Updates:

Here's the latest for the Tietjen crew:

Luke is keeping busy over summer by continuing his journey in Boy Scouting, fellowshipping and worshiping in youth group, playing 2nd base for his baseball team, and spending time with friends.

Zach is working at Costco and is nearing the home-stretch next fall for his teaching degree from UNLV.

Tim is home until September; when his next contract begins. In the meantime, he is busy practicing, spending time with the brothers, and working.

Luke and I are anticipating CIY church camp in Southern California next month, as well as our mission trip to Peru in August! Alongside that, I recently started a job at the Gap, and am staying very involved at our church.

Our awe-inspiring mom is keeping busy over the summer with old friends, new friends, and best friends, but most importantly, our family.

It would be an understatement to say that our first summer without our dad and great grandpa is gloomy and uncomfortable. However, we have what I can only describe as the perfect friends, church, family, and foremost, faith to combat such trials.

- Sam

Recipe for Sleep?!?

When life gives you overripe bananas . . .

You just gotta make banana chocolate chip

bread.  You already know that I ate one of

the loves . . . all by myself.  It is so incredibly

yummy.  I ate mine right before bedtime.

Maybe THAT will help me sleep.  Goodness

gracious.  I used to be THE best sleeper on

the planet.  Not anymore.  Grrrrrrr.

I will try anything . . . even a whole loaf

of banana chocolate chip bread.

Here's to a good night's sleep!!!

Mom's Day Flowers

Posting from my iPad today! Practicing for my little journey next week!

I did want to post this picture of my be-auuuutiful flowers that my

wonderful Tim sent me! My boys really went the extra mile

to make my Mother's Day special.  Even though it was really

different not having our amazing Mike with us, we managed to have

a wonderful Mom and son day!  I don't know if I have mentioned

it, but I have THE most wonderful boys on this planet!

Baseball Tryouts.

I do so love it when I get to an event

and I lug my camera around for hours

in 104* heat and then go to take a picture

and I do not have a card in the camera.

Nice.  That was the scenario today.

However, I did capture a couple

of pics with my phone.  

Luke had baseball tryouts in the

miserable heat of the day!  He made

the team!!! Yeah!!!!!

Here are a couple of pics that I 

took with my phone!  I could not 

zoom in nor could I get very close . . . 

This was mostly my view of the

tryouts . . . Thank the good Lord that

Jeffy went with me to tryouts!!!  We

had fun talking and laughing while

the boys were working so hard out

there!!!

A big congrats to my Luke.  He will

play American Legion ball this summer

and try out for Desert Oasis High School

baseball when school starts in the fall.

High School . . . I think I blinked!!!

Happy Mother's Day.

Happy, happy Mother's Day to THE bestest

Mom on the planet!  I am so very grateful

that my special Mom and I have always

shared a close relationship.  I am so very

grateful that she is mine, mine, mine.  It

has been so wonderful to live back in

our hometown to be able to be near her!

My mom is a great example of a 

wonderful Mom, grandmother, and 

daughter.  I am thankful that she loves

the Lord with all of her heart and shows

it in her daily living.  We are looking

forward to celebrating all things Mom 

as soon as she is feeling back to 

her normal self.  We have had a difficult

road with her health the past year.  We

are pray, pray, praying that we will be

able to get to the bottom of all of this

very soon.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!!!!

Whitewater Rafting.

Not the best pic . . . It took this pic

with my phone off of Luke's computer.

This picture is not worth a thousand

words, but the expression on Luke's

face when he got out of his 

Scoutmaster's truck was!!  He had a

wonderful time with his troop 

camping and whitewater rafting on the

Kern River in Cali on a beautimous

day!!  I am so, so, so thrilled for him!!

He is my outdoorsman!!  This is just

what my sweet Luke needed!!  I am

thrilled that he had such a wonderful

time!!!!  Now to get my guy into a

shower and the haystack!!!!

Mother's Day Surprise.

