The Bernhisel Family - Cowley, Wyoming

justin

2011-03-18T07:57:00.001-07:00

We're back.....

2010-09-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

Since it's officially been 1 year now since I've blogged, and I've felt incredibly guilty about it the entire time, I've made a goal to get back on it. This is a big step for me....making goals that is, but school has just started so it really feels like a new year at the Bernie Household. Here's a quick update:

Melissa started 8th grade and is loving being in the new 6-12 school at Rocky. It's beautiful and fresh and exciting, the only downfall is when her mother gets her to school late and she gets points. That didn't happen when she rode the bus!

Michael is now a sophomore and turns 16 in a few months. I just don't want to talk about that.... He had a busy summer of lifeguarding and golfing and is now thick into cross country. He did really well in Billings this week, taking 6th out of 163 runners.

Emily is a sophomore at Utah State. Living off campus and with none of her last year roommates has been hard, but she is excited about her classes and loves her major, special education. She's only been gone a week, but it's a definite difference in our house when she's gone. She is definitely the life of the party at our house, we miss her.

And Aly...she's in Russia teaching English to 3-6 year olds. She's been there less than a week, and we've only heard from her twice, but all sounds good. It will be a fun adventure to hear about when she comes home for Christmas.

John and I are busy at school and we LOVE having the new school so close to our house. Riding my bike to work is no big deal and just think of all the gas money we're going to save. It makes me smile!

Just one more thing to brag about... this summer Melissa won the Big Horn County 4-H modeling competition for her age group. We had promised if she won we would take her to state fair this year, so off we went with Aunt Meredith and cousin Kennedy (Kennedy had won her age division). Competition was tough and there were lots of girls to compete against, but both Melissa and Kennedy took Grand Champion for Ready to Wear.

Here's Melissa modeling at state and Kennedy, Melissa, and Cassidy Crosby getting their awards at county fair.

Well there you have it, we are busy and scattered all over, but all is well and I will keep things on this blog a little more up to the minute.....we'll see!

Memorial Day

2009-09-12T13:18:00.001-07:00

On Memorial day this year we went to my cousin Pam's house. We had a lot of fun. The kids rode on the horses while the adults sat and talked. Here are some of the pictures.

Braces for Melissa

2009-03-21T11:28:00.001-07:00

The moment Melissa has been waiting and, believe it or not, hoping for finally arrived this past Monday. You would have thought she was getting Christmas early the way she was preparing that morning. When we arrived at Dr. Bennion's office she was immediately whisked off, before I had even made it in, and was sitting in the big chair with a smile on her face ready to go.

Britt was the dental assistant who worked with Lis and all was well until that HUGE RED mouth sucker was put in. It was supposed to help her keep water out of her mouth but it ripped on her lips and since it was the smallest they had, she was stuck.

But as you can tell, she was still happy when they were done. I think it was the Bite Bottle she got that made her so happy, and the fact that she beat Michael to the braces race line. Poor Michael, broken foot and baby teeth still in place...he feels a little sorry for himself right now and I feel sorry for him too. He had to miss the Scout Winter Camp this weekend because of his foot and got the news that he's going to be in that boot longer than he had hoped. Track season may be major delayed this year, but we're still crossing our fingers that it comes.

**PS: John just called and Emily got first place in the shot put at the first track meet of the year in Greybull. What a girl!!!!

It's broken!

2009-03-13T15:18:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday Michael and some friends decided to play a little basketball at the elementary school after he had run 3 miles with his dad. Once girls showed up, I think the game changed a bit. As Michael describes it, "I was trying to go around Trixie (names changed to protect the innocent) when she got in my road and I just came down wrong on my foot. It hurts." Yes, when we saw it 15 minutes later it was also swollen and starting to look scarey. We did the normal parent doctoring, ice, ibuprofen, ice cream..... and didn't worry too much. The next morning....well we were concerned when he couldn't put weight on it and a bluish tinge had appeared.
Long story short and x-rays later, it's broke. Its the first broken bone in our family and we are so proud!

Most disappointed is probably John because track season starts in the middle school in 2 weeks. Such high hopes dashed in 2 seconds. Michael will be out on April 4 if all goes well. We'll keep you posted.

2009-03-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

We want to share 3 significant events with you: First - this weekend we went to Laramie and Denver to see my niece Josie Jeanne get sealed and blessed. How can you describe your feelings at such a tender occasion? Josie is simply a charmer and her family was jubliant all weekend long. Watching her sit on the alter to be sealed to her parents was very peaceful and sweet. She never fussed and the room was full of tears. We love her and look to lots of years of fun with her.

