Karen

Karen Bonita Wilson Peek
(July 6, 1944 - April 15, 2010)

Karen Bonita Wilson Peek passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, April 15, 2010.

She was born on July 6, 1944 in Ogden, Utah, a daughter of Max Robert and Selma Martha Nicholas Wilson.

She married her best friend, Ray Peek, on February 12, 1965 in the Salt Lake Temple. They had a blast together raising their three girls and their house full of friends.

She graduated from Davis High School in 1962 and attended Weber State College. She has worked for Dr. Fred Clayson for the past 25 years where she loved the friendships with co-workers and patients.

She was an active member of the LDS Church. She was currently serving in the Relief Society presidency of the Pioneer Ward. She also served as a church service missionary with her husband at the Conference Center for 8 years. She loved her time there and the friendships they made. She has also served as a ward missionary, Primary President, Young Women’s President, a member of the Stake Young Women’s Presidency and a Sunday School teacher. She loved teaching the youth. She had a strong testimony of Jesus Christ. She loved visiting teaching and serving others.

Her grandchildren were her life. She loved attending their many games and activities on a daily basis, having sleepovers, taking them birthday shopping and out to lunch. She and her daughters met for lunch every Thursday. She had Friday night date night with her husband and Linda & Marlin. She had family traditions for everything. From taffy pulls to soup parties, from weekly Sunday dinners to family vacations, she loved every minute of it. She made every holiday extra special. She loved going to Club and cherished spending time with her Club ladies. They were friends since they were young and are close to her heart.

She had a passion for gardening and decorating her home. She was a perfectionist in everything she did and it showed. She could make anything sparkle. She loved brown licorice and Pepsi served in glass cups with crushed ice.

She has five sisters, Linda & Marlin Balls, Becky & Roger Parrish, Susie & Bruce Nilson, Marilyn & Brad Sims and Shelley (deceased.) She loved to travel with her mother and sisters, shop with them and spend time at family activities.

She is survived by her husband Ray, her mother Selma, her sisters, and her children, Natalie & Bruce Browning, Amy & Scott Hayes, Missy & Weston Fisher. She is also survived by her 11 grandchildren: Baylee, Abbey, Brody & Colby Browning; Skyler, Zachary & Ashley Hayes; Lexie, Ellie, Avery & Luke Fisher. She is also survived by her husband’s siblings: Beth & Don Wilson and Vern & Marilyn Peek. She will also be missed by many nieces and nephews, family and friends.

She was preceded in death by her father Max, her sister Shelley Wilson, her brother Mark, and her mother and father-in-law Alberta and Alf Peek.

She had a love of life and was serving others up to her last second on earth.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at 11 a.m. at Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 No. Fairfield Road. Friends and family may call Monday from 5 to 8 p.m. and Tuesday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the mortuary.

Interment, Uintah City Cemetery.

What a wonderful person. We will miss you Karen. We love you!

Life is Precious

My heart is very heavy tonight. My Aunt Karen, my mom's sister, died suddenly last night. It's one of those things that you truly cannot believe is real. We spent a few hours with her husband and daughters and their families tonight, and I just feel so awful for them. She was a wonderful wife, mom, and grandma. She was such a good person. She spent her last day with her grandchildren, and helping to collect money for a family who has been struggling with cancer. We love Karen so much, and she will be missed greatly. I am so grateful, especially at times like this, to have the gospel in my life and the knowledge of eternal families.

Death really makes you stop and think about your life and your loved ones. It makes you grateful for the little moments that are so simple, yet so powerful. Like last night, I really needed to get the house cleaned up, but James and Isabelle wanted to go on a walk, so we did that instead. I am so glad we did! I'll definitely remember taking that walk with my family more than I would've remembered that my furniture got dusted. Delight in the simple things!

Over the past year I have learned a lot and my testimony has been strengthened greatly. With my brother having gone through so much over the past year, I have learned two very important things that stand out in my mind. The first one is that there are SO many good people in this world. There are definitely more roses than thorns, we just tend to hear more about the thorns. I can't believe how caring and generous people are, and it's made me more compassionate for others. The second thing I've learned is just how important it is to stay close to family. I've always been close to my family, but I've didn't know how much I needed them. You just never know when you might lose one of them. I hate to even think about death, but it's weighed on my mind for over a year, since we came so close to losing my brother, and it's obviously been magnified today. Family is the greatest blessing we have.

I am thankful every day to be alive! I'm thankful for my sweet huband and my beautiful girls. I'm thankful my family is healthy. I'm thankful for my fabulous parents, in-laws, siblings, neices and nephews, grandparents, extended family and friends. I'm thankful for the tender moments I get to spend with my girls each day, like in the mornings when they wake up and we all snuggle in Isabelle's bed, or when I overhear Isabelle telling Ruby that she loves her so much , or seeing the excitement on Ruby's face when she sees Isabelle. I'm thankful that I get to kiss my husband each day and talk to my mom five times a day!

My advice to everyone- allow yourselves to endulge in the tender moments that make life special. I need to take my own advice more often! I can't afford not to.

