Making Preparations....

Saturday, July 9th--Wendy's viewing is Monday night and her funeral is Tuesday morning. Before that comes much preparation. The family wanted tables filled with pictures of her and various things she loved or that we loved about her. Some of that came from her townhome. I invited myself to help Jenny and Rosemary get things done on Saturday. Going into her home, I thought it would be eerie, but it wasn't. We chose a few from the many Precious Moments figurines she loved to collect, to add to the tables. The ones we focused on were the nursing ones, as she was a nurse, and Disney ones--Disneyland seemed to be her favorite place to go on vacation to (no surprise there, yes, it runs in the family! ha ha).
Rosemary, Jenny and I spent a chunk of Saturday making various stops at stores for the proper clothing she would wear. Our religion believes we wear special clothing to be buried in. It is the clothing we also wear in our sacred temples, should we be worthy to enter the temple. Wendy did not own her own temple clothing so we set out to get what was needed. After we got everything necessary, we met Dan, Kip and Nate for lunch. Nate had dropped the kids off at Jenny's house to play with her kids. For as sad of a time it is for our family, I am still really grateful for the time we've spent together, and will continue to spend together. It seems to be bringing us closer to each other.

Beautiful Flowers

Friday, July 8th--The company Nate works for has always been so supportive and kind when it comes to our family. They've sent flowers, balloons and other fun stuff when both of our children were born. They sent flowers when I had surgery shortly after Elise was born. They sent Brady a bunch of HUGE balloons when he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Everything sent came with cards filled with beautiful sentiments. Wendy's passing was no exception. Today this gorgeous flower arrangement came. It was beyond touching to know they cared and the card that came with the flowers said it all. The roses are so fragrant, you can smell them across the room. They brighten what is such a sad time. I plan to dry some of the roses.
Today, Nate and I kept busy. He worked from home. I did a bunch of yard work and then came inside and cleaned the house. The kids played well together--an absolute blessing! We received much comfort and support from our dear neighbor friends and we appreciate it greatly. I also spent a huge chunk of the day receiving many phone calls from family and friends wanting to know what happened. It never got old answering another call. We have felt much love.

A Devastating Loss.....

(LONG POST) Thursday, July 7th--Nate's sister, Wendy, passed away today. She was 1 month away from turning 38. This was so unexpected and so very tragic. Wendy has had health problems for quite some time. Like Brady, she also suffered with Type 1 Diabetes. It was difficult for her to manage and with that disease came many other problems with her body. In the last several years, it seemed she had many close calls, spending time in the hospital, but always managed to get better.

She's been suffering for a while from quite a severe UTI. On top of that she burned her feet a week ago, while vacationing in San Francisco (a place she loved dearly). She had little to no feeling in her feet so she didn't realize they were being burned while she had the rental car heater on for a while, to get warm. It seemed like the burns only made her more vulnerable to infection.

Yesterday, she was acting quite strange, very sleepy and incoherent at times. Luckily, Nate's parents live quite close to her so her dad checked on her a few times throughout the day. Later in the afternoon, dad made the decision she had to go to the hospital. She didn't want to but agreed to anyway. He called Nate's other sister, Jenny, to come help him get her to the hospital. She also lives close by. They managed to get her down the stairs of her townhome and within minutes she was unresponsive and appeared to have passed away. Jenny called 911. The paramedics got her stabilized and rushed her to the closest hospital, Riverton. Riverton felt she would do better at the larger, more advanced hospital in Murray. Fortunately, Nate's brother, Dustin, works at this hospital. She was admitted to the ICU with a 50/50 chance of living.

Today, I called Jenny and told her I wanted to be with her and comfort her. She asked if I would take her to the hospital to see Wendy. She worried Wendy might not make it, especially after what she witnessed yesterday. We got to the hospital and Wendy was hooked to several monitors, breathing tube, multiple IV's. She was sedated but seemed to understand and be able to slightly respond to us by nodding. Dan & Rosemary had been with her most of the day. Shortly after Jenny and I got there, her ICU doctor came. We stepped outside of her room to hear what he had to say. Things were grim, there was no sugar-coating. He had tried several different blood pressure medications to increase her blood pressure with no success. They couldn't keep her blood sugars above 50 (very low!). We knew what it meant. Jenny and I got on our cell phones and started calling the family. Everyone needed to know what was going on and decide if they wanted to come say "good-bye". Nate was working from home and was able to keep an eye on the kids so I could be with Jenny. I told him to come and felt he should bring the kids too. Within an hour, almost everyone was there. While we waited for everyone to arrive, a panel of doctors met with the family already there. I stayed in the lobby waiting for family. Wendy's wishes were always "Do Not Resuscitate". The doctors took the family into her room and asked if she wished to be disconnected from everything (by now, her body was not functioning on it's own at all). She shook her head yes.

