The ALL night wrestling match

Haley LOVES, LOVES, LOVES sleeping with her stuffed animals.  She especially loves this big tan dog.  It is so funny to go in a check on her, long after we have tucked her in for the night.  It seems like more often then not, we come out of her room laughing.  Sometimes she is on top of the dog, and sometimes the dog is on top of her.  I wonder if she is waking up tired from her all night wresting match.  We sure love our cute little Haley.

I think he is getting the best of her here.  I had to take him off her sweaty head.



Two little buddies

It is so cute to watch Jace and Haley play together.  They sure do enjoy hanging out together.  I am certainly not trying to say that they always get along, and never fight.  That would be a big load of crap.  But, most of the time, they are just two little buddies.

These pictures are of Jace playing his Nintendo DS and Haley watching him.



Total excitement!



Friday Flashback

This flashback takes us back to when Haley was 3 years old. 

One evening we were driving to my sister Monica's house.  (On the drive to Monica's house, you pass several buildings that resemble the hospital here in town.)  Haley asked if that was the hospital where she was born.  We told her that it wasn't the hospital.  Haley replied, "Well it looks like the hospital!"  John said, "Haley you are very astute."  After John said that, Haley yelled, "I'm not STUPID!"  To Haley, the "astute" sounded like "stupid".

We all had to laugh.  She has always been such a little smarty.

Pictures

Recently, I took my kids pictures.  I guess I got a little carried away...I think I took about 400 pictures.  I just love taking pictures, especially pictures of my kids.  We took pictures in my backyard, and we also went to the sand dunes.  My kids ended up doing some hard core playing and rolling in the sand.  Oh, and did I mention, they were in their "good clothes".  Oh well, they had a great time.  We were out taking pictures and playing for several hours.  Time went by very quickly and before we knew it, it was getting dark and time to head home.  It was kind of like one last hurrah before snow.  And yes, we now have snow.

Haley is a cute little monkey.  I could just eat her up.

She got so excited when the wind started blowing the leaves around. 

Brynn is getting older.  I think she is getting really excited to start going to Young Womens soon.  She is also excited to start Junior High next year. 
She sure is growing up!

This picture kind of cracks me up.  Jace is just a fun kid.  He is a little embarrassed about his LARGE 9 year old teeth.  You know those awkward years where you had those great teeth.  Well, that is where he is now.  He smiled like this in a few pictures.  I think he felt better about not showing his pearly whites.  He looks like he is about to bust out laughing.

Riley is as tall as I am now.  I would be happy if she passed me up.  I always wish I was a little taller.

Haley

Last night Haley accidentally jabbed her gums and they were bleeding a little.  She kept asking me if she needed to go to see her dad at the office.  I told her that she would be okay, and that she did not need to go.  Haley kept telling me that it tasted so gross.  To get her point across she said, "This tastes like old gum stuck to a pole."  Oh boy, I hope she is not speaking from experience.

HuMoRoUs

This morning Haley was watching me get ready for the day.  I was looking in the mirror putting on makeup.  She asked me why I was putting makeup on.  (I'm not sure why she was asking because I do it everyday.)  I told her that I was going to the school to vote and I didn't want to scare anyone.  This intrigued her and she started asking questions.  Are they voting for you?  Why are you voting?  What are you voting for?

Then we got back on the makeup subject.  Haley told me it was a good thing that I was putting makeup on.  She then attempted to imitate screams from the people if I went to vote without makeup..."She is HIDEOUS!"  Thank you sweets for letting mommy know that it is important to wear makeup and not go out in public looking like Quasimodo.
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Today I went with John to lunch.  During one of our different conversations we got on the topic of being liked as a person.  John said to me, "Everyone likes you".  He questioned me on how I am able to get everyone to like me.  I joked and told him in a funny voice, "I am just a likable person".   Even though I know that this statement is a bunch of cow manure.  I know that not everyone likes me, and I guess frankly I don't really care.  I is what I is, baby.

John then went on to compare me to a cat.  He said that everyone is saying "here kitty-kitty" and everyone wants to pet me and hold me in their lap.  And every once in awhile I will scratch them with my sharp claws, and they will still try and pet me and be nice to me.

