Happy Father's Day

I am coming to appreciate more and more the value of a father. Brian is a wonderful father to our little girl. She worships the ground he walks on. He is her best friend and her strength. Kylie has a little table next to her bed. On that table is two framed pictures of Brian that I gave her when Brian started working away from home a couple years ago. Today I tried to rearrange the pictures so they looked orderly and nice. She rushed over and said, "No mom, no! They have to be facing my bed so I can look at them. It helps me to not be afraid. I need to see my dad." Already Brian has laid a solid foundation with his daughter. Her world is not complete when he is away, no matter how I try to fill in. He is irreplaceable.

I really admire my own dad. Looking back I'm amazed that he would take his young daughter to football and basketball games or camping when he could have had a better time out with the guys. But he was also building a foundation that would last beyond the one night of fun. Over the years I have also appreciated the great talks that we have had. He has taught me eternal principles both in word and example. Our family has never been a touchy-feeling family, but my dad makes an effort to give me a hug every time he sees me, and that has become a cherished moment. I, like Kylie, have always taken an interest in what my dad was doing so that I could spend more time with him. He taught me how to use power tools, change the oil, change a flat tire, and how to beat someone up (always disable your attacker so he can't come after you). Sorry dad, these are the only pictures I have of you! :-) Serves ya right.

I also have a wonderful father-in-law. Brian will be quick to tell you that his dad is his hero. He is the hardest worker I know and doesn't quit until the work is done. He has instilled a sense of pride in working hard within his children, who in turn have become dedicated workers as well. I have admired his dedication to his family, especially to his wife. She is still his sweetheart after all these years. You will frequently hear him say things like: "Isn't she just the cutest thing?" and "I'm sure glad you talked me into marrying you." Brian loves to spend time with his dad on the farm. When the work was done and it was time to kick back, his dad would say, "It's Miller time!" and they would head into town to get something to drink--Mountain Dew, Pepsi, or Diet Coke. This was also referred to as a Beer Run. Brian has now passed that down to our child, who relishes in a Beer Run with her dad. They even sing a song. Brian fills up on Pepsi and Kylie chooses a slushi and usually talks her daddy into letting her get another treat. Thank you for being such great dads!

New 'Do

My lil' sis Laura is going to cosmotology school, and I "let" her practice on me with hair, nails, etc. Yesterday she dyed my hair and it turned out pretty awesome. My hair always turns out darker than I think it will. I had to put a picture on here (as awful as they look--SO not photogenic!) for my hubby to see the new 'do. He'll be away at work for 3 weeks.

It's midnight and my brother and sister are still over playing the Wii and laughing it up. Super Smash Brothers Brawl is the funniest game ever! It's fun to have them keep me company with their random humor while Brian is away.

A New Life, And A Life Taken

Brian was home this past week but was unable to do any farming because of the constant rain. We did get our carpet stretched and cleaned and our furniture back in place. I'm still working on the little things like wiping the mud splatters off the blinds and stove and scrubbing the corners of the shower where we dumped the flood water. I need to replant about half of my garden, but it's still so muddy.

Friday, June 12, Kylie got another cousin--Jacie Lauren. That makes 16 grandchildren for the Bodilys.

We spent Sunday night at Bear Lake having our annual Moon Family vacation. My Grandma Fern rents a cabin or condos for the week and we have a great time at the beach and playing games at night. It has brought our family closer and we appreciate her investment in those family ties. Sadly, I left my camera home.

When I got home I received an e-mail with pictures of a memorial marker and plant that had been put up for Shaun by his good friends, near the spot where he died. Those who knew him well say that he is now happy and relieved to be free. Next month his family will bring his ashes to Utah to be scattered in the mountains at our family camping trip.

Minor Inconvenience

How many times to we experience a stressful event in our lives and it seems like it's just the BIGGEST problem ever? When we're in the middle of it, it's hard to see anything else and we can easily become overwhelmed. Yet looking back on it, we can see it for what it really is: a minor inconvenience. Heavenly Father knew that I wouldn't handle experiencing the full effects of this past week, so He blessed me with the ideas listed above and helped me keep the stress away. When I would tell people about our flooding, they would exclaim, "Oh, I'm so sorry! How awful!" I'd wave my hand casually and say, "Eh, it's just a minor inconvenience." Later my husband returned home after being gone all week at work. He became easily frustrated over simple things, as is his nature, and I looked at him and said, "Brian, it's not the worst thing that's happened this week. It's okay." I repeated that phrase multiple times that day to anyone who tried to pity me for everything that's happened. I refused to be pulled down into self pity! I think that's a first for me. My new approach (and we'll see how long this lasts) to stressful situations is: 1) Eh, it's just a minor inconvenience. 2) It's not the worst thing that has ever happened --or-- It's not the worst thing that's happened this week/month/year. My little sister asked me to help her with an identity theft issue she's having. Being 19 she is devestated and overwhelmed by it all. She started panicking, saying this is the worst thing that could happen. Again, I casually waved my hand and said, "Eh, it's just a minor inconvenience." I've been disgustingly giddy and positive this week, enjoying life as it came. The old side of me is screaming, "What the...?!"

