Canada

I didn't have much time to blog while I was in Canada with my family so I will give you a brief summary of the events that took place as far as I can remember while I was with my family.
The night before we boarded the airplane I had all my documentation in place (or so I thought) I have all of my children's social security numbers and birth certificates placed together with my green card and I had their dad's letter stating it would be fine for his children to cross the border. When I opened my little blue folder I noticed that Abbey's birth certificate was missing. Immediately my mind when back to the summer when I remembered I needed to present it to her soccer coach to prove her age. I did not have time to look for it so I turned to the kids and said.."oh well, let's hope this works" We arrived in Salt Lake and stayed at a hotel, we were all excited so sleep was not on our minds and I was stressed about crossing the border with a child's birth certificate missing. All night long I had dreams that I would not get across the border and that I should have looked in the back of my vehicle because that is where I placed it. We woke up and got ready for our adventure and just before the shuttle left for the airport I looked for her certificate in the back of my car...there it was, I knew at that moment it was an answer to my prayers. At that very moment abbey complained that her foot was hurting and I grabbed the first aid kit out of the back of the car at the same time and put a dressing on her foot. The shuttle was getting ready to leave so I raced out to my vehicle to put it back in the back of my car (little did I know I placed the birth certificate in the first aid kit). If you don't know me and you are reading this, it may seem like a completely air-headed thing to do, however, stress+being crazy busy='s significant memory loss for me every single time...
The plane ride there was completely uneventful which is a miracle in and of itself. There were no delays and we landed on time. The roads were clear for travelling. My dear friend Maureen picked us up and we met my mom, sister Debbie, and my friend Cindy at Maureen's house.

My parents live in Brighton which is a small tourist town right on the shore of Lake Ontario. I grew up 4km from a huge sandy beach and my parents still live in the same house. The smells are familiar and that house gives complete comfort when you walk in the front door.
The first night Debbie's kids and husband Daryl, came over to my parent's house to visit. My dad looked very weak and he was exhausted. He tried like crazy to be funny and crack jokes but his tough exterior no longer exists. He is a 66 year old man inside of a 95 year old man's body.
The most amazing thing to me was watching my mom in action. She has never been to nursing school in fact she dropped out of school when she was very young to help support her family. She fed my dad high protein foods and checked his B/P daily. She made him put his own socks on and get up and down quite frequently to prevent muscle wasting. She is amazing and taught me that the only qualifications you need to have to be a nurse is to care about the person you are taking care of.

So the first day we did not plan to do very much at all. We were tired and the object of this trip was to give my mom some relief and create some memories with my dad that my kids would remember forever. Both of my parents speak with a very strong Irish accent and sometimes it is hard for my kids to understand what they are saying. I love to watch my parents interact with my kids, there is nothing that makes me happier than that. Aaron came running upstairs one morning as I was getting ready with a huge grin on his face and said "I was just eating cereal with grandma and she turned to me and said, Aaron, I love you guys so much" My parents have never had a ton of money, but they have huge hearts that love many many people.

Ok, I am tired and I really need to get to bed, I will continue this blog another day, hopefully soon so that my memories are still fresh in my mind.

My family

Over the next couple of weeks I am going to be in Brighton, Ontario, Canada. That is where I grew up and where the rest of my family lives. I love my family, they are all unique individuals that when put together equal a lot of fun.

Michael Davis Boyd

He is the funniest of us all and if you want to read more about him you can check out one of my previous blog entries. He is awesome and has taken care of all of us in some way over our life span. He is the head of our household and not one of us would disrespect him on purpose. That is all I will say about him, like I said, if you would like to read more then check out my previous blog.

Irene Phyllis Boyd

If there was one word to describe my mom it is fire-cracker (I know that is two words but I joined it with a hyphen). She is full of energy and does not stop moving. She is very funny and not on purpose, she just comes off with these goofy things and does not realize how funny she actually is. My mom had a rough start in life when she lost her mom at the age of 5 but she has pulled through like a trooper and does nothing but give 100% of the time. Truly an amazing woman with a heart of gold.

