Life on 9th

Happy Birthday Ella!

2010-06-08T12:50:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Ella!

Happy Birthday Yaw

2010-06-04T22:31:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Yaw!

A Beautiful Memorial Day

2010-05-31T18:48:00.003-06:00

Family and Friends.

It has now been a year since our sweet son, Brigham James Reneer, passed away. We love and miss him dearly.

This past year we have reflected on the love and support shown to our family through this incredible journey. We thank all of you.

Our love, with Brigham's, we send to you.

Randy and Julie

We hope you enjoy this memorial tribute. We thank Jed, Mindy, Scott, and Alpha for sharing their gifts.

Vimeo video

YouTube video

One Year Ago

2010-05-23T17:47:00.003-06:00

One year ago today we buried our son Brigham. The rain sprinkled softly as we arrived at his spot. I remember thinking the rain was tears for us from heaven. The rain stopped. The children released white balloons to the skies. Emily sang while Daniel played. RR dedicated Brigham's precious spot. Our family laid Brigham's body to rest.
It is raining now.

Ahhh my Ella.

2010-05-19T14:15:00.003-06:00

Today is Ella's kindergarten class Talent Show.
I tried giving her ideas of what she could do.
She did not like any of them.
She found her own talents to share.
In her pink hello kitty backpack is a rainbow cape, Brigham's magician hat, the faux white rose that Nana gave to her after her dance recital last night, and a jar full of dirt, worms, and other crawly creatures found in the yard while she was gardening with me this morning.
Ella informed me that she is sharing two talents with her class.

Ella: the amazing worm trainer who pulls flowers out of her hat!

She was beaming when I dropped her off. Oh, how I wish I could see her perform but no parents allowed.

"Until the Wind Changes"

2010-05-17T08:44:00.004-06:00

Mary Poppins, you won't ever leave us, will you?
Will you stay if we promise to be good?
Whatever would we do without you?

I shall stay until the wind changes.

This morning I feel like the wind has changed as we begin the second year without our son.
The first year has been unique. It is hard for us to believe it can be a whole year without him. This past year has gone by faster than any other year of our life. I wonder if it is because we feel him close helping us through.

I have this desire to cleanse. Feel like I have been pausing for awhile. Seems like change is happening all around.

I think I am back - maybe - slowly

2009-09-18T09:49:00.006-06:00

Flying Kites May 15 2008 -

Today is Friday. 18 weeks. Wow. I miss him.

Brigham's Memorial - A Mother's Thoughts

2009-06-23T08:22:00.004-06:00

Good afternoon and welcome to all of you brothers and sisters that fill this room with your physical presence and welcome also to my son Brigham and those many loved ones who accompany him and are here in spirit. I know and feel that the veil is very thin at this time.

My heart is full of gratitude for the outpouring of service and love that has been shown towards our family at this time. I have anticipated and tried to imagine how this moment would be for several years now. I have written and re- written this tribute over and over in my heart and mind many times throughout Brigham’s life. So hard to believe that the day has come and that right now I am in the moment that I have feared and never wanted to come. I am humbled by this opportunity to be able to pay tribute to such a valiant soul.

How does a mother capture the life of her divine son? I know there is no way that I would be able to share with you all the feelings of my heart in this moment. I have been on my knees this week and asked our Heavenly Father to guide my comments.

From the moment my first born child took his first breathe he has been teaching me. Randy and I feel so strongly that he has refined and shaped our characters. Our family was so fortunate to have a perfect pure soul in our home. He was a constant reminder of Christ. We loved just sitting next to him to feel of his amazing presence. Over the years I have often pondered and worried thinking how our home and life would change once that powerful soul was gone. We have been comforted this pass week in knowing that Brigham is still with us. I have learned so much this past week. I am reminded of your example to savor life and the moment even amongst our pain. Writing this talk has been a huge responsibility for me. I am grateful to Randall who has helped me to pause and enjoy the sacred moments of this week and feel you close. I feel inspire to share with you today some thoughts about our marvelous experience of the passing of our son.

God is so merciful and mindful of each one of us. He has been preparing our family for this for a long time. I can see His merciful hand as I look back to a few months before he passed.

In January, our friend finished and delivered Brigham’s beautifully hand crafted casket. The wood is from a walnut tree from our backyard. Our friend has stored the wood for several years and I told him I never wanted him to finish it. But I am glad he did. It has been a stunning window seat in our front room these last 4 months or so. We all have enjoyed it. Brigham and Emily have used it as a sitting bench. Ella has left her art skills with ball point pen and it was a perfect spot for Yaw to play cars. It has become familiar and comfortable to us. It will be hard to have it gone. It has been a symbol of hope and a blessing.

Brigham has always talked about having a brother. He said he wanted to name his brother Hercules. In February we were blessed with many miracles and were able to bring our new son home from Africa. Maybe we will give Yaw the nickname of Hercules. The new brothers bonded instantaneously. It was a beautiful reunion at the airport. Yaw recognized Brigham immediately and showered him with loves and kisses and insisted that he push his stroller to our car. It was endearing to witness the connection between these two. I would often find Yaw cuddle up with Brigham on his bed watching a movie or sharing a book with Brig pretending to read. Brig was comfortable around Yaw too. I would catch him looking deeply at his brother. I felt strongly that these two spirits knew one another before and now were reunited. Yaw learned of his brothers uniqueness quickly and would often call him his “sweet boy”. Yaw followed his sisters lead of the gentle watchful care of their precious brother. What a blessing that Yaw was able to know his brother here on earth.

In March Brig’s health wavered. There were some nights that we thought Brigham might not make it. One night in particular I remember us waking up sweet Emily to say goodbye. Over the years Brigham has had so many close calls and rallied back. He rallied again but we felt that this time it wasn’t the same. His health seemed to be at a different level. He seemed weary. We felt that he was slowing down.

During April we enjoyed celebrating Easter and the message that spring brings. Our family has had only one babysitter through the years and she was home visiting her children in Peru during this time. That was okay. We are grateful that we had many sweet times all together as a family. Because of Brigham’s fragile health we never wanted to leave him. I think the only date Randy and I went on these last precious months was to a restaurant with our friends and they didn’t mind that we brought Brig with us.

May came quickly. Our incredible lawyer was working hard on getting Yaw’s adoption finalized. With Brig’s health stabilized we decided to plan our family vacation and introduce Yaw to Disneyland and take Brig back to a place he loved. The adoption papers came through and family was coming in town for Mothers Day. We felt inspired to take our family to the temple and have Yaw sealed before we left for our trip. Mothers Day weekend was sacred and a beautiful memory that we all will treasure. Saturday, our family had the privilege of being together in the temple. Family members commented about Brigham’s calm, powerful presence. He glowed. Sunday we celebrated the wonderful mothers in our life and I celebrated being a mother. I felt so blessed.

The following day, Brig rode his trike around the driveway as we packed up to leave for our much anticipated family trip. Our family loves car rides even long ones. Brigham has claimed his spot as co- pilot. We arrived late Monday night to our hotel. Tuesday midmorning we headed to Disneyland which was in walking distance. Knowing that we were going to be there for a few days we didn’t push it. We were able to ride some favorites. In the afternoon Brigham seemed to be uncomfortable and not doing well. An hour or two later he was in tremendous distress. The night was hard. At 4:30 in the morning on Wednesday Randy and I knew we needed to get Brig back home to the “white house” as Brigham called it. We packed up and were on the road by 6 trying to explain to the other children why we were going home. Their love for their brother Brig out weighed their sadness.

Friday afternoon Brigham passed away in our arms. His life was full of pain and sufferings even to his last breathe. How grateful we were that he was home in his white house surrounded by his family who loved him.

Most mothers do not bury their children. As I have known that I would, I have thought much about this sacred process. I have always desired that when the time came I would keep him close and care for him until he was laid to rest. I was comforted by a neighbor’s words as he reminded us of our Savior’s death and his own mother’s desire to care for his body as well.

While Jesus was on the cross he was surrounded by those who loved him. His mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and the beloved apostle John were there as well as perhaps two more women there. When Jesus died one of his disciples, Joseph of Arimathea, came to claim the body. Nicodemus brought a large amount of myrrh and aloes and then washed the body and wound the body in linen clothes and laid him in the sepulcher. On the third day, after Jesus was placed in the tomb, women—Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James—came to the tomb to care for and anoint the body of Jesus. They went to find his body for the same reason that we honor bodies of our loved ones today—to express our love.

Randy and I had the sacred opportunity of washing Brigham one last time. On Sunday we brought Brigham’s body home. In our society/culture it seems like we have made death be a scary negative thing. We have learned differently. Death is a new birth. It is part of our Heavenly Fathers plan. Our bodies are amazing and Gods masterpiece. It has been a beautiful and sacred experience to have his body under our watchful care this week. Even as his physical body lies still, it and he are still with us, teaching us.

I love Brigham’s body. It is a memorial of Brigham and his courage and strength. I know that I will never understand fully how much he suffered. Brigham never complained. His body testifies of the atonement in a very real way.

I loved Brigham’s life and everything about him. Brigham loved to fish. If you asked him what he wanted for his birthday or for Christmas he would say “maybe a red fishing pole” every time. When we needed a gift for someone else and I would ask him what we should get them he would say “maybe a red fishing pole” every single time. “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a life time.” Brigham didn’t want to give us the fish he wanted each of us to have a red fishing pole and teach us to fish. Brigham has taught us for a lifetime. I have no bitterness or anger towards the disease that took my sons life or towards my God. My heart is in the tremendous depths of sorrow yet I have nothing but an overabundance feeling of gratitude for my Father in Heaven for having had the honor to be chosen to be the mother of such a righteous soul. He is a son who has testified of Christ every day of his life. We are so blessed to have had a constant teacher and example of true principles and teachings of the Savior in our home.

Brigham has been on the runway for quite sometime. He now has taken off. He is not gone. Just in another place. Our story has not ended. Having Brigham with our family has been the best chapter so far. He is now writing a new chapter and so are we. When we would take Brigham to the movies and get to the end, he would jump up and yell “rewind, rewind”. Oh sweet Brigham, how I wish I could rewind this chapter of life with you. I long to care for you and be with you again. I know that I was your caretaker of your physical body while you were here on earth, however, I am the one dependent upon you and your mighty spirit that truly fed me each day. God gave us 14 beautiful years with you. You have left us physically. Now it is up to us to remember all the things you have taught us. Brigham, I want to be like you. I want to accept Christ and be obedient so I can be with you forever. You have given our family a great goal. I reminded of a quote from one of your favorite movies “Hercules”. Hercules is trying to get back to his Father and Mother in Heaven. His father, Zeus, tells him that he has to prove himself a true hero before he can return. Hercules says “I won’t let you down!” Brigham you proved yourself a hero and I know our Father in Heaven welcomed you home. It is now our turn. Brigham we “won’t let you down”. You have taught us well for life. You have taught us to fish.

