Today while attending my Sunday School class at church, the class discussed faith. The teacher began by asking us to think about a time in our life when faith has strengthened us or helped us. Or in other words he asked us to think of times when our faith has been an anchor in our lives.
When the teacher asked this question, my mind immediately went instantly to the "big" traumas of my life starting with my mom's death. I was "alone" in college. I was struggling-failing most classes. I was having stress issues at work. All of this among other personal challenges, and then I got the call from Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs that Mom had died. It was 2 weeks before finals. Of course, at the time, the last thing on my mind was finals and school, but I obviously knew that I would be missing classes and I was struggling so hard as it was. My faith at this time kept me grounded and allowed me to keep life in perspective. I had the faith that everything at school and work would come together for the best and I KNEW without a doubt that my mom was happy and healthy and that we would all be together again. With that faith, I got through the funeral arrangements and funeral week, and went back to classes. I was blessed with very understanding professors that-though I was all but failing-told me to do the best I could and I would pass the courses. Granted, I passed that term with C-averages, but I pulled myself together with help from those professors and finished the courses "passing" and without taking incompletes.
The next instance was again a "big" trauma. The death of my dad and brother. When my mom died, I never questioned her passing. Would I have loved for her to have more time on Earth? Sure. I miss her every single day, but I know how sick she was and this life was no life for her to live. Through the pain, I could look at her passing as a blessing-especially to her. When my dad and brother were killed, it was the first time that I struggled with faith. It was a challenge. Their accident was a tragic and unexpected event. It took every ounce of faith that I possessed to NOT be bitter and to put ALL my trust in Heavenly Father and my Savior. I wanted to know why the accident happened. I wanted to know why they both had to die. I didn't want to be the sole Haas heir. I felt my life was in shambles. The only thing that got me through that experience and all the "life" events following it-school, estates, work, etc-was the faith and hope that I had in the plan of our Father in Heaven. After we arrived in my home town following the news, we stayed throughout the funeral week with my good friends The Halls. She was my young women president growing up. The morning after the accident and my family's deaths, Dale and Jan gave me a Priesthood Blessing. I admit 100% that I remember nothing from the blessing, but I do remember I felt calm and at peace that everything was as it should be and all things would be ok. That strengthened my faith.
The next instance that popped into my head was the passing of Ryan-again, another "big" event. I believe that I have shared enough of my experience throughout the last year that all readers have an understanding of my faith through this experience.
Anyway, back to Sunday School. A few class members shared some stories or examples. Some were huge events like trials or death and some were from missions. After all the discussion, the teacher quoted this beautiful and simple Children's Primary song, "Faith." Here are the words.
"Faith is knowing the sun will rise lighting each new day. Faith is knowing the Lord will hear my prayers each time I pray. Faith is like a little seed. If planted it will grow. Faith is a swelling within my heart, when I do right, I know. Faith is knowing I lived with God before my mortal birth. Faith is knowing I can return when my life ends on earth. Faith is trust in God above; in Christ, who showed the way. Faith is strengthened; I feel it grow, whenever I obey."
Throughout the rest of class and the final hour of church, I could not get these simple words out of my head. I came home and pondered them. I went to lay down to sleep and I was still thinking about them.
I have come to realize that the big trials or struggles do test our faith. At times, some trials or struggles may be given to us not only to test our faith but to strengthen it. Our weaknesses and trials can test our faith and make us humble which bring us closer to God. Despite all this, I was "awakened" during Sunday School yesterday to the realization that I take simple faith for granted. I do not spend enough time thinking "Faith is knowing the sun will rise lighting each new day..." I know that I have faith and I know that my faith has gotten me through pretty much everything in my life. However, I am grateful for a very insightful Sunday School teacher that pointed out the beauty of faith.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Saturday, December 1, 2012
November 2012
I am doing pretty good this month. It is only December 1, and I am sitting down to get our update done. It was actually an insanely busy month that flew past so speedily, but yet, we didn't really get to do much or accomplish much because of the craziness of it all.
RJ spent his month going to preschool on preschool days and playing all around the house. He loves "cooking" his own food and helping in the kitchen. There is a picture of him eagerly waiting for the microwave to beep so he can eat his freshly cooked microwave popcorn. One of his newest favorite pastimes is doing flips through the living room. There is a picture of that too. I think he would do it more often if he didn't get dizzy. I think he seriously spent 30 minutes that day doing flips. One day, when it was obviously nice since RJ is in barefeet and short sleeves, the neighbors puppy got out. This provides a HUGE source of entertainment for RJ. I think he and the puppy chased each other around in circles for a good hour or so. I took lots of pictures, but there was only one that I actually could get Rj looking at the camera. The final picture of Rj is him decorating our paper Christmas tree after our Family Home Evening lesson on the Symbols of Christmas. That particular night, we learned what the Christmas tree, star, and angel meant/represented. He had a lot of fun.
RJ spent his month going to preschool on preschool days and playing all around the house. He loves "cooking" his own food and helping in the kitchen. There is a picture of him eagerly waiting for the microwave to beep so he can eat his freshly cooked microwave popcorn. One of his newest favorite pastimes is doing flips through the living room. There is a picture of that too. I think he would do it more often if he didn't get dizzy. I think he seriously spent 30 minutes that day doing flips. One day, when it was obviously nice since RJ is in barefeet and short sleeves, the neighbors puppy got out. This provides a HUGE source of entertainment for RJ. I think he and the puppy chased each other around in circles for a good hour or so. I took lots of pictures, but there was only one that I actually could get Rj looking at the camera. The final picture of Rj is him decorating our paper Christmas tree after our Family Home Evening lesson on the Symbols of Christmas. That particular night, we learned what the Christmas tree, star, and angel meant/represented. He had a lot of fun.
We spent our Thanksgiving here at home. Dale actually ended up having the entire week off, but we were so tired and stressed from the entire month of crazy goings, that we welcomed the week at home to try to recover. On Thanksgiving itself, I went into Idaho Falls and ran the Run to Feed the Hungry 10k race. I ran it with my friend Kim. Her sister in law joined us for her first ever 5k race. There is a picture of Kim and I with Tom the Turkey and then one of all three of us at the start/finish line. It was SOOO cold while we were standing around waiting for it to start, but it was a gorgeous sunny day. Kim and I have only ever ran 1 other 10k race, which is 6.2 miles, and we wanted to use this one as an opportunity to set new personal records (PRs). However the race end up only being 5.7 miles. Still a great race and our individual times at each mile split showed that we would have definitely set new PRs, but now we are faced with the dilemma of whether to be satisfied with new PRs on a "short" race.....I think that we both have more 10ks in our future. :) It really was a fun race and all the proceeds went to support the Idaho Falls Food Bank, so it was a great cause. After the race, I came home and started cooking my portion of Thanksgiving Dinner. My friends The Bagleys and us decided to combine our households and split the dinner for the day. There were 9 of us total and it was a ton of fun. After we ate, we lounged around and played board games. Obviously I never took picutres of it.
