So here's the rundown for 2010. It's almost impossible to believe that this only took one year; it kinda feels like ten.
January: It began just 11 days into Keira's new life on Earth. She is beautiful! Joe gave her a blessing and her name on the first Sunday of the year and it was such a delightful contrast from Ari's. He had blessed Ari that she would be the "manifestation of God's love in the lives of those around you." To Keira, he simply said, "You will be a leader." As I write this on the approach of her first birthday, it is already evident.
Rick was still working nights at Wal-Mart. He would work all night, come home and shower, work all day trying to build an insurance business from scratch, then fall into bed for very few hours of sleep while I tried to keep the kids under control after working all day in a job that was killing me.
In the midst of what was supposed to be the best years of our lives, I learned what it was like to be a single parent. It sucks. I take my hat off and bow deeply to those people who do it for real, because there is no doubt in my mind that I could never. One day in Sacrament Meeting, a recent convert gave a talk in which he stated that there is always an ebb and flow to everything in life, and it hit me so hard. We were in the ebb, but the flow would come.
President Seaman released Rick from his calling as Stake Executive Secretary. It just about killed all of us. He loved that calling and the men he served and served with, but he couldn't keep up with it. It was one of the saddest visits to a church leader's office I've ever experienced.
On a much happier note, we found out we were waiting for a new little grandbaby. Brianne spent her whole pregnancy this time just so sick, but she made it through.
Whitney and Joe got their family pictures back. One was a shot of them walking away from the camera, holding Ari's hands as she toddles along between them. The caption: Raising a child with Down syndrome doesn't TAKE a great family; it MAKES a great family.
February: Ridge turns 20 in the mission field, and I am so thankful for his wonderful emails and the life he is living. He is learning to serve with - and in spite of - companions who don't always want to live the mission rules. He grows stronger all the time, and it's a wonderful thing to watch.
I am on the phone with Whitney one day and she says, "Mom, every day in my prayers, I ask Heavenly Father to please make it so something will happen and Dad can quit the Wal-Mart job." Oh, the power of prayer.
My dad was diagnosed with lung cancer. Slow-growing, chemo, new words in our family vocabulary.
Ward had knee surgery. Whitney and Joe took the girls and went to San Francisco. Bishop called Rick to be one of the Gospel Doctrine teachers.
On February 28, I wrote to Ridge, "Daddy has still been down and struggling to recover from the flu that hit him like a truck." The answer to Whitney's prayers! Laugh. Out. Loud. It affected his inner ear and he was never able to go back to work at Wal-Mart. Blessings come in crazy ways.
My job in the curriculum department was. . .ummm. . .well, there's not really a nice way to put it. It was a 60-hour-per-week position and I could only work 40 because I had a kindergartener and all kinds of other challenges. What was supposed to be a professional sit-down with my supervisor got really personal and really ugly. Ten months have gone by now, and I'm still - well, repenting - for how I feel about that little conversation.
I started writing a book. A boring little book about benchmark testing and curriculum building. It will take months to finish it and get a copyright, but I'll use it to train small schools.
March: We spent a few days during spring break with my dad and sister. He was holding up pretty well from the chemo.
April: Dominik took a nose-dive over the handlebars of his bike and had to have several stitches in his knee. Ward baptized his nearly-ninety-years-old grandmother. I had a root canal. Ha ha - that sounds terrible, but it wasn't really that bad. Rick went on a big hike in Aravaipa Canyon with a bunch of folks who grew up in Safford and he had a great time. Whitney got accepted into nursing school.
May: The Gila Valley Temple was dedicated. We have still never been to it, although we oohed and aahhhed when we drove by. The chemo landed my dad in the hospital and when he came home, he was so weak that he kept falling. He went back to the hospital and they transferred him to a nursing home for rehab, which was a great blessing. I went down for a few days and used up some of my vacation time. It was a relief to get away from work; the atmosphere was so tense that it was becoming unbearable. It was good to just walk away and know that I didn't have to go back excpet to pack my stuff. Helena came for a week-long visit and then Gabe went to Norway with her for the whole summer.
