Laura Diane

Our first baby was a girl, we had her premature due to multiple birth defects.  We named her Laura Diane (after both of her grandma's) and this past week she would have turned 18.  I can't even believe how fast the time has gone by.  Every so often Kenny and I will stop and think about different milestones that she would have past during this time but for some reason I felt like I needed to share this special milestone.  She would be an adult!!  I don't think I'm really old enough to have a child that old.  Obviously, I am, but still...18?!

When Laura was born she only weighed 1 lb 1 oz and was 20 inches long.  Her grandparents (grandpa LeRoy and grandma Shauna) were able to see her and her grandma Shauna held her wrapped in a yellow afghan that she crocheted for her on our way to LA. According to grandma Shauna, Laura looked just like Kelton when he was born.  She had the same face and hair.  She also said that Laura was just beautiful.

It was hard those first few years when I watched friends buy cute little dresses and worry about piggy tails and braids.  They were getting their girls started in dance or other sports.  Then the time came when puberty would have started and I was incredibly thankful to not have to explain or deal with any of the emotions that start with that time in life.  However, looking back, I would go through it all willingly.  Our budget was saved by not having to buy formal dresses, professionally done hair and nails that are "required" for all the school dances. We didn't have to teach her to drive. We also didn't get to throw her a sweet 16 party.  This would be her senior year of high school.  There will not be a graduation party.  If she chose, she could be getting ready to serve her mission for the LDS church in a year.  Sometimes it is weird to watch my cousins get their kids ready for their missions and know that I would be doing the same thing.  There will not be any planning for a future wedding, no wedding dress and Kenny won't be walking her down the isle.

With all of the things that we didn't get to experience with her, there are other things that I do know we have had.  We still had a small time with her while I carried her.  She is doing other more important things with her life right now than worrying about clothes or boys or if she is safe at school.  She will never have to face the hardships of this world.  I know that there have been times in life when I have felt her close by and have cherished those small fleeting moments.  I have also had quiet moments where I have felt the Lord's comfort and reassurance that Laura is where she needs to be, that she is doing work that she needs to focus on and that she was purposely spared from having to worry about or deal with any worldly things.  With all the things that I see other girls going through, this has given me much comfort to know that she is protected, cared for and safe.  What else could a mother ask for?

I have often wondered if I would be able to see her and have her as part of our family one day and I can honestly say that we will.  I know that our family will be together and united as a whole one day and that I will get to spend many special mother daughter moments with her.  I feel so blessed to not just have this knowledge but to also have the faith that this is true.  Your family loves you very much, Laura!!

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Girl!

Peek into being a Homemaker

I like to joke and say that I'm the CEO, or maybe more appropriately the CFO, of our family.  As a homemaker, there is a lot that gets done while everyone is away from home that I don't think anyone thinks about.  It truly is one of the hardest jobs that I have done and there is no training, manual or a manager to turn to for help.  You can talk with other people in your "line of work" but everyone is going to do things differently from you so that it suites their situation.  I like to hear other ideas and some of them have helped me a lot.  Others just are not for me.

While I have been doing my crazy Monday morning it made me think of all that I have done and how long it took me to do what should have been a few simple things.  I should know that if I think it is going to be simple then it will take twice as long as it should.

Here is a "simple" list of things that I do (some more than once) most days.

*dishes (by hand, we don't have a dishwasher right now)
*laundry...clothes have to be washed and dried, they don't just appear in the closet clean on their own.
*grocery shopping...food, like clothes, don't just appear.
*pay bills and balance accounts...always takes more time I think it will.
*dust
* vacuum
*cook...this also involves planning a menu, preparing the food and finally cooking.  This is usually followed by some gnashing and gnawing of the teeth because someone is never happy.
*run all errands...grocery shopping fall under this as well as anything else that needs to be done.  Today it will include going to the car insurance agent to sign a cancellation paper, the bank to get lunch money for kids, picking up kids from school, and checking the mail.
*make all phone calls...there is many phone calls that are needed and not just to visit.  Although I can do a lot of visiting :)
*the bathroom....need I say more!?
*doctor, dentist and orthodontist appointments....this includes making the appointments for everyone in the family, driving myself and kids to all appointments and making sure they are all in my calendar so I can keep all of them organized and not overlapping.  I only have 2 kids, I have no idea how I would do that with more kids.  I admire all parents with mad scheduling skills!

There are other times when you get to do fun things like have lunch with a friend, get together and craft with friends or family, or simply curl up with a good book.  Other times I find myself happily in the service of others and helping with things that need to be done whether it is watching kids, running errands, or simply being a listening ear.

Staying at home is rewarding and gives so much to our family to have me home.  It doesn't mean that every day is easy or that I have fully adjusted to being at home, even after 2 years.  However, I see so many positive things happening to my family now that I am at home.  I loved working but am very blessed to be home to take care of my family and myself.

I'm sure there are things that are left off of my list, these are just the things that I am trying to tackle today.  Now that I have had my blog break it's time to tackle my list again.  I hope everyone is having a productive and happy Monday!

The Runolfson's from Iceland

A few years ago my mom and aunt Fran spent many hours collecting pictures and putting them together with obituaries, stories and news clippings for everyone in the family.  I love this book and have spent many hours looking through it at each of the different faces hoping that I can learn more about each of them.