With most of the family now in the hospital and in her ICU room, the nurse slowly began to turn off medications and monitors. The first medication to be turned off was the sedative. It allowed her to be more coherent. She demanded the breathing tube come out. She couldn't talk but could mouth words. Much of what she was trying to say, sadly, didn't make sense. I was able to make out "I know this is painful" and "I love you". We all said comforting words to her, how much we love her and how much we'll miss her. She shook her head "yes" to it all. We knew she understood. With everything turned off, she was gone within 10 minutes. Her doctor placed his stethoscope on her chest and pronounced her passing. People talk about the peace and calm they feel as a loved one passes away. I know and understand that feeling now. Such a tender, emotional moment but also a comforting peace. Brady handled it okay, I could tell he was just processing. Elise was quite emotional. Nate and I took turns hugging her. We knew we would need to sit down with them and talk about this experience and their feelings.

Our family stayed in the room for a while, talking about what's next, what to do. Wendy wanted her body donated to the University of Utah Medical School. Dustin knew the right paperwork to get and worked on that.

Eventually we all ended up at Dan and Rosemary's house where we talked about funeral plans, wrote up the obituary and spent time absorbing what had just happened.

It was getting late in the evening so we all decided it was time to go home. Jenny and I stopped at Wendy's townhome to make sure her cat was okay (Nate's brother, Bret, decided to take the cat home) and to see if there was anything else we needed to take care of. With the exception of a few minor things, all was well. From there we went home.

Once home, Nate and I sat the kids down for a talk. We talked about our experience. We talked about our beliefs and where we feel Wendy is now. We helped them to understand she's no longer suffering and in pain. We then talked about death, it's not scary. Brady had some questions but Elise just sat there listening. We know there will be more questions in the next several days. I worried it was a bad decision to bring the kids into Wendy's ICU room and be there as she passed away. Would they be scared? Would they have nightmares? Would it be disturbing to them? After we talked, I no longer felt that way. Just as I felt comfort and peace after she passed, I felt the same after we talked with them.

Fun At Seven Peaks!

Tuesday, July 5th--We had a great time with Nate's sister, Jenny and 2 of her kids, Quinn & Kayla at Seven Peaks Water Park. Just like us, she and her family have what's called "The Pass of all Passes". It is an annual pass that admits us into various attractions in Utah County. It includes passes to a minor league baseball team and basketball team, 2 amusement parks and this water park. We intend to use this pass quite a bit this summer, especially at this incredibly fun water park! Several of our neighbor friends have got the passes too, we've already spent some time here with them and we LOVED it!
Nate was happy to take Jenny's kids and ours around to the various slides while Jenny and I visited the whole time. Neither of us were all that excited to do much in the way of slides or other things. Relaxing sounded way more appealing! We did the lazy river a few times then hung out, getting caught up and enjoying each others company. Nate and the kids seemed to have fun too! Elise and Brady adore and look up to Kayla and Quinn, they are great cousins to them! It was a great day for everyone! We ended our adventure with a trip to JCW's for dinner and ice cream--always a tasty bonus!

Our Annual Neighborhood 4th of July Party!

Monday, July 4th--As usual, our neighborhood 4th of July party is AWESOME!!!! I plan it every year with a few friends. We send out invites, plan activities and food assignments. The past few years have gotten kind of pricey in the way of games, prizes, etc. This year we decided to tone it down a bit and make it nice and simple. It worked out great! Some of our fabulous neighbors decided to rent a dunk tank and that became quite a highlight! Even Nate got up there! Brady took a turn as well, with life jacket on. This year was more about mingling and getting to know each other better. We had a huge turn out and I think everyone that attended can say they had a great time! As always, we ended with fireworks. Everyone brings their own and it's usually the men (pyros--ha ha ha!) that take on the lighting of the fireworks. Our evening ended with cleaning up and then crashing into bed. Such a fun day and we love celebrating our nations Independence with our wonderful friends and neighbors!

Family Reunion at Bear Lake

Wednesday, June 29th--My sister, Amanda, and her family flew to Idaho for a short while. They flew in from Hawaii to visit Ben's grandma, who has poor health and not expected to live much longer. They weren't able to come down to the Salt Lake area so we met them up at Bear Lake for the day. My other sister, Alishia, and her family met us up there as well. We had hoped my BIL's family cabin was available but it was booked. We had also hoped to find a spot on the beach, we knew there were picnic areas. Unfortunately, there was quite a bit of flooding in the area, due to rapid snow melt. The beaches were all under water! Instead, we paid for a day-pass at the KOA. It was perfect, complete with a pool, play area and grassy spot for us to sit and visit for a while. I gave Amanda a list of things I wanted her to bring from Hawaii and she did not disappoint. A bunch of yummy macadamia treats to last us for quite some time!

As we were visiting, a storm blew in and created some massive wind with some rain. It made for not-so-great visiting but, luckily, it went by a short while later. Elise and Brady LOVED spending time with their cousin, Keven. He's a few years old than Elise but they all get along great. All the cousins were together for the first time in a couple of years. There's 5 altogether. We took pictures of these wacky kids for Nana and Papa.

We were only able to stay for a couple of hours before it was time to make the 2 1/2 hour drive back to Eagle Mountain. Luckily, we got all caught up with Amanda, Ben and Keven. One of these days we'll be able to save up enough money to afford a trip over to Hawaii to visit them. They seem to enjoy living there!

