M&M

Before I post about moving on, I want to backtrack and do a Birthday post for Miss Madelyn May.

To celebrate, we went to Mr. Gatti's in San Angelo.  All of my kids had been looking forward to going there.  It's a pizza buffet place that also has arcade games.  You can win tickets at the game and cash them in for prizes.  We divided up the tickets between the kids at the end of the night, but then each of the kids gave up some of their tickets to Madelyn so she could get these glasses that she fell in love with. 

Madelyn is such a spunky little spitfire.  More than anyone I know, she reminds me of that poem: There was a little girl, who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead.  When she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid.  Obviously the curly hair doesn't apply, but the rest does.  She can be the sweetest and most loving girl in the world.  But watch out if you make her mad ;)

Favorite color - purple
Favorite food - pizza
Favorite movie - Frozen
Favorite book - Strawberry Shortcake
Favorite TV show - Once Upon a Time
Favorite candy - M&M's
Favorite vacation - Disneyland
Favorite school subject - math
Favorite holiday - Christmas
Favorite super hero - Wonder Woman
Favorite game - Disney Princesses

Least favorite color - green
Least favorite food - Raisin Bran
Least favorite movie - Dora
Least favorite school subject - history
Least favorite super hero - Superman...except for on Smallville

Saying Goodbye

Being in Utah with my family for two weeks before I moved to Germany was wonderful.  Sad, but wonderful.

We spent time going through all of my mom's pictures, reading her journals, and remembering good moments.  We picked a coffin and flowers, made a video, worked on a display, and wrote a life sketch.  We went through my mom's jewelry and picked things that we wanted.  We laughed.  We cried.

My sisters and I decided to dress my mom's body.  I had helped dress my grandma when she passed away, and it ended up being a really good experience.  This was a bit harder.  My mom did not look.......great.  She had to have an autopsy, and that's just rough on a body.  Seeing her like that, for the first time, was a little hard.  The rest of my family was there when she passed away, and they got to see her and touch her then, when she still looked like herself, and say goodbye.  I wish that I had been there too.  But I'm still glad that I was there to help.

We were very touched by all those who were able to come to the funeral, and for those who participated in the service.  Some people traveled a long distance.  It was Labor Day weekend, so a lot of people had already made plans for trips and such, but we understood.

My mom served in the Navy, and she really wanted to be buried with full military honors.  She was very proud of her service.  So we made arrangements for her  at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery at Camp Williams.  Because my dad is also a veteran, they have reserved a spot right next to her for him.  But that's a loooooong way off ;) It was really a blessing to be able to bury her there, because we didn't have to pay for the plot or the headstone.  Funerals are expensive!  And money is really the last thing you want to be thinking about when your grieving.  Seriously people, life insurance is important!

Overall, it was really nice.  More than anything, I am just so glad that my mom is not suffering anymore.  She had such poor health for so long, and was always in pain.  It was always hard to see her like that, and know that there was nothing you could do.  Now she is free from that.  I know she is in a good place, with people that she loves.  I know she is watching over us, but I also know she is busy - she ALWAYS wanted to be a missionary :)

Until we meet again.

Theresa Irene Gregory Petersen 1940-20014

Getting Home

As soon as I knew that my mom had passed away, I decided to start driving home that night.  I didn't want to wait until morning.  I just wanted to get there.  Joe and I quickly hooked the trailer up to the van, and I made arrangements for him to stay with some friends of ours for a few days (the Claysons), and they even said that he could borrow one of their cars for the rest of the time he was there. 

 

Since Joe was still in training, he could only take a couple of days off for the funeral, so we got him a flight for that, but he stayed in TX the rest of the time.

 

We were all really sad to be leaving TX early, but off we went.  We drove until I got too tired, and then stopped for the night at some gas station in New Mexico.  The next day was slow going, worse than on the way to TX, because it was really windy most of the way, and rainy.  If I tried to go much over 50mph, the trailer would start swaying really bad.  I thought we were never going to get there. 