The pictures below are my Great Great Grandpa and Grandma. They came to America from Iceland and settled in Utah.  Not just Utah but Utah County.  To me this is huge because if you live in Utah then you know that Utah County has many nicknames and a reputation for being very Mormon (this will make sense in a minute). 

My mom had a collage of pictures hanging in our home for many years and these two pictures were part of that group.  They always stood out to me and being a kid I never really did understand who they were or where these two old people with scary eyes fit into our family.

Great Great Grandpa was named Reverend Runolfur Runolfson.  He was born April 10, 1852 and died January 20, 1929.  He was a Lutheran Reverend and was the first Lutheran Minister in Utah County (it says so on the other picture below).  He was from Storagerdi, Vestmanneyjaysia, Iceland.

Great Great Grandma was named Valgerdur Nielsson Runolfson.  She was born June 1, 1847 (same day as my Taylor) and died April 6, 1919.  She was from Holmahjaleiga, Kross Rangervalla, Iceland. Sadly that is all I know about her. 

For both of these people it had to have taken great courage to travel from Iceland with 6 children to England where they had 2 more children.  From England they came to America and settled in Spanish Fork Utah. Here they added 4 more children to their family.  I have great pride in this part of my family heritage.  To know that they not only had the courage to take upon themselves this journey but to also settle in an area where they were the minority.  There were many obstacles for them to overcome or at least to deal with with being one of the few families in Spanish Fork to not be LDS.  I have heard stories that my Grandma shared about growing up in Spanish Fork and some of what they endured during their childhood.  I am very proud of my Great Great Grandpa for being such a strong man and continuing to be a Lutheran Minister.  I am so blessed to have such strong people in my family tree.  I am also very happy to have pictures of both of my Great Great Grandparents as well as the church where Reverend Runolfson preached.

  

I have just started to dig deeper into my family history and am learning so much about the people who make up my family and have added so much to who I am.  As I learn about them I can feel them with me and it is almost like they are guiding me through the maze of people that make up our family.  I have learned that I need that help, especially when you start to put it together that some of the children changed their last name to Reynolds.

I can't wait to learn more and add to what my mom and aunt has started for me. 

Porch Sitting

One of my most favorite things during any weather, but snow, is sitting out front on my porch with a cold drink and visiting with family and friends. This is the first home that we have had where we couldn't sit out in a yard and have a place to visit.  These last few days with thunder storms reminded me of our last home we had in Tooele. We had a great covered front porch that we could sit out on and watch it rain.  We had a few good thunder storms where we sat out and watched the lightning and listened to the thunder. For us, that was so relaxing after a long day at work and it gave Kenny and I much needed time together to just enjoy being together.

It's kind of funny that I am thinking of this now and had just been telling my boys that this is one of the things that I remember most from my childhood.  We would go spend our Saturdays at my Aunt and Uncles house.  Our parents would sit out front under the tree in my Uncle Joe's yard and visit.  There was always a pitcher of tea sitting in the sun for my Aunt Joan. Joe usually had a beer. I have no idea what my parents drank while there but it was probably soda.  My cousins, my sister and I would run wild and play all day.  I remember those days so vividly that it could have been yesterday that we were all together.

Having that family time is something that I wish my boys could enjoy and have in their lives.  It is one of the few things from my childhood that I haven't been able to pass down to them.  We have family time for just the four of us but not with their cousins or Aunts and Uncles.  We are all so busy now that one of those bonding and sharing times that were so important to the generations before us is now almost gone.  I hope that once we are settled in Grantsville and around their cousin's we can somehow make the time to just spend time together and visit.  Those times with my family didn't always mean that anything important was discussed, it was just time together to share how things had gone that week and to basically sit around and bull shit (sorry, but that's just what it was/is). Even if it isn't time spent with our family, we have many good friends out there that are like family that I would love to share that time with.  


Here's to getting back to a simple life and bringing back one of the most basic things in life; making time for your family and friends and spending that time doing something other than watching T.V. or texting!

Our Ever Increasing Family

Three years ago my mom was blessed with reconnecting with one of her best friends over Facebook.  Ruby had grown up with my mom and over the years they had lost touch, like most of do.  Not only did this connection bring Ruby back into my moms life, it also brought her Godmother, Helen.  Helen was also my grandmas best fried and was the person who introduced the Catholic religion to my grandparents.  They all did many things together and now with my mom and Ruby getting back in touch we have had this whole other family come into our lives.

Up to that point I didn't even know my mom had a godmother.  I didn't know who my grandma had been friends with.  I had heard stories that it was a good friend that introduced grandma and grandpa to the Catholic religion but didn't know who it was and that was the reason they had been baptized.  Now not only do I know who it is, I also have a face and stories and pictures.  All priceless things for all of us.

Last week Helen passed away peacefully after a short battle with her health and dementia.  Here is the link to her obituary:

Helen Katherine Garcia

Tonight is her viewing and Rosary and then tomorrow will be her funeral mass.  With the sad also can come some happiness.  This happiness has been meeting all of Ruby's family.  I have finally been able to meet her wonderful husband and her children.  I have heard so much about everyone for the last few years and it was wonderful to meet everyone last night.  One of Ruby's grandson's birthday was yesterday and we all met at Chucky Cheese for his birthday party.  I can't even express what a blessing it was to be able to go and meet such an amazing family.  Ruby's son is Tony and he is married to Veronica and they have 3 of the most amazing and beautiful children.  Ruby's daughter is Brittany and her partner is Melissa.  

