SUNDAY
So our Sundays look very different these days. I'm not sure I've mentioned some of the changes. They made it so that we can watch Sacrament meeting virtually when our HALF (not thirds anymore) go to church. And they also approved Zoom Relief Society and Sunday School! SO we sit and watch Sacrament meeting (minus the Sacrament) on our TV at 10:30 then as soon as that is over, we do our own Sacrament as a family. Then we have our little Primary lesson and sing a few songs and then every one scatters to go have their Sunday School lesson via Zoom. I have loved being able to at least see people on my phone screen. I feel like it's hard for me to focus and the lessons are super short, but overall, it's a good experience. Starting next Sunday, thanks to the new, stricter regulations, we will be divided into thirds again. We have to miss two more weeks unfortunately. Kind of a bummer. But we'll live. It's an interesting world we live in right now. I can't say I love it. I'm ready to be done. 11-1-20
CHARITY GETTING TRUNKY
I think Charity is getting a little trunky now, counting down the days til she moves back home. We face-timed her for our family council on Sunday night and she was very excited that she only has a couple more weeks to go. I'm bummed she's not having more fun, but it is 2020. Not exactly a college friendly year. But I'm so proud of her for sticking her neck out there and taking the leap. And I'm more than happy to welcome her back home! 11-1-20
SHOPPING
Noah needed wrestling shoes, Erika needed gifts for Morgan and Hayden! We made an evening of it and just knocked it all out. I LOVED the time with Erika. (Noah was at his last Race Cats day during most of it) It was a good evening, but with the recent time change I was super tired!! 11-2-20
KELLY'S NEW JOB!!
Kelly started her new job at Crumbl today. She's very excited about this one and it sounds like it will be a fun job! I'm really happy she finally found something she is happy about. We're going to miss having her around so much though. 11-2-20
FHE
Our FHE was pretty mediocre this week, between me leaving early to get Sadie in bed, and starting late, it was pretty short and slim. Jack was our lesson and at the last minute he decided to have everyone draw a picture of something they have learned in the Book of Mormon this year. I didn't get to hear how it went, but I was glad he took the initiative and pulled it off. I think they all played Hide-and-Seek for Molly's activity and broke into the powdered sugar mini donuts for Sadie's treat. We'll do better next week I think :). 11-2-20
SADIE
Monday night Sadie was WAY OFF! Just SO cranky! (Partly why I ditched FHE to rock her) and when I got her in jammies it occurred to me that she was a little warm. That made sense to go with her bad mood, but I wasn't thrilled about what the fever might be indicating. I refuse to test anyone else for COVID. We are not going through all of that again. I will quarantine when it's necessary, but a low fever is not going to be that. So anyway. After I rocked her for a while I put her down and then she was awakened by Molly a little later. I went back up to try to rock her back to sleep and she was wet and shivering in her crib! Poor little thing! I was glad the fever had broken, but felt so bad for her. Funny thing was, she went right back to sleep after I wrapped her up in her soft blankie. She was probably not feeling well. Could have been a lot of things. Teething, a cold, Coronavirus... Hopefully it wasn't that. I am keeping her away from people a little though. We'll see how it goes. It's a super mild case though, if it is. 11-2-20
DRESS SHOPPING WITH KELLY (AND ERIKA AND SADIE AND CHARITY VIA FACETIME)
Kelly tried a new store this time :). She seemed pleasantly surprised with the selection, took like 10 dresses into the dressing room (thank goodness they have them open!) and tried them all on. This was a lot of fun. She really looked so cute in all of them! Of course she looks more comfortable and happy in certain styles. Erika and I had fun talking and chasing Sadie around. Journey 5 has a cute little kid play area that we thought was fun. Then as Kelly was re-trying on the top like three or four, we called Charity on Facetime and got her to weigh in :). That was a lot of fun. Good times with my girls! Of course I had forgotten my card so we had to put the dress on hold to pick up tomorrow, and Nate had to transfer money to Kelly's card for Sadie's shoes and socks and Kelly's black shoes for her new job. Kind of silly. I don't know why I still do that after all these years. 11-3-20
ELECTION DAY!!
