Not Exactly a White Christmas

Even though we get snow in Utah, we don't always get a white Christmas.  There's been snow a few times, but nothing has really stayed. The dogs are not thrilled with the colder temperatures since that means they're cooped up inside their kennels in the house more.

Thanksgiving was pretty exciting at our house.  We managed to fit Emerson's mom, sister, brothers, and the wives and kids in our compact little abode for the big meal.  That meant 18 people sitting at three tables (two in the kitchen, one in the living room) lots of chairs, and much coziness. Getting to the refrigerator meant asking the person at the end of the table to get up and move their chair out of the way. We intended to serve buffet style with all the food on the kitchen counter. It was a little too cozy for everyone to get over to the counter, so dishes were passed along one at a time. Please don't think I'm complaining. I actually enjoy the chaos to a certain extent. Too bad Christmas will be almost empty here.

Emerson got to enjoy Lone Peak's first ever high school football championship.  It took some of the sting out of having our truck break down.  The truck had the starter go out and then they discovered that there were more problems. The bearings in the crankcase???  I think that's what they said. Anyway, it means we need a new engine. Emerson and I have been spending more time together as we have to share one vehicle.

Dwayne and Dexter trained for a new job, but were told they had to wait a few weeks to start working since they didn't have enough work for everyone. When those weeks rolled by, there still wasn't any work, so they are looking for jobs again. This is a tough time of year for that since most places have already hired seasonal help and will probably keep some of those employees if they need to after Christmas.

I managed to survive another musical play at Heritage. The deadlines for things made it difficult, but I did learn how to use InDesign to create the playbill and that was a real blessing. Since Heritage will be auditioning for the next show in a couple of weeks, being able to use InDesign will save me a lot of time.  That pneumonia I had at the end of October lasted all through November and through several rounds of antibiotics.  The doctor finally put me on a super strong antibiotic and I was well (sort of) in time for helping backstage during the play. I still have some congestion, but that may be because we have a lot of pollution in our air right now. Two days after the play was over, the Joint Commission showed up to do their accreditation survey at Heritage.  This happens every 1-3 years and is crucial to our staying in business.   Now that all the big stuff is over at work for a little bit, I decided to take some time off.  I never took the day off even with my pneumonia, so I figure I deserve some time now.

We'll be here for Christmas. No big plans, really. Emerson's had some fun designing some really cool paper Christmas lanterns that he gave to his fellow teachers. I participated in a tatted ornament exchange via Facebook. Gambit and Storm are still getting used to having their beds in a new spot in the living room since they were displaced by the Christmas Tree. 

October Happenings

Halloween - our "gang" at Heritage. Chaplain Tami started it. I spiced it up by going gansta granny style.

What's going on at our house? The boys' temp jobs at Costume Craze ran out, but they were able to interview at some place for a low paying job that starts on Monday. Still, they've gone a couple of weeks without paying work. They're still playing in a lot of Magic the Gathering tournaments, something made possible by trading their better cards with other players so those players will pay the entry fees at the next tournament.

Over the last couple of weeks, I was getting more tired and run down and sicker. A friend finally pushed me to go to the doctor on Friday. Turns out that I had a sinus infection and early stage pneumonia. The doctor also busted me for my high blood pressure. It's been high for a couple of years now, but I always managed to make excuses to get the doctor to dismiss it. No escape this time - I'm now on yet another medication.  

The high school Emerson works out is in the state high school football playoffs right now and we're enjoying cheering them on. He used our Cricut machine to make some fun Halloween cards for his fellow teachers and we made some green chile and pork stew for the potluck he had at work. He's pretty happy about working there and they seem to love having him there.

That job that UVU asked me to apply for turned out to be a big disappointment. I received an email from them yesterday letting me know I didn't make it to the final round of selection in the hiring process. They never even interviewed me!  It just doesn't make sense since the head of that department called me and asked me to apply for the position before it was even posted.  A month later, when the job posted, she sent me an email to let me know and asked me to call her if I was still interested in the job.  With all that interest and encouragement, I should at least rate an interview.  It hurt to get my hopes up and then have it end like this.