So, Dale has continued to enroll in these "dinky" 1-3 credit hour courses. I have mentioned them several times now. I really do support him 100% in this endeavor to gain his experience credits, but I never quite know how to or what to call them....hence my "slang" words like "dinky" and "stupid". Through November he had a Tuesday night class and then half way through the month he had a Thursday night course start. He also had Parent Teacher Conferences for 2 nights one week. I have had training meeting after training meeting with the Young Women and activity after activity. Unfortunately due to Dale's schedule, we have had to utilize sitters adn neighbors SO much this month just so we could both be were we needed to be. We just literally have been on the go this month. Dale was put in as 2nd counselor in the Elders Quorum Presidency the middle of the month. He is yet to be let go from the Sunday School presidency....though that will probably happen tomorrow. So he has been quite busy with church things as well. From November 28-30, Dale got to spend those three days in the very UNsunny state of California. It was cloudy and/or rained the whole 3 days. Anyway, he was 1 of 3 teachers selected by his principal to go to East LA to visit 2 schools. He actually had a great trip and for those of you interested in a "different" approach to education, he will gladly fill you in. Basically, the school district he got to go visit used to be one the "arm pit" rated school districts in the country adn they got tired of the reputation of being "bad" and "slum", so they turned themselves around and are now rated either in the top 5 in the country or the 5th in the country as far as performance. Dale LOVED their approach and wishes that it could be implemented into the Idaho schools. So, he had a great trip.
I have been very busy with Young Womens as I have mentioned. It has been one meeting, one training, one activity after another...not to mention the typing, scheduling and follow-up I have to do behind the scenes. I have had my share of stress and frustrations, but I LOVE it. It has been so much fun. I am also still one of our church's family history people. I was this before I got asked to work with the youth and I am happy they are letting me stay in this role too. It keeps me motivated to search out my family's "old bones" as my mom would say. As I mentioned above, I am still running. Our weather has been so nice and mild that I am still running as much as ever. This week I had to move to the treadmill since Dale was gone, but it has been the most awesome running weather for being this late in the year. I am still sewing blankets and I am currently working on a Mossy Oak (for you hunters) camoflauge blanket for my little neighbor boy. I am still readign and actively participate in the area-ish book club. This has proved to be exciting fun and a great opportunity for me to make additional friends or to become closer friends with those I knew already.
SO, I think that is about it. It doesn't sound like much but we were so busy.
I have been very busy with Young Womens as I have mentioned. It has been one meeting, one training, one activity after another...not to mention the typing, scheduling and follow-up I have to do behind the scenes. I have had my share of stress and frustrations, but I LOVE it. It has been so much fun. I am also still one of our church's family history people. I was this before I got asked to work with the youth and I am happy they are letting me stay in this role too. It keeps me motivated to search out my family's "old bones" as my mom would say. As I mentioned above, I am still running. Our weather has been so nice and mild that I am still running as much as ever. This week I had to move to the treadmill since Dale was gone, but it has been the most awesome running weather for being this late in the year. I am still sewing blankets and I am currently working on a Mossy Oak (for you hunters) camoflauge blanket for my little neighbor boy. I am still readign and actively participate in the area-ish book club. This has proved to be exciting fun and a great opportunity for me to make additional friends or to become closer friends with those I knew already.
SO, I think that is about it. It doesn't sound like much but we were so busy.
We are very excited for the holidays and the possibilty of traveling to see family. Hope that everyone else had a fabulous month!
Friday, November 2, 2012
October 2012
I think that October, by far, was the fastest flying month so far. I just can't believe that it is November already! In the following, you will find our pictures for the month of October. You can tell my looking at them that everything was mostly centered around Halloween.
In order to help motivate RJ to clean and do his chores, we have started letting him "earn" money. There are some things that he has to do just because I expect him to it, but "special" chores, we decided to let him earn money. The picture of him holding his new trains is the result of this. I know the picture is not the best facial expression on RJ, but he was SOOO excited to go into the toy store and pick out, not just one, but 2 new trains. He is still learning the concept of money and doesn't quite understand why the 50 cents in his money bank is not enough to go buy another train, yet, but he has been helping SO much more around the house now without tantrums. So it is a WIN so far for us.
RJ and I went down to Utah to spend a Saturday with my old roommates and their kids for our annual Roommate Reunion and we added a Halloween Party so the kids would have fun. RJ and the other kids had SO much fun and definitely ate way too much junk food. I am grateful for this wonderful room mates of mine and for the wonderful friendships that we have been able to maintain and grow throughout these years since college.
As far as family activities, we left the pumpkins out on the vines as long as we possibly could. We finally went out for family night one night and picked them all. We gathered them in the wheelbarrow. There are a couple pictures of RJ helping Dale. RJ was THRILLED to finally pick the pumpkins. He and the neighbor kids had been asking ALL summer if they could pick the pumpkins. We had one happy little boy on our hands. We ended up with approximately 20 pumpkins from the garden. There is a picture with RJ sitting with all them on the porch.
In order to help motivate RJ to clean and do his chores, we have started letting him "earn" money. There are some things that he has to do just because I expect him to it, but "special" chores, we decided to let him earn money. The picture of him holding his new trains is the result of this. I know the picture is not the best facial expression on RJ, but he was SOOO excited to go into the toy store and pick out, not just one, but 2 new trains. He is still learning the concept of money and doesn't quite understand why the 50 cents in his money bank is not enough to go buy another train, yet, but he has been helping SO much more around the house now without tantrums. So it is a WIN so far for us.
RJ and I went down to Utah to spend a Saturday with my old roommates and their kids for our annual Roommate Reunion and we added a Halloween Party so the kids would have fun. RJ and the other kids had SO much fun and definitely ate way too much junk food. I am grateful for this wonderful room mates of mine and for the wonderful friendships that we have been able to maintain and grow throughout these years since college.
As far as family activities, we left the pumpkins out on the vines as long as we possibly could. We finally went out for family night one night and picked them all. We gathered them in the wheelbarrow. There are a couple pictures of RJ helping Dale. RJ was THRILLED to finally pick the pumpkins. He and the neighbor kids had been asking ALL summer if they could pick the pumpkins. We had one happy little boy on our hands. We ended up with approximately 20 pumpkins from the garden. There is a picture with RJ sitting with all them on the porch.
This past Monday, 2 days before Halloween, we picked out the 4 largest ones and had a family carving night. We carved 4 pumpkins-RJ's name, Ryan's name, a heart, and a typical pumpkin face.