My sweet amazing Tim sent me these

beautiful flowers for Mother's Day.  I 

am soo incredibly blessed to have a

wonderful son who thinks of and loves

me in spite of myself.  I am so very

thankful for my Tim.  He is an incredible

blessing to me.  I am so thankful for

our close relationship.  The flowers are

so BEAUTIFUL and brought gobs of

happy, happy tears to my eyes!!!

Love being you Mom, Tim.

I am truly blessed!!!!

Only 11 more days and I will get

to rendevouz with my oldest son

in the Philly.

Get Well Soon.

Our Grandy has been pretty.darn.sick.

It started with a plethora of symptoms and

has lasted an ENTIRE year.  Now we 

are in the THICK of it!!!  Please

pray that we get our sweet girl back

uber soon!!!!

Whitewater Rafting.

Luke is going on an exciting whitewater rafting

trip with his Scout troop this weekend.  Today

was a flurry of activity as we packed his

backpack and gathered all of the necessary

items that he will need to have a fun time

on the Kern River in California.

Unfortunately, Luke is comparing this trip

to his birthday river rafting trip where I 

took Zach, Sam, and Luke down the 

Truckee River when it was running after

a season of the most rain in like 100

years.  It was a disaster!  Seriously, we

are lucky to be alive.  The waves 

crashed around us, submerged our

raft multiple times, rocks hit us,

trees scratched our faces . . . We 

were seriously out of control,

unprepared, and totally unsure of 

what to do on the Truckee River.

Hence, my Luke is a wee bit nervous

about this experience with the Scouts

as he is comparing it to our horrendous

near-death experience down the Truckee

on his birthday . . . 

Can't wait until he returns on Saturday

to see how much he loved it!!!!

The Three Principals.

All three of the principals for my dissertation

have been interviewed.  All of the information

is contained on these two recorders.  I used

two recorders just in case one of them decided

not to work during the interviews.

I am going to be one busy girl typing, typing,

typing all of the information on these

recorders and tapes.

Chapters 4 and 5 . . . here we come!!!

Buds.

Did I ever say how much I adore my boys'

friends . . . They are simply THE most 

amazing group of people EVER.  All of

my boys have chosen awesome forever

friends.  This weekend Sam went to a 

prom-style birthday party for one of his

friends.  This group of friends is a really

close-knit group and do most everything

together.  If they are not eating and

sleeping at our home, then they are over

at one of the others home.  I.love.that.

Jameal is 6'8 and Sam is 5'7.  It took a

little doing, but it looks like Sam is 

finally breathing air up there . . . 

Baseball Time.

Out of our four boys, Luke is our bestest

athlete.  Give him a ball, racket, bat, or

club, he is a natural.  The Mom part of me

cannot believe that my youngest boy is

starting high school next year.  Did I blink

or something?!?  Luke is going to try out

for Desert Oasis baseball team.  He will

have an extremely busy summer ahead 

of him.  That means he would play American

Legion ball this summer . . . a game almost

every single day with practice every single

day!!!

While it is beyond our imaginations

to believe that our Dad is not here

to coach our Luke, we are so incredibly

thankful for our Uncle Jeff.  He has taken

Luke under his wing and is going to work

with him every.single.day until tryouts.

Once again, we continue to be amazed

and incredibly thankful for our wonderful

family and friends who have stepped up

to the plate in so very many ways.  We

seriously do.not know what in the world

we would do without them.  While I still

struggle to even accept the reality of it

all, there are those who have and have 

been such a blessing to our family in 

more ways than anyone could ever

imagine.

I struggle with the fact that my boys

earthly father is in Heaven.  It is beyond

my comprehension that our wonderful

Dad will not be here for Luke's baseball

games, has not here for Sam's golf

tournaments this season, is not here to

root Tim on with his guitar playing and

career choices, is not here to see how Zach

has managed to work and go to school

this semester.  Has not seen Luke's 

incredibly darling little friend Faith or

meet her amazing family.  I do not like

the fact that Mike has not been here to

talk about my dissertation or the fact

that tomorrow is my last principal interview

or the fact that I am working on Chapters

4 and 5 . . . 

