Last Saturday I was home visiting my parents during General Conference weekend and to celebrate my dad's birthday. I knew that a family friend was not doing too well and thought it would be a great time to pay her a visit. As it turned out, she had to cancel my visit at the last minute because she was having a really rough day. I told her daughter that I understood and to tell her that I loved her and would try again another time. There won't be another time.
Sister Sleight has always been there. My memories growing up at church include her. She was at girls' camp, roadshow practice...you name it. I have memories doing YW's activities at her kitchen table and closely examining her wall of family photos in her family room. I feel most fortunate, however, to have had her as my seminary teacher my senior year of high school. Boy was she a dedicated seminary teacher! And we studied the Old Testament that year! Sister Sleight always wrote with a pencil. Her scriptures were fresh for our new year of study. I can still see her black quad sitting on the table every morning.
Later on, she was kind enough to throw me a bridal shower when I got married and a baby shower when I had Reagan. She gave me great advice when I prepared to go to the temple. My recipe books are filled with Sharma Sleight originals. She gave me a hug any time I came home to visit during college. (Even though President Sleight gave me a hard time about being there ;)) She was a friendly face in the Vienna Ward Relief Society any time I was around.
I remember seeing Sister Sleight a little while after she had a double mastectomy. I was afraid I would hurt her if I gave her a hug. She told me it would be fine and I'm glad to say that giving her that hug in the church foyer is my last personal memory. I'm also glad I went ahead and asked her daughter Nicole to tell her I loved her. Because I sure do.
Saturday night I happened to call my dad on his cell phone. He had just left the Sleight's and told me what happened. I was so sad. I'm still very sad. But I feel so happy for Sister Sleight that she is no longer suffering. She had a long courageous battle and now she is free from her pain and discomfort.
I worry about President Sleight. He sure loved his wife. I know he misses her and will until they are again reunited. What a love story! What an example!
I feel so very blessed to have had her in my life. Sister Sleight, thank you.
'Til we meet again...
Monday, October 10, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Fall happenings...
Posting again in less than a month? Yes. And you're quite welcome!
Fall has hit the great state of Virginia, and with it, cooler temps. Can I get an amen?! It's the most wonderful time of the year. October, November and December are the B.E.S.T. Especially here in the Old Dominion, my friends.
Reagan is into her preschool routine and has experienced such amazing events as: "red" day, visits from Henrico County's finest, and her first FIELD TRIP!! On Tuesday I accompanied her class to the Hanover Vegetable Farm and had a blast. We had awesome weather and beautiful scenery. We enjoyed a hay ride, punkin' pickin', fresh apples from the farm, seeing all of the animals, doing water pump duck races and playing in a corn box. (A sand box filled with dried corn instead of sand.) It was a great way to spend the morning.
I am still Devin's taxi driver and I'm *hoping* he'll be cleared on Monday to begin driving again. He's had physical therapy twice a week since his last visit to the doc and they say his recovery is ahead of schedule. A milestone for me; getting all of his toiletries out of our powder room downstairs. They were beginning to drive me CRAZY!
Another big item of note, they broke ground on our house! The basement has been dug, so each day brings something new and exciting for us to see when we drive by. We met with our builder last week and he predicts a finished house by mid December. Let's hope he's right!
I'm 24+ weeks now. Things are going well, but 2 weeks ago pregnancy really hit. I went from having to remind myself I was pregnant, to no reminders necessary. My belly is big, this little girl is rockin' and rollin' inside and my energy and patience are getting smaller and smaller by the day. Have I mentioned that I love preschool?!
I've been busy getting ready for the Primary program at church. (all the kids do a presentation each year) It is written and parts are distributed. Phew!
Fall has hit the great state of Virginia, and with it, cooler temps. Can I get an amen?! It's the most wonderful time of the year. October, November and December are the B.E.S.T. Especially here in the Old Dominion, my friends.
