I'm Free!

When you ask Lavender how old she is, she holds up three fingers. However, they are not the three fingers you might expect. She also explains that she is "free."  Recently she met a little boy at the park. She explained that she was three years old. He was an older, wiser man of nearly four, so he decided to correct her pronunciation.  

"You mean you're TREE" he explained. And just to make sure she understood, he repeated, "You say it TREE, not FREE."

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

3rd Birthday Interview

What is your favorite thing to play? Play with Brianne and Leighton

What is your favorite color? Blue and green and red

What are you good at? Playing nicely with my cousins, Dallin and Cammi

What food do you like to eat? Apple and peanut butter

What makes you happy? Playing with Brianne and Leighton. Eating cookies.

What is your favorite thing to wear? Shirts and dresses and my Sophia dress or my green fairy dress and fairy wand from Halloween.

Where do you like to go?  To the airport

Why? It’s my favorite place to go. It makes me happy.

One more thing . . .  I like to play on the trampoline with my brother Aaron.

What songs do you like? Elsa and Anna songs, "Let It Go."

What do you want to do when you grow up? Jump on the trampoline or play in the sandbox.

What toys do you like to play with? I’m finished with this now. Can I have a lollipop?

After I gave her a lollipop, she wanted to answer more questions so I asked: What did you do for your birthday?

I had a Marie party. It was so fun. There were so much people there. The Bakers had to be there and Brianne and Leighton. Ryan brought Teddy over. Cary came with Molly. I sang “Happy Birthday.” We had ribbons on my presents. I got new clothes. Leighton didn’t let me open my presents by myself. I wanted to, but she didn’t let me. 

Brianne and Leighton gave me an Anna nightgown and bracelet and necklace. Bakers gave me presents. It was a doctor kit. I played with it and I took it to the doctor ‘pointment. They gave me shots and put bandaids on me. He looked at my feet and body. I didn’t cry.

She weighs 30 lbs and is 36 1/2 inches tall.

I was shocked that she didn't scream or even cry after 2 shots.
She said, "It hurt a little."

Tell me more about your birthday. I had birthday cake. Cupcakes with a Marie little thing on top. It was really cute. I got ice cream. Pineapple with no dairy, so I could eat it. 

I got Marie necklaces and put them on all the sisters and moms. I played with Brianne and Leighton and went outside. We be’d nice and Teddy didn’t bite us. I’m done.

More Sweet Dreams

I love this picture of my curly headed girl because it looks like she fell asleep while kneeling in prayer.

This one shows her snuggled with her beloved kitten, Marie.

I love every action-packed, jumping, squealing, pouting, taquito-eating, potty-training, question-filled day with this girl. But my oh my, it sure is glorious when she is finally asleep for the night!

My Grandma - Part 4

I am writing a bit more about my relationship with my Grandma, Virginia Ann Rasmussen Zobrist. Here is part 1, part 2 and part 3

Sept 16, 2014:
My Uncle Paul picked up Jenny and I at the airport and took us straight to Legacy Assisted Living Center. We spent the next 2 1/2 days there except for short trips to Muff's house for a shower. Grandma didn't seem to recognize us and couldn't say our names. I had brought her a photo book I made of my Grandma Phillips' missionary journal and when I showed it to her, she immediately pointed to the picture on the cover and said, "That's my Grandma!" Some of her long term memory was still there, but the stroke had clearly impacted her.

Grandma didn't have any problem recognizing Cosmo the dog or saying his name.

Jenny and I were not there for a vacation, we were there to help care for Grandma and say goodbye to her. The nights were especially rough as Grandma kept trying to get out of bed, even though she wasn't able to stand. We slept on either side of her, trying to keep her safe.  She was often agitated and called out to unseen visitors. Sometimes she talked to her parents and other times she reached out to someone and talked to someone only she could see.

