The Motley Crew: Colorado Springs

I had a wonderful trip to Colorado Springs. I'm not sure why I felt so compelled to go but I knew I had to go back even if it was for the selfish reason of spending some one-on-one time with Adrianne and her family. My heart was hurting before I went back. By the time I left, I had received some personal answers to questions I had about myself, my role, and the welfare of this little family. We talked for hours. I have never had this special kind of opportunity to spend so much time alone with one child since Jason turned four and Adam joined the family.

My respect for Mike and Adrianne continues to increase the more time I spend around them. We had some really interesting conversations that were stimulating and thought-provoking. We didn't have answers to a lot we discussed, but just the discussion seemed to help us organize our thoughts and express our feelings about life's events.

And those boys --- well, what can I say?? They are simply adorable. They are high-energy kids. I don't think I've ever seen kids fly off so many items of furniture as these kids do. They climb on everything, they catapult themselves into the air trusting that someone or something will catch them. They love to be tickled and they love to wrestle with anyone that will play with them. Eli is famous for his "What if...." imaginative stories. William and Isaac are now both going to school and seem to like it a lot. Eli loves to spend time with his mom and I think she loves to spend time with him.

Mike invited me to attend one of his classes on Monday morning. How many of you will ever get that chance?? Attend a mechanical engineering class at the Air Force Academy. How cool is that! Of course, I didn't understand how they did the problems, but I did understand what he was trying to teach them to do. He will win those students over before long because he has such an engaging personality.

I attended church and got to hear them speak about discipleship and the plan of salvation. They gave fantastic talks full of the spirit. One woman told me after church, "There wasn't a dry eye in the building." They gave very spiritual talks, well written and well thought out. (Eli fell to sleep between the bread and water during the sacrament and slept through the rest of the meeting so I had no trouble listening to the talks. I didn't drug him, really.)

There is still sadness in all their hearts. Eli told me when I got there the first day, "Grandma, if you get scared or sad, I'll sing you a Laila song." He used to sing to her whenever she fussed. Isaac is afraid to go up to his bedroom alone and they are trying to help him work through that. They openly talk about Laila and I'm very glad they do. The boys talk about the fun things she did and how much they love her. The grief that hits comes like waves of the ocean. For a while they go forward, they can laugh and have moments of joy. And then the wave crashes over them and they seem to deflate like a balloon. However, I think they are doing remarkably well with the trial they have been given. They will always need our prayers.