The Twins Are Blessed

Weston and Ben were blessed at the Ellsworth's home on Sunday, April 29, 2012. Thomas blessed Weston, and Steve blessed Ben. After the blessings we had a delicious meal prepared by Grandpa Clark. He served a yummy breakfast. It was a special occasion. I was very happy that the little outfits I bought for the boys when they were first born fit them. The twins can now turn over and are getting more and more active. I still can't tell who is who. Hopefully, I will get better at that as they grow!

Grandpa Steve, Thomas, Grandpa Clark,
Ben and Weston

Natalie, Thomas, Ben, and Weston

Ben and Weston

Natalie, Ben, and Weston

Thomas, Natalie, Cali, Ashton,
Weston, and Ben

Grandma Jerry, Grandma GG,
Weston, and Ben

SLC Cemetery

After school on Wednesday Leslie, Julie and I headed for Utah to attend the Women's Conference on BYU campus. We stayed at Marci's house in Highland which is about 30 minutes from Provo. Becky, Eva, and Kim also stayed at Marci's. Kristie met us for dinner Thursday night in SLC at the Cheesecake Factory. Julie's sister-in-law, Des Olsen, joined us for the conference and dinner on Thursday as well. It was a fun time and also very inspirational.  Julie said being in Utah brought her more peace than any other time since the accident.  I am very glad we were able to go together and especially glad that Julie's experience there felt peaceful.

On Friday Julie and I headed for the Salt Lake City Cemetery and to Larkin's headstone showcase in Sandy, Utah to pick out the headstones for Sheldon and Jace's graves. Although it was a difficult process, once again Julie made excellent choices to honor Sheldon and Jace. Since Melanie and Heather were not able to be in SLC for the second funeral and interment, I especially wanted them to see the following pictures. This is a sacred place, and I am hopeful these pictures will somehow evoke from any who view them the religious and spiritual implications Julie and I feel as we mourn the loss of those we love so deeply.

The main entrance into the cemetery in SLC.

This is the street sign inside the cemetery closest
to Sheldon and Jace's graves.

This is the view from the car looking towards
Sheldon and Jace's graves with the "U"
in the background.

This is a close-up view.  Sheldon's
Aunt Dorte had been there a week or so
earlier to place flowers on their graves.

Looking down the hill

Looking down the hill at an angle

Looking right;
You can see Julie walking towards the car
in the far right side of this picture.

Looking up

We left the cemetery to buy flowers and then
returned.  I bought a panda vase with a
green plant for Jace and blue flowers
for Sheldon.  Julie bought white roses.

A closer view of our flowers and plant

An even closer view of our flowers and a sweet
reminder that Jace loved pandas.

Julie sitting near Sheldon and Jace's graves

I am sure Sheldon is happy that he is so close
to the "U" on the mountain.

This is the burial site for Sheldon's father which
is also in the SLC Cemetery.

Saying Good-Bye For Now

Some things feel too sacred, too personal, and too overwhelming to blog about. That's how I felt about the passing of Sheldon and Jace on March 17, 2012. I also thought that so much had already been written there wasn't anything else for me to possibly say. Now that five weeks have gone by I feel like I want to write something although I do so with a heavy heart.

I love Sheldon and Jace, and I feel sad that they are gone. However, I know in the deepest part of my soul that I will see them again. They are together in heaven and most likely are involved in missionary work. I think they are the best missionary companions heaven has ever had.

To Sheldon I want to express my love to him for being a wonderful son-in-law. He was always fun to be around. He teased me constantly especially about my fear of mountain lions and other dangerous animals we might meet while hiking in Oregon. Sheldon always could spot a deal and was always looking for a sale. On March 17, 2012, I texted Sheldon while I was at Winco in LV to let him know that Powerade was on sale for 58 cents a bottle. He texted me back within a few seconds with these words, "That's not 38 cents like we got last year but still a great price." I'm so glad I had that last text exchange with him and it was about something we both loved; namely, a delicious drink at a great price! Sheldon and I enjoyed talking about the Gospel as both of us were the Gospel Doctrine teachers in our own wards at one point. He was a good teacher, and I loved attending his classes when we visited in Oregon. 

