February 2023

Wed. 1st--

*JJ was super excited to make the family PBCC sandwiches for dinner...they're like a grilled cheese sandwich only with Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips. They were actually very tasty!

*Sat. 4th--The Lubbock Stake Primary was putting on an event for the children ages 7-11. As Primary president, I needed to get our kiddos up to Lubbock and back. Nevaeh is almost 8 and planned to attend. The siblings, Denim and Jameson, don't attend Primary on Sundays, so we were thrilled they could join us for the day. Jameson is such a sweetheart. I gave him a temple ring and he made sure he was wearing it. He jumped right in to participate and did a wonderful job. 

Demin and Nevaeh.

Jameson.

One of the rotations took us outside and across the parking lot to the temple. It was cold but the temple was beautiful! While I was originally worried about the time that I was spending in Lubbock and not at home doing other needful things, I received a confirmation from the spirit immediately that I was where I needed to be and it was a joy spending the day with these children and my counselor, Janelle. 

*Thurs. 9th--Calvin participated in a JV tennis tournament in Monahans, TX. He was assigned to play doubles unexpectedly the day before. Playing doubles has never been his favorite event or his strong suit and he was a bit bummed about the change. But he and his partner rocked it and brought home 2nd Place medals when the only other win for the Tigers was a consolation prize. Maybe he'll start to like doubles more! There was also a crazy dust storm that moved through the area during their tournament! 

*Once they had an ultrasound confirm the heartbeat, Jake and Trina announced on Valentine's Day that they are expecting BABY #1!!! We are thrilled for them and us! Can't wait to see our children become parents and our other children to step into the roles of aunt and uncles. Also excited for my parents to add "Great Grandparent" to their list of major achievements. ;) 

*Thurs. 16th--Karcyn had a three-day debate tournament in Lubbock for National Debate Qualifier. It would be her first time away from home overnight for a school function. Her debate coach knows about her dietary needs, but I sent her with a cooler full of food anyway, just in case. On Thursday, after arriving in Lubbock, the students went to get their event assignments. Karcyn headed to the building to get her speech topics and then had 30 minutes to prepare her speech. When that time was up, she had to go to another building to give her speech. She was supposed to take a left turn, but turned right instead and got turned around big time on the Texas Tech campus. That campus is sprawling and ginormous! She realized she was lost when she went in circles around one building in particular. So she tried going a different way and it made her situation worse. So she called one of her team captains, Wynn, and left a message when she didn't answer. Karcyn was a little panicked at this point. She was in a dress, with no coat, and in dress sandals that were giving her blisters. Wynn had been competing and when she finished, she called Karcyn and they tried to teach Karcyn how to "pin" her location so they could find her. But before they could do so, Karcyn's phone died. So she continued to walk, with shoes off, and at this point she knew she had long forfeited her event as a no-show and wandered near the chemistry building. After some time, a campus police car showed up and asked if she needed help. She fought back tears and explained she was just trying to find the media and communications building because she's there for a speech event. Another squad car pulled up and the officer said, "I think this is the guy you're looking for" and pointed to Coach Carlock, who was jumping out of the other squad car and hustled toward Karcyn. She cried on his shoulder, grateful to be reunited with her party. Karcyn said there were three things she remembers Coach telling her after he found her. 1--I don't care about the tournament, I just care that you're safe. 2--I was worried the entire time because I was afraid your uncle was going to have my butt if you were lost. (His wife is a nurse who knows Kevin.) 3--It's been 5 years since I lost a child at National Qualifiers. He then told her she could still do the other two rounds. Ironically, the judge in her second round, was the same judge she had to forfeit with. Karcyn said she was a sweet old lady. Karcyn apologized, telling her she got lost and the judge replied, "Here at Tech, that happens way more often than you'd think." When Karcyn relayed this story to me later that night, I was thinking, oh, funny, she got lost for 20 minutes or so. Nope, it was an hour and a half or more!! That would be super scary and cold!! You'd also think that maybe the campus would provide signs/arrows directing visiting youth to the buildings they need to be at. And what happened to having a buddy system? I don't think they'll be letting Karcyn get far without someone with her. She takes after her mom that way. I lose my car in the grocery store parking lot. Sad, but true!

Sat. 18th--JJ bowled his highest ever league game: 138!! The following week, 2/25, JJ bowled his highest yet again: 142!! My 11-year-old has long since passed me in bowling success. 

