The casket spray I designed and arranged

Mom Barneck-The rest of the story

On Thursday July 2 Dave's mom Norma Barneck passed away. Almost everyone in the family was there to say goodbye to our matriarch. It was difficult as mom was concious (although she could not speak due to the trach) and she was trying to mouth words to us. She told Kenzie she loved her, she told Dave she didn't want to go etc...the longer the goodbye's took, the more agitated she became. I don't know if she was frightened, in pain or what, maybe a little of both. We told the nurse we were ready and she came in and administered morphine to mom to calm her down and help her to sleep. Those that did not want to watch her die left the hospital and a few of us stayed on until the end. The equipment that was keeping mom alive was disconnected and turned off. She breathed on her own for about an hour. Her breathing just graudally slowed down until it stopped and she was gone. It was peaceful. At one point she mouthed what we think was "ma ma". We know the veil is so very thin during times like this and I have no doubt that her loved ones were there to greet her and welcome her home.

Mom's funeral was planned for Saturday July 11 to allow for family members to get to Utah. Early on Friday morning Robyn, Jolene and I gathered at the mortuary to dress mom in her temple clothes. I had never participated in this before and it was actually really nice to be able to do this for her. Friday evening the viewing was held at Lindquist Mortuary in Layton. I can't believe how many wonderful people came to pay their respects. There were so many old friends and former preschool students, lots of extended family members etc...it was so nice to be there as a family. Mom looked wonderful. I know that doesn't seem possible, but she had been sick and in such pain for so long that it was nice to see the peaceful look on her face.
The funeral was held the next day at the Stake Center and again, it was such a tribute to her at the amount of people turned out. The funeral was lovely with every one of the six children participating. It was a beautiful sunny day as we rode in the limo to the cemetery to dedicate the grave. Many relatives were present and we all enjoyed spending more time together afterwards at the church for lunch.

It's hard to imagine that she is really gone. She was so vital until six weeks ago. We will sure miss mom with all of her quirky ways. We know she loved us all unconditionally and will continue to watch over us from the other side.

Mom Barneck

Norma (mom) has been very ill for about 6 weeks now. It would take all day to tell you all the details, but who has time to do it or read it? The short story is that she had heart surgery and she has been experiencing complications in the form of multiple critical infections, anuerysm in the carotid artery, tumor in the uterus etc... the list goes on and on. It is with great sadness that I tell you that we as the children/children in laws, have decided (after a long talk with the Dr) that she will not get better :( The trach is breathing for her, the infections are showing up daily and the drugs are so harsh on her little body. So, sadly, and with broken hearts we will be seeing her go back to her Heavenly Father this week. She is in constant pain, we don't want this for her any longer.

Norma has been the glue that has kept the Barneck family together. She keeps up on all of the activities of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and documents them in a newsletter she then sends to us all. She loves to get together for holidays and loves to visit her children on Sunday afternoons with Ralph. She attended every grandchild's event that she could possibly go to including the ones who have lived out of state. She has prayed for us, gone to bat for us, worried about us and loved us always unconditionally. I know my family in particular will miss her greatly! There will be a hole in our lives.

I will update more next week, just too sad to say anymore.

Why I'm a slacker!

Mt. Vernon (home of George Washington)

Jared, Josh, Chelsie and Erin after our tour of the White House!

Jerry Seinfelds Puffy Shirt at the Smithsonian

Our kids at the Smithsonian Castle

Chelsie at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing

the boys at Luray Caverns

Kenzie, Holli and Chelsie at gradiation

The Happy graduate and her hubby!

Arlington

Ford Theater

Civil War Battlefield Museum Erin and Jared

Barneck girls holding hands in the streets of D.C.

Honest Abe

Chelsie, Matt, Holli and Josh outside the Holocaust Museum

Poser

Slacker!

Wow, I've been a slacker on keeping up with my blogs. Here is why, in a nutshell...
moved the twins back home from Snow College for the summer, left the next morning for Virginia for Holli's college graduation and ten days of blissful vacation to Buena Vista, VA, Richmond and Wash. DC with my most favorite people in the world, my family. Got home and started my new job the next morning as the Floral Supervisor at Macey's which happened to be the week before Memorial Day and we all know how that is for the flower industry, worked full time for two weeks. In the meantime, I'm trying to keep up on the housework (failing miserably), sewing my vintage aprons (which I'm behind on), moving Josh back home for awhile (his stuff is in the living room, the twins stuff is in the family room), switching bedrooms, visiting my mother in law in the hospital where she has been in intensive care for the past two weeks, taking dinner to my father in law, working every day, trying to keep up with the yard (failing miserable at that too), and occasionally enjoying my new grandpuppy.
So, it's never a dull moment and there certainly aren't enough hours in my day lately. I can't sleep past 5 a.m. anymore due to the warblings of the birds out my bedroom window. Oh, I forgot my two day trip to take Chelsie to Lake Powell to work for the summer. Still recuperating from that! Wow, I'm making myself tired just typing this...So please forgive me if my yard and house look awful, if my little kids aren't wearing matching clothes and are running around the neighborhood like little orphans, if I don't keep up with some of my wonderful friends and their lives. Hopefully, I'll slow down soon....I don't think so though!!

