Slow Dance

I've been in deep thought tonight.

Thinking a lot about cancer(surprise, surprise), thinking about how many lives it affects, wishing they had a cure, wondering why they don't. Did you know there are over 100 different types of cancer? And they are usually caused by one abnormal cell. It's a mystery with so many dependents. The finder for a cure would certainly be heaven sent(besides a multi-billionaire)-it's too complex otherwise.

I stumbled across a blog (a friend of a friend) tonight that told of another family just learning that their 6 year old son was diagnosed with ALL (same as Rylee's- it brought many emotions to the surface), reading about another friend who is in the middle of her battle with cancer, finding out a few months ago of a good friend of mine's mom diagnosed with breast cancer. Then, I started looking down my blog list and realized that many of you have experienced cancer in one way or another. Next month is breast cancer awareness- tonight I wanted to pass along a poem that a friend emailed me awhile ago in tribute to all those who have fought, are fighting or will fight this terrible disease. I'm sure they learned to slow down and realized what life is really all about.

"Slow Dance"

(This is a poem written by a teenager girl with cancer. It was passed along by her doctor.)

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round? Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight? Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down.

Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last.

Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask how are you? Do you hear the reply?When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head?

You'd better slow down.

Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last.

Ever told your child, we'll do it tomorrow? And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die cause you never had time to call and say,'Hi'?

You'd better slow down.

Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere, you miss half the fun of getting there. When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....thrown away.

Life is not a race. Do take it slower. Hear the music...before the song is over.

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I hate to name names, but I was shocked when I realized how many of you have also been affected by cancer (You'll know who you are). And this is just from those who read my blog.

Thinking of:

Amy H.'s father-in-law
Allison's friends
Amy S's mom
Katie C's mom
Jenny J's brother
Hailey's mom
Meagan's sister
Charakie's husband
Audra's brother-in-law
Jillian's mom and mother-in-law
Stephanie W's husband
Nicole's mom
Toni's mom
Katie' E's daughter
Rich's dad and sister
Tiffany S's husband
Vince's sister and wife
Angie herself
Leilani's mom
Tracy's mother-in-law
Sydney's sister
Ardath's husband
Bev's dad
Our families granddaughter, niece and cousin
Jace and Jaden's sister
Mine & Justin's daughter
Rylee herself

Leave a comment if I forgot anyone or if I named anyone wrongly. I think it would be interesting to note what kind of cancer too. Seriously, Race for the Cure!

I'd love to do a post but....

1. Old computer got a virus

2. New computer took awhile to get here.

3. Trying to get familiar with new computer- anyone a fan of the new Word program, how about Vista? Not sure what I think about it. Maybe I should have gotten a Mac? Change takes awhile.

4. All of my pictures, files, life are on the old computer- tyring to figure out how to transfer it over without transfering the stupid virus as well.

5. Have a ton of enrichment stuff that I'm trying to figure out/organize. Speaking of organization- anyone feel qualified to teach a class on organization? Let me know any recommendations from people in this area. Or...I'd love to hear your best organizational tips- the class is on creating a system (homework, mail, housework, kids toys-anything that needs organizing). Or..if you have a picture of something really organized, email it to me for ideas!

6. Life moves at a rapid pace. I always have more to do than gets done.

7. Silver lining is that we have been busy, so updates will be fun once I get to them.

Jace Turns Five!

Happy Birthday Jace!



Five years ago tomorrow (Aug. 30), we welcomed our first son into this world. Amazing how fast it has gone. Jace is growing up so much. We threw him a carnival themed birthday party and invited all of his friends and he had a wonderful day!

Our computer got a virus, so I'm using my SIL's computer, but I'll post more details of his party once our new computer arrives.

We love Jace & and appreciate all of the help he is to us and Rylee and Jaden. He's had to deal with a lot this year and has learned quite a bit about sacrifice, compassion and selflessness. Our family wouldn't be the same without him. He's a great boy & we're lucky to have him.

