KELLY'S NEUROLOGY EMG
I drove up to Logan after taking the Elementary kids to school (leaving all the late-start big kids and Nate with Molly and Sadie) to pick up Kelly for her EMG. Sierra ended up coming with us. The night before, I finally googled EMG and learned that they would be hooking her up to electrodes and shocking her and then poking needles in her to measure the activity in her muscles!! I couldn't believe I'd gotten her into that! I mean, it wasn't technically me- it was Dr. May who referred her to neurology. Dr. Tew told us to keep the appointment, but anyway. I was a little nervous for her!! She had the EMG in the morning and then the MRI in the evening and I was anticipating a lot of pain and torment for Kelly that day. Kind of stressful. So anyway- Dr. Squires came in with his garden gnome beard (we liked him also, nice guy, fun to joke with about deserving several ice cream cones after) and he did all the things I'd read about on google the night before! Lots of shocking and lots of needles!! So weird. I had no idea this kind of thing even existed! Fortunately her neurology looks good!! I didn't want there to be anything wrong neurologically. I don't want anything to be wrong, I just want to be able to find out what it is so we can finally treat her. 9-1-21
MOLLY'S BIRTHDAY
I am still feeling a little down about how much of Molly's actual birthday I missed out on, but she seemed mostly annoyed any time I talked about her being the birthday girl or offered to sing to her. She liked the crepes I made her though :). I said goodbye and was gone until she came home from school! She looked so cute in her little birthday crown and had loved passing out her fruit snacks. She liked opening a present, her little horses that I had picked out at the toy store that morning with Kelly and Sierra. She actually really loved that. I made her some spaghetti for her birthday dinner and then I had to say goodbye when I took Kelly to her MRI, but because of some mix up with the time and having to take two cars to the hospital, we came back and were able to watch her open the rest of her gifts! I was actually really happy about that. She got a stuffed horse from Kelly and Sierra, a cookbook, a Spirit Uno game, a Spirit book and some little Spirit figurines. She was pretty satisfied with all her gifts. I felt a little bad I hadn't splurged and bought her the "old real phone" she wanted. Not sure what that was all about. Bea has one. I was able to kiss my birthday girl goodnight before leaving for Logan. It was a good day and I think she loved it :). 9-1-21
KELLY'S MRI
This was another one I had been anxious about. I asked Dr. Tew to refer this after hearing about Ashlyn's tumors. I realize it's a long shot, but I have had some residual regret about not insisting on a scan back when we were looking into her headaches, so this just pushed me to get it now. She got the time wrong, so I had to race up to McKay Dee to fill out her paperwork for her a half hour before. She and Sierra got there just in time. Kelly went back for her procedure (they did the contrast imaging so she had to get an IV- she needed one more poke today) and Sierra and I sat and talked about Matt's crazy mom and her weird phone call to Kelly and Sierra that morning. So strange. It was about an hour long MRI. I hope we find out about that soon. I raced them home and won. 9-1-21
STICK HORSES, RAIN AND VOLLEYBALL
I spent some time Thursday (Thursday was the only day we didn't have packed with stuff this week) finishing up the stick horses I was making for Molly's friend Horse Party. Nate kept me company. Then we kind of chilled most of the day. It was great! We got some crazy rain that evening, came down in BUCKETS! So we weren't able to work on the backyard as planned. Noah's soccer practice was cancelled but Erika got to go to her first YW Volleyball clinic. She had fun even though there were only a few girls from our ward there. Hopefully more show up for the games. I enjoyed talking with Lichelle Perry and Karen Wright for a few minutes when I picked Erika up. 9-2-21
MOLLY'S FRIEND PARTY
Friday was the big day! We were very anxious and excited, but needed to stay in control so we could finish getting ready. We had a lot to do still :). I needed to make the horse cake, get the sticks for the horses, take Molly to school and then go back to help with centers!, then come back home, get Sadie down for a nap and finish the cake! Super crazy! But fun of course! Luckily Nate came home in time to help get the backyard under control. We set up the games... it was great! The party guests started coming and Molly got them at the table, stuffing their horse heads, and I was able to glue them onto their sticks really quickly- that worked out perfectly! I'm so glad I decided to have the kids finish them! Then as they dried, the kids went outside for some Pin the Tail on the Horse, bean bag toss, horseshoes, and some impromptu fun from Nate. Then we grabbed their horses and let them run the obstacle course Noah had created. They had a lot of fun! I was happy things were going so well. We were getting through everything really quickly which was kind of a bummer. I should have only made it an hour and a half. But oh well. We did horse cake which happened to be quite the hit with these kids! They almost all had seconds! I was shocked! We almost ran out of cake! They ate for a solid 15 minutes! Which was good! We did presents the way Molly wanted, with the disguised voices and her guessing, which was fun, and then we had about a half hour to kill so I just let them go outside to play! Usually this is the favorite part, but some of the kids were bored. Too bad. Molly got a little over stimulated as well and wasn't loving the hide-and-seek game. But overall it was a good party and the kids all had fun! We only wish Jonah had been able to come. Poor Hayden was the only boy. I think he had fun though. I cannot believe Molly is six! She has grown so fast!! 9-3-21
BRADLEY'S TOP OF UTAH RACE
Brad had a race during Molly's party. I wish I could have been there, but this wasn't the kind of party I could pawn off on Nate. He said he did really well though- 18:30 for a 2.8 miler! Go Brad!!! He's really making a lot of progress each time! Pretty cool! 9-3-21
DATE NIGHT
Nate and I topped off our crazy week with a date night!! I was so grateful. We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and then to see the new Marvel movie- Shang-chi and the 10 rings. It was AWESOME!! We loved the movie, but had a hard time keeping our eyes open for some reason! We must be getting old or something! We were in the theater with a lot of very enthusiastic people. Made us laugh. 9-3-21
NO SOCCER SATURDAY
The holiday on Monday gave us a week off from games. We were glad to have the day off to sleep in and have some different fun. Charity ended up surprising us, coming home, and so we went out to the Habit for lunch. Then it was time to take Noah and Erika's state fair art entries down- the ladies were so nice this year! We were happy about that. Then we stopped at Kim Ball's for some chatting and free clothes! She's so awesome. And then we had our first Saturday Fun!! 9-4-21
SATURDAY FUN- SEAQUEST- MOLLY
