Ben Harper Obituary

Dear Family and Friends

 Here is Ben's Obituary from today's Arizona Republic Newspaper.  Thank you so much for your love and support. Please forward this to anyone who might have known him.

Love, Kellie & Tim

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/azcentral/obituary.aspx?n=Benjamin-Michael-Harper&pid=125430574

My brother Ben

Thank you to all of our family and friends for the support and love we have felt over the last 2 days. For those who have not heard the news my little brother Ben passed away on Friday at the age of 23 the exact cause is still under investigation. The funeral will be held on Wed. the 25th at 10:00 AM at the LDS Quinn building located off Guadalupe Road just east of Greenfield in Gilbert.

Ben's quirky laugh and gift of getting any little kid to laugh and smile will be missed, the thought of burying a brother is one I never thought I would have, but the peace that comes with knowledge of Christ's Atonement and sacrifice of is amazing. I know I will see my brother again and that he is happy and without pain. I loved my brother and will truly miss him, he was a great kid and though he had many trials and didn't always make the best choices, in his heart he always wanted the best for everyone. Just before his death he was trying to enlist in the military and was making phenomenal strides for the best I had not seen him so happy and positive in a long time. I am proud of my brother and will always remember him as the little kid who would give anyone a hug that needed one and loved to make people laugh. He had a heart of gold. I love you Ben.
Tim

I discovered Redbox. It is so fun and noncommittal, and just a dollar a night per movie. There is a kiosk between my home and work and it is fun to try out movies, only we haven't rented for a long time, and it was hard for Emma and Audrey to realize that we don't keep the movies, but that they are only for a day then we trade, etc... so it is good for them, it was the same concept for toys with craigslist; they were sad to see their stuff go, but now they find stuff to sell to get new stuff, it is the circle of life, fun, trade, fun again.

The begats...

I love this one. The sale of the expedition and deal for the truck and a bit of help from our tax return, we got a camper. I don't know if I'm a product of what happens to me or what I happen to things but I do know this: Tim rocks C-list in ways that are borderline illicit, but I am the secondhand beneficiary. I am really excited for this one, and I don't know why, maybe because it smells like my dad's 198? Sea Ray boat that I remember at least 2 weekends a month taking to the lake (old sunkissed canvas maybe?) and I am excited to grip this tangible memory to be made. I fondly remember growing up on the river at Mack's Inn, working all day till we were almost to sore to go waterskiing, but then the lake was like glass and we'd go out and play for an hour or two then eat "fat boy" ice cream sandwiches on the way home. Tim fondly remembers spending weeks in Escondido, CA at the condo and going to Disneyland and Seaworld and the docs and Balboa Park. Here in the present, we are making memories with our own children and I am so excited for this camper to enable us to make those hopefully "fond" memories for our children with our children.

One of my favorite family pictures of late...

Your comments, please...

Lets all face it, times are tight, the market's tanked and I just want to know what you have cut out that hurt, but then really, it didn't. You know, like ripping off a band-aid; you really don't want to do it initially, you get through the sting of it and find out the skin underneath really needed to breathe anyway. So, have you ditched the DVR, sliced the Cell phone, more home cooked and less take out, less lessons for the kiddos, more veggies from the garden, more stretching the dollar while tightening the purse strings? How have you done it, 'cause we're all doing it. Answer me these questions, be honest:

1. What have you given up? and
2. Do you really miss it?
   

Question for the future... What would you do with $100? I want creativity with this one.

My answers:
We have really given up buying stuff for the house. We used to go get little things here and there for the house to make it more "homey" or more organized. Over the last 6 months we have hauled out about 4 truck loads of "homey organization" crap and it feels GREAT! Less is more. We've planted a garden and it is like a growing work of art, as well as a work in progress. We've decided to use our tax rebate to stock up on food storage and peace of mind in that regard. We are looking at the way we spent money and it was the same with time, mostly budgeted, but with holes here and there. We are being more careful with both, and it has brought a new sense of awareness of how much we spent on unimportant things, or at least now they are unimportant. I'm going to bet that we were all financially overweight and can stand to lose a few excessive habits, and get fiscally fit. Share how to do it and how you feel about it. By no means is this to be a downer question, but positive the-glass-is-half-full question. Thanks