Of Good Report

This is the third time I've begun this post and the fourth title I've given it since yesterday. Life. Is. Hard. I certainly do not think I have the corner on life's challenges; however, I do think that if I were to hear about my life from someone else I would be amazed and impressed. I, right now, am neither. The two times I started it yesterday I felt a bit in despair. I didn't really want that to shine through because I do have hope and faith that things will, indeed and in time, work out. I'm better now. I have wonderful sons, but they are challenging and they face many challenges. Today is Taylor's "diaversary," or in other words the anniversary of his diabetes diagnosis. Seven years. That day is ingrained in my mind. I actually have quite a few days that relate to his life (and near death) experiences that are there forever. My mother-in-law, Claudia, said it best when she heard the news, "Not Taylor." She knew that he already dealt wi...

Thirteen years ago today I was at an aquarium in the Gateway Shopping Center in Salt Lake City. I was with my sister-in-law, JuNette; her son Andrew and my three oldest children. Spencer had just turned five the day before, Taylor was three and a half, and Emma was 22 months. The aquarium was new and small, but we enjoyed our time there. After we had been there for some time JuNette handed me her phone and said that Destry had been trying to get a hold of me for quite some time. Destry told me not to worry, but that he and Christine were driving to my childhood home in Springville to check on my dad because no one had heard from him and he hadn't shown up to pick up my mom from the hospital.  My siblings and I had been worried about my mom's welfare because she had had a gastric bypass surgery to help her to loose weight and to improve both her health and her quality of life. The surgery had gone well and she was ready to come home on this day 13 years ago. Oddly, my dad neve...

Yesterday while we were driving to my mom's house to celebrate Mother's Day with her a week early, I was chatting with Taylor. He had gone up to the stand to participate in blessing the Sacrament. A few moments later I saw him walk out of the chapel. I assumed he had to blow his nose or something. He walked back in during the opening hymn with a loaf of bread in his hand. Apparently, one of the Teachers had forgotten to bring a loaf today. The Priests reverently finished getting the Sacrament table ready for later in the meeting. Taylor blessed the water today. He did a beautiful job. It was his first time. He had blessed the bread a few times before, but not the water. Taylor is incredibly shy and hates being in front of people; yet, you would never know it when he is blessing the Sacrament. I asked him, "On a scale of 1-10, 1 being no stress at all and 10 being the worst anxiety ever, what is his stress level when he blesses the Sacrament?" He said that a few seco...

Today is the first day of spring break. I planned a last minute get away to the Four Corners area.  we planned to leave after the first session of General Conference on Sunday, thinking we could listen to the rest of it either on the radio or our phones. That idea almost worked. We made it to the end of the first session before losing radio reception in Spanish Fork Canyon. That's a win. Destry's sister, JuNette agreed to watch Sadie, our dog, for us. Her house in Price was on the way to our destination so that was perfect. It was lunch time when we arrived so we asked if we could picnic at her house. I remembered everything for the meal except the main ingredient. Brats. I brought condiments and sides and buns, but left the brats at home in the fridge. We had hoagies for the first of two meals today. Not the worst thing ever, but our first "almost" of the trip. We we're almost able to listen to the afternoon session. The radio was completely out and our ...

Very early Thursday morning I received a text from my mom. And by early I mean  12:30 a.m. I heard the text come through as I was drifting into slumber, but I ignored it. When I read it a littler later in the morning I was surprised by what it said, "Are you busy Thursday and Friday?" I knew something was up so I called my mom who tearfully explained that she was in a lot of pain and that she couldn't sleep and didn't know what to do. I got the kids off to school, readied myself, checked my schedule for the day, made a couple of arrangements so I could spend the rest of the day with my mom.  I called her again and we determined that purchasing an electronic recliner and a pair of crocks (a brand of large, slip on clog type shoes) were in order. Her feet were too swollen to fit into any of her shoes and she was having difficulty getting into her bed and up off the couch. Getting the shoes was a fairly simple task, but the chair was a bit more challenging. I knew the...

Last week when Sarah returned from school she handed me an envelope. I opened it up and read a few words, enough words to know that the school was not happy with the number of school days she has missed this year. I have received letters like this before, so I didn't feel it was necessary to read every word. I threw it away without a third thought. My second thought was, "Hmm, I didn't realized she had missed that many days this year."  On Friday I received an email from the now assistant principal and next year's new principal I have had a few interactions with her, but not many. I am sure she is kind and capable. I acknowledge she was just doing her job and she was doing it well. I have never been followed up with regarding the letters. She responded to my snarky, funny email in a positive and nondefensive (made up word, I know) manner. I still think my response to her first email was funny and blog worthy, so here it is along with her emails.  Hi Mrs. Crump...