I invented this idea where we have a few categories like: outing, free outing, movie night, game night, park night, creative night and cooking class in a bowl, and then everyone's names in a different bowl and we draw out one category and one person and they get to pick specifically what we do in that category for the night for fun. We tried it this week for the first time and it was AWESOME!! We pulled out Outing and Molly. She needed some help but picked Seaquest! So we went! Noah, Erika, Jack, Molly, Sadie and I were the only ones who went, but we had a BLAST!! The place was basically empty and so we wandered around to our hearts' content! These kids loved EVERYTHING! It was so cute! And Sadie was mostly good the entire time! We got to go into the bird cage and feed them. We spent a lot of time petting the stingrays and sharks (Erika and Jack pet the sharks three times!), and letting the doctor fish eat our dead skin! Then we went into the shark room and Jack and I got surprised by the shark jumping and splashing us! That was totally freaky! Jack was jumpy earlier in the trip too, when he was trying to see what was in the pig pen and then saw the ENORMOUS pig laying right at his feet! Kinda cute. At the end as we were walking back through we found out they were going to feed the python so we stopped to watch! Erika could tell you how fast the python just jumped on the dead rabbit and wrapped himself around him! It was so fast it kind of scared us! Then we sat and watched him constrict it, and then mosey around and start eating it. Took a while and Sadie was getting restless so I left the big kids in there to watch him eat and took the girls out to the playground. This was such a good visit! We loved it! I was so pleased with how well it went and that my idea to do something fun actually worked! I was glad I didn't wimp out! This was great! Only bad thing was when Erika got hurt on the playground "jumping from Mt. Ogden to the clock tower" and hurt her ankle. Not sure what will come of that injury. But other than that- such a great night!! I was really pleased! 9-4-21
LABOR DAY
Bright and early, we drove down to Draper for the Maynes family labor day hike up to the suspension bridge in Bear Canyon. This was a cool new idea and I was happy to be doing something different. Not as happy about taking my kids on my own without Nate. But we ended up having a really good time! Most of the kids were up ahead of my the whole time. Sadie stayed with me, either walking, being carried through the "dupah dehwy" parts (super scary), riding on my shoulders, or in the pack. She did really well if I'm being completely honest. And same with Molly. She got bored with the walking towards the end so I told her to run and she loved that :). It was a nice hike. Then we went and grabbed some Wendy's and ate at Meg's house with everyone. We played a few games together and showed our bags of three items to describe ourselves- that was a lot of fun. Very cool idea. The kids had a lot of fun.
When we got home we rested a little and tried to clean up the house a little for a bbq with my Dad, Steve and Heidi and her kids! That was a lot of fun! It's been a good holiday! 9-6-21
9-6-21
FROZEN
Erika and Jack started their Frozen rehearsals this week! Erika as middle Elsa and Jack as a townsperson/hidden folk. They seem to like the rehearsals okay. Erika has been practicing songs and dancing a lot. It's been cute to watch her get into it. I think they're going to have a lot of fun. 9-7-21
KELLY TO LOGAN
We raced the clock to get Kelly up to Logan and run some of her applications/resumes out to different places. This was a fun time with Kelly and fun to see where she had applied. She is trying so hard! I hope something pans out eventually. We had to hurry and grab some lunch and pretty much just kicked her out of the car as we slowed down in front of her apartment. I feel kinda bad about how we let her go, but we needed to get Molly back to school! We had a nice time with Kelly. Hopefully my fasting for her to get a job works. 9-7-21
CHARITY AND THE LANDLORD
Alpine Flats is trying to steal money from their tenants. I've been really proud of Charity and Kelly for not losing their minds over this even though it has been kind of stressful. I spent about an hour talking with Charity about her conversation with the landlord and how they suddenly owe money for a security deposit, application fees, credit checks, etc. even though they moved in three weeks ago! It's pretty corrupt and thankfully there are a lot of people working on it to get this figured out, but it was a little hiccup for the girls. I've been really proud of them and their ability to handle this. They will never look at a lease agreement the same, I'm sure. 9-7-21
MOLLY SHOPPING WITH GRANDMA HATCH
Grandma took Molly birthday shopping and to McD's. She had such a good time and came home with an Orbeez foot spa! Pretty funny. 9-8-21
LUNCH WITH DAD
We needed to be close for Molly to go to Kindergarten, so we went to Twigs at Station Park this time. We sat outside. It was a lot of fun. I was glad Nate and the girls were there too. Fun time. 9-9-21
KELLY'S LIFE
So along with their apartment trying to rob them, Kelly has had some pretty exciting things happening as well! #1- She finally registered for institute :). She got a Restoration class, a Book of Mormon class, and Missionary Prep! She'll be all set for her mission :). I'm really happy about that. #2- she got offered a job at Adornit! She enjoyed her interview with a cute pregnant lady, and loved the idea of helping with advertising and taking pictures of things, and it did sound like she was really excited for that. She still had another interview scheduled with Bliss, but she ended up cancelling that and accepting the job. Pretty exciting! #3- This goes back a few days, her roommate, to surprise her, had gone to the high school and asked if they needed any help with lacrosse coaching this season. She told Kelly before she had heard back. What a cool roommate, what a cool surprise! Then, as soon as Kelly found out they did need some help, she called the AD this was her text:
so he didn't answer the first call so i left a voicemail and he calls me back and was like how are you so i said good how are you and he goes "i'll be good if you want to coach lacrosse!!" bc apparently they don't have any girls lax coaches up there so i'm meetin gwith him on monday @9:00!!! super excited
We were both so excited! This is huge!! This is just what she's been wanting!! I'm so proud of her for sticking her neck out there and hope this pans out!! We're trying not to count our chickens before they hatch, but man that would be cool!! So I'm "patiently waiting" for 9:00 Monday! 9-8-21
VOLLEYBALL ERIKA
It was somewhat painful to go to volleyball this week. I just wanted to go and watch Erika play, but there were all these dumb things bothering me. They had asked people to wear masks on the sidelines which is the dumbest thing ever, then the looks because I wasn't wearing one. The annoyance of just being an extra when I'm there, not one of the YW leaders. I just miss that so much!! I miss Mahala too! Our YW leaders are interesting. Fine, but not how I want them to be :). So anyway. Jami came a while later and fed me all of her problems along with a side of anti-Brad. Not my favorite conversation. It really wasn't bad, just wish she didn't do that. 9-9-21
WELL CHILD CHECKS FOR MOLLY AND SADIE
This visit was mostly uneventful, but I had finally remembered to ask Dr. Tew about Molly's little red thing on her lip and he wants her to go see a dermatologist. He has no idea what it is. A little disappointed by that, but I don't want to leave it undiagnosed. She's had it forever and it doesn't bug her, but who knows. I am in the fixit mode with my kids' health right now with Kelly's issues. Sadie had to get her shots, three of them, and I was reminded how sensitive she is to this kind of pain. She was out for the rest of the day. Needed to be held, cuddled, coddled, and loved all afternoon/evening. Poor little thing! Even sat on my lap the whole time we did centers in Molly's class. So sensitive! 9-10-21
KIERA AND CAROL
