The Men In My Family

I had the privilege of spending a lot of time with my Dad today while he was in the hospital for what was supposed to be an outpatient heart procedure. (It turned into a mini-overnight vacation, complete with room service but we are so grateful he is doing well.) Mom was there with him all morning, of course, but she also had a family funeral to attend today so I volunteered to stay with Dad in the afternoon while she was away.

I would have been at the hospital sooner but today was Bill's first day at work after his shoulder surgery and he still needs my help with a few things. (It was so adorable to see him give me a boyish grin after he put his jacket on..  All. By. Himself!  We're definitely making progress!) I took a deep breath as I watched My Guy drive off this afternoon.  I miss him so much now that his vacation time is over. I know he was uncomfortable for much of his time off, but I selfishly loved being able to spend so much time with the love of my life. 

These are my two guys who each had surgery within a 7 day span.

It was good to have something to occupy my time this afternoon so that I wouldn't spend too much time pouting over missing my hubby and I loved the hours of conversation with Dad. We talked about anything and everything... WWII, memories, old injuries, Bill's shoulder, auto repairs, and family.  Dad joked around a lot, pranking me several times when his bp cuff would start to inflate and he would yell, "help me, help me!" in a panicked voice until I rushed over to help.. and then he would laugh over how clever he was to trick me like that. I fell for it.. every time! He is a naughty monkey and I am completely gullible! I loved his laughter and his smiles that went on for hours and hours. I am grateful for his skilled doctors who took such great care of him today so that he will have many more years ahead to be a happy prankster with his family.

When I came home late in the evening, I was instantly welcomed by cheerful greetings and smothered by my girlies' hugs.  Ahh, home! There's no place like it! I know I brag about it all the time, but seriously.. I don't think you understand how lucky I am to be surrounded by these loving girls. (Try not to be too jealous!) They are the light of my life, without a doubt!

Now that I'm all snug in my bed, I keep replaying the conversations Dad and I had today about different people and their families. There are so many people struggling right now with very hard family situations... some with very little family at all, and some that are mourning the recent loss of family members. How could I not think of those less fortunate tonight as I was surrounded by my loving daughters and anxiously waiting for my sweet hubby to get home from work? I wish that everyone could feel the love, comfort and peace that I get to experience with my tribe. I wonder how different the world would be if everyone felt nothing but peace and security within their own families.  I bet the world would take a deep, calming breath and the Earth would sigh with contentment.

It's a nice thought, isn't it?

When they truly get it....

This is one of those times when I will openly admit that I've done something very, very right.  These girls... this family, they are the one thing in my life that I am absolutely, 100% proud of.

My family gives thanks and selfless service all year long; not because they have to... they genuinely want to. They understand what is truly important in life.  I am so blessed to live with all of my best friends who each have so much love in their hearts which they share each and every day.

The post I linked to below was written by Carley. (AKA - Kar Kar) I loved it so much that I added on by writing my own tribute to her in her comment section, and then I asked her to create her own portrait to match the others she had edited of all of us.  I love, LOVE it!  Thank you, Carley!

Please, take a look at this loving blog post written by one of my oldest girls. She says it beautifully!

To read Carley's blog post, click on her title below.

"I am Thankful for... "

I Am Thankful For My Family

A typical Thanksgiving celebration means waking up on Thursday to make bread, stuffing, turkey, veggies and other assorted goodies while the girls happily watch Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

This was not a typical year for us.

Thursday morning meant waking up after a long night of Bill tossing and turning, desperately trying to find a comfortable sleeping position while I did my best to carefully arrange his pillows and get his medication every four hours. Needless to say, neither of us got much sleep.

Mom and I had both told Bill to stay home if he wasn't feeling up to it, but he wouldn't hear of such a thing! He was suffering cabin fever and was looking forward to Mom's Thanksgiving Dinner more than anything. So while the girls primped and dressed up, I was working hard to get my sweetheart ready for the much anticipated afternoon festivities.

As we were leaving for Mom's house, I noticed the girls all looked super cute! Anyone who knows me will understand that I simply had to stop at the park to take their pictures in the winter landscape. Everything was perfect! The snow was sparkling under the afternoon sun, the chill in the air gave them all rosy cheeks and noses.. it was bliss! That is... until Ashley ripped her pants! If I've learned anything, it is that something will always go wrong in our tribe. No worries! I sent five girls ahead in Madi's van while Bill, Ashley and I dashed home to get Ashley some jeans without the extra ventilation in the butt. ;)

(In one of these pictures Ashley is a bit embarrassed because her jeans split down the butt when she tried to sit down! Good thing she is such a good sport because we love to tease her.)