This was a very difficult time for all of us, but it was also a very special and spiritual experience. It was a chance to care for and serve Grandma. Never before had I been blessed to sit beside my grandma for hours, holding her hand and talking to her. Never before had she looked into my eyes with such love and gratitude.  To be sure, there were some very unpleasant and even funny moments, like when I informed Grandma that she was wearing a diaper and she didn't need to get up to use the bathroom. She gave me a very disgusted look and shook her head at me. Another time I kept moving her hand away from her face because I was afraid she was going to scratch herself. She finally got very frustrated with me and said, "I just need to pick my nose!"  And she did!

Despite Grandma's feeble condition, she still cared about her appearance.  My Aunt Muff was always so good to keep up with Grandma's nail and hair appointments. Since Grandma couldn't make the trip upstairs to the beauty parlor, her friend and former hairdresser Dena came to show us how to wash her hair in bed. This was an act of love as Dena was very sick herself! Together, Muff, Jenny and I were able to wash and blow dry grandma's hair. Later the hairdresser from the salon came to style Grandma's hair. My aunt told her not to worry about the back of her head since Grandma was bedridden. Afterward, Grandma let us know she was not at all happy about this decision!

Before and after Grandma's hair-do

When Jenny and I left to go home, we knew that it would be the last time we would see Grandma. We expected (and the hospice doctors and nurses agreed) that she would be gone within days. Before we left, I talked to Grandma about the trip she would be taking soon and reassured her how much I loved her.

A couple of days later, something amazing happened.  The aides came in to Grandma's room in the morning and found her sitting up in her jazzy chair. She had brushed her teeth and turned her robe around (they had it on backwards since she was bedridden). She was sitting at the table eating and wanted to know where my Aunt Muff was. Grandma had some crazy stories to tell and thought she was in Hawaii. She also explained that a woman had come to visit her and told her she'd been sick and needed to get up and out of bed. Despite her confusion, Grandma was back!  And just a few days later she had her hair done. She got it colored and styled and this time she had it done right. It was combed and curled front and back!

Grandma after her miraculous recovery

My Grandma - Part 3

I am finally posting the rest of the story about my grandma.  Here is part 1 and part 2.

Even as we all grew older, Grandma was always there for us. Eventually, she and Grandpa moved to an apartment in an assisted living center where they could ride their motorized "jazzy" scooters down the hall to lunch or to the hairdresser. We still stopped to see them on our trips to and from Utah and although we didn't spend the night or swim in their pool, the kids sometimes took a quick spin on a jazzy!

Grandpa in his jazzy

In 2008, Grandpa passed away, but Grandma was still going strong. She even took a few trips to California and was able to join us for Christmas. Awhile after my mom passed away, my Grandma went to live with my Aunt Muff and Uncle Paul in Utah. They built a special addition to their home just for Grandma. Now we had a bonus!  We got to visit Grandma AND Muff and Paul. In January 2012 we got to celebrate Grandma's 90th Birthday and I was able to make a photo book of the event. My cousin Heather gathered memories from many of Grandma's children, grandchildren and great-grands. I put them in the photo book along with pictures from the party. It was fun making the book and I knew that Grandma cherished it.  Grandma loved her posterity and could always tell you how many grandchildren she had and who was expecting the newest addition to the family.

In the summer of 2014, Grandma went to live at a lovely assisted living center just a mile from my Aunt's house. One day in September, I had the strongest feeling that I needed to go visit my Grandma as soon as possible. I called my sister and asked her if she wanted to join me and she immediately agreed. Between our busy schedules, it wasn't easy to find a time to travel, but we managed to squeeze in a few days the next week. A couple of days later, Aunt Muff called to tell me that Grandma had suffered a stroke. My brother David and his wife Annie flew to Utah to be with Grandma. After talking to them, I worried that we might not make it in time to see Grandma! Fortunately Annie is a nurse, and she must have used all her talents on Grandma because she was doing a little better by the time we arrived.