Conference 09...Day Four...Rain, Cousins and Puppies

We woke up to pouring rain on Sunday morning. The skies looked pretty dreadful. Just the same, we pressed forward.

Stalwarts, braving the elements for their faith!

The session was fabulous! What a treat. Can't wait to read some of those messages again in the Ensign. Another General Conference came and went too quickly. What a blessing it is to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the wonderful leaders of His Church.


The rain had let up a bit as we walked back to the hotel...which brought out these troublemakers. I tell ya...those protesters get worse every year. Anyway, we rushed so that we could get up to Grandpa's house and Sunday dinner...and the most important attraction...



Baylee!

(We sent her this Super Girl scarf while she was undergoing her chemo.)

We were so excited that Jimmy and Shellie and family could join us at Grandpa's. Last year at this time, Baylee had just started aggressive, daily chemo and radiation for brain cancer. By Christmas time, we nearly lost her. But Baylee is a fighter, albeit a kind, happy, sweetheart of a fighter! It was SO good to see her like this. Her hair is growing back, her scans are stable...and the family is headed to Disney World courtesy of Make A Wish! The best part about that is...it means she's healthy enough to make the trip...they had to get the Dr's permission for her to travel. She is still having problems with nerve damage, so she's either in her wheel chair or crawling, but she is making more progress all the time.


The second best thing about Grandpa's house? PUPPIES!!


Cassidy, Grandpa's soft-coated wheaten terrier, had SIX beautiful puppies just 3 weeks before our arrival. Five boys and one girl. Goatee (pictured with Coree above) is Coree's favorite. She was in dog heaven!



Is there anything cuter than puppy dreams? I didn't think so.



We brought lots of Japanese presents for everyone, including these super hero masks. The character names are priceless. I believe Baylee is being Glamorous Pink and Alden is Gentle Green. Our kids always argue over who gets to be Narcissistic Blue.


LOVE my brother Jimmy and his family.


Cassidy just checkin' on her pups. She's such a good mommy.


Is there anything more serene in the world than a pile of sleeping puppies? Cliff doesn't think so.



Grandma Garrie and Aunt Erin cheesin' for the camera


Jake and Alden had a great time with Jake's new RC vehicle


"Hop in...where are you headed, Sumo buddy?"



Coree (the dog whisperer) with her favorite Goatee


Beautiful cousins!

We had a lovely visit and the time went too quickly. Cliff and I had to leave at a reasonable hour so that we could get up for Chaplains' Conference in the morning. Unfortunately, our Church doesn't believe in "Boondoggles" so things were kicking off bright and early. The kids were excited to be staying, though. Grandparents, cousins and puppies...who needs parents?!

Flashback Friday...Promotions gone by

Since we are coming up on Cliff's promotion, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the promotions and important events in his career.

This first one rocks! Cliff was a Marine reservist while he was going to college. After he graduated and still couldn't figure out what he wanted to do with that English degree...he decided to come back on active duty with the Marines in the FTS program in 1993. (Which is actually an amazing story worthy of blogging, in and of itself. Maybe someday.)

Once he was selected, part of the process required that he be sworn in again. Rather than sit in traffic to do this at the local recruiting office, we chose a more....casual ceremony.


My grandpa was a retired Naval Officer, and therefore authorized to perform these kind of ceremonies. All it cost us was dinner. I served chicken breasts stuffed with carrots, zucchini and summer squash (julienne cut) and homemade focaccia bread. Yum!



I just love the "This is your brain on New Orleans" t-shirt! It was actually mine, and Cliff was constantly stealing it.


Uncle Dennis and Aunt Sue were actually humming "America the Beautiful" in the background during the whole thing. It really did add an element of class that we were sorely lacking otherwise!


The next one is January 1994, when Cliff was unexpectedly promoted to Staff Sergeant. He was in the below zone, so we were thrilled...but not expecting it.


Seriously, how young are we?! I was pregnant with Patrick. (Trivia: This was my favorite maternity dress.)


This isn't a promotion...this was when he chaired the MC Ball committee in 1995. He just looks so awesome, I had to include it.


I don't even remember what award this was. I know it was on recruiting duty, late 1999ish...and he was also in graduate school. I just love the crowd of people that we are...and Patrick's triumphant pose.

OK...so this event is my fave, Cliff's commissioning, and I have to apologize in advance for the number of pictures here. This is really only a fraction of the pics my dad took, and it was hard to narrow it down. This was the first large event that I planned, and I loved doing it. I could see doing this for a living...on second thought, it probably wouldn't be as fun doing it for strangers.

A non-wrecky cake from the commissary.



This was held at the San Luis Rey Officers' Club on Camp Pendleton in August of 2000. We were fortunate enough to have so many friends and family join us. Part of that was due to a Parks family reunion that culminated with this event. 3 years of sacrifice, blood, sweat and tears...delayed gratification...and it was finally here!



Two of the sweetest parts...my grandpas that were able to participate in the ceremony. My retired Navy Grandpa (who came up from Merida, Mexico for this and the family reunion) was able to administer the oath to Cliff...and my mom's dad (who drove down from Utah just for this) gave the most amazing talk.



