saying goodbye.

sunday morning we woke up to the news that my

grandpa had passed away during the night.

I have a lot of mixed emotions to be honest.

but for right now I just feel overwhelmingly joy for him.

I know he is back with our Savior and his family.

I can't imagine the reunion that he is having right now.

 every now and then it will hit me really hard that he is gone,

and it truly makes my heart ache.... but I so grateful for the

words he has left us with.

I love him.

 

 

 "The love we have for each other will not end with death."

Grandpa Tom's Testimony 2015

 

I have been thinking a lot about my life. I thought about my being a husband and how I should have been more helpful and kind and loving- what a great wife I have. I thought about my being a father, how I should have done more for them and helped them more. I've been thinking of Carole, our nine children, 34 Grandchildren and 9 1/2 great grandchildren. I see beauty, joy, happiness, love. I see great accomplishments, service, achievement, ability, potential. So if you see what I see get together, have some rump roast, potatoes and gravy, veggies and hot roll, chocolate cake, raspberry huckleberry cheese cake or pie and some good ice cream. Laugh and be happy. Rejoice in God's great plan and our part in it. God lives and rules.

December 2, 2014- My History

 

 

My wife, my children and their husbands and wives, my grandchildren and their husbands and wives, and my great grandchildren are the most important things in my life. I love to be around my family. I am very proud of their achievements and the good people they are. I am so thankful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, for the prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon which I have read over and over.

2015- My History

 



 

"I have seen nothing in my 81 years that brings more joy and true happiness than living the Gospel."

Grandpa Tom's Testimony 2015

 

 

 I miss him so much already.

Monday we started babysitting the Burton's little baby Colter.

Madyn ADORES him!

she was seriously the best to him.

she would rock him in his car seat and sing twinkle twinkle little star to him.

once he started to get a little fussy so I went to fix him a bottle

and she was just soooo upset that he was crying.

she ran up to me with his diapers and her wipes and yelled he pooped!

he needs changed!

she just wanted me to do anything to stop his crying.

she's going to be the best little sitter to him.

that night we had to run to Walmart to do some quick shopping...
we have been trying to teach madyn genders because she is pretty confused
right now. so we went through all the extended family
saying who is a boy and girl, and then it was madyn's turn....
so I said is dad a boy or a girl?................. A PRINCE!
that's right baby girl... he's a prince.
 Tuesday we did genders again. she was doing so good!
she got mom, dad, grandmas....
and then we got to Tony....
I said What is Grandpa Tony?
He's GREAT!
oh I love her!

 she seriously keeps us constantly on our toes!

Wednesday we took to the valley off after babysitting Colter.
Madyn was soooo happy to be back with her grandmas!
Thursday me and mads spent the day with maycie.
we went over to the library and did story and craft time
with the book The Old Lady that Swallowed a Fly.
as soon as we got there maycie wanted to leave.
she DID NOT want to be there at all.
but I convinced her we needed to stick it out a bit.
I think she was glad that we did because she loved it.
we were even one of the last ones to leave.
we also did some mess free painting and played around at the house.
later that afternoon we went over to the shop to get some paperwork and filing done.
payson and scott were also at the shop so when we were done with out
work we took pays home with us and watched some movies.
 Friday we got up bright and early and headed to midway for grandpa's funeral.
it was such a nice funeral. I loved hearing stories about my grandpa and
being around all our family.

he had the grandkids and great grandkids sing four songs.
I belong to the church of Jesus Christ,
I am a Child of God,
I Love to See the Temple and
Book of Mormon Stories.
I loved that he picked those songs for us to sing because
I know they are his testimony to us.
the graveside service was nice but cold.

I guess we are just blessed that families are forever
and that we will all see each other again.
my grandma is a rock and handling all of this so well.
she is such an amazing role model to us all.

Saturday we hung out around the house and
I went over and helped megan with
laityn's one year pictures.
they were pretty cute.
it was snowy and cold all day so we
didn't head back to Laramie.
but it was nice to be able to spend another day with the family.





more and more travellin...

our week started out in the valley!

we went to sacrament meeting and then came

home to watch the broncos- steelers playoff game.

it was very slow starting!

