Horned Toad

So I've been meaning to record this story for some time now.  You'll have to indulge me a little journal entry here.

Shortly after moving to Cedar (about a month ago) Spencer and Jessi spent the day up the mountain with their Grandpa.  While there, Spencer caught a baby horned toad (this is a frequent occurrence).  He placed the horned toad in a bucket and went back about his playing.  As they left to come down the mountain he remembered that he had forgotten to let his horned toad out of the bucket.  It was too late to go back to remedy the situation so he mourned his mistake the rest of the day.  He was a wreck when he got home and we did our best to console him.  He wasn't to be comforted and cried himself to sleep because he had caused the death of that baby horned toad.  When he woke up the next morning he was still crying.

Fast forward 5 days.  We were in Salt Lake visiting our other side of the family when I got a call from my Dad.  He wanted to talk to Spencer.  He said he was back up the mountain and he had checked the bucket and found the baby horned toad still alive.  He let him go and the creature ran off down the hill.  Spencer was overjoyed.  He thanked his grandfather for calling then asked if he could talk to me alone.

We went downstairs and Spencer told me that Heavenly Father answered his prayer because he had faith.  He then informed me that he had prayed that the horned toad wouldn't die and he knew it would be okay after his prayer then he said that he was happy that Grandpa called because now he had a story about faith that he might be able to share with people on his mission.

Occasionally I forget the strength of the rising generation, but during those times when I am reminded I am humbled to be a parent.

Our New Addition

No Melissa hasn't had the baby yet (September).  We got a truck today.  That's right at the ripe old age of 34 I officially became a truck guy.  When my younger brother bought his first truck he told me he used to go outside just to look at it from time to time and sit in the driver's seat.  I completely understand that now.

As you know I'm not one for pictures, but this is a momentous occasion so I took a couple.

All tucked in for the night.

End of an era and the beginning of another.

I should really update this blog more.  It seems I read that on a lot of blogs lately.  I'm not sure I'm going to update any more frequently, but I do have some thoughts to write about the last month.  Sorry no pictures just a lot of words.  Feel free to just skip this post and read the next one in a couple of months, or you can jump over to Melissa's quilting blog that seems to get a lot more traffic than this one does, maybe I should give away some free stuff, or not.

A little over a month ago, just after the last post in fact, Melissa and the kids left South Bend for Cedar City to get moved into our new house in Cedar Knolls.  That was a much harder day than I anticipated, and the next two weeks until Melissa came back for graduation dinner were filled with studying, dollar movies, and quite a few trips over to the Larsens who were so good to take care of me.  I cooked biscuits on tinfoil for a few meals and ate at the hospital frequently.  I spent my last night at the hospital in order to have access to the internet as we shut off our ISP before Melissa left.

I was overjoyed that Melissa actually came back to get me and we spent our last day together in South Bend.  That last day was filled with mixed emotions.  I love South Bend and it was hard to leave.  If we weren't coming back home to Cedar it would have been excruciating.  I already miss some of the joys of South Bend daily.  Some of those things I had always anticipated and some I have surprised me.  I always knew I would miss the green everywhere, but I didn't realize how I would miss the early morning mist each day.  Of course I miss Lake Michigan, but contrary to what the Midwesterner's believe it's no Lake Powell.  Of course I miss my friends and we really made some good ones during our 3 years.

My arrival in Cedar City has been filled with mixed emotions as well.  I was unprepared for the anxiety of taking over a full practice.  It's not like starting residency because I know the medicine now and I'm not lost for what to do I've just felt overwhelmed at times at the magnitude of messages and labs, and orders and such that come with a full panel of patient's, most of whom I have yet to meet.  The nice thing is Dad is always a phone call away if I have any questions that need answering.

We had our annual Family reunion that I have missed for the past 3 years and it was great to be back.  I won the horseshoe tournament that in the past was a big deal, but this year was somewhat anticlimactic.  All of my siblings save Doug were present and we missed him dearly.

There are a lot of great things about being back home.  Two of those things are my Dad and my older brother.  Since I got home from my mission I've wanted to live closer to my brother and it almost happened that first year, but he had to up and move to Wyoming.  Maybe that is part of my disdain for that state.  We did live in Cedar for a year during medical school shortly after Robert moved home and that was great, but now we're here for good and it is wonderful.  I've enjoyed running with Robert and his daughter (only on short days, my feet can't take the long days yet) in the morning.

I've got boards coming this Friday and I'm somewhat nervous about that.  Hopefully they go well and my studying pays off.

Moving

The moving truck left yesterday.  The Yukon is gone.  We're extremely grateful to have the use of a friend's minivan until Melissa and the kids fly to the promised land on Monday.

So what do you do when the movers take your toys, beds and everything else in your house?  Well you build a fort of course.

Speaking in Church

So here is the scene.  It is Sunday morning (as in 4 days ago) and I am a little frantic as I have to, I mean get to, speak in church.  Spencer enters the kitchen and the following conversation ensues:

Spencer - Mom, are you okay??

Me - Ya, Spence, I am okay, I am just really nervous because I am speaking in church today.

Spencer - I know how you can not be nervous anymore.

Me - Really Spencer, how??

Spencer - Get up and bear your testimony more often and then you will get used to speaking and you won't be nervous anymore.


So what is a mom to say to that.  I shared this little gem at the beginning of my talk and it got a real good laugh.  Which actually served to make me less nervous. So Thanks Spencer!!