On one of the nights that Dale had a late night, RJ and I made our annual Halloween sugar cookies. He was very excited about this. He LOVES cutting the sugar cookies with the cookie cutters.
Also, Halloween related, we went to our church's Trunk or Treat. RJ got his picture taken by the gigantic pumpkin and then got to go Trunk or Treating with our friends the Bagleys. Dale was busy at our truck handing out candy and I was assigned to help make the hot chocolate at the tailgate of another truck. I miss not being able to "care" for my own son on fun nights like this, but I am grateful he/we have great friends that adopt him into their "clan".
October also brought with it its first snow storm. It was short lived. We got about 4 inches one night and a dusting the second. It was a wet heavy snow...packed with moisture that we desperately needed since I can count on 2 hands the number of rain showers we have had all summer and fall. RJ is finally at the age that he is starting to like snow. I LOVE snow. I think that there is something so serene and perfect about it. I am winter/snow kid through and through. Not to mention that shoveling snow is a great "free" workout. So, during this snow, I introduced RJ to the concept of shoveling. He got to use a scoop shovel as shown in the picture because we only have one snow shovel. He didn't necessarily do a great job. In fact, I had to reshovel most of the driveway right behind him as he went. But the important thing is that he had fun and I had a blast spending the 45 minutes outside with him.
For me, I have been so insanely busy and stressed but I have felt like I have really not done anything too productive. I ran and worked out through most of October like I normally do. I am very grateful for this "release" and "alone" time that I have allowed to be a huge part of my life. I thoroughly enjoy every moment that I am running/working out. I didn't run any races in October. My friends and I have signed up to run in the Idaho Falls Run to Feed the Hungry on Thanksgiving Day. I am very excited about this. It is a short race but they use all the proceeds to stock the Food Bank. It will be a completely fun race. Besides that, I have been working on genealogy stuff, sewing, cleaning, reading, working with RJ on new skills, yard work when the weather is nice, etc...the usual. Lately, I feel that all my time is used in getting our book work in order for preparation for tax season-my second favorite season of the year-next to snow. :) I am weird that way. I have also been asked to be the secretary in the Young Women's organization at church....So, I am back to working with the 12-18 year old girls and more directly their leaders. I am excited about it, but man, oh man, the last 2 weeks have been one meeting after another. I looked at the calendar, and the next 2 weeks is going to be one meeting after another too. It has been keeping me SO crazy busy. I had started looking around at online work from home jobs since I had been having more time on my hands with RJ more active on his own, but then I got involved in with the Young Women again, and I haven't had time to do anything else, so I guess I am not supposed to work yet :)
Dale has been even MORE insanely busy than I have this past month. I think that I mentioned in one of the previous months' emails that he was given a zoology class in addition to his biology classes this year. Well, he LOVES the class and the material, but since it is something that he hasn't taught before, he has had to go back to the "intro teaching basics" and prepare all new lesson material and plans...something he hasn't had to do for almost 6 years now. So that has taken alot of his time. His iPad classroom has also been gaining "popularity" and he was again featured on the local news 8. This has lead to other districts sparking interest as well as the community as a whole. So in the past month, he and his students have been on the news, and he has been asked to teach/lecture other districts and community functions about the positive use of iPads in the classroom. He LOVES doing it and we often joke that at 75$ an hour or so that the other places pay him, he should quit his day job and just lecture about iPads. But that is totally joking....he loves his job and he loves iPads, so it works out that he can share his knowledge with others. In addition to all this, he has been taking additional training classes offered through his district. His district's pay scale is really dumb and offers no incentive for the teachers to get their master's degrees. So instead, he registers to take these dumb (yes I mean that too) 1 to 3 credit hour classes. He is hoping to get 12-15 credits a year or so AND that will move him up on the pay scale. It truly is dumb. Anyway, between all this, he has been gone and working insane amount of hours. He has been so busy that he didn't even go hunting this year. THAT says a lot.
And here is one last random picture of RJ. He has gotten to where he LOVES everything of Mom's-including my heels. It is quite funny some days watching him.
I hope that everyone else had a safe and fun October and Halloween as well. :)
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Month
I am usually not a huge vocal supporter of causes even though I do support several as there have been several "causes" that have touched me personally in so many ways. October is Pregnancy and Infant loss month. Because of the loss of Ryan, this month is very special to me.
I have been struggling with this post because it is a "public" blog, but I also know that I do not have very many readers. That being said, I have always documented our life on here thinking that some day I will print it out. So, I sit here for the 3rd day in a row, wanting to type something profound or meaningful, but not really coming up with the words to say what I want.
Both within in my personal family and within my circle of friends, I have been close with those that have experienced still birth, miscarriages, SIDs, little ones that have survived birth but still never made it home from the hospital, and those born so premature that their little bodies can't survive. With all cases, the loss is felt by the family. Some cases the loss is harder to deal with than others. No matter the loss, every person can be affected differently and at different levels. Through my own experience with a loss as a result of SIDs, you always feel the loss and the ache for what you know you are missing in this life.
Now for more personal stuff...I will try not to get too detailed or "graphic".
Recently, and perhaps somewhat ironically that it is in October, I have experienced the type of loss medically termed as a blighted ovum. We went through about 2 months of ups and downs thinking that there was a pregnancy in our family to being told it might not be. As most women can relate, you miss a cycle, you take a home pregnancy test (or 2 or 3), you see the positive, you get excited, you tell the hubby and/or family at some point, you make doctor appointments along the way, etc. Every expectant mother goes through some similar motion or cycle. With us, I went through all that and 3 ultra sounds before it was determined that I probably had a blighted ovum. All the pregnancy symptoms are present, including high hCG levels-so blood testing is out. So for 1 solid month, we had the excitement of being expectant parents, and then we had 2.5 weeks of not knowing what was going on. Finally, my body decided for me and the doctors by kicking out all the tissue in the miscarriage process.
It has been an emotional battle-mainly because this was the "first pregnancy" since Ryan's death, but at the same time it is a great relief knowing FOR SURE that I am not pregnant and that my body can heal. It was so frustrating for those 2+ weeks of not knowing what was happening. Though the end result was not what we wanted, it was still a relief knowing for sure. Now is the part that is kind of sensitive and it is my own personal feelings. I mean no offense or insensitivity to any person that may have experienced a blighted ovum. The American Pregnancy Society states that most causes of a blighted ovum are chromosomal/DNA issues that can lead to an unhealthy fetus. The Society states that the blighted ovum is just the body's way of responding to the abnormalities and not allowing the pregnancy to continue. It makes me grateful that I only had to miscarry tissue and the embryo/fetus had not been developed yet. If the reasoning the Society states was the case for us, then I am also grateful that things ended this way and that I don't have the risk of an unhealthy baby. I say that respectfully because I would love all my children regardless of any or all developmental or health issues they would or would not be born with.
