I Learned Some New Skills

Superb Owl Sunday was on February 8. Jeremy, Nichole, Jr. Jr., Lucky, and Jet all contributed to Sunday Sketches. I will post about that later.

Jeremy fed us some Rootinest Tootinest Breakfanootinest Casserole (his own creation- we haven't had it in years, though). 

Since the weather was nice, I wanted to take a nice relaxing drive in the afternoon. Several of us got in the van and went for a drive through Provo Canyon, around Deer Creek Reservoir, up into Midway, around Heber Fields, and back through downtown Heber, around Deer Creek Reservoir, and through Provo Canyon again, where we had a tire blow out after we got out of the canyon.

So I got to learn some new skills and recognize many blessings. If I was on my own (without Jeremy), I would have freaked out. As it was, we were both able to support each other. Jeremy looked up YouTube videos and was able to get the spare tire out of the trunk (and managed to get the old tire off and into the trunk- it was heavy). I was able to crawl down on the ground and figure out where to put the jack. We both took turns lifting the van with the jack. I got to put the spare on and put the lug nuts back on. Jeremy did more tightening than I did. We both got to see that the spare was flat so I called some friends and since we were not too far from home (huge blessing), I was able to get a ride home to get our portable air compressor and drive back with our other vehicle. Then I got the experience of learning how to use the air compressor to fill up the spare tire. Jeremy and I worked well together. That's another blessing.

It was a beautiful night. Kids were well behaved. Nichole took Jet walking up and down the sidewalk because we pulled over off the main road to a road that didn't have much traffic. Jet was well behaved in his cute Seahawks jacket. I put that on him because the Seattle Seahawks were playing in the Super Bowl that day (and won). Jr. Jr. kept himself entertained by juggling.

It ended up not being too late when we got home, too.  

The next day, I was able to get kids to school then drove to get a new tire. I got to read some more of The Hobbit at the tire store while I waited and then found out the tire was still under warranty. Woohoo. Yay for more blessings. 

Catching Up July 2025 part 1, though I'll probably lose track because of how long it will take to do all the catching up

The beginning of July saw family members getting sick (I was exhausted from taking care of sick people and getting sick myself), Jeremy going off to a fair in California (he also messed up his back somehow so the night before his trip, he had a Priesthood blessing and went to urgent care so they could help him out and Lucky and I did the heavy lifting of his supplies and I drove him early the next morning to Marcus's because they were driving together), and Jr. Jr. going off to Young Men Camp without Lucky because Lucky got sick and had to stay home. It would have been his first time.

There were also other stresses and Nichole and Jr. took swim lessons. 

Let me explain the corn husk picture. I got up early to clean one day and decided to take the bag of corn husks up to the outside garbage. As I was walking up the stairs, the bottom of the bag broke open and all the corn husk/silk/garbage fell out on the stairs. It was one of those shrug it off and deal with it moments. Did I mention there were stresses?

We observed rainbows for Summer Reading. Some of us saw rainbows in sprinklers and Jet and I made rainbows with a prism. 

We started harvesting vegetables from our garden.

We also celebrated Nichole's birthday.

We celebrated other holidays but I'll write about those in different posts.

We also saw blessings and had some faith building experiences. 

This is My Life

Sometimes I feel I can be very productive. The other day, I took a walk to the post office to mail a letter. Jet was asleep. Jeremy was home. I got exercise and something done at the same time.

Sometimes I feel I can take a break and give Jet attention that he needs. Even if that means stopping to let him sit on my lap for a while.

And sometimes I try to be productive (or just eat my food) and someone makes it not so easy.

I wouldn't give it up, though. I love being a mom. It is one of the greatest blessings I have. I choose this.

We Survived

We survived the baby lion apocalypse (thanks, Lucky for that blog post) but I am so far behind on my blogging. I have been prioritizing other things.

So let's get started on this catching up with the complete understanding that I will be prioritizing other things again so the catching up may be sporadic.

