Mom's Obit

Karoleen Marie, beloved and admired wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend, passed away just after 12 noon on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009. Karoleen was born the fourth of nine children in California on Nov. 21, 1954, to Robert and LaRue. She grew up in California and earned a degree in Clothing and Textiles from Brigham Young University in 1976. Following her marriage to David in the LDS Oakland Temple in May 1975, Karoleen lived in Utah, Texas, Colorado, California, and since 2001, in Lake in the Hills, Ill.

She will be remembered for many gifts - for her love of music and her ability to create a welcoming home, for her warmth, humility, and wonderful sense of humor, and for the quiet courage and compassion that characterized her life. Most of all, she will be remembered for her faith in the Savior, which sustained her through a lengthy and valiant battle with cancer.

She took great joy in passing on her talents to others - from her passion for making keepsake dolls to her love for quilting and sewing - which she taught to many young people throughout the years. Quite often, friends received answers to their prayers, not knowing that Karoleen was behind the kind and much needed act of service. Her continued desire to help and cheer others in the midst of her own deep suffering was a testament to her firm and abiding trust in God and her love for His children. Her greatest regret throughout her illness was that she was often unable to do more: "it was in Karoleen's passing, like the beautiful autumn leaves that surrounded her in her final days here on earth, that we were privileged to see her truest and most vibrant colors shining through."

Karoleen is survived by her father and seven siblings, as well as David, her devoted husband of 34 years, her five children and their spouses: Charles (Heidi), Daniel (Miranda), Kera (Andy), Brian, and Melinda. She was a grandmother to nine grandchildren with three more on the way. Each family member was a light and strength in her life.

A memorial service will be held in Karoleen's honor at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 5209 Walkup Road, Crystal Lake, Ill. Her burial will take place at 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, at the Village of Algonquin Cemetery, located at the corner of Route 31 and Cary Road in Algonquin, Ill. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Crystal Lake Second Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, payable to the Perpetual Education Fund. This resource enables young people to improve their education and career opportunities, thereby better serving their families, the Church, and their communities.

The McClellan's in Miranda's Words (mostly)

Okay, I know it has been several months since I have written and you may be wondering what has REALLY been happening with Dan and Miranda. Or you may simply feel relieved at this enjoyable hiatus of TMI and rambling pointless sagas. But just in case you are a member of the former category, we would like to reassure you that we are still alive, we’re mostly glad to be alive, and although it feels like much of our lives is incredibly repetitive and not worth relating, there have actually been a few interesting occurrences in the last little bit. However, out of perversity, we will leave a little bit for your imagination.

1. Hmmm, I had a birthday! At the end of September. And it was actually a pretty great birthday (and here is where you get to guess what made it great), because
A. Dan thoughtfully procured and wrapped several items of interest to Miranda (including Dance Dance Revolution) and managed to keep them all secret.
B. Miranda turned 30
C. Miranda’s boss used it as a great excuse to take the team out for a very posh and extensive lunch.
D. Miranda learned she was actually going to get a bonus for the year, beyond getting to keep her job.

2. Dan’s life has been getting a little bit busier, too. And he picked up a new hobby, which incidentally brought about a nice strained hamstring. Dan has discovered that warming up before exertion is getting more necessary, as is having a nice succession of cold packs on hand. Dan injured himself …
A. falling off the roof while fixing the rain gutters.
B. participating in the ward’s non-competitive league softball team.
C. fending off a brutal attack from Miranda.
D. during a desperate and brutal disc golf game with friends.

3. Dan really has been seeing lots of clients lately. Or at least he has lots of them scheduled, but they seem to have a habit of cancelling. Unfortunately, Dan is really trying to get all the hours possible so that he can get licensed in Oklahoma in November. This would have a two-fold benefit (at least!)
A. He would be eligible for a raise/promotion at work.
B. Now he can start seeing the REALLY fun cases.
C. He could forgo supervision (at least in one state).
D. He will know the right thing to do and say at all times (especially to his wife).

4. It feels like we have been doing lots and lots of travelling lately. I wonder if we have been put on the inactive list at church; I know I haven’t made it to our ward more than once a month lately. We have been gone a lot
A. Visiting Dan’s parents in Illinois.
B. Spending time with Miranda’s parents.
C. Making our annual pilgrimage to Nauvoo to camp with friends.
D. Celebrating our 10th Anniversary (just a little bit early) by having a romantic getaway to Mexico.

5. Miranda puked yesterday into the kitchen sink because
A. She has H1N1 influenza.
B. Dan shared his nasty sickies with her.
C. She has morning sickness.
D. She is struggling with bulemia.

SOLUTION GUIDE

1. A Great Birthday!!
The answer is All of the Above. I had a most fantastic birthday! I usually prefer to have the event be a little more under-wraps than it was this year. But something about having a huge number birthday like 30 seems to make people feel obligated to make a big deal of it. So my cubicle at work was flamboyantly decorated with balloons and extensively redundant pink and purple signs proclaiming the holiday and my age. Yes, I got an AMAZING lunch (the likes of which our pocketbook and digestive track has never seen), learned that my work appreciates me more than I would have expected considering the economy, and came home to a wonderful Dan and several unexpected and happy presents and cards from friends.

