Made up memory: Zip It!

As a child, Ben was not exactly a quiet child.

This may be hard to believe for some, as he was a much more reserved teenager and adult. 

Not shy, just not loud.

Polar opposite to him as a child.

I imagine there were many times where mom and dad were asking him to please keep it down, or to use a softer voice.  I know I used my fair share of "naughty words" (i.e. 'shut up'...I know, I am a horrible person)

One day, I imagine he had heard "zip it!" one too many times, and decided it was time to take matters into his own hands.

It didn't seem to help though.

CH-CH-CH-Changes...

WHAT. A. WEEK!

Wow, I don't even know where to begin.

One week ago, we were under the impression that we were no where near ready to buy a house, we were aggressively looking for a new job for Marty (although his current one is a fine job, it doesn't have room for growth which is why we've been looking), were wondering how much longer we'd need to make our van last, and how much longer we'd be living in limbo at my parent's house.

Fast forward a week and suddenly we find out that we actually ARE ready to buy a house (still kind of upset that we were told we weren't, only to find out that not only are we ready, but well above where we needed to be credit wise to be ready...), Marty was offered a job in St. George, Utah that we are accepting and will start April 15th (still not sure if me and the girls will stay here to finish out the school year or not), and we found a smokin' deal on a GMC Yukon XL that we pick up on Friday.

WHAT?!

We had started looking for jobs outside of Utah, wondering if that's why nothing was happening here.  We had resigned to the idea of moving away again, and knew it would be fine.  So when the St. George job came along, we were thrilled.  Because while it is "moving away" from home, it's only 4 hours away, and my sister Emily already lives down there.  So we'll still be by some family!  SO EXCITED!

We have been praying and trying to be patient for things to fall into place for the last year and a half, almost two years.  And everything we tried to do fell through or didn't feel right.  And now in a matter of a week, everything fell into place and feels GREAT.

We will be heading down to St. George next week for Spring Break (a trip that was already planned) and will use a day of our vacation there to scope out houses and neighborhoods to see what we want to do.  Emily is also doing a lot of leg work for us and is a great resource for good areas to look.

I can't even begin to express how excited I am that things are finally moving forward for us after such a long time of working hard and being disappointed!  

We've been stuck in limbo a long time, and it feels good to finally stand up and stretch our backs.

Hooray for positive changes!

Made up memory: Christmas Mornings

Ben, me, and Aspen holding Emily

Christmas mornings were always full of excitement - as they are in every house.  

The excitement would begin bright and early, usually around 3:00 a.m.  Ben was always the most excited, and would quietly wake us up and whisper "Do you think mom and dad will let us get up now?"  

We would send Ben off to ask mom and dad...because we knew they would probably say no, but always hoped that Ben's charm would convince them otherwise.

But he always came back disappointed.

4:00 a.m.:  "Do you think it's time now?"

Off he went to ask the parents, just to be sent back to bed.

5:00 a.m. "I really think they'll let us get up now!"

But he was wrong.  They still wanted more sleep.

So, Ben - being the ultimate master of sneak - hatched a plan.  He would quietly go into the living room to see what Santa had brought, and report back to us.  That way the waiting would be a little easier.

He would come back with his report:  "I saw a bike/giant doll house/cabbage patch kids!" and we would sit and whisper and giggle, all squished in one bedroom (even when we had our own) watching the seconds tick away on the clock until we got the go ahead from mom and dad.

Mom always made us pose at the stairs for a picture before "letting us see the presents."

Aspen, Ben, Me, Emily

We would oblige and pause for the picture, all the while exchanging sneaky glances because Ben had already told us what we were getting.

But mom and dad were none the wiser.

As Ben got older, he tried to act too cool for Christmas, and he would tell us on Christmas Eve to not wake him up, because he wasn't excited and wanted to sleep in.

But sure enough, at 4:00 a.m., Ben would come into our rooms...too excited to sleep...to recruit us to go with him to wake up mom and dad.

And one year, after all the years of begging and pleading, it had finally paid off.  They let us just get up at 4:00.

Even though I'm an adult, I still feel that same intense excitement on Christmas Eve that Ben had, and instilled in the rest of us.  

And I find myself waking up at 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 anxiously waiting for the little pitter patter of feet to come wake me up and say:

"Do you think it's time now?"

Made up memory: Uncle Teasy Pants

Giving Brielle a ride on a nature walk with the family

Ben had a particularly sweet soft spot for the grandkids.  Many times as he was getting closer and closer to passing he would ask specifically about the kids.  He wanted to know how they were doing, what they were up to, and loved hearing any story we could tell him about their antics.  He texted me one time telling me how much he was going to miss the grandkids, and miss watching them grow up, and just how amazing they were to him.

Ben loved visits from the grandkids just as much as they loved going to see him.

All 10 of them had him wrapped around their fingers.  And although the youngest babies didn't get to spend much time with him before he was too sick to do much, he loved them as well.

Poking Brielle and messing with her chair

Ben is - STILL - known and referred to as "Uncle Teasy Pants" around here.  He was constantly poking, bugging, tugging hair, and nudging the kids, he loved to get a reaction out of them.  Almost daily I hear Addison say, "I miss Uncle Teasy Pants.  I so sad he died."  It's heart breaking, but also so wonderful that he made such a big impression on all the kids.

At Sara's concert in the park, he kept tapping the bottom of Claire's chair, and would feign innocence when she would turn around.  Claire talks about this all the time.

Having a conversation with niece Cadence

 One day in particular, Ben was teasing my girls.  Somehow Claire - being a bit clumsy - tripped over Ben's foot and bonked her head on something.  She started crying, and you could instantly see Ben felt bad.  So - despite the pain he was in - Ben had Claire climb up on his lap to console her.

Addison didn't want to be left out and climbed up too.

It seems like a simple thing, having your nieces sit on your lap.  But for Ben, it was probably very painful as his tumors were growing and causing him a lot of pain.  He never let the kids see that he was in pain though.  

They will always remember him as their fun, silly, "Uncle Teasy Pants" who they love, adore, and miss greatly.  He is one of a kind.