In D&C 42:46 it reads “And it shall come to pass that those that die in me shall not taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them”. This scripture and many more have given me comfort and strength. Our dear prophet, Thomas Monson, reminded all of us in this last conference to “be of good cheer”. The Apostle Paul declared, “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” I quote our Prophet.

“None of us makes it through this life without problems and challenges—and sometimes tragedies and misfortunes. After all, in large part we are here to learn and grow from such events in our lives. We know that there are times when we will suffer, when we will grieve, and when we will be saddened. However, we are told, “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”

How might we have joy in our lives, despite all that we may face? Again from the scriptures: “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you.”

…those who have struggled and yet who have remained steadfast and of good cheer as they have made the gospel of Jesus Christ the center of their lives. This attitude is what will pull us through whatever comes our way. It will not remove our troubles from us but rather will enable us to face our challenges, to meet them head on, and to emerge victorious.”

While I held my son in my arms while he was dying my testimony was challenged like it has never been challenged before. It was pushed clear to the edge and then some. I wanted to know with ever fiber of my body that what I believe was true. I wanted to know that there was a God in heaven who knows my son by name and would lovingly welcome him home. I wanted to know that our Savior died but now lives and that because of the atonement we may all live again together without pain and suffering. Brothers and Sisters, this week my testimony has grown. Because of this experience I know that my son lives. He has been faithful and obedient and has earned his celestial glory.

I was asked to speak on Easter Sunday a year ago. I would like to close by sharing some of that talk with you. My talk was inspired by the words of Elder Wirthlin.

Elder Wirthlin talks about how dark that Friday must have been when they lifted Christ upon the cross and crucified him. From the bible we read from each of the gospels about the darkness that was over the land. In Matthew it says “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.” I think about how dark it was in other parts of the world as well. In 3 Nephi 8 we read that on that dark Friday there were “great and terrible tempest and thunder that did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder. Many great and notable cities were sunk, and many more were burned. There was thick darkness upon all the face of the land.”

However, we need to remember that the darkness didn’t last. The despair did not linger. Because on Sunday the resurrected Lord ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind. I quote Elder Wirthlin’s words again “In an instant the eyes that had been filled with ever-flowing tears dried. The lips that had whispered prayers of distress and grief now filled the air with wondrous praise, for Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, stood before them as the firstfruits of the Resurrection, the proof that death is merely the beginning of a new and wondrous existence.”

Elder Wirthlin continues to say that “each of us will have our own Fridays – those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death – Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come. No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, in this life or the next, Sunday will come.”

At Elder Wirthlin’s wife’s funeral, President Hinckley spoke and said that ‘it is a devastating, consuming thing to lose someone you love. It gnaws at your soul’. In Elder Wirthlin’s lonely hours he spent a great deal of time thinking about eternal things and contemplating the comforting doctrines of eternal life. The gift of the Resurrection.

The gift of the Resurrection is universal for every person who has ever lived or ever will live on this earth. In Alma 11:43 we learn that “the spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame” President Spencer W. Kimball said, “I am sure that if we can imagine ourselves at our very best, physically, mentally, spiritually, that is the way we will come back.”

We know everyone will be the recipients of this amazing gift however the appointed time of our resurrection and the degree of glory given to us, is dependent upon how faithful we are in this life. Elder Holland has reminded us that “the Apostle Paul made clear that those fully committed to Christ will rise first in the Resurrection. Modern revelation clarifies the different order of resurrected bodies, promising the highest degree of glory only to those who adhere to the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Elder Wirthlin said “The Resurrection is at the core of our beliefs as Christians. Without it, our faith is meaningless.” In 1 Corinthians 15:14 we read, “If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and (our) faith is also vain.”

I am grateful for the scriptures and words from the prophet and leaders and testimonies of other members found in our church magazines. I am grateful for Elder Wirthlin and his words that have inspired me. I would like to close with his thoughts. “When President Hinckley spoke of the terrible loneliness that comes to those who lose the ones they love, he also promised that in the quiet of the night a still, unheard voice whispers peace to our soul: “All is well.” I am grateful beyond measure for the sublime true doctrines of the gospel and for the gift of the Holy Ghost, which has whispered to my soul the comforting and peaceful words promised by our beloved prophet. Live in thanksgiving for the priceless gifts that come to us as sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father and for the promise of that bright day when we shall all rise triumphant from the grave. No matter how dark our Friday, Sunday will come.”

As the disease progressed, Brigham’s ability to communicate decreased. His words became less and less. One of his sentences that he was able to say especially when he was hurting was “I’ll be okay”. Brigham we will be okay. I know this.

In the name…

Brigham's Memorial - "A Real Boy" by Emily Reneer

2009-06-23T08:21:00.008-06:00

My brother Brigham loved all things Disney – the music, the movies and Disneyland itself. It truly was one of his happiest places on earth. At the beginning of each of our Disneyland trips it became our family tradition to visit the Pinocchio attraction first. Brigham was our Pinocchio. He wasn’t a puppet made of wood; but, like Pinocchio, he had a body that was different. When the Blue Fairy visited Pinocchio in Geppetto’s toy shop, she promised Pinocchio, “Prove yourself brave, truthful, and unselfish, and someday, you will be a real boy.” I love my brother Brigham. Life was hard for him. He was brave, truthful, and unselfish. He was also valiant, courageous and long-suffering and of course, he was a real boy.

Since his body didn’t work very well, Brigham didn’t get to participate in lots of normal activities that the rest of us kids get to do. I remember a couple of months ago my mom wheeled Brigham into our backyard and told me to let Brigham watch me and my sister Ella and my brother Yaw play. He sat in his wheelchair/stroller as the rest of us jumped on the trampoline, rode bikes and played on the swing set. Yaw is new to our family and he didn’t understand why Brigham just sat. “Emily,” he asked, “Why can’t Brigham play?” For many years, I bet my brother Brigham had wondered that too. My brother’s diseases hurt him physically, but I’m sure they hurt him emotionally too. He, of course, never complained.

Brig’s disease was hard for me emotionally too. I hated seeing him in pain. I also hated seeing him made fun of. The first time I can remember people ridiculing Brigham was at Disneyland several years ago and I was young – younger than I am now anyway. I was with my cousins. We were all standing in line to buy our passes to get in. Not too far from us, there was a boy that was pointing his finger and laughing at Brigham. I was so mad and so sad all at the same time. I wanted to tell this boy how hurtful his actions were. I realized then that being Brigham and being Brigham’s sister wasn’t always easy.

Brigham loved the movie Dumbo. Dumbo is the baby elephant born with ears a few sizes too big. Dumbo’s life wasn’t always easy either. As Dumbo’s ears were first revealed, the other elephants gasped.

“Is it possible?” asked one.

“Isn’t there some mistake?” wondered another.

“Just look at those . . . those . . . E A R S!”

“Oh, aren’t they funny?” laughed another.

“They are funny!” agreed another.

Brigham, like Dumbo, was innocent of wrongdoing and did nothing to warrant mocking or the other problems he faced But, as you know, Dumbo uses his ears to fly and soar and triumphs in the end. Brigham did the same.

He triumphed by living with his pain and disabilities and enjoying life anyway. Brigham loved his animals. He loved Mighty Joe and Olive, our dogs. He loved Joe Willow and Perky the ponies. He loved to go fishing and would try and kiss those fish and then throw them back in the water.

He loved outings in the car and outings in his wheelchair. I’ll miss pushing Brig around our neighborhood in his chair. I am so lucky I got to do that.

He loved birthday parties. Sometimes my mom gave him two a year. He always had a theme – Tarzan, Magic show, and the fire department through him the biggest party bash ever. Brig loved them all.

I will miss going to Disneyland with him. I’ll miss seeing him standing up in the boat and bounce and sing in excitement as we would ride “It’s a Small World After All”. And belting it as loud as he could Disneyland will be one of my last memories with my brother Brigham. We were there a few days before he died.

As his MPS progressed, , he became more and more limited in what he could do. He spent more and more time reading and watching his much loved movies. Especially Disney but he did have his other favorites like “My Dog Skip” and “The Black Stallion”. My dad figures Brig watched the Black Stallion more times than any other human on the planet! We own 4 copies – all of them scratched, worn and well-used!

I loved watching Brigham watch his movies. He was so happy and excited as he sat and viewed his favorite movies over and over and then over some more. They were always tales with heart-warming messages that helped him forget about, his “worries and his strifes.” Jungle Book was a favorite and the last movie he watched.

Brigham loved to sing. He loved singing along with movies. He loved singing at church as well. And for everyone at Sacrament meeting it was easy to hear his love of music. His voice could be heard above all others. Years ago, we could understand his words and feel his joy. More recently, he couldn’t form the words, but his sounds were heard and his unconquerable spirit was felt all the more.

I’ll miss everything about Brigham. I will also miss seeing the many, many nice things people did for Brigham. Our family was so lucky to know all of you. Brigham was too. Thank you.

I remember lots of great teachers at Wasatch. I got to go to Wasatch Elementary with Brig for about 5 years. I am grateful for his wonderful aides, teachers and friends. I know the people at Centennial Junior High loved him and took such good care of him for the 2 hours while he was there, riding his tricycle. . A week before he died he rode three miles. That just shows you how tough Brig was. He pedaled over 400 miles of hallways at Centennial this year. My mom and Dad think this helped him live as long as he did. He also enjoyed his bus rides to and from school under good care from loving bus drivers and bus aides who made a special bus stop just for Brig on our busy street. Brig literally stopped traffic.

I am grateful to youth in our ward who would come over and read to Brigham and take him on walks in his wheelchair.

There were so many nice people doing so many nice things: ponies, jacuzzi, Mickey Mouse ship, making our playroom a safer place to be, Tarzan treehouse, fundraising for us, skiing, hockey games. In Brigs last days hockey was the only sport Brig would actually sit still and watch. There are so many more acts of kindness. I am grateful for all of you.

In the Bible, in Matthew chapter 25, there’s a famous verse about serving people. Jesus says “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

I hope all of you will be blessed for your kind acts to our family. Thank you for serving us. Thank you for seeing past Brigham’s disabilities and seeing a person of worth.

