My Beautiful Family!

The Gus and Peggy Chappell Family

The Chappell Grandkids

From Beyond

No one can tell me that our loved ones aren't present in our lives after they pass on to the other side of the veil. I have witnessed the loving support of my dad time and time again over the last two and a half years. I KNOW he is still with us, still watching out for us, and still loving us even now. I miss him everyday, but I am comforted by his continued presence in my life.

Last year I went back to college. Before he died, my dad encouraged me to go back to school, and I don't know if I would have gone back after all this time if it weren't for his encouragement. This may sound funny, but I say a prayer before every test I take, and I ask that my dad might help me during my exams. I have felt him with me in the testing center at Weber State, and I have answered questions correctly that I know I couldn't have got right on my own. I still talk to my dad everyday. I jokingly tell him that it's because of him that I'm having to learn all this stuff, so it's up to him to help me out. We're both getting a college education :)

This semester I am fortunate to be taking an English class with my daughter, Alyssa. I have enjoyed having her with me in school. I never imagined I'd be going to college with my kids. Our last assignment was to write a seven page paper on six of the essays that we have read so far this semester, and connect the essays with a common theme. It's been many years since I've had to write a paper of this magnitude and I was a little intimidated. One of the requirements for the paper was that we had to have a "hook" that introduced our theme and captured the readers attention. I have pondered and worried about this paper for six weeks. One night a couple of weeks ago, I went to bed with questions about the upcoming paper running through my mind. That night, as I was sleeping, I had a very vivid dream about what the hook for my English paper should be. In my dream I was talking with my dad, and he suggested that I use my seventh grade teacher, Mr. Dyson as an example and that I could bring in the mnemonic device that Mr. Dyson taught me over thirty years ago. When I woke the next morning I knew what my hook was going to be, and I knew what my theme was going to be.

Today, we got our papers back. Before our teacher handed back our papers, she went over some of the things that the class did right, and some of the things that we still need to work on. As she was talking about the "hook," she said that she wanted to read the class her all time favorite "hook". She told the class that it was the best hook she had read, out of all the classes she is teaching, this was her favorite..."Kings Play Checkers On Fine Grain Sand is a mnemonic device that represents the order of animal classification. This mnemonic stands for Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. My 7th grade science teacher taught me this saying over thirty years ago, and I remember it after all this time. My science teacher knew how to bring learning to life, and he opened the minds of his students to all kinds of new possibilities." This was MY hook! The hook I dreamed about...literally, my dream was the mnemonic for animal classification, and the influence Mr. Dyson had on my life. Which led me to my theme...how individuals are influenced by their teachers. Again, I was reminded of my dad's continued guidance in my life. Because my hook was so random, and far out there, I KNOW that this was one of those situations where I could not have come up with the theme and hook for my paper on my own. I KNOW it was through my dad, in a dream, that I was inspired to write what I did. So today, with gratitude, I say GREAT JOB GUSTY for another paper well written! All those years ago, you were so great to help Paula out with her essays. She always managed to get an "A" on the essay that the two of you wrote together (and inadvertently so did I, because I copied her essays two years later!) Now I guess it's my turn to be inspired by your brilliance! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

My paper was on the influence a teacher can have on person's life. For me, the greatest teachers in my life have been my parents. I'm so thankful for my mom's patience and selflessness. I'm grateful for the moral lessons that my dad taught me through his stories of "Once upon a time in old Lyman town, there lived a boy named Angus". I'm thankful for the love of a family, and for the gift my family is in my life.

I might seem off my rocker and up in the night for having conversations with my dad. But I dare anyone to tell me I'm imagining his continued presence in my life!

Christmas memories 2010

Wow another Christmas has come and gone! I've enjoyed my time off from school, and have enjoyed having my kids home with me. I spent most of the last week being very sick, so that kind of put a damper on my holiday. Other than being sick, our Christmas was very nice. The kids seemed to really like their gifts and spending time with cousins. Christmas this year was so much less stressful thanks to Lor having a paying job. I know Christmas isn't about the gifts or spending money, but lets face it...having some money during December does help. We were happy to have Ryne (our foster son) with us on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, and hope he enjoyed his time with us also. I'm sure it wasn't the same for him without his own family, but I hope we were able to make his holiday happy anyway. My washer broke down the first week of December (very poor timing), so that's what I got for Christmas. Our new washer and dryer (I had to have a matching set!) were delivered on the 23rd and I love them!

I went with my mom and Shaylee this year to the luminary at the cemetery. The people at the Valley View Memorial do such a great job at lighting over 4000 luminaries every December. This year the rain had extinguished the majority of the luminaries, but my mom and I got Dave's and my dad's lit back up okay. I made a homemade ornament to hang on the tree at the funeral home in memory of my dad. I burned his name into some wood, which was something my dad did all the time, so I thought it was a fitting tribute to the old boy.