*A common sight that we find at night after sending JJ to bed. He loves his Wings of Fire graphic novels. 

Tues. 21st, we got the bill for Cooper's two shot doses of Dupixent for January. We knew it was expensive, but Jared had found a manufacturer's coupon from the web site and applied that to Cooper's account. I about choked when I saw the customer balance and took a picture to send to Jared. Was this before or after the coupon had been applied?!

He replied. "Nice!" I replied back, "How so?" He said, "Your paycheck." To which I replied, "I don't make that much. That's what we owe for January's Dupixent." And thus we began wondering how on earth this medication treatment would be sustainable. Do we even start Cooper on a med we can't afford? I guess with our high deductible, we just need to have $6,000 at the beginning of every year to pay for it and then we should be set. But how will Cooper afford this if, after almost 20 years of Jared being employed in a career, his parents can't afford to pay for it? How can anyone afford that?! A couple days later, Jared called the lab (there's only one who distributes the medicine and mails it in a cooler directly to our house) to inquire about the bill. He wanted to find out how much the coupon had helped. The lady said she saw there was a coupon applied, but it was denied. Twice. Jared asked why? Upon further investigation, she said it was denied because Cooper has government insurance...Medicare, part B. 

What? No he doesn't. Jared explained Cooper is covered by commercial insurance (his work insurance), BCBS of Texas. The lady said she can see that, but the computer has Cooper listed as being covered by Medicare. Jared said, "He's 20. And not on disability." She said she could see that, too. So she tweaked a few things and finally announced that we do not have to pay that bill and the next one should only be about $140. Oh man. Hallelujah. That we can do!

*Cooper subbed a lot at Ira the first couple of weeks in February. Then, after Jared presented a list of places in Snyder that were hiring, Cooper applied to Domino's online one night. The next morning, he got a call around 10am, wondering if he could come in for an interview. Cooper went in and was hired on the spot as a delivery driver. They want him working T-Sat. (Sun/Mon. off) from 5pm to 11pm or midnight or closing. It's $9/hr to start, but the manager, Cody, said that he can make an easy $1200 in tips each month. It was the first full-time job Cooper has ever had and the first one really, since before he got his narcolepsy diagnosis his junior year. We were excited for him! He started two days later once his insurance cleared him for driving. 

*For awhile now, Karcyn has wanted to have several of her "bros" at school over for her own "bro night" (because she doesn't have enough bros at home? ;) Only one was available to attend, but we told her that was fine because we'd all be at home anyway. Turns out, the young man who could come, Skyler, is sweet on Karcyn and vice versa. So it kind of morphed into an unexpected first date. Skyler and his mom showed up at the door. It was nice to meet her and exchange numbers. I told her we'd drive Skyler home. He came with a gift for her...her favorites, Cheetoh Puffs and Coke. :) They played on the Switch and ate snacks and even JJ got to play with them. Skyler treats Karcyn very well and I told her that he can come over any time!

*I forgot what TEACHER-TIRED felt like! Yowzers!!! I'm so grateful Jared has been taking the boys up to Lubbock on the weekends for bowling because it never fails that I have grading, planning, and studying on top of catching up on stuff at home. I'm exhausted! Teaching full time is NOT for the faint of heart.

*Tues. 28th--Jared had some airline credits he needed to use, so we decided to go check out a different Bluegreen Vacation property in Peoria, AZ. It turned out to be a more expensive trip. We had to hire a babysitter because Karole was recovering from her back injury. But we weren't going to be gone very long, just four days. I was SO looking forward to getting away. School was getting crazy. But it was also a TON of work to get ready for a substitute. I was up til after midnight every day for over a week trying to tie up loose ends at school. It's more work for a teacher to be gone. This is why teachers don't leave during the school year. It's NUTSO.

Karcyn and Calvin were going to stay at home with a young single adult from our branch, Maren Christensen. As usual, JJ stayed with the cousins because he goes to Ira with Ayzlynn and they live right by the bus stop.

Imagine our surprise when we learned that our nephew, Garrett, was flying out of Lubbock at the same time as we were to go to the Philippines for his mission!

JJ and Korbin helping bring the Garrett's luggage inside. 

Christina and the kids coming to get Garrett's bags checked in. 

The three of us all playing hooky for the day!! JJ--at least until they get back to Ira. 