What's grosser than gross?

It's true...you learn something new every day.

My kids always think that flies are bees. To try to teach them that flies are harmless, I picked out a book on flies at the library. What did we learn? That flies are disgusting and not as harmless as I assumed.

Here's what it said. Gross!

Houseflies lay their eggs in rotting, smelly vegetables or in bad meat. (Yes those little white things headed for the food are fly eggs- YUCK!) Sometimes flies lay their eggs in our food. Female houseflies...come into our kitchens and eat our food. Flies squirt juice onto their food (which is really our food) to make it very soft. The flies then suck the food throught their feeding tubes.

The fly lays hundreds of eggs. After about two days, the eggs hatch into larvae. THe larvaie of many types of flies are often called maggots.

You might want to think twice about leaving food out uncovered or for long periods of time.

Makes me want to throw up.

Cute 'lil Bubby

Here are some cute pictures of Jaden that Tasha took for me. I'll show more off later. He couldn't keep his hands off the grain- he pulled it right out and of course, it went straight to his mouth.

We've still got more shots we want to try out.

It's so fun to have a photographer & nice camera to play around with.

Isn't She Lovely

My SIL Tasha got herself a new camera, so we took Rylee out for her to practice on.

I love how they turned out. Once I get the CD, I'll show more.

Our Lake Powell Get-Away

Since this past year has been like a run-away train for us, we decided that we needed to get away from it all. We needed a break, some time to breath, to think, to rejuvenate, to escape.

Nothing like a week in Lake Powell!

We went June 14-20 with some of our long-time friends:

Chris & Cindy Merrill, Ryan & Becca Nelson and Vince & Angie Byram.

Beautiful Lake Powell-the scenery is amazing there!

The guys- some things never change, they've been friends forever & haven't changed much.

Our group at Rainbow Bridge (all of us plus Ryan & Becca's kids & their babysitters who came along).

Lake Powell in a nutshell:

Reading, lounging, riding the banana, laying out, wake boarding, water skiing, lots of good company, hot weather, tons of yummy food (thanks to Chris & Cindy), boating, that darn tube-scares me to death, water trampoline, jet skiing, baths in the lake, nice house boat accommodations, cards or movies @ night, lots of pictures, some good wipe outs, a small storm & some rain, a fun road trip there and one packed Suburban.

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Of course, nothing is without complication in our life.

We were lucky that we actually ended up even getting there. The weekend we were scheduled to leave, Rylee of course ran a fever. What? We thought we were out of the danger zone? Wishful thinking- she ended up with a 3 day stay in the hospital instead for low counts. She was discharged on the Sunday that we had planned on leaving- after a firm recommendation from her Dr. that we'd be okay to still go, we did just that. A few hours behind schedule, but we still went.

Then.....

We get to St. George where we were staying the first night and 5 minutes from where we were staying, the Suburban (yes, our new one we got for Christmas) suddenly dies. WHAT? It was midnight, we were on the on-ramp of the freeway, everything was closed, we were pulling the boat- which was full of food and everything else, the OnStar diagnostic center was closed, so we weren't sure what the problem even was. We had heard a drop when it stalled, so the guys suspected the transmission, but it would only go in reverse or in low gear. Anyways, to make a long story short- we ended up being able to drive it in low gear to where we were staying and got it in the shop the next day. Thankfully, it was still under warranty- it ended up being the sprag? which is a part of the transmission. Apparently they've had some trouble with this- good to know. Now it's fixed. {Thank you to our St. George life lines that we called way past a respectable hour to help us.} Wouldn't be a road trip if something didn't happen right- you've got to come back with a good story.

And...

A huge, huge thanks to Justin's mom & family and my sister Jennifer, niece McKell & my family who were willing to take on our responsibilities for a week. We're in a difficult position and know that it is no small task.

Despite it all, we had a Good Time!