Then John said, "I am just like a dang dog...jumping up on everyone, trying to get them to like me---and they are saying, "Get away stupid dog."  He said that he is always trying to be nice to people and they still don't like him.  (Hog wash, I tell ya--people love John).

I told John that maybe he is one of those "farting dogs"---you just can't get too close because you will asphyxiate.  We both laughed about him being a farting dog.

Funny analogy sweets.
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5th Sunday Lesson

Yesterday was the 5th Sunday of the month, so they combined the Relief Society / Priesthood for a lesson.  Normally I would miss this, because I would be in Young Womens.  However, yesterday the bishop and his counselors were meeting with the youth so I was able to go be an "adult".

A man in the ward gave the lesson.  He is a lawyer here in town, and the lesson was about Living Wills, etc.  It was all good information.  When he started his lesson and announced what the topic was going to be about, I thought to myself, "Good thing I am not feeling emotional today".

While he talked my mind went---I thought about meeting with my mom and dad's lawyer before and after he passed away.  When he was very very sick, I went to a meeting with two of my brothers and parents.  My dad was making sure that all of his affairs were in order.  During the meeting, I sat and watched my dad wondering what he was feeling, wishing I could just make it all go away.  I was embarrassed that I couldn't contain my tears as I sat and listened.  And shortly after that meeting, meeting again with the lawyer after my dad passed away.

So much for not feeling emotional during the lesson at church....I could feel my face getting warm and tears welling up in my eyes.  So many of the things that he was saying, just made the emotions flood back.  I was wishing that I was sitting in the back of the room, in the corner.  But no, I had chosen a seat in the front side of the room, so that I was facing the majority of the people in the "L" shaped room.  Nice.  Hopefully I was able to be somewhat discrete as the tears began to fall.

Good heck, I miss my dad.

Halloween Party

Today we had our annual Halloween Party at my mom's house.  Each year we have a party with all of my siblings and their kids.  We had a great time hanging out, chatting, eating, and playing games.  The kids played several different games (fishing pond, pie eating contest, bean bag toss, candy walk).  Haley decided to dress up like a cheerleader this year.  She wore a T-shirt that she got when she participated in a cheer clinic at the high school and one of my old cheer skirts.  She was darling as usual.

Waiting in line for the fishing pond

  Jace was Mario a couple of years ago, and decided that he wanted to go as Mario again this year.  After all, he loves all the Mario video games.  He makes a cute little Mario if I do say so myself.

Mr. Mario Wilson

John and I dressed up like Dog Bounty Hunter and his wife Beth.  If for some reason you don't know who they are....

Here is our best rendition...  Oh boy.......This picture doesn't even LOOK like John.  I couldn't quit laughing at him in the car on the way there.  I just kept doing a double take.

Some of the kids getting ready for the pie eating contest

Brynn dressed up like a funky butterfly.  She looked cute and had a blast in the pie eating contest.  I'm not sure who won.  I think they were all too busy laughing.

Brynn during the pie eating contest

Riley was a super hero in her Superman under ware.  She was being crazy on the trampoline and I had to snap a few pictures.  She is such a goof.

Super Riley to the rescue!



Friday Flashback...on a Sunday. Okay, so I'm a little slow...

What is a Friday Flashback, you ask?  Well it is something that happened a long time ago...something that I would like to document, so I don't forget.

This Friday Flashback takes us back to 1992.  John and I had only been married about 6 months or so.  We had just recently moved into a lady's house, her name was Annabelle, and she was leaving for an 18 month mission for the church--we were going to house sit for her. 

Annabelle's house is a completely different blog post in and of itself.  (I did love Annabelle, she was a great lady!  Her house was just a little spooky to a young married girl.)  A few adjectives that could describe the house...chilling, creepy, eerie, horrendous, intimidating, shocking, spooky, hair-raising, horrifying, spine-chilling, unnerving--the list could go on.  Sorry Annabelle, I tend to call it like it is.  Did I mention that her house was VERY old.  So we basically lived in a crypt for 18 months.
 
