Friday Flashback...There's a man in the house

Recently, Riley had to give a speech in class.  She told the class about a time when she thought there was a man in our house.  I'm not sure if I have blogged about this in the past.  If I have, bear with me.



This is about the age they were when this happened

This little incident took place in the fall of 2007.  We had only been in our house for about 2 years.  Riley was home babysitting (she was probably around 12).  She was watching Brynn (9), Jace (6), and Haley (2).


John and I were at a movie.  A totally stupid movie.  I still remember that we were sitting in the theater watching "The Game Plan" when our cell phones started ringing.  (The movie was so not worth all the drama that took place that night.)

John left the theater to find out why Leslie P. was calling us (she is my dear friend and neighbor across the street).  I was sitting there feeling worried that my house was on fire or something.  John came back to tell me that all of our kids were over at her house.  Something to the fact that they got scared and thought someone was in the house.  I'm like, "What the CRAP!"  The story from the kids is this...

Riley was downstairs with the kids when she thought she heard someone trying to open the front door.  Then, she thought that she heard someone in the house.  She sent Brynn to get the phone.  When Riley proceeded to call John and I, she couldn't get a dial tone because there was a phone off  the hook.  Riley sent Brynn upstairs to hang the phone up (what? send her upstairs where the man is!).  Shortly after, Brynn came running downstairs crying saying there was a man dialing the phone (what she didn't realize, was that it was Riley downstairs on the phone trying to make a call).

Riley immediately jumped up and grabbed all the kids and headed out the garage door, over to Leslie's house.  When they arrived at Leslie's house all 4 kids were in tears.  Haley was in nothing but under ware (if we recall it right) and I believe Jace was also sporting his under ware and a T-shirt.  The kids told Leslie that John and I were gone and there was a man inside our house.

Leslie's husband Layne and another neighbor Dave came over to check our house, (this is the embarrassing part) and they walked through the ENTIRE house looking in EVERY closet, looking under EVERY bed, checking EVERY shower.  They checked every where.  I recall that the house was a TOTAL mess that night...a TOTAL mess.  Having said that, I am so grateful for such wonderful neighbors that looked after my kids so well that night.  I'm also grateful for a smart daughter that thought to leave the house with all the kids immediately. 

After some checking, they realized that the front door creaking (and all those sounds) were coming from some other wonderful neighbors leaving us some treats for Halloween.  It sure was a scary night for the kids.  What a blessing that it was not what they thought it was, and that they were safe.

School Journal

John and I recently went to parent/teacher conference for Jace and Haley.  We were very pleased with the progress and hard work they have shown.  Haley's teacher had a stack of papers for us to look through.  I had to laugh out loud during the conference when I read the following two Journal pages from Haley.

She must have been busted for just sitting there....

This next one totally cracks me up.  It portrays me as a grouchy napper.  John and I just sat and laughed when we read it.  John said, "So this is what you do all day."  I also like the part "which means I am better than most people."  Ha ha!!  By the way, just to clarify--wasn't napping.  Have you ever heard a song played on the piano over and over and over and over and over?

Newspaper article

This past Sunday there was an article in the newspaper about my dad.  I was not even aware of it until someone at church said something to me about it.  It has been 2 1/2 years since he passed away.  I have thought a lot lately about his long battle with cancer.  Probably because my friend's mom was recently diagnosed with cancer and was only given 2-4 weeks to live.  They are currently treating her with aggressive chemo.  Every time I talk to her about it, I feel a flood of panic and worry for her.  Oh cancer, how I hate you.  John and I are both dad-less.  It really kind of stinks.  It seems like you can always go to your dad for advice and answers to questions.  Really been missing my dad lately. 

Yes or No?

Lately, Haley has been writing notes addressed to the family.  The notes usually say, "If you love me, sign yes.  If you do not love me, sign no."  We SOOO love that little miss!  She will be turning 8 on Monday.  One year closer to no more notes.  The cute little loves notes stop when they get older.  Bummer.

Feeling the spirit

A couple months ago Jace came home from school with a sign up sheet for 6th grade ski school.  He was so excited to participate!  Riley and Brynn both went to, and enjoyed ski school.  So, I filled out the form and sent some money to the school.  John decided he would take time off work (the afternoons of the ski school) and do it with him.  John scheduled the time off and they were ready to go.

The day before the first day of ski school, one of Jace's teachers had one last paper for all the students to have signed.  Jace said he was really excited when she came in the class with the paper.  As soon as he went up to get the paper, he said he heard a voice telling him not to go to ski school.