Here is Becky, Josie and Johnathan outside the temple living in the moment.

And this is the group pose outside (something must have been on my lens)

And finally my favorite picture. Johnathan couldn't have been more proud and excited to have this day finally come.

Second: Melissa's dance ended for this year. She had a great season with a couple of great coaches.

(performing at a Rocky Mountain basketball game)

Melissa and her friend Mikaela right after a performance. We thought she did an awsome job!

And Third: Emily was asked to Prom by her good friend Russell. They decided when they were in middle school that they would go to prom her senior year. We came home from school one day to find our driveway all decortated with the prom invite. It was really difficult to take a picture of something so big, we needed to climb on our roof for the right view, but you get the idea. Emily is happy and excited for the prom and we're happy that Russell is the one taking her to her last high school dance.

Weekend at Bernies

2009-02-04T18:02:00.000-08:00

We had an exciting weekend and got to travel to Utah for some appointments and family time. But first...proof that it really did get very cold last week here in Cowley, WY

That was the temperature in my car when I drove my children to their schools. It got down to -35 while I drove, but I couldn't stop for another picture. I do, however, love the way our home looks in the snow. Nothing is more cozy to me than a white roof, a roaring fire, a good book and some hot chocolate.

After those cold days we headed to Utah, and the highlight for me (besides seeing Alyson) was taking Emily and her friend, Maria, to temple square. I always like the feelings I get when I visit, and then I remind myself that we really should bring our children here more often. It was peaceful, beautiful, and as always, thought provoking. I felt like I had to force myself away since I would have been content to wander there for hours.

My favorite bulding that you can visit on temple square is the Assembly Hall. That stair case is unreal. I'm thinking I want one or two of those in my Heavenly Home!!!And the pipe organ...I know the tabernacle pipes always get the mention because of their grandeour (how to spell it?), but the pipes in this building are so beautiful. I especially like the carvings at the top.And stained glass windows are the greatest. I love the colors as the sun streams in...yes I think I'll take a few of those in my Heavenly Home also! Love that building, but of course this building is number one in my life..

This view is from the 10th floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, as you can see, it was a beautiful day ( yes I know I've used beautiful way too much, but it just seems to go). John and I were married there, my parents were married there, my grandparents were married there, and I have ancestors who worked hard to build it there.

The rest of the time I savored every moment with Alyson. She loves her life at Utah State, and I couldn't ask for anything more. We played games, went to a movie (Inkheart!), and had several nice talks. It's nice to see her growing up (grown up?) and so happy.

Here she is enjoying Rock Band with her roommate LuLu, friend Justin (on guitar), Lucas (red hair)and brother Michael. I would say that Rock Band was Michael's highlight of the weekend, but he got to go to a USU basketball game with Aly that was very close and we ended up winning. He was pretty high on that for quite a while. In fact, I'm sure that will be all he thinks of when he thinks of "college life" for a very long time.

Our time with John's family was fun and calm, nice after such a bad drive to get there (bad roads). They were very gracious and good to all of us. We celebrated John's mother's birthday with his brother and his family and had fun listening to cousin Matt describe his upcoming wedding. Lucky for us, we get another Emily Bernhisel on 9-9-09!

Todays Thoughts

2009-01-22T19:04:00.001-08:00

Today as I was driving my daughter to yet another doctor appointment, and of course feeling a little sorry for myself and her, I heard something that made me sit up, think, and count my blessings. The radio announcer was interviewing Meredith Vierra's (the lady from the Today Show - can't spell her last name) husband about a new book he wrote. He is currently in a wheel chair and his speech is a little slurred due to multiple sclerosis. He noticed how people mistook his disease at first for drunkenness and how they acted around him, and realized that he wasn't alone out there. So he recently wrote a book about 5 people who are all dealing with chronic illnesses and how they look at life, handle their day to day care, and make a difference. It was so humbling....fascinating....inspiring....and even encouraging to hear. One person was a lady dealing with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), another severe MD, and one other Crones disease. Just listening to a few of their day to day routines, made me grateful for the 45 min routine Melissa has to deal with twice a day. A couple of them have to plan out their days down to when they will take a drink of water so that they know someone will be with them to help them with the bathroom. Imagine! But the part that really got me....the part I already knew, but to hear that these people say it really made me think was this.....the author got all 5 people together and they told of their lives, everything...and not one person there thought they had it the worst, and not one person there would want to trade their "bag of trials" for any other persons there.
There is a children's book called Jenna and the Troublemaker. It is out of print, but I found an old one and I keep it in my desk at home. I pull it out now and then to remind myself how lucky I am and how my troubles are mine...and they are not half as bad as anyone else's. It basically tells of a little girl who is mad at the bag of troubles that she has to carry around and the "troublemaker' lets her go through everyone elses bags and pick another one to take home. In the end she chooses her own. I really believe our "troubles" are hand picked for us, that a loving Heavenly Father lets those that He knows will eventually bring us the most growth and joy enter our lives, and then we get to choose how to handle each one. I hate the saying "we'll never be given more adversity than we can handle", I'm not sure I even agree with that at some times in my life, but I do know that I am very blessed, overly blessed, and I am very grateful today for all those people in my life (friends, family, etc) who make my life great and my troubles seem small.