Well, the big day finally came. And was a huge disappointment. The race was so close, we have no idea who the President will be even 3:30 on the 4th! It's gonna be closer than it's ever been, I'm afraid. Kinda crazy. If Biden wins, I say, Signs of the Times. If Trump does, I say we have four more years :). I'm nervous for Biden to win, but I guess if I'm thinking about how things are right now, it makes sense. We are in the last days. I can't wait for all the gloaters. 11-3-20
NOAH THE WRESTLER
Noah started wrestling this past week. As soon as quarantine was over. I think he likes it :). It's new and he's had a very open mind I think and has sounded very positive, but I can tell it's SUPER hard on him! He's been so sore! I loved his reaction when he had to go run at Race Cats the day after wrestling conditioning. Poor guy! I've been so proud of him and that he's sticking with it even though it's obviously pushing him. Pretty cool. His cute complaint that the coach keeps matching him with 8 and 9 year olds. So adorable. I can't wait to see him in the tournament in a week. 11-6-20
BIKE RIDING AGAIN
Nate took a month or so off from his bike, after the rib incident. I'm glad he let himself heal. I am also glad he was completely unharmed on his trip this morning with Travis! Very nice. I think he actually had some fun this time. 11-6-20
CHARITY QUARANTINE
Well, we knew this was bound to happen, living up there in the dorms, we knew Charity would eventually have to quarantine! We just never would have guessed it would happen on her LAST TWO WEEKS THERE! Poor girl! She just can't seem to catch a break with life this year. Anything she looks forward to feels like it changes. It's tough. It will probably make her tough. We talked tonight. I told her to get tested and that she could come home any time. The good thing about us already having had it. I hope she does okay. Anxious to hear how it goes. Poor girl. 11-6-20
KELLY'S FRIENDS' QUARANTINE
Poor Kelly is having her own quarantine drama this week or two. Kallie in her dance group has to quarantine because her brother got it. Eve must have been in contact with him also, because she is quarantining as well. So they are having to change their dance date. It's been frustrating for her. She has been such a good friend though, taking treats and drinks to her friends while they are stuck at home. Such a good friend. 11-6-20
ICE BLOCKING-ERIKA
Erika got to go ice blocking with Morgan and Kate for Morgan's birthday. That was a lot of fun. I've loved hearing about it. That is a fun activity I completely forgot about. She did hurt her ankle though which is a total bummer. She is also getting very excited for basketball season to start! We found out Nate is in fact her coach and hopefully we can freeze Kate on our team! Pretty exciting! 11-6-20
BRAD FISHING
Brad has had a hard time getting back into Cross Country after quarantine and with basketball stuff starting up, he's been in limbo a bit. But it's been nice to take a few trips fishing with Nate through it all. I think that's his stress relief. He's also been priceless in his help with Sadie! Helps with her mood swings, entertains her, dresses her, even bathed her for me tonight! Such a good boy! I'm so grateful for his service. 11-6-20
SADIE
I haven't done a post about my cute little Sades in a long time! She has been growing like a weed! Even just this last month, she's started a lot of new things. Lots more talking. She says, Mama, Dada, Bubba, shoosh (not sure how to spell her say of saying it, but it's shoes with almost a j at the end), cheese is "sheesh", super cute! She says "tee tee" for kitty and usually clicks her tongue to get the kitty's attention. She says, "Bweee" while doing the sign for please. She has modified the sign for thank you by butting the ball of her hand on her cheek. Kinda cute. Doodoo for drink. It's been a lot of fun to watch her learn. She loves learning right now. She's pretty moody most of the time, we feel like she is needing two naps again all of a sudden, like she gets tired really easily. But we're trying to work with her :). She's most happy when she is outside. Either on the swing, or on a walk. She loves to just wander around the yard too, touching everything! She loves dirt. She plays in the dirt every chance she gets. I'm so glad we have Sadie in our lives. I've been working on my blog book from 2019 and it's been a lot of fun to think about when she was born and all that led up to that. She really is a blessing from Heavenly Father. It wouldn't be the same without her. 11-6-20
SPANISH FORK RACE- BRADLEY
Brad, Sadie and I all drove down to Spanish Fork for his qualifying race. This was a big deal for Brad and he was a little nervous. I was happy I got to drive him down there, but I was bummed I was probably not going to be able to watch. I made arrangements with Andrea before hand, being in Spanish Fork and all, for her to come keep me company during the race. Well, it turned out way better than I thought, I broke the rules and got out and watched Brad race, cheering him on around each lap. It was fun to watch him, fun to talk with Andrea, even Sadie was being pretty good the entire time. Brad did a great job! Not his best time, but considering he'd missed two weeks of practice for the dumb quarantine, he did really well! I was so proud of him! We decided to go to breakfast so that I could spend a little more time with Andrea and so that we could chase Sadie around a Denny's-like restaurant for an hour :). It was a really good time! 11-7-20
JOHN
Saturday, before leaving for Jack's Basketball game, I got a call from Heidi. She had been waiting for John to get back from getting an oil change so that they could move the rest of their stuff over here. He had been gone for a really long time and only sent a text that said, "give the kids my inheritance", so she was starting to get a little worried. She asked my advice about whether she should call John's mom, or the police, or what I thought, and because I didn't think there was a concern said to just call his mom. At least then she might know a little more about what she's been dealing with. He has made it sound like he was going to kill himself in the past and then nothing so we weren't sure if we needed to take this seriously. So I hung up with Heidi and went on with my day. Heidi called Lynda and then also received a phone call from IMC hospital. This is when she called me. I was at Jack's basketball game and almost didn't answer the call because I was having so much fun watching, but luckily I did. She was in a bit of a panic, told me that the hospital had called and said that John had shot himself and was in the ICU. She needed a sitter and a carseat for Alyssa so my mom could take her to the hospital. So I called Kelly. Kelly took the carseat over and picked up Porter to come back to our house. It was a really long time before I heard anything from Heidi. It had been too much for her to take in and she wasn't prepared to relive it. She had asked the detective to call me, but for some reason they never did. Either way, when she called that night, she told me the whole story. John had gone down to a shooting range in West Jordan. He had gone down to the lower level, and then took the gun he had been assigned and put it in his mouth and shot himself. In front of other people. They had called the ambulance and had him rushed to the hospital.
