July 27, 2006
Dear Friends and Family,
I’m happy “keeping up on the blog” is not a paid position because I would definitely be out of a job! Ryan is studying for his second American Heritage midterm so I thought now would be a good time to at least begin journaling the last couple of weeks. We have so much to be grateful for . . . I’ll start from the present and move backwards, hoping I don’t miss any of the highlights.
Today we ran into Jill Catts, a student at BYU from our ward in Parker, and we talked her into having lunch with Ryan and me. While at Zupas, we saw one of our former Chicago bishops, Don Yachtman and his wife, Carolyn. They recently moved their business to Austin, Texas, to be near their daughter, Jenny, who had a stroke two years ago when she was thirty. She was paralyzed from her nose down and her only form of communication was blinking her eyes. She also has a condition called “locked in” which means her brain is totally functioning but she isn’t able to speak. Since her initial stroke she has made great strides and is beginning to move one of her arms. Her husband stays home to care for her and their three small children. It was great to talk with Don and Carolyn and hear their perspective on Jenny’s condition. Tonight, our niece, Ashlee, and her husband, Bob, treated us to Café Rio and Cold Stone ice cream. They are on their way to Stillwater, Oklahoma, where Bob will be teaching Accounting at Oklahoma State University. He defended his thesis yesterday and is now Robert Cornell, Ph.D. Congratulations!
Ryan has a couple of students from American Heritage who have invited him into their circle of friends. Last night we had dinner at Lynn’s condo and then watched “Glory” (part of the required coursework for American Heritage). They are a funny group of psychology majors . . . very unconventional and quite entertaining!
The Walters’ Reunion in Jackson, Wyoming, began on July 18th and went through the 23rd. Ryan, Tyler, Rebecca, baby Sydney and I drove over on Wednesday, the 19th. We had a large home where we all congregated and individual condos for parents, grandkids and their kiddos along with condos for the teenaged girls and boys. Highlights of the reunion included hiking, swimming and playing at String Lake, whitewater rafting, the alpine slides, a climbing wall, volleyball games, celebrating Kaitlyn’s 16th birthday and Granny and Grampa’s country store with lots of treats and prizes for the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Kalle provided beads to make jewelry and Whitney brought her vinyl lettering and boards for crafts. We also had a Walters’ family night where Barry’s brother, Jeff, shared stories about Samuel Schwendiman, Granny’s grandfather. Ryan also talked with family about his feelings as a result of his accident. He mentioned several times the importance of family and the gospel as he has met with this challenge. The whole family made a huge effort to include Ryan in their conversations and games. There was always a war, aka Axis and Allies, going on in the basement, which kept the male cousins engaged. We also had yard games, “red neck golf” and “corn hole” which Ryan was able to participate in. We all went to the Bar J for a barbecue and entertainment. We haven’t laughed that hard for a very long time! We had yummy dinners we all took turns preparing. Best of all was connecting with all of our loved ones and feeling extremely grateful to be part of such an amazing family! Thank you Granny and Grampa for making it possible to share the week together!
On Sunday, we went to the “Visitor Ward” in Jackson along with 400 other tourists. Tyler and Rebecca blessed Sydney and Jared and Dani blessed their twins, Claire and Jacob. Rebecca’s family and Dani’s family traveled to Jackson for the blessings. There were six babies under seven months at the reunion. (I’ll post pictures so you can see all six of them lined up on blankets outside of the church.) In the midst of all the picture taking some dear friends, the Swartwoods, from Chicago showed up! They are now living in Bountiful and we are looking forward to seeing them again while we are in Utah. I’m always amazed what a small world we live in!