Terrence Robert Boyd

This guy is definitely the alpha male of the siblings, he takes on the role of being the lead and makes sure that everyone is taken care of. When Terry, Mike, and I were walking home from school one day, mike and I called a girl "fatso"-rude, I know. She chased us and was totally going to attack when she caught us. Terry grabbed her and flipped her over his back and broke her collar bone. We had a bunch of bullies follow us everyday after school until Terry turned around and wacked them with his lunchbox on the head. Terry is an amazing big brother and would go to bat for me anyday! When Terry laughs immediately tears roll down his face and he has a hard time telling the rest of the story. Terry's family includes, Heather, his hot little woman with Cameron, Hannah, Caitlyn and Clover as their children.

Michael Phillip Boyd

Michael is the quiet yet very methodical one. When dad was going through his radiation treatments, this guy took off everyday to take him to the kingston cancer center, which is about an hour drive. Micheal acts pretty tough on the outside but underneath it all is caring and giving. He is also an awesome big brother. I love how Mike's girls tease him, they give him a run for his money and he totally loves it. Mike's wife is Bonnie and they have two beautiful girls, Britany, and Kaitlyn

MEEEEEEEE -enough said, I have my three children, Cierra, Abbey and Aaron.

Deboragh Sheila Jane Boyd

I remember the day that mom and dad brought Debbie home from the hospital, I also remember the day that she was admitted to the hospital with her second round of chicken pox. I remember the day she politely said "you stepped on my toe you F'ing kid" (I did not spell that out to spare you the details) or the time that her young boyfriend leaned over to kiss her and put his hand in dog poop instead. There are not too many memories that I have of my childhood that do not have Debbie in them too. Debbie loves to laugh and she has a very infectious laugh. That is how I know I am home, when I hear her giggle. Debbie is not only my sister but she is my best friend. I love to spend time with her and to this day I still take great pleasure in teasing her. Deb's family includes Daryl-one of my favorite guys in the world! with children, Bridger, Porter, Jazzlyn, and Keely.

Christine Elizabeth Wilamenha Boyd (lisser)

Lisser is amazing, she had a rough start when she was born she was premature and weighed 1 lb 8 oz. The doctors told my mom that she was not going to make it through the night, her tough little spirit pulled her through and she is the most amazing person I have ever met in my life. Christine does have some residual developmental problems from being premature but she has graduated from college and works as a volunteer teachers' assistant for Brighton public school. All of her life skills came much later than that of the milestones but if you have the opportunity to meet her she will instantly touch your heart in ways that words cannot describe. She is very quiet until you get her talking and then you might just as well sit down because you will be there for a while. When Christine starts laughing she cannot stop. The thing that makes her laugh the most is when people fall, I am pretty sure it is a nervous thing, but don't attempt to watch the titanic with her because when the people start hitting the water, you won't get the normal response. Christine is not married and does not have any children, she may never, but that girl is going straight to heaven.

John Mathew Tyler Boyd

John was adopted into the Boyd family and came home with my mom and dad when he was one day old. He has big blue eyes just like the rest of us so he fits in very well. Unfortunately, the year my mom and dad adopted Johnny was the year that I was married and lived in the states so I did not get to watch him grow up into the young man that he is today. I remember my wedding day and how my poor mom had to leave a number of times because of this fussy young man. He was allergic to all of the formulas known to man and it took my parents a lot of sleepless nights to figure it out. This I do know about my brother, he is a good kid. He tries super hard at everything that he does. Finding your way in a world full of adults can be tough but he pulled through it like a champ. Johnny is not married, he is 16 but has a girlfriend by the name of Sami.

That is the Boyd family, we have our issues just like every other family out there but when we get together the games are endless and the laughter-unstoppable. I love my family every single one of them and I cannot wait to see them all this week!

