Four years seems too long...

Me and mom on a Lake Powell boat tour.
Back when mom was hip I was her sidekick.

Thinking of you and how absolutely blessed I am to be your daughter.

Missing you still.
Loving you always.

Back when...

 

My two big brothers.
Bookends to their little sister.
I'm feeling nostalgic and grateful and very blessed.

Brotherly L O V E...

Dave, Jim, me and Craig
 

I have three really wonderful brothers.

I have been loved by them, teased by them and protected by them for as long as I can remember.  Even back in elementary school I can clearly recall the day that Jim threatened to hunt down the boy that made fun of my hair-do walking home from school one day.

My brothers are awesome like that.

Today is Jim's birthday.

H A P P Y  B I R T H D A Y
big brother!
Thanks for taking on all that arises with Dad.
I know it's more than we will ever know and that your efforts might go unseen but I'm forever grateful for your strength and service.

I love you 17.
Love, Sis
 

The last best bite...

I buy a box of Utah tomatoes and a box of Utah peaches every year.
We make lots of yummy things.
Fresh salsa, BLT's, tuna and tomato sandwiches, tomatoes on toast, peach shakes, peach shakes and peach shakes but when the last peach and the last tomato are sitting on the counter I turn them into this...

The Best Breakfast bite

 

The Best Lunch bite

And when they are gone
I cry just a little.

Another grateful moment...

I had an experience that I need to record.  I want to remember it clearly and I want my kids to have reference to it.

Last month on a Sunday morning I had a scout meeting I needed to be to.  Driving home from that meeting I began to get that unfortunately familiar feeling of a possible kidney stone...the ache in my right lower back.  I've passed enough kidney stones to know the drill but I hadn't been bothered for a couple of years.  The thing with plenty of past experience, I knew this pain could get out of control in a hurry.  I took a percocet when I got home.  My usual experience is that I'm able to control the pain to a certain degree and get through it within a day or two.  Only once did it take more like 5 days and when it finally passed my doctor declared me a SUPERWOMAN (aw shucks) for having managed to pass something larger than the 6.0 mm passable range.  So yeah, I've done this.

By late afternoon and two percocets later I was really hurting and couldn't control the pain.  This was not the usual.  The pain started to wrap around my side and into my stomach.  At the suggestion of a nurse friend we went to the ER about 9 p.m.  Five hours later and some really good drugs we came home.  A cat scan revealed about 10 kidney stones scattered about my kidney. Oh yippee!  But for now the stone that was causing all the fuss was 5.5 mm and stuck.  And so...

I got through Monday okay but during the night it was becoming evident that the meds might not keep the pain at bay.  By the time Coop left for school on Tuesday morning I asked Brent for a blessing.  Our dear friend came over and helped Brent administer the ordinance.  I was in tears but as Brent spoke the words of comfort and healing I became well aware of the power of the Priesthood. Through his own tears, Brent told me that he was prompted to remind me of the Atonement of our Savior.  That it covered any mental, spiritual or physical pain that we might encounter here during this lifetime.  I was asked to remember that because the suffering had already taken place there was no need to endure this pain now.  That I should look to the Savior in full faith and He would take it from me.  As I did so I would feel the warmth of His love and the peace and truth of His sacrifice.  I have had many experiences with the Priesthood, some sweet and comforting, some powerful and definite but I had never experienced an immediate physical healing. . .until then.  The pain completely subsided. I went to bed and slept pain free for six hours.  When I woke up I was able to deal with and handle the situation.

I just feel so grateful that my husband was able to use his Priesthood immediately when called upon and that we have friends that can come and help at a moments notice.  I feel incredibly grateful for the worthy Priesthood holders that surround me.  I shared the experience with my kids later that night and expressed to my boys how important it is to always be worthy and ready to call down the powers of heaven, instantly and without hesitation.  I shared with Maddison how vital it was to have a man in her life that could do the same for her and her future family.  It was wonderful to be reminded of things I know to be true.

We watched this as a family for FHE not too long ago and it is beautiful and tender and powerful.  follow this link

A month and two kidney procedures later, my right kidney is clear and happy again.

My prayers are very sincere when I express gratitude for my good health and for the power of the Priesthood.

It's November. Let's start things off right...

I found this on another blog recently.  I've saved it for today.  The first day of our month of celebrating thanks and gratitude and remembering the source from whence my blessing flow.  Personally I love this so very much  I added the orange highlight myself.

