The rest of the story

Thank you to all my friends that have called me, written me, prayed for me, commented on my blog, and sent me messages on facebook.

Your support has carried me the last couple of weeks and I am grateful.

This post if mostly for journaling purposes. If you don't enjoy looking at pictures of caskets then you may want to wait until I post again. Either way, thanks for stopping by.

My mom's funeral was on March 3, 2010 at 11am in Bremerton, WA at the LDS Church on Perry Ave. She was layed to rest after the service at Mountain View Cemetery in Silverdale, WA. It was well attended.

Pallbearers from L to R: Adam Anderson, Barry Sams, Larry Graves, Farrell James, Garen Anderson, Kyle Anderson, Ken Cheney, Ryan Anderson

My family with my dad.

In most loving memory...

My Mom passed away on February 25, 2010. I'm still pretty speechless, nothing I can say would be good enough and I'm not really thinking clearly anyway. I've gone through and found some of my favorite pictures of her. They are out of order, but I love each one of them and will always cherish them. I love my Mom so much and will miss her terribly.

She taught me how to sew.
She taught me how to throw a party.
She taught me how to work.
She taught me how to clean a bathroom.
She made my wedding dress and did all the flowers and catered it.
She made me crazy sometimes.
Sometimes I would cry myself to sleep at night because I was so homesick.
She taught me how to play the piano.
She was completely surprised when she came to my house for Thanksgiving the first time and realized that I can cook.
She was my only beautician until 2002.

Oh how I miss her!

Since I last posted...

Here is a timeline of the of last month or so...

January 28 We found out that my Mom has breast cancer again. It has spread to 7 different bones in her body, including her sholuder, arm, ribs, spine, pelvis and chin. It is also attacking her thyroid.

February 3 My sister had a birthday milestone. HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY WENDI! I love you so much!

More information came regarding my Mom's cancer and her condition worsed.

Ken interviewed for a job in Lacey Washington. (He started March 22.)

We are moving back to Washington, to be closer to family.

February 11, My nephew, Joshua turned 10. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSHUA!

February 24, My nephew, Mark turned 7. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK!

Sometime between my nephews' birthdays, my Mom was admitted into the hospital because he oxygen level was really low. She had a tumor on her thyroid that was making it difficult for her to breathe.

February 25, I tried to call my mom 3 times to left her know Ken was a job and we would be moving closer to home so I can help her and be closer to my family.

February 25, My Dad got home from work and Mom wasn't doing well so they took her to hispital for IVs and Oxygen.

She didn't need oxygen. Her liver was shutting down rapidly.

February 25, 2010 around 8 pm Charlet Ann Anderson passed away at the age of 62.

February 26, 3:30 am, we left Kansas and drove 29 hours straight to get to Bremerton. We picked Gina up in Utah on the way.

Minus the birthdays, February was kind of a crappy month.

Ensign Ranch 2010

I started this post about 3 weeks ago and then became sidetracked with other things in life. We had our annual trip to Ensign Ranch in Cle Elum Washington over Martin Luther King weekend. Here are my most favorite pictures from that trip.

It was the BEST one we'd had so far. I LOVED IT!

All the grandkids that came this year.

I love this picture because my Dad is smiling, my Mom is really happy and the baby just wants to be a part of the excitement.

Ken, my Dad and my brother, Ryan

Ken, I LOVE HIM!

My niece, Regann, moi, and my nephew, Devon

My brother, Adam, his daughter, Kaylee and moi

My most awesome Mom

Happy Birthday Brandon!!

Today my Nephew, Brandon turned 12 years old. I have a few stories I could tell about him but as I have typed them and then deleted them I have decided to make this post more simple. I am not out to embarrass anyone...although in this case it would be pretty easy. :)

I'll just say that he is one of the coolest kids I know. I got to spend a lot of time with him last week, along with his brothers as well as most of my other nieces and nephews and it was party.

Brandon, I love you! You are AwEsOmE and I look forward to jamming with you again soon along with the other 'Headless Iguanas'.

I LOVE music!!

I learned about this guy from my cousin. He reminds me a little bit of Yanni. His name is Maksim Mrvica. He is a Croatian pianist. Enjoy!

Guess Who's 19...AgAiN!!

Today is my Dad's Birthday. He is perpetually 19 years old. He also has 8 children that are older than him and it won't be too many more years before the grandkids start catching up and then passing him. He really is lucky to stay so young.

I'll post my pictures and story tomorrow. My computer is really acting up!! ttfn

*****

The above was accidentally posted on my picture only blog. Since I misplaced it I am going to just finish the post now.

*****

A fun fact about my Dad:

*He's the only person I know that thinks it's okay to leave the car running while he pumps gas.

*****

I've blogged my Dad for Father's Day and for his birthday 2 or 3 times, so I think it's time you get to know him in video...

This is Dad opening his Christmas present this year. We waited 2 months to see his face open this so be sure to watch it. It was a very exciting moment.

While our family was at Ensign Ranch a couple of weekends ago we played spoons. Dad had never played it and was...slow...to catch on. Sadly, he was also slow to grab a spoon and was often found without one. We finally came up with the rule that if you didn't have a spoon at the end of the round, you weren't out...you just had to show off a talent. Below are 2 of his talents.

Ignore the off key part when we decided to help. It's painful, but I guess we'll never forget it now.

In Loving Memory

In loving memory of Robert Kenneth Cheney. January 10, 2002. 1:35pm to 3:15pm. He would be 8 years old. FAMILIES ARE FOREVER!

Accomplishments and Resolutions...

If you'll remember a year ago, I shared that I am kind of anti-New Years resolutions. I typically just try to do new things and stretch myself a little bit. Here are a few things I did this year, that I had never done before...

I went to Oklahoma and Texas. (I LOVE Oklahoma City!)

I entered pictures into the county fair.

I started working at a new school with EMH (Educable Mentally Handicapped) special ed. children.

I cooked a ham...twice.

I started wearing contacts.

Our cat had kittens...I'd never seen/or been a part of the experience before. (It's WAY over rated.)

I survived having a flat tire. (I could have died you know!)

I touched an alligator.

I learned a little bit of photo shop...it was only useful for mocking my friends on facebook.

I took classes at the rec center on ceramics and toll painting. I will be doing that again in the future.

That's all I could come up with. I feel like I am missing a few things, but as you can see, my new experiences weren't anything special...just new to me.

This year I am also going to set some resolutions. 3 that I thought of on my own, and 1 that I am stealing from a friend.

My 3 resolutions...

#1 Visit 3 new states.
#2 Make a pumpkin pie from scratch...I'm also going to grow the pumpkin.
#3 is something that I try to do all the time, but I have to recommit every so often...
Never tell my kids no, when I can say yes. Sometimes no just comes out before I even think about it.

My stolen resolution...
Start what I finish. You can read Kate's blog for more information.

I hope to make my 3 states...Illinois, South Dakota and Pennsylvania.

From our Family to Yours!