My Place, My Ward

Sometimes in life you find a place where you just feel a fit. Maybe it's a job, motherhood, school, friends, family, church, really the possibilities are endless, depending on the individual. Have you ever just felt that feeling?

I was thinking about this as I left church today. We visited the Beverly Park Ward (our ward in Everett) for our last Sunday while living in Washinton. We only lived there for a year and a half but to me that was home. That one ward that I was able to feel was 'my place'. My ward. Not mine in the possessive form but mine in the emotional form.

Everywhere I turned there was another friend. Someone I have and will miss.

When we moved into the ward we had no intention of staying for long. Because of this we had no intention of really getting to know anyone very well (yes, I know how bad that sounds). The goal was just to get by until we were ready to move out to the country and buy a house. What would we have missed if we had proceeded with that plan? I shudder to think. Thank heavens Heavenly Father had another plan for us.

My only question now is, will we ever find another ward like this? Or is it one in a million? And what is it that made it so special?

Latest Projects

My husbands parents came to visit for a few days in September. We had a lot of fun including an overnight camping trip up to San Juan Island. Maybe I'll post a few pics later.

While they were here my mother-in-law took a look at my sewing machine. It has been broken and the shops wanted $120 to fix it. It was only a year old when it broke down and I just didn't want to pay that much to fix it. It turned out to be the timing. She not only fixed for me but showed me how to fix it and do the scheduled maintenance, should the timing go out again.

I was so excited I headed for Jo-Ann's so I could use my sewing machine again. The first project was a doll blanket for the little neighbor girl. She was having her first birthday. Faith has loved the doll blanket that I made her years ago so I seem to think all little girls need a little blanket to wrap their dolls in. Every night she wraps her Love-a-lot care bear in it. If she can't get the bear swaddled just right she will cry. I think she could swaddle a baby better than I could and I've had 3 children. She is such a little girl.

I was pretty happy with the way it turned out. I've made many quilts over the years but I had never machine quilted one. I tried doing it on this one as I didn't want the ties to detract from the design. I was so excited with the results of this one I decided to take it up a notch.

I made another quilt. This one is for my husband's little brother and their family for Christmas. I can say that because they don't read my blog. I was excited about this one too but the pics don't do it justice. I really need a new camera but for now the one we have will have to do.

Usually I can finish a quilt in 2 days working all day. This one took a lot longer. I was so glad when it was done.

Halloween

Life has been so busy I'm hardly ever even on the computer. It's a little late to post Halloween but it's better late than never. I have wanted to make a tutu for Faith for a long time. With Halloween coming I took the opportunity. My neighbor was making one for her daughter but had limited sewing experience. She tried telling me what she wanted but I just couldn't see it. After looking on the internet for patterns, even looking at the adorable tutu that Kati had made for her daughter she had something different in mind. We went to a little shop in Snohomish where she had seen the ones she liked. I totally loved them and decided to use the same idea for Faith's. It was more sewing than other tutus but Faith's turned out so well I just had to make one for my neice Harlie and sent it off to get it to her just in time for her to wear it to school. She was so excited to have a costume made from her aunt Sara. Ethyn dressed up as Batman and Abram a skeleton. When I pulled the Halloween box out Abram had to pull out every costume that would fit him and try it on. He still wears the fireman outfit every day and insists he is going to dress up as a fireman for Thanksgiving. I have tried to explain to Abram that we don't dress up for Thanksgiving but true to Abram's personality he won't be swayed. He will be a fireman for Thanksgiving. Silly boy!!!

The kids on the porch just before we set off for the evening.

Our first stop for the evening was to stop and visit my Great Great Uncle Lenard and his wife Aunt Millie. It was good to see them and it was the first time I had seen her out of their apartment. I also realized, while we had all visited them at one time or another we had never been to visit them all together as a family. I had also never taken a picture of him so this one is a picture we will treasure. For those who don't know him, he is my Great Grandmother's youngest brother that just happened to move into our ward when we lived in Everett. I had never met him before. He is one of those great miracles in our families life and a direct blessings from moving here to Washington.