Brigham was a person of worth. All of you are and so am I. That is one of the great things I have learned by being Brigham’s sister. Everybody matters and everyone is a person of infinite worth. It’s a value we talk about in Young Women and it means a lot to me. I know Brigham knew who he was.

Last week, while Brig was dying, I was finishing up an essay at school. The subject was How I Would Change the World. I wrote in my essay that I wish I could instill courage and increased self-worth in every individual around the world. Brigham had courage. He was a fighter. When we believe in ourselves and who we are we can all have the courage to do hard things and make the world better.

Brigham made the world better. In one of his Disney favorites, Mulan’s father tells Mulan, “The greatest gift, and honor, is having you for a daughter.”

For me, the greatest gift was having Brigham for a brother.

I’ve also learned gratitude over these years. I’m grateful for my parents that worked so hard all the time for Brig, and for me and Yaw and Ella. I’m grateful for all the kind people that served Brigham and our family. I’ve learned to be so grateful for my body – my healthy body. I want to keep it that way. None of us should ever mess up our bodies with drugs, alcohol and other harmful things.

I’m learning patience and faith in Heavenly Father’s plan for our family. Many times Brigham watched Cinderella and in that movie, the fairy godmother tells the would-be princess “Even miracles take a little time.” I’ve learned that is true. Our miracle will take place in the next life when we’re all reunited with a healthy and strong Brigham.

I do believe there is life after this life, just like I believe there was life before this life. Our Church teaches this and I know it is true. In Dumbo, the stork delivers the baby elephant and announces “Here is a baby with eyes of blue, straight from heaven, right to you.” I do believe in Heaven. I’m not sure storks have much to do with it, but I know we lived there before coming here.

In the Pearl of Great Price, it says we were all spirits in Heaven before we came to this earth.

Brigham’s gone back to Heaven now. I doubt he is watching movies up there, however, he might be watching over Ella and Yaw so they don’t seriously hurt themselves. Sometimes they can be kind of crazy.

After the resurrection, Brigham will get that healthy body he didn’t have during this life. If my family keeps the commandments, we’ll all get to live with him again. That’s so amazing. I’m excited for that and I’m grateful for the Savior who suffered and died for us. He makes all this possible.

In conclusion, I have to reference one more Disney favorite of Brigham’s: Hercules. In this movie, there’s a song called “Go the Distance.” Which my beautiful cousins just sang for you Brigham loved this song. He used to sing it loudly, “WOULD GO THE DISTANCE.” This song is meaningful because Brig loved it, but also because the words parallel Brigham’s life.

I often dreamed of a far off place

Where a great warm welcome

Will be waiting for me.

Where the crowds will cheer

When they see my face

And a voice keeps saying

This is where I’m meant to be.

I will find my way

I can go the distance

I’ll be there someday.

If I can be strong

I know every mile will be worth my while.

I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong.

Brigham did go the distance. He was strong. He must have had crowds cheering for him as he arrived in Heaven – welcoming him and congratulating him for running such a courageous race. His distance was shorter than it is for most people and harder than it is for many people, but he was strong and I think that Heavenly Father has decided he does belong – in Heaven.

Brigham has taught me courage and I want to go the distance too. My Dad, Mom, Yaw, Ella and I belong with Brigham. We belong to each other. Yaw was sealed to my family just six days before Brigham died. We were all together in the temple dressed in white. I know what it feels like to belong to a forever family in a place that’s like Heaven. We all will go the distance.

Lastly, I want to quote from Pinocchio. Brigham loved this dialogue between Geppetto and Pinocchio and he would repeat parts of it frequently.

PINOCCHIO: Father, whatcha crying for?

GEPPETTO: Because . . . you’re dead, Pinocchio.

PINOCCHIO: No! No, I’m not.

GEPPETTO: Yes. Yes, you are. Now, lie down. . .

PINOCCHIO: But father, I’m alive. See? And . . . and I’m . . . I’m real. I’m a real boy!

GEPPETTO: You’re alive! And . . . you are a real boy!

I know that Brigham is alive and that he is a real boy. He proved himself brave, truthful, and unselfish. He was always a real boy -- the most real person I have ever known.

I love you Brigham and I’m grateful for the gospel and the peace I feel.

Brigham's Memorial - Life Sketch by Madeline Skillings

2009-06-23T08:21:00.007-06:00

The Life Sketch of Brigham Reneer

By: Madeline Skillings

On November 18, 1994 in the Utah Valley Hospital, God gave life to one of his mighty spirits. He put this precious soul into the loving arms of Julie and Randall Reneer, trusting them, and knowing that they would love this boy whole-heartedly to the very end.

Holding their baby, fresh out of Heaven, for the first time, I don’t think they knew yet that they had taken the first steps on a journey that would change them forever. This meek and gentle baby would soon become a teacher and a shepherd to all who would come in contact with him.

Brigham James Reneer was indeed a beautiful baby with hope for a bright future, and a tragic secret hidden inside. He was a big boy with big, strong hands. Upon seeing those big hands, my mom Jen said, “he looks like he should build fences or something.”

For the first 3 years of his life, Brigham had a lot of fun, but those who knew him best knew he was different. He was big and rambunctious, though he had a definite heart of pure tenderness. 1997 was the year that Brigham faced the start of many challenges. Just after his third birthday, he became very sick. When Julie brought him to the doctor, the doctor knew something was very wrong. He was diagnosed with Leukemia and immediately started intense treatment. It didn’t stop there. A few days later he was diagnosed with Hunter’s Syndrome, which foretold of a limited future and an awful fate. This disease set to work, ever so slowly changing his body and his mind as he grew. I was only approaching my fourth birthday, but I still can remember my little buddy with tubes and needles in him. I hated how I wasn’t allowed to be close to him. I would later come to an understanding of his sickness and grow to realize how special he was, but as a young child I was content with seeing him as a normal friend to play with.

Brigham was a very happy boy, and he dove into life with an energy that wasn’t to be expected from someone who knew tremendous suffering at such a young age.

Throughout his lifetime, Brigham’s frequent topic of conversation with me was regarding my 4^th birthday party. It was a “Madeline” theme and Brigham was such a good sport, as he was the only boy there. On the first powerful swing, he had busted my Madeline Hat piñata, to the amusement of the adults who subsequently had to repair the piñata so that I would stop crying and the rest of us could swing at it. Brigham was also happy to wear a big Madeline hat and help me blow out my candles. For years afterwards, he would bring up the same conversation that I never got sick of. He would say, “Maddie, you have your Madeline party?” and I would go through the same discussion, confirming my piñata and that Pepito was there (who was really Brigham) and Madeline (who was really me). It was interesting to see the different memories that would be locked in Brigham’s head for his

entire life.

At his fifth birthday party, the whole fire station took part in making his day memorable. He was a fireman for a day! He got to ride in the big, red fire truck, take a helicopter ride, wear real firemen clothes, and have a party with his friends and family at the station. There was even a newspaper article to be found afterwards in the daily paper about his blissful day.

The next year when he was six, Brigham conveyed manifestly to his parents that he wanted to be a missionary. On February 4, 2001 he was called to serve as a stake youth missionary. He got all that he needed; the black suit, a fresh set of scriptures, and his own personal missionary tag. Traveling to primaries and other organizations, he would tell the story of the Savior’s life and testify of Christ. One time he came to my church, and his simple and sincere testimony was the most inspiring thing to hear. Brigham’s missionary experience didn’t just satisfy his desires; it really did leave a permanent impression on all who listened. It was one of the many times I sat and marveled at that boy. The way he plainly stated his belief in the Savior made it seem easy to forget all doubts, and share his innocent faith.

These were exciting years for Brig. In the year of 2001, the Make A Wish foundation granted him the wish of a Tarzan tree house, complete with a dream backyard. The big tree house that sits in Disneyland inspired his family. After Grandpa Jim designed the structure, Brigham diligently helped the building of his big fort. He loved the bustle of men working together in making his wish come true. When it was finished, Tarzan himself came to the backyard and tested out the jungle with Brigham right by his side, just beaming with excitement. For the remainder of his life, there was a fondness in his heart for his special backyard and the animals that sit there today.

Growing up with Brigham was an exciting adventure. He was always finding ways to have fun and getting everyone involved. From fishing to riding his four-wheeler, he loved to be outside and enjoy nature. He also shared my love of animals, and I can remember arguing with him about the different stuffed animals of his that we both wanted to play with at the same time. We were normal, happy kids. I knew he was different but I liked him the way he was and whenever he was happy, the whole room felt different. Brigham’s laugh will always be the best sound in the world. He would get the biggest kick out of me pretending to cower and squeal at the sight of an imaginary monster, but he would always come to my rescue and shoot the enemy before I was eaten. I was safe with Brig close at hand.

At 8 years of age, Brigham had his own desire to be baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Having lived a spotless life, and unable to ever commit a sin, baptism was unnecessary to secure a place in Heaven for him. However, Brigham’s pure heart and desire to be like Jesus made him want to get baptized and follow the example of his cousins. This example of faith alone helped build my testimony, as this was a little boy who didn’t need to be baptized, but did so anyway.

Randy, Julie, and Brigham practiced the procedure of baptizing in their backyard hot tub.

On November 22, 2002 the day of his baptism, Julie was also dressed in baptismal clothing in case she had to join Randy and Brigham in the font.

As Brigham entered through the door in his baptism clothes, the spirit flooded the room and all who watched felt something special. As he stepped into the water, his countenance was glowing, almost as if we were all seeing his true spirit shining through. He was entirely Brigham, and seeing the radiance on his little face was an experience nobody there can ever forget. Julie never needed to go into the water with him, as he was calm and composed. Brigham’s baptism was a day when the sweet love for Christ in a little boy touched the hearts of his friends and family.

Sleepovers at the Reneer’s house will always be memories that I treasure. Brig made sure I was secure with the blanket fastened over my head, before burrowing deep into me on my pillow and saying, “under here”. Even under the intense heat from his big, cuddly body, I would hold him and thank my Father in Heaven for letting me love this boy so much. I knew somewhere inside that these moments would be something I’d miss later on.

I know that a part of Brigham’s heart will always be in the happiest place on Earth. Out of all his vacations, it was obvious that he was most happy in Disney World and Disneyland with his amazing parents and his best friend, Emily. That was his world. He could make fantasies come alive and put meaning into each story. The characters were real to him, and those were heroes that never let him down. Brigham loved heroes like Peter Pan, Hercules, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Tarzan, and many more. They were brave and different like him. He must’ve seen himself in them, for he could always be heard from somewhere in the house jubilantly yelling his name to the T.V. Nobody can deny that his outbursts of yelling were so entertaining to be a part of. Out of all his sayings he would repeat for a while, my favorite has always been “in the neighborhood.” It was just always so unexpected and funny to hear.