Pretty crazy to even begin to comprehend it

all . . . Thankfully, I do not need to worry

about carrying that burden all alone!!

All-Time Favorite Snack.

I still can't believe I ate the whole

thing!!!!  For about a bazillion 

years this has been my very favorite

go-to snack.  I jumped up and down

the day that I saw it comes in a 

PARTY SIZE!!!!!  It is seriously

addicting and seriously yummy!!!!

I don't eat meat or dairy and seriously

try to limit my sugar intake.  I 

swear if a doc ever tells me that I

can't eat popcorn . . . 

My Zach.

Yep, Zach is the man of many

faces in our home.  How, oh,

how I love my Zach.  Like all of

us, my Zach definitely marches

to his own drummer.  He has his

own way of accomplishing tasks

and ordering his day.  He is the

smartest of the smart!  Zach is a

wonderful son and brother.  We 

do not know what we would ever

do without him.  I miss my Mike so

much when I see Zach.  I remember

how when Mike was so sick, he 

was still insistant upon taking Zach

for his special sushi lunch.  Mike

NEVER let a deed go unrewarded.

Zach loves to report in about

EVERYTHING!!  When we ask

him for the time, he tells us how

the watch was made!!  We do so

love that about our Zach.  He is

working like a little dog to put the

finishing touches on school!!!

I love, love, love this boy!!!!!!

My Tim.

My Tim is quite the guy!!  He is gives

THE best hugs . . . hands down.  He

can grab you and bear hug you and

make you feel like you are the most

loved person on the planet.  He has

an infectious laugh.  Those are the two

things that I miss the most about him

when he is gone.  Tim makes our home

come alive . . . there is always a plethora

of activity going on when he is here!!

The boys love it that he takes them 

shooting, has an interest in what is

going on in their lives, and brings a

hustle and bustle to our home.

Tim is so talented!  He has a passion

for his dreams like none other.  He

and I sharpen each other as iron 

sharpens iron.  We.are.so.much.alike!

I am so thankful for the way that he

loves his family and is devoted to them.

I am sad for the way that he truly

misses his most amazing Dad.  I am

thankful that he is mine, mine, mine!

My Luke.

Unequivocally, my Luke is THE bestest

thirteen year old on this planet.  I love him

like crazy.  He melts my heart.  He is an

amazing human being.  He is sensitive,

kind, loving, Christlike, and loves all others

above himself.  Plain and simple, without

Luke, I would be toast.  I lean on him

when he should be leaning on me.  He

takes such good care of me.  He is so

concerned about my well-being and puts

that above his own.  I worry so about my

youngest, losing his precious Dad at the

tender age of thirteen.  How could that 

possibly be.  Seriously, I know that I have

said it a million times before and I will

probably say it a million times again, I

simply.cannot.believe.it.  Truthfully, I do

not know when your heart and your mind

accept such a devastating loss.  Is it a

year from now, five years from now . . .

As we begin to emerge from our protective

cocoons and venture out into the big world

out there, it is only with the help of those

like my Luke who are so gentle, kind, and

thoughtful.  I am so thankful that he has a

plethora of good friends . . . yet, he is the

nicest and bestest friend to them.

My Luke is pretty darn amazing!  There is

not a moment that goes by that I forget

to thank my Heavenly Father for this sweet,

wonderful, talented young boy.

My Sam.

All of my boys are . . . quite simply put . . . AMAZING!!

Each of them have a special place in my heart.  I wanted to

give a shout out to Sam!  He is such a wonderful person!

He has only needs to earn 10 more credits and he will

have his Associate's Degree.  He works hard and does an

amazing job at everything he tries.  He has had a different

golf season this year for many reasons, yet has remained

committed to his team . . . even in the most difficult 

moments.  He is smart, kind, loving, and Christlike.  He

sees the good in just about EVERYONE.  I could not 

be prouder of a seventeen year old if I tried.  He loves

me in spite of myself and is my psychologist, computer

wizard, photographer, accountabler, and much more

all rolled into one ball.

