Strange... Strange Morning!

I don't know how to explain this morning except to call it strange!

Very strange!!!

Yesterday they said school was on the 2 hour delay...

Weird, there was no snow.

They rarely call school off and it has to be really bad!

This morning they said that school was cancelled.

There was still no snow.

But we figured it was coming and we needed milk

so Willie and I decided to run to the store to stock up before the storm hit.

We had just pulled into the parking lot when I got a frantic phone call from Kailee.

"We think there is somebody in the house!"

WHAT?

She goes on to explain that she and Kinzee had heard something

in the closet underneath the stairs.

Right by the computer.

The door opened a couple of times just a couple of inches.

Then closed AND locked!

They heard someone open the power box,

the lights flipped off and on...

Kailee thought it was one of the kids or something so she

was pounding on the door asking who was in there.

The door was locked.

They couldn't open it.

I told her to check for all of the kids.

They were all accounted for...

so I told her to get EVERYONE out of the house.

She asked if I wanted her to call their friend to come over and check.

Um... NO!!!!

I turned around to race home and saw a deputy pull into Ace.

I stopped and asked him if he could help me!

He told me to make sure they were all out of the house and he took off...

By the time I got home there were already two officers here

and within minutes a couple more showed up!

They searched EVERY WHERE!

Remind me from now on that I must constantly have a spotless house,

including closets and drawers

just in case!

They couldn't find anything and came to the conclusion that

it must have been the wind!

Okay, I really appreciate their quick response and

how they took to the house to defend and protect.

But please explain how the closet door was LOCKED

and the girls banged on it, and TRIED to open it.

And it wouldn't open.

And in 14 years of living here that door has NEVER 'blown' open.

Ever....

And Kinzee saw the handle move, turn...

the power box was opened, and the power was flipped off and then on.

And when the cops got downstairs the door was open.

We live in a hole...

The kids were getting the little ones up to the neighbors house...

They didn't walk around the house.

Thayne is paranoid...

an incident at work has left everyone a little paranoid

including the FBI...

So it looks like we are getting a security system now!

Like I said,

A strange, strange morning!

Doing Good In Fiji

Tallin's emails today sounded so good. The first week he lost 5lbs and the water wasn't sitting so well with him... but he is finally getting used to it and is doing great. He said that the church where he is serving is very tiny and today only had 10 people there so it sounds like he will have a lot of opportunities to serve! This happens to be the view from outside of his flat. Poor boy to have to look at this everyday!!! :) He said it is in the 80's to 90's and that the rumor is a hurricane may be headed his way, as if that is an exciting event! He said that they pretty much have crackers, noodles, ti, HOT chocolate, mangos and pineapple for all of their meals. He is studying hard and doing the best he can to be a great missionary! He said they have had rain, more rain and hot humid days and he has been wearing flip flops! I guess he is trying to rub it in that we are sitting in snow right now! We are going to miss him so much at Thanksgiving but he is doing great and loving the beautiful surroundings so I can't feel too bad! Love you Tally....

Working on the Christmas Card

My computer is crashing so I had to transfer everything to Thayne's laptop in hopes of actually getting a Christmas card done sometime before Christmas this year! Right now I am working on the back of the card... can't decide if I like it or not. But at some point I am just going to have to decide to do something just to get it ordered and then in the mail. Wish me luck... I am having a hard time getting into it this year and that seems strange for me!!! Ho Ho Ho... or ba humbug.... guess only time will tell!

Kassi is legit

Well... 3rd time is the charm.... well, no, it didn't really take her 3 times to take the drivers test. But due to a series of unfortunate events that did, and didn't have anything to do with her, Kassi is finally, at long last a legitimate driver with a real and true driver's license to prove it! Finally... finally I can... um, I mean I will be able to legally send her on errands. She no longer has to sneak to the mailbox to check the mail. Of course tonight she had a million reasons to drive. Well, she really did have to go to the church to decorate for the Young Women in Excellence program that she created as part of her Personal Progress. It was awesome by the way. The theme was Mothers In The Making and it was fantastic! So she got to use her new found skills of a real driver.

