Day 296 to 330, June 20- July 24

Day 296 to 330, June 20- July 24

Life is hard on the best of days. On the bad days it can be downright painful. This is the reality our parents are living. A lot of good things happened over the past month, but there was also struggle. 

We, as a family, started cleaning out the basement of our parent's house. Years of memories were brought to the surface, a craft room with several unfinished projects was disturbed, and a whole lot of winter gear that was hardly used was sorted. And it hurt. 

We had planned on eventually going through everything in the basement to get it better organized before the accident happened. Circumstance forced us to finally act. The plan is to finish the basement. If rented, it will give our parents some much needed income. 

We spent hours sorting through things. Toys from childhood, beautiful handmade holiday decorations, items of sentimental value, workout equipment, tools, winter gear... We laughed and we cried. The hardest thing was watching our parents give up their old way of life. Jeff's skis and exercise equipment and Annette's projects that she knows she will never be able to finish... Why does it have to be this way?

We had a garbage pile, a D.I. pile, and a storage pile. As they each grew we were surprised to see how much had accumulated over the last 30+ years of our parent's lives. A whole way of life now gone. This new chapter brings so many changes. We hope in time there will be more positives than negatives.

We knew we wouldn't be able to accomplish as much with the grandkids around. We want to give a huge thanks to Joyce and Courtney for helping with the babies. They kept them entertained, fed, and happy as we worked. 

We are also so thankful to Joe and Kristen Green for taking the 4 older grandkids for the entire day. They had a blast and weren't ready to leave even after 9 hours!

While we didn't finish going through everything, we put a large dent in the project and we are grateful for all we were able to accomplish. It was nice afterward to sit down to a meal together.

The next weekend Ryan's family went camping and invited everyone to come to their campsite for dinner one night. Jeff and Annette might not be able to camp anymore, but at least they could enjoy the experience for an evening. Zach volunteered to cook his famous cheesy potatoes that turned out amazing. 

Jeff spent most of the time holding our sweet baby Aspen and swatting away bugs. (Unfortunately, the campsite was right next to a bog that housed far too many mosquitos.) Before the accident Jeff didn't really hold babies when they were so small. He preferred to wait until they could interact with him. 

Brandi said, "Even with the few positive things, it's still not worth it." We all agree, but we also know how important it is to find those little things to be grateful for and make them the focus. 

You never know what the Lord has in store for you, and this was certainly unexpected. Jaxon was sitting at the picnic table with his feet underneath him. When he tried to get out of the bench his feet became tangled and he fell backwards. His head slammed into the cement ring around the fire pit. That is a sound none of us will soon forget. 

A small mercy was that the entire family was there to help with Talon and Tylee while Ryan and Julee took Jaxon down the canyon to get his head stapled back together.

Jaxon was a trooper and didn't even cry as they fixed him up. Nine staples for our 9 year old. 

They made it back to camp just in time for S'mores. We are so grateful he wasn't hurt more seriously and we were pleasantly surprised that he did not sustain a concussion. 

Every 4th of July we go to Uncle Leroy's for a BBQ. It's great seeing his side of the family and spending time together. We are so grateful to them for hosting it each year and want them to know how much we appreciate all they do!

It's a gathering that the kids especially look forward to weeks in advance. 

We hope you all had a fun and safe Independence Day! We are so blessed to be in a country where we can be free and live our lives how we wish to live them. Our wonderful country is a gift from God and we pray our leaders will be guided and directed as they were back when our Founding Fathers first wrote the Declaration of Independence. 

Little Miss Aliyah has had it rough. She has never been the best sleeper and has been on antibiotics for ear infections way too many times in her short life. She was finally seen by a specialist (Dr. Meads, the same doctor who did Tylee's tubes) and it was determined that she also needed tubes in her ears. We weren't surprised. 

Our sweet girl did well during the surgery, but struggled after the anesthesia. She was not a happy camper. 

After two good naps she was finally back to her usual smiling self. Her tympanic membranes were also stretched from the amount of pressure behind them and it will take time for them to get back to normal. We hope she will show improvement in her hearing and will start to sleep better at night!

Little Aspen had a very special day and we were so grateful to spend it together. She was blessed by her dad, Zach. 

