The Dudley Bunch

Jul 18, 2009

Summer Fun

Okay, so I have dropped off the planet for the past 2 months...just a note about how crazy things have been for me. We just got home from 31/2 weeks of travel.
A Summary:
11 days of Waterton perfection witht the Dudley clan
- Bears Hump
- Golf Tourny (we won)
- Wall Lake
- Josh's baptism in Waterton Lake
- Cliff jumping and Tim's bruised bottom
- Prince of Wales
- Emerald bay, (swimming), Marquis Hole, fishing (but not catching)
- Cameron Lake
- Bertha Falls
- July 1st parade in Raymond (Kids in the chariot behind the horse)
- lots of ice cream from the Big Scoop
4 days of Raymond/Taber
- chillin, drinking slurpees, swimming, riding horses
2 days in Cranbrook
- having fun with Kristen and the gang on Jim Smith Lake
7 days in Sandpoint, Idaho with the Francis family
- Water skiing, kayaking, beaching it....repeat
Oh yeah, and Cooper learned to crawl and his first tooth made an appearance!
All in all, tons of fun...650 photos later....here are some of my favorites.

May 28, 2009

Family of Seven

It's official: We are now a family of seven...well actually eight (jessica), or nine (blake and jessica). Whatever. We are a huge family now it seems. I always knew our door would be open to anyone who needed us, and over the years we have had our nephew Matt live with us, then his whole family for a short while after they moved back here, then our good friend Brett Ralph while he was here for BSU summer football camp, and Jessica for the past 10 months. In all honesty, I have cherished these times.
This past weekend we adopted...I have wanted to adopt since we got married, and as Tim said, "You always knew you would adopt, you just never knew it would be a sixty-four year old black lady!"
Yep, for those of you who haven't heard the story: Tim served his mission in Independence,Missouri. Most of this mission was spent in the inner city Kansas City. Sister Marie Rose, (yes that is Tatym's namesake...Tatym Rose) was "the one" he was sent to K.C. for....he instantly bonded with her, and was able to baptize her and some of her kids. We have kept in contact with her over the years and got a call from her daughter a month ago. Her daughter told us how ill she has been, and that she just kept talking about "dudley".
After talking with her, we both knew we needed to go get her, and bring her home with us. She is the sweetest, most faithful lady you could imagine, and it has been a huge blessing for us so far.
She flew on a plane for the first time on her way to Boise, and she just kept praying...we are kindred spirits.
When we arrived in Boise, she said she could feel that the Holy Spirit was strong here and she just felt peaceful. She will never go back to Kansas City...I am pretty sure. She wept when we saw the temple and I told her that I would take her up there whenever she wanted. She is in awe of this place, of life here, and she is hoping her kids will somehow find a way out and make their way out here too.
While in Kansas City, we took her daughter Quida, and her boyfriend, her 4 kids, and grandson, out to dinner and to a movie. My kids bonded with hers immediately and I was so proud of how they just accepted them and didn't question where or how they live. It was so great for them to see the differences and have an appreciation for where Sister Rose is coming from. They don't have a car, so it was funny how we managed to fit all 13 of us in the rental van.

Anyhow we had an awesome time in Missouri, we took the kids to Liberty Jail (which we all the loved...the Spirit is strong there), and the Independence Visitor's center, lots of bbq and down home food, and a ton of great experiences...

The kids instantly fell in love with Sister Rose and her whole family, and after our first visit with her in the hospital, as we were leaving, Josh said, " I kind of wanted to kiss her on the cheek...she is sooo nice." So needless to say...she is fitting in just like she belongs.

May 18, 2009

Catch Up!

What's new:
We had family photos taken...I will post some for your viewing pleasure... They are pretty cute, but I realize anytime I see a photo of myself that I am getting OLD!

Josh is 8!!! We had a big birthday bash with his friends, and it was sweet! Except that I lost my cell phone while there...and no it was not returned. Boooooo! So much for my fancy i-phone.