Happy Fathers Day!

Sunday, June 19th--Another awesome Fathers Day for an awesome father! I say it all the time, and, yep, read it again, Nate is one of the best dads I've ever known or seen. He loves and adores his children. It warms my heart to see him interact with Elise and Brady everyday. I am one lucky woman to have him as my partner as we raise our children, in hopes we're giving them a great foundation to build a wonderful future for themselves. He loves to take them to baseball games, movies, amusement parks, etc. He reads them stories every night before bedtime and says prayers with them. One of his favorite activities is to take them to the library to pick out books to read. He has such a love of reading and both of our children have that love too. I have developed that love too, thanks, in part, to him.

I look forward to many more celebrations of Nate as a dad! You are the best, my love!

Last Day of School!

Friday, June 3rd--HOORAY! Another school year is done and over! Brady did very well in Kindergarten. I couldn't be any more happy with the way his first year in elementary school went. He had such an amazing teacher. Ms. Cindy Sorensen is, by far, one of the most incredible and devoted teachers I've ever met. WOW, she has a heart of gold! Each and every one of her students learned to love her greatly. I volunteered quite often in her class and could see that even disappointing her by having to "pull a card" would break the students hearts. Cindy and I have developed a wonderful friendship. She has found her knight in shining armor, Matt Anderson, and will be marrying him in the middle of July. I fixed her up with Nate's brother, Kip, in December. Things were looking pretty good, they had gone on several dates (I was secretly doing a happy dance every time I saw one of them!!!), but it was not meant to be. Cindy met Matt shortly after and it was fireworks! We're so happy for them!

Elise has a great year too! She finished 3rd grade with high marks and more confidence in herself. She had two teachers this year, Mrs. Christine Mair and Mrs. Crystal Spencer. Mrs. Mair was her morning teacher and left when the students went to lunch then Mrs. Spencer came for the afternoon. The two make a great team and I think Elise benefited from that. Elise had Mrs. Mair in 1st grade so she, and I, were quite thrilled to find out she had her again. Both of Elise's teachers are very kind and have done a wonderful job. We will miss them as she heads up to 4th grade.

With Brady's special needs, we are able to request his teacher every year. We've asked for Mrs. Angie Simpson. She was Elise's 2nd grade teacher and was awesome! I spoke with her a few months ago and asked if she would be okay taking Brady's needs on. She happily said "Yes!" I loved working with her when Elise was in her class and now I'll get to work with her again! It's a blessing knowing he'll be with a teacher we trust to care for him and be aware of his needs. He also has a great aid, which he'll have again for 1st grade. Pat is so on-the-ball caring for him and making sure he tests at a specific time. With 1st grade being full time, it makes me quite nervous and gives me anxiety to think a huge part of his care will be turned over to Pat and Mrs. Simpson. I have to have faith! I have to also realize my little guy is growing up and is starting to understand more and more how to manage the disease himself, with someone looking over his shoulder, just in case.

Let our summer begin! Lots of fun activities to look forward to!

Memorial Day

Monday, May 30th--We did our annual camping trip to Palisade State Park, in Sterling, UT. We came home on Monday pretty early and decided to go visit some graves of family. The morning started out HORRIBLY cold and rainy. On our drive home we even hit some snow---pretty scary when you're pulling a camper! Even with the chilly weather we ventured out to the graves. Our first stop was in Sandy to visit my Grandma Van Otten (my moms mother). I haven't been to her grave since Elise was a baby. It was windy, rainy and COLD but I was so happy I went. I was surprised no other flowers were at her grave since there is other family in Utah but I was able to pick up some beautiful mums. I miss her so much. She's one of the rare few I have ever known that loved unconditionally. She passed away when I was 16. My Grandpa Van Otten is still alive at 95 years old. His memory is not so great but he's doing well, considering his age.
Our next stop was in Midvale to visit Nate's Grandpa and Grandma Mlaker (his moms parents). By now if was hailing outside and the hail was big enough it was hurting us so we quickly looked, took some pics and ran back to our car. Nate's grandma was very much the same as my own and I know he misses his grandparents as much as I do.

Our next stop was suppose to be up in Taylorsville to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Blackburn's graves (my dads parents). The weather was so horrible and we knew there would be some considerable walking to reach their graves, we decided to call it a day. I felt bad but it's not like we can't go anytime we want. We still remember them with much love.

Elise Is a Mom......to Butterfly's!

Saturday, May 21st--As you might remember, Elise received a butterfly kit for her birthday, back in March. Nate ordered the caterpillars after we returned from Disneyland. They arrived on May 11th. It took only 10 days for them to form cocoons and hatch. It was quite an experience to watch the whole process. Elise got 5 caterpillars and all 5 formed cocoons and hatched, all within 2-3 days. She loved taking them out of the little netted cage and let them perch on her finger. Once they were all hatched it was time to release them. We have beautiful honeysuckle bushes blooming right now so I thought it would be a good idea to release them nearby. When we went outside, many of the neighbor kids were out playing and got to watch her release them. It was a great! Elise is already wanting to order more caterpillars! She even named the little cuties but I can't remember the names.