Even near the end of his life when his health was speedily digressing, he still found joy and a reason to be happy. He will always be the strongest, bravest spirit I know.

Brigham Reneer was sent in to my life with a purpose, as I know he was sent into all of yours. He was my support, my example, my comfort, and the anchor that kept me centered as my life all too quickly changed from childhood to young adulthood. While I transformed into a moody, confused teenage girl, he stayed as my constant light, the one who never judged me and loved me despite all my faults. This light of his opened my eyes to a new understanding of life and I will always be grateful to him for that. I will never find a friend like him again in this life, but he is mine forever to keep in my heart and watch over me. I will try and make Brigham proud by keeping his memory close and trying to live like he did. Brigham taught me to believe in fairytales and dream as big as my heart wishes.

*Read 2Tim 4:5-8

*Bear testimony

END!

Brigham James Reneer November 18th, 1994 - May 15th, 2009

2009-06-23T07:54:00.005-06:00

Brigham James Reneer

Brigham James Reneer

1994 ~ 2009

On Friday, May 15, 2009, our precious son, Brigham James Reneer, 14 years old, graduated from his mortal existence to return to a familiar home and to the rejoicing of our Heavenly Parents and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Brigham was born joyfully on November 18, 1994 in Provo, Utah , our first child. It was evident from his very first breaths that he was a choice and mighty spirit. He was large and strong and a pure delight to us and his extended family. Brigham loved life. He loved to sing, run, play, eat all kinds of foods, ride his ponies (Joe Willow and Perky), Disneyland, birthday parties, his tarzan treehouse, swimming, car rides, stories, the beach, movies, his trike, fishing, his dogs Mighty Jo and Olive, camping, and so much more. Most of all Brigham loved being with his family. Brigham had a great affection for his many cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents who all adored him.

A week after Brigham turned 3 years old he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Three days later, our son was also diagnosed with a Mucopolysaccharide storage disorder. We learned that this would be terminal and degenerative. His life expectancy would be between the ages of 10 and 12 years of age. We always knew in our hearts that Brigham would live to the age of 14. He endured with courage and without complaint, painful treatments for his Leukemia and after five years, he achieved remission. For Brigham, MPS was the bigger beast to fight. He fought to not let this devastating syndrome slow him. Every day was an adventure for Brigham. He always found the joy amidst his pain and suffering.

Brigham was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He enjoyed attending church and singing the hymns. In the early years, Brigham's voice could be heard above all others. He loved the missionaries and expressed to us his desire to go on a mission. We already knew he was serving his mission. However, when Brigham was 6 years old, he was called to be a Youth Missionary. He loved visiting different Primary meetings all over Utah. He gratefully wore his black suit & tie, black shoes, white shirt and his missionary badge as he shared his testimony of his Savior Jesus Christ. We know he knew Him in a very real way. The disease continued to ravage his little body and it became more and more difficult for him to do the things in life he enjoyed so much, as well as all the simple things like walking, talking, eating and breathing.

Brigham never complained. He was an example of courage, bravery, and of enduring well in the face of continuing pain. Brigham "fought the good fight, he finished his course, and he kept the faith". He lived like no other individual we have known, valiantly fighting, even in his passing. He left this world, encircled in our arms and surrounded by his loving family. He was indeed a pure vessel, without guile and incapable of sin. He "walked the earth with clean hands and a pure heart, an Angel out of his element." We look forward and long for the time when we will all be reunited again.

Brigham is survived by his parents Randall and Julie Reneer, his sisters, Emily and Ella, and his brother Yaw, his Grandparents: Doug and Christina Reneer, Gene and Argie Shumway and Jim and JoAnne Young. He has 9 uncles, 7 aunts and 31 cousins, who all mourn his passing, along with so many dear and cherished friends, (including his dog Olive.)

Thank you Brigham, Thank you, Thank you. We love you. Mom and Dad.

Thank You

2009-06-23T07:41:00.018-06:00

Today our hearts are full of gratitude. Family, friends, and strangers have blessed our family in numerous ways at this sorrowful time of the passing of our son. We thank all of you.

We know Brigham is grateful to each one of you and for seeing past his physical and mental challenges particularly later in life as he degenerated and recognizing his true identity and mighty soul. May all of us recognize who we really are - sons and daughters of God, our Eternal Father.

Many of you have requested a copy of Brigham's memorial service and other elements surrounding his service. We have decided to post it here on this blog. Audio will follow: Music and other remarks. Our heartfelt thanks for your kind words, notes, and other gifts so generously and graciously given; and mostly for the gift of your presence physically or in spirit at Brigham’s funeral service. We were overwhelmed at how many came to pay tribute to Brigham. Though we did not connect with many of you, we feel a great love for each of you for taking time out of your lives to bless us with your goodness.

Over the weekend of May 16th we sent out the following email to many dear friends:

"Yesterday, our family’s greatest earthly shepherd, example, and son and brother
left the sacred body he fought with and in. Brigham left our physical presence Friday at 3:40 pm. Julie and I have no words to communicate our feelings about him and longing to be with him. We love you and all you have done for us and Brigham for many years and invite you to a Funeral Service that will be held Saturday the 23rd of May at 2:00pm. A viewing will be held prior to the Funeral from 11am to 2pm. The building has a bell tower and is across the street from the Provo Temple."

clean chairs, fries, bell tower, "stuffed" animals, friend

2009-04-22T20:34:00.005-06:00

Emily can't say we didn't do anything for spring break.

Just on Saturday alone our family helped the ward scrub down every single chair in our stake center. A bazillion of them. Emily actually babysat Brig while he slept for the first part (he had another rough night).

We then took Emily and her siblings to Ripples for overpriced fries, onion rings, root beer freezes, blackberry milkshake and a fresh lime. I should post one day about my childhood memories of Ripples.

In the afternoon, the talented Alpha Smoot, invited us to her recital at the BYU bell tower. Yup, she plays the bells. We hung out on the lawn while she played a bunch of songs up in the tower. She is awesome. How cool to have that on your resume. THEN, we got to hike up the 100 winding stairs and play the bells too! Yaw does not like heights but we talked him through it. Randy and Brig laid on the grass below.

Bean Museum was across the street so it was our next stop. Yaw doesn't like animals. Ella loved them and asked me very tenderly if all these dead animals were up in heaven with Pres. Hinckley. We watched a documentary on Elephants. It was touching. I cried. Emily decided she should take better care of our turtle and begged us to go right then to the store to buy him a better bigger home. Since then she has forgot to feed him for 3 days.

At home we continued with our spring cleaning and then Emily escaped to her friend Molly's home for the evening.

Emily, it wasn't Disneyland but it was a good day.

Spring Break Day

2009-04-16T15:11:00.010-06:00

It snowed and snowed all night long. The trees are confused. I am confused. I hope we will have fruit this summer. Driving through town I saw many beautiful trees with broken limbs. It is feeling and looking less and less like spring break and more and more like christmas break.

I am appreciating my dishwasher and clothes dryer by not using them. Okay, I am not using them because I can't use them, not because I felt that I needed to appreciate them more. They are broken. Oh well. I didn't have a dishwasher or clothes dryer in Ghana and I did fine. The whole country of Ghana does fine without these appliances and a lot more. Boy are we spoiled. Ella and Yaw had fun drying the dishes. I enjoyed being with them. Maybe all families should have their dishwasher break for awhile. It provides ample opportunity to communicate and spend time with one another. Now for my clothes dryer. I will have to be more creative in thinking how to get my family to help out with this activity. Wish I had a clothes line. While in Ghana we had a great clothes line in our courtyard. The few times that it rained we just brought our clothes inside and hung them around the house. I have thought many times since my return that I really want a clothes line in my own backyard. Even if I did have a clothes line I doubt this crazy weather would dry anyone's clothes. Grateful for my mother in laws house close by.

Brigham had a visit from his friend Eamonn today. What a great young man.

Emily babysat, made cookies with Eden, baptisms for the dead at the Mt. Timpanogos temple, and will top the night off with a late night with her cousins at Aunt Sandy's home.

Yaw and Ella are feeling more and more like twins. They play, fight, compete, and then play some more all day long. They put on their boots, hats, gloves, and coats to build a snowman for their spring break today. They have had to have multiple bathes after being soaked through with snow and mud from playing outside. Yaw told me today that he likes Salsa. RR told him that it was american shito. Ella insisted that she was a kitty and wanted to drink milk by lapping it out of a bowl.

RR and I signed Yaw's adoption papers today. Our great friend/lawyer Randy Christiansen who did Ella's adoption for us will now be able to file Yaw's papers with the court. We did so much work in Ghana that I kept putting off that we had to adopt Yaw here in our country too. Hopefully all will go smooth and we will get the adoption order back soon so we can take Yaw to the temple to be sealed.

I was blessed with a great visit from Anne and Alpha Smoot this afternoon. Alpha is graduating from BYU this month in Photography. This semester she has been taking a class on how to play the bells at the bell tower on campus. She is giving a concert on Saturday. We get to go. She said that she would even take us up the steep 100 steps to the top of the bell tower. We live close to the bell tower and hear it all day long as it reminds us of what time it is. On Sunday I have a goal to be at church before the bells ring. It is still a goal I am working on. Brig has always loved the bell tower. When Brig was more vocal he used to comment about it every time we would drive past. I think he thought it was home to Quasi Moto (sp?). Wish we could get him up to the top. Alpha is a talented and beautiful young woman. Last year she presented us with a handmade book of photographs that she had taken of Brigham for one of her photography classes. It is truly a work of art and such a treasure for RR and me. We are so grateful to the Smoot family. Over the years they have blessed our lives in countless ways.

Today

2009-04-14T12:09:00.006-06:00

Even though snow is in the forecast, spring is making itself present with flowering trees and daffodils and lush green grass.

Brig seems to be having a tough time today. It seems like he just was sick. Grateful that he is able to rally and fight back. Trying to ignore the hard reality that one day, no matter how hard he fights, he won't be able to rally and will lose. However, I shouldn't use the word 'lose' because I know Brigham will have not have lost. He will have won his battle not only here on earth but he will have also won his place next to our Father in Heaven for all eternity.

Emily is home for spring break today. She babysat this morning for our neighbor. Now she is cleaning her room. Not much of a spring break. Hopefully we will get to Disneyland in the next few weeks.