When Heidi got there, the first person she talked to was pretty short with her and was obsessing over the fact that when they tested him for COVID his test came back positive. They were disturbed by this for some reason, and when Heidi told them he had had it two weeks ago, they insisted that he should have been quarantined still because it's supposed to be a three week quarantine. Which is nothing like what the Health Department told any of us. This was the most ridiculous part of the day. I still can't believe they brought this up first. So eventually they told Heidi what happened, but were pretty rude to her and because of the COVID policy, would not allow her in the room with John AT ALL. I'm still shocked that this is how ANY patient is treated much less someone who was obviously already struggling emotionally before he came in there. Isolation isn't good for anyone, but I can't even imagine being isolated in his state. His condition was stable, but he was on a ventilator and sedated for all of Saturday. They were doing the MRI Saturday night and would get results to Heidi Sunday morning.
Heidi had called me that evening to fill me in and needed someone to go get their car from the shooting range. Took me a bit to round up someone to go with me (Nate and Kelly were both working), but thankfully I have the best minister on the planet and she inhaled her dinner and was in my driveway in no time. She and I talked about all of this on our way to West Jordan. She was really nice to talk to because we see very eye to eye on most things! It felt really good to talk about things with her. When we got to Doug's Shootin' Sports we couldn't see their car in the tiny parking lot and got a little weirded out. Why would the police tell her to have someone get it if they were just going to tow it? Or maybe someone else got it? We weren't sure! It was kind of annoying because we'd driven all the way out there. But I couldn't help thinking it must be there. So we started to drive home and looked back and saw a different parking lot he may have used. Christie flipped a U and right where she turned around, we saw the Forerunner! In a totally different parking lot, not even close to the shooting range really. I was really glad we found it. When I got into that car, I was overcome with the most creepy feeling. It was not a good feeling in that car. It had me really on edge. There was some weird noise over my shoulder. The car had looked like it had been broken into, but it hadn't, but I kept going back to that idea and worrying that there was someone in there. I started praying out loud a few minutes into it and I was able to drive it to Heidi's, but I was really happy to get out of there when I did. Heidi had asked me to move things around so she didn't have to see how John left it and while I was doing that I found a notebook. I wondered if there was a letter in there or something, but it was just some notes from his rehab zoom meetings. There was a list of stresses and rankings next to them. It was kind of sad to see all that he had been dealing with. I was surprised that none of the things were ranked higher than an 8. Weird. I went up to take Heidi the key and my mom was still there. I talked with them for a few minutes and then Christie and I drove home. That was so nice of her to help me with that! I was glad I could help Heidi.
We tended Porter all day Saturday and had some fun with him. He came with us up to Crumbl to visit Kelly at her new job. Every time I looked at him I just think what a strong little spirit he must be. I can't help but wonder if he needs to be close to the veil still and that's why he can't talk very much. Who knows. That's my own theory. He's such a good kid, it's really no trouble to have him around. He's even been going to bed for us just fine. Minus that first night. Brad had rocked him for a good hour and a half as they watched PJ Masks, but when he gave him to me, we laid down on the couch turned on the baby animals on tv and he was out in four minutes! It was midnight though. I decided to take him up to my room and let him sleep in my bed since Nate was working. It was a long night of tossing and turning Porter back into a reasonable position where I didn't think he was going to fall off our huge bed. I kept having dreams that there was another kid I was taking care of too- it was so weird. But since then, he's been going to bed at a good time and waking up at reasonable times. He really has bee fine to have with us. We had him Sunday night, then took him home Monday night and went and got him to come up to Logan with us Tuesday and that night. I guess I hope I am helping Heidi. There doesn't seem to be much else I can do. She doesn't want company. Hopefully she is okay and able to process some things her way and in her time this way. I hope she can get through this. Her life is never going to be the same. It's so crazy that we've spent the last four or five months trying to get him out of her life and now... I just hope she can make the decision that is best for her and the kids. 11-7-20--11-11-20
ICE SKATING!!
