Grandma Honey

9 years ago today
Just as this little girl was being born...


Katelyn Michaele Thurgood

Dennis and I were getting engaged. He had asked me 10 days before. It was such a romantic evening at Roger Rockas for dinner and a play. Afterwards we were both sleepy and I thought he was taking me home. When I noticed we were on a different route I asked him where we were going. He said he wanted to show me something. Huh?

He drove into the parking lot of the Fresno Temple. The temple was just barely under construction at the time. All we could see was the cement foundation. He parked the car and we just sat there. I felt like he wanted to tell me something, and I knew what it was. He was having a hard time getting the words out. But it's not like I could help him. So we sat there and looked at the temple's foundation. I saw tears well up in his eyes and then he said, not even looking at me, "Will you marry me?"

I wanted to say yes. I felt I was suppose to say yes. But…

Brock's Dr, or rather the one at the hospital, decided he had some sort of acid reflux to the point that it has damaged his esophagus. The pain is still there and they expect it will be for another day or so. He has meds to take for 30 days and then he is suppose to be okay. Strange to me that his esophagus can cause him pain in the middle portion of his stomach but apparently that is where the esophagus begins...or that is the way I understood.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. We really do appreciate it.

Still don't know much. Erin called me about an hour ago and said they are in the process of admitting Brock. The morphine just was not controlling the pain so they gave him something stronger so he is sleeping. The CT scan showed nothing so they will be running more tests.

Ever since my boys were very small whenever they were sick to their stomachs or had pain there, I would loose my appetite. Brock is 31 and it is still happening to me! I lost my appetite and all I have had today is a piece of toast. But at least the smoke has cleared up around here and my chest no longer hurts from that. It's a beautiful day outside, finally.

Thank you for whoever is taking the time to read this. It just feels good to "tell" someone. When my mom was alive I would always call her. So thank you for listening.

Elora and Cami are both doing great here. Erin will not leave Brock's side and I am so thankful for that. I always wanted my sons to marry women who would take care…

Just before 5am this morning Dennis heard our answering machine in the bedroom come on and someone say, "Pick up the phone." He woke me up and said someone was trying to call us. It was still dark and to us seemed like the middle of the night. I thought, oh no, which one of our kids is this? It's never good news this early in the morning. He looked at the caller ID and said it was Brock. My heart started pounding. Neither one of us could think straight still half asleep. The phone rang again and this time of course we answered it. Brock said he was having severe stomach pains and could we come stay with the girls so Erin could take him to ER? Den relayed this to me and I said it would be quicker if they just brought the girls to us being we are right on the way to the hospital. So instead of saying that, Dennis said, "Could you bring the girls here because it would be easier on your mom." Dennis always knows what to say, but NOT when he first wake…

Children don't care who was married to who, or when.
Grandma is Grandma.
It was hard saying goodbye.
Much harder than I thought it would be.
I became very attached to these little girls
while they were in our care.

Den and I were remarking yesterday before they left, as I told the girls to go in the bathroom and comb their hair, how GOOD they are. Whenever we asked them to do anything the past 8 days, they just automatically did it. I would expect them to at least a few times say things like, "Okay, but not right now." or "I don't want to comb my hair today." or "I'm not tired so I'm going to stay up longer." No, they just got up with a smile on their face and did it. Granted they are 9, 9 1/2, and 11, and I would not expect them to be this well behaved when younger (or with their parents), but they are certainly growing into wonderful, sweet, responsible, polite, and even charming young women.

JESSICA is very responsible. She mothers t…

One last round of Sorry with Grandpa.

Katie will turn 9 on Monday, so we made her a birthday cake and sang to her tonight. Complete with my sister's daughter McKenzie. She gave Katie a very fun looking game that they can play during the long ride to the airport tomorrow.

We've had a treasure of a week!!

This movie probably influenced me more than any other.
So guess what we watched together this afternoon?
My favorite line in the entire movie is at the end when the minister says to Pollyanna, after she came and changed the whole town by her "Pollyanna" ways, "We looked for the good in them and we found it didn't we?" I love that! The girls and I talked about how if we look for the bad in a situation or a person we will find that, too.

Thank you Jess, Emily, and Katie for watching this with me!

Dennis took the girls out Walmart shopping tonight and to buy some Jamba Juice. They sure loved the corn on the cob we had for dinner. It came in our vegetable club today. The girls were just fascinated by all the vegetables on our front porch, and the string of people who would come and go. We have one customer who actually talks to his vegetables. They were waiting for him but we never heard him yesterday. Perhaps he sent his wife to pick them up.




Displaying their souvenirs

When my Provo boys called me last Sunday and mentioned they were playing Monopoly with their girlfriends I asked (begged) them to take some pictures.

