Semi-Annual Post Part 2

So after the thrill of NYC it was back to home and Noah's Eagle Scout Project. Noah and his best friend, Zack Johnson did a combined 5K/Fun Run to raise awareness and canned goods for our county's 2 food pantries.

The boys spent 2 months going out after school every day and raising the funds to sponsor the race. OBXRunning ran the logistics of the races. They also provided trophies, water bottles, fruit and gift bags with the funds they raised. The entry fee for the race was 10 cans of food. 

We ended up having about 30 runners and 15 volunteers and they collected 1000 lbs of food for the food pantries. I'm so proud of all the hard work they put into this project. We are having their Court of Honor for their Eagle Scout after Thanksgiving.

After school let out I went to my family reunion in Ut. I didn't take too many pictures and now I can't find any on my laptop! Yikes. James, will you be sending out copies of all the pictures you collected? 

I went out a week early to spend time with my Mom and help prep for the reunion. It was a beautiful location, not far from Zion's. I think the part I liked the most was just hanging out and talking with everyone each night. We did lots of puzzles (thanks John!) and that was another highlight. I love getting together with my siblings. I am so lucky to be related to some of my favorite people in the world. 

I also got to visit my friend Ezzy who moved from NC a couple of years ago.  It was so sweet to spend the afternoon with her. It wasn't enough time at all but we made the most of it. She's an amazing quilter and you can see her handy work in the background of this picture.

After the trip to Utah I did another year of Girls Camp for our church in July. I was a level leader this year. Then August was upon us and Emil and I decided we needed to paint our house. We had gotten a quote and it was more than we were willing to spend but at the same time it needed to be done. It's 16 years old and the stucco was starting to show signs of wear. Emil started the trim while I was at my reunion. This is the side our bedroom is on and it's the worst side because it doesn't get any sun. You can see the window on the left is the one he had painted and the one on the right wasn't done. 

Here's one in the front. The difference in the trim was incredible!

After we had finished all the trim we conquered the base coat. We didn't know the exact color so I guessed. I guessed a little off but we decided to roll with it. Literally, we rolled the entire house.

We were hoping that one coat would be enough coverage but you could see from this picture it wasn't so it was 2 coats for the entire house. It was a LOT of work!

This was the side after the second coat. Beautiful! It gave us the will power to keep going. 

Getting there

2 sides done.

Personally I'm more partial to the darker base but after we started there was no way I was going back over it again if I didn't have to. I also took the pictures at two different times of the day. Our good friend and neighbor Jeff Cahill came over and helped us a few days. That is commitment to friendship! 

It looks so good. The paint will seal and protect it for another 16 years we hope. There are still some things we need to work on but that was the biggest one by far. It took us about a month to do it all. 

Noah has started Marching Band and the football/band competition season is upon us. This is his senior year. It's hard to believe that he's almost done with high school. He's such a great kid. We really enjoy him.

Kirstin has one more year in Hawaii and will graduate next June. She and Kyle are still loving it there and doing well. I miss her and will be glad when they are back stateside. We are planning on going there for her graduation. 

Emil M. moved down to the beach in June and has be living there all summer. He has been doing well and we are lucky to get to have him over for dinner every couple of weeks. 

Emil has been loving the storm swell from all the near misses we are having with the hurricane season. Thankfully he hasn't had any more fin accidents this year. Work is good and I'm keeping him busy with home repairs. 

Life is good and we are grateful and happy with all we have been given. 

The End!

Semi-Annual Post?!

So it's been another long hiatus. Life is just too busy to write about I guess. We are doing well but much has changed in the past 6 months. It's a long post so get comfy and grab a snack. You'll want to settle in!

 I decided it was time to get back into the work force and started working at the YMCA in March. I thought I could do school and work and bake but it quickly became too much so I quit the cafe. I was sad to close that chapter of my life but I was glad I had the experience and opportunity to do it. Starting your own business is quite the undertaking. At the Y I worked on the fitness floor for about a month before I found out they were opening a new climbing tower I was interesting on working on that since I have some experience climbing. Turns out I had more experience than anyone else there because now I'm the Coordinator for it! We just had our launch and opened it to the public on Saturday. 

This is what it looks like. It's 50 feet tall and the climbing is different than the climbing I'm use to with Emil but it's been exciting and I think it'll be fun. I also decided to enroll in BYU-I online and this fall I began taking classes to get a degree in Public Health. 

