Brigam Deals with Death

Brigam has been a busy boy. He has been sharing his great self with Shirley Dickson who lives across the street from us. Shirley's husband, Dean, has been in a life care center since October of last year. He's been struggling with pneumonia several times among his battling diabetes and becoming increasingly confused. Shirley would spend a HUGE part of her day with Dean and return home each evening. Brigam loves to visit with "Grandma" Shirley and "Grandpa" Dean. Shirley, in turn, loves to have Brigam visit. She's really serious when she tells me that. He spends hours over there.

Two weeks ago, Saturday, Shirley had many, many people at her home. This wasn't abnormal, because she's had lots of family and friends visit her throughout this trying time. That morning, Mike and I took Brigam to his early morning baseball game. We came back about 11am. Mike and I left to go work on the house while Brigam changed out of his baseball clothes and donned on his safety hat and safety vest. He had a hold of his tool box in one hand and an extra safety hat in the other, just in case anyone else would need one. He headed over to Shirley's. He as there for hours! Eventually he made his way over to our other house. I asked him how it was at Shirley's. He said, "Great. There's a lot of people over there. They were all telling stories, so I had to tell a few of my own." I asked him what his stories were about. He said, "Oh, you know. Bottle rockets and fishing." Well, after I stifled a giggle, that was that.

About 9PM, Mike and I were still at the house when Jeremy called me and told me that Shirley just called him. She told him to let me know that Dean had passed away that morning and that was why all those people were over there. Heartbroken for Shirley, Mykalyn and I rushed over to her open arms. We cried a bit with her and then she told me how grateful she was to have Brigam spend that day with her. How he helped to make that day a bit more bearable. Then everyone there started talking about Brigam and his great personality. They all love him. I am actually not known by my given name, over there I am known as, "Brigam's Mom".

Before Mykalyn and I left, Shirley mentioned that she didn't tell Brigam that Dean had passed. She thought that should be my job.

I went home grateful that Brigam's little spirit could bring so much joy, but a little downtrodden at the task ahead.

As a family, we happened to all be gathered in the garage of the new house. I came down to Brigam's eye level and told him that Dean had died. That he was no longer at the life care center. He said, "Oh" and that was the full amount of emotion shown by him. I was a little surprised with his reaction. I remember Jeremy's tears when I met him at the bus stop after school one day when he was in second grade. We sat down on the curb together as I told him that his beloved scout leader, Brother Bailey, had passed away. There were tears, hugs and explanations of eternity. Brigam's reaction surprised me.

It was only a few moments later that the family parted ways. Tyler and his friend headed home. Mykie and Mike stayed in the garage. I headed into the house with Brigam close behind. About 10 feet from the garage, Brigam burst into tears. He said, "I am so sad that Dean died. He was so nice to me." I instantly wrapped my arms around him and cried with him for a few moments. Then I said, "Brigam, you've got a great family that really loves you. You are surrounded by people that love you and want to have you around. You live in a warm and welcoming home where we talk about many blessings we receive and it feels good at our house. Your life is pretty good and makes you happy, right?" He agreed, then I told him that with as good as this life is, Dean had gone to a place that was much better than this beautiful life that he left. That Dean missed his family, but was very happy where he was. He will be able to see all of his friends and family again.

Then Brigam spoke with a wisdom and understanding beyond his years. He said, "Right, and what's that word that means you'll never have to die again?" "Immortality?" I answered. "Yes," he continued, "Dean is immortal and well never have to die again. And he'll be resurrected because of what Jesus did, huh!" What a testimony and understanding all from a 7 year old. Simply a priceless moment.

What's Been Keeping You!!!!????

So it's been quite a while since the updating of the blog activity has been performed. I have been busy with my own "extreme home makeover" session added on to all my other activities. This update doesn't mean that our new home is "move-in" ready. We are still a few weeks away from that. This update only means that I am 700+ miles away from the house making working daily on it pretty close to impossible. I am actually at BYU Women's Conference. As always, it has been an uplifting and educational experience. Each time I come, the first thing I am in awe about is the amount of women that are in attendance. In fact, we tried to attend a class entitled, " Sweet and Simple Teachings that Create a Happy Marriage ( you see, I feel so badly that Mike is not in attendance at this spiritual and informative gathering that on occasion, I take a class particularly for Mike. I then take copious notes so that Mike can learn things as well. I am sure he appreciates me and my great suggestions for the betterment of his life. This "Happy Marriage" class fell into that category.) The "classroom" that this class was being held in actually holds about 1700 people. There are 15 other classes at this same time. Needless to say - we, and a bunch of other women, didn't get to attend the class. It was full. No worries though, I told Mike that I would make him a list of Sweet and Simple Things to make my, ( I mean "our" ) marriage a happy one. He is so looking forward to my list.

