June 2018
June was a busy month, but also very exciting!
Shandra's friend and visiting teacher, Heather, is absolutely AMAZING! She decided that since Shandra got rid of all of her baby things she needed to have a baby shower. She literally planned, decorated, delivered invitations, and provided ALL of the yummy food for a huge shower! It was absolutely fantastic. Many people from our ward came as well as most of the family members. Even Cyn drove up! It was a roaring success with Shandra being "showered" with tons of gifts and a plethora of diapers. Hayden joined in the fun and was very excited with all of the goodies!
Sunday, June 10
Today I have been feeling a little blah. A lot of it is because I realized that the bathroom was still going to be torn apart when Tasha and Zane come. It makes me sad, why does everything have to take so long? I was sincerely tempted to stay home from church today to work on it. But, I decided to go. I'm so glad that I did. Jen Packer gave a marvelous talk in Sacrament meeting that I will summarize what she said as well as my feelings. She spoke of how humans have a tendency to want to know and be told what to do. For example, we should read scriptures, partake of the sacrament, keep the word of wisdom, observe the work of wisdom, etc. Each of us has been counseled to do all of these things, but each of us has their own way of doing them. Some people study the scriptures by reading start to finish, some study certain topics, some study scripture stories. The "how" we do these things isn't nearly as important as the "why". The "why" is so that we can have our hearts changed and become more like Christ. There is no one best way to do the things we have been told to do, it can be individual for each of us. In Christ's time, the people had many rules that they followed to the letter - but they didn't understand why they were important. When Christ healed on the Sabbath they accused him of wrongdoing even though he was following the "why" of the rule of keeping the Sabbath day holy. I loved her analogies and the reminder that what we do isn't as important as why we do them.
Robert Lindsey also spoke and I loved it when he shared that he didn't think that there is a great big tally board in heaven that gives us a point whenever we do a good deed, and subtracts when we sin. He pointed out that the Lord cares much more about what kind of a person we have become than how many points we have accumulated.
I skipped out of Sunday School and ran down and visited with my dad. He seems a little melancholy lately. He was just sitting by himself doing nothing. That doesn't seem much like dad. I took him into his room and together we looked at a booklet of family pictures. He looked at each page and made a comment about it, and then started over again. He did this until I had to leave about 1/2 hour later. I'm glad that I made that book for him.
I ran back to the church just in time for Relief Society. The presidency has started placing the chairs in a circle to enhance communication and make it feel more like a discussion than a lesson. I like it. There seems to be more sharing by the sisters. Today we talked about a talk from the last General Conference, "Until Seventy Times Seven" by Lynn G. Robinson. We discussed how the Lord not only forgives us each and every time we make mistakes but he expects us to make those mistakes. He knows that it takes a lot of practice before we are proficient at whatever we need to learn in order to be more Christlike. Just like a baby has to fall thousands of times before he is able to walk, we must also fall. He wants us to stumble because that is how we learn. He doesn't get frustrated at us or tired of us asking for help or forgiveness - he is ALWAYS there ready to help and forgive us - NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES IT TAKES! It was a very enlightening meeting, and so very, very good for me. I really needed it, and I'm grateful that I was there.
Remodeling update:
I should anticipate the time it takes to do remodeling, but for some reason, I am always disappointed and discouraged when it takes as long as it does. We have gotten some things accomplished. We installed a new window and readied the floor for the new floor. I was hoping to get it all done before Tasha and Zane came to visit, but we were not even close! Tasha and Zane really wanted to help so one day they insisted we play with Ish and they installed the floor. It was great to enjoy time with the baby while they worked, although I think Kim may have been a little nervous that he wasn't involved in helping (however, he LOVED playing with Ish and then rocking him to sleep!)
Tasha and Zane (and also ISH!) arrived on Thursday, June 14. Needless to say, it felt FANTASTIC to have them here. It just always feels like my home is complete when they are here. I love the fact that Shandra, Hayden, and Kalel joined us for most of the visit and it was complete and perfect CHAOS!
We feel that we are really cheated with the Hunzekers living so far away with little Ish, so spending time with him was the most important part of their visit. He grows and changes so fast that we feel we can barely keep up!
Kalel, Hayden, and Shandra feel the same way. There was a constant fight over who got to play with him the most. In fact, Kalel even volunteered to change his diaper! He said he was practicing for when his little sister arrives in July. Unfortunately, Ish chose that time to let loose and spray. He didn't hit Kalel, but he did spray his own face, which he didn't like one bit!