After her test we had to go to lunch to celebrate her success!!! Here are Nate and Kassi making a face to send to their dad because we tried to talk him into sneaking away from work to have lunch with us. He respectfully declined so we made faces to send to him. Isn't modern technology wonderful!!! Thumbs up... Kassi DID IT!!! Yay Kassi! Now you can pick kids up from basketball, church, work, friends... well, until you get bored with the wonder of driving!

Yay Kassi... Yay Kassi! Congratulations on your successful drive! And really... who needs the emergency brake, or to be able to parallel park... truthfully, it's much easier to drive around until a big space comes open anyway!!! Yay Kassi!!!

Time with Kimi

It was so nice to be able to spend some time with Kimi.

We cried some, but then we laughed and talked and enjoyed our time together.

I want to be like Kimi when I grow up.

Even in her pain so has so much faith.

She trusts that she will get through this and that

one day soon she will be holding a sweet baby or her own.

She knows that she will grow and learn and become the best she can be

if she gets through his trial with courage and grace.

I hate to see her in pain.

As a parent I wish I could carry it all for her.

But I can't...

So I just continue to love her.

We did a lot of shopping...

shopping can't cure all,

but it can sure make you find reasons to smile. :)

We watched movies and talked,

laughed and joked,

cried a little more

and ate yummy food.

We hit the Olive Garden

and had a piece of yummy pumpkin cheesecake.

Indulgence in junk food was just what the doctor ordered.

I am grateful for Matt.

That he loves Kimi so well

and takes such good care of her.

He is a gift to our family.

I had to leave her before I wanted to

and I cried on my way home

because I know how badly it hurts to lose the baby you have dreamed of.

I know that no matter how long you have known about that baby

you love it, dream for it and feel protective of it.

I know that Kimi has a mother's heart.

And I pray that very soon the desire of her heart is fulfilled.

I love you Kimi!

You are an amazing young woman

and I am so proud to be your mom.

I am praying for you constantly

and

hope that you come through this trial

quickly

and that your heart feels peace.

Love you!!!

If I start crying...

I think if I let the tears start flowing
they may not end.
My sweet daughter is losing her baby.

And right now I am not there to hold her,

and cry with her and tell her it is going to be okay.

Even though I know it isn't going to be okay right now.

That is a pain that just doesn't go away.

And for a long time after she will go on like her heart isn't breaking...

but I will know it is.

This sweet girl,

who has dreamed of this baby

for as long as she can remember.

She joins that club, that nobody ever wants to be part of.

It is still so fresh in my heart...

and now I not only cry for my own baby girl,

but for the baby she wanted

and the baby I wanted...

the grandbaby I wanted to hold,

and spoil and love!

Kimi, I will be there soon...

and we will cry together for the loss of our dream.

And I will pray everyday for understanding...

because our heart never really mends.

And I will pray even harder that you get this dream

very soon.

I love you more than you can know right now.

I hurt for you,

that you have to feel this pain.

And I pray that you let it wash through you,

and grow from it and that you will come through this

even more compassionate, and more understanding

than you are right now.

Unity

Sunday evening our new bishopric presented a youth fireside on unity. It is something that I constantly think about as a family. It is something that we strive for and something that I feel like we should constantly be working towards. It is something that we are supposed to strive for in the Church also. The scriptures teach us, "And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another."