Yaw is still busy learning and experiencing new things every single day. Today he took his first shower here in the states . He liked it.

Ella is going to her last day of BYU preschool with Mr. Brad today. She is bringing him some goodies to thank him. She loved her time at the Y, hopefully she loved it so much that she will want to go back there one day. I have seen her confidence bloom. Wish her preschool experience could last longer but students have their finals.

RR rode his bike today in the rain. Grateful he still has a job.

As for me, I woke up early and went to the temple today. Now I need to clean my room.

Grateful for today.

Jules

Living in America again

2009-03-05T21:37:00.003-07:00

I have been back from Africa for almost two weeks now. How sad that I have no post or picture of our newest member of our family. Tomorrow I will officially introduce our sweet son. I wish that I would just take the time to finally figure out the computer and learn how easy I am sure it is to post a photo or how to change my blog page decorations instead of having my 12 year old daughter do it since I have no clue. I hope she has time to teach me tomorrow. Maybe she will teach me how to change and add photos to my Facebook account too. While she is at it I hope she can remind me how Twitter works. Either her or my sweet RR who is the one who actually started each and every one of these accounts for me. Tomorrow.

Journey to Ghana!

2009-01-28T19:26:00.002-07:00

Okay sis, I need to get in one more post before I take off on my journey to Ghana. Wow and what a journey it is. Just today we found out that our adoption that was supposed to be done this week is not going to be done. We were scheduled to file our I-600 form with the US Embassy monday morning. You need to have completed adoption forms from the Ghanaian side to submit with the I-600 form and we don't. So now an already anticipated stressful 2 weeks just got a lot more exciting. We now need to get over there and get the adoption done first. My faith is kicking in. Need to have faith like the brother of Jared. I will miss you. Wish you were coming along. Thanks for helping with things on this end. I never leave my family. This is huge for me. I do have peace that this is the right thing to do. Hard to believe that I will meet my son in just a few more days!
Love you so,
Jules

A Story

2009-01-22T08:47:00.007-07:00

Once there was a beautiful black walnut tree living in our back yard. It was strong and healthy and fed all the neighborhood squirrels with its delicious nuts and provided beautiful shade for us on hot summer days. One year it decided it had a different calling. Our big black walnut tree died. That same year, wonderful people (Make a Wish) wanted to build Brigham his wish of having a Tarzan tree house. They were worried that our walnut tree might fall down and hurt Brigham and his friends while playing. Our walnut tree had to be cut down. It seemed so sad, for our tree gave so much. RR was inspired that we would save its beautiful wood for something very special. Some more wonderful people (the Banks) took our beautiful wood and dried it and got it ready for that special something. Years went by, the wood patiently being stored in another wonderful person's workshop (carpenter Alan). Then one year, another wonderful person (brother Chris) came up with the perfect design for that very special something. Years later our beautiful black walnut tree is now back home with us. It truly is something very special.
The End.

Finally done

2009-01-21T21:21:00.007-07:00

After many years of storing the wood and deciding on a design. Brigham's casket is finally done. I didn't want it ever to be done. Alan King, our carpenter, knew this and didn't want to call me. In fact, he tried calling Chris so he could let me know but he couldn't get a hold of him. It was a hard phone call for Alan to make.
Today King Cabinets delivered Brigham's casket to our home. It is beautiful. I think I am okay with it being done. It will be a blessing to be able to enjoy it for a while. It almost seems like it was made to sit in our front living room window. I have wanted a bench there for years. Now I have one. It will be Brigham's Bench. Something we will all use while he is living.
Thank you to Alan King for this priceless gift.

I am back!

2008-12-10T22:42:00.002-07:00

Hey Sis!
I really wish I would blog regularly. So much happens in life. It is a shame that I am not capturing it with words. I feel like I forget so much what happens that I need to blog for my own memory. Does that mean I am getting old or that life is just passing too fast?
So I will attempt once again to be a blogger. Hope you are reading.
loves
Jules

Brigham's Best Friend - Eammon

2008-09-22T23:34:00.007-06:00

When Brigham was in the 2nd grade he would talk about a kid named “Laman”. I wondered, who was Laman? About that same time, I started finding notes (in careful 2nd grade penmanship) in Brigham’s backpack, asking if Brigham could play and listing a phone number. One day, as I was picking up Brigham from school, a darling boy came out with Brigham. He introduced himself as Eammon and asked if he could play with Brigham at our house. I was thrilled. I finally met “Laman” and more importantly, Brigham had a friend to play with.

The children at school, and in our neighborhood, and in our church ward are all very kind to Brigham. Some even reaching out to be his friend. It can be a challenge at times for his peers and even adults to know how to act around Brigham. Eammon is different. Eammon treats Brigham like he would treat his brother or any of his other friends. He truly has become part of the family. He has even accompanied us on several different family outings. On many Friday nights we have made an exception of our family “no sleepovers” rule for Eammon. Sadly we had to end the sleepovers when Brigham's nights started getting so tough and RR and I started sleeping with him instead.

I love that Eammon loved all of Brigham’s toys. I think sometimes I bought toys thinking how Eammon would like them and how he could help Brigham to enjoy them too. Eammon helped Brigham’s pirate ship, castle, and cowboy town to come alive. When Brig would tire, Eammon had no problem just hanging out watching a movie or reading a story with Brigham.
We have learned that Eammon loves apples and Basmati rice. At one time Eammon was into the Beatles and wanted to play the guitar. He has tried lots of sports. He often invites Brigham to his games. Brigham is one of Eammon's biggest fans and is always asking me what number Eammon is. Eammon asked Brigham to say the prayer at his baptism. He also includes Brigham at all his birthday parties. One of Eammon's classes at school is a Peer Tutor class where he gets to work with Brigham and others in the special needs class. Eammon is never embarrassed of being friends with Brigham. Eammon and Brigham are growing up and their lives are at much different stages now. We don't see Eammon around our house as often anymore but we know their love and friendship is true, genuine and forever.

Tonight Eammon came over with his mom. He told us that his dad has been bringing home comic books for him to read. He said that he has been thinking a lot about how these heroes remind him of Brigham. He decided to capture his feelings on paper. Brigham, RR, Eammon and I went up to Brigham’s room. With Brigham by Eammon's side on his bed, Eammon read his tribute to his hero. It was a beautiful and emotional moment for all of us. RR and I don’t have words adequate to express what Eammon has meant to Brigham and to us. It is almost as if they had a special relationship before they came here to earth. Eammon is an extraordinary young man whom we all love dearly. Thank you Eammon.

Computer whiz

2008-09-18T22:21:00.006-06:00

Hi Jenn
I really wish I was a computer whiz. Instead, I feel like I am the complete opposite. I am hoping that this blog thing will help me out. It is forcing me to learn some basic computer skills that don't seem very basic to me. Emily knows more than me. I have a feeling you are in the same boat when it comes to technology, in fact, I know you are so I am encouraging you once again to start a blog even if it is just to teach you how to use a computer. I notice that you still haven't figured how to comment on any of my posts. It's okay. I know it takes time. I still can't figure out how to change the date on my last post. I started a new post with one sentence and then didn't finish it for 5 days and then when I went to post it - it was the wrong date! It drives me crazy being the wrong date. I don't bother asking RR. He will just tell me to figure it out and that that is the best way to learn. I wish I could ask you but never mind. I will ask Sarah.
I can't believe it is already Thursday and I haven't blogged anything about my week. I need to fill you in. Once again I am too tired to blog tonight but stay tuned for tales about me saving a dogs life, old faithful in my front yard, and my class on the dangers of solid waste.
love you so

I wash Brigham's bedding frequently

2008-09-11T14:21:00.013-06:00

Sister Jenn,

I have slacked in the blogging world. Mom is awesome. She emailed me wanting to know if everything was okay. She was worried that I haven't blogged. I didn't think anyone cared. Thanks mommy for reading. I have left blogging until night time and then I am too tired and so lately I just go to bed with out doing it. Speaking of bed. The other night Brig slept in our bed. I had washed his bedding but it didn't quite make it back on his bed by bedtime. I wash Brig's bedding frequently. RR said he thinks Brigs likes our bed better anyway. Brigham shouldn't. He actually has the most expensive bed in the house. We got a tempur-pedic bed for him to help with his sore joints, muscles and bones. Grandpa Gene's sister passed away and Gene inherited her bed that moves up and down. Gene generously offered it to Brig to help out when he is congested and having a hard time sleeping. We mixed the two beds by keeping the bottom part of Genes bed so it can go up and down on an incline and put the tempur-pedic mattress on top for comfort. It is a deluxe bed! How could he like our bed more? I don't know if I agree with RR on this.

Emily also has a tempur-pedic mattress. She inherited it too. Let me explain. I bought a waterproof mattress cover to protect Brigham's expensive mattress. The company guaranteed that their mattress cover had a life time warranty. I was a true test for this poor mattress cover. Remember, I wash Brig's bedding frequently. After so many washings it started wearing out and we had a few times where the mattress cover didn't do its job. I thought that I better get a new one. I called the company and explained what was going on. They asked me if urine had gone through onto the mattress. "Well yes, a couple of times", I replied. "Okay, send us your mattress cover so we can check it out", they said. So I did. They called me and told me that they were going to replace my tempur-pedic mattress with a new one and they were sorry about the trouble. How amazing is that? I promise, I just called for a new mattress cover but in addition they gave us a new tempur-pedic bed! They even replaced it with the newer version. Now that is customer service! I hope that company is in business for a long time. I should advertise for them. When they came to replace his mattress I asked what they were going to do with this perfectly good mattress that maybe just has a little pee pee on it. (what mattress doesn't have a little pee on it?) They told me that they sell them. I asked for how much? I think they said for a couple hundred dollars or something like that. I just remember that it was a ripping deal and that we should seize the day, especially because I knew whose pee it was. So that is how Emily inherited her nice tempur-pedic mattress. I guess she should be grateful that I wash Brig's bedding frequently.

I will have to share with you more about our sleeping habits in another blog. I sometimes wish I had a movie camera set up to video us at night because our nights are just too hard to describe accurately with words. I will quickly say that besides Brigham - Emily probably sleeps in her appointed bed more than any of the rest of us. RR and I are famous for playing musical beds at night. Ella likes to join in too. It literally has been years and years and years since I have slept through the night. It hasn't always been this way. Before I got married I slept well. When I would go down for the night, it was for good. I never woke up until morning. Then I got married. RR would always get up at least once a night to use the bathroom. I am a good sleeper but a light sleeper so RR would wake me up on his nightly expeditions. I guess he was just slowly preparing me for what our future held. Brigham's toughest time is at night. Good news: our nights have been pretty calm lately. So grateful for that. Go Brigham!