On October 3, 1863, President Lincoln’s Proclamation of Thanksgiving set the precedent for our country’s national day of Thanksgiving. It proclaims the last Thursday of November “as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise.” Prior to that, different states had been celebrating Thanksgiving on different days.

Lincoln, born in Kentucky, grew up in a poor family and was mostly self-educated, having only attended school for a year. He became a country lawyer before getting involved in politics in the 1830′s. In 1860, he was elected the 16th President of the United States, entering office in 1861. Our country was still in the midst of the Civil War when the first Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday was celebrated.

Here is the text of Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863…

By the President of the United States of America.
A PROCLAMATION.
The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.
In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.
Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United Stated States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth. 

~Abraham Lincoln

Are you ready for some football...

Ummm...I guess.

No, really.  I think I can handle it because he is so darn excited.
So darn excited.
And he has my heart.
So that means I'm in.

Our #55 plays offensive guard for the Highland Hawks Freshman football team.
 

He has never done this before.
Full contact football, I mean.
He played flag for his Jr. high team and really enjoyed it but until this summer he has never put on shoulder pads and started knocking people around.
He had practice every day during the summer.
It's an oven here in the summer and still he gave everything, every day.
He would come home absolutely beat, pop some ibuprofen and go back for more ~ with a smile on his face.
This was new to me.
I've seen Davis work and work hard.  It's what he does.
But my eyes were opened to whole new game and more than that, his desire to become a great football player.

The first time I saw him dressed out in his full gear was a bit emotional.
Isn't that crazy??  It was hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that
Here he is.

If I could tell the coaches something about Davis I would tell them that in my son you have a young man that will give you everything he has and then more.  He will listen, he will learn, he will work.  He is coachable without complaint.  He will be a leader.  He will set an example.  He wants to win.  He wants to play.  He may make some mistakes in his young football experience but he will correct them and try his very best each and every down.  On the field you will wish you had a whole team of kids like him.  Off the field you will wish the same.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are now 0-4.
It stinks.
Every practice, every cramp, every ache, every bruise, every effort.
No victory.
 

But Davis does his job and he does it well.
I worry that with each defeat he might get discouraged and feel like he isn't getting back what he is giving.
His reply when I express anything of the sort,
"Mom, I just wanna play."
It is incredible to see him in this light.
Play on, big D, play on.

We love this place...

We took a chance to get out of the heat and headed for the hills.
Woods Canyon Lake is one of our favorite spots.
And to up the excitement level and increase the outdoor experience there will
undoubtedly, without question, guaranteed
be elks.
Not an elk but elks, roaming through the campground.

 

Target shooting is always a part of the fun.
This spot.  The tree.  The sky.
 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite parts is when the kids go off exploring together.
I can hear their laughter way off in the trees long before I can see them coming back into camp.  It makes me smile every time.
 

Well hello there beautiful bird. Yes, please join us for breakfast.
(Just don't touch my bacon!)
 

Did I mention it rained?
Not just a sprinkle either.
It came down it torrents with deafening thunder that sent us scrambling for the trailer.  We hunkered down for about an hour and when we finally dared to peek out we found ourselves surrounded by the rushing water.
 

 

 

A brief interruption for a reminder to my kiddos...
If you forget to put the travel first aid kit back into the truck before you head out on a campout, hopefully you have remembered to bring some lavender oil.  Thanks Maddie, for having that in your makeup bag.

Cooper was spared the likes of having three fingers looking like ET calling home because of the healing effects of lavender oil.  After grabbing the top of the blazing gas lantern, I quickly dunked his fingers in ice water from the cooler. Maddie grabbed her lavender oil and I splashed a generous amount right into the water.  After in and out of that for about 20 minutes, I coated his fingers with the oil.   My family gives me a hard time about the oils I use and insist they use from time to time.  But we saw first hand what it did for a very serious burn.  What could have been a very painful night of restless sleeping or even cutting our trip short, Cooper slept peacefully through the night and when he awoke he fingers bore no sign of the incident.  Oh, and we said a prayer : )


The lake was beautiful.

And so is my family.

 

 

 

 

While this child whittles his artistic abilities into a stick of wood...

 

...these children hunt for crawdads.

Cooper was thrilled to have his sister's undivided attention.

 

Meet Fransisco and Fileepay.
(Ya, I spelled it that way on purpose)

I love our family time.
It is priceless to me. 