Of course, here are some precious pictures of my greatest blessings...

Reminiscing & Wishing

Last year at this time we were in Hawaii. Oh, how I wish we were there now! That vacation was probably my favorite ever. It's my happy place. It's the place I think about when, per say, I'm in labor and dilated to an eight, and haven't gotten my epidural. I think about strolling by the ocean and wading in the most beautiful pool ever. I've really been wishing I were there this past week, instead of here in the "Utah Spring." Hopefully... again... someday.

SO Beautiful! View from our room.

We took a canoe rie to get to this gorgeous spot.

One of my favorite pictures ever.




Oh, such a fun trip, and to think we didn't even know our little Ruby yet!

I Could Just Eat Them!

I could truly just nibble on Ruby's thighs or Isabelle's cheeks. These girls are just too sweet and delicious and fun!

Ruby's Blessing & My Sick Girls

On Sunday the 28th, we had Ruby's blessing. It was a such a special day! James gave Ruby a beautiful blessing and I am so grateful he was able to do so. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful support group in our lives! Ruby was absolutely beautiful! We had a big luncheon at my parent's house afterward (thanks Mom and Dad!).

Poor Ruby wasn't feeling well on the day of her blessing, however. It seems like something always goes wrong on important days! Isabelle had been pretty sick for a few days, and Ruby kind of caught it too. Isabelle threw up three times the day of the blessing, not from the flu, but because she had such a bad cough. She truly wouldn't even stop running and playing with her cousins to throw up! She's been this way the entire time she's been sick. I can't tell you how many places she's thrown up lately. She seems just fine, then she gets a coughing attack. We took her and Ruby to the doctor the day after the blessing and Isabelle had some crackling in her lungs (which would lead to pneumonia if not treated) so she had to start using a nebulizer three times a day (super fun for a three year old!). Ruby went to the doctor three times last week becuase she kept getting worse, and I just couldn't stand to see her sick. We had to get a suction machine for her, which she hated. She was coughing so hard the next day, and was having a difficult time breathing, so I took her back again, and the doctor told me to only use the machine once a day or not at all, and just use saline drops (after I'd just paid $50 to rent the thing). It was so sad to see my baby so sick, and it scared me to death to see her trying so hard to breathe. They've both slowly been getting better and I think we're almost there. Neither are coughing much anymore. Ruby's still a bit stuffy, but I'm just glad we were able to avoid RSV! Poor girls! I just hate seeing them sick because they just don't understand. I'm so glad they're feeling better!

You can see the sweet girl doesn't feel well by her red eyes.

Tumbling!

Isabelle started taking tumbling a few weeks ago and loves it! She is always doing handstands and crazy tricks around the house, so we figured we'd put all that energy to good use! She's quite a coordinated little girl and she's catching on very quickly. It's hilarious to watch their class. Three and four year olds have very short attention spans and a lot to talk about! Their coach definitely has a lot of patience. Isabelle is excited to go each week- actually, she wants to go every day! I can't believe how fast she's growing up and I'm glad we've found something exciting for her to look forward to every week!

PS- She also looks super cute in her leotard!

Two Months Old Already!

Ruby turned two months old on Sunday. We had a little birthday party for her with a pink, heart-shaped cake (We did the same thing when Isabelle was two months old). Of course we all enjoyed it more than she did, especially Isabelle who sang "happy birthday to dear Ruby" all day, and got to blow out the candle. My nephew was very worried that he didn't bring Ruby any presents!







Ruby is such a happy baby. I am so grateful for her mellow personality and pure sweetness. I love so many things about her, especially her gummy smile and cute little tongue that's always moving. I love, love that she is a cuddler. She molds herself perfectly against me and just loves to snuggle. She is getting super chubby and pinchable! I just want to eat her sometimes!

Yesterday we went for her two month appointment. She weighed 12 lbs 1 oz (75th%), was 23 inches long (75%), and her head was in the 50th percentile. She's on her way to catching up to Isabelle who was always in the 90 to 95th percentile for weight. The doctor commented on how she doesn't have much of a neck (just chins)! That's fine by us though- we like them chunky!

Ruby makes us all so happy. She is so beautiful and perfect! We love her so much!







Now I can't leave out Miss Isabelle. She's as entertaining as ever. She's had a few naughty moments lately, like coloring on Ruby's face with a pen, but other than that, she's a really good big sister. She always wants to hold "Wooby".

Lately Isabelle has started playing pretend a lot more. She lines up her stuffed animals and all of our calculators and plays school. It's so funny to listen in. She likes to play "waitress" and take our orders. Tonight I told her I wanted a hamburger with no mustard or ketchup and she turned around and yelled, "hamburger, no mustard!" (Apparently we eat at fast food restaurants too often!) She loves to sing and makes up songs about what's going on around her. She loves to tell me stories that she makes up. She occasionally has an imaginary friend named Africa. She calls people morons and idiots when we're driving (we only have ourselves to blame). She surprises us constantly with the things she says. She's a hilarious little girl with a big imagination!