Sunday, September 10, 2017

FAMILY LETTER 09.10.17

Dear Loved Ones,

It is late Sunday night and I have just finished a chocolate coke I mixed up for myself after I got home from stake Standard Night with my girls. For some reason I was thinking about my Grampy and how he showed me how to make a chocolate coke in his kitchen with the Hershey’s syrup that came in a little can you had to poke holes in to pour the syrup out. It was a yummy treat we would share once in a blue moon. Tonight felt like a good blue moon (even though we’re only having red moons these days).

The week flew by in a blur. I can’t believe that Labor Day was just 6 days ago. It was a mellow day here. The girls made plans with friends; the rest of us did some chores in the morning, then RIch took the little boys to hike at Pine Creek with their friends, the Parks boys, while I stayed home and worked on some ward history stuff. We needed to go shopping in Bozeman for yet more school stuff, so we made a family night of it. We ate at Samurai Sam’s, then saw some awesome classic cars, shopped a bit, and came home to bed.

Tuesday was James’ birthday. We had cinnamon rolls and oj for breakfast, then sent him on his merry way for school. After school was a bit busy getting James’ birthday dinner and cake ready while also getting Niles to soccer practice and welcoming overnight guests--Sister Chelsey Styer, who served here last year as a missionary, came back to visit with her mom. James asked for pepperoni pizza for dinner, so we ate pizza, then opened presents, then The Dixons and The Styers were here for cake and ice cream and all that hullaballoo. James mostly got gifts to prepare him for Boy Scouts. Rich is so excited to finally have a son in scouts with him (well--almost, he’s only 11, but well on his way). He got a new scout manual, a nice big back pack, and a 20* sleeping bag, as well as a history book, and some favorite snacks. Earlier he got a new lego set and some aircraft identification cards from Grandpa and Grandma. It was a pretty good birthday for him.

Wednesday was another mellow day, with soccer practice, homework, a quick dinner, and church meetings. I’ve been having to go up for opening exercises to help all the youth learn a song to perform at standards night, so we did that and then the boys had a special meeting about earning their Eagle Awards and the girls had a spa night. I had a snuggle night with my little guys, freshly bathed and lotioned up with lavender...they are getting so big so fast, these snuggly nights will be history soon :(

Thursday we babysat little Laney Dixon, who is now 6 months old. The kids love when she comes over. Ammon especially is delighted to have someone to play with besides me. He is pretty sweet with her, it’s cute to watch. Addie worked that night and Rich had Stake meetings, so I went and got chicken for dinner from Addie’s restaurant and helped the kids with homework and was heading to bed just as Addie and Daddy were coming home. I stayed up late doing Addie’s hair while she did homework. I didn’t get to bed til late, but neither did she, and she was ready for seminary at 6am. She is so stalwart, it amazes me sometimes. I’m glad to lose a little sleep to be able to catch up with her. Hard to believe I’ve only got 2 and a half years left with her under our roof!

Friday we watched Laney again. We had an adventure and went grocery shopping with two littles. It was crazy at the store because a tour bus full of retired people heading to Yellowstone had stopped for snacks. So there were like 100 old people and me and the babies in line at Albertsons. Pretty fun. NIles had soccer practice and then we had a yummy family dinner--everyone was home and eating together for the first time in a long time! Addie and I had made biscuits and gravy from scratch, and we sliced a yummy ripe honeydew melon. I even made a batch of gluten free biscuits and they turned out great. I was shocked!

Saturday was a marathon of soccer games. Rich ran to the Preparedness Fair in Bozeman in the morning, then met us at the soccer field for James’ 11am and 12:30 games, and Niles’ 2pm game. This was our first soccer day of the season and I was grossly under prepared. I had to take Addie to work at 11:40ish, so I missed the end of James’ first game. I grabbed some lunch and refilled the water bottles because it was scorching hot outside. I fed all our people during James’ 2nd game. Rich brought umbrellas to keep the sun off of us, but I still should have brought sunscreen because the little boys all got sunburned. A storm blew in just as NIles’ game began. The wind whipped up furiously and it rained sporadically for about an hour. About 20 minutes into the game, there was a  big lightning strike and everyone ran for cover (the soccer park is on a high, treeless plateau). We headed for the car and noticed a plume of smoke rising from a hill about 3 miles northwest of our neighborhood. Within the next half hour, we counted about 20 emergency vehicles heading out to the fire, and later, several helicopters. Heidi and I had planned to go shopping in Bozeman at 3pm, so we got a good view of the fire from I-90. It was contained within a few hours and burned 200 acres between Fleshman Creek and Orea Creek. We felt so blessed that so many were able to come to our aid and keep our community safe, but we are still so sad for those in harm’s way this week--whether it be the NW fires, the Mexican earthquake, or the fierce hurricanes in the SE. Perilous times, yo. Saturday Night we met the Johnsons and the Parks at the Sport Bar and Grill for dinner. It was SOOOO nice. Two hours of fun conversation and delicious food. I don’t know why we don’t do it more often, but it sure was great to visit with them.

Church was nice today. We got to hear from Jenny Larson, who is preparing to serve a mission, and Rebecca and Dan Smith, who recently moved into the ward. They rent a house right behind us and their 2 boys are the same ages as James and Niles and they have fun together. Their talks were awesome; all the speakers testified of keeping commandments, especially tithing and Sabbath. These commandments really do keep us unspotted from the world if we live them and let them change our hearts from Telestial to Celestial living. I’ve been doing kind of an online book club with friends on social media, studying the conference talks from April and I am feeling so keenly each day how Heavenly Father has prepared me in some way the past few months to hear these talks again and apply them more readily. The over-arching theme or feeling I get is how personal purity and strong faith are the most important things to have in our preparedness kits. Our temporal needs can be met by others but our spiritual needs are between us and the Lord. No one else can fill our lamps for us when the bridegroom arrives, no matter how much they may want to share with us so we can be included. We must do it ourselves, before He comes, and the prophets are practically begging us to be clean and ready by keeping these commandments. It’s a beautiful thing! I am so excited for the next conference, it feels like Christmas!

So, all is well here. Heidi had a good week and fun times with ward friends this weekend. Thank you for your prayers for her, for us. We are being buoyed up and guided and it is a good feeling. We hope and pray all is well with you. We pray for you daily, often by name. Have a good week and remember we love you!

Love,

Jamie, Rich, and Family

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