Spring

Here's a few pictures of our Spring of 2008. We've been busy but we are doing really well.

Enjoy!

I was so Touched

As you can probably guess from my earlier entry about Peaches, today has been a long day. Monday's always are. Piano, house cleaning and now 2 math tutor students. I also had my in-laws over to dinner. As I sat down at 7:30 pm to tutor my second student I felt pretty overwhelmed. Life has gotten to me lately. Business has been pretty stressful and it just happens to be that time of the month. I just tried to focus on Algebra with my cute student.

When I came out of the office at 8:30 I saw Kyle standing there with a big smile. I went upstairs to find the kids so I could put them to bed. As I rounded the corner into the laundry room, I saw the transformation. The laundry room had about 6 loads of clean laundry piled on the countertop when I started my tutor hour, and now none...thats right NONE!! Every piece folded and put away. I started to laugh and then I started to cry. Then I laid my head ond the countertop and cried really hard. Then I hugged everyone and they cried too. I can not believe how loved I am. Thank you Kyle and kids for loving me enough to do LAUNDRY!!! I love you guys so much my heart could just burst!!

Good Bye Peach

Tomorrow is the day we are going to put Peaches down. She has lasted almost a month since we found out about the cancer. It's never a good day to call and schedule an appointment for your dog to be put to sleep. She is suffering now. The tumor is large and she can not eat dog food anymore. She doesn't even run out of her dog house when we come out. We spent this afternoon letting her run around the yard, play with the kids. A lot of neighborhood kids came and said good bye. I've answered a lot of questions about death and cancer. Kids just can't seem to wrap their arms around death. Maybe growning up doesn't make it any easier.

Tonight we had Kyle's parents and Kanice (Kyle's sister) over for dinner and family night. Kandice was Peaches original owner. She has always loved Peaches. She let Peaches come live with us when she went away to college. Thank you so much Kandice!! We all went around the table and shared memories about Peaches. We then had family prayer. We've had an outpouring of love and peace in our home. I'm thankful for a loving Heavenly Father...He cares about all of our sorrows.

Wish us luck tomorrow.

Childhood Memories

I'm a little late on this tag...Oh well I've been a late on a lot of things lately. Except Parent Teacher Conference this morning to which I was exactly 24 hours early!!!

I grew up in a small town in Northern Utah. It was an extraordinary town. Not a city, but a town. One of those places that people know where they're from and are very proud of it. I grew up in Hooper. I was related to most of the town and that made me an "insider". I lived on the same street as my Grandparents and 3 of my Haws uncles and their families. It was the kind of place where "everyone knows your name."

Our street was a quiet street. Very few cars traveled 4600 S. There was a sign posted that read 35mph. I looked at the sign many times wondering if it was really necessary on a street like mine.

I had one fabulous older brother, and 6 amazing little sisters. There was always someone to be with. It was the kind of childhood with magical summers. We would go swimming at Grandma's pool every day. We played Marco Polo and our favorite...SHARKS!! After we were wrinkled like prunes we would head back to our house. On my way past the garden I would be reminded of my favorite lunch...tomato sandwiches. If you've never had a Hooper Tomato warmed by the sun and salted to perfection, well you've never lived! I would pick a couple red jems and head for the house. After toasting my bread and aligning my tomatos just so I'd head for the family room. We loved sitting under the swamp cooler feeling it's cool breeze. There I would sit, watching Matlock and eating. Of course I was never alone. I always had a sibling or two to sit in the breeze with. Oh how I love the smell of swamp coolers.

There were so many things to love that I hardly know where to start and I could never find a way to end. Rootbeer on the top deck of the House Boat, football games in the Shiffman's yard every day, Hoooper on the 4th of July, riding my bike with no hands, Disneyland and the 3 Musketeers, Beach Houses, cleaning with mom (so I could get private time to talk), Valentine Dances, Daddy Daughter dates, a big green van filled with laughter and fun, I was truly blessed to be a Haws.

How can you measure a childhood? With Love!!! These experience would mean very little if they weren't little packages of love in my past. Each experience occured with people I love and who I know love me. My parents worked tirelessly to give all 8 of us the most amazing start at life. They taught us to share, to obey, to work, to play, to pray, and most of all to Love!!! To love ourselves, to love each other and to love the Lord. I am eternally grateful for the childhood I had. I am thankful for the sweet memories that are like old friends waiting to be visited.

