My goodness! I'm really behind on blogging! I'll start with Thanksgiving. It was awesome that James and Charity were here, it was unexpected because I thought they were going to be in Idaho. It was a great surprise.
I wasn't in the mood for black Friday this year. We slept in instead.
Then later that day we went clay pigeon shooting with Charity's family. It was a ton of fun! What studly men we have! Charity and I even hit some clay pigeons. We were just as surprised as everyone else. Jordan doesn’t care to shoot guns very much. The noise gives her a big headache.
We went to church on Sunday then came home and had a big dinner with Eric's and Charity's families. Guess what we had? Ham! And leftover turkey. It was so good! James and Charity taught me how to cook ham with Dr.Pepper. Incredibly yummy! We had a good visit with everyone.
The next week we had a lot of fun with James and Charity. Monday James took the kids to Nellis Air force base. They were very impressed with the museum. Very cool! They love working out at the gym too. The rest of the week we were getting ready to go to Bryan Head and finishing up on secret Santa shopping.
Then Thursday we left for the mountains! It was so cold! We got there late Thursday night. We stayed in Dan and Rebecca's condo. (Eric’s cousin.) It's beautiful! They’ve recently remodeled and my goodness it's amazing! There's enough beds for everyone and the kitchen is huge. It's right next to the bunny hill so it's fun to watch people snowboard and ski.
We got up early on Friday because the kids didn't want to waste any time getting to the slopes. I was in charge of Friday breakfast and everyone wanted German pancakes. Yummy! The kids bundled up then off they went! Eric and I stayed in with Baby Eric and Charity. We played some games and made hot cocoa and lunch for everyone. (We knew they'd be cold when they came in.)
Saturday we slept in. Jarah was in charge of breakfast and she made biscuits with fruit and yogurt. It was good but you'd think my other kids never had biscuits without gravy before. They had to give Jarah a hard time about it. Saturday was spent playing in the snow, eating, visiting, playing games and going to the pool and hot tub. Jaycie, Dallas and Ashton came and soon we had a nice Thanksgiving dinner followed by a birthday celebration for Justin and Ashton and also a secret Santa exchange. My goodness! We sure know how to have fun.
Sunday Jaycie made some yummy oatmeal cake for breakfast then later Jody and Ornella made it up, I felt bad because we had to spend most of the day cleaning and packing things up to go home. We didn't get to relax and visit with them. I hope they had fun in the snow anyway.
Wrapping it all up I think fun was had by all. It's wonderful to spend time with the kids and grand kids.
December 20th. 2009
Sunday mornings are crazy around here. Everyone getting ready for church and trying to get out the door is hectic. With scriptures in hand and primary bag on my shoulders I was walking toward the door when the phone rang. I took the news calmly; I listened as the nurse from the nursing home said my mom had passed away at 8:30 a.m. She asked me a few questions then said she was sorry for my loss. I sat the phone down along with my scriptures and bag. I made my way to the rocking chair where I sat and began to cry. I didn't know I was going to take the news so hard. My mom had been sick for awhile and I knew she wasn't going to be around much longer. But at that moment right then I felt a wave of emptiness flow through me. So many emotions. Overwhelming sadness, much guilt for not being there as she passed, picturing her struggling to breath. Wondering how the kids are going to take it. Jeff and Jed had already gone to the church so Jordan texted Jeff and told him he needed to come home and to bring Jed with him. Then we all sat in the living room and cried together as a family. No wailing, just true sadness. Jordan opened her scriptures and began reading. It was good to be reminded that we'd see grandma again. We sat in silence for a time, and then Eric's parents and sister came over to give their condolences. And later the Bishop came also. Eric made all the calls to family for me. I couldn’t talk without breaking down. He was so good through it all; he was feeling his own grief. He was really close to mom and I know he was taking it hard too.
I can't explain why. But I wanted to have the funeral soon. Everyone said that they could make it on Wednesday the 23rd. So that’s what we planned for. We couldn’t have done it without Bryan Rebman, an awesome funeral home director here in Logandale. He walked us through the entire thing. We met with him on Monday. We went over details and made all the necessary arrangements. He let us take all the time we needed to pick out a casket. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. It was actually very serene and peaceful. I had a very special dress I wanted my mom buried in. Pure white and lovely.
That night Bryan suggested that we come spend some time with mom. At first I said I didn't think I wanted to but he said I should. I'm so thankful he did because it played a very important part of the grieving process for Eric and I. She was in the most beautiful room ever. Like being in the Temple. We slowly made our way to where she was laying. I don't have the words to explain what I was feeling at that moment. Her casket was white with gold accents. The lining was a light pink. When I looked at her I knew she was an angel. Her dress was perfect. They curled her hair and put a little makeup on her. I was amazed how at peace she looked. We spent a good hour just talking to her, I know she was there. I could feel her presence. That was our good bye.
The next few days are hazy. We left on Tuesday and drove the casket to Halfway, Oregon. We arrived Wednesday morning at 2 a.m. Tami, the funeral home director in Halfway was incredible. I have respect and admiration for people who operate a mortuary. She took over for us and we left for the motel to get a few hours of sleep.
My mom's sister Kricket and her husband Dail along with my mom's brother Bobby drove from Texas to attend her funeral. It took them 36 hours to make the drive. Jody, James and Charity, Jarah and Kalab and the girls, Jaycie, Dallas and Ashton all made the trip too. We appreciate them so very much. I know there were a lot of sacrifices made. The family met together for the viewing. It was an emotional time, most of us stood by mom for a moment to talk to her, to say good bye. Then we all reminisced and talked about the good times and the funny things mom did. There were a lot of tears but smiles too. I think she liked being the center of attention one last time. Again I felt her presence. I don't think she wanted us to be sad. It was good to visit with my sister Anitra and her son Ryan. But all too soon it was time to go to the funeral. It was held at the Baptist Church. The Pastor gave a nice service although we wished he had given our family time to talk. We felt a bit cheated. But not a big deal.
