November 24, 2017

Mom came over this morning to say goodbye.  In a sad turn of events, Jaron has gotten really sick.  Joni rushed him down to Salt Lake to the hospital, and they've admitted him.  He is having trouble breathing and he is very sick to his stomach.  I guess his pain has been so out of control.  Stalee was there and J.B. and Laura have been there, too.  But Mom is cutting her time in St. George a little short to rush back up and help Joni.  We've all been so sad for Jaron.  Many, many prayers have been offered on his behalf.  This is going to be a very difficult road for their family, with so many unexpected turns.  We all love them and pray for their comfort.

Mom dropped off her "Twelve Days of Christmas" for our family.  Before Dad died, they had started planning this and working on it.  Since it was such a huge undertaking, she almost decided to just forget about it.  But then she realized that it was what Dad had wanted to do, and so she has worked really hard to get it finished.  We are SO excited to get started on it.  We all hugged her tight and kissed her goodbye.  Poor Mom.  Her life can't ever just be calm.

Julia started her basketball tournament in Las Vegas today.  Emma and I went with her.  But before we left we had a lovely lunch of leftovers.  I mostly ate stuffing and pumpkin pie.  I found it somewhat ironic that in the end, I ate nearly a whole pumpkin pie and sat on my duff for two days, while Julia practically died form exhaustion while playing FIVE basketball games in two days!  One of us made slightly healthier choices than the other!!

I've probably gained five pounds!  But, it's been so lovely to eat the things I love the very most in the world.  I will say, however, that eating a whole pumpkin pie definitely has it's consequences! 😂

Emma and I had a great time cheering for Julia!  She's so much fun to watch.  She played two games tonight, and almost played the whole time.  She was pretty tired, but we went and had a cozy dinner at Panera.  It was really dark by the time we checked into our hotel.  We love our little girl trips for sports.  Emma has this tradition that we need to watch "Shark Tank."  And sure enough, it was on TV.  It always is.  It's kind of strange that no matter where we are, Shark Tank is on the TV.  So, we watched that a bit before falling asleep.  And I finally convinced Emma that, for the first time, Julia deserved her own bed.

Julia's so awesome.  The coach has her play the top spot on defense a lot.  

As I fell asleep, I was heartsick for Joni and Jaron.  We are all a little shocked at how much this is closely resembling Dad's journey.  He has blood clots in his lungs, trouble breathing, bowel issues...  It's traumatizing to all of us to be reliving this nightmare.  Mom sent a lovely text to all of us saying that another thing that resembles that time is that we are all still a close knit family, willing to love and support one another.  So even though it feels like we are right back in the trauma, we are also right back in each others' thoughts and prayers.  And Joni responded, "Yes, we have so much to be grateful for."

Heavenly Father, in His everlasting wisdom, sent us to be part of a family.  It is the best and greatest way to learn and grow and feel His love.  Not every family lives up to their potential, but I am so blessed to be part of this amazing family.  We have trials and traumas, but we have each other.  And for that, I am extremely grateful.  Nothing else matters.

I love my beautiful girls!
Julia and Emma