Had a long talk with Kiera and Carol telling them that I am not ready to do the health coaching. I was so close to saying yes, but I just can't! I am a stay-at-home mom and I still have my two little girls who need me during the day. I need to be here for them mentally as well as physically. Kind of helped me recommit to my being present. 9-10-21
FREE TUCANOS AND GETTING HIT IN THE PARKING LOT
Nate and I went out to Tucanos for our date night. It was a really normal dinner, eating way too much food and having nice conversation (and some unpleasant conversation about some of our worries with life and our kids... perfectly normal of course) until the end. While we were waiting for them to bring us our check, the power went out! It was a rainy, smokey day at Station Park with the West Kaysville fire from the lightning, so of course the power went out. We kind of acted un-surprised. We sat there for quite a while waiting for Tucanos to figure things out and let us pay :). We were perfectly fine sitting there, though, and able to just visit in the slowly darkening restaurant. They announced they were going to let people pay on the square app, so they were making the rounds. After a half hour or so they got to us. They asked if it was just the two of us, then looked at the phone, then looked back at us and said, "Actually, you can just go." and insisted that we not have to pay! Kind of amazing! We were happy with that :). We headed out to the car. As we slowly made our way through the parking lot, inch by inch, we found ourselves in a spot where this guy was trying to squeeze past the back of the prius and totally hit it! So irritating when he just drove off! Nate laid on the horn and followed him as quickly as we could, I got out to take a picture of his license plate, and suddenly he was jumping out of his car. He was very frantic, and it was pouring rain, so maybe that's why, but he scared me a little. He asked if he had hit us, I said yes, he wanted to see where, then offered to give us his phone number and we just call him after. I am not sure if that was the right thing to do, but we did. It only scraped a little paint off the Prius surprisingly, but I think we will still contact the guy. Kinda crazy. Then it was a really slow drive home from Station Park. I insisted that we take the back roads through West Kaysville and eventually the power came back on and we made it home pretty quickly after that. So that was good. The kids had been home with the power out and made the most of it. Brad had taken Sadie on a drive and got stuck in the traffic. It was a crazy evening. Very memorable. We couldn't believe how big the flames from the fire in West Kaysville were! Lots of miracles over there too I heard. 9-10-21
SOCCER GAMES
Everyone won their games this week and we had lots of scoring! Noah even headered (whoa that's actually a word!) a goal. Erika scored a few times, Molly scored a few times... it was a fun day to watch soccer! Minus the smoke from the fire in West Kaysville, the rain, and then the heat during Molly's! Grandpa came to all three games and took us out for ice cream in between! 9-11-21
SATURDAY FUN- JACK- FREE MOVIE IN THE PARK/COTTON CANDY/POPCORN
We had a very successful second Saturday fun day and this stood out to me as if Heavenly Father has sanctified these times for us. Sounds weird maybe. I felt kind of inspired to do this idea and felt like it was something Heavenly Father wanted me to do and ever since then, I've seen the Lord's hand so many times. It's been really cool. Last week it was a miracle I took them to Seaquest on a whim like that :). This week it was that a trip out to a Free Taylorsville Movie in the Park to watch Trolls 2 was fun! On paper this was kind of a dorky idea and I never would have suggested that we do this on a regular day, but because we pulled out "Free Outing" from the first bowl and Jack had been wanting to go see a movie, it was the perfect way to fulfill that! For free! I am sure I could have fudged the rules a little and just taken them to a movie, but you can imagine my surprise when the first event that popped up on my free events on facebook was a movie! We had to do it! I was so happy that I was able to convince my kids this could be fun. Well, most of them. I think Luke was the only one who skipped out. He had already had plans with Jaxx though. (and of course Charity and Kelly) We even snagged Brad as he was coming home from working the soccer games though- kind of another little miracle. So anyway. We drove down to Taylorsville, found the city hall, made ourselves comfy on the grass. They were a little late getting the popcorn and cotton candy made, but it was kind of all you can eat :) so my kids pigged out :). Sadie liked the cotton candy! Not the burnt one that Brad tried to trade her for- HA! Jack couldn't have been happier with the all you can eat popcorn. But I love his description of when he ran out of popcorn mid-movie and looked over to see if there was anymore and the popcorn machine was gone! It had vanished into thin air :). It was funny how when we sat down the grass was "just cold" but when we got up to go home, or when I rolled over on my side, we were completely soaked from the ground! Kinda funny. Sadie watched the whole movie and danced and laid on me and joked around with Brad, learning how to wink... she did really well! I couldn't believe we were still sitting there at the end of the movie and I hadn't had to get up and walk around with her at all! Molly seemed to have a good time as well. She was wishing she'd gotten her B blanket out of the car, but she sat and enjoyed the movie too, laying on my legs. Erika was so nice to keep thanking me for the fun time. I know she had fun and that's cool because she didn't really want to see that movie, she had to sit up and roll her eyes over several things for sure- we were both rolling our eyes quite a bit- but I was so proud of her for just enjoying the moment. It made me happy that my kids are still kind of easy to please. When we let them be. Same with Noah. It was cool of him and Brad to come, knowing what it was going to be, and still make it fun for the other kids and themselves. Making the most of it! I think that's a life skill I want my kids to have. I had a moment, sitting there with my legs stretched out (this was another miracle- normally my body would have not let me sit there for a whole movie like this, but it did! Could be a NSV but I like to give all the credit to Heavenly Father and his miracle committee), Molly laying on my shins, Sadie sitting on my lap, my pants getting soaked, watching a ridiculous movie, and it hit me- we're having a good time! I would have never considered taking my kids to that movie on a regular day. It was far, it was a dumb movie, and it was just kind of a mediocre idea. But thanks to this inspired system of doing fun things on Saturday, we did it! And we loved it! It was a cool little realization that I want to remember. These Saturday Fun things are for us to be together. It's for making memories and bonding. I was just so pleased with how it went! I'm still smiling when I think about Brad and Molly in the back seat of the van, talking about letters and how to spell things. This created that moment too... priceless. 9-11-21
NANA
After the movie, we drove in the dark over to Nana's grave. That cemetery is a little creepier in the dark. But we stopped at Nana's grave and took a little selfie. I had wanted to go before the movie and meet up with my dad, but I was worried about missing the free popcorn and cotton candy. Too bad we would have had plenty of time :). I think Nana understood. I wish I could figure out why I have had so many vivid dreams about her lately. Maybe there's no reason, but I feel like there's a reason. I miss her. Maybe that's all it is. I wish she was here to visit. 9-11-21
