FHE Fun

The City of Folsom opens a temporary ice rink during the holidays so we decided to go have some fun for family home evening.

Tyler all ready to get started


Gran & daddy helping out

On my own! They had these tubs that little kids could use to balance themselves while they learned to move on their skates. Tyler had a lot of fun with them.

Daddy helping Ty do some smooth moves

Kelly & Kaitlin helping me stay upright

Kevin, Kelly, me & Kaitlin

We had a lot of fun despite a few falls. My elbow is nice and black where I landed on it. Brian & Chad say Kevin fell first and pulled me down with him which sounds good to me. Kevin fell several times as he is fearless in his efforts to show off his skills. Joe's back was out so he was sidelined with Amanda who is still recovering from her surgery and Katie who is 5 months pregnant. They made a great cheering section for the rest of us.

Long drive but so worth it!

A week after arriving home from Denver we packed up the car and headed out on the road. We went to Salt Lake first to spend some time with my family. My parents anniversary was on November 1st. It was their 55th wedding anniversary and the 35th anniversary of our family sealing in the Salt Lake Temple. My dad asked if we could all meet in Salt Lake and go to the temple together as an anniversary gift to my mom. What a wonderful day!!! Four of my six siblings were able to make it. We had a really wonderful time being in the temple together and then got to catch up a bit with each other over lunch before we headed south to Las Vegas. Once in Vegas we got to meet our newest grandson Deklan. Carinna and Kelly could not make it but Brian, Katie, Tyler, Amanda, Andrea, Todd, Avery, Kaeden, Deklan, Greg, Brittney, Derek, Alex, Nick, Logan, Riley, Kaitlin and Kevin were all there. It was great! We were able to participate in Deklan's blessing and then go to the Las Vegas temple to do sealings. It really was an amazing week as I was in the temple on Wednesday with my parents and siblings and then in the temple Saturday with my kids. Truly a blessing and a chance to really feel the sealing power in a personal way.

Almost all my boys

At the beginning of November we went to Las Vegas for Deklan's blessing and a mini family reunion. Here are some of my favorite family members. The title says "almost" because Brian & Katie's new little boy won't be here til April, & I consider Brian,Greg,Todd,Derek & Nick my boys as well but they are not pictured.

Avery, Deklan, Kaeden, Logan, Tyler

Avery, Deklan, Kaeden, Logan, Tyler

Avery & Tyler

Avery, Tyler, & Kaeden

Ty is used to having his picture taken but Avery isn't and wasn't being too cooperative so Ty was "helping" him to get back in place.

The final outcome. Tyler, Avery & Kaeden

Make it 6!

Brian and Katie have announced that they are expecting a BOY! In April we will have grandson number 6! I am very excited.

Deklan James Garyson

Grandson #5!

Deklan James Garyson grandson number 5 arrived at 7:59 am on Wednesday October 27, 2010, weighing 7lbs 5oz 20 inches long. Mom and baby are doing geat. Big brothers Avery and Kaeden are very excited that baby "duckling" is finally out of mommies belly.

Sunday Joy

We have been attending church in Amanda's ward which is a young single adult ward. Yesterday was my last chance to be there. Two young men gave talks. One of them is an avid snowboarder and related his talk to snowboarding. He talked about the need to master the fundamentals of snowboarding prior to trying anything advanced. The four basic fundamentals for snowboarding are:

1. Maintaining balance and control
2. Pivoting and changing direction
3. Maintaining pressure
4. Following through

He then related each of these fundamentals to life and to the gospel. He talked about the importance of finding balance in our lives. He talked about knowing when we need to change direction to get to where we want to be, about peer pressure and being careful that we don't allow others to pressure us to lower our standards or give up our goals, and about following through on our plans and goals. As we master the fundamentals everything else will come. It was a really great talk. The next young man talked about being raised in the church but never really taking it seriously and eventually quitting all together. He spoke about his journey back and the difficulty of the return path. He said that he realized one day that attending church was a privilege not a burden, and how that realization changed everything in his life. What a powerful message! I loved this meeting and these talks. I am grateful to have been here long enough to hear them.