Happy Moments

2009-01-17T10:27:00.001-08:00

Here are a few highlights of our week. First, Melissa's middle school basketball career has begun. They played Cloud Peak and had a great time. The score 16-12 (we were 12) was close and the girls seem to have fun. I had forgotten how different MS ball/ MS girls ball, is from the high school stuff I watch each week. Big Difference! But oh, so fun and much more relaxed.

Melissa made 2 baskets (4 points for you basket ball greenies) and was high point man for the game. We like to say that, and that's what she told her sister, Aly, when she called, but the actual truth is that she, Sarah and Mikala were all high point men (women?, girls?) with 4 points each, thus Rocky's 12 points. Above is an actual picture of her ball about to drop in (I can never get the exact swish moment).

She is one of the point guards. Michael sat right by me during the game, pointing out all the areas he needed to coach Melissa on. I don't think that will go over very well...we'll see.

Our next big news of the week was Emily's amazing Rock Band score. Expert Level, 98% correct and the crowds went wild. We are so proud, this may be her senior graduation announcement picture - how can High School acheivements compare to this incredible Rock Band score. In fact, we're hoping she cancels her college plans and goes on the professional Rock Band tour. What more could parents want for their children?????

And there you have it, our week.

Christmas Morning 2008

2008-12-26T18:54:00.001-08:00

Christmas morning brought it's usual surprises and fun. We want to share it with you..... John got this great book 501 Must See Movies. We've all had lots of fun with it and you can borrow it if you're in need of some movie to rent advice. We all attack our stockings first. They are the only free-for-all of the whole day. Toothbrushes, candy, and little things are all in there.

The big stuff now begins, but this year we did it a little different. The packages were all numbered, no names, and we had clues that matched the numbers to tell us who the packages went to. (we did this once when I was a kid and I was in charge of the list and I lost it - it was open the gift and then mom would tell us who it belonged to - a disaster!!!) We had a great time with it. My mom and dad came over and had fun laughing at the clues and seeing what we all didn't know about each other. I think this may be one we do again next year!

Emily got a cape cod bracelet which is a family thing. My mother, sister, Aly and I all have them. She's finally part of the "in crowd".

Aly got this nice church coat. She picked it out meaning it fits, she likes it, and I don't have to return it this week.

Michael got the Wii he's wanted for a long time, but we all get to benefit from it. The big family game this year was Rock Bank 2, and our family has been rockin' ever since it was opened. Crazy... fun...loud...fun...silly...hard.. fun. We all love it!

Bad picture...but cute girl. Melissa got this vest. I worry so much about her being cold that she got lots of get warm stuff, this vest, long socks, a long Sunday coat, she should be set.

Most of all we had a terrific family day. Lots of time spent playing, laughing, singing (UGH!!), sleeping, and eating. I love these winter days, when all of my other responsibilities can take a back seat and family, motherhood, and a love of Christ truly is the focus. These are some of the blessings I'm grateful for now and always.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T18:21:00.000-08:00

My favorite part of Christmas every year is Christmas Eve. Our family has several traditions that are fun but always made the evening magical to me. To start we eat Christmas Eve dinner with candle light only...that's pretty magical when your a little kid.