I have to say that at such a difficult time in their lives, they were so loving and wonderful and we are so blessed to have them in our lives.  I feel like my family just grew by leaps and bounds to now include not just Helen and Ruby but all of Ruby's family.  I want to tell you all thank you so much for being so gracious and welcoming us so openly into your family.  

I am so thankful for my mom for teaching us that family does not just include our blood relatives but all the amazing people that are lead into our lives and bless our lives.  I am so thankful to have this connection with such a wonderful family and that that connection also has such a rich history with my grandparents.

My Parents Wedding

I have a little kit that helps to give me things to write about and since I haven't been good at writing lately I decided I would turn to that and get some good ideas to write about so that I use my time wisely instead of griping about something useless in the news.  One of the ideas is to write about my mothers wedding dress and what I know about their wedding day.  Mom, please correct anything that I might get wrong.

I know that my parents were married in March, that was why I decided to write about this now. I don't remember the day but you can't really go wrong with writing about a wedding, so, there really wouldn't be a better way to start the month.

My parents met on a blind date and knew each other for 1 week when they got engaged and after only 5 more weeks they were married.  As crazy as that sounds they were actually a good match and were very good for each other.  They could show so much support for each other and would work hard to help each other to reach their goals and work toward some of their dreams.  There were obvious things that shouldn't be a part of a marriage that they had to contend with but they were wonderful and have also gave my sister and I so many good stories to share with each other and my children.  Humor was a large part of our family and part of their marriage.  They could always get through the tough times with humor (okay, that was after the yelling).  In that regard, what marriage doesn't have a little of that?

Growing up there was only one picture that I remember of my mom in her wedding dress.  She had a short, above the knee white wedding dress.  I think it was similar to the dress below but not exactly like it. It was just the best reference picture I could find that reminded me slightly of  her dress. My mom likes to say that something is just like whatever, but not.  That is kind of like the examples below. I remember her dress having an empire waist and her dress being simple with some decoration and I think some lace.

With her dress she wore a beautiful white hat that had a similar shape as the hat below. The big difference is that her hat had stripes of soft white and then a sheer white that you could see through. I think it could have had a design similar to the hat below in the fabric but I could be wrong with that part.  I just remember thinking how pretty she was in that picture and how much I wanted a similar dress when I got married. I also know that her bouquet was made of daisies.  The entire look was one of simple beauty and grace.

Below is the City and County building that is located in downtown Salt Lake City. This is where they were married by Senator Jake Garn.  My Grandpa (paternal) was a security guard at the building and knew all the people that worked there and was able to arrange to have them married by the Senator. By the end of the afternoon, LeRoy Mayo Shiflett II and Shauna Diane McCleery were married and ready to start their new life together.

 Now, we get to enjoy the true redkneck part of our family.  My dad's father thought it would be funny to handcuff them together as they left the building. For years I thought that they were handcuffed together until they were on their honeymoon, I finally found out from my mom recently that it was only until they got outside and then they were removed.  As a child I always wondered how they got them off once they were gone. For what ever reason, my dad felt that a romantic honeymoon could consist of driving out to Ely Nevada and staying with family.  That was their honeymoon.  We still like to tease my mom about this and she even laughs and agrees that it was an uncomfortable way to start their marriage.

However it happened and even with all the quirks that came with it, I will always be glad that my parents met and were married.  They brought 2 wonderful daughters into this world and taught them well (mom is still teaching us even though we think we're adults now).

My Dad

This week is my dads birthday.  LeRoy Mayo Shiflett II would turn 66 this week if he was still alive.  However, he passed away 17 years ago.  He died before either of my boys were born and I like to think that they met before I had Kelton and Taylor.  Both boys do things that only my dad could have taught them because he knew it would push my buttons.  There were a lot of things about my dad that wasn't perfect, but, even as bad as things were I look back now and realize that things could always have been worse (I have seen it this week with a father killing himself and his boys this weekend).  Even though he had a hard time showing it, I know that he loved us and was willing to do whatever he had to do to support us.  It would be really easy to focus on the bad and become bitter but I would rather know that those hard times made me who I am and to spend the time that I have remembering all the good times that we shared during his short life.

My dad loved to spend time with his family and spent hours doing service for them.  Later in his life he also spent countless hours serving our community through the red cross.  He loved to joke around and have fun, he had the best laugh.  He shared his love of fast cars, guns, racing, cowboy movies and adventures with me.  When I was growing up we would spend Sunday watching NASCAR and any war or cowboy movie.  He was the master of  the remote...he could flip between two or three shows at one time and not miss a thing.

He taught me how to handle and shoot a gun.  He taught me how to drive my first car that had a manual transmission.  He taught me how to do a tune up on my car (it was "required" before I could drive it, since I'm not patient we did the tune up in a snow storm. It was so much fun gaping spark plugs in the snow).  He taught me how to work on his race car, prepare him and the car in the staging lanes and how to guide him into the water box so he could do his burn out and stage for each race.  He taught me how to be willing to serve and to use forgiveness in my life.  He taught me the importance of doing genealogy work (I'm still working on incorporating that into my life).  He taught me how to tell a good story. After I was married he taught me the importance of tithing and was there by my side while Kenny and I got ready to be sealed in the Temple.

