Megan's Farewell

I remember very clearly the day my oldest sister Jami went into labor with Megan.  I remember Jami was pretty scared!  But she did awesome, and Megan was born a beautiful, healthy little girl.  She was my first niece, and I like to think I took to being an aunt quite naturally!  :)  It doesn't seem that long ago that Megan was just a little girl...but somehow she's become a beautiful young woman.  Megan always wanted to serve a mission, and when President Monson announced the age change for missionaries, Megan was ready to go!  She submitted her papers just as soon as she was able to, and received her call to serve in the Alabama Birmingham Mission!  Her report date was October 2nd, and her farewell was scheduled for September 29th at her home ward in Parker, Colorado.  

September was an interesting month for us, with Danny having had surgery.  We obviously knew all month long that Megan's farewell was coming up, but we just weren't sure how to get there.  Should I take just the older three and go with my Mom?  But could I leave Danny, still in a sling, to take care of Luke on his own?  Should I take Luke and go with my Mom?  How would Luke handle the travel?  Should we all just go?  Should none of us go?  I can't describe how difficult this decision was for me.  There was more than once that it had me in tears!  I wanted to badly to be there, but I didn't want to put my family in a position where we paid too high a price for it.  Obviously, Megan and Jami understood that we had an interesting situation, and were fine with whatever we chose to do.  But that really didn't make it any easier on me.  We prayed about it, but couldn't seem to come to a decision.  Finally, just days before we needed to leave, we decided we were going to do it.  We were going to put our whole family in the car, drive to Denver, support Megan and her family, and it was going to be awesome!  I'll admit, both Danny and I were a little apprehensive.  The kids hadn't been on a road trip this long in a couple of years, and they were out of practice.  And Luke had never done a trip like this!  So we packed his Ativan, just in case, and decided to make some memories. :)

We left on Friday morning, and my Mom came with us.  Really, I think that is what made the whole trip doable.  Having a parent or Grandma next to Luke and in the back to help the kids was invaluable.  Once we were all packed and loaded up, we hit the road!  Everyone was actually pretty excited!

I wasn't feeling very well the morning we left, so Danny and my Mom handled the driving.  When Grandma Candy was driving, Danny was happy to be in the back with Luke.  Is there any question of paternity here? :)

For as worried as we were about how Luke would handle the trip, he quickly put our worries to rest!  He absolutely LOVED it!  He was happy to just watch Wyoming go by...which is saying something!  This poor kid has spent way too much time in a hospital room if he finds Wyoming that enthralling.

The trip to Jami's was mostly uneventful, save some awful traffic in Fort Collins.  Which is the worst place to get slowed down.  We were so close, but so far away!  We finally go there, and the kids scattered.  Getting the girls out of the car was about the last we saw of them until it was time to load them back in to go home!  They adore their time with Lily and Bowen.  And Danny and I love that Lily loves taking care of them!  Being an aunt is the best...

This was the first trip to Jami's that necessitated a hotel stay.  We've finally outgrown everyone staying at Jeff and Jami's!  The girls stayed there to have sleepovers with Lily and Bowen.  Jeff was kind enough to book us a room at the nearest hotel, and we were so appreciative.  It gave us a place to take Luke for his much needed naps.  We had two queen beds in our room, which was perfect.  Danny slept with Luke in one bed, and Johnny and I took the other bed.  Yeah...romantic, huh?  Well, Johnny was pretty excited about having me all to himself! :)

The next morning, Saturday, was pretty low-key.  The kids were having a ball dressing up and playing together!  I just can't get enough of these kids...

Being at Jeff and Jami's is almost like a mini-vacation for Danny and I.  The kids are constantly entertained and taken care of by our nieces and nephews!  It was a much needed break for these two exhausted parents.

And I have to say, Miss Sophie Anne decided that even though we would be spending her birthday in the car driving home, she wanted to go to Denver no matter what.  She's such a sweet girl!

As the morning progressed, we tried to decided what we were going to do with the kids that afternoon.  We bounced around ideas like the zoo, the aquarium, and other such activities.  Then, my genius big sister had an idea.  It was close to Halloween, so Costco had all their costumes out.  For the same price as the zoo or something similar, we could go get the kids a dress-up costume and take them to the part to play pretend.  Genius!  We took the kids to pick out their costumes, and picked up some rotisserie chickens and rolls for lunch.  Jeff and Jami knew of a great park that they affectionately refer to as "The Hand Park".  Apparently, there's a giant hand statue.  Anyway, the kids were so excited to get dressed!  Johnny was the Hulk, and it think he fits the bill...