Then we move to our talent portion of the evening. Melissa was our only participant this year, playing "Away in the Manger" for us all. But as everyone gets older they are more reluctant to show off.Next we move to singing carols. This year Aly played the piano and Emily led the music. We are a first verse only family so we do sing several songs.Now for the funnest tradition of all.....the Nut Gift! Mom makes pudding for dessert and places a hazel nut in just one dish. We all choose our dish, youngest to oldest, and dig in at the same time. Usually there is lots of bantering and betting on who will get the nut, who deserves the nut, and just who is the nut! As you can tell, Emily was the nut this year winning the 'extra' gift which was a bottle of sparkling cider. She also is awarded the big cow trophy that one of my brothers won in 4H one year. She will place her name on the bottom and proudly display it all year. Next year she's required to bring it to Chirstmas Eve to see who the new 'nut' is.

After the nut gift, my father always reads the Bible account of the first Christmas. After hearing it so many times, I believe that I've about got it memorized...how about you? Isn't it the best! This year John read to us out of the Book of Mormon the account of the Saviors birth. It was a really nice touch which I hope we continue.

We move to the gift opening section of the evening now. This year we started with mom and dad opening the wall hanging Melissa made them. She started it while she was in the hospital in Denver and finished putting the last button on after they opened it that night. It takes a lot of work, but it is a treasure. I think you can see it ok here.

And finally the kids open their gifts from my mom and dad, and they always open pj's. The most common but most desired Christmas gift of all I believe. You can't tell but Aly, Emily and Michael all got University of Wyoming bottoms this year. It's my mother's subtle way of letting them know where her vote is when they decide where to go to college. (Aly's already failed - but you can never give up hope she'll change her mind!) They are all holding up the ornaments they get from my parents also. It was a great evening, I loved every minute of it, and cherish the memory it has already become. We were especially blessed to have Julie Ann, Greg and Jenny with us this year. They got to see our madness up close and we hope they are still our friends. What a great beginning to a great Christmas break.

Oh yea...Thanksgiving was in there too

2008-12-26T16:07:00.000-08:00

Here are some fun pictures of our family Thanksgiving celebration in Burlington at my sisters. She did a great job and we had so much fun. Everyone of my siblings and their families were able to be there plus Jessa and Lukus, Aly's college friends. As you can tell, Josie, the newest member of our family was the hit of the day.

Johnathan, Pam and Richard "shooting the bull" as usual. You could call that a great Gerrard (my mother's family) tradition. We've had some real loud and rousing discussions at the annual Gerrard Thanksgivings in the past.

One of my favorite pictures of the weekend. Jessa, Josie, Johnathan and Aly all enjoying eachothers company.

And my beautiful sister-in-law Krista getting her turn with Josie.

Mom, John and Gregg doing their part to clean up after dinner.

Aunt Veda and Greg reluctant to leave the table and call it good for the day.

The cousins: Kyle, Taylor, Kennedy, Scotlyn, Erin and Emily

Kennedy and Scottie patiently waiting to start on seconds!

All of us - the Gerrard cousins- who could be there. It was always a tradition that my mother's family got together for Thanksgiving every year. We are lucky that some of us still live close enough to do it. We miss David and all of Uncle Clyde's family....but maybe someday!

At Long Last..

2008-12-26T15:18:00.000-08:00

I've missed a month...a busy month...so I am going to post lots of pictures. I have to do it for my own journaling purposes, (and now it is public knowledge that journaling is not one of the things I excel at) so it will be long. Here is the Bernhisel's last month in review:

Emily sang in her school choir for their Christmas concert. It was great fun and well done. I'm so glad she enjoy's singing so much.

Melissa had her first Middle School chior and band concerts. She plays the clarinet. She was so excited to participate in what she considers the "big time" stuff. She reminded us about it daily and was dressed long before the designated time...it's fun to love music.

Here is Michael at the same Middle School concert playing his saxophone...he was ready 5 minutes late and was glad he only had to do band and not choir. Although the loves the band, the choir just isn't his cup of tea. Next we went to Michael's 8th grade basketball tournament...He played hard and loved being on the court.Bryce, Shane, Michael and Brady took a break during one of the games. You can tell this was one of the easier games.And here is our great team with their 3rd place plaque. Top row: Bryce, Bill (Michael's cousin), Kirby, Jake, Dalton, Brady and Michael Bottow row: Shane, Cannon, AnthonyThe mighty 8th graders who have played so well together these last 3 years!And, of course, the one we love to follow on the court and off... Michael. We had a great weekend with these boys and look forward to many more fun athletic weekends in the future!