Simply put...

Cooper is working on his Faith in God goals.

He wanted to I told him to write a poem about a principle of the gospel.
He chose prayer.
He was having trouble getting started so I gave him the first little bit...

Each night before I go to bed...

He quickly added,

I kneel and say my prayers.

I asked how he felt when he said his prayers.
He was able to put the rest together.

Each night before I go to bed
I kneel to say my prayers.
They make me feel warm and good,
They keep the worries from my head.

I love this boy.

 

Discovery...

I found an artist that I absolutely love.

Her name is Caitlin Connolly.

(you can follow her on Instagram @ladyhue or her website is here)

I will have one of her pieces in my home at some time. I promise.

 

I first saw a couple of her pieces on another blog.

I remember the day of discovery clearly because my mood was rather...well...weighed down.

 

The first print I saw was this one.

 

I was absorbed by this.

I found myself in her.

The feeling of being "heavy laden".

I felt emotion welling in my eyes and then with a blink,

the reservoir was spilt.

 

 

Next I saw this.

 

 

I let myself go through the rolling emotion.

 Like the ebb and flow of the tide.

Soon my heart gave way to gratitude.

 

This piece is titled...

"she became herself through tears"

I hope to purchase this sooner than later.

 

In Matthew 11:28 I am taught

"Come unto me, all that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 

I find peace in that truth.

To know that I can lift my eyes my toward heaven and find Him waiting to take whatever I offer.

It is the beauty of the Atonement.

 

 

 I also find great comfort in the fact that I am not alone.

 

Sometimes I ask myself...

how did I get here?

where I'm standing. where I'm working. where I'm loving. where I'm trying. where I'm kneeling.

where I am.

 

art by Caitlin Connolly

 

This sketch is an absolute favorite.

It is perfectly titled...

 

"how did I get here?"

 

I know how I got here.

It's because of those hands.

Some soft like a cushion and a safe place to land.

Some strong and unbending that stand me back up.

Some bent with wisdom and time.

Some tiny and smell of heaven.

Some wrapped in honesty and forgiveness.

Some stained with hard work and determination.

Some clenched, some folded, some open.

Some grasping, some slipping.

And most humbling,

pierced.

 

Have I mentioned how much I love Caitlin's art?

Discovery is a beautiful part of life.

 

Turning the page...

Fresh start.
Clean slate.
New beginning.

Whatever cliché you choose...


I remember turning "that page" in my life like it was yesterday.
Okay.  Maybe it was a week ago.

But I'm sure it was only yesterday that this beautiful baby came into my life and changed me for the better.  Total JOY!!  Holding her close and breathing in her fresh from heaven sweetness.

Now I have to steal those moments whenever I can.
But I positively know that as blissful as yesterday may have seemed that today is truly magical.

College shmollege.  She's got this.

Pieces of me...

Taking a trip back home is one of the B E S T parts of my summer.
We always go over the 4th of July.  It's my favorite.
 

We usually stop in at Kristin's.  She and John are always so kind to let us crash at their home.  We enjoyed a wonderful Sunday in their ward and felt so lucky that we have remained friends with such a great family.  Plus they have a gorgeous view of the mountains right from the comfort of their yard.  And I always end up with a yummy recipe from Kristin.

Taking flowers to mom's grave is always tender.  And catching a moment when my dad was telling a story about the time Grandpa Stauffer shot a buck and carried him down that mountain back into town was priceless.
Dinner or lunch at Maddox is a must and goodness gracious...It's a meal I look forward to each and every summer.
 

But the highlight is always spending time with the girls.  My twin nieces had babies just weeks apart and cuddling them was oh so sweet.  My brothers married the sweetest girls, had sweet girls of their own and they each have been blessed with their own sweet girls.  This visit made me miss my sweet girl and wished she could have joined us.  We got lots of sweetness going on!

Amazing that I was the only girl in my family and now we out number the boys!
(Maddie, Hailee, Danielle and Erin were MIA)

Maddie's summer...

After graduation...
 

and Seminary graduation (love these kids!)

Maddie decided she wanted some time away.
We said okay.

She and Mariah spent two months in Medford, Oregon.
I put her on the plane without shedding a single tear.
After a few days I missed her immensely.
 

She turned 18 while she was gone.
That was a hard birthday for me.
Her there.  Me here.