I've come to women's conference this year with Pam Nielsen, Sherri Russell and Marie Noble. (Not pictured is Marie. She was at a different class when this was taken.) It was a lot of fun. Belly laughing is good for all sorts of things. These girls make that easy. I should do it more often.

Not every class was a "winner" for me though. There were some that were making me "VERY, VERY SLEEPY" thus the need for Chocolate. You see my dad was a Boy Scout and taught me well. I am always prepared!!

I was greeted with this when I drove in from Women's Conf. Mykie (and Brigam made is own) created a welcome home sign for me. Wasn't that so sweet? She's such a girl!

I also got to meet Pam's parents, one sister, brother, a cousin, an "aunt" and a 2nd cousin this weekend. What a great family!!! Her mom and dad (and all of them) welcomed me right in. I am so glad that they are going to be up here with Pam for a change. She has really been looking forward to having them here.

I have also been so busy with that house, I almost completely missed the beginning of Spring. If it wasn't for Jeremy, I would have missed it all together. On a busy street close to our "houses", the city planted many, many trees that line both sides of the road for many, many blocks. These trees have been so bleak and naked for so many months.... Well, I had run Jeremy over to pass off a merit badge sandwiched between putting in a new light fixture and food shopping.

(This is that night at the Court of Honor where Jeremy is now a Life scout. By the end of this year he should get his Eagle. And he's only 14 - what a focused stud-muffin!)

Now back to the story......

As we were pulling out onto this tree lined street - waiting to turn left, Jeremy says, "Mom, these trees are so beautiful! And they smell sooooooo good! Don't they look beautiful?" As I was waiting for a break in the traffic, I looked with new eyes at that lined street. They were beautiful. It looked like fragrant, fluffy clouds on each side of the street. I thought to myself, "When did that happen?" I mean, I drive that street EVERYDAY. I couldn't believe that I had almost missed it and because of my 14 year old boy that actually appreciates beauty, I didn't miss it. Jeremy is the best! Just to prove I don't always miss things, I took this picture of Spring at BYU while we were there. Aren't they so cute?

Tyler just experienced his first Senior Prom. It was his first (and most likely) last school prom. He went with Carmen, the same girl that he went to homecoming with. Now before you get any ideas about a little lovin' goin' on - He asked Carmen because it was a no pressure date. It was a date of convenience for a night of no romantic pressure fun. They went to Bonefish Grill where Tyler learned about overpriced food and small portions for the money. He did have a fantastic looking tux (as you can see). He even had shoes that matched his tie. I am NOT KIDDING! Anyway, he got the tux for a bargain price - he is always getting the good deals! I need to take him shopping with me more often. He even found us an (originally) $1300 couch for the barn for $200 at Walker's furniture. It was a returned item, but it is going to work great for the "play room" in the barn. It was the most comfy couch of all the couches there. I should know, we sat on all of them. Tyler would go to a couch, sit in it, say, "Nope, this isn't the one." And quickly proceed to another one only to say the same thing. I showed him the clearance room and there he found "The One". For a man, he really knows how to shop!

Well, the carpet comes in at the end of the week. We are excited. I told the kids (who are having one heck of a time living together in this house for some reason) that they can sleep on the floor of their new carpet on Saturday the 9th if they want. We will be slowly moving our stuff in during the days that follow. Maybe the kids will want to help again???? That would be a marvel! Then Pam's folks, Mike and Lorraine, will be able to move in here and take care of Mom and Dad's house and the garden! Mom and Dad, it won't all go to weeds now - Lorraine is here!!!!

So there is light at the end of the tunnel - not just another paint can to open! :) I'll post more pictures soon!

Before and Now (not AFTER because we are not quite there yet!!)

The following is a report on why I haven't put anything in this blog for so dang long!!!! With help from the family and the super support from my BFF Pam - here's what's been keeping me occupied!

The house before.... The house now..... the shutters are on a little hiatus - they are looking for a new coat of paint in hunter green.

The front room then ....

The front room now with the "magic" paint that seems to change actual color with each room we paint it in.....

The kitchen then with (mostly) '74 cabinets.....The kitchen now. Yes, it's that blue. I really see it perfectly with the cabinet fronts being refaced and painted a cream color. Seriously.....This is the cabinet in it's nakedness. It's really going to be uber cool! I just might start making nightly dinners again!The stairs before.....

The stairs now. This wood is so pretty. I'll have to work on some worn spots with stain to match it, but the look is really beautiful with all the other wood in the house.