Erika had wanted to go ice skating for her birthday and since it was the day before her birthday, I suggested that we go for the Monday night family deal. Then we wanted to invite family too, because that's been so fun in the past. So rather than cram everything into the night before, we decided to make it a two day thing. So we invited everyone to come Tuesday evening for cake and ice cream and presents as well! Once the Governor made his stupid announcement I though the rink would be closed and nobody would be able to come to either thing, but much to our surprise, the rink was open! AND we had grandparents there! My mom and dad and Simon all came. And the dog. I was so glad that Erika got to do her ice skating and it was really nice to do something that felt normal. There was almost nobody there so the kids skated around freely and my and my bleacher club- Sadie, Porter, my mom, dad, Simon and the dog- just sat and chatted to our hearts' content. It was nice. And normal. Well, minus that nobody was there! HA! I loved that. We counted at one point there were only 25 people on the ice! 8 of them were us! Sadie didn't love the activity. She did love it when Nate took her out on the ice. If only she'd just held his hand, she could have stayed out there. Good stuff though! I loved watching Erika get into it and skating around. She had to take her jacket off she was having so much fun! The kids are all really good at ice skating! It's fun that they have that skill! 11-9-20
ERIKA'S BIRTHDAY
Erika woke up to a very cool, NEW kind of birthday sign! Kelly had slaved over it all night and because we were out of butcher paper, she made this sign on the neon paper and just did one letter per page! She still did the letters really fun and creative with things Erika likes, so it was AWESOME!! I had not gotten Erika's request for breakfast, so I made waffles. She said it's one of her favorites, so hopefully she at least likes them :). She got all ready for school and was anxiously awaiting the rest of her day. For Erika's birthday, she had asked to go to lunch. We thought that was perfect and would make up for missing birthday tables for sure! THEN I got the idea to combine our visit to Charity's with Erika's birthday lunch idea. We have been wanting to get up there to visit her and Erika was so happy to see her that first time, that I thought this was the perfect plan. But I wanted to keep it a secret from Erika and just surprise her with that when we checked her out. It ended up being a pretty fun idea and surprise, but the ride there kind of snuffed out the excitement. It feels like such a long drive for some reason. Erika was polite and didn't mind. We also had Bradley, Luke, Porter, Sadie, and Molly with us. Poor Charity has been quarantined for a week so we did have to break her out of quarantine, but we got up there and stole her for lunch at Burger King- Erika's choice! Burger King was pretty empty too! That was awesome! We all just sat there and enjoyed ourselves the entire time. Kinda cool to not have crowds everywhere. Not gonna lie. I think Erika enjoyed it. We got home and she had a gift from Kate sitting on the couch! She went over to get Kate and they played for most of the afternoon and she used her new bead pets kit Kate gave her. I spent most of the day making her cake :). Molly helped. It was getting later in the evening and I knew I needed to hurry and make dinner, but I wasn't feeling a whole lot of pressure to get things nice because I didn't really think we'd have many guests. Then I got the news that a LOT of people were coming! I was glad, surprised, and really glad that Erika was going to get to have a real birthday party! So then we mad dashed the house clean. I hurried and whipped up some Broccoli Cheddar soup and finished the cake and then our guests arrived! I just LOVE that Erika got that attention and support. She got lots of fun gifts! She had made a list this year which she has never done before and so I wanted to get her a lot of the things on her list. That was a lot of fun. She got a lot of cute other things from Grandma Ruthie and Jen too. Then later in the evening revealed to me that she now has $90 with all the money she got from people! Pretty cool!! She deserves it!! It was a fun night! We all ate her penguin cake and the creamery ice cream Nate had bought while we were up with Charity. Pretty lucky that we have family who are willing to risk breaking rules and getting a virus to show Erika love and support :). 11-10-20
BRAD'S DRIVING!!!
Bradley finally got his classroom hours and his road hours and waited til the appointment date to go to the DLD!! We had scheduled it on Erika's birthday! I checked him out and went to get Porter for our drive up to Logan, and then Bradley and I went in to get his license! They were only doing things by appointment, so there was almost nobody there. We got right in. The lady taking his picture made a fun joke after I told him to smile she said, "well, now you have to smile!" Then she said, "When you come back and you're old enough to pay for your own stuff, then you can decide whether to smile or not :)". Made me laugh. Nice lady. She looked ornery, but that was just a disguise. The lady we had at the counter was super fun and nice too. She laughed with me over the "Dirty Blond" answer on hair color. She was fun. I LOVED being there with Bradley. I'm glad I get to do those things. He was pretty excited! When we got home from Logan he was really chomping at the bit to go somewhere in the car :). I asked for volunteers to go on his maiden voyage. He took Noah to Fiiz :). So fun! I loved it. Stay off the road people, he's legal! 11-10-20
MY BACK AGAIN
I'm not sure why this keeps happening. It's been about once a month for a few days for the past like 11 months! I can't tell if it usually correlates with my period or not, but it did this time. Annoying. But I'll take this over the body aches and chills I was experiencing on my period last month. Is this TMI? Probably, but that just means I'll make Kelly a little uncomfortable when she reads it and that's kinda funny. My back hurts when I get up and then has a really bad pinch at the bottom of my spine while I'm doing things and then it's mostly comfortable when I sit down. Not on hard chairs though, that hurts. I wish I could figure out a way to get rid of it. Stretching seems to help and moving around, but all of that hurts in the process too. Ibuprofen and Tylenol are my friends. Hopefully it's gone tomorrow. 11-12-20--11-13-20
REFRESHING NEWS
