32

Today Sheldon would have turned 32.  It was a tough day.  Getting out of bed was tough.  Last year we had the best birthday celebration together.  We went to the Washington coast and stayed overnight in a hotel.  We got pizza, swam, played at the beach, and just enjoyed being together.  Sheldon told me that was his most favorite birthday.  That was a beautiful day. I miss my husband.  I miss having that companionship and that safe place that was always in his arms.

I love you Sheldon, so much.  I tried to think how you would want me to be today.  I know that you wouldn't have wanted me to cry all day, even though that is really what I felt like doing.  I went to work.  I smiled at my students.  We had a good day at school.  I wanted to show you that I can be strong.  That I can make it back to you.  That I can live through this.  That I can trust in God.  I know that is what I have to do to make it back to you.  I love you Sheldon.  I can't wait to be back in your arms again.  I hope our little Jace can give you a big birthday hug from me and maybe you two can have some strawberry ice cream and cake together.

Sheldon

I really love this picture of Sheldon.  I think he looks so handsome.  I feel that I have fallen even more deeply in love with Sheldon since he has been gone.  I have become more appreciative of the man he was, and the safety and security of being married to him.  He was such an upbeat guy and life just couldn't get him down.  He always felt like things would get better and he was always working hard to make it that way.  He accomplished so much in his life and he made me feel so good.  He loved me and he needed me.  I felt so secure in our marriage and so happy to be his wife.  We each had our parts that we added to the marriage, and we never did try to see who was doing more or if it was equal.  I think we really fit very well in that regard.  We did have our ups and downs, but our marriage was happy.    


I miss him so much.  We have been part of each other's lives for ten years.  We changed so much from our early twenties into our thirties.  I was looking forward to living more life together.  I thought we would be old and watch Jace grow up and become a man before we had to say goodbye.  I'm not ready for that goodbye.  It hurts too much.  Sheldon always gave me an anniversary card each year and I just recently went back and read them all again.  I saved every one of them.  He wrote in one card that when he wasn't with me he was always wishing we were together.  I know we are both wishing that same thing.  He was the love of my life and I am so blessed for the ten years we did have together.  He always made me laugh and that was one of the things I loved the most about him.  He was kind, he was sincere, he overlooked my faults, and he made me so happy.  Sheldon was a great dad.  I loved watching him with Jace.  When Sheldon was home, it was always the three of us spending time together and I am happy it was that way.  I like thinking of Sheldon leading us in family prayer and scripture study and us saying goodnight giving hugs and kisses.  Those are some of my most cherished moments together.  


I love you Sheldon.  Give Jace a hug and a kiss from his mommy.             

Sheldon's Marathon

I was looking through pictures today.  I love this picture of Sheldon crossing the finish line for his marathon.  He is so handsome and was always so fit.  I really loved that about him.  He could always do hard things.  He only trained for the marathon for about three months and he knew he wanted to do it and he just did it.  That really sums up Sheldon.  He would decide to do something that he needed to do and he would just do it.  He also didn't complain along the way.  I am looking forward to running my marathon in their honor, to remember them and remember my amazing husband and son.

I have lots of supporters in this goal and I am so thankful.  I have been running a lot.  The first time I went to the gym after everything happened I didn't even have the strength to run one mile.  I felt like my body was so exhausted and it really was.  The next day I came down with shingles.  My immune system shut down and my body crashed pretty hard.  I have been running three miles every day now and my friend Heather and I are signed up for a 5K in June.  We signed up for a half marathon in September.  My sister, Melanie, has committed to running with us too.  The Disney World Marathon is in January.  My goal is to finish and to spend that time running remembering the wonderful, happy life we had together.

Sheldon's Testimony of the Book of Mormon

Sheldon spoke at a fireside for the youth in our church a few weeks before they passed away.  He created a PowerPoint about the importance of the Book of Mormon before, during, and after his mission.  I love reading it.  I am so grateful I have it.  On one of the slides Sheldon wrote a list of how the Book of Mormon affected his life after his mission.  We would try and read the Book of Mormon together every night as a family.  I love thinking about those times and how much it strengthened our marriage and our family.  We had a goal as a family to read the entire Book of Mormon starting in January of this year and being done by General Conference in April.  We were on track to finish that goal.  Since everything happened I have been trying to continue on with our goal.  I think I will be finished in the next few weeks.  Reading from the Book of Mormon has given me so much comfort and peace when I need it the most.  I feel like I can't go a day without reading from it because I need that strength every day.  I hope that Sheldon and Jace are watching me continue on with our family goal.  Thank you Sheldon for being such an amazing and loving husband and father.  I love you.

