A Hard Post For Me

The other day (June 2nd) we had to make a really difficult decision.
One that came after a lot of discussion and prayer.
We had to say good-bye to our sweet Sasha.

I will never forget the day she joined our family!

She was absolutely the perfect dog for us.
I'm so glad that we had so many years with her.
So hard to say good-bye...   :(

As hard as it was, I know it was the right decision.
Her quality of life had gone down significantly in the recent months
and very drastically in her last few days.

I was thankful that our vet would come to our home.
Sasha left us in her own bed, with her head on my lap and surrounded by her family.
Mike was able to face time and be with us too.

I hope she is running and playing with all the other dogs in heaven.
We love you Sasha, and we will never forget you!
You will always be in our hearts.

18 Years Going Strong!

We had a wonderful day celebrating our anniversary.

When Mike asked me what I wanted to do for our date, it was easy...

I asked him to take me to the BYU Ballroom Dance company performance. 

They have this every year right around our anniversary...just for us, ha ha! 

On our way there.

It was so good! I absolutely love watching these talented dancers!! 

It's especially fun to watch our friends Jessica Kirkham and Kayci (Kirkham) & Casey Treu 

(We even lucked out and got to visit with Tracy and Paula Kirkham after the show for a few minutes)

They are amazing! So amazing!

In fact you should check out Kayci & Casey"s facebook page 

Oh, before we got to BYU for the show we visited the two apartments we used to live in when we were first married.

Our first address

 Our second

 We were the top apartment.

I remember those stairs very well!

Anyway, after the show we went to the temple.

We did sealings and it was particularly special because we were able to do the sealing for Mike's maternal grandma and grandpa. Now they kind of share an anniversary with us :)

We went to dinner at Red Robin (because we had a gift card and felt like it). 

We beat the dinner rush and had a great dinner and got in and out pretty quickly.

Then we went to Cold Stone for a treat. Yum!

(yes we purposefully aimed our spoons to our noses...we are weird!)

Happy Anniversary to us!

Mike Turns 40!

Mike didn't want anything big for his 40th...believe me, I pestered him about it A LOT! 

I decided to just honor his wishes and keep it small and simple.

We had family over for cake. He wanted Jell-o cake.

I made one blue raspberry and one strawberry. 

They were really delicious!

I surprised him by having each of the kids either tell a story about him or impersonate him. 

So fun to see what they came up with :)

I got out a bunch of pictures of Mike as a kid and everyone enjoyed looking through them. 

Here's one close up for you. I can really see some of my kids in this picture...can you?

He's such a great guy! I hope that he had a good birthday and felt the love that we all have for him. 

I wish I was better with words and I could write a wonderful tribute to him

...but sadly that is not one of my talents...so I'll just say 

Happy Birthday Mike! 

We love you more than you know and we'd be lost without you!

An Angel Went Home

Yesterday my sweet Grandma Elmer passed away. 

It was around 5 pm I think.

My mom was already there, so I went to Ogden with my Dad, Jan, Joe and Greg.

I was glad I could go and give my mom a hug.

I'm very happy for my grandpa right now, I'm sure he is so happy to be with my grandma again!

Everyone was handling it pretty well.

I think we all knew that she needed to go, and we didn't want her to suffer anymore.

We visited for a little while and then had to head home.

Before we left my aunt Georgia told Jan and I to take some of my grandma's nightgowns

if we wanted to, so we did. 

I'm really glad that I saw grandma the day before yesterday.

Marcy and I went to her house to help with 

more house cleaning and going through things with my mom.

I went in to see grandma and she wasn't looking very good.

I kissed her and told her I loved her, and I combed her hair a little bit.

Then I just held her hand for a little while.

While we were there, I put on one of my grandma's sweaters because it was a little chilly.

I put my hand in the pocket and felt something.

A tissue and a toothpick. 

It made me smile. It seemed like my grandma always had these things with her.

I have countless images in my mind of my grandma with a toothpick in her mouth.

I am thankful for ordinary things and little moments like this that remind me of her. 

It seems strange that her time on this earth is over.
She is pretty much the best person I've ever known.
I'm so blessed that I got to have her for my grandma.
I miss her.

I do know that she will always be with me and that I can think about her anytime I want to. 

I already keep tissues with me, but maybe I'll start carrying a toothpick with me too :)

Damn Yankees

Grace and I went to see Damn Yankees at the Hale Center Theater in Orem. Grace had to see a musical for a Drama class assignment and I was interested in seeing it because of all the memories I have of being in it so many years ago.

I think they actually did a great job. I found myself comparing it to the production that I was in and liking different things about each one. It brought back a lot of memories! All in all it was a fun night.

 Grace with the Devil/Mr. Applegate

her favorite character of the show

 Me with their Gloria

That's the role I played in the MLT production of it back in 1996!

...and just for fun...
Here are some pics from back then :)

Rehearsing my big number
Shoeless Joe

Backstage fun

Some thoughts on Aunt Josie's passing

I got word from my mom and dad that my dad's sister Josie passed away on March 14th.

She had been having a hard time for a couple of years and we know that she is in a better place. 


After I heard the news, I went and got out a book that I was given, if I'm not mistaken Josie put it together, about my dad and his siblings. They each had written several pages giving a brief history of their lives up to that time. It was compiled in 1996. I have enjoyed looking over it again, it's been quite a while since I opened it up. There is a lot of information in it along with some great stories and some pictures. 

I like this picture of Josie.

