MEMORY WALK 2009

Every year my family does the Alzheimer's Memory Walk to raise money for research and awareness. This disease is something very personal to us because we watched our sweet Grandma Bird battle this for years and years. We also watched Grandpa and the amazing way he cared for her the last couple years. He was so completely unselfish! He had dedicated his whole life to her...and in those final years, that dedication required 24 hr. care. Feeding, bathing, changing, etc...he did it all and NEVER complained. His love and devotion to her was one of the greatest lessons I have ever seen. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to live with them for 6 months the year before she died. That time with her, and the opportunity to serve her is something I will always cherish!! We miss them dearly!!!! We were short about 15 people this year. It was really hard to do this without Grandpa Bird and without Mom and Dad this year. We miss Mom and Dad sooooo much!! A few tears were shed...
Rachael was at the State Marching Band Competition and
Michael had a scout hike so they both missed the fun!

Nicole was the oldest grandchild there and was such a GREAT helper.

I couldn't believe how far she carried her cousin Jameson!

I love my nephews!!!

Alex was literally trying to crawl out by the end...Corinne got a workout!

HALLOWEEN

I told my parents when they left on their mission to the Congo in Africa that I would post more often so they could see pictures of the kids. As you can see...I have failed miserably! In my defense, I have been A LITTLE busy lately! (But that story is for another blog entry!) So this is for Grammy and Papa...we miss you guys sooooooo much! Darth Maul
Twister...one of our favorite games!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (Rafael)

Missing Rachael...she was at the NAU Band Competition.

Biker Chick!

Pirate!

Don't we look mean???

Summer Fun

BROADWAY KIDS!!

The Phoenix Zoo

Bowling...one of our favorite activities!



Touring the Krispy Kreme store. We got hats and a free doughnut!

A tour of the Fire Station in our neighborhood.

It wasn't our best summer ever (that's an understatement!) but we did get to do some fun things before my surgeries. We just loved getting to spend time together!

MORE FAMILY PICTURES

FAMILY PICTURES!!!!

http://amyfraughtonphotography.blogspot.com/

These pictures were taken by my friend Amy Fraughton. She is an AMAZING photographer!! She was so great to work with and I'm so grateful for her generosity! This photo shoot was offered to me as part of a Christmas promo she did. My dear friend Angel submitted our family and we were chosen for this great opportunity. Thanks ladies!!!!

MICHAEL, YOU ROCK!!!!!

Michael got his Arrow of Light award at the Blue and Gold Banquet last night! He has worked really hard on his scouting and got his Weblos and his Faith in God last month. He loves the scouting program and has had a great leader, Bryan Mortensen. He has really encouraged Michael and helped him so much! I am so grateful for his help too!! :)

They gave him an amazing arrow that he can hang in his room. It's something he's very proud of and I'm proud of him too!

Michael's b-day party was last week. When he found out he couldn't take 10 friends to the movies ($$$$) he decided to do a Rock Band party. All the kids took turns trying each instrument and each soon picked their favorite one. Except for Miles Christensen (guitar). He plays the piano, drums and guitar...the REAL ones! So he couldn't choose a favorite and pretty much kicked everybody elses booty! You rock Miles!!! They had a great time!! Even little Dylan loved it! :) He thought he was one of the big boys playing "Wock Band!"

We love you Michael! And in every way...YOU ROCK!!!

WHO'S KID IS THAT ANYWAY?????

If you want to feel better about your day just go to my sister's blog (The Webb Family) and read her "Laundry Issues" entry.

WE LOVE GRANDPA!

My Grandpa passed away on January 10th, his 90th birthday. He was such a wonderful man, I wanted to take the opportunity to share my feelings about him. I was so blessed to have grandparents that were so involved in my life. When I was young they lived in Salt Lake City. We would go stay with them every summer and sometimes Christmas too. I absolutely loved going to their house. In the summer we would play outside for hours. We'd go to a nearby field and shoot off rockets. We'd ride the bus downtown (which as a child was a treat!) and go shopping and eat out (which was also a treat!) When I was in Jr. High they moved about a mile from us and it was one of the greatest blessings in my life. They were at every important thing in my life except for the 2 yrs. they were on their mission. They were there for my MANY concerts. There were my loudest fans at the Jr. Miss pagaent and my high school graduation. I loved having them there.

Later I had the opportunity to live with them while our first house was being built. I thoroughly enjoyed spending that time with them. We would stay up late talking, or watching "Steinfeld", or the Suns game. Grandma would get so worked up over the games and Grandpa would have to calm her down. They were so gracious and always acted like they were thrilled to have us there. 5 years later when we were building another house Grandpa generously invited us to live with him again. This time was different. Grandma's Alzheimer's was advanced at that point and she didn't even know who I was. The 6 months we lived there were some of the most challenging, but most rewarding of my life. I had a 6 week old baby that cried all the time, 2 older children to care for and a desire to help my Grandpa as he cared for Grandma. She needed constant supervision and constant care. I helped bathe her, dress her, feed her, etc. I loved having the opportunity to serve her and to help Grandpa. He was so incredibly dedicated to her. I have never seen greater devotion and sacrifice in my life. He cared for her every need, at great personal sacrifice. He was such an amazing example to me!

