Life, death, grief, gratitude, thanks

I had two written blog posts waiting to be finalized - one about how we're having another girl (!!!) and the other about how crazy life has been and all the ups and downs and how we finally moved back down to Provo and how nice it is to have life settled again. 

Then life - and death - really happened.

A week ago Friday, we found out my dad's cancer had spread to his liver and lungs. On Saturday we made plans for his care for the next few weeks/months and talked about Christmas. On Sunday morning, my mom called to say we needed to come say goodbye. Tim and I waited for Georgie to wake up and gathered what we'd need to stay the night. We made it to the house by 9:30 am; my dad was gone before 1:30 pm that same day.

I am still reeling from the shock of it all, still discovering what I am feeling. The sadness comes in waves, and the sting of reality hits me at odd times. Still processing. And will be for a while, I'd guess.

For most of last week, while we planned and wrote and cried, I felt so much gratitude. Gratitude for my family, for all the support and love we were receiving, for my dad, for almost seven years beyond his diagnosis, for the gospel, for temples. Gratitude that my dad didn't suffer for long, that he didn't struggle at the end, that we got to be with him, that Tim was prompted to come into the room at just the right moment to be there with me and the rest of the family for those final moments, that my dad is free of pain and impediment and frustration and disease. I was given so much peace, and still am, but the grief is finding a stronger place with me now, too. I expect this week will be harder than the last one, in some ways.

So thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers and kind words. Thank you for your love, for me and my family. Thank you for your support. I can feel it, and I have felt it over the last week. It means so much to me.

Home Makeover: Landscaping Edition

Earlier, I mentioned a massive landscaping project at my parents' house this summer and now I am finally putting it into the blog log. (There are a ton of pictures so be ye warned.) Here's what happened:

My mom has a friend, Celeste, who works for Tuck Landscape (which is owned by her son-in-law Robbie). My mom mentioned to her that she'd like some trees to create a property line in the backyard and could Celeste help with that? She took the ideas of trees to Robbie and he said essentially, "Nope, we're not just doing trees. We're a landscaping company - we're going to landscape. Here's your budget." Celeste is an amazing person with incredible energy so it took her no time at all to start running with all the possibilities. Our down-the-street neighbor Ben also works for Tuck Landscape and between him and Celeste, they starting planning. And contacting. And soon they had crews donating their time and companies donating their equipment and a huge renovation planned for a single Saturday.

Here are some before pictures:

From the street, including the gravel and boulders dropped off to us the day before the 

Backyard, including the sad little trees along our property line that did not survive

 Backyard looking up the hill

 Along the side of the house

 The front

Then on a Saturday in July, the workers showed up bright and early and the work began! It was the most incredible thing to watch everything get pulled up and replaced so quickly. The crews were amazing!

Some (just some!) of the full-grown trees they brought.

Everyone came to watch and help!

 And the finished product? Absolutely gorgeous! The front:

 Along the side

Brand new privacy fence and pavers

The front corner from the street

 Another angle of the front corner

Another angle along the side

And the backyard from three different angles

In that last pic you can see the pavers they put down to extend the back patio. So, pavers, a privacy fence, flowers, a new sprinkler system to replace the broken one, less grass (so less water needed), and TONS of trees and bushes including two huge pine trees, two small pine trees, a flowering plum (the tall one in the last picture), three oak trees, and three maple trees. Plus they scattered 5 lbs of wildflower seeds over the hill next to our house. Can we please just agree that this is beyond incredible? The yard went from being nice to gorgeous in a single day and all because the people at Tuck Landscape are awesome. We were and are so grateful to everyone who came and created such a beautiful yard for my parents. Thank you thank you thank you!