Things are pretty busy for us right now. I'm setting up our stuff at the holiday boutique at work this Thursday and Friday. The following weekend is UVU's powwow and we'll have a table there again. I'll have my usual registration and contest tabulating job there as well. We're attending Lone Peak's football games and hitting other events that come up so we don't get "bored."

It suddenly got cold!

The warm weather lasted longer than normal into the Fall, but now it has abruptly ended.  Snow on the mountains and rain and very cold weather now for us in the valley. We tried to make it without turning on the heater in our house, but we gave in last night and fired it up.

Other updates - Dwayne and Dexter are doing temp work at Costume Craze (packing costumes for shipping). UVU finally posted the job they told me about (after a month) and I applied. Someone recommended a place that sells used tires at reasonable prices so I finally have decent tires on the car. It was getting scary with bald tires in the rain and these "new" tires should last a few months.

Emerson's work keeping up the blog for the football team earned some praise from the football coach in the form of a Lone Peak football jacket. The coach even presented it to him in front of his class. 

Snoopy (from Build-a-Bear) delivered a beautiful necklace to me for my birthday. Having a birthday in the middle of a busy week is tough. We had the Scholarship Gala at Heritage last week and it went really well. With everything I was trying to get done, I ended up being the last one dressed that evening. It was our best event yet and it looks like we have found some new supporters for the cause.  Even though the event itself went well, I had some struggles with some things involved in the organization of it.

The crazy train won't be slowing down any time soon. I have a lot to do this week for the Women's Business Network's business conference on October 14th.  Emerson and I are also gearing up for a boutique that we will be selling at in a few weeks.

Long Time, No Personal Blog

I'm finding it difficult to keep up with this blog since I can barely keep up with my business one.  Most of you keep up with us on Facebook, but we don't tell a whole lot of what's really going on in our lives.  Just so you can keep up, here's the latest:

Gambit and Storm are doing well.  They got to make the long trip to Arizona over the Labor Day weekend and got plenty of attention from all the kids.  The summer heat is usually too much for them, but we didn't get too many really hot days. Their favorite treat is tomatoes and I love to feed them the cherry tomatoes from our garden. Occasionally, I feed them some squash when it grows too big to be tasty for us.

Dexter went from his medium length haircut that ended up making him look like a skater to a shorter cut last week. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to seeing my boys with short hair! Dex has been doing some work with a guy in our ward who is maintaining a piece of property.

Dwayne had 3 birthday cakes!

Dwayne has continued on for some weeks now at his temporary job doing janitorial work at a local high school. His car repairs put paying off his car back a few months, but at least it's working.  One of Dwayne's friends recommended him for a cooking job at Cirque Lodge and he has a cooking interview (audition) tomorrow.  Cirque is a rehab center that often has star clientele like that one Olson twin and Lindsey Lohan.

I got a phone call from UVU's development office inviting me to apply for a job they will be listing soon.  I hate to get my hopes up, but it's got to be a good thing when they call you and ask you to apply before the job is even listed.  Still, I have more than enough on my plate at Heritage.  Upcoming events there plus helping organize a Women's Business Conference for the Utah Valley Women's Business Network. Busy, busy, busy!

Emerson cooking

Emerson is turning into a job collector. He is still working for Alliance Youth Services on the graveyard shift a couple of nights a week and he's still a tutor for Provo School District's Native American program. One family is hiring him to be a tracker for their kids (coordinate with kids, parents, and school to see how things are going and keep kids on track to graduate). The best job is his one at Lone Peak High School.  He is a co-teacher every other day (they are on a block schedule with A and B days) and provides assistance to the special education students in specific classes. Emerson has his own caseload of students and has already done several IEPs. The school is having all the teachers and programs set up their own blogs rather than having it all on the school website. Emerson has impressed a lot of the other teachers by setting up the blog for the special education department and the one for the football team. His reward for helping the football team was a pass to get into any of the Utah high school sporting events. There are some rumblings about a kid at Lone Peak needing him as a tutor and the school's principal would like Emerson to be a substitute teacher on the A days (since he works on the B days).  He's really showing the rest of us up!