After leaving their apartment I decided I really didn't want to risk the rain or freeze (though it did end up staying mostly dry and was unseasonably warm, a miracle for the greater Seattle weather). We heard an ad on the radio for trick or treating at the Everett Mall. We'd never done anything like that so we went. It was great!!! Faith even got a Barbie movie from the radio station because she let them take a picture of her.

This was our ode to to Twilight (due out later this month). I am so excited to see it. I'm currently rereading Breaking Dawn for the fifth time

Chehalis and Portland

After the park and beach we went down to Chehalis to visit my great aunt and uncle. Aunt Len was getting ready for girls camp the next week so I she put me to working finishing their flag. We went on a drive to see the damage from the floods this past winter. Remember when 5 miles of freeway were under water? She was put in charge of the shelter at their ward building. Most things have now been fixed but the free way is still being worked on.

The next morning the kids and I drove to Portland. We went to the Oregon Zoo. We were supposed to meet up with Ann Gray at the zoo. I couldn't reach her on her phone and I couldn't find her anywhere. BOOHOO!!! I was so looking forward to seeing Shelby and catching up on life with her. We hadn't seen her in almost a year. We did enjoy the zoo but I didn't get any pictures because I still didn't know where the camera charger was.

We left the zoo at 5:30, can you say rush hour? I needed to find a laundromat to wash Abram's sleeping bag, I don't know my way around Portland, and it's rush hour. Thank heavens for the internet and map programs on computers. Even with all that I got lost 3 times and accidentally ran a red light just trying to find the Walmart. While at the checkout in Walmart I noticed I left my checkbook, including anything to pay for my purchases, in the car. I finally got out of Walmart and spent the next 1 1/2 hours trying to find a laundromat about 3 miles from the Walmart. I found it just in time so they wouldn't close before I was done WHEW!!! We finished the load just in time to get to the airport to pick up Heath only 2 minutes late. Who would have thought it would take 5 1/2 hours just to wash a sleeping bag? Not an adventure I want to repeat.

We were officially now on our trip to California.

The Start of a Big Trip

In July we took a big trip to Southern California. My parents had gotten a 'trial' timeshare. My mom so wanted to have the whole family together on vacation. But alas, life happened. My youngest brother is on his mission to Charlotte, NC, my other brother and his wife were working their summer away to prepare for the next college semester (they are transferring to the University of Idaho so needed more money) and my sister's husband had some more tumors show up (In April 2005 he was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma) and would have to be in Maryland at the National Cancer Institute for another treatment (his worst yet). With all this I didn't have the heart to tell mom we wouldn't/couldn't go.

Heath was supposed to be in St. Louis for his annual training on the day we were supposed to leave. After checking Priceline for flights we found it would actually save $10 plus 1 trip to the airport if we packed up and all left the morning he flew out to St. Louis. The kids and I would spend that day and the next having fun and visiting my great aunt and uncle in Chehalis. We would pick up Heath in Portland the next day.

I have no idea how we fit everything we packed into that van. We should have gotten a picture but the idea never occurred to me until now. So, on Thursday we dropped off Heath and drove to Olympia. In Olympia there is this park that has trails down to the beach. On the beach there are sand dollars everywhere and I am not exagerating. We just happened to get there at the perfect low tide. What are the chances of that?!?!?!?! How lucky!!! I showed the kids how to tell whether they were still alive or not so they could throw the live ones back into the water. After picking up about 50 of them (I am not kidding) for keepers I told the kids over and over we had enough.