Quick Up Date

Quick Up-Date

-Still Jogging
-Started Swimming
-Going Biking
-Feeling Crazy
-Not Lazy
-Tutoring Again
-Primary Singing
-Phone Ringing
-Laundry, Laundry, Laundry
-Biggest Loser on Tuesday Nights
-Glad the sun is shining bright
-Love my Friday night date
-Reading Ramona Quimby age Eight
-Sunday was long
-Ate too much cake...how wrong
-House keeping
-Dryer Beeping
-Little bodies to clean
-Baths for me...what a dream
-Reading about loving Vampires
-Working on Business
-Loving life
-Wanting a Vacation
-Disneyland Calling
-Hopefully Backyard getting Walling
-Book of Mormon at Night
-Everything feels just Right!

Valentines

Attention Cyberspace: I LOVE KYLE EARDLEY!!! (Updated on Valentines 2011)

Happy Valentines Day Kyle...I love and adore everything about you!!

Love,
Sunee

Loving Peaches

 Just a quick update on Peaches...she seems to be about the same as last week. Although she is receiving a lot of extra love and hugs. We had a great day with her on Saturday. We hiked the Red Hill. Thank you for all of your kind words, it means a lot.

 

Peaches

"If only I can be the kind of Person my dog believes I am!"

Peaches is a dog among dogs. She is gentle, kind and loving. She is adored by the kids and she adores them right back. She never barks at night. She is never aggressive or even wild. She is happy to do whatever you want to do. She is clumsy, a terrible swimmer and just plain wonderful. She is Eliese's best friend.

On Sunday James noticed that Peaches' mouth was swollen. It began to look like she had a golf ball in her mouth. When it wasn't better on Monday we decided we had better take her to the Vet.

Kyle took Peaches to the Vet today. Peaches has Cancer. She has a very fast growing tumor in her mouth. The Vet said that probably with in one to two weeks, she will no longer be able to eat and she will have to be put to sleep.

Today has been a very sad day. We have cried and cried. Everyone except Peaches and Eliese are very, very sad. It really breaks my heart to see Eliese just happily playing with her dog. The kids are taking this really hard. They cried with real sorrow. The have experienced real love and now are experiencing real grief.

Maybe we are given pets to teach us love, patience, and responsiblity. Maybe they come to us to teach us the important lessons of death and grief. Dogs usually only live about 12 years. Peaches is almost 12. Kyle has made the comment often that dogs do not live long enough. Maybe they don't so that we can practice knowing death. Tonight has been a good opportunity to discuss that plan of happiness and the Savior's gift.

And so to Peaches...We love you! You have been a very noble, good dog and friend to All.

A New Kind of Excersize

I love running. Kyle and I have really found a great hobby. We love the runner's high and the pounding of the pavement. I love the emotional stability that it gives me. All of my problems seem to disappear a couple miles into a run. Not to mention the health benefits. But running is a little hard on a body. My leg is still bugging me a little. So....we are changing things up a bit.

Saturday we went on a long bike ride. I've never been a big biker. I feel somewhat clumsy on a bike. I guess it takes some practice (I hope practice will solve the problem). Anyway we had a great time!!! Lots of miles in way less time than running. It was fun!! Plus my leg felt great afterwards. Maybe biking will be a great addition to running!

Star Wars

Tonight Jeff and I were building legos together. Jeff had built a Star Wars ship. He said, "Mom will you build a house for my Star War's Dude". (Where did he learn Dude???) Before I could even answer he said, "Oh, it can just be a house, I forgot you don't even know about Star Wars". I laughed really hard as I told him that I had seen the Star Wars movies when I was little. I happen to know quite a lot about Star Wars.

Kids are really funny and quick. Apparently mine already think they know more than me. Maybe they do...I'd better stay on my toes, they are just getting smarter!!!