Getting our bags checked. 

The final pictures with Garrett. 

All of us!

Mom and son. 

Garrett coming through on the other side of security. He made it no problem. Jake totally got pulled aside and frisked and they rifled through his carry-on bag, pulling everything out and then making him put it all back in. I guess his bag of animal crackers were suspect. 

At the gate!

We made it to Arizona and to my sister, Michelle's where Mom and Dad were waiting for us! We went to McDonald's for lunch and then bowling, of course. Michelle was working, but got off early and swung by. Her patient, Scott, a quadriplegic, wasn't doing very well. She drives an hour each way to his house to be his nurse. She's been with him for 10 years. He treats and pays her very well. Thankfully.

Meanwhile, back in Snyder in my classroom, my substitute took a few pictures to share with me. We were talking about different soils in science, so they planted some seeds in different soil types so they could observe what happened.

My homeroom. 

A very UNEXPECTEDLY close bowling game...at least where my scores are concerned! Dad beat Jared by 1 and Mom by 5. Mom often beats Dad.

We drove out to the Cibola Vista property about 15 minutes from Shell's house in El Mirage. 

The landscaping is lovely. The available parking spots, not so much. 

Our condo. 

The kitchen is huge!

The master bedroom with jacuzzi.

View from our balcony.

The pool area. There's a slide. Our kids would love that. It was a little chilly when we were there to be in the pool, though. 

We went out to eat as couples at one of Shell and Shawn's favorite Mexican joints. Shawn was super sneaky and paid for dinner for everyone. This was the first time we've really met Shawn. I met him briefly in 2017 when I drove Karole out to Nicole's and stayed overnight with Shell so she could take me to the airport. But it was just a few minutes. He's AWESOME! So fun and considerate and treats Shell like a queen. 

January 2023

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Sun. 1st--JJ received the Aaronic Priesthood and was ordained a Deacon. 

A Monopoly Marathon! JJ was actually really good at it. They're all lucky Trina offered to be their banker. :) 

Jared tried his hand at a brisket. It was delish!

The big boys capturing the brisket on their phones. Brisket-ception! :) 

2nd--Rolo needed his annual shots, so we took him to get those while we all had a day off. My last one before school starts and the craziness sets in.

Jake took Calvin storm chasing across the state...they drove almost as far east as you can without going into Arkansas or Louisiana. About six hours one way to catch up with the storm system. 

Jake being silly. :) 

Calvin being real.

3rd--Rolo was NOT doing well after getting his vaccine shots. He was shaky and puny and wanted to be held all the time. Trina finally managed to get him to lie down in his bed on the floor. He didn't move for a very long time. The vet said those vaccines are a lot for a little dog like him. 

JJ was asking what antiques were. I said things that are old. My parents told him that anything over 50 could be considered an antique. JJ asked if Jared was an antique. I told him not yet and that I would keep that question to himself. Haha. My dad sent me this picture and said to show JJ the actual antique radio that he had in his home growing up.

And then my dad said, "Here's a picture with two antiques." :) 

UPDATED FAMILY PICTURES with the WHOLE CREW. Just in the nick of time too. Jake and Trina had to fly home the next day, but this was the only day our photographer/friend, Abbi Cowley, could do it. And it was FREEZING. So cold and the wind was blowing. But grateful we got our west Texas pictures.

Thurs. 5th--After two long years of battling a lack of restful sleep at nights, Karcyn, who was diagnosed with sleep apnea in November, was finally fitted for a CPAP machine to see if it offers her any relief. We are hoping and praying that it does!

Fri. 6th--We had a 7pm appointment at the Lubbock Temple to do baptisms for the dead...JJ's very first time going into the temple. We were hoping Jake and Trina could join us, but they left the day before and baptisms are only done on the weekends, darn it. Since the boys have bowling league on Saturday mornings in Lubbock, we decided to just make a weekend of it. We got a hotel room, so we could enjoy the temple and not have to feel like we were rushing back to Snyder just to turn around in the morning. We all got home from work and school, packed our overnight bags, changed into our Sunday best, and grabbed a quick bite to eat before piling into the car with bags and bowling balls. Jared turned the ignition but it just clicked. Nothing. Nooo! We tried jumping it, but that didn't work either. So he quickly drove over to his mom's house while we unloaded the car. JJ ate his chicken nuggy dinner while we waited to Jared to come back. 

