Our loss.

My dad lost his father last Saturday. He had been battling bone cancer for the past 10 months and although his passing wasn't unexpected, it was still hard on the family. I'm happy to say that he passed peacefully at home and under his own terms. He never went to the hospital, hospice came to him so he never had to leave his home. My dad was able to spend the last week with him and I know that meant a lot to them both.

The funeral was Tuesday afternoon so I flew to Texarkana on Monday and then returned home Wednesday. I'm happy that I was able to be there for my family. My dad was and probably still is exhausted. I'm praying for him daily.

This is the first close family member of mine to pass away. I feel as if I'm in a fog still and I know I haven't quite gripped everything yet. We didn't necessarily have a close relationship but it wasn't strained either. Just a lot of miles and generational/personal differences. The littlest things are the ones that get me emotional. Seeing my dad upset, watching my niece hug his neck so hard, thinking about what I might feel like if it was my parents, blah-blah.

I learned a bunch about my grandfather during those two days there for his services. He was a deacon for the church, went all the time. I had no idea! He also retired from the military and worked with the missile defense program which ironically, so does my husband. He was a very strong man; physically, mentally, and emotionally. Bone cancer isn't easy to deal with, it's extremely painful. He lived a modest lifestyle but was a very wealthy man. (Unfortunately, wealth makes death become very nasty among those left behind.)

Anyway, in his last ten months of his life he was able to see another litter of Jack Russell Terrier puppies be born, he loved them so much. He also was able to enjoy another gardening season in which he sold/gave most of his produce away. (Thanks to my dad who slaved away every Sunday on that garden!) He also visited with all of his family. Here's a picture from our visit at Christmas:

Bye Peepaw, love ya!

Yellow Card

Tristan started his soccer season this weekend and I've got to do the recap. Our first game was in Denver against the undefeated Chivas! It was such an exciting game, Tristan played in defense and was a wall! He even assisted a goal with his best friend Joel. We gave the Chivas their first loss in a year, 4-2.

The unusual thing that happened to us was that Tristan received his first yellow card. A yellow card is a warning for a foul or an attitude. His was for a foul and probably was warranted. He went over the back of another little boy but no one was hurt. Anyway, I was a bit shocked because Tristan cried when he got the card. It's not like he got a red or something. A red means that you are out of the game and that you have to miss the next game also. A yellow is just a warning but if you get 5 during the season you have to sit out a game.

Here he is walking off the field after the game. You would have thought he lost the game or something! Come to find out he thought we were going to be upset about the card.

Little did he know, we weren't upset! We even had to get a picture to commemorate this event!

And of course little brother has to join in on the fun! HA!

Tristan played his second game on Sunday in the Springs. At the beginning of the second half we were down 2-0 and I just knew we had lost the game. A little bit later we got a penalty kick and they let Tristan take it. Nerve wracking, but he made it! Joel scored a little after that and we ended with a tie, 2-2. We'll take it, they were a tough team!

Surgery's complete!

Aidan had his surgery to remove his extra tooth today! The little bugger is out and we are now at home doing okay.
Aidan and I while he's enjoying the laughing gas. It didn't seem to do too much, he never got the tingling in his fingers or toes like they said he would. The nurse told us that sometimes at this elevation it's not really effective. Our nurse, Stacey, got his IV in one try and he never even cried. Once he went to sleep, Josh and I left the room and was able to return once the surgery was completed.

Our doctor was a super nice guy and spent a long time with us. There were a few complications, he had a hard time finding the extra tooth. He went in through the roof of the mouth and then tried going through the front of his gums above his two front teeth. He still couldn't see it so went back through the roof but had to cut his nerve in the top of his mouth. We were really sad to hear that because it's very possible that he could have permanent nerve damage there now; but with his age I'm praying that it might grow back together and he won't have to deal with the tingling forever.

Needless to say, he's extremely swollen right now because of all the incisions. His lips are really bothering him , it's like he's busted them both. Plus he has three sutures in the top of his mouth and he can feel them. But overall, I have to say he's dealing with this surgery so much better than I had expected and better than his Dad did a couple of months ago. (the wisdom teeth extractions)Thank you all for your well wishes and prayers. I'll keep you updated as I can. The strength of children amazes me! I've never had surgery myself so I can't imagine what it's like but I have immense respect for Aidan. Can you tell he's still trying to show that beautiful smile of his?

Greatest American Dog

The boys and I have been watching this show on Wed nights together and we've had such a good time! We've learned alot and I've even gotten the urge to try to work more with our little Opal. I don't think she would be able to do half of the things that these dogs do but still!

One of the contestants, Bill and Star, are actually neighbors of my parents. He lives two houses down and we've known them for at least 20 years. It's really awesome to see him on tv and he's exactly himself. Aidan loves to hear him and his wife talk on the show because of the Texan accent. It reminds him of all of his grandparents.

Anyway, the next time we go to visit my parents I'm going to take the boys over to say hello. Aidan was really excited to hear that he would be able to meet them but Tristan's reaction cracked me up. He said, "What if he tells us to get off his property?"

Olympics

I really enjoy the Olympics. I've tried to watch them this year but geez, all the good stuff comes on really late at night. Sunday night was the only night that I really saw some of the events that I wanted to but I had to stay up until 11 p.m. That's not easy for a person who gets up at 4 a.m.

Recording it doesn't work that well either because the results get thrown at me from the news and the paper. Anyway, guess I'll keep trying to see what I can.

Can I breathe now?

