August 22
The angels are always near to those who are grieving, to whisper to them that their loved ones are safe in the hand of God. ~Quoted in The Angels' Little Instruction Book
On Monday night we received the sad news that Marisa and Kayla’s friend, Jeff Hasara (16 yr old), had lost his battle with cancer. They were devastated. I think our whole ward was. Jeff was diagnosed last year with a bone cancer when he received x-rays for a broken arm. Many boys in our ward shaved their heads along with him when he started chemo. Eventually he had to have his arm removed hoping that it would get all the cancer out. It didn’t stop Jeff. He was snowboarding, surfing, skiing, and even hunting. The tumor returned and became so large it broke through the skin. The doctors finally said there was nothing left for them to do. His testimony is incredibly powerful. If you go to this website you can read his testimony and see his pictures.
On Wednesday, a huge benefit was held for him at the Mongolian Grill called “Hu Hot”. The youth from all 3 wards were there helping to sell leis and Hawaiian shirts (all Jeff’s favorites). All the profit from meals and products they sold that night went to the fund to help the family pay the enormous amount of medical bills.
We went to the viewing on Thursday. Tyler and Alayna had never been to one before and I felt it would be a great teaching moment for them. When Jeff’s dad came to give me a hug he broke down in deep shaking sobs and I just lost it. All I could think about was how much this family was hurting, but how grateful I was for this amazing, inspiring teen whose influence will last in my girls memories forever. Once again, I never want to know how it feels to lose a child.
At YW this week they had leaders there to talk with the youth. On Wednesday, the 1st day of school, all the teens wore black ribbons around their wrists in his honor. The girls went to the funeral and I think it was good closure for them. The entire chapel and gym were filled with family, and friends from the high school. The family is burying him in Utah on Tuesday.
Causing a scene at the hospital
I took the girls to get their physicals and flu mist the day before school started. They did fine until they had to get the finger poke done for the blood work. Now, the last time we did this Marisa passed out at the doctor’s office. So, she looked woozy, but I was watching her very close. As we headed down the skywalk to the parking lot, both girls sat down at the same time on a bench. Like I said, I was watching Marisa because I was afraid she would faint. I looked over to check on Kayla and saw her eyes flip up in her head; she tipped over slamming her head into a pole, and collapsed into a heap wrapped around the pole before I could even get to her. It scared me to death, but I think it scared her even more. People were rushing to help us and a cop and nurse were on the scene within minutes. That’s the advantage of passing out in the hospital. They wheeled her up to the dr in a wheelchair and she looked exactly like her vampire picture but without the golden eyes. When we got to the room they checked her blood pressure which was only 80/56! It was at that point I realized Marisa wasn’t with us. I found her in the lobby, slouched in a chair looking super pale. What the heck? Anyway, they kept both girls there for about 30 minutes until they could get Kayla’s blood pressure up and stabilized.
School started
School started on Wednesday and we were all still in shock that it’s that time of year already. Seriously, where did my summer go?? Everyone was excited, but nervous. Everyone reported a very successful day and we are all looking forward to a fun filled adventurous year.
I took some pictures of my classroom too.
(Helping set up the classroom)
Saturday
Bob made some awesome homemade pizza sauce (7 small jars). We also canned 4 jars of just tomatoes this week. I think they are starting to slow down. We deep cleaned the house, mowed both lawns, did the grocery shopping, etc. Its always such a busy day. We also went to out to exercise: Bob and Alayna rode bikes on the nature trail while the rest of us played tennis (trying to get Tyler ready for Monday).
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