This is probably strange, but the best part was watching the pallbearers take my mom to her resting place. I loved watching these big strong men, dressed in their Sunday best, James in his handsome Air force suit carry very humbly and sternly the heavy casket to its vault. This does something for me. It makes my heart swell.
The Baptist church served us an incredible ham dinner. We were very thankful for their generosity. Everyone was wonderful. We were able to visit with the family for awhile. I got to know my aunt Kricket a little better. We have a lot in common. And I got to catch up with my sister. But all too soon it was time to say good night. Goodbyes are the worst.
Thursday December 24th, Christmas Eve.
We decided to take it slow on the way home from Halfway, even stopping by to say hi to some old friends. We missed the Phelps's in Adrian though. But it was fun to see the area. We stopped in Caldwell to say hello to our former neighbors the Norris's. It was a ton of fun to see the look on their faces when we knocked on their door. We had a nice visit with them.
We met up with Jarah and Kalab in Boise at the Boise Town Square mall. We ate dinner then realized the mall was going to close early. We rushed around to get the kids some Christmas gifts. It was crazy and fun at the same time. We were faced with the same thing at Wal- Mart; Christmas Eve is not a good time to go Christmas shopping. But after all we did find at least one gift for everyone to open Christmas morning.
James and Charity.
I want to include this about James and Charity and their trip to the funeral. Eric called James and let him know about his beloved grandma. He had a special bond with her. He was always gentle with her, always taking the time to talk to her and listen and laugh with her. James would sit with her and watch her old movies. Whenever it was time for him to leave he would look in her eyes and make sure she was looking at him and he'd tell her he loved her. Mom became very sick in July so James arranged a special leave to be with her. She had been unresponsive at the hospital but when James came in the room her face lit up and she told him hello. She continued to get better while he was there. Later in November James and Charity came home for Thanksgiving. Mom was doing so good that we were able to bring her home to have Thanksgiving dinner with us. She sat by James and he helped with her food in his kind and gentle way. Little did he know this would be his last visit with her.
Getting back to the phone call now. I'm not sure how it was taken, what was said or if he cried. I was too deep in my own sorrow at that time. But I know he was coming to say good bye to her no matter what stood in his way. I don't think getting another leave was a problem; the Air force is really good about that. James told us he tried to go to work the next day but through his grief he forgot to shave and take a lunch and he was sent home. Transportation was a problem. The Air force doesn't allow someone to drive a long distance while grieving. Understandable. So they had to find other means of getting to Halfway, Oregon. Halfway around the world it seems at times! Money was an issue because they had just been down for a visit, and finding someone to take care of Roku and Ammo was hard. Charity became frustrated and almost decided not to come. But because she is Charity, courageous and strong willed, she was able to work things out and make arrangements for them to get there on the train. (To fly was out of the question, too expensive!) They had to kennel Roku and Ammo which is also expensive. Like I mentioned before there were a lot of sacrifices made. The train took them to Pasco, Washington which left another 3 to 4 hour drive. They tried to make arrangements to rent a car but they would get there before the car rental opened and if they waited they would miss the viewing. So Jody and Justin volunteered to pick them up. We really appreciated them for doing that because it meant another 7 to 8 hours of driving and the roads were icy and it was very cold! We worried also because we knew Jody hadn't slept in a couple of days. Families are awesome and always there when you really need them.
We have a hard working guardian angel who watches over us and they made it to the family viewing just in time! I will remember the moment they walked through the door all my life. My heart fluttered when I saw James in his most handsome uniform and Jody and Justin all dressed in such handsome clothes and Charity was beautifully dressed. I was overwhelmed with awe, relief and gratitude. The next part of this story is mentioned earlier so I'll skip ahead to after the funeral.
Eric and I were getting ready to head out the door to take James and Charity back to Pasco. It was then that they realized they'd misread the train ticket. We only had scarcely 3 hours to get them to the train station. Panic set in! It was too much of a risk with the roads being bad to make the drive. So they needed to make new arrangements. They called the train station and the next available departure was the next morning. That meant that they'd be on the train all during Christmas. They asked how much the cancellation fee was and it was only 10% of the cost of the ticket. Not too bad so they decided to cancel it. Then they held their breath and started searching on line for plane tickets. And to our great surprise the tickets to fly home on Sunday morning where reasonable, as long as they wanted to fly out of Las Vegas. Yay! This meant that they could go to Logandale and have Christmas with Charity's family. Things were good. For awhile anyway.
Jody needed to get home also so he offered to take them to Logandale the next day. We spent the night in Halfway and left in the morning. I mentioned earlier in the first part of my story that those traveling with us took our time and did a little sight seeing. Jody, James and Charity left a little earlier than we did but they also took the long way home and drove through their old stomping grounds in Adrian, Oregon and Caldwell, Idaho. We all met later in Boise at the Boise Town Square mall. We ate dinner there and James tried to teach me how to use chop sticks. It was hopeless and confirmed, I would starve if I had to use them instead of forks. Hmm...maybe that would be a good diet for me.
To be continued....
This picture is Josh driving in the snow! He didn't like it at all. He ended up driving the entire way there and back. Thanks Josh. I love you!
They hate when I talk about bedroom stuff so I will spare them. So on the other side; I don't have the diabetic headaches anymore. No more high blood sugar readings. No neuropathy in my feet, no more restless leg syndrome, no I.B.S., No more lethargy at the end of the day. No more low blood sugar crankiness. It's really amazing how much better I feel! Eric feels better too. He has more energy and can walk farther without being out of breath.