After picking up all the shells and running through all water and muck we sat on the beach to eat lunch and so the kids could 'write in their journals.' I don't know why that was so exciting to them but they loved doing this all week. I had picked up a spiral notebook for each of them at 5 cents a piece. Best 15 cents I ever spent. I gave me 5 minutes of peace and quiet. These were the only 3 pictures I got that day. The camera ran out of batteries and I didn't know where in that fully packed car the charger was put. This was just the start of our camera problems for the week.

The End of Summer??

It always amazes me how fast the summer passes. Where did it go? Every year I make a promise to myself that I just won't let it get away from me this year. I will lay on the lawn and watch the clouds. I will live up the sun and water. We will travel. We will go the the zoo, the beach, hiking, fishing, camping and everthing in between. Did it happen this year. Yeah for the most part we did all those things. . .but. . . it still seems the summer got away. Maybe no matter how good the summer is, it is still hard to let it go. Especially when this darn Seattle weather gives you the cold and rain the last week of vacation. I am going to try the next little bit to catch up on our busy summer.

I had planned to get that done this week but alas, the week got away from me with one bad thing after another. The vans transmission is going out EEEEERRRRRRRRGGGGGG!!! It would cost $4,000 to get it rebuilt. My sewing machine's timing went out in December and I forgot about it until this week when my ward is working on newborn kits for the humanitarian center. And the EQ Presidency was coming to visit and the house had to be cleaned (this was actually all in the same day). The EQ Pres. message turned out to be the bright spot. A scripture in 1 Nephi to gently remind me that Heavenly Father is at the head of our lives and to trust in him. So thank you EQP and Nana, the lesson goes on.

The New Place

The house here is not a whole lot to speak of. The spacing is weird, it's old, and it has a funky smell that I cannot get rid of no matter how much I clean and scrub. It reminds me too much of our first house. However, we are on 3 acres with a pond and a treehouse. Everything children dream about. They love catching snakes, slugs, tadpoles, frogs and salamanders. Ethyn seems to think he needs to keep them all as pets. EEK!!!! He even turned the old litter box into a place to put all the baby salamanders. I think these 3 kids are determined to drive me absolutely insane!!! Today the older 2 had come inside, I asked them, "Where's Abram?" "Playing on the porch with a snake." I walked out there thinking surely they are just teasing me. Nope, he was happily sitting on the porch playing with a 2 foot garter snake. I hate snakes. I absolutely HATE snakes and here my baby is playing with one.





With all the rain, comes all the slugs. The kids took a Costco milk jug and went out gathering up the slugs. The jug was 4 inches deep with slugs. They left it on the front porch, without a lid, last night. You can just imagine what Heath found when he stepped out this morning. About 20 or so slugs (the big 3-4 inch ones) crawling on the porch and a few headed up the front door, and yet there were still 2 inches worth left in the jug. EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! You can still see the trace of the trail they left behind. The picture below was actually taken at Heath's uncle's house in California.


They catch the cutest little tree frogs. Now, when I say small, I mean small. 2 of them were smaller than the tip of my pinkie. I do not care for frogs but these were just too cute and of course Heath had the camera. He always has the camera. One night Abram was supposed to change into his PJ's. He was acting funny, kinda worried about his pants. Turns out he had a 1 inch frog in his pocket. I'm not sure exactly what he planned to do with it and I'm not sure I really want to know. Needless to say, we have had many discussions on where these animals belong and where they don't belong.




There was I time years ago that I swore my children would never be into these things, especially my daughter, but eventually I gave that up and instead insist on bath time.

Back In Seattle Again

So it's a little late to post this but I moved back to Seattle the beginning of July. As I drove into town the tune 'Back in the Saddle Again' came to mind only I changed the words to "I'm back in Seattle Again". I don't know I thought of the similarity but I keep humming this toon over again. We are out in the country. While I do not like the house at all, the kids love it here. I will post more on the house later. Life has been so crazy since moving here. Trips to Southern California and Idaho, then Heath has kind of monopolizing the internet card.

Just for you nana!!!!!

