One of the Most Insane Months of My Life... (all words, no pictures)

We returned home from Hawaii on June 2nd and got busy adjusting to "normal" life again, but, alas, normal life has remained elusive.   In fact, I daresay that June 2022 may go down as one of the absolute craziest months of my entire life.  Read on to find out more....

On June 4th, we took my dad to the ER, where they diagnosed him with high calcium and some electrolyte imbalances, gave him IV fluids, then sent him home.  

On June 5th, we brought my dad back to the hospital for worsening symptoms, where he was admitted to the ICU for dangerously high calcium levels.    Over the course of the next few days (while we took turns with my mom and sisters sitting with Dad), the doctors decided that his lymphoma (which he was diagnosed with last year) was progressing in such a way that it was time to place him into hospice care.   😢

AND WITH THAT BEGAN THE ABSOLUTE INSANITY...

First, we had to deal with the array of emotions that came with that pronouncement, but there wasn't time to dwell on them, because we had to pick a hospice care company before they'd release him from the hospital.  We researched like crazy and asked friends, and ended up choosing a company called "Dignity Hospice".   The nursing supervisor for the company was in my previous ward and many friends had used them for their loved one's last days.   Almost a month later and I have to say that so far things are going pretty smoothly.  

THEN CAME THE SCRAMBLING TO... 

•  research funeral homes
•  figuring out how to tell family and friends
• navigating questions from the people we told
• trying to collect messages from loved ones around the world to present to my Dad on Father's Day. 

IN ADDITION....

1.  I was trying to help Adam get some mission shopping done before he took off to be an FSY counselor for most of the summer.  His counselor job started June 11th. 

2.  I was scrambling to help Ellie get ready for her 2-1/2 week long Humanitarian XP trip to Malawi, which started on June 14th.  

3.  I was hosting a bridal shower for a dear friend from Virginia on June 17th.  I had offered to do it weeks before all the Dad drama began.  

4.  I was hosting 10 people in my house  for about a week after my whole family decided to gather here in Utah for Father's Day, so they could spend time with my Dad while he still felt reasonably well.  

5.  I was helping to plan a Clarence and Rose Hepworth Family Reunion to be held June 18th.  I had a few helpers, but I was mostly in charge of planning the details, navigating questions and RSVPs, making flyers, and making sure that the details came together.     

6. I am the assistant stake camp director for YW camp that was held June 27 - July 1.  

IN OTHER WORDS...

My stress level has been sky high and I am completely and totally EXHAUSTED!!!!

BUT....

1.  My Mom and I toured three local funeral homes together, went over the pros and cons of each, and have one  picked out now. 

2.  We successfully told people about Dad's diagnosis and collected dozens of meaningful messages/memories, which we presented to him on Father's Day.  To be totally honest though....he  hardcore hated it and was mad at me for telling people he was dying, when he only had lymphoma...not cancer, like I was telling people. 😒 My feelings were hurt, but ultimately I remembered that I had felt prompted to gather the messages, and,  even if he never reads or appreciates them, we will be happy to have those messages/memories for our records.  

3. All 8 of us siblings came together for Father's Day weekend, we took family pictures, discussed some hard things, and enjoyed being able to spend time with Dad...except when he was mad at us (mostly me) and made me cry. 

4. I got a little mission shopping done with Adam (all of his white shirts, all of his ties, and a few pairs of pants).  We know what suit size he wears, he's tried on some raincoats, and we've narrowed down what shoes we're  going to buy.  He's also successfully completed his first 3 weeks as an FSY counselor (2 weeks in Fresno and 1 week in Provo).  He's completely physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausted, but he's happy.  He will be home with us for a week before he heads to Snow College for his last 3 weeks as a counselor.     Stay tuned for a blogpost coming soon...

5.  Ellie had a magnificent 2-1/2 week trip to Malawi. She is jet-lagged and also exhausted, but, like Adam,  is also very happy!  Stay tuned for a blogpost coming soon..

6. The bridal shower was successful.   They mostly took care of the food and decor, so most of the stress was getting my house clean enough to feel comfortable hosting 20ish people.   They ended up in the "guts of my house"  (digging in my pantry, opening drawers, etc) a little more than I expected, but it is what it is....me in all my glory!   And it ended up going well!  