On Friday we were pleasantly surprised to find that Bob and Kate Machler where going to be stopping on their way home from Zion's Canyon. We never get to see them often enough. Because Rox's house is the most put together (my house is a mess from the remodel and Robin just bought dad's house and is making some updates) and also the largest we opted to get together there. It was absolutely fabulous to visit with Bob and Kate. They really wanted to visit dad so Robin picked him up from his facility and brought him to Rox's. It was wonderful! Even though dad had a hard time communicating, Bob spent a long time talking with him. Kate hugged him, and when Robin and dad left Kate broke down sobbing. She said that she just loved him so much and it was so hard to see him like this. There is no question that Bob and Kate love and respect dad and feel that he truly is family. It was so tender watching all of their interactions. I honestly think dad had an idea who they were. It still brings tears to my eyes when I think of that evening. They were in a hurry to drive home, so they actually were gone the next morning before Rox even got up! Bob and Kate are some of my very favorite people.
The next day we took advantage of Shandra and made a day of haircuts. Zane wanted Ish to get a buzz cut for the summer, but Tasha and I were very nervous uncomfortable with cutting off all of his gorgeous hair. We compromised a bit.
Shandra is so amazingly fast when cutting kids hair. I actually recorded the entire cut and it took just under 5 minutes. And she does a great job! It took a while to get used to his new 'do'. The hair that was cut off was definitely brown, but the hair that was left was all blonde. Even though he looks so different, he is still one handsome fella!
Tasha also felt that it was time to cut her hair. She hasn't cut any length of her hair for about 10 years. It was now so long that she had a very hard time keeping it in a hair clip.
Unfortunately, I neglected to get a pic of how good it looked with all of the extra length cut off, but she looked beautiful!
I also had Shandra cut off my hair. I was getting tired of it looking so fine and stringy. I have such a hard time getting body in my hair that it is a lot easier when it is short.
That night Tasha and Zane went to their 10-year class reunion and Kim and I went to dinner with the original gang at Eagle Gate that I worked with when I first started. It was great to see Sally, Sue, and Lisa, as well as Tanja, Lori, Carrie, and Dustin. We went to the Mandarin in Bountiful. I was planning to take Ish with us, but Shandra and Hayden stole him while his parents were at the reunion.
For Father's Day the girls got together and gave Kim a book called, "Where's the Poop?" Of course Kim was thrilled with such a gift, and he immediately read it aloud to all of us. The girls also gave him a book of their favorite things about their dad. He was very touched.
Kalel loves to get his hair dyed the minute school is out because he can't have weird colors during school. He chose pink and purple this time, and Hayden (you can see in the shower pics above) consented to dye his too!
Kalel just loves babies, and Ish is no exception. He was a great babysitter and would often be the one to chase after Ish as he was crawling away to find something dangerous to play with. 😊
Here are random pictures from the Hunzeker's visit:
It was so hard - as usual - to say goodbye to Tasha, Zane, and Ish. But they had to go home because they were leaving in just 4 days to go on vacation with Zane's family. 10 whole days in Hawaii! Can I just say how jealous I am?
My birthday this year was very low key. I worked, Kim worked, Shandra and Hayden worked. Kim did surprise me with some balloons and chocolate which was great! The balloons were beautiful with daisies on them.
It dawned on me that I am now 59 years old! I didn't really think I was very old until this birthday, but now I realize that I am almost 60. It hit me a lot harder than I anticipated. How can I be this old and still feel like I am a complete novice in my career? How can I be this old and still feel like I am a young kid in many ways? My mom was only 68 when she started getting really sick - that isn't very far in my future - only 9 years. I didn't even check any of my birthday messages on Facebook this year for a couple of days because I was so distraught.
Fortunately, my wonderful sisters decided to take me out to Maddox for my birthday. We had a wonderful time and I admitted my feelings. They assured me that age was only a number and that it was not something that I should worry about. When I said that I was nervous about getting sick in a few years like mom, Robin reminded me that 9 years ago I was just starting my school adventures and have had many - MANY - fantastic things and opportunities during those 9 years, so I should look forward to the next 9 years to see what will develop.
I also mentioned my emotions to a few people at work - co-workers as well as students. Not one admitted to me that they even imagined that I was 59 years old. It made me feel a lot better.