You could see the deep concern wash over JJ's face as he wondered if he would miss his first big opportunity to do baptisms at the temple. I cheerfully told him not to worry. These things happen often when you are on your way to do important work at the temple. Jared returned with Grandma's van, we loaded it up, and tried again. We actually made it to the temple with ten minutes to spare! Nice try, but not today, Satan! 

JJ said he felt peace, warmth, happiness and that he knew this was where Heavenly Father wanted him to be. The temple is EXACTLY where the Lord wants us to be. As often as possible. And Satan will throw any curveball he can at us to keep us from going. Because the work we do there is THAT important. 

This was a precious family memory with sweet JJ and we can't wait to go back again together.

Sun. 8th--During family council and calendaring, Calvin told us that as much as he loves baseball, he felt like he needed to drop the sport--that he has too much on his plate. His grades were starting to slip. Technically, baseball was an add-on. Tennis is the official sport he's registered with on his schedule. This came from out of nowhere and the spring practices haven't started up yet. But they would be soon. Which was a good thing. He could speak to Coach Stewart and graciously bow out before a roster is determined. Of course, we were fully behind any effort Calvin wanted to make in prioritizing his life with the Good, Better, Best pattern. We commended him on the decision he made on his own. Many adults can't even prioritize like this and we helped him consider what he would say to Coach Stewart. He already knew. We told him we would pray for him that night and the next day and that Coach would appreciate him speaking to him about it face-to-face. When Calvin spoke to Coach on Monday morning, Coach Stewart told Calvin there were no hard feelings and that he appreciated that Calvin spoke to him in person like a man.

 

Tues. 10th--I've started doing a grocery pick-up from Walmart because I just don't have a spare moment to do this now that I'm working full time. It's been such a lifesaver. But the price of eggs is going to kill me! Almost EIGHT dollars for 18 eggs?! I used to pay about $2.50 back in the day. I can honestly say that I can't afford to buy eggs right now.

Wed. 11th--JJ working on his piano playing with the program Simply Piano that Wes McCullough got for the kids. 

*I was accused by a mom of grabbing her daughter by the neck and shoving her a week ago in class after I reached out to the mom to tell her I missed her daughter in class and hoped she was okay. Of course I didn't touch her child and have no idea what she was even referring to. But because I'm getting up at 5am every morning to make sure I have time to read my scriptures and get that power I need to help me through the teaching day, the Lord guided my calm and kind words so that I could be proud of the peacemaking responses to this mom and her accusations. 

*It was my first Primary Activity without my own children attending. Jameson Harmon can now attend with his sister, Denim, our two non-member attendees. He's a cutie! We had a great time. Janelle knows how to plan fun activities and lessons. 

Can't forget about sweet little Nevaeh! She'll be baptized sometime this spring!

Fri. 13th--Poor Karcyn fell asleep while trying to work on her algebra 2 homework. The real tragedy is that on the second day of having her CPAP machine, Rolo got into her room when Karcyn was in the bathroom and snatched her nose piece and chewed it up. So she couldn't use her machine until we got a replacement nose piece. UGH. One step forward, two steps back. Oh well. She's waited two years for some relief, what's another two weeks. 

Sun. 15th--JJ's notes from Sacrament Meeting. :)

*Cousin James at the house helping the kids with their Dungeon and Dragon characters. 

*Just a fun, random fact. 

Wed. 18th--This is me! At Snyder Intermediate School.

Sat. 21st--Jared has been driving the boys to Lubbock for bowling leagues every Saturday since school started again. I have so much to do, not just for work, but at home...all the things I can't do during the week. It's such a difficult balancing act. I'm studying the math for an hour every night for the next day's lesson. Not to mention any other grading or prep. I'm grateful the family is so understanding and supportive.

*This is a picture of my parents with Jan Kiester and her daughter, Michelle. There was a funeral for their mutual friend, Tim Miller, from the Anchorage 13th ward that we all lived in at one time together. What's ironic, is that Jan's granddaughter, and Michelle's daughter, Abbi--lives in our Snyder Branch. She took our pictures for us. Such a small, small world. 

Tues. 24th--A snow day for Snyder!! Yay!! We got flurries. Nothing more. We were able to celebrate my dear friend, Jen Calley's 60th birthday, by making her dinner. Spinach lasagna. Of course, I didn't realize until after 5pm, that I didn't have any cottage cheese and had to drive to the store to get some. But the roads were fine.

