Birthday Invitations

I think they turned out pretty cute. She's going to be 6, can you believe it?!

Family Farm Day

An update on Kylie: the night after her scary descent from the horse she slept next to me all night and woke up once for a drink of water. The next day she said she felt a lot better and her headache was almost gone. We went to church, I fasted in gratitude, and she seemed to be her normal self. Monday morning she went to school just like any other day. After school I asked her if she told her class about getting bucked off. She had totally forgotten about it! We went back to the farm today and the first thing she wanted to do was visit the horses and feed them some hay. She said that Taffy, the horse, was sorry.

We had so much fun at the farm. I love working together as a family up there. Today was crunch day to get 80 acres of bailed hay hauled to a customer. Brian went up at 5:30 to get started. After Kylie got home from school we put on our farm duds and scurried up there. My job was to drive the Dodge 3500 diesel down the field towing a hay trailer behind. Brian drove the John Deere and stacked the bales on the trailer. I am happy to report that I didn't tip over a single load or catch the trailer on the fence when pulling in or out of the field. After awhile Kylie sat on my lap and steered the truck, which she enjoyed immensely. She did a perfect job executing the turns so that the load didn't tip. We had dinner at Big J's (mmmm, hamburgers and fresh strawberry shakes) which is the restraunt featured in Napoleon Dynamite. Oh, and we also saw Tina the llama as we drove into town. Still don't have a picture!

Wish you could see the colors that are popping up on the mountains! Mostly red, but here and there a patch of bright yellow pops out.

Ninja Cat

This really tickled my funny bone tonight. Guess I needed a good laugh. I've played this game with my cat many times, and it's always hilarious!

Magic Waffle

I am counting my blessings tonight. Heavenly Father was watching over my little girl today. This morning was my sister's senior picture photo shoot. She wanted a picture on a horse, so we went up to Brian's family farm. Since she and Kylie are such buddys, she wanted a picture with Kylie on the horse too. The poor horse was walking around a freshly-raked field of hay and wanted to munch. Laura got off the horse and was leading it with Kylie on the back when the horse threw a tantrum. Kylie held on for awhile, then the horse reared up, kicked Laura's hand (broke her finger and tore off her fingernail), and Kylie fell off. She landed flat on her back and laid there, dazed. Her only complaint was that her head hurt. We've watched her all day, gave her some Motrin, then she said she wanted to go to the "waffle store" for a big belgian waffle with strawberries. By the time she started in on the waffle the motrin kicked in, but she claims that the waffle made her feel better. It was a magic waffle. As the motrin wore off the headache came back and she threw up. This was scary. Brian and his dad gave her a blessing before we headed to the hospital. After the blessing his mom did some energy work on her, and I felt like she needed to stay home. I've felt pretty good about this decision, but went online to Google head trauma to further educate myself. I was relieved to read that its common for children to vomit once after a minor head trauma. If they vomit more than once, medical attention is needed. The Spirit further confirmed that I made the right choice to keep her home and let her rest. There is nothing worse then standing by helpless while you watch your child in danger. I couldn't get to her in time to pull her off the horse, assuming that I could even get close to the horse without being trampled. You might call it coincidence, but I assured Kylie that she had angels helping her get off that horse so that she wouldn't get hurt. If she had landed any other way, this could be a very different story. My poor sister held on to the rope for dear life, even with the horse pawing at her and kicking her, to save Kylie. Of all the ways this scenario could have turned out, I am so grateful that it turned out as well as it did. The worst part is imagining what could have happened--Kylie landing wrong and being severely hurt, or being stepped on by the horse, Laura being kicked anywhere but her finger, etc. What was interesting to me was the war of emotions I intially had. My "natural man" self automatically wanted to blame someone so that I had a focus or target for my intense emotions. For some reason we feel safer with anger rather than fear--makes us feel more in control, I guess. Thankfully I was able to fight it out in my head and remind myself that it really does no good to anyone for me to selfishly vent my strong emotions. Mostly I was just mad at myself for allowing the situation to happen in the first place. In addition to being grateful for the safety of my daughter and sister, I'm also grateful that I'm learning accountability for myself and my feelings. By no means have I perfected it, but I'm grateful that when the opportunity came to practice it, that I (hopefully) was able to do it right. I've been learning a lot about "putting off the natural man" the past couple of years--a fascinating subject. While it can seem an overwhelming commandment, I'm learning to be happy with my small steps in the right direction, knowing (and sometimes even believing) that it doesn't happen all at once but is a lifelong evolution. Besides, if I were perfect, I wouldn't be able to stick around here to see what happens next.

Quote

I love this quote found in the September 2008 Ensign article written by Sarah E. Miller, entitled "Hope and Healing in Recovering from Abuse":

"Our mortal experiences, however difficult they may be, can be channeled to help us know God and to learn about who we are in relationship to Him."