Tyler, Rebecca, Sydney, Ryan and I left after eating at Bubba’s to drive to Salt Lake so Ty and Becca could catch a plane on Sunday. However, our car had other plans. After going over the pass from Victor to Swan Valley our car overheated. We were stranded along side the road with the temperature near 100 degrees for about fifteen minutes when Jim and Julie’s family drove by and came to our rescue. Of anyone in our family, Jim and Devin, are the best at fixing anything that is broken! You can call it fate but I know Heavenly Father was watching over us! Jim was able to fill the radiator with water and drive the van to Idaho Falls where it got a new radiator, fan and motor on Wednesday. Tyler and Rebecca drove Alisha’s car to the airport to catch a flight on Monday and Ryan and I used Hayley’s car to drive back to Provo on Tuesday night. We had a wonderful couple of days with the Gneiting cousins where the “war” continued with Ryan Walters and Ryan Hatch, Tyler, and Carson and Tanner.
The weekend before the reunion, Ryan, Barry and I drove to Rexburg for Eric and Jen’s reception. It was another occasion to connect with friends and family. We stopped to see the Chandlers who moved to Rigby from Denver a couple of years ago and had a great visit. One of Ryan’s best friends, Andrew Chandler, recently left for his mission to Texas. On Saturday and Monday, Shawn’s and Julie’s families treated us to boating and waterskiing at Ririe Reservoir and Island Park. Ryan rode in the boat all day on Saturday and then wanted to go tubing with Hayley behind Shawn’s boat. Barry and I were skeptical and it was a little frightening (okay, a lot frightening!) but he thoroughly enjoyed himself. I’ll post some pictures showing him giving the “thumbs up” sign to go faster! It was great to go to church in Newdale with Granny and Grampa. Julie had one of her famous Sunday dinners. While we were in Jackson, Tyler told me I was the “second” best cook and that it was really a compliment . . . but that his Aunt Julie was the BEST! She is the ultimate cook! We had fun picking raspberries from Julie’s garden while she made all kinds of jam and raspberry milkshakes!
On the way home from Idaho, Barry, Ryan and I stopped to see Tim and Gloria Taggart and their son, Joseph, in West Jordan. Joseph was injured in early January when he was body surfing in Guatemala with some friends and is a higher level quadriplegic. He also has a blogsite “JosephTaggart.blogspot.com” that is inspiring to read. The Taggarts have modified their current living space to make it handicapped accessible and added a bedroom and bathroom addition similar to Ryan’s proposed addition. From the very beginning, Ryan, Barry and I commented on Joseph’s sweet countenance. Knowing why we are on earth and where we are going when we leave helps to put our son’s accidents into perspective for all of us. I’m often reminded of Ryan’s comments to me the morning following his accident when he said, “I know that through Christ’s example and the resurrection my mind and body will be perfectly reunited.” We are thankful for Ryan’s great faith and the faith of other young men like Joseph and another young man we met at Wyview named Daniel Leslie. We had actually heard about Daniel while we were at Craig Hospital. One morning I was at the laundry, when Dan and his roommate came in. Dan is from Evergreen, Colorado, and is also a quadriplegic. Dan and some of his friends are coming for dinner on Tuesday. We are beginning to make connections with others who are in similar circumstances to Ryan. Again, I know nothing happens by chance and I’m thankful our paths have crossed.
Barry has been working with the architect and builder to make the final plans for Ryan’s addition. We will then submit the plans to the insurance company to see how much help they are willing to give us. We are hoping to be all together in our home for Christmas.
Ryan has 2 ½ weeks of class left . . . the summer has zipped by so quickly. He is studying a lot for his American Heritage class and thoroughly enjoys Brother Botts Sharing the Gospel class. Ryan plans to move to Budge Hall in Helaman Halls for fall semester. I will stay in Provo for a couple of weeks to make sure Ryan feels comfortable before I go back to Parker. I’m sure it will be a bittersweet moment when I leave. Looking back on the last seven months, it’s been quite a journey for all of us. We are appreciative of all we have learned and the support of our loved ones. We wouldn’t be where we are without all of you!
I’ll close and post pictures of the last couple of weeks. Our love to all of you.
Bridgette, Barry, Ryan and Kaitlyn
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