Lessons from Colorado

You know how you have some experiences over and over until you learn what you are supposed to learn from them? As we prepare to travel at the end of the month I wonder if I have learned all I needed to learn here in Colorado. I am starting into week seven and I find myself looking over the last six weeks and on to the next two wondering if I have taken advantage of all that was available during this time. The solitude of the first week while she was in the hospital and sleeping most of the day. The escape from the alarm clock that rules my daily life. The lack of a schedule or any structure to the day. Losing track of what day it was. These are not the normal descriptions of my life. The first month was a quiet one as Amanda worked on regaining strength and balance. We read scriptures together, watched way too much TV together, ate together, walked together, went to appointments together, worked on crafts together, and did lots of talking and sharing together. I am grateful for the closeness of our relationship. We have been together almost 24 hours a day since August 29th and have gotten along amazingly well. What will it feel like to let other people into our space? Life here has been very insulated with few visitors and few intrusions from the outside world. A sanctuary from the stresses of my usual routine. What will it feel like to leave this sanctuary and be back around lots of people? What will it feel like to send her back here without me a few weeks later? Perhaps Kevin being here is a prepatory step back into the real world that awaits me in California. Can I hang onto the internal peace that has been with me in the quiet of Colorado?

Garden of the Gods

We had a visit from Teresa and Mike this week which was wonderful. Teresa & I don't get to see each other near enough so to have them here for three days was great. On Thursday Amanda was doing well so we decided to take a trip down to Garden of the Gods which is a State Historic Site in Colorado Springs. It consists of natural rock formations that are absolutely stunning as well as plants and animals. It was donated to the City of Colorado Springs with the stipulation that it remain free and open to the public forever. We called ahead to make sure they had a wheelchair for Amanda and off we went. Even though they only have one handicap accessible trail it was enough. What a beautiful place!

Lfie in Denver

I have been in Denver with Amanda for just over a week now. She is one week post surgery and doing well. She is making good progress and keeping a positive attitude. Greg asked me what we do here all day since she is unable to move around much or travel even a short distance. I have become a handywoman hanging pictures and changing shower heads. A physical therapist helping her get up, down and walk the hall several times a day. An arts and crafts helper as she finds projects to work on that will keep her busy but don't wear her out. A personal assistant running errands, fixing meals, doing laundry and all the other things that it takes to run her home while she is down. Yesterday she was able to dress herself including putting on her own socks and shoes. This may seem like a small thing to the rest of us but one week post back surgery it was huge! I am enjoying spending this time with her. She has a great outlook about all of this and finds something to laugh about everyday. I am thankful for all of those back at home who are taking care of home, family, and seminary while I am gone. My life is truly blessed!

Logan Nicholas Balmforth

Born August 15, 2010 6lbs 13oz 19-3/4 in. Logan was about a week and a half old when these pictures were taken.

Snuggling with Papa

Proud daddy

I love the contrast between Nick's hand and Logan's.

It shows just how tiny he is. How much safer could he feel

than all wrapped up in daddy's arms?

Mom, Dad & Logan on blessing day

We had to find an extra small blessing outfit and it

was still huge. Kaitlin, Riley and Kevin made this blanket for him.

We are grateful to have another grandson arrive safely and ever so grateful that we could be there for his blessing.

Soccer Ty

Tyler starts soccer this month so mom & dad got him all outfitted and we headed off to the park for some pre-season practice.

I have not been very consistent with this blog and I didn't think anyone really read it anyway but talking to my mom the other day she said she checks it all the time to see what's up so I promised her that I would do better at updating it. So here you go mom:

Logan Nicholas Balmforth made his debut on Sunday at 1:44am weighing 6lbs 13oz & 20" long. Alex is doing well. Logan has had a few struggles as he arrived 3 weeks early but he was able to go home on Friday and so far all is well. We are heading up to meet him next week.

Week two of seminary just ended and I almost have all of the kids names down. I still mix up a couple of the guys who look alike to me and there are a few kids who I just cannot remember yet but considering we have 120 students I think I'm doing pretty well. However I will be gone for the next few weeks visiting Alex, Nick & Logan in Idaho for a few days and then it's off to Denver to stay with Amanda while she recovers from back surgery so I will probably have to start over when I get back.