Sydney grinding corn on a stone

Grandma Susie's hogan

The sheep that fed our family, our guests, and the medicine man

kitchen, dining room, and social hall

Grandma Susie and her sister, Marion, are always chatting

As a family, we got to participate in the most wonderful event.  Our niece, Sydney, had her kinaalda (Navajo puberty ceremony) and we went down to the rez over Labor Day weekend to help.  The ceremony lasts five days and it seems like you are constantly cooking to feed guests who show up. Unlike most Navajo families, it was the men who managed our little kitchen out there. Emerson, Emery, Gene, Dwayne, and Dexter made the most amazing food and we never seemed to run out.

The kinaalda took place at Emerson's grandma's hogan. His grandma is over 100 years old now, by the way. Some of the things that happened over those five days include running at sun up, noon, and sunset each day; butchering a sheep; digging a pit oven for the corn cake; keeping a fire constantly burning in that pit; grinding corn on a stone; stirring the mixture for the corn cake using sticks that act like whisks and huge buckets; singing with the medicine man all through the night; sewing corn husks together; pouring the corn cake batter into the pit oven, covering it, and baking it; and a giveaway.

Grandma Susie with Dex and Dwayne

Instruction and advice was given to Sydney to help her understand her role and responsibilities as a woman. The giveaway allowed Sydney to give household items and pieces of the corn cake to those important to her and who had helped with the ceremony.  It was tiring (especially for the guys doing all the cooking), but it was wonderful.

Inside the hogan for the giveaway

Inside of the hogan

The pieces of corn cake after being removed from the pit

Sydney's beautiful Navajo bun on the final day

The Tapahe family was complimented on how they protected Sydney and how they all worked together, especially with the men handling the kitchen.  I'm so proud to be one of them and thrilled I could be part of it all.  It probably won't be too long before another niece will have her kinaalda, but this time I will know more of what to do and what to expect. When I returned to work, I noticed I was very refreshed and had a big smile on my face as a result of that beautiful weekend.

Two notable standouts from this weekend - Tyler and Erin. Tyler (Squeak's oldest boy) was home for the weekend and was a huge help with everything. I hadn't seen him since he was probably in elementary school and it was nice to see him all grown up. He's just older than Dexter and he and our boys made us all proud with all their hard work and willingness to serve the family.  Erin is Gene's oldest daughter and she's already had her kinaalda. She jumped right in during the butchering and showed some of the other girls how to make Ach'íí ,intestines wound around fat and cooked over the open fire. Erin is taking her role as a woman very seriously and I know she will make an amazing wife and mother.

Still Here

Yes, I'm still here.  I get so busy with work and our little business and blog that I just don't get around to this blog much.  In case you haven't been in touch with us enough to know the latest happenings in our house, here goes:

•  Emerson's job at the middle school ended when the school year did
• Online sales of our stuff have dropped
• Dexter moved back home
• Emerson got a part-time job doing nightwatch (graveyard shift) at a small treatment center
• I am having the worst time with allergies ever!
• Weirdest weather ever this summer
• Dexter got hired on at Vivint for a full-time position
• I got to stay at Zermatt Resort, eat a fancy dinner, have breakfast, and learn to scuba dive at the Crater for free as part of a Utah bloggers' conference
• Dwayne lost his job at Teleperformance
• We set up at some farmers markets this summer to sell our products (got sunburned but didn't get rich)
• We enjoyed having family up for Independence Day
• I'm not a fan of the new fireworks laws in Utah allowing a month of late night noisemaking with fireworks
• Dexter cut his hair (shorter but not terribly short)
• I'm trying to grow my hair a little longer now
• Dexter lost his job at Vivint (but he's appealing the decision)
• Dwayne's car blew a gasket (literally)
• Emerson got hired as a half-time special education teacher for Lone Peak High School. He has been trying to live through long days of training after working all night at the treatment center.
• Dwayne found work through a temp agency (for now)
• Dexter is working on getting ready to go on a mission
• I continue to look for good job opportunities
• The boys continue to keep our house messy
• Gambit has mellowed out more
• Storm is getting noisier, especially when outside
• Our neighbors are an absolute blessing to us with all their help in keeping our front yard beautiful
• Went to see Bill and Tina's new baby, Evelyn, get blessed
• Still cranking out stuff for our online shop and hoping for a good holiday shopping season this year...

