Trying to catch up on some blogging.....

Utah Vacation August 2011

Happy Traveler!!

Caleb and Nathan

Riding the chair up the mountain

pull me!

Nathan and Sarah

Caleb and Dad playing at Nickel City



the tickets won!



The loot from the tickets!

After so much work to earn the tickets we all needed a reward and frozen yogurt hit the spot!

Bridal Veil Falls

Before heading up to SLC we stopped by Bridal Veil Falls so that Caleb

could play in the water for a little while. 

After a short time, Caleb was ready to get out of the stream....he was freezing!

We stopped by our friend Randy's Firehouse Sub to eat lunch. 

 It was so fun seeing Randy after 30 years!

Heading home now ....resting at a Wyoming rest stop!

For now the doctor is out......counting down the days until the next vacation!

May 1st, 2005......gone but never forgotten....miss you dear Robin

The year 2005.....I call it the year from hell.   It was the year that I lost my sister in law due to cancer.  It was the year that marred my daughter's graduation from BYU.....I got the phone call from sweet hubby just minutes after Sarah graduated to let me know that his mother passed away.....we left Provo asap and headed back home to LR only to get the call from my aunt to let us know that one of my uncles passed away as well.  Wow....what a day.    I saw and talked to my sister, Robin, for the last time at my mother-in-laws funeral...I wish I knew that would be the last time I would ever talk to her....I would have said so much more.  Robin passed away suddenly the following Sunday (May 1, 2005)....we got the call while on our way to my uncle's funeral....needless to say we didnt' make it to his funeral, instead we turned around and headed to Mayflower so we could be with Mike and Taylor and try to make sense of what was happening.   Later that year we lost my dad, and 3 weeks later his brother.  Then to end the year Sarah lost her own paternal grandfather. 

The most painful of all of this was losing my sister.   She was young.  She had a little boy who needed her.  It took me a long time to sort through my anger over this.  Why?  Why did she have to leave us?  Finally, my knowledge of the plan of salvation broke through my pain and gave me the very much needed comfort that all is well.....and, that families are forever.....that someday I will see my sister again.....that someday when I see her she will be whole....without any pain, without any sickness..... to read my first post in remembrance of Robin go here.




So this year on May 1st, I will be spending the day with my mom and my other sister (Marnita).  We will be working on a special quilt to honor Robin....a quilt that we will give to Robin's son, Taylor.  Then we will go to the cemetary to visit her grave.   We will share stories of Robin and we will remember the beautiful woman that she grew up to be and we will probably shed a tear or two because we miss her so much.

For now the doctor is out.......remembering.

Happy 7th Birthday Dear Caleb!!!

Birthday's have always been something to celebrate in my family.  I loved planning the fun birthdays for Sarah each year....there was the Burger King party, the McDonald's party, the Chucke Cheese party, then later the skating rink parties and overnight parties.  Birthdays are meant to be celebrated!!  When Caleb came along we did the small family party for him the first couple of years and then when he turned 4 we did a fun cookout party at the park with lots of friends.  As 5 approached we were at the point where we knew Caleb didn't enjoy crowds and was not a social person so when I asked him about a party he said no.  So we did the low key thing for him.  Same for when he turned 6....no party (his choice).   A couple of weeks before he turned 7 I asked him again about having a party and inviting friends from church....same response ....no party.....I tried to bribe him into a party ... suggesting we could go bowling (one of his favorite things) or go skating.... but he was adament about it....NO PARTY!   So I didn't plan a party.  In the meantime he had completed some medical testing and was diagnosed with Aspberger's and anxiety disorder.   He was given meds for the anxiety and we soon noticed the change in his behavior where it didn't bother him as much to be around others.  So the day before he turned 7 we attended a birthday party for a good friend (who was turning 40!) and Caleb still didnt' handle the crowd very well but he would talk to people one on one.   He had a conversation with a good friend of ours and explained to her that he wasn't having a birthday party or getting any presents since his birthday was on a Sunday.....  ummm, he wasn't having a party because he didn't want one ....and, he had presents --- we had already bought one of his presents and he had gotten presents in the mail from Sarah and Grandma Ratliff!!     I was in shock....he really wanted to have a party....he talked about it on the way home that evening....he really wanted to open some presents and have a cake....oh my gosh...it is 10:00 at night and I have to pull together a party for Caleb!!!!

