A Day in the Life of a Missionary

Perry sent us all pictures of a typical day in the life of a missionary.  It brought back some fond memories for me of seeing our wonderful young missionaries working so hard every day.

Out of bed, straighten up the room, scripture
study, breakfast, exercise, companion study

Quick lunch when there is time

Love your Companion who likes the same jacket that you like!

Look longingly at the Chick fil-a

Holding Hands

I have had something on my mind for a while and decided I would like to share it.  In June Scott and I drove up to Utah so we could be with Rachel when she got her endowments in the Draper Temple.  That morning Scott and I went over to Walmart to get a few things.  When we got out of the car I took his hand and we walked towards the entrance.  A woman driving by stopped and rolled down her window and said, "That is the sweetest thing, seeing you two holding hands."  I thanked her and we walked on.  I felt really sad because I was holding Scott's hand to help him keep up with me but she saw love being expressed by that simple gesture of holding onto each other.

Shortly after that I read an article by Becky Thompson entitled "Holding My Husband's Hand Changed Our Marriage."  In the article she made several points. She taught that holding hands says: 1) I still see you, and you still have my attention. 2) I want to be together in the middle of everything else, and 3) I am here with you, and I love you.  Becky's article was addressed to young mothers who still have children at home and who are trying to find balance between being a mom and a wife.  For me the article was a reminder that a simple gesture can mean everything!

As we maneuver our way through Scott's Alzheimer disease I have come to realize how much a simple touch can mean, both to him and also to me.  I do hold his hand when we walk because he doesn't have the stamina that he use to have and he needs help
moving forward.  But now I also hold his hand because I want him to know that I've got him, and I won't let him go.  I want to be able to give him comfort when he has a panic attack and calm his shaking body when he is afraid.  I want to be connected to the person who has always been there for me.  That simple gesture gives me and I think him a huge sense of peace.  This new journey we have begun has been painful at times, overwhelming often, and scary to say the least but I am finding that each time I reach for his hand I am reminded that together we can do anything!

Welcome to Our Hive

What a cute surprise for Ruth from the Young Women's program in her ward.  They are going to love having Ruth in their program and Ruth is going to love being in there.  Can't wait to see all of the things she learns as she does the Personal Progress program.

Happy Birthday Ruth!

12 Years Old

"Enjoy being celebrated for the gift that you are, on your birthday and always"

Happy Birthday Caleb!

5 Years Old

"Our birthdays are feathers on the broad wing of time."

My New Motto!

Found this on Pinterest and decided it was there for me!

You have been assigned this mountain                                         to show others it can be moved.

Who Would Have Thought!

If you are wondering where Dr. Who is hanging out right now, we may have the answer!  Across the street from the Bountiful Temple we found the Tardis in a driveway.  Just in case anyone wants a cheap way to travel!  Ellis and Lincoln had to have their picture taken and I was glad to capture the moment.

Cousins!

We had a great time watching all the cousins reconnecting while we were at the wedding. Although Ben and Becky weren't able to come Scott and I were able to meet up with Ben and Owen in St. George as they were heading south towards California and we were heading north to Lehi.  Owen is now at college in Southern California!

Lincoln, Ellis, Brigham

Ava, Jane, Ruth, Abby and Eden

Duncan and Caleb

Meggie and Graham

All the cousins from both families!

Austin & Rachel Standing

The Bountiful Wedding

It was so nice to be a part of Rachel and Austin's sealing in the Bountiful Temple.  Love was in the air!  Both families joined together to make a special occasion even better and after the sealing we spent some time at Austin's parents house for a really fun luncheon.  That evening we enjoyed a reception in Lehi.  Thanks to Meggie and Katie there were cookies galore and in spite of the wonderful turnout to wish the newlyweds well, there were lots left.  Everything was beautiful and it was a special experience to see the newlyweds loving every minute of it.

Rachel & Austin Standing

The Family

The Reception

Plan B

I am continually amazed at how many things have changed in such a short time.  Scott's short term memory is almost completely gone and in the course of just a few minutes I can answer the same questions numerous times.  Scott is kind and sweet but with early onset Alzheimer he has also became extremely obsessed about certain things.  I talked earlier about his need for a shower and just yesterday he took four showers.  One before bed, two in the middle of the night, and one this morning.  I am married to "Mr. Clean!"  He spends much of the day sleeping and so I was trying to keep him awake until about 10 p.m. thinking that he would sleep a little better if he was more tired.  What has happened is that each afternoon, usually around 3 p.m. he wants to know when he can go to bed.  With Katie here we just reminded him on a regular basis that it would be best to wait until about 9:30 before he took his medicines and then he could go to bed.  After Katie left to go over to Angela and Andy's yesterday he immediately wanted to know when he could go to bed and I gave him the regular speech about trying to stay up until 9:30 before taking his meds and going to bed.  At 8 he again asked if he could go to bed and I explained that it wasn't even really dark yet but if he was really wanting to go to bed that was okay.  That was all he needed to hear and he headed down the hallway.  At 10 p.m. I heard him walking in the hallway and he came out, looked at me and asked, "is it alright if I go to bed now?"  I assured him it was and he turned around and went back to the bedroom. Sometimes you just have to choose your battles--and I did!  I have to admit I kind of felt a little guilty last night because it was so nice to not have him glaring at me when I would explain he still needed to wait a little longer.  I don't think he slept that well but he definitely sleeps much of the day away so I am sure he gets enough rest to function.

This is one of the few things he still enjoys doing--reading.

Katie Has Left

 When Katie first came to stay with us I was worried how she would like being here for three weeks but I have to say the time went really fast and I was sad to say good-bye.  She was a hit around here and it was nice to have her as a back up when Grandpa needed a little extra help.

  She is still the kind little girl I loved so much and I have no doubt that she will be an amazing adult before we know it.  One of the sweetest things was how much Caleb loved her. She definitely made an impression on him.

Graham's Blessing Day

We were able to go to Gilbert for Graham's blessing day.  More pictures will follow when Amy has time to send the ones she took but I was able to get one of us holding Graham Joseph after his blessing.  Christian gave such a beautiful blessing and it was bittersweet to watch Scott in the prayer circle knowing that it would probably be the last ordinance he would participate in.

Cousin Time

Katie has been such a good sport and has loved spending time with her cousins while visiting with us.

Birds

In our family we do birds!  There are a number of our kids who are bird watchers and it started when Scott was a young father who spent lots of time pointing out the birds to our children.  Last week when we went to the Wild Animal Park with Katie and I have to say that the birds they had there were worth the trip!

Our Project

I asked Katie if she would like to work on a project while she was here.  She settled on a comforter for her bed and we got busy.  She picked the material and I came up with the design.  It took us less than a day to get it all put together and then another day to tie the quilt and bind it.  We even spent some time and made a pillow sham to match.  Katie is great on the sewing machine!

The Midway

Katie was excited to visit the Midway so she could show Bruce all the things that are on it.

San Diego Temple

Wild Animal Park

Katie is a good sport.  I remember her as a little girl and she just went out of her way to make everyone feel comfortable and was definitely never a demanding child.  She has been so sweet about coming to visit us.  I had a huge list of places I wanted to take her but because of various problems we have been dealing with, our travels have been very limited.  We did get some time in San Diego.  I hope she enjoyed it.