The last day of June Kalel and I met Amber Fowler and her kids at the Heritage Theater to watch Camelot. Kalel has always been a great show-buddy, and he really enjoyed it. However, Amber's son wasn't too happy and they had to leave at intermission. I'm so glad that Kalel is a fun date for shows like that!
Shandra's friend and visiting teacher, Heather, is absolutely AMAZING! She decided that since Shandra got rid of all of her baby things she needed to have a baby shower. She literally planned, decorated, delivered invitations, and provided ALL of the yummy food for a huge shower! It was absolutely fantastic. Many people from our ward came as well as most of the family members. Even Cyn drove up! It was a roaring success with Shandra being "showered" with tons of gifts and a plethora of diapers. Hayden joined in the fun and was very excited with all of the goodies!
Sunday, June 10
Today I have been feeling a little blah. A lot of it is because I realized that the bathroom was still going to be torn apart when Tasha and Zane come. It makes me sad, why does everything have to take so long? I was sincerely tempted to stay home from church today to work on it. But, I decided to go. I'm so glad that I did. Jen Packer gave a marvelous talk in Sacrament meeting that I will summarize what she said as well as my feelings. She spoke of how humans have a tendency to want to know and be told what to do. For example, we should read scriptures, partake of the sacrament, keep the word of wisdom, observe the work of wisdom, etc. Each of us has been counseled to do all of these things, but each of us has their own way of doing them. Some people study the scriptures by reading start to finish, some study certain topics, some study scripture stories. The "how" we do these things isn't nearly as important as the "why". The "why" is so that we can have our hearts changed and become more like Christ. There is no one best way to do the things we have been told to do, it can be individual for each of us. In Christ's time, the people had many rules that they followed to the letter - but they didn't understand why they were important. When Christ healed on the Sabbath they accused him of wrongdoing even though he was following the "why" of the rule of keeping the Sabbath day holy. I loved her analogies and the reminder that what we do isn't as important as why we do them.
Robert Lindsey also spoke and I loved it when he shared that he didn't think that there is a great big tally board in heaven that gives us a point whenever we do a good deed, and subtracts when we sin. He pointed out that the Lord cares much more about what kind of a person we have become than how many points we have accumulated.
I skipped out of Sunday School and ran down and visited with my dad. He seems a little melancholy lately. He was just sitting by himself doing nothing. That doesn't seem much like dad. I took him into his room and together we looked at a booklet of family pictures. He looked at each page and made a comment about it, and then started over again. He did this until I had to leave about 1/2 hour later. I'm glad that I made that book for him.
I ran back to the church just in time for Relief Society. The presidency has started placing the chairs in a circle to enhance communication and make it feel more like a discussion than a lesson. I like it. There seems to be more sharing by the sisters. Today we talked about a talk from the last General Conference, "Until Seventy Times Seven" by Lynn G. Robinson. We discussed how the Lord not only forgives us each and every time we make mistakes but he expects us to make those mistakes. He knows that it takes a lot of practice before we are proficient at whatever we need to learn in order to be more Christlike. Just like a baby has to fall thousands of times before he is able to walk, we must also fall. He wants us to stumble because that is how we learn. He doesn't get frustrated at us or tired of us asking for help or forgiveness - he is ALWAYS there ready to help and forgive us - NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES IT TAKES! It was a very enlightening meeting, and so very, very good for me. I really needed it, and I'm grateful that I was there.
Remodeling update:
I should anticipate the time it takes to do remodeling, but for some reason, I am always disappointed and discouraged when it takes as long as it does. We have gotten some things accomplished. We installed a new window and readied the floor for the new floor. I was hoping to get it all done before Tasha and Zane came to visit, but we were not even close! Tasha and Zane really wanted to help so one day they insisted we play with Ish and they installed the floor. It was great to enjoy time with the baby while they worked, although I think Kim may have been a little nervous that he wasn't involved in helping (however, he LOVED playing with Ish and then rocking him to sleep!)
Tasha and Zane (and also ISH!) arrived on Thursday, June 14. Needless to say, it felt FANTASTIC to have them here. It just always feels like my home is complete when they are here. I love the fact that Shandra, Hayden, and Kalel joined us for most of the visit and it was complete and perfect CHAOS!
We feel that we are really cheated with the Hunzekers living so far away with little Ish, so spending time with him was the most important part of their visit. He grows and changes so fast that we feel we can barely keep up!