Anyway, the point to all this is that I have experienced "loss" in a new sense. It is a one that I hope can make me more sensitive and understanding to my friends and family that have also or will also miscarry. It has been painful, physically, but luckily I have a pretty high tolerance pain level. I do not type this to try to "chalk" up another loss on my never-ending (seemingly) list of losses in my life or to try to gain more sympathy. Mainly, I type this for myself- as words are one of my primary means expressing grief and frustration. Typing allows me research and understanding...to work through my own emotions.
Finally, I want to end by saying let's take time to remember the babies who were born asleep, or whom we carried but never met, or those we have held but could not take home, or the ones who made it home but did not stay. ♥
I have been struggling with this post because it is a "public" blog, but I also know that I do not have very many readers. That being said, I have always documented our life on here thinking that some day I will print it out. So, I sit here for the 3rd day in a row, wanting to type something profound or meaningful, but not really coming up with the words to say what I want.
Both within in my personal family and within my circle of friends, I have been close with those that have experienced still birth, miscarriages, SIDs, little ones that have survived birth but still never made it home from the hospital, and those born so premature that their little bodies can't survive. With all cases, the loss is felt by the family. Some cases the loss is harder to deal with than others. No matter the loss, every person can be affected differently and at different levels. Through my own experience with a loss as a result of SIDs, you always feel the loss and the ache for what you know you are missing in this life.
Now for more personal stuff...I will try not to get too detailed or "graphic".
Recently, and perhaps somewhat ironically that it is in October, I have experienced the type of loss medically termed as a blighted ovum. We went through about 2 months of ups and downs thinking that there was a pregnancy in our family to being told it might not be. As most women can relate, you miss a cycle, you take a home pregnancy test (or 2 or 3), you see the positive, you get excited, you tell the hubby and/or family at some point, you make doctor appointments along the way, etc. Every expectant mother goes through some similar motion or cycle. With us, I went through all that and 3 ultra sounds before it was determined that I probably had a blighted ovum. All the pregnancy symptoms are present, including high hCG levels-so blood testing is out. So for 1 solid month, we had the excitement of being expectant parents, and then we had 2.5 weeks of not knowing what was going on. Finally, my body decided for me and the doctors by kicking out all the tissue in the miscarriage process.
It has been an emotional battle-mainly because this was the "first pregnancy" since Ryan's death, but at the same time it is a great relief knowing FOR SURE that I am not pregnant and that my body can heal. It was so frustrating for those 2+ weeks of not knowing what was happening. Though the end result was not what we wanted, it was still a relief knowing for sure. Now is the part that is kind of sensitive and it is my own personal feelings. I mean no offense or insensitivity to any person that may have experienced a blighted ovum. The American Pregnancy Society states that most causes of a blighted ovum are chromosomal/DNA issues that can lead to an unhealthy fetus. The Society states that the blighted ovum is just the body's way of responding to the abnormalities and not allowing the pregnancy to continue. It makes me grateful that I only had to miscarry tissue and the embryo/fetus had not been developed yet. If the reasoning the Society states was the case for us, then I am also grateful that things ended this way and that I don't have the risk of an unhealthy baby. I say that respectfully because I would love all my children regardless of any or all developmental or health issues they would or would not be born with.
Anyway, the point to all this is that I have experienced "loss" in a new sense. It is a one that I hope can make me more sensitive and understanding to my friends and family that have also or will also miscarry. It has been painful, physically, but luckily I have a pretty high tolerance pain level. I do not type this to try to "chalk" up another loss on my never-ending (seemingly) list of losses in my life or to try to gain more sympathy. Mainly, I type this for myself- as words are one of my primary means expressing grief and frustration. Typing allows me research and understanding...to work through my own emotions.
Finally, I want to end by saying let's take time to remember the babies who were born asleep, or whom we carried but never met, or those we have held but could not take home, or the ones who made it home but did not stay. ♥
Monday, October 1, 2012
September 2012
Already?!?!?!?! Holy Smokes! Where did the month go? I feel like I just barely sat down and typed up August. Wow!
So September started out with a trip to American Fork, UT over Labor Day weekend to see our newest nephew, baby Isaac. Dale's brother and his wife AND his parents all made the trek too. It was one of the few times that the entire Walker/Reshetnikov family has been able to be together. It was a lot of fun. RJ got to spend time with his cousins and they played a lot. His cousin, Alex, was staying at the same hotel as us, so they played together a lot.
We came back home and a couple days later, RJ started his second year of preschool. He was VERY excited about this. In May, he never quite understood why he just "stopped" going to school. It was a very long summer of "Am I going to preschool tomorrow?" It is great having him back in class even though I miss having him at home.
We also made the trek to Blackfoot (oh so far away...) to the East Idaho State Fair with our friend's Amanda and Noah. The boys' most favorite thing by far was the Children's Science Exhibit Tent where they had different activity booths set up that were supposed to teach the kids a different lesson about science. I don't think that our boys learned too much about force or gravity but they sure had fun playing with everything. Also while at the fair, RJ was able to get his face professionally face painted for the first time ever. He was SO good and set SO still for the lady.
RJ also stepped in and helped me out a bunch over the month. He helped me make pumpkin snickerdoodles and he always brings our trash can back to the garage after trash pick-up.
My activities for the month included....canning and running AND running and canning. Seriously. September 29, 2012 was my first ever marathon (that's 26.2 miles, ya'll) and pretty much ALL my free time was running or biking to train for the marathon. Finally, this month the garden started to slow down, but I still had tomatoes and cucumbers and peppers galore. I kept busy canning pickles and salsa. Just when I had everything from the garden caught up and the kitchen semi-cleaned again, a friend dropped off peaches. Now, we may be the only weirdos out there that don't really care for fresh peaches...SOOO that meant "a-canning I will go again". I made all different varieties of peach jam. It was kind of fun experimenting with different fruit blends and seasonings.
Back to the marathon....I DID it!!!!! There were a couple things that I ended up HATING about this marathon: 1) the heat and 2) the head wind. I knew when I registered that the course was pretty much all downhill. I also knew that that was going to be hard because downhill uses different muscles then uphill or flat running. However, I was NOT expecting almost 80 degree weather and a head wind for all 21 miles of the downhill. Finally the last 5.2 miles the course leveled out though it was still hot and had a head wind. My friend Aarin and I finished at 5 hours 5 minutes. If you want to be technical, I am not "thrilled" with my time because I know that I can run better, BUT I am so SOO happy that I was able to accomplish this goal and overcome both the physical and mental obstacles associated with this goal. There may be another one in my future in 2 or 3 years....not any time soon though. :)
In between all of this, Dale has kept busy with school. He feels that he is never caught up and that he is always behind, BUT he still loves what he does for a living and he loves his classes he is teaching.