Hello!!!! I'm alive!!!! Can you believe it!! Sorry, not funny. I don't mean to run out on everyone. Life just always seems to be busy. You can all thank nana for harrassing my husband enough to harrass me. Not that anyone really is watching for a new post anyway. Joke, ok not funny either.

I too am like what Whimsy wrote about in one of her posts. I write blogs in my head all day long. When I go to check everyone else's then write one myself, my mind goes blank. Nothing is interesting enough, I don't have a new baby to brag about, I don't have a crazy neighbor with wind-chime phobia, I don't have ducks nesting in my flower bed. It's just me in the country, back on a farm trying to keep my 3 crazy kids in line (not that I am ever actually able to get them in line). Sometimes I can come off a little negative. Sorry about that, I don't really mean too. For me vocalizing my frustrations helps me to enjoy the good stuff in life a little more.

So here goes: I am helping my parents build their house. This is something they have been working on for over a year now. You think it would be done now but they are literally doing it themselves. I guess you could say this is my time and season for learning hands on construction. I have learned how to wire a socket. Such a simple little thing we all use in our daily lives. I can actually wire one and I've gotten pretty fast at it (for me anyway). I learned how to install can lights. Mom and I laid the backer board for the tile in one day. About 2,000 screws. I cannot even tell you how much my back hurt that night. For the next 2 days I couldn't bend over. Mom thought it was quite funny. We haven't laid the tile yet as the water is not hooked up to the house yet. Dad is dragging his feet. My main responsibility is painting. I have learned a lot by trial and error on how to paint with tape and not have it bleed and how to get perfectly straight lines on the edges. Lame but I'm pretty excited about it. I'm pretty sure that by now half of whom ever is reading this has already gotten so bored they have switched to someone else's blog.

Once a week I mow my grandparents lawn. They are 79 & 82 years old. I love spending time with them and being able to help them. They just can't keep up with the yard and house anymore. I think in many ways my grandma is revitalized by me being here. I am pretty sure she has spent more time in the yard this year than in the last 2 years combined. I've always had a special bond with my grandma and grandpa. I think all the difficulties my family had with my dad's parents made me appreciate my mom's parents so much more. When I was younger I loved to spend the night at my grandparents house. I remember how much I loved putting on my grandpa's very large irrigating boots (they are almost too small now) and head to the barn to help milk the cows (at least I thought I was helping anyway). I remember waking up in the middle of the night a time or 2 because the cows had gotten out and had to be rounded up. I remember when we ran out of milk we didn't head to the store (who bought milk at the store anyway?) we grabbed a pitcher and headed to the barn and got it out of the tap on the huge vat. My grandpa taught me to drive a stick shift. I don't know how he ever kept his patience with me. No one has ever known my grandpa to be patient in any circumstance. My times with grandma were spent watching 'Wheel of Fortune' and 'Little House on the Prairie'. She would tell me all sorts of stories about my ancestors. My favorite was always about the Holladay's being converted to the gospel, freeing their slaves and traveling with the Mississippi saints to Salt Lake. I get a lot of my personality from her. This time with my grandparents is reminding me about all these times I've been blessed to share with them and many more. I am truly blessed to have my children here with them. My great grandma Holladay died when I was 3. I very much remember her and treasure those memories. My children now have the opportunity to have these beautiful moments with their great grandparents. I love to watch my grandma as she sits on the porch and visits one one one with him. As I watched this scene play out one night I just stopped and felt the true blessings in that moment. It was almost like seeing eternity being played out right here before my eyes. A bridge between not only the gap between my generation and my grandmother's and mine but my sons and hers. A 69 year gap. I have many of these moments as I see my wonderful children interacting with my grandparents. This life I am living is far from easy but I do it because of these moments. I am truly grateful for my grandparents and the times they take with my children. They will never know how much they will affect my childrens lives.

So now I have rambled on and on. There is no way I can catch up on the last however long it has been. I will try to do better. I promise.