In December Erika bought herself a companion in the form of a tiny, fluffy, brown puppy. She had been researching and considering for a couple of years when she happened upon an advertisement for the type of dog she wanted. She was in St. George. She was a Maltese mix and could not have been cuter.  Her breeder was to be in the Salt Lake area before Christmas and met up with Erika to make the exchange. Erika tried to keep it a secret and just show up at Mom's on a family dinner Sunday, but it was close to two weeks away and she was too excited to keep the news to herself. Somehow all my children, every single one of them, found out before I did. But I could not be kept in the dark from them for two weeks so someone spilled the beans, but I can't remember who. Erika took time off work before and after Christmas break in order to "train" Lily. We enjoyed playing with her on Sundays when we were all at Mom's house and we watched her at our house for an afternoon....

Our family went swimming during Christmas break. We needed a physical activity out of the house and I knew our Legacy Center passes would be expiring soon and that I would not be renewing them this year; therefore, it seemed like the perfect choice. Everyone is now fairly able to get themselves ready to go places and I can generally count on my kids knowing the appropriate attire for the occasion. I have to remind them to dress up for certain events that they don't necessarily attend often, like wedding receptions, or activities held in the chapel at the church even if it isn't Sunday. When we pack for a weekend get away or family vacation, I go over lists with them and do a quick check for Sarah. Other than that, they have learned fairly well the art of dressing themselves appropriately.  So, going swimming is not necessarily something that I have to micromanage. Everyone knows they need a swimming suit and towel. In the winter months I may remind them to be sure to bring u...

I was about 12 years old when my parents bought a piano. It was an old extra tall upright and I could not have been happier. During my elementary school years I would sit and listen to the pianists play during the talent shows, wishing I could do that too.  Shortly after making the piano purchase my mom began taking piano lessons from a friend, Loris Hayes. Loris also was the accompanist to a women's quartet that my mom sang with. The only time my mom could find time to practice was after we children had gone to bed;I would hear her practice and wanted to learn as well.  I had been babysitting for a few families for a couple of years by then. I can't imagine hiring a ten year old to babysit, but I guess I was mature and responsible for my age. Or the neighbors were hard up for cheap labor. I choose to believe the first explanation.  I decided that I would use my hard earned $1.00 an hour wage to pay for myself to take piano lessons. Money was tight while I was gro...

Another unfinished piece from Spring, 2014 Last week was Easter, the week before that was General Conference and my heart has been tender as I have pondered the blessings of both. I received an unexpected lesson from the Spirit during the Sacrament on Easter Sunday. Zach Skinner, a recently ordained Priest, a good friend of Spencer and a sweet young man that I have known for almost as long as we have lived here blessed the Sacrament. I knew that was a hard thing for him to do and was pleased to see him on the stand willing to serve in spite of his apprehensions. He blessed the bread and made a mistake, as many do, but I knew it would be especially discouraging for him. He attempted again, with the same error. This time, Rob Jex, who was presiding that day,  walked over to him and gently pointed out the place in the prayer that he needed to correct. After the third time he got the nod from the bishopric. I had witnessed this same scenario many times, but the beauty and lesson ...

I began this 9/25/15. I am going to publish it as is. I am sure I had a story for each about each of my children, but I only made it to two. My heart is full of love and joy for the blessing my children are to me. Each one of them are working through their own set of challenges and are blossoming. I came home from work yesterday to find that Spencer had fixed the car. On his own. It was making a weird noise before he left school and he and a friend checked it out and determined that it was an easy fix and that he could drive home with it the way it was, but it should not be driven more than that until it was repaired. He went to the auto parts store and purchased the part and fixed it. Just like that. Wow! How awesome that he is developing the skills and taking the initiative to be responsible for the maintenance of the car he gets to drive. Notice I didn't say "his" car even though he likes to think of it as that. I was so impressed and proud of him for doing that...

A few weeks ago I received a text from Taylor telling me he was seeing spots and had a headache. I asked him if he wanted me to come pick him up. He said he would try to stay a little bit longer. An hour later he asked me to come get hem. I asked my friend, Jen Earl to pick him up because I was at work. She told me he didn't look good and didn't say a word (that is not necessarily unusual). An hour later I texted Spencer and asked him to check on Taylor. He called me and said Taylor had a back headache and asked if he could take something. I told him to give him some Excedrin. He called me back a few minutes later and said that Taylor was acting strange and that his blood sugar was low. I sent him to get a neighbor/nurse for support until I got home. I immediately left work and quickly drove home. When I got home both Barry and Sandy Burkinshaw were there. They had gotten Taylor to drink a Capri sun and his blood sugar was fine. Good. He was, however, naked in his bed, cryi...