Before he was my dad, he grew up in a time when muscle cars were the norm and everyone had one.  He had one of the fastest Roadrunners that I know of (other than the one my uncle Ron had).  He was always a rebel and never missed a chance to push the limits.  Once example of this is a story that I heard many times that he would carry a cooler in the trunk of his car full of beer.  He would meet up with his buddies between classes and "enjoy" a beer before going to their next class.  He was a known tough guy and was not someone that would put up with anyone's crap (he would have said that much differently).  He loved his time with the guys and was always with his brother and best friend.  They had been together and joined at the hip since before time.  In fact my uncle and this friend are still close and do things together all the time.

Hunting was one of his other loves.  He would go hunting every year. They didn't always come back with a deer but they always came back with some amazing stories.  We would hear bits and pieces between hunting season and Christmas.  Then on Christmas Eve (our traditional family Christmas party night) over spaghetti and meatballs we would hear the real story of what happened that year and then it would be compared to other years and if it had been better or safer or colder or whatever else they could think of.  By the time I was 7 I could have recounted every story I had ever heard because we heard them every year.  For some reason the only story I remember now is the one where my uncle somehow drove his truck off a cliff (I never heard how large the cliff was but since they drove home I'm guessing it wasn't a large cliff).  Oh, did I mention that there was beer involved in that story as well.

If he would let you past that rough exterior you would find the most loving person around.  He also had a deep love of the Savior that he kept closely guarded next to his heart.  He did serve a mission to England for The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints.  He was always true to himself and never would pretend to be something else just to make someone happy.  He was who he was and I will always admire the strength it took for him to always be honest.  I know that it sounds contradictory, that he liked to push the limits and be a rebel and at the same time was always honest about who he was with himself and with others but that was how he was.  He definitely grew as he got a bit older, as we all do, and I guess that is how it somehow meshes together.  How I can put his stories of how he was younger and how he was as he grew older and you end up with this amazing person who loved to have fun.

There is no way I could ever do his life justice in one entry so I think I will add a little something about him every year for his birthday.  My boys love to hear stories about their grandpa and so I will start to share them every year with everyone.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!!

I will always love you!

 

In Rememberance

I just learned from a blog that I read and follow that today, October 15th, is a day set aside for parents to remember their sweet babies that they have lost.  She said it much better here: http://theworldthroughtheeyesofme.blogspot.com/

I had no idea that there was even a day set aside for this.  In honor of my only daughter I would like to take a moment to remember her now.  She would be 16 years old right now.  That means she would be old enough to drive, date, and if she is anything like me, moody.  We would be planning for her 17th birthday that is coming up in December.

I am so thankful for the knowledge that I will be with her later and be able to spend all eternity with her.  Without this knowledge I think it would be devastating (even more than it was) for both my husband and I to move on.  It is still hard all these years later.

We will always love you Laura and you will always be my baby girl.

McDonald's Flashback

We stopped last night on the way home to grab something to eat and ended up at McDonald's.  I know, glamorous huh!  We only take our kids to the very best.

Anyway, when we were done with our meal we turned around and saw this high chair.  I hope others of you remember these.  Kenny and I about died.  We couldn't believe that they would still have one of these "vintage" high chairs still around.  Does anyone, other than us, remember how they used to be all clean and would have a bag with cookies attached to the side?  Just remembering that made my mouth water for those yummy cookies. When was the last time any of us saw a high chair with wheels?  I'm pretty sure I pushed either my little sister around in one of those or some younger cousin.  I'm also pretty sure that I got in trouble for pushing anyone around in the restaurant!  What else was I supposed to do, we didn't have playlands back then.

I do remember when they started adding in the outside playlands and how cool they were.  I also remember that for the most part it was either too hot or too cold to ever play on them.  They were all metal and in the summer you could get 3rd degree burns and in the winter we could have all re-created one of my favorite scenes from A Christmas Story!  It's shtuck...It's shtuck!!  If only you could see me laughing right now thinking of that movie and that I don't think I spelled that right but you get the point.

It is amazing how much of my childhood came back just from seeing one high chair on wheels!

(I could go on and on and on and......)

I hope that this brought back a little piece of each of your childhood's.  I also am hoping that I am not the only one who could taste vanilla in my mouth when I remembered the little bag of cookies.

Racing Fuel and Rubber

Last night we let Kelton go to the Motocross race out at RMR with a friend of his. I wanted to go as well. We can go for free with our summer pass that we bought. We were running late because I wanted to make sure that Kenny had a chance to eat dinner and relax for a minute before I drug him out the door. We ended up being an hour late, which isn't a really big deal with any race unless you have to see every second of the race. I'm one of those people that get around to going when I can and it's usually late because I just like seeing the end anyway. If it's drag racing then I don't have the patience to sit through all of the elimination rounds. If it's any other type of racing, I will either go towards the end or if it is on TV I will turn it on towards the end just to see the fight for the finish and the carnage that usually comes with it. The carnage is only fun if the driver is okay and only the car gets damaged. After years of watching my dad and uncle race I know the anxiety of watching someone you love wreck and then waiting to make sure that the driver is okay. I wasn't there when my uncle wrecked his car in Idaho, but it was a horrible wreck and he is still trying to completely recover after a few years.