I should make one note however. I dearly love the Seattle area. I don't know exactly why, I can't put it into words. My favorite thing though would have to be the people there. I was born and raised her in Idaho but a part of my heart will always belong there in Washington. I found a true home there. Not the house/apartment we lived in but a place where I could truly be myself. We didn't have our families there but I found family never the less. My children had grandparents. I had true friends, the kind that you swear you've known forever, the kind that take care of you and watch out for you, soul sisters I guess you could say. I think part of the reason I didn't post sooner is that it just seemed too hard. I miss it there so much. I miss all of you.

Easter

When I was a child I had an aunt who would put together a dinner and Easter egg hunt. To this day it doesn't seem like Easter without family and friends to celebrate. So, we put the packing aside for a few hours and had 17 of our friends and family (making a grand total of 22 people) over for dinner and of course the Hunt. People said I was crazy and I probably am but boy was it fun. The count:

2 hams
92 rolls
31 hard boiled eggs
3 dishes of potatoes
67 plastic eggs
Barrels of laughter and fun

Faith always seems to be helping someone. Did you notice? It is Seattle and the kids aren't wearing sweatshirts or raincoats!!!! The weather let up and gave us this one absolutely beautiful day to celebrate.

Ethyn was the last to be let out of the house. I knew once he got loose the game was over. Bishop Sears had hidden a few especially with Ethyn in mind. Supposedly they were quite the challenge but Ethyn made short work of it.

Here's the happy crew. The hard boiled eggs were surprisingly the favorites for the kids. There were shells everywhere. This was the first egg hunt for 2 of our guests. An infant, Jackson, and my 81 year old great-great uncle who was born not long before the Great Depression.

Life

Sometimes life as a parent can be very difficult. Constantly breaking up fights between children. The loud noises from exuberant playing. The name calling, Abram's latest fun time. Half truths and tattle tales. Constantly having to stay on top of them to get their chores or homework done. Laundry that was only worn for 5 minutes. Coughs, runny noses and sticky hands. Trying to get Faith to wear her sweatshirt, or even her coat for that matter. Keeping the youngest out of the oldest child's stuff. Trying to keep the oldest from tormenting the girl just to see her scream. Getting Ethyn to stay on track and finish the task at hand. Each child tries to get the other in trouble. The toothpaste all over the bathroom sink 1 hour after cleaning the sink. I think you get the picture though I could go on.



Sometimes I wonder if I'm ever going to get through to them. Will they ever learn? Am I the parent I should be? What am I doing so wrong? Can I do anything right? Then I stumble upon this at 10:30 at night.







It's going to be OK. Why? Because they do get it. Ethyn had been in bed for and hour and a half. Abram was doing all he could to keep Ethyn awake. Ethyn asked if he could sleep somewhere else. We told him he could sleep in Faiths' bed (she's in our closet with the humidifier). An hour later he came out and went back to his own bed. We got up to check on things at 10:30 and found this surprise message he had made his sister for the morning. What a wonderful big brother. I don't think we'll get after him for staying up late this time.

"Children are like sponges. You give and give and they soak it all up but one squeeze and you get it all back".

Where do babies come from?

Having children always livens things up. This morning Ethyn and Faith were at school and Abram was snuggling in bed with me. He brought up the subject of babies. Every once in a while he brings this subject up. I asked him if he wanted a baby (for those who are thinking it, no, we are not looking at having one). He said he wanted a baby boy for him and a baby girl for Faith. This is not something new at our house as Faith would say the exact same thing. I couldn't help but ask him where he would get his baby. He told me that him and I would have to go to the doctor and the doctor would rub soap on our (Abram and mine) tummies and when it dried there would be a baby in our tummies. How enlightened I felt. It is amazing what a 4 year old can teach you. I then asked him how the baby would get out. He said the doctor would cut a hole and pull the baby out. He was so matter of fact I decided not to argue. I wouldn't win.

