good-bye grandma

Grandmas 80th Birthday Party - Fall of 2004

my grandma sandoval passed away this week. today was her funeral and although i was unable to be there (salt lake city, ut) in person i was there in spirit. if you have a minute to spare read her obituary (scroll down) - my aunts and uncles did a great job writing out her life in just a few sentences. she was an amazing woman. she loved and prayed for her entire family every day. she was a wonderful testimony to one of Gods faithful servants here on earth. she will be missed.

visiting grandma & aunt ernestine last christmas in seattle

lilly & grandma coloring

all of the grand kids circa 1986

Juanita "Jennie" Sandoval 12/12/1924 ~ 2/22/2009 Grandma Jennie - "mother extraordinaire", beloved wife, mother, sister, grandmother, aunt, and friend went to join her Lord and Savior and her beloved husband Max on Sunday, February 22, 2009.Born to Jesus M. and Jose O. Sanchez in Castlegate, Utah. She was blessed with a loving step-father, Louis Canchola whom she cherished as DAD. She inherited a strong work ethic from her mother which served her well later on in life. She married Max Sandoval on October 21, 1942 and they started their life together in Price, Utah, later moving to Salt Lake City in 1951. God blessed them with 21 children and she never tired of having a child around the house, even if they weren't her own. She worked endlessly, making sure her family (and anyone else who was lucky enough to be there) was well fed and taken care of. Everyone loved her hand-made tortillas and wonderful Mexican food! She spent countless hours cooking, cleaning, sewing, babysitting for others and still made time for her family. Flats of eggs, garbage cans full of flour, rice and beans were the norm - all of this without Costco! She played a big part in the upbringing of many of her grandchildren by babysitting them, as well as raising her beloved grandson Jeremy, until she suffered a stroke in 1989. Throughout her remaining years, her grandchildren continued to be the light of her life. Her Christian faith was her life and she used that influence to raise her children. She and Max were founding members of the Salt Lake Christian and Missionary Alliance Church where she selflessly served in various positions and made many long lasting friendships. It was her faith that gave her the endurance, energy and amazing strength to accomplish such a remarkable life. She was truly loved and admired by many! Survived by children: Ernestine, Gilbert (Becky), Carl, Max (Brenda), Anita (Mike), Peter (Phyllis), Jennie-Lee, Elaine, Duane (Lauri), Samuel, Nathan, Patsy (Elgin), Jacob (Julie), Andrew (Cynthea), Daniel (Karen), Becky (Paul), Jennifer (Stewart), Rosellen, 46 grandchildren, 41 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. Preceded in death by her loving husband Max, twin infants, Mary and Joseph, son Jerry, mother Jesus Canchola, step-father Luis Canchola and brother Fidel Sanchez.

one more under my belt

over the last year i delved into the art of web design. although i know virtually nothing about how to write code and all the ins and outs of how a website comes to be. i know what i like to look at and how i think a website should function... that's a plus, right? well, i have an INCREDIBLE cousin (pete) who, with his partner (cavan), have started their own company Adrogen and they are an amazing duo in all the web stuff they can do. so, i get to do all the fun design work and they do all the icky coding - we are becoming quite the team. well, i mention all of this because our latest site went live this past week and i wanted to share it with all of you. drum roll for, naperville covenant church. enjoy!

gym ritual

dave and i have started a new gym ritual. we (and a couple other friends) have started meeting at the gym at 4:45am to work out together. ok, i know that sounds insane to many of you - but, it is the best time for us. and, since nagel lives with us, we have an adult in the house to care for the kids. well, this past monday the alarm went off at 4:30 and dave and i hopped out of bed, got dressed, got in the car, drove to the gym, sat on the couches tying up our gym shoes (at the gym) and then looked at each other and decided that we NEEDED to go back to bed. i found myself back underneath my covers in a matter of minutes. it was SO worth it!!!

a thousand questions

this past week dave and i went to chicago for the annual mid-winter conference put on for our denomination. it was an amazing time of reconnecting and resting. below is about a 10 minute video produced by willow creek that we watched at the end of one of the sessions. it is very moving.....