One evening I was preparing dinner in the old kitchen of the old house.  John was on the phone, and I was at the stove attempting to make white gravy.  When I say "attempting" to make gravy, I mean it.  Like I already said, we had only been married a few months and I was most certainly NOT a gourmet chef.  I was more of an easy-bake oven kind of gal.

I was using the "flour" that Annabelle had left in a canister to make my delicious white gravy.  Try as I may, I could not get the gravy to thicken.   The more I tried the more frenzied I got.  After trying for SEVERAL minutes, I started to pitch a little temper-tantrum-fit.  I think I may have even been stomping around the kitchen, and I hate to think of what was coming out of my mouth.  You get the picture.

Eventually, John came into the kitchen and told me that I needed to take a break and come back to the "gravy" in a minute.  I forcefully told him "NO...not a chance"--I was very adamant about it.  Those of you that know me well, know that I am stubborn and very determined when it comes to completing something.

I continued to try to thicken the gravy, which lead to more stomping, which lead to more anger.  Eventually John came to the conclusion that I needed to be removed from the kitchen.  As he came to physically remove me from the kitchen, I spread my legs and anchored myself to the counter top.  It became a complete WWF competition in the kitchen, and I was not going down without a fight.  The harder he pulled, the tighter my grip.  Ultimately, John was stronger and was able to detach me from the counter and haul me off into the living room.  He sat my fuming fanny down on the couch--I don't remember if it was accompanied with a "lecture series" or not.  What he probably wanted to do was turn me over his knee and spank my butt, swat my behinder, tan my hide, paddle my rump, work me over, whatever you want to call it.

I sat there in the living room and fumed for a few minutes, and then went back into the kitchen.  When I was able to gather my wits and look closely at the "flour" I had been using, I discovered that it was actually powdered sugar.

The complete definition of my situation...stupid person ,blockhead, donkey, dope, dunce, fool, idiot, imbecile, jerk, nitwit, numbskull, simpleton, twit.

Just imagine how I felt as I tried to explain to John what went wrong in my "gravy making process".  It wasn't the ingredients, it was the chef.  And instead of wearing a chef's hat, I was wearing a dunce cap.

Good thing I am married to such a kind a patient guy.  He simply let me blow my top, pitch a fit, rant on and on, and then come back to see the error of my ways.  At that point I'm sure that John realized he was in for more then he bargained for, marrying this little lady.

Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege. --Unknown

Come what may, and love it

For a few weeks now, I have had the saying "Come what may, and love it", running through my mind.  I revisited the talk that was given by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, titled "Come what may, and love it".  The following is from that talk... 

When I was young I loved playing sports, and I have many fond memories of those days. But not all of them are pleasant. I remember one day after my football team lost a tough game, I came home feeling discouraged. My mother was there. She listened to my sad story. She taught her children to trust in themselves and each other, not blame others for their misfortunes, and give their best effort in everything they attempted.

When we fell down, she expected us to pick ourselves up and get going again. So the advice my mother gave to me then wasn’t altogether unexpected. It has stayed with me all my life.

“Joseph,” she said, “come what may, and love it.”

I have often reflected on that counsel.

I think she may have meant that every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result.

There may be some who think that General Authorities rarely experience pain, suffering, or distress. If only that were true. While every man and woman on this stand today has experienced an abundant measure of joy, each also has drunk deeply from the cup of disappointment, sorrow, and loss. The Lord in His wisdom does not shield anyone from grief or sadness.

For me, the Lord has opened the windows of heaven and showered blessings upon my family beyond my ability to express. Yet like everyone else, I have had times in my life when it seemed that the heaviness of my heart might be greater than I could bear. During those times I think back to those tender days of my youth when great sorrows came at the losing end of a football game.

How little I knew then of what awaited me in later years. But whenever my steps led through seasons of sadness and sorrow, my mother’s words often came back to me: “Come what may, and love it.”

How can we love days that are filled with sorrow? We can’t—at least not in the moment. I don’t think my mother was suggesting that we suppress discouragement or deny the reality of pain. I don’t think she was suggesting that we smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of pretended happiness. But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.

If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.

I really appreciate that last part about approaching adversities wisely, because it CAN be the times that we grow the most.  And of course when you are growing, you are happy!  No one walks away from a trial in life without taking a good hard look at things.  I guess it is our choice, or agency, as to what we do with the things we have learned. 