Here's a little tidbit from the section she wrote.

"Besides the money I earned from doing farm work for neighbors I was in demand as a baby sitter. The going rate for this service was ten cents an hour and fifteen cents after midnight.

I didn't like walking home late at night, especially when the coyotes would howl from the nearby foothills. In my imagination I saw figures crouching in the shadows and behind trees and bushes. This gave me another opportunity to put my running ability to the test. 

We earned two cents a pound for picking beans and a dollar a day for picking up potatoes and working in the beet fields. Even though it was hard work for me, I was able to earn enough money to help buy my own personal items and gifts for my family on birthdays and Christmas."

Puts things in perspective a bit!

The cover is this picture of my Dad with all his siblings.

Back row: Gary, Lois, Alta, Bea
Front row: Nona, Bob (my dad), Josie. 

Only three of them, Gary, Nona and my dad, are still with us.

While I never did get to meet my paternal grandparents since they had already passed by the time I was born, I did get to know all of my dad's sisters and his brother.

I was sad to hear of Josie's death, but I know she probably received a lot of hugs and love from her sisters and her parents who had already passed on.

My heart and prayers go out to her wonderful husband Don and her children and grandchildren who will no doubt miss her terribly.

I'm so thankful for the gospel, and the peace and comfort and truth that it brings. I know that we have a loving Father in Heaven who placed us in families here on this earth to give us the extra help and support that we need to make it back to Him. I'm thankful for the knowledge that families are forever and that if we are true and faithful and obedient we will be blessed to live with our families for eternity. 

The last sentence that Josie put in the book is, "My brothers and sisters are all so important to me. I don't know how people survive without family."

I couldn't agree with her more. 

...so in the spirit of that...

To my brothers and sisters.

I love you all beyond words.

Michelle

Marcy

Jan

Bob

Joe

Greg

I hope I can figure out a way to see you all soon. It's been far too long since I've seen some of you and I really miss you!

*gotta go now, I need some Kleenex...

Goodbye Grandma Nellie...until we meet again

This past week Mike's grandma Nellie Isom passed away. Her health had been failing for some time, but we still were not prepared to hear of her passing. We immediately made plans to drive to Tennessee to attend her funeral. She was a wonderful lady and we will dearly miss her and cherish the memories we made with her.

We visited her at her home many times and I'm happy that she was able to meet all of our children and that they had the chance to know her.

Here are a few pictures from

our visits with her over the years.

You can tell from some of the pictures that the kids had chocolate on their faces...this is just great reminder that she always had treats for them when we visited.

While at her home for lunch following the funeral, Mike's dad had the girls and I each pick a few things from Grandma Nellie's jewelry box. We will cherish those treasures and the girls now have a special connection with her that they will hopefully be able to pass down to their daughters.

Our trip was for a solemn occasion, but it was wonderful to see much of Mike's family that I had never met or only met a few times. It was wonderful to sit and reminisce about Nellie and her spirit and her generosity and love for all of us. I'm thankful that we were able to make the trip and say goodbye to her, for now.

Fair Day

Today was Fair Day for us, which means...they cancel school and hope that you will take your kids to the fair, where they will get in for free and all the rides are discounted. How could we not go! We met up with my good friend Deidra and her kids and drove down to the fairgrounds. On our way there it was sprinkling a little and we decided to stick it out anyway. Turns out we didn't have to worry about the rain because it stopped as soon as we got there. Deidra and I took our kids around to see some of the exhibits, and some of the animals, and of course the Chick-fil-A booth, where we came away with all kinds of coupons!

Then we headed over to the rides and met up with Sylvia and her kids, we all hung around together watching the kids enjoy themselves on all the fun rides. Everyone except Isaac, braved the Giant Slide.

Anna and Grace loved the Ferris Wheel. They were so cute, and looked so small!

Isaac had a great time in the bouncy castle. When I took him over to it to let him get in he asked me "Do I take off my shoes?" I told him yes and then he said, "Apparently I just use my feet." Apparently? Oh, he is so funny! He also had fun driving a truck. He waved at me and said "Goodbye Mom, I'm going to work!" Apparently he has a job! Next we went to see some more animals. The kids were thrilled to see some little chicks hatch, they thought it was awesome. They loved the soft bunnies, the loud roosters and they really liked the turkeys. They had a lot of fun getting the turkeys to "gobble." I'm sure this turkey probably enjoyed it as much as he would enjoy coming over for Thanksgiving.

Anna also loved the "giant doggy" and the kids were impressed with Uncle Sam on stilts.

We still had some tickets left, so we went and rode a few more rides. Grace wanted to go on a ride called the Hurricane. She wasn't tall enough to ride alone, so I decided to ride with her. I have never had trouble with rides making me sick before...but this one sure did. This experience made me see that I truly owe an apology to my Dad...so here goes...
Sorry Dad for that time at Lagoon when I made you go on a ride that went round and round and up and down. I remember you agreeing to go on one ride with each kid...whatever ride we picked. I remember standing in line with you, so excited for the thrill of the ride I had chosen. I remember you timing the ride 3 times before it was our turn. Now I know, why you were timing it...to know exactly how long you would suffer, and do it happily, for me. As I rode on the Hurricane (pictured below, courtesy of Noah) today with Grace, I felt your pain. I wondered "how much longer" I would have to laugh and smile...and feel sick! So, there it is Dad. I love you for going on that ride with me, even though you knew you would be miserable...and I know now that I love my daughter enough to do the same thing!