Be Not Afraid

This is a picture of the bravest person I have ever met. I know her parents and family better than I ever knew her. We have been praying for her since January, 2010 when she was diagnosed with stage 4 Neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous system. She was just four years old at that time. She was a fierce fighter and always had this infectious smile on her face. She endured more in these 20 months than most of us ever will and she taught all of us who came to love her how to live with what we have, how to continue to give to others during our own trials, and how to suffer with faith, grace and dignity.

I had the honor to be asked to help her family care for her at home in her last days. They did not want hospice care, just a friend nurse to help them with questions, keep them informed of her condition and communicate with her pediatrician for medical needs. They moved heaven and earth so that she could be home, in her own room, surrounded by her loved ones when Jesus took her hand. Her family is amazing and cared for her so well and completely and lovingly. It was a privilege to visit her every day and keep the family updated on her condition. On Saturday, October 22, 2011 at 3:30 a.m., I got the call that I had been waiting for and dreading, to come quickly as she seemed to be going. The day was long and full of sadness, but I fell to my knees at the end as I felt the overwhelming presence of God in her room, with her family and our priest with her. This is the post her grandmother wrote on her Caring Bridge blog:

Katelyn MacKenzie Roker

born into eternal life at 8:47 p.m. . . .

. . . . . . surrounded by her loving family. She had a peaceful and restful death. Thank you all for praying her to heaven.

She was waiting for Fr. Rod, who administered Last Rites. Shortly after, she took her last breath. We now have an advocate in Heaven for us and everyone.

May I ask that you continue your prayers for Jaime, Brian and the boys Zach and Alex. Difficult times are not over.

I want to express my love of you all, many of whom I don't know. This has been an honor and privilege to do these posts and to read all your wonderful, encouraging messages of hope and love. Your words have meant more than you know in helping us get through these past two years.

With tears and much love,

Pat and family

Be Not Afraid. Thanks for showing us exactly what this means Katelyn.

Sleepover

Rita has asked me several times to have a sleepover in her room. It's always on a week night or a night when it is just too late. So when Karl went to Spokane for the weekend on the 15th of October, we had a sleepover in the living room. I pulled the futon down and made up the bed for Rita, Anthony and me. Brendan slept in a recliner. We had pizza and a movie, complete with popcorn and other unhealthy stuff. Rita and Anthony slept well. I abandoned the futon around 2 a.m. for my bed and Brendan gave up the recliner around 3. Next morning, all three climbed into my bed for a snuggle before breakfast. We will definitely do this again!

Hats!

Rita and Anthony love to get into the giant art box at home. So one morning we made these lovely hats. They wore them all day, slept with them that night, destroyed them the next day and got every bit of value out of the approximately 15 cents we spent on them!

Pumpkins

Pumpkins! Little tiny pumpkins! They were supposed to be pie pumpkins. Oh well!

Pre-School!

We started out doing some home-schooling for Rita and Anthony for pre-school this year. But on the morning when Anthony had a caniption on the kitchen floor after I asked him to trace the letter B, I decided we needed some professional help! We enrolled them at "Give Them Wings" preschool, which was something we had considered earlier in the summer anyway. I was blessed that day, September 14th, because by then there should have been no openings left. God must have known I needed help because she had two opening left for her afternoon four year-old class. Sold!

Rita and Anthony LOVE going to school. In fact they are quite annoyed at me on the days when it is not school and I won't take them anyway. They love their teachers and making new friends. Rita is more outgoing and plays with many of her class mates. Anthony prefers to play alone or with Rita.

Here is a picture of them on their first day.

Hockey Hockey Hockey!

If you check back to the summer, I posted about hosting three soccer coaches from the UK for a week. Our friends, Jo and Butch Kowalka heard about it.

They had a dream to bring Junior A hockey to our area, so they worked some magic, and through some blood, sweat and tears, brought together the Glacier Nationals Junior A hockey team. This is the inaugural season for this NORPAC (Northern Pacific) expansion team. I am still not sure how the tier system works. All I know is that Butch and Jo asked us to host a player for the season. I'll just tell you, they do so much for everyone else, we couldn't say no.

Well, one player turned into two and then one night they brought another "stray" home from practice (all with our permission). It has been difficult to find billet families this first season, but I think next year, people will be infected with hockey fever as we are. So we had three for about three weeks and now we are back to the original two. Here is a picture of the three of them in our basement "man cave" we created for them. From left, Paul, Austin and Trevor. It is a frightening reality to realize that we are now old enough to be their parents. Where did young and cool go?

Let me introduce them to you.

Trevor Perry arrived first. A quiet 18 year old from Ashland, Oregon. This is his third year of Junior A hockey, but his first away from home. He is quiet around us, but can be quite passionate and loud when playing any game. The first one of their games we watched on internet stream, gloves off!Trevor is on the right in this picture.

Paul Kinder arrived next from Detroit, Michigan. A gentle 18 year old with a fun sense of humor, he is the opposite of Trevor on the ice, he is not a scrapper. It's just his thing, "I don't fight" is what he told us. This is his first year of Junior A.
About a week later Jo said a 15 year old high school kid would be joining us. Instead they arrived home with 20 year old Austin Willenborg from Dubuque, Iowa. He is a goaltender for the team. He jumped into the role of big brother and Anthony and Rita constantly wanted to play. His bed was under the vent that goes directly into the twins' room. Rita and Anthony removed the vent cover, the one in the basement is waiting to be replaced. There ensued a very loud game of "monster in the basement" with Rita, Anthony and the three boys. Unfortunately, when you wind up a four year old boy who has access to water, stuff happens. I suddenly heard Austin roar "hey quit, that's my bed!" Anthony had dumped a cup of water on the basement monsters. End of game!

So when I tell people that I have hockey players in my basement, and then explain what that means, they think we're crazy. I think we are blessed to have this opportunity to help these young men on the road to their dreams of playing in the NHL. The boys are nice, respectful, stay out of trouble and, except for the occasional reminder to muck out the basement, are much less trouble that most other 18 year-olds we know. We are happy to provide a home away from home for them.

This is the team after their first home victory last night. Visit the team website at http://glaciernationals.pointstreaksites.com/view/glaciernationals to check out what the "Nats" are up to.

Nap Time

One afternoon in September, Anthony crawled into my lap for a snuggle. This is treasured time since it happens less often the older my kids get. Eventually he drifted off to sleep, taking me back in time to the "baby rocking years". It's the best feeling in the world to hold a sleeping child and look at their peaceful faces. Makes you feel like everything is right in the world.

More Pictures From Seattle

Yes, they are a little late:). Here are some more pictures of what we did in Seattle over Labor Day Weekend.