August Happenings

 

We loved having Matt, Lori and Elena here for a few days for Elijah's wedding. Elena is amazing at doing nails, so Caitlyn was excited to get her nails done.

Lori bought some puzzles for mom. She has had fun doing those. 

It's fun when we can all get together at mom and dad's and visit.

We all love watching Clara and Zariyah.  Everything they do is so cute.

Zariyah has the cutest personality and she is so entertaining.

Hallee has been saving up and was excited when she traded us for a $100 bill.  She broke that a couple of days later because she wanted to pay $15 for fast offerings.  She has a heart of gold!

Me and the girls went to Clara's first birthday party.

I love spending time with Mel's family!  It's so fun to see them all with their spouses and the cute babies.  It's still crazy to me that they are all grown up and starting their own families.

Mom was having a very hard day and couldn't stop crying.  It's so hard to watch her suffer so much. Alzheimer's is such a cruel disease. Caitlyn is so good with her. She just held her hand and wrapped her arm around her and helped distract her. 

While we were at the party Erin texted me to see if Hallee was coming to Amanda's party. I was sure it was on Monday, but I double checked the invitation and sure enough it said Saturday.  Poor Hallee was so sad that she was missing the party.  I decided to leave Clara's party and rush her over so she could at least make it to half of the party.  I felt so bad, but Hallee was so nice and forgiving. They ended up extending the party, so she got to be there for more than half.  I was sad we missed Clara's party, I was excited to watch her eat cake and open her presents.

Football is in full swing.  We love going to the games every Friday night.  The views are amazing.

We are trying to soak up every moment of Jonah's senior year.  He is playing great!  The team is doing well in their region games, so hopefully they will have a good playoff season this year!

Me and Caitlyn before Elijah's wedding. She went early with me to help with pictures.

Hallee needed new clothes for school and she looked so cute in them!

I keep getting allergic reactions. My lips still swell, but now my eye has started swelling too.  It's so frustrating and embarrassing. Linus walked into work and immediately asked if my eye was okay and I said, "No Linus, my eye is not okay." 

After the swelling goes down I get really itchy and I get giant hives all over my body. It's very uncomfortable.  Someone at work told me that her daughter went to the dermatologist for something similar and he told her to take an allergy pill every day to build up her allergy wall that fights off reactions.  I have been doing that and it has helped.  My swelling is not bad, it's barely noticeable and I haven't been getting hives.  We finally have insurance because Keith got a job. YAY!! He started with Sunrun a couple of weeks ago.  We were so excited to find out that benefits started day one.  It might have just been from the stress of not having insurance because it has gotten a lot better since then. Keith is so happy to be back at work. It's definitely not his dream job, but he's hoping to move up quickly.  We have been very blessed through this time.  My family has been so generous and thoughtful and we haven't gone without anything because of them. I am so grateful for their love and generosity.  I'm so grateful that we are back to work and feel like we are moving forward again instead of stuck in limbo.

Matt and Lori offered to use their points to fly me out for Labor Day weekend. That was so thoughtful of them and I was so excited. I flew out Friday after work.  I was so excited when I left work. It felt like I had been racing towards a finish line for so long and I finally made it.  Keith had accepted the job by then, so that weight was lifting.  I was so excited to go relax and unwind for the weekend.

They gave me the royal treatment.  We went to Freddy's after the airport.  On Saturday I woke up and there was a drink and a breakfast burrito waiting for me.  We hung out in the pool for a while and then we got drinks and dinner and watched a movie.  Sunday we went to church and relaxed all day. It was really rainy so we couldn't get back in the pool.

I didn't take any pictures, expect for at Freddy's. The whole weekend was a dream.  I loved relaxing and spending time with them. They sure know how to make me feel special.  It was amazing!

We had a Texas Roadhouse gift card so Keith took the kids there for lunch while I was gone. They loved that! 

I flew home on Labor Day.  Matt came back with me.

We had a family meeting with a social worker up at the U of U Alzheimer's unit. She was so good and explained things so well.  It's great that mom has a team of doctors up there to coordinate her care.

Mom fell over Labor Day weekend and fractured her collar bone.  Poor mom, she just needs a break! Dad is so loving and takes such good care of her.  They have always been a great example of a loving marriage.  I hate that they aren't enjoying these years after all of their hard work and sacrifices over the years.  This is not what anyone wants, but it's what is happening, so we just have to deal with it.

We all help as much as we can, but we can't take this heavy burden from them and that is so hard. Mom seems to be progressing very quickly.  It's so hard to watch.  We are just trying to do what we can to make her as comfortable as possible.  They are trying to get her anxiety under control. I feel so bad for her, anxiety is so hard and exhausting. It is all consuming and so uncomfortable. I hope and pray that can get better and she can have some peace.

Caitlyn and I went to see grandma and grandpa so she could say goodbye before she went back to school.  She sure loves them.