Crackpot Friends

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house." The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?" "That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them." "For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them. SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

Night of the Notables

Last night we attended an event called 'Night of the Notables' for Ethyn. I thought y'all might like to see our public school system at work. Each of the 4th grade students picked a notable person to study for a month. They had to learn all about this personby reading books and getting info off the internet. They had a poster they had to fill in with a picture they had to draw of that person, what 3 things you should remember about them, what you may not have known about that person, what you could learn from that person, as well as a summary of their life. Last night each of the students dressed up like their notable person and brought 3 props. The students were each given space at a table to sit (128 students) while parents went around to each student. You could only ask yes or no questions to figure out who they were. Some were very easy, like with Albert Einstein, usually one of the props would say E=MC2. The top notables of the night. . .

George Washington (6), Martin Luther King Jr. (5), Abraham Lincoln (5), Amelia Earhart (5), Marie Curie (4), Albert Einstein (4), Orville Wright (4), Benjamin Franklin (4), Frederick Douglass (3), Leonardo da Vinci (3), Bill Gates (3), Tiger Woods (2), Mae Jemison (2), Helen Keller (2), Rosa Parks (2), Anne Frank (2), Susan B. Anthony (2), Neil Armstrong (2), Mother Theresa (2), Thomas Edison (2), Pocohontas (2), Laura Ingalls Wilder (2), Wilbur Wright (2), Sacagawea (2), Annie Oakley (2), Jackie Robinson (2), Andy Warhol (2), and Henry Ford (2).

As you can see the names vary from historical to recent history, well known to some I have never heard of, and I do enjoy learning about history. Ethyn picked Harry Houdini. He dressed in his church clothes minus the tie. He made a paper chain for his wardrobe to show that it was Houdini's specialty. His props were: an airplane (Houdini was a pilot, I did not know that), a poster with keys crossed out (to show he didn't need a key to pick a lock), and handcuffs. He said only 1 adult figured it out (it wasn't Heath or me because we already knew). It was very interesting to see what all these children had learned.

The other notable people (if you're interested). . .Cesar Chavez, Betsy Ross, Aunt Clara Brown, Meriwether Lewis, Harriet Tubman, Martha Washington, Dr. Suess, George H. Bush, George W. Bush, Thomas Jefferson, Princess Diana, Benus Williams, Mozart, Rembrandt, Elisabeth Cady Stanton, Jacqueline Kennedy, Jane Goodall, Beatrix Potter, Rachel Carson, R.L. Stine, Florence Nightingale, Wilma Rudolph, Bessie Coleman, Theodore Roosevelt, Cleopatra, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Davy Crockett, Queen Isabella, Kit Carson, Ruby Bridges, Sojourner Truth, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lady Bird Johnson, Francis Crick, Roger Bacon, James D. Watson, Susan Mkinney Steward, Elijah McCoy, Louis Pasteur, Alexander Graham Bell, Elizabeth Blackwell, MD and George Washington Carver.

Seals in the Night

Some of you may know this feeling, others may not. You're lying in bed at night, tired. You know you should be asleep but your thoughts are wandering from the many blessings you have in your life to the many challenges or difficulties you may be facing. You look at the clock and realized you really do need to get some sleep. There are children to get off to school in the morning. You hear the youngest crying. You crawl out of your nice warm bed and stumble throung the dark, cold house to the side of your little one. You pull him up in your lap and hold him close. He coughs and you hear that sound. . . the first time I remember that sound, I was a child. My parents took the family to the Oregon coast. This is a vacation I later recreated with my own family and children but for some reason I remember the trip as a child most. We went to this small aquarium and just inside the door and to the left was a small (for this animal) enclosure of about 3 seals. For a small amount of money you could buy some fish to feed them. It was so exciting for a girl from a small farm town in Idaho.

