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.

Christmas Tree Pickup 09 for the Roches

This post is for the Roches who are in South Africa and didn't get to participate in the annual Christmas tree pickup with the youth from our church. Every year, the kids ages 12-18 have fundraiser. Just before Christmas they distribute 5000+ flyers to a pretty nice neighborhood in northeast Seattle letting people know about the pickup. Then they spend one or two Saturdays after Christmas picking up the trees. The church rents a "fleet" of 5 or 6 Handy Andy trucks and the kids are driven around the neighborhoods and pick up the trees.

The kids love it because they get to ride around in the back of the trucks and have a ball together. It's a win/win situation because the trees are brought back to a local park and the grown up toss them into a chipper and the trees become mulch which the parks department uses around the city. They have done it for 11 years I think rain or shine. It is generally cold every year so there is chili, hot chocolate and other treats to keep them going. I can only remember one year where it absolutely poured but the kids still hung in there and had a great time. You can see that the kids totally love this project!

Things I Need

I have been thinking recently about things I need. It started with thinking about how I needed exercise. Not in the I'm-out-of-shape-and-need-exercise way (although that is true) but in the it's something I need in my life for balance. This picture was taken last year in April after we completed the Whidbey Island 1/2 Marathon. As you can see in the photo I am completely whipped. It took alot out of me and because of that and not having to drive Tucker to seminary any more I gave up running. (I never liked it much anyway). Problem is, I didn't replace it with anything. I kidded myself for awhile that the mile walk to and from work was exercise. But as my stomach and butt have continued to expand month by month that belief has to be given up. What I have discovered though is that I need exercise for more than just the physical aspect of it. I need it emotionally too. In the eight or so months since I have stopped exercising, my mood has become bluer and bluer. Not depressed I would say, but blue or maybe apathetic about things. Must be the lack of endorfins or something. All I know is that I feel better about life if I am exercising. Whether that's because I feel better about the way I look (my clothes fit better for sure) or I just feel better about life in general. I need exercise!
Well, this got me to thinking about other things I "need" for balance in my life. These are just a few things I thought about while walking home today. I'm sure I could think of a million but that would make this blog way too long. (These are in no particular order)
I need women friends. Not best friends, I have never been much good at being "best friends", just good friends. Recently I met with my book club group (Peg in the picture with me & Dennis is in this group) and we talked about how great it was to have a group of women friends from diverse backgrounds and situations. It was pointed out that you can find some connection with just about anyone if you put in the effort and that effort was worthwhile for the connections you make. (We actually didn't spend much time talking about the book we had read that month!) It made me realize how thankful I was for this book club that gave me a "connection" with this particular group of women. We all have different things that connect us in some way, whether it's kids in the same school, kids on the same team or no kids but shared friends. Whatever the reason we came together, it is wonderful to have the opportunity to meet with them and share bits of our lives with each other. I also have wonderful friends from church and school. I am thrilled to have that "connection" to so many really cool & awesome people!
I need family. My family is large and gets larger every year. By family I mean my husband, kids, mom & dad, my siblings, my siblings' kids, the kids of my siblings' kids, my aunts & uncles, cousins, and my in-laws (all of them). (Yes, I am a great-aunt if you didn't catch that). I love to read the blogs (of those who have them) and see what is going on with everyone. Everyone is at different stages of life but connected by the fact that we are family. I love getting wedding invitations and adding new members to the family that way. I love getting birth announcements and seeing new little beings come into the family. I love seeing any one them that I can when the family gets together and hearing about what is happening in their lives and seeing how much the little ones have grown and changed. I love hearing about their accomplishments, talents and even life struggles. I wish that more of them were closer, or we were closer to them.
I need music. As I was walking home today and thinking about music (I was listening to my i-pod), I thought about how much I love the music produced by violins whether it is a jaunty Irish tune or a plaintive ballad. I like music from all kinds of genres. Some music moves me (hymns, movie scores, celtic ballads) others make me want to dance or sing along (I don't with the i-pod) or just make me smile. I am glad their is music in the world.
I need books. That should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me. I love to read and again from a wide range of topics, subjects and genres. I feel restless when I don't have something to read. I am glad that there are so many good books in the word.
Well, lest this blog continue on into ridiculousness, I will leave it at that. Besides, this post isn't nearly as interesting as the one I composed in my head on the way home from work. There are many, many things that I "need" in my life and I am thankful I have been blessed to have so many of those needs met.
(BTW, Dennis signed me up at the Ballard Health Club so now I am getting the exercise that I need)

Again, With the Snow??

So here it is the night before the 1st day of school for the new year and this is a picture of what is going on right now! I can't believe it. We just had our winter break extended by three days before it even started. Now there is a possibility that it could be extended again. The weathermen have predicted that this snow will be followed "quickly" by rain. I hope for once that they are correct in their forecast.
It's pretty wet snow as evidenced by my slip/slide down the front steps when I went to take the picture. Of course that might have been because I was wearing slippers at the time! It

was just good there was no one there to see it as I think it was quite a hilarious fall. The old feet flying out from under me. Luckily I wasn't hurt other than my dignity--at least I don't think so. I'm sure I will find out tomorrow.
I am actually looking forward to getting back into a routine. It feels like we have been on break for a long time. Not that I am looking forward to getting up. I have been sleeping in every day--and not just for a little bit. It will be a rude awakening.
So here's hoping the rain comes in and the roads are clear tomorrow!
1/6/09 Postscript: It snowed about 2-3 inches overnight but it was super slushy Monday morning so school started on time!! The kids didn't even get a late start out of it. The school was freezing on Monday though! All the snow was gone by this morning but we continue to have typical, crappy gray weather. A big wind storm is blowing in tonight with light rain. Gotta love Seattle winters!