How Does Your Garden Grow??

We got home last night from an almost 2 week vacation.  Our garden had a few weeds in it when we left but nothing to big.  This is what we found this morning.  Hoolay Smokes!!!

Apparently it has been raining like crazy while we have been gone.  We got a taste of it today with this lovely down pour!!

So this evening we had a lovely lesson for FHE on how our testimony is like a garden and if we let weeds take over our testimony won't be able to grow.  Then for the "Activity" we weeded the garden. (the soaked ground really aided in the process :) Doesn't it look a million times better!!!   And yup, we found produce.  We have 4 large cantaloupes that are just about ready to harvest and a few more small ones on the way.  We have corn that is now white and will be ready in a few days.  And there are a bunch of green beans that need to be picked.

And when we moved over the mass of cantaloupe leaves we found that half of that leafy mess is actually a cucumber plant.  With cucumbers that were ready to harvest!!!  Yummy!!!

And by the end of it . . . I actually liked the process.  Well liked might be a bit of a stretch . . . I didn't detest it.  Maybe some day I will actually be a gardener because I want to and not because it is just what we do :)

She Can Hear!!

Let's start with a bit of back story.  Since our sweet little Jocelyn was born she has not been able to pass a hearing test.  She really doesn't respond much to loud noises (which, with 4 siblings who tend to get loud, can actually be quite nice during nap time.)  We have been going through the process of testing, monitoring, and waiting for her to grow.  She has had liquid junk in her middle ear which has blocked the ability for sound to travel to her inner ear.  There were times we thought it was clearing on it's own, but just as soon as we were hopeful, it would get all blocked again.

 So . . . At her 9 month follow-up and failure of another auditory test on Tuesday, and checking-up with the ENT on Wednesday, it was decided that she needs tubes put in her ears on Thursday!!    So . . . bright and early Thursday morning we arrived at the hospital. Now I know this is a totally routine surgery, (our second had it done at 9M for ear infections) and that the physician's will do a wonderful job, and that Josie would do great, but I still couldn't help but get nervous.  I guess that is just part of being a mom, we worry!!!

Jocelyn got to wear a cute little gown with tiger's on it. Isn't she cute!! She was a pro waiting for the surgery.  She just played with her toys and examined her new surroundings.  I was quite impressed considering she should have been super hungry.  She is such a good little girl.

Her new favorite toy arrived in the form of a monitor.  This one was hard to keep out of her mouth :)  She liked that the part on her toe kept glowing red.   . . .   And before you knew it she was headed back for surgery.

I didn't take anymore pictures as she came back feeling pretty lousy trying to shake off the anesthesia.  We took her home and after a bottle and a nap she was back to her happy self . . . with one slight change.  When I hollered down the stairs for the kids to come up for lunch (I am to lazy to walk down them) I was shocked that Josie started crying behind me.  I had startled her with my hollering.   This has never happened before.   And then a few minutes later, when my son let out a Hooray for Mac and Cheese shout, she startled again and began to cry.

Those tears are such a blessing!!!  She can hear.  I am just so happy for her.  What a wonderful ending to a nerve-racking 9 months.  We started out fearing she was deaf, to hoping she would be able to hear with hearing aids, to perfect hearing (I hope, we have to follow up in a few weeks) with the aid of tubes.  I am just overjoyed.  Now the kids and I just have to work on keeping our voices down.  I can't imagine how it must be to go from a soundless/muffled world to a noisy and loud world. But, I can say, I am so happy that we will be going through the transition!!

Spring Break!!

The end of last week was Spring Break for the kids so we loaded them up and headed for Castle County to go play with our best friends ( We all lived in IN and then they moved to Salt Lake when we moved to Cedar City)  at Goblin Valley.  

We camped in our new (to us) little tent trailer.  It was a bit cold at night but a propane heater solved that problem.  Camping also means we ate like kings!!  There are few foods that I like more than campfire cooking.  We had Lasagna, Ribs, Scones, Dutch Oven Potatoes, Roasted Pigs in a Blanket, and of course, Smores :)  

We hiked a ton, and the kids were quite the little hikers.  Most of the time it was me dragging in the back.  My favorite hike was this cool slot canyon.  So fun!!!

