Headstone

Heidi (and my) headstone was placed yesturday. I think the headstone is exactly what Heidi wanted and I hope she thinks it is beautiful, I sure do. Having the headstone in palce and thick full grass over the grave site, sure brings home the finality of her passing and closes the chapter in our life of dealing with the aftermath of her death. We are glad she has such a lovily and peaceful place to rest. And yes it seems odd to think my name is now on a headstone in a cememtary.

 

 

Two Months

It is hard to believe that today marked two months since Heidi's passing. In some ways it seems like just yesterday she was here and we were sharing life together, creating memories as a family and working together to make life a bit better. It seems like yesterday that she started to decline rapidly in health and then peacefully slip away. It seems like yesterday that we remembered her life and faith in the  funeral. And yet life has marched on and in other ways it seems like forever since we have felt her radiant and joyful spirit bless our life. Forever since she took care of all the organizational details she excelled at. Forever since my life felt complete. It is indeed amazing that her passing can seem soon and so long ago all at the same time.

Many have asked how we as a family are doing. We are doing well. The kids are enjoying summer, little responsibility and lots of time to play. We are adjusting to the new normal without Heidi and feel so blessed we were able to prepare for this time long ago, with Heidi's thoughts and guidance. The kids have especially adapted well. They miss the influence, assistance, and love from Mom, but are bolstered by knowing that we, Heidi and I, know that her passing was the will of the Lord and the children have accepted that also. They also comment on how happy Mom must be now that she is no longer feeling the pain and suffering from the cancer. All four are a true blessing to me and I am grateful to have them.

I again would like to thank each and every family member, friend and church member that has helped us, supported us, and prayed for us. Your efforts have meant so much, have helped so much, and have truly been the balm of Gilliad for us. Though I may at times not show as much gratitude as I ought, forgive me, I do appreciate every gesture, every thought on our behalf.

Father's Day

A bonus of being in So CAL this weekend is I got to be with Father on Father’s Day for the first time in 20 years. It was neat to be there. The kids, with help from some family and friends, also got me some special presents to make it a special day for me.

 

 

 

 

Disney (Take Two)

Over the past few days we have been visiting So California. During our time there we were able to finish our trip to Disneyland (Which started in March), sadly enough without Heidi this time. It was a great couple of days, spent with my Dad and Pam and our good friends the Wangsgards. To make things real interesting we went on the day the new Car’s Land opened. Yes, that made it pretty crowded, but it was still a fun and memorable time. Here are several pictures of the fun times we had.

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Disney Pics

One special treat we had was to have lunch at the Blue Bayou right off the ride to Pirates of the Caribbean. I have always wanted to eat there and we had reservations when we went down with Heidi in March, but she was too sick for us to make it to the restaurant that day, so we went this time in tribute to Heidi. It was great.

 

 

 

Disney Animation Sudio

A third fun and memorable part of the trip came from a visit we were able to make to Disney’s TV animation studio in Glendale, CA. The brother of our friend works there and this brother, Dave, gave us a personal tour of the studio were all the Disney Channel animated series are produced like, Phineas and Ferb, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Tron Uprising, Fishhooks, etc. We got to see several parts of the production process, meet some of the creators and actors from the shows, and then, the highlight, was when the lids got to do voice overs for the actual show, with their voices doing lines for a new Phineas and Ferb episode. They had a blast in the sound recording room.

 

 

 

 

Cameron's (Late) Party

Just over two months post Cameron's birthday, Dad finally delivered on a promise to do something. We took a couple of friends and went to a trampoline center, Get Air. The kids had a blast bouncing all around. All three of my boys left being able to do front flips off the trampolines into the foam pits. All had a blast.

 

Little Swimmers

Dallyn and Kyler are enjoying swim lessons this summer, cuortesy of a great neighbor, Cheris, who is willing to shuttle them back and forth. Dad is very glad they the love the water so much. It is where man is meant to be.

 

 

 

Dallyn's Baseball

This week Dallyn completed an outstanding baseball season. His team, the Cardinals, came in second place in the playoffs, losing by one run after an incredible run. They only lost to one team all season. Dallyn got a base hit in the overtime innings in the semi final game that scored the winning run to get them into the championship game. This same team lost nearly every game last season, so it was a great improvement. Many of the boys are his good friends from the Ward.
 

 

 

 

Kyler's Kindergarten Graduation

A little over a week ago all of the kids finished another year of school. It was especially meaningful for Kyler who graduated from Kindergarten. I am sure Heidi was very emotional as she watched her baby move beyond kndergarten, for me I just realize the oldness my body is beginning to feel may actually have something to it. All the kids had a great year in school, but are also thoroughly enjoying the summer break.