I think that is about it for us :)
So September started out with a trip to American Fork, UT over Labor Day weekend to see our newest nephew, baby Isaac. Dale's brother and his wife AND his parents all made the trek too. It was one of the few times that the entire Walker/Reshetnikov family has been able to be together. It was a lot of fun. RJ got to spend time with his cousins and they played a lot. His cousin, Alex, was staying at the same hotel as us, so they played together a lot.
RJ also stepped in and helped me out a bunch over the month. He helped me make pumpkin snickerdoodles and he always brings our trash can back to the garage after trash pick-up.
Back to the marathon....I DID it!!!!! There were a couple things that I ended up HATING about this marathon: 1) the heat and 2) the head wind. I knew when I registered that the course was pretty much all downhill. I also knew that that was going to be hard because downhill uses different muscles then uphill or flat running. However, I was NOT expecting almost 80 degree weather and a head wind for all 21 miles of the downhill. Finally the last 5.2 miles the course leveled out though it was still hot and had a head wind. My friend Aarin and I finished at 5 hours 5 minutes. If you want to be technical, I am not "thrilled" with my time because I know that I can run better, BUT I am so SOO happy that I was able to accomplish this goal and overcome both the physical and mental obstacles associated with this goal. There may be another one in my future in 2 or 3 years....not any time soon though. :)
I think that is about it for us :)
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Beautiful Heartbreak
This is almost a follow-up post to my post titled "Food for Thought-Faith." This is a very inspirational and uplifting song. The music video features the woman that was burned in the plane crash that I mentioned in the above post as well as other individuals who have overcome struggles and trials.
Here are the lyrics is to the song. I find that even by reading the words they are just as powerful as Hillary Weeks' voice singing them.
I had it all mapped out in front of me,
Knew just where I wanted to go;
But life decided to change my plans,
And I found a mountain in the middle of my road.
I knew there was no way over it,
So I searched for a way around;
Brokenhearted I started climbin',
And at the top I found...
Every fear, every doubt,
All the pain I went through;
Was the price that I paid to see this view;
And now that I'm here I would never trade...
The grace that I feel,
And the faith that I find;
Through the bitter-sweet tears,
And the sleepless nights;
I used to pray he'd take it all away,
But instead it became a beautiful heartbreak.
I never dreamed my heart would make it,
I thought about turning around;
But heaven has shown me miracles,
I never would have seen from the ground.
Now I take the rain with the sunshine,
Cause there's one thing that I know;
He picks up the pieces,
Along each broken road.
Every fear, every doubt,
All the pain I went through;
Was the price that I paid to see this view;
And now that I'm here I would never trade...
The grace that I feel,
And the faith that I find;
Through the bitter-sweet tears,
And the sleepless nights.
I used to pray he'd take it all away,
But instead it became a beautiful heartbreak.
I would never trade...
The grace that I feel,
And the faith that I find;
Through the bitter-sweet tears,
And the sleepless nights.
I used to pray he'd take it all away,
But instead it became a beautiful heartbreak.
I have been listening to this song a lot the past few days as I have thought about the "mountains" in my life that have encountered in my road. I think my road can be compared to the Rocky Mountains or a roller coaster. I feel that I reach the peak of each mountain and get to realize the view and the blessings and then I get to start all over. I am not complaining. I know there are others that have trials and struggles way beyond what I have been asked to bear. I only hope that each time I climb a mountain, I am learning what Heavenly Father wants me learn.
Today is the anniversary of the death of our baby boy, Ryan. Not once in the last year have I asked why we have had to go through this loss and pain or why Ryan was needed on the Other Side. I have spent most of the last year trying to learn and grow. I am not sure if I have learned all the lessons that Heavenly Father has wanted me to, but I can pray and hope that my faith has been strengthened and that I have come to lean and rely more on my Savior for help, strength, comfort, and peace.
Though I miss my angel terribly and I pray that I never have to experience this type of loss again, "I would never trade, The grace that I feel and the faith that I find through the bitter-sweet tears and the sleepless nights." I would much rather have Ryan here with us on the earth but I am very grateful for the peace and comfort that comes from knowing we are still family and NOTHING can change that.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
August 2012
August was a FUN and busy month for us. Sadly, I know that my pictures will not depict all the fun and busyness because I actually did not take that many photos. August is also a sad month for us as it brings summer time to a close. Though RJ does not start school until September, Dale always has to be back to work by the middle of August.
We started the month out with a fast, overnight camp out. Our sole purpose in this camp out was to bring the camper, ATV, and gear home. When we started the summer, we thought we would have TONS of time to head out camping so we left everything at the campsite (it's private, so we can get away with that). Well, as it turned out, we got to go camping twice-once in July and once in August. Sadly, I did not get any pictures of this event.
The next BIG event was the Grand Teton Relay that I participated on. I was hoping for more pictures from one of my team mates by the time that I posted about this, but she hasn't gotten them posted yet. So, I am just going with what I have. This is a 180-mile, 12 person relay team. I was on team WyDaTards in Van 1. My van consisted of Sheena, Aarin, Karen, Ben, Monica, and me. Van 2 consisted of Heidi, Mary, Leslie, Travis, Kristy, and Kim. The relay starts in Ashton, ID and ends in Jackson, WY--lots of mountains. It was gorgeous and SO much fun! My team finished in exactly 30 hours, which was 34th place (not that we cared). My van managed to get maybe an hour and half of sleep the entire 30 hours. It was by far one of the most draining but FUN experiences and race I have completed to date.
RJ was able to finish out his summer playing trains with his neighbor friends both at our house and at their house. We also went to Rigby Lake for our "annual" end of the year swim party. There is a picture of RJ getting "snuggled" to death by our little neighbor Gabe. The next pictures are of RJ at the lake playing in the water with his friend Noah.
In between all these events, we spent time biking, playing, cleaning, shopping, etc. The most time consuming and busiest item of business was the garden. Almost every day, I have spent picking, canning, dehydrating, freezing, storing, etc every type of produce imaginable. It is exciting to have so much yummy fresh produce, BUT man oh man! it is a LOT of work!!!
Lastly, I have to brag on myself. After 5 years and 2 pregnancies, I am finally down to goal weight!!! More importantly than that, I feel great and I am happy. I love having energy and being able to feel like I can accomplish anything I set out to do. I don't normally post pictures of myself on the blog, but this is an exception even though it is not too great of a self picture. It is to remind that goals can be and are achievable.
We started the month out with a fast, overnight camp out. Our sole purpose in this camp out was to bring the camper, ATV, and gear home. When we started the summer, we thought we would have TONS of time to head out camping so we left everything at the campsite (it's private, so we can get away with that). Well, as it turned out, we got to go camping twice-once in July and once in August. Sadly, I did not get any pictures of this event.
