Let Them Be Little

NOVEMBER 19

Today and every day, I am thankful for this view:

 (Photo taken with my cell phone.)

Our view from our great room, deck and master bedroom.

I love looking out the windows all day!

It's beautiful in the morning and gorgeous in the evening, lovely all day and in any kind of weather.

Every morning and most late afternoon/evenings we have 3 visitors also - 3 deer. They love the alfalfa field. :)

 

 

NOVEMBER 18

Friends and food.

My kids' friends specifically.

With the new trimester, their lunch times changed and Megan now has lunch when Smash is done with school for the day.

They both came home for lunch and brought their friends with them. 

Thankfully, I thought that might be a possibility and I had some food ready. 

More kids came than I had planned for...

but it was easy to add a little more food and make the meal stretch enough to feed the very hungry crowd.

Food makes teens happy!

I like that! 

Happy teens is something to be thankful for...

:)

NOVEMBER 17

My gratitude for today:

A new trimester.

What a strange thing to be thankful for at my age, don't you think?

Yep, I would have to agree...

The high school here runs on trimesters - you probably didn't know schools still had trimesters - we didn't either, until coming here.

This trimester there are not enough classes for Smash to take - so, he leaves school early each day.

Today he came home and we took his pants to a tailor to be altered. After we dropped the pants off, we had lunch together and then he went to work.

Although I do wish he could take some classes that would benefit him and further his education, I think I am going to really enjoy a little more time with him.

The days are flying by and soon he will leave home.

We will have to make the most of this unique and precious time!  :)

NOVEMBER 16

Megan and Smash both spoke in church today on unity.

They both did so well!

You would think that siblings speaking on the same topic would likely share similar thoughts, etc.  Not these two - they each shared different thoughts, stories and scriptures.

I enjoyed listening to them so much!

Smash shared this story:

Rescue at Sea
- Unknown

Years ago, in a small fishing village in Holland, a young boy taught the world about the rewards of unselfish service. Because the entire village revolved around the fishing industry, a volunteer rescue team was needed in cases of emergency. One night the winds raged, the clouds burst and a gale force storm capsized a fishing boat at sea. Stranded and in trouble, the crew sent out the S.O.S. The captain of the rescue rowboat team sounded the alarm and the villagers assembled in the town square overlooking the bay. While the team launched their rowboat and fought their way through the wild waves, the villagers waited restlessly on the beach, holding lanterns to light the way back.

An hour later, the rescue boat reappeared through the fog and the cheering villagers ran to greet them. Falling exhausted on the sand, the volunteers reported that the rescue boat could not hold any more passengers and they had to leave one man behind. Even one more passenger would have surely capsized the rescue boat and all would have been lost.

Frantically, the captain called for another volunteer team to go after the lone survivor. Sixteen-year-old Hans stepped forward. His mother grabbed his arm, pleading, "Please don’t go. Your father died in a shipwreck 10 years ago and your older brother, Paul, has been lost at sea for three weeks. Hans, you are all I have left."

Hans replied, "Mother, I have to go. What if everyone said, ‘I can’t go, let someone else do it?’ Mother, this time I have to do my duty. When the call for service comes, we all need to take our turn and do our part." Hans kissed his mother, joined the team and disappeared into the night.

Another hour passed, which seemed to Hans’ mother like an eternity. Finally, the rescue boat darted through the fog with Hans standing up in the bow. Cupping his hands, the captain called, "Did you find the lost man?" Barely able to contain himself, Hans excitedly yelled back, "Yes, we found him. Tell my mother it’s my older brother, Paul!"

 

We also attended the Sacrament meeting where Layton spoke (before leaving for his mission).

{If you don't know who I am talking about, please read the November 12th entry.}

His topic was gratitude.

As he spoke, it was clear that he is ready to serve his mission; physically as well as spiritually.

What a special occasion for us to be able to attend!

At the end of his talk, he said, “I feel I owe a lifetime of gratitude to my Heavenly Father for saving me.”

That was the perfect thing to say, I loved it! 

Don't we all owe a lifetime of gratitude?

We have not all been saved in the way Layton was but we are all saved in our own circumstances, through our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I'm grateful for that saving grace.

And I too feel I owe a lifetime of gratitude.

NOVEMBER 15

Today I am thankful for Jonathan, Smash and David, Jon's brother,

They spent some time at our home today, working on some of our projects that have been on hold for many weeks.

Thanks, guys, for all of the work you did today - and for getting the oven installed before Thanksgiving!

