ABCs

A gal in my ward sent an email to me and others, and she said she felt inspired to share a message with us all from President Monson.  It was very timely for me, as you know if you read my last post:

President Monson's ABC's......

"A is for attitude, changing the inner attitudes of our minds, we can change the outer aspects of our lives. To do the best we can and then to choose to be happy about our circumstances, whatever they may be, can bring peace and contentment.

B is for believe--in yourself, in those around you, and in eternal principles. You can achieve what you believe you can. Trust and believe and have faith.

C is for courage. Courage becomes a worthwhile and meaningful virtue when it is regarded not so much as a willingness to die manfully but as a determination to live decently.

There will be times when you will be frightened and discouraged. You may feel that you are defeated. The odds of obtaining victory may appear overwhelming. At times, you may feel like David trying to fight Goliath. But remember, David did win!!

May we all remember these ABC's as we begin our journney, cultivate a positive ATTITIDE, a BELIEF that you can achieve, and the COURAGE to face whatever challenges may come our way. "

The Winds of Change

I know that a lot of people don't like change....and so this may seem really stupid.

I am SCARED.  I'm scared of all the changes we have going on right now.  Buddy Boy will be starting a new school next week.  That change is more than enough for me.  Along with it comes a lot of different schedules, budgeting, and work changes.  I am SO grateful we got him into the school, because we could never afford a private autism school.  But I'm still scared.

We will drive him the 16+ miles (one way) twice each day, and I'm scared of putting over 60 miles a day on our car, when we only have one that runs well.  I'm scared of how much the gas is going to be.

I'm scared of the changes Clay has had at work, and of the lower pay that it has meant. I'm scared of his longer days of work, because it has forced me to cut my hours at my job, and between his cut in pay and the new daily commute we'll have, I'm scared of what the new budget will look like.

More than anything, I'm scared of screwing everything we have going on up and wrecking it for everyone.  These changes, in my heart of hearts, I know are a good thing.  We will survive them, even THRIVE with them.  But I can't help being afraid of not handling it well and ruining things for all involved.  I'm a freakin' wrecking ball most of the time.  There are days when everything I touch goes to pot.  I have got to get my act together so that these changes are positive.

I hate complaining, especially when I know how unbelievably blessed we are.  The truth, however, is that I still fill myself with doubt.  When will I learn?

Stupid whine over.

Summers' Summary

Well, it's official....Munchkin is back in school, with Buddy Boy to follow in a week.  Our summer vacation is (gulp) OVER.



A moment of silence to mourn.



This was the first summer in many years that I have not had health problems, and I gotta tell you, I'd forgotten how great summer can be!  Maybe that's why it seemed to fly by faster than ever before.  I'm already gearing up and making plans for next year, ha ha.

We took a couple of trips to Bear Lake and Bloomington, ID, 

 enjoyed eating fresh produce,

explored the Clark Planetarium,

played with Grandma and cousins,

had fun at yard sales and at making random treats,

 took a trip to Moab,

explored Utah's beauty,

and tortured the kids with too many pictures.

Ahh, summertime.  Can't wait to do it again.

Bear Lake, Part 2

I know there hasn't actually been a Bear Lake part ONE post, but that's because I wasn't there.  Clay will have to post that one.  This, however, is dedicated to sharing about our 2nd visit to the area, and I can actually provide some narration since I was there...

We weren't planning a second trip, but I got word about a family reunion, and since Clay just happened to have the Friday before off work, I thought it might be fun to make a mini vacation out of it.  We used the trailer that Clay's mom owns (thanks Marilyn!).

We spent the first day driving up and then at the pool.  It kept looking like it was going to storm, but it didn't really pick up until that evening, and oh my, it was awesome sitting on the deck looking at those clouds rolling in.  We'd already done our swimming, so the timing was good.:-)

The next day Clay took the kids swimming again, and then we went to the family reunion.  Lots of good food, good fun, and great people!  We stopped by my Grandma's and Grandpa's house to wash up.  While there we were given a bunch of bush cherries for me to make jam with, a currant berry plant, and a bunch of reunion leftovers!  The highlight was the kids feeding and watching the horses.