President Hinckley

My emotions have been so near the surface all weekend. I was a little late getting the TV on for Pres. Hinckley's funeral. When I caught the first glimpse of the conference center it looked just like General Conference. Then I realized that the beautiful display of flowers in front of the potium were sitting on the casket of our prophet. I immediately began to cry. It just hit me (again) that our beloved prophet has left this mortal life.

President Hinckley has played such a large role in the church for a very long time. He was so visual through both Pres. Benson and Pres. Hunters presidencies that I do not remember this church without President Hinckley. He is so loving and good. So Christlike and kind. I loved his humor and his testimony. He was so positive and always believed everything would work out. I loved his love for all of us. I never got to meet him, yet I knew him and knew he loved me. I am so greatful to be a member of the church, that we have a prophet of God on the earth.

Thank you Pres. Hinckley for the life you led. Thank you for giving all that you have for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you for touching my life and making me strive to be better. Thank you for loving me. I love you and will miss you. I hope you recieve all the happiness our Father in Heaven can give.
All my love...

Music

Shouldn't life always have background music?

Enjoy!

Blogging

I was thinking about blogging as I posted my latest entry. I was thinking to myself, "Do people really get sick of my Smile Boxes? Would they rather just see a few pictures?" I've also been wondering if my use of ... gets annoying to others. I guess the true question is, Do we blog to keep track of our own lives and memories, or do we blog to stay in touch with others? I think the answer has to be both. So I will tell you why I enter so many smile boxes. (I have no idea why I use ... so much, I guess it's what I type while I'm thinking?)

When James was a baby we were living in Provo. Kyle was still going to BYU. Provo has to have been the birth place of modern day scrap booking. I literally lived 1 block from Pebbles in My Pocket. I was fresh out of college, had 1 baby and absolutely nothing on which to use my mind and creativity(what little I possess). A friend showed my scrap booking. I think she thought I was from another planet...how could I have possibly lived these many years and never known about stickers, paper, layouts... I fell in love. James's darling face came to life on my cute pages. I kept getting better and better as I got ideas from others. My mom warned me that a few kids down the road and I would not have enough time or energy to keep it up. She also said the later children would feel less loved as their pictures were stored in a shoe box, not on scrapbook paper. "No", I said, I would vow to scrapbook everyone!!

Well I just happen to be farther down that kid road my mom talked about. With 4 kids and everything that comes with them scrap booking had come to a dead halt. I had kept up until Eliese was born. It was really stressful because I love Eliese and she is darling and deserves a place in the scrapbook. Kyle told me I should turn to digital. Rindi did a lot of research and also went digital. With help from Rindi, I found "Smile box". It is my answer to scrap booking. If I just enter pictures onto my blog, the scrapbook question is not solved. And so my finished products usually find their way onto my blog page.

I am loving blogging. I love having a running journal of our regular life. Our life looks so happy on the computer screen that it is actually making me a better mom. I want to be the person I see smiling with her kids. I am also loving the relationships I am able to have with all of you. This is a wonderful new hobby. Can I keep it up forever?? Who knows but hopefully I can keep it up until the next wonderful replacement comes along.

PS Is Pebbles in My Pocket surviving with all of the digital? I hope so, at one time I sure loved that store!

Family Night

Monday was Martin Luther King Day. For many it was a holiday, not Kyle. When you're self employed sometimes you take days off that others work, and work when others are off. Well I wanted to do something special with the kids so we decided to go to the city swimming pool. As a kid, I used to love going to swim at the Roy Complex in the middle of the winter. I always thought it was sooo fun to swim when there was snow outside. My parents did a great job putting on activities for our family. The task of getting 8 kids ready to go swimming in the middle of the winter seems overwhelming. They pulled it off in wonderful style. Thanks mom and dad for the great memories. Hopefully Monday night we produced some for our kids. We had a "swimming" time.

The Craziness Continues...

I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger...and maybe addicted. Kyle and I have become addicted to running. We ran the marathon in October and can't seem to get it off the brain. Yesterday we ran the 1/2 marathon in St. George. There were about 1800 runners. It was so fun. A marathon kills you, a half is just plain fun. It is 13.1 miles and we loved every minute. As an added bonus, Stalee (my sister)and our sister-in-law Amanda trained and ran with us!! I loved having them running! Thanks to all those who supported us. We Love You!