When school was over for the day, Jace came out to the car and started telling me about his experience.  He was having a hard time explaining it to me.  He was very emotional and he just kept telling me he didn't think he should go. 

That night, John and I talked to him and told he to pray about it, think about it, and he could decide in the morning.  The next morning, he told us that he didn't think it was a good idea to go.  He was sad that he was going to miss it, but he felt very comfortable with his decision.  He sure is a good boy!

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Last Monday night for Family Home Evening, Jace taught us a lesson on Agency and Accountability.  We watched THIS movie and had a nice discussion afterward. 

Somehow the discussion lead to when my dad passed away.  My dad passed away on a beautiful Sunday morning.  My husband and kids were at church, and I was up at the hospital with my mom and siblings.  I related to my kids about all the events that transpired that morning.  I told them how I wished they could have been there to witness it.  It was so amazing to see my dad sleeping peacefully up until the very end.  Right before he passed away, he started sitting up and mumbling up toward the ceiling.  It was very apparent that he was talking to someone.  It felt like there were many others in the room with us.

To me, it was a very spiritual experience.  It was almost as if you could SEE his spirit leaving his body.  I was so happy that I could be there at the end with my parents and all my siblings.

While I was relating this story to my family, I could see that he was having a huge affect on Jace.  He was having a hard time blinking back the tears.  After we were done, Jace just kept talking about how good he felt.  I told him that he should write it all down in his journal.  That night, he stayed up until about 11:00 frantically writing in his journal.  I am so grateful that he is growing up and starting to recognize the spirit.

The big break is over

Today was a slap in the face, as we were harassed by the ol' alarm clock, and had to wake up at the butt-crack-of-dawn.  Two weeks of staying up late and sleeping in, (waaaaaaaay in) has officially come to a screeching halt!  Ouch. 

I think it is good though.  We have been entirely way to lazy and non-productive.  My house is going to get whipped into shape today and hopefully tonight we will get to bed at a decent hour.  Getting back on a schedule is always so dang hard.

We had a nice Christmas break, even though things have been very stressful around here lately.  Without going into details, I will just say that raising teenagers is THE. HARDEST. JOB. ON. THE. PLANET!  There are days that I'm not so sure I'm going to survive it.  I'm either going to die from stress or go to jail for killing someone.  Just kidding...sort of. :)

Over the break we took a bunch of the grand kids to the snow covered sand dunes.  We had a great time!  It wasn't very cold at all.  We spent several hours sledding and having a great time.  The dunes we went to had some MASSIVE hills. 

The view from the top of the dunes.  You could see the Tetons really well.  What a beautiful sight!

 

Riley and Madi tackling the big hill on a tiny sled.

Small sled...totally biffed it!

Riley rolling over the top of Madi.  Ha ha!

Still in one piece!  Whew!

 

My brother-in-law took this picture, and I stole it from him. Thanks Rocky. This sled was like a huge bath tub. I was a little nervous sending these three down a massive hill (in a sled the size of a bath tub), but they were game. You can see the small pickup at the bottom of the HUGE hill. What animals!

30 years

Recently while I was at my mom's house, I asked her to get some of Brian's things out so we could look at them.  There are a couple of boxes in a storage room full of some of Brian's old things.

 Inside the box, there was old trophies, scouting items, old school papers, clothing, a hand-held football video game (that still works), etc.  There was also clothing from the night he was killed.  Sweats that had been cut off of him.  (You can read more about the accident here.)

This year marks 30 years since the accident.  It is so weird talking to my mom about it now, and getting her perspective on everything.  My mom was 41 years old when Brian was killed at age 12.  I am 41 now, and Jace (my son) will be 12 in 5 months.  So weird.

Jace really does remind me a lot of Brian.  Brian was just an all around good kid.  He kept his room clean, was good at sports, amazing piano player, just so multi-talented. 

As my mom and I went through Brian's things, there was times that we were laughing hard and other times very quiet, blinking back the tears.

We found a folder that he used in 7th grade.  The folder had writing all over it.  We were cracking up at some of the things we found and read.

There was a also a letter from Brian's friend Sonja.  It was just like slipping back in the past. 

Brian had a crush on Melanie when he died.  I remember Melanie coming over with her mom after the accident.  They brought a poinsettia with them.

It's amazing how much I remember from 30 years ago, and I was only 11 years old at the time.

We miss Brian a lot.  It has been such a long time since we have seen him.  What a blessing to know that we will one day see him again.

You can read another blog post about Brian Here.