Amazingly Cute Jewelry

Check out this blog. Amy has started her own jewelry company and the necklaces are so cute! I want one of each of them. She will be giving away a free necklace.

http://cestlaviejewelry.blogspot.com

My Amazing Kids

Honoring my kids!

I've been thinking lately about how blessed I am to have such wonderful children in my life. I'm so proud of each of them and the amazing people they are evolving into as they grow up. I can honestly say that my favorite times are the times we are all together. I love the fun, good natured bantering and teasing that goes on.

So...I'm going to spend the next few days writing tributes to my kids on my blog. I don't think we tell each other often enough how much they mean to us, so here's my chance.

Enjoy, and I hope I don't embarrass my kids too much ;)

Love ya guys!

Tomorrow I'll start at the top with Josh!

Tribute to my Sisters

Let me start off by saying I LOVE MY SISTERS! (I'll be writing about my amazing brother in a future post!) Here we are at the Salt Lake Temple for Holli's wedding last July. We are from left to right:
Vicki, me, Aimee, Wendy and Darcy.

We are all a lot alike but oh so very different. Our relationships with each other have evolved over the years. I remember (being the oldest of 6) my sisters being pesky to me. I hated sharing a room with Vicki and her nightly teeth grinding, but today we are the best of friends sharing our woes at raising teenager daughters and sharing similar testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I always envied Darcy and her musical talents. Wendy was my babysitter for many years after I had kids. Then there is Aimee...the baby of the family. Oh, how spoiled she was by all of us!

Here is my tribute to each of my sisters (by order of birth):

Vicki: She is the most organized person I have ever known and her life is so much easier than mine because of it. Each time I leave her home, I want to return to mine and organize! I make mental notes of how her spices and food storage are organized. I want to be like her when I grow up :) Vicki is a planner. And talk about a multi tasker! She's got us all beat. She loves her husband (even if he annoys her sometimes), her daughters, her home and California weather.

Darcy: There is a special place in Heaven for Darcy. She has four boys. Need I say more? She is so creative and loves to have fun with her kids. Darcy is always ready for fun. I am amazed at her ability to raise four boys as a single mom, keep up her house, work and even occasionally has time for a date or two. It's a huge balancing act and she pulls it off. Kali and Kaiden love to go to Aunt Darcy's house. They have all the fun toys!

Wendy: There was never a kinder, more loving person than Wendy. She doesn't have an unkind bone in her body. I admire her courage to leave a bad marriage and to start all over. It's wonderful to see her so happy as a wife and mother. She puts everything into her home and family. Wendy knows how to have fun with her friends though too with frequent girls nights out. She is an incredible decorator and has fun repainting and redecorating her house constantly. It's a beautiful, warm home.

Aimee: What do I say about Aimee? We all love her. She was born when I was 16 and she was my baby. (not literally). I admire Aimee so much as I'm sure we all do. She has made some poor choices but is working hard to make them right and the growth I see in her brings tears to my eyes. She is finally becoming the woman we all knew she could be. She loves her children and so enjoys weekends with them. Aimee is the fun mom. There will be so much more wonderful things to write about Aimee as time goes on and we see her develop and grow.

So, those are my sisters one by one. I love each of them so much and never tell them. So, I'm telling you all now that I love you dearly and I'm so grateful for each one of you for being the women you are and setting the examples you do for me. May we all have more great times together in the future!

More O-Town Pics

I decided I needed to post most of the fabulous pictures of houses Chelsie took the other day (see previous post) so here they are! Love them all, and love Ogden!

O-Town, It's pretty much amazing!

So last Saturday, Chelsie and I went driving around Ogden for a couple of hours. She is taking an Interior Design class at Snow College and needed to take some pics of houses with specific architectural designs. I will never drive around town without thinking of Pilasters and Ballastrades!
I learned so many new things from Chels. But the one thing I came away with from our little outing that day was how diverse and beautiful Ogden is. Ogden rocks. We get a bad rap a lot of the time, but seriously, every town has some kind of a ghetto don't they? I love how the homes are all so different, not your typical cookie cutter houses here! No offense to those who like the cookie cutter look in a neighborhood, but for me, I love how the homes are all sooo different and unique. Just as unique and different as the people who live in them.
So, I've included a few of my favorite pictures from that day. Enjoy the beauty that is O-Town!

