V day = B day

In the interest of time I used Krusteaz sugar cookie mix instead of my recipe out of Better Homes this year.  But I worried the kids wouldn't think my plan B cookies tasted as good. I ended up with exactly 8 cookies one for each plate, so I couldn't tast them. When Katrina came home from school she said, "Mmmm! Can I have mine?" I said, 'Sure!" She ate half of it before getting her fill. Callie walked up to hers and took a couple bites before running off to play. I was finishing my Valentine sewing when I became rather curious about how the mix tasted. I went into the empty dining room and figured I'd taste Callie's since it already had a few bites out of it. In mid-bite I heard a giggle from the living room. It was Callie watching me,"You can have some." I had to run give her a hug.

I told the family my plan was to make chicken pot pie for dinner. That was followed by a lot of silence and blank stares. Fine. We'll have take out. Plan B.

After dinner and the mystery door bell ditcher, I gave everyone a heat sack I had finished sewing that very day. Some of us warmed them up and watched Dumbo downstairs. I had ordered Lady and the Tramp, which seemed much more "Valentiney" but Dumbo arrived instead.

"Life is all about Plan B." -Mary Engelbriet

Before we went to to bed that night Matt dropped the bombshell on me that HR wanted to meet with him the next day. He waited till the Valentine festivities were over so I could focus on the day. He on the other hand had only one thing on his mind...

I mentioned a lay off scare in the list of events that started off our year. That is because Pepsico was laying off 8,700 employees worldwide in February. It is a staggering number but is actually only 3% of the company. Nevertheless, Matt was on pins and needles meeting with Human Recourses the next day. Four of the five employees in his department had appointments as well. The first guy went in, and got laid off. The second guy went in, and got laid off. His secretary went in, and got laid off. Then it was Matt's turn...he went in and got....a promotion! Neither one of us could believe it when he called to tell me. Pepsico was actually very considerate with who they chose to lay off. They were all people who were so near retirement that their severance package will more than carry them there. As for us, Matt is quite a ways off from retiring so he feels extremely blessed and fortunate to have a job he enjoys.

Mostly though, we are grateful we didn't have to go to Plan B.

Snowshoe Hike 2/24/12

Because it was pitch black outside we were very thankful Graham was willing to part with his beloved head flashlight. It doesn't leave his head for very long ever. After all, he is a train you know. 

I took Ava and her friend on a delightful outing the last Friday night in February. Wasatch Moutain State Park offered Moonlight Snowshoe Hikes for all levels. After getting our snow shoes on we went out on the golf course with our guide. The stars were so clear and pretty that night and we even got to walk on the frozen pond. Afterwards there was hot chocolate and refreshments in the lodge. I was already quite warm from the hike and chose to sit out on the patio with my hot chocolate. It was such a beautiful way to spend an evening. I got chatting with an older gentlemen about his life. He was one of those people that just seemed to need to talk and talk. He had a pretty sad love story that left me taking nothing for granted.

I love living in a small community where activities are available in a beautiful setting.

Here we go again...

Time for another "Abby Moment."
I was doing the Wii fit in the basement in late January while Graham and Callie fought over where to sit on the couch. Graham got mad and clawed Callie in the face drawing blood. I scolded Graham and he stormed upstairs. With just a minute left on the exercise I was doing, Graham came down and went out the window. He was in his pajamas and socks. I thought this odd since fresh snow had fallen the night before. My minute was up and I looked out the widow well but didn't' see any sign of him. I went upstairs to and realized he had locked the basement door. I understood now why he had gone out of the window, he was going to come back inside and leave me and Callie locked downstairs to show how mad he was at us. Instead, I could hear him pounding on the locked patio door screaming and crying. I had to go into the storage room so he could hear me telling him he needed to come back in the family room widow. Great, now we were all locked in the basement. When Graham realized this, he was so upset. He really showed me didn't he?  I couldn't go traisping around outside the way I looked so I hopped in the shower and got ready using the girls things; even curling my hair. Then I went out the widow well and tried every door and window but they were all sealed tight. I came back in the window and figured I'd make use of this time to finally take down the Christmas tree that I had been putting off. Callie and Graham watched "Bug's Life" while I placed each bulb in it's designated box. I was also thinking hard, 'Figure this out Abby, there has got to be a way to get upstairs; you have a brain, figure this out." But nothing came to me. I figured I could put a note on the door for when the kids came home from school telling them to come in the side window. But then I remembered I had a parent teacher conference right after school.  Finally when the kids were on their second movie I realized we had been down in the basement for 3 1/2 hours, and we were getting hungry. There was a cup downstairs so we had water, but unless we wanted to feast on taco shells from the food storage, we didn't have anything else to eat.  I called Vyrl, our next door neighbor and asked if I could borrow a small flathead screw driver. He kept peppering me with questions till I finally had to admit, "I'm locked in my basement." Since I had already tried unsuccessfully to pick the lock with a bobby pin, Vyrl came through the window to look at the lock. It took him a couple trips back and forth going through the window before he took the door knob off all together and we were free at last!!! When Vyrl put the knob back on the door he reversed it so that won't happen again. I couldn't thank him enough for getting me and my babies out of this embarrassing predicament. Graham was beyond sorry and for months afterwards has felt sad about doing that. I'll see him crying and ask why, "I am just thinking about when we were locked in the basement." Locked doors are now his biggest phobia.

