The Button Family

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Before our visit to Utah, we received some bad news. My mom had gone in for her yearly mammogram and she was called in to do an ultrasound and then a biopsy. We didn't find out until we arrived in Utah last week that it was positive. This was very distressing news. I'm sure my mom couldn't help but wonder, "haven't I had my turn with all of this already?". I know I was wondering that. She is such a strong and amazing lady though. I am so inspired by her. She didn't complain or feel sorry for herself. At one point she said, "OK, I'm done being a baby I'm going to just move on". I hadn't noticed her being a baby in any way. She had to endure the weekend without very much information on her condition. She was scheduled to see her surgeon on Monday. Although we had planned to drive back on Monday, I wanted to stay and go to her consultation with her. After she watched the news and saw the storm that was coming, she urged me to drive back with my family. Where does a person find this kind of strength? This is a woman who was widowed early in life with three small children. She raised us alone and did a great job. She lost her father and sister to cancer and then cared for her mother for ten years, through dementia, through aging, through illness, until she passed away. She endured uterine cancer and painful arthritis in her knees until they were both replaced. She continues to suffer with pain. This surgery will be her fourth in two years. But she doesn't complain and she continues to take care of everyone around her. I am in awe. So I ended up driving home with my family after I made my mom promise to call me when she was done with her consultation. She called us after her four hour appointment with good news. She is going to have a lumpectomy in two weeks followed by radiation. Two of her greatest concerns would not be a factor. She is having an outpatient surgery vs. a major one and radiation vs. chemo. What an incredible attitude. She was so excited to find this out. Her example of courage and gratitude are such a blessing to me. The answers she received to our family's prayers have really strengthened my faith.

Unfortunately that day, we received some more bad news. Many of you may have read that our country lost two helicopters in Afghanistan as well as 14 Americans on Monday the 26th of October. One of those injured was Mike's very close friend, Blake. They were loadmasters together in Little Rock. I flew with Blake as well. We did presidential support missions in Washington DC and we flew to Puerto Rico. They got out of the Air Force around the same time and Blake went on to Embry- Riddle University in Arizona to become a pilot. Mike attended his graduation. Blake flew in Alaska for a while and then he decided to join the Marines and become a helicopter pilot. He came to visit us when Tommy was a baby. He deployed to Iraq last year and after only being back home for a short time, he deployed to Afghanistan. Blake's sister emailed many of his friends the tragic news of Blake's crash. How difficult that must have been for her to send such an email. I'm so thankful she found the strength so that we knew. She has been so good about continuing to update us on his progress. He lost a leg and has internal bleeding as well as back injuries. He is a fighter, a true Marine. I hate that he is half way around the world. I can't imagine how difficult this is for his family. I know it has been very hard on Mike. Blake's parents are with him in Germany right now and they will fly back with him this week to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. Mike and I hope to go there and visit him soon. I am so proud of Blake and his service to our country. I am so thankful he is still with us. My heart breaks for the families of those who did not survive. I know that even when we feel helpless in our circumstances and the circumstances of our loved ones, we can pray and our prayers are heard. I know that so many are praying for my mom and for Blake and I know that those prayers have directly helped them. Please continue to pray for them.

Here is a website that Blake's family put together to follow his progress: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/blakedwightsmith/journal

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Visit to Utah

Mike had to go to Salt Lake for simulator training so we tagged along for the weekend. The kids loved Grandma Janet's new house, especially the leaves.

Katie would have stayed out there all day if we had let her.

We went to Gardner village with Kathy and her family. The petting zoo was our favorite part.

Katie got her face painted. This is one of the best face paintings I have ever seen. She told the lady painting her that she was an artist so she liked to have her face painted. She didn't want to wash it off.

It was so nice to see our families. I was able to spend some time with my mom and my sister and her family as well as Mike's mom and his brother. Gordy and I have birthday's a week apart. Mike's mom made a big dinner for all of us to celebrate. She also made three different kinds of pies and with the help of a little girl, a cake. Everything was amazing! Thanks Janet!
Chocolate goatees must be hereditary because I had one for most of my childhood as well.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Balloon Fiesta!

A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to go to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. We have been wanting to go to this for quite a while so we were so happy we finally had the chance. Mike's mom was in town and we have been wanting to take her to Santa Fe so we were able to do both.

Despite losing his hand, Tommy was thrilled to be at the Fiesta. (He later found it in his sleeve)

Katie was equally excited to be there.

These bee balloons were my favorite. They flew together for a while and then separated. We really had a great time and I'm so glad we got to go.

On the way back home (sort of) we stopped in Santa Fe. Mike and I love the food there and Janet has been wanting to see The Miracle Staircase at Laredo Chapel. It really is worth seeing. It has been featured on Unsolved Mysteries and has a great story.

When you ask your kids for help, do they say yes right away and wear a big happy smile the whole time? Mine neither.

Actually, we didn't even ask them to help. Mike was painting the deck and they really wanted to help. They did a great job. I feel bad for underestimating their abilities because they did so well. The next day, they said, "we'll be out raking leaves if you need us". What good kids.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

New hobbies

My new hobby? Dressing the kids up and taking their picture. (Actually we were just going to church and I took their picture but I'm trying to stick to the theme here)

The kids' new hobby? Piling stuff up around the house. They asked if they could put all of the stuffed animals in a pile in the office. I made them promise that they would put them away when they were done. I had them sign a contract in front of a notary and offer up all of their possessions as collateral. They actually cleaned up afterward. I'm not as hopeful about this pile of blankets behind me right now.

Mike has three friends deployed right now. The kids and I made them some cookies. They almost got an ever bigger surprise.

Tommy's new dream hobby? Beekeeping. Our neighbors discovered this swarm of bees on a small bush in front of their house the day they were leaving town. They tried calling pest control but they said they couldn't get their until after the weekend. Mike found a beekeeper online and gave him a call. He was very grateful and came out the next morning. We all got to watch him and his wife vacuum up the bees. It was so interesting. The thing I really love about Mike is that he is knowledgeable about so many different topics. He was able to ask so many great questions of the beekeepers. They estimated that there were 10,000 bees in this swarm.

So after all this, Tommy keeps asking us to order a package of bees. He watches every beekeeping related video on Youtube. I feel confident that I could install a bee package now after watching it 100 times. Don't get me wrong, it would still freak me out. We actually like our neighbors and Mike's bee allergic mother so I don't think we will be starting this hobby anytime soon. But who knows.......

Rocketing is a new hobby for the whole family. If you haven't seen the movie October Sky yet, you need to. It is so great. Tommy loved it. The kids are really excited about this. Another great thing about Mike is he really likes to support local businesses. He found a rocket shop in town. It was pretty amazing. The kids (all three of them) had a great time looking around. This was our first attempt.

Is Katie doing some kind of Egyptian dance for luck?

It was a windy day, but the launch was successful. Oh, except for the devastating explosion.

That's OK, it's just the first try. The kids are pretty reluctant to let Mike launch their rockets though. I have to keep telling them that's what rockets are for. Up next, the Saturn V, which is the model of rocket the Apollo astronauts used to go to the moon.