ANOTHER FUN DAY

Last night Tami came over after work. I took pictures of Tami with the children. They love having Tami come over to be a part of our family. She went to the Mall with us to do some shopping.

As Paige said....."I love to shop!" She found a wonderful buy on a dress at Herberger's that originally was $64. We got it for $20. It was a perfect dress for after her baptism on Saturday.

This is Paige with her new dress. She loved it and so did all of us when she tried it on. I want to make her a pretty hair decoration to match the dress.

Today was a day of going to the playgrounds. In the morning we went to Rocket Part. It was a cool morning with a cloud cover. A perfect day for the children to enjoy the outdoors.

Tonight we went to McDonald's and had an ice cream treat. Then Chloe, Paige and Tyler enjoyed McDonald's fun area for about an hour. It was a great and fun day!

2011-Torgesen's Summer Visit

It was so great to see Lara and the children again. We have a whole week of fun ahead of us. Paige and Tyler are already enjoying the dogs.

Lara was interested in reading and seeing Teresa's life story. I always like Lara's input about things. She found it very interesting to say the least.

This morning I had Tyler and Paige picking up the cotton from our cotton tree. I told them I would pay them a dollar if they would pick it up for me in the back yard. We are going shopping at the Mall tonight and they were excited about earning some money. They did such a beautiful job and I was so pleased with how neat our backyard looked without the cotton.

It was time to count the quarters in my piggy bank. This is a tradition for the children when they come to grandma Julie's home. I save quarters all year long and then after counting the quarters it is theirs to spend.

We took the quarters to the bank and got the money. It ended up being almost $70. After dividing the money up we are ready to shop! YIPPIE!!

AN EVENING OF AMERICANA

Don was asked to give a pioneer story at our Stake's second President's Concert Series last night. He has been thinking, pondering, practicing and praying on what he wanted to share about Francis and Ann Elizabeth Webster's amazing story.

Don wanted to wear his family reunion shirt, cowboy hat, scarf and gun belt to look the part.
Tami came over to be a part of this special event and support her Dad. Here we are just before leaving for the Church building. Don did such a great job and even made Tami and I tear up with the story he told. We have heard so much of it during the years, but it never gets old to us. What an incredible pioneer history we all have in this family. Of course, Don told the story in his own words and every one was very attentive and listening.....even the small children. We were so proud of him and how he honored part of the history of this country.

After Don's talk, Tami and I left. I took her over to Memorial Gardens to see the new EAMES plaque that was placed this week. Tami loved it and we were both very moved by the plaque and the beauty of where it is located near the statue of Christ.
We even have our own bench that we can sit on as we look at the plaque and remember our loved ones. I really feel so good about where we buried the ashes and now the plaque. I can feel at peace about all of this. Everything has been done, that I wanted, thanks to the money that was left over from Teresa's burial account. Don will dedicate the plaque during our family reunion on July 2, 2011.

Tami enjoying a conversation with her Dad.

I was watching and listening to Tami and Don's conversation when we were at Red Robin on Saturday night. I got such a kick out of the expressions that Tami had. I decided to take some candid shots on my camera. I told her to not pay any attention to what I was doing so they kept on talking.

I loved doing this and showed her the pictures. Tami got a kick out of the them. I thought I would share these moments with you. Tami is such a beautiful woman. We are so blessed to have daughters that love and care about their parents and enjoy listening to them.

FATHER'S DAY...2011

I've thought so much about my dad today. He was such a great man and I loved him so much. Feeling safe, loved, protected and secure, describes how I felt about my dad. From the time I can first remember, he was always there for me.

I LOVE YOU DAD AND MISS YOU SO MUCH! I'M SENDING A HAPPY FATHER'S DAY MESSAGE TO YOU WHERE EVER YOU ARE!

FATHER'S DAY BEGINS ON SATURDAY

Tami and Jeff came over in the early afternoon. They wanted to be here before Don came home from work since he worked today. Jeff wanted to set up the BOWFLEX that Don has been wanting. I had asked Jeff if he would sell his to me. After thinking about it for a couple of days Jeff told me that he would like $55 because he wanted a pair of shorts that cost that much. I couldn't believe that this was his asking price since a BOWFLEX cost a lot more than that! I told him that I wouldn't pay less than $100 for it. What a deal I got!! Don got home about 3:00 p.m. and we started our Father's Day by him opening a gift from Tami and Jeff. Don loved the POW/MIA shirt they gave him. He also enjoyed the cards and money he got from Dadra, Tasha and Lara. The messages of love they wrote were very touching and full of love.

I knew that Don would be thrilled when he saw the BOWFLEX instructions that was the next gift. Then we went to the back patio and there it was! Don couldn't believe it when he realized that it was his.

What a great Father's Day gift for Don. It was quite a surprise for him.

Then it was a timed picture before going to Red Robin for dinner. We said our goodby's to Tami and Jeff after our delicious meal.