Times Square

Emil and I celebrated our 25th anniversary this year and decided to do it with a trip to NYC and Philadelphia. We went in May even though our anniversary is in July. 

Empire State Building

Empire State Building

One World Trade Center 

We ended up getting the New York Pass. You pay for the pass then you have like 100 attractions you can go to and just use the pass instead of paying at each place. I really liked this approach. I knew exactly how much it was costing and they gave you a guide book with short descriptions of each place along with a map and an app so you could just use your phone if you didn't want to hassle with paper.  We each chose our top 5 places we wanted to visit and then mapped where we wanted to go.

Double Decker Bus Tour

 We went to some places we probably wouldn't have bothered with otherwise and had some fun goofing off. 

Madam Trousseau's 

Madam Trousseau's 

We did a Central Park bike tour. That was fun. The weather was pretty cool for that time of year so we were in jackets the entire time. I'm glad I brought a scarf as I'm always cold anyway and it was a life saver for me. 

Central Park

The harbor cruise was an unexpected treat. We got to see each of the 5 boroughs of New York from the water and of course lovely Lady Liberty. She was in the top 3 for me. 

Harbor Cruise

Harbor Cruise

Lady Liberty

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine was one of my favorite places I enjoyed in New York. I loved all the architecture of the city in general but this Cathedral just amazed me and it wasn't even something we were planning on seeing. Emil had seen it in our guide book and suggested we go so we went after Central Park.  

Cathedral of St. John the Divine

This is a video of the clouds rolling by looking up. It almost made me feel like she was moving. 

 We also did a tour of Ellis Island which was so cool and were able to do a tour of the base of the Statue of Liberty. It was incredible to hear the story of how she was made and funded. I love learning about our history

We only spent 2 1/2 days in New York but we packed a lot into our time there. After NY we drove to Philadelphia and were able to go to the temple there. Just like all of our temples it didn't disappoint. It was so beautiful!

 

We were able to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. I sent my Mom a letter from Benjamin Franklin's post office. We also saw where his privy was, because that's important to mark?!

 

Philadelphia held another unexpected surprise. The week we were there they had a Chinese Lantern Festival going on in Franklin Park. The entire park was filled with colorful Chinese Lanterns. I would have loved to be there at night but it was also a beer garden so I think day time viewing was probably the best option. 

 At the end of the week we drove back home to quiet Currituck. I felt like the country mouse that had gone to visit the city. I love seeing everything we did and it was a truly amazing week but I was so happy to be home in the quiet and nature of our sweet home. City living isn't for me but if sure was fun visiting! This post is so long I'm going to break it up into two. Stay tuned....

Let's just call this the Quarterly Review....

I always thought that when my kids got older I'd have all this extra time on my hands. This has not proven to be the case. (If you're older than me, then you are probably laughing at the naïveté of that statement.) Life is good though, we are so very blessed! Please excuse the absence of photos, I'm having technical difficulties.

2017 Has flown by! I can't believe it's spring already. I am in love with all the cherry blossoms. Every  year I fall in love again.

ME

I just finished my second semester of Pathways last week. I've gotten A's in all my classes so far. I'll begin my final semester in a couple of weeks. It has been such a blessing in my life. If you want to go back to school, or just want to grow spiritually, check it out! I'm not sure what I want to do as a major, but I'm thinking maybe something in the health and wellness arena. I'll apply to BYU- Idaho this semester and see what classses they are willing to take from the college classes I had before I got married. So in the fall I will start online at BYUI. It's exciting, new, and something I feel very sure about even though I'm not possitive what direction it's going to take. I just know I'm headed in the right direction. 

So with that in mind, I decided to get a job at the YMCA here in Currituck and see how I liked helping people meet their fitness goals. I've been working for a couple of weeks now and I'm enjoying it! It's very different than my baking for the cafe, which I am still doing, but it's good. It has been a lot to juggle and I find I don't have as much discretionary time but I'm finding a balance. 

It has been quite a process and it was sweet to have conversations with each of my kids, at different times, when they gave me advice and encouragement. They are good kids and I am so grateful for them and the people they have become. 