Cierra

Cierra, Christina, Renee England was born January 20th 1995. Her original due date was January 15th but apparently she enjoyed her housing arrangements and had a hard time leaving. She was a big baby and weighed 8 pounds 12 ounces and was 21 inches long. At that time Cierra's father (bret) and I lived in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu while bret attended BYU Hawaii. It was an exciting time for us because she was our first baby and we were very excited. We did not have a vehicle on the island so Cierra and I spent many hours walking with her in her stroller, and we loved every minute of it. To be honest, she was a crabby baby. The first few weeks of her life she awoke every hour to nurse, and it was incredibly hard to get her back to sleep. I am sure it was my lack of experience and I jumped up every time she made a noise. Cierra was a breastfeeding nazi and would not take a bottle so needless to say we were connected at the hip and still are to this day. As she grew into a toddler her little personality had most people intrigued with her intellect and she entertained many.

Cierra was 29 months old when her younger twin brother (aaron) and sister (abbey) were born. She instantly became a little mother for the both of them. She helped me with everything from changing diapers to helping bathe the babies. She was a life saver even back then when she was so little.

I will tell you a few stories about Cierra that clearly define who she is. When she was 5 she came home from kindergarten and asked if she could do more chores around the house to earn some extra money. I looked at her strangely and she explained that there was a young man in her class that could not afford to bring in the $0.50 that he needed to partake in the classes Thanksgiving dinner. She did the chores and turned the money in anonymously. Cierra would give away anything that she had to help another person out, she is amazing.

Cierra is a lot like her father in the fact that she is very organized. She does have some qualities that she was born with and were not learned behaviors, reading-that girl can plow through a book and have it completed in a short period of time. She completes assignments for school months before they are due.

So here she is turning 15 in less than 3 weeks, where on earth did the time go and where did that little girl go? She has her four year college plan mapped out and wants to become a vet. She knows what she wants and goes after it with determination.

I would not even want to imagine a world without Cierra in it. She makes me smile daily with her goofy attitude. She loves people and fills the room with her positive attitude and courage. I love that she is apart of my world!

My Dad

So I talk about things it helps me to deal with things so I am going to write about my Dad. His name is Michael and he is not perfect by any means but he is and has been an amazing dad. In May of 2008 he was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. The lesion they found was quite small in fact 2mmx 2mm and it was pretty much localized to one area. They removed his upper left lobe and has not had any problems with his lungs since. His physician was Dr. Reed from Kingston Ontario and he was amazing. He had a team of many other physicians that managed his pain and all other side effects that occurred at that time. His follow up appointment showed no other invasion in the surrounding lymph tissues. At that time radiation or chemotherapy not was necessary. In May of the following year he started to have severe nausea and headaches. He started throwing up and becoming severely dizzy. After much prodding he went in and had a head CT. The results were a golf-ball sized tumor in parietal lobe. They got him in quickly and performed a craniotomy removing all of the tumor in his brain. They decided at that time he would need radiation on the left side of his head. His health has gone down ever since the radiation. Memory loss as well as confusion led them to perform an MRI of the head. Atrophy of the brain and low dopamine receptors led to the diagnosis of radiation induced Parkinsons. So here we are watching the man my family has loved and has relied on our whole lives waste away to someone he never wanted to become. Right before his craniotomy he said "I don't want to wear diapers or have someone take care of me" My dad is a rock and has pulled me through so much in my life and I know that all of my brothers and sisters feel the same way.

There is a beautiful side to this story, my mom, Irene has totally been there for him. People have asked her several times if she will put my dad in a convalescent center and her love for this man makes her mad at the very thought. She takes care of his every need and makes sure that he is comfortable. I have seen the changes in my mom and they have been inspiring and uplifting. She is one of my greatest examples and I love her with all of my heart.

In ten days I am headed home (brighton, Ontario) with my kids and I am not sure that I am tough enough to actually board the plane to return to Idaho Falls. They say whatever doesn't kill you helps you to grow strong, but holy cow I think this is pushing it.