 

Joe and his mom kept taking turns calling me all day. I knew they were both worried about me, and I was grateful.  Joe's parents had offered to fly out and meet us in Albuquerque, but I didn't want to have to figure out when to meet them, and I didn't want to have to wait, so I turned them down.  However, shortly before I got to Utah, Joe's mom asked if I'd like them to start driving and meet us half-way.  It had been such a long day, and I didn't know if I was going to make it all the way to Manti without getting too tired, so I said YES, that would be great. We planned on meeting in Green River. 

 

Hearing Joe's mom's version of this was interesting - she wrote it in an email she shared with he family: "I talked to Ruth when they were in Cortez, or somewhere around there.  When I hung up, I just kept having the thought that we should start and go to meet them.  Well, old meddling Eloise is always trying to be too helpful, so I kept telling myself that I should keep calm and just be patient. That I was probably having my usual "jump into the swimming pool mentality."  Still something kept on urging me.  I called Ruth and told her that we were about to start for Green River, that we would meet her there.  She would probably get there just a bit before us and to stay there and we would help drive her home.  Our wonderfully tough and independent Ruth did not say, "Oh, you don't need to do that,"  as I suspected she would.  Instead, her response was, "that would be nice."  Knowing Ruth, it was clear that my promptings were right." I am so immensely grateful for Joe's mom and all she's done for me, our whole married lives.  She has saved me many times, and this was no exception. 

 

So I kept driving, and somewhere in between Monticello and Moab, on a stretch of road, that has no lights, no phone service, and not much of a shoulder on the side of the road, the trailer got a flat tire. 

 

I know how to change a flat tire, so I wasn't TOTALLY freaked out, but things kept going from bad to worse.  First of all, we couldn't call Joe or his parents to let them know what was going on.  Second of all, it was pitch black (this was about at 11:00 at night), and I could NOT find the flashlight.  I was using the small amount of light from my phone to let me see what I was doing, and then it died.  I plugged my phone into the car to charge, and used Cora's tablet for a light instead.  At that point, by some miracle, Cora was able to call Joe, just for a few seconds, and tell him we had a flat tire. Then it hung up and we never got a signal again.  But it was enough!  He was able to call his parents and tell them what was going on.  He reached them shortly after they had got to Green River.  They were wondering what to do, because we weren't there, and they couldn't reach me on the phone.  It was perfect timing.

 

In the mean time, I got the flat tire off, but I could not for the life of me jack up the trailer enough to get the spare tire on.  I just physically did not have enough strength left. 

 

And then Cora's tablet died.

 

At that point I literally started laughing.  I'm laying on my back, on the asphalt underneath my trailer, in the pitch dark, (not to mention that I'm on my way home fro my mom's funeral) and I'm laughing.  I looked up to heaven and said out loud, "Seriously?"

 

If I hadn't been laughing, I definitely would have been crying.

 

After that, I knew I needed to get help, and my only option was to flag down a car.  That was kind of scary, because I was in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night.  It took a while for someone to stop, but finally this guy pulled over.  He not only helped me get the spare on, but he drove behind me all the way to Moab because he said one of the other tires looked a little low, and he helped me fill it up with air when we got to a gas station.  He was an angel sent from God.

 

As soon as we had a phone signal again, we called Joe's parents and let them know that the tire was changed and we were on our way to Moab.  They said they would meet us in Moab, and to wait for them there.  It didn't take them too long to get there, and then I got in the car with Joe's mom, and Joe's dad drove the van and trailer, and we headed to Manti

 

This is from Joe's mom again: "I knew Ruth was exhausted-- Not too much sleep, the previous night and had experienced an incredibly stress filled day. Plus, pulling a trailer is considerably more work than driving a car.  I got her and Cora in the car with me and made a caravan behind the bus and trailer.  We began our tedious, nocturnal pilgrimage.  As we again passed Green River, I was becoming very drowsy and concerned that we would have to halt.  I kept going a bit but knew that driving on to in this condition is tantamount to driving drunk.  However as I began the climb toward Salina, all of the sudden, I so woke up! it was amazing!  I simply received my second wind and was in very good shape again to drive. 