Having lost my dad, it has really made me look at life differently--my perspective has changed.  I want to try a little harder, be a little better, I have more empathy and love.  There have been many days that I have asked myself..."What is the point?".  We are here on the earth to "prove ourselves" and what exactly am I proving?  

Elder L. Tom Perry said, We can’t predict all the struggles and storms in life, not even the ones just around the next corner, but as persons of faith and hope, we know beyond the shadow of any doubt that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and the best is yet to come.

Ooooo, I love the sound of that..."the best is yet to come".

**If you want to read Elder Wirthlin's entire talk, click on the title of this post, "Come what may and love it". 

Line in Heaven

I feel so extremely blessed to have been "born of goodly parents". I am so very grateful that I was raised by such a great set of parents and that I have such amazing and wonderful brothers and sisters. To me, I think it is totally amazing that 12 brothers and sisters can get along so well, and love each other so much.  (Not to mention all the great brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law). I must have been doing something right when I got in that line in heaven.  



My sweet, incredible mom and 7 amazing sisters

  

My dad surrounded but all of his daughters.  He was our biggest fan. 
We miss him so much!



My parents and all my siblings--but one brother (Kevin). 
He couldn't make it for the picture.



This picture includes almost everyone. 
It is missing one family and a few missionaries. 
My mom always says she has "joy and rejoicing in her posterity".




I must say that I have the greatest husband and kids. 
I feel truly blessed.





Colts treat

Riley likes to "trash talk" back and forth with the Austin family, in our ward, about which NFL team is best.  Of course, we are big time Colts fans here at our house.  We have great memories of living in Indiana.  My kids ask quite often if we can go back and visit.  One of these years, we will definitely have to take a vacation to Indiana.  I always remind them that a lot of the friends that we had out there, no longer live there.  But, we still have lots of friends that we love out there, and would love to see again.

Yesterday, the Colts were playing the Denver Broncos.  (Which just so happens to be the beloved team of the Austin family).  It was also the day after Sydne Austin's birthday.  Riley got up early and made Sydne some brownies for her birthday and the big game day.

She is holding the pan of brownies upside down.  That's okay...the Colts still won. :)

We love you Austin Family!!

Letters from Heaven

Monday, I was feeling very sad and sorry for myself. I just couldn't seem to pull out of a terrible funk that I was in.

I spoke to a sweet lady at church that compared losing a loved one with the ocean. She told me that there are days that you will feel a little sad, like a small wave. There will be other days that the waves of sadness will come crashing in like a tsunami.

I recall feeling like that after my brother Brian died, only losing my dad, I also feel a little scared. He was the great big safety net for all of his kids, and my mom. He always knew what to do, and had great advice.

Back to Monday....This particular day, the waves were crashing in and rolling over the top of me.  It just seemed like a black cloud was following me around that day. I knew that I needed to just get busy and do some things to take my mind off of it. I started looking for a box of thank you cards, and I thought that I may have some in the cedar chest in my bedroom. I opened the cedar chest and noticed a box that I had not opened for quite sometime. I knew that the box didn't contain my thank you cards, but was just curious as to what was inside. As I poured the contents of the box out on my bed, an envelope fell out with my name on it, in my dad's handwriting.

In the envelope there were three different letters written to me from my dad. They were written years and years ago (when I was a teenager), but the content still applies today. Each letter was several pages long. In them, my dad told me how much he loved me, how proud he was of me, and many wonderful things. He also bore testimony to me and gave me council.

He said, "I want to encourage you with all my heart to read the scriptures daily and develop a love of them, and pray daily for the Lord's spirit to strengthen you. The things and ideas of the world will end some day, but the eternal truths will last forever".

As I read through the letters, tears just began to flow. It was exactly what I needed, right then and there. It was as if my dad could see that I was having a hard time and wanted to make sure that I knew that I was loved by him. It was a message of comfort and reassurance, a very tender mercy shown to me from the Lord.

Jumbled thoughts.....

This post is completely jumbled thoughts that have been running through my mind....