To Jace I want to express my love to him for being a wonderful grandson. I will never forget watching Sheldon and Julie go through the adoption process and that most precious moment when Jace was sealed to Sheldon and Julie in the Portland temple. Jace was incredibly handsome. I loved looking at him. His eyes were so dark brown and his eyelashes were incredibly long. His skin was the most beautiful olive color. Jace was definitely handsome. He was blessed with a sweet, tender little personality. When he cried, he always had huge tears on his cheeks. It never seemed to me that he faked a cry when I saw all those tears rolling down his face. I am so glad he loved his T-T's and that they comforted him so much. I remember one day when he was visiting us in Las Vegas he ran outside when he saw a gecko on the back wall. When I followed him out the back door he said, "Gecko." I was so surprised that a little two-year old knew that word. He was a smart little boy, and it was fun watching him grow and learn to speak. I also remember standing in the back yard for hours on end watching airplane after airplane fly overhead. He loved watching the airplanes, and I loved watching him enjoy them.

To Julie I want to express my love to her for being such a wonderful daughter, wife, and mother. Julie is struggling with this loss, but I know her testimony and love from family and friends will sustain her. She is an amazing person. May she feel the love I have for her and the love I know God is sending her way. 

I will always cherish Jace's smile and laughter.

Sheldon was as nice, warm
and kind as he was handsome.
He had incredibly blue eyes too!

Julie selected beautiful caskets and floral arrangements. 
She planned two amazing funerals to honor
Sheldon and Jace.  One was held in
Shelton, WA and the other was
held in SLC, UT.

I decided to order blue and green balloons for the
cemetery.  I know those are Sheldon and Jace's
favorite colors plus I know how much Jace
loved balloons.  These were for them as we said
good-bye for now at the cemetery.

Easter Morning

"He Lives" by Artist Simon Dewey

Easter has always been a special religious holiday for me, but it is especially meaningful in light of the events that have transpired in our family in recent weeks.  Today at church the Sacrament Meeting program had a quote from our beloved Prophet Thomas S. Monson which I would like to include in my blog today.  It expresses how I feel about the Savior knowing Jesus Christ, my older brother, gave his life so all may live again.

President Monson said, "With all my heart and the fervency of my soul, I lift up my voice in testimony as a special witness and declare that God does live.  Jesus is His Son, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh.  He is our Redeemer.  He is our Mediator with the Father.  He it was who died on the cross to atone for our sins.  He became the first fruits of the Resurrection.  Because He died, all shall live again.  'Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives: "I know that my Redeemer lives!" '  May the whole world know it and live by that knowledge."

Mission Accomplished

When we were in St. Louis at the end of October, we attended stake conference with Heather and her family.  Their stake president challenged everyone to read the Book of Mormon in 90 days which is the length of time it took the prophet Joseph Smith approximately to translate it from the gold plates.  He told the congregation if they started the next day after conference they would finish reading it by Valentine's Day.  He thought that since Valentine's Day is a day to show our love to others, it would be a perfect way to show our love for God.

At first I wasn't going to do it, but then I realized that even though he wasn't my stake president his challenge was still worthy of my efforts.  As soon as I got home, I began my daily scripture study.  Although it took me four months instead of three months to complete my reading of the Book of Mormon, I still feel good about my accomplishment.  I also wrote daily in a journal which I affectionately labeled "Book of Mormon Reflection Journal."  I basically summarized what I had read plus made a few comments here and there about how I felt about what I had read.  In conclusion, I want to write that I know the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.  I am glad we have it, and I am planning on reading it again very soon.