7. The reunion went smoothly and I think everyone was happy about it. 
 

8. YW camp is over  and I survived.  I'm only functioning at about 66% today, but it's done, I met lots of awesome ladies and YW, and there were no major disasters, so I'm calling it a win!  Stay tuned for a blogpost coming soon...

I'm rooting for a quieter July, but I'm not getting my hopes up too high... 

The Sweetest Father's Day Tradition

We have a long-standing Father's Day tradition in our family that is sweet as can be....

 literally and figuratively...

Every year I take the kids to the store let the kids pick out as much candy as they want, so they can create the silliest note ever!    

Much to the happiness of the kids, as long as no one touches his Butterfingers, Daddy doesn't mind sharing.  

Sweet! 

******************************

Here is the translation of this year's note (this year they threw in a couple of other random items that I bought at Target--hence the cucumber seeds and Les Mis CD):

Dear POPtarts,
HELLO I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU for not being a CUCUMBER SEED.  We're glad you found mommy.  She thinks you're a HOT TAMALE and you guys make a great DUO.  We know you can't eat SWEDISH FISH (or any other kind of fish), so we siced you with an extra PAYDAY instead.  With your new found riches we suggest you TAKE 5 ANGRY BIRDS and make them SNICKERs.  No dad in the world brings more almond JOY to LES MISERABLES (cd) than you and anyone would be PLEASED TO MEET YOU.  In short, we love you even though you're a BUTTERFINGER and we'll always be your PEEPS.
Love,
Your 5 GOOBERS and mom


**********************

Past notes:
2012
2011
2009 (plus the healthy version)
2007

Photographic Evidence that My Dad is Awesome

My dad came to town a couple of weeks ago to set my brother Pete apart as a high priest.  It was a super quick trip where we only got to spend a few hours with him, so we had to maximize our time together.  We got all of us DC area siblings together (Pete, Matt, AnnaLisa, and I) and went to my dad's favorite type of restaurant...a buffet!    The kids were fascinated with the all-you-can-eat concept and made sure to take advantage of the unlimited dessert supply.  Ellie didn't sit still much during our stay there, but when she did sit, she preferred it to be as close to grandpa as possible!

Afterward we headed to our house and made sure to take as many goofy pics as possible...

We kids like to tease my dad that he has equal parts blood and Mountain Dew running through his veins and although we don't drink much soda in our house sometimes I wonder if my dad had ever slipped some Code Red Mountain Dew into Spence's IV back in the day.

And maybe Ellie's too (even though she's never had an IV)...

Truly my dad is amazing and I am grateful for the way he raised us and the values he taught us.

We love you Dad/Grandpa!

Happy Father's Day!   

PS  Glen's dad is awesome too, but because he's a bit more camera and travel shy than my dad,  we don't have any recent pictures of him.

Never mind...Grandma Peggy just sent us one!  
Here is Glen's Dad.  We don't see him often, but love and miss him! 
Happy Father's Day!  

PS#2  Glen's Father's Day post will come another day

father's day in four word sentences

Don't feel like blogging.  Hate falling behind.  I need more sleep.  Father's Day was good.   Don't want to miss.  

Here it is: 


Just returned from trip. 

Kids surrounded him.

He got hugged.

Best. Card. EVER!!!

Traditional candy bar note. 

Glen is AWESOME!!!!

The end. 

In the Beginning....

1  In the beginning Cami created baked treats that were tasty and fattening, and behold they were good.

2  And the Mom and Dad were without form, and a little squishy; and a double chin was upon the face of the man. And the bars of chocolate and cookies moved quickly off the plates of the house.

3  And Lara said, Let us be light: and throw away the sweets.

4  And Lara saw the new ab definition, that it was good;

5  And Lara called the lightness Glen and the fatness she called past.  And the morning was shredded wheat and the evening spinach smoothies.

6  And Lara said, Let there be a permanent change in the midst of the family, and let us keep the squishiness far from belly of the man. 

