Tucker at 17

What I want to know is, how did this

sweet

little

muchkin

become....







THIS!!!



















Yup. He's 17!! How did that happen?
Actually his birthday was yesterday, but we celebrated it today because Dennis was in Florida until late last night. I meant to post this on his actual birthday but my scanner wasn't working at home so I had to take the baby picture in to work and scan it there.
Wasn't he a cutie though? Still a pretty handsome lad even though he is looking more grown up all the time. For some reason 17 just seems way older than 16. It's freaking me out a little bit. We are a skip away from him leaving home which I prefer not to think about. So I won't.
Tucker is a good kid (most of the time). He is kind hearted, sensitive and funny. He has a bizarre sense of humor and often makes random comments completely out in left field. He's a good big brother (again, most of the time). He has trouble not spending all his money because he doesn't have the patience to wait. He is still trying to figure out who he is going to be which is sometime frustrating to watch and let it unfold. I don't think I tell him (or the other boys, or even Dennis) how much I love him. He was my first baby boy and I am so glad he came into my life!

Now For Something Completely Different

It's hard to figure out exactly how to follow up the last post. Everything else fades to trivia in comparison. There has been even more tragedy amongst our circle of friends since that post (the Victor link under Blogs I Love). There isn't more I can say on the subject than I have already said.
So, I am going for completely trivial today. I thought I would post this picture after looking at Inkom Crazy Lady's post with the funny monster card (which reminded me of a cartoon that used to be on Nickelodeon about Monsters). Although not as colorful as her card, it is still kind of wacky and fun.
At our Ward Christmas party they put out paper and crayons and encouraged people to draw. They said there would be prizes. What more can I say than crayons, teenaged boys and prizes. Although there are some contributions from Spencer and Dennis, this was primarily Tucker's take on the occasion--Frosty the Zombie Snowman. (I think he did say he had seen something similar on YouTube or someplace). That's a heart clutched in Frosty's skeletal hands and those aren't Frosty's feet coming out from the bottom. Spencer added the Santa Squid up in the corner and Dennis contributed the hand reaching out of the hole. For whatever reason this just struck my funny bone (maybe I'm warped too and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree). I get a special chuckle out of the little stick figures in the corner, futilily throwing snowballs at Frosty. This has been hanging on our closet door in the living room since the night of the party back in early December. Who knows when it will come down. I thought it was worth preserving so I took a picture of it.
And, in case you were wondering, they did win the prize at the party! (A box of candy canes as I recall.) Go figure. I guess we go to church with people just as warped as we are!