I get on my cell pronto and call my sister to tell her we are having a birthday party for Caleb at her house after church on Sunday!!!  I pass Caleb off to sweet hubby and head to Walmart....they are the only place open at 10 pm on a Saturday night .....fill up a cart with fun presents to be given to him from his cousins, aunt, and nana as well as a couple of things from mom and dad.   I also buy some cupcakes and his favorite iced cookies.  

On Sunday morning I present Caleb with breakfast in bed ....his favorite....strawberry poptarts!!!  (Sweet hubby isn't home on Sunday morning since he had to leave early for a High Council visit to another church unit).   

Later that day we meet up at my sister's hosue for a surprise birthday event for Caleb. I love that he was so surpised about everything.

He enjoyed opening presents from his cousins, aunt and nana!

When sweet hubby arrived a little later, he sent Caleb out to his truck to get a diet coke...

only Caleb found this instead!

The funny part about the 4 wheeler is that Grandma Ratliff sent Caleb a gift card in the mail and Caleb wanted to use it to buy a 4 wheeler....

I had a hard time trying to convince him he was a little short on the money!!!

Sweet hubby walked behind Caleb on this 4 wheeler all afternoon.....he even reset the gas flow 3 different times to make it go very SLOW!!!!   I was more afraid that sweet hubby would have a heart attack over Caleb riding than Caleb getting hurt himself ont he thing!!!   They have finally compromised on the rules (and yes there are many rules!!!)

Happy Birthday my sweet Caleb!!!!

For now the doctor is out.....thinking that maybe next year when sweet Caleb turns 8 we can have a real birthday party....one can always hope and plan!!!

Miracle of Miracles

Last year Caleb played baseball for the 1st time.  He really loved playing and wanted to play again this year.  We started out with the same team he played for last year....but, the team had advanced to a level that Caleb couldn't work with.  In baseball there are times when you have to turn on a dime or move fast in a different direction....Caleb can't do that and it became very obvious that playing on a regular baseball team wasn't going to work for Caleb.  Last year Caleb could use his own bat but this year he wouldn't be able to use his own bat since it was a t-ball bat.  Caleb couldn't comprehend this since he is OCD and MUST keep things the same.  There were several other issues as well...but mainly for me it was very painful to see this little guy feeling so lost on the field after such a great time last year. 

After doing some checking around we found Mircale League.   We registered and waited for the call back.  Finally it came and Caleb had a team.  He plays for the Astros and has a great coach.  

I explained to Caleb that he would get to play baseball on a team with kids who were just like him, and kids who are in wheelchairs or walkers or kids who are like his aunt Mona (down syndrome).  He was excited and volunteered to push wheelchairs if needed. 

Each player is assigned a buddy.  The buddy is on the field with the players and at bat with the players.  They use special equipment for each player ...larger round bats and softer balls or larger balls.  They have balls that ping so the blind child knows  where to swing to hit the ball, then a coach uses a clicker and walks backwards towards the base so the blind child and buddy know where to run towards the bases.  It is AMAZING and WONDERFUL to watch these special children play ball.    EVERY child gets to hit the ball and every child plays in the field.  It is non-competion this year but next year he can play competion if he chooses. 

In the fall he will get to meet A.J. Burnett and Cliff Lee.....I think I am more excited about this than he is since I LOVE and WATCH baseball!!!!



A very nervous Caleb



at bat

Caleb and his buddy

Caleb hit ball twice and ran the bases.  There are no outs and the last child up to bat hits a GRAND SLAM to clear the bases. 

We plan to go watch our old team (the Bulldogs) play ball and support them.  We are excited to spend our Saturdays at the Junior Deputy field watching and cheering for our new team - the ASTROS!!

For now the Doctor is out......looking forward to baseball season

and seeing the smiles on some very special children.