Reagan is into her preschool routine and has experienced such amazing events as: "red" day, visits from Henrico County's finest, and her first FIELD TRIP!! On Tuesday I accompanied her class to the Hanover Vegetable Farm and had a blast. We had awesome weather and beautiful scenery. We enjoyed a hay ride, punkin' pickin', fresh apples from the farm, seeing all of the animals, doing water pump duck races and playing in a corn box. (A sand box filled with dried corn instead of sand.) It was a great way to spend the morning.
I am still Devin's taxi driver and I'm *hoping* he'll be cleared on Monday to begin driving again. He's had physical therapy twice a week since his last visit to the doc and they say his recovery is ahead of schedule. A milestone for me; getting all of his toiletries out of our powder room downstairs. They were beginning to drive me CRAZY!
Another big item of note, they broke ground on our house! The basement has been dug, so each day brings something new and exciting for us to see when we drive by. We met with our builder last week and he predicts a finished house by mid December. Let's hope he's right!
I'm 24+ weeks now. Things are going well, but 2 weeks ago pregnancy really hit. I went from having to remind myself I was pregnant, to no reminders necessary. My belly is big, this little girl is rockin' and rollin' inside and my energy and patience are getting smaller and smaller by the day. Have I mentioned that I love preschool?!
I've been busy getting ready for the Primary program at church. (all the kids do a presentation each year) It is written and parts are distributed. Phew!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Girl #2, Surgery, Dance Class, Turning 3 and Preschool!!
On August 30th, Devin, Reagan and I went in for my BIG ultrasound. I learned the last time not to convince myself one way or another what we were having. BUT, if I had to guess (again!) I would have guessed boy. Why? Beats me. That's only if I had to guess. I didn't convince myself either way. And it's a good thing, because we are having girl #2. My reaction? Laughter. Devin is SO outnumbered! As it looks right now, numero dos will be making her entry into the world somewhere between January 18th and 25th. My guess? (maybe I shouldn't do that) I'd say she'll come closer to the 18th end of her week long due date. Think this one will look like me?
The next day, we woke up bright and early to embark in Surgery 2011. My oh my. We made it through that rough first week and a half by hook or by crook. Devin had arthrosurface on his right knee. (he'll need to do the left eventually, too) We found out on his post-op visit on Monday that they had to break a bone and then screw it back together. Poor guy. He is now the proud new owner of 4 screws and 3 implants! He had some NASTY bruising that is luckily making its way out. He won't be able to drive or put any weight on it for another month. Prayers are welcome. :-/
The evening of Devin's surgery, Reagan started a dance class at The Little Gym down the street. It's an hour of fun, let me tell you. She does 15 minutes of tap, 15 minutes of ballet, 15 minutes of creative movement and 15 minutes of gymnastics. She LOVES it!! Her tiptoe walking really comes in handy in ballet class! Boy howdy! That girl is a NATURAL when it comes to staying up on her toes.
On September 8th, my little Rea Rea turned 3! How did that happen?! We celebrated by going to lunch at Red Robin, opening presents, having Chick-Fil-A for dinner, getting our toes and nails done and adopting two new members of the family. Reagan is the proud new owner of 2 beta fish. A red one named Strawberry Shortcake and a blue one named Beach Ball. She named them all by herself! Believe it or not, they are still alive! I made a rainbow cake (hard to ice and so ugly on the outside!) that tasted pretty darn good. It was a great birthday!
On Tuesday (the 13th) Reagan started preschool. She has done such a great job! I have to admit, this morning I dropped her off in the carpool line instead of walking her to her room and got a little misty. She looked so little walking in there by herself. Don't worry, they have tons of aides and volunteers to make sure the kids get to where they need to go, but holy cow! Don't get me wrong, this is exciting and necessary. We are all happy about this next step into Independence. I just couldn't believe she was out the door and gone.
Her teacher is the mother of a boy I taught a few years ago. Small world! I just found out I'm going to be a co-room mom and am excited for the fun this year holds. Preschool is awesome!
This pregnant wife, mom, nurse, chauffeur, dresser, cook, pharmacist, laundress, maid, church volunteer and house builder is P.O.O.P.E.D.