Back to last night, since we were late, when we got to the gates for the motocross we were informed that the motocross was already full but that if we wanted to watch the drag races they were letting us in for free that night. I had a choice. Really? Oh, lets see, motocross or drag racing? Hmmmm, there wasn't really a decision to be made. Drag racing here I come! As I entered the gate I could already smell the gas and cars were doing their burn outs and I could smell the smoke and rubber. It wasn't as good as when the big cars are running, but it worked for last night. One of the "Security" people asked to check my purse. Okay, no big deal, I handed him my purse and all he did was squeeze my purse in a few different places. I'm glad he isn't at the airport. If you ask to check my purse you should actually check my purse. Squeezing it doesn't count and by doing it that way he could have broken something. Not that I had anything breakable other than my phone and camera and all of my lip gloss and lip sticks. Okay, he would have really needed to pound on my purse to break anything, I just am used to going to larger events where they actually open purses and look.

We enjoyed watching all the cars and motorcycles. It was sort of disappointing because now they have the different classes of cars separated and we were there for the street legal cars. It's still fun to watch but they are quiet and their tires squeal. There were a few cars that were loud and fast, but only a few. There was one guy with his racing motorcycle who was doing his runs to get licensed. He did an amazing job and had almost perfect reaction times every time he ran. When I was watching he had the same reaction time for every run except for the last one. That is what you want, good and consistent reaction times off the line. Really, that is how you win races.

Kelton's friends and his dad left before we did, so Kelton came over and joined us for some drag racing. He said he had tons of fun at the motocross race and that there was lots of carnage. I guess I could have had fun at that race, but being a drag racing girl I had to go with what I love.

I did tape one of the race cars because it was what I remember from my teenage years. I spent almost every Friday night out at the race track. I will always remember those years and cherish them. That time that I had with family was invaluable. I will never have that again and when I go out there it makes me a little nostalgic for the past. I miss helping my dad with his gear and pushing his car up through the staging lanes and being right there beside his car while I guided him into the water box for his burn out. Back then, I could be right there on the track and I could watch his run from behind him as he went down the track. I loved the times that he would let me guide him onto the trailer when we were done racing. I would stand at the front of the trailer and guide him up the ramps. The car had so much power that I can still see the car jump forward and stop, then jump forward again toward me and stop. We did that until the car is in the perfect position on the trailer. It was always a good night when we could make through all the racing without anything breaking. Back then everyone knew those Shiflett boys and when they could line up together to race each other you would hear the announcer say, "Oh, it's the Shiflett boys!" That wasn't always a nice thing to hear because it meant that they knew both would push their cars to the limit and one would break something. Once they were done racing it was almost guaranteed that the track would have to be closed down for a good half hour or more while they cleaned the track of whatever parts and fluids were left in their wake. It was good times!

We had so much fun last night and also learned a lesson; bring bug spray next time. We got eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Here is the quick little video that I took of my favorite car that out there last night; it is a Dodge Dart (forgot what year). Sorry for the shaking, my hands just shake (it's really annoying). The noise is the best, I love the sound of a good loud race car. Just wait until we go to a bigger race. I will subject you to many of these videos. Now if I ever ask you to repeat something you will understand what happened to my hearing :)

Now, turn up those speakers, ignore the shaking, and enjoy the most important and loudest part of the race!

Fire Drill

While I was watching the Mentalist last night one part of the episode reminded me of an adventure I had many years ago. The part I'm speaking of is when Patrick pulls the fire alarm to empty out the building so they can find the doctor that they need to question. While they are talking you can hear the fire trucks pull up with their sirens going. For some reason it reminded me of when my house caught on fire.

Picture it, Spring 1997 and I am in our first house in Tooele. It was the cutest little 2 bedroom brick (okay cinder block) home. I was pregnant with Kelton and was due in just a few weeks. I was getting ready for work one day and while I was in the shower I could smell smoke. I started looking from my belly to the little bathroom window that was there in the shower. I started to panic, I didn't know where the fire was and the smell of smoke was getting stronger. The more I looked at myself and the window I knew there was no way I could fit through the window, I was a beached whale who was waiting for Green Peace to show up any day to figure out how a whale had got this far inland. I soon started to picture myself squeezing through the window and being stuck in my backyard naked and trying to hide behind some of our bushes. There was no way I was actually going to do that, there were spiders and bugs out there. What would I have done once the firefighters got there? I couldn't have just stood up naked to announce that I had crawled through the window and had been hiding outside. I couldn't afford the therapy those brave men would have needed if I had done that to them. I thought maybe I could yell and get their attention from my hiding place to let them know that I was there and needed a blanket to I could cover up and come out.