Puppy Cows

 I'm not exactly sure why, but our puppies seem to think they are cows now.  Storm was the first to start regularly munching on grass in the backyard.  Nothing will distract her from chewing on those green blades.

Emerson believes this behavior is due to an upset stomach or a need for some nutrient.  I have no idea and it's just weird.

It didn't take long before Gambit decided to join in on the cow action.  He's not quite as focused on it, but he seems to be giving it a pretty good try.

I'm beginning to wonder if we should teach them to moo....

Hoppy Easter?

We've reached an interesting point in our family's Easter celebrations.  Dwayne is at work and Dexter doesn't live here.  It's just the two of us now and it seems kind of silly to do the whole Easter egg thing.  After church today, Emerson commented on how he keeps waiting for the Sunday when they speak on the meaning behind the bunny and the eggs.  We already know the other story - Jesus, crucifixion, resurrection, etc.  We got a bit irreverent goofing around with the concept and I found a blog post with a good take on it in addition to a picture that depicted our conversation. 

No colored eggs or bunnies for us this year, but we will keep up our tradition of making potato salad.  The only change will be that the eggs won't have fun coloring leaking through.  Whether we are losing the fun involved with traditional celebrations with our kids or just learning to focus on the real reason for the Easter holiday, things have definitely changed for us.

Spring Snow

 After a few nice warm days this week, we woke up this morning to a thick blanket of snow.  Bummer!  I am so ready for better weather.  Emerson and I have plans for clearing out the sheds and ridding ourselves of some excess junk.  We also need to be able to free up space in the house so we can organize our business stuff better.  I'm not asking for scorching sunshine, just warm enough to get some stuff done.  It would be nice if the warm days were on the weekend instead of while we're working, too.

We've enjoyed family visits recently - Mom, Evonne, Sydney and Seth came up for a weekend and I was glad I could give them the grass dance outfit we made for Seth.  If I had to mail it, who knows when he would have gotten it.  Loren came up for the BYU powwow last weekend and all the various get-togethers for alumni. We really can't get enough of these family visits!

Emerson has had some fun experiences at work recently.  The best was the day when they asked him to substitute for the weightlifting class since the PE teacher was sick.  He really enjoyed it and the school administrators now realize that he's a licensed teacher, so he may get to substitute more in the future.  It's also that time of year where the school districts are starting to list jobs for next school year and we're excited to see what comes up.

Things are getting busier for me at work with the play and working on the annual golf tournament with the Rotary Club.  I'm loving my involvement in the Women's Business Network and I'm excited that we're having an event later this year that should become a legacy of what we've been trying to do for business women.  I'm still tutoring two students and I appreciate the extra money coming in.  One of them is definitely challenging me and I'm trying to figure out how to motivate her (especially since I didn't do so well with my own kids).  I've been glad that other people have been willing to help with the play since our usual director was just barely recovering from getting both knees replaced and then ended up falling at physical therapy and broke her hip.  Fortunately, the kids in this year's cast are amazing and should have no problem being ready in time.

Emerson and I had fun visiting the Scrapbook Expo and the Gem Faire last weekend.  We stocked up on some supplies and got to check out new products.  Business is slow in our shop, but the blog is helping us get some exposure and I'm working hard to keep up with networking online.

Thanks again to all of you for supporting us along the way. Life is full of difficulties and we feel blessed to have our friends and family to help us get through everything.  We're also grateful when we can return the favor and help you out.  I feel blessed to have a husband who loves me so very much and puts up with the moodiness and my crazy schedule while doing the majority of the cooking and keeping the house clean.

