The Aftermath....

So it's been hard to sit down and do another post...it's like I'm putting Val on the shelf next to all the old posts just sitting there, gathering dust.  I don't want to do that.  But the necessity of those of us left in this mortal coil is that we have to move on.  Life is about moving on.  Doesn't mean we have to forget, and we don't, but we have to move forward.  As I watch Colt mourn, the good moments are starting to outnumber the bad...but there are still times when I enter the room and catch him stopped in the middle of doing something with tears rolling down his face.  He was so close to his father and Val's death has hit him so very hard.  It is hard standing by and knowing there is no way that I can make it better.  We wives just have to stand by and let time--that incessant moving forward--ease their hurt.

November trudged on, not stopping to honor the fallen unfortunately.  We did have some moments of joy, though.  Rodas, Noah and Sage (13!) celebrated birthdays and Noah was baptized into the LDS church.  The baptism was beautiful, and a sweet balm on the open wounds we all felt at missing Val.  I think it helped us all, a bit, with that moving on part.

I want to do a post on being a non-member raising my kids in the Church, but my one brain cell is not up to it tonight.  It will be coming though...

Thanksgiving was beautiful, and spent with my folks in Grand Lake, CO.  It was nice to spend some time with my parents and also gave my Mom and me time to hatch a new business concoction:  selling her incredible handmade moose, snowmen and santas on etsy.com.  So, if you have noticed the new addition to the blog's sidebar (scroll down, you seriously can't miss the monstrosity) you'll find an "I sell on Etsy" link that goes directly to the shop called Mountain Thyme Collections that I have opened to sell Mom's awesome crafts.  She really is incredibly gifted (none of which drifted into my genome) and I simply love her creations. I hope they begin to sell well, especially since many of the items have taken over our spare bedroom. (0:  Eleven things listed...two hundred more to go.  Seriously. (0:

October was just as eventful as November, with Wyatt celebrating a birthday and Colt having some pretty intense knee surgery.  It's been 8 weeks now since the surgery and he has been without crutches for two days.  He looks like a baby taking his first steps and it is hard to not help him, but the doc says he needs to put weight on it now.  He has had trouble with his quad "waking up" and so has been in therapy for the last three weeks where they have been working it and giving it electrical shocks to get it going.  It's going now, but the progress is still slow.  Colt's been pretty patient and done fairly well, but I have to say that I SUCK at being a nurse!  And, I HATE COMPRESSION SOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!! (0:

As Christmas careens closer, we finally seem to have entered winter.  It is white all around, I've been stuck in our driveway twice today and shoveled three times (though you can't tell), and Jasper is merely two ear tips swimming through a sea of snow.  Finally!  We so desperately need the moisture...it is a wonderful early Christmas present!  We went to get our Christmas tree Saturday after I worked in Steamboat at the World Snowboard Race to the Cup (I was a gate judge halfway up the ski hill and it was pretty cool watching close-up some amazing snowboarders from all over the world).  It was white-out conditions and we only had an hour before dark, but the kids and I donned snowshoes (Wy went on his XC skis) and boogied to find a good one.  Within 30 minutes we had found a beauty, cut it down and had it loaded.  She's an absolutely beautiful sub-alpine fir (my favorite, Colt's least favorite) and fits us perfectly.  Now she is lit, decorated, and finally, 'tis the season.

From our family to yours:  Have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2013!  May it be full of good health, laughter and love!!!!!!!!!

Mr. Crutches

Happy Halloween!  Complete with Harry Potter, Hermione, a  Dementor and SpiderGirl

Rodas has now surpassed everyone in the family--including Colt--for the largest  gap in her mouth (three teeth lost this Fall and counting...)

Jasper stared intently at the Thanksgiving stuffing for five minutes, willing it to come to him.  It didn't.

Crazy little dudes ran the Steamboat Springs 4.6 mile Turkey Trot.  Brrrrrrrrrrr.

Little Princess turned 5!

Tse and Jasper with my parents' dog, Tinker.  Pretty awesome front yard, eh?