DAN AND ADELE
Nate did a catering job for Dan's ward and so he was bringing the check and pans Sunday, and Adele came with him. As much as I hate them seeing my house the way it was, I totally needed the visit! It felt like it had been forever since I had an adult conversation (hadn't been, just felt like it) and I'd had to miss church for Molly's runny nose. But we got to sit and chat for a while. It was so nice. I love talking to them. 9-12-21
FAMILY MEETING
We were able to go to the family meeting this week which was nice. We had gotten a little off schedule with our unexpected visit from Dan and Adele (which I loved! and wouldn't trade) so we were a little late eating dinner and a little late getting to the family meeting. We walked in while Ashlyn was talking about how it all went with her tumor, all the miracles and blessings and all of the faith she and Brycen have. It was really cool to hear about. Really cool to witness her faith and humility. What a trying experience they are going through right now. And now to know that there is more surgery ahead. But they really have so much faith! I'm so impressed. Ruth had more lesson so I ended up outside with Sadie and Molly for a lot of it, but came in and guessed all the babies in the baby pictures and heard about the prices of things the year they were born. I only wish we'd had more time to visit because as soon as the lesson was over and treat had been handed out, we needed to go. School night. But it was fun to be with everyone! 9-12-21
TALKING WITH BRAD
I got to talk a lot with Bradley on the way home from the family meeting. I loved that. He was asking about some things that brought up mine and Nate's dating and engagement. So much fun to talk about that. 9-12-21
KELLY
I went to pick up Kelly Monday morning so she could come to the State Fair with us. It was a fun drive talking about her apartment fun during the rain and football game, the new job and how her interview with the AD of the High school went! She's probably going to get the assistant coaching job. She's going to try the pink drink my friend is offering. She's going to clean up her diet and see if that can help with her pain. Lots of new things for Kelly. Kinda cool! 9-13-21
STATE FAIR
The State Fair was a success this year! As usual. I was so happy Kelly wanted and was able to come down and enjoy that tradition with us. We gotta keep that tradition alive! Erika and Noah had entered art in the fair and so we went to the fine arts building first. Then the creative arts. Then the animals. There were fewer animals this time and it was set up differently. We got to see some five day old piglets and their momma! We did our favorite exhibit, Helping Hands on the Farm. The kids LOVE this! It's when they all revert back to their childhood. It's like a milestone marker in my mind. We have so many pictures in there we could compare sizes and stuff. I love that Brad and Luke put on aprons! It's fun that they all help the little ones too. Good times. Then it was time to get some tickets and let those who had earned money, go on rides and stuff. It worked out perfectly that the wristbands were buy one get one free, so they were only $14! for unlimited rides. Much better than paying around $6 per ride! How can they even charge that much?!! So crazy. It was a lot of fun! I loved watching them have fun together and I loved being together. Jack and I broke off from everyone and went on the Big Fun Slide together- that was awesome :). I loved his, "Hey! You're not supposed to beat me!" as we raced down. We got some funnel cakes. Then walked through the business building. This is Nate's favorite part :). I like it too. Minus that you have to turn people down over and over again. I wanted some heating pads but they were way overpriced. Erika got some awesome clay though! Lots of fun there. Then it was time to go. It's always sad when it's over, but we did have school in the morning. So glad Kelly came down! That was a lot of fun. When we got home from the fair, Bradley had finally been answered for Homecoming! Not a moment too soon :). 9-13-21
RACE CATS
Race cats started this week! Molly's first time doing it! She loved it!! I was glad about that. They did their trial runs this week and Molly got fourth, Erika and Jack got first! Pretty impressive!! 9-14-21
RS ACTIVITY
We did a little getting to know you activity today. It was a lot of fun! It took a lot to get me to go so I was very relieved that it was so enjoyable. We filled out a numbers card telling different numbers of things and then played the M&M thing where you tell about yourself based on the color of the M&M. I liked learning about everyone else. Then we guessed whose card was whose. Lots of fun. I was at the table with Keeley Mendenhall, Deanne Oliekan, Gretchen Widdison, Julie Shaw, Mary Jo Goodspeed, Sherry (forgot her last name), and Sarah Laramore. 9-14-21
TYLER ENGH DIED
While I was at playgroup Wednesday, I got updates from the weekend about Ty, all old. They were going to take him off of life support Wednesday afternoon, but he had passed away in the night Tuesday night instead. It was so sad to get the news! I cannot believe he's gone! And his poor wife and kids. His poor parents and siblings! I'm just not sure how to feel about it all. He was not vaccinated, so there's probably a lot of controversy there, but it's just so strange to know someone who has been affected by this so heavily. My heart breaks for all of them. 9-15-21
LUNCH DAY
We had Costa Vida this week with Bradley and Luke :). I just love having them home for lunch on Wednesdays! So fun. 9-15-21
MOLLY'S MARK
We found out Molly's little red mark on her lip is just an angioma. Pretty relieved. I wasn't all that worried about it until the dentist said something and then when Dr. Tew wasn't sure what it was... well, then I got a little concerned. We decided it was "Molly's mark"! We're happy it's here to stay :). 9-16-21
ERIKA SPRAINED ANKLE
So we took Erika in finally, for her ankle she hurt almost two weeks ago and it turns out it is sprained! She has to wear a rigid brace for a week, no soccer, no cross country. Pretty devastating if you ask her, but I was very relieved it was only a week. We did talk Emily into playing her as goalie for Saturday so that she could still play in her game. I might regret that, but I couldn't bear the thought of her dying. They killed the other team. That was a relief as well. 9-16-21
MRI STUDY
I went and did the MRI study Thursday. I've been anxious for this for a while because I always think I have a brain tumor- HA! It ended up being pretty cool! I had to do all these cognitive tests. Lots of memorizing of lists of things. I loved that my brain grouped them so that I could remember them better and then she had me group them. I didn't love the describing words part. Or the pronouncing words thing. I was really good at memorizing pictures of things to do at the park :). I will never know how I did. Probably not a genius considering I finished an hour early! HA! But they took my blood and gave me an MRI. The MRI was interesting. Noisy, but I was tired enough to fall asleep a little. Felt a little like I was on laughing gas. I got a CD of my brain and it looks fine :). That was good :) HA! $200 for my four hours is not bad :). 9-16-21
FRIDAY
Went to the park with Emily and then took Molly to school (this was the day I needed to pee so bad that I couldn't take her to school! I had to run to the park and go real quick before taking her! SO crazy!). Then Sadie and I went to a different park to play on the swings and ran into Lisa! We stood and talked for quite a while. Mostly about COVID. It was nice to talk to someone with similar opinions about it all. Sadie loved swinging for about 45 minutes and then she really loved that I caught her on the slide! So cute!! 9-17-21