But last night I was far from this vacation and that bark is anything but a seal. Someone would think by now I would be a seasoned mom and know what to do and not be worried. When Ethyn was a baby I was more like that. Get the humidifier, give them Robitussin and don't worry, they'll get over it eventually. Now I always get worried. After countless rounds of pneumonia, I never know how bad it will get. It was only 6 weeks ago that he got over the last bout with pneumonia. I used to think that the older I get, as a mother, the less I would worry. Not true, I get more worried. With 3 kids it seems 1 of my children is always sick.

When my children are sick, I do the best I can to keep my children home. I don't want other moms to go through this just because I wanted to go out. If I am out and I hear other children coughing, I will gather my children and go home. I really don't like the way that sounds or how rude it comes and I don't really mean to. I know there are germs and infections out there and we can't save ourselves from every one of them, I'm not a germophob, and I don't go crazy disinfecting everthing my family comes in contact with. I am just one tired mom who would love to go through 2 months without a sick child.

Hinckley Challenge

I just wanted to write a little bit about how grateful I am to have accepted the Hinckley Challenge along with my husband. For those who don't know about this you can visit www.hinckleychallenge.com. We really don't read together the same verses or even chapters at the same time, but we do read next to each other. I commented to Heath about this and he said it's just like the Godhead, we are separate and distinct individuals, but one in purpose. He always has a way of saying things in such a way that amazes me and makes me laugh all at the same time. As we read we will often stop each other and talk about how this applies to us. I am so grateful for the love and guidance of a wonderful prophet.

Tagged

So, a friend of mine (Stacey) got tagged with this. She didn't have the heart to tag anyone else. She didn't know whether it would be a burden. I understand as I would probably do the same thing. I want to carry it forward though so I will tag a few friends, though I'm not sure I know how. . .SO, Michelle, Linda, Diann, Tamara and Ann if you read this consider yourself tagged. Surely it won't take long to answer these questions and it is so much fun to read other peoples answers.

How long have you been together? 11 1/2 years, (10 1/2 married) Wow, time flies!!!
How long did you date? 1 year, 1 month, 2 days
How old is he? Freakin' old!!!!! 33!!!!
Who eats more? Depends on what's for dinner. I usually eat more unless it's steak or ribs. He is so picky I gave up pleasing his meat and potato taste years ago.
Who said "I love you" first? Totally him. Afterwards, I was thinking 'what should I say?' He asked me what I thought about that.
Who is taller? Heath
Who sings better? Neither one of us are big singers. He can't read music. I sing more though (YW and having children does that to you)
Who is smarter? That is so not a fair question. It is totally different. He has a sem-photographic memory. I'm good with numbers, usually.
Who does the laundry? I do. Not because he can't, but because he can't do it right. (I'm just picky)
Who does the dishes? Whoever gets to it first. We have kids though. Faith empties the dishwasher. We are starting Ethyn on loading but we rarely have him do it.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Heath (I think. Is that the right side as you sit in bed? If so, Heath)
Who pays the bills? He makes the money, I spend it. Just joking, he makes the money, I make it stretch as far as possible.
Who mows the lawn? Whoever gets to it first. I do enjoy mowing the lawn but we started Ethyn into mowing last summer. The neighbor noticed and hired him to mow their lawn too.
Who cooks dinner? Again, whoever gets to it first.
Who is more stubborn? Anyone who really knows us, know that one. It's a no brainer, ME, and he would tell you that is the truth!!!
Who kissed who first? Heath asked me if he could kiss me (he knew I'd never been kissed before and knew that it was a big step).
Who asked who out? Blind date, though he did call first.
Who proposed? Heath, twice. I turned him down the first time (I was 18 and so scared).
Who is more sensitive? Me.
Who has more friends? Heath has more friends that he stays in contact with from childhood. Now, we have a lot of the same friends but I probably have more because a associate with more people.
Who has more siblings? I do, with 3. We both have 2 brothers but I have a sister too (a wonderful, awesome sister)
Who wears the pants in the relationship? No brainer, I do. And yes, he would tell you the same.
Who are you tagging? Anyone who wants to be tagged. Normally I wouldn't tag anyone but I would especially love to see the answers of Michelle, Linda, Diann, Tamara and Ann.