We still have much more to do but it will all happen at some point, so I'm not worried.

Our microwave/convection oven was installed and vented to the outside today, yay! 

I am so excited to get to use this fancy, new microwave! I need to figure out how the convection oven works and just what I can cook/bake in it - but that will be fun!

Do you have a convection/microwave oven? Or know of anyone who does?

If so, what do you like to cook in it? 

Any advice for the use of it?

 

 

NOVEMBER 14

A FUN DAY!

Happiness and thankful thoughts came today through a family bridal shower.

Our nephew, Jeremy, is getting married next week! We had a bridal shower for his bride-to-be today at  grandma Joan's home (my mom-in-law).

Joan, Elizabeth and Tristan handled the food prep while I decorated.

It all turned out so nice and Jacki (the blushing bride) was very happy!

Jeremy came and just kind of hung out with all of us; he played the games, etc. It cracked me up! But it was so cute of him to want to be there with her and she loves having him around - so it seemed fitting.

   Jacki put her new apron on Jeremy, they are such a funny pair.

 The blushing bride - literally - at the shower I learned that Jacki never wears blush because she has naturally blushing cheeks!

 Holly, Jeremy's mom, with her little Peaches. It was so fun to have Holly there with us; she is hilarious, I enjoy time with her.  Also pictured is Jacki's sister, Natalie, who will be serving her mission in Milano, Italia!!

I'm thankful for  special family moments. It is such a blessing for us to be able to live close enough to enjoy these memory makers.

NOVEMBER 13

{Read Nov. 12 first}

It snowed. Unfortunately, that is not my gratitude for today. It came a little too early. Craig's home was completely exposed and not ready for the snow.

Fortunately, several family members could go over and help him today. And for that and some other wonderful things, I am thankful!

While working together today, one of those wonderful (thankful) things happened.

We were working hard to board up the house, put tarps over the trusses and clean out the snow that had already accumulated in the home. I was holding up boards for Craig as he nailed them to the front of his home.

All of a sudden, I felt eyes on me. You know that feeling - someone is watching you and you can sense it with your entire body. I quickly glanced and saw someone standing there. It looked like an angel standing behind me and it kind of surprised me. As I continued to work, not really registering that someone was actually there, I thought to myself, "Boy, that angel sure looked like Layton." And that is when it occurred to me to turn around again! Ha, ha! Not only was Layton standing there but he was accompanied by 3 others; his parents and sister.

Layton lives around the corner and he walked over to see us and show us he was fine. Last night as he was taken to the ER we didn't know if he would be able to walk again - and we worried about every possible outcome.

Prayers were pleadings in his behalf just hours before and there he was standing and waiting for me to turn around: walking, talking, smiling and looking just as good as he did before his fall.

He had ONE bruise on his elbow – that’s it!

It was so good to see him! So wonderful to see him healthy! And so very kind of Layton and his family to walk over and relieve our hearts and minds.

What a very special family! Some of the kindest people I have ever met. I am thankful to know them. 

And again, very thankful for the miracle that occurred just last night.

 Criag with my Uncle Deareld.

 Teresa. As you can see, it was VERY COLD! We were bundled up like the marshmallow man! 

 

NOVEMBER 12

A miracle:

Tonight was bitterly cold! Bitter, bitter, bitter cold!

I made dinner for all of the guys who were working on Craig’s house. They were pushing hard to get things done on the roof before it was supposed to snow. I brought dinner to them at around 6 PM and asked them to stop and eat. It was so cold – probably near 0 -5 degrees outside, completely dark and I was worried about them.

I knew they needed to stop and eat and rest their bodies for a few minutes.

Working on the new trusses over the garage, the men didn’t want to stop until they had the gables on. So, I put the food back in the car, turned on the seat warmers and heater and tried to keep it warm for them.

The garage is extremely high. High enough for a gigantic RV to park in there. (I need to go and measure it!)

Layton – a young man who had been working with us – passed out and fell off the roof and onto the cement floor below.

Jonathan was up in the rafters with Layton. He felt Layton go limp and brush him as he began to fall. Jonathan tried to grab him but couldn’t catch him. It was a horrific thing for Jonathan as he watched Layton fall to the ground.

Layton is small (like our family); shorter than Smash but thinner – maybe even thinner than Nathan.

When I saw Layton, I couldn’t tell if he would be alright or not. I didn’t know if he was responsive. The paramedics took care of him and while they went to work on prepping him for the ride to the ER, I tried to attend to the men there who were upset and in shock.

