Grandma Hurst

Helen Redd Hurst

Sorry about the black square. She was holding a foster child.

On Sunday, Nov. 27 my dear sweet grandma took her last breath. Grandma was a remarkable woman. She was a woman of faith, as well as many other things. She was extrememly loving and caring. She'd always offer whatever it was that she had. Whether it was ice cream, tomato, or anything else. One her mottos was "We share in our family". ALTHOUGH! It later came out that we don't share strawberry pie. :o) Grandma loved quilting, croching, sewing type stuff. I have a quilt she made me when I graduated high school, she made us one when we got married (that she nicknamed the happy quilt- it was called that because of the bright colors she used.), as well as many flannel baby blankets, burp clothes she crotched. Grandma wasn't dealt the easiest hand in life, but she did the best she could. OH! Grandma was an LPN (licenesed practical nurse) for many of years. She is one of the reasons I choose to go into the nursing perfession. One of my favorite memories of Grandma is... so we'd all be visiting late at night. She would start drifting off to sleep. We'd tell her to go to bed. Her response? Something along the lines of how she can't because she doesn't want to miss anything. Yes, another trait I inherited. I also loved how she'd always ask what we were thinking.

I could go on and on forever about the amazing woman my Grandma was. I'm proud to be her granddaugher. I also take comfort in knowing that I will be able to see her one day, and be with her forever.

I miss you Grandma! Love you!!

Oh! I also wanted to share. Please let me know if you're not LDS and would like me to try to answer any questions about this next little story. So my grandparents were temple workers. We had the honor of doing a session while they were working one time. I had the privilage of my grandma helping me at the veil! It was such a neat, memorable expierence that I will never forget!

Nothing much

Hey everyone! Just wanted to write a quick post letting you know we're still alive, doing fabulously!

Jared has been absolutely swamped at work the last few days. He's been working long hours and still manages to be the best husband and dad EVER! Tonight we'll be going to a court of honor for his scouts. He's getting those boys advancing pretty good. So fun to see him interact with him, and watching these boys mature.

I'm still lovin' the stay at home mom thing. Some days are absolutely long and I do question my sanity, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Thor" is growing each new day! Since being off his med, he has now starting being more alert, focusing on things more, SMILING!, and every now and then gives us a "coo". It's so fun to watch him develop. We go to the doctor tomorrow, so on our next update I'll post how much he weighs and all that good stuff.

Buddy is still an awesome, pretty obedient dog. He's showing more interest, and loyalty, to "Thor". It's cute to watch.

That's about it for us! Hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing, amazing Sunday. Love to all!!!

Why hello!

How are all of you?!? We're doing fabulously! Like always, busy, but I honestly don't know that I would have it any other way. Life is great! Word of warning~ I picked funny pics of us because I feel like in reality they do describe us better lol

Jared is still busy, busy at work. I know he loves it though. Scouts has been keeping him on his toes too. I have to tell you all~ let's preface this by making sure everyone is aware that Jared is a pretty big TCU fan. I think it's his Texas pride (TCU is the college closest to where he grew up). Jared claims it's because he likes to get on all the BYU fan's nerves. Either way, Jared NEVER misses when TCU plays BYU in football. This year was no acception, even though he was on a camp out with his scouts! :o) He made it to that they could get the game up in the mountains or wherever they were. I guess everyone sat in our van, eating hot dogs, and watched the game. Some camp out, huh? :o)

I've just being doing the mom, friend, wifey thing. Nothing exciting going on with me personally. I am so excited though!! Tonight I will have the honor of going on a girls night out with a bunch of fellow foster moms!! I so can't wait until 5:15 when I pull out of my driveway! :o) Don't get me wrong I love all three of my males (Jared, "Thor", and Buddy). I will so enjoy the woman time though.

No, that baby is not actually "Thor". Remember I can't post any pics of him unless/until we finalize adoption."Thor" is still doing his baby, growing thing. He is now completely off one med!! Now he just takes a vitamin once a day. He has recently started smiling a bit more on command, following us with his eyes, and definitely letting us know what he wants. So fun watching him learn and grow. Tummy time is still a tragedy here but "Thor"'s getting strong. I so wish I could post pictures of him! Oh well!

I think that's about it for all of us! Hope this finds you all well. Love to all!!!

Guest blogger

I had the privilage and honor of guest blogging for my good friend Sharon. Hope you guys all enjoy!! Click here to read it.

questions answered

so I will answer everyone's questions here... keep checking this posts to see you're questions answered. Here's the first set of questions I got:

Will dec 12 be the final decision? If the parents don't clean up themselves then baby t stays with you guys? If they do then baby t goes with the parents? How is that going to work?

Dec. 12 will not be the final decision. From what I understand, at that hearing it will be determined if there's enough evidence and reason to bring "Thor"'s case to a trial. If it goes to trial, THEN it will be determined to terminate the parents right or not. Yes, if the parents DO NOT clean up we will get to adopt "Thor". If the parents DO clean up, then he will go back to them. The judge will look at how the parents do over the next 5 weeks. If the parents are showing improvement, we'll keep going. If they do not show improvement, then we'll go towards termination of rights.

Court appearance #3

Today we had a third court hearing regarding "Thor"'s case. We somewhat have a better idea of how the case will go. So... what the judge ruled was no reunification services, except for supervised visits by DCFS. What this means is "Thor"'s parents still have to do 4 or 5 different things to get him back BUT! The state will not pay for it, the state will not help them get into rehabs, etc. Pretty much state is sitting back and watching... not being proactive. I hope this makes sense. If not, if you still have questions, PLEASE ask!! We'd love to clarify and teach! We go to court again Dec. 12.

I have mixed feelings about this! My heart just breaks for his parents! More so, my heart breaks for "Thor". He has a lot going on and has had no choice in the matter. I will admit though, I'm excited (and a bit nervous) because ... with today's ruling that means we are one step closer to being able to adopt!!!

More then anything, please say prayers for the judges, lawyers, caseworkers, and everyone else involved in "Thor"'s case... including us! Have a happy day!! Love to all!