Last Monday Brian was on his way home from work, an 8-hour drive from Arizona. As he drove into our valley he called me on the phone and said we were going out to eat at Golden Corral because he had a surprise for me. In the past we have celebrated at Golden Corral for raises and ratings by gorging ourselves on food. So I thought something really great must have happened at work. Oh, no. The big surprise was he brought home a hitchhiker named Brandon to feed, shower and wash his clothes, and sleep in the guest room. Apparently Brandon started out in Florida and was making his way to Seattle. It took him 2 weeks to get to Utah. They showed up just as the rain started to pour again and got us all nervous. Luckily it stopped after a few minutes. While we have the carpet pulled up, my father-in-law thought it was a good time to put a fresh coat of paint on the walls. So Brandon pitched in and we repainted half of our family/dining/kitchen room. Kylie was desperate to help and was a happy girl when her daddy taught her how to paint, then let her loose with the roller. While we were painting the topic of religion came up, naturally. Brandon asked me if Mormons believe in Heaven and Hell. I had a wonderful opportunity to teach him about The Plan of Salvation, complete with a drawing and everything! He was so excited about that and asked if he could keep the paper. The next morning Brian took Brandon to the bus depot and bought him a ticket to Seattle to help him along his way and sent him off with a Book of Mormon and phone numbers to some wards in the Seattle area. It was an interesting experience. All I can say is that Brian and his parents are more open and giving than I am.

Lately Kylie has been sneaking to get the camera and taking random pictures. Apparently she enjoys the abstract. I thought it would be cute to post a few pictures through Kylie's eyes:

The back of my head.

A flip flop.

The space that exists between a clock resting against a piece of furniture.

This appears to be the interior of a cardboard box.

Underneath the log futon.

I have no idea what this is.

The Rest of the Week

I think we finally have dry carpet. Next week we will lay new padding, re-stretch the carpet, and have it cleaned about 5 times to get all the mud/dirt out. I've included some pictures of how my house looks and what I've been living with since Wednesday. The kids have loved all the open space and Sallie the cat thinks its her own kitty playground. She especially loved the waving carpet as high-powered fans blasted air from underneath.

Kylie graduated from Kindergarten on Wednesday and we hosted a end-of-school party at the park. Thankfully, I had planned it very casual and there was no stress at hosting a party the day after a flood. We invited all the kids and parents to picnic with us to celebrate. Poor Kylie was in tears when I picked her up from school because she would miss her teacher so much! On Friday I found out that my cousin, Shaun, who is just a year older than me, was murdered in Texas. We don't know the details because the police won't release the investigative results until some arrests have been made. I received a text from another cousin saying that she thought that Shaun heard that his gang was going to kill a cop. He took that info to the police and saved the cop's life. Sadly, the gang retaliated and killed Shaun. While they found his body on Friday, they think he died weeks ago. If that is the case, then I'm very proud of him for doing the right thing, even at the cost of his life. We know that he was trying to turn his life around and was working as an informant for the police to take down a dangerous drug ring. We've all been so worried about him and his tumultuous life and its sad to see it come down to this.

I got to bed late Friday night, having been up on the phone with family, plus its hard to sleep with fans running throughout the house. Kylie crept into my room at 3 am complaining of a stomach ache. I rubbed some essential oils on her feet and she was able to fall back asleep. At 6:30 am she sat straight up in my bed and puked all over my bedding. I spent the rest of the day caring for her and her sick little tummy. My dad and brother-in-law came over and gave Kylie a priesthood blessing. She hopped off the chair and said, "I can feel the bug is already gone out of my tummy!" A little miracle.

Today we had another rain storm. It came down so fast that the yard started to fill up again. The awesome guys of Smithfield City Fire Department brought sand bags to help prevent the rain from creating the same problems as it did earlier in the week. Its forecasted to rain all week, so we'll be keeping a close eye on the backyard. That also means that we can't cut the hay on the farm yet. It's going to be a rough year for the farmers. It's been a long week. I've been physically exhausted, but surprisingly upbeat. The only moment of stress came when I hauled my vomit-soaked bedding outside and wondered how I would get it to the laundromat while caring for a sick child who couldn't get off the couch. Thankfully my mother-in-law stepped in and washed everything for me so that I could sleep in my own bed that night. I think I'm getting pretty good at learning how to go with the flow and roll with the punches. It's not in my nature to take life very lightly. But life has beat me up enough that I'm figuring out that it's just not that big of a deal. As long as I can maintain an eternal perspective (and keep my anti-depressant medication current) I can find joy in the midst of the storm--literally!