June: Whitney went to work at Carden Children's Hospital in Mesa and she is so excited to work in pediatrics. Camille asked me to be her escort when she went to the temple and it was so humbling. My purse got stolen, along with the kids' DVD players. We had gone to Perryville to visit Stephanie and someone kicked the window out of the car and took everything while we were in there. At least they didn't get my camera - I was counting my blessings. In mid-June, I pretty much moved to Anthem to spend the summer with my sister and dad. She needed a break and some help. While we were there, everyone came down with the flu (except my dad - thank goodness), and I was so sick that I couldn't drive up to Show Low for Camille's temple day and wedding. I was so disappointed that I just laid in bed and cried.
July: After about 5 months of living with us, Dillon moved to Flagstaff to live with his mom. I flew to Salt Lake on July 14 and we welcomed Bristol to the world on the 15th. She is beautiful!! I flew back on the the 18th and got to Whitney's just in time for Ari's birthday party. Camille lost her mom, and I felt like I failed her by not being there for her important days.
August: Cindy and Troy moved back and it is so good to have her here again. I feel so caught in limbo sometimes; I'm way too old to hang out with the moms who have kids the ages of "our" kids, but everyone my age is off running around, enjoying their empty-nest years. Cindy is the perfect mix of "I can relate to you", and I really needed a dose of her common sense and level head. Gabe got stuck in D.C. on his return trip because of late flights and stayed at the D.C. Hilton all by himself. It was a crazy trip home for him. We dropped the kids off for their first day of school and did the Happy Dance when we got home because we had the house to ourselves. I submitted my book for a copyright. Whitney started nursing school. We all met up in Safford for a weekend so the kids could go to the lake. It was the first time I had been to Safford in about 4 years, which is so wierd. . .
September: We went to Salt Lake for Bristol's blessing and it was a wonderful trip. I got my insurance license again, and I'll never let it lapse this time - it gets harder and harder to pass the stupid test! Rick went back up to Utah to help Ward pour concrete in their basement. Their house remodel has been agonizingly slow for them. They always have to wait for someone to schedule their "little" job in between the big projects. They have been living in a one-bedroom apartment for months now, and it is so hard to be so far away and not be able to help them.
October: My dad is one tough old bird. I had determined that we would be planning his funeral before the end of summer, but his plans were not the same as mine. He has definitely aged, and shuffles along more like the 85-year-old that he is, but he is alive and kicking, dressing himself, feeding himself, and even showering with very little help. Joe went on meds for his blood pressure, and I'm breathing a sigh of relief because I was really getting worried about him. I interviewed with Arizona Virtual Academy for an online teaching position, and I have mixed feelings about going back to work. I have so enjoyed just helping Rick in our insurance "office", but we really need the income. They talked about hiring me as an English interventionist, and I was kind of dreading it. We picked Damien up from Adobe Mountain and went to Safford for Rick's 40-year reunion. We stayed at Steve and Cheryl's and had such a great time.
November: I started my new job with AZVA. Double good news: they hired me as a History and Psychology teacher, which tickles me to death, and I will be making more money than I did my last two years in Show Low. Yay for me!! Rick is super busy with Medicare supplements and the like. Damien is settling in pretty well. I am trying to keep my blood pressure down while I climb a learning curve like I've never seen before. There is a 2-week training that new teachers take, and it is intense. On the 4th day of the training, they put me in my classes. Wow. Still, I think I'm going to like it. Thanksgiving was quiet, with just the kids, us, and Joe Miles. I started putting up Christmas decorations right after I finished the dishes. ( : We splurged and bought a new dining room set and it was so fun to have for Thanksgiving!
December: Rick is blowing and going with his business, trying to keep up. I am finally starting to feel like I might survive the new job and actually get it figured out. I have gotten my second paycheck and it makes me feel much more secure. I've been busily ordering Christmas gifts and that's always fun. I'm writing this on December 3rd, so we'll see what the rest of the month brings.