I need to appreciate the washing of my son's bedding. I really don't mind at all. I know the day will come when I will wish that I could do it again.

Good night

Post Script

Pretend like I have photos of my children sleeping in their beds posted here. My camera card is not cooperating. I really need my friend Sarah to help me. She is a guru.

Brigham - Non-Partisan

2008-09-10T23:15:00.009-06:00

I felt like you needed a photo with this blog post. I should have taken a photo of us at dinner tonight but I didn't so you get this one. I took this photo this week just to prove to you that the flying Donkey/Elephant wasn't just a fluke. That toy is still flying almost every day. Next I need to get video of him chucking it out of the tub and post that. Maybe Brigham is trying to tell us that he is very worried about the upcoming election. Nemo the fish has been getting a little attention from Brig lately too. Nemo is not quite out of the tub. I think Brigham likes him. Post Script: If you click on my posted photos, they look better and you can see the rich details like my dirty bathroom floors.

Good Evening Sister!

This was supposed to be a Good Morning blog. My plan was to write to you every morning and get it out of the way. Well, I am realizing now I should have called my blog - Happy almost midnight sister! I am not a night person and shouldn't be writing anything that is supposed to make sense at this time of night. I will have to go back and edit all of my posts later. I did ask RR if that was okay and legal to do. He laughed. I guess it is my blog and I can do what ever I want. Mom even offered to edit my posts for me.

We loved having you over for a non planned dinner tonight. It reminded me of the old days in our south provo homes. Wish we could do it weekly. So good to see Maddie. It is also great having Hillary around.. She helped me tons today with organizing my files. Oh I dream of "having a place for everything and everything in it's place."

I am not used to having open time without children. Today I felt spoiled. I got to go to lunch and hang out with my dear friend Janette Taylor. You remember her right? Two of her children passed away from MPS III. Shawna and Jonathan. I have always felt a bond and special connection with Janette. She has been a great strength to me with caring for Brigham. She has been down a similiar road. I also got a surprise visit today from my new friend Sarah Wiley and her darling little girl June. She brought me homemade green salsa from the tomatoes I had shared with her and a bag of chips. RR and I were fortunate to meet Scott and Sarah through Daniel. He has been talking about them for years. Great people and family. You would like her.

Everything I want to write about will take too much effort from my brain and fingers. I am falling asleep. I will try to write earlier tomorrow. It is too latadjgfhakdgf;kjadfj.

Loves to you

I-600A filed!

2008-09-09T23:16:00.005-06:00

Hey Sis!

I know I already talked with you on the phone today but just for journal keeping sake I will record that today we filed our I-600A form. Yea!!! The immigration office is up in Salt Lake. I feel bad going on a good car drive up to Salt Lake without taking Brig so Grandma Argie came along and waited in the car with the children so I wouldn't have to bring them in with me.
The immigration office was a bit intimidating. There were guards at the door that sent me first through a metal detector. They had me wait in this waiting room until they called my name. I don't know why but being there made me sort of feel like I was guilty of something. I felt the same way when I had to go to the Police Dept. for background check letters. The waiting room had asians and latins who I am sure were in their process of getting their citizenship so they could live the "American Dream". So many of us take our citizenship for granted. The man who eventually helped me was really nice. I felt much lighter as I left. It feels like the ball is rolling now for our government. Hopefully Ghana will get the ball rolling on their side.

Quick run down of day
5 am - Randy goes to the temple
6:30 - Emily and Me up
7:00 - Emily's piano lesson by Becky Perry. This is emi's 2nd time. Becky is great and even comes to our house.
7-8:00 Feed/Bathe Brig and Ella
8:00 - Pick up G-ma Argie, take Emily to school and head for SLC
9:20 - Immigration appointment (well at least that is when it was supposed to be. I had to wait awhile)
10:15 - Drop off essential oils to Mark at the H.S he teaches at. Rob so graciously donated the oils for the AHF "friend"raiser.
11:30 - Feed Brigham and Ella lunch.
12:30 - Take Brig to school (We missed the bus because of SLC)
1:00 - Drop off Ella to school.
1 - 2 ish - Run errands.
2 -3:00 Try to work on computer while it crashes every two seconds.
3:15 - Hilly comes over to wait and get Brig off the bus so I can go get Ella from school.
3:30 - Load up Brig and Ella and take them to Costco.
4:20 - Pick up Emily from school (on tuesdays and thursdays she stays for an art class)
5:15 - Drop off Emily at BYU for her ASL (American Sign Language) lesson.
5:30 - Make tomatoe tuscan salad for R.S. garden party. (I have lots of tomatoes to use)
6:15 - Pick up Emily and Jessica. Take Jessica home.
6:30 - Attend R.S. Garden Party that was held inside because of the rain.
9:00 - Children, prayers, bedtime etc.
10:00 - See if computer will give me better luck. Check/respond to emails/write blog

Good Night sister

Ella starts her formal education at the "Y"

2008-09-08T13:47:00.011-06:00

Ella waiting patiently for 1 pm to come.
The moment she has been waiting for! She even got tagged.

Mr. Brad the teacher
Friends at first sight. Home again and celebrating with some chocolate fondue.

Good Day Sis!

I just dropped Ella off at school. Her FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL! She was soooo excited. She didn't even want to eat breakfast. Not normal. While she was putting away her "spoons" (her job) she told me that she was so excited for school. I told her we would go to school after lunch. She then told me that she didn't want to eat lunch and would eat after school. I did get her to eat something.

I had hung on to Emily's old backpacks. Good thing. Ella loves them. She wore her backpack all morning long rotating between two different ones: Disney Princess's and Ariel. The Ariel backpack won out in the end.

She was so brave for the big drop off. We found her name tag, her cubby for her backpack, took a picture with her new teacher - Mr. Brad, kissed her good bye and I was off. No tears or anything. "Just okay Mom, see you later." I left and thought my baby is in school. I had to go check on her one more time just in case she was nervous now. I went in and found her playing by herself in the treehouse. Snapped a few photos and before I knew it Danielle appeared. They asked eachothers name and then were instant friends. Wow! How easy. Ella had a friend. I could go home now.

I now have 2 1/2 hours without children Monday - Thursday. Well at least until little Ruby comes. Speaking of Ruby, I feel much better this week about everything. I have come to terms that this adoption is different than Ella's. It is going to take time. We are meeting with the immigration office in Salt Lake tomorrow to file our I-600A form. We just need to pray that our form moves really quickly through our government system and that Ghana will get their work done on their end. I found out that the form I thought that I could have sent in months ago was not the case. We did need our Home Study first so we haven't wasted time other than that I wish we would have started our home study back in May.

RR gave me his nod on Ruby for the baby's name so Ruby Anne Reneer it is. Having a name already picked out is a first for our family. Well you know that usually our children go unnamed forever. We are getting faster in our old age. It seemed like Brigham wasn't named for a couple of months. Emily was a least for a couple of weeks. Ella was maybe a week. And Ruby isn't even born yet! As for Yaw, I have heard that sometimes children like to get an "american name" when they are adopted. We will let Yaw decide. We are hoping and praying that we can bring them home by christmas. I would love it and so appreciate it if you really would go with me to help me bring them back home.

Love you so,

Jules

It's Friday!

2008-09-05T10:24:00.005-06:00

My UPS package

An eraser and bath sponge on a stick (not a toilet bowl scrubber)
Animals that you can wear in your hair
Care Bear socks
Barbie Plate
Final choice... Dora tatoos!

Good morning sister
It is friday! I love fridays. I feel different on fridays. Last friday Ella, out of the blue, asked to go to the dollar store. What a grand idea Ella. I love the dollar store. I get to tell my children that I will buy them one thing of anything they want. They get so excited. (Except for Brig, he could care less) Poor Ella though, can't make up her mind. It got to be comical so Emily I started taking pictures of all her dreams because in the end the deal was that she could only end up with one item, she can have the rest in photos. I posted some of her desires. Emily ended up with a huge "big mistake" eraser for school. She also bought a little book light with her own mula. Ella ended up with "Dora" tatoos. I don't think it was her best choice but it was her choice.

I also got a package last friday. The UPS truck pulled up. I got excited. Maybe RR bought me a surprise! I should have remembered that I had ordered Brig's pullups and gloves earlier that week. My surprise ended up being rubber gloves. I had to laugh at the condition of my box of gloves. It is probably good that the package only had rubber gloves in it. (see photo) I do have to say that I am so grateful for these gloves. Brigham's poopy changes would be miserable without them. I still am holding out that one day I will get a different surprise in the mail.

Today I am waiting for our Home Study to come in the mail so we can get a copy to Ghana. I am also working on getting the I-600 Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative form filled out but first have to find out if I need to fill out the I-600A - Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition before that. Oh I wish I had been more on top of this and had known to send these forms in months ago. RR keeps assuring me that God is mindful and has a timeline. I saw a brand new baby the other day and it has triggered many emotions in me. It is killing me that our little baby is going to be born in a couple of weeks and that I won't be there. It is breaking my heart that little Yaw is bonding with this foster family only to be taken away again and this time to a whole new culture and family.

I am learning through life that when we have to struggle, sacrifice and work hard for something we are so much better for it. We also appreciate and love the outcome even more. With Ella we had gone through years of invitro, miscarriages, a baby we thought we were going to be able to adopt and then that falling through. Shaylee came into our life and let us bond with Ella before Ella even came to earth by letting me take her to her doctor appointments, birthing classes, and of course letting us be there for the birth. I think going to the effort of hours of pumping, trying to get milk for nursing helped too. Now that Ella is here I realize that all those years were so worth it and added to the incredible journey that it has been. I know if it would have been easy it would have been a much different experience. So maybe it is okay that this is a hard long unsure process and that I often wonder how this is all going to turn out. Logically it seems insane. Our plate of life seems so full already. RR's job is still so unstable. We are living off of money that we got from refinancing our home that originally was supposed to go towards other much desired and needed dreams. So you ask "Why are you trying to adopt these two little souls right now?" And all I can say is... because we believe we are supposed to. I feel like we are living on complete faith right now. I don't know what the future holds but we seem to keep going forward. These little children will be a miracle and a huge blessing. I better get going on those forms.

