Special Days

July 16, 1957 was a special day, when God sent a son - Terry Wayne Hebdon - to Keith and Idris Hebdon, joining four siblings who surely loved and adored him.  In a few more years a couple more children were added to the family.  Those 7 children surely brought joy to their parents and grandparents.

A new family was created in February 1980 when Terry and I (Elaine) were married.  As our family began to grow we experienced the joy and love that comes from having children.  Many years later we experienced the joy of adding spouses for our children, and then of course, the addition of grandchildren.  Each addition is special and I am grateful for the special days we have experienced and continue to experience.

Let me share a few of our most recent special days:


May 14, 2018 was a special day because we added a granddaughter to our family.
Sylvie Jane - born to Michael and Tawnee, joining three siblings that love and adore her.

June 3, 2018 was a special day because we added a grandson to our family.
Bo Terry - the first child born to, and loved and adored by, Chase and Rebekah.

June 7, 2018 was a special day because we added a grandson to our family.
Canyon Thomas - born to Thomas and Dana, joining four siblings that love and adore him.

June 30, 2018 was a special day, when we added a granddaughter to our family.
Lennon James Lynn - born to Brandon and Megan, joining one sibling that loves and adores her.

With these new births, Terry and I have 20 grandchildren = 10 grandsons and 10 granddaughters.

I can say with confidence that Terry and I find great joy in adding these special children to our family. We love and adore each and every one.  Each addition to our family is a wonderful piece of joy added to brighten the day and the eternity we will enjoy forever.

Happy Birthday to/from Terry

It was brought to my attention a few weeks ago that I hadn't been posting about the birthdays in our family this year.  I guess I just neglected every one of them.  As reality would have it, I had a hard time even thinking about the first several ...  they just all of a sudden were the next day.  My mind has just had a hard time wanting to work..., it's getting better little by little.  I was thinking that it would hopefully get back to normal, but if I keep having birthdays it might mean that normal just isn't going to happen anymore.  ;(   We all know that age has a way of affecting our minds too!   Okay, that isn't what I was going to post about, so on with the topic at hand.

Terry's birthday is the only birthday I've had on my mind all year.  It has been on my mind more than not.  I was so excited for it because I got Terry a present.  It wasn't really to him, as much as it was part of him, and it is from him (if I may be so bold as to suggest that).

I sent Terry's shirts away to a woman who makes things with them.

Some of these shirts are from many years ago - he hadn't worn them for several years, and others were more recent, but I can see him in every shirt.  I wish I could keep every one of the sweet creations.  They looked so awesome all together because each one of them made me think of Terry ... over and over again.  They were all him.  I LOVE THEM BECAUSE I LOVE HIM!

This woman doesn't make just anything out of shirts, but she makes the most adorable memory bears.  She calls them Tammy Bears.

 I have changed their names and lovingly call them TERRY BEARS.

I thought about making some bears myself, but didn't think I would have the time and knew I wouldn't be able to do them in secret. I also knew it would be a lot of stress that I wasn't willing to go through.  It was worth the fortune it took to have them made - at least it was for me.

This Terry Bear is for me :)  It's a bit larger than the others.

I couldn't help but hug it when I took it out of the bag and walked back to place it on a shelf, and as I did I was smiling inside and out.  I felt like a little child hugging her teddy bear, but I was really a 55 year old woman hugging her husband's shirt that was made into a Terry Bear.  Sounds silly doesn't it? But I'm okay with it!  :)

There are moments in life when you miss someone so much 

that you just want to pick them up from your mind and hug them.

This bear will sit in a cabinet stuffed with Terry's things, where I can see it and smile back at it anytime I wish.  I can even take it out and hug it if I ever feel the urge again.  (The cabinet it is going in is on it's way to the house and should arrive tomorrow, so maybe you'll see this bear again sometime when I post about that cabinet.)

I ordered one for each of my children (they share with their spouses) and I refer to them as Daddy Terry Bears

There is also one for each of my grandchildren that I label Grandpa Terry Bears.

I quickly got them photographed and made my own tags for them.

The original hope was to get them to my family on Terry's birthday (born 58 years ago TODAY), but they didn't arrive to me in time to do that like I wished so I have one box to send and I'm saving the others since they will be here next week for our family reunion.  They get to see a photograph for his birthday and then they can hug it when they get here.  Something to look forward to!

These Terry Bears truly have a heart and they brought a wonderful smile to my heart when they arrived on my doorstep.  I thought it would have been lovely to just put them all on a shelf and keep them, but I am finding that it warms my heart to give them away too, so it's a win win situation. I'll have pictures and this post to remind me of all of the bears and all of his shirts.