Michael turns 14

2008-11-17T14:37:00.000-08:00

There are lots of birthdays that come, and many have lots of significance, but I usually don't think of 14 as one of those significant birthdays. Well, Michael turned 14 recently and it was the hardest birthday he's ever had for me....why...who knows, but I found myself ready to cry several times. He can't drive, can't date, can't start some new and exciting activity that requires you to be 14, but he really seemed older somehow to me. It may be that he's finally taller than me, it may be that he works so hard around here and is so helpful to me that I realized his days with me are numbered, or it may be that I'm just getting so old that I realize my kids are zooming by. I don't really know, but Michael has definitely been a blessing in our home. He's a tease, responsible, kind, and believe it or not sensitive to other's feelings (it must be being raised with so many crazy girls). Well he's a one of a kind and we're so glad he's ours....so Happy Belated but Remembered Birthday Michael!

We're still here

2008-11-15T05:40:00.000-08:00

Ok - I admit I've neglected our family blog for a bit, but not because nothing is happening, but because the volume of what's happening is a bit overwhelming. I had a Stake Young Women's Auxillary Training this past week and it took up a lot of my brain space - and when you are working with limited brain space - it can really hinder everything else in your life. The training went well - but I work with such great ladies that it's hard to fail. We presented next years YW theme "be thou an example", showed a video clip of President Monson's council about sugar beets about making sure we go back to get the "ones who fall off the truck", ate some delicious desserts, and gave out these boards that Michelle B had made for each ward. They turned out so nice, she always does great work, and the wards were very excited to take them home. They were chocolate brown, long, with the metal on them, underneath had "be thou an example" and the metal was surrounded by "faith, spirit, word, conversation, etc". I would show you a picture, but alas, I gave them out before I thought of it. If you're in need of a YW prop, you now know where to go- Michelle !! The best part of the meeting though, was when I was off the hook and the ward leaders shared their "successes". Good ideas were exchanged and feelings were tender. Wow - do I ever admire and love these ladies!
Ok - that's Sally's life. My children had some great happenings this week. Emily had her post volleyball banquet and received lots of awards. Top blocker, Most Improved Player, and more to name a few. She had a great season and we are glad her volleyball career ended on a high!

Michael had more basketball, fouled out at a game (we still don't know exactly how many fouls he had that game), and was ordained a teacher by his father. It was an extra special evening since his cousin Bill Despain was ordained a deacon the same night. These boys are together everyday and qualify as each others brothers since neither of them have another brother. And yes, they fight just like brothers too!

And then to top off our week, Melissa went to her first baptism at the temple. John went to do the baptising, Michael and Emily went as youth from our ward, and I went to see the wonderful moment. It's our family tradition to have John be the first to baptise our children when they are 12 and old enough to go to the temple. It was great watching the last of this tradition play out. Yes it brought tears to my eyes and my heart was full. If only Aly had been there it would have been completely perfect!

And here are the girls with Aunt Meredith - she's in YW's with them and they love having her. A GREAT Week at the Bernhisel mansion.

Halloween in Casper

2008-11-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

It seems lately that we've been living weekend to weekend. That's what happens when you have kids in sports and your husband is a coach... we really do have more in our lives than sports, but our usual blog will be the sports update around here.

Here is Emily with Kelsy V., the co-captains, meeting with the Sundance captains to discuss the rules of the tournament. It's always sweet and good before the game starts! We lost this game, but won the next one against Lingle-Fort Laramie, and then lost to Tongue River in 5 games. Boy was that game a great one, with Emily hitting at her best and the rest of the team really working hard. We thought we had it at one point, but then you know how tournamet goes.I really wanted a good picture of a team huddle - they happen so often and this was a "happy" one.Not to be out done, John and Melissa worked hard at announcing the games live over TCT. Melissa took this picture so she's not in it but she became an expert at all those volleyball terms like "shank", "kill", "block", and "dig". It has taken me 7 years to understand this game, but Melissa has got it already. And now that I understand volleyball, our family looks to be done with the sport. Oh well, maybe some future Bernhisel will take it up and I always have neices!!!

Michael also had fun playing 2 basketball games while the rest of us were gone. We hated missing them -and it always seems that he makes those great plays when we're not there. Why does that always seem to happen? He made a couple buzzer beater shots, scored several points each game, and was king of assists as usual (at least I think he's king). His coach bragged on him a bit to us when we got home, which made us feel great that he's trying so hard , and bad that we missed it. You never win!