VERY SLOW!

so slow that I fell very quick to sleep.

we had been exhausted from the past couple of days.

we woke up in time to watch the final 2 quarters and see

them take the victory.

YAHOO!

I forget how bad the playoffs stress me out.

I really kind of hate them in fact.

that night we went and visited with mom and

then headed over to megan and scotts for some yummy brownies

and ice cream.

talk about DELICOUS!

mads came home and played with grandpa tony

and grandma carilyn.

seriously this warms my heart soooo much!

 

Monday I had my infusion.
I knew it was going to be a rough day because even
before my infusion started I was completely exhausted.
once it was in and started I passed out!
eric decided to take madyn out for a little jeep ride to
make sure that I got the rest that I needed.
unfortunately with about 45 minutes left of my infusion, eric
called and said that he was stuck!
i honestly thought he was just joking with me and so i just
went along with it, getting more and more frustrated that he wasn't telling me
just kidding!..... yeah... he wasn't kidding.
luckily just as i was finishing up my dad had made it home from Denver.
so we hopped in the jeep to go rescue him, in the mean time eric had gotten
a hold of tony and he was on his way out as well.
it was a nice little ride and it felt pretty good to get out of the house.
Tuesday eric and me headed down to slc for my doctors appointment on my nose.
the appointment went good and put some of my fears at ease.
i really like my doctor and his staff.... but it was weird being in an office that
does plastic surgery and all this cosmetic stuff.
during my appointment, after he scoped my nose and everything,
he manipulated my nose and opened it up so i could see how
much better i could breathe....
i couldn't believe it.
i always knew that my left side was bad because
i can hardly even breathe out that side.
it was my right side that shocked me! i couldn't believe what i thought
was normal.... i cant wait to breathe that good.
Wednesday we were planning on heading home till
we woke up to lots of snow and closed roads....
so we took it pretty easy and just decided that it would be best
even if the roads opened up to wait till Thursday to leave.
we had a good day eating lunch with dad,
running errands and then going to take a nap.
we woke up from our nap with 5 missed calls from dad and a
text saying CALL ME!
we found out that grandpa tom had taken a turn for the worse
and his doctor said he would probably only last a few more days
at most a week.
so we took off to midway to see how he was...
he looked terrible.
he was sleeping most of the time, not really talking, eating,
and breathing really hard.
my best part of the night is when i went to hug him
i told him i loved him,
and he told me i love you too.
since he wasn't talking- i took that as a huge win.
i didn't sleep so good that night sure that he was going to pass on.
but when we got up he was still with us.
we spent most of our time right at his bedside.
his breathing was getting worse and not waking up as often
and definitely less responsive.
so you can imagine our shock when we woke up Friday morning
and he was still with us.
unfortunately we had to take off back home.
I was not ready to leave grandpa but it was time.
we had breakfast at the hub before we left heber with dad
and then took off to the valley.
madyn was a BEAR!
but when we got to the valley she was thrilled to be with
her grandma and grandpa.
the rest of the way home she did awesome, slept till Rawlins
and was as happy as can be.
it felt soooo good to be home!
madyn was beyond thrilled to play with her toys,
she even slept in her bed... the WHOLE night!
it was lovely!
Saturday we woke up and snuggled...

it's nice to have my girl back!
she wants nothing to do with me or her dad when any grandma is around.
that morning we went and shot eric's guns
up at rodger's canyon.
then we went and watched the uw-bosie game.

unfortunately we lost...
but we had a good time.
after the game we took a little drive up to happy jack.
we even saw a moose.
it was a pretty good day all in all.


 

a little travellin... a lot of fun...

sunday was madyn's first week at Moon Beams!

she struggled a bit going in... she wanted to back out when she

saw that there wasn't any toys....

so I stayed with her for a few minutes.

it was so fun for me to see her sing and participate in the songs

and games with the other little kids.

she even gave the opening prayer!

but man it was sure a  bitter sweet moment when it

hit me that next year she will be a Sun Beam!

where has my baby gone.

luckily not long after being there I was able to sneak out.

when we went to pick her up they said she did awesome!