Mom's house was warm and cozy as always and she had worked so hard to prepare a wonderful dinner for dozens of people. Words can never express how thankful we are for her generosity and for the way she loves all of us so much.  Thanks, Mom!

 

We would have loved to stay longer, but Bill had been without medication for too long, so we headed home with full tummies and happy hearts. In spite of it being a different kind of celebration, we enjoyed being together as a family as much as we ever have.  

We are truly blessed!

Giving Thanks

Disclaimer: I have been working on writing this update since Sunday.  As in, four days ago SUNDAY!  Our lives are so hectic right now!

Sitting here with my hands poised over the keys for the last 15 minutes, I have struggled to find the words for the thoughts I wish to express. My family celebrated Thanksgiving early this year and I am truly thankful for each and every member of my family, especially now when times are hard.

My sweet hubby and I rolled up our sleeves and spent 6 hours cooking what we hoped would be a nice dinner for our friends and family. By the end of the night, we had done five loads of dishes, taken out the trash four times, and laughed as our twiglet, Ashley, declared that she had to go put on "stretchy pants" because she had eaten so much.  It was a great way to spend time with people we love with all our heart!

But why did we celebrate five days early? 

Tomorrow morning, the love of my life is having surgery on his shoulder. It's a relatively minor procedure as far as surgeries go.... he has to have his rotater cuff repaired. But my hubby has never had surgery before so there's a bit of anxiety over how he will handle the anesthesia and the pain. (I'm sure he will be fine, but he is my heart and soul so naturally I worry.)

Because Bill will be out of commission for a while, we wanted to have our Thanksgiving celebration early so that he could help me with the cooking (and the dishes) and be able to enjoy the day with us, pain free. As the kids giggled, gut laughed and chased each other around the house, I could see that we had done a good job creating a holiday memory for everyone. Mission accomplished!

But wait, there's more!

My oldest girlies have been working hard on their preparations for life after high school. Their latest project was applying for Sterling Scholar at their high school. The Sterling Scholar program was created to recognize kids who excel in school and community service, and many universities award scholarships to the students who are named Sterling Scholars. The girls had completed their portfolios and the interview round last week and eagerly awaited the results.

With the hectic holiday weekend and Bill's upcoming surgery, it didn't occur to me that the results could come so soon but when Madi called me from school today announcing that both of my girls won their categories, I'm pretty sure I was squealing and crying at the same time! Carley was named Layton High School's Sterling Scholar in the Visual Arts category and Madi was named Layton High School's Sterling Scholar in the English category. I'm so proud of my girls!

Their victory is wonderful, but bittersweet. They competed against their friends so even though we are celebrating Carley's and Madi's great accomplishments, we are still sad for their friends who suffered disappointment today. Life is never easy, even when the news is good. 

Now for Bill's surgery update.  Yesterday we headed to the surgical center where they prepped and poked and dressed Bill for surgery. I'm not gonna lie, I wanted to sneak him out the back door. It's true, he will tell you that several times I asked him to run away with me. I have previously felt this "Mama Bear" syndrome with my girls when they were hurt or sick, or facing surgery, but it was a new experience with my dear hubby...  and I didn't like it one bit!  When the anesthesiologist walked him away from me, I felt something inside me break and it was all I could do to keep my composure as I headed in the opposite direction toward the waiting room full of other wives holding up much better than I was.


I had been told that Bill's shoulder repair would take an hour. As that hour came and went, my emotional condition did not improve. When the doc finally came to see me, he told me that my sweetie was "pretty banged up" and that the repair was much more extensive than they had originally planned. In my head I was thinking, "Fine, great... now TAKE ME TO HIM!"  It would be another 45 minutes before I could finally see my love and touch him... it was like letting out a breath I had been holding much too long. I felt relieved to have contact with my guy again.

We were in the recovery room longer than usual as he struggled to keep his oxygen saturation up, but we did manage to get out of there in time to stop by the store for meds on our way home.  That's another story entirely! The not so "Great Blizzard of 2010" was making news headlines everywhere and Utahans were urged to prepare for a brutal storm. Just. My. Luck.  I had to leave my sweetheart in the car while I went into the store madness to get his meds. It was packed in there! People were in full bizzard panic, sprinkled with Thanksgiving preparations and the aisles were jam  packed with carts and customers.  It took me 45 minutes to get out of there, complicated by the fact that the pharmacist tech gave Bill's pills to someone else by mistake and we had to start over. I can't even imagine the liability issue there.. I had to sign and show ID just to get the meds.. but someone got a full bottle of them for free?  Nice.

