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!

My Heart Overflows

Yesterday was our annual day to head up to the mountain to cut Christmas trees at the tree farm. This tradition of ours has been going on longer than I can remember and it is something that we all look forward to every year. In fact, we bought the perfect artificial tree last year- it's colorful, whimsical and even Seussical - and yet we still had to make our pilgrimage to the mountain.. not to get a tree, but to get our yearly dose of wandering among the thistles and burrs, hearing the far off laughter of loved ones echo faintly in the distance, watching my girls transform into their younger selves as they run and play and hide among the towering pines... and to capture it all in pictures.
You can take away the Turkey feasts, the frenzied Christmas shopping and all of the extras we enjoy, but I will never give up time with my family. And time spent on that mountain is magical. No gift could ever put smiles on my children's faces like a few hours in the crisp air, surrounded by Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Grandparents.

When I stepped out of the car and walked toward the old camper where Roy always waits patiently for our family to find The Perfect Tree, I was stunned to see my frail little Grandpa sitting there. Since Grandma's passing, Grandpa has continued to become more fragile and we are achingly aware that our remaining time with him is very short. I didn't expect to see him yesterday at the mountain, I was prepared for the hollow event it would be without the family patriarch teasing Dorothy about how long it takes her to select The Perfect Tree, and yet there he was. I felt my eyes stinging with sudden tears. We had been given a gift. At least one more tradition with Grandpa by our side.
Grandpa can't see very well anymore, but that doesn't stop him from smiling big whenever someone comes near to greet him with hugs and kisses. He is so kind and so gentle.. just being near him yesterday filled my heart with gratitude. He made a point to tell me that he felt Grandma near and I know he was right. I felt her too and I gave silent thanks for the posterity that they created. There is no gift greater than family and my grandparents did a fine job at that.

Even though we knew we weren't there to get a tree, we happily wandered around and helped other family members select and cut trees of their own. The kids were playing and posing for pictures, the dogs were enjoying the time in new territory and I made sure to document as much as I could so that we will always remember.
Today we will spend the day as a family, cooking and preparing for guests to join us for dinner. Some of the girls are already awake and I know the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will be another fun tradition that we won't miss as we busy ourselves in the kitchen. Today will be fun, but nothing can compare to our day on the mountain yesterday. My heart was so full that I cried all the way home. I am so thankful for my family and for one more day with Grandpa.
I am so thankful for all of the wonderful people in my life. There is nothing that I am lacking when I am surrounded by family. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I am thankful for...

Thanksgiving is this week, and while I don't need a holiday to make me appreciate all of the blessings in my life, I am grateful that there is a holiday to celebrate all of the wonderful people in my life all at once.

So here it goes.



I Am Thankful For:

My super cute husband who kisses me tenderly each morning before he goes to work. I'm usually still sleeping but he does it anyway and I love him for that!


Being a mom to 6 wonderful, smart, talented and kind girls.

Memories of my Grandma. I miss her so much.

Twilight movies that give my mom a reason to smile and something to look forward to.

Having an older brother who is mysterious and amazing. Definitely the smartest dude I've ever known!

Having a family that believes in loving nicknames. Chacho, Chacha, KarKar, Mac, Binza, JJ, Shla, Emmers, M-bear, among others.

My children's smiles and laughter. Laughter lit up the house last night and I went to bed with a warm and happy heart.

The fact that there are no "steps" in our house. We may be a blended family, but he is their dad and she is my girl. We are not a "step family" We. Are. Family!

My little brother and how hard he has worked to be where he is at today. I am so proud of him for working through his obstacles. He is such a cute dad and my girls' favorite uncle.

Little hands that find their way into mine when we are watching movies. They're never too old to hold their mom's hand.

Hugs and kisses goodnight, and loving goodbyes in the morning as my girls head off to school.

Fantastic friends that keep in touch even after I change jobs.

New job opportunities that teach me that not all bosses are jerks.

A thoughtful husband that sweeps and mops on his day off so that I freak out a little less over the dogs in the house.

The holidays that make my children's eyes glow with excitement.. not because of gifts, but because they love sharing surprises and spending time together.

Singing Christmas songs with my girls, in the car, as the snow falls.

Seeing my husband's huge smile as he escorts his little girl to our waiting vehicle at the airport. We are so happy that she is back with us for the holiday!

Plans to decorate the "whimsical" tree before Thanksgiving so that the whole family can participate.

Finding out that there will be at least one more trip to the mountains to cut Christmas trees at the Robinson tree farm. We don't need a tree, but we need that time to create life-long memories of family and togetherness. It hurts my heart to think about how different it will be this year.. I know what we will all be thinking, but I also know that if she is able, Grandma will look down on us and smile.

"See ya, Babe." "Bye Punkin, I love you. " "I love you too."

Yuffas and all that they imply.

Blogs that give us an outlet to share our thoughts, dreams and moments. An electronic snapshot of our lives.

To my family: Thank you for giving me purpose and direction. Everything I do is for you and because of you. You are my heart and my soul.. I can only hope that I am able to give you a fraction of the love, strength and happiness that you have given me.