Xander Turns 17!!

Happy 17th Birthday to our Xanderman! As I like to say, he was the world's worst baby that turned into the most amazing young man. Xander is our gentle giant who loves football, reading, and getting good grades. We celebrated his birthday by attending his football game so he could be on the sidelines with his team. It also happened to be Pee Wee night so Ciara was there to cheer during the 3rd quarter. The parade started things off!

Boy, it really hurt to see my #57 on the sidelines, knowing how much he was wishing he could have been playing.

Yay, I caught a smile. I'm sure he was so happy to finally be out of the house and around his teammates!

The cutest little cheerleader around!

The other little girls were so jealous that Ciara got a picture with one of the football players, ha ha!

When we got home it was time to open gifts!

Some of his favorites this year...

We always love celebrating our Xander!

The Rest of September

This cute kid decided to go to Homecoming! He's definitely looking sharp!

All he wanted for dinner was McDonald's so that's where I took him. He then met up with friends at the dance which was held out on the track due to remaining Covid restrictions. Thank goodness the weather cooperated and he said he had a lot of fun.

Taking each day at a time when it comes to the loss of my dad.

Enjoying the incredible beauty of this earth.

Coco was our house guest for a week while the Clarks were in Florida. Cleo is always thrilled to have her...at first.

I love how snuggly and cuddly Coco is.

Plus she was all about trying to help me win in Rummikub.

Saying goodbye to a dear friend and coworker, Karen. I am truly going to miss her - she was so fun to work with and was always making us laugh. She and her husband decided to move to Florida because she wasn't too hip on being forced to get the Covid vaccine to keep her job. She and I were the lone hold outs until David lost his job and I became the sole breadwinner for our family. I hate that this is what our country has turned into, forcing people to do something they don't want to do just to remain employed.

Hangin' with my favorite guy, even if it's just shopping at Target!

Xander's Surgery

Wednesday, September 15th - Xander had his surgery. I had to work so David sent me updates on how things were going. Pre-surgery...

post surgery.

I don't know what we were thinking but we made no arrangements for help to get Xander from the car into the house. All of a sudden those three steps from the garage up into the house seemed insurmountable with his crutches and how tired he was and the pain he was feeling. David, Noah, and I tried everything we could to help him but  he is just too big a guy so eventually he just had to sit on his booty and pull himself up the stairs. Ugh, I felt so bad for him. Finally we got him situated on the couch with some Chick-fil-A to put a little smile on his face.

This surgery was a rough recovery! He had to start PT that very same day, he slept downstairs for over a week, lots of ice was purchased, and his days were filled with movies, books, and trying to bend and strengthen that knee. Two days after surgery David lost his job. Amidst everything that had been happening in our lives, it was tough! However, it proved to be a tremendous blessing, especially regarding Xander; David was able to be by his side throughout the next few weeks and Xander truly needed it.

Poor Xander, life became quite boring. Thank goodness he had a few visitors - Mom came up and played Phase 10 with him and brought him the cutest Get Well box filled with candy "prescription" bottles...

the Clarks came bearing treats...

and McKenna brought him a shake one day.

He missed out on Homecoming which I don't think was terribly disappointing for him but David and I told him we were his dates and we had a fun evening hanging out together.

The last Friday of September his football team's game against Centerville was on TV so we got to watch that. Unfortunately we lost to our hated rival.

He started PT up at the school with his trainer Pat...

and continued working at home. As the days continued it was so rewarding to see him making progress and the healing process coming together. I know he suffered tremendously with physical pain as well as disappointment and sadness over losing his junior season of football but, for the most part, he remained positive and showed such determination to get better.

Life Goes On

It seems like everything should stop, at least for awhile, when a tragedy occurs and yet, life just marches on. Despite the sadness and grief, there is still goodness and laughter. Savannah returned to Southern Utah to start her second year of college. It was so hard to let her go but I know it's the right place for her to be.

Noah shining shoes for JROTC.

We celebrated McKenna's 17th birthday at The Cheesecake Factory. For a girl who loves sharks this hat from my mom was perfect!

And we got to watch the cutest little cheerleader do her thing!