Andy's Ears

Andy has always had a tough time with his hearing. He has small ear canals. Periodically as the wax builds next to his eardrums, he gradually loses his hearing. We make an appointment with the ENT doctor and clean out the problem.

We began to notice it was time for another appointment about three weeks ago. Andy wouldn't answer us or respond when we called/yelled up the stairs. He also was cranking the music and TV up. The final deciding note happened when I found him watching a Disney movie for over an hour in Spanish and he didn't realize it!

We made the appointment and the wax was removed. Dr. Stoker recommended he see an audiologist as well. The result was a mild/moderate hearing loss in both ears so Andy got hearing aids.

He calls them his ears. He is only adjusted to fifty percent now and will gradually increase to the level we normally hear. I can't believe how much quieter it is around here! Andy actually came into my "office" yesterday and wanted to shut MY door. It seems my music was too loud for him!

A Very Special Day

I'm such a slacker when it comes to blogging. I think I will catch up or something funny happens and I say to myself, "That would make a fun Blog" but I never seem to take the time to do it. Life is crazy busy during the school year so I say, "When the summer comes, I will get back to blogging as well as family history stuff, scrapbooking, organizing and scanning old photos. ."

Then summer comes and my best made plans fade with planting flowers, painting Andy's room, babysitting grandkids, refinishing furniture . . and I don't even remember the funny blogging stories I didn't write.

I do however remember what I was doing about this time thirty-one years ago. I was shopping with my mother for wallpaper for my kitchen and daughter's room. We found what we wanted and left the store because I had an appointment with the doctor.

I went home and quickly made four loaves of bread before the appointment. Little did I know that before the bread was out of the oven, I would have a beautiful new daughter. She was born just thirty minutes after my appointment. The appointment was at 2:30 and Leah was born at 3:05.

I was thrilled to have another daughter. We named her after Leah Adams, a dear neighbor who I called "Grandma" growing up.

My Leah has been and continues to be a blessing in my life. She helps me each year with the most time consuming tasks I do; planting flowers and decorating for Christmas. This my not sound like the job it is, but I have five flower beds in the front of the house and over sixty nativity sets to display at Christmas.

Leah is a wonderful wife to Melvin and mother to her three little girls. She enjoys many of the same things I do. We have taken a quilting class together with Jake's wife, Amie. We both read a lot of books and compare notes. We both enjoy Harry Potter and have tickets to see the latest movie on Friday.

Leah and Melvin live the closest to my mother so are often there helping when needed. She tends Andy when I need her. She works full-time and manages to meet her own family's needs as well as her calling in the Primary.

I am so proud to be her mother. Leah is a wonderful daughter and friend. I am so glad to have known her for thirty-one years!

It went like this . . .

Gaby wanted to play a reading game on my computer and asked me to set it up. I went upstairs with her in tow to get the job done.

Gaby, "Who's that?"( looking at my screen saver)

Grandma, "That's me."

Look of wonder at the screen. . . back at me. . . thoughtful expression. "Oh, you weren't old when you were young"

Thirty-eight Years ago .........

Thirty-eight years ago today a wonderful thing happened. Zachary Joseph Weiland was born. He was our second son. He was born with a job to help his older brother, Andy. Not too many infants have that kind of expectation from their parents. Andy has Down's syndrome so we hoped Zac's development would help Andy to do the same.

It worked!! Zac and Andy crawled at the same time. They walked within a week of each other. They were best friends. I'm not sure which one caused the mischief but they were in it together. They even had their own language with Zac being the interpreter. They were even the same size for years even though Andy was nineteen months older.

Zac also took on the oldest child handle. About the time this family photo was taken, I went to the store and left Zac "in charge." Today I would be turned in to DCFS. It was a different world then . . . . I can't remember if I left Andy or not, but I trusted Zac to take care of the kids. Depending on who you ask, the story unfolded something like this . . . .

Thad was a good runner and the plan (between Sarah and Thad) was to provoke Zac so he would chase Thad outside. Sarah would lock all the doors, then let Thad back in the house. Zac would be locked out. It worked perfectly. Zac tried everything. He could hear Leah crying, but Sarah wouldn't let him in. So Zac broke the window in the back door to get into the house. When I got back, I heard several versions of what had happened. As I was berating Zac for breaking the window he said,"If you are going to give me the responsibility, you have to give me the authority." Does that sound like a budding attorney??

