A Privacy Issue....

Well, potty training has been pretty good with Caleb, but up until today he wouldn't go #2 in the potty. He'd sit and say "it's too hard" or "It's stuck" and then give up. We've noticed that when he poops in his diaper, he always leaves the room...comes back...and then tells us, "I'm poopy."

Well one of my friends told us that they knew a kid like that and the parents just left the bathroom to let him go. I thought to myself, that probably wouldn't work with caleb because he's not always secure about sitting on the potty anyway. However, today he told us he had to go poop (which he doesn't usually do). And we sat him on the potty, and tried to get him to go. "It's too hard." he told me. So I tried the suggested tactic:
You try to push it out, and I'm gonna just stand right here." (moving behind the door). Three seconds later, I heard a little "plop" and as I'm walking in the room to congratulate him, he reaches behind him and flushes the toilet and it's gone before I can see any proof. Then I was skeptical....but his bum was dirty. SUCCESS! It really was a privacy issue I guess. Hopefully tomorrow brings more success. Who knew, we just had to leave the kid alone for a second! Ahh to be diaper free!

Five Days in Missouri...

Last Wednesday I flew to Missouri to attend my grandfather's funeral. I was so glad to see so many family members there! This first picture is my little cousins getting pushed on the lawnmower....yes...PUSHED by my not-so-little-any-more cousin, Scottie.

I just want to write about the flower arrangement really quick. My mom requested snap-dragons, because she used to walk around on the temple grounds in Mesa with her parents, and it was there that they taught her how to make the snap-dragons "snap". She also got sunflowers, because they're bright and happy like grandpa. There are stalks of wheat because Grandpa was always growing things in the ground. And Grape vines. And lilacs, because they were one of Grandpa's favorite flowers. The arrangement really was beautiful.
This is Sarah's daughter, Lydia. The sun reflecting off her golden hair makes her look like a little angel!

And my cousins from left to right Bryan Kowacich, Daniel Pierce, Keith Adams, Joshoua Willis. And can I join with the rest of the family in saying to Daniel.....it's nice to see you've finally gained some weight. He looks healthy now doesn't he?

These next pictures were at the burial site. Which was on the hill of grandpa's OWN property (only in Missouri...that's all I have to say) right next to the cemetary.

The picture below is (left to right) uncle Nolan, and his granddaughter Aleena, Aunt Merrila, Tim (my mom's cousin from Arizona...who got a haircut the next day by the way) and Becky's daughter, Rachael.

There was SOOOO much food at grandma's house! The ward was so generous to our family. They provided two HUGE meals two days in a row....enough to feed a garage full of people.

And Keith. Love the face buddy.

It was really nice to see all my family, and I was so glad I got to attend my grandfather's funeral. It was a beautiful service. My dad sang, and my mom and 2 siblings gave the life-sketch. The Spirit was really strong, and I think it helped to bring some closure.

Grandma's house has an amazing feeling. It's like a blanket of comfort is over the entire house. I have heard so many people say that there is a strong feeling of peace when you walk into that place. And we all know, the Comfortor is present there. I hope my Grandmother continues to feel that peace now that the family has all gone back home.

"Bikewide"

For Caleb's 2nd birthday (which was last July by the way) Caleb's grandma and grandpa got him a bike. He loved that thing, but he couldn't figure out how to pedal, so he would just push his bike around the driveway. The only problem was, that my mom and dad's driveway was full of goatheads. And the tires went flat.

Last week Parker fixed the tires and we took Caleb for his first bikeride in months. And wouldn't you know, after just a few minutes, he figured it out and we hardly had to help him anymore. Now it's all he wants to do. He's not even three! I'm so proud of my boy.

Another memory...

Allright, so since the news of Grandpa, my mind has been an endless blur of memories. But I just thought of one that I HAD to share...
Several years ago (when we still lived in the trailer on the farm) Grandma and Grandpa came to visit us in Idaho. We had just gotten our first computer, and e-mail accounts. At that time, there was an e-mail forward that we thought was so funny, we HAD to share it with Grandpa. So we printed it up and had him read it out loud.
To this day, I have NEVER seen Grandpa laugh as hard as he did when he read this. I remember he was holding his stomach and wiping his eyes. Especially after the line about logging trucks. I remember he couldn't read any more after that, because he was laughing too hard. Well, I found the letter and I thought you all might like to read it.