We went from there straight to Bear Lake.  We were going to go to the North side, and I really wish we had.  The south side was mucky...maybe I'm just a beach snob, but I wasn't thrilled about paying $8 to park and play in muck....bleh!  The kids had a lot of fun though, and so it was still worth it.

That night we watched some of the meteor shower.  The sky up at Bear Lake is so much more clear that where we live, and we could see so many stars!  It was so...magical.  We probably saw a shooting star each minute, and it was awesome.  Clay has some app on his phone that shows where the different constellations are located, and Munchkin LOVED using it and trying to make out constellations.

The next day we came home.  We stopped in the Logan Canyon just by the Bear Lake overlook point, and wandered around.  We didn't hike, but we explored the Lumber Pine Trail and took ten million or so pictures.

It was a good, fun little trip.  Bear Lake is close enough to not make us miserable traveling there, but far enough that it really feels like a getaway.  Gotta love it!

Bread for All

Last Wednesday I did some filming for the New Testament Project that the church is doing.  Last time I did it, I wrote a really long post about it, and I want to avoid that, so I'm just going to point out some things that I want to remember:

• It was HOT!  It was 105 degrees on set, and all of the extras were wearing thick, long, layered robes along with thick, heavy, tightly tied turbans.  Oh my gosh, it was hot.  By the time we took lunch, six people had already gone down and had to leave from heat exhaustion.  
• Corbin Allred was the head of the rescue team, the group of men available for those who got sick.  That was fun.  He was really sweet and I enjoyed chatting with him for a bit.

• We filmed the scene "Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand" (John 6:1-14 is one reference).  It was really cool to be a part of such a great story from the New Testament.
• One of the 12 disciples (I don't know which he was playing) handed me bread from the basket.  I in turn broke it and shared with others.  It was fresh loaves of wheat bread, and because of the heat, and to keep it real, we were encouraged to eat the bread.  After each take they brought out more fresh bread for us.  I of course, couldn't eat any and the disciple told me he was going to "tell Jesus on me" for not eating.  I replied that if Jesus Himself came down and blessed this bread, I would eat it, but until then, I was not going to ingest anything with gluten.  It was pretty funny.  It looked and smelled so good, and I was tempted, not going to lie.  The dried fish was not as tempting.
• My day began at 4:00 am when I got up and drove to Goshen, UT.  It ended at 9:00 pm when I arrived home exhausted.
• Sitting on the desert floor was miserable, ha ha!  It was hot and scratchy, and there were lots and lots of fire ants just waiting for someone to eat.

(I cannot share any pictures from that day and was not allowed to take any pictures on set, so here's a photo that the church has shared here...this is the land we were on.)

• I was once again mistaken for a teenager by multiple people.  I suppose when you can't wear makeup and you're all dressed in similar clothing, it's hard to tell.  I cannot lie though, it made me very happy.
• I continue to be amazed at the spirit that is able to be present there, although I can attest that the biggest indicator of the spirit is your own personal attitude.  In the (literal) "heat of the moment", it can be hard to feel that...because you're tired, hungry, hot, dirty and you have a headache.  But in the moments of pondering and reflecting and REALIZING what you're a part of, the spirit is all over.  In scripture study later on, the scenes I've been a part of are so much more alive, you know?
• I was once again impressed by how REAL everything was.  It's awesome to walk down a hill and see hundreds of other "Jews" walking with you...it feels SO REAL.
• As physically difficult as it was, the whole thing was worth it, especially when I walked into my house and heard Parker screaming at the top of his lungs, "MOMMY, YOU'RE HOME!!!" and giving me the world's biggest hug.

This is the 4th project I've been able to do with the church in the last year.  I realize that the next year will not be nearly as generous, as the New Testament Project wraps up and as more and more people apply to be a part of other projects.  While the thought saddens me, I can't help but feel happy about the stuff I've been able to do.  Work schedules have managed to somehow work themselves out so that neither Clay or I have had to take time off work for me to do this, and it's really been great.

In Our Own Words

I guess I've not been acting very mature lately, because this morning Munchkin asked me,

"Mom, what do you want to do when you're an adult?"  

Should I be flattered?  A mere four hours later Buddy Boy said to me,
"Mom, you're not a lady.  You're just a little girl!"

It was like he was scolding me....:-)