Family Party! FUN! FUN! FUN!

We finally got together as a family this Sunday! The cousins had a blast! Check them out playing volleyball. They are growing up way too fast. Here are some fun pictures from the night. There are a lot of pictures for Lisa. We missed you and can't wait to see you.

Chillin and trying to be cool.Diane is sleep walking again. LOLApparently it runs in the Jones family. Lace is taking a snooze as well."I'm happy as long as I have my chocolate cake!"Justine is Peekaboo's best friend. She loves to feed her and it shows. Peekaboo is fat!Awe...the cute teenagers.

I'm so cool I wear my sunglasses in the shade.The hostess with the mostess. Wow! I'm getting old! Geez!

Cousins at play! Love it!
I'm not sure what is happening and who is going for the ball. I just know another Jones is closing their eyes.Who me?

Death

Death is a funny thing...no one likes to talk about it much, no one wants to be around it, and no one wants to think about there own death. I have had a lot of time lately to think about the process of dying. How life is too short to worry about all the little things that don't matter. My step father Boyd has been very ill this last year. In fact he has been in a hospital bed in the living room which he only leaves go to dialysis. But this last week we met with the Hospice group to discuss his health. It is always hard to know it is only a matter of time before someone dies. We gathered in the living room where they told us that my mother could no longer carry him to the bathroom that is was dangerous for both of them. They told us that Boyd would need to wear diapers. How sad! The one thing that gives you a little dignity in all of this is now gone. They told us that Boyd would need to decide if he wants to stop going to dialysis, but as far as they were concerned that they felt it was too hard and dangerous to transport him. We knew this had been an issue for awhile. No one wanted to make the decision. Boyd had been struggling with this for weeks. Is is committing suicide if you don't go? Can I leave my family? I don't want them to suffer like they did when their mother died of cancer? Should he just give up and not go? I knew these were all questions he was asking himself. He told me how scared he was of dying, but if he fell he could break a hip and be in a lot of pain. Hospice told us they were going to tell Boyd these things and that we should be prepared. They told Boyd their concerns who surprisingly enough accepted wearing depends. The next day he was scheduled for dialysis and surprised everyone by saying he wasn't going and wouldn't go again. He seemed really at peace with himself after making this hard decision. Finally the end would come. His Doctor gave him a week to live. It has now been a week and we have been taking turns sleeping in the same room as Boyd so my mom can get some sleep. As a lay on the couch I could hear his labored breathing. Would he die while I was there? I thought to myself...that might be a good thing so my mother wouldn't feel the burden of him dying while she was alone with him. Is he scared? How long can he hold out? He was an amazing person. He had already died 3 times and come back to life. It doesn't seem fair that one person dies quickly and another waits and waits. I didn't get much sleep that night. He would stop breathing for what seemed like forever and I would wake up to see if he had died, but then he would catch his breath and begin breathing hard again. This continued through the night. I was really nervous to go at first, but then I thought what a privileged it was to be here, with this man in his final days. He came into our life after having a dream he was suppose to marry my mom. We thought he was crazy, but in all honesty he was an answer to our prayers. We needed someone to really love and take care of our mother after all of these years of her being alone. He always treated me like his own daughter. I believe that a passing of a loved one can be a very spiritual experience that can bring us closer to our Heavenly Father. We are all going to die one day. I just hope, when that day comes, that I am ready to meet my Savior and tell him I did everything I could do to return back to him. I love Boyd! He led an amazing life which I was fortunate enough to be a part of. I pray each day that he will pass quietly and pain free. How blessed we have all been able to have you in our lives.

Amazing Kids!

You know you always pray and hope your kids turn out to be amazing people. That they are kind and loving to others. I have seen my children grow up to be more than I could ever imagined. I was talking to my mom the other day about some of the great things my kids have done and what people have said about them. She said you need to write it in your journal and I thought that is what my blog is. I may not be the best writer, but it will do. So here are some of those special moments I want to share....