We brought along Ace's boccie ball set, and everyone enjoyed a few games together.

Except John.  He threw a fit because he was too hot in his costume.  This shot was priceless!

Claire and Bowen were Power Rangers, which I find funny on a couple of different levels.  First of all, weren't the Power Rangers way cool back when I was in grade school?  And second, Claire had already picked out that exact same costume for Halloween.  I guess she is really digging the Pink Power Ranger!  Sophie picked out a cute cheerleader outfit, and she was adorable.

We all enjoyed the amazingly beautiful fall weather.  It was the perfect afternoon to be at the park.

Notice the hand? :)

We enjoyed Saturday night together, watching the Relief Society broadcast and getting ready for the next days' festivities.  Mostly, we watched Megan stress over her talk. :)  We all got a good night's rest, and before we knew it (or Megan was ready), it was time for church!

Megan did awesome!!  I never expected anything different.  She had a fair amount of non-member friends there, and she did her job as a missionary-in-training, for sure.  We were so proud!  After the block of meetings was over, we met back at Jeff and Jami's house.  Megan was going to be set apart in their home, which I thought was SO COOL!  It meant all of us family that were there to support her would be able to be there for the setting apart.  

We sent the little kids upstairs, and equipped them all with iDevices.  Best. Babysitters. Ever!  

And the rest of us gathered downstairs, while we awaited the arrival of the Stake President.

Megan was pretty excited!

Megan's blessing was beautiful.  And most importantly, especially to Jami, she was blessed to complete her mission and return home safely. :)  I can't remember now if it was before or after her blessing, but the Stake President encouraged each of us to give Megan some advice before she departed for the mission field.  The Spirit was so strong, and it was incredibly emotional.  Ace couldn't even speak, and instead just ran and gave Megan a big hug.  It was such a precious experience, and one I'll never forget.  

Then it was party time!  Well, at least time to eat.  Which amounts to the same thing in my book. :)  Jeff's mom, aunt, and sisters managed the relish trays.  They were, um...how do you say?  Amazing!  And gorgeous!   

And Jeff smoked one of his amazing briskets.  Seriously, we all ate ourselves sick!  It was awesome. :)

Poor Chance wasn't feeling very well that night.  He had a wicked cough.  We rubbed him with some Breathe and Peppermint, and put some Lavender on his feet.  Danny was laying upstairs while Lukey played, and Chance just kind of wandered up and laid down in Danny's arms.  I'm telling you, Danny just has "Daddy" oozing out of him!  Chance was asleep in no time flat.  Which was fine...until Luke noticed that someone had stolen his spot!

After the food was eaten, most of the crowd dispersed.  After that, we just enjoyed the evening.  We were heading back the next morning, and no one wanted to go.  So we pretended we didn't have to! :)

Luke was having the time of his life!  It was so fun for us all to see how well he was doing.  And Jami told me later that Luke added such a special spirit to the weekend.  He is a living, breathing miracle.  Seeing him reminds everyone of the power of prayer, and how merciful our Heavenly Father can be to His children.

I also have to say a little something about Jeff's parents.  Jim and Jannet have been a part of my life since I was just nine years old.  They are two of the most loving, giving, gracious people I have ever known.  They have taken me into their family on numerous occasions, opening their home and their life to me.  They have supported me through the good times and the bad.  And Danny and I don't get to see them nearly enough!  It was wonderful to spend the weekend with them.  The Lord really does put people in our lives for a reason.  And Jim and Jannet have been a gift to me in more ways than I can count.

I say it every time, but it's true.  We try and try to keep the time from running out, but no matter what we do the time to say goodbye always comes.  And we hate it every time!  It wasn't quite as hard to say goodbye, since we thought there was a decent chance of seeing Megan again in a week when she reported to the MTC.  But it still wasn't easy!  We are so proud of Megan, and know that she's made the right decision in serving the Lord.  Birmingham better look out!  They're getting one of the good ones...

We are ever so glad that we made the decision to take the whole family to Jeff and Jami's for this very special weekend.  The kids did great on the drive back, and we were no worse for the wear...which is saying something!  I suppose we'll find ourselves back here in 18 months for part two of this post... the homecoming!