Attitude of Gratitude - Day 30

Day 30 - My last day for my "Attitude of Gratitude".  I have spent the entire month of November posting about things I am grateful for.  It has really helped me to see all the blessings in my life.

The last day of November also just so happens to be my birthday.  I turned 41 this year and it happened to fall on a Friday.  Do you know why birthdays are so great on a Friday?

• Kids come home from school and you don't have to bark at them to start their homework.
• You can relax and go out, and it's not a school/work night.
• You don't have to set an alarm that night, knowing that you are sleeping in the next morning.

It was kind of an uneventful day, but it was a good day.  I spent the morning cleaning my house.  I enjoyed cleaning, with a little Christmas music in the background.  I also spent a lot of time on the phone with several of my siblings.

Before I knew it, it was noon and I still hadn't showered.  Shortly after my shower (before make-up and hair being done), there was a knock at my door.  I was thinking, "Oh crap!  I don't look too cute right now!"  I wasn't going to answer the door, but did it anyway.  I was completely shocked to see my friend from Canada standing there with a bouquet of flowers in her hand and a birthday card.  Our friends from dental school were traveling to Utah from Canada and stopped in town on there way through to buy flowers, and drive over and drop them off.  Thanks Mike and Shantel!  What a wonderful sweet surprise!  Gosh, I am blessed with great friends!

That night, John and I went out to dinner to celebrate.  After dinner he wanted to take me to the mall or somewhere to buy me something.  I must be getting old, because I just wanted to go home and relax.  Oh man, that has GOT to be a sign of old age.  Don't worry, I will cash-in on a little birthday present later. :)

It IS a little painful getting older, and looking older, but I am trying to grow old gratefully.

Attitude of Gratitude - Day 29

Day 29 - I am so grateful for all the modern conveniences in my life.  I can't imagine life without heat, hot showers, my washer and dryer, stove, microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher, vehicles, telephones, cell phones, computers, the list could go on and on.  I'm sure glad that I am not cooking dinner over a fire or washing my clothing in the creek!  We sure have it good these days!  I don't think we realize how good we have it, until something breaks down, or needs to be replaced. 

It also makes me so grateful for my pioneer ancestors and all they had to do, and give up, in order to travel to the West.  Heavenly Father has blessed me with so much!

Attitude of Gratitude - Day 28

Day 28 - I went to lunch with my husband today and cried through most of my lunch.  Oh boy.  I feel like my body is falling apart lately.  Could that be the joys of being in my 40’s?  I am 40 today, but will be 41 on Friday.  Ugh.  I have been dealing with TONS of foot pain from my surgery (that took place 4 months ago). 

Also, I have tendonitis in my right shoulder.  I have had a great deal of shoulder pain for several months.  I am not sleeping well at night because of it.  Recently, I went to an orthopedic surgeon and he sent me to a physical therapist.  So, twice a week I go to physical therapy for my shoulder....and I limp in with my hurt left foot.

My foot has been so tender lately, and I noticed that there were sores starting to form on top of the scar tissue.  I finally made an appointment with a podiatrist to see if there was something that could be done about my foot.  I went to my appointment today with a dark cloud following me all the way there.  I had this sick feeling that he was going tell me that there wasn’t anything that could be done with that amount of scar tissue and that I also had permanent nerve damage.  I was kind of prepared for some crap-crappy news.  Wow, what a real glass-is-half-empty-bad-attitude.

The doctor came in the room, took one look at the bottom of my foot and instantly knew what was wrong, and how to fix it.  HALLELUJAH!!!!!  He said the sores on top of the scar tissue were a Porokeratoma.   Porokeratoses are HARD, rock-like calluses (sweat glands that are plugged up with callus tissue).  I had two of them on the ball of my foot.  So it was like walking on 2 little rocks everywhere I went.  Barefoot on a hard floor was torture.   He then proceeded to get a instrument and gently carve the “little rocks” out of my foot.  Was it painful?  Yes, a little….BUT, totally-absolutely-worth-it!  He also assured me that in probably in about a year, my scar tissue should be much better, and the nerves in my foot will be too.

Now I'm going to work hard to get my shoulder fixed, so I can become active again!  Things are looking up!  I'm so grateful!

Attitude of Gratitude - Day 27

Day 27 - I just love holidays...even though they can wreak havoc on your eating habits.  Holidays are full of family.  That is what I like best about them.  I am grateful that I was able to spend Thanksgiving with lots of wonderful family members.  What a blessing to be surrounded by people you love, and that love you back.  That thought hit me hard as we were asking a blessing on our Thanksgiving meal.  I looked around the room and all my wonderful family members and just felt so blessed!  Some people don't spend time with their family, or they don't have any family. 
Family is seriously what it is all about!