Goodbye Taylor Loop Road

There is an old saying, "It takes a village to raise a child."   Well my village existed on Taylor Loop Road with a grandmother who lived across the street, aunts/uncles, cousins for neighbors as well as great aunts/uncles, 2nd and 3rd cousins living down the street. 

Growing up my goal was to leave "Taylor Loop."   Anywhere would be better.  I did leave and then I came back.  I left once more and then came back with my little girl in tow.  It's funny but the entire time I lived away from my "village" all I could think about was raising my own child in that safe village  instead of in California where we lived. 

Taylor Loop meant a lot to me as child growing up......

It was where grandma lived.......

she wiped our tears away, fed us a meal, and "took a switch" to our legs when we disobeyed.....she greeted us with hugs and a smile and a place to warm our feet and hands after playing outside in the cold.....she taught us things from the scriptures - like not to envy what others had and be grateful for what we did have.....she taught us how to celebrate the 3rd of July and told us ghost stories...

.she taught us family came first no matter what and family will always be there for you

in the best of times and in the worst of times.

It was where I played with my cousins......

they lived in every direction......we rode our bikes to Rainey's market and to the railroad dump.....we played 4-square in the street.....softball in the field......caught tadpoles in the creek and lightening bugs at night.....we slept in lawn chairs on the 3rd of July so we could hear stories from our parents youth.....

we fought and then we made up.

It was where my parents built our house.....

gave us a yard to play in......taught us to ride bikes then taught us to ride the mini-bike and later motorcycles.....let Robin have a horse (for a short time).....taught us how to play softball and

 told us stories of our heritage.

Eventually the developers came to our village and began dismantling it.....

starting on the far side and working thier way towards us....some said this is a good thing, while others deemed it the end of a good thing...either way, it couldn't be stopped.  One by one property began to sell and larger homes in developed subdivisions started popping up all around....then a new school was built (on the land where my grandma lived, where we held 3rd of July bar-b-ques, where we played, where we existed)....but that wasn't enough....new roads came through and then the name change came about.....Taylor Loop (west end ) became LaMarche Drive.... but through all of the changes my family held on to their property (even though they hadn't lived there in many years)....that is until this week....

This week....

the property sold.

And it is time to say.....

Goodbye Taylor Loop Road

Your village of love will certainly be missed.

For now, the doctor is out.....remembering that a long time ago, there was a village...and in the village lived many important people....grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins...lots and lots of family

It's a Snow Day!!

Snow days are rare in Arkansas and when they happen it shuts us completely down because we don't have the equipment needed to maintain clear roads, etc. It started snowing on Sunday afternoon and within an hour everything was completely covered. In all we got about 6 inches of snow here and some parts of the state got up to 8 - 10 inches.

When I was a kid I loved snow days!! I loved getting in my daddy's truck and driving down to a local parking lot where we did 360's or donuts as some call it. Or we would gather up a sled and go over a few streets to this huge hill and ride the sled down that hill. We would stay out until we were totally frozen then come in warm up and go out in it again.

I was very excited for this good amount of snow and the opportunity that Caleb would have in getting to play in. We lost our power 2 hours after the snow began falling and didn't get it back on until the next morning. Sweet hubby and I decided to take Caleb over to my sister's house since we didn't have heat and so he would be able to play out in the snow with his cousins. I called the next morning to see how things were going and to ask my neice to take a lot of pictures of Caleb in the snow so that I would have them for my scrapbook.....that is when Caleb informed everyone that he WASN'T going out in that stuff!!! AND HE DIDN'T GO OUT. AT. ALL. He didn't want to build a snowman. He didn't want to slide around on a sled. He didn't want to have a snowball fight. He didn't care about the snow at all.

So here are my snow pictures of the big event:

The windshield of my truck



My shoes

Later that night sweet hubby took me to my fabric store to pick up some things and then out to eat at the local Mexican restaurant.  As we are walking out I snapped a quick picture of Caleb in the snow ....he was not happy with me and it isn't a good picture but it is all that I have.



Caleb in the snow of January 2011


Hopefully this won't be our last snow of the season.  Hopefully I can talk Caleb into playing outside in the snow next time.....

For now the doctor is out.......remembering her own fun days of playing in the snow with her family.