For Eyes, Four Teeth

Within a week of each other Katrina lost four teeth and Grayson gained two new eyes.

The closest periodontist our insurance covers is in Draper. I took Katrina the morning of January 26th to have not only her wisdom teeth out but also crown lengthening done on two of her teeth. I wasn't sure how long the procedures would take or what I was to do while it was being done. I didn't' want to seem heartless and ask if I could go to IKEA. But after Katrina had taken her sedation pills the nurse said, "You'll want to just go on errands and we'll call you when she's about 15 min away from being ready to go home." I spent the entire time at Ikea, browsing and having a cup of tea infront of the huge windows as I watched the rain. It would have been a perfectly relaxing day for a girl to spend her time except that I kept worrying all would be well with Katrina. My wisdom teeth experience didn't go so well if you recall. Anyway, just as I was loading my goods into the car the office called. I figure nearly 3 hours had passed. Katrina was red and swollen and a bit out of it when I arrived. The nurse helped her into the car and I was so glad I had picked up a pillow and blanket at IKEA for Katrina on the way home. The car ride home was much quieter than the ride there had been. I noted to Katrina that one good song after another was playing on the radio the whole way to Draper. She agreed. She was just as red when we got home and the nurses determined she may be having an allergic reaction to the penicillin and they called in a different antibiotic. Katrina didin't bounce back right away and ate soft food it seemed like for a week. When she did come upstairs she'd have a scarf tied around her face. She even went to a friends house and watched  a movie like that. I probably should have waited till summer so she didn't miss so much school but I'd rather get procedures done early in the year so we know where we are at with our insurance. I know the whole thing was very uncomfortable for her but she was a good sport. Our dentist gave her a syringe to clean out the sockets. I asked her if she was using it a few days later. She said no because it just sucks out blood and hurts. Oh no! I told her she wasn't supposed to suction with it, rather squirt water to flush out the socket. See, she still needs me. Even if she denies it;)

Grayson brought a note home from the school nurse that he hadn't passed the eye exam. I figured we should probably get a professional exam but with the holidays we got busy. It wasn't until we went to a BYU Basketball game in January and Gray couldn't see the score board that Matt decided we needed to have Grayson's eyes checked. Because you HAVE to be able to see the score board. Our old home teacher is a local optometrist and so it was easy to get in, and out for that matter. We were only at the office for an hour and that included the exam and the glasses being made. Grayson actually got to come home in his glasses. He didn't' care which kind he got as long as they were blue. He loves them. He told me that when he tried them on on in the store the voice in his head said, '"Yesssssss." That night as I tucked him into bed he said he had seen the receipt for his glasses in the bag. He said, "Sorry." I said, "It's okay."  he said, "Thank you for the glasses."

He's got a real tender side. Other times he is just Grayson. His class went on a field trip to BYU for a Ballet performance. He hated it. He said, "The dancers were totally ignoring us," (since they never looked at the crowd), "and the music had NO WORDS." Matt agreed, "The ballet can take a flying leap. " How ironic. I reminded them, "That is what they do."

Inthinc

The opportunity presented itself for me to to have a part time job where I work from home. As Sadie stated: it is as close to not having a job as you can get. It's 20 hours a week that can be whenever, 15 minutes here and there, or four hours straight, it doesn't matter. Super flexible. It's for a company called inthinc. Basically we audit drivers to determine weather or not they are speeding. We are the narks companies use to monitor their drivers behavior. One of the clients is the LDS church. We catch a lot of missionaries speeding. I emailed my nephew Sam on his mission and joked, "I've go my eye on you."
It has been a bit of an adjustment finding the extra 20 hours a week but not too bad because it really is as close to not having a job as one can get. Thanks to sister Ashely for hooking me up. The best part? She also hooked up Sadie and Lindsey so we Skype while we work. Time flies when we are all on.

Here is the screen I stare at.

Not every day you get to drive by our nations capital.