Love to you sis. Thanks for your constant support through everything.
Jules

Automatic Windows

2008-09-04T22:32:00.008-06:00

Chris's cool red car
Me and Ella's 3rd day in a row of trampoline bonding

Our hungry photographer, Wesley
Ella wants you to pretend that this horse is a pink pony

Hey Sister,

Did you know that our brother Chris is taking Italian classes at BYU this fall? Yep, everyday from 8 to 9 am. He told me that on the first day of class they had to pair up and practice with another student, asking eachother basic questions in italian. Chris was asked how old he was and responded 45. His partner said no that is not right, thinking that chris didn't know his italian numbers. I guess he didn't think a 45 year old man would be in his class. Parking at BYU can be a pain so Chris tried parking at our house today. His car was behind our van so I drove Emily to school in his little red sporty car. Ella decided to join us. She thought this car was so cool. After we dropped off Emily at school, Ella requested to sit in the front seat with me. I know this isn’t the safest place for a child to ride but I could tell that she was into this car and wanted to experience it from all seats. It was like a new toy. While in the front seat, she pointed to the handle that opens the window and asked me what it was. It made me laugh out loud that she seriously had never seen a manual window opener handle (i don't even know what to call it). I told her what it was and she just had to try it out. She then asked me how long we got to keep Chris’s car. She was disappointed when we went to pick up Emily from school this afternoon and the little red car was gone. I think Chris is parking here tomorrow and for the rest of the semester so that should make her happy. It is funny to think that when we were young automatic windows weren’t automatically in all cars. At least not in all of our cars.

After getting Brigham on the bus, Ella and I kept up with our tradition for the week by jumping on the trampoline. I was wishing that I had a picture of us and thought, wouldn’t it be nice to have a personal photographer following our family around photographing a record of our life? Just then Wesley came to play. He will do. I gave him the camera and told him to take pictures of Ella and me. He did and they even turned out okay and what is even better, I didn’t have to pay him. Well I did feed him some watermelon.

It was good to see you guys tonight. I love it when you come by. Wish it was more often. Stephen, ahhh! I mean Spencer is soooo amazing. How does Hillary stand it? I love his aura. I hope she does too. Thanks for letting me have a weepy moment about our little ghanian children. It is seeming more and more real and getting emotionally harder and harder to not have them with us. Please pray for them.

Love you

Full day

2008-09-03T22:04:00.008-06:00

Naughty Dog
My Helper
The log I removed by myself
The still okay monkey
My beautiful tomatoes! (click on the photo so you can see how amazing they are)

Good Evening Sister

I just read my blog for yesterday. Kind of dumb. Sorry. I don’t think you are reading any of these anyways. In fact, I don’t think anyone is. Maybe that is good. You know that saying, “Dance as if no one were watching” Well maybe I should say, “Write as if no one is reading”

While I drove Emily to school today, RR fed Ella breakfast. He is really bummed about her eating habits. He claims that she use to eat anything we put in front of her. That is true however, she was young. He insists that our horrible eating over the holidays a couple of years ago ruined her. RR wants us all to work on eating really healthy. “Only the best food for our bodies” So the last couple of mornings he has locked Ella in her high chair and served her a bowl of fruit (peaches, bananas, oranges, watermelon) Ella loves her “cereal n milk” so this bowl of fruit was quite the change from her bowl of cheerios. Yesterday morning she took 1 maybe 2 bites of a peach slice and that was it. RR had strategically locked her in her high chair so she had to stay. RR had told her that she could have cereal or toast when she was done with her fruit. After she had sat in her chair for probably close to an hour she convinced me that she wasn’t hungry and that she would eat her fruit for lunch so I let her out. By lunch time she was really hungry. She gobbled up her turkey, peaches, carrots, yogurt, and I even got her to eat a few slices of cucumbers. This morning, same scenario as yesterday. She gobbled up today’s lunch too of peaches, and tuna fish sandwiches. So I guess if you starve your kid then they will eat what you want them to eat.

Big day for Ella. We were invited to check out her pre-school and meet her teacher Mr. Brad today. She was so excited. I even pulled out the iron for the occasion and ironed one of her little dresses. I decided that while I had the iron out that I might as well iron an outfit for Brig and why not me too. Hey it is a big day! We all got cleaned up and ready to go. Parking is crazy on campus so we decided to walk. Brig prefers this anyway. I was rushing to get to the open house on time. I smelled a poop. Of course, that always happens when I am rushing. I told Ella to hold on and that I would change him sooo fast. Brigham is getting harder and harder to change (One day I will have to dedicate one of my blogs just to that subject). With out giving you too much detail, I had poop on my ironed skirt and shirt, poop on Brig’s ironed shorts, and poop all over him. With Ella still waiting outside by the wheelchair for Mom, I quickly wiped down a not very happy son, he had "IT" on his hands, tummy legs etc. A bath would have been a good idea but no time for that. I got my squirt bottle of my “purify oil” and squirted him all over hoping that it would disinfect and make him smell okay. I grabbed some non ironed shorts for him, scrubbed my skirt and shirt, put some “Whisper oil” on me, just in case I missed a spot and smelt like poop, and was off hoping that I didn’t lose too much time with this pit stop.
We made it to the open house. Ella’s teacher seems like a good one. Her classroom has one wall completely covered in 2 way mirrors so students can observe what is going on in the classroom. I want to go observe. I bet students have stories to tell. They should write a book. Ella’s classroom is great, however, I think she is more excited about the playground outside. Did you know that I went to preschool at BYU when I was little? I totally remember it. It was at the Harris Fine Art Center. The playground was on the patio and I remember loving it too. One memory that sticks out is when they brought in a huge Boa constrictor snake to our classroom. We learned the "I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor" song. Ella’s playground fun was cut short when we had to go get Olive. I got a call on my cell phone from a BYU student telling me that our dog was on the loose. Darn that dog! She has been so naughty lately. It kills her that she can’t go with us on our walks so she jumps the fence. Hilly called me right then and was headed to our house so she picked up Olive for me and took her home. Thanks Hill Dill.

We ate lunch and got the Brigster on the bus. Ella and I have been solo for the last couple of weeks while Brig and Emi have been in school. It has been fun and will end shortly when she starts her school next week. I jumped on the trampoline yesterday with Ella and we had so much fun that she wanted to do it again today. Jumping on the trampoline (RR told me I can’t write “tramp”) is a workout! Or maybe I am just really out of shape. It was a great 20 minutes. I killed 2 birds with one stone. An awesome exercise for my knee and more importantly, I got to just play with my silly Ella.

We then worked in the garden. Well, Ella sat and ate carrots and dip at her little blue table while I heaved a huge log out of my tomato patch. We have this big ole dead tree up in the corner of our yard. Make a Wish was originally going to build Brigham’s tree house in it but thought it might be dying and decided against it. Good thing. It really is dead and I have been worried for the last couple of years that it is going to fall and crush our fence, or tree house, or small child. Tree cutter downers told me it would cost hundreds of dollars to remove it. We didn’t remove it. This last rain storm a couple of days ago brought down almost half of the tree. I think while we were all sleeping. It could not have landed better. It didn’t touch the fence, tree house, or any children. I was kind of hoping that it would have taken down the cement orangutan that looks like a naked old man from behind but nope, he is still okay too. It did snap the pipe that holds electrical wires for the tree house and destroyed my tomato patch. But hey, I think we saved some money.

After I got part of the tree out of the garden Ella and I rescued a bunch of tomatoes. I didn’t realize all the different varieties that I had growing. Red with green stripes, green with green stripes, orange, yellow, bell shape, huge shape, etc. They are so pretty and cool that I just had to share with friends.

After my workout on the tramp and moving tree branches I gave myself a quick bath with diaper wipes and was off to Brig’s IEP leaving Ella with Erica our neighbor. Brig’s IEP’s are so much different these days. IEP=Individualized Education Plan. I use to dread them because I felt like it was me against the staff. It always felt like a huge battle. Many times I would be in tears. RR and I thought that there would be no way we would send Brig to Jr. High. It seems like such a tough time of life for kids and we thought that no way would there be a place for our son there. Well… it has been a huge blessing. The IEP meetings are great. I actually feel like we are a team. I feel like they really care for Brigham and want what is best for him and they are willing to do whatever it is that he needs. You are supposed to set goals in IEP meetings. I told them that the goal I wanted them to work on was to get him to smile everyday. They actually wrote that down! Oh I love his teacher. I swear I thought I saw tears in her eyes. What a difference. Brig is so simple these days. He just wants to ride his bike through the halls so they let him. The staff said that they had more than a hundred students wanting to sign up to help in Brig’s classroom this year. The teacher told me it is because they all want to be with Brigham. She also told me today that there are two new students in his class who are deaf and sign. She said that they have given Brigham a sign. They make the letter “B” and then do the sign for riding a bike. I really think Brigham enjoys going to school. He is gone from me for about three and a half hours. It gets him out of the house and doing things he enjoys. Those students and teachers are blessing Brigham’s life. I also know that he is blessing theirs.

RR had his bishopric meetings tonight so was gone. I was able to visit with and give Cindy Clark a hug. Her and her husband just got back from being with their daughter Stephanie in Arizona since the plane crash almost 2 weeks ago. Stephanie’s husband Christian got his tubes removed so now he can talk. He is still pretty drugged so no real conversations yet but he is going to be okay. Stephanie is still fighting. The Clark family is amazing. Stephanie is amazing. It won’t be easy and they have a long way to go but they will get through this experience and be more refined and beautiful than ever.

Emily and I ended our night by doing her dance stretches that she learned today in school. It was fun. It makes me want to do Yoga. I have said that forever but I really do think it would help me. I feel all tense, stiff, tight and bundled. If nothing else it was good to laugh with Emily. I know I need to lighten up. I need to work on having more fun with my kids. My knew goal at home is to make sure I laugh and smile with each of my children (and RR) every single day.

RR is home now and it is really late. This entry is way too long. Love you so.

Lunch Box Tins

2008-09-02T09:59:00.006-06:00

Well our Labor Day didn't end up being very laborous. I think the big rain storm made it difficult for us to get up and get going. We stayed in our pj's, watched movies, and slept for the first part of the day. Our belly's were calling for food and in keeping with the lazy day theme, I suggested we go out for lunch. We grabbed some pizza and since the rain had stopped and the sun came out we went to a beautiful new park that the city built up in Sherwood Hills. Some bees were joining us for lunch. I didn't notice that one had got underneath the piece of pizza that I was feeding to Brigham. It stung Brig's lip real good. I felt so bad for him. Like he doesn't have enough pain already. I wish I would have had my lavender oil with me to take the sting away. Ella and Emily enjoyed the play ground. Emily challenged RR and I to the monkey bars. Boy did RR and I have a tough time going across. It kills your hands and reminds you how out of shape you are. The beautiful new tennis courts made RR and I want to start playing tennis.

