My Grandmother

This is my parents and all my sisters. (L to R: Shanna, Stefani, Dad, Mom, me, & Janell)

People always want to know if Janell and I look alike. What do you think?

My grandmother always referred to her granddaughters as her rose garden.

My parents at the cemetery.

On Monday, March 16th my grandmother passed away in her home in California. We have known this was coming for a few months now, but it was still quite a blow. Don't we frequently just assume that everybody special in our lives will be there forever? This was my last living grandparent and now, somehow, it feels strange not to have any. I was lucky that I grew up just about two miles from my grandmother and I saw her frequently. I still have some of the crocheted blankets and dolls she made for me when I was a girl. Put away in a special place are the blankets she made for each of my children for the blessing. Some things will never taste the same, no matter who makes them - waffles with bacon, chicken and dumplings, stuffed rolls, and tamale pie. But, with the bitter, comes the sweet. This was the first occasion that all my sister and I were together in the same place in nearly seven years. It also allowed for all of the cousins to gather together. I can't remember the last time that happened. I will miss her and the visits we shared. I wish that my children would've had more time with her. She was a wonderful lady who was truly a blessing to everyone she knew.

Our Brave Little Guy

This is Jacob walking into the Surgery Center last Thursday. Just like he always is, he was happy and smiling.

Even moments before the surgery, Jacob appeared to be relaxed and was joking with the nurses and doctors.

However, after the surger he wasn't too happy that we kept trying to get him to wake up.

Overall, everything went really well. There was one additional break in his lower leg, but they were able to remove the extra piece of bone without putting in any screws or pins.

He will be off his leg for the next ten weeks or so. Hopefully he we will be able to return to the last couple of days of school before Spring Break.

Ouch!

So we have had our trampoline for almost two years with nothing but a few bumps and bruises. Well...all that ended on Sunday. Michael was playing with the kiddos on the tramp and Jacob collapsed in pain. Unfortunately, he has a badly broken ankle that will need to be repaired in surgery later this week.

BEFORE AFTER

Second Degree

Michael successfully tested last Friday for his 2nd Degree Black Belt. He had to make up his own form that was as many moves long as his dad is old. I tried to tell the instructors that his dad was 112, but nobody believed me. I think we are getting ready to take a break from taekwondo for a while, but he sure has enjoyed it these past three and a half years.

Sledding

This was our children's first experience with sledding and they loved it! I thought they would never tire of going down the hill every way they could think of and then trudging back to the top to do it all over again. It didn't seem to matter that they were all a bit wet and at least a little cold. This adventure was everything they hoped it would be and it was refreshing to watch them all having so much fun.

Temple Square

While in Utah we met up with my sister, Stefani, and her family, my parents, and my nephews, Zachary & Andrew. We met in Salt Lake to have dinner and to visit the light display at Temple Square. For several in our group, this was a first-time experience. It was cold! The children didn't seem to mind, though. They had fun sliding on the ice and looking at all the lights. Trying to get that many people to look in the same direction is quite a task!

Christmas 2008

We spent this Christmas in Utah with Michael's family and most of the LeFevre cousins. The original plan had been to stay at home and travel to Utah the day after Christmas. However, with an impending snow storm we though it would be best to leave earlier. It snowed most of Christmas day and my children were all very excited about that. They never seemed to tired of going out into the snow, getting wet, freezing half to death, coming in for hot chocolate, drying out, and repeating the whole process. Also, this was the first time in several years that Grandma LeFevre got to see them open the pajamas she gave them. Joel was especially excited about the hippopatamus that Santa left in his stocking. He has been singing "I Want a Hippopatamus for Christmas" for several weeks now. Noah, Jacob, and Joel each received large Lego sets which required the help of Mom & Dad and cousins Luek & Mark. Now let's just hope they stay together long enough to play with! Emma was also happy with her very large puzzle. This, too, required the help of several family members - Grandma & Grandpa, Aunt Cherie, cousin Mark, and Mom! We finally finished it and even managed to transport it home relatively put together.

I love this time of year and am always amazed at the many blessing we have received. It is a magical time to spend with our children and our extended family. Now, if I just start planning now for next year.....