Grandpa's Chair

I was going through pictures & organizing them for the last few months & saw these & decided I should record them somewhere. It may be kind of long, sorry. So, this is way back from August 4th. We were at my parents house & it was time for the kids to go to bed. Instead of going downstairs to get ready Lexie laid in Grandpa's chair & said she wanted to sleep there because she loves it & him & loves it when he reads her stories there. Joseph of course came over and wanted to sleep in the blue chair. Lexie pulled out her magna doodle & drew a picture for Grandpa on it & then started to sing an "I love my Grandpa" song. It was really cute. So, we sang that for her bedtime song but the the kids decided they really wanted to go see Grandpa to show him the pictures to help him feel better & sing for him. So, off we went to the hospital. In the car I told them that there were some parts of Grandpa that weren't working so well right now. But his ears do; they could hear everything they had to say; & his brain so he could understand everything he heard; & his heart could feel all the love we have for him & that it could give all the love he has for them. (They got really excited about this because he had some heart trouble a few months before.) Once we got to the hospital Lexie didn't want to sing anymore, but Joseph sang for her. It was cute! He sang, "1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-hit it band. I love my Grandpa..." Then they showed him the different pictures they drew for him on the magna doodle. This is one picture.

On the way home we talked about the experience. I said something like, "Grandpa could hear everything you two had to say." Lexie replied, "Yes, his ears were working very well. Also his heart was working very well. I could feel it!" A little later I said "I'm so glad you wanted to go see Grandpa tonight. It makes me feel so happy inside." Then Lexie said, "Me too. I think I am the saddest about Grandpa. I really love him. And I love it when he reads stories to me." We got back to the house and the kids climbed into Grandpa's chairs and fell right to sleep.

They're So Cute When They Get Along

I love it when my kids get along. They have their moments of course, but today they played very well together. The light in Lexie's room burned out & she really wanted to play in there, but it was getting too dark. Joseph had found his dolphin key chain flashlight & offered to hold it open for her while she played so she could see. What a sweet brother. He even offered his newly prized nightlight given to him by Lieutenant Bob.

Lieutenant Bob is a local fireman who Joseph saw at Sam's Club. Joseph asked him if he wanted to sit & eat with us (yes, we periodically eat meals at Sam's Club), which just melted the fireman's heart. He ended up giving the kids a tour of the fire trucks, answering all types of questions, & gave them nightlights. Joseph thought it was so cool that Lt. Bob drove the back of the fire truck. Even today, Joseph sat on the back of a chair pretending to be Lt. Bob driving the back of the firetruck, while Lexie held a blanket pretending it was a hose putting out a fire.

Needless to say, I am grateful for good kids who sure love each other.

Lexie's 5th Birthday Party-Catch Up

We never got around to posting any pictures of Lexie's 1st Friend Birthday Party. She had a Flower Birthday. We played Don't Eat Flower Pete, had a relay race, did a puzzle, & played Pin the Bee on the Flower. It was a lot of fun. There are also some pictures from her birthday. We think one of her favorite present was from Dad--scotch tape.

"I Love Fall Saturdays"

Ward flag football games, college football on all day long,

children who love to watch the game just as much as Dad does,

children entertaining themselves,

and rollercoasters...


What's not to love?

There should be two Saturdays each week during the college football season.

(For the record, Andrew really did have fun.)

It was another good Saturday in college football. Yea BYU & KU!

Look Who's Walking

Yesterday Andrew started taking steps.

As you can see, he really loves walking...

Since he was so happy there, we thought we'd try bribing...

We tried to delay it, but we guess he had to learn eventually.

Few Thoughts on Dad's Funeral

There really isn't a great way of ever expressing the pain and sadness of losing my Dad. He was simply the best and I wish I could be more like him. I'm trying everyday, but it sure is hard and I'm not anywhere close to being as Christ-like and loving, patient, service-minded, without guile...the list goes on and on...as he is.

We all miss him terribly.

I remember the sweet moments Lexie and Joseph shared with him in the hospital. Them drawing sweet pictures for him (esp. Lexie of the Nativity on the magnadoodle). The night Rick and I got to spend with him there. I wish we had come just a bit sooner.  The kids and I showed up at the hospital right after he passed. We brought Mom up. When we walked into the room, the Spirit there was so strong. Even the kids instantly became reverent. It was so bittersweet. He passed listening to "Chariots of Fire", that reminded me of Joseph's thoughts on how he wants to die (weird huh,) but Grandpa did that, so I guess not too strange.

I remember telling the kids when we went in as a family and said goodbye that Dad's mouth isn't working so well to talk back to you but his ears work so well to hear you, his brain to understand and his heart to feel and show you that he loves you. I remember saying goodbye and bearing my testimony of family to him and thanking him for being so wonderful and for being my dad and saying I love you.

The night before he died we had such a fun time as siblings and Mom all gathered around Dad's hospital bed and telling stories and memories. It was really special. And then Erik pulled out a recording of Dad that he put together from his history interview. He said we all had our chance to share memories of Dad, now it's Dad's turn to talk. And it was great. It was him talking about each of us and our names and just things about us. It was really sweet.

I'm grateful everyone got to be there, even Matthew. It was bittersweet that they were both released from their missions on the same day (same 24 hr period).

I have a CD of pictures from the funeral, I need to find it and put some pictures on here.

I've got the best family around and the best parents. Very grateful for them and for the gospel and the blessings of the sealing power so we can all be together forever.

Uncle Matthew

We had a really fun, quick visit with Uncle Matthew. Thanks for coming & making the kids laugh so much. Come back soon.

Haircuts For Everyone

We had a couple more firsts today-Lexie & Andrew had their first haircuts.

Before:

After:

Lexie was very excited to donate her hair to Locks of Love. Joseph was glad it was just a trim. Andrew was happy once we gave him a sucker.

Our Big Joy Schooler

Today was Joseph's first day of Joy School. He was so excited to go & had so much fun there.

His favorite parts were Show & Tell, listening to "Oh, Boy, I've Got Joy", & jumping on the trampoline. We can't believe how big all our kids are getting! We're very excited for all of them to learn so many great things this year.

Our Big One Year Old

Happy 1st Birthday, Andrew!

We love you so much!!

Our Big Kindergartner

Today was Lexie's first day of Kindergarten. She did a great job being dropped off at the school & was very brave. The best part was as she stood in line to go into the school she turned around and waved at Daddy with a big grin. Very cute.

On the way home from school she talked non-stop about all of her new friends & the fun things they did in school. Her favorite things about her first day were her teacher & playing with play-dough that changed colors.

My Dad

My father passed away this morning. We learned about two weeks ago that he had cancer. It shocked all of us at how quickly this happened. The grace, dignity, and humility in which he lived his life was evident all through the end. We were so blessed to be able to spend this last week with him and my family. The Lord's hand was evident through all of this. Amazingly, all 12 of his children were able to be together with him in his final hours (my little brother came home from his mission last night-long story). My father is truly the most Christlike man I have ever met. I am so grateful for his love and example to me. It's such a blessing to be able to say and mean that I have the best Dad in the world.

I will post more about this later, but you can read a little bit here and here about him.