Josh finished second in State for wrestling, and we were proud of him. He did great, and came back strong after a difficult loss to win 2 more matches handily. He proved once again that he is a tough kid...and of course naturally athletic, smart, and determined (he is so much like me it's scary)...tim is rolling his eyes.

Let's see...what else....oh yeah, we are going to Kansas City, Mo this weekend. Tim served his mission around there. I am excited to go to Liberty Jail again, and see some of the cool sights, but the real reason we are going is to see Sis. Rose...a sweet lady Tim baptized. She is awesome, and has lived a totally different life than our family, but we love her and can't wait to see her. She is flying home with us (her first flight) for a while and we are going to see if we can't get her feeling better. She has been sick for the past year, and it is very difficult in innercity to get the kind of help she probably needs. More on that next week.

Finally, I started golf league again. Yahoo. Every Tuesday night, I am swinging away out at Shadow Valley golf course. I still suck, but it is fun to get out. Sally and I have lots of laughs (at out own expense) and it is therapeutic. Tim and I have also been playing in couples chapman's on Saturday nights...super fun, and we have won twice already...hooray for golf...(never thought I'd say that 5 years ago)

Our Story...the short version

Tim and I met in 1994, after his mission while I was in University in Lethbridge. After breaking and entering the Prince of Wales hotel that was under construction in the middle of February, we started spending a lot of time together. ( If you need more info about our meeting/breaking and entering...call me). Tim left that summer to go to Kansas City to take some science classes for Chiropractic school. While he was gone, he managed to get another girlfriend. Needless to say, we went our separate ways...and I was a little bitter. I guess he liked me best though, because for the next two years, he called me anytime he was home on semester break. Eventually he wormed his way back into my heart, and the rest is history. We married in October of 1996, and have been blissfully happy ever since. He is truly one of the best men I have ever known, and a great husband and father. That isn't to say he never drives me nuts...I am only human after all.

Family Vacations

There is nothing better than a family vacation. We have made it a huge priority to take vacations as a family. Not all of them are extravagant. In fact, some of our favorite memories are our trips to Alberta, or to the mountains a couple hours away. But one of our family's favorite destinations is Cancun, Mexico. What's not to love...the beach, ocean, food, and company is always outstanding. We went again last fall and had a blast. The kids were all at ages where we hope they will remember it. We had so much fun playing in the sand, and just hanging out together. The kids all got to swim with dolphins, and I was happy to be the photographer...in fact I may have gone overboard with my 500+ pictures. Here are a few of our favorites. Happy Memories.

Sisters

I have been blessed with 2 sisters. I didn't always think that was such a treat, but as I have gotten older and hopefully wiser, I have come to realize that sisters make the best friends. There isn't anything...(and I mean anything), I won't talk about with my sisters. A couple of years ago, we started having our "girls weekends", and let me tell you...that is fun. Undoubtedly someone is always nursing or pregnant, but it is still a blast. I was even lucky enough last year to be part of Kami and Tonya's births. I have always wanted to be on the other side of labor, if you will, and just be there as a support. Kami gave birth to Kiyomi in February, and Tonya to Walker in July, and I was there! They were both so amazing, and it was so cool to be part of it, and I am grateful I was in a position to go. Anyway...I love my sisters! Blood and all the others I have adopted to my heart over the years.

Family

Not only are Tim and I lucky to have our sweet kids, but we are blessed with great parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews. It is funny to see how big both families are getting. There are soon to be 24 grandkids on Tim's side, and soon to be 13 on mine. It is so much fun to get together with them whenever we can, and our kids have such fun when they are with Grandparents or cousins. It is a real blessing to have so many people who love you, love your kids, and are involved in helping them become the great people you want them to be. I don't think there is any way we can overestimate the value of such support. I am especially grateful that family is always there in the tough times, even more than when it is all fun. Just want you all to know how much we love and appreciate you all, even if we are too dumb to say it very often. There you go...a full serving of cheese. But I really do mean it all!