The master bedroom before. The rose carpet is loverly!!!The master now - with the magic paint.Mykie's room before - no seriously - that's really what it looked like.

Mykie's room now. The walls are such a bright yellow that every time I walk past her room I think the lights are on. She wants orange and hot pink in there. It really looks great. Being so bright, it fits her personality perfectly.

Brigam's room before....

Brigam's room now. It is a tool themed room. The words on the wall are different tools made with a font in which each letter is created from tool shapes. Everything is going to be "tool" themed including his "construction" headboard and his sawhorse night stand. More to come.Tyler's room before....

Tyler's room now.... He originally wanted black (what?? Is he Gothic?) So we decided to go with dark blue and white. A definite U of U lover with those bedroom colors? Whatever!
Jeremy's room before.....

Jeremy's room now. He wants it black and white. I'm ok with the black as long as it is on posters. New York, jets, the SLC temple. It will be filled with black and white posters. Go black! The barn before....

The barn now. It also is missing it's hunter green shutters.My craft room (in the barn) before.....

My craft room now painted with the magic paint! I am so excited to fill it with paper and vinyl!!!!

Barn living room before....

Barn living room now.... It's going to be a great place for the kids and their friends to hang out. (Especially since I will be right upstairs ANYTIME I WANT)

Barn kitchen before.... Barn kitchen now.....

Garage before....

Garage now... Look, we've already started making it look stuffed with stuff!

We are all working hard on making the house our home. Carpet should be here in a couple of weeks, so there is still work ahead of us, but it's coming together.

I hope Christmas comes quickly!

All he wants for Christmas is his two front teeth!

Brigam finally lost the other tooth to his front set of "front and center" teeth. It was a battle that I closed my eyes through most of the time.

That tooth was gross and just hanging there forever!!!! Not even a promise of the tooth fairy visit could make that boy want to let Mike pull that puppy out. It hung there so long that I almost yanked it myself OK, OK, you know that's a lie. I touched it once and then thought I'd loose my lunch if I did anymore than that. But it was bugging me.

He totally looked like a red-neck that got into one too many fights with the wrong side of a bull. But now it's gone and he looks so cute. He reminds me of Halloween - he looks like a Jack-O-Lantern.

I do hope these teeth grow in quick and strait - if not, who's going to eat all those apples in my fridge?

A New Place to Hang My Hat

Finally, we have done it. We have closed on "the white house". Interestingly enough, this is the same house that Mike and I tried to buy in 2002 right before we moved to Pasco, but it was out of our price range. It is a foreclosure, so we actually got the house for about what it was selling for back in 2002.

On last Friday, we finally were able to get all the paperwork signed and are now just waiting for the banks to "trade" mortgage money and then the keys will be ours - Tuesday by the latest. We had the greatest agent. If you need one, let me know and I will get her information to you!

It will be a nice house. The structure is really good, but the inside needs A LOT OF WORK. So does the yard, but that's not my department.

The kitchen is a galley kitchen - long and narrow and the cabinets need assistance, but we can make it happen. I don't think we'll replace the cabinets - although that would be nice, but we'll have to see what really happens. I have some ideas, but Mike can't picture it quite yet.

I will post before and afters of each room as we re-do them. It should make for some interesting material. But, just to wet your appitite - here are shots of the outside of the property.

This is the front of the house - two story with a basement. Very roomy. I won't be hitting children with my elbows when I turn around anymore.

Here's the back of the house. It's French doors bring in a lot of light to that kitchen. It's pretty light all the way around.

This is "The Barn" for lack of a better name. It was set up as a rental unit with a living room/kitchen area on the main and a bathroom/bedroom area up top. Now it will be the Theater Room complete with a kitchen and my Craft Room complete with a bathroom. LUCKY ME AND MY CRAFT STUFF (and my bladder)!

Here is the final building on the property. It is a two car wide/two car deep garage made very securely. It will be a great place to park the vehicles, store boxes of decorations and other stuff we never will get rid of (we'll make our kids do that when we're gone), and our own little gym.

I am a bit excited about the prospects of it all. I have a busy next couple of months ahead of me.

By the way, if anyone wants to join me for a "paint taping party" let me know and I will send along an invitation! :)

And here is a shot of the cute photographers that got these shots for me - Madison, Mykalyn and Shayla. They are super great girls and I love them to death!!!

My Wrestler

Because of an old snowboarding injury that occurred right before wrestling season started this year, Jeremy hasn't been able to wrestle very much. He's only had a total of 3 matches. He's either sat on the sidelines or just come home for the meets. I've been feeling really bad for him, because he's been such a team player. He still goes to every practice - even those early morning Wednesday ones that I have to put a ball cap on to get him to on time. What a trooper.