MOLLY SICK
Molly was pretty sick all week- sniffles, sore throat, "scratchy voice"- but I just couldn't bring myself to not let her go. She was so anxious to see what PE was, and computers! She did fine, learned how to blow her nose (her clear snot). I really think it was allergies from the smoke in the air all weekend. 9-17-21
DATE NIGHT
Nate and I got to go out (thank you Noah for the babysitting again!) and we went to Olive Garden. It was a nice time. We stopped at Walmart on the way home to get some mason jar lids for cheesecakes for Brad's dinner the next day but they didn't have any. We came home and showed the kids the movie iRobot. Kinda creepy for some of them, but I think Noah and Jack liked it. 9-17-21
BRADLEY'S HOMECOMING DANCE
We got to do a lot with Brad's dance this time around :). I was super happy about that. I got to take their pictures over at the ponds. Then Nate catered and we hosted their big dinner! 36 kids! It was a lot of fun! We got the table and chairs from the church, Nate put up the lights over the basketball court and we got nice table cloths from the RS and put vases with flowers in them for centerpieces :). I loved doing that for them and it turned out really great! Between the cups/Cups Song, buying himself a Princess Sophia backpack on Amazon, and all the other goofing around... I think Bradley had fun :). I loved it! And we can't not talk about how much Sadie loved the few minutes she got with them. She was luckily napping for most of the dinner. Brad had wanted to show her off a little, so he went up to her room to see if she was awake yet (it had been a while, but she wasn't crying so I wasn't sure and waking her up is never a good idea). He came back down with her with the news that she was just sitting there in bed, awake! So he took her around to meet everyone. She's basically in love with Brandon so she loved seeing him. Then when we were on the driveway with everyone, putting away the tables and chairs- such good boys! They cleaned up the whole court!- Sadie was standing there, cheesecake jar and spoon in hand, talking with a few of the girls. Tessa, Lilly and Kennedy were really cute with her, asking her how old she is and her favorite color. Super cute! She was holding her spoon and trying to hold up two fingers at the same time! So adorable! Then I was able to tell Tessa how we were trying to teach Sadie to say, "Tessa is cute" earlier and since Tessa thought that was cute, we had Sadie say it... it was ADORABLE!!! I loved it :). We said goodbye to them and they were on their way! They went to the dance and then Brandon's afterwards for dessert and games. 9-18-21
JEN'S BIRTHDAY PARTY
We kind of lost track of time on Sunday, enjoying our sabbath too much- not a bad thing!- but we forgot it was time to go to Jen's birthday party. So after dinner, just as we were about to turn on The Chosen, we scrambled everyone together, grabbed some cards, a gift, and headed up to Daybreak. We got there about an hour late. I felt so bad. But of course, right after we got to the little park by Ruth's house, Molly needed to go to the bathroom. So we walked to Ruth's, used the bathroom, came back to the park and everyone was cleaning up their chairs and getting ready to leave. So we were there for approximately 15 minutes. Hopefully the kids' cards were meaningful and made up for it. It was a nice drive home. We keep having these really great discussions in the car when we're driving to and from Grandma's. It was nice. I've actually really been enjoying Sundays lately. 9-19-21
CELLO RENTAL
She's doing it! Erika is really going to try the cello! This is exciting! I am really proud of her for wanting to do something different. I hope she enjoys it, however long she plays. She's really excited! A little nervous to tell Mrs. Burns that she has to miss an hour of class every week, but once she gets past that... HA! We went and checked out her cello on Monday night. She got to try out the cello to see if she really wants to do it. I'm excited for her. 9-20-21
FHE
Luke taught a really cool lesson this week. It wasn't his week, but we let him fill in for Sadie. He had had a really cool seminary lesson and wanted to try it on us. He had someone eat a peppermint candy and someone else eat a lemon while we talked about blessings and trials for a minute. Counting the number of times the Lord said "multiply blessings" in the chapter from last week. It was a cool discussion and then he topped it off with giving them both a glass of orange juice. He pointed out that it is interesting how the person who got the yummy treat didn't enjoy the orange juice as much, but the one who had the trial of eating the lemon (Jack really dramatized how hard this was, which was perfect :)) really enjoyed the orange juice and thought it was even better than usual. This is how we are with trials. It makes the good days and blessings that much more enjoyable. Kinda cool! We played Nate's game- Four Corners and had my treat chocolate chip pumpkin cookies. It was a good night! 9-21-21
RACE CATS
It's been really fun to hear about race cats from Molly this time around. She seems to like it! Erika (and Kate I'm told) keep talking about how good she is and how amazing it is that she is so good :). So that's been fun to hear about. I've really looked forward to the day when she got her time to shine for a while, she's wanted to be a runner since she learned how to talk. "I a runna like Ewika!" 9-22-21
MINISTERING INTERVIEW WITH MERRIT
I really loved my interview with Merrit this time. I just love talking to her. And Bro. Jacox came in and was hilarious as usual too. It was a fun hour hanging out with them :). It's nice to hear people who feel the same about things. I don't get that most places. I appreciate all their compliments and enjoy being with them. 9-23-21
DATE WITH DAN AND ADELE
We went up to Texas Roadhouse Thursday night. That was fun! I love talking with them too. It's good we have them in our lives. 9-24-21
TYLER ENGH VIEWING
This was a hard night! I hated seeing the Enghs in such a tough spot. They have had a lot of trials as a family. It's just good that they are such a close family. (or seem to be) It was fun to see his video (his cute son was taking care of) with the pictures and they included testimonies, I had no idea some of his interests. I stood in line by Jay and Karla Denison. It was a little like a reunion with the Engh kids and the Denisons, but I didn't enjoy seeing the Denisons as much as the Enghs. They always make me feel kinda crappy. I loved seeing the Engh kids though. Jen said some sweet things. I can't believe the condition she is in. She had a cane. Such a good family. I hope they are able to feel some peace and comfort over the matter. 9-24-21
FUN RUN