They must have put this one on a timer.
All waiting patiently in their pose.
McKay, Tyler, Karen, and Rachel
Tyler and Karen


Rachel and McKay

Had to show McKay and Tyler's lovely display of books.

Jessica has on her cell phone, "I Love California" I know she loves us but I think she is reconsidering the California part. I've told the girls it's unusual, even here, to have this many bad air days in a row. Some summers we have NO red air days. Jessica said that a few years ago in Logan they had ONE red air day and the kids at school were all given masks to wear!

Three very sweet girls in a house all day because Grandma can't go out in the smoky air. So we rolled coins. Took all the loose change in the house that had been building up. I expected that the girls might just want to do a roll each and then get bored with it. They rolled all that was possible!

Emily commented that her parents are too busy to let her roll coins at home. And I thought yes, that's it....that is why kids need grandparents! Parents ARE too busy to roll coins. They are too busy for a lot of things. I remember well.

The girls enjoyed a 2 hour Wii game session/pizza party a…

I found this picture of Kris and Mike (Jess and Katie's parents) on Kris' blog.
It was taken just yesterday in Maui after a day of snorkeling.
Isn't it beautiful there, and aren't they beautiful?
To me, this looks like an engagement picture.

The air was so bad today from all the fires surrounding us, especially the Mariposa fire. We had high hopes of taking the girls bowling but instead, we just tried to keep them indoors. We have 4 air filters going round the clock. My lungs do not handle days like this very well.

Jessica and Emily slept for 13 hours last night! All the swimming the day before, I think, made them sleepy. Didn't seem to bother Katie however. When I got up this morning she was on the counter in the kitchen looking into the cupboards for the granola bars. Yep, she feels at home here. I love it.

My sister's daughter McKenzie came back to play games and have lunch. Also about 12:30 my daughter in law Erin, along with her very sweet visiting friend Rachel, and Elora and Cami came over for the afternoon. Seemed everywhere I turned there were little girls playing. I couldn't help but think back to years passed when I was raising my 4 sons. Life sure has changed. Who would have thought?

…

I could hardly believe how many French Toast each of these girls ate for breakfast this morning. It was no wonder we didn't eat lunch til nearly 2:30 today.
About 3 slices each!

We thought we better have a cleaning day.
Or I thought we better have a cleaning day.
Jessica taking off the Cami fingerprints.
We love Cami fingerprints but she is making room for some new ones.

Emily was a little hesitant about vacuuming until I explained
that if we don't get rid of the crumbs we might get ants.
Then she wanted to waste no time.
(She said they don't have ants in Logan, Utah.)

Katie didn't want to get dressed this morning.
I was about to tell her she couldn't play till she was dressed.
Then I remembered...I'm not the mom, I'm the grandma!
So I smiled and said, "Sure, why don't you just stay in your PJs until it's time to put your swimming suit on!"
(or PGs as Emily calls them)

McKenzie Shepard dropped in for a game of Life

Lunch on the patio


Grandpa came home ea…

Jessica set her alarm for 7:30 but fell back to sleep. So just Emily and I were up early getting breakfast started. Church begins at 9am so we had lots to do to get ready. They looked so cute all ready for church.
As I was in the Primary room someone came to get me. They said Arden was wearing the same dress as Katie and Emily! If you remember from yesterday's post...we saw little Arden and her 2 brothers in Costco yesterday. So I just had to snap a picture of the 3 dresses alike. I wonder where Arden got her dress because Katie and Emily's moms both got theirs online somewhere, according to the girls.

Notice the woman on the left.
That is Jenni Mills our Primary president.
Just so happens she was also Kim and Kris' roommate in college!
(Kim and Kris are Den's daughters)

The girls were sure happy to see Grandpa after church was over.
Katie sat on his lap through most of Sacrament meeting.

After lunch at home we explained to the girls that Grandma and Grandpa always take…

We started off with Jessica and Emily making breakfast.

Then sleepy Katie got up and she made pancakes, too.

We ventured out before it got too hot and all went to Costco.
Look who we ran in to...first one of Elora's kindergarten teachers:


Wait, there's more...

Look who else we ran into...


Arden, Jordan, and Ashton Roberts.
After our sandwiches, grapes, and strawberries,
we played a few rounds of Sorry.
This was always my favorite game growing up.

Then the cousins arrived and all went swimming together.
Emily, Jessica, Elora, Kylie, Laurynn, Chandler, Katelyn, and Macie
Cami stayed inside with her Daddy where it was cool.
It was 110' !!!

Jessica and Emily
Elora and Kylie

Look at Chandler flying!
and Jessica had just swam to shore.


Elora got a skin burn on one of the pool toys.
She cried and cried and Katie came to her rescue.
She brought her dolls from the playroom and then coaxed her in there to play.
Katie has a gift for nurturing.

Finished off the day by going to IHOP...at the girls&#…