~No Faces

This picture says so much about my kids and my life!  First of all, look at their shoes.  They are all slip on shoes.  No laces!  Sami LOVES her cowboy boots!  She crosses her legs and wears rubber bands around her wrists.  Sami is getting long legs.  She is getting tall and confident.  Alex will always be the middle kid.  He is kind and generous.  His little arms are crossed and his hand are gently place on his knees.  Not perfect, not even, just sitting their relaxed the way they need to be.  He runs and plays balls in those shoes.  He goes to cub scouts in those shoes. His legs are almost as long as Sami's, almost.  He has his own adventures to look forward too.  Then there is little Zach, and he will always be the baby.  There are burs all over his pant legs from some random adventure.  His legs just dangle off the bench. They are a lot farther from the ground then his siblings.  He is trying to figure out exactly what to do with his fingers.   His hands are almost clasped, but not quite.  
They sit side by side on the bench.  They are all uniquely different and yet the same blood courses through them... They sit side by side on this bench, as I hope they will be side by side for the rest of their lives!

Colors, smell, leaves, people~

My kids and my friend Sarah Bunkers kids after a hike up Neffs Canyon!

Family photo up Neffs Canyon!

Bunker kids up Neffs Canyon



Sarah and her cute kids up Neffs Canyon!




Sami and Chad on the Little Willow Hike!



Chad and kids hiking up to Little Willow Lake!

Little Willow Lake~

Picture of some friends/girl at Little Willow Lake

Boys at Little Willow Lake~

Group shot of all the kids at Little Willow Lake!

Little Willow  Lake

I am  just going to talk about my senses when I hike.  I usually go slow because I am with Zach.  He is a great little hiker, but not fast.  So, I really have time to enjoy hiking.  My favorite hike is up to Little Willow Lake.  It is not quite a mile one way.  You walk through a ton of Aspen trees.  We hiked there one fall and it was "snowing" leaves.  It was so magical.  The kids and I just stopped hiking.  We stood still and it was like the world stood still with all these orange and yellow leaves floating in the air.   There were hundreds of them.  It was so special.  When I hike breath deep.  When I hike I notice the beauty and can feel the silence.  I embrace the silence.  
We did a couple of family hikes and some with great friends.  I am so thankful for the change of seasons.  For how beautiful and exciting it can be.  For the way I work and breath and move to get where I am going.  And most of all, for the awe and spirituality I feel, when I see this beautiful world Heavenly Father created for me!

~Mitochondrial Disease~ What is it?~

What is Mitochondrial Disease?

Mitochondrial diseases result from failures of the mitochondria, specialized compartments present in every cell of the body except red blood cells. Mitochondria are responsible for creating more than 90% of the energy needed by the body to sustain life and support growth. When they fail, less and less energy is generated within the cell. Cell injury and even cell death follow. If this process is repeated throughout the body, whole systems begin to fail, and the life of the person in whom this is happening is severely compromised. The disease primarily affects children, but adult onset is becoming more and more common.

Diseases of the mitochondria appear to cause the most damage to cells of the brain, heart, liver, skeletal muscles, kidney and the endocrine and respiratory systems.

Depending on which cells are affected, symptoms may include loss of motor control, muscle weakness and pain, gastro-intestinal disorders and swallowing difficulties, poor growth, cardiac disease, liver disease, diabetes, respiratory complications, seizures, visual/hearing problems, lactic acidosis, developmental delays and susceptibility to infection

I had the opportunity to join my family in the "Energy 4 Life" walk.  It supports and raises money for children with Mitochondrial disease.  There was a great turn out this year.  It was at Liberty Park.  Sami and I were there.  Chad and the boys had a stake father/son campout.  So, they missed it.  One of my bests friends, Sarah, came and brought her four kids.  My folks came down the night before and stayed at my house.  My mom just had her knee operated on, so she was in a wheel chair.    They had a poster for Torri.  It was so sweet!

 

I also have a couple of cousins whose children have the same disease and have even died of this disease.  It is really hard, sad and something they deal with on a daily basis. This disease has taken a toll on the "Crane" side of my family.  There was so much great family support there.  It is amazing to see cousins and aunts and uncles you haven't seen for a while.  You hug and cry and sometimes laugh.  I come from a big, supportive, awesome family.   So here are a couple of shots from the walk this year.  It was an honor to wear the color Red in honor of Team Tobes. 

 

Tanner and Sami at the fishing pond!

Brad and Cathy in front on Torri's poster.  They are truly amazing.  The fact that they are still "living" after all the heartache they have been through!

My mom, Sami, Lincoln, Charlotte and Afton at the walk!

Here is a group shot of "Team Tobes."  Brad and Cathy had great friend and family support.  We all wore red, but there were other family members there honoring their loved ones in blue, yellow and pink!

 

Things I should blog about but don't~

We had some friends and a fire one evening.  The kids played on the trampoline and ate hot  dogs.  We enjoyed our evenings outside tihs summer.

This was a cold Saturday.  The kids formed their own band!  Awesome!

We took Zach and Chase to Wheeler Farm.  We fed the ducks and played in the little play houses.  It was a great afternoon.

The sign says it all..  This is one thing I could of blogged about for 8 years.  This was Chad's 8th year doing this ride.  206 miles.. 3 states... 1 day.. I could tell you about the year that it snowed and Chad had to sit in an ambulance because of hypothermia.  Out of 1000 riders, 300 finished that year, and Chad was one of them.  I could tell you about the year some guy from New York offered me $300 to do support for his buddy.  I could tell you about the year that Chad came up Salt River pass and there was a rider completely unconcious laying in the road, and that bikers were riding around him like it was no big deal. I could tell you about all the men I have seen peeing by the side of the road and the crazy husbands yelling at their wives at feed zone.   I could tell you about the year Chad did so good he stood on the podium.  I could tell about the thorns in the tires and the man that died this year.  This is such an interesting and fun bike race/ride.   We have done it enought (like how I say we) that it usually goes as we plan.  He trains for this and rides all summer to be ready for this ride.  I wish I was savy enough to pull up some of my pictures from other years, but this is all I got today...