My brother Scott wrote a poem about my dad this month also which I'm including in this blog...Scub I hope that's okay. I loved your poem and think I should share it. No worries, this blog is mostly just my own little blog and is only shared with a few select people.

Gusty

A man of many attributes for which he could be named
But among his most loved, the moniker, Gusty, with fondness was proclaimed.

For within his character, affection so profound
That to be his recipient made you feel more important than any king crowned.

He is my Dad, the great man, Gusty,
A collector of all things sentimental, old and rusty.

You see he didn’t value gold, silver or money
Only that in this world that is sweeter than honey;

“The best things in life are not things,” he would often relate.
Pearls of wisdom, that only now that he’s gone, I truly appreciate.

I miss my Dad more than words can express,
But I take comfort knowing he’s in a better place, nonetheless.

Time goes by and some memories fade
And for all his shortcomings, well, they are simply outweighed

By the legacy he has left me with and example above all,
But let’s not forget “Lyman boy stories”, “pop the kitty,” and oh yes, “stinker ball.”
Scub

Christmas Eve was spent during the day in Logan with the Pace clan, where we had a great lunch, and then exchanged white elephant gifts. It was great to watch Jeff open a dolly that says "mama"! The boys got to do the dishes afterwards and they were hilarious as they sang slave songs while they washed. Of course a trip to Logan would not be the same without William's famous blessings on our car as we get ready to leave.

We always open P.J.'s on Christmas Eve, and an ornament that Grandma Chappell gives to the kids every year. Caden and Shaylee put out cookies and milk for Santa. This year he got graham crackers and milk because I was too sick to frost the sugar cookies. Once again Caden could not sleep to save his life. But he was lucky enough to be awake about 1 a.m. when he heard Santa out on our roof! He said that he would never forget that experience! He was so cute, and I love that Santa is still real for my little guy.

Christmas morning our power went out about 6 a.m. Because all the kids sleep with a fan going, they were all awakened by their fans turning off. It was too dark to open presents so I told them all to go back to bed for a while until we could see what we were doing. I was lucky enough to get about an hour and a half more sleep. Cado and Shaylee woke me with the news that Santy had been to our house and that he even wrote them a little note. We got up and had our breakfast, a must at our house before opening presents. Then the kids lined up at the top of the stairs until they got the go ahead to go downstairs and open their presents. Caden and Shaylee are so fun to watch on Christmas morning, and I think everyone was happy.

After opening our gifts I went back to bed for an hour or so (sick as could be), while the kids played with their toys and electronics. We left for West Valley at about one and spent the rest of the day with the Chappell's. My mom always does so much to make the day nice for everyone. We had a great dinner and opened presents. I love spending time with my mom, brothers, sisters, and their families. I wished I had felt better, but it was fun to watch the kids play and listen in on everyone's conversations. Family really is what this life is all about!

This year I am so thankful to a Heavenly Father that hears and answers prayers, and for the birth of the Savior. I'm thankful for my wonderful family...children, husband, mom, brothers sisters, nieces, nephews, in-laws, and friends. I'm thankful for the plan of salvation, and for the resurrection. I thankful for the knowledge that I have that I will get to be with my Dad and children again. I'm thankful that I know my Dad is still with me, and know he had a great Christmas too.

2010 in review

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Milestones

I think it would be wonderful if I were better at writing down the important events in my life, and in the lives of my children.  There have been so many milestones during this year and I haven't recorded many of them.  I wish time didn't have a way of getting away from me.

Alyssa graduated from high school, after much pain and agony!  Seriously, there were days during her school career when I thought I would never see the day she walked down the isle of the auditorium to receive her diploma!  She worked her butt off this year and was so beautiful on the day of her graduation.  She struggled through a math disability that was not diagnosed until after she graduated, and she suffered from depression and anxiety but she stuck through all the hard times and made graduating a reality. I'm so proud of her! She painted a huge mural for her high school and had an article written about her in the local paper.  She received the award in her art academy for the best portrait painter.  She's active in church, and just did a drawing for the Relief Society that is being displayed at our ward.  She's very involved in the Great Life Foundation, and just finished a painting for them that they commissioned.  That girl is one talented artist! She's also very busy writing a book.  Alyssa enrolled in college at Weber State University and is almost finished with her first semester and is getting really great grades!