EMIL

Emil is still enjoying surfing to his hearts content. He doesn't go as often as he would like but it's very close, and it's certainly much more than he could when the kids were little. He has been working with the Boy Scouts on quite a few merit badges. The current one they are doing is a hiking merit badge which has been very time consuming but rewarding. Work is good and steady. He has gotten back to running some and that's good too.

EMIL MICHAEL aka. Mossy 

He is alive (his discription!) and looking for a apartment to move into in May. All things relative, he is content and keeping to the status quo. He teaches, on occasion, at church and I always have people tell me what a great teacher he is. I think he is, and that is a talent he has discovered since being back home. 

KIRSTIN & KYLE

The newlyweds are coming up on their Anniversary in May! It's hard to believe it almost been a year! They are having fun in Hawaii and working hard. Kyle got a job as a Mechanical Engineer with BYUH or the PCC. He is getting some good experience and we are excited for that blessing in their life.  Kirstin has been working as a TA in the Art Studio and was accepted into the Art Program and should finish up her studies and graduate next June. I know they love Hawaii but I, for one, will be overjoyed when they come back stateside! I miss them!

NOAH

He is doing better this semester than last and enjoying his classes more. He has become quite a wonderful young man. He is kind and thoughtful when it comes to younger kids and he has learned to appreciate why, we as parents, choose sometimes to make our kids do the harder things in life. It's a sweet feeling when one of your kids says, "Now I understand why you made me....Thanks". 

KAI

This April will be 8 years since we lost our sweet Kai. We miss him! I often think of what he would look like now, at 14. How close he and Noah would be and how different my life would be. I am grateful for the promise of Spring and Easter, knowing that because Christ was resurrected, we all will be resurrected as well. It is a beautiful, saving promise for me. So that, even though April marks a time of loss, it also reminds me that I have a promise of rebirth. The fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ makes all the difference for me. I hope it does for you too. Happy Easter!

I'm still here...

I've been putting off writing this post. It's been 5 months since my last post, and so much life happens in 5 months, but that's not why I've been procrastinating. You know why. I didn't want to write about my Dad passing and I couldn't not write about it so I've just been avoiding it. I just wasn't ready to relive it yet, but I think I'm finally there. 

2012

I'm going to start where I left off in June though. Kirstin and Kyle got married and then had their ring ceremony at the beach and it was perfect. They took a couple of weeks. Drove out to CA and visited family and friends on the way and then left for Hawaii from there. 

Laie Temple

They had a rough start with major car issues and some illness but they had a great attitude and made it through. They've been doing well in Hawaii. 

Kirstin in front of their home

Kirstin got a merit scholarship for having stellar grades and Kyle has been working at BYU-H and the Polynesian Culture Center as security while he has been applying for engineering jobs. 

They've gone native!

Kyle's parents got to go for a visit in August and they had a great time. Kirstin and Kyle are primary teachers at church to a class of 6 year olds. We miss them very much but they are doing great and we couldn't be more proud of them both.  

In June I decided I wanted to train for the Anthem Marathon in Richmond, VA. and got my running buddy, Jaime to commit with me! We started training at the end of June. Training for a marathon in the summer was not fun or easy. There were so many sweaty runs. It was ridiculous! We kept going and it was good to have a partner that I was accountable to or I would have quit so many times over. I got to 16 miles but when my Dad got sick I decided I would do the 1/2 marathon instead. I didn't have the time and energy to focus on training and I wasn't sure I'd be back in time for it anyway. My farthest training run was 16 miles! I never would have thought 2 years ago I could run that far. So I'm calling it a success and I did do the 1/2 Marathon in November and improved on my time from last year so I'm pleased. Must have been all that altitude training right?

Emil Michael bought his own car and we helped him sell the one we had bought when he was in high school. He has continued to work at the Cotton Gin and is now looking for a job in editing. Let us know if you have any leads!

When did my little boy grow up? They get their love of hats from me!

Noah got a job at The Cotton Gin with Emil M. They love both the boys and have been so good to them. It was nice for Noah to have a ride to work every day too! Noah got his Drivers License in August and was on the road! He doesn't like to drive but really enjoys the freedom of going to his friends houses and the Dollar General whenever the whim hits him. 

Emil had a run-in with his surfboard which involved a trip to emergency room and stitches. It was nasty and I won't gross you out with the before pictures. The Doctor did a great job and you can hardly see his scar now. It's really quite amazing. Before any of you who don't truly know Emil ask, Yes, of course he is still surfing. 