And last of all, we may have missed Halloween this year (Melissa and I went to High School Musical 3 that night in Casper) but we had a special visitor a little early so we wouldn't feel bad. Megan Weinand came by and made our night. She's Esmerelda from the Hunchback of Notredame movie. We gave her enough candy to last her awhile and it made us feel good to still be a part of a great holiday. So although we're late, HAPPY HALLOWEEN.... and have a fabulous November (my personal favorite month of the year).

What a weekend!

2008-10-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

We had an great Thursday through Saturday that we can't wait to share. It all began Thursday evening with Michael's first basketball game of the year. He's waited anxiously for this year, you know, the big 8th grade Middle School sports year, and couldn't wait to get on the court. His team did well as we had all hoped and Michael had a great game. Of course, we think that Michael is a fabulous player, no prejudice there, but he did score several points and had lots of assits. They won by a lot (I can't remember the score, but it was big). It looks to be a great year for RMMS.

Melissa is on the student council and got to sell concessions at Michael's game. She actually enjoyed the job and will be doing it again this season. Unfortunately, as the mom ,you feel like you need to buy junk when your child is the one selling it. Everything your children do seems to cost you money!!!

Then John took off for Cross Country state in Sheridan and Melissa and I drove down to Lander for Emily's regional volleyball tournament. I'm still so excited about our volleyball team that I'm shaking just typing this. They got third place and qualified for state. The last time Rocky Mountain qualified for state was 2003, and that downer info can really stick in your head. The girls really worked hard, and with 6 seniors on the team, it all payed off. My voice is a little worse for the wear today (lots of yelling encouragement) but boy is our house one happy place to be.

Here is our awesome child going up for a kill. Yes, I was yelling "That's my girl" over and over during these games.Here is the whole team looking very excited. Emily is a team captain along with Kelsey (who is holding the trophy placard with her). This is a great moment!!And these are the 6 seniors - the girls who stuck it out all four years to get here when it really mattered most to them. To make a great weekend even better....Emily got to meet Josie for the first time. Johnathan and Becky came to watch Emily play and we got to enjoy the baby. She is growing so fast and is just adorable. My highlight was walking around to show all the people from Rocky my beautiful and precious neice. She is a keeper.

Essential History

2008-10-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

For quite awhile John has created a blog with a collection of cool history facts. He finally told me about it. Here it is for all of you to see:

http://essentialhistory.blogspot.com/

College Fun!

2008-10-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

I am still havin' a great time at Utah State! On my last night as a teenager, some friends and I went to the Homecoming Paint Dance on the hyper field. People were dumping paint on our heads left and right while we were dancin' around, but it was dang fun. It definitely made for some great photo opportunities, and getting it out of my hair wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. I miss my family and Cowley Wyoming tons!

Michael's mission training

2008-10-20T06:39:00.000-07:00

Michael has never had to learn how to tie a tie. I've either gotten him zipper ties (when he was little) or he has had his sister Emily tie them once and he's never taken the knot out. Well, today he had to break down and learn the process since Emily was too busy to help and he had to get to church. I loved this teaching moment between father and son. It reaffirms to me how lucky I am to have married such a great guy and father. He loved showing Michael the ropes and made him do it a couple of times for "insurance" that he had it. They have developed such a great relationship these last couple of years that it confirms to me the cousel from our leaders that children need 2 parents, 2 parents that take active roles in their lives. I could never do this without John, because I couldn't care less about sport scores, college rankings, running in the "wild", and all those other boy things that are not interesting to me. Luckily for both of them though I do care what color of pants Michael passes the sacrament in and how long his hair gets. See...it really does take 2 parents.

Emily's Senior Pictures

2008-10-20T05:54:00.000-07:00

A right of passage of the senior year was completed this week. Emily had her senior pictures taken. It was really fun once the stress of what to wear, what jewlery to use, and how to do her hair was decided. We decided that she needed a jacket for her fall outdoor pictures, so we went to Billings and hit Kohl's for the first time. It was great, lots of cute choices and we were early enough that we had the whole store to ourselves. The earrings took the longest to find - but that is a fun search. We then came home, laid out all her "outfits" with accessories and shoes and planned the order of the sitting. Hitting the outdoors with Kendy Richards, our photographer, we planned our backdrops and got to it.

It's always so interesting to me how nervous my girls are to have them done, how important they feel those pictures are, and how much fun they actually have doing it. Kendy makes them feel beautiful, which I agree, they are. Here are some pictures I took while Emily was working with Kendy.