The Diet Coke Cake

Dexter went all out for Emerson's birthday this year. He wanted to create a cake that looked like a can of Diet Coke (yes, we are addicted) and he asked his girlfriend (Emily) to help him with the project.  They decided to have it look like a pop can laying on its side and made the bottom half out of rice crispy treats to make it stable.  The top half was three layers of cake which were then carved to the correct shape.  What really impressed me was their attention to detail in using an edible metallic spray for the outside of the can and my son creating the Diet Coke logo free hand.  I chuckled at the "Cake Not Diet" written on the ingredients panel. They even added a gelatin pool under the top of the can to make it look like some Diet Coke had spilled out.  It was amazing!!  I'm glad they took a photo before they brought it to our house....

On the trip across town, the layers of cake started to slide off of the rice crispy treat base (thanks to a layer of frosting in between).  When they arrived at our door, Dexter and Emily were wearing frosting and the cake looked a little more like the ones in the recycling bin.  Still, it was VERY cool and all the hard work was appreciated.

I posted this on my "business"  blog and it has received a lot of great comments.  There's a lot of talent in this family!

I spoke too soon

Apparently, I spoke too soon.  This lovely holiday weekend brought me a new sore throat, lots of coughing, and pretty much losing my voice.  I'm blaming this one on my boss since he's the only one that had this particular ailment.  I'm sure most of you can't imagine me not talking, but I don't have much choice with my squeaky voice.
Fortunately, I still have Twitter, Facebook, and blogging to keep me conversing.  I did have time this weekend to tat a few new things for our shop.  I'm happy with how the Southwest inspired tatted items turned out.  This week I'm looking forward to working on designing some wedding invitations for a friend and helping with represent the Women's Business Network at a business expo.  I sure hope my voice comes back soon!

February Adventures

What's the latest and greatest going on in our household?  I've been easing my way back onto my good pills, so the world is definitely a happier place.  Emerson and I finally got past being sick, but then Dwayne got it.  I think Dexter is now coming down with something.

Gambit is now one year old (as of Valentine's Day) and is mellowing out more.  He and Storm are getting along better and on warmer days we're able to put them outside for a bit.  We're happy with how Storm is doing, but we still miss our Scout.

Emerson's been enjoying his job and one of the teacher's he works with let him know about a local ice hockey team. We are now huge fans of the Utah County Blizzard hockey team - too bad their season is nearly over.  Emerson loves driving the Trooper (except on really windy days) and we're happy to see that it has much better gas mileage than the old truck did (especially since gas prices are skyrocketing).  I know he's going to be happier once the weather stays warm on a regular basis so he can get more stuff done outside.  He's definitely the "cabin fever" type.

Work is still keeping me pretty busy.  I've been tutoring two students regularly and trying to work around their treatment center schedule has been challenging.  For example, on Tuesday, one of the girls was in the Intensive Support Unit (ISU) so I couldn't tutor her.  I tried again on Wednesday, but she was still in ISU.  When I tried on Thursday, I waited until she was done with school, then group therapy, and then dinner.  Unfortunately, she then had recreation therapy and I was told to wait another hour.  I went back to my office and worked for an hour and tried again.  Now she was in the shower!  It was nearly 7 pm by the time I was able to tutor her and by the time we were done, her unit/dorm was already done with evening medications and I had to take her to medical services to get her meds. Very long night!  It's amazing how packed these kids' schedules are and it's a wonder they ever get any free time or even time to do homework.  On the brighter side, I have really enjoyed working with the Women's Business Network and it looks like we have some great plans for this year.  Planning is also underway for our annual golf tournament and I still have plenty to do with the Heritage play.  Still, I managed to get all creative and try tatting with some rope.  I thought it would be a bracelet, but it seems more like a ring for playing ring toss.

Do Over...Please!

I finally got over the worst of being sick and went back to work.  It was hard to be away for so long, especially since I feel bad when I'm not there to tutor the two girls I've been working with.  Besides the fact that I LOVE teaching, tutoring pays better than my regular job.  Right now, I am working with two girls for two hours per girl each week.  I was already able to get one girl off of academic probation.

You're probably wondering what all that has to do with the title for this post.  When I started writing, I realized how negative it was going to be and figured it would be better if I started with something positive.  Now for the other stuff...