The next day, we woke up bright and early to embark in Surgery 2011. My oh my. We made it through that rough first week and a half by hook or by crook. Devin had arthrosurface on his right knee. (he'll need to do the left eventually, too) We found out on his post-op visit on Monday that they had to break a bone and then screw it back together. Poor guy. He is now the proud new owner of 4 screws and 3 implants! He had some NASTY bruising that is luckily making its way out. He won't be able to drive or put any weight on it for another month. Prayers are welcome. :-/
The evening of Devin's surgery, Reagan started a dance class at The Little Gym down the street. It's an hour of fun, let me tell you. She does 15 minutes of tap, 15 minutes of ballet, 15 minutes of creative movement and 15 minutes of gymnastics. She LOVES it!! Her tiptoe walking really comes in handy in ballet class! Boy howdy! That girl is a NATURAL when it comes to staying up on her toes.
On September 8th, my little Rea Rea turned 3! How did that happen?! We celebrated by going to lunch at Red Robin, opening presents, having Chick-Fil-A for dinner, getting our toes and nails done and adopting two new members of the family. Reagan is the proud new owner of 2 beta fish. A red one named Strawberry Shortcake and a blue one named Beach Ball. She named them all by herself! Believe it or not, they are still alive! I made a rainbow cake (hard to ice and so ugly on the outside!) that tasted pretty darn good. It was a great birthday!
On Tuesday (the 13th) Reagan started preschool. She has done such a great job! I have to admit, this morning I dropped her off in the carpool line instead of walking her to her room and got a little misty. She looked so little walking in there by herself. Don't worry, they have tons of aides and volunteers to make sure the kids get to where they need to go, but holy cow! Don't get me wrong, this is exciting and necessary. We are all happy about this next step into Independence. I just couldn't believe she was out the door and gone.
Her teacher is the mother of a boy I taught a few years ago. Small world! I just found out I'm going to be a co-room mom and am excited for the fun this year holds. Preschool is awesome!
This pregnant wife, mom, nurse, chauffeur, dresser, cook, pharmacist, laundress, maid, church volunteer and house builder is P.O.O.P.E.D.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Not much going on in Virginia lately...
Just kidding! Well, not unless you count an earthquake and hurricane, power outages, pending knee surgery, building a new house, etc.
As I write this, Reagan is sitting in Winnie's crate (no I did not put her in there) and Devin is "working" in the dining room. Let me take us back a few days...
Last week we watched some friends' kids while they were out of town. Devin and I anxiously and excitedly awaited Monday afternoon when we could click our heels and make like a fetus. (You know, head out.) Our destination? The Outer Banks! We haven't had a "real vacation" in a while and were REALLY looking forward it it.
The drive to Carolina was beautiful. We didn't even stop to go to the bathroom, Reagan was THAT good. We arrived, changed clothes and went right to the pool. We heard rumors of this "Irene" character that was planning on stopping by, but we just shrugged it off and caught some more rays.
Tuesday, (Devin's 33rd birthday) was beautiful as well. We woke up, went right to the beach and loved EVERY. MINUTE. OF. IT. Around 12:30 we went to lunch and stopped by the luxurious K-Mart to find Reagan a snorkel. While there, I heard a man say, "There was an earthquake somewhere between Richmond and Raleigh." The PhD candidate who happened to make her tuition money at KMart said, "yeah, it was in Nags Head." Um...
When we got in the car I called my Winnie sitter who told me that sho nuf, there was an earthquake close to home and all was well. Get outta town! I couldn't believe I missed it. Ironically, my parents, 2 hours away, had WAY more signs of it at their house than we did.
So...Wednesday was spent lazily by the pool again and we heard some more rumors about Irene getting closer. That night we went to dinner discussing the possibility of going home on Friday sometime to avoid all of the pending hurricane traffic. Those plans quickly changed when we came back to the news report that the OBX was having a mandatory evacuation BY Thursday morning at 8:00. Not wanting to sit in morning traffic, we speed cleaned and high tailed it out of there that night. So, our wonderful vacay lasted a total of 2 days. Yes, TWO FREAKING DAYS! I was only just starting to freckle! Reagan cried and I wanted to. After explaining that it was like the Wizard of Oz, when they had to leave before the twister (good call, Uncle T) she calmed down and stopped the water works. I, however, remained depressed until, well...I still am.
