At last.......and update!

It appearst that the only way this blog is going to be updated is by me (Kelsey.) So here we go!

Mom and Dad (Randy and Jolene) have been living in Crestview Hills, Kentucky (Cincinnati) for over a year now. They now have 6 wonderful grandkids, Tyler, Samantha, Caitlin, Annalise, Lillian and William...... and one on the way, thanks to Matt and Lauren. Now that I have brought Mom into the 21st Century, she will have to update her blog "all my by self" as Tyler would say!

Here is my feeble attempt at updates! Yes it's me and I haven't dropped off the face of the earth.

As soon as I learn how to post pictures and use captions or whatever, I will be a bit more organized.

First, thanks for all of your prayers and cards and phone calls. You don't know how much it means to know that people all over the country have given me strength. I went in for a routine procedure and ended up in the ICU for 2 weeks! When I finally started to recover, I wanted to kill those annoying machines that the alarm sounds anytime you move. I wanted to tear the wallpaper off the walls and ride the elevator down to the first floor so that I could just smell the outdoors! The little things became so meaningful. A phone call (when I was not sedated on drugs) meant so much, as well as visits from friends and family. Kelsey came out with Annalise to help me after I came home. It was like medicine for the soul to have them here! I think that Randy was sick to death of the uncomfortable hospital chairs that he slept in and the smell of medication and hospital protocol. He was quite alone when the surgery happened and the stress got to him by four o'clock in the morning when he had not heard from the surgeons. Eventually things worked themselves out and we spent the next 2 1/2 weeks in the hospital. It was really quite amazing. I had six different doctors treating me and of course all of the associates in their practice. By the time I left the hospital we counted 16 doctors that had been treating me! I am now the BIONIC WOMAN! I can't wait for the BILL!!!!! Recovery is rough....about six weeks, but I look forward to getting to my Relief Society duties and serving the women that I love, getting to spend time with my family that I adore and just feeling healthy once again!

At last I am able to send a greeting to all of you. It seems that it has been years that I have intended to compose a letter and family update but,  I  got as far as buying the stationary…. sometimes even writing the letter, but never quite got  it launched. It is amazing how much time I have now that the family is grown and on their own. So brace yourselves for an update on the Stott adventures.
Randy and I are now living in Kentucky, actually a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. We really, really like it. We love our new friends and our new ward. We live in a community that is Randy friendly! We all know how taking care of the house in Princeton was the great trial for the boys. Mowing the acreage and weekend repairs cut into their golf time. Well, now, the snow gets removed the lawn gets mowed and we don’t have to walk a quarter mile to pick up the mail, or drive the garbage down to the end of the road. Ah yes,  the basic primal conveniences of life. The only problem is that my neighbors are all old people. Either I am in denial, or I am old as well.  Randy was with Delta Consulting, but as of the first of this year, he has started his own consulting firm. We are excited that he has a little more control over his travel and we hope that when this gets launched it will be the best of all worlds…He will be his own boss!! He is on the road often, but he has great clients and he works with great people. (But he always needs more cowbell!! – inside joke.) Since moving to Cinci, I have spent most of my time in Utah.  Family events have taken me there every month since we moved. A road trip with Mom for Grandma Cunningham’s birthday, then her passing in June, Matthew’s  marriage in August, Ellie and Steve’s baby in October and then the Lilly’s blessing,Brandon and Heather’s baby in November. and the blessed event of my nephew,David Jays wedding in December. If we had a second home, it would be in Utah!Who would have thought!! I have a new Doctor looking after me and he has been a God-send. No more blood transfusions and no more hospitals. (Sorry I spoke too soon on that one.)After the holidays our New Year resolutions were to get back to the gym, get a respectable job for Jolene and spend every possible moment with the grandkids, and of course I see golf in our future. We live on a great golf course and it beckons Randy every day.
We miss our friends in New Jersey and all of our family in various cities.
18  Things we will miss from New Jersey:
1.       Jughandles
2.       Jersey Corn and tomatoes
3.       Route 22 shopping
4.       Rita’s Water Ice
5.       Winning NFL Football teams ( Go Giants, Go Eagles)
6.       The Turnpike
7.       4 Great Airports
8.       New York Pizza slices
9.       Wegmans Grocery Store
10.   The Jersey Shore
11.   Bridgewater Sushi House
12.   WAWA
13.   Not having to pump your own gas!!
14.   Montgomery Police who return my children to me safely
15.   Hands down great ethnic food…period!
16.    We love the “melting-pot” diversity
17.   Philly Cheesesteaks and Fresh Bagels
18.   Really,really, really GREAT FRIENDS 
Top 12 things we will NOT miss:
1.       New Jersey Taxes
2.       2 hour commutes into the city
3.      New Jersey politics
4.       Heating Oil
5.       Montgomery Dog Catcher
6.       People who break into our houses!
7.       Mafia controlled garbage and asphalt workers! Bada-Bing
8.       Too many black BMW’s in the parking lot (can’t find my own car)
9.       Ice Storms – (Who knows if Ohio will be any better)
10.   Too many lawyers that are looking for work or lawsuits
11.   Having our house T.P’d
12.   1 1/2 hour drives to do home teaching
13.   T R A F F I C Everywhere!!!
 