Monday morning I returned to work and my first call of the morning was from Dexter, telling me that he had lost his job.  It would have bothered me a lot less if I had known how much worse the day was going to get.  In catching up on what I had missed while I was out sick last week, I found out that  a coworker's 21 year old son had died in a tragic way.  Since the coworker has worked there a long time, he and his family are close friends of Emerson's as well.  We went to the viewing and it was absolutely heartbreaking.  Late Monday afternoon, my friend who works as our safety officer at work and has been managing the play rehearsals called me for help.  She found out her son was in the hospital because of a car accident.  Even though he didn't have serious injuries from the car accident, they discovered other problems that led them to discover that he had leukemia.  Now we're all scrambling to cover the rehearsals so she can be with her son now that he will be in the hospital for a month.  My boss was out of town attending a family gathering for his mother-in-law's 90th birthday.  Just after we updated him on all the other things going on, his mother-in-law passed away.  At that point, we were getting scared to answer the phone anymore.

I know things will get better and time will heal the pain for those involved, but it sure made a tough beginning for my week.  Too bad we can't call a "Do Over" and start this week over again....

Obamacare is EVIL!

We are struggling...and I do mean STRUGGLING...with our insurance choices now that President Obama's healthcare legislation is in effect.  Even though I grew up in a very liberal state, I don't like the idea of the government legislating everything.  There are a few things in Obamacare that I do believe in:

• Lifetime insurance limits should go away
• People should not be excluded for preexisting conditions
• Allowing your adult children to stay on your policy a little longer (although I think it should end when they get married)

I was appalled at the insurance choices we were given at work this year.  Both of them had a $1,500 per person/$3,000 per family deductible.  The one with higher copays didn't include prescriptions in the deductible.  The other one was slightly less expensive and resulted in lower copays, but prescriptions were included in the deductible.  That means that we have to pay 100% of the cost of all doctor's visits, medical expenses, and prescriptions until we reach the $1,500/$3,000 deductible.  After that, we "just" pay the copays. 

Obamacare also promised that preventative visits to the doctor would be covered 100% by insurance.  What the government doesn't tell you is that you may go in for a health screening for free, but if the doctor finds anything wrong, it becomes a diagnostic visit and you have to pay for it.  Enjoy your income during 2011 since you will be taxed on your income plus your insurance benefits.  The W-2s that employers issue for 2011 are required to include the value of the insurance benefits they paid for you.  Think you can just skip out on insurance and put money aside for when you need it?  Nope!  In 2014, people will begin being penalized a percentage of their income if they don't have a health insurance policy.

All of this has my blood boiling because Emerson and I are on some medications we can't live without but are expensive.  Emerson's diabetes requires several different medications.  Some of them come in generic form, but Januvia doesn't and costs us $199 per month until we meet the insurance deductible.  I take two medications for my bipolar disorder.  One is available as a generic, but the other isn't and costs just under $700 per month.  I tried to get myself off of that medication, but it didn't take long for it to interfere with my ability to do my job and I had to figure out another plan.  We've switched to the other insurance plan and will be paying more per month to have it, but we will only be paying copays on prescriptions.  Doctor's visits will still be full price.

If you're one of those people who thinks that the government should be involved in providing healthcare for the people, you obviously haven't experienced the "joy" of public healthcare.  I have experienced it on the Navajo reservation where only generic drugs can be prescribed and trying to get in to see the doctor when you're sick means sitting in a huge waiting room all day, hoping to be seen.  Try that with a sick baby some time and see how much you enjoy it.  Having been on Medicaid at one point, I can tell you that people treat you like crap and you don't get the best care available.  For example, Medicaid wouldn't pay for the dentist to fill a cavity in my tooth, but they would pay to pull the tooth.  I'm not trying to start a political debate, just needed to get all of this off my chest.  Stepping off my soapbox now...

Yuck!