Twenty four hours after surgery, Bill is resting next to me as comfortably as possible. I have him propped on a throne of pillows and he has his trusty television remote in hand. Oh how I missed snuggling against his side last night! But I have him next to me where I can hear him breathing and I can reach out and touch his foot with my own as often as I want.  I simply adore my guy. I hope his recovery is as quick as possible and I plan to take care of him every step of the way.

So there you have it, four days worth of updates (and not many pictures to show for it!). Tomorrow we hope to load up the family and head to Mom's for another Thanksgiving dinner with loved ones. We'll see how The Man is feeling.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I, for one, am most grateful for the love and well-being of the precious people in my life. My husband and six girls are my heart and soul, and I would do absolutely anything for them! I am so lucky to be constantly surrounded by such kind, loving and compassionate people. My life is blessed.

As always, I am sending much love to Massachusetts, where I hope Aunt Dottie is enjoying the holiday as well. I think of you every day, beautiful lady!

A letter sent with love to Aunt Dottie

I decided to do something very different here today. I'm about to post a letter to someone very special (who I know reads this blog from time to time) and because she's so very special, I am going to share my letter with anyone who reads this little corner of the bloggerverse.  

Dear, Sweet Aunt Dottie,

I'm skipping the thousands of miles by sending my love and hugs across the internet for you tonight because I miss you terribly.  You cross my mind at least a dozen times each day, and every thought brings a smile with it. You are so very special to me! The girls sent me a text message the other day telling me I had a letter from you and I was so excited to come home and open it. Your beautiful card made my day, and I have read it at least a dozen times since then. 

I wish there wasn't so much distance between us. I ache over my inability to bring the girls to visit you. I know they would love spending time with you as much as I do! (Although I am sure the mob of us would wear you out!) Even though they can't tell you in person, I want you to know how much you are loved by all of us. I do my best to tell them all about my visits with you so they can somehow feel a little bit closer, but it just isn't the same, is it?

We had a gusty wind yesterday that blew a lot of the leaves off of the trees. I was in my car and the leaves were falling like rain on the windshield. It made me think of the leaves back there and how you'd laugh every time Mom would pick one up and tuck it away as an autumn keepsake. The leaves here aren't nearly as plentiful and I wish the fall colors would stay a little longer. I'm sure it won't be long before the snow piles up around us and then you will see our winter pictures posted here. I don't mind the snow so much, but I don't know what I was thinking buying a house without a fireplace! That will be on the very top of my priority list if we ever move. 

The girls love the bottles you gave us which are now sitting on a new shelf that Bill made for me. Remember how I told you he can make anything? The shelf is in the upstairs hallway and it only has antiques on it, and I also hang the quilt from it that I bought at Faneuil Hall the first time Carley and I came out to visit with Mom and Grandma. The silver dragonfly sits on a special shelf near the front door, constantly reminding me of the most important thing in life - family.  I love being able to look all around me and feel you nearby.

Every day I am so thankful I had the opportunity to come see you and I appreciate you sharing your stories, pictures, and most of all sharing your wonderful laughter with us. If I close my eyes and concentrate, I can almost hear you laughing now and the thought of it makes me happy.  You are such a wonderful lady and I miss you so much! Mom keeps me updated on how you are doing and I love it that you check in with us here too. I told Mom just the other day how much I miss Everett, Clapboard Tree and Milk streets. I should have taken pictures of those signs! Next time I'm there, I will be sure to remember.

Take care, Special Lady. We love you with all our hearts!

Lovelies, Laughter and Littles

I haven't blogged much since returning from Massachusetts because I have been so busy with family, work and life in general. It's a hard thing to go away for a week and then come back to the regular schedule PLUS everything that languished while I was gone. (I admit, I've had a few glitches and meltdowns, but it is mostly work related schtuff.) It's good to be home though... back to my busy, noisy, and sometimes cluttered life. I wouldn't trade my problems for anyone else's!

The leaves here are brilliant and fall sometimes nips in the air but overall it has still been a wacky, unseasonably warm fall. (With some snow thrown in for kicks.)  I managed to coordinate the schedules of all the girlies so I could take them up the canyon for some fall pictures. The leaves are nothing like Massachusetts and Vermont colors, but I was happy with the cute pictures I captured of my besties. We left the canyon with red noses and red ears, but we were laughing and enjoying being together and that's the real purpose anyway.

 

These are just a few of the group shots. We took a lot of individual portraits which included laying/sitting in the middle of a bridge.. we had to work fast and scamper out of the way every time a vehicle came down the mountain! I had so much fun with my girls that evening! 

A few days prior to our photo shoot was Halloween, and my lovelies transformed themselves into adorable /spooky characters before going Trick or Treating around the neighborhood, in the drizzle, with favorite cousins alongside them. It chokes me up to think of my girlies as grown up.. I wish I could keep them little forever!