*Poor Jared.

*Wed. 25th--Cooper was craving a soda, but the only one in the fridge was Calvin's. So he tried to negotiate some terms in order to get it. Calvin said Cooper had to give him a hug--a genuine one--because Cooper is NOT a hugger and Calvin figured his brother would never go for it. Never say never! It was a funny exchange because Calvin was pretty stunned. 

Sun. 29th--JJ and Korbin both gave their first talks as young men in Sacrament Meeting and both did a great job. Kevin and Christina had left for Hawaii the day before and missed them. 

Mon. 30th--This was a day for the books...mostly for Jared. It was SUPER cold...with the threat of an ice storm approaching. With Kevin out of the office, Jared's stress level sky rockets. He's still not super comfortable with internal medicine (give him urgent care medicine all day, every day) and he's inherited a lot of Spanish speaking Hispanic patients, but they're speaking the Mexican version of Spanish, not the Caribbean variation he learned. And unfortunately, he's quickly learning, this is a demographic that doesn't take care of their bodies and doesn't want to change. Which makes being a provider very difficult. So he already had a huge weight on him as the lone provider in the office for a week.

 

Cooper was at the house and let him know that Rolo threw up. Apparently he threw up some aluminum foil. Jared had smoked a brisket on New Years and Rolo must have gotten some foil remnants from that. Jared was feeling pretty guilty that he put Rolo in possible danger so he called the vet. But they didn't have any appointments, not even emergency ones, for that day so he started calling other "local" vets. He was texting me all of this in the afternoon while I was teaching at school. He said he found a vet in Colorado City about 30 minutes away and that if he arrived before 5pm, they would see Rolo. Jared works til 5pm. I get off earlier, but was assigned to bus duty that week and wouldn't be done until 4:15. It would be pushing it, but I could probably go. I would just need someone to pick up Calvin from tennis practice. As I was texting this to Jared at 4pm, he said that he had Rolo and was already on his way to C-City. Good deal!

I got Calvin from tennis and headed home. JJ's school had already cancelled classes for the next day due to the incoming ice storm. Snyder schools were on a 2-hour delay. Jared let me know that he had made it and was back in an exam room around 5:15. As I was finishing up making dinner shortly before 6pm, Jared came through the door with Rolo. He said the x-rays were clear and he's okay. Jared put Rolo down in the kitchen, dropped off the receipt which was only $35 and did an about face. He said he now had to go take his mom to the hospital because she fell in Kevin and Christina's front walkway. What?! He didn't even have time to eat, so I grabbed a protein bar for him, kissed him goodbye, and hoped to see him soon. 

He got Karole to the ER and they did a CT scan on her. They had given her some pain meds but those made her sick so it was real dicey there for a bit. Once the scan was done, they waited and waited and waited for the results. Her back was broken...in three spots. And then they had to wait for a specialist to weigh in. If she needed surgery, they would have to transport her to Lubbock that night...and someone would have to go with her. It was already 10pm. Jared and I both work, Kevin and Chris are out of town...oh my.

As it turns out, the specialist said they could hold off on surgery for now. But she would need to wear a back brace. Someone would have to take her to Lubbock to get it sized. With the ice storm coming, that would have to wait a couple of days. Snyder finally cancelled all classes for the next day, so at least there was no school.

Karole and Jared got to Kevin's house around 11pm. I met them there to offer any help. She was still getting sick. I got her a water bottle and Jared helped her into bed. What a crazy long afternoon and night for Jared. And that was just the first workday that Kevin was gone. If Karole's accident was any indication, it was going to be an egregious week for Jared.

As we were climbing into bed around 11:30pm, Calvin stumbled out of his room. He didn't feel well and went into the bathroom and got sick. Awesome! Par for the course! At least he wasn't missing any school the next day. 

Tues. 31st--It was a blessing to being able to stay home and work on school stuff and catch up. We haven't been running our furnace because we can't afford it. We use little space heaters in the rooms as needed. Fortunately, our wood burning insert took the chill out of the air in our house. It was a good purchase. Trying to keep the big logs burning was a bit of a challenge though. Calvin was feeling better, thankfully, and was our little pyromanic, keeping the fire going in the stove. He's a handy one to have around.