 

I decided to start taking a couple of classes online through a program our church offers through BYU-Idaho, called Pathways. It's 2 courses a semester, all online with a weekly meeting for 2 hours every week in VA Beach. My first day was September 15th. 

An hour before my first Thursday night meeting I found out my Dad had terminal pancreatic cancer. Dad had not been feeling well for a while, but although they did a ton of tests, they didn't discover the cancer until it was too late. I talked it over with Emil and we decided I would go out and stay with my parents to help with my Dad's care until he passed. I left for Utah 11 days later on the 26th. 

I can't begin to express enough the gratitude I feel for Emil and the boys in supporting me so I could be with my parents. Without their love and support I couldn't have done it. 

Mom, Dad and I

I am so grateful for the time I had with my Dad and Mom. One of my Dad's projects for the past few years has been his life history. He kept everything! He had done his history up until 1967 and made it into a book that he gave to all of us kids but he was working on the last half of his life and when I got to Utah this then became my job. I finished it 4 days before he passed.

It's a little scary at times...

 I am forever grateful for the time I was able to spend reading over his accounts. My Dad didn't write much about his feelings but between the lines and over the years a pattern appeared of his great love of family, service to his fellowman and the love of his life, my Mom. As all my siblings came to see my Dad and say goodbye I was able to visit with them. My sister, Sheila came and stayed and cooked and helped tend Dad. She did all the heavy lifting and the last 2 weeks, my brother, James and his wife Laura came and helped in ways us girls couldn't. The 6 weeks I spent there are priceless to me.  There were a lot of tears but there was a lot of laughter too. I am blessed to have a large family. We each have strengths and weaknesses but we pitch in, we help out and we do it together. I could not have done this without them being there. I can not imagine being in any other family than my own. I love my siblings fiercely and am so grateful for their spouses who supported us in this difficult time. 

Running in Utah involved quite a bit of elevation

There were so many tender mercies I experienced during this time. One of my dear friends, Ezzy was there at the airport in Vegas to pick me up when I arrived, even though it meant she would get home close to midnight. She came and she listened to my texts when things were rough and offered encouragement. We were blessed to have a hospice nurse, Leah, that knew my parents personally and went to church with them. She was amazing and available any time we needed her. She lived just a few blocks from my parents and went above and beyond in her job to help my Dad be comfortable and help Sheila, Mom and I to understand what was going on medically and how to best help my Dad. She even became my running partner while I was there. Now that's a full service hospice worker! His hospice maussue, Tammy was the only one that could get him comfortable at times and she was so gentle with him! I could go on and on.

Dad and Mom 2008

We had so many prayers and support from extended family. My parents siblings and cousins, aunts and uncles, friends. I grew closer to my Uncle Dale's daughters, Becky, Michelle and Laura. and my Aunts and Uncles as they called, texted and messaged to offer support and love and prayers. What a strength they were at this time and from family that had always been there but I was just seeing how wonderful they were now. As a result I've gotten to know my cousins and have formed a sweet friendship with them and Sharon, my Aunt Naomi's daughter and my cousin. Although she is in Germany and I in NC, we have been talking through the wonders of technology and have become fast friends. 

 The church was wonderful and there even before we knew what we needed. Friends at home fed my family while I was gone. Fearing, after Facebook posts by Emil, that all they were eating was french fry dinners. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, well..) When 3 of our cars were in accidents while I was gone, there was much support given to Emil and rides for Noah. (Everyone is OK)

Sheila, Kathryn, Mom, Sumi, Frank, John, Michael, Paul, Mark, David

I am grateful for the opportunity I had to serve my parents. Parents give so much to their children and go without for their children. This short amount of time is in no way a repayment for a lifetime of sacrifice but it felt good to be able to help them for a change and so often we don't let people do that. Help us. 

When we do, all are edified. Both the giver for their service and the receiver as service is rendered. So I would encourage you, if you are going through something and someone offers to help you. Let go of your pride and sense of "I can do this myself" because even though, so often we can, by allowing others that opportunity we are enabling them to receive blessings too. 

Dad passed away early on the morning of October 27th and we had the funeral November 1st. 

He continues to leave such a large impact on my life. 

I miss him. I'm grateful for him. I love him and I can't wait to one day see him again. 

Dad and I 1990