Photo shoots, kids' school events, Halloween and housework! What a busy, busy schedule we have maintained lately! It hasn't always been easy to juggle home and work, especially since my work is ridiculously demanding. Anyone that knows me, knows that work can and will consume me if I let it. So I have been making a conscious effort to avoid phone calls and email after 5PM on Fridays and I love the positive change this has brought about! 

This weekend I was so busy that there was no time for extended work hours and hundreds of work-related emails. (Just say NO!) You see, our favorite little guy is turning 4 and we simply had to throw him a party on Friday. I decided it would be so much fun to take him to the store and let him choose his own cake. (Don't panic, he was adorable in the store!) He wasn't too picky.. one look at his twinkling eyes and the immediate grip he had on the closest cake he could reach proved to me that to a 4 year old, cake is cake! He didn't care what color or flavor.. he just wanted it NOW.  We gently persuaded him to get Iron Man and How to Train Your Dragon cupcakes before heading to the ice cream aisle which, judging by Jack's reaction, was akin to finding the Holy Grail. He ran from one frosty door to another, always reaching in for something. I didn't stop him. Not. Even. Once. We must have looked like sugar addicts when we unloaded the sweets from our cart, but I didn't care. I enjoyed every minute of it!

Later that evening, we laughed until we cried and our cheeks hurt from smiling so much. There was a wonderful Birthday Serenade from Lily, accompanied by Abby and Linzie on the violin and viola, followed by two more rounds of Happy Birthday from the entire group. We played pirates, terrorized the dogs with the remote control ATV, and convinced Jack to flap around in his Dragon jammies while we cheered him on! Our little fella, Jack, was so sweet the entire night! Everyone could tell he was exhausted, even as he fluttered about the room giving his best Dragon impression, but he didn't want to miss a thing so he fought to keep his little eyes open until he said his final goodbye, snug in his car seat, headed for home. I heard he was asleep as soon as his mom rolled up the window. (We missed them as soon as they were gone.) 

I also heard that our Jackers wreaked a little havoc the following morning when he drove Sambo (His shiny, new remote control ATV that we gave him) into Gma's ankles. oops!  So sorry, Mom! The thing is, we should rename it the "Remote NO Control" because Jack really has no idea how to steer.. he just loves watching it take off and then he chases it down. 

Our weekend continued with a family trip to the movie theater on Saturday. CODE: We went and saw Megamind and it was rockin' awesome! I sat by Missy and we laughed like little kids. I highly recommend the movie to grown ups as well as the little ones. It has something for everyone! Back at our house we laughed all night as we spoke "Megamind" to each other and enjoyed a dinner of Parmesan Halibut, Lobster and French Dip Sandwiches for the kidlets. (Bill and I took the evening's menu straight from Taggert's Grill menu because we love cooking at home more than going out to eat.)

The only bad part about the whole weekend was the slight emergency Saturday morning when Hubby shouted "OH Sh*!" at 6AM, fully yanking me out of sleep. When I asked him what was wrong, he informed me that he had just mistakenly drank the Hydrogen Peroxide on his nightstand instead of his water bottle. (the hydrogen peroxide was only there in the first place because of his misfortune in Hawaii. CODE: He jumped head first into a shallow pool and was taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital to be put back together Humpty Dumpty style.) Fear and panic gripped me because I had no idea what damage was already occurring from consuming something that I assumed was caustic and toxic. 

Long story short, I called Poison Control and was informed that they get this call about 5-7 times every week. I was instructed to force him to drink water and keep an eye on him because he was likely going to be very sick.  We eventually got him settled back in bed and he fell alseep, but I stayed awake to keep an eye on him.. in case.  Once again, Bill's luck is amazing.  (well, not the luck of drinking the stuff in the first place!) He never got very sick and we are laughing about it now. Trust me, my guy is extremely smart and he teaches me new things all the time.. I just can't figure out how he gets himself into these strange emergencies! I just need to be more vigilant and keep an eye on him at all times or he will find creative ways to get hurt. 

Wrapping up our weekend, we finally admitted that the gardening is done for the year and we put the veggie garden to bed. I am still irked that we had so many late tomatoes this year.. we threw away buckets of green ones! We put down steer compost (when I say "we", I really mean Hubby! I don't want to touch the stuff!) and trimmed branches. I love the way everything looks fresh and new.  We had another bad year as far as yield goes, but we have a plan to improve the soil (Don't trust J&J's when they tell you to put Bat Guano in a garden!) and I have my fingers crossed that next year will be better! 

It was an awesome weekend, thanks to my lovelies! Let's do it again, shall we?  MUAH!