I'm actually not sure! Got my office moved over but this new hospital is so massive and different compared to how it used to be that it's overwhelming. I get lost constantly and still don't know where to find everything yet. It's like the 1st day of school in high school all over again, but five floors of it!

It's rained for two days straight here and so our soccer tournament that was scheduled for yesterday was cancelled. In hindsight that was a blessing because I might have been in the looney bin after it. We did have tickets for the Rapids game last night and even though it was nasty out I had spent a lot of money on the tickets so we had to suck it up. I'm so happy that we went because we had a blast with our friends. There were 16 of us there and it was so much fun! Our seats were under the overhang of the stadium so we didn't even get wet, just a little chilly.

I'm writing this from work, yep on a Sunday, because the boys are out of school for the next two days due to assessments. It's going to be interesting with all that's going on but what can we do? One day at a time, that's my motto.

Moving sucks!

Especially when it's not even for you personally! It's for work! Our new hospital opens this weekend so it's a madhouse around here right now.

The movers come for my office on Thursday so I may be MIA for a little bit. I'll post something when I get a break and I'm not stuck at a park for soccer practice.

Championship game here we come! *Updated*

It's been a long weekend but a fun one! Aidan's team won both games yesterday. The first was 4-1 with Aidan scoring 2 goals. The second game was 7-0 with Aidan getting his hat trick. (A hat trick is 3 goals in a game.)

This morning they also won 3-1 but no goals for Aidan. We are taking a break right now, the final game is at 5 p.m.

Our hotel is super nice, it's like a miniature apartment. The only bad thing is that someone or something set off the fire alarm yesterday and we all had to evacuate as the firemen searched the building. It was given the all clear after 20 minutes so it wasn't that bad but the alarm was deafening.

Anyway, I will update this post tonight once we make it home. Go United!!!

******What a tough game! We played the Lazers and they hadn't let a team score a goal on them the entire tournament. Until they met us! At the end of the game it was tied 1-1 and we went to overtime. Unfortunately they scored two goals and we weren't able to keep up. We got 2nd place but couldn't have been more proud of our team! Saturday we get to see the Lazers again and the boys are looking forward to the REMATCH!!!!*********

All is good!

The boys came home yesterday with big smiles! Awesome teachers and good days all around! Hope this continues.

We've got an extremely busy weekend ahead of us. Aidan is playing in a tournament in Denver so we will be gone. Still have packing to do for that around his practice tonight, Tristan's practice tomorrow evening, and a dinner with the girls that I don't want to miss tomorrow night also!

One day at a time, that's always been my motto!

1st day of school!

It's finally here!! We were all ready for it, believe me! Hopefully now that they will be apart for 7 hours a day the boys won't argue so much between themselves.

To start off our new year we went to breakfast at I.H.O.P. That was fun, I've never been there at 6:45 am before, ha! Aidan was very happy and excited about school and Tristan was reserved and nervous. I know this because he was up at 5:15 trying to tell me about a dream he had. He just used that to cover his nervous tears but I'll never tell him I know the real reason he was upset. Hopefully I'll get to hear all about his wonderful day when he gets home.

This is also a new beginning for me as a mom. I'm only going to work during the hours that the boys are in school. I've never been there for them in the mornings because I've always worked the 7 am shift. I'm so excited!!!! I have the same amount of work to do within a shorter amount of time and I'm praying that I'm able to keep up with things. But I'm so happy that my boss okayed this change and for now I'm going to enjoy every minute of it!

Also, something that makes me secretly happy inside: I no longer will have to come home and straighten the house for 30 minutes or however long it takes. It will look exactly the same as I left it in the morning!

Family picnic

The new hospital had a family day for the employees this weekend and we had a blast! Or I should say the boys had a blast!

Aidan coming down in 2nd place in the obstacle course! He was trying to make up some serious ground here!
Anyone interested in a ride? No one made the 8 seconds!

We've never done the bungee jumping before but it is definitely a favorite now. Aidan went first which is typical because Tristan is normally overly cautious of new things.

I had a feeling he would be a pro at this! He was a flipping machine! He even pulled off the only double flip that we saw there.

Tristan's turn!

He definitely got up there! He did a few flips but he liked going really high the best!

Surgery it is!

The third tooth is actually a tooth! It's surrounded by a fluid filled cyst and has to be removed. It could also be the culprit for his two front teeth overlapping and it could cause one of his front teeth to die because it's compromising the nerve and root.

Surgery is scheduled for Friday, August 22nd. They are going to do the IV and hopefully go through the roof of his mouth to get to it. If that doesn't work they will have to go through the front of the gum but I really don't want that. He will be sutured up and done in 45 minutes or so.
The good news is that the doctor was extremely nice, the staff was great, and the office seemed extremely organized. As I sat there scheduling the appt I had to think about all of the soccer obligations we had and plan around those; how crazy is that?

Oh, and on a side note: Cat sent me the picture that I'm using as my header now. I find it completely appropriate seeing as I myself sometimes don't know which way I'm going!

I couldn't believe it when she called me from Phoenix and told me that she was surrounded by me. I guess there's a Shea Court, Shea Plaza, Shea Drive and as you can see Shea Blvd. And it's spelled correctly! She took a great picture and I love it! Thanks so much Cat! I love ya - and you thought you were getting away from me huh?

CNN.com disturbs me

Maybe I should just say that people in this world disturb me? I glanced through their news stories just now and there are two different stories about someone being beheaded and a story about a little boy being starved to death. Goodness people - I don't get it! How do you resort to those actions or what happens so badly in your life that makes you turn into a person who would do something like that? Guess that's why those crime shows are so popular because everyone wants to know "why?" Anyway, I just got the chills.