The next BIG event was the Grand Teton Relay that I participated on. I was hoping for more pictures from one of my team mates by the time that I posted about this, but she hasn't gotten them posted yet. So, I am just going with what I have. This is a 180-mile, 12 person relay team. I was on team WyDaTards in Van 1. My van consisted of Sheena, Aarin, Karen, Ben, Monica, and me. Van 2 consisted of Heidi, Mary, Leslie, Travis, Kristy, and Kim. The relay starts in Ashton, ID and ends in Jackson, WY--lots of mountains. It was gorgeous and SO much fun! My team finished in exactly 30 hours, which was 34th place (not that we cared). My van managed to get maybe an hour and half of sleep the entire 30 hours. It was by far one of the most draining but FUN experiences and race I have completed to date.
Lastly, I have to brag on myself. After 5 years and 2 pregnancies, I am finally down to goal weight!!! More importantly than that, I feel great and I am happy. I love having energy and being able to feel like I can accomplish anything I set out to do. I don't normally post pictures of myself on the blog, but this is an exception even though it is not too great of a self picture. It is to remind that goals can be and are achievable.
So that is our month in review. Fun but busy.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Food for Thought-Faith
The last few days I have been thinking A LOT about the whole faith vs. fear argument/debate again. This is nothing new for me. Most days it is a constant internal debate going on in my head...the one side debating "Just do it. or Just trust me." Or whatever the situation is. Then the other side chimes in "You can't do that; or what if this happens; or what if you get hurt; or whatever." It is constantly there in my life in some form. Part of this most recent reflection is due to recent conversations that I have had while running with one of my friends, but mostly this battle is just so ingrained into my system, that it is just life.
Anyway, I must have been needing uplifting and encouraging reminders again because our ward bulletin at church yesterday had a very good quote on this topic. Then last night, a friend posted a Mormon Message on Facebook that really touched me.
To begin, I am going to type a couple quotes that I KNOW I have shared before, but I am just keeping my "list" updated and current.
The first is one I do not know who it is by. "Fear is one of the most powerful and common human emotions. But it is the opposite of faith. Faith in Jesus Christ gives us strength to face and conquer the challenges life brings. Having faith in Jesus Christ means relying completely on Him...Knowing that even though you do not understand all things, He does."
The next is by President Gordon B. Hinkley: "In my 90 plus years, I have learned a secret. I have learned that when good mean and good women face challenges with optimism, things will always work out! Truly things always work out! Despite how difficult circumstances may look at the moment, those who have faith and move forward with a happy spirit will find that things always work out."
The next one is the one from church yesterday. It is by Elder Rex D. Pinegar: " Do not fear the challenges of life, but approach them patiently, with faith in God. He will reward your faith with power not only to endure, but also to overcome hardships, disappointments, trials, and struggles of daily living. Through diligently striving to live the law of God and with faith in Him, we will not be diverted from our eternal course either by the ways or the praise of the world."
Finally, the Mormon Message video that my friend shared. I had seen clips and portions of this particular video before, but either I have not seen the entire video or I just was never "tuned in" enough to catch the quote by Elder Jeffery Holland at the very end. Here is the link to the video. It is a very inspirational video about a husband and a wife that survived a plane crash. She was badly badly burned and has had to rethink and relearn the way she does most daily activities in the caring of her children. If you have time, watch the entire 8 minute video. If not, the above statements is the basic overview/summary of the video. At the very end, Elder Holland comes on with the following quote. I looked it up online, and I am typing more than what is stated in the video.
Elder Holland says, "Whenever these moments of our extremity come, we must not succumb to the fear that God has abandoned us. ...We must continue to believe, continue to have faith, continue to pray, and plead with heaven even if we feel for a time out prayers are not heard and that God has somehow gone away. He is there. Our prayers are heard, and when we weep, He and the angels of heaven weep with us. ...
(From the video now.) "When suffering, we may in fact be nearer to God than we have ever been in our entire lives. That knowledge can turn every such situation into a would-be temple. Regarding our Earthly journey, the Lord has promised, 'I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.' (Doctrine and Covenants 84:88)
"That is an everlasting declaration of God's love and care for us, including-and perhaps especially-in times of trouble." (Taken from "Lessons from Liberty Jail," September 2009 Ensign-great talk, by the way...another recommended read)
I have just loved these quotes and I continually finding myself repeating them or portions of them throughout my day.
So, food for your thoughts. :)
Anyway, I must have been needing uplifting and encouraging reminders again because our ward bulletin at church yesterday had a very good quote on this topic. Then last night, a friend posted a Mormon Message on Facebook that really touched me.
To begin, I am going to type a couple quotes that I KNOW I have shared before, but I am just keeping my "list" updated and current.
The first is one I do not know who it is by. "Fear is one of the most powerful and common human emotions. But it is the opposite of faith. Faith in Jesus Christ gives us strength to face and conquer the challenges life brings. Having faith in Jesus Christ means relying completely on Him...Knowing that even though you do not understand all things, He does."
The next is by President Gordon B. Hinkley: "In my 90 plus years, I have learned a secret. I have learned that when good mean and good women face challenges with optimism, things will always work out! Truly things always work out! Despite how difficult circumstances may look at the moment, those who have faith and move forward with a happy spirit will find that things always work out."
The next one is the one from church yesterday. It is by Elder Rex D. Pinegar: " Do not fear the challenges of life, but approach them patiently, with faith in God. He will reward your faith with power not only to endure, but also to overcome hardships, disappointments, trials, and struggles of daily living. Through diligently striving to live the law of God and with faith in Him, we will not be diverted from our eternal course either by the ways or the praise of the world."
Finally, the Mormon Message video that my friend shared. I had seen clips and portions of this particular video before, but either I have not seen the entire video or I just was never "tuned in" enough to catch the quote by Elder Jeffery Holland at the very end. Here is the link to the video. It is a very inspirational video about a husband and a wife that survived a plane crash. She was badly badly burned and has had to rethink and relearn the way she does most daily activities in the caring of her children. If you have time, watch the entire 8 minute video. If not, the above statements is the basic overview/summary of the video. At the very end, Elder Holland comes on with the following quote. I looked it up online, and I am typing more than what is stated in the video.
Elder Holland says, "Whenever these moments of our extremity come, we must not succumb to the fear that God has abandoned us. ...We must continue to believe, continue to have faith, continue to pray, and plead with heaven even if we feel for a time out prayers are not heard and that God has somehow gone away. He is there. Our prayers are heard, and when we weep, He and the angels of heaven weep with us. ...
(From the video now.) "When suffering, we may in fact be nearer to God than we have ever been in our entire lives. That knowledge can turn every such situation into a would-be temple. Regarding our Earthly journey, the Lord has promised, 'I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.' (Doctrine and Covenants 84:88)
"That is an everlasting declaration of God's love and care for us, including-and perhaps especially-in times of trouble." (Taken from "Lessons from Liberty Jail," September 2009 Ensign-great talk, by the way...another recommended read)
I have just loved these quotes and I continually finding myself repeating them or portions of them throughout my day.