Here is what Brandi had to say about it:

"It was a wonderful day and I'm so thankful to have a husband who holds the priesthood and is worthy to give little Aspen such a special blessing. I was also grateful that my dad got to participate in the blessing. I know it's hard for him and he doesn't like to make things harder on everyone. He told me a few days before the blessing that it wouldn't work. I told him, yes it would! He also doesn't like "making a scene" and having others "stare at him." To make matters worse, our ward's handicapped accessible bench is on the very front row of the chapel! So probably for the first time ever a good majority of us sat in the two front rows and there was no hiding from anyone up there! I was just grateful that he came and went outside his comfort zone to participate. I know he did it because he loves his family. What made the day extra special though was all of the family that came to support us. We are so very blessed to have such close, loving, and supportive families. All of Aspen's Grandparents were there and 4 of her great grandparents. It's not very often that children get to meet their great grandparents and if they do those great grandparents are usually in nursing homes and ill. But, not Aspen's great grandparents. She is blessed to have them all in pretty darn good health! I just love having close family and am so thankful for everyone who traveled from near and far to support us and Aspen on her very special day!"

Jaxon was a trooper when Julee took the staples out of his head. His hair was embedded in the scabs and bits were pulled out with the staples, but he handled it really well. It looks great!

Lamb Days is another July family tradition. It celebrates the founding of Fountain Green, a little town just southeast of Nephi. Jay and Peggy restored a house there and we all take advantage of their hospitality for three days each year. Jeff wasn't sure if he wanted to go this year, but with enough coaxing he finally agreed. A huge thanks to Blake and Cherie for all their hard work helping to make it possible. 

Grandpa Jay cooking our favorite curly French fries!

The kids loved the parade. It's always so much fun!

There were 15 of the 16 Page great grandchildren there this year!

We sure love our babies!

We were able to talk Jeff into riding on the side by side! He struggled to enjoy it because of how loud it was, but it ran smooth enough it didn't make his nerves freak out. 

Going to Lamb Days was actually pretty rough on Jeff and Annette overall. As you all know, Jeff is a "goer." He always has been. It was difficult for him to sit still with nothing to occupy his mind. He ended up inside the main house a couple of times just so he could watch tv. 

Another difficulty for Jeff and Annette was their 35th wedding anniversary. They used to miss part of Lamb Days every year so they could go celebrate together. This year it wasn't really even mentioned. Maybe in time it won't be so painful. 

We love our mom and dad so very much and want them to know how grateful we are to have them as our parents. They have given us the greatest example of long suffering, service, and faith. We have learned so much about life through their continued perseverance. If their marriage can withstand the storms they've been through, we know we can make it through anything also if we rely on our Heavenly Father like they do.

We would also like to wish Peggy a very happy birthday and we loved being able to spend that time with her. We love you Grandma Geggy!

The kids sure enjoyed going on rides and having so much time to play. 

After a particularly dusty ride everyone who went came back covered in dirt. Ryan used the air compressor to blow a lot of it off of everyone. Here is the funniest "after" picture:

We also had a family get-together on the 24th of July, Pioneer Day here in Utah. Our reasons were completely unrelated though. We were able to spend time with Tia and Dan who we haven't seen in a very long time. It was great to be able to see them and be together as a family!

We want to give a huge thanks to Max and Stan for taking Jeff mountain biking and spending so much time with him. It has really made a difference in his quality of life. It provides him with both physical and mental therapies and we can not thank them enough for their kindness and service. 

The every day things in Jeff's life are changing again. Some for good, others not so much. 

There has been a new development with Jeff's sores. We are excited for this change because we hope it will lead to better results than past treatments. A wound vac was placed over his hip sore. He will be going to the wound clinic twice this coming week and we are anxious for some good news. The picture below is the device. It's small enough to fit in his pocket. 

Saying that this next change is bad news is really an understatement. We are so frustrated over it, but at this point in time there is nothing we can do about it. Jeff is no longer able to go to Neuroworx because the maximum number of visits allowed for the year have been used. 

No more physical therapy! 

If he had a joint replacement it would be understandable. But to become paralyzed and have such a limited number of therapy sessions? Who made these rules anyway? Because of this change we will either have to raise more money to pay cash for his physical therapy, or pray for a grant of some sort. Either way, it may be a while before he is able to return. 

Please pray with us that we might be directed in what to do next. If you are able to donate to Jeff's gofundme account we would really appreciate anything you could give. Pass the word around for us, please. 

It's not easy to ask for help, especially the financial kind. Unfortunately, Jeff has been placed in a position of complete dependence and there is only so much we can do on our own. We have been so blessed with friends and family who have gone above and beyond for us and we will be forever grateful. 

To everyone who has touched our lives, eased our burdens, and prayed on our behalf, thank you. While those two little words never seem to be quite enough, we mean then from the bottom of our hearts!