Friday was race day!! We were so excited! It's always a little like Christmas at our house on the Fun Run day. Molly was able to go to the morning class and get a bib and run the race with them (they do the Kindergarteners in the morning), which we thought was going to be such a great thing. If only she hadn't fallen down and skinned her hip! Such a bummer!! It was then that I was actually really grateful the Brad had skipped school (at Jami's request) and been there to run with her. He walked with her to the finish line. I was so bummed we didn't get to see how she did. She was doing really well before she fell Brad said. So we cleaned her up and then got all ready for the big kids! Erika and Jack look so grown up these days, being the big kids at the school. I really can't believe Erika is a big sixth grader! This was her last year of the Fun Run, it was the first day she was able to use her ankle after the week off it from spraining it, and she did so amazing!! She and Kate ran together the entire time and then right at the end she was able to pull ahead a few feet and came in first! Pretty cool! She would have been just as happy if Kate had finished first, but it was fun to see her enjoying her own victory for a change :). This was her first time getting first, she usually gets second to Kate. I was so proud of her! They came in WAY before the rest of the girls and not far behind the boys. She was probably 10th or 11th over all. So cool!! Brad keeps telling her she needs to run with the cross country team this summer :). Brad and Jack came running in together. That was fun. Jack ran almost the entire time!! So proud of him! It was a lot of fun to see him with his long strides at the beginning! Such a cool kid! I just love that these kids run. I'm so proud of them and so impressed with the progress they are making! 9-24-21
BORDER WARS FOR BRADLEY
Friday was also Brad's race! He was running in Border Wars up at Sugarhouse park. We needed to make a mad dash to get down there, picking up Luke and racing the clock. We got there, drove around the park looking for a parking spot for quite a while, then parked not knowing where the finish line even was. Then we walked about a mile (which felt much longer with Sadie and tired kids in tow) to get to the finish line. We got there, but after Brad had taken off so we were just waiting to cheer him on at the finish line. We started watching the finish line at about 14 minutes and stood there eyes peeled for about 12 before deciding we weren't watching Brad's race, there was no way he was coming in after 26. Although, after the morning Fun Run and having kids come way later I was starting to wonder if he had fallen or something. So I decided to text him and ask him when he's running. He texted me right back and said he had just finished! That he ran at 3:00. I was so confused because we had been right there! There's no way he could have run! So I called him. As we were talking he walked over to us. It was such a bummer! We had missed him coming through because of the guy who was throwing up while he ran! We had turned away in disgust right as Brad was running by. He says, "A guy threw up right next to me!" That's how we knew. So sad that we didn't get to cheer him on!! He did really good though! Got a PR of 20:12!! So cool!! Sadie wanted to see Brandon before we left, but then we just headed back to the car. We had to stop and get Fiiz on our way home (it's not really on the way, but you get it). 9-24-21
TEST DRIVING CARS
We are finally getting to the car buying process with Kelly! Not a moment too soon. She really needs a car. Nate took her earlier in the day, they did some of the paper work stuff at a dealership in Layton. Then that evening she got a call that she could come in and test drive some of them. So I went with her. We drove a Honda CRV- loved it! It was smooth, seemed really nice, good miles, good price- this was the cheapest one she was testing. Then we drove a Honda Accord that smelled like it had been smoked in and was not a smooth ride. We really didn't like it at all. Drove it around the block and took it back. Then the Toyota Yaris or whatever it was called. This was not much better than the Accord. Smelled horrible and was kind of small. We weren't huge fans of that one either. All of them needed to be cleaned, so we tried not to judge them on looks, but it was hard to like those last two. So I guess we'll see what's next! 9-24-21
SATURDAY FUN A DAY EARLY
So since the Ferguson Reunion was Saturday night, we decided we needed to do our Saturday Fun on Friday night instead. It worked out because Nate was working. Otherwise it probably would have been our date night. We pulled out "outing" and Bradley. Brad was gone so I bribed Erika with the option to choose if she would take Sadie out on the swings while I test drove cars with Kelly. She finally picked going to ice cream and the pet store! Pretty creative. This ended up being a lot of fun! And we had Kelly and Bradley with us! We are happy to have big kids on the weekend :). We savor those moments. We went to Petco and it was closed already (it was only 7:45! so weird), so we walked over to Harmons for some gelato! That was fun cuz we hadn't been there in a while. We used to go there all the time on our bike rides. We sat outside to eat it. Then we walked back to the car and decided the pet store in Centerville could be an option. We were so happy it was open. We loved looking at all the animals with Molly and Sadie. Everyone wants to show them everything- that was cute. Even Jack enjoyed this part too! The kitties were fun to look at also. We headed home and turned on a movie (San Andreas Fault) for a movie night ending. The kids seemed happy. I was glad. 9-24-21
STAKE 5K
I can't believe these kids were willing to run another 5K the day AFTER running the first one! Well, and it wasn't everyone. Charity (yes, she was home! She had come down the night before and watched the movie with us- she was there for the lantern festival Saturday night with Isaac! we love these opportunities to see her!) stayed home sleeping in with Molly watching her show next to her on the couch. But Nate and Jack ran together- he said Jack didn't stop hardly at all! I rode my bike pulling Sadie- she was not happy for the first 2 miles, but after we stopped and got her some toast at home she was happy. Kelly and Luke walked together. I was happy to see them together when they came in. I love these guys with their sibs. Bradley was running his little heart out and came in 2nd overall (well, technically a bike came in first, but that doesn't count) and got a new PR- yep, better than the day before!- at 19:36!!! SO COOL!! Then Noah came in at !!! And Erika at 24:49!! They did so good!!! So proud of all three of them! It was a great way to start our day! We grabbed Molly and Charity and dropped off the bike and trailer and went to IHOP for breakfast! Pretty fun!! 9-25-21
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Saturday afternoon we juggled a few things- Noah going to Jacob's party at Lagoon, soccer games, me passing out volleyball stuff for my new calling in the sports with Christie, and Nate leaving for work. It was a typical Saturday :). It was a hot day- so a little less enjoyable being outside, but we had fun. Erika's game was awesome! She only scored twice which isn't much for her, but she assisted pretty much every other shot! Pretty fun! And Molly scored twice at her game too! So fun! 9-25-21
FERGUSON REUNION