I finally calmed down and hoped that since I was in the shower wet that if the fire was bad enough I could at least stay wet and hopefully not get burned. After sitting there for what felt like forever, I finally got enough courage to turn off the water and try feeling the door to see if it was hot. The door was cool and the smoke smell had seemed to have lessened a little. I attempted to wrap myself in a towel and check out the house and find where the fire was. I couldn't find anything and so I decided to call my boss and let him know that I thought there was a fire in my home and that I was going to be late. Our conversation went something like this:

boss: why are you calling me, you need to call 911!

me: I am going to call 911 but I needed to let you know that I'm having problems this morning and I will be late.

boss: I don't care about you being late, just call 911!!!

In the wall in front of me I heard a pop, sizzle, sizzle, pop. I dropped to the floor and landed flat on my stomach (sorry Kelton) and shouted into the phone, "Oh Shit!!!!!!"

At this point my sweet boss who I am sure has never sworn ever in his life hung up on me so I would call 911. Mind you that at this point all I had gotten on was some underwear, so while I was on the phone with the 911 operator I was frantically trying to get dressed.

By this point I am completely frazzled and wondering if my dropping to the floor on top of my baby is going to cause him any brain damage. I am waiting for the calvary to show up and save me and make sure that the fire in the wall was out. After the trauma of thinking I was going to have to shove my pregnant body out a little window and then having my wall sound like Rice Krispies, do you know what kind of calvary came to my aid? I got some fire Marshall in an old Plymouth car. No hook and ladder truck, no water truck, not even the little fire EMT truck.

What were my tax dollars paying for? I had a fire in my wall and all I got was a car with one fire Marshall to come check it out! It reminds me of the t-shirts that were so popular in the 80's that said "Grandma and Grandpa went to Las Vegas and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" The fire Marshall should have brought one of those with him for me. It could have said, "I had an electrical fire in my wall and all though I was completely traumatized all I got was one firefighter in a car and this lousy t-shirt."

I live near one of the fire stations in West Jordan now and I hear them drive by all time. I think they bring out the entire force for every call they receive and now that I'm older I know more about how much it costs them to drive those big fire trucks around. It has been 14 years and I am still a little upset that when I called for help and I had a fire I only got some old car and one fire fighter. What if it had caused me to go into pre-term labor or something else more serious would have happened instead of just my little fire? I'm pretty sure I would have gotten the response that feel I should have gotten. In fact I know I would have because I lived by a lot of older people and every time one of them had a heart attack or a fall the whole volunteer fire department would show up.

Kenny's Grandma has a little sign in her Kitchen that says,

"when God closes a door he always opens a window."

On that day, someone forgot to take into account that I was way big pregnant and the window was too small for my butt!

Memory of Grandma McCleery

I loved my Grandma McCleery, she could be stern and I really spent much of my life scared of her (I really think it was the eyebrows) but now that I am older I am beginning to understand her much better. Some of that understanding has come from being so much like her, I'm not sure what happened but some of her genetics skipped my mom and came to me. So, I get to blame her (and my other Grandma) for being the odd duck and having o- blood (I'm the only one in my family), I think she shared her anxiety with me and she shared her anemia with me. The older I get the more I find out she has shared with me. I'm pretty sure she shared some of these things with some of my cousins because we have so many traits in common. This memory is more than genetics and the things we can't control, this memory is about learned behavior.

Grandma used to always give her cat, Sam, Valium. I remember hearing stories about how she would share her Valium with her cat. Now, I will give her the benefit of the doubt, I was young and could have misunderstood. But I really think I heard that story right, especially when I heard it over and over. Grandma always had a Siamese cat named Sam and her last Sam was so roundy that her tummy drug on the ground. I remember my mom joking about Grandma giving a happy pill to Sam and one to herself. We all have that moment when we realize that we are turning into our parents, I am now having moments when I'm realizing that I'm turning into my Grandma!

Our cat, Tony, has been acting weird ever since we dog sat for my mom over the weekend about 2 weeks ago. Ever since then he thinks it's his time to play with us from about 1:00 am to right before Kenny has to wake up for work (around 5 am). This has been going on for 2 weeks and we are both about ready to kill this cat. I love him, but I love my sleep so much more. At the same time my doctor prescribed me a pain pill to help with my pain at night so I can sleep, I have been using it a little here and a little there and have now used it enough that I was able to figure out that I'm allergic to it. I decided that instead of throwing the cat out the door or taking it to the human society that we should maybe try sleeping pills. Before I go any further, Kenny thought this was a good idea as well.

One of my boys asked me last night if I had any of those pills that Grandma used to have and shared with her cat. Unfortunately, when they switched my med's I flushed my Valium down the toilette. So, sleeping pills it is. I also read over the package and thought that I might try one as well and hope that it would help me sleep through the night until I can see my doctor. And this is when the moment of realization came to me; I am just like my Grandma! We gave me a full pill and the cat 1/2 a pill. In theory this should have gone perfect and Tony would have taken his pill as well as I did, but nothing is ever easy.

Kenny held the cat (I did offer to do the holding, but he could do it himself) and tried to shove the pill down the cats throat. Poor Tony freaked, Kenny held him tighter, Tony bit and scratched Kenny, Kenny freaked and tried to take the pill back out, Tony really bit Kenny hard. I'm not sure where the pill ended up but Tony started foaming at the mouth and kept foaming at the mouth. We kept trying to hold him and wipe his mouth for him but at that point he was so pissed at us he didn't want anything to do with us. I bet that if I was in Tony's head he was thinking things that go way beyond pissed, he does have us for parents and so I bet he was thinking something harsh and that if we knew what those meow's were they weren't nice. We did try hard to comfort him and went through several paper towels trying to keep his little mouth clean and our floor wiped up. I felt really bad, Kenny felt horrible and kept apologizing to Tony and now I wish I could have gotten a picture of Tony's foam goatee.