7  And then the evening and the morning came of the day of the Fathers.
  

8  And in the days of old the children of the man would made one great sign; a sign so great that behold it was filled with bars of chocolate and nuts, and the sign would spell a message to the man that would bring a smile to all who beheld it; yea, we ate much chocolate also.

9  And Lara said traditions are good, but, yea, what about Glen’s hot bod?  Behold my children, it is forbidden to fill a note with the syrup of corn or the canes of sugar.   

10  And the evening and the morning brought much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth among the children of the man; behold, they said, what about our tradition?  Yea, it isn’t fair. 

11  And Mom said, Let us not be as great whales, and other large creatures.  Yea, Let the children bring forth abundantly the healthy foods that hath life, and keep the tradition, but not with butterfingers and snickers, but with Cheerios and chapstick;  

12  And Dad snickered a little, but praised them, saying, Behold, I am full with fruit, and behold my cup overfloweth with Goldfish crackers and dried fruits.  Behold, I share my bounty. 

13  And, the children of the man were filled with happiness and with the M&M’s from the man's trail mix. Yea, their joy was full. 
 
14. Lara beheld their joy and the joy of the man and thought that it was good.  

15.  Then  three and forty days had passed and Lara saw the sign, that it was no longer great; that it had become an unsightly beast in the bedroom of the man. 

16.  Whereas in days of old, the fruits of the board were consumed with much flourish, but behold this board was as a leprous limb fallen off to defile the corner; discarded and forgotten and causing the woman much travail.    

17.  And Lara commanded,  saying, Thou shalt rid thyself of this object of uncleanness.  Yea, two days hence thou shalt take it to the borders of the yard and toss it into the depths of the container of filthiness where much stink doth defile our noses.

18.  The children of the man rose their voices in a chorus of great contention; fighting mightily over ownership of the box of juice.  Behold great lamentations arose and the woman rose her voice in yelling and righteous swearing and behold the contention ceased. 

18.  Then Lara heard the quiet and saw the empty corner, that it was clean and undefiled; and saw that their bellies were unsquishy.  

19.  And Lara smiled and said, Now it is good. 

Candy or Vegetables for Father's Day?

We have an annual tradition in our family that each Father's Day the kids make the sweetest Father's Day card EVER for Glen. I don't remember how it all got started, but it's something they look forward to all year.

They love the wild and crazy candy buying spree I send them on where they get to pick whatever candy they want, they like coming up with the creative phrasing (especially when they think it'll make him laugh {which is always}), but their very favorite part of all is when Daddy finishes reading the card and shares his sweet stash with everyone!

As fun as it is for everyone, I've been a little worried about how unhealthy our tradition is, so I've been thinking of some ideas to make it a little less caloric. Below you will find our actual note from this year followed by a possible healthier version we could try next year. Let me know what you think.

Without further ado, here is the masterpiece from this year (humorous insults and all):


Dear BABY RUTH,
Thank you for taking us to HERSHEY Chocolate World. I hope next PAYDAY you will give us each 100 GRAND so we can fly to the MILKY WAY. That would be MOUNDS of fun. Sorry we don't ever think you'll get over your BUTTERFINGERS until the next ECLIPSE. (That gave mom the SNICKERS). If you run a lot you will take a FAST BREAK. While you CRUNCH on this candy, we will be ROLO polos sitting around doing ZERO, zilch, nothing!

Love,
Your 5 KISSABLE kids

PS You sure got a SKOR on candy.

********************************************************************************

Here's the healthier version.



Dear Glen GOURD,

Don't TURNIP your nose, but we decided that we need to SQUASH our candy bar note tradition so you can BEET those love handles once and for all. We're glad you don't have any CORNS on your feet, because that would really make us ARTICHOKE. We think that you are PEACH-y and that you and mom make quite a PEAR.
If you CARROT at all you will LETTUCE go PEA before we LEEK all over.

Love,

Your 5 little COCONUTS



I think it's kind of fun and catchy, but I'm worried that it may end up a little heavy with 5 coconuts taped on. What do you think? You can totally feel free to use this stellar idea yourself if you want...I don't mind at all. What kinds of Father's Day traditions do you have in your family?