With our soccer games being so late, we were an hour and a half late for the reunion. Which was a bummer. But once we were there, we had a really great time! It was fun to see everyone who came! I was surprised to see Janice and her grandkids. KC and Shannon. Carol and Bill were there with a bunch of their kids. Tammy. Then of course Ike and Gloria and Kiera and Carol and their families. That was fun. I loved seeing my dad with his idol again :). It was so fun to talk with Ikey as usual. He was telling me stories about my dad. The first one was about when he had my dad come stay with him and Gloria in their student apartment down in Provo and he was going to tease him about the food he ate there (just cereal and toast of course) and then my dad chimed in with how Ikey used to keep the stats for the basketball team so he got to go sit in the booth with him at a basketball game! Pretty cool! But then he told this story about a Christmas when my dad was about 10 and Ikey and Gloria had decided to take gifts to Nana and her kids on Christmas day. They went to their house, gave them the gifts, and then my dad scurried off to his room. He was gone a while and then came back, asked his mom something, she said yes, then he left again. When he came back he had a little gift he'd wrapped in a piece of wrapping paper from a previous gift, and gave it to them. When they opened it, it was a little hand made cub scout head made from felt, that my dad had made for Nana, but asked if it was okay to give to them. They were so touched by the gift that they have that and only that on their tree every year now!! How cute is that!!!! I loved it! I never get to hear those kinds of stories about my dad. And at the same time I couldn't help but think about how sacrificing Nana was. To let him give away the gift he gave her. Because knowing her- I doubt she got any other gifts! I was thinking that as a mom, that would have been difficult. But she was always so sacrificing. I loved it. It was cool to hear my dad almost tearing up about his Aunt and Uncle, Ikey's parents, always giving him a gift for Christmas. It sounded pretty touching. Very cool!! I just love family. Family is the best! The reunion ended abruptly I think everyone needed to get to the football game-HA!- but we just went up to my dad's to hang out a little more with him and Steve. It was a good evening. I loved it! Can't wait til next year! 9-25-21
ANSWERS TO PRAYER
I don't know what got into me on Sunday. This happens a lot, but I'm usually able to diffuse it. Lately, since church is so uncomfortable, it's been harder, and I think forgetting my mask and feeling like a jerk because of that I really struggled to enjoy the company of our ward and really just suck it up on the things that were weighing on my mind. So you get the picture- kind of down in the dumps, self-pity, frustration, not feeling The Spirit, discouraged, judged, irritated, missing my husband... Luckily, I said a little prayer in my heart. I was pleading with the Lord to help me let go of these feelings and move on. I was asking Him to help me feel the peace that I KNOW I can feel at church. It occurred to me that it was a fast and testimony meeting and my heart was missing the days when my kids all used to get up and bear their testimonies. So I threw in a little, "could you please prompt one of my kids to bear their testimony today?" I knew it depended on their reception to the Spirit and I knew I didn't want it to be forced, so I was willing to let it go if Heavenly Father didn't grant my every wish, but I had hope :). It wasn't long before I was able to smile, able to think clearly, and feel a little bit of strength from the Spirit. I was so happy that my prayer had been answered so quickly. I enjoyed a lot of the testimonies and all but forgot that I had asked Heavenly Father for my kids to get up when cute Kelly squeezed past me on our pew. And right behind her was Charity :). I was so happy!! They both bore such powerful testimonies I realized it wasn't just about them getting up it was about what they said! Made my day! It was a bonus that they both got up there. Then right after that Noah and Bradley were both up there. Such cool kids!! All of my kids are cool, not just these four, but in that moment I was extremely grateful and feeling so much love from my Heavenly Father for those four and their testimonies. I know the others have testimonies, no doubt in my mind, it just wasn't their week! And I don't know who felt prompted to stand up or who did it on their own. But I had to give the credit to my Heavenly Father and my Savior. What a blessing it was to have that little bonus prayer answered. I have been blessed with many opportunities lately to feel Their Love. It's been really special. I feel like if there was a time I needed that more, it's now. I love knowing that They love me and take me as I am, but that They are also willing to help me to improve and become the best version of me. I loved it. I'm so grateful for these tender mercies and for the beauty of the Gospel. It was nice to feel some peace. 9-26-21
INTERNAL MEDICINE FOR KELLY
For the next step of our wild goose chase with Kelly's mysterious pain, we were to see an Internist. We chose Nurse Practitioner Carra Brandley. She was really nice, very thorough, asked all the right questions, got a lot of information out of us in such a short visit. She determined that the next step would be ultrasound on her legs and a heart monitor. So that is scheduled for next week. Here's to the next thing. I hope we find something useful. Kelly has been such an amazing example of faith and hope and most of all patience through all of this. I cannot even begin to express how frustrating it is to see such a beautiful, strong, caring, and service-loving daughter of God go through the pain that she does so frequently. It seems so unfair yet I know that this is playing a role in her development. I know that she will be and even better person when she comes to the end of this trial (assuming it ends) and that she will have the opportunity to reach out to our Father in Heaven and receive the peace and comfort available through Christ's Atonement. She is such a beautiful spirit and such a light in my life. I'm so grateful for the time that I get to spend with her even if it is in waiting rooms and doctor's offices. I hope that for her sake it can end soon though. 9-27-21
GLOW UP BRADLEY
Brad had his big day! Got his braces off!! We were so happy for him! I loved the text he sent Kelly a couple months ago when we made the appointment- it was something like: Put September 27th on your calendar! and she asked why and he said, "It's glow-up Bradley day!" Which just cracks me up- I didn't know that was a term of course, but I love it! Bradley really doesn't need to do much more glowing. I feel like he is a bright light in the world. I get so many compliments on Bradley and how nice he is, how well-behaved, what a loyal and good friend he is, etc. He really is just such a good kid. I couldn't ask for better. If I did, I'd feel pretty greedy :). He makes my life brighter and makes the tough things seem doable. He sets such an example of pushing through challenges and pushing through trials that I really can't complain about any of mine. He's a tough kid. I love who he is becoming and can't wait to see what he does with his life. And now he has his braces off so we get to see his cute dimples more often! We were worried they'd be a little rusty from him holding back these last couple years, but nope! They still work! Cute as ever :). So happy for him (and all the cute girls who liked him with braces and will now probably like him even more! HAHA!!). 9-27-21
FHE
Molly was our lesson today and she was in one of her moods so we did the easy- have everyone pick a picture from the box and tell about it. I was able to get Molly to ask each person why that story was important to our lives and she did a great job! I am really proud of Molly and all that she does. Even when it's hard and feels like she can't do something, she is really learning to branch out and do new things. Especially with the start of Kindergarten. I think she has been able to kind of stay little until this year and has had to step it up real quick with a lot of things. But she's doing it so well! I'm so glad we have Molly in our family and have her sweetness. She really is a thoughtful, kind, sensitive little girl. We had Nate's drumsticks for the treat, and played Ring Around the Rosie for Sadie's activity. It was one of those nights where we were all kind of dragging. I'm glad we still had Family Night though. Always feels good once we're doing it. 9-27-21