It is amazing how fast this last week went, and yet it still feels like a bad dream. I'm having a hard time with the fact that my dad is gone. I can't believe that I may be on the earth longer without my dad then I was on the earth with him.

I went to the temple by myself on Saturday and couldn't believe how choked up I got at the end of the session. I sat in the temple for a long time and just had time to think.

My mind has been so consumed lately with different thoughts. Before my dad passed away, I was constantly worried about him and also about my mom. It seemed like I was dropping the ball when it came to my schedule and tasks that I should be completing. My mind was full of worry. I was jumpy ever time the phone rang late at night. Could this be the dreaded phone call?

And now my mind is full of sadness. I lye in bed at night and my mind will not shut down. I worry about my mom, I worry about my siblings, and the funny thing is---the worrying is not changing, fixing, or helping anyone. (And it sure is making me tired). A tired mama is a grouchy mama. You know how the old saying goes, "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."

This morning I was thinking about all the things my dad worked for all his life. He worked hard to be able to enjoy the "niceties" in life. Beautiful house, beautiful yard, nice cars, I guess just all their "stuff" that it is still here and he is gone. I have always known that you don't get to take anything with you. I get that fact. But, when you lose someone close to you, it sure does make you stop and think about things and what the point is....why we are here!

I was reading over a talk that President Monson gave a few years ago. In it he says,

....How fragile life, how certain death. We do not know when we will be required to leave this mortal existence. And so I ask, “What are we doing with today?” If we live only for tomorrow, we’ll have a lot of empty yesterdays today. Have we been guilty of declaring, “I've been thinking about making some course corrections in my life. I plan to take the first step—tomorrow”? With such thinking, tomorrow is forever. Such tomorrows rarely come unless we do something about them today.

I learned even more about my dad and his character while talking to different people this past week. His honesty, his integrity, his loyalty. He was a man of great faith, he loved a challenge, he completed EVERY task with 150% gusto. I have asked myself, why can't I be more like that? In my eyes, my dad was always on the right course. He didn't need to make any "course corrections".

I guess all I can say is that I AM making some "course corrections" because I want to be just like him.

News Paper Article

This newspaper article was printed on September 14, 2010. I think it was very well written.

Business leader dies at 69
By CLARK CORBIN
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Influential Idaho Falls businessman, community leader and philanthropist Doug Andrus Jr. died Sunday following a long battle with cancer.

Andrus, 69, is remembered by family and friends as a successful businessman who thanked the community for its support by investing his time and money in local youth and religious programs.

"He'll be remembered for his humility, as a humble man of integrity," Bonneville County Commissioner Roger Christensen said.

Andrus is perhaps best known as a co-owner of the company that bears his name, Doug Andrus Distributing of Idaho Falls. The business -- known across the West for its signature red tractor-trailers -- was formed in 1937 by Andrus' parents, Doug Sr. and Veatrice.

Born in 1941, Andrus grew up in Idaho Falls and supported himself by driving trucks for his father's business while studying finance and management at Ricks College and Brigham Young University. In 1975, Andrus and his brother, Heber, bought the company when their father retired, Heber Andrus said.

Together, the Andrus brothers guided the company from its modest roots as a six-truck operation to its current status as the largest Idaho-based trucking company. Today, the company maintains a fleet of 270 trucks and does business across the United States and throughout western Canada. The Andrus brothers also started Dad's Travel Center truck stops and own the Andco Leasing real estate development company.

"It's kind of fun to look back and see what we were able to accomplish together," Heber Andrus said.

Andrus regularly used his fleet of vehicles to transport canned goods to local food banks and even sent truckloads of supplies to Hurricane Katrina relief centers on the Gulf Coast.

In January 2009, Doug Andrus Jr. was presented with the Grand Teton Chapter of the BYU Management Society's inaugural Granite Pillar Award -- an award recognizing ethics in the business world.

"Doug has demonstrated a commitment to live by moral and ethical standards in both his personal life as well as in his business associations," society President Art Rammell said at the time.

Although he was known by many for his accomplishments in the business world, those closest to Andrus said his involvement with the Boy Scouts of America and The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints were his proudest achievements.

