Tuesday, September 28, 2010
We Let Her Do WHAT?!?
But, I guess we had to suck it up and let her do this at some point, right? A parental right of passage- dealing with the mess of allowing your kids to be independent!
Monday, September 27, 2010
WOO-HOO!!!
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I couldn't wait to see it for myself: My dad healthy, happy, and unofficially cancer free!!! (They won't officially say he is cancer free for another 5 years, but the cancer did not spread at all, and the surgery to remove the tumor was successful, so I am calling him cancer free because it sounds OH SO GOOD!)
There were a couple of things that I wanted to say about this horrible chapter in our lives- a chapter that will never truly be over for my dad because in order to remove the tumor they did a rather horrible surgery that is a life changing surgery, but better than the alternatives.
Anyway, both of these things happened after we found out my dad had cancer, but before we knew how treatable it was.
The night my mom called me to tell me my dad had cancer, I was obviously devastated. But, I had a meeting to go to so I couldn't wallow. I went to the meeting and then came home and called my dad to see how he was doing. The FIRST thing he said to me- the day he found out he had cancer- was "how is your mom holding up?" She is the one who had called everyone and told everyone and he wanted to know how SHE was doing, even though he was the one with cancer. When I say my parents have the greatest love story, it is simply because it is true. I hope Ben and I can be as in love as these two are in 40 years and love each other so completely and unconditionally! What an example and legacy they have given their kids of true love!!!
The second thing is regarding the love our Heavenly Father has for each of us. This is my testimony here, so listen up:)
Before we found out what stage of cancer he was in, I needed to go and clear my head and I desparately needed to feel the Spirit of God in my heart. I made arrangements to attend the Temple- a place of worship and peace. I prayed harder than I had in a long time that the Lord would bless my father and help my mom be strong for the trial of cancer. I pleaded for my dad that he would be alright and that my children would have their Grandpa High to know and love and be a part of their lives.
I was overwhelmed with a feeling of peace- a feeling that whatever the outcome of this cancer would be, the Lord was watching over my parents and over my family and He was with us in this trial. Whatever happened, whatever the outcome was to be, I knew it was OK. Even if that meant he would die- I knew the Lord was in this. God is in the details of our lives- He cares about what happens, and He will lift us through any trial- even death. I felt that. In talking to my mom later, she said she had the same feelings of peace and assurance that the Lord was with them- with us.
Now, I am not going to lie. I am forever grateful that death was not the plan the Lord had for my dad. Our whole family has given fervent, tearful prayers of gratitude that my dad has had successful treatment. But if that was not the case, I know it still would have been OK. God is good. God is with us. Of that I am absolutely, 100% certain!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Carson and Barnes
Audra's favorite part was the Sno-cone she got. You can kind of see the red remains around her mouth.
It was hard to take pictures because it was so dark, but we had SO MUCH FUN!!! Seriously, it was awesome! And, who liked it the most?
CLAIRE! Here she is pointing at the trapeze artists- she was pointing at them the entire time they were performing. I think she was figuring out how she could do that at home from our chandelier.
Here she is sitting on her own like a big girl. Notice how transfixed she is- she was like this throughout the whole show. It was so incredibly cute!
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This is definitely going to become a yearly tradition!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Christian's Blogtion
Anyway, click HERE to check it out.
Christian has severe brain damage due to a drowning accident and I have been following his story. 100% of the sales will go to his treatments. For more about his story, go HERE.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Family Field Trip
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Finally, it was time to go back and watch the game.
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Thankfully, we were armed with lots of illegal fishy crackers- don't tell anybody we snuck them in.
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In the end, it wasn't much of a game. BYU lost 35-14 in very unimpressive fashion. But, it was a successful family adventure- we might even do it again someday. Maybe.
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Friday, September 10, 2010
Busy Week
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But this last week I have finally begun to conquer some of these challenges. In this past week I have:
1. Made pancakes for breakfast ON A WORK DAY for the first time in our entired married life.
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2. Started jogging again. Granted, it is for less than a mile and only takes me about 8 minutes- but it is a start.
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3. Bought a book that clearly explains Isaiah and am delving into the scriptures and learning more than I have in a long time
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4. Made homemade grape juice from Concord Grapes from a grape tree in Ben's parents yard, made homemade chokecherry syrup from chokecherries in our backyard, and planted 2 apple and 1 cherry tree in our backyard (OK, in reality Ben's dad was incredibly generous and did 100% of the work in the actual planting of the trees).
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Maybe next I'll start cleaning...
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Movie Night
Growing up, every Friday night was movie night. We got 2 movies and Little Caesar's Pizza, made caramel popcorn, and watched movies as a family. (One family favorite was "The Gnomemobile- I really want to get it to watch with the kids but can't find it anywhere- anybody have any suggestions???)
Movie night is something I have been anxious to start with our family. Last night, Ben decided it was time. We watched half of "Ice Age." (Well, Ben and the girls watched while I cleaned- such is the life of a mother, I guess) It was really funny- Ben snuggled with the girls. Claire sat MESMERIZED the entire 40 minutes we watched! Then, the girls would laugh at the silliest things. For instance, Audra thought the saber tooth tiger was hilarious. She kept saying, "that's not a tiger!" and laughed histarically for at least 5 minutes straight. It was so funny!
We didn't make the caramel popcorn or get the pizza- unfortunately, Ben is not a fan of either. So we will have to adapt our old traditions to meld into our new ones- the joys of having your own new family. Hopefully I can find The Gnomemobile...