After Grandma passed away Grandpa took the opportunity to travel which was something he and Grandma had enjoyed, but he hadn't been able to do in the years he was caring for her. He traveled to many places but the opportunity to spend 10 days in France and Switzerland with him were a treasure to me. Grandpa was so good to me on that trip. He and I were the only ones without spouses so he said that he would be my date. He was so amazed by everything we saw and kept saying that he never thought he'd see these things in his lifetime. The best part of that trip was Grandpa's hike to the top of a monestary called Mont St. Michel. He didn't think there was any way he would make it to the top. But with Dad on one side and Ryan on the other he made his way to the top. What a tremendous example he was to me. He was always so positive and always showed so much gratitude for his blessings...even through the physical trials. He is such an inspiration to me!

WE'RE BACK!!

At the encouragement of my family and friends (mostly Angel) I'm going to try to get back to posting regularly. I can't make any promises about how often "regularly" will be, but I'll do my best. Here's what we've been up to since I last wrote...

Rachael turned 14 on November 15th. I can't believe that she is that old (because that makes me old too!). She is such a good girl. She keeps busy with cheer, piano lessons, playing the flute in band, her YW duties, and of course...texting! She was so excited to turn 14 so she could go to the stake dances. She went to her first one Sat. night and had a great time. She is quite the social butterfly (I wonder where she gets that!)

We had a great Thanksgiving with all my family at my sister, Emily's house. It was so fun to have everyone there. The cousins all have such a great time when they're together. And my siblings and I all enjoy each other's company so much. We just don't get to spend enough time all together like that.

Black Friday is quite a big tradition in my family. Sandwiched in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we try hard to make sure it doesn't get overlooked! :) My mom and sisters and I go through the ads on Thanksgiving and make our plan of attack! We're in line at 4am and don't go home until the Christmas shopping is completed. Then we went to Paradise Bakery and I met up with my girlfriends and we shopped a couple more hours. No such thing as too much shopping, right?!

December is always a crazy month for everyone, but especially for me. I am still singing with the group Notations (14 yrs. now!) and we perform a lot in December. We sang at the Mesa Temple on Dec. 1. It's one of my favorite places to sing. We also perform other places around the valley and it always makes me feel so good to bring such happiness to those we perform for. Most of them are Snowbirds and don't have any family here so it makes us feel great to bring them joy. And it is such an opportunity for us to share our testimonies of our Savior Jesus Christ. The spirit can always touch hearts through music and I love to be a part of that.

Dec 5th was a great day for me. All my closest girlfriends were in town for 1 day. Stacey and Becky and I still live here, but Angel came from Show Low, Kristi from Snowflake, Dorea from St. George, and Rhonda from Hawaii. And Amy surprised us from...Suprise:) We had a big slumber party at Stacey's gorgeous house. We stayed up late and giggled like we were in High School again. It was so fun to get to spend that time all together. I love those girls...I don't know what I would do without them.

My kids left for Utah on the 21st to spend 2 weeks with their Dad and his family. His family is wonderful and my kids really enjoy spending time with them. I sent them off with a flood of tears, not knowing what I would do with myself for 2 whole weeks. I made a list of things I was going to do around the house to keep myself busy...clean out closets, reorganize the pantry, etc. But, I didn't actually do any of that stuff! I slept in every day! One day I slept in until 10 (I haven't done that since I became a mother 14 yrs. ago!) I spent the first couple days finishing up Christmas stuff, going to lunch with the girls, and hanging out with Don. Then I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my family. I missed my kids so much I could hardly stand it. I cried, but I was actually proud of myself that I didn't have a total meltdown. I enjoyed being with my nieces and nephews. It was especially fun to have Ryan and Linsey and their 5 kids here from UT. I miss them so much and thoroughly enjoyed the time I got to spend with them.

The day after Christmas Don and I went to a party with my high school friends. We only get together once a year, but we always have such a great time. I was so blessed to have such amazing friends in high school. We laughed about how our peer pressure was exactly the opposite of most. If we had wanted to get into stuff we shouldn't, there would have been a whole group of people to set us straight. Every guy in our group of friends went on a mission, and everyone got married in the temple and are active in the church. I think I had a truly rare group of friends and I will always be grateful for the influence those people had, and continue to have in my life.

I spent the next few days just hanging out with family, girlfriends, and Don...not accomplishing anything on my list, but having a great time. Then my Grandpa Bird went in the hospital. After a couple of days he was transferred to ICU and I spent the last 4 days of my vacation there. It sounds like a nightmare, but it was actually a great experience. My parents and all my siblings were all there too. We spent a lot of time reflecting on the kind of person my Grandpa was. We talked about the great things he had done in his life and the impact that he had on each of us. It was really a bonding experience for all of us. Grandpa continued to get worse and knowing that he wouldn't get better, he made the decision to take off all the tubes and monitors and go home. He was home for nearly a week before passing away on Saturday, his 90th b-day. I will miss him terribly, but I was so excited for his reunion with my Grandma who he missed dearly. They had a great love affair and I know they are so happy to be together again. My Grandpa also had a brother that was mentally challenged, and I'm excited for him to know his brother well and whole. What a beautiful reunion that will be. The viewing for Grandpa is Wed. night and the funeral is Thursday.

I am so happy to have my kiddos back home, they are my everything! They had a great time playing with cousins, and playing in the snow, lots and lots of snow. I'm not thrilled to be back to my crazy busy life, but what can you do...vacations always have to come to an end. So now you know what we've been up to. You deserve an award if you read this clear through to the end! (Are you happy Angel? :)