"Doug had a great love and support for Scouting, which he exhibited with his time and generous support to the Scout program," said Grand Teton Council Scout Executive Clarke Farrer, adding that Andrus served on the executive council for more than 20 years.

Andrus also held various leadership roles within the LDS church, including those of stake president, sealer in the Idaho Falls Temple and mission president in the Nevada Las Vegas West Mission.

"He always wanted to be a missionary for the church," Heber Andrus said. "His service in church was probably the most important thing to him."

Melaleuca Inc. CEO Frank VanderSloot said Andrus, as an LDS home teacher, gently guided him through difficult personal times in his life -- all without passing judgment.

"In my opinion, Doug is one of the best examples of just being a good, gracious man that I ever have seen in my life," VanderSloot said. "I've told many people that if I could be like someone, I'd like to be more like Doug Andrus."

Andrus is survived by his wife of nearly 47 years, Deanna. The Andrus family had 13 children and 56 grandchildren. Memorial services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Eagle Rock Stake Center, 2020 S. Charlotte.

The Viewing and Funeral

SUNDAY
Sunday afternoon we spent a long time making phone calls to my dad's closest friends informing them of his passing. It was extremely hard calling friends that he loved and loved him so dearly. They were all so sad to hear the news.

It seemed like Sunday was just a blur after we got home from the hospital. We immediately went to work preparing the Life Sketch, Obituary, funeral program, and collecting pictures for a slide show. There was just so much to do. Luckily there are enough children in the family that we were able to divide and conquer. I had the task of scanning pictures and collecting pictures to give to the funeral home so that they could put together a slide show. I was not alone on this task, I had help from several brothers and sisters. We also had to come up with 4 songs to be put to the slide show.

MONDAY
It was amazing to see people showing up with food, flowers, kind words, and more food and still more food. The kindness just washed in. My Aunt Janet showed up Monday morning in a pickup with her daughter Tammy and daughter-in-law Melanie. They backed the pickup in the driveway and it was ENTIRELY full of food. Aunt Janet, her children, Uncle Heber & Carolyn and children, purchased enough food to feed an army. I just sat and cried when I saw their kindness. My mom had been in the hospital so much the last couple of months that there just wasn't much food in the house. It was just simply amazing. I still tear up when I think about it.

One sweet lady in my parents ward spent the entire day baking cinnamon bread. She wanted each child to have a loaf and then some. I believe she made 15+ loaves for us. The counter tops were full of cakes, cookies, lasagna, rolls, fruit, vegetables, the list goes on and on.

Monday morning several of my siblings and mom went to the funeral home to pick out a casket and go through all the details. The funeral home is the same funeral home that helped with my brothers funeral 28 years ago. They are wonderful people and also close friends. One of the funeral directors is a close personal friend to my brother Curtis. His name is Brian, and they went to school together. Brian spent a lot of time at my parents house over the years. My mom would frequently give him haircuts and feed him. As Brian, my mom, and siblings were going over the itemized bill they noticed that at the bottom it read---"Pancake and Haircut discount" with a large dollar amount next to it. My mom jumped up from the table and ran around and hugged Brian. I thought that was so sweet.

We spent Monday evening at the church setting up several display tables for the viewing. We decided not to have the viewing at the funeral home due to the number of people that would be attending. I am certainly glad that we did it that way. Woods Funeral home also set up 2 different locations, in the church, for a slide show. We knew that people would be waiting in line for a long time and we wanted to make it as comfortable as possible for them. It was a lot of hard work, but I know that people really enjoyed looking at everything.

TUESDAY
Tuesday morning we went to the funeral home to see dad dressed in his temple clothes. I wasn't expecting dad to look as good as he did. I can honestly say that I don't think I have ever quite seen someone look so good after passing away. His coloring was so good, I would have thought that he was sleeping---only he wasn't snoring like he normally would be. It was a very peaceful time at the funeral home.