Joe tore his left miniscus a few months ago and thought it had healed. He went on a 50 mile backpacking trip with Kevin's scout troop and while trying to be careful of his left knee he managed to tear both the medial and the lateral miniscus in his right knee. He is probably going to need have surgery to repair both knees. He meets with the orthopedic dr on the 30th and we will see if he can wait until I return from Colorado to have it fixed or if Brian & Katie are going to get to play nursemaid for him.

I am still having problems with my right arm. It turns out that constant stress is not good for you! I carry stress in my neck so my muscles are tight which is now affecting the tendons and nerves in my right shoulder, elbow and fingers. Wednesday at physical therapy they were working on my shoulder. He told me to relax my arm and I replied "It is relaxed." He assured me that it was not relaxed and that I needed to do "spaghetti arms" like they do on the Wiggles show. I have never seen the Wiggles but it appears that I have forgotten what it feels like to be relaxed.

Tyler asked me the other day if he could have a cow. A few years ago that would have meant he was asking if he could have a temper tantrum but he was really asking if he could have a live cow to keep in the backyard. He also said that he would build a small pen for it to potty in so that it wouldn't get all over the yard. Isn't he thoughtful?

So long to summer and sleeping in

What ever happened to summer including June, July AND August? School starts on Monday for the kids in our school district, which means seminary starts as well. While I'm excited to see the kids and be back in the swing of things I am not looking forward to the alarm going off at 4:30 - yes 4:30am. We have five seminary classess at our building. Two of them meet at 6am and three meet at 7am. Being the seminary principle means that I can choose when I am there and what time I arrive. In the past I have gotten to the building about 6:40, in time to say good-bye to the early kids and hello to the later ones, but for the last several days I have felt impressed that I need to start being there in time for the 6am classes. This was not good news as I am NOT a morning person, however I have found that if I am faithful and follow the promptings I receive, good things happen. So every monring I'll be heading to the building about 5:40am which seems so insane to me. I don't think anyone should be up and out that early in the morning - it's not normal!

Summer fun

It's July 4th already! Where is the year going?

At the beginning of June we went to Utah for a wedding and stopped by Wyoming on our way home to visit my family. Yes I know that Wyoming isn't on the way to California when you are in Utah but Las Vegas wasn't on the way to Idaho when we went that direction a couple of years ago either. Sometimes you just have to throw away the map and follow your heart to where your family is so you can see them. We were only able to stay for one day but it was so worth it! I got to spend time with my parents, be with all three of my sisters and one of my brothers as well as some of their families all at the same time! Can't remember the last time that happened. Short but sweet! I hope it's not another 3-4 years before it happens again.

Kaitlin went to girls camp a couple of weeks ago. It was her last year and now after 17 straight years I am done sending girls to camp. Hard to believe that 17 years ago Amanda went to camp for the first time and now 7 girls later we are done. Another chapter of life finished.

Happy Birthday! Kevin, Kaitlin and mom. They all have birthdays coming up this week. Kevin will be 15 on Tuesday, I won't tell on my mom but her birthday is Wednesday, and Kaitlin will be 17 on Thursday. This is the second time my youngest has been 15. The last time around we were blessed with six more kids shortly after Greg's 15th birthday. This time around I know Heavenly Father will continue to increase our family's size through grandchildren.

Kevin has decided to compete in a triathalon in two weeks. He will run 5.82 miles, bike 12 miles and kayak another 6 miles. He met with a trainer to get a workout program that will help him be more prepared but time is short so he will have to work hard. I have been working out with him to keep him focused. I think he is somewhat surprised that I can keep up with him and while he is often sore the next day I have not been sore at all. Hmmm wonder what that means? Could it be that I am in better shape than my 15 year old son?

Kevin and Joe will be leaving on a 50 mile backpacking trip the last week of July. They are going with Kevin's scout group. Hopefully they will both make it back safe. I love backpacking but 50 miles of it is nuts!

