Angel Day

Today we are celebrating Aaron's first Angel Day.  I am amazed at how fast this last year seems to have gone by.  We wanted to make today meaningful for our kids as well as for us.  We started the day visiting Aaron's grave and placing flowers there.  Ronny surprised us and had the florist make a matching bouquet for us to have here at home, combined with the flowers that were delivered yesterday from some great friends, our house smells wonderful!  Each of us shared our favorite experiences with Aaron while gathered around his grave.  It was so sweet to hear the kids memories of him and what they feel were important moments.  While at the cemetery we picked up what trash and leaves we could find and pulled a few weeds.  We then went to lunch, the kids requested we go to the same place we went on his birthday earlier this year, (I see a tradition starting..., they even sat us in the same booth).  Coming home we all went outside and planted 280 tulip bulbs.  Both Ronny and I thought this would be something that we could work together for now and enjoy the beautiful flowers on Aaron's birthday next spring.  The kids all came inside individually and painted pictures throughout the afternoon and Ronny and I have enjoyed watching them work together and create works of art to share with each other.  We have a few projects left to do and have plans to visit our neighbor in the hospital this evening, but all together it has been a rather peaceful day, a few tears here and there but mostly just peaceful.  Something we were hoping for and grateful to have been blessed with.  We could not have asked for better weather, what a beautiful day it has been.  We constantly feel the Lords's love and peace throughout our home.  Although Aaron never made it here to the house with us, we feel his presence constantly.  Aaron is most certainly an important member of this family, one that is waiting for us to return to our Home in Heaven for us to be reunited as an eternal family.  What comfort that brings.......

All Clear

With all the excitement around school starting for the kids, starting a new job myself, and the start of the fall sports season I forgot to update our blog on Ronny's health.  Ronny had another follow-up with his surgeon in late August.  The doctor gave Ronny the all clear and officially released his care back to his regular doctor.  We were a little surprised when he didn't order more blood tests as that was what he indicated would happen at his previous visit.  Ronny was more than happy to leave without getting poked and called to inform me on his way to the car that no more appointments had been scheduled.  We were both happy to close this chapter and move on.  Ronny continues to see his regular doctor here closer to home as they are still monitoring his thyroid.  He had an appointment this last week for an unrelated matter and the doctor ordered more blood work to check his numbers again which Ronny was not so thrilled about.  He is getting so much better about getting poked lately, I surmise its because now he just expects it.  He also heartily informed me he was the first to get his flu shot this year.  I need to get the rest of us in to do that.   

Work has been on the slower side for him this summer as we have learned that a good portion of Europe goes on vacation in the months of July and August for several weeks making scheduling meetings for those of us here on this side of the pond somewhat frustrating.  Things are picking back up and we have noticed him bringing home work more times than not lately.  We would much rather be busy with work than not, so we take the late nights in stride. 

Ronny is once again coaching the boys soccer team.  We moved Sam up into Joseph's division this season to cut back on the amount of time we are spending on practices and games each week.  He is holding his own just fine.  He took a header in the face this weekend and had one mighty bloody nose and a nice bruise to show for his efforts.  Their team this year is so much fun to watch.  All the kids are happy to be there and are working hard and are just so much fun to watch!  Charley and I have both started volleyball again for our ward teams.  She will also start playing on a city rec team in the next couple weeks that I volunteered to coach.  Ronny is training for the South Jordan Marathon again this October and is secretly hoping he just may qualify for Boston this year, or next for sure he tells me.

Our days and nights have become extremely busy for the next month or two but we are enjoying it for the moment.  Being busy helps my mind stay away from too much time thinking of the "could have beens" and stay focused on the here and nows.  With the anniversary of Aaron's passing only a few days away I find my mind rehashing so many of the memories from our time with him.  They are bittersweet memories that often times keep me up at night and bring the tears flooding back, but I am grateful to have them.  For now I will enjoy the self inflicted chaos that brings its own challenges and leave the rest in the Lord's hands.

Joining the Work Force

After 13 years away from public school teaching I am heading back.  Last week I was hired to teach at a school for gifted children down in Provo.  I am teaching Jr. High and High School Math to 5th and 6th grade students.  I teach 2 hours a day Monday through Thursday and then am paid for 4 prep hours a week, so 12 hours total.  It allows me to be home with my kids yet keep my mind on things other than my all too quiet house.