Now for an update on the kids:
Corinn,  J .C., Tyler (6), Samantha (4) and Caitlin (2)have moved to Austin. Corinn is still with Lightspeed Research as a research analyst in their Austin office. She is applying to grad schools for her MBA. JC is working at Cabella’s  as an outfitter.  They like Texas, but JC is tired of the Cowboys fans. Tyler is loving school, he has a gift of making friends easily. He gets to visit Grandma and Papa Stott at spring break because he is old enough to fly by himself. We all look forward to that. Samantha is a “My Little Pony” fan as well as learning how to put on make-up.  Caitlin spends a lot of her time in the hospital. She broke her tiny little leg and then she had a major fall to her head and we are just trying to keep her away from more disasters. Randy and I are spent Christmas with the Slater’s in Austin this year. We are missing them often, but we are so proud that they are getting on with their lives and having great success!
Kelsey , Kevin and Annalise (1 ½) have been living in Philly for the past 3 years.  Kelsey is working part-time in music therapy and Kevin is still with Merion Publications as a marketing analyst. Kevin has been interviewing for his MBA  at Maryland, University of Texas (Austin) and Ohio State and still had BYU in his sights until he finally decided on Ohio State, which is only 1 ½ hours from us…..so we are very excited! Annalise has been healthy since her surgery at birth. It has been such a blessing that she had a great team of doctors and a great children’s hospital that could do the surgery. After the surgery her lung re-inflated her heart moved into place and her hernia has been repaired. For those of you who didn’t know about Annalise, she is a true miracle. When she goes back to the hospital to see her Dr., all of the nurses call her their  “miracle baby”. We are just grateful  for all of your prayers and that the $421,000.00 price tag was covered by the insurance. We are fortunate to be able to see them, as they are currently live the closest to us and driving to Philly is manageable. We have to get a grandma visit in as often as possible.
Steven, Elizabeth and Lillian (7  months) are living in Orem. Steven is working Teleperformance.He was a trainer for Dell Technicians but has recently moved into Verizon as a Lead Trainer. Steven is also in school full-time. We all remember those days of no sleep work, and study.  Ellie is still a gifted dance teacher. She actually taught a class the day before she delivered Lilly. Her delivery went well  (easy for me to say). Lilly is healthy and well and has a bow in her hair for every occasion. We are fortunate to have been able to spend some time with the new grandbaby.And we have come to love Ellie as a new complement to our family. Steve and Ellie are two of the same. We are glad that they found each other.
Brandon and Heather are living in St. George, Utah. Yes they are having warm weather when we are having ice storms. Golf is always an option there and we are jealous.Brandon  is with AllConnect in St. George. They have bought a condo and they are very content there for a while. Heather is on leave from her flight attendant job. She delivered a wonderful healthy baby boy in November. William Brandon Stott is now grandchild #6 and he is our second boy (cheers for Tyler, who is very excited about a boy cousin).  We have been blessed to see them a lot since their wedding because of Heather’s flight benefits. Heather's family has been so gracious when we visit and we are glad that we have made new friends with them.
Matt and Lauren got married in August. She is an absolute wonderful, exceptional, and of course beautiful addition to our family. One of the best things is that she is just Matt’s size. They are so good for each other and we have been blessed to spend time with Lauren's family. They are a great support to Matt and Lauren and we have come to enjoy the time we spent getting to know them. Matt and Lauren are both in Provo at BYU. They have just announced that they are having a baby in December. Of course they are happy, happy, happy, and so are we! 
So this is the end of the weddings for our family. We have a complete compliment of out-laws and all we need now are grandchildren to add to our circle. 
Well, to wrap up our novel here, I just wanted to say to all of our friends and family that we love and appreciate you all. We have had our share of frustrations and disasters over the last couple of years, and it is amazing to me how many of you have come to our aid. It has been a struggle and a blessing and the lesson learned is this:
 
Life can deal you a few unexpected challenges, but in the midst of despair, we can always find angels that quietly and without public praise, offer themselves. They act on their own promptings and they generously give all that they have because they know that they are going about God’s work to make this place better for us all.
 
We are truly grateful to all of you for keeping in touch and supporting us and our family. When we give thanks, we give thanks to people like you. Our hearts are full and we have been humbled to be on the receiving end of service. Although I have to be honest, it’s a lot more fun to be on the giving side.  We hope that this new year will be all that you wish for.
All our Love,
Randy and Jolene
  
Corinn, James Clarence (JC), Tyler, Samantha, Caitlin Slater
Kelsey, Kevin and Annalise Lawrence
Steven, Elizabeth and Lillian Stott
Brandon, Heather and William Stott
Matt and Lauren Stott (and future baby!)