I was stopped in the hall at church this Sunday by a parent who said how impressed he was with Marissa. That he had never met any young lady that was as kind, loving and polite to people. He told me that if his daughter could learn just a few of these traits that Marissa has that he would be so happy. WOW! My daughter even impresses adults. You always wonder how your children act when they are away from you. You hope they behave. I was so in awe...and yet he was right Marissa is an amazing Young Women who had grown into her own. That same day I walked into a scout meeting late and all the chairs were taken. As soon as Austin saw me he stood up and offered his seat to me while he stood behind me. I was so proud of him. As I looked around I could see admiration in the other parents eyes. Now for Bre...I took the Young Women on a hike this last week to prepare for camp. We hiked up Adams Canyon. It was a pretty difficult hike and a lot of the girls complained the whole way, but not my daughter. When only a few wanted to venture the rough hike all the way to the falls Bre was by my side. She never gave up. There were times when I thought I wasn't going to make it and there she was plugging away. And finally my kids have been troopers. After our Bishop told us to cut back on things and try to save money we decided to see how long we could last without air. So... we decided to sleep in the basement to keep cool at night. It's kinda fun. We set up the tent and put our mattress in it. They seem to be handling it pretty good. No complaints yet! I am so blessed to have such caring loving children. They are amazing people that have so much to give and to teach me. They have become my best friends. I love them so much and I am so grateful that families are forever.

Pioneer Trek Fun Run!

Yes, I know I have been terrible at blogging lately. My life has just been CRAZY busy. However I am very grateful that I feel like I have to blog so I can get down the things that happen in our life. Trust me I know I'm not the best writer, but I just need to write about events in our lives so we don't forget them. So it is 5 a.m. and I figure this is the only time I can fit it in. Only 4 days left of school and then things might slow down a bit. Not only am I trying to finish up school and be camp director... Grant and I just got called to be Pioneer Trek parents. Instead of getting the 4 months to prepare we have 5 weeks to pull it off. So we have a lot of work and a lot of planning for the summer. Anyways... all the Young men , Young Women, and parents are required to to run/walk 4 miles in one hour in order to be able to go. They call it the "Fun Run". Isn't it funny how people call it a "Fun Run" when you know it's not. It's like they try and trick you into thinking it is fun and it is anything but that. It makes me laugh. We also made Marissa come since it also became a Young Women's activity. Boy did she fight us on that. So a couple of weeks ago we got up at 6:00 a.m. I have to admit I was nervous because I didn't think I was in that great of shape. I thought for sure my 15 year old daughter would have kicked my butt. To my surprise it was the other way around. Grant and I had to practically drag her through the route. She was so slow. After 3 miles of watching everyone pass us Grant and I were dying to take off. So Bre said to go ahead she would walk with a friend. Grant and I ran the last mile together to the finish line. We than waited to cheer on our daughters as they came across the finish line. Poor Marissa she hates to exercise and she refused to run any of it, but she stuck it out made it. I am so proud of my family. Poor Austin couldn't come because his Juvenile Arthritis flared up again and his knee had a lot of fluid in it. We actually made a run to Primary Children's hospital this last week to see about getting another shot under his knee cap. I feel so bad for him. It was very devastating to him to have to go through this again. I am hoping he grows out of it and doesn't have to deal with it his whole life. It is very painful for him. On a lighter note...here are some pictures after our so called "Fun Run".

The New Car!

After selling the Ford Focus, because it was a stick shift, I didn't know if we would ever find another car as comparable. Now that gas prices are going up and Grant begins working at the Guard we knew we needed a car that got great gas mileage as soon as possible. I can't believe how people take care of their cars. Every car we saw was a disaster. We drove from Salt Lake to Logan and back to Toole. We finally found a descent car that we all felt good about....especially Breanna. It is a fire engine red Honda Civic. I must say it is darling. Bre can't wait to finally drive it all by herself. I can't blame her.

Scout Advancement!

We are so proud of Austin and his scout advancement. During the scout court of honor Austin received his 1st class rank. I can't believe how fast he is growing up. I wish I could stop time. Isn't he a doll. I know I am not the only one who thinks that. The girls are always calling for him. Oh....my little boy is growing up!