1.19.24 Snow

Mark ran out of fuel at a neighbor's house. Greg had gone to town to shovel with the rest of the big kids. I headed to the farm in the minivan got the diesel and was on my way back out. But got high-centered and stuck in the snow. I was so thankful I had been lifting weights because the 5 gallons of diesel through 6-9 inches of snow was hard to manage. But I did it!

After all the snow moving we had sacrament at Greg's parent's house. The peace and reverence of having the ordinance with just our family was a nice reminder of the COVID days and how we were able to really focus on just that time. We sang some songs, Bruce led with Sue's help, the boys blessed and passed the sacrament, and Lloyd talked to us a few minutes. IT was peaceful and nice. 

Addie gained a too-challenging puzzle from Grandma it would be finished but Andrea loves to crumble it apart. This is Addie's brain resting. She has been working hard writing speeches and processing social stuff at school. 

Addie had admonished me to work on restocking our food supply. She did an inventory and then price-checked what was available and made me a shopping list. Two trips and lots of money later and we are comfortably stocked up on staples. That's a nice feeling when you become home-bound for a week. 

It was super cold for a few days thus hats, and hot chocolate were a must. 

Thankfully we found the stock of Carhart. These have been well-loved and used by the older kids. The timing was great because the kids needed to shovel snow the next day and another day shortly thereafter. Not to mention all the in and out the door to play in the snow. 

Another walk on a very cold day. They had a good time slipping around on the ice. 

More angels.

Working to clear the steps as the snow dumped down. 

Watching from the inside. She is so fun and too little to go outside right now. 

Anna took HArold to the Elk preserve. He got a small taste of her horse experience from the summer. They were right out in the elk herd of over 100 animals. It was amazing. 

 So snow offers new opportunities to stretch, grow, and relax. We are thankful for the blessing of moisture and the time to slow down a little and work hard for a while. Life is good. 

1.17.24 Brothers and snow

The days these two get to spend together are definitely special and spicey. They have lots and lots of energy and desire to do things. This light dusting of snow was an exciting start to the weekend. Here they are taking out the burnable garbage. 

In the evening right before bed, we try to have the house clean. I was struck by how these two were dressed the same. Reed is getting very strong. He is quite the young man. 

Of course, being boys they had to show their muscles. 

Addie is good at taking the kids out on walks, they tried making snow angels. The snow was just right for a great marking. 

Another snow day in the books we didn't have church this week, then the holiday, then one day of school. Pipes broke and made a mess in the new middle school. The weather was possibly miserable for the next few days so school was cancelled on Wednesday and Thursday. Then no school on Friday until Monday. The kids shovel snow on the days the snow is fresh. The boys go out and work on fences. The snow is so deep that the four-wheelers can't get to the bottom of it and eventually broke the rear axle. For good or bad the snow is starting to melt. We may get rain tonight, and the work to handle the weather continues. Thankfully the kids are available to work and we are all safe. Life is good. 

1.9.24 Livy temple More winter

With so many coming and going its hard to get everyone their time spot with mom and dad. I was delighted when we found an open temple spot with all these kiddos well and a dad driving us to boot. We had a great peaceful experience in the Boise temple. Mark taught Livy how to be baptized. I absolutely love how welcoming the temple is for youth and families these days. 

Back at home same day Andrea was all about needed some mom time. She loves my carmex and was stealing that from me and teasing me with it. 

Yes, this is how book work goes a lot of the time. Or they are super quiet for a while and I find paint or some other no-no somewhere else. 

Lunch was pizza. They of course were thrilled to help. 

Anna shared cute pictures that I wanted saved from her time at home for Christmas. 

She watered for me and took this cute helper along. 

Bruce apparantly helped mop the church gym floor after the ward party. 

The nativity. 

He's just as charming as these pictures and just as ready to go do whatever is happening. He and Bruce wrestle so much inside right now. Ugh. We miss outside a lot. 

My beautiful oldest who patiently endures the chaos at home. 

Livy loved visiting with Anna and spending time with her older sisters who continually encourage her growing and maturing. 

Bruce lost a tooth. He is so cute. This was when Anna took the 4 youngest to the doctor for strep test. Bruce had strep the others did not. His tooth had been very loose but he wanted to lose it at school so he could get a tooth box from his teacher. Oh well Anna took good care of them Doctor is no small feat with 4 kids. 

The last snowfall. Silly kids and beautiful skies. Oh how we love Christmas boots. 

Time to be kids and be silly. Life is good and we are blessed. 
 

1.8.24 New Sunday- teacher reed

The new year brings a new church schedule. How we dislike the late start time. The hours spent waiting for the church have too often been spent fighting and dawdling instead of getting the important part of the day accomplished. This year after a nice sleep-in, we had a family discussion about Mary Whitmerm the woman who also witnessed the gold plates. Because it was the first Sunday of the month that meant fasting. We are not a strong fasting family which we learned as the day wore on. Then we leisurely got ready. Andrea was able to wear her new Christmas dress for the first time. Merle sure loves his Andrea. She is such a sweet kid, also feisty, but mostly puts up with the various ways her brothers show her attention. 

Lia also wanted a picture. I wish she would stop cutting her hair. She keeps snipping at her bangs, but she is a radiant young one too. 

After church Reed and 3 other young men were ordained to various offices in the priesthood. He is now a teacher. After many variations of blessings, we all learned some about the precise use and handling of the priesthood. This was a good lesson as I think it caused thought about the why and what of priesthood authority vs. power. All endowed members have priesthood power, only those ordained men have priesthood authority was the teaching. 

