Adventure of the week

It all started with a trip to Salt Lake, dinner at a very poor China Gourmet and then to the airport to check in. I should have checked the flights to see the status of the one I was flying on but didn't so left Dad at the security gates to get to my gate and found out that my flight was going to be 45 minutes late so I sat (of course had a book) and waited. Finally got into Portland about 9:30 and called Mike to let him know and Kate came and got me.

Saturday it was fun to watch them pack, shop, make lists, unpack, repack and such. Poor little Korben was sick which didn't make it any easier for Kate to leave. Jake took them to the airport and then spent the day with me and Jessica came over and spent most of the afternoon after her Relief Society thing.

I put Korben to bed about 8:00 and he woke up at 3:30 feeling good and wanting juice. He went right back to sleep but Logan woke up at 4:30 but it only took giving him a bottle and he went back to sleep and they both slept until 9:00. Sunday we didn't go to church because it was stake conference and I didn't want to have two hours with no nursery. Bad me--I use the excuse that Korben hadn't eaten anything on Saturday that stayed down so I wanted to see how food settled with him. Sounds logical doesn't it?

They are both really good little boys and play really well during the day. Korben is really good about entertaining himself and Logan is just a happy baby. They sleep well at night which gives me my evenings. Last night I had them both in bed by 8:00 and they both slept until 10:00. Logan woke up at 6 but by the time I got his bottle heated a little and back up to him he was asleep again.

According to Kate's scales I have lost 2 more pounds and I think they are right because when I first got here I weighed just what the scales at home say and now I am consistently two pounds less. It has to be all the running up and down stairs. How is it that you think you have planned and think you have everything you need on the right floor but still make a hundred trips up and down in a day?

I remember now how important adult conversation is when you are the mother of little children. I have called Dad every night and he gets through listening before I get through talking if you know what I mean. Today Kellie , Josh and Cami called as well as me talking to Dad for a few minutes two different times so I have used up lots of my 20,000 words for the day. It gave me the energy to get some things done just by feeling like an adult again. I love these two little boys but it sure is a change from my usual days.

Jared's new suit

Jared has been wanting a suit for a long time. He has never owned a suit but has always just worn dress pants and a white shirt to church. Saturday after the baby shower we went on to Orem to the Missionary Mall and bought him a suit. He was so excited that he had to text all his friends after we bought it. Sunday he didn't want to take it off but we tried to avoid getting the skunk smell on it and had him hang it back in his garment bag(didn't work) He even wore it to school on Tuesday when he had to do a presentation (hoping for extra credit to bring his A- to an A)

Doesn't he look sharp!!!

How to get rid of skunk smell

Last Friday evening we heard lots of squealing and noise and then got the terrible odor of skunk. We don't know if the skunk got trapped under the house or was having babies (which happens at this time of year) or what but it was not just a mild out of doors smell but a fill the whole house stink. Saturday when Jared and I went to the baby shower we could still smell it on ourselves and unfortunately others could smell it too. On Sunday we apologized to the ward members about the odor on us and everyone had their own skunk stories to tell. Fast forward to Thursday with the smell still in our house and everything else we own even after trying OUST which is a great odor cover up but not really a get rid of odor spray and washing and cleaning what we could. I was telling the chiropractor about our experience mostly to explain the whiff of skunk that still surrounded me and he said that happened to them and the solution is rent a ozone machine like the ones they use on cars to get the cigarette odor out. Our home teacher happens to own a car dealership so I called him and he brought it home to us last night and I think we are finally getting rid of the smell. I have run it in each room and I think it is working. Even the room that had been closed off and really reeked smells better.

This is one of those tips that should go into your handy file of "how to get things done better"

And it came to pass-- very quickly

Where does the time go? I looked back and it has been a long time since I posted. I have no excuse except---I am lazy I guess. I really enjoy reading everyone elses blogs but think my life is so mundane that no one would want to read mine.

So a recap of the last week and a half is in order. Here goes

The best thing that happened is that I went to Rexburg to Kimber's chiropractor and I feel that he will really be able to get my back to heal instead of just giving it a temporary fix. He is going to find me someone to go to in Pocatello so I don't have to drive so far but after I went again today I think I would just as soon stay with him. I haven't felt this good in months.

On the way home from Rexburg last Thursday I stopped at Dad's work where I always weigh in. I have really been trying to watch what I eat and do some exercises but I hadn't been on the scales for a couple of weeks so I was pleasantly surprised to get on the scales and I have lost 15 pounds (okay 14 lbs and 9 oz). Woot Woot!!! I only have about 20 more to go and I will be where I would like to be.

Last Friday night we had the second half of our pride lesson. We talked about the four faces of pride. We looked up lots of scriptures and found that the four faces are

1. Conspicuous consumption---where it isn't so much having "stuff" as it is wanting more and bigger than the next guy.

2. Class distinctions where we talked about the "old timers and the newcomers, the farmers against the non-farmers and so forth. The teacher told of an experience where he went to a funeral of a man who had lived in the town for 40 years and the speaker said "Even though he had only lived here 40 years we considered him one of us". Definite classes.