Each Life That Touches Ours

This week has been quite an emotionally wrenching one. On Sunday we learned that Ezra Sherman a boy from our old ward was in the hospital fighting for his life with leukemia. This was quite shocking since only the week before he had been running around his normal exuberant self. Ezra has a twin brother Milo and both were in Primary when I was the President. This picture is from a trip we took as a Primary to the Seattle Temple in August of 2002. (It didn't seem like it was all that long ago but I guess it was.)In the picture they are the two boys on the front row holding hands and their sister Luka is the girl with the glasses right behind them on the 2nd row. The irony that these pictures were taken in front of the Temple where families are sealed together forever is not lost. Their parents Kandice and Ryan moved into the 5th Ward as newlyweds at the same time we did. Ezra and Milo are two spunky, mischievous (in a good way), outgoing full of life boys. Avid unicyclists and music theater performers who would be turning 11 in March, they were both always sure to have a grin on their faces. Sadly, Ezra lost his battle with leukemia on Thursday night. Kandice and Ryan started a blog for him on Tuesday and chronicled some of their experience. It is an amazing tribute to a special spirit and his family. It allowed people to be able to express their concern and love for the family and for the family to still have privacy at the hospital during such a difficult time. Each time I would visit the blog during the week I would weep. I would also take the time to read the comments people left and would be uplifted by the outpouring of love, faith and prayers for their family. The day after Ezra died, Kandice wrote another post where she shared her testimony of Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father and the eternal nature of families. It is a beautiful, touching testimony of love and faith. They are an amazing family and my life is truly blessed by knowing them. (ezrasherman.blogspot.com or click on the Ezra Sherman link on my blog).
On Wednesday, our school community learned that the father of one of our students had been tragically killed in a bicycle accident after dropping his daughter off at school. The older girl goes to the middle school where I work and Spencer attends and the younger one goes to Cooper's school. Now I am not going to claim some close relationship with this family. I would often see the father biking to school in the morning with both or one of the girls over the years because we lived in the same neighborhood and our routes to school caused our paths to cross. We would smile and say hello whenever our paths crossed. He was a friendly, full-of-life kind of man. After school on Wednesday in our office, I watched with tears streaming down my face as the mother informed the daughter of her dad's death. (She is the sweet little face next to Spencer in this picture from the school play in June of 2006). Her disbelief and incredible anguish was heart-breaking. I will never forget it. My heart just ached for her and I longed to hold her tight and take away some of the pain. Again, the outpouring of love and support from both school communities was amazing to behold.
This week also marks the one year anniversary of the death of 21 year old, Sarah Plants the daughter of my good friend Michelle. (The other girl in the school play picture is Sarah's younger sister Mara which is why I chose this particular picture.) Michelle works at Whitman with me and played an invaluable role in coordinating things between the school and the family. I know it was tough for her to be dealing with this tragic death as well as memories of her own experience, but she is an amazing woman with a kind and generous heart. (She took her kids to a "happy place" this weekend--Disneyland.)
Now you might wonder what is the point of this post. Am I trying to say I had a hard week? Definitely not! Especially in comparison to the families I have mentioned. But I will admit that this post is for me. I want to record the feelings and experiences of this week so that I won't forget them. As I have gone through this week shedding tears daily for these families, I have contemplated life, death and the afterlife. I have assessed my feelings and beliefs on it and can only assert that this life is not all there is! I truly do believe that families are forever and that is the way that Heavenly Father intended it to be. It is hard when loved ones move beyond our vision and personal contact, but they are not gone forever. Yes, a part of them lives on in our hearts, but truly they have merely passed from this life on to the next one with our Father in Heaven and are awaiting a reunion with us there. I cannot actually conceive the grief and sorrow of Ezra's family or those of the children who lost their father, or Michelle's loss of her daughter because I have not experienced it. I do know that when I have experienced a loss of a loved one (little Spencer, Justin & Rachelle) I have been comforted by the knowledge that God has a plan for us and moving from this life--whether before our time or at the end of a long life--is part of that plan. We may not know what God has planned for us, but I guarantee you it is not bad. We may have hardships in our lives but it is nothing we can't endure if we rely on Him and the love and support of those around us.
And so, this week my mind has often returned to a hymn found in our LDS (Mormon) hymnbook, "Each Life That Touches Ours for Good". It is not a hymn that I am extremely familiar with, there are many others that are my favorites, but it has been on my mind this week because the message is so beautiful and reflects the feelings I have had this week. I feel that my life HAS been blessed by having people like Ezra's family, Michelle's family and even the passing acquaintance of the other family in my life. So here's the hymn:

Each life that touches ours for good
Reflects thine own great mercy Lord;
Thou sendest blessings from above
Thru words and deeds of those who love.

What greater gift dost thou bestow,
What greater goodness can we know
Than Christlike friends, whose gentle ways
Strengthen our faith, enrich our days.

When such a friend from us departs,
We hold forever in our hearts
A sweet and hallowed memory
Bringing us nearer, Lord, to thee.

For worthy friends whose lives proclaim
Devotion to the Savior's name
Who bless our days with peace and love,
We praise thy goodness, Lord above.

Wii Got Rhythm - Except Mom

Dennis wanted to get the kids a Wii for Christmas but unfortunately by time he figured that out it was all sold out around Seattle. He has been watching to see when they would be back in stock at Fred Meyer. Finally one weekend it was in stock and he surprised the boys by bringing one home. This is a picture of Cooper & Spencer playing some game where you have keep a beat. I thought it was kind of funny so I took a picture. Now personally I have not tried the Wii. I really don't want to embarrass myself by showing how uncoordinated I have become. I'm not much of a gamer under regular circumstances. It does look fun, but it also looks like it takes more coordination that I currently possess. I would try it sometime when I was home alone, but I am also technologically challenged as well. I can hardly operate the TV let alone any of the extras that go with it. So, if I want to try it out I have to do it under the supervision of one of the boys or Dennis. Ah the dilemma. We will see if I succumb to the Wii. Maybe, maybe not.