Its quite the challenge at the moment as neither the students nor I have text books, nor do I have a lesson schedule, only a vague outline for the year from the school district, as well as having to teach two different classes simultaneously.  Thankfully one of the full time teachers helps me out as I run between the classrooms.  Today was my first day and between a major traffic jam on the way down, realizing I forgot some supplies at home and needing to stop off at Walmart on the way in to replace them, arriving and finding the copy machine broken, also finding there were not enough supplies to have kids working in one of my classes nor overhead transparencies, things went smoothly!  I managed to keep the kids on task between the two classrooms with the help of my supporting teacher and I think I actually may have taught both classes something new.  Success!  I am hoping that the text books arrive soon and that I will get a computer to work with.  There is a significant amount of new technology in these classrooms and a completely new curriculum that I am not familiar with and both are really intimidating!

After the classes were over I headed to the district offices to start all the new hire paperwork only to find they didn't know where it was.  I told them I would come back tomorrow after class and hoped they would have it ready to go, something they assured would be the case today.  Considering all the hoops that needed to be jumped through just getting in the classroom today I can't really say I was too surprised.  The Asst. Superintendent had to personally sign off on my hire so I can imagine things are a little scrambled at the moment down at the district, especially considering I'm the 3rd teacher they have had in this class in 3 weeks!  NUTS!

I'm pretty excited about this new adventure and having a little more income will certainly help pay some of these hospital bills off faster.  I am also home in time to still help in the boys classrooms each week and my kids don't know the difference yet that I am not home while they are at school.  I am still here when they need me and still crack the whip with getting homework and chores done, much to their dismay sometimes.......

One Truly Amazing Experience

This is Trina and baby Zach.  Baby Zach arrived at the end of July.  Just a couple weeks before he made his debut his dad had a bike accident and broke his hand and ended up in surgery with a plate and 10 screws.  Shortly after the accident Trina came over and asked me one really big question.  She asked if I would come and help with Zach's delivery.  To say I was floored by the question I don't think quite covers the emotions that came with that question.  However those emotions didn't come close to the ones that came the day of his arrival.  To be there holding Trina's hand while she delivered this little guy was one experience I will cherish always.  Trina made things look way too easy, one little push and Zach was here after only a few hours in labor.

A week after Zach's arrival our family left for a trip to California.  While there we got a call from Todd, Zach's dad, informing us that Trina was in the hospital with a burst appendix.  I found a flight the next morning and headed home to help out.  This little guy came home with me for the next 5 days.  I had soooooo much fun taking care of this little guy and his brothers and sisters.  When Trina was recovered enough to take Zach again during the night I had to give him back.  It was really hard as I became quite attached to this sweet little boy.  Zach reminds me so much of Sam when he was a baby.  This great family matches ours so well with a daughter close to Charley's age and 5 more boys.  Both our families have suffered the loss of a son and Trina sang at Aaron's funeral last year.  Since Trina's surgery I've had fun watching him and his 2 year old brother a few more times.  It is always hard to give him back when the time comes but I look forward to more time with him in the future and Trina is very gracious in letting me get my baby fix with this little guy whenever I need it.

Summer Happenings Part III

 A new bed for Joseph!  He was the only one without a nice bed set.  

 One more year for me.  We improvised with a cake and just celebrated with cupcakes a neighbor brought over.

 Pulling weeds, that job never ends!

Great nights and walks around the lake!

Summer Happenings Part 2

 Visits from great friends from OR!  We had visits from great friends from our old Wymount days too but somehow I didn't get a picture of that.

 End of year performances.

 4th of July parade and breakfast.

 Summer bike rides always with a visit to the gelato shop.

 Fun at 7 Peaks, if you know my boys they love to dance and with a D.J. there they just could not resist getting up on the stage and bust a move!

 Sam earns his Wolf!

Summer Happenings Part 1

 Ok here is a quick recap of late spring and early summer.  Ronny traveled to Brussels and London for work.  He is enjoying the new job and is realizing all that is involved with a start-up company i.e. long hours and new adventures.....  

 My sister Michelle tied the knot in May.  I did her cake.  Sadly it was warmer than what we anticipated and the cake did not hold up as I had hope so her 3 tiers didn't stack like we wanted and we cut the cake before the two tiers could collapse.

 Cousin time at the wedding is always fun!

We traveled to Southern Utah to catch the eclipse.

We traveled to Wyoming to be apart of my niece's baby blessing.  Welcome Rosemary!