3. Contention. The teacher brought out the point that some of us need contention just like someone else needs a cigarette. We are addicted to contention. It really gave me something to think about. Do I do and say things just to get a rise out of someone?

4. Patriotism gone bad. We become anti-enemy not Kingdom of God. Are we a little too proud of where we live and all we have been given? We really need to show our gratitude and rely on the Lord and not our own strength.

My short summary doesn't do justice to the things I really learned from the lesson and the spirit that was there. I wish I could bottle the whole experience and send it out to all of you.

I'm off to bed and will try to catch up the rest of the week tomorrow along with all the other things I have to do to get ready to go to Kates.

My cup runneth over.

Boring and then not so boring

I like Kara haven't posted this week because nothing was going on and then Thursday night hit and I haven't had time since then to post. Thursday at 4:15 p.m. I was at work when we several cars pulled into the station and the people informed us that the road had just been closed. In the next four hours I did not sit down once but just ran the cash register as fast as I could. Our parking lot became so full that trucks were parking on the sides of the road. At first some tried to make it north by going on the old highway but there was soon an accident on it which closed that road. I had called Dad as soon as we heard of the closure and he said they had just told him to go home to try and make it before the roads were all closed but he didn't make it so took the old road home and made it as far as McCammon where he was stopped because of the accidents and spent until 8:30. The buses couldn't get through and it took until almost 8:00 to get all the school kids home. They would send a bus out following a snowplow to get the kids home. They even made kids like Jared who had driven to school stay because of the conditions. It wasn't because of more snow but because the wind was blowing so badly that trucks were blown over and the total whiteout conditions. We ended up getting the church and the school open for people to go to which eased the crowding somewhat at the station. Needless to say we had a very good night money wise at work. It was great to hear how people pulled food together to feed the people at the church.

On Friday I was going to write about all the excitement but the tower for our internet was so iced over that we had no service for most of the day so I just did tax stuff until it came back but by then it was almost time to go to our seminary class.

Our class was on Pride this week and what a great lesson. We used the talk given by Pres. Benson back in 1989. Everyone of us should read and study that talk over and over to help us be mindful of the things that can be our downfall. Some of the things that he listed as caused by pride are: disobedience, selfishness, coveting, contention, unrighteous dominion, divorse spouse abuse, enmity and so forth. It really gave me something to think about and this week as our assignment we are supposed to keep a journal of the times we feel we have let our pride get the better of us. One of the quotes from the talk said "God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble." Also "Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion." At first it was easy to think of the things others are doing wrong but then to realize some of the shortcomings that I have in this area gave me reason to think. We will do the other half of the lesson on Friday so I am not going to SLC until Saturday morning now.

Saturday we left about 10:00 for Idaho Falls and the funeral of Aunt Glenna who was the last of the 17 children born to William and Fannie Fullmer. It was a good day visiting with cousins that we have know and some that Dad hadn't seen in a long time. After the luncheon we went and did a session at the IF temple. It was a good day and we couldn't even be sad at the funeral because Aunt Glenna was 90. We could only be sad for those left behind.

Today was a good day because we had such good speakers in Sacrament meeting speaking on the Priesthood and the calling of a new Prophet and then being able to go to the Rexburg Temple dedication. It was a very fulfilling day. "My cup runneth over"

Just what I needed

On Friday evening we went to the Seminary for a Book of Mormon class that one of the seminary teaches is teaching. He started out the class by dividing us into five groups and as a group we were to come up with things that we won't miss during the millenium. We then compared our lists and we all had things such as death, sickness, pain, loneliness, disasters, cruelty, abuse and many other kinds of trials we face. He then taught us that there are 3 types of trials or tribulations. 1. self-caused such as sin 2. Mortality such as cancer or accidents and 3. God caused which we could only come up with callings in this category. In Moses 3:2 the last part of the verse says that God called it all good. Everything on the earth is good if we look at it as a way to get us to turn to God. Br. Laga then told us a story about a shepherd breaking the leg on one of his lambs because the lamb wouldn't follow him and he had to carry the lamb everywhere but now the lamb totally depended on him and he compared it to the Lord giving us trials so that we would turn to him. He then took the story of the brother of Jared and showed us how after not praying for 4 years that he finally turned to the Lord. He was given the instructions on how to build the barges but there were three things left out. How to steer, how to get air and how to have light. He had to turn to the Lord for answers. It was such a good lesson. These are the quotes that he used

"No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God. And it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven" Orson F. Whitney

"How can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!" Neal A Maxwell

As I have been struggling with some of the things going on in my life it really helped me to quit wishing life would be easier and instead trust more and lean more on He who can help me through all things.

I can hardly wait for next Friday.

A Hit at our house

I also made Kimber's pizza pockets last night for supper. I took Kimber's suggestion of combining all the ingredients to make it easier and I used it all--pepperoni, sausage, cb, onions, peppers, pineapple and olives. Even in Jared's sober mood he liked them and Dad really liked them as well and was glad he got some for lunch today. I was so proud of myself for actually making a meal that took some preparation instead of just a throw together instant thingy. I think I will make these and have them frozen for some of those nights when I don't want to fix anything.(Which is about every night)