Kaitlin and Kevin will be attending EFY the first week of August. They are both excited about attending. At first they were not thrilled to go to the one in Sacramento because it wasn't far enough away for them but now they are getting more excited about it as some of their friends have been to other sessions and have shared how great it is. What on earth will I do with no kids to run here there and everywhere that week?

Camping in the rain

The week before Memorial Day Joe ended up with 6 days off in a row. Looking for something to do close to home we decided to go camping. I love camping and was really looking forward to this trip but as we watched the weather forecast it wasn't looking good. Lots of rain. :( Being adventurous and REALLY wanting to go I convinced Joe & Brian to go anyway and give it our best effort - after all we were only going 2 hours away how bad could it be? It started raining on the way to the campground but it was just a few sprinkles. We had a great dinner and sat by the campfire just relaxing. Over night the storm let loose and we were treated to lots of wind, rain and thunder. In the morning the rain had stopped but Kevin and Kaitlin were soaked as the tent had leaked. Apparently we have never camped in such rough weather before as we have used the tent countless times with no problems. The morning looked good so we had a hearty breakfast and headed out on a hike. It was absolutely beautiful! I LOVE being in the mountains. During the hike it started to sprinkle again so we headed back to camp. By the time we got back the rain was in full swing. I sat in the car with Tyler as he took a 3 hour nap while Joe, Brian, Kaitlin and Kevin played games and tried to keep a smile on their faces. Meantime our poor dogs were freezing. I looked out the car window to see Tank - Brian's boxer walk by in a garbage bag! We had gone up to the nearest town to see if we could find some doggies coats but alas little towns have no pet stores so they bought a beanie and cut a head hole and leg holes for Harley - Brian's Boston Terrier & put old Tshirts on Tank & Cleo to keep them warm, then put the trash bags over the Tshirts in an attempt to keep them dry! When Tyler woke up from his nap he was not a happy camper. He loves camping but had had enough and begged us to take him home. Brian my die hard camper looked at me and said he was ready to call it quits and Joe who was only there to humor me made his opinion clear as well. We checked the local forcast & discovered that the previous nights storm was nothing compared to one the headed our direction so we headed back and in a record 45 minutes had camp broken down and packed in the car ready to head out. Guess we'll have to try another time. I so appreciate my guys who were willing to go out in the rain just to give me a chance to be in the mountains. I am so lucky!!!


The whole reason for going! Need I say more?

Me, Brian, Ty, Kevin, Kait, Cleo, Tank & Harley at the trailhead

Cleo & Harley trying to stay warm together

Heaven on earth!

For Carinna

I gave Andrea a hard time the other day for not updating her blog and then Carinna called and gave me a hard time for not updating mine! Lots has happened since that last entry at the beginning of March.

March -
We celebrated Joe's birthday by driving to Vegas and spending the weekend with all our girls. Amanda flew in from Denver and Alex & Nick drove down from Rexburg. We had a four person birthday celebration as we helped Papa Joe turn 53, Andrea turn 28, Avery turn 3, and Kaeden turn 2. Riley was supposed to catch a ride back up to school with Alex & Nick but decided to stay and spend a few weeks with Britt & Derek before heading back to Idaho. We had loads of fun but had to come home way too soon! I would post pictures but we left the camera in Vegas by mistake and someone - I won't say who - has not mailed it back to me yet.

April -
Joe and I spent our 31st anniversary in Hawaii. We have the benefit of having great friends serving a mission at the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu so we had a place to stay and easy access to the best places to visit. We climbed to the top of Diamond Head, went snorkeling at Huanama Bay, took a glass bottom boat out to see the coral reef and the sea turtles, toured the Dole Pineapple Plantation (ate enough fresh pineapple during the week to make me sick of fresh pineapple!), toured several botanical gardens and a few museums. We toured the Arizona, the Bowfin and the Aviation Museum, bought souviniers at the famous "Aloha Swap Meet", and visited the PCC. Neither one of us are beach people so we spent very little time at the beach but we did take the time to sit and watch the sunset at Sunset Beach. We got to eat lots of fun food as we tried several very small local restaurants and while the temple was closed for renovations we got to tour the grounds and the visitors center. Charlene & Terry (our hosts) have a grandson named Parker who is reading Flat Stanley in school. He had sent a Flat Parker to them and asked them to take picture of Flat Parker wherever they went in Hawaii and then send them back to him for a class project. Flat Parker went with us everywhere we went and is in more pictures than either Joe or I but it was lots of fun to get shots for them. We had a really wonderful time. Not much relaxing but lots of different activities from our usual daily routine so it was a nice break. Again no pictures but this time I'm blaming Joe. We still don't have the camera back from Vegas but we had had so many problems with that one we went ahead a bought a new one for Hawaii. When we got home he downloaded all of our pictures onto his computer and cleared them off of the camera card. He copied them to an external drive for me but I haven't been able to get them to copy onto my computer so I can resize them and upload them on the blog. Hopefully I will figure it out soon!