Chad on his way to the finish!

Chad and part of his team "chatting" it up after!

Usually, I leave the kids at my mom's house in Montpelier. but this year Alex was my "wing" man.  We had such a good day together.  The sun was warm.  The leaves were  changing colors.  We ate treats and sang songs.  Here is Alex at the finish.  We were both tired. 

Sami had this picture of her Girl Scout troop published in the "Girl Scout" magazine.  Sami is in the orange with the crazy hair.

Also, this week, Sami, had her picture in the Deseret News.  It is a weird angle.  She is "high fiving" teachers on the first day of school.  (our little claim to fame)

Some of the kids in the neighborhood decided to ride their bikes to school. 

Sami at Girl Scout camp, apparently she wore the "orange" shirt in all the pictures...

Here is a picture of the girls and leaders that went to camp.  She has really enjoyed girls scouts and LOVES girl scout camp!

Last, but not least, a picture of me and my achievement day girls.  We "tried" to make glitter pumpkins!

10 Things I will tell my kids tonight or in the morning!

When I tuck my kids in bed at night and have time to reflect on the day there are always things I should of said.  There are things I would have done differently.  There are things I shouldn't have done or said.  So, here are a list of things I am thinking about tonight.  And, in the morning we will talk!

1.  Your body is amazing.  It is the body Heavenly Father made just for you.  No one has a body like you, no one ever will.  It moves, breathes, runs, jumps, sleeps, sweats, and even heals itself.  It is amazing.  You should take really really good care of it.  You should keep it clean.  You are the only one who can truly take care of yourself.  So please take care of yourself.  Please, please take care of yourself!!

2.  It's ok to have an opinion.  You are 9, 7 almost  8, and 4.  You are smart.  You have feelings and it is ok to have an opinion.  You have been given agency to think and feel.  Use those thoughts and feelings to create an opinion.  Don't be afraid of your opinion or sharing it.

3.  Don't be afraid to try new things.  We live in this incredible exciting world.  Don't let it pass you by.  Try new things, even if they seem scary.  Don't let your fears hold you back.  Live... for heavens sake... Live!

4.  Don't stop learning.  I hope you all go to college and have great educations, but don't stop there.  Read books, go places, ask questions.  Don't ever stop learning.

5.  If someone is mean or hurts you, it's probably because they are sad and hurting themselves.  Don't let someone else drag you down or make you feel bad.  You need to try to forgive and move on.

6.  Do nice things for others.  We were put on this earth to love and help others.  That is one of our baptismal covenants to help those who stand in need of help.  Serve others and you will find true happiness. 

7.  Don't grow up too fast.  Enjoy the moment!  Hold hands with your friends and skip to recess.  Don't be afraid to still want to cuddle or play with your legos. 

8.  Enjoy the beauty of the world around you.  We live in this amazing world.  Breath the fresh air.  Look at the leaves as they are changing colors.  Smell the flowers.   Watch a potato bug roll up as you try to hold it.  Look at the world and know how lucky we are to be here.

9.  Know that there is a God and that he loves you.  He knows you.  He knows your thoughts and feelings.  If you are struggling and need help all you have to do is get on your knees.  Talk with him, share with him.  He is ALWAYS there and you are NEVER alone.

10.  Never doubt my love for you.  It is complete and unconditional.  You can never make me not love you.  I love your eyes and smiles.  I love every knuckle on you finger.  I love your toe nails and you little chubby hands.  I love you!  I love all of you.  I am so humble to be able to be your earth mother.  I find complete happiness in being with you and knowing that you are mine FOREVER!  I want you to know that I will always be your mom and nothing will ever change that.  NOTHING!

First day of School 2012-2013

Kids are definately individuals.  Sami was excited and so so so happy about school starting.  Alex was totally on the fence about it.  Sami tried on 3 or 4 outfits and then went with something she has worn already this summer, but knew was a great outfit.   Alex could of cared less.  He came up stairs with his shirt on inside out.  The night before she giggled and set her alarm.  As I tucked Alex in bed, he asked what second grade was like?  Would his teacher be nice?  Would he know anyone in his class?  I was so honored to be the one to have this talk with him, to be able to reassure him and comfort him.  It is now the second week of school and they both are really enjoying it and hopefully learning something....

A summer to remember

We have had a great summer.  Here are some random shots of our crazy fun summer.  Chad quit his job in the middle of June so we have been able to spend some good quality family time together.  We probably won't have another summer like this, with him around.  My friends and I do this thing called Adventure Wednesday.  We take our kids on an adventure every Wednesday.  It has been so much fun.  We have gone to Bear Lake and Colorado.  We have been to parades and bbq's.  We have been swimming and hiking.  We went up to Snowbird and spent an afternoon.  We have watched movies and had great naps.  We read books and ate chocolate.  This had been a great summer.  I am so grateful for such a good husband, great family and even better friends.... Here is to the end of summer --

Adventure Wednesday..  Kate,Sami, Sydney, Lauren

Adventure Wed.  Ethan, Alex, Hunter

Adventure Wed.  Zach and Lauryn

Lauren and Sami

Parade...Alex, Ethan and Lincoln

Bear  River in Bennington

Bear Lake

Liberty Park - Sydney, Sami, Alex, Zach, and Lauren

Rec center - Peter, Alex, Zach

24th of July Parade- Grace, Sydney,Kate, Sami, Mason



Bennington, Zach  got stung by a bee!!!