OPEN GYM FOR NOAH
Noah started open gym this week. I'm so proud of that kid!! He does so many things these days and does them all on his own! Remembering his schedule, being on time and ready for stuff, reminding me when I forget it all! He's mentioned recently that he really likes starting his day with a shower! So now he gets up at 6:00 am so that he can shower and get all ready before Study time. Which he is always present for. I don't think he's missed a day in months! Minus for school things. I've been so impressed with him. He had to go early this week for open gym and it wasn't too much of a change to get up just a little sooner to be at the school at 6:00. He plays hard and then comes home to shower real quick before going back to school. He's doing all this so he can try out for the basketball team. I hope he makes it and if he doesn't, I hope he knows it's only because the coach is a terd :). 9-28-21
CELLO FOR ERIKA
Erika started orchestra this week! She had her first one on Tuesday morning after play practice. I was really proud of her for remembering everything and being so excited for this new challenge. She is going to do great and I know that because of how she does everything else. I'm impressed with her ability to try new things. Even when her friends are not doing them. I'm happy with how this year has been going for her and all the things I've heard about her at recess and in class. She's still just such a good example to the kids around her. We all see it. She reaches out to the kids in need. She is always so forgiving of her friends and so willing to move on. She is a good friend and has so much fun. Even if she does "laugh too much" she is really just a good, fun-loving, sweet daughter of God. I hope she has as much fun playing the cello as she thinks she will :). 9-28-21
SOMETHING OUT OF THE BLUE BECAUSE I LOVE YOU
Sadie and I took time to go to Walmart this week and search for blue gifts for Nate. We put them all in a blue lunch box and put a little note on them that said, "Something out of the BLUE because I love you!" It was so much fun! I stuck it on the seat of his car so he would get it as he left for the mid Tuesday night. Made me happy to get his Marco Polo thank you while I rocked Sadie. 9-28-21
ELEMENT 4
So I haven't said much about my Life Book that goes along with this eating plan I've been doing. In fact, I don't think I've said much about my eating plan. I've been keeping it to myself because I know some people don't enjoy hearing about it. But my second cousin Kiera Ferguson Ritterbush contacted me on Facebook and offered me a discount on this plan she is coaching. At first I told her no a few times, but after a while of trying what worked for me before, after Molly when I lost 60 lbs, and that not working and then keto being fruitless also, I called her up and told her I was ready. It's expensive, but I feel like it's helping me so much! I've lost 29 lbs already, in just two months! And I'm hoping to knock off at least another 30. It took me a lot longer to lose this much last time so that's been awesome, but even more than the weight loss, I am learning such better habits and learning to focus on my mental and emotional health as well as physical. The first three elements in this book were kind of obvious and didn't mean a whole lot to me, but this fourth one! I am loving it! It's all about diffusing negative emotions. I really needed this!! And I don't know if I knew how much I needed it! Stop. Challenge. Choose is what it says and it is helping me so much to deal with all kinds of situations! I feel like a different person. If I think about why I am feeling something, and then focus on how I would like to feel, I am learning to change my reaction time and to get rid of the negative forces! It's been so cool!! I don't know if I can share specific examples, maybe I can think of some, but I feel like a different person because of it. It's been awesome! 9-28-21
DAVIS DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP
Bradley ran in the Davis District Championship on Wednesday. Nate and I were there, at the Layton Park, to cheer him on! He did so well!! He didn't do as well as he had wanted (he's had a lot of improvement the past week so I think he had some unrealistic expectations because of that) and it was hard to really gauge what a good time would be since it was 2.75 miles instead of a 5K, so that was tricky, but I thought he did great! And just like it's been this season, he seemed to recover so quickly afterwards! That's been a cool little improvement. So proud of this kid and all that he does! 9-29-21
SADIE AND RED LIGHTS
Whenever we stop at a red light Sadie screams at me to "DOH!" It's so funny. She doesn't love stopping. She always asks what I'm doing and why I'm not going. 9-29-21
FLAG FOOTBALL/VOLLEYBALL
We started up with Flag Football for the boys this week, which they of course love and I love hearing about all their fun plays and goals. We also started my new calling of Sports Assistant at Volleyball this week! Christie and I went all out and walked around a personal invitation to Volleyball to all the young women along with these cute little "volleyball" zipper pulls I made using the Monkey fist knot- awesome, right!?- so we were very thrilled with our awesome turn out! Well I was :). Last time they had volleyball they had two girls- five the time before- we got NINE GIRLS THERE!! Pretty sweet! We had to split up our team so that the other team of one girl could play. Everyone had a great time! It was awesome! I loved it. I think Erika was okay with having her mom there :). 9-30-21
CLEANING THE TEMPLE
Nate and I volunteered (separately, not knowing the other one had signed up, which is funny) to clean the temple Thursday night. It was a little bit of a sacrifice, getting in Sunday clothes at 9:00 at night, but of course once we were there, we were in heaven :). As you know I LOVE cleaning the temple. It's just so cool. I don't know why. They split us all up into groups, we were whittled down to us and the Nybos and then each given a vacuum! I got to vacuum the laundry/sewing room with a few offices and the room where the baptismal clothes are passed out. I got to vacuum a couple hallways and then he took me to the doors leading out to the parking garage, and asked me to vacuum the whole hallway there, around the atrium and down to the baptistry. I was more than happy to do it, but of course had the little thing in my brain where I try to think of more efficient ways to do things and wondered why the temple wouldn't have a giant vacuum. It would have taken a LOT less time to use something like that, but maybe this could be an analogy with life. Slow and steady, ya know. Or realizing that some things can't be rushed or done more efficiently. Like our growth. I don't know. I thought about that the whole time :). I wanted to do my best though so I developed a system to cover every last inch :). Pretty funny probably, but I felt very "thorough". It was a great night spent in the Lord's house. Wouldn't trade it or all the sleep in the world for it. Which speaking of sleep- after we got home around 12:30, we found a text from Bradley asking us to wake him up because he was rocking Sadie. She of course woke up when Nate woke up Bradley and since Nate had to wake up to go to work in a few hours, I decided I better rock her. I was up until about 3:00 rocking her to sleep and then having her wake up over and over as I tried to place her in bed. She normally does so good! It was crazy! I was very tired the next day, but somehow still had the strength to get a lot done. I'll give the credit to Heavenly Father for that one. 9-30-21