We then headed off to find Hilly's new basement apartment. It was great to see all of you laboring. We think Hilly and Sariah's place is awesome. What a great time of life for them.

Just for the record, we did end up laboring a bit. We started the broken sprinkler pipe project in the garage. The problem was found and now RR is debating how to fix it. Could be major but hopefully not. Emily and I were able to work on a puzzle, (i love puzzles and could work on them all day long) had a quick family council and then ended our day by all of us going on a walk to the Creamery. I am depressed with how cool the weather is getting. We had to wear jackets! It seems to me like our winter was so long and summer so short.

On our long trip to Oregon a month ago, we stopped somewhere in Nevada for gas. Emily saw a Beatles lunch box tin that she thought was so cool and begged for us to buy it for her. She said that she would even pay us back. I think the price was something like $18. Ella, following exactly in her older sister’s footsteps, found a tin that she couldn’t live without either. Ella’s being a Wizard of Oz tin box. Living in lean mode, with very few paychecks coming in, I thought $18 was way too expensive. I noticed on the bottom of the box that the company was in our own Salt Lake City. I convinced Emily that we could find it much cheaper back home. She wrote down the name of the company and we were off. Ella, of course, was in tears but we knew they wouldn't last for long and that her desire would be soon forgotten.

After we returned from Oregon, we realized from our research that we should have just bought the tin box in Nevada. We looked up the company and even registered to get these products at wholesale. Much to our disappointment we learned that the initial minimum order is $250! Sorry Emily. I am still working on trying to find her one. Emily is forgiving. Ella, not so much. She found the catalogs they sent to us and found her Wizard of Oz tin box and lots of other stuff. She is still requesting daily that she needs this tin box to take to her new school. She is also asking me to call her “Dorothy” and wants me to call Olive “Kate”? And while we are mentioning Ella’s desires, she really wants to take dance/ballet with her friend Marguerite. Pleaasssseeee Mom!

Labor Day

2008-09-01T10:06:00.005-06:00

Good Morning Sis!

Our sprinklers do their thing during the night. We have noticed in the morning that there is a residual of water on the floor of the garage. Of course we have ignored this issue all summer long. Last week Ella and Wesley requested to run through the sprinklers. Well we saw first hand what was causing the water. Not good - A broken pipe that happens to be located inside the storage area of our garage. To big to ignore anymore. So even though it is raining, I think I will try to talk RR into laboring on Labor Day. Poor guy, plumbing seems to put RR into the worst mood. Hope all goes well. You know that old homes are full of surprises. We could be opening up a can of worms. This task involves us taking out the portable storage shelves and everything on them. It is a big job but I don’t mind because it will give us a chance to organize and get rid of a bunch of stuff.

Yesterday Ella was looking at some photos of Brigham when he was younger. I could tell that she was having a hard time recognizing and believing that it was Brigham who was doing those things. Brigham’s life is becoming so simple. He is doing less and less. He is also becoming more and more dependent on people to help him through life. It makes me sad that she never knew him when he could do so much like jump on the tramp, ride on his zipline, play in his tree house, run, talk, sing. RR and I were talking last night as we were lying with Brig that we have forgotten so much. We know that we are towards the end of Brigham’s life. I panic and am emotional and wish that I would have done a better job of capturing and recording our life with him, with all of our children. The simple every day things. I assume that you have similar feelings as some of your children are grown and leaving the house. I am so grateful for the photos and videos, words that we do have. They help trigger memories. I know that one day soon these will be all we have of him. A goal that I have had forever is to get my photos organized. I would love to turn them into books. Brigham loves to look at photos of his life and relive these memories. I need to get on it so he will be able to benefit from them before he is gone. Maybe that is what I should do for him for his birthday and Christmas. He really could care less about anything else. What a pure boy he is. I wish I was more like him.

So…. I guess until I can get my books made, this blog will be our family’s journal. Why am I sharing my journal with my sister? I don’t know. As mom always says with her journal pages, “You don’t have to read this”. I do think it would be pretty awesome if all of us kept a blog of our happenings. Your's could be "Life on Dry Creek", Mom's "Life on 3215 North" Never mind. Call your blog what ever you like. It would keep us more up to date on each others lives and at the end of the year we could print it all up and bound it in a book and ta da! We have a family history. What do you think?

2008-08-30T23:39:00.004-06:00

Good Morning Sister - Well actually it is Good Evening Sister - but in 20 minutes it will be Good Morning Sister again.
I have many things to chat about and our happenings today but now have decided that I am too sleepy. Until tomorrow.

20 years ago!

2008-08-29T09:15:00.004-06:00

Good Morning Sister!
Happy Birthday Hillary!
Have any plans for celebration? I am excited to reflect on my lovely niece all day today. I treasure her young days that she spent at my blue house. I remember how she learned to ride a bike in one day. Sweat dripping down her face and not even wanting to take a break to eat. I believe that Hillary could do or be anything she wants to. Hillary is amazing. I love when she just drops by to be with us. I also love that people sometimes thinks she belongs to me. Your daughter is a strong soul who knows who she is. Well done Mom. This is a day of celebration for you too.
Love you so,
Jules

***My gift to Hilly is a year full of the family dinners. Hilly can stop by on any night and I will feed her. Now it might be canned soup and toast but hey it will fill the belly. Love you Hilly!

Post Script: I am going to find a wonderful photo of Hillary to post here. Be patient. This whole computer thing is trying for me. I am still trying to figure out how it all works.

Flying elephant and donkey

2008-08-28T14:14:00.014-06:00

The Toy
Before toy is thrown from tub After

Good Morning Sister!

We got a call from Tom who is doing our Home Study. He said that he is close to being done but that we needed to give him names of guardians of who would be willing to take care of all our little lambs in case something happened to me and RR. Ahhh ! Quick call Jenn and Chris. I know it's huge and there was no time for you to even think about it and hopefully RR and I will be around for a long time (remember you and I are going to live together when we are little old ladies because our husbands are going to die doing Leadville at the age of 85) but just in case, I better fill you in on the kids a bit.

Bath time on 9th

Emily gave up bathing with her siblings a year or so ago. I guess it was getting a little crowded and she is 11. Remember when mom and dad would bathe all 5 of us at once? Was it to save water? Ella just recently started requesting her own bath time. Maybe it is because when I get Brigham out, she always gets wacked in the head by his swinging feet and she doesn't like that. I don't think anyone likes that.

Brigham now bathes solo. I add a couple of drops of one of my oils to his water. This morning it was lemon. I read that lemon is good for circulation and disinfecting grime. Both good for Brig. Not that Brig has a lot of grime but maybe just a little residual of something after a poopy pullup change. More on my lovely oils later. Lately I have noticed, while I am wandering in and out of the bathroom to check on Brig while he is soaking, a curious thing that happens. As most family bath tubs, we have our stash of bath toys. A few we have had for quite some time. One in particular has been getting a lot of attention as of late. A two headed animal toy. One side is an elephant and the other side is a donkey. I am not even sure where it came from. I think maybe it was a donation from Nana. Brigham use to like to play with bath toys but now days isn't interested in them except for this one. I am always finding it on the bathroom floor. At first I thought Brig was just chucking toys out of the tub but bath after bath I see this certain Elephant/Donkey on the floor. I pick it up and put it back on the toy rack and sure enough when I enter the bathroom it is out of the tub and onto the floor again. He will do it over and over again. I have even watched him do it. Hmm.... what could this mean? I thought he use to like this toy. Maybe he does like it and doesn't want Ella to play with it. Maybe he hates democrats and republicans. Wish I knew. What should I do with this toy? Sometimes I will just leave it on the ground until he finishes with his bath and then join it to the others later. Maybe I should put it in his room and see what he does with it then. I will keep you posted.

Emily usually showers but occasionally she likes a soak in the tub with bath salts or something. Emily takes the longest showers out of our whole family. You can often hear her singing as well. She has a good voice so it is okay. Please note that Emily is very particular about her towells. They have to be big and fluffy. She is quite fussy about this. She hasn't learned yet that you can use a towell more than once. Oh my princess!

Ella loves to lay on her back in the tub and float. We have a problem with her drinking the tub water no matter what is floating around in it. Yuck. She has been told many times not to do it but she always replies how thirsty she is. Ella will usually let you know when she is ready to get out by yelling to us that her fingers and toes are now raisins. She prefers using little hand towells to dry herself off. Ella also insists on being carried upside in her towell to Brigham's bed so she can watch a movie while I go fetch her clothes and then get her dressed. Sometimes she just gets out of the tub by herself, using no towell at all, dripping water all through the house until she is dry. By the way Ella will take a shower, Brigham won't.

And one more thing, bath time on 9th can happen multiple times a day. And the best of luck trying to find time to bathe yourself. I find that early in the morning before chidren are awake works or when spouse or other age appropriate child is home to take over the watch or you can just make sure all doors are bolted and that a very good video is on the tube that will hold Brig's attention long enough to take a very quick shower. Many days there are no showers.

Love you,

Jules

Post Script: In all serious, I am grateful and blessed to know that I have a sister who would do whatever she possibly could do to take care of RR and my children. Remember my friend Stephanie from Arizona who was in a plane crash with her husband Christian? Well, they are still in a chemical induced coma trying to heal from the burns. They will be in the hospital for months. Stephanie's sisters brought her 4 children up here to take care of them. Stephanie and Christian's family and friends are wonderful. It is amazing what is being done for them. Click on the button below to see.

Super Man!

2008-08-27T08:43:00.011-06:00

Good Morning Sister!

Look who came by my house yesterday. His name is Spencer, but I forgot and called him Shawn and Jesse. RR and Sariah thought that was funny. I was clueless what they were laughing about until RR informed me later that I called him one of Hillary's old flames. Woops!

Spencer is super. Super cute. Super kind. Super talented. Super helpful. Spencer is Superman!

So close, yet so far away!

2008-08-26T09:28:00.000-06:00

Goodmorning Sister!
I know we are only 25 minutes away from eachother but those 25 minutes seem to prevent us from lots of spontaneous get togethers like we use to have years ago when we lived only a block away from eachother. I cherish those memories and days. It seems like those 25 minutes prevents us from being more a part of eachothers lives. I guess being at different stages with our children, church callings, the price of gas, isn't helping either.
I decided that I am going to Blog you. I hope you will blog me too.
Love you,
Jules