May -
We found out that Kaitlin has enough credits to graduate at the end of first semester next year. She will be done with high school in December! That is a bit scary to me!
The end of seminary! Today was the last day of seminary for the year. What ever will I do next week when my alarm does not go off at 5:30am? The sad thing is I will probably end up waking up at 5:30 anyway for the next few weeks until I adjust to not having to be up. I have loved being there with the kids and the last few days have been very nice as things have wound down. One of the students baked me cookies as a thank you for being there every morning, another one stopped and gave me a hug and said thanks for being the principal - this particular student is one who I had had problems with last year when I had subbed for his class so it was especially nice to have him stop and say thanks for everything. This morning one of the classes gave me flowers and a thank you card which was very sweet. Four of our five teachers are not returning next year, I will miss them dearly! They have strengthened my testimony and it has been so nice to serve with them. All of them thanked me for always being there to help and said that I spoil them. One of them said he thinks that attendance has doubled since I took over as principal because the kids know that I care. That meant a lot to me as I always wonder if it matters whether or not I'm there everyday or if I stay the entire time, but I realized this week that the teachers and students do notice and it does matter to them.

We are going camping next week and I can't wait. I love being out in nature and really having a chance to enjoy all the beautiful things Heavenly Father has blessed us with on this earth. I'll try to take possession of the camera when we get back so I can post pictures. I make no promises but I will try to post more regularly over the summer!

Coming Home

When Joe & I came home from choir practice yesterday Tyler came running and yelled with joy "Papa Joe you're here! I love you Papa Joe! I've been waiting to see you!" Then he proceeded to blow us kisses from the top of the stairs. Needless to say it filled our hearts with joy and laughter. As I thought about that later in the day I wondered if that is what it will be like when we return to our Father in Heaven. Will we shout with joy and love that we have been waiting to see Him? Or shrink in embarrassment over how we have lived? I hope I shout with joy!

Rising numbers

Andrea and Todd have announced the pending arrival of their third child in late fall. That will make 5 grandkids! Andrea read some Chinese calendar and it predicts an 89% chance it's a girl. I guess we'll find out how accurate the Chinese calendar is! Needless to say we are thrilled.

Shared experience

Kaitlin got her braces off two weeks ago and last week Kevin & I both got our top ones on. So after 10 kids 6 of whom needed braces (two of those as adults who paid for them themselves) I get my turn. I don't mind the pressure so much and I haven't had any pain but I am not enjoying the cuts on the inside of my mouth from the wires & brackets. I am becoming good friends with my wax! We have had at least one of us in braces for the last 5 years running but hopefully in two more we will all be done!

Expanding the next generation

Alex and Nick are expecting their first baby in September. This will be our fourth grandchild. The race is on to see if they have the first girl!

Catching up

It feels like I haven't posted anything forever. We have had a string of things lately that have kept me occupied doing other things. A couple of weeks ago Joe's hard drive crashed and he lost everything on his computer. Thankfully he had almost everything backed up so once the new drive was in he was able to restore most of what he had. That same week the microwave quit working, the stove top got water in the electronic ignition and we had to keep it unplugged until it dried out other wise it clicked incessantly, the suburban broke down and if that wasn't enough I ended up with a 3 day long migraine and the week ended with my computer drive crashing, only I did not have things backed up so I lost everything. Needless to say blogging was put on hold. Joe & Brian replaced the fuel pump in the suburban, but we ended up having to take it to a mechanic because the service engine soon light would not turn off. It turned out that in the middle of checking to see what was wroing with the suburban a spark plug was cracked causing the light to stay on. It ran fine for almost a week but the light is back on and the brakes are starting to grind! We got a new drive for my computer but two weeks later I'm still reconfiguring things. The stove top dried out after a few days and works fine now. We had an old microwave in the garage that we brought in to use until we can get the good one fixed but it sounded like a plane trying to take off everytime we used it. The other day Joe noticed that the side panel on the good microwave wasn't sealed all the way closed. He pushed on it, it popped in place and lo & behold it works! If only everything was that simple!