Cliff's dad and I put on his shoulder boards.



He looked so hot!



Cliff went from the Marine Corps one day, into the Navy the next...and his Marine command was (of course) also present. His LtCol, who was always so supportive, gave the most touching speech...and presented Cliff with another medal.



The Hinmans were there...as well as the Carmans. (I love the look on Dave's face.) SO many good friends here who had given us moral support through all of this craziness.



I shed some tears over this picture. This is Cliff's friend Dave, who passed away last year (about eight months ago) and Cliff went back to Kansas City to perform his memorial service. They were Marine Corps buddies back from the Joliet days (circa 1993).



Proud, proud boys (Jake was not quite two...so we opted to leave him with a sitter and actually enjoy the event).



Here's my grandpa who spoke...along with my brother Jimmy and sweet little Baylee. She's always been such a cutie pie. (Trivia: Notice the centerpiece in the lower right corner? I made all of them. OK...my dad cut the wood...and helped me tack the pilings together...and secure the lashings...but it was my idea, AND I cut out all those nets!)



Here's Grandpa Parks with Jimmy, Shellie and Baylee (Thomas was probably running around with Troy and Patrick). This was my Grandpa's last hurrah, so to speak. He passed away from a massive heart attack less than two months later. He was so proud of Cliff, and proud of the part he was able to play in this day...and we are SO grateful to have had this bonus time with him.



Here's the whole famn-damily. We are an extremely attractive group, I must say. This is one of those days I will cherish in my memory forever. Rarely do all the stars align like they did here. This one day made all the sacrifices worth it...and yet we've just been continually blessed with more and more experiences to cherish...but this one will always be special.



Here's the traditional silver dollar ceremony...



Yes, this was staged (in that they walked outside together so that Master Guns would be the one to give the first salute, and get Cliff's silver dollar).



Hopefully he didn't spend it all in one place!



Oh my goodness, how I do love a man in a uniform!

Sadly, I did not get to attend or participate in Cliff's promotion to LT. The Commodore decided to frock* him with no notice on Sep. 10, 2001 (bet you can't guess why I'll never forget that date?) and I guess didn't think I'd care about being there. Hmmph!

Looking forward to Monday! Even though I won't get to participate over the miles, I'm so touched by the efforts of his commands here and over there, so that we can at least watch it and feel a part of the ceremony.

Here's to many more to come, right?

*Frocking: A commander has the option to "pin on" a new rank to a service member immediately. The pay does not start until the official promotion date...but (s)he would be able to exercise the responsibilities/privileges of the new rank beginning at the time of the frocking.

Great News!

I never thought I'd say "great news" in reference to cancer...but I just got off of the phone with my brother, and Baylee's cancer is "best case" of those they suspected. She has "Medulla Blastoma" and they will begin radiation and chemo right away. There is an 80%, 5-yr. cure rate.

I know this is going to be a rough road for them...but the news is still so encouraging.

Thanks again for all of your prayers!

Love,

Carrie

Baylee

My dad went to see Baylee today and Grandma G took some pics. Baylee's in pretty good spirits, smiling, eating normally, etc. From all reports, the surgery went well, but they weren't able to take out the tumor. They took some of it for biopsy and blasted the rest with radiation. We should know on Monday what kind of cancer it is...they believe it's one of three kinds. What kind it is will determine the course of treatment.

Please continue those prayers. Thank you for every one of them! She's going to be a miracle...I can feel it!! We love you, Baylee!

Please Pray for Baylee

I'm cleaning the house and doing laundry to get everything ready to head up to Salt Lake City when my brother Jimmy says the word. For those of you that I haven't already talked to...we found out yesterday that Jimmy and Shellie's ten year old daughter, Baylee has a tumor on her spine, and it appears to be very aggressive. It doesn't sound good...we are praying for a miracle. She's in surgery right now...and by the estimate we were given, she should be out by now. I'm on pins and needles and wanting to just jump in the car now, knowing I could be there in 11 hours to lay eyes on all of them myself.

Please pray for her...for her family. I know that miracles happen every day and we want this to be one of them! This has just come out of nowhere. You just never know what a day is going to bring...the night before this, I had been going through my pictures on the computer, looking for "Flashback Friday" photos (something I was making plans for, for the blog). Each time I came across pictures of Jimmy's family, I was just filled with the most intense love for them...I went searching from event to event (Conference trips, Christmases) to find more pictures of them. It made me smile like crazy. They are such a great family, and we always have so much fun when we are with them, even though it only happens once or twice a year. The cousins are all so good together. (As much as we love being a Navy family, that is the one regret we have is that we miss out on being a part of the daily lives of our extended family.) Anyway, then I called Coree from work the next afternoon and she told me Uncle Jimmy and Grampa Jim had both tried calling within 5 minutes of each other, and I knew something was wrong...I certainly was NOT prepared for this!

Just thought I'd share a couple of photos:

Sea World last summer...good times!

Top (LtoR): Coree, Baylee, Alden & Jake
Bottom: Thomas, Patrick and Troy


We always let our kids do a silly photo after they pose and smile nicely for a good photo! It really works...I wish I would have discovered this trick much earlier.