A Letter From Scout Camp
Dear Mom and Dad,
We are having a great time here at Lake Typhoid. Mr. Sorensen is making all of us write to our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and got worried. We are Okay. Only one of our tents and two sleeping bags and Steven's back pack got washed away. Luckily none of us got drowned because we were all up on the mountain looking for Travis when it happened. Oh Yeah, please call Travis mom and tell her he is okay. He can't write because of the cast.
I got to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps. It was neat. We never would have found him if it hadn't been for the lightening. Mr Sorensen got mad at Travis for going on a hike alone without tellling anyone. Travis said he did tell him but it was during the fire so he probably didn t hear him.
Did you know that if you pour gas on a fire the gas can will blow up? The wet wood still didn't burn, but one of our tents did, also some of our clothes. Mark is going to look weird until his hair grows back. We will be home Saturday if Mr. Sorensen gets the truck fixed. It wasn't his fault about the wreck. The brakes worked okay when we left. Mr. Sorensen said that with a truck that old you have to expect something to break down, that's probably why he can't get insurance on it. We think it is a neat truck. He doesn't care if we get it dirty. If it's hot, sometimes he lets us ride on the tailgate. It gets pretty hot with ten scouts in the cab. He lets us take turns riding in the trailer, well--until the Highway Patrolman stopped and talked to him.
Mr. Sorensen is a neat Scoutmaster. Don't worry, he is a good driver, in fact he is teaching Chuck how to drive. But he only lets him drive on the mountain roads where there isn t any traffic. All we ever see up here are logging trucks.
This morning all of us were jumping off the rocks and swimming in the lake. Mr. Sorensen wouldn't let me because I can't swim and Travis was afraid he would sink because of the cast, so he let us take the canoe across the lake. It was great. You can still see some of the trees under the water from the flood. Mr. Sorensen isn't crabby like some Scoutmasters. He didn't even get mad about the life jackets. He has to spend a lot of time working on the truck so we are trying not to cause him any trouble.
Guess what? We have all passed our First-Aid Skill Award. When Jim dove off into the lake and cut his arm, we got to see how a tourniquet works. Also Jim and I threw up. Mr. Sorensen said it was probably just food poisoning from the leftover chicken.
I have to go now. We are going to town and mail all these letters and buy some bullets. Don t worry about anything.
Love, your son.
P.S. How long has it been since I had a tetanus shot?

I wonder if anybody else remembers this....I know I sure do. I've bought a plane ticket to Kansas City for Wednesday. After that it's only a 3 hour car ride till I'm with my family in Missouri.

If all men had been, and were, and ever would be....

Yesterday the greatest man I know passed from this life into the next. My grandpa Willis. We were so lucky to have him with us as long as we did. It seems death has been knocking on his doorstep for so many years now.....and yet I was at least able to let my little boy sit on his lap for a while. I didn't know it would be the last time.

This picture was taken for our family reunion we had in Missouri in 2007. Melissa and I decided we were going to pack up our boys, and all our luggage, baby food, and take the long and crazy trip to Missouri to see Grandma and Grandpa. Our husbands couldn't come, so it was just the two of us and our 3 boys. I am so glad we took that trip to see Grandpa.

I want you all to know something. The Willis family has kinda a unique tradition. Whenever we all get together, we have a Hawiian Luau. This is because the last time the entire Willis family was together, was when they lived in Hawaii. It was then that the oldest brother, Gary, died on his mission. I always knew we had a luau at Willis family gatherings, but it wasn't until the last one, that Grandma actually explained why it's so significant. This last picture is at the luau we had for the reunion in 07. If you look closely, you'll see Grandpa's red nose, and quivered chin. He's crying. This picture was taken when my mom and her sisters were singing a song they'd written about Grandma.

The last thing I want you to know, is that most of my memories of Grandpa are of laughing, singing, or story-telling. Espeically when he played his harmonica. But the last 2 times I went to Missouri, I experienced something that is very close to my heart. A soft side to Grandpa I always knew was there, but had never seen.

The first time was when we were watching "The Notebook." He sat and watched that entire movie with us, and of course (like ANYONE who watches that movie) at the end he was sobbing. But it does something to you, when I saw that man crying. Being touched by the love of two people so strong, that no even death could break it. The second time was for this trip you see pictured above. However, there's another experience BESIDES the one in this picture. This trip was in the summer, and a few months ago, Melissa and I had made a CD for dad filled with songs that we play on the piano (because we're not home to play dad's piano anymore, and he misses it). Well, I didn't know it, but dad brought that CD with him to Missouri to show to Grandma and Grandpa. One song that Melissa recorded on that CD was the piano part to "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables. When dad showed Grandpa this song, he started to sing along with the music. My father has a beautiful voice. And I watched Grandpa as he held Grandma's hand, and then watched the tears flow from his eyes at the beauty of this song.

This memory is very bright in my mind, and when dad told me he was asked to sing at Grandpa's funeral, my mind immediately went to this moment. As it turns out, that's what everybody else was thinking too. So next Thursday, my father will be singing, "Bring Him Home" (accompanied by me...and a faithful page-turner when my eyes blur too bad to read the music) at Grandpa's funeral.

I am so grateful that I was able to know my Grandpa. He truly was an amazing man. The best I've ever known. And that scripture, that talks about how if all men had been, and were, and ever wouuld be like unto Moroni..... I know that my Grandfather was a man like that. And I can't wait to see him again in Heaven.