To top off the early Father's Day, Don and I stopped off at Cold Stones for a great treat....YUM! It was a fun afternoon and we still have tomorrow to celebrate and think about our Father's.

CELEBRATING LIFE!

Janet and I decided that every 3 months we would get together and do something special. Last night was our first CELEBRATION OF LIFE. We went to Leon's for dinner. It's a cute little Mexican place on 30 Road. I had never been there before. We enjoyed visiting and being together.

Our only symptom of chemotherapy is neuropathy. This can take a long time to heal and go away. Sometimes it never goes away in some people but we know this won't happen to us. We will get better and normal again. Neuropathy is tingling, numbness, pain, etc. in your hands and feet. I'm grateful that I can still write, type and do everything that I want to do. However, sometimes at night my hands feel like they are on fire. When I walk, I always feel like I'm walking on rocks. With neuropathy a person is unsteady on their feet and has to be careful.

It's nice to have someone that truly understands the world of colon cancer and the treatments. Janet and I are good support for each other. We now go to the Oncology doctor every 3 months for a check up. My appointment for my sixth month check up is next Thursday. I feel great and have good energy so I'm not too concerned over this Dr. appointment. However, I'll be glad to get it over with for another 3 months.

Do you remember my frustrations?

This was my hair back in December. It was interesting because I didn't lose any hair during my treatments. It was after my radiation and chemo that I saw my hair falling out.

AN OLD DO IS BACK!

I'm pretty excited that I can now wear my own hair style rather than a wig. For months I have had 2 areas where my hair was thin. I am lucky that I didn't lose my hair during chemo, but the thin areas were frustrating for me until I found the perfect wig to cover them up until my hair grew back.

The top of my hair is nice and thick again as well as the back of my hair.
I do have very curly hair now. I think I will need to keep it shorter because of this. The curls are manageable if my hairs shorter.


With the summer heat, it's going to be nice not having to wear a wig if I don't want to. I feel very blessed. Just thought I would share this news.

A GOOD DAY

I have had a project of writing Teresa's history. This was almost an overwhelming job. I really felt like I needed help. I prayed about this before I began. I can honestly say that for the past few weeks Teresa's history flowed out and it's now finished. I feel very good about this project and I think Teresa would be pleased.
I also enjoyed taking my sister Clarissa out to lunch for her birthday. We had a great visit and a delicious meal at Dos Hombres. Clarissa and Kelly are taking a trip to Oregon and Idaho for 11 days. Carol and Catherine are going with them. They are going to all our old homes, schools, etc. It's going to be a trip down memory lane. They will also visit Aunt Lois, my cousins Marsha and David. I told her to take lots of pictures.
On the way home I stopped at Alpine Bank to see one of my Day Care children from years ago. Can you guess who it is? Do you remember Ann Marie and Heather? Well, this is a grown up Heather. It was so fun to see her again and visit for a little bit.
Don had run into her when he was on the job with Loomis and she recognized him. She has such fond memories of our home and wanted to know about everyone. By the way, Ann Marie just graduated from college and Dillon is now 13 years old. How time flies. Heather told me that she still has her scrapbook we made, the quilt that she colored the blocks and I sewed together, etc. She said that everything is in a keepsake tote and she loves to look through it.

Heather is a beautiful 21 year old and has been working at the bank for 3 years. It was such fun to see and visit with her again. It was a great day!

MEMORIAL DAY 2011

I went to Hobby Lobby and found a wonderful plaque with a scripture on it. I also found a flower container and some sunflowers that would be perfect for the area that the ashes are at. I thought the plaque would prevent anyone walking on that area as well as help identify where we placed the ashes.

We picked up Tami and took her out to the Summer's property. She helped us place everything. It was another special moment for all 3 of us.


This was a wonderful way to start out our Memorial Day celebration. Tami said that she needed this. Teresa's death has been hard on her and this gave her some comfort too.

A RESTING PLACE FOR THE ASHES

Teresa had mother and dad's ashes. When Teresa died, I then had all of the ashes in our home. I had a great desire to find a good place to bury them. For some reason scattering the ashes didn't appeal to me. I talked to Clarissa and Kelly about burying them out in their field. We have had such wonderful times as a family at the Summer's, and having the ashes buried there was very comforting. They gave us permission to do this.

On May 21, Don and I went out to the Summer's. Clarissa showed us where she thought would be a good place. Don had his shovel and began to dig a hole. We then placed mom, dad's and Teresa's ashes in the ground and covered them up. It was a very sacred experience for us. Don then dedicated this spot as a special place to remember those that we loved so much.
Don and I felt so good about burying the ashes in such a beautiful and special place.
As we were talking to Clarissa before we left, Don said "look". There were 2 deer between us and the buried ashes. The deer both looked up and it was like an omen that what we did was met with approval. It was a very special experience and one we will remember.