Zac has always been an athlete. He lettered in football, wrestling, basketball, and track to name a few. We were always attending games. When we moved to Leavenworth, Kansas, Zac lettered in football as a Junior. Andy wanted a letterman's jacket too so Zac asked the coach if he could give his next letter to his brother. The coach said Andy could earn his own letter in something that was hard for him. Andy had to behave in the lunchroom for thirty days. Zac and his friends help the Bear achieve his goals.

Zac also picked Sarah up in his arms on her first day of high school, running through the halls singing. "Happy Birthday to You." She was mortified but secretly loved it!!

I could go on and on about the amazing man Zac has become. He set the standard higher than I ever imagined. He plans neighborhood Easter Egg Hunts. He coaches his kids sport teams. He runs marathons. He surprises his wife with textured walls. He wins cake decorating contests with kitty litter cakes, (that was a disgusting one). He rides his bike from Logan to Jackson Hole in one day. He takes Josh to BYU games. He leads the "Bluebirds" flying to the center of the field after a goal. He carves pumpkins with his kids and half the neighborhood. He makes bottle rockets and then ups the standard by sending up water balloons with glow sticks. He genuinely loves life and it shows.

I am so proud to be his mom. What a blessing he has been in my life and the life of our family. This remarkable man is thirty-eight today . . . . Happy Birthday, Son. We love you.

Firefox Tryout

When I tried to import photos, etc., to my blog, they all lined up like neat little soldiers at the top. I wanted the capability to move them around inside the text.

I called my blog guru Sarah and she suggested I download Firefox. Perhaps I will be able to be creative without going into the PC language nightmare. We'll see.. so here goes.

Well, it worked so I included some photos of Tabs, Gaby, and Isa playing in the leaves at the visit to the witches.

Now I just have to figure out how to label the photos, how to make my blog composing screen bigger, how to adjust the size of the pictures......... Is it any wonder I only attempt this once a month!!!!

Oops!! when I published this all my photos still lined up in a row. I'm trying to add more text to see where the pictures go.  It should be interesting but I'm Learning.

Day with the Witches

Every year we take a day to spend with the witches at Gardner Village. Each year in the past we have had at least one little person who is afraid of the witches. This year no one was afraid but two were definately not interested!

This year Amie, Ruby, and Ruby's other Grandma, Sue,  joined us. we made the usual rounds of the witches but discovered that it is a lot busier on UEA weekend. We won't make that mistake again. 

Ike wanted to swim with the ducks so we had to be sure we had him in sight at all times.

We ended up having lunch at Sizzler instead of eating at the village due to an hour and a half wait for a table at Archibald's.  All due to UEA!

All in all we had a great time.

Back to School

Well, school has started. I can remember the excitement I had as a child when school would start. It meant seeing friends on a regular basis. (No play dates in my era). Even in high school, the beginning of school meant football games and fun school activities. I studied, sure, but the fun was friends, new clothes, and activities.

As a young mom I looked forward to school for all the reasons my kids do.  Fewer kids to take to the store. More quiet time with less fighting. Fewer little people asking for help. You get the picture.

In 1987, my husband bought me a poster with a stuffed bear standing on the porch. She was dressed in a print dress with a flowered hat on her head. If a bear could look forlorn, that was probably the attempt. Kurt said it was a Mama Bear contemplating the last of her cubs leaving the den. (Jake was starting first grade that year). I had had twelve years of someone home with me all day. My thought was that when she saw the school bus pull away from the curb, she would throw the hat in the air and shout for joy!!

I had three school years home alone. After the school bus left, I wouldn't turn on a TV or radio, just listen to the quiet.  I woke my six kids and made their beds while they were in the bathroom. I hurried to do the  paper route with Thad and get home to fix breakfast for the kids attending Seminary. I usually had the dishes done by 8:30 - the bus came at 8:00 - and the rest of the day was mine!! I could read a book, take a walk, whatever I wanted.

I loved it!!

When we moved to Utah, we had two mortgages for a while. I went to work part-time to help out. Then there were missions, college tuition, weddings, etc. I have been working ever since.

My job now, you guessed it, is with the school district. This year as all the kids and moms were excited for school to start, I was the one wishing for more summer. I wanted just a few more weeks to take geneology trips, go to the park, see grandkids, visit with my mom and have her tell me stories.

It was actually hard to start school this year because I so enjoyed the summer. I guess the whole starting school thing depends on your perspective and I think I've seen it from all sides now.