Heidi mentioned yesterday that she is mad at John and told me of a conversation with the Rehab Therapist where she felt guilty for saying that she wasn't going to be the one to take care of John. I am so relieved! I was so worried she was going to miss out on her life and be stuck taking care of him forever. I really can't believe he did this to her and I have continued to remain mad at him, but now the thought of him doing this intentionally and all the things this gets him out of and the burden it puts on Heidi is very frustrating. Now she's telling me about the things he's written in his journal. What a big terd he was!!! There are mean things about her all through it, even when they were dating and engaged, but even worse when they were married. I am not okay with this. What a jerk!!! I'm on a group email for updates on John and Gordon, John's friend, set up a Go Fund Me for his medical bills and it's already at $12,000.00. I'm shocked. He's got some rich friends with rich friends basically. But the description he put on it had things like "loving husband", "sole provider" and this whole thing was described as a "tragic accident". I want to barf looking at it. I want to get her as far away from him and his stupid family as I can. I don't know what she will let me do at this point. It's been very frustrating. The whole thing has. But the news that she was not planning on taking care of him was VERY refreshing. I need to keep that in mind. 11-13-20
BECKY
Becky is very sick. So sick she's not even responding to my texts right now. I hope she is okay. I'm pretty sure she has COVID. That is not going to be good. 11-13-20
TEMPLE PREVIEW FOR ERIKA
I loved the Zoom Temple Preview we had for Erika yesterday! So much fun to get her thinking about going to the temple and being in Young Womens. It's so exciting! We loved hearing so much from Noah and the interaction with all the cute youth leaders. This is an exciting time to be in the YW organization and a great time for growth and change. I'm really proud of who Erika is and know that she will magnify this blessing in her life! (even though it will be a whole year before Kate is in there!) 11-15-20
EMOTIONAL FIRST AID
This was a very eye opening lesson for me today. I think I needed it. The reminder to be more compassionate and nurturing. Unfortunately, I did need the reminder. 11-15-20
CLIMBING BACK INTO THE BARGE
For the past couple of weeks, probably since the phone call between Natalie and Nate, I have been very riled up. Very obsessed and absorbed with the frustration of our Government's response to this virus. It's been debilitating to be honest. I am still annoyed, still frustrated, but last night after reading something about the trials the Jaredites encountered while in the barges that were being directed by the Lord, using the light and protection he provided, I realized that I had gotten way off course. Possibly even stepped out of the barge we were in coming across our great deep (this "pandemic"). I remembered my awesome attitude at the beginning. I was so gung ho and ready to push through this challenge as a family and I wanted to make the most of it. I was so good! Didn't even have to pray for help because I was so positive about it all :). Not really, but you know what I mean. But somewhere, somehow, I lost it. Maybe while I was sitting in my room alone, wishing I could help Nate with the day to day stress of our family, or when I was watching the kids' responses to the things they would have to cancel or reschedule or not ever be able to do because we were all in quarantine for sore throats and a couple days of chills. (under-exaggeration, I know, but still- it wasn't what they've made it out to be) I fell out of my barge. I forgot that I was on a ride being steered by the Lord. I forgot that my challenges and trials could work together for my good. I forgot that this experience could be refining us and getting us ready for the next big thing. I don't want to miss out on this workout or warm up or whatever it might be. I know I need the warm up! I don't want to tear muscles when the actual trial comes. So today is a new day. I am climbing back into the barge, I am going to buckle up and hold on for the ride. I am going to comfort my children when they are sad or confused. I am going to lift up my husband from the heaviness of his burdens and frustration. I am going to remind myself that this can make us stronger, daily. I am going to keep my focus on the promised land. Whatever that might be for this situation, and have faith that the Lord will not steer us wrong. He is aware of my needs, my wants, my schedule, my obligations, my hopes, my dreams, my love for my family and friends, and my love for HIM! I am going to show that love through my positive attitude and hoepfully be able to share that with those around me. The end. 11-16-20
COVID
Becky did in fact test positive and was in the hospital for a few days. So sad. I was so worried about her. I fasted for her yesterday and she is now home and feeling mostly alright, which is great news! I hope all goes well with the at home treatments. She said she will be taking something that they are paying her $125 every day to take! Pretty cool. If it's good and works of course. I'll be praying for her! 11-16-20
SERVICE SCAVENGER HUNT
Nate had this great idea a while ago and was able to pull it off this week! It started on the 18th, each day we would send out a flyer with three options of service ideas for a different group each day. It was so cool!! I loved it!! The first day was the Primary- most of them did the puppet shows and got to submit those. Some read books to kids. That was a fun one. Then we did Elder's quorum. Most of them got Dad jokes from someone in the Elder's quorum. Some found out about answers to prayers. Relief Society- most of the kids wrote a letter, some ran an errand and my kids did the raking leaves. Then it was Moms- letters were big on this one. Then Dads- most of them made a treat for their dads, some letters. Then we did Young women! I loved this one. This was the night that Brad was let down about tryouts and he went to the store to buy a rose for a girl and ended up buying two dozen roses, one for each of the young women in the ward. How cool is that!! What a sweet guy!! I was so proud of him! Such a cool way to cope with disappointment. I got to drive him around. He was sweet about it! Even wrote each girl's name on a little card to leave with the rose. I just love that kid! Such a godo boy!! Most of the kids did a nice text. Then the Young men were the next day and most of them did a treat on their doorstep. This was such a cool idea!! They topped it off with an auction. The things they did earned them points and they were able to use the points to bid for prizes! I loved it!! So much fun. Made me feel like I was part of the youth for a second :). 11-18-20--11-25-20
