Goodbye Grandma Ria

 On the evening of April 11th we received a very late phone call.  And if it wasn't for Keira, who cried in her sleep, waking me up 5 mins before hand, I'm not sure we would have heard it.  But thankfully I was awake and noticed that Larry's phone was vibrating on his night stand next to our bed.  At first I didn't think anything of it, but after a 2nd phone call came through a few minutes later I gave Larry a swift kick to wake him up.

It was his brother Doug.  Candace had come home that evening to find her mom had passed away after her final heart attack.  Grandma Maria had endured many painful surgeries, tests, ambulance rides, diagnosis, and even the brutal honesty that her previous surgery 3 months before was not done correctly and there was nothing the surgeons could do to help her.  At that point, she was on borrowed time.


She seemed to be doing well with these new doctors.  Many other problems had been solved and she had planned on going home to see Grandpa Bruce to make arrangements to move closer to a large city with trained doctors.  Something that would be good for both of them.

But unfortunately those plans were foiled and Grandma Maria went home to our Father in Heaven.  She had expressed many times that she was weakened by her ailments, and couldn't hold on for much longer.  Her short 53 years on this earth had taken a toll on her.  She was worn down.  Now she has peace, a healthy body that no longer slows her down and many past relatives to visit with.  This is how I picture her.


We are all deeply sadden by these turn of events.  It will be strange to not receive the Christmas holiday box filled of goodies she has scoured her little town for special presents for the grandkids, or letters for the grandkids with $1 bills adding up to their age for their birthday, or to hear her usual request for detailed information on the growth and news of each of the grandkids and desire for a stack of pictures to be mailed for documentation and grandparent bragging!!

Least to say, she will be missed.  I wish I knew more stories of her ingenuity, warmth and kindness to share with my young children.  However what I can tell them are her love for her pugs, her keen eye that could spot a garage sale a mile away, her taste for good home cooked Mexican food, her wealth of knowledge of children songs that she sang in English and Spanish, her unwaivering testimony of Christ and her desire to keep those families ties double-knotted and tied tight.  I'm sure I'll never do her justice, but I will always remind them of how much she loved them.

Rest In Peace, Maria Lucille Garrison Ogburn
(October 16, 1957 - April 11, 2011)

10th Anniversary

10 years ago today Larry and I entered this stunning temple in Los Angeles, California amid the pouring rain and were sealed together for all time and eternity.  We have been so blessed with 5 amazing kids, a strong friendship, a deep love for each other and a shared focus on a Christ-like path for our family to follow.  All though these years have seemed to go by quickly, in turn they have also gone slowly.

We celebrated with lunch together, flowers for me, a candy bar poster card for him and a date set for Saturday night to an expensive Steak Restaurant.  I'm sure others might think we should do something more glamorous but with the young ages of our kids trips and expensive gifts will wait for the 20th anniversary, maybe.

Emma The Soccer Star

 Together Emma and Daddy

pair up to play soccer!!

 Emma was ecstatic to find out that

Larry would be her coach.

And grateful she could reap the

benefits by selecting the

team color and name!!

When Dad and Mom were kids

we had these great signs that

showed the team spirit,

made super photo opportunities

and helped the team find the

field they were playing on.

Oddly enough we are

the only team that has one.

Maybe we'll start a trend?

Time for some warm up stretches

& jumping jacks before the game.

Another mom made these cute

hair bows that matched

their uniforms! 

Gooooooo HEART ATTACKS!

Coach Larry!
Many of the parents commented

that they were happy to see 

Larry was more into letting

each girls have equal time out

on the field so they could

get the proper experience

and not about winning.

Because if we were about "winning"

he would leave Emma in the whole time.

In the picture above it's Emma watching

another one of her goals go in.

Not only does she score every game,

but she has even scored 6 goals

in one game!!

The cheerleaders!

Ben and Sydney have fun climbing around

the stadium seats, passing a soccer ball

and finding friends at other fields

they can go say "hi" to.

Dan likes it too, as long as,

mom is feeding him snacks or pouring

water on his head to keep him cool.

The same goes for Keira!

Coach Larry hands Emma the ball

so she can throw the ball in.

Hi Emma!!

Temptation

Bribery.

I'm not above such things.

Especially when it comes to

trying to get my 8 month old

to move his chunky body!

Gosh, you'd think we were torturing him!

I'm the meanest mom around!

I think I have a picture of

everyone one of our kids doing this.

HA HA HA!!

It's really very strange how each child

as taken longer and longer to start

the process of rolling, crawling

and walking.

You would think it would go

faster for the later children

so that they can keep up with

their siblings.

Oh well, I'll just cherish it,

since Dan is officially our last kid!!

Luck of The Irish

 We are one lucky family!!

And it's even better to know

that my kids agree.

Emma filled out this paper

the week we celebrated

St. Patrick's day.

It reads:

I AM LUCKY BECAUSE...

"I have a baby brother

and I have a great family too!"

We feel pretty lucky to have

a girl like you in our family!!

Drama Queen

 When this little princess

doesn't get her way,

like getting to watch one

of her favorite tv shows...

...you can expect to see

something like this!

Then after explaining to

a stubborn toddler that

you have to wait your turn,

which of course brings on

more crying...

..eventually when their favorite

episode is turned on for them

you'll once again have a happy child.

2 year olds are sooooo

BIPOLAR!

We love you Miss Curls!

His Sunday Best

Daddy was very impressed

with how sharp

this little man looked

all dressed up

for church!

He just HAD to have

a quick photo shoot.

Benjamin Lee  4yrs old

March 8th Taco Bell Day

It's Grandpa Thomas' birthday celebration

AGAIN!

All of the grandkids from my side

 of the family take our troops

out to eat at Grandpa's

favorite fast food joint.

The older kids scarf down

their favorites of nachos

and chicken & cheese

soft tacos.

The unadventurous Keira

sticks with her usual.

And likes to share it with Dad.

 

Dan was most upset that he

couldn't figure out how to work

that straw!

 

And he also kept eyeing my food.

Until just the right moment...

 When mom wasn't looking

and he went for it!

I'm sure WIC would be 

OK with us feeding our 8 month old

this healthy delicacy!

Right?

Happy Taco Bell Day

Granntie!

Shamrock's

 

Sydney was completely relieved when 

she found out her team donned

colors no where remotely close

to pink and purple.

 

 If I remember correctly she picked the

number 5 because there are

five kids in her family!

 

 Time for a warm-up lap around

the field.

It was very windy and super cold.

Larry gave Sydney one of his jackets

until the game started.

 The gang is all here!

Our family makes up about 1/2 of

the crowd.

Poor Dan was super tired.

Craving a nap.

But he stuck it out for the first half

and then I drove around the parking

lot once until he fell asleep.

Then I parked next the field and watched!

Sydney did great for her first game!
She even kicked the ball many times,

got it away from a few opponents

and had a fun time.

We can't wait to see what

the future games will be like.

SprINg CLeAinG

6 trips to Lowes later

and Larry made me a

highly functioning laundry room

and closet!!

He added these great slated shelves,

that can easily be moved around and

taken apart if we need to move the

washer/dryer.

Larry also added a 2nd lower shelf

that is much easier to reach!

A new set of drawers to hold

the family shoes.

We put the shelves just high enough to 

house the 5 gallon buckets of pantry

foods underneath of them.

And now the infamous...

closet under the stairs!

Room for the vacuum, the kids summer

school work drawers....

and then buckets full of my craft stuff.

Plus just enough room for the drawers

full of coloring books, craft paper,

kids paints, stamps, crayons and markers!

I could sit in front of these rooms and

just stare at them.

But alas, there is more work

to be done.