 

"We couldn't even come close to driving the 75 and sometimes 80 per hour speed limit, more like 50 max, but we made it.  I'm pretty sure the lighthouse room looked especially good to some precious people.

"As I have contemplated this interlude in our lives, my first thought was, "Wow! we were actually very lucky on several counts."  First, I was prompted to start toward them.  Second, the only time the cell phone could work between Salina and Moab was Green River.  She could also use her phone in very few places.  All of us were able to communicate during that tiny window of opportunity. Next, she was helped by a safe and caring soul.  Then I stayed awake and so did Grandpa.  The next morning Ruth went out to the trailer only to discover another flat tire!  It lasted to our house!  With no other spare, that could have been a who other terrible story!

"I thought some more and then I knew that no, we were not lucky.  We were very blessed and watched over by a loving Savior.  Sometimes I have thought that He isn't too involved in our lives, but I have since come to know that as impossible as it may seem, with our limited worldly knowledge, He is very much aware of and right there with each of us.  I have felt His influence very strongly during the last three days.  I am grateful for His loving care. "

 

I agree wholeheartedly.  I know that God was looking out for us.  More tender mercies, helping me get where I needed to be.  God is ALWAYS there in our hardest moments - we just have to recognize his hand in all things.  He brings light.  He brings comfort.  He brings hope.  He brings love.

Mom

August 20th was my mom's birthday.  She turned 74 years old.  That night, from our trailer in Texas, I called my mom on the phone to wish her a Happy Birthday.  I'd already talked to my sister Marie earlier, and she said that Mom had been sick....again. When I called, my dad said she had been asleep, but woke up when I called, so he put her on the phone.  It was a short phone call.  She was really out of it, not making much sense, and I assumed it was because she was drowsy.  I told her I loved her, we hung up, and she went to bed.

She never woke up.

Marie called me the next morning, and said that Dad had called an ambulance because he couldn't wake her that morning.  She said she was scared.  I told her to keep me posted, and I started preparing for the possibility of packing up and driving home.

I talked to my family throughout the day.  She had been intubated.  Tests were being done, and she was in a coma.  Later in the afternoon her kidneys started to fail, and they were talking about transferring her to a different hospital.  Marie tried to translate all the medical lingo for us.  Possible multiple system organ failure.

We had been planning on getting new tires for the van before we left TX.  I knew I didn't want to drive to UT without getting them, so as soon as Joe got home from work, we went to Walmart to get new tires.  I wanted to be ready to leave as soon as possible, even though part of me thought that this would turn out to be okay, just like it did in January.  I wouldn't need to go to UT after all.  Mom would be fine.

Marie called while we were waiting.  They were transferring Mom.  Marie didn't think she was strong enough to make it.  I stayed on the phone with her as they were driving to the other hospital.  She was in the car with my other sisters.  One of them was on the phone with my Dad, who had been in the ambulance with Mom for the transfer.  He said she had coded on the way there, and they were doing CPR on her.  Then my sisters got to the hospital. They walked into the ER, and saw the paramedics working on my mom through the glass doors.

Marie had been talking me through this whole thing.  She lost it when she saw them working on Mom, and I lost it right there in Walmart.  I couldn't believe that it was happening.

They were working on her for twenty minutes, and then the doctor came over to talk to my family.  He basically wanted us to make the call.  And we did.

