Sky’s Freshman Year

Sky’s freshman year at Sonora started with the stress of Ken’s cancer treatments.  Ken droppied her off for the first day of school and then drove straight to the hospital for his 3rd round of chemo.  Of course Starbucks was involved.  

FCA (fellowship of Christian Athletes) played a big role in Sky’s freshman year.  There were multiple events throughout the year and weekly meetings as well.  The back to school family picnic was really wonderful, as each family prayed over their student.  

FCA hosted a beach event which Sky really enjoyed.  

For the entire month of October, Ken and I were at Coty of Hope and my mom and Bill stayed with the kids at our house.  Sky was able to get rides to school with our friends from Heights, the Correa’s and the Rodriguez’s and home from school with the McKinley’s.  These families took great care of Sky and supported my mom and Bill immensely during this time.  

They went to movies together and Sky enjoyed the dances also.  

Sky took honors English and AP Human Geography as well as biology, algebra 1, and dance.  She eventually dropped dance to participate in the swim team but that was cut short due to Covid 19. In addition to distance learning, she also had to take the AP exam online.  

Sky was a hydro-flask for Halloween and she attended a party at a friend’s home.  

Sky’s first period class was French 1.  We really enjoyed attending Paris Night and Sky and her partner built a model of Sucre Coeur, a cathedral in Paris.  They also sang French songs while we enjoyed crepes and other French pastries.  

Although this year was filled with unexpected twists and turns (father with cancer and Covid 19), Sky really enjoyed her freshman year.  She made lots of new friends and tried new things (dances, French, swim team, etc).  

As she looks forward to next year,  she recently found out that she made the drill team so she will be involved with that.  She will also be on the leadership team for FCA, possibly using her talent for singing to lead worship.  And she’s waiting to hear back from a buddy program for kids with special needs that she hopes to be involved with next year.  

We are thankful for the Christian presence at Sonora  and the excellent school leadership and support this year.  

Farewell to Josie

Today we have to say good bye to our adorable 15 year old chihuahua/ jack russel terrier mix dog, Josie.  

We’ve had her for over 6 years now, adopting her into our family after her owner passed away and she had nowhere to go.  

Since Ken’s stem cell transplant, we’ve had to keep things extra clean so Josie has been going to the groomer more frequently and even getting her nails done in lots of pretty colors.  She’s been a classy lady.  

She has brought so much joy and fun to our family with her big personality and crazy antics.  She loved dinners on the patio and has served as a vacuum cleaner for our family all these years.  

In her prime, Josie loved to play fetch with a tennis ball, go on long walks, and bark at every living thing around.  She also loved sitting on the couch for movie nights and licking Lila the entire time.  

But recently, she’s been struggling with gum infections (treated by antibiotics last month), ultimately needing gum surgery, and her back legs have been giving out on her, causing her to fall a lot.  When she walks, she drags one leg along and it is too much to bear.  Although her spirits still seem good, I know she’s in pain and we cannot go on like this.  

So we cherish the good times we’ve had with her and are comforted that she won’t be in pain any longer.  

We spent some time making paw prints with plaster of Paris so that we can have her prints still.  Lila made a photo book with all of our pictures of her.  Our lives will definitely be emptier without her!  

Farewell Josie!  And thanks for all the good times!  

Blog Dedication: My grandmother, Florence T Crowell

My grandmother passed away in December (2019) at the age of 97.  As I begin to chronicle our family's happenings in this blog again, I am dedicating this family blog to her, our original family historian.  This is my way of keeping history for our family and carrying on the legacy that she began.  

Her life was filled with love for family, volunteerism, and a determination to have fun and travel.  She did loads of genealogical research, tracing our family roots all the way back to the Mayflower (William Bradford), Aaron Burr (the guys who shot Alexander Hamilton), and many other founders of our country.  Her research made it possible for me to be able to join DAR (daughters of the American Revolution), although I never did.  

My grandmother was an amazing woman in so many ways.  She graduated from college and was a teacher for many years.  She supported my grandfather in so many ways, but perhaps the greatest was encouraging him to process, talk about and be proud of his service in the Air Force in WW 2.  Together they attended many 330th bomb group reunions over the years and in the picture above, she is receiving the flag that draped my grandfather's coffin during his military burial.

She was the town historian for Watertown, CT for many years and she worked tirelessly to curate antique items for the town museum.


She set a wonderful example of commitment and dedication in marriage. My grandpa and she truly celebrated each other’s victories and accomplishments and were each other’s biggest fans.

My grandmother worked hard to raise awareness of the significance of historical buildings and she even participated in a few public protests when historic buildings were scheduled to be demolished. I love the picture of her with the bull horn (below).