Everyone around me has been getting sick and I thought I had dodged the worst of it....until it hit me hard this week.  I had fever, aches and pains last week, but now I have the horrible congestion, coughing, sneezing, and sore throat.  This is no run of the mill cold. I wake up barely able to swallow or breathe.  Staying home from work was okay at first, but I also ended up missing the documentary filmed about Heritage's performing arts program.  It's hard to miss something you've really been looking forward to.  The documentary debuted at the LDS Film Festival and was very well-received.  It helped people to see the miracle of the performing arts, the reality of treatment center kids, and what a little courage and faith will do.

Dexter has been battling computer issues at work.  The system hasn't allowed him to log in for weeks and I guess there are huge obstacles to starting a new account for him.  In the mean time, he shows up at work and gets sent home two hours later.  He went from working full time to working hardly at all and he's frustrated.

I managed to undecorate the Christmas tree, but the tree is still up and the box of ornaments is still in the living room.  Part of the obstacle is that the snow and ice has melted enough in the backyard to make it all muddy and mushy and I don't want to trudge through it to store everything.

New Ride

After a couple of weeks of trying to figure out how to manage everything with just one car, I'm so happy we have a second vehicle again.  Emerson's job is in Highland and mine is in Provo.  Our work hours don't match up and there's just no way to share the car.  Illness has hit so many of my friends and coworkers that catching rides with other people was becoming impossible.  I rode the bus a few times, but walking on the ice to the bus stop and then paying $2.00 for the "privilege" of taking a one hour bus ride to get home was ridiculous.  It only takes me 15 minutes to drive to work, but the bus goes all over Provo before it gets where I need to go.

The insurance finally gave us a settlement for our truck this week and the search for a new vehicle was on.  We still wanted a truck so we could haul things when needed, so that's what we focused our search on.  Emerson looked at a few trucks and SUVs and found that some of the ones we liked in the pictures needed work done immediately.  We were so excited when we found this 1999 Isuzu Trooper that turned out to be in really great shape.  The mileage was low and the owner had maintained it well. The price was a little higher than what we had hoped for, but there were several other people interested in it and no chance of talking the price down. Thanks to some help from our family, we were able to come up with enough to buy the Trooper.  After a couple of very depressing weeks, it was nice to see the smile on Emerson's face.  Now that he has a vehicle, his stitches are out, his cold/flu is gone, and he can focus on training the puppy, he's finding some happiness again.

Still Here

We're managing to do okay.  Unfortunately, Emerson caught a cold or flu and had a miserable end to this week.  I think I'm coming down with it now, too.  Storm is getting used to us and she is turning out to be quick to train.  She and Gambit wrestle a lot and she usually wins.  Gambit's only 11 months old and doesn't have the maturity to walk away yet.  It makes us miss Scout even more since she was always so good and patient with the puppies.

Emerson's healing well and most of the claims processing is taken care of.  We hope to have a check next week and will need to start looking for a new vehicle.  The used car market isn't the greatest because of the economy, but we're hoping to get another truck if we can.  Work is still keeping me plenty busy.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to earn money with tutoring and Emerson even did some tutoring yesterday for the Provo School District.  Dwayne is busy working full time doing tech support and getting some extra hours cooking at Heritage. 

Worst Day Ever and How Much We Love Our Family

 On Wednesday morning, Emerson had an accident on his way to work.  I was already on my way to meet him since he had forgotten his ID badge for work and I got a phone call along the way telling me that he was being taken to the hospital.  He was turning left at an intersection and when the light turned yellow, he started easing forward after the last car went through.  What he didn't anticipate was that another car would accelerate and try to beat the red light.  As he saw the collision coming, he tried to turn even more left so it wouldn't be a head on or t-bone type crash.  The car hit Emerson's truck on the passenger side, with most of the impact going into the front wheel and breaking it.  Emerson got some cuts on his forehead and some bruises, but was otherwise okay.  As a precaution, they took him to the hospital. 
That's where I first saw him, a little nervous because he was covered with blood since head wounds just seem to bleed the worst. They stitched him up and sent him home and he's been dealing with been stiff and sore since.  Gene helped bring him home from the hospital and Dexter was nice enough to help me clear everything out of the truck. 
Because Emerson was the one turning left, he got the ticket. We found out from different people, including the police officer and the insurance company, that the person turning left will always get the blame, even if the other person was speeding (and this one was) or runs the red light.  It sucks, but that's how the law works.