Jonathan and Craig were very troubled by it. They were the men who were working closest to Layton when he fell. Craig, of course, felt the terrible weight and burden of it because it was his home and he was pushing so hard to get things done.

The men gave Layton a blessing before he was taken into the ambulance; while strapped to the long spine board, several men surrounded him on bended knee, placed their hands on his head and gave him a quick priesthood blessing. That brief moment brought a feeling of peace amid the chaos. 

We really didn’t know if he could/would survive such a fall.

After he was rushed to the ER I put my arms around Craig and he just wrapped his arms around me and sobbed. He was so distressed. My heart went out to him. He is such a good man, so kind, etc., this was a heavy burden for him to bear. Craig received a blessing and then went to the hospital to await the news of Layton's condition with the family.

All who were there offered continual prayers.

As the night went on, I received updates on Layton’s condition.

Jonathan had trouble sleeping. He was in shock and he kept seeing Layton fall over and over again. As I was getting updates on my phone about Layton’s condition I would let Jonathan know how he was doing.

Each update was filled with hope as the tests showed no injuries. It took hours for all of the results to come in but one after the other was the same – no injury. No broken bones, no head trauma, no internal injuries, spine and everything intact.

As the hope-filled updates trickled in, it was apparent that Layton had been cared for by unseen hands. He was saved.

The whole ordeal was absolutely miraculous! Layton is a walking, talking, MIRACLE!

As Jonathan struggled with the experience afterward, I told him that although what he witnessed seemed truly horrific, he needed to see it as it was – a miracle.

He witnessed a miracle.

Although Layton did pass out and fall, he was caught by unseen hands and completely preserved. Where Jonathan was not able to catch him, the Lord took care of that for him. He took care of Layton, completely.

Layton has his mission call and will be entering the mission one week from today. (Doctor said he is good to go - unless something strange happens before Wednesday).

So, today is a day of gratitude for gentle, unseen hands that lift, carry, support and save.

It is also a day of gratitude for the miracles that happen - even in our present day. 

 

NOVEMBER 11

We made our annual Veteran's Day thank you call to a favorite Veteran of ours, Don Monnier.

Don and Myrna are friends from TX and we have certainly been blessed to call them friends.

  (Photo taken Christmas day 2007! I can't believe that was 7 years ago...)

How we love this couple!

Our chat with Don and Myrna tonight was so much fun. They are great people and we miss them a lot. Unfortunately, Don's health is really not good at all and we are worried about him. The kids are quite determined to get to TX soon in order to see him.

Smash and Don talked for a long time - I think they really "get" each other.  :)

 

Myrna was actually the last push I needed to begin blogging again. With plenty of reasons to restart and a lot of desire on my part - all I needed was that extra push or reason to add it to my priority list once again. Myrna recently asked Jonathan how I was doing and stated that she was worried because it had been so long since I had blogged. It was so thoughtful and kind of her to think of me and ask Jonathan what was going on with me that I thought I had better not worry her anymore and get back to it. The love of a friend is a powerful thing. Thanks, Myrna.

 

Other thankful thoughts for today:

Smash has been working at a tumbling gym here in town for about a year now. Tonight I had the opportunity to give him a ride home from work. When I got there, he was still coaching and I was able to see him in action. He is such a fun and wonderful coach; positive, caring, focused, and very helpful. He does a great job with the kids and they love him! As I watched him, it reminded me of how his coach was with him years ago and I felt such gratitude for those experiences in TX. He was trained by one of the best men's gymnastics coaches. Smash had the rare privilege to be mentored by this wonderful man.  The coaching techniques and skills Smash learned in TX have served him well and I am sure they will continue to provide positive opportunities in the future.

Our nephew is getting married next Saturday. We are having a bridal shower on Friday. Today I was able to shop for it and do some prep work for the shower decorations. I'm thankful I could carve time out of my day to get these things accomplished.

Helped Craig at his home for a while this afternoon/evening. Here was my view for part of the evening: (You can play the game "Where's Craig?" ha, ha.)

 

NOVEMBER 10

Photo day!

On Monday's I am always thankful for email!

Today I received an added bonus in my inbox - photos of Emily!

These are two of the missionaries she has trained. (These two came to her fresh from home - newbies!)

This is Emily's current companion and she will be her last {assigned} companion.

I sure do love this little missionary daughter of ours. And I am truly grateful for the mission she has been serving.