So, food for your thoughts. :)
Friday, August 24, 2012
Happy Birthday Mom
On August 24, 1957, the world was blessed with the presence of this wonderful, caring individual, Connie Sue Rupp Haas. Yes, I am biased. She IS mom...BUT I am to think that she is a pretty fantastic and incredibly talented individual. I always try to do a post to honor her on her birthday. That being said, I do not know if there is that much that I can say today, right now, that I have not said in previous years and posts. I just LOVE her. Sure, we had our parent/child disputes and disagreements, but she honestly was one of my best friends. Everything I am, everything I do, everything I hope to do, and everything I have accomplished can in some form be attributed to this wonderful lady. Though I am grateful for the lessons that I did learn from her while she lived, I do wish I would have paid more attention and learned so much more from her.
My mom taught me that you can have faith and believe how and what you want to believe without "soap boxing." She had an incredible and beautiful testimony of the Gospel and the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She loved to serve and give back to her community and church. She knew how to work and instilled the importance of hard work into me. Whatever hobby or talent she had, she willingly and lovingly shared with me to teach me-and she did so without pushing me into something that I did not want to do. Her purpose was to teach and expand my backgrounds.
On this day, I had the privilege to go to the Idaho Falls Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was purely coincidence that I was able to attend on my mom's birthday, but it truly was an honor. I can not adequately, properly, or appropriately express my feelings I had today on a public blog, but I am grateful that I was invited by a dear friend to attend today.
Happy 55th Birthday Mom!
Monday, August 6, 2012
RJ is the BIG 4!!!!!!
Last Friday, I took RJ to the doctor for his routine check up. I love the fact that he is healthy and rarely sick so we can get away with once a year doctor visits.
Our boy is BIG, literally. He weighs 47.4 pounds and is 45.8 inches tall.
He is so funny and we are so blessed and grateful to have him in our lives. He keeps us laughing and on our toes.
Our boy is BIG, literally. He weighs 47.4 pounds and is 45.8 inches tall.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
July 2012-Canon City, CO
Here we arrive in our last significant noteworthy stop of Canon City. Picture overload time.... Actually, I will try to keep it brief. TRY being the key word. Ok, honestly it will not be that bad. In Canon City, CO, we get to visit with my mom's side of the family. This includes anyone from her mom's (the Adams side) AND her dad's (the Rupp side) side of the family that we can see as they all mostly live in that area. Some years, this is like 4 people and other years it is like 50 plus people.
We were officially in Colorado for RJ's real birthday, which by now was his 3rd 4th birthday, and his great grandma Rupp and great Aunt Charli pulled out all the stops for this 4 year old. There is a scenic railway that runs from Canon City through the Royal Gorge. I have been on it before and though it is beautiful, it is not too exciting for me. However, they purchased us all tickets for an afternoon ride on this train. By now, we ALL know how much RJ loves trains. Needless to say, we had a very VERY excited boy on our hands. The pictures below are of him with his ticket, with the conductor, with his daddy, and then out on the flatbed with his grandmother and aunt. It was a very enjoyable birthday for the boy. Afterwards, we went downtown to a local pizza parlor and ate pizza for his birthday.
My grandma has these very old slot machines in her house. RJ loves to play "money" with them. In this picture below he had just won on the dime machine. I have to say, my son is very VERY lucky when it comes to antique slot machines. He won so many times! He even had enough money left over to bring home to his piggy bank.
We were officially in Colorado for RJ's real birthday, which by now was his 3rd 4th birthday, and his great grandma Rupp and great Aunt Charli pulled out all the stops for this 4 year old. There is a scenic railway that runs from Canon City through the Royal Gorge. I have been on it before and though it is beautiful, it is not too exciting for me. However, they purchased us all tickets for an afternoon ride on this train. By now, we ALL know how much RJ loves trains. Needless to say, we had a very VERY excited boy on our hands. The pictures below are of him with his ticket, with the conductor, with his daddy, and then out on the flatbed with his grandmother and aunt. It was a very enjoyable birthday for the boy. Afterwards, we went downtown to a local pizza parlor and ate pizza for his birthday.
The next day, Wednesday, July 25, we had RJ's official 4th birthday party. Below is the Thomas the Train cake my aunt and I made. We had a train cake pan that was NOT Thomas "brand" and so we just converted it to a Thomas. RJ was happy regardless. We invited all the "aunts" and "uncles" and "cousins" from both the Rupp side and the Adams side of the family. We were hoping that some of the kids would be able to come so RJ would have friends, and he did! I am not posting nearly all the pictures. Below, there is a picture with all the balloons tied to the fence. First, I have to say, that I think that it is incredibly cool that my grandma found Thomas balloons. Anyway, RJ (at grandma's request) was forced to take a picture with each "family" that came. It is good for record purposes, but I have not included those here.
Again, this a picture of another wonderful lady that I greatly admire. She has lived through so much with the depression and having 7 siblings. She has experienced a ton of loss in her family...her husband, her parents, most her siblings, her daughter, 2 grandsons, 1 great-grandson, friends, etc. She has such a great optimistic attitude and always strives to not be down. The hair rollers in her hair are classic grandma. I don't remember a day that she hasn't curled her hair with them. She may kill me if she knows I posted this picture on the Internet though. :) Again, I am very grateful that RJ has gotten to know this wonderful lady and enjoy her company.
July 2012-Lamar, CO
Our next stop was in my hometown, Lamar, CO. Usually this stop would not warrant a post, except for this time we were there 1 1/2 days and actually had things happen that I feel I should post about.
We arrived into town and our first step was Wal-mart. Now, for those not from my town, this may seem odd, BUT for those of us who have left and come back, it is perfectly natural. We stop there first because we have to buy the amount of water we need for the duration of our stay. The tap water there comes out SO white and cloudy that you can not see through the glass. Really gross. Supposedly the restaurants and hotels are filtered...BUT we like to be cautious.
Enough of water. We got to town, bought water and a for sale sign, checked into the motel, went and ate dinner at BJ's (only the best place ever!!!!), then went and posted the sign at our final property in Colorado. By this time it was about 6:30 PM. I took RJ and Dale back to the motel and headed out to the bar...yes, I know..scary... In reality it was my 10 year class reunion and that is where they decided to meet for the first night's events. I had all but talked myself out of going because of the bar, but after the fact, I was so excited that I went. There were so many people there that I hadn't seen since the day I graduated. Some of them that was intentional (stories for another post) and others not so much, but regardless it was fun to talk and catch up. When people started getting drunk, I left and went to the hotel to sleep.