Scout and Slash with Kathy

Having Emerson get hurt and the truck totaled was bad enough, but then things got worse.  While I was home taking care of Emerson, I let the dogs out in the backyard for a few minutes.  I got distracted with other things and forgot to bring them back in until 30 minutes later.  Gambit came in, but Scout was nowhere to be seen.  She had jumped the shorter fence in the backyard.  I wasn't too worried since she isn't comfortable with strangers and doesn't wander.  I headed out front to go look for her expecting her to have either found her way home or be sniffing through someone's yard.  As I got to the corner, my visiting teacher came out of her house and asked me about my dog.  She pointed to Scout's body lying on the snow covered grass.  Scout had been hit by a car.  The driver had stopped and talked to my visiting teacher to see whose dog she was and then left.  I can only assume Scout died instantly.  Needless to say, I freaked out.  She had been our loyal dog for nearly four years and had helped potty train all our other puppies. She was incredibly loyal and attached to Emerson and there was never a closer bond between dog and master.  For all of us, it was a cruel addition to an already horrible day.

Emerson had every right to feel down.  The last two years have been very difficult and it's easy to start feeling like the universe is picking on him.  Fortunately, Emerson's family showed just how much they care.  The phone calls came in all day Wednesday and by Thursday night his mom, brothers, sister, and their families were all here.  His closest cousin and her two kids visited yesterday and he got phone calls from his uncle and his grandma (who turned 100 years old on Wednesday). It was really nice to be surrounded by family.  Emerson's youngest brother, Emery, even bought him a new puppy to help ease the pain. 

Here is the newest member of our family - Storm.  She is an 8 week old beagle with an amazing personality.  She looks a lot like Scout did as a puppy and has already learned to sit.  Gambit is happy to have someone to play with again even though Storm is already bossing him around.  Losing Scout still hurts, but having Storm is helping ease the pain. 

 We really want to thank everyone for their well wishes and offers of help.  The friends and neighbors who brought over dinners helped us to worry about one less thing.  Emerson's mom really helped us out this weekend with all those little things around the house and playing games with the brothers, sisters, and kids took our minds off of things for a bit.  We don't know what the future will bring, but we're happy to have so much support.

Ironing and Home Teachers

Yes, I'm still alive.  You know this if you watch me on Facebook.  Heritage's Christmas play and the rush of some Christmas orders plus making some Christmas presents had me pretty well exhausted.

One of my Christmas presents this year was a new iron.  Nothing spectacular about it other than replacing the iron I got in the first year or two of marriage.  It got a great workout tonight as I ironed Emerson's 12 dress shirts.  His current job as a part time teacher's assistant requires him to dress up more and the dress shirts, pants, and shoes are getting out of the closet finally.  The dress shoes have now fallen apart and we had to search for new ones.  The shirts are now nicely ironed and he should be good for the next couple of weeks.

Our home teacher is one of the coolest guys in our ward.  He is Emerson's age or a few years older, but he acts like a teenage boy sometimes.  Our boys have stories they're still afraid to tell us about some of his daredevil stunts.  We are happy to have him as a home teacher because he actually cares about us rather than seeing it as an assignment.  He brings his son, Adam, who is about to turn 13.  In October, they forgot to schedule an appointment with us and decided to drop by on the last Sunday of the month.  It happened to be Halloween.  For those who haven't lived in Utah, I have to explain that most holidays landing on Sundays end up being celebrated on the day before or the day after in Utah.  Christmas is an exception.  Since Halloween landed on a Sunday, trick-or-treating happened the day before.  Knowing that there might be some kids trick-or-treating on Sunday (especially with our large Hispanic community), I made sure we still had candy just in case.  We didn't have anyone show up in costume, but when the Sorensens showed up to visit us, they said "trick or treat" when I opened the door.  I gave them candy, of course, and it made me laugh.  When they dropped by in December, they also said "trick or treat" just for fun.  I love it!