We were asked to be at the church 1 hour early for the viewing. We got there and people were already lining up for the viewing. The viewing was supposed to go from 6-9. I think we set the record for the longest viewing in Woods Funeral history. The viewing started at 5:00 p.m. and went until just after 11:00 p.m.. We stood in line for just over 6 hours. Most people waited in line for 2 1/2hours to get in. What a tribute to my dear sweet dad. When we apologized to people for the long wait in line, they simply said, "I would have waited longer. I wouldn't have missed it". I remember one lady in line saying, "...when your dad got to heaven, I'm sure that they rolled out the red carpet for him." I loved that comment. I got home around 11:45 the house was quiet, and of course, I couldn't fall asleep.

WEDNESDAY
We had to be to the church at 8:30. Once again people showed up early for the viewing. We stood in line for the viewing until 20 minutes to 11:00. At that time, the funeral director had us go down the halls of the church and shake all the people's hands that were still in line. There were so many kind words spoken.

Elder L. Tom Perry, from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was one of the speakers at the funeral. When he came in the Relief Society Room and shook our hands, and hugged my mom, tears just started to flow. What a sweet man to take time out of his extremely busy schedule to come and speak, and offer kind words of support. My parents got to know Elder Perry when he stayed in their home during Stake Conference and when he set them apart as Mission Presidents. They had a mutual love and respect for each other.

As we had the family prayer and said our goodbyes to my dad, I just had a huge break down. I completely could not control my emotions. I had a good, hard, LOUD, cry--frankly it was a little embarrassing. But, I just couldn't help myself.

The funeral went as follows:

Vocal Chorus-------------Sons and Sons-in-Law -
"Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy"

Life Sketch--------------Janet Orchard (Sister), Lori Murdoch (Daughter)

Speaker------------------Heber Andrus

Vocal Chorus-------------Andrus Daughters -
"Beautiful Savior"

Speaker------------------President Howard Stewart

Vocal Chorus-------------Las Vegas West Missionaries

Speaker------------------Elder L. Tom Perry

Vocal Chorus-------------Andrus Family -
"In a Coming Day"

When the funeral ended and the family was standing to leave, my aunt started playing "Called to Serve" on the organ.  The missionaries on the stand started singing along, very softly and reverently.  Soon, the congregation spontaneously joining in.  They sang all three verses of the song and finished with "God be with you till we meet again."

He fought the good fight

Sunday afternoon, my dad lost a 6 1/2 year battle with cancer. He passed away surrounded by 11 of his 12 living children. That day will forever change my life. He was absolutely the most amazing man that I have ever known. His devotion to his family and the church could never be matched. I have learned so many things from him, just from his example.

The Thursday before he passed away, he wanted to get his home teaching done, but was too sick to get off the couch. He called the lady that he teaches and asked her if she would possibly come to his house. She came, and he taught her the home teaching lesson while lying flat on the couch. We told him that we should have taken a picture of him while home teaching. We thought that it would make a good picture for people to check out at the church library, or be in the gospel art kit. The picture would have to explain that the home teacher was the one on the couch and not the other way around. He thought that was pretty funny. His devotion to the church and his callings was amazing. It was his hobby and love.

My dad had been in and out of the hospital 5 different times in the past couple of months. Recently he was in the hospital for 9 days, was out for 2 days, and then returned to the hospital for his final time on the earth. When he went into the hospital the last time, the doctor told him that his white blood cell count was at zero and there was nothing left that could be done. At that point they called it "comfort care". They just planned on keeping him free from pain as best as they could. The doctor told my mom that he would probably only live another 12 hours. We were devastated to know that our time with him was over.

We spent the next few days by his side every waking moment. I told him, completely teasing, that when he got to heaven I wanted him to find my brother Brian and just punch him in the arm once for me. Brian was my older brother that passed away at age 12, I being 11. As you can imagine, he did a fair amount of teasing. I love and miss my brother. That made my dad smile.

The first day in the hospital, he was able to visit with all of his kids and grand kids, but was very tired. He could rarely finish a thought before falling to sleep. We spent quality time with him, telling him how much we loved him. We sang songs to him. Every time we would finish a song, he would tell us how beautiful it was. At one point my sister said, "Dad, we love you" and he replied, "I hope you know..." and he didn't have the strength to finish the thought. But, we knew--and we cried.

