Oh yeah...

So much for #3 on my list of milestones last week. We spent pretty much all of Sacrament meeting out in the hallway with Lucas this week. Who would have thought that rationing his raisins would have led to the greatest meltdown of all time?

The Unfortunate Part of Life

Life is short if looked at on the eternal time frame. There is never enough time, especially if we don't make it. There are endless conversations I would have enjoyed to have with my grandfather, but sadly I didn't have time. There were planty of opportunities, but I didn't take them. I would have loved to find out more about his life growing up on the farm, his WWII experiences, how he fell in love with my grandma, what it was like to raise six girls and two boys in a three bedroom, 1 1/2 bath house, how did he get to be so smart and kind, and so on.

He passed away this Sunday, interestingly enough he was preparing to leave this world as I was giving a YW lesson on temples and preparing to gain exaltation and entering the presence of the Lord. He had been in a nursing home for a year. He was no longer physically or mentally able to carry on my wishlist of conversations. He was, however, able to recognize the love and joy of his great-grandchildren and he smiled anytime they visited. He was an absolutely amazing man who lived an extraordinary life.

As happy as I am that my grandpa now has the physical freedom that he has longed for, I am of course selfishly sad for those of us who are left. I am grateful to know that he will no longer be hinderd by a broken body. I am just so grateful for the knowledge that I have of the Plan of Happiness that will allow us to return to Heavenly Father and be together as a family. I have no doubt that my family who have not grabbed onto the gospel in this life, will gladly accept it in the next. (Note: If you are reading this and do not know what I am talking about, let me know and we'll chat)

The old cliche rings true. Life is short, take advantage of the time you have with those you love. But know that this is not the end. I am so grateful to know that my grandpa and I will have all of eternity to have my so desired conversations.

Quick little bits

Where does time go? I just wanted to post a few quick updates on what the kids are up to. My parents are after me to post more pics, so I will when I get an extra minute, but this will have to suffice.

Major milestone #1 - Elena is officially potty-trained. We needed to get on the ball for preschool in the fall, so one day I took off her diaper and we've only had a few accidents since. She is good about telling me when she needs to use the bathroom - even when we're away from home. She has also gotten used to the idea that before we go anywhere or do much she needs to use the bathroom. She still wears a diaper for naps (stays dry but why chance it) and at bed, but I see sleep potty training as a seperate process and worthy of its own milestone marker.

Major milestone #2 - Lucas joined us at the big table last night for dinner. It was fun to have him join us. Lucas is using a fork and spoon on his own.

#3 - Lucas sat through sacrament meeting for the 1st time. It took a lot of raisins and a sippy cup, but he made it. We also had to bring out the binky. We're trying to get rid of the pacifier during the day, but I figure Church is an exception. Small steps.


Yesterday we went to play at a friend's house and she went to set up this huge inflatable bounce toy and giant water slide, but there was a hole in it. So we settled for a slip-n-slide. Unfortunately, the setup of that resulted in three rips that made it unusable. Then there was the 4 foot snake in the yard that Elena ran into. That pretty much sealed the deal. We ended up having a great time playing in the kiddie pool safe on the deck.

Monday, Monday

We're back in beatiful West Virginia! It is good to be home, but I sure miss the extra hands around to help with the kids. The kids were excited to see their dad and he was so happy to see them. I can't blame him, the kids are getting to be such fun and crazy little monkeys.
Our trip back to West Virginia was long to say the least. We left Fargo at 5:30 am CST and arrived home at 8:00 pm EST. A total of five hours in the car and four+ on the airplane makes for a rough day. The last thing I needed was a critical passenger on the last flight, but that's what I got. The lady behind us felt the need less than five minutes after boarding to let me know that the noise Lucas was making was annoying, twice. I gave her a brief piece of my mind and proceeded to tear up quietly to myself for the rest of the flight. I usually get sympathetic looks and comments and very generous offerings of help; never have I had anyone be as audacious to tell me, an obviously stressed out mother of small children traveling solo, that her kids are annoying. Whatever, vent session over.

Drew had a busy week at work, but when the weekend came we were able to really get some good time in together. We had a nice 4th celebration with some friends, we took the kids to the pool, we had another party Sunday, Lucas made it through all of church on Sunday, and so on. It was great.
Then comes Monday morning. My least favorite for the typical reasons, but it also is extra hard because this is the morning that I have to sit down with Elena and explain that Daddy had to go back to work. She usually cries about how much she misses him and asks if he's coming home soon. We all know the answer to that. We go through this every morning, but Mondays are especially hard. But who likes Mondays anyway?

"Alicia (Allen) Terrell"

This is the name I was known by at my 10 year high school reunion - Admitting that I have now attended my 10 year reunion makes me feel a little old. The next stop my thirtieth birthday (not for another 2 years, but still). I will also admit that despite some initial apprehension I had a really good time. It was fun to be 17 again for a couple of evenings. I enjoyed seeing people that I haven't seen since our milestone march across the stage at the Fargo Civic Center. I was impressed at the things people were doing with their lives. I know some pretty amazing people.
At the ten year mark most of us look pretty similar to before and are just getting started being grown-ups. It didn't seem like ten years had passed in some regards. With all that said, it also made me happy that those days are over. I love my life and where I'm at in it (even if the "where" is currently West Virginia). I'm excited to find what the next 10 years have in store.

The Promised Pictures

Here are some pictures from the past couple months complete with a few captions.

Lucas's first round of road rash. He fared pretty well considering the speed he hit the asphalt. (May, 08)

The people at Kroger were kind enough to give the kids some stickers to ease their shopping experience. Basically the kids were screaming and fighting and this was the solution. The screaming stopped until Elena tried to undo the damage to her brother by ripping the stickers off. (May, 08).


This is Toby our turtle. Drew found him in the garage gutter when he was up on the roof cleaning things out. We had fun making a temporary home for him. The kids got pretty attached to Toby. Elena had a hard time when we took him down to the river to let him go. She had to check on him to make sure he was OK. Thank goodness turtles don't move too fast so she could still find him.

Taking it easy in the sand.

Grandpa and Elena at the Teddy Bear Parade.

Calling Daddy on the Walkie-Talkie.

Missing something, hmmm.

I know what it is! Pictures! I was going through my blog and realized I'm a little short on shots. I'm at my parents and have been a little slow getting pictures from camera to the Internet. I will get some up here soon (especially for you, Drew!). Keep checking back!