Crazy Storm

Unless Blogger decides to cooperate, this post will be pretty unorganized. Oh well. I was up until 4 am so I'm fried any way.

Last night we had a wild storm in Smithfield, Utah. It began with thunder and lightening unlike anything I've seen, especially here in Utah. The lightening flashed continuously across the sky. The thunder rumbled and rolled in the distance. Then the hail came down. And kept coming. And coming some more. Soon the backyard filled with water. It started swirling around the patio and began streaming into our stair well. I ran upstairs to get my father-in-law and by the time I got back downstairs the stair well was full of muddy water and it began seeping into the house. In a vain attempt I sacrificed all of my bath towels to try to contain the water while Bill ran outside with a shovel and tried to divert the water away. My mother-in-law was working with clients upstairs and they all came down to help, bringing the wet-vac. Unfortunately, the wet-vac couldn't keep up with the volume of water coming in. At that point I ran outside with a bucket and started bailing water like crazy.

You can see from the picture the water line at our door--it was nearly 2 feet deep! We have a drain, but the water came so fast and continuous that the drain couldn't keep up. We made some headway with the buckets and got the water out of the stairwell. Half of our family room carpet was soaked and the water continued into the kitchen area nearly to the fridge. (On a side note, I got the floor under the stove clean! Yay!)

Brian's brothers came and helped us pull up the carpet and tear out the pad. The water seeped further into the carpet and padding, migrating to the other half of the family room and into my bedroom. Fortunately we were able to move all of the furniture up against the wall before anything was damaged.

Ryan came with his huge cleaning fans and has us set up pretty nice to get the carpet dry. I later learned that a canal had overflowed and/or broken, causing much of the flooding in the area. Some homes had their basements full of water. This morning I was told that approximately 22 homes had reported flooding. The thought that kept returning to me, as I was standing ankle-deep in freezing water, was that I had planned on something like this happening in Louisiana...but never in Utah! Ironic.

At 1 am I was digging the potted flowers out from under the inches of hail and started thinking about what could be learned from this experience: 1) Wordly things can be taken away in an instant. Don't set your heart on them. 2) If I had to leave my home at a moment's notice, am I prepared? No. My 72-hour kit was disassembled when we moved from Louisiana and I haven't re-packed it. 3) I learned the wisdom in the council to store high protein, high carb foods in your 72-hour kit for times of stress. Because I worked so hard and strenuously, my body quickly ran out of fuel and I became dizzy and weak. My mom handed me a Peanut Roll and my sister-in-law vegged on ice cream with me, and I was temporarly restored. 4) Family and neighbors are amazing. I should have utilized my ward members better rather than trying to take care of it myself. If I knew who my home teachers were, I would have called them. It's wierd to say, but I enjoyed the experience. I enjoyed working together with friends and family in a common cause and seeing everyone come together. I enjoyed the rush of working really hard and becoming totally exhausted. I was able to laugh and joke and have a good time. My sister-in-law kept asking me if I was stressed out. But I wasn't. I'm sure that was helped by the fact that none of my material possessions were damaged and our safety was not in question. Somehow I was able to find joy in the moment and was blessed.

First Camp Trip of the Year

This picture is here because I couldn't get it to move anywhere else. I'm having some serious issues with blogger! It's getting more and more frustrating...

It has finally warmed up enough in Northern Utah to go camping! As I was setting up our tent I realized that we had not used it since I was pregnant with Kylie--over 6 years ago! That's just sad. Camping is a lot of work and a lot of dirt, but Kylie enjoyed herself so much that I imagine we'll do it again. We met up with Brian's sister Tracie and her family at the campground in Mantua. Brian's sister Janeen and her bunch came up also. Kylie had 8 cousins to roam with and she enjoyed every moment. I have to brag a little bit that she's the best little camper! We set the ground rules for behavior and perimeters, and she hardly gave us any trouble. It was wonderful to sit back in our camp chairs, read a book, and listen to the joyous sounds of children laughing through the woods.

The pyrotechnicians at work: Ryan and Brian

The campsite and a cute picture of Caroline with Dennis.

How Brian spent the majority of his time.

We took the kids fishing and Kylie assumed the role of worm-keeper. I didn't know she had it in her!

Kylie, James, and Christian got rid of all the bad guys in our campground with their homemade PVC and tape guns. It kept them busy for hours! Then they built a hut out of branches which eventually evolved into a jail for a rousing game of Cops 'n Robbers.