Funeral Recap Jan 13, 2012

The funeral was on Friday the 13th. I don't know that I would want MY funeral on Friday the 13th but it gave us something to laugh about. The viewing was held at Granny's church the night before and the morning of the funeral-just like grandpa's. Seeing her dressed peacefully in her temple clothes brought tears to my eyes.
The prayer before the casket was closed was given by John Woolf. The last good-bye was especially hard. But the most heart wrenching of all was to see Elaine in her wheelchair at 91 years old crying for her sister. I held her hand and asked how she was, "I'm sad," she told me. Yes.
The funearl was beautiful and in a lot of Granny's own words. Words from her poem book. One of the first thoughts that came to mind when I learned Granny had died was that is was a shame more people won't get to know her, particularly her posterity. But because she took the time to write a series of poems from her heart during her life, her essence and spirit will continue to motivate, inspire, and teach us who she was. It is a poem book entitled, Thoughts From My Heart. I asked Granny a few years ago how she writes the poems. She said they just come to her and she writes them down. After Sariah read the life sketch as many grandchildren as wanted to took turns reading poems. I loved hearing from my mom and her siblings as to their thoughts on their mother.

The day before the funeral I gave my boys haircuts because they were looking pretty scraggly. I also told Grayson to sponge off his church pants. He said, "I PROMISE I won't be embarrassed if my pants are dirty." It hit me like a ton of bricks that when I tell him to comb his hair or clean himself up he thinks I am saying it so HE won't be embarrassed.

It was a glorious January day at the cemetery where Ross dedicated the grave.

My Last Conversation with My Granny Woolf

December 28, 2011. Matt and I and some of the kids had just picked up Kate at the Whitmore's in Provo to have a sleepover with Ava during Christmas break. I insisted to Matt that we go and visit my Granny. Melinda was there. Granny was so frail. She's been in bed for a while. Too weak to get up. Too sick. I sat in the chair next to her. She already seemed smaller.
We were able to carry on a conversation good enough but there were times I could tell she was a bit confused or when she wasn't making sense. I commented on the hospital bed that had replaced hers. She told me there used to be two hospital beds in there but she wasn't sure where the other one had gone. Maybe "the girl upstairs" had moved it. Sharon, her caretaker. That's who she calls the girl upstairs. Granny kept trying to decide what book to read next. Even though all of us in the room knew she could never read it. I told her about some books on tape. What as I thinking telling her about the Hunger Games? Lest we were talking, and about something other than her condition. Matt had just listened to "Heaven Is For Real" he shared some insights such as, that in heaven no one is old.
Granny asked later a very open ended question, "What's going to happen?" I told her I didn't know. She wondered if she would be around next Christmas. I said, "I guess that is why we just live every day like it's the last." But what is she suppose to do with a statement like that?
We updated her on our children and the situation with the house and Matts job. We commented on the weather, not because there was nothing to talk about, but because it's truly remarkable that there was NO snow! Melinda had even been out raking leaves at the of December.
Granny had gotten a new night gown from everyone for Christmas. What else to give?
What else to give a person who only had a week and a half left to live on this earth?

Granny Woolf passed away Sunday January 8th 2012 at 10:15 am at home in Provo. I guess you could say from complications form Pneumonia but she had so many other things taking over her body like Parkinsons. Mostly, I think she just wanted to be with her sweetheart Bill and sons Bart and David.
Oh how I love my Granny Woolf. I will forever be grateful that before I left her bedroom that day I turned back, held her hand, and kissed her cheek.

This has got to be the sweetest picture. Cade took it. This was granny's 

view at the family Christmas party the day after Thanksgiving. For her 

white elephant gift she appropriately opened a copy of People Magazine 

with Susan Lucci on the cover titled, "All My Children."

The next time I held my granny's hand was on the night of January 8th, 2012.

 This time it was cold and stiff. My aunts and uncles had all decided to leave 

her in her bed while we raced back from Las Vegas to be together one last time. 

She had passed away that morning while Sadie and Lindsey and I were recovering 

from our Vegas adventure. My mom was alone in Hurricane at Lindsey's in-laws 

house. We got quite a chuckle out of this. Here Mommy has practically lived at 

Granny's bedside the past five years and then then when she passes my mom 

was alone in Hurricane without a car. Instead she was eating Hungry Man dinners

 and watching cable in a recliner. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration but it was 

funny to picture. Her siblings were like, "Where is Leslie???????" 

There we sat in a circle in granny's bedroom laughing, crying. I kept looking at 

Granny expecting to see a smile. The morgue came about 9ish I suspect. There 

we were arms locked and sobbing, as our dear mother/grandmother was taken 

from her room for the last time. It was very emotional. Emotional also in the 

happy sense. 

It filled me with such warmth to picture the reunion she was having in heaven.