As I was trying to say back on my blog post on March 2, March came in like a baby lion. We had a bit of rain. Since then we have been through crazy weather throughout the month. Rain, sleet, snow, heavy snow, snow squalls, ice, sun, hail- sometimes all on the same day. We had Winter weather in Winter and we had Winter weather in Spring. It has been crazy. 

Other craziness comes with stresses. We're still going through certain trials we were going through the beginning of the year, but we are still seeing blessings as we are trusting the Lord to help us through.

Jeremy and I still have a strong relationship. We have amazing children. We know that Heavenly Father cares about us... no doubt.

And we still celebrate- more on that later.

Opportunities to Serve

There is a song that says, "Because I have been given much I too must give." I've always loved that song. I feel like I have so many blessings in my life. Even when things are hard, I still can count my blessings ("Count Your Blessings," incidentally, is another song I like). I feel like lately we've been given the opportunity to serve others and we've been taking those opportunities.

 

Sometimes it's serving in our own home. On Blueberry Pancake Day, January 28, I not only made blueberry pancakes but I also made chocolate chip pancakes and plain pancakes since there are different likes among my family members.

 

I planned to make a normal sized batch of taco soup this year for National Corn Chip Day, January 29, instead of filling the stockpot to the top with 7 times the recipe. I couldn't find any regular sized cans of hominy, though (which is how it all got started all those years ago), so I got a can to make a double batch. Making a double batch turned out to be the right thing since some neighbors were going through a great trial and we were able to offer them dinner. We had enough soup to share and we had french bread in the freezer so I was able to make garlic bread to go with it. I was able to give them a casserole and a loaf of homemade bread another day. It was the least we could do along with prayers for them during their trial.

 

Lucky's Activity Days group was split because of the number of boys they had so he got some new leaders. He wanted to do something for them and the boys at their first activity together, so he made cookies to take.

 

Jet and I were able to help an injured neighbor collect eggs from her chickens because it was hard for her. She was nice and let us keep the eggs we collected. Jr. Jr. and Lucky helped me collect eggs another time. They all enjoyed it.

Nichole and Jr. had an orchestra recital and got there early enough to help set up then helped clean up afterward.

I was able to use what I've been learning about shelf cooking and freezer meals to make some on the road food for Nichole and Jr. that night. They had to leave orchestra rehearsal early at a neighboring high school in order for me to drive them over to the orchestra recital at their high school.

 

Sometimes it's simple acts of service that are easy for us but make a big difference for someone else. I have been given much so it is a blessing for me to give to others.

Some January Fun... That Hasn't Already Been Mentioned

Sometimes you just have to dance to the music. In this case it was music from Singin' in the Rain. In fact, I think it was the song, "Singin' in the Rain."  

January 15 was National Bagel Day. Breakfast sandwiches for dinner? Yes, please.

 

Live long and prosper.

 

January 16 was Appreciate a Dragon Day. Nichole wore her new dragon-themed shirt and her new dragon earrings and as is tradition, she sketched a dragon.

She and the boys also played "toss" with the dragon that she made in elementary school. 

January 17 was Popeye Day. We had food with spinach for dinner including Popeye brand spinach.

 

One way to get exercise in during the Winter. Roll the ball down the hall and chase it.

January 18 was Winnie-the-Pooh Day. We had honey roasted carrots with our dinner. I also made granola that day but used maple syrup instead of honey because I wasn't thinking and we had syrup we needed to use up.

 

Sometimes in life, you just have to stop and play with monster trucks. Did you know that because they're "monster" trucks, they roar?

 

And this...

Year of Miracles

We've decided 2023 is going to be a year of miracles. And not just for us. Miracles will happen for many this year.

We have some big stresses going on right now. The year has barely begun but we're already seeing blessings along with the stress.

It's going to be okay. Through it all, we know that Heavenly Father loves us and is watching out for us. And knowing that really matters.

Practice What You Preach

The beginning of August Nichole and Jr. went off to FSY (For the Strength of Youth conference) at BYU. Jeremy went to a county fair in Downey, Idaho, then when he came back he was doing balloons at the Utah County Fair (which meant he could sleep at home both nights of that fair. Yay!).