I spent Thursday morning not by the pool or digging in the sand, but at the grocery store and doing laundry. Awesome!
Irene DID land here on Saturday and left many a stick, branch and leaf in our yard. We were very lucky though. MANY people had it way worse around here and are STILL without power. Some good friends had a tree fall on the middle of their house, taking their roof with it. SO scary! All are fine, but they have a long road ahead of 'em..
Devin is having knee surgery on Wednesday. Please say a prayer for me. I mean him. I hope it goes well because he'll have to do the other one in a few months. Since he won't be going into the office the next little while and last week was "vacation" he went in extra early to get as much done today as possible. A little while later, I got a phone call that he had no power at his office. Awesome. Right now, he's in the dining room trying to get some things done.
Tomorrow is a BUSY day. We find out the sex of the baby. Guesses anyone? I have no clue. Devin says girl. MOST people are saying boy. We'll keep either, so I'll let you know the results.
We also have appointments with flooring people and wiring people because we're...drum roll please...building a new house! I know. We're nuts. We *should* be moving in around Christmas. I'm due Jan. 24th. Don't say it. I know. Again...prayers, please.
I think that's it for now. Stay tuned, folks. I'll let you know if the baby will be Derek Jeter Garofalo Georgia Steinbrenner Garofalo. Only kidding. Sort of.
As I write this, Reagan is sitting in Winnie's crate (no I did not put her in there) and Devin is "working" in the dining room. Let me take us back a few days...
Last week we watched some friends' kids while they were out of town. Devin and I anxiously and excitedly awaited Monday afternoon when we could click our heels and make like a fetus. (You know, head out.) Our destination? The Outer Banks! We haven't had a "real vacation" in a while and were REALLY looking forward it it.
The drive to Carolina was beautiful. We didn't even stop to go to the bathroom, Reagan was THAT good. We arrived, changed clothes and went right to the pool. We heard rumors of this "Irene" character that was planning on stopping by, but we just shrugged it off and caught some more rays.
Tuesday, (Devin's 33rd birthday) was beautiful as well. We woke up, went right to the beach and loved EVERY. MINUTE. OF. IT. Around 12:30 we went to lunch and stopped by the luxurious K-Mart to find Reagan a snorkel. While there, I heard a man say, "There was an earthquake somewhere between Richmond and Raleigh." The PhD candidate who happened to make her tuition money at KMart said, "yeah, it was in Nags Head." Um...
When we got in the car I called my Winnie sitter who told me that sho nuf, there was an earthquake close to home and all was well. Get outta town! I couldn't believe I missed it. Ironically, my parents, 2 hours away, had WAY more signs of it at their house than we did.
So...Wednesday was spent lazily by the pool again and we heard some more rumors about Irene getting closer. That night we went to dinner discussing the possibility of going home on Friday sometime to avoid all of the pending hurricane traffic. Those plans quickly changed when we came back to the news report that the OBX was having a mandatory evacuation BY Thursday morning at 8:00. Not wanting to sit in morning traffic, we speed cleaned and high tailed it out of there that night. So, our wonderful vacay lasted a total of 2 days. Yes, TWO FREAKING DAYS! I was only just starting to freckle! Reagan cried and I wanted to. After explaining that it was like the Wizard of Oz, when they had to leave before the twister (good call, Uncle T) she calmed down and stopped the water works. I, however, remained depressed until, well...I still am.
I spent Thursday morning not by the pool or digging in the sand, but at the grocery store and doing laundry. Awesome!
Irene DID land here on Saturday and left many a stick, branch and leaf in our yard. We were very lucky though. MANY people had it way worse around here and are STILL without power. Some good friends had a tree fall on the middle of their house, taking their roof with it. SO scary! All are fine, but they have a long road ahead of 'em..