Life is Short

I've taken the time to reflect this weekend on how life is soo short and you never know when one of your loved ones may be taken from you. Downer topic, I know. On Friday, February 13th two of Kenzie and Chelsie's friends from college were killed in a car accident while on their way home from school for the weekend. It's tragic, but even more so when you know that they were sisters and one of them was to be engaged to be married this weekend. My heart breaks for this family. Micah and Shiloh were next door neighbors of Kenzie's and in the girls ward.

This is hard on my girls. How do you comfort them? How do I make it easier for them to understand how this could happen and why? My heart is fearful for my own girls as they travel back today. So, do I live in fear for them? NO! I cannot. It does no good and make things more difficult. Instead, I try to remember that it is in the Lord's hands. He is mindful of each of us, especially the family of these beautiful girls. He is our comforter. He knows the pain everyone involved is feeling and it is by turning our lives over to Him that we will find peace and understanding. It is in situations like this that we must turn to the Lord, sometimes it's the only way we can feel comfort because no human words can possibly express how truly sorry we are for the loss. And it is a loss. These girls leave behind a huge hole in a lot of hearts and lives. Kenzie and Chelsie are worried about how strange it will be to go back to school today and not see Micah and Shiloh next door and at the clubhouse where they both worked. I'm worried that they will arrive there at school safe and sound and that they will be able to deal with the grief.
And so this is life...sometimes it's sad, sometimes it's happy, sometimes it's joyful, sometimes it's worrysome, sometimes it's depressing, sometimes it's fun...but it's never the same all of the time. We don't know what tomorrow will bring, so let's be the best and do the very best we can to be good, honorable, loving people in this life. Let's be kinder to one another, mindful of each others feelings. Let's stop judging people and just love them. Most of all, hug your family, because sometimes, life IS short!

My Day Off!

Well, I finally have a day off work and it's so hard to decide what to do first. I made a huge list of things that I've gotten behind on and I'm working on it slowly but surely. There aren't enough hours in the day to finish it all, but at least it's a start. Unfortunately, this morning as I went out in the freezing cold air to pick Dave up from work, the ignition switch broke and I couldn't get the car to start. So...once again, we have car issues. Well, at least it gives me an excuse to stay home all day today!
I found an amazing job search site called Jobster. It's so great, I've been on it job searching for at least an hour now. However, the best Administrative Assistant jobs are in Salt Lake...

I'm considering becoming a Close to my Heart consultant. They are a company that sells acrylic rubber stamps and scrapbooking supplies through home parties etc...I want their stamps, but can't afford them right now so it would be a way to do that. We'll see how it goes. I'm having a party on the 19th.

Hmmm, what else can I tell you? We've been invited to our first ever Mardi Gras party by Shannon whom I work with at the store. I'm excited about it. Sad huh? We just don't get out much do we?! LOL

Oh, Kali started playing church basketball and their first game was Tuesday. She made 4 baskets!! She looked nervous at the beginning of the game but it was amazing how quickly she gained confidence in her abilities once she made that first basket. It was fun to watch and I'm looking forward to the next game on Tues. Kaiden is still playing hockey and actually made his first goal at his game two weeks ago in Park City. He was sooo excited! They are doing well, these kids of ours. Life has become much easier in the past few months with Kaiden and his issues. Happy am I!

Well, I can't think of anything else exciting (not that the above was exciting), so I guess I'll get back to my cleaning which is very far past due! Love you all!

Happy Birthday Josh!

Well, here we are, another Ground Hog Day and another year older for our oldest, Josh. This is a tribute to him.

Josh has been the best son a mother could ever want. He is kind, considerate (except when he was younger and would poke his sisters in church when I wasn't looking!), generous, funny and talented. He gave us absolutely no problem as a teenager and he has to be given credit for putting up with his four sisters through the years! He once (or maybe more than once) commented that there is a lot of estrogen in our house. He's right. The poor guy. I loved it when he went on his mission to Switzerland because at least he would have other guys as roomies, kind of like brothers.
Josh is always willing to help out whenever we need him. Whether it is helping with wiring a house, cleaning the yard, giving one of us a ride somewhere, or just about anything else you can think of.

He loves video games, cooking yummy food, his coworkers, Rock Band, computers, ipods, his car, xbox, trips with the family and many more... I'm sure when the grandkids start coming along, Josh will be the favorite uncle! :) I'm not sure if his sisters will let him babysit, however, since he's infamous for letting his little twin sisters eat a whole carton of strawberry cream cheese when they were little and he was "watching" them.