We were also studying Job that week for scripture study so we got to put into practice what we taught the boys. Continue to turn to the Lord in trials and you'll be better off in the end and recognize blessings in the midst of trials.

We started off strong. Monday, Jeremy was at work, Nichole and Jr. were getting ready for FSY, and Lucky said, "I feel sick," then threw up. Sigh. I'm sure it was from the heat. I mentioned it has been a hot Summer. Someone was going to let the younger boys play at their house while I took the older kids to FSY so I had to cancel that. I was able to find someone to come over and be an older person here while Jr. Jr. took care of Jet and Lucky rested (Lucky helped, too, because it didn't take long for him to feel better since he wasn't actually sick, just a bit dehydrated probably). That was really appreciated since it took longer than I thought to check them in and get them to their housing, say goodbye, etc.

And I forgot to take a picture of Nichole before I left but I got a picture of Jr.

The first night, Jet was calling out, "Goodnight," to his siblings, even the ones who weren't there. That little guy is so cute.

While Jeremy and the older kids were gone, we did some work and play, work and play. Jr. Jr. wrote down things to work on (dishes, cleaning our rooms, etc.) and some fun things to do (video games, eating treats, etc.), made them into strips, and picked them out of a bag. Work and play.

We also celebrated some holidays. 

Wednesday, August 3, was Grab Some Nuts Day. We opened our container of mixed nuts. Yumm. Jeremy said he ate peanuts that day while he was in Idaho.

It was also National Watermelon Day. I didn't eat watermelon but I watched the Studio C sketch, "Cool Guy Can't Eat Fruit Casually." That's what it's called on YouTube.

 

One of the days that week, a friend stopped by to say Hi then she came back a few minutes later and brought us pizza. What a sweetheart. 

Jeremy got to see his friend, Dan, again. They were at the fair convention together back in November and he was at the juggling BBQ in June. Dan was manning a photo booth at the fair in Idaho.

Jeremy also built a large sasquatch scene out of balloons. He managed to get a bald eagle and mountain bluebird in there. Love those birds.

 

Friday, August 5, was Work Like a Dog Day. I thought that meant we'd get a lot done at home. Nope. Here's where we got to look at our blessings again amidst trials. Jeremy was headed down to Spanish Fork when the car engine light went on and the car made sputtering sounds. He was only a few minutes from home so I took Jet away from eating his breakfast (luckily we had snacks in the van), woke Jr. Jr. up, and packed the boys in the van to go pick Jeremy up and get him to the fair on time. Then we came back to get the car to the mechanic who couldn't look at it until Monday. At least it didn't happen in Idaho.

Fast forward a few hours and I was taking one child to the ER while the other two went to a football game and a parade with friends. I cannot thank them enough for taking the boys last minute and entertaining them for 5 hours.

Recognizing blessings again, it wasn't as bad as it could be and only needed a few stitches and he was such a trooper at the hospital. He was totally fine. After the initial hurt, he was running around like normal and in a good mood (including in the waiting room of the ER. Sigh). He got to play with cars and one of the people there drew a track for him on paper for him to race the cars on. She later drew a dinosaur for him when she found out he likes dinosaurs.

My wonderful husband was so patient about getting picked up an hour late from the fair because we picked up the boys first before going to get him.

 

Saturday morning, August 6, I picked up Nichole and Jr. from FSY and made sure to get a picture of Nichole. They both had a good time. Jr. said it was like a spiritual UVU Prep.

I was able to take Jeremy down to his fair and pick him up no problem. We even wiggled our toes in the van on the way to celebrate Wiggle Your Toes Day (the kids wiggled their toes later).

That night we celebrated National Root Beer Float Day as things calmed down a bit after the long week.

We really did have the opportunity to look on the bright side of things that week. There were definite challenges but blessings as well.

By the way, the car is fine, and Jet is healing nicely.