Attitude of Gratitude - Day 26

Day 26 - I am so grateful that I live in an area where the temple is so close.  When we lived in Indiana, the temple was a 2 hour drive, one way.  I live about 7 minutes (or less) from the temple here in town.  It is so nice to have it close by!  Now I just need to be better about getting my rear there regularly!

I'm so excited for my friends in Indiana.  They are now building a temple in Indiana.  I cried when I hear them announce in General Conference that they were building one there!

Attitude of Gratitude - Day 25

Day 25 - I know I already talked about this on day 2, but I didn't talk specifics. I just said I was grateful for my family. My sweet little family unit. Now I want to talk specifically about each one. I am grateful for each sweet little member in my family.

I've talked specifically about each one of my kids...now my husband.  Man is he good to me.  He works hard to keep me happy and well taken care of.  He has been by my side for over 20 years. 

Anyone that knows my husband, knows he is SO VERY KIND.  Whenever we go to any type of gathering, he will always seek out a person that looks like they have no one to talk to.  He finds them, visits with them, and makes them feel special.

John loves to spend time with our kids.  The minute he walks in the door from work, Jace and Haley are stuck to him like super glue.  When they hear the garage door going up...they take off in a sprint.  (They don't do that when I come home :).  Wonder why?)

John is completely non-judgemental and positive.  I think I need a little of that to rub off on me!

Thanks John for being so wonderful!  I am grateful for you!

Attitude of Gratitude - Day 24

Day 24 - I know I already talked about this on day 2, but I didn't talk specifics. I just said I was grateful for my family. My sweet little family unit. Now I want to talk specifically about each one. I am grateful for each sweet little member in my family.

Haley, "Roger" is the baby in the family.  She always keeps us laughing.  She has mastered the art of belching.  Oh. man. can. that. girl. BELCH!  It just about rattles the windows!  It has become quite the little habit for her.  Heaven help me!  Hopefully, she is keeping it under control at school and church.  (I apologize if you have already witnessed it).  But, unfortunately I can only guess that it is happening there too.  Oh boy.  I would like to be a fly on the wall there!

We are so grateful to have her in our family.  She is girly, spunky, funny, smart, and outgoing (she will talk to ANYONE)!

What a total blessing! 

 

Attitude of Gratitude - Day 23

Day 23 - I know I already talked about this on day 2, but I didn't talk specifics. I just said I was grateful for my family. My sweet little family unit. Now I want to talk specifically about each one. I am grateful for each sweet little member in my family.

Jace, "Jacey Boy", "Mr. Wilson", "Wilsonator" is the ONLY boy in the family.  There are times that he feels TOTALLY out numbered by his sisters.  They tend to boss him around a little too much (even the one younger then he is!)  I guess the plus side for him---he doesn't have to share a bedroom!

I love that he has the great habit of getting up every morning and he immediately makes his bed.  His bedroom is also always clean!  I hope he continues to keep this wonderful habit!

He is a great kid, with a great attitude!  He is so happy and content to just lounge around.  Just like his older sister Riley, he LOVE, LOVE, LOVES milk.  He is the main reason we have to buy 6-7 gallons every week.  Frankly, I'm not sure if he would break any bones if he fell out of a window.







I am so grateful to have such a great boy in the family!  He is such a happy kid, and brings so much love and energy to our house!  What a total blessing!

Attitude of Gratitude - Day 22

Day 22 - I know I already talked about this on day 2, but I didn't talk specifics. I just said I was grateful for my family. My sweet little family unit. Now I want to talk specifically about each one. I am grateful for each sweet little member in my family.

Brynn is the second child in the family.  She is such a good girl, and always willing to help.  She is so responsible and is learning some great skills that will help her when she has a family of her own.  This started at a young age.  She always loved to pull a stool over to the counter and help grandma with ANYTHING and EVERYTHING in the kitchen.

Whenever John has to go to his office after hours to work on a patient, he can always count on Brynn to go and assist him.  She is just great like that!

Brynn is funny like her older sister Riley, only in a different way.  Her teachers in school (that have had both Riley and Brynn) say that she is quiet, but very funny.

She was given a blanket when she was just a little baby.  It instantly became her favorite.  She still sleeps with it every single night.  Brynn was an easy-going baby...and now she is an easy-going teenager.

We sure appreciate her and love her so much!  We are lucky to have her in our family!!