On Saturday night after having been there for 11 hours, I went home tired and numb. I had only been asleep for 1 hour when my sister called and told me to hurry up to the hospital. I ran all the way down the halls to get to his room. He was in bad shape that night, and it was extremely hard to watch. We could only make out a few words that night, "I hurt". They gave him stronger medicine to get him through the night. At 3:00 a.m. he slept and never woke up again.

We spent Sunday afternoon, listening to Music and the Spoken Word. It was amazing how well his stats were during the program. Early afternoon we noticed that his breathing was slowing down. When we realized that things were looking bad, we called my sister Lori and she rushed up. We kept telling my dad that Lori was on her way. We were watching the monitors in a panic hoping that Lori would make it in time. Finally we shouted, "Dad she's here" and as she rounded the corner, he took his last breath and was gone. It was as if you could see his spirit leaving his body. I have the hugest hole in my heart, and I know that it will take a long time to heal.

II Timothy 2:6-8

For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

News broadcast about my dad

News broadcast about my dad...


Link

From the past....

I came across these two pictures today of Haley and just had to share them. You can just count each and every little fat roll on that body! She also looks like she may be in the market for a training bra. Good grief she was a little Buddha.



See the resemblance?


How can you NOT smile looking at this? Not sure how she could see past those cheeks.

Disappointment Peak - Sept 2010

No "Disappointment" here! John and Riley spent this past Saturday in the Tetons and apparently had a blast. They had been planning a hike for a couple weeks and the weather turned out to be wonderful. They took the seats out of the van and slept at the base of the Grand Teton Friday night with our good friend Dave W. and his 3 kids, Kaleb, Avery, and Ethan in the next car over.
They woke up at 5:30 and were on the trail by 6:00. They were on the trail 11 hours, hiked 12 miles, and climbed 4886 feet (1489 meters or 13.5 football fields or ~488 stories). They are both hobbling around today and it's funny to watch/listen to them. They had a blast though! Riley said it was a great experience and John said he was extemely proud of her. John says she kept right up with Dave and the kids and always had high spirits. He gets a little teary-eyed when he talks about how proud he is of her. He's a little softy! She took her camera and here are a couple of pictures. The last one shows how proud Dad is of Daughter!


Photo to Right: Disappointment Peak is the sharp one right above Riley's head. The Grand is to the right of John's head, and Teewinot is the peak in the right corner of the photo. John has done all 3 now! We're proud of him too! Mostly for getting the kids out into the mountains!

Trailhead: Lupine Meadows Elevation - 6732 ft / 2052 m
Disappointment Peak: Elevation - 11618 ft / 3541 m

Back to School

Well, we are back to the grind stone. The 2010-2011 school year is officially in session!

We woke up the first day of school and Jace had a fever. I couldn't believe it. Nothing like starting the year off with a bang. So, I kept him home for the day. The second day of school, Riley left without taking her binder that she needs for every class. So, of course I had to run it to the school. Now here we are the 4th day of school and once again Jace is home with a fever. What the crap!! Great first week! Hope that tomorrow goes well! Also hope that this is not a sign of the school year to come. Seesh!

My kids all have such great teachers this year. I'm so excited to have them and know that they will do great things with my kids.

Haley is in love with Kindergarten already. She was not nervous for a second to march through the school doors. She was so ready and excited to go that I didn't even get teary eyed. John says that I am getting callused in my old age. I was just happy that she was happy.

Running to the car to head to school!!

Haley with her new teacher, Mrs. T.



The fun large teeth faze. Good thing he is so cute! I think that this will be a great year for Jace. We love his teacher! Jace has such a positive, happy attitude that she will love him too!


Brynn is the "6th grade big-woman-on-campus" this year. I can't believe that she is 6th grade and will be going into Young Womens in a couple of months! Whoa!!! SLOW DOWN!


It was so much easier to drop Riley off at the Junior High this year. Last year she walked in by herself and she had that "deer in the headlights" look on her face. I got teary eyed when I drove away. This year, I picked up one of her friends. When I dropped them off at the school, the car in front of me was my brother-in-law Clay dropping off Stockton (Riley's cousin). Riley just loves Stockton. The three of them hopped out of the cars and started talking and laughing. They didn't give us lame parents a second thought. I just had to smile and giggle a little as I drove away.