21 Bears in total - 1 larger one (photo above) and 20 smaller bears.  Each from one of Terry's shirts.

It's a great way to celebrate Terry's first birthday in heaven.  That, and carrot cake and ice cream for breakfast.  :)

It's going to be a good day!

A Celebration

Our family has a birthday today!  It is a day we have celebrated for 23 years.  We often have cake and ice cream for breakfast on this day, but I forgot to make a cake for today, so we didn't celebrate. Sometimes we even purchase a gift for the house but I didn't get that done this year either.  However, today I feel an extra special joy in my heart for the reason for this celebration because it was provided for me and my family by a loving husband/father.

Today we celebrate the birthday of our house.  We moved in 23 years ago today.   Here is our 23 year old house.  

I have always been grateful for it, but like most other things, there is a different feel to it now.  Terry provided for us in a very good way.  He worked hard and smart and he is still providing for us because of those good works in life.  

I must also say that I know that Terry was able to provide, not only because he was smart and willing and dedicated to us, but it was also with help from Heaven.  He believed in and trusted in Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father's plan.  Through that faith Terry was blessed, and so were we.  

Each night I thank the Lord for all that Terry provided for us and how he made sure we were taken care of, and I also thank the Lord for His hand in it all.

I found a few photos from our scrapbook to share - 

In this first picture Terry is working and preparing the ground, 9 October 1992, where our house now stands.  I'm not sure but I think that is probably Michael watching his dad in the foreground.  

This shows Terry (farthest left), and Kirby, Shadd, and Tim hard at work lifting the outside playroom wall on the South end of the house.  

We were "coming home" one day to see the improvements and Terry welcomed us with a wave as he saw us coming down the road.  This makes me smile - so grateful I took these pictures.

Now, skipping forward a few years to the Spring of 1998, here Terry is finishing up the building of the cupola above the garage. The making of this house was an ongoing project for him.  Truth be told, he did most of what he did for me.

Terry continued improvements with the house and yard as often as he could.  In this next photo he is building a strawberry box in our back yard, June 2003.

He tried hard to make it a comfortable and fun place for us to raise a family.  Here he is, in May 2007, helping to create a bike run for the children.  (Cement guy, Terry, Thomas, Elders Johnson and Fraum)

Anthony enjoying the ride around the cured cement.

More work on the house, putting up the can lighting, September 2008.  Terry was a talented man and could do many things.  He was always wanting to learn and do more.  He would rather do it himself than hire someone else to do it - it being anything really.

Terry continued helping with the improvements, but sometimes, the last few years of his life, the work he did was supervising, letting others do most of the manual labor.  He would do as much as he could, but many times it was not as much as he would have liked.  Here we have Thomas, Skyler, Terry, and Connor building the deck in 2010.

Terry not only worked on the house and yard, but he also helped make our house a home and we share precious memories with him here.

Chase and Terry making popcorn while others colored eggs, Easter 2010, just before we left for the first transplant in Seattle.

We all have fun memories with Terry.  We enjoyed his company like these two grandson prove in this photo, taken August 2013, just before we left to Seattle for the second transplant.  (Ethan and Auger with their Grandpa Hebdon.)

I am forever grateful for the house we've made our home and the man who made it possible.  I don't know if we'll do much celebrating on the outside today, but I am celebrating on the inside.  Heavenly Father blessed me with almost 35 years of love from Terry and though I wish it could have lasted more than 35 years longer, I am eternally grateful for the beautiful years we did have together, in this home (a few months short of 23 years) and our first home (12 years).

Happy Birthday to our house ..., our home!

:) DAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to TERRY!

Dacogen infusion went well today! 
It was quick and easy as far as infusions go.  Terry doesn't have much in the way of side affects with this chemo drug, but he is feeling more achy the last few days.  We are hoping that means things are beginning to work inside.  It could mean that he has been up and doing a bit more than before and is paying for it with achy bones. 

:) Day!

I had a birthday!
We followed tradition and had cake and ice cream for breakfast.  Anthony even added the candles for me to blow out.

We have all enjoyed having Chase home ...

We also enjoyed a visit and meal with Terry's siblings and their spouses ...
We are missing the Hebdon reunion this year because of Terry's concerns and needs, so it was nice of them to come visit for the evening.

image from here

Happy Birthday BJo!

Too Tired!   Senior Trip kept her out until 3:30am this morning. And, she was baling for two nights before that.   Oh Bother!  

 

EIgHTEeN !