Beloved Pres. Hinckley has died

We had some friends over for dinner last night when we found out out beloved prophet, President Hinckley had died. I was shocked, but I then felt a sense of joy as I thought about how much he has missed his wife and now he is with her again. I can only imagine this great scene as he sees her again. Oh, how I loved this prophet!!! He was such a wonderful, humble man. He always had a way of making me feel a little taller and beckoning me onward. Whatever I was doing was good and wonderful. That always made me feel as though I could do even better.


These words come from FoxNews.com:

Mayor Ralph Becker, who is not Mormon, said Hinckley made it a habit to reach out to other religions: "He was such a unifier, someone who was warm and engaging and respecting of everyone who he encountered."
Jeanetta Williams, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Idaho, Nevada and Utah, praised Hinckley for taking interest in her causes. Only about 1 percent of Utah's population is black.
"President Hinckley was always concerned about the way people treated one another, and each time that he and I spoke, he always asked how I was being treated by the people in Utah and on my job," she said.

Many other things were said about him but I loved these because they are an example of how we should always treat others. It is just how the bible tells of the stories of Jesus. What an example to us he was. It does not matter who, what, where a person is the are a human being, a child of God and for that they are to be respected. I will always remember Pres. Hinckley and the great love that he showed for all people. Thank you Pres. Hinckley. We love you and will always try to follow your example.

Snowshoeing

I had so much fun today!!! I went snowshoeing on our YMYW combined activity. I had never gone snowshoeing before so I was really worried about coordination and such but it was actually really easy and so much fun. This is our group below. Tawnya, Michelle, Stacey, me, Emma, Anna, Michael, Kaycie and Ravyn. The YM leaders had already gone to the car.

Kyle and Emma sliding off the roof.

Anna and Kaycie in a snowcave. Ravyn was in there too but back behind. I couldn't get a good picture because my camera kept shutting off (low battery).

Isn't it so beautiful here in Washington!!! It was one of those days when you look out and see how blessed you truly are. Heavenly Father gave us such a beautiful world.

When I got ready to go my hubby still had not found my boots so I had to wear his (not his fault, we haven't seen them since we moved). I ended up wearing a pair of his boots. Now surely everyone reading this knows what happens when you wear boots that don't fit right. Yep, you got it. . .blisters. This was a 4-mile hike. 2 in, 2 out. By the first mile in my feet hurt on the pad right below my second toe. I tried so hard to tough it out but about a 1/2 mile later I knew I wouldn't make it all the way. Bro. Goodwin (Mr. REI himself) had me take my boots off, check for blisters and put moleskin on. No blisters yet. By the time I got to the picnic area for lunch (2 miles in) I had 2 very large blisters (1 on each foot). 1 is the size of a quarter and the other the size of a 50 cent piece, and I still had to hike 2 miles out. Our ward has the best YM leaders ever. Bro. Goodwin put another layer of moleskin on and taped my foot up and Bro. Grossarth traded shoes with me.

My husband is so wonderful. When I got home he had a hot bath waiting for me. He knew I'd be sore and boy am I. He even had a good movie waiting. I am going to get a lot of ribbing tomorrow as I hop-a-long to church.

My baby is 4

With all the chaos I didn't get a chance to post pics of Abram's birthday. I can't believe my baby is 4!!! He does say he'll always be my baby though. We had Grandpa Mark, Grandma Linda, Stacey and Austin over for dinner and cake. Abram was so excited. He can't wait to go to the store and spend his birthday money.

I made my first homemade from scratch lasagna for his birthday dinner. I was very worried but it came out so great this was all that was left. I can see why people don't make it more often though. It took over 3 hours and a lot of dirty dishes.