PUTTING OUT THE FIRE
I already typed this post up and now it's gone for some reason. I'm a little bugged because I did it right in the moment and had all the details, but maybe that wasn't meant to be. Thursday, Nate was smoking some meat for Becky. She was home from the hospital and craving meatloaf :). So Nate made her some of his bacon wrapped goodness. Well, just as usual, he put the stuff in the smoker and then carried on with his day, eventually getting up to our room to sleep off his night shift the night before. Bradley was here, home on the soft closure, and as he walked through the living room to the kitchen he looked out the back windows and then quickly came back into the living room with some news. He said, "Mom, there's like flames coming out of a log in the back yard?" I wasn't sure how serious to take this and knowing the smokers were going, I had to get some clarification on whether it was flames or just smoke. I didn't wait too long before getting up and looking out back myself, and when I did... HOLY MOLY!!! I was shocked!! Sure enough, there were flames coming out of the log bench Nate made from our tree, there were flames coming out of the dried leaves and rising up the fence behind the smoker. I started frantically running around to get a hose to spray it all down, but called to Brad to go wake up Nate. Can you imagine waking up to that news?? I failed at getting a hose, every single hose was disconnected from the spigot and then the irrigation water was turned off!!! It was a mad dash, I was starting to consider calling the fire department, but I also could picture us getting it all put out before they could get here. So I didn't, but thankfully, Nate came out, grabbed a bucket of water nearby and dumped it on the fire, then the garbage can full of rain water came next. The fire wasn't out yet, but it was more contained. That was encouraging. Finally we had the hose connected and Nate was able to start hosing it all down. We noticed that it had spread to the Danaluk's tarp covering their four wheeler trailer, and a lot of their leaves were smoldering as well. I was so nervous about any sparks we couldn't see. So I insisted that Nate hose everything down to drowning in water :). I'm sure he would have anyway, but that was my measley contribution. Nate and Brad were out there for a good two hours hosing things down, then cleaning up all the leaves and making sure it was ALL under control. Just looking at the melted fence slats and black bench, black pergola, melted flower pots (all our new pots!! so sad) and warped shed, we realize this was huge. This could have ended up SO MUCH WORSE!! We are so blessed! We were so blessed that Bradley saw it!! I never look in the backyard intentionally. I don't know if I would have ever seen it. I'm starting to think that if we hadn't had the soft closure from school, our house and neighborhood would have burned down!! There were so many dry leaves everywhere. It's so crazy!! I mean, I feel like it obviously wasn't meant to be that our neighborhood burn down, and the Lord made sure that it didn't happen, but it's always interesting when it happens like this, at a later moment in time than preventative. Nate racked his brain for a prompting to look at something or do something differently, but couldn't think of any. So it's always interesting when the Lord waits til the problem is bigger and we need to put the fire out, than just preventing in in the first place. Maybe this has Gospel application. I still think we probably should have called the fire department, but that would have been a mess too. I feel so grateful for the protection we received in that instance. We have been so blessed. 11-19-20
BECKY
We drove up to Becky's to deliver the meat loaf. That was a nice little visit. We measured her wall to see how big she wants her vinyl, we talked about the ridiculousness of COVID, her symptoms, her need for a hug :). She was not happy with me for coming in and hugging her, she's worried I can get it again, but I tried to explain that I am immune at least for a few months. It was good to see her. I hope she gets feeling 100% soon!!! 11-19-20
PROPHET’S MESSAGE
Early in the week, the Prophet announced that he would be delivering a message to the world on Friday at 11:00. We were really excited! It was an excitement that helped me to have a more positive attitude for a lot of the week! I loved it. And even better, come Friday, we got to hear from our sweet Prophet. He is so awesome! He talked about some of the hard things he has been through, the loved ones he's lost and the trials he's endured, and then talked about how we can combat these trials we are facing today with Gratitude! It was such a great, refreshing idea. He challenged all of us to use our social media as a gratitude journal for the next seven days and post something we are thankful for each day. I LOVED this idea and fully embraced it! 11-20-20
GRATITUDE- DAY 1
I am thankful for protection. We had an experience this week where we were miraculously protected from what could have been a very devastating situation. Such a tender mercy from the Lord. #givethanks 11-20-20
GRATITUDE- DAY 2
I am thankful for down time. When it’s okay to just sit and chat with family or work on my hobbies, it’s always a good recharge. #givethanks 11-21-20
GRATITUDE- DAY 3
I’d like to #givethanks for and point out some of the good that has come from some of the trials this year:
1. I loved having my family all together 24/7 this spring! Some of my most cherished memories.
2. Our fun attempts at recreating some of the things my kids missed out on: Prom, Graduation, music makers, mountain man rendezvous, to name a few.
3. Having my little sister and her cute kids back in my life.
4. Learning that my baby can read eyes without the rest of the face showing- this amazes me.
5. Witnessing the birth of my newest niece.
6. Good, casual discussions with my kids in the quiet, blank space of our days.
7. The thrill of returning to school like I’ve never seen before.
8. Watching my kids adapt and grow through their challenges, much better than me.
9. The sweetness of some of our spring and fall sports not having been cancelled.
10. Being brought back to the basics so we can re-prioritize our focus.
11. Recognizing who my real friends are.
12. Fun family Olympics put on by the Maughans.
13. We’ve learned some new ways to interact with each other and found some creative ways to serve.
14. Watching family wounds heal.
15. Learning to not take gathering together for granted.
16. The beautiful Spirit of partaking of The Sacrament as a family and witnessing my sons’ testimonies as they prepare, bless and pass the emblems. Makes my mom heart melt.