 And we played a ton!!  Hide and seek in these Hoodoos is such a blast.  Although, there were a few times when the kids were a little to good at hiding.  You could seriously loose someone in here if you aren't careful :)

We enjoyed time with our friends.  Here's one of all the kids minus Baby Jocelyn.  (She was taking a nap :)  And ya, as you can see from their faces, we got quite a lot of sun :)

Aren't family vacations so fun!!!  Thanks again Clint and Becca for inviting us!  We had a blast!!

And now the only bummer of the weekend.  The Monday Aftermath :)

Construction Trucks

 We had a major landslide up the canyon last fall.  The talk is that it will be fixed before summer with limited access on weekends in May.  I have my doubts, but that didn't stop us from driving up to the mouth of the canyon to see the dump trucks they are planning to use to move the dirt.  After driving these up and down the canyon a few times I wonder how long it will be before they have to fix the rest of the road.

Kami wanted a picture of her own so here we are.

I wish I would have gotten a picture with the Yukon in the background,but oh well.  I'm sure the trucks aren't going anywhere soon.

Gratitude

My mission president passed away this past week and I miss him dearly.  I haven't seen him, or his wife and family, since they finished their mission 14 years ago.  They came up from Brazil for a mission reunion last spring and I longed to be there but the end of residency did not allow that to happen.  Marcos Prieto, along with my Father and brothers, is a man of profound influence in my life.  Much of what I am and hope to be I learned from this man and I was deeply saddened to hear of his passing.  I have wet my pillow not a few times over the past week praying for his wife and children and I am secure in the knowledge that the Lord will bless them for his service.

In this state I have been able to think of some of the many blessings in my life.

I am grateful that cancer didn't take my dad.  I wasn't here when he was diagnosed nor did I see him during his year of chemo, but I am reminded of the miracle that is his remission every day I see his former patients who never forget to ask how my dad is doing.  I love telling people that he is 3 years free of cancer, and I love living 2 doors from my parents.  I have taken my parents for granted my whole life and thanks to modern medicine I look forward to continuing to do that for quite a few years to come.

I am grateful that after a decade and a half of living away from Cedar I am back and living in the same town as my brother.  I go running with my brother three mornings a week and though it is still difficult to pull myself out of bed on those mornings, I cherish that time.  I enjoy the exercise and the company.

I'm grateful for a job that keeps me from being worried about the upcoming presidential election.  Frustrated, yes, but not worried.  I once arrogantly thought that I wouldn't have too many trials concerning personal finances because I understand them and I do a pretty good job at saving.  The likelihood of having to worry about finances is not very high for us and I'm not so dumb as to not be able to recognize the blessing in that.

I'm grateful for a mother who is the greatest grandmother in the world.  Jessi absolutely adores my mom.  When grandma was gone last week for a convention Jessi was a shell of herself each day as she had to do her reading at home with mom or dad.  Every day she asked when grandma was coming back.  Once again I love having my parents 2 doors away, because, heaven knows, we all need help raising kids and I think I may be on the lower portion of that bell curve.

I'm grateful for Kentucky, Washington, and Indiana and how they have shaped my thoughts.  I have met wonderful people who do not believe as I do and yet are great contributors to society.  The "yet" in that past sentence makes me sound as though only those who believe as I do can truly be good people and I have to admit that growing up I may have felt that way a time or two, but I was very very wrong and I'm glad to have been wrong.

I'm grateful for Melissa for every reason imaginable.  I'm sad that she was never able to meet President Prieto, but I know he would thank her for continuing what he and the other great influences in my life have done with me.

I am grateful for my time on my mission when I was able to work so closely with a chosen servant of the Lord.  I am grateful for the knowledge that I will see him again and be able to feel his warm embrace.