As I walk this unfamiliar journey, I have become so

very much more aware of why our Heavenly Father

has placed different individuals in my life.  He certainly

knew what He was doing when he gave me the

gift of this guy.  I continue to be blessed by him daily

and grateful for the wonderful young man he is!  I

do so wish that our Dad could be here to witness Sam.

It is difficult to imagine the milestones my boys will

pass through without their amazing Dad.  I will

continue to be thankful for my many, many blessings,

especially the gift of my amazing boys.

Dissertation Data

Next step in the dissertation process: 

tallying teacher surveys!  Chapter 4

just keeps getting more and more

exciting by the moment!!!

Stay tuned!

Wild Weekend.

Tietjens LOVE weekends.  The planning begins

on Wednesday - for ALL of us!!!  The boys begin

reporting in on their plethora of activity and I 

fill in the holes with my goings on!  This weekend

was no exception.  None of us were able to put 

a comprehendible sentence together by Sunday

evening.  That.is.just.the.way.we.like.it.

This weekend we:

*put over 300 miles on my car

(just around town, mind you)

*visited the Grandy in the hospital

six times 

*played music in the car REALLY

loud with Uncle Jeffy

*drove to Tule Springs and back

four times

*ate Taco Bell three times

*made blueberry pancakes

*had Sam's possie over for a

sleepover on Saturday

*went to see Luke's amazing

friend Faith in the 3-hour

long Wizard of Oz play

twice

*Had friends over to play

cards

*Talked to new friends who

stopped by our home until

2 in the morning

*Went through two cases of

water

*Ate two bags of Tootsie Rolls

*Ate cereal in bed . . . on Sunday

night . . . a tradition

Thankful that we have so many blessings

and friends that fill our weekends.  Truthfully,

since our sweet Dad went to Heaven, this

is just about the ONLY way we can

fill the emptiness of those darn weekends.

Empty weekends turn pretty darn miserable

around our house . . . 

Just look at how much we have to do

to replace our wonderful Dad in our home!

I clicked the heels of my ruby slippers together

over and over.  Our Dad is still in Heaven.

We are learning our new normal.

We are forever grateful to friends who fill

our moments . . . They are amazingly 

wonderful!  Quite simply, we would be

sunk without them.

Off to bed.  We have Monday and Tuesday

then we will start planning for next

weekend.  Cheaper than rehab I suppose!!

Proposal Conference Call.

 Slam dunk.  Today was the day that I

had to defend my dissertation proposal

in front of my four committee members!!!

 This is only a small portion of my PowerPoint

presentation about my dissertation 

proposal.

 My committee members were satisfied . . .

I was endorsed to begin my research and

get this dissertation.done. Period.

The Wiz of Oz.

 Sam's sweet friend Faith performed

in the play "The Wizard of Oz" with

Calvary Chapel Christian School.

Luke and I had so much fun attending

this play together.  I just love

mother and son nights . . . I get

to have them EVERY night!!  How

lucky am I?!?

The play was wonderful!!  Luke and I

loved the cowardly lion the mostest!!

He was so funny and made the play

awesome!!!  Wonderful, wonderful day

of fun!!!!

Kneaders.

 Anyone who knows me for about six seconds

knows and understands that I am a breadaholic!

I admit, I have a serious problem when it 

comes to bread . . . any shape, size, or flavor.

I did not know that my problem was so

serious until I went to Kneaders Bakery & Cafe

in St. George several weeks ago.  I bought

a loaf of raisin walnut bread.  Now just let

me preface this by saying that the bread was

baked within moments of my purchasing it,

had raisins the size of quarters, and yummy

walnuts throughout.  Prepare yourself when I

tell you that I ate the ENTIRE loaf of cranberry

walnut bread on the way back to Las Vegas.

I am sorry to say that I do not have a picture

of my yummy raisin walnut bread that I bought

last night on my way home from St. George,

due to the fact that I ate the ENTIRE loaf

AGAIN on my way home!!!  However, here

is a picture of my the yummiest sour dough

bread ever made that I will be toasting and

jamming all day long today!!!