This is the last picture of the day - she was a little sick of "give me a smile"!! But don't you agree - it was a beautiful day and a beautiful girl.

We Can't Forget About Marie!

2008-10-14T20:27:00.000-07:00

My appologies for not mentioning our cat Marie. We've had her for about a year. We found her as a stray kitten near our home. She's a 50 / 50 indoor outdoor cat. She's a picky eater. She is named after Emily's middle name and the Disney cat.

Emily Rocks

2008-10-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

Emily had a great game this Saturday when we played against Riverside. As usual the first game was not so hot for our team. We seem to need the first one to warm up, but after that Emily got a little mad and she was good. We still lost, but when Emily hit the net she got many kills and blocks that were incredible. I found myself jumping off my seat cheering each time she did something I felt was incredible. At one point, my friend next to me, said "You need to yell, 'No.13 is my daughter' real loud". Of course I didn't, but I was real excited to see her play so well. Fortunately Emily is smart enough to be happy about her successes and not dwell on the loss for hours afterwards.

2008-10-12T16:08:00.001-07:00

Since I haven't quite figured out how to post multiple pictures in the order I want them yet, I'm also putting in this great picture of John and Michael after the race. See...they're both still smiling.

The Day We've Been Waiting For.....

2008-10-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

...has finally happened. Yes, Michael and John ran a race in Billings Saturday morning and Michael beat his dad legitamately!!!! John knew (hoped) the day would come, just not quite so fast. There was about 2-3 inches of snow and it was snowing the whole time, not great conditions, but non-the-less, Michael is now the fastest Bernhisel in Cowley. I guess it goes without saying that Michael is pretty excited - and rubbing it in all the time. He better watch out because John swears there needs to be a rematch.

2008-10-09T21:06:00.000-07:00

Senior Night with Emily - notice that Wade Brost is holding a Wheaties box with Cassie's face on it. Way fun!

Happy 12th Birthday Melissa

Proof that Melissa is 12 - the ears are pierced. Julie Ann was a great sport to do it for her.

Today was a big day in the Bernhisel household. Melissa turned 12!! No longer a little girl - and just to prove it she got her ears pierced (our family rule that they have to wait until 12 to make that choice) and she asked for an electric razor for her legs. Now I have never had something that fancy, but since that was all she asked for, we caved. So Melissa woke up early, got hooked up to her IV drugs (continuation from the hospital) and shaved her legs. Michael was pretty disgusted - as was her dad.

To continue the day, I cleaned madly because my in-laws were coming, and tried to work at the school also. School ended, I took Melissa to her "ear piercing" and we all went to Emily's volleyball game at the high school. It was Senior Night, which means all the seniors and their parents walked out on the gym floor to let others know who would be leaving soon. The game was fun to watch (I always like to see Emily kill the ball and get some awesome blocks) and then we rushed home to Melissa's birthday dinner and cake and ice cream. Whew! Lots going on here.

But through the whole day, I was very proud of myself, I never cried once. My baby is now in Young Womens, Middle School, and shaving her legs - and my Emily is one step closer to leaving me. I sure do hate "growing up" somedays. And then to top it off, Alyson called to wish her sister Happy Birthday which never felt right last year, and still doesn't feel right this year. It just seems like she should be with us-here.

Well - there are my thoughts for the evening.....hold those babies tight, they really do go way too soon!

Saying Goodbye was Sweet

2008-10-06T07:25:00.000-07:00

Nurse Ginney with Melissa just as we were leaving.

Tara - the lady who worked Melissa over the most and taught her things that will hopefully keep her out of the hospital for a long time.

We left Denver at 10 am, saying goodbye to Tara (Melissa's respitory therapist who was incredibly helpful), Nurse Ginny (who was very kind and signed us out fast!), and drove home. Returning at 7:30pm, Cowley looked like heaven. My house was clean (thanks to Emily, Michael and John working on it) and my bed felt wonderful. Melissa found that her room had been decorated by her friends and was very excited. She really missed them and had looked forward to every email and post that they sent her, so thanks to Mikayla, Sarah and Maddy for being such good friends to Melissa.

Today Melissa is anxious to go to school and hopes to, but we have to wait for the people in Powell to come and train us on how to care for her picc line and administer IV drugs for the next week. After that she's good to go. Thanks to everyone who sent us posts, called us, and feed my children who were left here at home. It's good to know we have great neighbors, friends, and family who will come to our rescue when needed. We were definitely blessed and served this past week.

