A Birth, a Death, a Disease

For months, I have pulled up my blog and thought, "I really should update this, but what is new and worth saying...Nothing." Then June hit and since then, there has been more than enough to post. In fact there has been so much going on that there has been no time to try and update and I would dare say, there has been a certain amount of physical and emotional exhaustion that has gotten in the way of me really wanting to take the time to post. So tonight an opportunity opened up because I could not sleep! So here I am at 1:15 am reminiscing through pictures of the last three months and wondering how did life take such a turn in such a short time. So here goes, let me start with June! June: In June this beautiful baby was born. Her name is Olivia Michelle Ormond and she has had her dad wrapped around her finger since minute one! Olivia weighed 6lbs 14 oz and was 19 inches long. She isn't as good of a sleeper as her brothers were, but we seem to be managing anyway. She has dark hair and dark eyes and according to the general public looks like Brock, Carson and Aidan, basically she looks like she belongs! All in all, it has just really been so much fun to go girly! I absolutely would not trade my boys and have loved every second of the rough and tumble journey of raising boys, but that being said, who knew pink and feminine could be so much fun!
July : July was vacation month, we camped and camped! First Olivia and I went to cheer camp (she was three weeks old). We got home on thursday and Friday morning drove up the canyon to meet the rest of the family at Granite flats. Even though it wasn't a major Vacation, we still had a lot of fun eating, fishing and swimming. The next two trips were with the Whiteley's. First we spent the 24th weekend at Kaylon's property and the next week was the Whiteley Family Reunion up Provo Canyon. Both were a lot of fun.

August: So then came August. On Monday August 3rd my grandpa Fredrick Robert (Bob) shoell passed away. I can't say that it was a huge unexpected shock, he has been struggling with his health for the past few years, but it was still hard on our whole family to say goodbye. He has been a great patriarch to our family and it is impossible to explain how strange it is not to have him here. I am really grateful for the many times we spent together from family home evenings to vacations and a variety of things through the years. When I cheered he and my grandma attended games, they have both been present at births, blessings, baptisms etc. At every major event in my life, he has been there along with my grandma Ruth Shoell. The night before he passed away, Wayne and our family stopped by just to drop off an invitation for Olivia's blessing. It was later than we had planned, but we decided to stay and visit for a few minutes. I am so glad we did, because he passed away during the early afternoon on the following day. The next day, Tuesday, August 4th, my youngest sister Tiff and my parents met with a Surgeon who had removed a lump from Tiff's hip the week before. The news was not good, the tumor they removed was cancer. In fact it is the same cancer she had when she was a baby (5 1/2 months old). So at 20, life for her has screeched to a halt and she has moved home to undergo a years worth of treatment, including chemo and radiation. She has now had surgery to put in a central line, and her first three weeks of chemo are down. to the left is a picture of the two of us at my Grandpa's viewing, a few days after her diagnosis and to the right is what she looks like now! It didn't take long for that nasty chemo to go to work. I guess hair is an ok price to pay for something that will save your life, but still! Anyway, my boys (Wayne included) decided to show support for Tff by joining the bald club, so Tiff came over and helped give Wayne and the boys a nice short haircut!
So this was our summer, along with the usual, coach-pitch, soccer, mowing lawns, putting up fences etc. etc. As you can tell life has been eventful the past couple of months. A birth and death and a disease has, delighted us consumed us and changed our lives forever.