My grandmother encouraged a love for reading in me at an early age, introducing me to the "latest" Caldecott winners and honors, Blueberries for Sal, One Morning in Maine, The Biggest Bear, Make Way for Ducklings, and many others.

My grandmother was a writer herself.  She wrote loads of letters to me when I was in college, spurring me on, letting me know how proud she was that I was pursuing education.  She also wrote quite a few newspaper articles and was interviewed for scores more.  She went on to write her own book on the history of her beloved town, Watertown.  It contained a compilation of pictures and stories from days gone by.



So Gram, I'm going to do what I can to remember what you taught me about our family of the past while working hard to keep a history of our present day family.  But, as I write each post, you're the inspiration for recording these memories and you're the impetus behind seeing the importance in the happenings of everyday life.  This blog is dedicated to you.

Memorial Day 2020

I’m grateful to all who have served to preserve our freedoms.  Both of my grandfathers served in WW2 and I always enjoyed their stories.  We were the lucky ones whose loved ones returned, but many didn’t and we remember them today.

My mom's dad, Livingston Crowell

                                                 My dad's father, Arthur LeClerc

One of the most powerful patriotic experiences I’ve had was attending my brother Eric’s graduation from USAF basic training.  My brother Gary and I flew in to Texas for the weekend and enjoyed celebrating with Eric.  The folding of the flag ceremony was especially touching.  I also was able to visit Eric while he was stationed in Japan.  Being a part of life on a military base, even for only 10 days, was simply amazing.  

In these dark days of Covid-19, when many worry about what will happen to our country, I gain confidence and hope from looking back to the strength and resolve of the past, knowing that we have a strong history and hoping for the continued enjoyment of our freedoms in the future.  

A Mountain Getaway

We’ve been hoping and planning to build on to our house for my mom and Bill, and the buildings plans have now been submitted to the city and we are awaiting approval.  We needed to tent the house before construction to get rid of termites and other pests.  It was a big process of bagging all food, including what was in the fridge and freezer, and sealing it in the special bags provided for this.  We had to board our pets at our local veterinary hospital and leave the premises for a few days.

Because of Covid-19, most hotels are closed to vacationers.  Thankfully, our friends the Baimas have a beautiful home in the mountains, at Green Valley Lake, and we were able to stay there for 3 nights.  

Ken, Brad and Lila did some fishing at the lake.  It was so calm and peaceful!  

We went on a hike.  The Baima’s backyard is up against the national forest so there is a great view with hiking trails.  

Ken was very proud of himself for climbing the rocks and reaching the top. He has lost a lot of weight and muscle tone due to cancer treatments, and he is winded and fatigued easily.  So, this was a big accomplishment.

Brad led the way because he has been to the Baima’s cabin for other events like Peter’s birthday party and our church’s winter camp.  

The Baimas allowed us to shoot their BB guns, a fist for the girls and I.  

Since we are technically still in school (distance learning), we still had our work to do and our zooms to attend.  We also watched movies and made s’mores at the fireplace every night.

It was a very nice getaway especially since we are at the 1 year mark of Ken’s leukemia diagnosis.  It felt good to be somewhere else together, enjoying nature.  

Mother’s Day Weekend

This has been quite a special weekend!  Lots of really special events...

On Saturday Sky found out that she made the Sonora Drill Team.  She’s been working very hard on her audition routine, which had to be pre-recorded and submitted virtually because of Covid-19.  The coach and team captains drove to our house with a huge sign and Sonora face mask to welcome her to the team.  She is so excited.

I was able to spend Mother’s Day with my mom for the first time in 9 years.  It was very nice.  We watched the church service together and then had Panera delivered for lunch.  

The kids and Ken showered me with gifts including a new book, homemade salt scrub, gum, coffee gift card, flowers, candles, new popsicle makers (Brad), and a hammock.  I’ve already been enjoying lying on the hammock while reading.  The kids like it too.  

Ken preached his first church message since his cancer diagnosis almost a year ago.  It was pre-recorded also but it felt like a significant accomplishment.  He then spent Monday in the recording studio at BIOLA, as it was his first day back from disability.  So much to be thankful for! 

Lila’s piano performances

Because of Covid-19, Lila’s piano guild had to be recorded and sent to the judge, rather than her sitting with a judge in person.  She learned 10 songs by memory (no notes to look at) and played them all in one day.  Awards and acknowledgments are usually done at a recital at the end of May, which will most likely also be virtual.  The links below are her recordings:

Lila piano

Lila piano 

Lila piano