Sheldon's List

¨We read the Book of Mormon every night

¨Shows the importance to Jace

¨Brings us closer as a family

¨Provides comfort knowing

that Jesus loves us, we can

repent of our sins and that we

will be an eternal family

¨Helps our family draw nearer

 to God

A Year Ago

A year ago I was celebrating my husband's graduation with my family.  Sheldon went to school almost our entire married life.  He was a freshman in college when we met.  It was a long road of hard work and sacrifice.  I was so proud of him that day knowing all that WE did to get there.  Sheldon was an amazing husband and father.  I love him so much.  I miss him so much.  A bunch of the wives made shirts that said, "I love my optometrist."  We wore them the first day of our cruise after graduation.  I have been sleeping in that shirt every night.  I have been sleeping with Jace's blanket too.  My heart aches for them and the wonderful life we had.  I love you Sheldon and Jace.

Dear Sheldon

Dear Sheldon,

I miss you so much.  I hope that you are able to see me and feel the deep love I have for you and for our son.  I never imagined I would be living on this Earth without you.  I always thought I would pass away before you, when we were older after living a full life together.  I never really knew how much safety you provided for me.  We had a marriage where I could be myself and you loved me unconditionally.  You were always concerned for my welfare and truly cared about me.  We have a love that will continue forever.  You always made me laugh and smile, even when I didn’t want to because I was upset about something.  We talked through things and made decisions together.  Even when I made decisions and told you later, you always agreed with me.  You have a kind heart.  I never heard you say anything negative about a single person.  You were always concerned with the welfare of others and you treated other with kindness and concern.  You never said a mean word to me even when I tried to get you to argue with me. 

Jace brought us so much happiness.  We always talked about how much we loved him and what we needed to do to raise him correctly.  You led us in family prayer and scripture study every night.  You tickled and wrestled with Jace every night before bed.  You brushed his teeth and taught him how to be a boy and play rough.  You were so excited to buy the three nerf guns that we unwrapped on Christmas Eve so we could have a big nerf gun fight that night.  Often when Jace would get up in the middle of the night, you were the one to comfort him and help him fall back asleep.  You took Jace for walks to look for golf balls when I needed a break.  Jace adored his daddy.  You provided for us and gave us a wonderful life.

I remember the last week I had with you, looking at you and thinking about how much you had matured since I met you almost ten years ago.  I thought how grateful I was to be married to such a handsome guy.  I was so proud of you.  I love you Sheldon.  I loved our life together.  I wish it didn’t have to be cut so short.  I hope you are able to still look out for me and care for me.  I need it now, more than ever.  I know we will be together again and those sealing promises in the temple will bring us back together again.  Please watch over Jace and let him know how deeply I care for both of you.  Thank you for being everything to me.

I love you forever,

Julie    

Sheldon

October 3, 1980-March 17, 2012

Sheldon Walter Olsen was born on October 3, 1980.  He was the third child to Carol Sylvester and Steen Olsen.  His siblings are Lance, Heidi, Holly, and Mathew.  He was very close with his siblings and kept in contact with them into his adult life.  He said goodbye to his father, Steen Olsen, on November 23, 2008.  

Sheldon graduated from Uintah High School in 1999. He served an LDS Mission in Frankfurt Germany.  A few months after returning home from his mission, Sheldon and I met.  We dated for six months and we were engaged for three months.  We were married in the LDS Salt Lake Temple on November 23, 2002.  We lived in Salt Lake City, Utah for five years while Sheldon completed his Bachelor's of Science degree in Biology from the University of Utah.  Sheldon served as the young men's president in our ward and he also served as the ward mission leader and as the 2nd Counselor in the bishopric.  In August of 2007 we headed to Forest Grove, Oregon for the start of our optometry school adventures.

Sheldon attended four years of optometry school at Pacific University.  We bought our first home in Forest Grove.  In June of 2009 we were able to adopt the most precious little boy.  He was our little miracle.  Sheldon was an adoring father and loved our little Jace.  We really grew up together as we became parents and took on that responsibility.  On December 5, 2009 we were sealed to our son in the LDS Portland Temple.  Sheldon served as a boy scout leader and gospel doctrine teacher.  Sheldon's fourth year of optometry school took us to Utah, Hawaii, and Arizona.  We moved three times in one year.  After a year of rotations, Sheldon graduated as a Doctor of Optometry.  We were sad to leave Forest Grove, but we enjoyed our year of rotations, and we were eager for Sheldon to start his profession.

Sheldon began his career at the Shelton Family Vision Center in Shelton, Washington.  He was able to practice for six months.  We were very proud of him and his accomplishments.  Sheldon served in the young men's presidency in our ward in Washington.  

We had a very happy and blessed life together.  Sheldon was a man who was determined in all aspects of his life.  He was an excellent father, a kind and loving husband, and a committed church member.  He loved barbecuing, riding his motorcycle, snowboarding, running, lifting weights, and being with his family and friends.  He accomplished so much in his short life and I do take comfort knowing that Sheldon and Jace are together.  I love them and it is my greatest privilege to be Sheldon's wife and Jace's mother.  