I asked if she freaked when she noticed I left,

they said it took her probably 10 minutes to notice that I left...

she looked around for a second, said moms gone and went back to playing.
so she did great!
soooo relieving!

 

we had the andersons over for dinner and to watch some football

that night.

madyn LOVES Brittney.

we had a pretty great night.

Monday we had a great day.

eric just spent the whole day playing with madyn...

I seriously love watching those two together.

they played with playdoh, read books, and baked cookies together.

 

 

aren't they the cutest?!?

we spent a lot of our night cooking.... and doing tons and tons

of dishes!

we tried some new recipes- cheese wantons and orange chicken.

it was not not not good....

well the cheese wantons were ok... but not worth doing again...

too much work for just ok.

so we tried some other sauce which was ok...

lets just say I was soooo over cooking by the time the day was over.

Tuesday was just another lazy day...

got some cleaning done and a few errands ran.

Wednesday we headed for the valley.

I was able to reschedule a doctors appointment

so I could hit 3 birds with one stone while we were up this trip.

we got into town about the time that the colemans pulled in.

so we visited at the shop for a bit before we went over to the gillies house

for dinner.

after dinner we went back over to mom and dad's.

we were getting out of the jeep and I hit a slick spot.... in toms... with

absolutely NO traction... and totally ate it!

I hit my back and head on the jeep on my way down...

yeah it hurt like HELL!

we spent the night over at the gillies house...

and it was a super rough night!

madyn had the hardest time sleeping!!!

poor girl had a belly ache.

she would be sleeping and start freaking out crying ow! ow! ow!

and then toot and fall back to sleep.

me and eric got up a bit before 5 so we could hit the road and

make my doctors appointment at 8.

we were EXHAUSTED!

thankfully micah and carilyn offered to watch madyn for

us so we didn't have to wake her up.

after my appointment I convinced eric to take me to target...

only my most favorite place EVER!!!!!

I sooooo enjoyed just walking around with him and talking.

after target we went to IKEA and Scheels to

do a little shopping.

and then out to eat at ol Joes Crab Shack.

it was soooo delicious but we got soooo full!

after Joes we hit the Jordan River Temple and attended a session.

we then drove back to heber and to stay at the colemans and get madyn back.

we seriously had the BEST day.

idk when the last time  is that we had like an actual date together.

it was just so refreshing...

i kinda love that guy a lot!

 Friday we hung around most of the day and

then went to the family dinner

for matt and lauren.

gina had it all so great!

the food was soooo yummy and decorated soooo cute.

Saturday we headed to the temple to see them get sealed.

 

 

it was a really nice sealing.

very short and sweet.

it was FREEZING outside!

 

 

so we tried to hurry hurry hurry and get going.

we went to lunch with micah, casey, mike, cindi, Shelbi and mom

it was SOOOOO good!

we then went and picked up Jackie and then headed

over to the ring ceremony, family dinner and reception.

after all the festivities it was a pretty long day.

it felt good to get back to the valley

and wind down.

our week off!

sunday was a great day...

desite the fact that getting going to 9 o'clock church was a little rough.

madyn had a great day in nursery.

she went right in and didn't even need to take a comfort toy.

she had to come out to get a diaper change and when she

went back in I watched her tell all her teachers how SHE CHANGED!

they all gave her high fives- she was pretty proud of herself.

we found out that next week she will start moonbeams...

im hoping she will handle that transition ok.

Monday I spent the day cleaning and getting the house back in order.

seriously it is a WRECK!

Tuesday we decided to head up to the mountains to

try out the truck!

we had a nice ride.

we were heading down side road and all the sudden a coyote

jumped right out in front of us.

eric hurried grabbed his 243 and darted out of the truck...

unfortunately it was a heavily wooded area so he didn't get a shot at it.

but as soon as he got out of the truck our sleeping madyn woke up.

she said- what's dad doing? I said he's going to shoot a coyote.

she got soooo excited- daddy shoot a witch?!?

sure mads, sure.

after that we really started seeing some animals.

we saw 5 head of elk...

unfortunately I couldn't get a good picture... even though I trekked through

knee deep snow to get it!
we also saw 3 moose

 and lots of heards of antelope and deer.
 