We're coming home

2008-10-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

Yes - the news from the tests are that Melissa is getting better. Officially we go home Sunday, thanks to Dr. Wagener who really had to push to make it happen. I get to give Melissa IV drugs for the next week, but it will all be fine if we're at home. Boy does Cowley, WY sound good to us right now!

Three cuties!

2008-10-03T13:58:00.000-07:00

Visitors and Friends

2008-10-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

Melissa has been lucky enough to have more than just Taylor visit her. Kylie Jones came to visit last night and Melissa was thrilled. Kylie brought fruit snacks and talked for most of the evening. She made Melissa feel loved and special which we really appreciate. Melissa has also made friends with her "neighbor" Amanda. Amanda is 4 years old and can relate to what Melissa is going through here in the hospital. She was a doll and we loved having her around too. See, you can make friends when your in rotten places doing rotten things - one of lifes many blessings.

Taylor and Dad!

2008-10-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

Taylor is here

2008-10-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

Taylor and her mom and dad arrived this morning. Taylor was so excited, it seemed like she was on her way to Disneyland, not outpatient surgery. After jumping up and down, showing us her new coloring book, wipe off board and lip gloss, they wisked her off and Melissa went up to do another pulmonary function test. This was the deciding factor - higher results meant going home Sunday, no change and she would have to stay until next Sunday. We'll blog later with the results.

We're here and have set up camp

2008-09-29T20:35:00.000-07:00

After arriving at the hospital at 9:30 am, and going through a security check, admissions, then being led to the top floor of the hospital to room 908, we started hauling out the suitcases, bringing in the pillows and blankets, and lugging up the totes full of "things to do". Yes - the Bernhisel's hit the hospital at full speed and took over as much of the place as allowed. We know where to find ice water and pop, play Wii with the other residents here, get free cupcakes for the taking, and who the guy on call is to fix the TV/X-BOX in our room. Life is good! Now we just wait for all those IV's Melissa has had today to kick in and we're excellant. This is a picture of Melissa with Dr. Wagner, our favorite guy here in Colorado. He works with her in Billings and checks on her here, so he's really the one in charge of her care.

Melissa meets Josie

2008-09-29T14:12:00.000-07:00

On our way down to Denver, Melissa got to meet, hold, feed and change Josie. She was pretty stingy with her "Josie Time" and didn't want John or I to get the baby for very long. She wants all the Despain cousins to know that she was the first (except for Alyson who doesn't count) to hold the new Despain.

We Have Four Children!!

2008-09-27T08:08:00.000-07:00

Alyson reminded us recently that we have four children. Sally and I had completely forgotten! For those of you who might not remember her, Alyson is our oldest, she's at Utah State (Is that in Provo?)..and doing well. Looks like we won't see her until Thanksgiving. Bummer! We love you Alyson!

Melissa is the rich one

2008-09-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

Melissa got her 4-H sheep check this week and can't wait to get a CD at the bank. She now is the officially the richest Bernhisel in Cowley!

Michaels victory at Cody

2008-09-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

Michael won the MS cross country race yesterday with a time of 13:42. He is keeping the Bernhisel tradition and enjoying the spoils of victory (FOOD)!

Emily in Big Horn Tournament

2008-09-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

Emily is playing today in the Big Horn Volleyball Tournment. So far (as of 11:30 AM) they won their first game.

Emily's volleyball year is taking off!

2008-09-07T17:15:00.000-07:00

Volleyball is in full swing here at the Bernhisel kingdom and Emily is working hard to have a great year. She was moved from setter to middle hitter this year and she is really loving it. We enjoy wathching those kills and blocks! Her team hasn't won a match yet, but it looks good for the future. We'll keep you updated.

Melissa gets it done!

2008-09-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

Melissa ran her first cross country meet this Friday also. She had some tough competition but managed to come in at 16:53 and recieved the 8th place ribbon. We were so excited for her to run so well and never give up. The weather was perfect, rainy and cool, and she never had to walk.

Michael's amazing 2 miles!

2008-09-07T17:07:00.000-07:00

Friday night Michael and Melissa ran their first cross country meet. Three schools competed and Michael came in first with the amazing time of 12:08. It was so fun to see him coming around that final corner 200 yards ahead of the next fastest boy. He felt great and was energized to run against more schools next week in Cody.

Cowley Bernhisel Family

2008-09-07T17:04:00.000-07:00

Just letting the world know what we are up to.