I always felt guilty that I didn't call my mom more often, but I am so grateful for that last phone call, the night before, and that I was able to tell her I love her one last time.  We haven't lived in UT since we were first married.  We try to get to Utah as much as we are financially able to, but I know it was always hard for her that we didn't live close by.  She was having a hard time with the fact that we were going to be in Germany for three years, because she knew she wouldn't see us that whole time.  I was so scared that she would die while we were in Germany, and I think she was too.  So I am actually REALLY grateful that she past away when she did.  Not only was I able to get home quickly, but I was able to stay a couple of weeks because Joe was still in training, and we had decided not to put the kids in school until we got to Germany.

I am so grateful to God for these tender mercies, and they weren't the last ones that I experienced. 

And I am so grateful for my mom.  It's hard to put my feelings for her into words, but I owe her so much.

I'll talk about getting to UT and the funeral in the next post.

Deep in the Heart

....and then we were off to Texas.

We were really looking forward to getting back to San Angela and seeing all our friends and our old home - and it did not disappoint - but getting there was a little bit of an ordeal.  We were pulling the trailer, which means we paid way more in gas, and which means we had to drive slower, which means it took FOREVER to get there.

And then we had an incident.

You know those bars that hang down at entrances to certain places, and they have a height maximum printed on them, like 7 ft. or 10 ft., so you know if your vehicle is taller than that, then you definitely shouldn't go past that bar?  Okay, so there was one of those bars at a gas station we pulled into, and we thought we were fine because our trailer easily cleared the height requirement and the bar.  Well, going in was fine, but coming out, their was a corner of the building that stuck out just a bit, and it was LOWER than  the maximum height set by the bar, and we didn't notice until our trailer was under it, and it had crunched our air conditioner, and we were STUCK! 

I don't think I've ever been more embarrassed in my whole life.  Ever.  We could not go forward.  We had to back up all the way out of there.  Backing up a 27 foot trailer into a camping spot can be tricky enough, and takes practice.  Backing up out of a gas station, past gas pumps and other cars, not to mention a work truck that won't get out of the way, and with Everybody staring at you, is a nightmare.  Add that to the fact that we had to buy a new air conditioner because, hello, we were going to Texas in the middle of the summer.  It was just all around painful.

The only good thing that happened that day was that we found a FREE campground in the lovely city of Brownfield, TX.

Dear Brownfield, thank you for saving my sanity.

In the end, we made it to San Angelo, and from there it was smooth sailing.  We had a wonderful campground right by the lake, where I had beautiful walks everyday (and I took a gazillion pictures of the lake and sunsets/sunrises), and we swam EVERY day (even when it rained), and we spent a lot of times with old friends, we celebrated Madelyn's 9th birthday, we put together several puzzles (all of them 1000 pieces) while doing laundry, and we learned about fire ants, wasps, lizards, and cicadas, we ate some food, and I posted lots of pictures on fb :)

There were cicadas in Korea, and I actually thought the sound they made was awesome (the sound of summer), but I didn't know much about them, and I hadn't remembered them being in Texas.  Cicadas lay their eggs in the bark of trees, and when they hatch, the nymphs drop to the ground, burrow deep in, and spend anywhere from 2-17 years there (depending on the species).  Below are the holes where the cicadas, ready to grow up, dig themselves back out of the ground.

 Then they climb back up the tree, attach to it, and shed their outer skin, emerging as an adult.  The abandoned exoskeleton remains clinging to the tree.

 And then they sing for the rest of their lives (well, the males do, trying to find a mate), each species singing a different song.  Isn't that the coolest?!  Some people don't like them because they can get super loud - some cicadas are loud enough that you would experience permanent hearing loss if it sang right next to your ear.  But I always loved them.  With the sound of the cicadas, and the sticky hot weather, it was almost like being back in Korea ;)  Okay, sorry for the science lesson. Back to more pictures.

 Our old house was looking kind of sad.  It had lost 3 of the 4 large shade trees on the property, the grass was dead, and the bushes were overgrown.  We didn't dare knock on the door to ask for a look inside.

Alex had a run-in with the fire ants, so we had to make sure all the kids knew what the colonies looked like.

 Then Madelyn and Alex had a run-in with a hive of wasps.  Good grief, that was drama.