So, HAPPY 29th BIRTHDAY Josh!! You deserve the best! We all love our Joshy Poo!!!

P.S. I think he's grateful to Erin and Holli for getting married thereby providing him with brothers finally!!!

dead doornails and other trite nonesense!

So I am at work tonight and it's dead as a doornail, whatever that phrase means... (by the way, Kristen, one of my coworkers just told me what that means, who knows that?!) Anyway, she hooked me up with this cool test that just nailed (pardon the pun) me to a T! Read it and tell me if you think it's right on or not.

You Are 2: The Helper

You always put on a happy face and try to help those around you. You're incredibly empathetic and care about everyone you know. Able to see the good in others, you're thoughtful, warm, and sincere. You connect with people who are charming and charismatic. At Your Best: You are deeply giving, altruistic, and humble. You devote your life to others while caring for yourself too. At Your Worst: You are manipulative and enjoy making other people guilty. Your Fixation: Rejection Your Primary Fear: Being unworthy of love Your Primary Desire: To be loved unconditionally Other Number 2's: Mother Teresa, John Travolta, Princess Diana, Dr. Phil, and Mr. Rogers.

What Number Are You?

Kaiden and Hockey

Kaiden has been playing on a hockey team for a few months. Some of you may know that it is the sport of choice in the Chisholm family, so it was a given that Kaiden would play it as well. He has enjoyed his practices, learning how to ice skate and learning the skills he needs to be a good hockey player. I can't begin to count how many times he and I have sat through the movie "Miracle" and analyzed the plays. So, I'm excited to announce that Kaiden's team won their game in Park City this morning and he made his first game goal!!! I couldn't attend the game but he called me to tell me the good news. He was sooo excited. So, if any of you see him, please make sure to congratulate him, he's so proud and I'm so proud of him, not just for his hockey playing skills but for the person he is becoming while overcoming some rough times.

Rain, rain, go away...

Sigh...my least favorite weather condition is RAIN! It's dismal and sooo wet. I think I dislike it so much because when I was growing up, we lived in Fresno, California and rain was the weather we had for winter. It meant I couldn't go out and play. I've tried to like it because I know we need it, but to no avail. I don't really enjoy the snow that much either, but at least it's pretty and clean. So, here I am on a rainy Saturday trying to catch up on things in the house and trying not to look outside at the bleak, gray day. I'm making the most amazing Orange Chip Scones so the house smells good, doing the laundry, which isn't my favorite, but at least it gives me an excuse to watch a little Jack Bauer (I'm rewatching season 1) while I'm folding clothes, I've cleaned the kitchen, swept the floor, vacuumed the stairs and now I'm catching up on my blogging so I guess there is a silver lining to the little gray rain clouds...it allows me to get things done inside instead of wanting to be outside. If there were a little sun, I'd be out there. I guess I'm still a California girl at heart!

January

Since Christmas not much exciting has happened, but it has been nice to get back to our regular routine and have some sense of normalcy again. Chelsie and Kenzie are back at Snow College, Kali and Kaiden are back to school, Dave is still working two jobs, I'm working at For Your Kitchen (but currently looking for another job that pays better). January has always been blah for me. I've tried not to let it get to me this year. I've been creating some fun cards in my little scrapbooking area (I'll try to post of pics later), working and running the kids around to young women's, scouts and hockey! Such is my life... I have to admit I'm looking sooo forward to spring when things are green and warm again!

Back from Hiatus

Wow, it's been forever since I've posted. Sorry to those who are actually checking. Let me catch you up.

Christmas was nice. We had a couple of huge snow storms just before and then a giant one on Christmas Day which was so nice except for Erin and Jared who had to travel back to Salt Lake in it. On Christmas Eve we made homemade gourmet pizza, ate it, played rock band compliments of Josh, opened our new jammies (I made 12 pair of them!), watched a movie and went to bed. We didn't get up and start on gifts until about 7:45. Some people (who shall remain nameless) were grinches and wouldn't get out of bed making the rest of the group anxious, especially Kali and Kaiden! We finally got everyone together and took a look at what Santa brought after which we went downstairs and opened gifts. We had a lot of fun. After the gift opening frenzy we started on our traditional Christmas breakfast of Cinnamon rolls, gooey rolls, scrambled eggs (they were delicious Erin!), bacon, sausage a plenty (thanks to Jared's bacon frying skills), orange juice and egg nog. We pigged out and then just vegged out the rest of the day which I just loved! yep, stayed in the jammies all day long!
It was a lot of fun and the only downer was that we were missing Holli and Matt :( Maybe next year?!?!?!?!