That really sums up the purpose of trials and gives focus and hope. We can be hurt and angry and bitter, or we can come closer to our Heavenly Father and enjoy the infinite possibilities of joy and healing. I see it like a funnel. If we choose to stay hurt and "protect" ourselves then the opening is wide...but eventually shrinks until there's nothing but sorrow. If we choose to forgive and allow the Savior and his Atonement to enter our hearts, the possibilities are endless. This is my primitive "sketch" of what it would look like:

Forgot the Camera Again

We had a blast Wednesday night at the Sky View Homecoming Parade in Smithfield, Utah. Kylie yelled and waved at all the floats and got a pretty good haul of candy. Back when I was growing up you didn't even need a sack for collecting candy because they threw so little. Thankfully a more-prepared mom had an extra bag. I couldn't help but laugh as I compared this small-town parade to the Mardi Gras parades--and we didn't even see the big New Orleans parade. The adults stood off the road, calmly clapping and waving. The kids would scurry out a couple feet to pick up a few pieces of candy. No one was rushing the floats screaming for more stuff. Everyone put their hands over their hearts when the flag went by (see my Mardi Gras post for that pet peeve). It was enjoyable. Good, clean fun. After that Brian mentioned that he had a craving for sushi. Kylie's ears perked up and she began chanting that she wanted "shushi". My youngest sister, Joe'E, watched the parade with us and hopped in the car with us to go to Kuzoku in Smithfield. Brian and Kylie tried the miso soup and decided they like it. Kylie liked the tofu squares at the bottom but didn't believe me that there was such a word as "tofu". The weather was just cool enough that you wanted a jacket, just in case. The leaves are starting to turn colors (look for pictures soon!) and the heater is set to "on".

Would Have Been Me

Published: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at 12:07 p.m. Houmatoday.com HOUMA — Hundreds of volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will join forces to help clean up Houma and Dulac Saturday. Right now, Mormon assessment crews are out in the community collecting orders of the work to be done to help the community clean up. Volunteers will gather at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center to parcel out work orders at 7 a.m. Saturday morning, and then will head out into the community to clean up. The Mormons had mobilized a work force and scheduled truckloads of cleaning supplies for the area, but these plans were scuttled in the face of Hurricane Ike. Some of the work anticipated includes removing mud from homes and debris from properties, placing tarps on roofs and providing other relief efforts as needed. The Mormons have dispatched around 20 semi-truck loads of supplies to the Gulf area generally this hurricane season and will be sending more to arrive for the relief efforts on Friday.

Again, So Blessed

Terrebonne Parish, where I use to live, was again slammed by a hurricane. Although Hurricane Ike made landfall over Texas, its effects spread across the coast. Here are a few sample pictures of the area.

These are pictures of Dulac (Dulac is...Dulac is...Dulac is a perfect plaaaaace!):

Howard Ave in Houma:

Near the Houma Airport where Brian use to work:

I gave up a long time ago wondering why people continue to live at 14 or less feet above sea level. However, I could not help but double over laughing at these pictures:

This last picture made me laugh the hardest. The folks sitting out front in their chairs (or back of a mini van) watching the world go by...in today's case, it's a boat. I can't tell you how many times I saw this scenario (minus the boat and water): Sunday afternoon, Halloween, Mardi Gras Parade...flood. Any given day (rain, shine, or flood) you'll find people out in their chairs. Nothin' else to do, it's too hot. I don't know if its funny to anyone else, or if it's a "you had to be there" kind of thing.

It sounds like our church stayed out of the water, though not all the ward members were so lucky. While I'm more than relieved to have moved before all the action, a part of me wishes I was down there to help my friends. I enjoyed the beautiful pre-fall weather for ya'll today, because I know in February you'll be loving life while I'm freezing through another endless winter.

Count Your Blessings

Hurricane Gustav passed right over Houma, Louisiana where we use to live. I am incredibly grateful that we never had to deal with a major hurricane. I am also grateful that the reports coming in from my friends are good: minimal damage and everyone is safe and sound. Here are some pictures that they sent, or I pulled off the newspaper website.

The sign outside our apartment complex is down, but the buildings appear to be okay.

Across the street from our complex is a golf course, which looks a little flatened.

My good friend Emily Voisin is going to need a new trampoline. Good thing they boarded up the windows to their bedroom (to the right) or they'd have an indoor playground!

Can you figure out what this is? Took me awhile...it's a pipe from the trampoline embedded in their roof! Emily calls it her new roof decoration. I said it was eclectic.

This is the route we took to church each Sunday along Highway 311.

This is a common scene around Houma, many of the trees uprooted or snapped in half.

Another common image is tarps stretched across roofs, and fences blown away.

All things considered, Houma seems to have fared pretty well. Many areas are still without power and may continue to be without power for a few weeks. While I'm glad that I wasn't there to experience nature's fury, a part of me is bummed that I'm not there to help my friends. After seeing images of the evacuees at the Civic Center, a block up from my place, I'm grateful to be safe with my child in my new home. The Civic Center became a central location for food and water distribution, rows and rows of port-a-potties, and a dump station for buses full of people who had nowhere else to go. The Spirit whispered to me that I was where I needed to be, and that it would not have been safe for me to be there now. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father looks out for me and that He protected my friends and their homes.

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