Sheldon is 31

Sheldon turned 31 on October 3rd and I decided it would be fun to plan an overnight trip to the coast.  We stayed in Ocean Shores and had fun swimming in the pool in the hotel, playing on the beach, and exploring the beach town.  I baked a cake for Sheldon and we sang to him and had cake and ice cream.  It was fun to celebrate and to get away for the weekend.  Happy Birthday Sheldon!!  We love you!!!!!!!!!!!

Before we left for our trip Sheldon and Jace took advantage of the nice weather and went out onto the lake for a canoe ride.

We drove by this souvenir shop in Ocean Shores and Jace really wanted to see the shark up close so we had to stop.

We had fun playing in the sand even though it was a little windy and pretty cold.

Of course, Jace had to jump on the bed!

Birthday cake time with a little candle blowing help from Jace.

I bought Sheldon a Roku so we can stream Netflix now.

Birthday breakfast!!

Our hotel had a lighthouse tower with an observation deck.  We climbed to the top and had fun looking out at the scenery.

Sheldon braved the water and went boogie boarding.  Jace and I walked out to watch him and while trying to grab Jace from a wave coming in very fast, I dropped my camera in the water.  It stopped working immediately so these are the last pictures before it broke.  It was still a fun weekend though.

Happy 31st Sheldon!!

2nd Month in Shelton

It's been almost a month since I blogged last!  I am way behind.  A lot of things have happened in the last month.  Sheldon started working this month and I started my master's degree online.  I'm going to be working on my degree for the next two and a half years.  GULP!  So far it's kept me pretty busy and between Sheldon going back to work and me taking on all the household responsibilities again I have had no extra time for blogging.  We've had such a fun month.  This post is about all the fun stuff we've done at our house and in the town of Shelton.  I have some more posts coming up of our adventures outside of our little town too.

Jace has been showing interest in going potty in the toilet and refuses to wear wet or dirty diapers immediately after he has gone.  So we bought him a little potty.  He's actually doing really well and we haven't pushed him at all.  He prefers to go #1 in the potty and #2 in his diaper.  I can't believe he is already potty training himself mostly!

Bath Time!

Jace's favorite toy is his train set.  He wants to play trains as soon as he wakes up in the morning and will play with them often throughout the day.  Lucky us, there are train tracks very close to us and we get to hear the train come every single day.  Jace gets so excited when he hears the train and insists that either me or Sheldon take him outside so he can see the train.

Jace is learning how to brush his teeth on his own.  Daddy still has to assist from time to time.  :)

Sheldon finally got his Washington license for him to practice optometry!!

Jace likes to dump out our shoe basket and sit in it often.

We live right by a golf course and we bought some clubs at a garage sale for both of us.  We've gone out on the golf course a few times in the evening.  We only get one hole done before we have to quit because a little two year old boy can't handle much more than that.  After we play nine holes we'll pay the $10 fee for twilight golfing.  We've gone three times so far.  I'm not very good but it's still fun!

Jace likes to practice his putting skills too.

Sheldon went to his office the day before he started working to check on all his equipment and do a practice exam on me.  Jace loved visiting his daddy's work.  Jace can say ,"Daddy, eye doctor."  It's pretty cute!

We got a raft from our neighbors for free.  They were giving it away since it had holes so Sheldon patched it up and we've been having fun swimming out in the lake and relaxing on our raft.

We bought Jace a little table at a garage sale and painted it to match our decor.  Jace loves using his little table for eating and coloring.

Sheldon's first day of WORK!!

Jace needed his picture taken too.

Jace often asks to play in our sink.  He loves playing in the water.

Here's Jace in his big boy underwear.  He was so excited about it he was jumping up and down on his bed showing them off.

Cupcake time!!

Say Cheese!

I've been trying to teach Jace to look at the camera when I take pictures.  I told him, "Put your eyes up."  This is what he did.  I thought it was pretty cute.  He still lifts his arms up in the air when I say it.  We have to work on that!

I let Jace play with the beads in my craft drawer and he put them in his dump truck and digger over and over again.  We do this probably once a day now.

Jace loves getting all his blankets and pillows and jumping on our bed.  We put on the song monkeys jumping on the bed and he jumps and laughs and laughs.

Lake time fun!!  We canoed over to the clubhouse and enjoyed a snack together.  After that we played on the swings for a long time.  Jace is getting used to his life jacket.

Jace loves it when I turn on the water under the trampoline.  He likes to jump on top of the trampoline and watch the water underneath the trampoline too.

We bought a patio table and have had fun eating outside.

Jace loves his tricycle...and his outside toys in his toy bins too.

Another fun activity that Jace loves is collecting slugs from our yard.  It keeps him very entertained for a long time.

We've been exploring the parks in Shelton.  We were excited when we found one that was right by the salt water inlet close to Shelton.  We played on the play structure and went down to the water.  We saw little jelly fish and a big star fish too.

We had a fun month!!!