Devin is having knee surgery on Wednesday. Please say a prayer for me. I mean him. I hope it goes well because he'll have to do the other one in a few months. Since he won't be going into the office the next little while and last week was "vacation" he went in extra early to get as much done today as possible. A little while later, I got a phone call that he had no power at his office. Awesome. Right now, he's in the dining room trying to get some things done.
Tomorrow is a BUSY day. We find out the sex of the baby. Guesses anyone? I have no clue. Devin says girl. MOST people are saying boy. We'll keep either, so I'll let you know the results.
We also have appointments with flooring people and wiring people because we're...drum roll please...building a new house! I know. We're nuts. We *should* be moving in around Christmas. I'm due Jan. 24th. Don't say it. I know. Again...prayers, please.
I think that's it for now. Stay tuned, folks. I'll let you know if the baby will be Derek Jeter Garofalo Georgia Steinbrenner Garofalo. Only kidding. Sort of.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Losing it!
What is it exactly? I don't know. But I'm losing it.
I was overbooked Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Today? Not so much. I woke up looking forward to an empty-calendar day. BUT, as I've been living it, things have changed.
Have I done anything remotely constructive? I did a few loads of laundry. I emptied the dishwasher. (my least favorite household task) Those count for something, right?
It has been one of those days when:
~Our t.v. will probably overheat due to overuse
~No square meals will be prepared
~My patience decides to go on vacation
~My Mother of the Year nomination will be taken back
~Preschool seems light years away from starting
~My almost 3 year old will be put back in pull-ups even though she's been potty trained since March. WHY does this happen??????
~Everything I pick up off of the floor magically ends up back ON the floor.
~The dog has toxic gas
Calgon, take me away! (No, really. Please!)
I was overbooked Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Today? Not so much. I woke up looking forward to an empty-calendar day. BUT, as I've been living it, things have changed.
Have I done anything remotely constructive? I did a few loads of laundry. I emptied the dishwasher. (my least favorite household task) Those count for something, right?
It has been one of those days when:
~Our t.v. will probably overheat due to overuse
~No square meals will be prepared
~My patience decides to go on vacation
~My Mother of the Year nomination will be taken back
~Preschool seems light years away from starting
~My almost 3 year old will be put back in pull-ups even though she's been potty trained since March. WHY does this happen??????
~Everything I pick up off of the floor magically ends up back ON the floor.
~The dog has toxic gas
Calgon, take me away! (No, really. Please!)
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Yup...still alive
What is it about me that just can't seem to blog frequently. I think I need September to get here, and summer life to end.
I need to catch y'all up, so I'll just do bullet points to get it all in.
~I'm pregnant. How's that for a big one? Due the end of January with baby #2. I will find out probably the last week of August what we're having. (btw, I have quite a few friends due around the same time as me. That makes it kind of fun.) I have been feeling fine and have had to remind myself that I'm pregnant. Over the past few weeks my stomach has started to pop.
~Reagan is almost 3... can you believe it?! She starts 3 day/week preschool next month and I think she's getting excited. (I must admit, I'm pretty excited, too) She's also starting a dance class the end of this month. That girl is growing FAST!
~Devin is busy busy with work as always. He's having knee surgery the end of the month. He'll do one knee at a time with the hope of full recovery and re-claiming part of his life that has been missing. Crossed fingers and prayers appreciated.
~Reagan and I (Winnie, too) spent a week in July up in NoVa. During that week I saw U2 in Philadelphia with Todd and celebrated his birthday as well. We were able to spend time with the fam, including my grandparents. It was a great getaway.
It has been H.O.T in Virginia this summer, so we've been inside more than we probably should. Sorry, but I don't do hot. In fact, I'm counting down the days 'til fall.
I need to include some pictures, but I'm not on my laptop and Devin has the camera at work.
Stay tuned....
P.S. How do I put blogs I follow to the right of my page? I'm a little bit challenged.
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