Special Moments

The other day we were watching Tyler while Brian & Katie were out. He was on a roll and would not eat breakfast without Papa Joe, so Joe sat down with him and they ate together. You will have to excuse the blurry photo as the pro was unavailable!

Reflections

Joe and I went to see Blind Side recently. It has been a long time since I have been so deeply affected by a movie. It made me reflect on our experiences with foster care and adopting. It brought back lots of memories and lots of feelings from that time. It reminded me how much strenght and help Heavenly Father grants me daily.

This past weekend we became aware of the passing of a young man whom we knew in Las Vegas. In the midst of feeling sorrow and heartache for the family I also felt the blessing of the gospel. How much it means to me to know that Heavenly Father watches over each of us. He will bring comfort and help to this family and all those who knew this young man.

This past Sunday Joe & I attended the CHP Academy orientation with Greg. He reported to the academy on Monday morning to begin his training and will live there for the next 6 months. As we sat through the orientation my heart was heavy at the description of all that Greg would be going through and having to endure during that time. He has already been through one law enforcement academy so he knew full well what it would mean to sign up and I knew as well, but it is a whole different experience to sit and listen to those who run the program, the current cadets, recent graduates, and wives of former cadets who are now officers. When we left I asked Greg how he was feeling and he said a little nervous but mostly excited. I looked at Joe and said "Greg may not need a blessing before you drop him off tomorrow morning, but I think I will." It was so hard to know the things he will be experiencing and as a mom all you want is to protect your kids and not have them have to go through such tough times. We went straight to church from the orientation which was great. Being fast Sunday several members shared experiences where Heavenly Father had helped them to endure and feel peace. I felt so much better about things knowing that while we will have limited contact with Greg over the next 6 months Heavenly Father will be with him everyday. I am so grateful to be at a place in my life where I don't have to say "I hope" Heavenly Father will be there, I know He will be with there.

Quilting Mania

Eons ago when I only had 3 children - yes there was a time when I only had 3! - I made quilts for each of them. Andrea came across her quilt while she was here for Christmas and asked if I would make Avery and Kaeden each a quilt. That was all well and good except that they were only here for another couple of days. So we went shopping, bought supplies and got started. Two days, two quilts, and two happy boys later Andrea has an idea how to make a quilt for the rest of her children as they come.

Kaeden with blue ties on his CARS quilt

Avery with green ties on his CARS quilt

Christmas

Yes I know it's late for this but after having kids coming and going over a two week period I am just now getting caught up on things. Christmas was WONDERFUL! Having all of the family here made for the perfect day for me. As Amanda says I am happiest when "all of my ducks are swimming on the same pond." It was noisy and a little crazy but I loved having everyone here and I really appreciate the sacrifice on all of their parts to be here. A few years ago Joe was looking for a specific sweatshirt for Greg from Butler University and came across a Tshirt that said "Butler Girls Rock". Since then we have joked about making our own shirts for the girls. This year we decided to go for it but use aprons instead of Tshirts so with Brian & Joe's help I designed and made 10 aprons. Note to the rest of you - Avery Dark Tshirt Transfers are a PAIN in the neck to use! Joe became an expert at getting them off of the transfer paper so I could iron them on but we will never use them again. Three of the girls were gone when we got the pictures taken and they came out blurry but here they are anyway.


Cleo in Kaitlin's apron showing she is a Butler girl too
The only clear picture of the apron but missing Cleo's head!

Alex, Riley, Kelly
Amanda, Kaitlin, Andrea