At the fireside one of the speakers talked about the Emperor Penguins. He talked about how the male penguins care for the egg while the mothers are out gathering food. He spoke of how they huddle in masses to keep themselves and the eggs warm and how they take turns moving to the center of the group to warm up and then move back for another to get in the middle to get warm. Without working together as a group they would surely freeze to death... and I have thought about this a lot since. They do not have the 'me' mentality. They aren't worried who is right, or wrong... they just know that they need each other to survive and to fulfill their very basic needs. How important is that example to us? They are driven by instinct to take care of each other. They don't determine that one is not worthy of the warmth and shun them... they just huddle together and take care of one another. I think that if, or maybe especially, WHEN somebody is struggling, they need the warmth that comes from the huddle! Wouldn't that be amazing if we always had the same instinct? I think sometimes we are more like sharks, where we smell blood, or find a weakness in another and then attack. Henry B. Eyring talked about how to be united. He said that we need to be humble. Going back to the penguins, yes, I realize they are penguins...but it seems that there would be no room for pride when they are busy taking care of each other. It's not about who deserves the warmth, or who is better, or right, or wrong. It is about the need that they ALL have to be warm! I think that often we judge falsely, and sometimes we even judge with evil intent, though I don't think that most people do that purposely. I sometimes find myself judging incorrectly... more often than not I find myself with at least a little compassion even in my judgement, but still, it is judging. Understanding that there is likely a reason that they are doing what they are doing. It's a great thing to know that the Savior is the only One qualified to judge us perfectly. He will be able to judge our physical, chemical and emotional make up. Elder Eyring said that more often than not we have a choice in judging. A choice. We get to choose if we are going to judge with a harsh judgement, or assume the best, and even be willing to forgive if we think somebody is doing something wrong. And even more, it is not our place to decide if someone deserves our forgiveness. Elder Eyring said that as we get better and better at forging unity, we will think of a scripture when we are asked our opinion of another person: “And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged." ~See that ye do not judge wrongfully. Isn't it the truth that there are always more than one side to every story, and even when we are certain we are right, we likely do not know everything... and even when we think we do, we still have no right to determine who deserves to be able to be kept warm. Didn't the Savior talk about leaving the ninety and nine to go in search of the one? Why would He leave the 99... well, it's simple. Because they are already in the circle, being kept warm. Taking care of each other. That one is still so important to the Lord. There is safety in numbers... in being united! Every where in the scriptures it talks about the way the Lord 'judged'... even the woman caught in adultery was shown great love and compassion by the Savior. I can't even imagine how amazing it would be if we all did that... if I always judged like that! I think of how many people I know, personally, who would rather stay away from the 'group' because they are left out of the huddle to brave the cold alone. I think that sometimes we all feel alone. We aren't ever really alone, but sometimes it feels like it. I think I want to be more like the Emperor Penguin... I think I want to work hard to pull others into the huddle and keep them warm, to protect them from the bitter cold! I am grateful for the gift I have often been given, to discern how to pull each family member in and keep them warm. I want to be able to take care of those that are hurting and left alone, I want to judge less, and huddle more!!!

I am a miner

As I make my way into the darkness,

I think of my family and what I leave topside.

I am a miner.

A member of an elite group of men that make their living

thousands of feet underground.

If she starts to creak and groan,

if all hell suddenly cuts loose,

Remember this...

Kiss the kids.

I love you and I'll see you

on the other side.

I am the light at the end of the tunnel.

I am a miner.

Best Friends...

A best friend isn't a person who you have to see and talk to everyday, it's a person who will always be there for you no matter what, and feels like family ♥ You best friends know who you are! ♥ Thank you for never standing behind me or in front of me....thank you for standing next to me through all of life's challenges! ♥

Thank you to those who love us enough to walk beside us, lift us and are there no matter what. I am not sure what I would do without you!!! Thank you for not condemning and for with holding judgment because you will assume the best and know that even when we make mistakes we are walking forward the very best we can, just like you are. My dad told me when I was young that true friendships are hard to find and if you have one true friend you are lucky. I am lucky, because I have had more than one true friend in my life... those that stand beside me in the good or the bad. And to them... thank you, thank you. You make the hard stuff easier!

Date night + Wendover = The Bellamy Brothers!

We have been waiting for this concert to get here for a few months. As soon as the tickets went on sale Garrett grabbed us up the tickets to make sure we got to go, since he and Tiffany had gone with us the last time they were in Wendover. Then Garrett changed jobs and couldn't have it off. And sadly for Garrett, this concert was even better than the last one so he missed out. But Thayne and I didn't miss out since we went with Darin and Sue and hit the big buffet and then enjoyed the music for the next 2 hours. Thayne and I love their music and it never fails to remind us of those first dates with the Bellamy Brothers playing on the stereo. They seem to improve with age and we all had a great time tonight. Hanging out with Darin and Sue was really fun too. Glad they were able to go with us! We were actually sitting close enough that my camera would have worked really well but I left it in the car so we were just stuck with Thayne's cell phone camera, which is a little better than mine at least! It was fun to watch them... and fun to watch some of the audience that had far too much to drink stand up and dance to some of their songs. Can't wait to go to the next one... hope it doesn't take 2 years for them to make their way back to Wendover so we can go again!

This guy looked like he was plucked from the middle of a rock concert and brought lots of fun at the concert. He does a great job playing in the youtube song Jalapenos... just lots of fun watching him dance around and play so well.