Jeffrey moved again in April to live in New Orleans until September while he installed security systems.  This was his third summer away.  I always miss him so much when he's away from home.  I suppose it would help if he would actually check in now and then, but he's not very good at that. When he's away he does call and talk to his dad on occasion about the latest video game or computer part.  And on rare occasions when he is having a medical problem or a girl problem he will call and talk to me about it.  He built himself an awesome computer while he was gone and it has a very large monitor.  It's also very loud!  Now he's back home again and I love having him around.  At times he's a tad loud and a lot messy, but I love his company.  He is such a good boy!

Caden finished up second grade, which was so sad because he doesn't get to take Mrs. Hoffman with him through the next several years of school.  That woman is the perfect teacher!  Caden was diagnosed with a reading disability during 2nd grade.  More than likely it's dyslexia but the testing people don't put labels on a disability like that.  He is really struggling, and I don't know how to help him.  He started 3rd grade and has a teacher named Mrs. Pales.  So far, not impressed.  Alyssa had her too, so I speak with experience when I say she doesn't much care about the kids problems and trying to help them through their problems.  Poor Cado is just getting left in the wind in her class.  He's such a bright boy, and I just have to figure out what the best method of teaching him is.  He loves art, his sister Shaylee, swords, video games, and his pal Jesse who we babysit every day before and after school.  

Shaylee started kindergarten!  Bah ha ha, so sad!  I have wanted to freeze that little girl in time from the moment she was born, and keep her by my side for eternity.  But alas, she is growing up way too fast.  She loves kindergarten!  Her teacher is Mrs. Dollof.  There is a boy in her class named Riley that she adores.  The two of them have play dates after school and they run into each other all the time at the McDonald's play area.  She loves the social aspect of school and she loves learning.  She is very good at doing all of her homework.  She tells me stories all the time about what she learned in school, and she sings the most adorable songs.  One day this fall I was out picking an apple off of our tree and Shaylee asked me if it was a "Granny Smiff (Smith)" apple...ah how precious is that?  She even learns about Granny Smith apples at school.  Mrs. Dollof is absolutely wonderful!  How thankful I am to teachers like her (and Mrs. Hoffman) who love and care about their students.  

The major milestone in my life this year is that I went back to college!  It was so scary!  I haven't been to school in 23 years, and I was so nervous.  I blame going back to college on my dad.  So for what it's worth...Thank you dad.  I have wanted to go back to school for many years, but have been too afraid of failing.  In 2008 on one of my visits to my dad at the care facility he was in I was giving my dad a foot rub. He told me then that I should go back to school and become a nurse.  He said that I would be very good at it, because I was compassionate.  I told my dad that I was too scared and that my Jeff was in college so that would just be nuts.  He told me that I didn't look like I was old enough to have a child in college and that I'd fit right in.  Over the next year and a half I thought many times about what my dad said.  With Lor's job situation over the last year, I just got tired of everything and decided I should take my dad's advice and change my life by taking control of it.  So I'm enrolled at Weber with my daughter (now I'm old enough for a son and a daughter to be in school)!  And so far, doing very well.  

I also got to quit my job at TSA, which was one of the best days of my life!

 Lor got a new job and it's going great for the time being.  He travels a lot, or is working all the time.  His office is an hour away from here so he puts in some long hours.  I'm finally able to breathe again, and I'm enjoying the steady pay check.  We went way too long without being paid from the other company, and it's not easy to live like that.  I know Lor works hard and I'm thankful for everything he does for our family.  In September we celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary.  Lor surprised me and took me up to Park City for an overnighter.  We went to the Park City Hotel and stayed in the largest suite they have.  It was so beautiful and peaceful and I wasn't ready to come back home.  I enjoy stolen moments with my Lor, and wish we had more of them together.  I'm thankful for the happy memories we have together, and for the life that we've built together over the last 23 years.  

 Cado was so brave!  What a stud!  Danz also knows how it's done!








                  The awesome Chappell's balancing a log!                                

                                  playing spoons :)

          Mom, Me, and Paula.  Thank you mom for the memories!

                                          Paula's family

                                Priceless!  Oh how I love her!

My mom arranged a Gus and Peggy Chappell reunion for the family this year.  We went up to the Church Girls Camp in Heber Valley overnight.  It was so great and we all had a wonderful time.  The facilities are awesome!  We were able to do a confidence course as a family and most of us were able to climb a huge pole and do a zip line at the end of a rope that we walked across.  Caden amazed me...at only 8 years old, he climbed that pole and walked across that rope without any fear at all!  I was so proud of him.  I found the experience terrifying but oh so fun!  We played games, ate good food, went on hikes, and made beautiful memories with family.  I'm sure my dad would have loved it!

There have been many milestones for me and my family this year.  I'm so thankful for the lessons learned and the blessings in my life.  Most especially I'm thankful for the love of a family!

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