17. Time to think, journal, Marco Polo people I wouldn’t have, and craft. Lots of crafting in the beginning ツ.
18. Opportunity to grow and strengthen faith and hope.
19. I’ve been more aware of what I value and what things are most important to me.
20. Protection physically and spiritually.
21. Learning the benefits of a positive attitude when I’ve had one.
22. Being able to “attend” funerals, baptisms, mission farewell/homecoming talks I would not have been able to attend because we Zoom everything now ツ.
23. More time with Nate. He’s such a good influence, it’s been great to have him at my side through a lot of the crazy. 11-22-20
GRATITUDE- DAY 4
When I was a lifeguard, waking up to clouds was a happy sight! Clouds meant possibly rain and that usually meant lightning ツ. We still had to go to work, but rather than getting paid to sit there getting a tan, we’d get paid to sit there and play cards, chat, and veg inside. ツ I’m not sure why it was so much better, but it was 😂. Ever since then, cloudy weather has been my weather! I’m loving the rain today ☔️ makes me happy... I hope we get some lightning too. 😁 #givethanks 11-23-20
FHE
Noah gave our lesson on turning weaknesses into strengths. I really needed it. For Erika's activity we played king pig. We had Star Crunch for Jack's treat :). 11-23-20
BRAD'S BASKETBALL TRYOUTS
I can't believe this actually happened, but I forgot to wake Bradley up for his morning tryout! I was awake, doing my usual studying, and just completely spaced that he needed to be awake! I felt AWFUL about it ALL DAY!!! It was a long day of regret. Brad was emotional about it a few times, but was mostly pretty understanding. It was a bummer though! I was so sad! He emailed the coach, told him what happened and the coach said it was fine to come to the tryouts later that day. That afternoon he went and did well, but didn't feel like he did good enough. I was so sad and such a disappointment, but I was so proud of how he chose to cope with it. 11-23-20
GRATITUDE- DAY 5
Today, while searching for a spot in the Costco parking lot, I was surprised to see something I feel I haven’t seen in a while— a stranger smiled at me! No mask, I got to see her whole smile! Felt good ツ #givethanks 11-24-20
GRATITUDE- DAY 6
I am thankful for the little miracles that come because friends or family followed a prompting and served me and my family.
When Valerie brought over the huge box of diapers (and then wipes on a separate occasion) that she’d had in her basement for years, on the very day that I had run out and was desperately scrounging change out of my couch to buy diapers for my little Charity.
Annie coming to get my kids so that I could have some time to myself.
The coffee cake 🥰 Christy
When Claire brought us a free Christmas tree she’d cut down herself when we weren’t going to be able to afford one. (Or the time my rocking chair broke so she ran her beautiful rocking chair across the street to replace it ツ. Or on of the other million times she saved the day.)
Sis. Openshaw and the basket of baby clothes for our early baby girl who we hadn’t had any showers for yet ツ.
The loaf of Great Harvest bread Charity Manwaring left on my doorstep that brought me to tears knowing she had no idea of my trials at the time.
Christmas (what am I saying, it was the last half of December packed with miracles) of 2007. So many miracles. @Charity Manwaring Kaye Worthen Tuia Felicia Paskett Paulette Dalton Maynes Nancy Harris Ruth Maynes Becky Beckstead Jennifer Maynes Dan Maynes Meg Maynes Taylor Sarah Hatch Ellen Mottishaw-Wong Shellie Hickok
Vicki Parsons bailing me out at Walmart with a cart FULL of stuff when I didn’t have my wallet.
The Kim Ball Day Spa when I had Luke. That was heavenly.
Amy Watson visits just as I was about to lose it emotionally, while Nate was in OK. I’m still not sure how she knew just the right moment to show up at my door. So many times. And I was usually in my pjs 😂.
Sandy Smith stopping to see if she could help us the morning my car wouldn’t start so we were walking to school... I’m pretty sure there was either six feet of snow, a flat tire on the stroller, or at least super grumpy kids... getting Charity to school on time. Miracle.
Michelle Schmidt choosing me to sing in a small group in Sacrament meeting. I went a lot of years feeling like my only talent was getting pregnant... this was a refreshing little miracle.
KFC on a lonely, crazy Sunday... how did you know? Dan Hatch
LeAnn and Kim somehow always saying exactly what I needed to hear and being a listening ear. I’ve always been blessed with really awesome visiting teachers/ministers. Angie Fillmore Christie Van Tassell May Stephanie Mitchell Miller Jones
Bishop McGrath stopping by to “check on” me after my appendectomy.
Steven Hatch stopping by at the perfect time... so many times... and then rescuing us from that moment’s disaster.
Barbara and the soup. Barbara #2 and the pumpkin seeds.
