her symptoms are dehabilitating. She is frustrated and tired. We want her to keep fighting.
This week, next week and the next she will have a chemotherapy drug they have used in lung cancer patients with the cancer spread to the brain. Her doctors haven't personally seen ovarian cancer in the brain before. Her case is very rare. Hopefully we can be more aware of this cancer and find the cause and prevent it from happening... I have my ideas. Well, who knows what will take place in the next few months, so I hope you'll be patient in my posting.

i've been tagged!

joys:
1. guiet evenings with ted and tj
2. watching tj grow and change everyday
3. family "get togethers"

fears:
1. loosing my mom
2. loosing my mom
3. loosing my mom

goals:
1. make every moment count
2. get my own life in order
3. be the best mom and wife

current obsessions/collections:
1. anything to keep my mind busy
2. i don't know
3. my salon

i tag Kenra, Tina, and Tiffani

Get Together

tj's telling grandma a story....?

My mom's sisters, brother and mom wanted to get together for lunch, so we all met in Richfield on Thursday the 11th. They are such a hoot! They pretty much are the biggest goofs. We picked up Jill on the way. My mom's dear friend Shirley came also. We spent about 3 hours and the restaurant. We kept expecting them to kick us out. We all had a great visit. EVERY MINUTE COUNTS!