2. Dan’s Sport Injury
Dan and my dad did fix the gutters, but fortunately no one fell off the roof. None of his friends are in Dan’s class when it comes to disc golf (not so subtle reminder to Tom M that Dan won in Nauvoo…this year), so no desperate or brutal disc golf games caused his limping. My brutal attacks on my husband usually leave no visual scars.

So the answer is: Dan is now part of the ward softball team, rather grandiosely named Helaman’s Warriors. While none of the members has succumbed to death, they all seem mightily prone to injury, not unlike the strippling warriors. Dan pulled his hamstring the same night our pitcher took a nice 90 mph line drive straight off the bat into his tibia. They both heroically endured to the end and went home to some serious ice treatment. While the team may struggle to put points on the scoreboard, we wives have a fun time cheering, chatting, and catching up on all the juicy details of each other’s lives.


3. Dan at Work
While I’m not sure how accurate answers B and D are, there is hope. J But definitely (if he is able to get enough clients to show up) he will be elevated to a full-fledged licensed counselor with a hopeful upgrade in his pay with LDS Family Services. Plus, he won’t have to go to supervision every week anymore! (Except he will have to continue his supervision in Arkansas since it will still be another decade before all their multifarious and persnickety requirements are met. )

4. No Longer Homebodies
Okay, so we haven’t done anything for our anniversary, but we will! Later. So the answer here is A, B, and C.

We have been trying to squeeze in as much time as we can with my parent’s before they leave (at the end of this month) to go on their mission to Kenya Nairobi. I am super excited for them and very proud of them. I’m so impressed at their going to live somewhere on the other side of the globe for a 18 months, to do the work of the Lord in a place they were called to go. Hooray for them!

Ironically almost, with my parents the picture of good health and happiness, we have Dan’s parents who are struggling with cancer. Okay, so only Karoleen is sick, but she is by no means the only one affected. We have been trying to visit and offer moral support to them, but of course, it feels like nothing really helps enough. Mom was admitted to the hospital almost two weeks ago for a bone marrow transplant and I didn’t realize how very awful it was to be. Even though it brings the chance for a cure or a nice remission, the process to achieve that is rather horrific and basically torturous. During our last visit, all we could really do is hold her hand and be there. I don’t know how Dad stands it. But I seriously believe he is a hero for withstanding and keeping going. Of course the question remains whether it is more agonizing to be suffering or to observe one you love and cherish suffering in most exquisite pain. Basically, I think both options REALLY STINK and I sure hope God has some great compensation for all this. Okay, I’m sure He does, but right now that doesn’t seem very comforting.

On a brighter note, we did meet our most excellent and enduring friends Tom and Wendi and their girls in Nauvoo for another great year’s adventure. We had some tasty campfire food. We walked Parley street where many of the early saints walked on their way out of Nauvoo. We played disc golf in beautiful scenery. And we played Mafia late at night with tiny diamond hail-drops periodically falling on us.

We had some very chilly weather, so I weenied out and opted for the cozy cabin complete with heater. Hey, 30 degrees is just too chilly to be shivering in a tent all night. Besides, a cold Miranda is a non-sleeping Miranda, which makes a very grumpy and cross Miranda indeed. Especially at this time. Which leads to our next point….

5. And Most Important (Drum roll please…)

YES!!!!! AFTER WAY TOO MANY YEARS WAITING, WE ARE FINALLY ACTUALLY GOING TO HAVE OUR OWN KID. As in, I am pregnant; with child; expecting; gestating; enceinte; in the family way; going to offer my husband a token of my affection; have a bun in the oven; we will have offspring; am in the mothering way; we are actually going to reproduce.
To get the serious data out of the way….. I am due May 3rd. Yes, I have been slightly pukey but not really that bad. It was just an off morning. But I must say, vomiting directly after ingesting breakfast is a serious waste! One, I spent time forcing that much into me and now it is rejected! Now I have to do it all again. But with something completely different. Plus it made me late for work AND I had to change my shirt because I really hate wearing vomit drool all day.

In case you cared, I will need to have a C-section, which is both a relief (because who WANTS to go through labor) and a huge fear - because what is scarier than have a gi-normous needle plunged into your back and your belly sliced open. Yeah, that part wasn’t ever included in my imaginings of what it might be like to actually have a baby. Although, I guess not much is really scarier than the idea of Dan and I actually being parents and having a kid that resembles us. Yeah, that’s a lot of scary ideas all at once. Hopefully you won’t have nightmares tonight.

On a lighter note, Dan is really enjoying sharing our news with people locally by interjecting slightly innocuous statements that imply without actually stating and then just continuing on in normal conversation. But he isn’t quite sure how to handle the manly congratulations that somehow convey that his virility may have been previously in question, but now has been proven.