One crazy thing that happened while we were in TX occurred while Joe and I were out on a date.  We were at a restaurant, just about to eat, when we look over and this lady is bleeding profusely from her neck. A waitress grabbed a towel and pressed it against her neck.  Nobody is with her, and I overhear somebody saying that she had people with her, and they just left quickly, so we're all wondering if she got stabbed or something. Joe got up and went over to assess the situation, and I immediately called my sister Marie, who is a nurse.  People had called 911, but everybody was just standing around, not sure what to do, and afraid to touch her because of all the blood.  Marie answered right away and confirmed what I already thought we should do, so I went over there, and at first was SHOCKED by the amount of blood - she was soaked, and their was a pool at her feet - but then I just started telling people what to do.  I told the waitress to keep applying as much pressure as she possibly could and not to let up for anything, then I told some guys and Joe to move her table out of the way and push up another bench close to her so we could recline her, then I put her feet up myself and tried to recline her the best I could in case I had to start doing CPR.  It didn't come to that though, because the paramedics showed up soon after.  And right after that her boyfriend showed up to shed some light on the situation.  Apparently they had been there with another older couple, and the older gentleman's dentures had fallen out, so they quickly left to fix that, and had left the lady alone.  Right after that is when she had started bleeding.  The day before, this lady had some procedure to clear her arteries, and her stitches had popped open, hence all the blood.  The manager ended up paying for our meal as a way to thank us for helping out.  I thought that was really nice, although totally unnecessary, because we really didn't do that much.  Another weird thing about all this was that just 2 days before I had been thinking that I had never been in or around a real medical emergency before, and I was wondering how I would react.  I don't know why the heck I was thinking about that, but I figured I would remain calm and just do what needed to be done....and that's what I did.

Anyway, our kids totally fell in love with Texas all over again, and they all said that they would want to move back there.  Joe and I agreed.  Texas is.....well, it feels like home ;)

Family, Family, Family

The hard thing about catching up on a blog is that I forget the details, which are usually the best parts of the story :(  I must learn my lesson. 

Okay, still in Utah - we were there for about three weeks before we headed to Texas for two months of additional training.

Activities included getting my hair done.

A bit windy in this picture, but you get the point.  I swear I only have my hair straight in UT now, it's just too humid everywhere else I go.

 

The new kid's science museum at Thanksgiving Point, which is huge, and interactive, and we lost Joseph in one room when we moved on and he didn't, and we didn't even notice for like half-an-hour, and he didn't notice either because he was having too much fun....and apparently, so were we ;)

 Picking wild strawberries. Hey, where are the strawberries?  You're standing in them.

 Visiting my favorite park from my childhood, that I'd totally forgotten about

 Going to Temple Square, and visiting my cousin, who now works as a Church Historian.

 Lehi Rodeo! Totally rained on us, but tons of fun.

 

 

And I got to meet up with a few friends that I haven't seen in years :)

Again, not nearly enough pictures with friends :(

 

But, my friend Nicci took our family pictures!

 

 

 

 

Getting these family pictures was a HUGE blessing - but more about that later.

 

We had two family reunions too. Lots of family :)  Our schedule was a little crazy, driving back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth between American Fork and Manti, in order to accommodate Cora and Joseph's practice times for the Pageant, and still giving them time to spend with other family members.  Overall though, a great trip, as usual.  Always good to be home in Utah...where my hair looks good, hahaha.

Pageant

So, Cora went to Utah before us to spend some time with cousins, and also so that she could be in the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti, UT this year with her cousins.  It turned out that Joseph was able to be in it as well, even though he didn't go to Utah early.  I'm so glad that they were able to have this opportunity, and soooooo grateful to Joe's mom and dad for hosting everybody!

 They were in two parts - Handcart pioneers and Nephites for the Christ in America scene.