And the last thing taking down the flag. I loved the younger brothers watching and learning from the older brothers. That's important to follow a good example and to be in the know. I was also struck by the taking down of the flag, how often do kids get to do this nowadays. A leftover from the scouting days. I miss the patriotism from scout days. 

This year Bruce will be baptized. He is steadily growing up too. In Reed's last year of young men's Bruce will also become a priesthood holder. That was reassuring. As we look at the year ahead we have a lot of changes. With John leaving there will be adjustments of who works at the shop and who works on the farm. And how the girls will adjust to those gaps. We are working to accept the high level of teaching that has to happen to continue being efficient and productive to provide for our needs. Parenting is always about teaching at our house. We are thankful for the continued opportunities to learn. 
 

1.6.24 Readers

Millie forgot to give me the note reminding parents about the awards assembly. This is what I missed. 

 Reed made the 3000 point plack for reading and honor roll

Millie got the most growth in iready math and reading. Honor Roll

Livy made the 500 point plack for reading and most growth in iready math. 

Bruce had the most AR points for first grade. Also passing more than 40 lessons on iready.

Afton also got some awards for her work in iready and ixl. 

Merle woke up demanding to be held. I finished my workout and held him. Today has been one disappointment after another. It is so hard to leave them,  hoping all will be well while gone. This trip we fielded well over 100 phone calls from customers, kids, and other concerns. No visit or conversation was free of interruption. I got back to sick kids and spent 3 hours in Ontario getting them evaluated by the doctor. Thus another night away from home. There were some homework discrepancies I saw one part the teacher today saw another. There are concerns with some of these same kids about the grades that came home last night. Life does not slow down or pause for any event. 

While I'm deep in the dissecting of our business practices and decisions for the year I shake my head. and marvel all is well. Somehow it all works out. For a few of these kids, their awards today are pure miracles considering where they were at a few months or years ago. It helps me keep believing more miracles can come. I need that reassurance as life changes will be big and confusing this year. Really big as we realize John's leaving leaves no one at the shop and who will be the next trainee there. As we switch from boy-heavy to girl-dominant. As we force and cajole the younger kids to grow and be more than they want to. It's a lot. My sister said just eat some chocolate things will be ok. Trusting that as medical advice, she being a nurse, we ripped open a bag of chocolate chips and calmed the tensions for a few minutes. 

Cows left, one herd is left but a new grazing situation requires continued fencing and watering. I can say the words even if I don't believe them fully today, Life is good and we are blessed. 

1.6.24 Aliza sendoff

We began Tuesday with dental appointments. We had been waiting for months to get these teeth worked on. Aliza was in one room and I was in the other she took about half an hour and I took about an hour. We did some errands and came home to get loaded up. The kids were giggly. After a peaceful night at home where we had steak dinner and watched belles on their toes all together my heart was ready for this. They will all get so much bigger and more able while she is gone. 

Greg had to rescue/tow someone whose car had totally died. So Aliza and I walked a few blocks and waited for the long ride to start. A while till these two are back together again. 

We stopped at my parents. We always appreciate their support and encouragement. 

We raced down the road and first stopped at Aunt Gwen's. She too had called Greg that day with a car problem. She couldn't get the interior lights off in her car and thus her battery was continually dying. Thank goodness for AAA who came and gave her a jump but more importantly showed her how to use the dial to turn off the lights. She is getting more frail but was a sweet visit. Her example of how to read to children has definitely blessed our family. We had a late diner at Texas Roadhouse were we met return missionaries and spotted others entering the MTC the next day. It's always eye-opening to observe our fellow people also having life experiences. 

We stayed in Spanish Fork and went visiting the next day. The Rogers family. 

Gary and Joy Lundberg, who shared experiences from working at the UN with ambassadors. 

Janice Perry. Who is always a delight. 

And the final goodbye. She was so ready to just get on her mission. I was having a hard time but she left and that is the good thing. 

It is a great gift to be a parent. There are so many hours spent developing each child. From caring for them when they are young, to enduring their peculiarities while children and striving to find their niche to trying to keep up in their teenage years it is a long journey. Aliza sparked learning in our home, she fueled that fire with her talent to obtain large quantities of information. I don't pretend to know as much as she does at one topic but I do love learning on the fringes of her explorations. We appreciate the opportunities she gave us to travel and take a break. We really appreciated all the care and nurturing she gave our family. 

After a 3-minute fall apart as we drove out of the parking garage, we were off visiting others and had good experiences ministering and catching up with them. We bought a car and began driving separately. I had heard my uncle was not doing well and was close to death. This was sad to me but I Wasn't sure if I wanted to take the time to stop. We did a turn around and did stop I was so thankful for the time to just relax. Their home has always been a place to relax and refuel. I was happy to observe he is not about to die but is having to accept age and the frailties of the human body. 

I'm a firm believer that it's more important to go when people are alive than when they are dead. I'll be forever grateful for the example of this dynamic long suffering and still-smiling aunt and uncle. 

They have rescued me so many times in college. They were a fun getaway growing up, my window into that mystical "Utah" world. 

This is why we send our kids on missions to help others learn more about family relationships. To encourage faith and trust in God. She is finally on her mission and honestly it's much calmer than while we were waiting and waiting. I came home and shepherded sick kids from afar. We will get through that too. I'm thankful for my eternal companion even though it's hard to deal with all the day to day,  constant struggles, and changes he is my one nad only. We are blessed and our Life is good. It was so good to sleep all night two nights in a row!