Now really, can you just imagine Kenny chasing the cat around with a wad of paper towels, hand and arm bleeding and alternating between cussing at the cat and apologizing. I finally got Tony and was trying to help keep his mouth wiped and was petting him, trying to calm him down, but gave up he was just to freaked out at that point. Tony eventually made his way to the boys desk and sat underneath it and glared down the hall at Kenny.

I am happy to announce that we all got to sleep through the entire night!! I also want to make sure that you all know that Tony is doing just fine. I'm not sure when he finally stopped foaming at the mouth but he did sleep through the night as well and has been awake all morning and even playing. Usually he is asleep right now. I feel as though I should add a disclaimer here that I had no idea that he would foam at the mouth from giving him a sleeping pill and in no way did we want to intentionally want to hurt him. I think he's fine though.

I'm counting this as a dry run and now we will know what to do better tonight. I'm envisioning "getting my plumbers helper and a shovel, I'll open his mouth and shooove it in." (Christmas Story, I hope I got that quote right, it's close anyway)

In honor of Grandma who liked to share her happy pills, I will share sleeping pills. I am way to selfish to give up my sleep or share my happy pills. Grandma, you were actually so much nicer than me.

Veterans Day

There are so many people from the very beginning of this nation that need to always be remembered. I am so thankful for our founding fathers and their strength to start this new nation. I am so thankful that they had the foresight to know that we needed to not have a ruler but a president. We have been blessed to be able to grow up in this land and to have the freedoms that we enjoy everyday. I am blessed to have a long line of men (and a woman) who have served honorably in different branches of our armed forces. They have been willing to keep us safe not only on the battlefront but also here at home.

I am so thankful to the military personnel that are out fighting today! I hope they know that, that they do have support here at home. Every time I see someone in uniform I want to thank them and then I chicken out because I don't want to seem dorky to the people that are keeping me safe. Just know that if any of you out there are reading this and you see me in public, know that as we pass I am saying "Thank You" over and over in my head.

I want all the families out there who have lost a loved one in battle how much I appreciated them. For the most part I have never met any of these people, but I am very proud of their courage. Your loved ones are missed by all, whether we knew them or not, because each of them had an impact on so many peoples lives. I also appreciate and am in awe at your courage as family members. You give so much of yourselves into being part of a military family and do so much behind the scenes to help and encourage everyone around you.

In my own family there have been several who have willingly and during the draft, not so willingly, serve our Country. I'm sorry to say that my scanner is still on vacation, I really wanted to add more pictures. So, instead of being able to see who I'm talking about you'll have to just read about them only.

On my mom's side of the family I think almost everyone has served in the Navy. I know that one of her Uncle's died when Pearl Harbor was bombed. All of her Uncle's were in the Navy. I know that my Grandpa McCleery was in the military but I'm not sure which branch. That is horrible and I really should have found out before writing this. If anyone wants to add that to the comments I would appreciate it. Thank You Grandpa!!

This is my Uncle Ron, my mom's brother. He served in the Navy during Vietnam and has courageously carried that with him everyday since being there. He is an amazing man who has stayed strong for his family and has been a wonderful example for me. Thank You Ron!!

This is Ron with his daughter Jessie, my cousin. Jessie also served in the Navy and was blessed to be able to serve between the two Gulf Wars so she didn't have to be in battle. I know she was on a boat (understatement I'm sure) that did mine sweeps. I think she is amazing and courageous to be out on those ships for months at a time. On facebook today she wrote,

I am a Veteran. A Veteran is someone, who at one

point in their life, wrote a blank check payable to the United States of

America for an amount up to, and including, their life. Regardless of

personal political views, that is an honor, and there are way too many

people in this country who no longer remember that fact...

I couldn't have said it better, Thank You Jessie!!

This is Jason, Jessie's husband. He also served in the Navy, that is where they met. I am thankful that he was also blessed to have his active time end before he had to be in the war that is currently going on and did not have to be in battle. He was able to come home and be a wonderful husband, father, and member of our family. Thank You Jason!!

This is of course, my Kenny. He served in the Utah National Guard Army. He has so much love for this Country and has missed being a part of the military. I'm sure he would sign up right now if he could. He was called a few times over the years and told to be ready to leave at any moment and then luckily they wouldn't need his unit. I know he would have gone and I would have supported him, but I'm glad that he has been able to be home with his family. Thank You Kenny!!

Christopher, Kenny's sister's husband, was an Army Ranger. He has also been an amazing example of patriotism and honorably served his country. He is one of the few who made it through Ranger School the first time through. Once again, I know he was on stand by and somehow he didn't have to go and see war. We were all thankful when Christy let us know that he wasn't leaving. Christopher's Dad was also in the military and is an amazing man. Thank You Christopher and Larry!!