 

 

 

we also took a break from driving and let madyn sled around for a little bit.

of course she loved it!

I sure love those two!!!

 

 

that night Easton came over for a sleep over since Mark, Brandy and Graysen

had to go to a follow up appointment in Denver early the next morning.

Madyn and East had such a good day together.

I love how great of friends they are.

 

 

 my funny madyn stories of the day are....
1. she let Minnie watch her movie :)
I seriously love her imagination!

2. she likes being a monster...
she's obsessed with monsters, witches and dinosaurs right now.
she's a pretty scary one too huh?!?

3. I put up my new Christ statue in our living room.
Madyn went up to it and did a curtsy bow
and said Hi Jesus! I'm princess Madyn!
she makes me giggle A LOT!
later that night we went
to the cowboys basketball game.
 Thursday we ran a few errands around town and then
hung out for the most of the day.
eric was nice enough to let me take a nap.
I didn't feel so hot.
later that night I was worried about madyn not feeling so
good but by morning she had snapped out of it.
some reason on Friday and Saturday I still felt pretty nasty.
just weird and headachy and dizzyish.
but seriously having eric home has been a lifesaver so I could get some rest.
we spent the rest of the weekend watching football and
hanging out as a family.
boy I live the life don't I?!?
 



and a HaPpY NEW Year!

we woke up sunday morning to a broken lazy susan...

so of course madyn had to help her pop pop out!

 

 

she's a pretty silly girl!

 later that day we took off over to Heber.

we spent the day with micah and then when mom got into

town we went over to visit with grandma and grandpa cliften.

I got grandpa tom's history as a Christmas gift and I LOVE it!

especially the cover photo...

 

 

isn't he a cutie?!?

Monday we woke up and got ready

for matt and laren's bridal shower.

i was able to get a good nap in and it made

me feel sooo much better.

im seriously over feeling nasty after my tonsillectomy.

that night the shower was so nice and the

food was AMAZING!

we stayed a little later visiting.

aren't my grandparents the cutest?

 

 

seriously the pure definition of love.

Tuesday we got up and going and took off to Farmington.

we had to head over for a follow up appointment on my throat.

everything looked good and he made me feel

so much better about my nose surgery.

we had a good lunch and then headed back to the valley.

that night we went and hung out at the gillies house.

when we got home i used my steamer for the first time and cleaned

madyn's carseat.

i didn't think her seat was so bad until i took it apart....

i wanted to barf it was soooo disgusting!

Wednesday me and eric went down to the shop and worked.

they were soooo swamped.

and since most of my work i needed my dad, it felt like i didn't

get anything done.

but at the end of the day i actually got a lot accomplished.

after the shop i deep cleaned the liberty.

i LOVE a clean care!

that night we went and hung out with tony and watched some sports.

carilyn and dad were at a stake youth activity and

mom went to school to get some stuff done.

Thursday eric took madyn on a ride around on the fourwheeler.

she LOVED it!

even though it was FREEZING outside!

 

 

i also spent some time cooking and baking getting ready for

our new years party over at the hysell house.

 we had such a fun night.

we ate lots of yummy finger food!

then we played some games...

 

 

a horse game rylee made up... googley eyes... and then cards against humanity...

I knew it would be inappropriate... but not THAT inappropriate...

but it still was pretty hilarious.

we left Jamie's about a quarter after 11 and got ready for bed.

me and eric stayed up long enough to get our new year's kiss then fell quick asleep.

Friday we woke up to FREEZING temperatures!

 we were planning on going sledding but it was just too cold out.

so instead I gave payson a hair cut then we took off back to Laramie.

we decided to bring our truck back even though it's not quite finished.

I think eric is pretty excited about it.

I know I am.

madyn was sooo disappointed when we pulled up to our house.

she cried NO! NO! NO! I want GRANDMA!

but when she got inside and discovered her toys again she was good.

Saturday we got up and headed to Cheyenne. I wanted

to get a new shelving unit for madyn's room so I could organize her toys better.

it was a pretty quick trip which was good because I have been having

some nasty headaches.

welp it was another good week in the books.

soooo glad to be home!

it will be a busy week next week putting our house back in order...

it's a MAJOR MESS! and that is an understatement!