But with only 2 meets left, Jeremy decided - at great risk to his shoulder's safety - that he would wrestle.

You know that there are 3 periods in each match. They are each 1 1/2 minutes long. That means that at a parent you are looking at having your adrenaline on HIGH for a possible 4 1/2 minutes. When your child does that (drags it out that long) it's just plain RUDE. I mean, my heart can't hardly take it! Jeremy was so thoughtful of me this time, he decided to only utilize about 40 seconds of that 4 1/2 minutes to get the job done. Here's the video:

AND PINNED!!!!!!!

Hey, you don't think that that last little bit of gymnastics wasn't a bit over the top, do you? I call it showboating, but he does do that little back-to-the-feet move with much ease, don't you think?

He's such a great kid and I am so proud of his continuing with his team even when he wasn't able to have the reward of having a match.

The Mr. Pasco Update

(Before you begin.....

I had a heck of a time getting video to post to this blog. Originally I wanted to post 3-4 clips, but it just wouldn't work, so then I finally got one to on here, but now my blog is black. You'll just have to use your imagination. Back to the report......)

Well, it has been about four weeks since Mr. Pasco so I think I can finally report on the results of that. The reason why it has taken so long to report is that I was waiting for the stitches to heal. No, no, not that Tyler got hurt trying to do his running-off-the-wall-and-do-a-back-flip trick, but from the stitches in my sides that I got because I busted a gut laughing for two hours straight!!!! That was about the funniest and funnest time I had ever had at a "beauty" contest. There were 4 Juniors and 6 Seniors. I thought it might be a little boring with the "talent" portion, but it was anything but. I took my video camera to video Tyler's 9 minute portions (that would be 3 each minutes for the swimsuit contest, talent portion and evening wear along with questions by the panel), but I left with about 1 1/2 hours of video. I could not turn the camera off! Those boys were so creative. I just wish we could have sat a little closer so I didn't have the girls' heads in front of me on the camera.

The swimsuit contest was a hoot. I am sure that there was a rule that stated that you had to keep a shirt on, man those boys were super creative. Tyler was great in the swimsuit portion. He came out all dressed for snowboarding and "realized" that he was "overdressed" for the occasion and had to strip down. He got some "whooooooo"s from the audience!

He did well and looked very good (not biased). I do want you to know that the pile of clothing he left on his floor reminded me of home. That's what his floor usually looks like. I think that the funniest was when one of the boys came out with one of those shirts that have a woman's bikini clad body screen printed on the t-shirt.

Next came the talent portion of the program. That was so funny. Tyler was not very happy with his performance, so I've been asked not to post it. I thought it was great. He really went out of his comfort zone doing his version of "America's Best Dance Crew", but without the crew. Although I feel this way, I will comply to his wishes.

But, this one was so dang funny, I wish I could get the video to post! It just won't, but it reminded me of Adam Sandler and his Haunkkah song. It was called "The Spanish Love Song". He filled the songs with all the spanish phrases he knew and then finished it with words he knew in Spanish like counting numbers (although he sang that he forgot what #11 was in Spanish), words like tacos and cinnamon twists. It was FUNNY.

Clever. And that wasn't the only one that was clever. Those boys have such great imaginations! In fact, after seeing Carlin Andrew's performance, I will never hear the song, "All The Single Ladies" by Beyonce and NOT think of his little dance. That has forever burned my retinas.

They then went on to the question/evening wear portion. Tyler looked very dapper and dealt with the "heavy" questions very well.

All in all, I'd have to say that it was well worth the $1.00 and 1 can for the food drive that we paid to get in. The best $1.00 I've spent in a long time. Better than any comedy club and much cleaner too. The one thing that I was really so impressed with was the support from the student body. The place was pretty well packed and EVERYONE cheered EVERYONE on. There were no boos or any negativity. The boys could be so entertaining and not worry about being made fun of. Very different than my memory of my high school days.

So, if you ever have a chance to attend the Mr. Pasco program, my strong suggestion is to DO IT, DO IT, DO IT! You will not be disappointed.

In the end, the judges didn't judge correctly - Tyler wasn't crowned Mr. Pasco, but because we were so entertained, I will forgive their faux pas. Besides, Tyler will ALWAYS be Mr. Pasco to me.

PS Jeremy was paying close attention to all the performances. I asked him if he was getting any good ideas. He responded, "Oh Yeah!" So I guess in a couple of years I'll be advertising the upcoming contestant for Mr. Southridge. I'll keep you all posted.