 A big part of participating in the pageant, is missionary work.  All of the cast members walk through the audience (in costume) before the Pageant starts each night, and they talk to people, bare their testimonies, and pass out pass-along cards (cards that have contact information in case you're interested in learning more about the church).  The kids did great, and they really enjoyed the whole thing, even though there were some tough times along the way - long hours, cold and rain, crying, a LOT of running on a steep and slippery hill (sometimes pulling a handcart), and getting the crap scared out of them the first time they practiced with the pyrotechnics :)

Another reason I was so grateful that my kids could be a part of this is because Joe and his brothers and sisters were in it SO many times growing up, and his parents were both directors for it a few years ago.  It is a big part of them, and they all have the whole thing memorized :)  It was so fun to see that tradition now being passed on to the kids....who also now have it memorized :)

The Liddell family was also asked to sing at the devotional the last night of the Pageant, and at church the next day.

 And the boys were asked for the second time to sing the national anthem at the beginning of the Pageant.  They like the Liddells in Manti ;)

 That's a horrible picture.  Oh well, they're up there, standing in front of the flag.

We also got to sit in the VIP section, which was great. I think I saw the pageant FOUR times...it might have been more and I just lost track ;) Practices, dress rehearsal, with my Petersen family, and with the Liddell family.  Whew!  Joe only saw it once (the night he sang) - but he gets a free pass because he was in it so many times ;)

 

Here are some more horrible pictures of the pageant.  Christ in America scene - Cora and her cousin Abbey as cripples going up to Christ to be healed.

And this is their square-dancing scene with the pioneers.

 

Cora and Joseph would both like to do this again.  I don't know if they'll get a chance to or not, but I hope, at very least, that my younger two kids get to do it someday too.

Goodbye California

A long, long, long time ago, in a land far, far, far away, we moved.  I will now attempt to reach far back into my memory, and catch up.  It's probably going to take a long time, so make sure you're good and rested before you start this.

The end of school days were filled with reports, and moldy rice (science experiment), and activities, and awards.

 Field Day Fun.  Not exactly how it was when I was a kid.

 This was the third time that Madelyn has been student of the month, but only the first time we've gone to the "ceremony".  It was funny because there were FIVE other kids from our church who were getting it at the same time!

 Joe graduated too!!!

As hard as it was, this was such a great opportunity for Joe.  He really enjoyed learning the Iraqi dialect, learning about the Iraqi culture, and his teachers were wonderful!  And can I just take this moment to brag about my awesome husband? He now speaks Spanish, Korean, and Iraqi.  Plus he is proficient (understands it, tests out of it, but doesn't speak it well) in Portuguese and Italian.  This despite the fact that we're pretty sure he's dyslexic.  He has worked soooooooo hard to learn these languages, and I am so proud of him!

Here's our traditional wall of art for the school year...well, actually it's for the past two years.  We never took anything down last year.

 

We kind of got a head start on our move, because we actually moved out of our house in May, but didn't leave California until June.  This saved us some money, and it's a good thing, because the housing nickel and dimed our butts. Seriously, never live in Pinnacle housing - NEVER!  We moved into our trailer for the rest of our time in CA, which wasn't bad at all. We got out a lot, and drove a LOT, because we wanted to see/do everything one last time.

 

One last time eating clam chowder at the Wharf.

 One last time getting fresh guacamole from the farm stand in Carmel Valley.

 One last time driving along the coast.

 Stopping at the spot where John Denver died.

 One last time at Cannery Row.

 Finally saw the Carmel Mission - very pretty - don't know why we never went there before.

 p.s. Joseph made a model of this mission for a school project, which we never took a picture of :(

I'm definitely going to miss living near the ocean!

 

And of course we had to say goodbye to all of our friends.

 

 

I really need to take more pictures of my friends! I don't even have a picture of me with some of them!  I miss my friends - they were the best part of California.  Even better than the ocean :)

 

Cora was not with us for all of this, because she left for Utah with Marie and Antione when they came to visit.  But more about that in the next post.