Spending Time With Ashton

We have been trying to help Natalie by taking Ashton on Wednesdays and returning him back home on Thursday afternoons when I go to the temple.  Steve actually does almost all of the tending, but I do get some quality time with him after school and before he falls asleep on Wednesday evenings.  Steve sometimes brings Ashton over to school while I am finishing up.  He loves to write on the white board, and he enjoys looking in my little refrigerator for water bottles.  He's quite fond of my desk and anything I might have in my drawers like pieces of hard candy.  One Wednesday after Steve and Ashton visited me at school we stopped off at Firehouse Subs for an early dinner.  With his children's meal, he got a fireman's hat which he seemed happy with.  He's full of personality and is very obedient and happy when he's with us.  Ashton always calls our house "Grandpa's House."  One morning before I left for school he got up early.  When he came down the stairs, the first thing he asked me was "Where's Grandpa?" Ashton and Grandpa are quite a good pair enjoying time at the park, the Stake Center, McDonald's, Petsmart, or hanging around the house watching a little TV.  It's cute watching them have fun together.  It's also fun to watch Ashton grow up right before our eyes.  He has a good vocabulary.  This week he was talking about his new skateboard that has a picture of a red dragon on it.  He's quite impressed with it.  He is sure his dad will shoot it with his big gun since it is so scary and probably will bite us soon.

Friday Fun with The Ellsworths

Yesterday after school we met Natalie and her family at the Lied Museum where we stayed for a few hours.  All of us had a lot of fun.  We seemed to especially enjoy the green screen where everyone took a turn trying to beat the computer at volleyball or soccer.  After the museum we headed for Cafe Rio and enjoyed a great Mexican dinner.  Natalie then suggested we go to the Bellagio to look at the atrium.  It was really pretty.  I had never seen it decorated with a "Holland" theme.  I love all flowers but I especially love tulips, so I was happy to see so many of them in all different colors.  The huge windmill was nice as were the wooden shoes and huge swan.  I have to say though that quite a few people stopped to admire the twins.  They seem to be the center of attention no matter where we go with them.  Thanks, Natalie, for suggesting we spend Friday together.  It was a great way to start the weekend after a busy work week at school.

Shopping Just Got Better in LV

Anyone who knows me understands that I enjoy shopping.  When we have traveled to visit Julie and Sheldon in Oregon, we always head for WinCo to buy crab salad and numerous jars of Northwest jam for future eating pleasures.  Also at WinCo there's Tillamook ice cream, yogurt, butter, and cheese.  Definitely some of our favorites.  A couple of weeks ago we received a flyer in our mail advertising two WinCo stores opening that weekend in the Las Vegas area.  Today we finally had a chance to drive over and purchase some of our favorites.  How sweet is that?  Unbelievably, to make things even better Linda told me a few weeks ago that she had seen a sign near Walmart on Tropicana and Ft. Apache advertising Hobby Lobby which was opening up soon.  We have done quite a bit of shopping at Hobby Lobby in recent years when we have traveled to Missouri and Oklahoma.  Today Steve and I drove over to the shopping center that Linda told me about and sure enough there the store was in all its glory.  Yes, shopping just got better in Las Vegas! 

Happy Valentine's Day

On Monday evening Thomas, Natalie, Cali, Ashton, Weston and Ben came over to our house for an early Valentine's Day party.  We had dinner and played a few games.  We had fun, and it seemed good to have some of our family here to help us celebrate.

We started our party with dinner.  The main
course was manicotti which has been a family
favorite for as long as I can remember.

One of our games was "How many hearts can you
steal."  We had to use chop sticks to "steal the hearts"
from the bowl.  I wasn't very good at it.  Thomas
was the winner hands down.

I made sugar cookies for dessert, and everyone
seemed to enjoy them especially Cali and Ashton. 

We made two cute little Valentine decorations.
One was a monkey and the other one was a frog.
This kept us entertained for quite a little while
as we glued our masterpieces together.

After school on Tuesday, Steve and I went to the movies
to continue our Valentine's Day celebration.

We saw "The Vow."  It was a love story,
but I didn't like how it ended.  I'm sure this wasn't
Steve's favorite, but he was a good sport about
letting me pick the movie.  Thanks to my great
husband for pampering me!

After the movie, Steve
and I went to Panera Bread
for dinner.  It was yummy as
always.  As the day winds down,
I hope all of my family wherever
they might be had a great Valentine's
Day celebration too.  I also hope they
all know how much I love them!