The next day was Saturday. It was a come and go day for me between the class reunion events. I actually kind of felt bad for RJ and Dale. I knew that this portion of the trip would be boring for them. Anyway, I woke up and ran 10 miles in my home town. THAT for me is impressive. When I left home, I could barely run a mile and it definitely was not an enjoyable mile either. I really like that time running and used it to think about my life and the lives of those people I saw the previous night. It was incredible for me to think about those that had changed and those that hadn't changed...and more importantly the events and growth that I have had to pass through personally throughout those 10 years. It was a very enlightening run.
Throughout the day, I came and went with class reunion events. By 11 AM that Saturday morning, we had a cash offer on our property. To some this may seem insignificant, but in this housing market, in my hometown, and considering we had been trying to sale for 2 years, IT is very significant. Flash forward 2 weeks and we are now under signed contract for that offer and are expected to close on August 14. We truly feel blessed. We know that Heavenly Father has been watching out for us and that this sale was supposed to happen right now at this time.
In between my comings and goings, I was able to go to the motel swimming pool with RJ and Dale for some quality family time and a break from the heat. I was proud of RJ. He has been super paranoid the past few years of water. We have had the kiddy pools at home and he would occasionally put his feet in them if we were lucky. So, this was RJ's first "big" pool. He LOVED it. They had these steps leading into it and the shallow end was 3 feet, so he was more than able to stand in it. We had a blast. There was a ball in there so we played catch and just splashed around. Sadly, this is the only picture from the entire Lamar stay.
We arrived into town and our first step was Wal-mart. Now, for those not from my town, this may seem odd, BUT for those of us who have left and come back, it is perfectly natural. We stop there first because we have to buy the amount of water we need for the duration of our stay. The tap water there comes out SO white and cloudy that you can not see through the glass. Really gross. Supposedly the restaurants and hotels are filtered...BUT we like to be cautious.
Enough of water. We got to town, bought water and a for sale sign, checked into the motel, went and ate dinner at BJ's (only the best place ever!!!!), then went and posted the sign at our final property in Colorado. By this time it was about 6:30 PM. I took RJ and Dale back to the motel and headed out to the bar...yes, I know..scary... In reality it was my 10 year class reunion and that is where they decided to meet for the first night's events. I had all but talked myself out of going because of the bar, but after the fact, I was so excited that I went. There were so many people there that I hadn't seen since the day I graduated. Some of them that was intentional (stories for another post) and others not so much, but regardless it was fun to talk and catch up. When people started getting drunk, I left and went to the hotel to sleep.
The next day was Saturday. It was a come and go day for me between the class reunion events. I actually kind of felt bad for RJ and Dale. I knew that this portion of the trip would be boring for them. Anyway, I woke up and ran 10 miles in my home town. THAT for me is impressive. When I left home, I could barely run a mile and it definitely was not an enjoyable mile either. I really like that time running and used it to think about my life and the lives of those people I saw the previous night. It was incredible for me to think about those that had changed and those that hadn't changed...and more importantly the events and growth that I have had to pass through personally throughout those 10 years. It was a very enlightening run.
Throughout the day, I came and went with class reunion events. By 11 AM that Saturday morning, we had a cash offer on our property. To some this may seem insignificant, but in this housing market, in my hometown, and considering we had been trying to sale for 2 years, IT is very significant. Flash forward 2 weeks and we are now under signed contract for that offer and are expected to close on August 14. We truly feel blessed. We know that Heavenly Father has been watching out for us and that this sale was supposed to happen right now at this time.
In between my comings and goings, I was able to go to the motel swimming pool with RJ and Dale for some quality family time and a break from the heat. I was proud of RJ. He has been super paranoid the past few years of water. We have had the kiddy pools at home and he would occasionally put his feet in them if we were lucky. So, this was RJ's first "big" pool. He LOVED it. They had these steps leading into it and the shallow end was 3 feet, so he was more than able to stand in it. We had a blast. There was a ball in there so we played catch and just splashed around. Sadly, this is the only picture from the entire Lamar stay.
The next day, Sunday, I woke up early to go to early morning breakfast with my best friends and "sister" Mary and her dad (my adopted dad). Feel free to judge me for going out on a Sunday if you wish. It was an enjoyable time for us. Though Mary and I have seen each other quite a bit since high school, it is still awesome to be able to spend quality time with her, which was one of the coolest parts of the class reunion for me. After that, we went to church in my home ward and I was able to see the people that were still there from when I was living there. The ward has changed SO much and in some ways, it made me sad that I didn't know that many people and in other ways, I was thrilled that they have so many new members.
From Lamar, we jumped in the car and headed to Canon City.
July 2012-Oklahoma
Our next stop was technically in Salina, KS for the night, but we always just get a hotel room, go out to eat, and then go to bed. So, it is not too exciting while there. The next major stop in our journey is Grove, OK. Here we visit with the Haas side of the family. This is the only time-once a year-that we get to see this part of our amazing family. While we were there, RJ got to celebrate his 2nd 4th birthday party. His great-aunt Karen and I made some super yummy red velvet cake pops and cookie monster cupcakes. RJ LOVED his "cake sucker".
On the Wednesday that we were there, we decided to head up to Springfield, MO to visit Bass Pro Shop. Below is RJ mimicking the bear. It was pretty dang cute. While at Bass Pro Shop, we were able to meet up with some cousins of mom's from the Adams side of the family. Most all the Adams family is in CO, and Susan and her family sometimes get to make the trek. However, this year, they were going to be unable to make their CO trip. I hadn't seen them since 2003. I felt incredibly blessed to be able to visit with them while we walked around the store. After Bass Pro Shop, we headed down to Branson, MO and were able to take RJ to The New Shanghai Circus acrobat show. It was his first ever concert/theatrical/performance experience. We really did not know how he would do, but he did great and liked the "dancers".
Also, while in OK, we spent every morning and evening out on the lake trying to fish. RJ loved this experience...as you can probably tell from his big smiles. In the first picture below, he is reeling in a fish. You can barely see the fish breaking the surface a ways out. However, what I LOVE LOVE LOVE about this picture is RJ's facial expression. It is priceless and I am so thrilled I was able to capture it.
This wonderful lady is my Grandmother Marjorie Haas. She is my father's mother and RJ's great grandmother (obviously). As far as I am aware, she is the last surviving Moffatt on her family line. She has been through so much in her life and I greatly respect her and admire her. More importantly, I am thankful every day that RJ has now gotten to see her and get to know her on these trips over the past 3 years. He loves his great grandmother dearly. Health wise, she has given us some scares over the last couple years, so we are grateful she is still a part of our earthly lives. She now has to use this walker full time for stability purposes. RJ just thought getting "rides" from his great grandma was the coolest thing ever!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)