My Dad was in the Army and was stationed in Germany during Vietnam. I'm so glad that he didn't have to be in Vietnam and in the middle of the ugliest parts of the fighting. I know that whatever he did do while in Germany had an impact on the rest of his life. He was an amazing dad and example for me. Thank You Dad!!

I know that my Grandpa Shiflett was also in the armed forces and was active duty but once again I'm not sure which branch he was in. Thank You Grandpa!!

Last, but not least, is the newest member of the family to join the military. Austin, Kenny's cousin, is in the Air Force and is stationed in Afghanistan right now. He still seems to young to be able to be gone and serving our Country in our current war. I still remember taking him to kindergarten. He is now such an amazing man and has already shown much courage and strength during his training and now his time in Afghanistan. Thank You Austin!!

Memories

Do you ever sit back and reminisce about all the things that you have done so far in your life? I do it a lot and even though I'm not that old, I have been doing it more and more. When I was writing about Heri becoming a citizen it made me think of my family and made me want to learn more about them and who they are and were. I hope I don't bore you with the stories that I will be writing, but I have felt that I need to include my stories, my families stories and what is currently going on in our life on my blog.

Some of my favorite memories are of going for drives. I remember piling into the truck and leaving at the crack of dawn so we could drive to Fort Bridger during the mountain man rendezvous just so we could get scones for breakfast. I still remember those scones (Indian fry bread), they were the size of the plate and very thick with lots of air pockets. I would eat them with honey and it always ran down my arms and I would be a sticky mess.

One morning we loaded up and drove to Timpanogas Cave. Both of my parents loved to surprise us, especially my dad. We had no idea where we were going, we usually never did. I can still remember climbing up the mountain to get to the entrance. I even remember what I was wearing, I wanted to wear my favorite outfit for that summer, but we had to wear pants. I was in jeans with a t-shirt (light blue) and I had a sweatshirt tied around my waist. That was such an amazing day and it left such a strong impression on me that I can still remember clearly what it looks like inside the cave with all of the stalagmites. Another time we headed to one of the scenic drives we have in our local mountains; it was the Alpine loop. We stopped along the drive at the most beautiful place. It was all shaded with trees and there was a river running just off the side of the road. We had to cross this old white bridge to get to the picnic areas. Becca and I played and played and had so much fun throwing rocks from the bridge when no one was there fishing. It was cool that day and the leaves were just starting to change color. I think it was about this time of year when there's just a few trees that have changed to red or orange and the rest are still green.

I look back on my early years of my childhood and remember that there was always some adventure or another for us. I know without a doubt that my parents loved to spend time with us and when they could they would take us on some grand adventure. I never knew when it was coming or what we would do, but along with the trips to the mountains I remember my mom waking Becca and I up one morning and announced that we were going to spend the day at Lagoon.

As I write these stories and memories I will try to keep things as accurate as possible, but keep in mind that like everyone else out there, life was not always perfect and there are things that I hold close to my heart and will at times keep it that way. I love my family and would not want to break any confidences or write something that may hurt someone. So, in other words, I will sugar coat where needed. I am so excited to learn more about my family and share it with everyone. Most of all I'm excited to record what I find out so that my children will know their family.

This Great Country

This past week Heri Sutanto, Carrie's husband, became one of the newest citizens of our Country. He has worked so hard to be able to finally reach this important day. It has taken him 18 years to become a citizen and to do it legally. There have been many hoops for him to jump through and many things that Carrie helped him with. I have been amazed at all that they had to do for the first 9 years of their marriage for Heri to be able to stand and say the oath and receive his certificate of citizenship.

Kenny and I talked the whole way home from Heri's party to celebrate his accomplishment about how easy we have had it. I have spent the last couple of days thinking of all the things that I have taken for granted in my life. I was born in this great Country and all the hard work had been done by my family members who immigrated to this Country just a few generations ago. I have spent time wondering about all they had to do to become citizens. I know they had to learn English, but other than that I'm not sure what they had to learn or how long it took them to get their citizenship. Did they come in through Ellis Island? I only know what Countries they came from, past that I have no idea how they came over or where they first started their lives here.

As for what I have taken for granted would have to include that I didn't have to be part of the beginning of this Country. I didn't have to fight for my freedom, that was already done for me. I was able to just grow up learning English in school and reading about the lives of those before me and all that they did so that I could attend school. I was able to have a childhood where I just got to worry about cleaning my room and playing with friends, I didn't have to stop school to work on a farm or in a factory to help support my family. I didn't have to stop school before I could even attend High School because I was needed at home to help raise my sibling like my Grandma had to do. I'm able to travel where I want, when I want. I'm able to practice my religion and even have this blog where I can write what I want without fear of being censored.

I am so thankful for all of our first generation families who came and helped to build this wonderful Nation that I get to enjoy living in. I also love seeing the new first generation of immigrants and how they are helping to shape and move this Nation forward. I am so thankful for all that each person brought with them and how it has impacted this Country to make it so diverse. I am so appreciative of a loving God that set this land aside for us to live in and has continued to bless it with his protection so that we can continue to have our freedom.

Congratulations Heri!!!

I have always loved having you as a member of our family and I am so excited for you to now be an official member of our Country. I also want to thank you for helping me to take a moment to realize all that you have gone through to reach this moment in your life and for helping me to take a moment (or several) to realize all that I have to be thankful for.