A girl's gotta have a vice right . . . 

Quilt Store Fun.

 . . . a quick trip to St. George, Utah

is always a great time to pick up

quilt fabric . . . 

 Susan and I have been looking for

this fabric in Las Vegas and

could not find it . . . anywhere!!!

Wala . . . Here it is in a sweet

little quilt shop in St. George!!!

With CHRISTmas only 244

days away . . . I had better get

crackin'!!!!

Gout.

Gout. Seriously. Really. 

Yep! I've got it!!  It wasn't

a bug bite.  Grrrrrrr.

Happy Birthday Sweet Friend.

 Happy, happy BIRTHDAY to the best

of the best!!!  You mean more to me than

silver or gold!  I do so treasure our friendship!

The Lord gave me a tremendous gift in you!

 Quilt fabric for Susan . . . 

 . . . would she REALLY want quilt fabric

for her BIRTHDAY?!?

Our next conquest . . . "French Roses"!

Susan:

*loves the Lord

*loves UNCONDITIONALLY

*is a wonderful wife and mother

*is unselfish

*gives tirelessly of herself

*loves Dr. Pepper

*loves quilting

*is.just.THE.bestest.EVER

I.do.not.know.what.I.would.do.

without.her . . . it wouldn't be pretty!!!

A Hiking We Will Go.

You might have to use a wee bit of

your imagination, but that is a quick

pic of Cathy and I.  Our new goal

is to conquer the mountain in 

Mountain's Edge THREE or FOUR

times.  Cathy called me and asked

me to hike that baby with her this

morning.  After one trip up the

easy side and down the hard side,

I was ready for another trip!

Welcome to Jill's Bootcamp!

Next week: It's up and down 

that mountain THREE times!!!

Boys Will Be Boys.

 Sam had ONE friend over tonight . . . 

 Boys always means food . . . and

lots and lots and lots of it!!!

Boys always means bacon . . . and

lots and lots and lots of it!!!

I am so thrilled that our boys have

such amazing friends.  I am so glad

that they choose to hang out at our

house.  I am so glad that we have

so many blessings . . . 

Paint the . . .

Sam and some of his friends decided to

put on all white clothes, grab buckets of 

paint, and meet in the desert behind the

church!!!  I don't think that fun actually

gets any.better.than.this.

Cherish the moments folks, they fade

all too quickly!!!!

Missing Our Wonderful Dad.

So loved when things were JUST like THIS!!!

It is just so hard to comprehend.

Difficult to still imagine.

More than hard to believe.

We miss and love our wonderful Dad

so very much!!

Some days are much more difficult

than others . . . Yet, we are all

trying desperately to somehow

move on in our journey.

THURSDAY BONUS:  Had so much

fun facetiming with our Tim.

He is a wonderful son and I miss

him with all of my heart!  I am so

excited that he working so hard to

achieve his goals.

Zach continues to work hard at his

studies and his job.  I am so thankful

for him and how he cares for 

all of us!!

Sam is doing such an AMAZING job

both on and off the course!!!  His

schoolwork is impeccable.  He is

truly a remarkable young man.

Luke . . . what a WONDERFUL

WONDERFUL son!!!  Everything

about him is beyond words.  I

am so very proud of him!!!

BLESSINGS abound.  We are so 

incredibly thankful for our wonderful

family and friends . . . for their 

continued support and prayers.  

There have been so many who have

come alongside . . . willing to bare

some of the burden.  We are forever

grateful.

Cankles.

Courtesy of a spider or some other sweet

little pest, I endured three butt shots and

a mother load of antibiotics today.  

Originally, I thought that I had done 

something muscular to my shin while

walking . . . turned out to be an infected

insect bite.  My sweet farmers tan is

from the 9 mile walks .  .  . Trying to 

live healthy can really almost kill ya!!

I Can't Believe I Ate the Whole Thing.

Stopped at Marie Callender's. Ordered my

favoritist RAZZLEBERRY PIE. Got a fork.

Sat down in a booth. The rest is history!