The temple trip that saved Girls Camp. Jami
Hundreds of texts, invitations to hang out, and conversations that pulled me out of a funk... the timing. Emily Schick Maughan Alana Harper Smith Adele Maynes Tina Martin Anderson Anna Gatrell Sanders Aubrey McColley Alicia Mottishaw Fife Rebecca Widdison Nancy Mottishaw Bethany Maynes Webster Bliss Blackburn Diane Simister Morrell Sherry Eaton Dilworth Carissa Malouf Flitton Gillian Berrett Heather Scott Julie Goddard Clemens Krista Johnson
And even though it wasn’t for me, Amy Dorius Nielson visiting and then being willing to take Noah to wrestling for me since I mysteriously didn’t have a car. And Shar offering to bring him home after I’d forgotten to arrange a ride home for him 🤦♀️.
The pizzas. Thank you Keeley!!
I probably shouldn’t put a list out there like this because I’m certain I’ve forgotten some and some are too private to share. I just want to #givethanks for them all!! 11-25-20
THANKSGIVING!
We had such a great Thanksgiving! Plans had changed from going to my mom's house, to being here with her and Simon, to them not coming and all and so we invited my dad :). And Steve of course. Heidi and her kids were here to of course, so we had a full house, but technically only two guests :). Don't know if that complies with the guidelines the Governor suggested, but I don't really care either. Nate smoked the turkey and some sausage and peppers like the old days. He made the mashed potatoes too. I made the rolls all morning and afternoon. I didn't give in to the urge to just buy them and made pulled out the ol' bread maker to make Kim Ball's Potato Rolls. They turned out great! I was so happy! Amazing what a different fresh yeast makes! I loved them. Even though I felt residual guilt all day. We had a veggie tray, green beans, gravy, stuffing (of course), Nate also smoked some queso, and there were chips for that. And Heidi made some sweet potatoes to top off the meal! My dad brought some pie and some brownies. Charity made her famous blueberry pie and then some pumpkin pie as well. She is so good at her pies! It was such a nice day! I loved it! Oh! I forgot to mention that Erika made our little place settings with the Native American symbols on them... that was fun to use that old tradition. We had a table down in the family room for middle kids and then the kitchen table upstairs for the adults, oldest kids and youngest kids. I thought it went really well. Good times. 11-26-20
GRATITUDE- DAY 7
I would like to #givethanks for a nice Thanksgiving filled with people I love! 11-27-20
NOAH'S FIRST WRESTLING TOURNAMENT
I got to go with Noah to his first wrestling tournament on Saturday morning. We were both clueless and didn't know exactly what we were doing, but we waited in the long line, filled out the wellness form (duh. that's all I have to say about that) and got our temperatures checked (also duh.) and then went in to figure out what to do! After hugging Noah goodbye and letting him wander aimlessly to find his coach, I found a seat in the stands (away from everyone) and eventually learned how to watch the match. He was on Mat 7. It was fun to watch him even if it was from a distance. He did great! Especially for his first time! He didn't win either of the two matches, but he was never pinned! Fought a good fight! I was super proud of him! 11-28-20
DATE NIGHT
Nate and I got to go out on Saturday night. It was SO NICE! Much needed time away. We went to Station Park for some Tucanos and shopping :). We weren't super successful with the gift shopping, but it's always fun to walk around the mall together. I love that time together. I hope I never forget the thoughts that came to me walking through the tunnel from Tucanos to the parking lot. It was a miraculous little tender mercy from the Lord. A little reprieve. I loved it. We had a nice night that night, waiting for the kids to all come home from their various outings. 11-28-20
PRIMARY PROGRAM
We had our Primary Program this Sunday. It was a lot different than in the past. They had the kids send in videos of them either singing or telling about a picture, or their favorite scripture story... then they compiled it all in a video to show during Sacrament meeting. They also had three of the oldest class speak! Which was a lot of fun for us because Erika was one of them :). She was given a part that began, "One of my favorite memories from Primary this year..." and because we're weird, we asked to change it. Erika felt weird saying that when she doesn't really feel that way. But she did such a good job on her part! Had it memorized and everything! And added some sweet personal words to the end. I was really proud of her. She got to talk about how they did the Risen song video in the spring and how President Nelson and his wife got to see it and what a cool thing that was to know that she had sung for the Prophet!! Very cool!! Jack Jack chose not to participate in the singing, but Molly and Erika were in the video singing Follow the Prophet :). So fun! 11-29-20
ANGER MANAGEMENT
We had a fun time at our Family Communication class learning about Anger management. Very cool! I learned a lot and felt a lot. I need to work on that stuff. 11-29-20
BLOG BOOK 2019
Well, I did it!! I finished my 2019 book! I'm getting really fast at it and the way I started doing my blog last year made it way easier to put in my book, so this was really quick! I've never been this caught up on my books! I have a few books I need to work on before I can start on 2020, but I had a 50% off coupon for Cyber Monday that I just had to use! So it's even ordered and everything!! I'm super excited about that! 11-30-20
FHE
We had a few visitors this week- Eve Isaacson (Kelly's friend) and Sierra and Sam Taylor. We all loved Luke's lesson on traditions, and making our poster for this season and all the things we want to do. Then we ate yummy drumsticks and played Signs! Lots of fun. 11-30-20
