Our Angel Aunt Kailee

My brothers wife Kailee passed away Sept 26. She was 38 years old. We got information about what was going on when she was admitted to the hospital a month prior, but it didn't seem real. She was on life support for two weeks, medications and other treatments were given to her but her body was shutting down. We were visiting family in August and we had no idea how sick she was. The last thing I said after hugging her goodbye was "We'll see you in New York... when you come to visit us."

I never got to spend a lot of time with Kailee. We always lived so far away. She still would send us little gifts in the mail, even when she didn't have to. When we would come home to visit during family reunions she would want to hold one of my little babies-- she loved babies. She would go on about their beautiful blond hair and blue eyes... I just loved that about her. She really jumped right into our family with her whole self, in no time at all she knew all the cousins, aunts and uncles, Grandmas and Grandpas. Kailee and Ryan would drive up to visit Great Grandma Hoopes and travel to family events from Boise down to Las Vegas. She would get everyone something for Christmas... even after one year when we specifically told everyone that we understood that finances were tight and we didn't want anyone to feel like they had to buy a gifts for the extended family. She wrapped up little gifts for everyone anyway! I love that she did that. My brother told me that whenever they drove through Evanston on their way to Star Valley she just had to drop something off at my other brothers home for their two children. She loved giving, even if it was only a small thing... it was special. When we sang "Because I Have Been Given Much" as the opening songs for her funeral I couldn't even sing the words and not think about her. I could not sing at all. My heart was sad about everything. For my brother, for their family, for their children.... I cry and my heart hurts for them.

I am going to miss Kailee.

Bands, Books, and Broken Bones

 We attended the ARMY band concert one evening. It was a fantastic night, but normally it is an outdoor concert with cannons blasting during the "War of 1812" medley. They were worried about rain and the venue was moved to the Eisenhower Hall instead. The boys did well, but a young baby struggled at the end. Luckily we had an exit nearby.

 My Little Bookworm. I can find Brielle in this very spot at different times in the day. She loves to pull as many books as she can off the shelves and sit there and "read". I love to find her there.

 This captures a moment that occurs quite frequently in our home. The boys are ready for bed and decide to karate kick one another. Ben is busy with Legos at the moment and Connor watches from a distance. It's always fun until someone gets hurt....

...AND someone did get hurt! Not by doing karate kicking, but from our trampoline we have only had for a week! The story is this: The boys were showing us their tricks and Brecon out of no where does this backflip. I was impressed but told him not to do it again. Ben pipes up "Tuck your knees next time"... SO Brecon flips again and lands weird on his finger. He was in quite a bit of pain, but Brecon usually sounds like he is in quite a bit of pain so we continued on with our evening, ate dinner, and I sat him down at the piano for a lesson. He yelped and never pushed the keys with his pointer, using a different finger every time he was supposed to play a note. I felt like I was doing a good mother-thing, making sure he practiced his musical instrument despite an injury.
We taped his fingers together and put him to bed and off to school the next morning. Ben picked the boys up from school and called me as they were at the ER. He had felt like with the amount of swelling and the pain from pressure in different spots that there probably was a break. Confirmed and splinted by the Doc, and we were back home. I don't need to say how awful I felt making him practice the piano with a broken finger... That kids is tough, but I felt pretty bad too.