Kalel, Hayden, and Shandra feel the same way. There was a constant fight over who got to play with him the most. In fact, Kalel even volunteered to change his diaper! He said he was practicing for when his little sister arrives in July. Unfortunately, Ish chose that time to let loose and spray. He didn't hit Kalel, but he did spray his own face, which he didn't like one bit!
On Friday we were pleasantly surprised to find that Bob and Kate Machler where going to be stopping on their way home from Zion's Canyon. We never get to see them often enough. Because Rox's house is the most put together (my house is a mess from the remodel and Robin just bought dad's house and is making some updates) and also the largest we opted to get together there. It was absolutely fabulous to visit with Bob and Kate. They really wanted to visit dad so Robin picked him up from his facility and brought him to Rox's. It was wonderful! Even though dad had a hard time communicating, Bob spent a long time talking with him. Kate hugged him, and when Robin and dad left Kate broke down sobbing. She said that she just loved him so much and it was so hard to see him like this. There is no question that Bob and Kate love and respect dad and feel that he truly is family. It was so tender watching all of their interactions. I honestly think dad had an idea who they were. It still brings tears to my eyes when I think of that evening. They were in a hurry to drive home, so they actually were gone the next morning before Rox even got up! Bob and Kate are some of my very favorite people.
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| I love dad's face. He is obviously enjoying his visit! |
The next day we took advantage of Shandra and made a day of haircuts. Zane wanted Ish to get a buzz cut for the summer, but Tasha and I were very nervous uncomfortable with cutting off all of his gorgeous hair. We compromised a bit.
 |
| Trying to decide how much to cut. |
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| Very nervous mamma waiting to see her son's transformation |
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| The result |
Tasha also felt that it was time to cut her hair. She hasn't cut any length of her hair for about 10 years. It was now so long that she had a very hard time keeping it in a hair clip.
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| Before, it reached all the way to her derriere. |
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| Eeek! It is Cousin It! |
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| The first cut |
That night Tasha and Zane went to their 10-year class reunion and Kim and I went to dinner with the original gang at Eagle Gate that I worked with when I first started. It was great to see Sally, Sue, and Lisa, as well as Tanja, Lori, Carrie, and Dustin. We went to the Mandarin in Bountiful. I was planning to take Ish with us, but Shandra and Hayden stole him while his parents were at the reunion.
For Father's Day the girls got together and gave Kim a book called, "Where's the Poop?" Of course Kim was thrilled with such a gift, and he immediately read it aloud to all of us. The girls also gave him a book of their favorite things about their dad. He was very touched.
Kalel loves to get his hair dyed the minute school is out because he can't have weird colors during school. He chose pink and purple this time, and Hayden (you can see in the shower pics above) consented to dye his too!
Kalel just loves babies, and Ish is no exception. He was a great babysitter and would often be the one to chase after Ish as he was crawling away to find something dangerous to play with. 😊
Here are random pictures from the Hunzeker's visit:
It was so hard - as usual - to say goodbye to Tasha, Zane, and Ish. But they had to go home because they were leaving in just 4 days to go on vacation with Zane's family. 10 whole days in Hawaii! Can I just say how jealous I am?
My birthday this year was very low key. I worked, Kim worked, Shandra and Hayden worked. Kim did surprise me with some balloons and chocolate which was great! The balloons were beautiful with daisies on them.
Fortunately, my wonderful sisters decided to take me out to Maddox for my birthday. We had a wonderful time and I admitted my feelings. They assured me that age was only a number and that it was not something that I should worry about. When I said that I was nervous about getting sick in a few years like mom, Robin reminded me that 9 years ago I was just starting my school adventures and have had many - MANY - fantastic things and opportunities during those 9 years, so I should look forward to the next 9 years to see what will develop.
The last day of June Kalel and I met Amber Fowler and her kids at the Heritage Theater to watch Camelot. Kalel has always been a great show-buddy, and he really enjoyed it. However, Amber's son wasn't too happy and they had to leave at intermission. I'm so glad that Kalel is a fun date for shows like that!
This summer is whizzing by. I hope I remember in the future to keep renovations to winter months. I feel like I am going to miss the whole summer because I am so focused on the bathroom remodel. I need to make time to enjoy the sunshine.
Comments
The age thing is getting to me a bit too! 60 just sounds SO OLD!!! But hey, it beats the alternative!