ANTHONY HAD A BIRTHDAY; SHOUT HOORAY!

So ready for breakfast!
Can you guess how old ANTHONY is? 




If you guessed SIXTEEN then you are correct.  Wow huh!   Those DRIVING and DATING years begin. 

T11

First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SKYLER!

We rode to the clinic today because it was too cold to walk.  We had a blood draw and a nutrition visit.  They really try to make sure that their patients are doing well in every way.   Terry still feels nauseous and tired and cold ....  He has a couple weeks of this left, but we are happy to get through one day at a time.

We got a package of mail from home today, and along with the oodles of doctor bills, etc., we found two envelopes with precious messages and art work from Auger and Akleigh. Thank you!  We love you!

We added them to the other lovely décor we put up in our apartment a few days ago - art work from Brayden, Tawny, Ethan, and Maddie.  Thanks again, we love you!

They make us smile!  :)

Stem Cell Infusion

We walked to the clinic for blood draw this morning.  The weather was chilly, but not as bad as the days previous.  Coming back was beautiful as we walked over the overpass and the sun was shining warmth down onto us.  It was a wonderful warm feeling.

Terry is feeling a little better today. He hasn't thrown up, but has not eaten very much either.

We are in the hospital and he has been receiving cells for a few hours now, and is tolerating it well.  Nurses and doctors have been coming and going from the room all afternoon.  Everyone is very kind and wants to be helpful.  Today might be an "easy" day compared to yesterday and the days to come.  We are grateful for it.

The bag of cells can be seen hanging with the fluids - they are the red bag.  It's just that easy - they connect them to the Hickman Line and they are infused just like the fluids or any other blood product.

We will stay the night and if all is well, go back to the apartment tomorrow.  He started up Cyclosporine again tonight, but a bit smaller dose.  We'll see how that goes.  He is feeling tired, and is ready for some sleep, so I'll say good night and turn out the lights.


We thank you for all your prayers on our behalf.  Over here (meaning clinic, hospital, bus drivers, etc.) the best they can do is to send "positive thoughts" our way.  We appreciate those too, and must remember that to some that might mean prayers, but we love the faith that is accompanied with prayer.  We are grateful for that faith and prayers.
 
A couple of the nurses today have wished Terry a happy birthday because these cells are a sort of re-birth for him.  I pray that is the case this time!  Maybe we will have cake and ice cream on November 23rd next year?????

Okay, lights out!
Love ya all!

Auger's Birthday

Auger is now 4 years old!

 

We celebrated his birthday Sunday night, but his birthday was really on Monday (16th).

 

He loved his cake, and the toys on it.

 

 

The Thomas Tank Engine Umbrella was possibly his favorite gift - he was so happy to get it.

 

He also loved his handcuffs - see them on his hands ... and his feet?

 

 

We gave him this front loader and he was happy to have that too.

 

 

I bought him a dump truck, but learned that he already had one that a friend gave him, so I quickly made a change of plans. He probably would have loved it too though.

 

 

He had a great birthday and enjoyed all of his gifts.

 

And, we enjoyed the company!

Shawna and David came to visit us for a while that evening.

 

While they were here we had a wind and rain storm, but as hard as it was it caused no major damage for us. We were happy to be inside, but thought it was perfect that Auger got an umbrella on such a day as this. 

 

When David and Shawna got back to Othello they learned that the city was without power and the next morning they learned that trees were blown over in the park behind their house and in other yards in town. We have heard of downed trees and power outages and other damages caused by that storm, but ours was pretty minor compared to that.  We had a some moisture on the floor inside our French doors and had to dry that up before it caused more of a problem.

 

 

We're feeling pretty lucky!  Last thing we need is something else to worry about right now.  knock on wood! ... Like that would help anyway!

 

 

A Birthday Morning!

We were preparing for another night of baling (but it was too wet) and the next morning celebrated a birthday - Akleigh is 2 years old.

 

I wanted to give her a dump truck, but wanted a pink one. 

Tonka doesn't make pink dump trucks so I had to create my own.  Spray paint helped make it pretty easy, still keeping the Tonka look.

 

Akleigh was happy!

 

I was happy that the truck turned out cute.

 

sorry my camera doesn't do movement very well

 

She was happy with all of her gifts!

 

 

 

Happy Birthday!

 



 

... and the baling ... well, they stayed one more night to get the baling done, because it was too wet the first night, but now it is done for this go-round!

I think silage harvest is the next big push, but I should have asked before I post about it - oh bother!  I guess you'll learn if I was right or not, when I post about the next farm work being done.

 

Happy Day Y'all!